8
NOTES AND QUERIES. uo< s. i. JAN. -I
a quartet in costume. For the benefit of those who may not be able to consult the above reference, I may be permitted to give the first verse as supplied by Cuthbert Bede:—
Here comes us poor Mayers all,
And thus we do begin
To lead our lives in righteousness,
For fear we should die in sin.
This song was, I believe, sung in some of the neighbouring counties—Cambridge, Bucks, and Bedfordshire. W. B. Gerish.
RIGHT HON. EDWARD SOUTHWELL. I shall
be glad to know who purchased the diary of the
above, 1684-1716, at the sale of the Phillipps
Library, Cheltenham. It mentions the
writer's marriage with Miss Blaythwaite.
CHARLES S. KING, Bt.
St. Leonards-on-Sea.
FRANCIS HAWES : SIR T. LEMAN. I shall be glad of any information concerning : 1. Francis Hawes, of Berks, who died in 1764. He was a director of the South Sea Company, and had an elder brother Thomas. 2. Sir Thomas Leman, the last holder of the extinct baronetcy. ANTIQUARY.
" AMPLE. In the review of the December Scribner (9 th S. xii. 480) occurs the sentence : "Views of Buda and Pest are not in colours, but are ample and very effective." Is not this use uncommon ? Ample for what ? The point would have escaped my notice but that I am acquainted with a family whose members use this word frequently with a meaning peculiar, I imagine, to themselves. The sensation experienced when cutting, or seeing some one cut, asunder a thick roll of butter, when the wheels of a cart cut through mud of the con- sistence of butter, or when one touches or presses velvet with the hand, is described by them as "ample." The associated idea appears to be that of prolonged, clinging resistance. They can afford me no particulars of the origin or descent of the word, but maintain that it has been handed down in the family for some generations.
GEORGE C. PEACHEY.
QUESNEL. Can any reader inform me of the existence of portraits in Scotland of about the time of James V. by Pierre Quesnel ?
J. J. FOSTER.
SHAKESPEARE'S " VIRTUE OF NECESSITY." I Has any pedigree for the phrase "make ai virtue of necessity " been discovered by Baconites ? On p. 72 of " Gregori I. Papa? Regiatrnm Epistolarum, Tomi I. Pars I. Liber I l.-TV., edidit Paulus Ewald" (Berolini I
MDCCCLXXXVII.), there are the words "non
hoc virtutis opere fieri." Here, however,
virtutis perhaps means "of force," and opere
is "of, i.e. by necessity," that is " willy nilly."
A similar expression is probably to be found
in many books written between the time of
St. Gregory and Bacon. E. S. DODGSON.
"OMEGA," AN OLD CONTRIBUTOR. About fifty years ago a contributor to ' N. & Q.' signed with the Greek omega reversed. Is there any clue to his name nowadays ? I.
"NOT ALL WHO SEEM TO FAIL." Who wrote
the following lines ?
Not all who seem to fail have failed indeed ; Not all who fail have therefore worked in vain.
There is no failure for the good and wise ; What tho' thy seed should fall by the wayside, And the birds snatch it ? Yet the birds are fed.
W. S-R.
LEGEND OF THE COUNCIL OF CONSTANCE. The Russian poet A. N. Maikov a cosmo- politan writer, whose range embraced ancient and modern worlds, and who rendered old romances in charming classic verse relates in song the following legend. Before the Council a grim doctor learnedly expounds John Hus's guilt and the appropriate sentence at wearisome length. Near the Emperor stands a youthful page, who finds the pro- ceedings dull. As evening approaches some- thing in the garden attracts him ; he glances through the window and smiles. Involuntarily the Emperor's eyes follow the page ; then the Pope's austere features relax, and soon the whole assembly of princes and prelates gaze towards the windows, enchanted by Philomel's song in the garden. Tender memories renew themselves in the minds of those stern eccle- siastics, and even the ruthlessdoctor stammers, blunders, and finally softens. Suddenly an old monk confesses that he was about to say " Hus is innocent" under the influence of the sweet melody, which must proceed from Satan himself. In horror the whole Council rose, sang "Let God arise," then bowed before the crucifix in prayer, and at last condemned Hus to the stake and anathema- tized the innocent nightingale. The supposed fiend fled from the garden, and dubious witnesses saw him pass over the lake in the form of a fiery flying serpent, scattering sparks in his rage.
Maikov's poem is entitled ' Prigovor ' (' The Doom '), and I am endeavouring to render it in English. Is such a legend recorded else- where? FRANCIS P. MARCHANT.
Brixton Hill.
