Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 7.djvu/590

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [io s. VIL JUNE 22, 1907.

the sentence unconversational, un-Shake- sperean, and indeed unnatural.

AGLAUS says that the Helios myths explain perfectly the epithet " pitiful- hearted." But on his own acceptance of Theobald there is no pitiful-hearted Helios or Titan in the case ; the butter claims the epithet. His remark fits only the common form. DR. KRUEGER says that " melted " is unobjectionable, because it refers to " the special case witnessed in the past." What special case ? When was there a special case of butter melting in the sun, and so well known that The Prince's com- panions would comprehend the allusion at once ? The preterite is not possible in such a connexion. Is it DR. KRUEGER'S sup- position that Prince Hal had seen that phenomenon only once, and wa)s referring to his memory of the startling event ? He was no adult biped if he had not seen it a hundred times.

But is Titan the sun ? Certainly, if so, the common form is hopelessly out of court, for Shakespeare could never have written, " Pitiful-hearted sun, that melted at the sweet tale of the sun ! " That is a negative argument for Theobald, I admit ; but that preterite will not go down, and still convinces me that the reference is to some classical story. That is why, despite its plausibility, I cannot accept this meaning for Titan, who certainly never melted at his own sweet tale. Whether my suggestion is right or not, the other three forms seem to me assuredly wrong. And I wish AGLAUS would tell me where he finds that Titan- Helios was noted for tender-heartedness : I confess inability to find it in anything Shakespeare was likely to have known, or indeed anywhere else.

FORREST MORGAN.

Hartford, Conn.

" Pitiful-hearted Titan, that melted at the sweet tale of the son," seems to me certainly the right reading. And, as con- firmation of this, I would call attention to the fact that Ovid in his ' Metamorphoses ' calls the sun-god Titan in that part of his work where he mentions how the sun-god melted at the sweet tale of his son :

Jungere equos Titan velocibus imperat Horis. Book ii. 1. 118.

AGLAUS refers to the wrong part of the story of Phaethon. The passage in dispute may be paraphrased thus : " Did you never see the sun shining upon, and melting, butter ? the sun, that melted at the tale of his son Phaethon (see book ii. 11. 30-45 of the

'Metamorphoses'). If you did, behold again what you once saw in Falstaff sweat- ing." " Pitiful-hearted Titan, that melted at the sweet tale of the son," is a parenthesis. The rest is : " Didst thou never see Titan kiss a dish of butter ? If thou didst, then behold that compound, the butter, in sweat- ing Falstaff." Theobald was wrong in making his alteration. E. YARD LEY.

BOTHA : THE NAME. Now that the Colonial Premiers have come and gone, it may be interesting to many readers to inquire what is the origin of the name Botha. I take it to be a variant of the not uncommon Dutch surname Bote or Botte, which is derived from the old Low German and Frisian personal name Botho. Another Dutch family name, Botenga or Bottenga, is derived from the same root, by means of the patronymic suffix -ing, and means " the son of Botho." Presumably the English surnames Bott and Botting are from the same source. JAS. PLATT, Jun.

FATHERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. (See 8 S. ii. 327 ; iii. 34 ; iv. 249, 418 ; vi. 74 ; 9 S. viii. 147 ; xii. 33.) Now that, for the first time in our Parliamentary history, the Prime Minister is Father of the House of Commons, the following extract from the ' Political Notes ' of The Times of 23 May will bring these various references up to date :

"As a consequence of the death of Mr. Finch the title of Father of the House of Commons now devolves upon the Prime Minister, who entered Parliament as member for the Stirling Burghs after the general election of 1868, and has sat uninter- ruptedly for the same constituency ever since. But for the fact that Mr. Talbot was out of Parliament for a brief interval in the spring of 1878, owing to his retirement from the representation of West Kent in order to stand for Oxford University in succession to the late Lord Cranbrook, elevated to the peerage, there would have been the unusual spectacle of a tie for this much-coveted dignity. Like Sir Henry Campbell -Bannerm an and Mr. Talbot, Lord George Hamilton, Sir Alexander Brown, Mr. Round, Sir Charles Dilke, and Mr. Chaplin also first appeared at Westminster in 1868 ; hut the three first-named did not seek re-election at the last dissolution, while the two latter have not sat continuously. Mr. Balfour joined the House of Commons in 1874, and Mr. Chamberlain in 1876. Sir Henry Campbell - Banner man is the seventh Father of the House of Commons since the passing of the last Reform Act, the other six being Christo- pher Rice Mansel Talbot, Charles Pelham Villiers, Sir John Robert Mowbray, William Wither Bram- ston Beach, Sir Michael Hicks Beach (now Lord St. Aldwyn), and George Henry Finch. It may be added that Mr. Finch was in attendance throughout the 'all-night' sitting of March 20-21, and was present at the luncheon given by Sir Alfred Jacoby