Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 1.djvu/16

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NOTES AND QUERIES. en s. i. JAN. i, 1910,

for me. Almost every one of them has visited me since I have been sick, and given me a gentle hint that they would like to have a small trinket of some kind by which to remember their beloved relative. On account of their former treatment and their quiet hints, I now take this method of satisfying their desire.'

'' He then makes the following bequests, each formally set out in a separate section : To my beloved brother Napoleon Bonaparte Wagner my left hand and arm ' ; to George Washington Wagner, another brother, his right hand and arm ; to his brother Patrick Henry Wagner his right leg and foot ; to his brother Charles Gardner Wagner his left leg and foot ; to his nephew C. H. Hatfield his nose ; to his niece Hettie Hat- field his left ear, and to his niece Clara Hatfield his right ear ; to his cousin Henry Edmonds his teeth ; to his cousin John Edmonds his gums. The will then continues :

" ' It grieves me to have to part with myself in this manner, but then, what is a gift without a sacrifice ? I am dying with consumption, and the end will soon be here. I will at once remove myself to Nashville, where I will die in the hospital.'

" For the purpose of dissecting his body Dr. Everett leaves 1 ,000 dollars. The residue of the estate goes to public charities. He was worth 12,000 dollars, and the will is dated March 1, 1888. A codicil dated March 3 gives 'to my beloved sister-in-law Mrs. C. G. Wagner mv liver.'"

SCANNELL O'NEILL. South Omaha, Nebraska.

WE must request correspondents desiring in- formation on family matters of only private interest to affix their names and addresses to their queries, in order that answers may be sent to them direct.

CHINA AND JAPAN : THEIR DIPLOMATIC INTERCOURSE. In what language or lan- guages are treaties couched and diplomatic correspondence conducted between China and Japan ?

Or does it happen that, owing to the primarily ideographic character of the alpha- bet, the same text may be read indifferently in Chinese and in Japanese, in the same way as with us 4+ 5-2 = 7 may be understood and read aloud in any of our European languages ? H. GAIDOZ.

22, Rue Servandoni, Paris (VI e ).

' DIALOGUES OF THE DEAD ? IN ' ONCE A WEEK.' Six contributions under this title appeared in Once a Week during October, November, and December, 1868 : I. Be- tween Lords Palmerston and Brougham ;

II. D'Orsay, Jerrold, and a Stranger ;

III. Shakespeare, Thackeray, and a Critic ;

IV. Johnson, Macaulay, Boswell, Goldsmith,

Goethe, Thackeray, Richardson, Fielding, Sterne, Addison, Voltaire, Bacon ; V. Artists, Ancient and Modern ; VI. Amongst the Musicians. I am anxious to learn whether the authorship is known and whether they have been reprinted. I should also like to know whether the six dialogues complete the series. I have no- volume of Once a Week later than 1868 r and cannot find one here.

MAURICE BUXTON FORMAN. G.P.O., Cape Town.

SWIFT AND ' THE POSTMAN.' In con- nexion with a new edition of the correspond- ence of Jonathan Swift I "am anxious to obtain a copy of an advertisement reflecting upon Swift as editor of Sir William Temple's- works which was inserted in 1709 in The Postman by Temple's sister Lady Giffard, and I should be grateful for a reference to any library where numbers of that news- paper are preserved.

F. ELRINGTON BALL,

SWIFT AT HAVISHAM. A letter from Swift to Ambrose Philips, which appears in Nichols's ' Illustrations of the Literary History of the Eighteenth Century,' was- written, according to the printed version,, on 20 Oct., 1708, from a place called Havis- ham, where Swift was staying as the guest of a Mr. Collier, who had been one of Philips's- schoolfellows at Shrewsbury. Subsequent letters from Swift indicate that Havisham was in Kent.

I am unable to find the place-name Havisham in Kent or elsewhere. It seems possible that the transcriber was at fault, and that it is a misreading of some similar name, such as Adisham, Faversham, Har- rietsham, or Lewisham. For any help to- wards identifying Havisham or Swift's host I should be greatly obliged.

F. ELRINGTON BALL. 6, Wilton Place, Dublin.

SWIFT ON EAGLE AND WASP. Will any of your readers be so kind as to tell me where the " tale " or fable mentioned in the following lines by Swift in a poem on The Intelligencer is to be found ?

The eagle in the tale, ye know, Teazed by a buzzing wasp below, Took wing to Jove, and hoped to rest Securely in the Thunderer's breast : In vain ; even there, to spoil his nod, The spiteful insect stung the god.

W. E. BROWNING.