A very thrilling announcement concerning Mr. Justice Grantham's descent is made in the April number of The Windsor Magazine, in the course of an article by Mr. B. Fletcher Robinson (editor of Vanity Fair), entitled 'Chronicles in Cartoon' (p. 626) :— "He comes of an ancient family, and owns to an ancestor-one St. Hugh Grantham-whom the Jews crucified at Lincoln in the good old days when Richard the Lion Heart was King." It may be presumed that neither Sir William Has your correspondent consulted Litur- Miscellaneous. Monumental Brasses in the Bedfordshire Churches. WE gladly welcome Miss Isherwood's useful book What can myght, powr or auncyet bloode avayll, Or els riches, that men cownte felicite? We have heard verses almost identical with these quoted as existing elsewhere-we believe in the North Riding. On a brass of the middle sixteenth century to one of the Bulkeleys in Cople Church are the words "Thynke and Thank God." Was this the family motto? or must we regard it as personal? Under Sutton the author says that the present Sir John Burgoyne holds the manors of Sutton and Polton by charter from John of Gaunt, and proceeds. to supply an English version, printing it as if it were prose, although it was clearly meant for verse, as we give it : : I, John of Gaunt, And the heirs of his line, The manors of Sutton and Polton, We need not say that it is either a jest or an inept Matthew de Asseheton, rector of Shillington and canon of York, was buried in 1400 in the church of his rectory, and a fine brass exists to his memory. His rebus, we are told, was an ass and a tun. The Works of William Shakespeare. Vols. IV. and NOTES ON BOOKS, &c. Medieval London. By Sir Walter Besant.-Vol. I. Historical and Social. (A. & C. Black.) SIR WALTER BESANT'S account of London, to the appearance of successive volumes of which we have drawn attention, is his magnum opus. Its compilation was to him a labour of love, and its completion, had he been spared to see it, would have been a delight. Without being absolutely history, the account of London, of which the crowning portion appears, has all its accuracy, with a measure of personal vivacity and picturesqueness which is V. (Stratford-on-Avon, Shakespeare Head Press.) not its constant concomitant. The volume is in two parts, the first of which deals with medieval Two further volumes of the noble edition of the sovereigns from Henry II. to Richard III., while poet which is the first to bear the imprint of his the second is occupied with social and general con- birthplace have appeared, marking the accomplishVol. iv. finishes, with siderations, the Port and trade, the streets, buildings, ment of half the task. furniture, wealth, manners and customs, literature, Twelfth Night' and 'The Winter's Tale,' the sport, crime, and punishment. A specially attractive comedies, and has the first two historical plays, feature consists of the illustrations, which are ad-King John' and 'King Richard II.' As a frontismirably chosen. These are mostly taken from piece it reproduces in admirable style the portrait original sources, and are of remarkable value. See of the dramatist in the Memorial Gallery, Stratespecially the view of 'The Ladies' Bower' (p. 249), ford-on-Avon. The fifth volume meantime comthe views of tournaments, &c., from Froissart, and prises the two parts of King Henry IV.,' 'King the Chaucerian illustrations from the Ellesmere Henry V.,' and the first part of King Henry VI., MS. The work constitutes, indeed, a treasure- and has for frontispiece a reproduction of the Ely portrait. In all literary and bibliographical respects house. the standard of excellence previously reached is its prefix of "Saffron" from the extensive cultivamaintained. Which of us has not, amidst the multi-tion in the district of that once famous drug or dye. tude of commentators, pined for a text undefiled Holingshead states that it was first planted there by conjecture and undisturbed by note? Which of us, too, has not longed for an edition with a text perfect in daintiness and legibility? Well, these things are herein conceded, and the edition may be pronounced unique. The Yorkshire Archæological Journal. Part 72. (Leeds, Whitehead & Son.) MR. J. W. CLAY contributes a long and important article on the great Northern house of Clifford. It contains abstracts of many wills and inquisitiones post mortem, which will be of the greatest service to any one who may undertake the task of writing an extended history of that important and picturesque race. When public penances were discontinued by the authorities of the Church of England is by no means certain. A correspondent contributes a record of a ceremony of this sort which was performed at Bishop Wilton in 1730, when Lancelot Blackburn was archbishop. The penance was inflicted for a violation of the seventh commandment. The offender had to stand in the church porch bareheaded and with bare feet, with a white rod in his hand, and vested in a long white sheet, and was to beg all those who entered the church to pray for him. After the second lesson was over he was to enter the church and say in English the psalm "Miserere mei," and then make public confession of his evil conduct. We presume, but are by no means sure, that absolution followed. An engraving of an interesting floriated cross tombstone to some member of the Fitzconan family is given. It was found a few years ago in the church of Liverton, near Saltburn. The Berks, Bucks, and Oxon Archæological Journal. Vol. II. No. 3. Edited by Rev. P. H. Ditchfield. (Reading, Slaughter & Son.) THE notice of Pamber Church is interesting. It was once a chapel of the Benedictine Priory of Sherborne, founded by Henry de Port in the twelfth century, and consisted originally of an aisleless nave. It was attached to the monastery of St. Vigor in Normandy, and was suppressed, along with the other alien houses, early in the fifteenth century. Among the interesting objects this church contains is a cross-legged effigy made of wood. Three other wooden effigies are mentioned as being in the church of Sparsholt, in Berkshire. A note should be made of these, for in most parts of England effigies of this material are of great rarity. There is a list of wooden effigies (which we believe, however, is by no means complete) in Archeologia, vol. xlvi. p. 279. Mr. Ernest W. Dormer contributes the first part of a paper on Bisham Abbey; and Mr. Charles E. Keyser has given several excellent plates in illus. tration of his account of the churches of Sparsholt and Childrey. in the reign of Edward III. The parish church is one of the finest examples in the country of the pure Perpendicular style; it is 200 feet long by 82 feet wide, and the tower is 85 feet high; it has seven pointed arches on each side of the nave. In the centre of the south chapel is the black marble altar-tomb of Thomas, Lord Audley of Waldey, Chancellor to Henry VIII. There are now only eight brasses remaining of the many effigies which were once in the church. The belfry contains eight bells, and by the will of Thomas Turner, dated 10 June, 1623, the day of his funeral, 27 June, is observed as a ringing festival, to which ringers come from many parts. The work, which forms a valuable short record, is written by Mr. Guy Maynard, the Curator of the Museum, and the excellent illustrations make the booklet very attractive. MR. BERTRAM DOBELL promises a series of publications of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, principally from MSS. in his own possession, which literature. Among them are the poetical works of William Stroode, an all but unknown poet, whose Floating Island' was acted before King Charles by the students of Christ Church, 29 Aug., 1636, and gave rise to a curious stage controversy. One collection of MSS. will be in three or four volumes. A more interesting announcement than that Mr. Dobell issues has rarely been put forward. offer a marvellous attraction to the student of Notices to Correspondents. We must call special attention to the following notices: ON all communications must be written the name and address of the sender, not necessarily for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. WE cannot undertake to answer queries privately. To secure insertion of communications correspondents must observe the following rules. Let each note, query, or reply be written on a separate slip of paper, with the signature of the writer and such address as he wishes to appear. When answering queries, or making notes with regard to previous entries in the paper, contributors are requested to put in parentheses, immediately after the exact heading, the series, volume, and page or pages to which they refer. Correspondents who repeat queries are requested to head the second communication "Duplicate." WE cannot undertake to advise correspondents as to the value of old books and other objects or as to the means of disposing of them. A. H. ("Germination of Seeds "). Amply discussed in previous volumes. W. F. MILLER.-Forwarded. NOTICE. to "The Editor of Notes and Queries'"-Adver tisements and Business Letters to "The Pub. lisher"-at the Office, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, E.C. Editorial communications should be addressed MESSRS. HART & SONS, of Saffron Walden, have sent us an interesting little guide to this town, where there is much to interest the antiquary, as there are many indications that its site has been the scene of human occupation from a period of very remote antiquity. Ancient earthworks, camps, and burial mounds are numerous; and We beg leave to state that we decline to return six miles east is the fine group of burial mounds communications which, for any reason, we do not known as the Bartlow Hills. The town obtained | print; and to this rule we can make no exception. LONDON, SATURDAY, MAY 5, 1906. CONTENTS.-No. 123. NOTES: The Death Songs of Pyramus and Thisbe, 341- REPLIES:- Greek and Roman Tablets, 350- Portman Family-Ballad by Reginald Heber: W. Crane-Copying Letters Provincial Booksellers, 351 Cherry Ripe' Luppinos of Hertford and Ware-The King of the Peak -Inscription on Constantine's Tomb-Barnes: Origin of the Name, 352-The Coal Hole"-Irish Bog Butter"Place," 353- Babington Conspiracy Holborn-"The Sophy"-Mr. Thompson of the 6th Dragoons, 354-Latin Genitives in Floricultural Nomenclature-Dickens and the Bible-Oscar Wilde Bibliography-Lady Coventry's Minuet, 355-Reynolds at Le Portel-Westminster Changes -Chemists' Coloured Glass Bottles-Rebus in Churches, 356-Cabot and Mychell-Gray's Elegy in Russian"The hand that rocks the cradle "Metropolitan toe," 357. AMONG the musical treasures of the Christ Church Library at Oxford is a valuable set of part-books written by or for one Robert Dowe, and bearing the date 1581. In this set are to be found two songs which seem to be of some interest, apart from their historical value as specimens of a kind of music of which few examples remain. I am indebted to the kindness of the Dean of Christ Church for permission to print the words of these songs, and to the Librarian for giving me access to them. The verses may not be reprinted without the permission of the Christ Church authorities. The first is a song for treble voice, with accompaniment for instruments, probably viols, composed by Farrant. No Christian name is given, but Richard Farrant is intended; his name is well known in connexion with some favourite anthems. In printing the verses I have divided them into lines and inserted stops. I have also put in brackets the vain repetitions of words introduced by the composer, because they much enhance the pathetic effect, though they may somewhat obscure the rhythm : [Ah, ah,] Alas, you salt sea Gods, Bowe downe youre eares devine; And wring their hands with me And sowles of them that fled, Send sobbs, send sighes, send greeuous grones [Abradad, Abradad, ah, ah,] Alas, poore Abradad, And strike poore Panthea dedd. My spirite with thine shall lie: Come, Death, alas! O Death most sweet, [For nowe, for nowe,] For nowe I crave to die, [to die, to die, to die, to die.] The second song occurs later in the volumes. It is almost as touching as the other, though it has nothing in it to equal the beautiful image of the sea gods bringing warm salt water for the ladies to cry withal. It bears no composer's name, but, like the other, it is written for treble voice with instrumental accompaniment; and judging from the style of composition, I have no hesitation in conjecturing that it also is the work of Farrant. Come, tread the paths of pensive pangs With me, ye lovers true. Bewaile with me your luckles lotts, Aid me, you ghosts who lothed life, With sighs and sobbs and notes of dule [Guichardo, Guichardo, ah,] Guichardo, if thy sprite do walke, Come, draw thy lover nie. [Behold] Behold, I yeld to thee my ghost, Ah see, I die, I die, [I die: ah see, I dy, I dy, I dy: ah, ah, ah, alas, I dy, I dy, I dy, I'dy.] Naturally, one's first impulse after reading these verses is to exclaim, "This passion, and the death of a dear friend, would go near to make a man look sad." Then the question presents itself, Is not this the kind of stuff which Shakespeare set himself to parody in the death songs of Pyramus and Thisbe in Midsummer Night's Dream,' Act V. I think it is; and therefore it is worth while to try to discover what these delectable effusions are. It is quite evident, I think, that these songs are excerpts from two plays. The first, in which Panthea laments the death of her husband Abradad (which we recognize as the tragi-comical form of Abradates) must be from a play of Panthea and Abradad,' or possibly Cyrus the Great,' based on a story which scholars will find in Xenophon, more conveniently in the classical or 342 dictionary. In the other an afflicted lady, whom we may identify with Gismonda, is preparing to kill herself, because her lover, Guichardo, has been done to death by a cruel parent, no doubt Tancred. Now Farrant was Master of the Children of the Chapel at Windsor, and as such he was accustomed (as were some other masters of choristers) to prepare plays to be presented before the Queen (generally about Christmastide or Shrovetide) every year. There are numerous entries to be found in the 'Acts of the Privy Council' of payments for the performance of these plays to choristers, such as different masters of Sebastian Westcott, Master of the Children of St. Paul's; John Taylor, of Westminster; Hunnis, of the Chapel Royal; and others. The payments to Farrant are for plays presented at different dates between February, 1566/7, and March, 1579/80. He died, it should be said, on 30 Nov., 1580. There is nothing to be learnt from the 'Acts of the Privy Council' about the names of these Farrant plays, but a few particulars Cunningham's may be gleaned from Accounts of the Revels at Court.' On New Year's Day, 1571/2, for instance, the Windsor Children presented Ajax and Ulisses'; Quintus on Twelfth Day, 1573/4, it was Fabius'; on Twelfth Day, 1576/7, it was There was also a play 'Mutius Scævola.' presented in January, 1574/5 (perhaps on Twelfth Day), of which the name is not given, but to which the following entry in the accounts relates : "xj Januarij for a perwigg of Heare for King Xerxces syster in ffarrantes playe; iiij. viijd.” I had formed some vague hope that this might possibly prove to have been our tragedy, but I do not see how Xerxes's sister can have found her way into a play dealing with the period of Cyrus the Great. So we must content ourselves with the conjecture that ours is one of the unnamed plays performed at Court by the Windsor Children under the direction of Richard Farrant, at some date between February, 1567, and March, 1580. As to the Guichardo song, one must that it came out of a play of suppose 'Tancred and Gismonda'; but I have not come upon any traces of such a play, excepting, of course, that printed in Dodsley's 'Old Plays.' with which this has nothing to do. If, as I suppose, this song is by Farrant, it also may be an extract from one of the unnamed plays presented by the Windsor Childrer. Here, then, we probably have fragments of 66 two plays of a type of which at least one Now, if we turn to our annotated Shakespeares, such, for instance, as the Clarendon Press edition of M.N.D.,' we find that "Dr. Farmer observed to Malone that in the lines spoken by Pyramus, 'Approach, ye furies fell, Come, come to me, With hands as pale as milk, On me your torments trie...... And present pangues of death, Here Pithias sings and the regals play. That long have wept in woe: and so on. Later in the play there is another passage in equally absurd style, a lament for Pythias, sung (not spoken) by Eubulus and a chorus of Muses; but as the play is printed in Dodsley, it is not necessary to Hazlitt's quote any more of it. That Shakespeare knew Edwards's play I think is almost certain; but why did he consider it worth while to ridicule a man who had been dead close upon thirty years? Here, I think, our Farrant songs will help us to give a probable answer. It was not Edwards and his particular play that Shakespeare was ridiculing, but a whole class of plays, namely, those produced at Court on various occasions, and especially those presented by the children of the different chapels: a class of plays which would have been well remembered by his audience, if, as is generally thought, 'M.N.D.' was first performed at Court on the occasion of a nobleman's wedding. It speake."-Greene, 'Penelope's Web' (v. 221), adds point, indeed, to the burlesque, if we 1587: "It seemeth (saith Bias) that nature...... think of the audience before whom it was [word for word to] and chastice such impudent first given, many of whom must have known babling by byting. And therefore, saith he, the tedious originals only too well in former we have two eyes and two eares, that thereby days, even if we are to suppose that in 1595 we may learne to heare and see much more or thereabouts plays of this type had been then is spoken." Primaudaye does not attrientirely superseded in Court circles. And bute the well-known metaphor of "the here it may be worth noting that a fairly bulwark of teeth" (more commonly "pales"> full history of the production of a Court to Bias, although it may be implied. It is play of this kind can be pieced together, used earlier in Euphues' (145): "Nature with the expenditure of some little trouble,......hedged the tongue with two rowes of from Cunningham's Accounts of the Revels teeth." And in Shakespeare (Richard II.'), at Court from the preliminary "perusing Chapman, Ben Jonson, &c. Very likely the and reforming," to the last minute when all image is met with earlier in English, but we was ready, when it might happen that the see whence Greene derived it. play was never performed after all. This misfortune, which so nearly befell the "tedious brief scene of Pyramus and Thisbe," did actually befall a Mask of Ladies with lights, "being VI vertues, likewise prepared and brought thither in Redynesse, but not showen for the Tediousnesse of the playe that nighte," which was one presented by Mr. Munkester's Children" (p. 62). On another occasion (p. 142) a play was put off because the Quenes Matie wold not come to heare the same." G. E. P. A. (To be continued.) ROBERT GREENE'S PROSE WORKS. (See 10th S. iv. 1, 81, 162, 224, 483; v. 84, 202.) I CONTINUE my notes on Greene and Primaudaye. Primaudaye, chap. xii., 'Of Speech and Speaking, p. 130: "Such bablers, whom Plato verie aptly called theeves of time, are compared by Plutarch to emptie vessels, which give a greater sound then they that are ful. So he," &c.-Greene, Penelope's Web' (v. 221), 1587: "Plato calleth women that are bablers, theeves of tyme: And Plutarch compareth them to emptie vessels, which give a greater sound then they which are full so......they," &c. Primaudaye, chap. xii., p. 130: "the toong, which Bias called the best and worst thing that was......[Ten lines omitted.] It seemeth that nature would teach us this by fortifying the toong better than any other part of the bodie, and by setting before itthe bulworke of the teeth, that if it will not obey reason, which being within ought to serve in steade of a bridle to stay it from preventing the thought, we might restraine and chastice the impudencie thereof with blouddy biting. And because we have two eares and two eies, it ought to serve us for instruction, that we must heare and see much more than we · Primaudaye, chap. xii., p. 132: "Cæsar in a letter which he sent to Rome from the Persian battaile, wrote but these three words, Veni, vidi, vici, that is to saie, I came, sawe, and overcame."-Greene, Penelope's Web" (v. 206): "Forward Calamus in thy purpose, triumph man, and say as Cæsar did in his conquers, veni, vidi, vici." And again, 'The Spanish Masquerado' (v. 276, 277), 1589: Don Pedro, thinking that no sooner he woulde have arrived in the English Coast but he would have written back, as the Romain Monarch did, Veni, vidi, vici." Primaudaye's words here are those of North's Plutarch's Lives' ('Julius Cæsar'), and also of Shakespeare's 'Love's Labour's Lost,' IV. i. 69. Primaudaye, chap. xiii., 'Of Friendship and a Friend,' p. 138 to p. 148 is bodily lifted into Greene's "Silvestro's discourse of Friendship," Second Part of Tritameron') iii. 146-60), 1587. It begins thus in Primaudaye, p. 138: "First we say with Socrates, that...... [twelve lines skipped]...... Friendship is a communion of a perpetuall will, the end whereof is fellowship of life, and it is framed by the perfect habit of a long continued love. Whereby," &c. Silvestro's discourse begins: "Socrates, whom Apollo himselfe noted for a wise man, said that Friendship is a communion," &c. to p. 160, the end of Silvestro's discourse, there is scarcely an alteration. But one or two are worthy of note. I may mention that in the two texts before me a page of Primaudaye gives Greene about a page and a quarter. On p. 145 Primaudaye adduces Jonathan and David amongst "the best and most excellent friendships." Greene omits them, and also Achilles and Patroclus, beginning with Pylades and Orestes (p. 157, Greene). Greene on this page quotes Primaudaye's 'Ephenus and Everitus" (p. 146) as "Ephemus and Everitius." On |