Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 6.djvu/434

 360 NOTES AND QUERIES. [9* s. vi. NOV. 3, im IN Melunine for July-August M. Tuchmanii con- tinues his account of the belief in fascination, and deals more especially with jurisprudence in con- nexion with the evil eye and witchcraft. Among the Romans, he says, from the law of the Twelve Tables till the time of Constantino, the sorcerer was only prosecuted in regard to his actions, but later he was pursued by the law in virtue of his pact with Satan. And further, as St. Thomas Aquinas hod stated that the pact might be merely implicit, no limit was put to the interpretation of the judges. Miraculous healers, even, were burnt or hung, as, for example, the Franciscan De Beau- mont in 1596. Madmen who believed themselves to be God, Christ, or archangels suffered as early as the fifth century. People with a physical infirmity which caused a protuberance of the abdomen, such as dropsy, also met the severity of the law as demoniacs. And on one occasion a tribunal of inquisition victimized a performing horse, which was judged to be too clover nqt to be an incarnation of the devil. Following on M. Tuch- mann's exposition of the folly and credulity of the immediate ancestors of modern Europeans come two religious poems from the Pyrenees, the first of which gives a gruesome description of hell. All the torments of this world, it declares, are "only flowers" compared with the agonies of the damned. In quaint contrast with this grimness of thought is the animal-story printed on a later page. This conte belongs to the simple wonder world which mankind has managed to preserve in the imagination despite the fulmmations of gloomy theologians. THE later numbers of the Intermeiliaire deal with such diverse subjects as the legends which connect giants with the pageants of popular festivals, fal- conry, the birthplace of Charlemagne, and divining rods. They also have information to give with regard to straw hats for horses, the headdresses of women in the fifteenth century, and heart burial, while the cradle and baby-carriage once used by the King of Rome come under notice too. THK Publisher*' Weekly supplies information to those who are interested in the lighter literature being issued in the United States. WITH deep regret we record the death of the distinguished philologist Prof. Max Miiller, who died at Oxford on Sunday last. He was born at Dessau on the 6th of December, 1823. He lost his father who was librarian to the Grand Duke of Anhalt- Dessau, when he was only four years old. His firsl contribution to Eastern literature was a translation of the Sanskrit fables ' The Hitopadesa,' when he was only in his twenty-first year. In 1845 he wenl to Pans to study bauskrit under Biirnouf, auc then came to England to continue his studies al the East India House. In 1848 he settled at Oxford where he remained during his life. Max Miiller was Oriental librarian of the Bodleian 1865-7 was re-elected in 1881, and in 1877 became i Delegate of the Oxford Press. He was the g -st ant only layman who has lectured in W Abbey. This he did at the invitatioi Stanley in December, 1873. The subject 1 'The Religions of the World'; am' delivered in the Westminster Chapt first of the Hibbert Lectures, on thai Growth of Religion as illustrated by L- f^Jigioni of India.' Up to the time of his ae&titf was a .'irk, with the assistance of his son, upon his utobiography, and it is gratifying to know that he tas left a large quantity of interesting material. t should be noted that it is to the Chevalier Sunsen that we owe the title of 'Chips from a ierman Workshop.' AN occasional contributor to 'N. & Q.,' Mr. Villiam Sancroft Randall, of Charlton, died a ortnightago. He was an enthusiastic archwologist, ind knew jirobably as much of the ancient history jf Orford, in Suffolk, as any living person, if not noro. He woa also interested in genealogy and leraldry. AMONG the new books about to be issued from .he Oxford University Press are ' The Oxford Book )f English Verse, 1250-1900," poems chosen and edited >y Mr. A. T. Quiller-Cpuch, in two sizes, one edition >eing on Oxford India paper; and 'An English Miscellany,' presented to Dr. Furnivall in honour of his seventy-fifth birthday, and contributed to by some fifty authorities in this country and abroad on ihilology and early English literature. THE second part of the ' List of Private Libraries,' compiled by Mr. G. Hedeler, of Leipzig, will contain nore than 600 important private collections of the United Kingdom, including a supplement to part i. U.S. and Canada). Possessors of libraries with whom Mr. Hedeler has been unable to communicate are requested to furnish him with a few details as to the extent of their treasures and the special lino to which they devote themselves. They will, of course, not incur any expense or obligation. It is obviously to the interest of bibliographical science that a work of this kind should oe as nearly complete as possible. 10 We must call special attention to the following notices:— 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 sejmrate 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." J. B. McGovERN (" Whip-dog Day "). — The question is fully discussed 8th S. ii. 3S8, 438, 512; W. K. H.— See Wordsworth's ode ' Intimations of Immortality.' ffOTICE. 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 w'hich, for any reason, we do not print; and to this rule we can make no exception.