2"^ S. N« 57., Jan. 31. '57.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



87 



lected in Wagner's Poetarinn Tragicorum Grceco- 

 rnm Fragmentu, vol. iii. pp. 127 — 147. L. 



The Missing Leaves of Ulfilas. — When the in- 

 valuable Codex Argeiiteus, now in Upsala, first 

 became Swedish property in 1658, it had already 

 lost 143 leaves. On being presented to Sweden a 

 second time, by Count Magnus Gabriel de la 

 Gardie, in 1669, the number of leaves remained 

 the same ; but in 1834 it was discovered that ten 

 leaves had been cut out, and the MS. has remained 

 in this state up to this moment, to the infinite 

 grief of every student of the noble Gothic dialect, 

 and to the especial regret of the learned Herr 

 Uppstrom, a Swedish scholar of world-wide re- 

 putation, who a year ago published an admirable 

 facsimile edition, in 4to., of the whole Codex, 



Judge of Herr Uppstrom's delight at lately re- 

 ceiving a communication from an old collector, a 

 Swedish gentleman now on his death-bed, enclosing 

 the ten missing leaves ! 



They are all from the Gospel of St. Mark, and 

 are in excellent condition. 



This is also satisfactory on another account ; for 

 it had been industriously reported in Sweden that 

 this infamous spoliation was the work of two En- 

 glish travellers. 



Thus another MS. treasure is recovered from 

 oblivion. Truly, we should never despair ! 



Geokgb Stephens. 



S/ang in 1793.— In Butt's Poems, published in 

 1793, are these lines : 



" We teach old maxims, neither less or more, 

 Tlian Locke, or humble Hooker taught before. 

 Those fograms, quizzes, treats, and bores, and gigs, 

 Were held in some account with ancient prigs," &c. 



And to the last line but one is this note : — 



" Barbarous terms of the day, adopted by the great 

 vulgar." 



CUTHBERT BeDE, B.A. 



Mice and Music. — 



" Miss Louisa Foote Hay gave a concert last week at 

 Colyton. Soon after Miss Hay had commenced her first 

 song, ' Annie Laurie,' the party occupying the first seat 

 saw a mouse sauntering leisurely up and down close to 

 the skirting of the platform on which she was singing. As 

 the song proceeded the mouse stood spellbound ; a lady 

 tried to drive it away by shaking her concert bill at it, but 

 the animal had lost its fear of man and would not retire ; 

 at the conclusion of the ballad the mouse vanished, and re- 

 appeared, bringing with it a companion, when the next 

 song was commenced. At the end of song the second the 

 two mice retreated to their hole, but made their third ' ap- 

 pearance on the boards ' when the singing was again re- 

 newed. Eventuallj"- six or seven mice came out regularly 

 with every song, and retired when the music ceased. While 

 the melodious tone filled the apartment all attempts to 

 drive away the mice were vain ; these most timid mem- 

 bers of the animal kingdom were too fascinated to be in 

 terror of the human family who actually filled the room, 

 and though a fiftieth part of the means used to drive them 

 would, under ordinarj' circumstances, have been suflScient 

 to have scared them away, they now stood, or slowly 



glided, so entranced by the melody which pervaded the 

 room that they were heedless of the presence of tlicir 

 natural enemies. How naturalists may explain this phe- 

 nomenon we know not, nor shall we swell this article by 

 attempting a solution, but shall conclude this strange 

 truth — stranger than fiction — by referring any persons 

 who maj' doubt our statement to Mr. and Mrs. Kingdon, 

 of Colyton ; Mrs. Carew, of Senton ; Mr. Leversedge, of 

 Taunton ; and Miss Isaacs, of Colyton ; who were in the 

 foremost seat, and who can vouch for the truth of our 

 report." — Bristol Advertiser. 



Thbelkeld. 



Cambridge. 



Mrs. Starke's " Continental Guide." — Those 

 who lived before the days of handbooks will ap- 

 preciate the following lines, incerti auctoris, which 

 I found written in a Qopy of the above very useful, 

 but now obsolete, book. 



" Young Gentlemen, going abroad in their raw age, 

 Have need of a decent compagnon-de-voyage. 

 Like Pallas, who once condescended, they say, 



To abandon Olympus's blisses. 

 Her sex to disguise, and the posters to pay 



For the Hopeful of prudent Ulysses. 



" needless 'tis now that her honors, and boddice 

 Shd be turned into breeches and boots by a Goddess : 

 Mrs. Starke, that most learned old matron, will save a 



Youth's turn, or they misrepresent her. 

 Will chatter of flannel and thread, like Minerva, 



And spout crabbed Greek, like old Mentor. 



" 'Tis clear, though divinely inspired, that acuter 

 Than her c* be never or Courier or Tutor ; 



From the price of a house to the pace of a Vet, 

 From the relics stupendous of Rome, 



To where you can purchase the best heavy wet, 

 The old woman's always at home. 



" Cyclopean walls, and Gorgona Anchovies, 

 Westphalian hams, and proconsular Trophies, 

 Swiss chalets, Dutch Inns, and Sicilian cloisters, 



Danube, Silarus, Tiber, or Po, 

 Quails, ortolans, sparrows, Marsala, Port, oysters. 



For her nought's too high, or too low. 



" Weird woman, indeed ! human things and divine, 

 She crams in one page, nay, and oft in a line ; 

 Like a poet in phrenzy her vision can glance 



In a twinkling creation all o'er. 

 From Parthenope's Bay to the paves of France ; 

 Say, what could the Goddess do more ? " 



Honeycomb. 



Education of the Peasantry. — I would suggest 

 to inspectors of schools, clergy, and others, who 

 are active movers in this matter, that if the chil- 

 dren were taught to keep respectively to their 

 right hands when meeting each other in walking, 

 it would tend more to civilise and be more con- 

 ducive to the comfort of themselves and their 

 fellow mortals than all the knowledge which they 

 now get of geography and history. 



It is highly desirable that the lad or the lass 

 who is about to emigrate should know where the 

 country to which they emigrate is situated ; but 

 it is of equal importance that the larger number 

 who remain in England should know that there is 

 generally plenty pf room for them all on the pave- 



