2"<i S. N" 58., Feb, 7. '57.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



107 



dentally omitted in its proper place, is here given, 

 merely leaving out the ring-links of the wood- 

 cut: 



" AuREA Catena Homeki. 



* 



* • 



Annulus Platonis. 



* 



* * 



SUI'EUIUS ET I^•FERIUS HeKMETIS. 



* 



* * 



Chaos confusunu 



* 



Spiritus 3Iuiidi volatills incorporeus. 



* 



Spiritus 3Iundi acidus corporcus. 



* 



Spiritus 3Iundi Jixus alcalinus corporeus. 



3Iateria prima omnium concretorum 



subhinarium immediata seu Azotlu 



* 



Aniinalia. 



* 

 Vegetabilia. 



* 



Mineralin. 



* 



Spiritus Mundi concentratus fixus, sine 

 Extractum Chaoticum puriim. 



Perfectio consunimafa, sive 

 Quinta Essentia Universi. 



A NOTE FROM ■WOLVERHAMPTON. 



Dr. Oliver, in his work on tlie Collegiate Church 

 at Wolverhampton, notices as a singularity that 

 the baptismal registers occasionally contain the^re- 

 cord of a child christened, who is designated as a 

 son, or daughter, " of peopple." We have heard 

 of " fathers of their people," and " widows of the 

 grand army," but even Dr. Oliver did not know, 

 or rather did not explain, what was meant by a 

 son " of peopple." This explanation is afforded 

 in Pishey Tiiompson's recently published and 

 elaborate work on the Histoi-y and Antiquities of 

 Boston, in Lincolnshire. He says : 



"Illegitimate children were, in 1574, and until 1G60, 

 baptized as Jilii et fiUa populi. That this was the case is 

 proved by an entry in 1G09, where is entered, ' John, a 

 bastard alias jilius populi, died loth October.' The last 

 entry of this kind is in 1667." 



Let me add, that in Wolverhampton Collegiate 

 Church (a chapel royal, by the way), I was re- 

 minded of certain discussions in " N. & Q." touch- 

 ing longevity, by observing among the communi- 

 cants a female, whose age is commonly asserted 

 as being 102 years. On inquiry, however, I found 



that there was no proof of the correctness of such 

 an assertion, and that the female in question is, 

 probably, not much above ninety. In the pro- 

 vinces, there seems a predilection for ranking very 

 aged persons as centenarians. Allow me to con- 

 clude this random Note from Wolverhampton by 

 noticing the epitaph on Charles Claudius Phillips, 

 " whose absolute contempt of riches, and in- 

 imitable performances on the violin, made him the 

 admiration of all that knew him. He was born 

 in Wales, made the tour of Europe, and after the 

 experienceof both kinds of fortune, died in 1732:" 



" Exalted soul, thy various sounds could please, 

 The love-sick virgin, and the gouty ease. 

 And jarring crowds, like old Amphion, move 

 To beauteous order and harmonious love. 

 Now rest in peace, till Angels bid thee rise. 

 And join thy Saviour's consort (sic) in the skies," 



The above will remind the reader of the sailor 

 who swore to the morality of his ship-mate, on the 

 ground that he " played the fiddle like an angel." 

 Altogether the epitaph may rank with one in the 

 principal church at Bury St, Edmunds, and which 

 says of a deceased attorney, that he was remark- 

 able for the strength of his head ! J, Dorak. 



Earliest Newspaper in America. — 



" The earliest newspaper in the Xew World dates back 

 to an earlier period than our annalists generally allow. 

 In the Dictionary of Dates, by Putman, it is stated in 

 accordance with the general belief, that the first American 

 newspaper was the Boston X'ews Letter of 1704, In the 

 State Paper Office at London, there is, however, a copy, 

 perhaps the only one extant, of a folio newspaper sheet, 

 printed at Boston, and having the date of September 25th, 

 1690." 



Could " N. & Q." furnish any extracts from this 

 last publication ? To all Bostonians they would 

 be of peculiar interest. W. W. 



Malta. 



Homeric Verse : Nicholson, the Cambridge Book- 

 seller. — The following verse, written by some 

 classical Cantab, is so good, that it is worthy of 

 preservation in " N. & Q." Nicholson was a book- 

 seller at Cambridge, who, from his custom of 

 calling at students' rooms with maps, became 

 known as " Old Maps." This circumstance is 

 celebrated in the following verse, which is cer- 

 tainly remai'kable for its Homeric character : 



" Ma<// aiiTov (caAeovcri fleoi, avSftti Si fiCxoKtrov." 



See Odyss., 3. 138., &c. : — 



" TAayj/, arap ov Kara Koa-fiov." 



T. W. Ks., M.A. 



Anecdote of Muiigo Park. — I have heard of 

 one who, entertaining Mungo Park at dinner, and 

 asking if be should give him any bam with hi.s 



