Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 6.djvu/266

 220 NOTES AND QUERIES. p* s. vi. SBPT. is. 1900. grosanees when given in French. Veritable and exact equivalents of French words that may be passed over are offensive in English. In spite of his genius. Swift is at times decidedly nasty. Motteux, however, rolls his tongue over an un- savoury word when Rabelais simply employs it because it meets his requirements or expresses his thought. This is true rather of obscenity than of ribaldry, if we may postulate a difference we shall not attempt to explain. When, however, he has to deal with the adventures of the little devil of the " isle des Papefigues," and notably with " la vieille de Papefiguiere — better known, perhaps, through the conte of La Fontaine than through Rabelais— he is almost discreet. Motteux is seen at his very best in his rendering of the behaviour of Panurge during the tempest, which is a marvel of transla- tion. Next to that, and scarcely, if at all, less hue, is the translation of the prologue of Rabelais to the fourth book, in which the virtue of modera- tion in request and prayer is enforced by the ad ven- tures of the woodcutter of Gravat who had lost his hatchet. In this prologue—which before now has been advanced as the best instance of Rabelais's artistic method—nothing whatever would be lost if for a name a little coarser than that of Sir Toby Belch a perfectly decent name were substituted. We no more seek a bowdlerized Rabelais than a bowdlerized Shakespeare. It must be remembered, however, that though Rabelais, fully informed with the joy of living, was no way squeamish, and did not object boldly " to nominate a spade a spade," he used dirty language as a protec- tion, with the sure aud absolute knowledge that when he ceased by so doing to make King Francis laugh he would be condemned by the Parliament, and might probably be burnt by order of the Sorbonne. An admirable translation by Mr. W. F. Smith, well known to scholars, illus- trates this, and in dealing with this prologue, the second written by Rabelais, uses a phrase similar to that we have employed in place of a name that neither in French nor English can now be written. When he deals, however, with the indignation of Jupiter at being interrupted by unreasonable clamours, he is less vigorous than Motteux, as is, indeed, Rabelais himself. Mr. Whibley's account of Motteux and of his unkind fate adds value to the work, as does, indeed, his eminently sound and judicious criticism. Fort St. George, Madras. By Mrs. Frank Penny. (Sonnenschein & Co.) MRS. PENNY'S history of the establishment of a British colony in Madras is drawn largely from the records of Fort St. George, which are preserved at Madras, and the register of St. Mary's. From these sources, and from existing books—such as Talboys Wheeler's 'Madras in the Olden Time' and other works, and Orme's ' History of Hindu- stan'—she has obtained materials for a stirring and trustworthy record, which justifies its second title, ' A Short History of our First Posses- sions in India,' and is dedicated by permission to Sir Arthur E. Havelock, the Governor of Madras. It is a curious account of jealousy and mistrust that is written. Very strong was the temptation in early days to shake unduly the pagoda tree, and most men in positions of authority and influence seem to have kept a jealous watch upon one another. The Company itself was ready to listen to charges of the sort, and accusations of maladministration not seldom led to the recall of those in authority. In a sense, accordingly, the work is rather sadden- ing reading, though no one can without pride study the records of heroism and adventure of which the book is full. Particularly romantic is the account of the adventures of Job Charnock, the founder of " the City of Palaces," and of the mother of his children, whom he saved by force from the rite of suttee and sheltered in his own house. Charnock was said, at her request, to have embraced Hinduism, and to have commemorated the anniversary of her death by sacrificing a cock on her tomb. Doubt upon the truth of this startling allegation is cast by the fact that the record of the baptism of his daughters, and the names of their godfathers and godmothers, are given in the register of St. Mary's We hear, too, of " Pirate" Pitt, whom the Directors describe as " a desperate fellow, and one that, we fear, will not stick at doing anjr mischief that'lies in Ins power." This is the Thomas Pitt who became, in 1698, Governor of Fort St. George. Thomas Pitt, who was even better known as " Diamond " Pitt, was the grandfather of the great Earl of Chatham. He was, indeed, a truculent fellow, but the same may be said of not a few founders of empire. Pope brought a grave charge against Pitt, whom he originally mentioned by name. He thought better of it, however, and in his Moral tssay' as it stands the name is omitted, though the rime to "wit" is preserved. Mrs. Penny, whom we cannot but believe to be the wife of our valued contributor Mr. Frank Penny, adds greatly to the attraction of her volume by her pen- and-ink sketches and other illustrations. She has written a work which will be valued by Anglo- Indians, and may be warmly commended to all interested in histories of adventure and the estab- lishment of English empire in the East. s to We must call special attention to the following rwtices :— ON all communications must be written the name and address of the sender, not necessarily for pub- lication, but as a guarantee of good faith. WE cannot undertake to answer queries privately. To secure insertion of communications corre- spondents must observe the following rules. Let each note, query, or reply be written on a separate slip of paper, with the signature of the writer and such address as he wishes to appear. When answer- ing queries, or making notes with regard to previous entries in the paper, contributors are requested to put in parentheses, immediately after the exact heading, the series, volume, and page or pages to which they refer. Correspondents who repeat queries are requested to head the second com- munication " Duplicate." C. D. INOLIS.—We have a stock of back numbers of 'N. & Q.' A'OT/CK. Editorial Communications should be addressed to " The Editor of ' Notes and Queries' "—Advertise- ments and Business Letters to "The Publisher"— at the Office, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, E.C. We beg leave to state that we decline to return communications which, for any reason, we do not print; and to this rule we can make DO exception.