Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 8.djvu/465

 9* s. vm. DEC. 7, 1901.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

457

LONDON, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1901.

CONTENTS. No. 206.

NOTES : A Seventeenth -century Plagiary, 457 ' John Adroyns in the Devil's Apparel,' 459 Seekers after Truth

Manx Gaelic Warburton-=Werburh's Town Boling- broke and the Classics, 460 Guinea Ball's Pond Road, North London Sheepshanks Epigram. 461 Youthful M P.s "Outrider " " Machine "=Public Coach" All Pours," a Kentish Game Adjectival Change, 462.

QUERIES : Two Old Quatrains John Voyez, 462 Author of Saying Strawberry Leaves Atwell and Main Families Chaplains" Eve stood at the Garden gate " Epitaph at Stratford Survival of Paganism, 463 Acland of Chittle- hampton Entries in Parish Register Earliest European Mention of Vedas " Kathmath,"a Precious Stone Anne Bilson Surnames from French Towns ' Les Lauriers de Nassau,' 464 Raddon Family Barlichway Hundred H. S. Conway, 1721-95, 465.

REPLIES :-St. Clement Danes Clock and Watch Figures, 465 Flower Game Song Wanted Sargent Family, 4H6 "Mouchard," Police Spy Ancient British Cities Alma- nac Medals "Custice" Marian Hymn, 467 Acervation Surrender of Land by a Straw Shifting Pronunciation

Blackmore of Bishop's Nympton, 468 Cromwellian Forfeitures "Your friends will bury you" Arms on a Mug An Inedited Seventeenth-century Poem Motto for Door of a House A Hoy, 469 Rowe of Cornwall "Cicero on Augurs" Menilek Burnt Sacrifice : Mound Burial, 470 ' Shimmozzel "Chain Mail Reintroduced "Hep! Hep!" Rimes to Thackeray Dryden's Brother in America, 471 Portland Vase" Providing "=Provided Termination "-itis" Peachi or Pechey Old Songs- Shakespeare the "Knavish "and Rabelais, 472 Adulation Extraordinary The ' Marseillaise' Barraa " Expen- ditor "Authors Wanted, 473.

NOTES ON BOOKS: The 'New English Dictionary,' Vol. V. Smith's 'Mary Rich, Countess of Warwick' Reviews and Magazines.

A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY PLAGIARY. I HAVE an old copy, dated 1614, of Cam- den's ' Remaines,' which is a prime favourite, because it contains much information about various matters, together with some interest- ing particulars regarding the times of Queen Elizabeth and James I. With the exception of one paper, it was all composed by the early historian of our country, the master and friend of Ben Jonson. The title of this article is as follows : " The Excellencie of the English Tongue by R. C. of Anthony Esquire to W. C." That is to say, it was a contribution on the subject written at the request of William Camclen by his friend Richard Carew, and inserted by the former, as a supplement to his own paper entitled according to Mr. Arber,* it does not appear in
 * Languages,' in this edition of his book, for,

English Poesie,' p. 9, where Carew's name is wrongly given as William. On p. 15 he tells us that the paper contains " ten pages." It contains only eight and a half. Mr. Arber there also quotes a sentence from Carew in which there are three variations from the page open before me. I mention these facts in no captious spirit, because I know how difficult was his task, and I am grateful to him for his labours.
 * See his reprint of Puttenham's ' The Arte of

the first, which was published in 1605. This short essay, though not a little indebted, I think, to what the author may have read in Sir Philip Sidney and Puttenham, neverthe- less contains two passages of especial interest, which are altogether his own. With these I am chiefly concerned. But I must first refer to the plagiarist who, as if dreading the fate that would one day overtake him in 'N. & Q.,' wisely wrote, as it has been foolishly said, "under the veil of anonymity." In the fifth volume of the ' Harleian Miscellany,' p. 428, there is a reprint entitled " Vindex Anglicus ; or, the Perfections of the English Language, Defended and Asserted. Printed Anno Dom. MDCXLIV. Quarto, containing six pages." It fills five and a half in the above splendid collection, and is of about the same length as Carew's, on which it is mainly based, though there is a slight attempt at disguising the language. The fraction that remains consists of pilferings from Camden's own paper, a quotation from an author whose name is not given, and a collection of neolo- gisms of a most extraordinary character, which the reader is earnestly recommended to avoid.

In Carew's essay there is no passage better known than the following, though it has been more than once attributed wrongly to his friend :

" I come now to the last and sweetest point of the sweetnesse of our tongue, which shall appeare the more plainely, if like two Turkeyses or the London Drapers wee match it with our neighbours. The Italian is pleasant but without sinewes as a still flowing water. The French, delicate, but even nice as a woman, scarce daring to open her lippes for feare of marring her countenance. The Spanish maiesticall, but fulsome, running too much on the 0. and terrible like the divell in a play. The Dutch manlike but withall verie harsh, as one readie at e verie word to picke a quarrell. Now we in borrow- ing from them, give the strength of consonants to the Italian, the full sound of wordes to the French, the varietie of terminations to the Spanish, and the mollifying of more vowels to the Dutch, and so (like Bees) gather the honey of their good properties and leave the dregges to themselves. And thus when substantialnesse combineth with delightful- nesse, fulnesse with finenesse, seemelinesse with portlinesse, and currantnesse with stayednesse, how can the language which consisteth of all these sound other then most full of sweetnes?" ' Remaines,' p. 43.

In these extracts the original spelling is preserved, but I have not given the old v or a.

Vindex transmutes the pure gold of these vigorous and striking sentences into such dross as this :

"The sweetness of our language I doubt not to compare with any vulgar whatsoever ; let us put it to the trial and compare it with others. The Italian I confess is an excellent, princely, and