Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 4.djvu/136

 224 NOTES AND QUERIES. [9-s.iv.sept.i6,'99. was a monkish couplet which in the seventeenth century was engraved on many church bells. ' The curious do say, remarks Aubrey in his ' Miscel- lanies,' ' that the ringing of bells exceedingly dis- turbs Spirits.' Googe's version of Naogeorgus supplies these lines on Bells :— If that the thunder chaunce to rore, and stormie tempest shake, A Wonder is it for to see the Wretches how they quake: Howe that no fayth at all they have, nor trust in anything, The Clarke doth all the Belles forthwith at once in Steeple ring; With wond'rous sownd and deeper farre than he was wont before, Till in the loftie heavens darke the thunder bray no more. For in these christened Belles they think doth lie such powre and might As able is the Tempest great, and storm to vanquish quight. I sawe myself at Nurnberg once, a Towne in Foring Coast, A Bell that with this title bolde hirself did proudly boast; By name I Mary called am, with Sound I put to Hight The Thunder-crackes and hurtfull Stormes, and every wicked Spright." A. J. Davy. Torquay. [See 1" S. vi. 508, 609 ; vii. 144, 343 ; xi. 235.] Alphabetic Apophthegms. — There have been, I believe, many jeux d'esprit constructed on the English alphabet, as well as the Greek, Latin, and other alphabets. Here is an im- perfect one based on the Russian alphabet, found among the short, witty remarks of Alexander Sergeievich Pushkin. His love of drollery leads him to make fun of the French alphabet in his characteristic way. I have translated and transliterated the apoph- thegms to the best of my ability, and a Slavonic scholar will readily recognize them. Pushkin writes:— "The letters forming the Slavonic alphabet do not represent anything sensible. Az, bnii, viedi, glago/, dobro,* Ac, are separate words, selected for their initial sounds. Gramotin was the first among us, it seems, who had the idea of forming apoph- thegms out of our alphabet. He writes: The original meaning of the letters was probably as follows: 'Az Buk (or Bug) viedaiou (i.e., ya Boga viedaiou); glagol dobro yest; zhiviot na zemlia, kto i kak liudi mislit; nash on pokoi rtsu ; slovo <A<Syoc) tverzhu't (and so on, says Gramotin ; pro- bably in the rest he could find no sense whatever). How strained all this is ! I am much better pleased good." t Translation, literally, and in order of words: "I God know; (the) verb good is; (he) lives on the earth, who as men thinks; our he quiet —: 'the) word I keep." with a tragedy, formed out of the French alphabet Here it is :— Eno et Ikael: Tragedie. Personnages : Le prince Eno. La princesse Ikael, amante du prince Eno. L'abbe Pecu, rival du prince Eno. Ixe "J Igeec J- gardes du prince Eno. Zede J Seine unique. Le prince Eno, la princesse Ikael, l'abbe Pecc, Gardes. Eno. Abbe, cedez! L'Abbe. Eh! Exo {mettant la main sur 8a hache d'armts). J'ai hache. Ikael (se jetant dans les bras d'Eno). Ikael aime Eno ! {Its s'embrassent avec Icndresse.) Eno (.se retournant vivement). Pecu est resW ! Ixe, Igrec, Zede ! Prenez monsieur l'abbe et jetez-le par la fenetre!" It is hard to see why Pushkin called his comical little piece a tragedy. Monsieur l'Abbd is, of course, the meddlesome person familiar in earlier French plays and novels. Our author knew French well, and handled the language as skilfully as his own in writing letters. Francis P. Marchant. Brixton Hill. Driving the Commons in 1574.—The fol- lowing extract is made from an account-book of William Dickenson, Bailiff of Sheffield, and servant to the Earl of Shrewsbury, the manu- script being in my possession :— " Byvelinge. 1574. " Rec. of Roberte Skargell for iiij shoytes and one swync taken when we dyd dryvo Ryvelinge Loxeley and Langcsctt elide the thirde of novem- bcr, xxrf. " Item rec' of Lawranco hobson for j swyne taken there, vjd. " Item rec' of Georg Litlewood for ij shoytes, viijd. " Item rec' of Richard Waterho,,«"ie for iij shoytes, ijd. " Item rec' of Ric' Marshall for one shoyte, iijr/. " Item rec' of Johne Fry the for ij swyne and iij shoytes, ijs. "Item receiued of Philipp Morton for one ould swine and a shoyite, viijef. the ould swine and iiijd. the shoite, and one pice of clothe I haue in goge [sic] lacking one quarter of two yeardes. Witnes Raphe Martin and Nicholas Sandersoun, xijrf. " Item rec' of Edmonde Coldwcll for j swyne and ij shoytes, xiiijrf. " Item of Harrie Lnwe ij slioyts, iiijd. "Item of Nicholas Twyge j swyne, vjd. " Item of Robert Greaves ij swyne and v shoytos, xviijrf. " Item of Nicholas Greaves j swyne and iiij slioyts, xd. " Item of Richard Shawe j swyne and ij shoytes, xvjd."
 * Translation: " I, scarecrows, know (thou), verb,