Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 7.djvu/109

 9 s. vn. FEB. 9, ism.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

101

LONDON, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1901.

CONTENTS. -No. 163.

NOTES : Spenser, ' Locrine,' and 'Selimus,' 101 Horace Walpole and his Editors, 103-Superstitious Cures, 104 "J'ai v6cu" Poison in Beer Remarkable "Century" Incident Syriac Interrogative " Tapping " and "Tip- ping " Formation of a Place-name, 105 ' Ambrose Gwinett* " Bayard," Name for a Horse " The power of the dog," 106 Dog and Gamekeeper, 107.

QUERIES : Col. H. H. Mitchell Old Legend, 107 " Ochidore " " Inoculation " Portrait of Lord Mayor Thorold Gladstone Statue Royal Standard Carlyle on Fools Suwarroff and Massena ' Much Ado about Nothing,' 108 'Lasca' Mrs. M. A. Clarke E. C. Col- man Butcher Currency before Coinage Shakespeare "Time was made for slaves " Marylebone Cemetery, 109 Henry VII. " Clubbing the battalion " Authors Wanted, 110.

REPLIES : Leghorn, 110 Poem by Dr. Hatch " Insur- rection "Margaret of Bourbon Markings on Horses, 111 Acacia in Freemasonry Voyage to Canada in 1776 - "Churmagdes "Area of Churchyards, 112 Lines on the Skin Ipplepen, Devon, 113 " Kitty-witch " " Hooli- gan" Early Routes between Paris and London Salute at Fontenoy, 114 Etymology and Whist Monolith in Hyde Park Simon Fraser Lincoln's Inn Fields "Viva " Usk Castle, 115 Whifflers and Whiffling Columbaria "Owl in ivy bush" "Twopenny Tube," 116 D'Au vergne Family Van der Meulen Rhododendrons and Oleanders - Heraldic Age of Matriculation Dutton Family, 117 William Morris as Business Man Movable Stocks, 118.

NOTES ON BOOKS : Dauze's ' Index Bibliographique ' Payne's ' Elizabethan Voyages to America 'Reviews and Magazines. Notices to Correspondents.

EDMUND SPENSER, ' LOCRINE,' AND

" SELIMUS.' (Continued from p. 63.)

I POINTED out that the author of ' Locrine/ whom I suspect to be Robert Greene, boldly copied from Spenser's minor poems. The further and joint relation of ' The Ruines of Rome ' with that play and with ' Selimus ' now calls for attention. I will so arrange the various quotations as to show their mutual dependence on each other, and will cite passages from Marlowe's ' Tamburlaine ' to illustrate the contrast between the methods of appropriation and of assimilation in the two disputed plays. It will be seen that Spenser and * Selimus ' account for every line of the quotation I shall bring from 'Locrine, 3 and that * Tamburlaine ' and ' Selimus ' agree to use the word "darted," which 'Locrine' alters to " shot."

Sel. If Selimus were once your emperor I 'd dart abroad the thunderbolts of war, And mow their heartless squadrons to the ground.

Were they as mighty and as fell of force As those old earth-bred brethren, which once Heap'd hill on hill to scale the starry sky, When Briareus, arm'd with a hundreth hands.

Flung forth a hundreth mountains at great Jove ; And when the monstrous giant Monichus Hurled mount Olympus at great Mars his targe, And darted cedars at Minerva's shield.

' Selimus,' 11. 418-20, and 2431-38.

Humber. How bravely this young Briton, Alba-

nact,

Darteth abroad the thunderbolts of war, Beating down millions with his furious mood, And in his glory triumphs over all, Moving the massy squadrons off the ground I Heaps hills on hills, to scale the starry sky : As when Briareus, arm'd with an hundreth hands, Flung forth an hundreth mountains at great Jove : As when the monstrous giant Mouychus Hurl'd mount Olympus at great Mars his targe, And shot huge cedars at Minerva's shield. How doth he overlook with haughty front My fleeting hosts, and lifts his lofty face Against us all that now do fear his force ! Like as we see the wrathful sea from far, In a great mountain heap'd, with hideous noise, With thousand billows beat against the ships, And toss them in the waves like tennis balls.

' Locrine,' II. v. Thus in Spenser : Whilom did those earthborn brethren blinde

To dart abroad the thunderbolts of warre,

And, beating downe these walls with furious mood

Heapt hils on hils to scale the starry skie, And fight against the gods of heavenly berth, Whiles Jove at them his thunderbolts let flie; All suddenly with lightning overthrowne, The furious squadrons downe to ground did fall,

And th' Heavens in glorie triumpht over all : So did that haughtie front, which heaped was On these Seven Romane Hils, it selfe upreare Over the world, and lift her loftie face Against the heaven that gan her force to feare.

Like as ye see the wrathfull sea from farre In a great mountaine heapt with hideous noyse, Eftspones a thousand billowes shouldred narre, Against a rocke to breake with dreadfull poyse,

Tossing huge tempests through the troubled skie. ' The Ruines of Rome,' stanzas x., xi., xii., and xvi.

" Shot " is a mean word to put in the place of "darted," and the "tennis balls" of anomaly. They certainly do not add grace to the image of Spenser. Now the phrasing of ' Selimus,' which is altered in ' Locrine,' is the phrasing of ' Tamburlaine,' which, of course, borrowed from Spenser :
 * Locrine' strike me as being somewhat of an

Cosroe. What means this devilish shepherd, to

aspire

With such a giantly presumption, To cast up hills against the face of heaven, And dare the force of angry Jupiter ?

' 1 Tamburlaine,' II. vi. 1-4, Dyce.

Tamb. As Juno, when the giants were suppress'd, That darted mountains at her brother Jove.

'1 Tamburlaine,' V. i. 512-13.