li^ 



isfOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2°^ S. N« 32., Aug. 9. '66. 



As to Tbomas Simon's silence in Iiis wilt as {o 

 any property in Guernsey or claim thereto, it is 

 easily explainefd by the fact that at that tiitie the 

 law of the island did not permit of bequests of 

 real property to children, and the claim to the 

 personal property of John Fautrart, Sen., bad 

 been settled long before. 



Is the date of Abrahatn Simoti's death knowti? 

 May ndt Pegge have confounded him with bis 

 brother Thomas ? especially as he also was a 

 modeller and engraver. Ano:n. 



THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



(2"^ S. ii. 79.) 



I am requested by )8. 7, S. to give the editions, 

 datesj &c., of the Catholic catechisms used by ati- 

 thority in this country, in which the Command- 

 ments are taught at length. There are only two 

 authorised catechisms in use in England. These 

 are the abridged Douay Catechism, and th^ 

 Abridgment of Christian Doctrine^ usually called 

 the First or the Little Catechism. The original 

 Douay Catechism indeed bore the title of An 

 Abridgment of Christian Doctrine, and was printed 

 early in the seventeenth century. I have a copy 

 of the third edition,- printed in the reign of James 

 II,, by " Henry Hills, Printer to the King's most 

 excellent majesty, for his household and chapel ; 

 and are to be sold &t his Printing-House on the 

 Ditchside, in Black-fryers." But as this was too 

 long for children to learn, there was published, 

 with approbation, An Abstract of the Douay Cate- 

 chism. Of this I have an edition : " London : 

 Printed in the year 1782;" but without any 

 printer's name. It was printed^ however, by 

 J. Marmaduke, in Oreat Wild Street, near Queen 

 Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields. This is the Douay 

 Catechism in general use among Catholics all 

 over England and Wales, often designated as the 

 Second Catechism, because it is usually learned 

 after the First or Little Catechism. The editions 

 of it are innumerable; but in 182'7, the four 

 Vicars Apostolic approved and sanctioned a cor- 

 rected edition, and required that all future edi- 

 tions should be conformable to it ; which has been 

 carefully adhered to ever since. 



The First, or Little Catechism, entitled An 

 Abridgment of Christian Doctrine, was compiled 

 more than a century ago by Bishop Challoner. 

 It has in like manner passed through countless 

 editions ; but a standard edition was approved in 

 1826, by the four Vicars Apostolic, and all sub- 

 sequent editions have been required to be con- 

 formable to the one so authorised. This catechism, 

 being shorter and more simple, is usually learnt 

 before the Douay Catechism. But these two are 

 the only catechisms used by authority among 



Catholics In this country. In all editions of both 

 these, the First Commandment is given at full 

 length, including what by Protestants is called 

 the Second, and in the Douay Catechism the 

 reasons for this arrangement are given in answer 

 to the Q. Why put you al^ff^s in one command- 

 ment? ^ F.G.U. 



Mollerus (2"'^ S. i. 133.) — t cannot say where 

 the entire poem of Mollerus is now to be found, 

 but a large sample of it is in Herbinius de Cata- 

 ractis, Amstelod., 1678. On p. 224. is a vignette 

 of Hatto's Tower, apparently as it was three years 

 ago. The bishop is on the rock, watching the 

 rats which are crossing the Rhine. Herbinius 

 having described the rapids, adds : 



" Sequitur jam ligata etiam oratione, ' Historia de 

 Tragico Hattonis Episcopi Moguntinensis fato ; ' quam 

 Befnhardus Mollerus Monasteriensis, in sua Rheili De- 

 scriptione, Colonic Agrippinae, mdxcvi., carmine caetera 

 egregio tradit. Quia enim Uhellus iste, prmterquam in 

 Bibliothecd SereniSsimi Holsatice Dilcis, vix iisjndm alibi 

 reperitur, apponolibetis versus istos in gratiam lectoris." 



Then follows the story of Hatto in 162 very 

 tedious and antimetrical lines. That the original 

 contained many more may be inferred from 

 several " &c."s at the close of the pentameters. If 

 Southey did rob MoUeriis, he must have had 

 access to the original : for in this extract there is 

 nothing diffeting fi-oin the ordinary version of the 

 story, which is dressed up iri tawdry rhetoric. 

 Compare the opening of each : — 



" The summer and autumn had been so wet 

 That in winter the corn was growing vet: 

 'Twas a piteous sight to see all around 

 The grain lie rotting on the ground. 

 And every day the starving poor 

 Crowded around Bishop Hatto's door/' &c. 



" Messis erat raro segetum dotata favore; 



Paupere nil potuit villus esse viro. 

 Panpere paupertas languescit frigida lino^ 



Verminat esuriens paupere moesta penu. 

 Auget egestatem morbus, contempta movetur 



Pauperies : omni cassa favore perlt. 

 In rigldis passim miseri jacuere plateis 



Quos miserfe letho vovit acredo famis. 

 Vita quibus restat, vitam mutare volentes^ 



Sanguinea fatum prseripuere manu. 

 Est dolor in vita truculens, in funere terror : 



Conditio sortis nulla placere valet, 

 Qiiis stadium vitaa letho mutare peroptet ? _ 



Ciim miser baud potefit tivere, fata cupit," &c. 



The " &c." leaves us in uncertainty as to tne 

 amount of common-place expended before reach- 

 ing Hatto. 



Though Mollerus may not be a poet, any in- 

 formation as to so scarce a book as his lihem 

 Descriptio will be acceptable. H. B. C^ 



U. U. Club. 



