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Minor Queries: Rev. Thomas Watson, of St. Stephen's, Walbrook, London - Was West the first preRaphaelite?- Dictionary of Proper Name - Inscription on a Bell - Benjamin Lincoln of Massachuset:sGregorian Chants Dress of the Clergy-Arrange ment of Shakspeare's Plays "Sic transit Gloria Mundi"-"Jack"- Celebrated Trees - Wickliffe MSS. Moroni's Portrait of Mary Queen of ScotsHugh Lupus. Earl of Chester, 1070-1101 - English Bishops deprived by Queen Elizabeth in June, 1559 — English Bishops deprived, Feb. 1. 1691 - William Stafford-Sinking Fund

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THE ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH ANTICIPATED.

On looking over the other day some early numbers of The Spectator, my eye rested on a paper 95 by Addison, in which he introduces, in his excellent and playful manner, a quotation from Strada, a learned Italian Jesuit, in one of his Prolusiones Academice; and though, it is true, the story aims at nothing farther than a chimerical supposition of the instantaneous transmission of thoughts and words between two individuals, over an indefinite space, and which, when Strada wrote and Addison quoted, never entered into the minds of either as to its almost ultimate realisation; yet, as perhaps there may be some persons who may not have particularly noticed this apparently prophetic forewarning, I cannot help thinking that the story is worth recording in "N. & Q." for the benefit of those who have never seen or thought on the subject. It should be observed that Strada tells this story about 250 years ago, and Addison relates it 140 years afterwards.

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Lambert the "Arch-Rebell," by J. Lewelyn Curtis Early Manuscript Emendations of the Text of Shakspeare, by J. Payne Collier

Etymology of the Word "Devil"

On a Passage in "The Merchant of Venice," Act III.
Sc. 2., by Samuel Hickson
Replies to Minor Queries: - Experto crede Roberto"-
Phelps's Gloucestershire Collect ons - Andrew Marvel

Mexican Grammar - Buria! without Service - The True Maiden-hair Fern - Royal Arms in ChurchesGovernor of St. Christopher in 1662 Reverence to the Altar-Docking Horses' Tails Apple-pie Order -Seth's Pillars-Paget Family- Dictionnaire Bibliographique-Blind an's Holiday- "De Laudibus Sanctæ Crucis" The Woodruff- HydrophobiaBattle of Alfred the Great with the Danes, &c. MISCELLANEOUS : —

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Addison tells us, in the 241st number of The Spectator, that

"Strada, in one of his Prolusions, gives an account of a chimerical correspondence between two friends by the help of a certain loadstone, which had such virtue in it, that if it touched two several needles, when one of the needles so touched began to move, the other, though at never so great a distance, moved at the same time and in the same manner. He tells us that the two friends being each of them possessed of one of these needles, made a kind of dial plate, inscribing it with the fourand-twenty letters, in the same manner as the hours of the day are marked upon the ordinary dial plate. They then fixed one of the needles on each of these plates in such a manner that it could move round without impediment, so as to touch any of the four-and-twenty letters. Upon their separating from one another into distant countries, they agreed to withdraw themselves punctually into their closets at a certain hour of the day, and to converse with one another by means of this their invention. Accordingly, when they were some hundred miles asunder, cach of them shut himself 114 his closet at the time appointed, and immediately cast his eye upon his dial plate; if he had a mind to write anything to his friend, he directed his needle to every letter that formed the words which he had occasion for,

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making a little pause at the end of every word or sentence, to avoid confusion. The friend in the meanwhile saw his own sympathetic needle moving of itself to every letter which that of his correspondent pointed at. By this means they talked together across a whole continent, and conveyed their thoughts to one another in an instant over cities, or mountains, seas, or deserts." Addison goes on to say,

"That in the meanwhile, if ever this invention should be revived or put in practice, I would propose that upon the lover's dial plate there should be written not only the four-and-twenty letters, but several entire words, which have always a place in passionate epistles, as flames, darts, die, language, absence, Cupid, heart, eyes, hang, drown, and the like. This would very much abridge the lover's pains in this way of writing a letter, as it would enable him to express the most useful and significant words with a single touch of the needle." Now it appears very probable that so close a prediction, though taken under a playful and falsetto view, might in the darker ages have given the character of a prophet to good Mr. Strada, to say nothing of our friend Addison, who has thus brought the story before our eyes. W. R. Surbiton.

NOTES ON BOOKS AND BINDINGS.

(A Card to suspend in the Library.)

1. Never cut up a book with your finger, or divide a printed sheet if it be ill folded, or one page will rob the other of margin.

2. Never lend a book without some acknowledgment from the borrower; as "IOU.-L. S. D. -Ten Thousand a Year' — L. L. D."

3. Never bind a book wet from the press, as it cannot with certainty be made solid without risking the transfer of ink from one page to the other. 4. Never compress a book of plates in binding, as it injures the texture of the "impressions."

5. Never brand books in unseemly places, or deface them with inappropriate stamps; for to mar the beautiful is to rob after generations.

6. Never destroy an antique binding, if it be in moderate condition; for no other dress will so well suit its complexion. To rebind a rare book, for any other purpose than its preservation, is a conceit. When an old binding has been characteristic, let the new one be a restoration. Never put modern books in antique jackets, or vice versâ.

7. Never destroy old writings or autographs upon fly-leaves, or otherwise, unless trivial; nor cast away the book-plates of a former owner, for they become matters of history, often in themselves extremely curious. It is a graceful act on the part of a second possessor, in re-binding, to remove the arms of the first to the end board of the volume, that it may pass down to after ages with their own. In destroying old covers take care to examine their linings, for on some ancient boards are pasted rare

leaves, woodcuts, and other matters, of little value in their day, but worthy of preservation now. 8. Never allow the binder (as he is wont) to remove the "bastard," or half-title; for it is a part of the book.

9. Never permit him to place oblong plates in ordinary books other than that the inscriptions beneath them read from the bottom of the page to the top, face they odd or even numbers.

10. Never bind a large map with a little volume, for it will most likely tear away: it also injures the solidity of the book. Maps are better separate, both for reference and preservation. When a map is the size of two pages, it may be guarded at the back, so as to form two leaves of the book. Maps and plans may be thrown quite out of the volume, by affixing them to blank leaves at the end; the student having the whole plan before him during reading.

11. Never allow sheets to be pierced sideways at the back; serials and pamphlets are much damaged by this method: and if a plate be turned in binding, the holes appear at the fore-edge.

12. Never bind up twelve volumes in one; it is bad taste: nor tether a giant quarto to a dwarf duodecimo, as they are sure to fall out.

13. Never permit a volume to be cut down at the edges, as it injures its proportion and deteriorates its value.

14. Never have a book "finished" without the date at the tail on the back; as it will save the student much trouble, and the book wear in and out of the shelves.

15. Never have registers or strings in your books of reference, as they are apt to tear the leaves. Single slips of paper are the best registers, if too many be not inserted.

16. Never destroy all the covers of a serial work: if it contain an engraving not to be found in the book, bind one in at the end. It will show the method of publication, and prove of interest.

17. Never in binding patronise "shams"— as imitation bands and false headbands, spurious russia or mock morocco if you desire durability and truth. 18. Never allow books to be near damp, ever so little, for they mildew very soon.

19. Never permit books to be very long in a warm, dry place, as they decay in time from that cause. Gas affects bindings, and russia leather (erroneously supposed to be the strongest) in particular. Morocco is the most durable leather.

20. Never stand books with roughly cut tops upon dusty shelves, as dirt falling upon their ends insinuates there. Gilt edges are the most safe, as dust may be removed from the metal without injury.

21. Never put books with clasps or carved sides into the shelves; or they are apt to damage their neighbours. Books with raised sides may be kept

in the drawers of the library table with glass tops, the volumes being visible. Reading cushions prevent wear and tear of bands.

22. Never, in reading, fold down the corners of the leaves, or wet your fingers; but pass the forefinger of the right hand from the top of the page to the bottom in turning over.

23. Never permit foreign substances, as crumbs, snuff, &c., to intrude into the backs of your books; nor make them a receptacle for botanical specimens, cards, or a spectacle case, as it is like to injure them.

24. Never pin torn sheets together, or sew them, as a little paste and care will join severed edges.

25. Never leave a book face downwards, on pretext of keeping the place; for if it continue long in that position, it will ever after be disposed to open at the same page, whether you desire it or

not.

26. Never stand a book long on the fore-edge, or the beautiful bevel at the front may sink in.

27. Never wrench a book open, if the back be stiff, or the edges will resemble steps ever after; but open it gently, a few pages at a time.

28. Never lift tomes by the boards, but entire, or they may fail in the joints.

29. Never pull books out of the shelves by the headbands, nor toast them over the fire, or sit upon them; for "Books are kind friends, we benefit by their advice, and they exact no confessions." LUKE LIMNER.

tremes observed, are respectively 765.00, and 744.02.

Mean degree of humidity 66-67 F.

The prevailing winds are southerly, northeasterly, and north. The latter known as the "Etesian winds," during the months of June, July, and August, come in gusts, and are very hot. The rains generally fall in heavy showers (i. e. torrents), but they rarely last long. Rain in summer, and snow in winter, are seldom known. Thunder and lightning; loud, vivid, but unfrequent.

The sky is generally without clouds; and in winter, very bright. W. W. La Valetta, Malta.

A NOTE UPON SOME RECENT CORRUPTIONS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

Different to.-Things which are unlike were formerly considered to differ from each other: some recent living authors make them differ to each other. Here are some examples of this incorrect mode of writing:

"Who, she foresaw, would regard Mr. Pen's marriage in a manner very different to that simple, romantic, honest, and utterly absurd way."-Pendennis, chap. vii.

"Helen Pendennis was a country-bred woman; and the book of life, as she interpreted it, told her a different Ibid. story to that page which is read in cities."chap. vii. "How different to Lady Rockingham, who is always saying ill-natured things.". The Three Paths, vol. i. p. 66.

"In a different sense to that in which our Saviour applied it."-Ibid. vol. i. p. 144.

"Appearing under such very different auspices to her Jane."-Ibid. vol. i. p. 173.

Directly. This word, and its synonym immediately, are often used in the sense of as soon as ; thus:

"And directly the doctor was gone, Louisa ordered fires to be lighted in Mr. Arthur's room."- Pendennis, chap. xxii.

Had the writer written "directly after the doctor was gone," his sentence would have been good English.

The Comparative and Superlative Degrees of short Adjectives.-Many living writers form these by using more and most, instead of the terminations er and est; for instance:

"Above all, pray for God's grace, and you will find it much more easy to bear what is unpleasant,"

Two Paths, vol. i. p. 88.

Easier is good English; more easy is not. Philadelphia, Pa., June 15. 1852.

The

UNEDA.

All round the four sides of the shrine of Edward the Confessor, at the height of about seven feet from the floor, there runs-or rather, there ran till lately a modern inscription in gilt letters, on a black ground. On the eastern side this inscription has been almost entirely removed, and the hard bed of cement beneath has been brought to light, indented, as it seems, with the marks of the Byzantine mosaic which may have once adorned that part of the shrine. But, besides these traces, I noticed other indentations, of quite a different character, letters made, as it seemed to me, with a flat tool; and perhaps (indeed, probably) without any external inscription to correspond. The letters are easily decypherable, when once atten

tion has been called to them, and are as follows: .. VXIT: IN: ACTVM: ROMANVS CIVIS HO...

A small quantity of modern plaster conceals the first letter, and the last two or three of the inscription. But the first letter can only be a "D." So that we do but desiderate the end of the last word, in order to know who the "Romanus civis" was, who in the year 1269 "duxit in actum" the shrine of Edward the Confessor.

Between the first "I" and "T" comes an architectural ornament; which recurs between the last "S" and the initial "II" of the last word. There are also two stops, of a lozenge shape, which separate the first, second, third, and fourth words of the legend.

If you will take the trouble to go and examine this inscription - which I pointed out, by the way, to the wondering verger, and which he kept on describing "with a difference," in heraldic phrase, to every one he met - you will easily convince yourself that it certainly does not begin on the south side of the shrine. Nor, if I am correct in supposing that "HO" are the first two letters of a proper name, is it likely that it extends any further, but is contained entirely on the eastern side. J. W. B.

Houghton Conquest.

[Some notices of this inscription will be found in Walpole's Anecdotes of Painting, vol. i. p. 21., edit. 1826; Gough's Sepulchral Monuments, vol. i. p. 5.; and Neale's Westminster Abbey, vol. ii. p. 69. It is thought by some writers that the artist was Pietro Cavallini.]

FOLK LORE.

Superstitions of the Higher Classes (Vol. vi., p. 6.). As your correspondent W. H. K. suggests the insertion in "N. & Q." of superstitious notions and practices among the higher classes, I beg leave to mention a very superstitious practice which I have frequently submitted to when what is commonly called a stye in the eye first makes its appearance; viz. drawing a wedding-ring nine times across the part affected. This is supposed to prevent all further irritation, &c. of the organ in question, and, "wonderful to relate," has generally proved efficacious.

I have often wondered why and when this absurd custom was introduced, when receiving the mysterious nine strokes from the maternal ring.

Νεανίας.

Springs and Wells (Vol. vi., p. 28.).— On this part of the coast of Pembrokeshire, between Tenby and the entrance to Milford Haven, is a small bay, steep in its sides, and so lashed by surf as rarely to permit a boat to land. Here is the hermitage (or chapel) of St. Gawen, or Goven, in which there is a well, the water of which, and the clay near, is used for sore eyes. Besides this, a little below the chapel, is another well, with steps leading down to it, which is visited by persons from distant parts of the principality, for the cure of scrofula, paralysis, dropsy, and other complaints. Nor is it the poor alone who make this pilgrimage: a case came more immediately under my notice, where a lady, a person of some fortune, having been for some time a sufferer from a severe attack of paralysis, which prevented her putting her hand in her pocket, took up her quarters at a farm-house near the well, and after visiting it for some weeks daily, returned home perfectly cured. From the cliff the descent to the chapel is by fifty-two steps, which are said never to appear the same number in the ascent; which might very easily be traced to their broken character. The building itself is old, about sixteen feet long by cleven wide, has three doors, and a primitive stone altar, under which the saint is said to be buried. The roof is rudely vaulted, and there is a small belfry, where, as tradition says, there was once a silver bell; and there is a legend attached, that some Danish or French pirates came by night, and having stolen the bell from its place, in carrying it down to their boat, rested it for a moment on a stone, which immediately opened and received it. This stone is still shown, and emits a metallic sound when struck by a stone or other hard substance. One of the doors out of the chapel leads by a flight of six steps to a recess in the rock, open at the top, on one side of which is the Wishing Corner, a fissure in the limestone rock, with indentations believed to resemble the marks which the ribs of a man forced into this nook would make, if the rock were