272 



NOTES AND QUEKIES. 



[No. 125. 



stream called Chub-brook, which formerly flowed 

 into the old Hockley Pool. This pasture ground 

 shows the evident traces of a moat, and the found- 

 ations of several walls of a large building. I 

 ai)prehend this is the spot refei-red to in Hutton's 

 Histonj of Birmingham^ p. 254., fourth edition : 



" The Lord Clinton and his lady seem to have 

 occupied the Manor-house, and Sir Thomas (de Bir- 

 mingham), unwilling to quit the place of his affections 

 and of his nativity, erected a castle for himself at Wor- 

 stone ; where, though the building is totally gone, the 

 , vestiges of its liquid security are yet complete."' 



As the field will probably be built on in a short 

 time, I wish to identify the spot referred to by 

 Hutton. C. M. I. 



Buchanan and Voltaire. — Voltaire has obtained 

 credit for a very smart epigram, and one which 

 the Edinburgh Review (vol. xxi. p. 271.) calls "one 

 of his happiest repartees." It was, however, stolen 

 by him, either designedly or unwittingly, from the 

 celebrated Buchanan. Here are the two versions, 

 and the point will be observed to be the same in 

 both : 



" An Englishman visiting Voltaire in his retreat at 

 Ferney, happened to mention Haller, in whose praise 

 the philosopher enlarged with great warmth. Tlie 

 otlier observed that this was very handsome on the part 

 of M. de Voltaire, as Haller was by no means so liberal 

 to M. de Voltaire. 'Alas!' said the patriarch, 'I 

 dare say we are both of us very much mistaken !' " 



Is not this the same as Buchanan's epigram 

 (Eja., lib. 1. ed. Wets.)? 



"In Zoilum. 

 *' Frustra ego te laudo, frustra me, Zolle, Isedas 

 Nemo mihi credit, Zoile nemo tibi." 



Philobiblion. 



Indignities on the Bodies of Suicides. — We are 

 all aware of the popular repugnance to permit- 

 ting the bodies of suicides to be interred within 

 the "consecrated" or "hallowed" precincts of a 

 churchyard. Burial at cross-roads was the usual 

 mode. In many parts of Scotland such burials 

 had to take place under cloud of night, to avoid 

 the interference of the rabble. But it would ap- 

 pear from the extract given beh)w, that public 

 indinfnities were inflicted upon such corpses, to 

 testify public detestation of this crime. The 

 extract is taken from the Diarey of Robert Birrel^ 

 Burges of Edinburghe : 



" 1598, Feb. 20. The 20 day of Februar, Thomas 

 Dobic drounit himself in the Quarrel holes besyde the 

 Abbay, and upone the morne, he wes harlit throw the 

 toune backward, and therafter hangit on the gallows." 



Perhaps some correspondent of " N. & Q." may 

 be able to point out similar instances of such a 

 revolting procedure. 



Tiie "Abbay" referred to was the Abbey of 

 Holyrood. 



The " Quarrel," or Quarry holes, seem to have 

 been fatal, in many cases, both to " man and 

 beast ; " for Sir David Lyndsay, in one of his 

 poems, says : 

 " Marry, I lent my gossip my mare, to fetch hame coals. 



And he her drounit irito the quarry holes." 



R. S. F. 

 Perth. 



cauen'e^. 



" GOD S LOVE, ETC., AND OTHER POEMS. 



I should be very glad if, among the many 

 learned contributors to the " N. & Q.," there 

 should be any one who can give uie information 

 respecting a rare volume of English poetry, of 

 which I do not recollect to have seen any notice, 

 or any other copy than that in my own possession. 



It is a 12mo., or rather small 8vo. volume, and, 

 by the type and general appearance, was probably 

 printed rather before than after 1660. It consists 

 of three portions : 



1. "God's Love and Man's Unworthiness," 

 which commences thus : 



" God 1 how that word hath thunder-clapt my soul 

 Into a ravishment ; I must condole 

 My forward weakness. Ah ! where shall I find 

 Sufficient metaphors t' express my mind ? 

 Thou heart-amazing word, how hast thou fiU'd 

 My soul with Hallelujahs, and distill'd 

 Wonders into me !" 



This poem is in two parts, and extends to p. 82. 



2. " A Dialogue between the Soul and Satan," 

 p. 83 to 124, including a short supplementary poem 

 entitled "The Soul's Thankfulness and Request 

 to God." 



3. "Divine Ejaculations." One hundred and 

 forty-nine in all. Each consists of six lines. I 

 extract the tenth as a specimen : 



" Great Go^ 1 Thy garden is defaced : 

 The weeds do thrive, the flowers decay: 

 O call to mind thy promise past. 

 Restore thou them, cut these away. 



Till then, let not the weeds have power 

 To starve or taint the poorest flower." 



The copy now before me has no title-page or 

 prefatory matter of any kind, and it wants the 

 second sheet, p. 17 to 32. Yet I do not think it 

 imperfect, for though the paging goes from p. 16 

 to p. 33, yet the catch-word on the 16th page is 

 answered by the first word on p. 33, and the sense 

 is consecutive. 



It seems to me, therefore, that the author 

 changed in some degree his plan, as the work was 

 proceeding at the press, and that the little volume 

 having thus the appearance of negligence and in- 

 completeness, no title or preface was ever printed, 

 and the book never issued for sale. 



On this, or any other point, but especially on the 



