74
NOTES AND QUERIES. 1128. vi. MARCH, 1920.
, after remarking that " No apology is
offered for this fine old crusted saying, or for
the sham Norman-French in which it is
worded," states that : " It is traditionally
ascribed to Froissart, and Froissart, when
consulted, disclaims the parentage." On
,p. 16 of the same book the words :
Anglica gens optima flens, sed pessima ridens noted by Hearne are suggested as the source -of the saying ascribed to Froissart. This Latin, however, seems merely a modification of the lines :
Rustica gens est optima flens, sed pessima ridens ; Ungentem pungit, pungeutem rusticus ungit,
-given in Neander's ' Ethice vetus et sapiens ' ,{1590).
King apparently overlooked the passage in Heine's ' Memoiren,' p. 65, in the Reclam edition, where the company of ancient .headsmen spoke little and
" amiisierten sich in ihrer Weise, das heisst ' mou- laient tristement,' wie Froissart von den Englandern sagte, die iiach der Schlacht bei Poitiers banquet- tierten." 'This is a curious variety of the saying.
EDWAKD BENSLY. Hadham, Herts.
2, William Hamilton Maxwell (1792-1850)
wrote ' Wild Sports of the West ' (1833), and
-' Wanderings in the Highlands and Islands :
.a sequel to Wild Sports of the West ' (1844).
.See-D.N.B.'
26. There is a reference to Bentley in Max
Mailer's biographical essay on Cclebrooke (('Chips from a German Workshop,' ed. 1895, ai. 258). Bentley attacked Colebrooke on
the subject of Hindu astronomy, the an-
tiquity and originality of which he denied.
His animosity lasted for many years, and Colebrooke at length vouchsafed an answer
in the Asiatic Journal of March, 1826. His Christian name is not given by Max Miiller,
but would probably be found in the Life of -Colebrooke written by his son, Sir T. E. .Colebrooke (Trubner, 1873).
C. W. FIBEBKACE, Capt.
4. Writing to the Duchess of Saxe-Gotha, May 8, 1760, Frederick the Great says :
" Je ne saurais me desabuser du prejug6 dans lequel je sais que, a la guerre, Dieu est pour les gros escadrons. Jusqu'ici, ces gros escadrons se trouvent chez nos ennerais." ' CEuvres de Frederic le Grand,' Berlin, torn, xviii. 186 (1851).
This is partly quoted in Carlyle's ' Frederick,' Bk. XIX., ch. viii., where see Carlyle's remark on the true authorship. Why this saying should be attributed to Napoleon I -do not know. DANEHALL.
4. A correspondent in The Spectator of
Mar. 18, 1916, referred to this question,
stating that Bartlett attributed it to
Voltaire, and that it occurred in a letter to
M. le Riche : " It is said that God is always
on the side of the heaviest battalions."
Bartlett further quotes from De la Ferte to
Anne of Austria : "I have always noticed
that God is on the side of the heaviest
battalions." An editorial note stated that
in 1677 Bussy-Rabutin said: " Dieu est
d' ordinaire pour les gros escadrons contre les
petits."
7. The Mark Lane Express and Agri- cultural Journal and Live-Stock Record. This is a weekly newspaper, devoted, as its name implies, to agricultural interests. It was founded in 1832. J. R. H.
12. It is historical to this extent : that chap. ix. of the famous Statute of Merton, 20 Henry III. (1236), records in Latin that a question had been put by the king whether a son born before marriage could inherit, and that the bishops said yes, because the Church held such legitimate, " et omnes Comites et Barones una voice responderunt quod nolunt leges Angliae mutare quse hucusque usitatae sunt et approbatse."
It is often stated that the earls and barons cried out : " Nolumus leges Angliae mutari." Lord Justice James (in Re Goodman's Trusts, 17 Ch. D., at p. 297) spoke of this as an historical or mythical legend, and probably the lords gave their unanimous opinion in the vernacular, but whether they cried out in Latin or not their view prevailed, and the law of England and not the canon law remained.
C. A. COOK.
Sullingstead , TTascombe, Godalming.
[MB. L. BUNT also thanked for reply.]
CONGEWOI (12 S. v. 264). This refers to a marine animal, one of the compound ascidians, which is abundant on rocks and piles all along the Australian coast. It forms large rough masses, having a soft body enclosed in a hard tough outer case, varying up to about a foot in length. When cut up it is largely used for bait. The name is now usually spelt " cunjewoi."
THOS. STEEL.
Stephen's Street, Pennant Hills, N.S.W.
LAWRENCE WODECOCKE (12 S. v. 318). Has MR. JOHN B. WAINEWRIGHT seen Hennessy's ' Chichester Diocese Clergy Lists,' 1900 ? Hennessy gives Lawrence Wodcoke as Vicar of Wartling from 1539 (not 1529) to 1545. The other places and dates given by Mr. Hennessy agree with MR.
