2nd s. VII. Jan. 8. '69.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



37 



perhaps S'ri, "the goddess of prosperity ^nd 

 beauty, arisen from the milky sea " of the Vedas, 

 or some deity of the Buddhists, but which cannot 

 be ascertained without reference to some work on 

 Hindoo Mythology. The Jesuit missionaries, from 

 her resemblance, might have adopted this figure 

 as that of the Virgin, but they could not inter- 

 fere with the imperial porcelain manufactories, 

 except in an indirect manner by their converts, 

 and they by this means introduced the crucifix 

 and other Catholic emblems upon some of the 

 Nankin vases. 



iElegarding the " Kylins," said to be of " European 

 origin and introduced into China from Madrid," 

 a reference to dates will show this account to be 

 " an old woman's fable." Porcelain was not made 

 at Madrid, or in any part of Spain, till the middle 

 of the eighteenth century, whereas there are draw- 

 ings of kylins upon old Nankin porcelain, as well 

 as figures in ancient white and turquoise porcelain, 

 of the manufactory of several centuries previously. 

 It is not known what symbols these fabulous mon- 

 sters, kylins, dragons, &c. are meant to represent, 

 but they are very ancient. 



The yellow porcelain vases mentioned were 

 probably made at Canton for sale to Europeans ; 

 that imperial colour not being allowed to be used 

 by any subject. These specimens are not of much 

 value, but some genuine imperial citron yellow 

 egg-shell cups were sold for their weight in gold 

 at the sale of the late Mr. Beckford's china. M.(2). 



Pope and Dennis (2°* S. vi. 412.) — P. D. will 

 find " the letter of Dennis to Pope of April 29, 

 1721,"inp.6.of the "Errata" which begins the par- 

 ticular Edition of 1729, marked " K " in the inter- 

 esting "Notes on the Editions of The Dunciad" 

 which appeared in " N. & Q.," 1»* S. x. 517. It 

 may not be out of place here, in relation to the 

 curious subject of Pope and The Dunciad, to give 

 the following illustrative remark of Porson in his 

 notes on two tracts by Warburton, &c. : — 



" Another facetious friend of Dr. Bentley, Mr. Pope, used 

 to tell Warburton that when he had anything better than 

 ordinary to say, and yet too bold, he always reserved it for 

 a second or third edition, and then nobody took any notice 

 of it. Accordingly in the first edition of The Dunciad, 

 i*. tried the public taste for slander ; alhd succeeding be- 

 yond his most sanguine hopes, he, diffident creature! 

 added a fourth book, in which he gratified the ignorant 

 and malicious by assailing men of real learning and 

 worth, among whom he very properly ranked Bentley. 

 The Dr. (Bentley) being informed that Mr. P. had abused 

 him, replied, 'Ay, like enough: I spoke against his 

 Homer, and the portentous cub never forgives." 

 (Porson's Tracts, by Kidd, 1815, pp. 323-4.) 



P. H. P. 



Modern Purim (2"'^ S. vi. 473, 474.) — The 

 remarks of F. Phillott seem calculated to 

 throw some light on the accusations brought 

 against the Jews of crucifying Christian children. 

 What more probable origin could these very 



doubtful tales have had than the circumstance 

 of their having been seen by some of their igno- 

 rant neighbours in the act of commemorating 

 this feast by erecting a gallows, which from its T 

 shape would resemble the cross, from whence 

 would be seen a body suspended, which, after 

 being loaded with execrations, would ultimately 

 be committed to the flames. Any one accus- 

 tomed to the curious exaggerations detailed in 

 country villages in the present day, will readily 

 believe that such a scene as this would soon be 

 magnified into the oft-told tale before alluded 

 to, and would eagerly be seized hold of by those 

 who were on the look out for some pretext for 

 obtaining possession of the coveted Vealth of the 

 persecuted Jews. It is said that the children 

 have wooden hammers given them on this festival ; 

 probably these were intended to represent the 

 gallows of Haman. 



I believe that it is a Portuguese practice to 

 hang effigies of Judas and Pontius Pilate on a 

 gibbet, and, after belabouring them, making ^ a 

 bonfire of them. Perhaps this may owe its origin 

 to the Purim, and also the gallows in Punch and 

 Judy maybe derived from this source. M. G. 



In a note on the above, which you did me the 

 favour to insert in a late number of " N. & Q.," 

 I stated, following Calmet's account of that fes- 

 tival (folio ed. s. V. Purim) that of the two con- 

 secutive days, viz. 14th and 15th, the later was 

 solemnised by the Jews of the Provinces. A 

 reference, however, to the text (Esther ix. 18, 

 19.) will show that the Provincial Jews, having 

 avenged themselves on their enemies on the ISth, 

 rested on the 14th, while those of the Capital, 

 having been granted at Esther's request a sup- 

 plementary day of vengeance, did not complete 

 the work of retribution for the projected measure 

 till the 14th, resting in a similar manner on the 

 fifteenth day, which sufficiently accounts for the 

 festival extending oyer two days, viz. 14th and 

 15th of Adar; the fast of the thirteenth, which 

 does not appear to have formed any part of the 

 original solemnity, being a voluntary injunction 

 of the Jews t5 commemorate the preliminary fast 

 of Esther. P. Phlllott. 



Christmas (2°^ S. vi. 499. 532.) — This being a 

 Church festival, and one of the highest rank, its 

 commencement and termination must be decided 

 by the usage of the Church, and will be thus de- 

 termined without any difficulty. Dr. Parr was no 

 authority on such questions, and his decision, cited 

 by MEDLaivus, is absurd and inconsistent. The 

 commencement of the great. Antiphons, of which 

 the first is O Saplentia, is not the beginning of 

 Christmas, but of a more immediate and solemn 

 preparation for it. These Antiphons are seven in 

 number, and are varied each day ; the Antiphon 

 O Saplentia being appointed for December 17tb 



