Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 1.djvu/259

 n s. i. MAR. 26, i9io.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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that they burn not, since daily I see that thou art a mickle eater.' He was immediately obedient to the evil woman, since needs he must."

There is no more of this beautiful and obviously truthful story. The housewife was evidently an habitual grumbler, and somewhat out of temper ; yet all that she reproached him with was his great appetite !

Observe the simplicity of the remark : ' ; He was immediately obedient.' 1 Of course he was. How any Englishman can believe that Alfred, of all men, was faithless to his trust, is absolutely amazing. It is like accusing the Great Duke of cowardice, or Nelson of shirking a responsibility. Is there no hope that this libel may be at last withdrawn ? Let some of us honour the great king's submissive fidelity.

WALTER W. SKEAT.

CATALOGUES OF MSS. (11S. i. 204). I am the humble owner of some valuable MSS., and have always been rejoiced to have them examined by competent researchers, whether friends of mine own, or no. Yet I am certainly not going to have them entered in any catalogue pro usu publico. The reason is this. Your correspondent suggests that I ' ' could easily send a polite refusal." So I could ; so I have once or twice done. What has been the result ? The applicant, whom I judged, on his own showing, to be a mere curious incompetent, has written me down, in some paper to which he had access, as a churlish reserver of things of public interest, evidently con- sidering "the interest of intelligent persons '-' and " the property of the mob ' ? to be syno- nymous expressions.

Lest, after the above, I should be deemed to be a hardshell Conservative, let me say that I am a rather extreme advocate of popular rights. Among these, I do not reckon any right to publish, for pay, an account of papers in private custody.

V.H.I.L.I.C.LV.

MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTIONS (11 S. i. 205). MR. W. B. GERISH'S communication elating to the wonderful progress made in the work of transcribing Hertfordshire graveyard inscriptions should prove more than welcome to persons interested in families of that county. So far as my experience goes, down to very recent years the " outdoor n monumental inscrip- tions of any and every district have been virtually a sealed book to all but residents. Indeed, in the absence of transcripts, even residents rarely care to undergo the trouble searching for and deciphering originals.

Hence copies are an all -round boon, where such have been made, and I echo the appeal of. MR. GERISH for information as to what has been accomplished in other counties.

As regards Nottinghamshire, the clergy were recently circularized ; but the result was not very satisfactory, and the move- ment has made but slight progress here. I can answer best in regard to the capital, having undertaken and recently completed the work myself, so far as the area of the old borough of Nottingham is concerned.

Generally, these graveyard transcripts are of little more than local interest, except when they relate to persons coming from a distance. Where such evidence occurs, I think it should be made public. I hope to publish a book on the old Nottingham graveyards and their inscriptions some time during the present year.

A. STAPLETON.

39, Burford Road, Nottingham.

AUTHORS OF QUOTATIONS WANTED (11 S. i. 207). The line which M. GAIDOZ pro- duces is a slightly modified form of Lucan, ' De Bello Civili ' (often wrongly styled ' Pharsalia ' ), ii. 383, which is part of the character of the younger Cato, Nee sibi, sed toti genitum se credere mundo. One may compare Goldsmith's couplet in ' Retaliation l :

Who, born for the Universe, narrow'd his mind, And to party gave up what was meant for mankind.

M. GAIDOZ calls England " the country in which classical studies are most honoured at large." Englishmen must gratefully acknowledge that it is to France they are indebted for some of the most useful helps in tracing Latin citations to their source the verbal indexes in the Delphin editions and in N. E. Lemaire's " Bibliotheque Classique Latine." EDWARD BENSLY.

Aberystwyth.

[Several other correspondents thanked for replies.]

ST. ANNE'S, ALDERSGATE : ECCLESIAS- TICAL RECORDS AT SOMERSET HOUSE (11 S. i. 187). The procedure would be formally to petition the President of the Probate Division, asking him to have a Class List or Inventory prepared of such records and documents as are non-testamentary, showing what bundles, volumes, &c., exist, the precise nature of the documents in each (in general terms), and the period covered by each. If such an Inventory is to be found amongst the old Record Reports, a copy should