2««i S. X. Nov. 10. 'CO.3 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



373 



Messe trouvee en VEcriture, 1646, and its English 

 version, 1674, entitled A Famous Conference be- 

 tween Pope Clement X. and the Cardinal de Monte 

 Alto concerning the late Discoverie of the Masse 

 in Holy Scripture made by the worthy Father 

 Patrick, &c. 



The JPope is made to say of Father Patrick : — 



" He hatli sent to me a Bible turned into French by 

 the Doctors of Louvaine, printed in Paris in 1664 (qu, 

 1661 ?] where, in Acts xiii. 2. these blessed words are to 

 be read, of the Apostles saying Mass to the Lord." 



I found reason to think that this and similar 

 gross depravations of the sacred text had origin- 

 ated either with J. Corbin, or with the well-known 

 Jesuit Francis Veron : but after the most diligent 

 search, and careful enquiries made through a 

 friend at Paris, I was unable to obtain a sight of 

 the versions of either of these translators (de- 

 scribed in my Memoir). 



I am now enabled to state my belief, that the 

 numerous perversions began with Corbin ; but 

 were multiplied by Veron, and by his consummate 

 art were extensively circulated. I have never yet 

 found, in any library, public or private, Veron's 

 Testaments of 1646 or 1647 ; but a few years ago 

 I chanced to pick up upon a book-stall in Dublin 

 the New Testament of Corbin, 2 vols. 16mo,, 

 with a reprinted title dated 1661 (the year of the 

 " Approbation " prefixed to the Bourdeaux edi- 

 tion of 1686), but bearing at the end of each 

 volume " Paris, 1641." 



The present paper is not a fit place for a minute 

 description of this version. It contains the Mass, 

 in Acts xiii. 2., but not Purgatory in 1 Cor. iii. 

 15. Probably this latter was added afterwards 

 by Veron. 



So far as I can judge, Corbin's version, which 

 he styles " nouvelle traduction tres elegante," * 

 &c. is (at least in these countries), a far rarer 

 book than its more celebrated brother of Bour- 

 deaux. It is not to be found in the British Mu- 

 seum, the Bodleian, nor in any other collection 

 with which I am acquainted. 



I may mention here, that be^des the Rejections 

 of Bishop Kidder, the Bourdeaux Testament has 

 been noticed and exposed in the interesting and 

 important tract of the lie v. James Serces, a 

 French refugee : — 



" Popery an Enemy to Scripture ; or, an Account of the 

 several Methods pursued by the Church of Rome, to sink 

 the authority of the Holy Scriptures ; and of the various 

 Falsifications introduced in some Versions of the New 

 Testament published by the Divines of that Communion 

 in French and English.'" 8vo. London, 1736. 



* The Theological Faculty of Paris did not quite agree 

 with the author in their estiuiate of this version : for 

 they presented a memorial to Cardinal Richelieu, in 

 which they somewhat unpolitely requested that he would 

 cause Corbin's translation of the New Testament to " be 

 buried in the sand, as Moses hid the Egyptian whom he 

 had slain." 



This valuable tract had become extremely 

 scarce : not that it was burnt by the public hang- 

 man, or was openly suppressed by authority as 

 unsound and dangerous to the public morals. But 

 it was quietly and silently withdrawn from cir- 

 culation, by unseen but busy hands, as pamphlets 

 on such subjects constantly have been and will be 

 stifled. But I understand that in 1850 it was 

 reprinted, not indeed singly as would have been 

 desirable, but in vol. viii. of the Continuation of 

 Gibson's Preservative against Popery. 



In 1827 I said, that I knew of only^^we copies 

 of the Bourdeaux Testament, At present, I have 

 heard of the following ones : — 



1. In the Library of Trinity College, Dublin. 



2. In Archbp. Marsh's Library, Dublin. 



3. A Duplicate in Marsh's Library ; after- 

 wards Mr. Grenville's ; now, in the British Mu- 

 seum. 



4. Bp. Kidder's copy ; afterwards, Dr. Bawlin- 

 son's ; now, Bodleian Library. 



5. Archbishop Wake ; now Christ ^urcb, Ox- 

 ford. 



6. Cathedral Library of Durham. 



7. Cagsar de Missy ; Duke of Norfolk, (?) Duke 

 of Sussex ; Bp. Daly of Cashel ; Mr. Thompson. 



8. Archbishop of Canterbury, at Lambeth. 



9. Duke of Devonshire. I have not seen this. 



10. I saw a fine copy at Sharpe's auction-rooms, 

 Dublin, prepared for sale, in October, 1836. I 

 do not know what became of it. 



11. A copy in possession of the then Bishop of 

 Ely, reported by Grier in his Answer to Ward's 

 Errata, 1812. The copy belonging to Serces in 

 1736. Where is it now ? 



Nine of the foregoing copies I have seen and 

 handled. Henrt Cotton. 



Thurles. 



P.S. A few years ago, Mr. Grenville wrote me 

 word that he had met with a small French Testa- 

 ment, which contained some of the corruptions 

 introduced by Corbin or Veron. I never saw the 

 book, but think that its date was between 1670 

 and 1675. Probably it is now in the British 

 Museum. 



GPOST IN THE TOWER. 

 (2"'' S. x. 146. 192. 236. 291.) 



When the catholic page of " N. & Q." was 

 opened to my story, I became bound to satisfy its 

 correspondents upon every personal and local cir- 

 cumstance. I, therefore, readily answer Mr. 

 Lloyd's reasonable and seasonable questions : — 



1. My son had nearly closed his seventh year; 

 and was endowed with more than the ordinary in- 

 telligence of childhood. Assuredly, he was not ter- 

 rified with what he did not see ; but he was 

 exceedingly scared at his mother's outcry and my 

 agitation. 



