■2-'i S. X. Nov. 3, '60.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



351 



whispered in my ear, "the Latins call rae Porcus." 

 I did not see at the time that this observation had 

 anything to do with what the company were talk- 

 ing about, nor have I subsequently found any 

 means of discovering its import. The last time 

 the incident recurred to my mind I thought of 

 " N. & Q.," and I now write in the hope that I 

 am applying in the most likely quarter for an ex- 

 planation. M. S. R. 



[If, as wc suppose, in the conversation alluded to, one 

 of the parties present was attempting display by need- 

 lessly using liard words or being otherwise overwhehn- 

 ingly learned, there would be something quite appropriate 

 in tlie ])hrase smilingly whispered by the elderly gentle- 

 man, which is taken from an old fable expressly designed 

 to correct a needless display of erudition. VVe are not 

 quite sure that this fable exists in print; at any rate we 

 cannot at this moment refer to it. We will therefore re- 

 late it as many years ago it was related to us by another 

 elderly' gentleman, a person of some learning and anti- 

 quarian research. 



Once upon a time as the wolf was taking a walk he 

 overtook a pig, whom he thus addressed: "Good morn- 

 ing, Mr. Pig ; I have had nothing to eat these three days. 

 I am very glad to have fallen in -with you, for yo\i will 

 just serve me for a dinner." " Sta}'," said the pig, " is 

 not this Friday?" "Indeed it is," answered the wolf. 

 *'Well," replied the pig; " you I know are, like myself, 

 a good Catholic, Of course j'ou would not eat meat on a 

 Friday." " Oh, very well," said the wolf; " then, as we 

 are both going the same way, suppose we go together ? " 

 so on they trotted, side by side. Presently the wolf re- 

 marked, " I think, Mr. Pig, you are called by many dif- 

 ferent names." "Just so," said the pig; "I am called 

 not only pig, but hog, swine, grunter, and I know not 

 how many names besides. The Latins call me Porcus." 

 "Oho," said the wolf; "they call you Porcus, do they? 

 Porcus is porpoise. Porpoise is fish. I may eat fish on a 

 Frida3\ So now I will eat you." Thus saying, he fell 

 upon the unlucky pig, and ate him up ! ] 



Cowpeb's "John Gilpiis." — In an old news- 

 paper is the following : — 



" The gentleman who was so severely ridiculed for bad 

 horsemanship, under the title oi Johnny Gilpin, died a few 

 davs ago at Bath, and has left an unmarried daughter, 

 ■vvilh a fortune of 20,000/. Nov. 1790." 



Is this gentleman's name on record in any life 

 of Cowper, or elsewhere ? II. W. 



r Jonathan Gilpin died at his house in Orange Court, in 

 the Grove, Bath, on Sept. 22, 1790 ; but we very much 

 doubt of his being the hero of Cowper's " Diverting His- 

 tory." Consult "N. & Q." 2»i S. viii. 110., and ix. 33.] 



JAMES I. AND THE RECUSANTS. 

 ■ In the monthly number of " N. & Q." issued at 

 the beginning of September (2"'' S. x. 81.), I 

 iately saw, for the first time, a paper signed S. li. 

 Gardiner, in which the writer does me the honour 

 to refer to me, and to a letter which I have 

 printed in my Dodd. His notice is not very com- 

 plimentary : but it involves a matter of some im- 

 portance ; and his readers, therefore, will perhaps 



excuse me if I overlook his discourtesy, for the 

 sake of offering a few words in reply to his state- 

 ments. 



It appears that, some months before the death 

 of Queen Elizabeth, the Pope despatched Sir 

 James Lindsay from Rome with a letter ad- 

 dressed to the Scottish monarch. In that letter 

 the Pontiff assured James of his unalterable friend- 

 ship : he declai'ed that whatever power he pos- 

 sessed, whether at home or abroad, should be 

 employed in counteracting the designs of those 

 who sought to alter the succession to the English 

 throne ; and he farther promised that, if the King 

 would allow his son to be educated in the Catho- 

 lic religion, he would himself supply whatever 

 amount of money might be necessary for support- 

 ing the royal title to the crown, at the death of 

 Elizabeth.* 



To this communication, instead of a written 

 answer, James commissioned Lindsay to return a 

 verbal reply. Lindsay, however, who was to have 

 departed at once on this errand, was detained (so 

 James tells us) by illness. Before he recovered, 

 Elizabeth was dead ; James had quietly ascended 

 the English thi'one ; and any assistance which the 

 Pope might have proffered for the establishment 

 of his title had consequently become unnecessary. 

 Under these circumstances, it occurred to Lindsay 

 that the King would possibly desire to amend the 

 answer which he had authorised him to convey to 

 Clement. As soon, therefore, as he was able, in- 

 stead of departing for Rome, he repaired to Lon- 

 don. There he saw James again ; received from 

 him, after some time, a renewal of his instructions ; 

 and at length — probably during the early part of 

 the autumn of 1604 — took his final departure for 

 Italy. (James to Parry, Dodd, iv., App. p. Ixix.) 



In the meantime the Pope had received no 

 answer to his letter. Not discouraged, however, 

 by this, Clement resolved to make another attempt 

 to open a correspondence with the English court ; 

 and accordingly the Nuncio in Paris was ordered 

 to write to the King, renewing the assurance of the 

 Pope's friendly dispositions, and offering, in the 

 name of the Pontiff, to recal from England any 

 priests, whether secular or religious, who should 

 be pointed out as enemies or disturbers of the 

 government. (^Ibid. Ixvii. Ixviii.) It was in con- 

 sequence of this, but after a delay of some months, 



• "Hanc porrb conditionem nobis ultrb detulisse, ut, 

 quibuscumque in locis auctoritate aut viribus polleret, 

 omnium conatibus sese opponeret, qui, quovis prastextu, 

 jus nostrum in hujus regni possessionem inipedire posse 

 viderentur: addidisse prjeterea, si filii nostri curam at- 

 que educationem illius arbitrio permitteremus, earn se 

 pecunire copiam in auxilium nostrum suppeditaturum, 

 qu£e nos in hoc regno, quod jam adepti sumus, stabiliendo 

 abunde sufficeret." (James to Parry, Dodd, iv. Append. 

 p. Ixix.) — This, which is James's own description of the 

 letter, is rather different from that with which Mr. Gau- 

 DiNEu has favoured his readers. 



