EDINBURGH BOOKSELLERS' ADVERTISEMENTS CATALOGUE Drawn by BRUCE J. HOME. 54 Collotype Plates (each about 11 by 8 inches) hung on cream cartridge and accompanied by Descriptive Note, with Initial Letters by Robert Home. In 1 vol. imperial 4to, half-morocco, gilt, gilt top, 258. net. SPECIAL PRICE, 158. cash. These beautiful drawings by Mr. Bruce J. Home have occupied nearly forty years in execution, and have been reproduced with great care. They are highly appreciated for their rare fidelity, solidity of effect, and fine qualities of light and shade. 40, CHAMBERS STREET, EDINBURGH. ESTABLISHED 1875. (Booksellers' Advertisements continued on Third Advertisement Page.) LONDON, SATURDAY, JANUARY 29, 1910. CONTENTS.-No. 5. NOTES:-'The Canadian Boat Song,' 81-'The Book of Oaths,' 82-Bibliography of Manners, 84-Royal Manners temp. William IV.-Manners in the Eighteenth CenturyOsbaldistone, 85-General Ireton's Death-"Function T. L. Peacock's Essay on Fashionable Literature Families Dying Out, 86. QUERIES:-"Tally"-Verdant Green-Warly Letters "Standing for Parliament "-Master Stephen and his Hawk-Sir Henry Audley-Battle of Mohacs-Columbine Flower-Fishwick of Islington, 87-Authors Wanted Nosegay in the Pulpit-Miss Abbott's Portrait-London Visitations-De Quincey and Dreams-"Le Whacok""Altes Haus"-Cowes, 88-Place de la ConcordeMohammed and the Mountain-"Old Lady of Threadneedle Street"-Lyon's Inn-Dr. T. Bray, 89. REPLIES:-Watson's 'History of Printing'-'Short Whist,' 90-King's Place-Three CCC Court-Authors WantedBanished Covenanters, 92-"Tally-ho"-Michael Maittaire "This world's a city," &c., 93-Dun Y-"When our Lord shall lie," &c.-Diss-Sir R. Geffery, 94-Medmenham Abbey, 95-Walsh Surname-Lady Worsley American Words: "Franklin," 96-St. Margaret's, Westminster-Selby Peculiar Court-"Whelps," 97-Brooke of Cobham-Rev. R. Snowe-Dr. J. Bradley, 98-"Culprit," 99. a different direction, can be adduced against them, literary similarities do not go far to establish an author's identity. Permit me to state briefly the conclusions already reached with regard to the authorship. I do not quote authorities or develope arguments, but content myself with simply cataloguing the facts which, I think, have been satisfactorily established in the course of discussion. in 1829. 'The Canadian Boat Song' first appeared Blackwood's Magazine in September, The September issue of the magazine - No. XLVI. was edited by John Gibson Lockhart. The MS. of The Canadian Boat Song' is still in existence, and is in Lockhart's handwriting. Wilson never claimed to be the author. Neither did Lockhart. The latter states that he received the verses "from a friend of mine now in Upper Canada." That friend was a contributor to Blackwood's Magazine. So far as can now be ascertained, the only contributor to Blackwood to whom Lock NOTES ON BOOKS:-'Burke's Peerage and Baronetage'- 'Writers' Year-Book.' Booksellers' Catalogues. Notices to Correspondents. Notes. 2 THE CANADIAN BOAT SONG.' THE CANADIAN BOAT SONG was discussed in the columns of N. & Q.' some seven or eight years ago. If I remember aright, no very definite conclusion as to the authorship was then arrived at. The subject has since been revived through the publication of Mr. G. M. Fraser's The Lone Shieling,' reviewed in N. & Q.' on 11 December last (10 S. xii. 478). Perhaps I may be permitted to add a few words to the discussion. The claim in favour of Wilson is by no means novel, but Mr. Fraser has developed it on lines never attempted before. That he has established his theory of the Wilson authorship I am not at all prepared to admit. His argument is based almost entirely on similarities in style and diction between The Canadian Boat Song' and Wilson's published poems. This, I venture to submit, is much too slender a foundation on which to build. Such similarities or imitations are no satisfactory proof of authorship. As corroborative evidence, confirming conclusions arrived at on other premises, they have, no doubt, their value. But when a considerable body of evidence, pointing in It would therefore appear, on the face of it, that Galt sent to Lockhart, for insertion in the magazine, the first rough draft of what is now known as 'The Canadian Boat Song.' But Galt's authorship has been strenuously denied, and here I break away from fairly settled fact into the domain of inference. 66 1. It is objected that Galt was incapable of achieving a supreme tour de force like The Canadian Boat Song.' Now this is unfair to Galt. 'The Canadian Boat Song' is no supreme tour de force. With the exception of one haunting verse "-to borrow Sir Henry Lucy's happy phrase in The Cornhill for last December-the greater part of it does not rise much above mediocrity. There are scores of minor poets, with not one tithe of Galt's ability, who could write as good verses as most of those found in the received version of the song. Galt published three, if not four volumes of verse, more than double that number of plays, and almost innumerable contributions in verse to magazines and newspapers. True, his poems Witness are now entirely forgotten. Only a few scraps here and there survive. Yet he could write tolerable verse. the lines given in his 'Autobiography,' written when he was old, paralyzed, and nearing the end of his days-the lines beginning, Helpless, forgotten, sad, and lame, On one lone seat the livelong day, 2. It is also objected that Galt never claimed The Canadian Boat Song' as his. That is true. One can only conjecture that he had forgotten having written it. This need not excite surprise when we remember his enormous literary productivity. Nearly eighty volumes are attributed to his pen, but no one seems able to state the exact number. Then we must remember that his recollection of his own productions was not at all trustworthy. He wrote an epic poem and published it; yet years afterwards, when drawing out a list of the books he had written, he omitted to mention the epic. Remarking jocularly on this omission, he is reported to have said that he should be remembered as one who had published an epic poem and forgot that he had done so. If Galt could forget this work, it is no great stretch of fancy to imagine that he may also have forgotten a bit of verse so comparatively trifling as The Canadian Boat Song.' Besides, there is a question as to whether he recognized, or was willing to recognize, his own handiwork after it had undergone the transmuting touch of the 22 transcriber and editor, Lockhart. 66 It is surely more consistent to suppose that a mind attuned to finer issues" than that of the first author had amended the draft of the original poem, leaving us a thing of beauty "where before there had been little else than tawdry rhetoric. That finer mind could have been no other than the "transcriber of the song, Lockhart. I venture therefore to submit that Galt was the original author of The Canadian Boat Song,' but that Lockhart, in all probability, revised and improved his verses. WALTER SCOTT. Stirling. [The reader should study Mr. Fraser's book before making up his mind on the point. We have seen too many literary coincidences to be easy believers in such arguments; but Mr. Fraser's evidence is unusually to the point.] THE BOOK OF OATHS.' SHORTLY after the beginning of the Commonwealth there was published forms thereof, both Antient and Modern. Books and Records, not heretofore extant." The first edition contained some 230 oaths of various kinds, from which much information is obtainable regarding the duties of curious and obsolete officials, and many side-lights are thrown on various historical incidents and occasions. I have roughly grouped the documents as follows : 1. Coronation Oaths. The "Antient Oath of the Kings of England, the oath of Edward II., the new oath corrected by Henry VIII. with his own hand ("the originall is in the hands of Sir Robert Cotton, Knight and Baronet, 1625"), and the oath of Charles I., are given. 2. Oaths of Allegiance.—Various forms of oaths of allegiance and of supremacy are included; also the oaths (temp. Henry VIII.) to secure the succession of the crown by Queen Anne and Queen Jane. Among the oaths of fealty are those of a Duke and Earl of Scotland; of the Prior of St. John of Jerusalem (temp. Edward IV.), with the homage of James of Scotland to Henry VI., of John Baliol, and of King John to the Pope in 1213. The words of allegiance of the Duke of York and of Buckingham, and other peers and ecclesiastics, to Henry VI. are given in several forms. From Philip, Duke of Burgoyne (and many other French "If I shall neglect thus to doe, I will be an Apostate, a forsaker of the Holy Commandments, of the Gospell of the Christians; I will say that the Gospel is false and untrue, I will crosse both Alter and Priest, I will slay swine upon the Fount, I will commit whoredom upon the Alter," &c. 3. Ministerial.-Among these oaths appear those of the Lord Privy Seal, the Keeper of the Great Seal, Privy Councillor, Lord President of the Welsh Council, Clerks of Parliament and of Signet, Chancellor, Secretary of State, and many similar dignitaries. 4. Legal. Specimens are given of the oaths of the Master of the Rolls, Judge of Requests, Judges, Justices, Serjeants, and Attorneys at Law. 5. Departmental.-Full sets of oaths for all the officers of (a) the Court of Wards and Liveries, (b) the Court of General Surveyors, (c) the Court of Augmentations, (d) the Court of First-Fruits and Tenths, and (e) the Exchequer. 66 6. Ecclesiastical.-Among these may be mentioned the homage by an Archbishop and Bishop; the oath of a Bishop renouncing a Pope's Bull, and that of a Bishop of the Church of Rome to Pope Boniface; the oath of a Doctor of Divinity in the University of "Basill"; and the oath administered (temp. Richard II.) to William Divet (or Devnet), Nicholas Taylor, Nicholas Poncher, and William Staynor of Nottingham, they renouncing their Lollardism, and swearing to be buxim to the Lawes of holie Church, Under Articles of 1595 and 1616 respectively, oaths were administered to the churchwardens and sidesmen of Salisbury and Bristol, and specimens are here set out, with a copy of the Vow and Covenant ordered by Parliament to be taken by every man (not dated). There are also the oath (in Latin) of a nun on taking up her monastic life, and that of John Copley, 'Collegiall" of the English Seminary abroad of the Roman Church, rejoicing that he had been drawn out of a country infected with heresy, and undertaking to return to England, there to gain souls. To ensure the performance of the matrimonial articles of the Prince of Wales and the Infanta of Spain in 1625, a special form of oath was prepared for the Archbishop of Canterbury and the King's Councillors. 7. Royal Household.-There are several forms of oath to be taken by the yeomen and servants of the King's Chamber, by the Council of Princess Marie (temp. Henry VIII.), and the Royal Treasurers and Surveyors. In lower ranks also oaths seem sometimes to have been administered to the staff: "The honourable George, Lord Nevell, Baron of Abergaveny Henry VIII.), made his servants on their (temp. first coming into his household swear to be obedient, and not to consume nor waste his goods. 22 8. London. The oaths of many obsolete City and Wardmote officials and servants are given, with that of the brokers and freemen of the City. An office seldom heard of is that of the "Tronator," who undertook truly "to weigh and poyse the wooll." com 9. Berwick-on-Tweed.-There is a plete set of oaths for the defence of this town (temp. Eliz.), including those of the Governor, Marshal, Treasurer, Porter, Master of the Ordnance, Clerk of the Checque (of persons entering and leaving), Captains of the Bands, and private soldiers. 66 10. Calais. A similar elaborate set is given for the defence of Calais (temp. Henry VIII.). This includes the oaths of the Deputy, High Marshal, Lieutenant of the Castle, Master Porter, &c., with those of the Lieutenants of Guynes, Ruisbancke, Hannues, and Newenham (Newhaven) Bridge. The oath of the Steward of GasGuyan cogne in the Duchy of same kind. 66 22 is of the 11. Knightly Orders.-The oaths of a Knight of the Garter (temp. Philip and Mary) and of the Bath (temp. Charles I.) are printed, together with the oath taken in 1585 by Henry III. of France to observe the Statutes of the former Order. 12. Military. Of these oaths there are very few. Those administered to the soldiers of the Earl of Leicester (temp. Eliz.) in the Low Countries, and to the captains and soldiers in Zeeland for the safeguarding of Flushing, are curious. 22 13. Forest.-Amongst these we find the oath given to "Master Crowner " by stealersof venison abjuring the realm, and the oath of the inhabitants of twelve years of age and upwards to respect the forest laws. 14. Various. (a) The oath given as that of the Knights of the Round Table in the time of King Arthur deserves to be reprinted in full : "Not to put off your Armour from your Bodie, but for requisite rest in the night. "The [? To] search for marvellous adventures, whereby to winne renowne. MANNERS, DEPORTMENT, AND "To defend the poore and simple people in ETIQUETTE: THEIR BIBLIOGRAPHY. their right. "Not to refuse aid unto them that shall ask it in any just quarrell. "Not to hurt, offend, or play any lewd part the one with the other. "To fight for the protection, defence, and welfare of his friends. "Not to purchase any goods or particular profit, but Honour and the title* of honestie. "Not to breake faith promised or sworne, for any cause or occasion whatsoever. To put forth and spend his life for the honour of God and his Countrie, and to chuse rather to die honestly than to live shamefully." (b) Probably the shortest oath in the book, consisting of a simple promise of secrecy, is that given in 1605 by Henry Garnet, the Jesuit, to Catesby, Piercy, Wright, Winter, and the other conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot. (c) Two specimens of a Merchant Adventurer's oath are printed: the first of obedience to the Fellowship, the second (taken before" the Poqueter ") for the true shipping of his clothes. (d) The longest oath in the book is that administered by the Bishop to a licensed midwife (not dated). She undertook to help poor and rich alike; not to father the child improperly; not to connive at fictitious or secret births; not to use witchcraft or sorceries, or cause abortion; to be secret; and to report unlicensed midwives. (e) The quarrel between the Duke of Gloucester and the Bishop of Winchester in the fourth year of Henry VI. was submitted to the arbitrament of the Lords, and two copies are given of the oath taken by the Duke of Bedford and the other peers in the matter. There are many other curious matters to be found within the 400 pages of this book, but sufficient has perhaps been mentioned to show that it contains a valuable collection of documents. Very few of these are dated, but internal evidence will usually supply the period. Probably not much reliance can be placed on the earlier forms of oath, but those dating from Henry VIII. to the Commonwealth are doubtless recorded in a trustworthy manner. R. S. B. [8. Many oaths of old City officials are included by Dr. R. R. Sharpe in the valuable Calendars of Letter-Books edited by him for the Corporation. 14(d). Licences to midwives have been discussed at some length in N. & Q.'; see 9 S. v. 475; vi. 9, 177, 274, 336, 438; vii. 31, 197, 352.] *The print is blurred here, and this may not be the word.. (See 9 S. vii. 388, 516; viii. 232.) I MAY supplement the books on these subjects supplied at the second and third references by the following: translated out of frensshe in to Englisshe the The Book of Good Maners. Fynysshed and viij day of Juyn the yere of our Lord M.iiiiclxxvj, and the first yere of the regne of kyng harry the vij. And enprynted the xj day of Maye after .[1487], (made and compiled by the Venerable Frere Jaques le Graunt). Folio.-Ames's' Typog. Antiq.,' 1810, vol. i. p. 263. The Book of the Courtier, by Count Baldassar Castiglione (1478-1529). The original edition is a small folio by Aldus in his best Roman type in 1528. At least fifty Italian editions appeared before the end of the century, and the work was soon popular in every European language. The English translation by Sir Thomas Hoby in 1577 had so much influence on Elizabethan literature that Prof. Raleigh goes so far as to call it "the book that made Shakespeare possible" (Morning Post, 13 June, 1903). Il Perfetto Maestro di Casa [in early Italian households the superintendent of all domestic details and the comptroller of the estate], i quali contengono una esatta instruttione per l'ufficio di ciracun Ministro, e Cortegiano di quanto appartiene all' Economia anche nelle cose minime, e nel conseguire le dignita di Vesconati, Protonotarii, Apostolici, Auditor di Rota, Chierico di Camera, &c., by Francesco Liberati. Rome, 1668. Behaviours it behoveth or, Treatise of the Manners and a Man to use and eschewe in his familiar conversation, a worke very necessary and profitable for all Gentlemen. First written in Italian by Giovanni della Casa. Now done into English by R. Peterson of Galateo; Lincolnes Inne. Small 4to. A faithful reproduction of the original of 1576, edited by H.J. Reid, with Introduction, 1576-1892. Only 100 copies privately printed on hand-made paper. The Myrrour of good Maners., &c., translate into englysshe, &c., by Alexander Bercley, preste, &c. "Here begynnyth a ryght frutefull treatyse, intitulyd the myrrour of good maners, conteynyng the iiii vertues callyd cardynall." London, (1523 ?) Folio. |