Egremont, with various references appended thereto, in vol. lxiii. pp. 244-6.
[Reply also from Dr. Forshaw.]
Glowworm or Firefly (10ᵗʰ S.i. 47, 112, 156).—In the song quoted from the opera of 'Guy Mannering' it is not the "firefly," but the wildfire—i.e., Will-o'-the-wisp or Jack-o'-lantern—that dances on (not "glances from") the fen. Indeed, the lines as given are full of misquotations. In every copy I have seen of this glee the words are as follows:—
The chough and crow to roost are gone,
The owl sits on the tree;
The hushed wind wails with feeble moan,
Like infant Charity.
The wildfire dances on the fen,
The red star sheds its ray:
Uprouse ye then, my merry, merry men,
It is our opening day.
I shall be much obliged to any correspondent who will tell me what is meant by the allusion to "infant Charity" in the fourth line. C. S. Jerram.
In 'The Garden,' by Darwin (quoted in Miss Edgeworth's 'Frank'), is an address to various insects, ending,
Descend, ye spiders, on your lengthening threads;
Glitter, ye glowworms, on your mossy beds.
A friend well acquainted with Browning's poems gave me at once several quotations:—
But the firefly and hedge-shrew and lob-worm, I pray,
How fare they? 'Pippa Passes.'
The fireflies from the roof above, Bright creeping through the moss they love.
'The Italian in England. 5 Glowworm I prove thee, Star that now sparkiest !
' Pisgah Sights,' ii. Not a twinkle from the fly, Not a glimmer from the worm.
When the firefly hides its spot.
' A Serenade at the Villa.' My star, God's glowworm.
' Popularity.' M. E. F.
To the list already given may be added ' Ode to the Glowworm,' by Dr. Wolcot, and 'The Mower to the Glowworm,' by Andrew Marvell. ADRIAN \VHEELER.
[The version sent by MR. JERRAM corresponds with that \ve have always known. The lines given by our earlier contributor bristle with errors.!
'MERRY THOUGHTS IN A SAD PLACE' (10 th S. i. 141). It may be noted that the stanzas given at the above reference are to be found in that well-known anthology the 'Lyra
Elegantiarum.' They are there assigned to
Arthur, Lord Capel, but a note at the end of
the volume states that they have also been
attributed to Sir Roger Lestrange. The
version printed in 'N. & Q.' has one stanza
more (the ninth) than the version in the
'Lyra Elegantiarum,' and there are a number
of verbal differences between the two versions.
J. K. F. G.
"MY LORD THE SUN" (10 th S. i. 126). I think the reference for which MR. CRABBE inquires is to one of my stories of the Abruzzi which appeared in the Butterfly for August, 1899. FREDERICK BARON CORVO.
FELLOWS OF THE CLOVER LEAF (10 th S. i. 7). In the January number of the Antiquary Mr. R. Coltman Clephan, F.S.A., describing 'Two Suits of Armour in the Historical Museum at Berne,' observes :
"One harness, made probably about 1460-70, is severely plain, without any ridgings, flutings, or escalloped edgings, excepting on the tuiles. The helm bears the mark of the Treytz family of armour- smiths of Miihlau, near Innsbruck, a dover leaf, while on the breastplate is inscribed the mono- gram attributed to the Milan armour-smith Tomaso da Messaglia."
E. L.-W.
'THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY' (10 th S. i. 146). It is unscientific and unmethodical to give to a book any other name than that which appears on its title-page. Therefore, in spite of various suggestions, Dr. Murray's great work remains, what it calls itself, the 'N.E.D.' "New," says MR. THOMAS, "has long since become an anachronism. I hope not. I venture to believe that the ' N.E.D.' is not only novus, but will be novissimus.
W. C. B.
FICTITIOUS LATIN PLURALS (9 th S. xii. 345, 518 ; 10 th S. i. 54). Can any of your readers say whether adlati several times seen in the Spectator of recent years as plural of a supposed adlatus is not fictitious ? Ad latiis, as two words, is quite possible ; but I do not believe that there is, either in classical or mediaeval Latin, such a word as adlatus, in the sense of " intimate counsellor " or " second in command," in which sense I have seen adlati printed as above. I believe that ad latus is or was a military title in Austria ; but has it ever been used as one word, adlatus ?
An amusing fictitious plural is octopi as plural of octopus, seen in the Daily Telegraph.
COLL.
"KING OF PATTERDALE " (10 th S. i. 149). In A. G. Bradley's 'Highways and Byways in the Lake District,' p. 63, there is given a quotation from the obituary column of the
