Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 8.djvu/368

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [io s. VIIL OCT. 19, 1907.

term "the delightful comedy" of 'The Merry Devil of Edmonton ' :

Frank Jemingham. The way lies right: hark, the clock strikes at Enfield ; what s the hour? Young Clare. Ten, the bell says. But to return to sunrise. Leigh Hunt tells us that Lamb sent his all-too-credulous friend, "that good-natured heathen" George Dyer, with some other folk, to Prim- rose Hill at daybreak, to watch the Persian ambassador worshipping the sun. Lamb's account of the affair, in a letter to Manning, 2 Jan., 1810, is as follows :

" The Persian ambassador is the principal thing talked of now. I sent some people to see hmi worship the sun on Primrose Hill at half-past six in the morning, 28th November; but he did not come, which makes me think the old fire-worship- pers are a sect almost extinct in Persia. Now we well know that, if any where, it is in his letters to Manning that Lamb's fun tempts him to play the part of the " matter-of-lie man," leaving the " matter-of-fact " to be dealt with elsewhere by more prosaic natures. This Mr. Lucas recognizes when he writes : " No wonder that a man with Lamb's native gift of fun should turn with relief to Manning's twink- ling maturity and genial sympathy. Manning prompted Lamb to more admirable absurdity than any one The letters to Manning of 19th February, 1803, and 2nd January, 1810 [the one just Quoted from], are among the best pieces of good tooling in the language."

It is, I think, probable that Lamb's story of the party at Primrose Hill is one of his pleasant fictions based upon some story current among the characters involved. Let us go back a little in our chronology. In 1792, after varied experiences, George Dyer settled in London in those Clifford's Inn chambers in which he continued to live for many years. On 22 Sept., 1793, the Welsh bard Edward Williams (lolo Morganwg) took part in a morning meeting of Ancient British Bards on Primrose Hill, reciting on the occasion his 'Ode on converting a Sword into a Pruning-Hook.' Among the many interested spectators we may, I think, safely place George Dyer, whose friendship for the Welsh bard was as sincere as that of Southey ; and to this meeting, probably often referred to by Dyer, we may owe Lamb's ingenious fooling of Manning. In the enumeration oi his friends in the Preface to his ' Poetics ' Dyer places " my old friend Mr. Edward Williams, the Welsh bard, 5 ' first on the list ; and in an unpublished (and, of course, un- dated) letter now before me, addressed to Southey, Dyer informs his correspondent that " while writing this letter, I am receiving a most

affectionate letter from Edward Williams, dated Neath, informing me he shall be in town in July."

Dyer's introduction to Williams was due, no doubt, to the good offices of their common friends the Morgans of Stamford Hill, who were Glamorganshire folk, one of whom, William Morgan, was sometime actuary of interesting couple of dreamers these two must have been ! Of Dyer's self-absorption many stories are well known : Williams seems to have been equally absent-minded. When in the country, he was accustomed to ride. One day whilst walking, deep in thought, he came to a tollgate at which he stopped and shouted to the keeper : " Here, what 's to pay ? " " For what ? " inquired bhe man. " For my horse, of course," said Williams. " There 's no horse here, sir.' r
 * he Equitable Assurance Office. What an

Bless me ! " exclaimed the bard, suddenly awaking to the situation, " I thought I was on horseback."

I should like to know that Lamb met Edward Williams, who lived till December, 1826 ; but of this I can find no trace.

William Blake, who would have made an admirable third with Dyer and Williams, also saw the sun from Primrose Hill ; but he saw a little more than either of the others. " I have conversed with the spiritual Sun," he proclaimed.

" I saw him on Primrose Hill. He said, ' Do you take me for the Greek Apollo?' 'No,' I said; ' that ' (pointing to the sky) ' is the Greek Apollo. He is Satan.' "

Of the books by, and belonging to, Dyer which passed into the possession of the Morgans, and are now in my library, I may possibly tell in some future number of '"N. & Q.' J. ROGERS REES.

SHAKESPEARIANA.

' MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR,' II. i. 197 r " AN-HEIRES." In this passage (1. 228 in the Globe), where the Cambridge editors- have introduced into the text " An-heires," the reading of F lf Q :1, and F 2 doubtless because they were not satisfied with any one of the many ingenious conjectures- which have been suggested instead of it the happy original Shakespearian expression has yet to be discovered. But of this w& may be certain that, whatever the word or words were of which " An-heires " is the outcome, they were not such as a compositor or copyist would easily recognize. Our only chance of solving the difficulty is by