Rope-tying.— There is a passage in the life of Apollouius of Tyana which lias a curious bearing on the performances of the Brothers Davenport. Apollonius, according to Lucian, was a skilful magician, and made a profession of it; but his biographer, Philostratus, portrays him as a philosopher, with the power of performing miracles. I have not access to the original ; but, in Tillemont's Life of Apollonius Tyaneus, which is compiled from Philostratus, it is stated that, being imprisoned by the Emperor Domitian—
"whilst he was in chains he assured Damis, his pupil, who followed him into prison, that Domitian could do him no hurt. And, to show him what he could do, he freed his leg from the chain which was fastened about it, and then put his leg into the chain again."
Tillemont quotes this from Philostratus, Vita Apoll. Thyan., c. xv. pp. 366, 367. Apollonius had visited India, and professed to have acquired much of his skill amongst the Brahmans.
"Cooper." —The following passage from Every Day Papers by Andrew Halliday, Lond. 1864, ii. 257, explains 'the origin of this 'mixture of stout and porter :—
"Some brewers, who are jealous for the reputation of their beer, employ a traveller, who visits the houses periodically, and tastes the various beers, to see that they are not reduced too much. This functionary is called the Broad Cooper. When the Broad Cooper looks in upon Mr. oggins, and wants to taste the porter, and the porter is below the mark, Mr. Noggins slyly draws a dash of stout into it. And this trick is so common and so well known, that a mixture of stout and porter has come to be known to the public and asked for by the name of 'Cooper.'"
Duchess of Queensbury. — Walpole, in his Letter to Montagu of May 18, 1749, describing an entertainment given by the Duke and Duchess of Richmond, speaks of this eccentric lady "in her forlorn trim — a white apron and a white hood ; and would make the Duke swallow all her undress." Upon which the editor has the following note :
"There is a good caricature of the Duchess in this costume fencing with Soubise, the black ; whom she educated and indulged in extravagance, till he got so much in debt, that she was obliged to send him to India. The first Marquis of Townshend made the drawings, aided by one Austen a drawing master."
As this note is not reproduced in the last edition, I may give it a corner in "N. & Q." for the use of caricature collectors and future Walpoleans.
A London Book-Auction, 1698.— The following extract, from A Journey to London in the Year 1698, "written originally in French by Monsieur Sorbiere, and newly translated into English," London, 1699, p.23, may prove interesting and suggestive:—
"I was at an auction of books, at Tom's Coffee House, near Ludgate, where were above fifty people. Books were sold with a great deal of trifling and delay, as with us, but very cheap ; those excellent authors, Mounsieur Maimbourg, Mounsieur Yarillas and Mounsieur le Grand, tho' they were all guilt [sic] on the back, and would have made a very considerable figure in a gentleman's study, yet after much tediousness were sold for such trifling sums, that I am asham'd to name 'em."
The book from which I quote, is rather curious, being "after the ingenuous method" of Dr. Martin Lister's Journey to Paris in 1698, of which, as I understand, an excellent notice may be found in the Retrospective Review, xiii. 95–109.
Johnsoniana. —There are many phrases and peculiar expressions in current use in this present nineteenth century, which, we flatter ourselves, are of recent invention ; but which may, nevertheless, be traced back to the sturdy old lexicographer. One of these comes across me as I turn over some of Boswell's "magnetic" pages. The Doctor is writing to console his friend Dr. Lawrence on the loss of his wife, and uses the following magnificent language :—
"He that outlives a wife whom he has long loved, sees himself disjoined from the only mind that has the same hopes, and fears, and interest ; from the only companion with whom he has shared much good or evil : and with whom he could set his mind at liberty to retrace the past, or anticipate the future. The continuity of being is lacerated," &c.
My remark applies to the phrase "continuity of anything." I apprehend this to have been perfectly new at the time it was used : one, in fact, of Johnson's own creating. It is of great force and elegance ; but, if I mistake not, nine out of ten would look on it as a Gallicism of our own day. In French physical works, we continually read of a "solution of continuity" instead of a break, &c. This query, therefore, arises : Has any French author so used the word continuity before Johnson? Or, can any French author be supposed indebted to Johnson for it ?
.
American Depreciation of Currency.— In December, 1779, and in the state of Maryland, an English officer (one of the convention troops) received an innkeeper's bill which, in his Travels (Aubury, ii. 492), he has printed in full length, amounting in paper money to 732l. ; and this bill he paid in gold with four guineas and a half (Mahon's England, vi. 410). In other words, the Englishman paid a debt of 155l, to an American with the value of one sovereign. At this time General Washington said, "A waggon-load of money will now scarcely purchase a waggon-load of provisions." It is just now an interesting question to Americans, "Who lost the difference between 732l. and 4l. 14s. 6d?"
