482
NOTES AND QUERIES. [9* s. x. D*>. 20, 1902.
recalled to them the lost joys of Paradise.
Now up to the time of the fall of man the ser-
pent had four feet like the camel, and was the
most beautiful creature in Eden except man.
The punishment came swiftly. Four branches
of the trees of Paradise lowered, and each
of the four sinners was expelled from the
primeval home. Adam was cast into Hin-
dostan, Eve to Djidda, near Mecca, the
serpent to Ispahan, and Eblis to Simnan.
God was angry with the serpent, and took
away both his forelegs and his hindlegs, and
caused him to crawl upon the ground.*
It will be seen that the legend finds its fullest expression in Tabari. His account of the method by which Eblis obtains admission to Eden I have not found elsewhere. The serpent in this version is merely the intro- ducer of the fallen angel Eblis, who plays the more important part of the tempter.
WILLIAM E. A. AXON.
Manchester.
BEACONSFIELD'S BIRTHPLACE.
I AM glad to note that the house thus distinguished viz., 22 Theobalds Road, W.C. has had the benefit of a " wash and brush up," which has relieved it from the forlorn appearance presented when it was the subject of correspondence in 'N. & Q.' a few months since (9 th S. viii. 317, 426, 512 ; ix. 15, 297). The dingy London brick has been cleaned and neatly pointed ; the window- heads have been reddened (!); the handsome old-fashioned classic pillars and door- head of wood now shine with the lustre of ebony, the door of the same hue being relieved by a shining brass letter-box, though not with the knocker I suggested. The necessity for the latter appurtenance, indeed, does not now exist, for No. 22 has been annexed by No. 20, the entrance to the thus extended solicitors' offices being by the latter -num- bered door. I hope that MR. RALPH THOMAS who, apparently discouraged by the tem- porary shaobiness of the house, was unable to support my advocacy of a commemo- rative tablet will revisit the spot and alter his views. He will now find highly respectable premises, with which the manes of an illustrious writer or statesman need not shun acquaintance, especially when the modest demands of his day are contrasted with the luxurious ostentation of ours. Theobalds Road is, indeed, thronged and
- ' Chronique de Abou-Djafar-Moharnmed-Ben-
Djarir-Ben-Yezid Tabari,' traduite par Herman Zotenberg (Paris, Imprimerie Impdriale, 1867), t. i. p. 79.
noisy with the constant current of thriving
commerce, but the noise is in a great measure
attributable to the stone paving of the street,
which the modern luxury of wooden blocks
has not yet reached. This, no doubt, will
presently abate the sound of hoofs and wheels,
and in the meantime, indeed in perpetuity,
these "desirable offices" have the great
and unusual advantage of overlooking the
green and peaceful gardens of Gray's Inn,
planned, as we learn, three centuries ago by
Bacon, who there found quiet retirement
for the meditative workings of his mind.
Thus associated with the great luminary of
their profession, this oasis, preserved amidst
the turmoil that surrounds it, must surely be
appreciated by the lawyers of to-day whose
windows command it.
In an old London street such as this quondam King's Way or King's Road, where the houses now interesting us were built c. 1765 (as old maps determine), there is always something to engage attention, either from its " old fashion," or from that quality united, as it is so often, with comeliness. In this neighbourhood there is a pleasing family of doorways, numbering quite a score, dis- tributed along Theobalds Road and the adjoining John Street. The family likeness is strong, with just about as much variety of feature as is observed in kindred indi- viduals. Classic was "the only wear" at the time they were made, and here the Ionic order is favoured in the well-proportioned pillars which carry the .nicely recessed and moulded pediments. The peculiarity here is that these portals are of wood let us say of oak though now disguised by paint of various colours. How they were treated at the time Isaac D'Israeli and his lad, the future Prime Minister, crossed the threshold is questionable. It may be that the oak was only varnished, but since then the suc- cessive coats of paint have been numerous. Paint and putty too could not be avoided, for the infirmities of aged wood have to be remedied and concealed, and to-day we have the added entertainment of observing its treatment at the hands of the several tenants. The D'Israeli portal and its immediate neigh- bour now shine as ebony. There are one or two examples of pretended stone, but in most instances simulated oak covers the veritable grain. The revived condition of No. 22 is very satisfactory ; but the D'Israeli com- memorative tablet is still wanting, and I would inquire if the London County Council have yet entered upon the delicate mission which it was understood they had taken over from the Society of Arts.
