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NOTES AND QUERIES. CUP s.v. JUNE 2,1906.
WE must request correspondents desiring in-
formation on family matters of only private interest
to affix their names and addresses to their queries,
in order that answers may be sent to them direct.
SNAKES IN SOUTH AFRICA. In a review of
The Cornhill, ante, p. 380, mention is made
of an article by Mr. Claude E. Benson on
- Venomous Serpents,' and it is said :
"The most dangerous of these appears to be the African mamba, which flies at everything and everybody, and will ' even come down from a tree to solicit an interview.' "
This statement is so different from my experience of the mamba that I venture to ask if any of your very numerous corre- spondents can corroborate it. I can speak with some little knowledge of the South African snakes, for I was one of the early settlers of Natal, was nine years there, and never missed an opportunity of killing a snake. Many mambas I put an end to. The mamba, or black snake, is a most deadly beast, it is true. I saw a Zulu who had been bitten in the heel, and who died in little more than an hour ; and an Englishman living near me, to whom the same mischance occurred, died the next day. I once heard of one who flew at a traveller on horseback, but it was believed that the snake would never attack any one unless he got between the female and her nest. In the cases named above the victims had accidentally trodden on them. I never saw or heard of a mamba in a tree. I was struck by one myself in the thumb, but he was only a little one, and good doses of aloe juice and milk cured me. Had he been full grown, nothing could have saved me. It does not follow that Mr. Benson is in error because my experience does not tally with his statement ; but, as I said, I should be glad to know if it can be corroborated.
F. CLAYTON. Morden.
NAPOLEON AND THE GRAND DUCHESS CATHERINE OF RUSSIA. I have recently seen in MS. what purports to be an English version of a letter addressed by the Grand Duchess Catherine of Russia (daughter of Paul I.) to her brother Alexander L, protesting against the proposed marriage between Napoleon and herself, and specially mentioning the murder of Palde (sic). This may be an error of transcription for Palm, the unfortunate Niirnberg bookseller, shot in 1806. The letter is dated 25 Jan., 1809. I cannot find any reference to it in any of the works I have consulted, and should like
to know something about the original. I
may mention that I have referred to Vandal's
' Napoleon et Alexander I.' (1891).
WM. H. PEET.
GRAY'S ' ELEGY ' : ITS TRANSLATIONS. Was there published an edition of Gray's ' Elegy ' "exhibiting all the known translations, arranged in double columns," as suggested by J. F. M. at 1 st S. i. 101, in the first quarter year of * N. & Q.' ? And may I repeat his incidental query 1
"In a biographical notice of Dr. Sparke, it is stated that he was among the thirteen candidates when the competition took place [o. 1794] for the best translation of Gray's 'Elegy' into Greek. Query, What was this competition, and were any of the other versions published ? "
SENG A.
[Many renderings of the 'Elegy' into Greek, Latin, and Italian are noted at 5 th S. iv. 255; 10 th S. i. 58, 487 ; ii. 93, 175.]
DEFOE ON THE VICAR OF BADDOW. What is the story of the vicar of Baddow, alluded to in Defoe's 'History of the Devil,' Part II. chap. iv. ?
The vigilant scout plants his agents about, And has something to dp with us all, sir.
In some he has part, and in some he 's the whole, And of some (like the vicar of Baddow)
It can neither be said they have body or soul,
But only are devils in shadow. There is a Great Baddow two miles south- east, and a Little Baddow four miles north- east, from Chelmsford. The incumbent of Great Baddow is a vicar, and of Little Baddow a rector. There is no other Baddow in 'The Clergy List.' HOLKOYD CHAPLIN.
[A similar question was asked at 6 th S. iv. 512; and at p. 159 of the next volume EDWARD SOLLY, whose death deprived 'N. & Q.' of a most valuable contributor, offered a solution of the allusion.]
G. ROSSETTI'S 'TRE RAGIONAMENTI.' I have recently purchased a brochure of 102 pages, printed in London in 1842, the title of which is "La Beatrice di Dante. Ragio- namenti Critici di Gabriele Rossetti." The author states in the preface, addressing the reader, that
"ove tu faccia un amichevole accoglienza al Ragio- namento Primo, gli altri due si affretteranno con maggiore alacrita a venirti incontro." Was the author encouraged to issue "the other two"? If so, will some reader tell me the date of publication and if it is possible to obtain them 1 To judge from the first number, each one is complete in itself, though, if "the other two" appeared, the possession of No. 1 is only a one- third, and hence incomplete, purchase. Perhaps Rossetti's project, like O'Conriell's 'Memoir
