-2n<i S. VIII. Aug. 20. '59.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



157 



Liberavi animam mcam (2^^ S. viii. 108.) — Is it 

 possible that Mr. Buckton can have overlooked 

 this phrase as used in the Vulgate, Ezek. iii. 19. 

 21., and xxxiii. 9. ? I have not the Life of Al- 

 derson before me ; but I should think it probable 

 that the learned Baron used the expression accu- 

 rately, in the sense of the prophet, i. e. " I have 

 warned you, and whatever course you may take, 

 at any rate I have delivered my soul ; your blood 

 will not be required of me" His biographer, 

 perhaps, has rather misapplied it, if he means it 

 to be equivalent to the words, " to give free vent 

 to the current of his thoughts," however indifferent 

 he might be to the graces of language. 



C. W. Bingham. 



There is a quotation which runs thus : " Dixi : 

 et salvavi animam meam." If the late Baron Al- 

 derson had not those words in his mind, I cannot 

 doubt that he intended to convey their meaning 

 at least, when he wrote " Liberavi animam 

 meam." The sentence to which I allude is fa- 

 miliar to me, and I have often quoted it. I be- 

 lieve it comes from one of the Fathers, and I 

 think from St. Bernard ; but at this moment I 

 cannot recollect its author. It is no passage of 

 Holy Scripture. Its meaning is, "I have spoken : 

 and by so doing have delivered my soul from all 

 responsibility, which I might have incurred by 

 silence." I have no doubt that it was in this 

 sense that Baron Alderson appended to his letter 

 the words " Liberavi animam meam." We are 

 told that he was writing to " a friend about to be 

 perverted." He gave him advice according to his 

 own ideas ; and thus, as he conceived, delivered 

 his own soul from the responsibility which he 

 might have incurred by withholding his opinion 

 and counsel. F. C. H. 



I cannot agree with Mr. Buckton as to either 

 the meaning or derivation of this common phrase. 

 I should say that it was ordinarily used to express 

 that the speaker had relieved himself of his own 

 responsibility by speaking or bearing testimony. 

 Thus no doubt Baron Alderson, in writing to his 

 friend under the circumstances mentioned, wished 

 to enter his protest against the contemplated step, 

 careless of the precise way in which it was worded. 

 As to the part of the Vulgate from which it is 

 taken, I think there can be little doubt but that 

 It is Ezek. iii. 19. : — 



"Si autem tu annunciaveris impio, et ille non fuerit 

 conversiis ab impietate sua, et a via sua impia : ipse qui- 

 dem in iniquitate sua morietur, tu autem animam tuam 

 liberasti." 



This appears exactly to meet the point. The 

 meaning then will be, not " I have delivered my 

 opinion," but " I have delivered my soul." 



Vebna. 



Inn Signs hy Eminent Artists (2"* S. vii. 522.) — 

 Among the curious inn signs painted by eminent 



artists, may be mentioned that of the Queen's 

 Head, near the corner of New Inn Lane, Epsom, 

 which was painted by the celebrated Harlow 

 while on a visit to the family of the Rev. Mr. 

 Thomas of Epsom. It represented the head, I be- 

 lieve, of Queen Caroline ; and one side of the sign 

 showed the face, while the other side depicted the 

 back of the head. 



On a late visit to Epsom I found that this 

 whimsical sign had disappeared, and I should be 

 glad to know what has been its fate. 



Geo. E.. Corner. 



At a small tavern, situate at Cottage Green, 

 Camberwell, known by the sign of the " Flying 

 Dutchman," is a spirited and large sign, depicting 

 the before-mentioned celebrated racer winning 

 the Derby, ascribed to Herring, the proprietor of 

 the hostelry being alive to its value, as he removes 

 it in bad weather. Cam. 



I'aber v. Smith (2'^'> S. viii. 87. 118.) — The 

 Latin Faber may have occasionally been used for 

 the purpose indicated by your correspondent; but 

 there are two reasons for doubting whether Faber 

 can be properly employed as an equivalent for 

 the name of Smith. First, because Smith has its 

 own latinised form, Smithus, Smitheus, Smythius. 

 Thus Sir Thomas Smith, the able and learned au- 

 thor of the tractate Dc Republica Anglorum, 1584, 

 appears as Smyth, Smith, Smithus, Smythius. 

 And, secondly, because "Faber" is bespoke, hav- 

 ing long since been adopted as the Latin repre- 

 sentative of the old French or Norman name 

 Fevre, Faur, which is not exactly identical with 

 Smith. It is thus that Faber does duty in Dio- 

 nysius Faber, Guido Faber, Petrus Faber ; offi- 

 ciating respectively for D. le Fevre, G. Fevre, 

 and P. Faur. 



We all know *' Smith," and we all have a 

 great regard for him. A most excellent fellow 

 is " Smith," but such a Proteus ! Think of 

 " Smith," and twenty individuals are presented 

 to your mind's eye at once, — Smith the soldier. 

 Smith the sailor. Smith the country clergyman. 

 Smith the engineer in the Russian service. Smith 

 with whom you made acquaintance at Naples, 

 Smith that never goes out of London, Smith of 

 Cmwrlr Castle, North Wales, and your old col- 

 lege friend Smith. There is something nebulous 

 in the very name — you are mystified. The 

 learned Jesuit Matthew Wilson, who could not 

 lie concealed under the assumed name of Edward 

 Knott, found an effectual incognito as Nic. Smith. 



Is there, then, no way in which a man bearing 

 the name of Smith may possess individuality and 

 identity ? Surely it rests with the parents, Mr. 

 and Mrs. Smith : and the place where the object 

 may best be secured is the baptismal font. If the 

 name of Smith be no identification, at least let the 

 sponsorial name be distinctive. Beware of "John" 



