Various - Notes and Queries, Number 69, February 22, 1851

Vappa , nebulo , and similar terms, are freely applied to their characters; invidia , κακοήθεια, &c., to their motives. The following is a specimen of the way he handles them:—

"Dantes Poëta illustrissimum Christianissimorum Regum Franciæ genus à laniis Parisiensibus deducit, utique tam vere, quam ille tenebrio nostrum à scalarum fabro: quas mirum, ni auctor generis in suspendium eorum parabat , quos vaticinabatur illustri nobilitate suæ obtrectaturos."

Now the charge of a ladder upon their shield was certainly borne by the several branches of this family long before any of them became masters of Verona; and I should suggest that it originated in some brilliant escalade of one of the first members of it. Thus, of course, it would remind us all of perhaps the earliest thing of the kind—I mean the shield and bearings of Eteoclus before Thebes:

H–n, Jan. 28. 1851.

I send you herewith a copy of an ancient ballad which I found this day while in search of other matters. I have endeavoured to explain away the strange orthography, and I have conjecturally supplied the last line. The ballad is unhappily imperfect. I trust that abler antiquaries than myself will give their attention to this fragmentary poem.

I would fill up the lacuna—

Perhaps, I repeat, some more able antiquaries will give their attention to this, and satisfy me on the points of punctuation, date, &c.

Ayot St. Lawrence Church (Vol. iii., pp. 39. 102.). Ayot St. Lawrence, Herts, is another deserted church, like that of Landwade,—in fact a ruin, with its monuments disgracefully exposed. I was so astonished at seeing it in 1850, that I would now ask the reason of its having been allowed to fall into such distress, and how any one could have had the power to build the present Greek one, instead of restoring its early Decorated neighbour. I did not observe the 2 ft. 3 in. effigy alluded to in Arch. Journ. iii. 239., but particularly noted the elegant sculpture on the chancel arch capital.

I would suggest to Mr. Kelke, that the incumbents of parishes should keep a separate register, recording all monuments, &c. as they are put up, as existing, or as found in MS. church notes, or published in county histories. In the majority of parishes the trouble of so doing would be trifling, and to many a pleasant occupation.

Johannes Secundus — Parnel — Dr. Johnson. —In Dr. Johnson's Life of Parnel we find the following passage:—

"I would add that the description of Barrenness , in his verses to Pope, was borrowed from Secundus; but lately searching for the passage which I had formerly read, I could not find it."

I will first extract Parnel's description, and then the passage of Secundus; to which, I suppose, Dr. Johnson referred.

Secundus in his first epistle of his first book (edit. Paris, p. 103.), thus writes:—

The King's Messengers, by the Rev. W. Adams. —Ought it not to be remarked, in future editions of this charming and highly poetical book (which has lately been translated into Swedish), that it is grounded on one of the "examples" occurring in Barlaam and Josaphat ?"

In the third or fourth century, an Indian prince names Josaphat was converted to Christianity by a holy hermit called Barlaam. This subject was afterwards treated of by some Alexandrian priest, probably in the sixth century, in a beautiful tale, legend, or spiritual romance, in Greek, and in a style of great ease, beauty, warmth, and colouring. The work was afterwards attributed to Johannes Damascenus, who died in 760. In this half-Asiatic Christian prose epic, Barlaam employs a number of even then ancient folk-tales and fables, spiritually interpreted, in Josaphat's conversion. It is on the fifth of these "examples" that Mr. Adams has built his richly-glittering fairy palace.