Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 3.djvu/493

 io*s. in. MAY 27. i9o&] NOTES AND QUERIES.

Birch ; Miss Carter, of Deal ; Mr. John Hawksworth, author of 'The Adventurer'; Mr. Samuel Johnson, A.M., author of 'The Rambler,' <fcc. ; Mr. Sam. Richardson, author of 'Pamela,' ' Clarissa,' and 'Sir Cha. Grandi- son ' (4 books). The circumstances under which she obtained the subscribers to her first volume are set out on pp. 113-15. The short ejaculations (pp. 228-9), "Tis religion that can give Sweetest pleasures while we live,

are adopted in most hymnals, but with the additions and in the form given in Rippon's selection (Julian, ' Diet, of Hymnology ')

Some information about her is given by Samuel Pegge, with whom she lived at the rectory of Whittington, in Derbyshire, from 1755 until April, 1757, when, as he judged, she was about sixty-three years of age. Her father was a petty schoolmaster at Norwich, " greatly averse to her learning Latin." She possessed "a vast memory with a good ear, so that her poetry is in general easy and smooth." Isaac DTsraeli remarked that " her poems appeared to be the usual echo of Pope's, when Pope reigned alone" ('Croker Papers,' ii. 42). The narrowness of her means, says Pegge, compelled her to depend much upon her friends, but, according to her ability, she was liberal and generous. With a cheerful disposition, she was " a good com- panion, a sincere, conscientious, good woman."

Croker, in a note to his edition of Boswell (sub anno 1753), writes, " She is supposed to have died about 1759." This statement pro- bably had its origin in the entry in The Gentleman's Magazine for that year that Mrs. Masters died at Brook, in Kent, on 27 Sep- tember ; but there is no authority for iden- tifying this lady with the poetess. Pegge states that she died in June, 1771 ('Anony- miana,' 1818 ed., cent. ix. 89). MR. ALBERT HARTSHORNE wrote (7 th S. x.) that he had in his possession several letters written by her to his great-grandmother Barbara Kerrich from Norwich betsveen Sept., 1749, and Jan., 1752. They have much local interest.

W. P. COURTNEY.

"DREARY." -In 'H.E.D.' the modern sense " sad, doleful," is said to be derived from an older sense, " gory, bloody." This is not very satisfactory. It is quite clear that a "gory" face is a very different object from a "dreary" face. This account of the sense-development of the modern word "dreary" is based on the fact that in O.E. there is a dreorig mean- ing "gory," and a dreorig meaning "sad, doleful." In sense - development these two words are only remotely connected with one

another. They are from the same verbal root, namely, dreus, "to fall, drop, 1 ' but O.E. dreorig, "gory" (from dreor, "gore"), is de- rived from a specialized sense of the root, namely, to drip, whereas O.E. dreorig, "sad " (E. dreary), comes from the older sense, to fall, and was used properly of one whose spirit sinks, or who is crest-fallen. In the same way it may be shown that G. traurig-^ "sad," is only remotely connected with O.H.G. tror, "gore/' being ultimately referred to the- same verbal root. And it may be noted that the old German word tror does not only mean "gore," but "anything that drips or falls- in drops." In the ' Rolandslied ' the word is used of the divine moisture which fell as a refreshing dew, cooling and restoring the hob and weary Carlings.

On the connexion between the old German words tror and trurag (mod. G. traurig) see, Schade's 'Dictionary.' A. L. MAYHEW.

MACAULAY'S ESSAY ON CLIVE. Macaulay in his essay on Lord Clive has inadvertently made a topographical error with regard to the battle of Plassey. He says :

" Clive advanced to Kossimbazar, and the Nabob with a mighty force lay a few miles off at Plassey. It was no light thing to engage a force twenty times as numerous as his own. Before him lay a river, over which, if things went ill, not one of his little band could ever return."

As Kossimbazar and Plassey are both on the left bank of the Hugli, there could be no river to cross. Kutwah, on the right bank of the Hugli, opposite Plassey, is the town Macaulay should have named, not Kossim- bazar.

Thornton, in his l History of British India,* writes :

" The British force on the 17th June took pos- session of the town of Kutwah ; Suraj-oo-Dowlah had assembled his force at Plassey : the Hugli flowed between the two armies, and to cross was to provoke an engagement."

Clive in his evidence before the Select Com- mittee of the Court of Directors said :

"After twenty-four hours' consideration, he took upon himself to break through the opinion of the Council, and ordered the army to cross the river."

On 23 June the battle of Plassey was fought and won. JAMES WATSON.

Folkestone.

GHOST- WORDS. (See 9 th S. ii. 341, 406, 485; Hi. 2, 205, 304.) In 1 st S. x. 337, among extracts from parish registers, chiefly of Braintree, occurs this item, dated 1574 r "Received for six almanvyvets 22s.," and the interpretation is subjoined, " Qy. German, music-books 1 "