Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 8.djvu/107

 ^s.vra.Aua.3,i9oi.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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series of memoirs like that of Don Quixote, in which the abuse of learning in every department was to be ridiculed. "Polite letters," says Warburtou, "never lost more than in the defeat of this scheme." Dr. John- son held an opposite view. " The follies," he says, " which the writer ridicules are so little practised that they are not known ; nor can the satire be understood but by the learned." This latter verdict may be true to a certain extent, but the account of the 'Process at Law upon the Marriage of Scriblerus and the Pleadings of the Advocates' is as good a satire upon legal debates and decisions as it is possible to imagine. G. W. NIVEN.

23, Newton Street, Greenock.

(To be continued.]

' ANSON'S VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD.' A FEW days ago, being wishful to obtain a copy of Walter's famous account of Lord Anson's voyage round the world, I inquired for the work in a well-known bookseller's shop where old books are dealt in as well as new ones. Two copies, both in good con- dition, were produced. One of these was a copy of the eighth edition, printed at Dublin for G. & A. Ewing, and dated 1754. This copy I bought. The second copy, which was half the price of the first one, is called "a new edition," dated 1845, and was printed in London for the Society for Promoting Chris- tian Knowledge. I had only a few minutes to spare, so could not attempt any elaborate comparison of these two volumes ; still, being anxious to make sure as far as possible that both books were complete, I did place the title-pages alongside each other, and there- upon found that in the 1845 edition there have been added, following on "George Anson, Esq.," the words "afterwards Lord Anson"; following on "South Seas," before " compiled," the words " with a map, showing the Track of the Centurion round the world." Also after " compiled," instead of the words "From Papers and other Materials of the Right Honorable George Lord Anson, and published under his Direction," we read "from his Papers and Materials." In the older volume, after "expedition," the con- cluding words are, "The Eighth Edition. Illustrated with charts, views, &c. Dublin : Printed for G. and A. Ewing, at the Angel and Bible in Dame-Street, MDCCLIV."; whereas in the later issue, following on "expedi- tion," we read instead, "A New Edition. London : printed for the Society for Pro- moting Christian Knowledge ; sold at the Depository, Great Queen Street, Lincoln's

Inn Fields, and by all Booksellers, 1845." The dedication to John, Duke of Bedford, signed by Richard Walter, is omitted altogether from the 1845 edition. I next compared the opening sentence of the in- troduction in the older volume with the same sentence as reproduced in the more modern edition. That opening sentence has been garbled, and for no reason that is apparent to me. Thus the words which originally ran "an enterprize of a very singular nature j and the Public have never failed to be extremely inquisitive about the various accidents and turns of fortune, with which this uncommon attempt is generally attended : And," &c., appear in the new edition of 1845 as "an enterprize of so very singular a nature, that the public have never failed to be extremely inquisitive about the various accidents, with which this uncommon attempt is generally attended. And," &c. So also, on the last page of the narrative, "the blows of adverse fortune" has been altered into " accidents and adverse circumstances " ; "to its power" after "superior" has been omitted ; and after " successful," the last word in Mr. Walter's narrative, the words " through the blessing of Divine Providence " have been added.

I did not carry my examination into any other parts of the book, though it would perhaps be interesting to ascertain, if some one had the time to spare for the under- taking, the full sum of the alterations which were introduced into the book before it was reprinted by the Society answerable for the edition of 1845. I confess that I should much like to know the authority under which these changes were made ; and also whether tampering with the language in which the heroes of the past thought fit to clothe the accounts of their exploits, when transmitting them to posterity for an inheritance, is a practice morally justifiable. H. G. K.

' THE TRIBAL HIDAGE.' (Continued from 9 th S. vii. 444-)

IT is impossible to study a document like 'The Tribal Hidage' without forming some opinion as to its purpose and date, and the following suggestions are offered for criticism :

1. Its purpose. Probably military. The King of the Mercians wished to know how many men he could summon from his own dominions and from the subordinate king- doms in case of need. The hidages of the smaller tribes are multiples of 300, as if 300 hides corresponded to the smallest military unit. There is an obvious connexion between