ingenious conjectures might have been saved. The word Ember is really a corruption of Quatuor tempora (just as Caresme or Carême is of Quadragesima). We have got it through the Dutch Quatertemper, or Quatemper, and Germ. Quatember Woche. I have met some note or other on the word ayyapeów, which occurs St. Matt. v. 41., xxvii. 32.; St. Mark xv. 21., in which it is stated that the Germans call the Ember Weeks Angaries, because on those weeks the vassals pay their quitÉIRIONNACH. rents, services, &c. to their lords. Shakspeare Folios-Would it not be interesting to the lovers of Shakspeare if there was a record in your pages of the "whereabouts" of the first folios, with their dimensions and condition? I cannot but think the various owners would be gratified to contribute such an account. The Notes might be kept back until a tolerably complete list was written, and then inserted in your columns. It perhaps might not be displeasing to many if a list even of the four editions was made out. I shall be glad to give an account of those in my possession. BONSALL. Queries. UNCOVERING THE HEAD AND UNCOVERING THE FEET. Amongst many contradictory customs distinguishing the Oriental from the European, is that of uncovering the feet instead of the head, as a mark of reverence or respect. The Orientals have high authority for their custom (see Exodus iii. 5.), and we find it widely spread; the Levites officiated in the Tabernacle with naked feet; the Druids, I believe, performed their sacred duties with naked feet; the Egyptian priests allowed no one to enter their temples without uncovering their feet: whether the Greeks, Romans, and other nations of antiquity observed the same rule, I know not. In modern times we find it general throughout the East, excepting, perhaps, the Hindoo-Chinese nations; though even among them I think the Siamese put off their shoes on approaching the presence of any great man. Traces of it may exist in Europe among Roman Catholics, in the form of barefooted friars, pilgrims, and penances, &c., and traces of it have existed even in the New World. The Peruvians, we are told, put off their shoes when approaching the boundaries of their Sun Temple, the Inca alone retaining his as far as the door, where he also bared his feet before entering the holy place (See Harris's Collection, vol. i. p. 82. fol.). Clavigero tells us that no one could enter the Palace of Motezuma without first pulling off his shoes and stockings at the gate. (Cullen's Translation, vol. i. p. 211. 4to.) In Lewis and Clarke's Travels is the description of their reception by a Shoshonee chief, with whom they smoked the "pipe of peace :" "The chief then produced his pipe and tobacco, the warriors all pulled off their mocassins, and our party was requested to take off their own," &c. I have omitted to note page, but think about 260., ed. 4to. I have several other notices of American but cannot just now refer to them. Indians uncovering their feet on solemn occasions, If all mankind spread from a common centre, a centre where this custom of uncovering the feet in token of reverence, &c. prevailed, and had even been ordered by the Lord, as above quoted, whence does it arise that all European nations (and European only), rejecting the usages of their forefathers, and the command of God, have adopted so opposite a practice; and whilst polluting their holy places by standing on them with covered feet, are further guilty of the indecency (to say no worse of it), in the eyes of an Oriental, of uncovering the head? Why St. Paul should write to the Corinthians that every man praying, &c. with his head covered, dishonoureth his head (1 Cor. xi. 5.), although he offers a sort of explanation, verse 7., I do not exactly understand; unless because it was in the spirit of the people addressed, for the Greeks prayed with uncovered heads. Whence comes this practice of uncovering the head in our places of worship at any and at all times; by what law is it enjoined? The 18th Ecclesiastical Canon (the only one bearing on the subject) ordains that all people shall be uncovered during divine service, except such as be sick, and they shall be permitted to wear "a night-cap or coif;" no other exception, no exception in favour of officiating priest; and yet some dignitaries of our church habitually appear in black skull-caps (coif?). Much remains to be said on the subject of uncovering heads and feet, but at present I am sensible of having trespassed so unconscionably, that I must express as briefly as possible my hope that some of your very numerous and learned correspondents will kindly answer the Queries respecting it. A. Č. M. Excter. "PARADISE LOST." It has been conjectured that from a conversation with Manso, Marquis of Villa, Milton conceived the idea of writing an epic poem, and that Andreini's Adamo afterwards suggested the subject. Who was it first gave to the world the following piece of romance, which looks as if it had been written for some Ladies' Magazine? "Milton possessed a fine figure, and when a young man was extremely handsome. In one of his wanderings when in Italy, being of a very pensive cast, he sat himself down under a tree and commenced reading, but soon fell asleep. During his slumber two females, who were observed at a distance by two of his companions, stopped on coming near to him: and one of them wrote on a slip of paper the following lines, which she laid upon his breast, and, with her companion, immediately disappeared: "Occhi, stelle mortali, Ministri de miei mali, which may be translated: "Beautiful eyes, mortal stars, authors of my misfortunes! if you wound me being closed, what would you do if open?' lished in 1551. If any of your readers know of an earlier edition, I should like to have the particulars of it. "Hybernia, quæ et Irlandia insula, ab hyberno tempore appellata, maxime pabulosa, nullum animal noxium gignit, multum fertilis, subest gradibus 100. 54.0. 66 Anglia, quæ et Albion, insula Britannica, olim eam inhabitarunt gigantes, populus intrepidus in bello, optimique sagittarii, lupos non gignit, nec illatos nutrit, idcirco vagum pecus et sine custode securum. Ejus præcipua civitas est Cantuaria, quæ apud Ptole. ex conjectura Davernum vocatur, subest gradibus 22.30. 52. 10. Huc adnavigatur ex Callas civit. Flandriæ. "Scotia, pars septentrionalior Albionis insula, tenui freto sive fluvio ab Anglia dirempta. Natura invidi et contemptores cæterorum mortalium, plus nimio nobilitatem suam ostentantes, mendaces, nec pacem colunt ut Angli, mendicantes circa divorum templa, lapides in "It is said Milton was so sensitive on the subject, that he roamed over half of Europe in search of the fair charmer, but in vain: and that this circumstance induced him to write that sublime poem, and entitle│elemosinam a pretereuntibus colligunt in usum ignis, it Paradise Lost." This Query perhaps may merit a place amongst the "Folk Lore" of "N. & Q." JARLTZBERG. JOHN CLARE. nam lignis caret, habet civitates præcipuas S. Andreas 16.15.57.50. S. Joannes 15. 40. 59. 55." M. THE CRYSTAL PALACE WHO DESIGNED IT? remarkable passage: Seeing in your list of "Books Wanted" mention made of Clare's Poems, fcap. 8vo., last edit., in-clopædia of Gardening (that of 1822), at p. 926., duces me to send the following Notes and Queries paragraph 1600, there occurs the following very respecting this gifted but unfortunate man. his writings I possess: Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery, 1820; The Village Minstrel, Of and other Poems, 2 vols. 1821, (this work was bound in 1 vol., and lettered Poetic Souvenir, a few years since, to make it sell); The Rural Muse, 1835. Have these been republished collectively since 1835, with pieces composed by Clare in lucid intervals during his abode at Northampton? In the Rural Muse there is a piece called the "Vanities of Life?" How far is this original? In Chambers' Journal for August, 1846, several stanzas of it are printed as quotations from "The Soul's Errand;" but neither the quotation, nor the collection of ballads from which it is taken, are in my possession. Are there any other instances in which John Clare has adopted others' productions as his own? Should other instances be discovered, judgment must not be severe; since, sometime ago, one feature of Clare's affliction was that he believed himself to be the author of all the poems of which he had heard, and bitterly complained that his works should be published in the names of Milton, Shakspeare, Byron, &c. A. H. COWPER. SCHONER'S ACCOUNT OF THE BRITISH ISLES. The following account of the British islands is found, and is all that is found, in the Opusculum Geographicum of John Schoner of Carlstadt, pub "Indeed there is hardly any limit to the extent to which this sort of light roof might not be carried: several acres, even a whole country residence, might be . covered in this way, by the use of hollow cast-iron columns as props, which might serve also as conduits for the water which fell on the roof. The plan of such a roof might either be flat ridges, or octagon or hexagon cones, with a supporting column at each angle, raised to the height of a hundred or a hundred and fifty feet from the ground, to admit of the tallest oriental trees, &c. The great majority of readers will no doubt consider these ideas as sufficiently extravagant; but there is no limit to human improvement; and few things afford a greater proof of it than the comforts and luxuries man receives from the use of glass." 66 CO In later editions of the work this passage was suppressed, the author having probably deemed his idea altogether too extravagant for realisation; but if the originator of the Crystal Palace had never met with the above-quoted suggestions of a brother gardener, we must only consider his happy idea as one of those startling incidences" so summarily disposed of by Mr. Puff in The Critic, and "all that can be said is, that two people happened to hit on the same thought." Such coincidences are not uncommon among poets. Virgil, as every schoolboy knows, had reason to complain of them, and some very remarkable instances of them have at times appeared in your pages. If Shakspeare had the start of Puff, we must accord to Loudon precedency of Paxton; though surely, if Sir Joseph was aware of a prior claim (Nomen. non. tam. Hominis. qvam. Scientiae) Hic. non. iacet At. Lvtvm. qvod. assvmpsit. optimvin Nam. certe. svpra. Mortalis. emicvit. Ingenio. svbtilissimo. pleno. Pectore. sapvit Adeoq. aptior. Angelorvm. Consortio Was. bvried. on. this. Twentieth. Day The. Darling. of. the. Muses. and. Graces, JOHN. HALES, of Whose. Name. is. the. Name. of. Knowledge. He was. Itself, Rather than . of. a. Man, Is. not. interred. here; But only. the. beautiful. Clay Which he put on, conspicuous. for. sweetness. of. Manners, A. Man. of. most. subtle. Genius And. profound. Learning; For the. Companionship. of. Angels. 1656. This. Monument. was. erected At. the. Expense. of Peter. Curwen, Formerly. Fellow. of. this. College." [No poetical pieces by the ever-memorable John Hales are to be found in his Golden Remains, or in Lord Hailes' edition of his collected Works, in three volumes 12mo., nor has Dr. Stukeley discovered any in his MS. collections for a Life of John Hales (Sloane MSS. No. 4222.). In short, it is doubted by Chalmers in his Biographical Dictionary, whether Hales is the person noticed by Sir John Suckling. He says, "It remains to be mentioned, that Wood (see Athen. Oxon. by Bliss, vol. iii. p. 412.) informs us that Mr. Hales not only associated with, and was respected by the wits of his time, Sir John Suckling, Sir Wm. Davenant, Ben Jonson, &c., but would sometimes divert himself with writing verses; and that he had a talent for poetry he thinks appears from Sir John Suckling's mentioning him in his Session of Poets: Hales, set by himself, most gravely did smile, To see them about nothing keep such a coil; Apollo had spied him; but, knowing his mind, Past by, and called Falkland that sat just behind.' But there is no proof that Mr. Hales of Eton was meant here, and still less proof of a letter in verse by Sir John Suckling having been written to Mr. Hales at Eton. It has more the appearance of one written to some person at Oxford or Cambridge, than at Eton." The inscription on the tomb of John Hales is given in An Historical and Critical Account of the Life and Writings of Mr. John Hales, by M. des Maizeaux; also in Le Neve's Monumenta Anglicana, and in Wood's Athena Oxon.] Minor Queries. Sovereigns dining in Public. In the London Gazette, No. 7623, of Tuesday, August 2nd, 1737, there is an article from Hampton Court, dated Aug. 1st, 1737 : Yesterday, 31 July, being Sunday, their Majesties, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and Princesses Amelia and Caroline, went to chapel at Hampton Court, and heard a sermon preached by the Rev. Dr. Blomer. Their Majesties and the rest of the royal family dined afterwards in public as usual, before a great number of spectators." Perhaps, Sir, some reader of the "N. & Q." will have the goodness to inform me in what country this dining of royalty in public on Sundays originated, when it commenced in this country, and how long it has been discontinued? Richmond, Surrey. Φ. Executioner of King Charles I. In vol. xi. p. 104. of the Lords' Journals will be found an order to the Lieutenant of the Tower to bring into the House the original warrant for the execution of King Charles, which it appears was then in the possession of Col. Hacker, to whom it was addressed. The Lieutenant subsequently delivered in the warrant, and stated, that on asking Col. Hacker if he knew who was the executioner of H. T. the king, he replied he did not know, but he had JOHN CLARE. Of Hybernia, quæ et Irlandia insula, ab hyberno tempore appellata, maxime pabulosa, nullum animal noxium gignit, multum fertilis, subest gradibus 100. 54.0. 66 Anglia, quæ et Albion, insula Britannica, olim cam inhabitarunt gigantes, populus intrepidus in bello, optimique sagittarii, lupos non gignit, nec illatos nutrit, idcirco vagum pecus et sine custode securum. Ejus præcipua civitas est Cantuaria, quæ apud Ptole. ex conjectura Davernum vocatur, subest gradibus 22.30. 52.10. Huc adnavigatur ex Callas civit. Flandriæ. "Scotia, pars septentrionalior Albionis insula, tenui freto sive fluvio ab Anglia dirempta. Natura invidi et contemptores cæterorum mortalium, plus nimio nobilitatem suam ostentantes, mendaces, nec pacem colunt ut Angli, mendicantes circa divorum templa, lapides in elemosinam a pretereuntibus colligunt in usum ignis, nam lignis caret, habet civitates præcipuas S. Andreas 16.15.57.50. S. Joannes 15. 40. 59.55." THE CRYSTAL PALACE WHO DESIGNED IT? remarkable passage: Seeing in your list of "Books Wanted" mention made of Clare's Poems, feap. 8vo., last edit., in-clopedia of Gardening (that of 1822), at p. 926., duces me to send the following Notes and Queries paragraph 1600, there occurs the following very respecting this gifted but unfortunate man. his writings I possess: Poems Descriptive of Rural Life and Scenery, 1820; The Village Minstrel, and other Poems, 2 vols. 1821, (this work was bound in 1 vol., and lettered Poetic Souvenir, a few years since, to make it sell); The Rural Muse, 1835. Have these been republished collectively since 1835, with pieces composed by Clare in lucid intervals during his abode at Northampton ? In the Rural Muse there is a piece called the "Vanities of Life?" How far is this original? In Chambers' Journal for August, 1846, several stanzas of it are printed as quotations from "The Soul's Errand;" but neither the quotation, nor the collection of ballads from which it is taken, are in my possession. Are there any other instances in which John Clare has adopted others' productions as his own? Should other instances be discovered, judgment must not be severe; since, sometime ago, one feature of Clare's affliction was that he believed himself to be the author of all the poems of which he had heard, and bitterly complained that his works should be published in the names of Milton, Shakspeare, Byron, &c. A. H. CowPER. SCHONER'S ACCOUNT OF THE BRITISH ISLES. The following account of the British islands is found, and is all that is found, in the Opusculum Geographicum of John Schoner of Carlstadt, pub "Indeed there is hardly any limit to the extent to which this sort of light roof might not be carried: several acres, even a whole country residence, might be covered in this way, by the use of hollow cast-iron columns as props, which might serve also as conduits for the water which fell on the roof. The plan of such a roof might either be flat ridges, or octagon or hexagon cones, with a supporting column at each angle, raised to the height of a hundred or a hundred and fifty feet from the ground, to admit of the tallest oriental trees, &c. The great majority of readers will no doubt consider these ideas as sufficiently extravagant; but there is no limit to human improvement; and few things afford a greater proof of it than the comforts and luxuries man receives from the use of glass." 99 In later editions of the work this passage was suppressed, the author having probably deemed his idea altogether too extravagant for realisation; but if the originator of the Crystal Palace had never met with the above-quoted suggestions of a brother gardener, we must only consider his happy idea as one of those startling "coincidences so summarily disposed of by Mr. Puff in The Critic, and "all that can be said is, that two people happened to hit on the same thought." Such coincidences are not uncommon among poets. Virgil, as every schoolboy knows, had reason to complain of them, and some very remarkable instances of them have at times appeared in your pages. If Shakspeare had the start of Puff, we must accord to Loudon precedency of Paxton; though surely, if Sir Joseph was aware of a prior claim to the idea which he has appropriated, he would have scratched poor Loudon's name, if not with a diamond on the corner of one of his panes, at least with a pen on the sheet of blotting-paper whereon, we are told, with a few bold strokes, he gave his original idea to the world. SUUM CUIQUE. JOHN HALES OF ETON. The following is a copy of an inscription on the tomb of John Hales, in the churchyard adjoining Eton College Chapel, and a translation by a gentleman of this place. In Mr. Creasy's Lives of Eminent Etonians, p. 201., it is stated that "Hales had some fame as a poet, as appears from Sir John Suckling's Session of the Poets, 'Hales, set by himself,' &c." Can you inform me what are the names of any of his poems, and where they are to be found? "[Inscription.] Mvsarvm. et. Charitvm. Amor IOHANNES. HALESIVS (Nomen. non. tam. Hominis. qvam. Scientiae) Hic. non. iacet At. Lvtvm. qvod. assvmpsit. optimvin Nam. certe. svpra. Mortalis. emicvit Ingenio. svbtilissimo. pleno. Pectore. sapvit Adeoq. aptior. Angelorvm. Consortio Was. bvried. on. this. Twentieth. Day The Darling. of. the. Muses. and. Graces, JOHN. HALES, Reposes. beneath. [No poetical pieces by the ever-memorable John Hales are to be found in his Golden Remains, or in Lord Hailes' edition of his collected Works, in three volumes 12mo., nor has Dr. Stukeley discovered any in his MS. collections for a Life of John Hales (Sloane MSS. No. 4222.). In short, it is doubted by Chalmers in his Biographical Dictionary, whether Hales is the person noticed by Sir John Suckling. He says, "It remains to be mentioned, that Wood (see Athen. Oxon. by Bliss, vol. iii. p. 412.) informs us that Mr. Hales not only associated with, and was respected by the wits of his time, Sir John Suckling, Sir Wm. Davenant, Ben Jonson, &c., but would sometimes divert himself with writing verses; and that he had a talent for poetry he thinks appears from Sir John Suckling's mentioning him in his Session of Poets: Hales, set by himself, most gravely did smile, To see them about nothing keep such a coil; Apollo had spied him; but, knowing his mind, Past by, and called Falkland that sat just behind.' But there is no proof that Mr. Hales of Eton was meant here, and still less proof of a letter in verse by Sir John Suckling having been written to Mr. Hales at Eton. It has more the appearance of one written to some person at Oxford or Cambridge, than at Eton." The inscription on the tomb of John Hales is given in An Historical and Critical Account of the Life and Writings of Mr. John Hales, by M. des Maizeaux; also in Le Neve's Monumenta Anglicana, and in Wood's Athena Oxon.] Yesterday, 31 July, being Sunday, their Majesties, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and Princesses Amelia and Caroline, went to chapel at Hampton Court, and heard a sermon preached by the Rev. Dr. Blomer. Their Majesties and the rest of the royal family dined afterwards in public as usual, before a great number of spectators." Perhaps, Sir, some reader of the "N. & Q." will have the goodness to inform me in what country this dining of royalty in public on Sundays ori He. was. conspicuous. for. sweetness. of. Manners, ginated, when it commenced in this country, and Beyond. other. Mortals: A. Man. of. most. subtle. Genius And. profound. Learning; Who. soared. above. the. World, For the. Companionship. of. Angels. 1656. This. Monument. was. erected At. the. Expense. of Peter. Curwen, Formerly. Fellow. of. this. College." H. T. how long it has been discontinued? Richmond, Surrey. Φ. Executioner of King Charles I. In vol. xi. p. 104. of the Lords' Journals will be found an order to the Lieutenant of the Tower to bring into the House the original warrant for the execution of King Charles, which it appears was then in the possession of Col. Hacker, to whom it was addressed. The Lieutenant subsequently delivered in the warrant, and stated, that on asking Col. Hacker if he knew who was the executioner of the king, he replied he did not know, but he had |