2"'i S. VIII. Oct. 8. '59.] 



NOTES AND QUEKIES. 



283 



land at a comparatively ancient period, appears 

 from two passages in the Plowman s Tale, vol. iv. 

 pp. 73 and 85., Bell's edition of Chaucer, Edinb. 

 1782. 



« Who toteth on 'hem ben untall."— P. 73. 



And again : — 



"Tliei toteth on the summe totall." — P. 85. 



I am aware of the doubt which exists about the 

 authorship of the Ploionian's Tale, but it matters 

 not in this case, as it is obvious that the word is a 

 very old one. It surely is not used in the sense 

 of carrying or hearing in either of the above lines. 

 It would rather appear to mean confiding, trusting 

 to, unless I am mistaken in the signification of the 

 context. Will some of your correspondents be 

 kind enough to refer to the passages indicated and 

 explain them ? The Glossaries, as far as I have 

 been able to examine them, afford no assistance. 



There is another subject upon which I will 

 trouble you. Numerous have been the conjec- 

 tures about the oi'igin of the peculiar observance 

 of the 1st of April, " All Fools' Day." * I do not 

 know that any of them have satisfied the curious 

 inquirers. AVill you allow me to add another 

 suggestion to those which have already been of- 

 fered, and which, as far as I recollect, has hitherto 

 escaped observation ? I do so with unfeigned mo- 

 desty, in the hope of eliciting information, which 

 I know abounds among your correspondents. 



In L. Apulei Metamo?-phoseos lib. ii. p. 41. 

 1. 29. edit. Pricsei, mdcl., this passage occurs : — 



" Solemnis, inquit, dies a primis cunabuUs huju3 iirbis 

 conditaj crastinus advenit, quo die soli mortalium sanc- 

 tissimum deum Risum bilaro atque gandiali ritu propi- 

 tiamua. Hunc tua prsesentia nobis efRciat gratiorem. 

 Atque utinam aliquid de proprio lepore liBtiticum hono- 

 rando Deo comminiscaris, quo magis pleniusque tanto 

 numini litemus." 



I have italicised the words " soli mortalium," 

 to call attention to the circumstance that the cele- 

 bration of the festival of the god Risus was then 

 confined to the Hypatasi, according to Byrrhajna's 

 assurance. Was the Roman festival called Hi- 

 laria, or Hilaria Matris Deum, the same ? This, 

 according to Macrobius {Saturnalia, i. 21.), was 

 on the 8th day before the Calends (or 1st) of 

 April, corresponding to the 25th of March, " quo 

 primum tempore, sol diem longiorem nocte pro- 

 tendit," and the sports indulged in on that occa- 

 sion are referred to by Flavins Vopiscus, Div. 

 Aurel. ]., are commented upon by Salmasius, 

 upon their authority described by Smith in his 

 Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, under 

 the head of Hilaeia, and bear a strong resem- 



[* Vide Rev. Peter Roberts's Cambrian Popular Anti- 

 quities (8vo. Lond. 1815), where he traces the custom to 

 the festival which was held at the time of the vernal 

 equinox, or "first day of the first month" of the Jews; 

 on which day Noah sent the raven out of the ark upoii its 

 bootless expedition. Pp. 113 — 117. inclusive. — Ed.] 



blance as well to the ancient celebration described 

 by Apuleius as to that which prevailed in modern 

 times. I say prevailed, for I believe the worship 

 of the god Risus is very generally abandoned in 

 these matter-of-fact da}'?. The readers of Apu- 

 leius well know that Lucius having accepted 

 Byrrhajna's invitation, was made the subject of 

 as pretty an April-fool's trick as has probably 

 ever been practised since. 



I have already extended this paper to an un- 

 reasonable length, and must apologise for doing 

 so ; but really the admirable character of " N". & 

 Q." tempts me, whenever in pursuit of informa- 

 tion, to resort to your correspondents with almost 

 a positive certainty of obtaining that which I seek. 

 Indeed your periodical may justly be regarded as 

 converting the world into a literary club. 



I observe that most of your correspondents 

 write under their real names. I give you mine, as 

 I did in a Query I formerly addressed to you on 

 the subject of the Washington Eagle, which you 

 so kindly and promptly replied to. 



GusTAvus A. Myeks. 



Richmond, Virginia, U. S. A., 

 September 8, 1859. 



HENRY GARNET. 



The columns of "N". & Q." have often been of 

 great service in rescuing from oblivion many curi- 

 ous documents, and numerous waifs and strays of 

 English history, which otherwise, to this day, would 

 probably have remained unknown. 



Lying almost illegible in the State Paper Office, 

 and becoming if possible more illegible every day, 

 are many letters of historical interest, dated from 

 the Tower of London, and written in lemon juice, 

 all of them in the handwriting, and nearly all 

 bearing the signature, of Henry Garnet, the 

 Jesuit. 



The following letter, never to my knowledge 

 before printed, I think worthy of being published 

 here. The original is calendared in " The Gun- 

 powder Plot Book," No. 241. 



It will be understood that the first part, writ- 

 ten in ink, was of no moment, but was intended 

 to be seen by the Officials in the Tower, and meant 

 to blind them. The pith was contained in the 

 part written in lemon juice. These letters at- 

 tracted attention from their wide margins and in- 

 significant contents. 



(7h inh.') 



" I pray you lett these spectacles be set in leather, and 

 with a leather case, and lett the fould be fytter for y" 

 nose. 



« Y" for ever, H. G. 



" IIenky Gahnett." 

 (On the back in lemon juice.') 



" This Bearer knoweth that 1 write this, but thinks it 

 must be read with water. The paper seut with bisket 

 bread I was forced to burn, and did not read. I pray 

 write again. 



