Every SATURDAY, of any Bookseller or News-agent, Price THREEPENCE.

LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 1879.

QUERIES:-The First Edition of "John Gilpin"—A supposed

Contrary Movement, 209.

mitted to memory by a single perusal a page of either of the books mentioned above. One would like, at all events, to catch and cross-examine the gentleman (if any) who heard him repeat, without book, one page of either work after a single reading. The World describes him as one of a class of men "who read nothing but Latin and Greek" and "took no interest whatever in modern literature." This is an entire mistake, for Mr. Hyman

fond of displaying the tenacity of his memory by frequent quotations, sometimes very long ones, CONTENTS.- N° 272. from his favourite authors. In the next, he himNOTES:-The late Rev O. B. Hyman, 201-Sir Ralph Verney's self gave me, on more than one occasion, an Secret Cipher 202-Kent Church Notes, taken by Francis explanation of his curious habit of tearing up his Thynne, Lancaster Herald 203-Shakspeariana, 204-Gorilla -Mr Spurgeon on Absurd Epitaphs. 205-Origin of Pro- books as he read them, sometimes page by page, verbial avings-Salt as a Protection against Evil Spirits-sometimes in handfuls, which had nothing whatOrator-Holly and Ivy-Ancient Hearse-cloths-"Leathern Adam" in "Edward III.," 206-Astrological Predictions ever to do with his memory. The habit was, in Fulfilled, 207. fact, a bit of eccentricity, not entirely clear of Oxford "Old Character" out of Oxford - St. Andrew's, Port- Something very like delusion. His memory was land-Bargaining: Prix Fixe, 207-Portuguese Treaty of unquestionably a wonderfully tenacious one; but 1661 and the Restoration of Colombo-Medal Commemo- I doubt, quickly as he "picked up" what he rerating Execution of Marie Antoinette-R. Wilson, Artist-tained so accurately, if even he could have com"The ilustrated Family Journal"-T. Fletcher - Henry Fielding-Heraldry-George I.-St. Mawes Castle, 208-old London Pilgrimages-Payments in Church Porches - Firework Displays-The Sale Family-Lieut-Gen. James St. Clair-Suckling's Ballad-The Canonical Books of the Old and New Testaments -"Self-Formation "-Imitation by REPLIES: Was St. Paul's Cathedral ever called Eastminster? 209-Canons, Prebendaries, and Honorary Canons, - Old Songs Wanted, 211 — “Akimbo," 212" Boyle Godfrey Chymist and Doctor of Medicine"-Celts and Saxons, 213-Dean Burrowes-"Ultramarine," &c -Algernon: Maminot, 24-"Cinnus"-"Auster," 215-Milk and Water-Oxfordshire Words-Barnabe Googe and the FolkLore Society Count Street, Nottingham-Superfluous Pro-read, enjoyed, and often quoted and discussed, all nouns- Numismatic, 216-Archbishop King-"Personal the famous novelists of his own day (Scott and Sketches England's Day"-The Thames-The Epistle Dickens were especial favourites), both English and for Good Friday-The Sunflower-Great Frosts, 217"Kow"-Oil Painting on Copper-Stafford Knot-Miguel French. He knew thoroughly the great English Solis-W. C Bryant-Periwig, 218. NOTES ON BOOKS:-Bates's "George Cruikshank "-Burke's French literature was very extensive; and though poets; in fact, his acquaintance with English and "Historical Portraits of the Tudor Dynasty and the Reformation Period "-Morice's "Pindar"-Northcote's and he certainly made Greek and Latin the business of Brownlows "Roma Sotterranea," &c. Notices to Correspondents, &c. his life, his life was not entirely devoted to business at any time after he obtained his fellowship in 1836. He was, in short, one of the most omnivorous readers I ever knew. It was from him that, as a lad, I made my first acquaintance with Locke, with Berkeley, and with Hume; with Voltaire and Rousseau; with Victor Hugo and Balzac; and from him I first heard the name of Thomas Carlyle. Of science (except in the Oxford sense of the word) he knew nothing, though he could appreciate the beauty of a mathematical demonstration. I well remember his delight when I explained to him, in my Cambridge days, the First Proposition of Newton's second section. It is odd that though he was very intimate with one of our most eminent Greek palæographers he never, to my knowledge, acquired the art of reading Greek or Latin MSS.

Notes.

THE LATE REV. ORLANDO BRIDGMAN HYMAN. In the "University Intelligence" of the Times, shortly after December 13, 1878, a brief obituary notice of Mr. Hyman, Senior Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford, and my half-brother, was published. In the World of the 8th and 15th of January in the present year were also given short notices of my deceased relative. A very strange story is told of the tenacity of Mr. Hyman's memory in the Times notice. It is this: "As he read Liddell and Scott's Greek dictionary he destroyed the successive pages, content with having secured their contents.' The World slightly varies this almost incredible tale as follows: "He would tear out pages of a book as he read it; for it was of no use, he said, to keep the book when one knew the contents by heart. Gaisford's Etymologicon Magnum was treated in this fashion." I may be permitted to say, as one who for many years was in constant, almost daily, intercourse with Mr. Hyman, visiting him at Oxford, accompanying him on walking excursions, that I doubt the truth of both these stories, except in so far as they relate to his habit of tearing up books. My reasons are these. In the first place, I never heard my half-brother mention either feat, though he was

Mr. Hyman was a very pleasant companion, his knowledge of the gossip of the day being quite as extensive and at least as accurate as that of the very large class of persons who know little else. He took great interest in the drama, and was passionately fond of music. At one time of his life he was a great bird-fancier. Mr. Hyman owed his education entirely to his stepfather; for he was not quite eight years of age when his mother married my father in October, 1821. His life was passed in reading and teaching; whether he left any literary remains I am at present unable to say. He certainly left no books. Out of the large number which must have gone through his hands

I have rescued only one, the first edition of Cobet's
Varia Lectiones, which he gave me in 1857, saying,
with a smile: "You had better take it, I shall
only tear it up." So I took it and have it now,
untorn and unscrawled on.
FRANK SCOTT HAYDON.

Merton, Surrey.

SIR RALPH VERNEY'S SECRET CIPHER. I have just been looking through the Notes of Proceedings in the Long Parliament, temp. Charles I., printed from original pencil memoranda taken in the House by Sir Ralph Verney, and edited for the Camden Society by the late John Bruce. At p. 184 the following entry occurs :

"Notes written in a Cipher.

The following numerals, which occur in sheet 60, written in pencil by the hand of Sir Ralph Verney, look like an attempt to take notes in a cipher. The numbers range between 1 and 28. I add them here in the hope

that the ingenuity of some reader may discover their

meaning.

Either Sir Ralph Verney himself must have made a few errors in the application of his cipher, or else the transcriber or printer has created some confusion, for though the key is evidently the correct one, it fails in one or two instances. I subjoin the interpretation of the whole passage, numbering the several paragraphs into which it is

5. 7. 15-10. 14. 13. 7. 18. 10. 7. 16. 28. 8-7. 17. 18. 5. divided. 16-5. 17-6. 15-13. 16. 8. 8. 17. 20. 18. 15. 13.

28. 17-15. 22. 5. 3. 14. 10. 5. 8-17. 2-20. 15. 5. 5. 15. 3. 8-5. 17-6. 15-14. 20. 17. 18. 15. 13-16. 28-5. 7. 16. 8-7. 17. 18. 8. 15.

5. 7. 15-12. 3. 16. 28. 10. 15-16. 8-28. 17. 7— 10. 17. 27. 15. 5. 17-11. 3. 15. 15. 28. 7. 16. 10.7-5. 7. 3. 15. 15-20. 15. 5. 5. 15.

5. 7. 3. 15. 15-11. 3. 15. 14. 5. 15-8. 7. 16. 12. 8-8. 5. 14. 16. 15. 13. 16. 28. 2. 3. 14. 28. 10. 15-11. 15. 3. 8. 15. 14-14-20. 15. 5. 5. 15. 3-2. 3. 17. 2720. 17. 3. 13-8-14. 20. 6. 17. 28. 15. 8.

5. 7. 15-4. 16. 28. 11. 8-14. 28. 8. 9. 15. 3. 5-5. 7-17. 18. 3. 12. 15. 5. 16. 5. 16. 17. 28-14. 6. 17. 18. 5-5. 7. 15-27. 16. 20. 16. 5. 16. 14.

2. 3. 17. 27.

12. 16. 20. 14. 5.

1. "The Cadhuchins houti to be dissolued."

2. "No extracts of letters to be aloued in this House." 3. "The Prince is noh come to Greenhich, three lette."

4. "Three greate ships staied in France, Gersea, a letter from Lord S. Albones."

5. "The King's answer t th out petition about the militia."

6. "If a king offer to kil himselfe wee must not only aduise, but wrest the weapon from [him]." 7. "A similitud of a de pilat."

8. "Conscienes corrupted."

I am afraid I must at once confess that the results do not repay me for the hour's study spent upon the cipher, but, such as they are, I venture to lay them before your readers. The interpretation was made the more difficult by the fact that

66

16. 2-14. 4. 16. 28. 11-17. 2. 2. 15. 3-5. 17-4. 16. 20-7. 16. 27. 8. 15. 20. 2. 15-9. 15. 15-27. 18. 8. 5-28. 17. 3. 17. 28. 20. 25-14. 13. 18. 16. 8. 15-6. 18. 5-9. 3. 15. 8. 5-5. 7. 15-9. 15. 14. 12. 17. 2814-8. 16. 27. 16. 20. 16. 5. 18. 13-17. 2—14—13. 15-in § 3 the words which I render come to " form but one word in the printed copy. In § 4, "staied in France"; in § 5, "out petition"; and in § 6, "not only," are also printed as if each phrase formed but a single word; whilst in § 8 corrup ted" forms two words. This last error cost me much labour, as I met with it at an early stage of the decipherment.

10. 17. 28. 8. 10. 16. 15. 28. 10. 15. 8-10. 17. 3. 3. 18.

12-5. 15. 13."

I do not find in Mr. Bruce's later volume, Letters and Papers of the Verney Family down to the End" of the Year 1639, issued by the Camden Society in 1853, any reference to this cipher : so I suppose that he had not solved it even then.

I have transcribed the whole of the secret writing, although the book in which it is found is easily accessible, in case any reader of "N. & Q." should wish to apply his "ingenuity" to the solution of the difficulty.

I confess that a cipher has always had an attraction for me, and that even the advertisements which occasionally appear in the second column of the Times arouse my curiosity. These latter are generally of very easy solution, for I have read, I think, all that have appeared during the last few years. But Sir Ralph Verney's cipher is not quite so easy as these have usually been. It took me about

Let me add a word or two about the paragraphs as they now stand deciphered. In § 1 I suppose that Cadhuchin must mean Capuchin," 13, which stands for d, having been written for 12, which stands for p. "Houti" I suppose means house": 5-t and 8=s, and 16-i and 15=e, being easily miswritten for each other. In § 3 "noh" is obviously not," 7 h having been written for 5-t: "lette" should be "letters." In § 4 "Gersea" is "Jersey," I have no doubt, as at p. 73 Sir Ralph writes, "Secure the iles of Wight and Gersie and Gernsey." In § 5 I cannot explain "t th out," unless we should read "to the House's petition," meaning the "Commons' petition

(Fo. 56.)

the mannor of Ithame was bought by Sir Robert reade, nal pun, or more probably adopts one then in use. cheif Justice of the Comon place, of John Dunham, Sailors, always ready to apply their ordinary sea esquier, of notingham; & in the end came to the Wil-language, would use it in their visits to the land lobyes, discended from daughter of the said reade; the gyfte of the same aduouson is now in the handes of "public," jocularly meaning "pitch [it down your Thomas Willobye, esquire, by reasone of the said mannor. throat] and pay," or "pitch [your money on the counter] and pay"; or, a common custom with seamen, "pitch [and toss] and let the loser pay." Pistol was much more likely to be "up" in such slang than in the cloth market rules. Curiously enough, while Admiral Smyth gives both to pitch and to pay, he does not notice the double phrase, but, though a mere landsman passenger, I have heard it not unfrequently. B. NICHOLSON.

12 Nour 1582. Chiddingstone in Kent. Orate pro animabus Thome Willowbye, militis, vnius Justiciar Dni regis de banco, filij Xpoferi Willughbye, militis, ac etiam Dni Willughby In comitatu suffolke, et Die Brigette vxoris Thome Willoughby predicti, vnius filiarum et heredum Roberti Rede, militis, ac primatis de comuni loco Justiciar. Qui quidem Thomas obijt 28 die Septembr' A° Dñi 1545 quorum animabus propitietur Deus.

about whose tombe is these armes. [In trick six quarterings, viz. 1, ..., a cross engrailed ... ; 2, ..., a cross moline...; 3, quarterly, 1 and 4,. a lion rampant 2 and 3, ..., a fret...; 4, ... ...., a lion rampant, double tailed, ...; 5, ..., crusilly. a fess dancettée ...; 6, Ermine, two bars..., impaling quarterly, 1 and 4, on a bend wavy three martlets (?). between three boars' heads 3, a chevron engrailed and in chief two hunting horns (query if there should not be a third in base) On the left side of the shield is tricked a crest of a king's head sable, wreathed and crowned or, and on the right side another of a boar's head sable.]

2,...

a fess

orate pro anima Dni Joh'is mason quondam rectoris

CHORUSES IN "PERICLES."-In chorus to Act ii. Gower, after describing the storm and shipwreck, says:

"All perishen, of man, of pelf,

Ne aught escapen but himself." To this Mr. Dyce's note is: "Here the old editions have escapend, most probably by the transcriber's or printer's mistake, since our author writes perishen in the preceding line." Surely the old editions are right if we read escapen we have a plural verb agreeing with a singular noun; on the other hand the participle escapend makes, I think, much better sense, viz., "all perish, men and

huius ecclesie. qui obijt in mens' Januar' A° Dñi 1446 goods, nothing escaping but himself (Pericles)." cuius propi (ti)etur Deus.

orate pro anima magistri Joh'is wodd decretorum bacalarij nuper rectoris huius ecclesie ac prebendarij de Hastinges qui obijt 7 die Maij Ao Dñi 1487 cuius auime propi(ti)etur deus.

JAMES GREENSTREET.

(To be continued.)

SHAKSPEARIANA.

"HENRY V.," ACT II. SC. 3, L. 47."Pist. The world [word] is, Pitch and pay: trust none." The accepted explanation given by Dyce in his glossarial note is ::

"A proverbial equivalent to pay on delivery.' ('One of the old laws of Blackwell Hall was that a penny be paid by the owner of every bale of cloth for pitching.' Farmer: who, as Nares observes, seems to suggest that the expression originated from pitching goods in a market and paying immediately for their standing.)"

One objection to this is that there is no proof of immediate payment being compulsory, while the saying requires it, and the whole gist of Pistol's words is, "Allow no chalk scores." Another is that this reduplicate phrase is a nautical one. To pitch is either to pitch surfaces, as a ship's side, or to pitch seams, but its meaning here is defined by the almost equivalent pay, i.e. to pitch seams, as, for instance, between the planks of a deck; a word derived by Admiral Smyth from the French poix, though this etymology may be doubtful. Pistol (i.e. Shakespeare), therefore, either makes an origi

I may add that Gower, whose language the writer of these choruses imitates, uses sometimes the part. in -end, thus swounende (Confessio Amantis, lib. viii. vol. iii. p. 311, ed. Pauli), walkende (ibid., p. 314).

Again, in the chorus to Act v., we read in Mr. Dyce's edition :

"In your supposing once more put your sight
Of heavy Pericles; think this his bark;
Where what is done in action, more, if might,
Shall be discover'd; please you, sit and hark."
The third line is to me unintelligible as it
stands; if we delete the comma after "more," and
for "if" read "of," the meaning will be, “Where
what is done shall be disclosed in action, which is
greater in power than my recital." The same idea
appears in the chorus to Act iii. :-
"I nill relate, action may
Conveniently the rest convey;

Which might not what by me is told."
F. J. V.

"TWELFTH NIGHT," ACT I. SC. 3, LL. 126-7 (5th S. xi. 124.)-DR. NICHOLSON has made another trip ad inferos in quest of "light" to elucidate the text of Shakspeare. I do not think his second voyage has been more successful than was his first. This time he has come back with "darkness visible" wherewith to clothe the nether limbs of Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Shakspeare always makes his characters act consistently with the folly or wisdom which was in them. He would never have made a vain coxcomb like Sir Andrew