286
NOTES AND QUERIES. [ii s. ix. APRIL n, wu.
grave Mr. Nornaville " bought Caxton's
' Mirrour of the World ' for 35 IL 1 5s., the First
Folio Shakespeare for 100Z., and many rarities.
The prices so astonished those present at
the sale that it was thought he must be buy-
ing for Napoleon Bonaparte, but it trans-
pired that his purchases were for the Duke
of Devonshrie.
About 1830 T. and W. Boone succeeded to the business, which in 1872 was taken over by Frederick Startridge Ellis, a name well known to our readers. His retirement in 1885 was a great gain to literature, for during his leisure he gave us his valuable Concordance to Shelley, and edited many of the books which his friend Morris printed at the Kelmscott Press. He died in 1901 (see Athenceum, 2, 9, and 16 March). He was succeeded in the business by his nephew, Gilbert Ifold Ellis, who took as a partner James Perram Scrutton ; and on Scrutton's death in 1886 Robert Victor Elvey joined the firm, retiring in 1 897. On the death of Gilbert Ellis in 1902, Mr. James Joseph Holdsworth and Mr. George Smith, whose association with the firm dates from 1886and 1887 respectively, succeeded him. Among the illustrations in the Catalogue is a view of the interior of 29, New Bond Street, where the business has been carried on since its foundation
It would be helpful to some future his- torians of booksellers if this good example of Messrs. Ellis were followed. A. N. Q.
" BORE." The earliest quotation for this word in the sense of "a tiresome or uncon- genial person ; one who wearies or worries," given in ' A New English Dictionary,' is dated 1812.
The following is earlier by twenty years :
" For him [Sir P. M 1 n x] the word Bore was first brought into use. It was he who chiefly contributed to promote the currency of that word : long has he been considered as the head of that numerous body of citizens ; and while he lives, the name can never die. Prejudice is strong against him, for he talks much ; and although his .conversation ever turns on the most interesting subject. . . .himself, yet he seldom attracts more than one solitary admiring hearer." See ' The Jockey Club ; or, A Sketch of the Manners of the Age ' (attributed to Charles Pigott), pt. i., 10th ed., 1792, p. 37. Who Sir F. Molyneux was I do not know
He is referred to in the lampoon as a knight, and as Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod, and mention is made of " his great co- adjutor, Mr. Burke."
Possibly the " allusion to some now for- gotten anecdote " concerning the word suggested by the Dictionary might be found in his history, if it is known.
It may be worth while to quote another
appearance of bore : -
So have I heard on Afric's burning shore
Another lion give a grievous roar,
And the first lion thought the last a bore.
' Bombastes Furioso,' by W. Barnes Rhodes,
last scene.
According to Lacy's Acting Edition, the burlesque was first performed at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket, 7 Aug., 1810. See also Gentleman's Magazine (1810), Ixxx. 179, where the theatre is called " M r Colman's Theatre, Haymarket."
ROBERT PIERPOINT.
SOUTHWARK BRIDGE. The removal of this familiar bridge is proceeding rapidly, and soon the preparations for the con- struction of its new northern approach will occasion the removal of some interesting buildings and landmarks. The bridge will disappear unregretted and unsung, because, except for a few allusions that Charles Dickens provided, there is neither tradi- tional nor historical interest of any kind attached to it.
Two features distinguished it from other Thames bridges its form of construction and position. Built between April, 1815, and April, 1819, from the designs of John Rennie, it is said (Cunningham's * Handbook,' 1850 edition, p. 462) to have cost the com- pany promoted to construct it 800,OOOZ. This is probably an exaggeration.
The first effort to forward the scheme was made in 1811, when the public were invited to subscribe 300,000/. This appeal failed, and I believe two others were made ; but I do not think the expense could finally have reached such a huge figure as 800,000?.
As the first iron bridge built across the Thames it was a great achievement. The entire weight of iron amounted to 5,780 tons, and the middle arch had a span of 240 ft. The greatest distinction belonging to it is its being the most useless bridge ever con- structed to join the two banks of the river. From the first inception of the undertaking there were protests against its utter futility. The directors said :
" That to many whose business lies in the heart of the City, Blackfriars Bridge is as cit- cuitous a route as London Bridge is to others ; that the avenues to London Bridge are so crowded by a superabundant population and traffic that stoppages of carriages happen daily for hours together, to a very injurious extent.
It was not sufficiently realized, either then or now, that the two bridges named were of greater public utility because they were parts of the later arterial system of thoroughfares
