Jan. 3. 18S2.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



renounced within the last two years. The suc- 

 cessor of Grandison may now, therefore, visit the 

 churches of the deanery, excommunicate the 

 ministers and parishioners, and interrogate pre- 

 sentees, without let or hindrance ; and, since the 

 language of Cornwall died with old Dolly Pen- 

 treath, his lordship will not require the herme- 

 neutic services either of the present or the late 

 incumbent of St. Just. E. Smibke. 



ON THE EXPRESSION " EICHLr DESEKVED. 



I was a few days ago induced to consider whence 

 the common expression " richly deserved " could 

 be derived. It is used by Addison and his con- 

 temporaries, but I have not been able to find it in 

 writers of an earlier period. Possibly the reading 

 of some of your contributors may supply instances 

 of its occurrence which may prove more precisely 

 its origin and history. 



The phrase, in its literal sense, is anomalous and 

 unmeaning. We may properly say that a reward 

 or punishment has been " fully deserved ; " or, by 

 a common mode of exaggeration, we may say that 

 a thing has been " abundantly deserved : " but 

 "richly deserved" seems a false figure of speech, 

 and presents to the mind an obvious incongruity 

 of ideas. Dr. Johnson cites a passage from Addi- 

 son, in which chastisement is said to have been 

 "richly deserved," and says that it is used ironi- 

 cally to signify " truly " or " abundantly." 



Of the meaning of the expression — now by 

 usage become trivial — there can, of course, be no 

 doubt ; but how came so inappropriate a thought 

 as wealth to be applied to desert ? The inaptitude 

 of the expression suggests the pi-esumption that it 

 is a corruption of some more correct phrase ; and 

 I venture to throw out a conjecture, for confirma- 

 tion or refutation by the more extensive reading 

 of some of your philological contributors, that it 

 is corrupted through the medium of oral pronun- 

 ciation from " righteously deserved." 



In one of the prayers of the Litany, in our Book 

 of Common Prayer, is the expression, " Turn from 

 us all those evils which we most righteously have 

 deserved." " Righteously " is itself a barbarous 

 corruption of an excellent English word, " right- 

 wisely," which is used by Bishop Fisher and other 

 old writers. Our ancient kings were said to be 

 " rightwise " kings of England, and to hold their 

 prerogatives and titles " rightwisely ; " and in 

 the Liturgies of Edward VI. the word " right- 

 wisely" is found, instead of "righteously," in the 

 prayer of the Litany above-mentioned. Now 

 "rightwisely deserved " is an expression as strictly 

 logical and correct, as " richly deserved " is the 

 contrary ; and as " righteously " is clearly a cor- 

 i-uption of "rightwisely," may not "richly," when 

 applied to desert, be corrupted immediately from 

 *' righteously," and ultimately from "rightwisely?" 



D. Jardine. 



THE CAXTON COFFEE. 



If I were to print the explanation which follows 

 without also producing evidence that it had 

 escaped the notice of those to whose works all 

 students in early English bibliography have re- 

 course, it would seem like advancing a claim to 

 discovery on very slight grounds. I must there- 

 fore quote Ames, Herbert, and Dibdin. 



" The history of Lomhardy, translated from the Latla 

 [by William Caxton], is mentioned by Pitts." — J. 

 Ames, 1749. 



" I take this History of Lomhardy to be no other 

 than ' the gestis of the Lombardes and of Machomet 

 wyth other cronycles,' added to the life of St. Pelagyen 

 in the Golden legend, and printed separately for the 

 use of the commonality [sic], who could not purchase so 

 large a folio." — W. Herbert, 1785; T. F. Dibdin, 1810. 



Both Bale and Pits ascribe to Caxton the 

 translation of a work entitled Historia Lumhardica. 

 Ames, as we have seen, states the fact with regard 

 to Pits, but had met with no such woi'k ; Herbert, 

 by way of explanation, assumes the existence of a 

 publication of which no one had before heard ; 

 and Dibdin, who had far superior means of in- 

 formation, repeats the observations of Herbert 

 without the addition of one word expressive of 

 assent or dissent. May we not infer their inability 

 to solve the problem ? 



The conjecture of Herbert is very plausible. 

 One fact, however, is worth a score of conjectures ; 

 and the fact, in this case, is that in the earlier 

 editions of the Latin legend the title is Legenda 

 sanctorum sive historia Longohardica. Jacques de 

 Voragine, the author of the work in question, was a 

 Lombard by birth, and archbishop of Genoa. Now 

 Lomhardi and Longohardi were synonymous terms 

 — as we see in Du Fresne ; and so were their de- 

 rivatives. With this explanation, it must be admit- 

 ted that the Historia Lumhardica of Bale and Pits is 

 no other than the Golden legend ! Bolton Cornet. 



Since my last communication, I have ascer- 

 tained that " Caxton" in Cambridgeshire was also 

 designated " Causton." 



In the Ahhrev. Rot. Origin., 41 E. 3., Rot. 42., 

 we have — 



" Cantabr Johes Freville dat viginti marcas p lie 

 feoffandi Johem de Carleton et Johem de Selvle de 

 man'io de Causton," &c. 



And in Cal. Jnq., p. m., 4 R. 2., No. 23., we have — 

 " Elena uxor Johes Frevill Chr. Caxton maner 3* 

 pars — Cantabr." 



We have, then, in Cambridgeshire "Causton" 

 and " Caxton" used Indifferently for the same 

 manor. There need be no difficulty, therefore, in 

 identifying the name of "Caxton" with "Causton" 

 manor in Hadlow. 



We have advanced, then, one step further in 

 our Investigation, and the case at present stands 

 thus : Caxton says of himself that he was born in 



