Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 4.djvu/279

 9th S. IV. Oct. 28, "99.] 343 NOTES AND QUERIES. Wordsworth is speaking of the sea only (called " monstrura in ' iEneid,' v. 849); but perhaps it is not irrelevant to mention that there seems to have been an old notion or belief, in which even Kepler shared, that the whole globe was " an enormous living animal," with " alternations of sleeping and waking " (see Brewster's ' Martyrs of Science,' 1841, p. 261). 23. ' Excursion,' iv. (4 pp. from beginning in M.), M. 478 ; K. v. 158 :— And that unless above himself he can Erect himself, how poor a thing is Man ! This couplet is italicized in both M. and K., the italics, I suppose, being Wordsworth's own, and both refer to Daniel as the source. The lines are verbatim from Daniel (see the full passage at the head of Essay xiv., Intro- ductory, in Coleridge's ' Friend,' edition 1866, p. f>9). But the thought seems to have been really borrowed by Daniel; it is found com- plete in Montaigne, ' Essais,' II. xii., towards the end : " O la vile chose, dict-il, et abiecte, que l'homme, s'il ne s'esleve au dessus de 1 huraanite !" And it appears from a foot- note in Le Clerc's edition (1844) that Mon- taigne himself is quoting from Seneca. The main point of the thought even occurs in the ' Imitatio,' II. i. : " Amator Jesu et veritatis potest se elevare supra seipsum in spiritu." 24. ' Sonnet on the Sonnet,' M. 203 ; K. vii. 158:— With this key Shakspeare unlocked his heart. Prof. Knight says in a foot-note, "Shak- speare's sonnets are autobiographical." But in Browning's poem 'House' Wordsworth's dictum is alluded to in the first, and quoted in the last verse in a way that seems to ridicule the idea. 25. ' Descriptive Sketches,' M. 7 ; K. i. 33 ; lines 23, 24 :— Moves there a cloud o'er mid-day's flaming eye ? Upward he looks, " and calls it luxury." The marks of quotation, apparently Words- worth's own, appear both in M. and K., but the source is not given. I would suggest Addison's ' Cato,' I. iv.:— And if the following day he chance to find A new repast, or an untasted spring. Blesses his stars, and thinks it luxury. Syphax is describing the life of the Numidian hunter, as Wordsworth is portraying that of the holiday roamer. 26. ' Evening Voluntaries,' No. iii., M. 343 ; K. vii. 328 :— The sun is couched, the sea-fowl gone to rest. Cowper makes his " Solitary" say as night draws near:— But the sea-fowl is gone to her nest, 27. 'Sonnet on Twilight,' M. 207; K. vi. 65: Hail, Twilight, sovereign of one peaceful hour! Not dull art thou as undiscerning Night; But studious only to remove from sight Day's mutable distinctions. " Wie das Erhabene von D&mmerung und Naeht, wo sich die Gestalten vereinigen, gar leicht erzeugt wird, so wird es dagegen vom Tage verscheucht, dera/lcs sondert undlrennt."—Goethe, 'Autob.,' ii. 6. Sorgea la notte intanto, e delle cose Confondea i van aspetti un nolo aspetto. Tasso, ' G. L,' xvii. 56. But neither of these two passages is an exact parallel to Wordsworth's thought. 28. 'The Solitude of Binnorie,' M. 120; K. iii. 14.—This poem is strangely like what appears to be the English version of a German ballad, found in part i. chap. ii. of Heinrich Stilling's 'Autobiography,' trans- lated by S. Jackson, 1835. It has ten stanzas of five lines each. The details of the incident have only a general resemblance, and the refrain is quite different, while the maidens are only three in number! The rivulet is brought in at the close, as in Wordsworth. Can the original of this be the prose or verse Production by Frederica Brun, from which rof. Knight says that Wordsworth's poem, as to the story, is taken 1 29 Second ode to Lycoris, M. 375 ; K. vi. 139:— We too have known such happy hours together That, were power granted to replace them (fetched From out the pensive shadows where they lie) In the first warmth of their original sunshine, Loth should I be to use it. Cf. Cowper, ' On the Receipt of my Mother's Picture':— Could those few pleasant days again appear, Might one wish bring them, would I wish them here? I would not trust my heart—the dear delight Seems so to be desired, perhaps I might,— But no, &c. 30. 'Excursion,' ii., near beginning, M. 456: K. v. 66. The author says of himself ana his guide :— Each with the other pleased, we now pursued Our journey. Parnell says of the Hermit and the Youth :— Till each with other pleased, and loth to part, &c. C. Lawrence Foed, B.A, Bath. Folk-lore : Drowned Bodies Recovered. (See General Indexes, First, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Series*; 9th S. i. 465.^ The finding of sunken bodies by a floating loaf with quicksilver, and other similar mexliaire in thus shortening references and saving valuable space,
 * I think ' N. & Q.' might copy its child L'liiter-