2n<J S. N" 51., Dec. 20. '56.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



487 



Cheshire. " Better wed over the raixon than over the 



moor." 

 Cornivall. " Those who will not be ruled by the rudder 



must be ruled by the rock." 



Thbelkeld. 



Letter Writers. — Artists have gratified us with 

 their representations of the Italian letter-writer, 

 the Spanish, the oriental, and others. Why should 

 the profession be unknown in this country ? In 

 a market town or large village, if a worthy in- 

 dividual, backed by influential friends, would 

 boldly display the inscription, '•'^ Letters written 

 here, charge one penny" a sufficient remuneration 

 would probably be soon obtained. C. T. 



" Bell Bastard" a term of reproach, — The 

 illegitimate child of a woman who is herself illegi- 

 timate, is styled by the vulgar in this town and 

 neighbourhood, a " bell bastard." Can this term 

 of reproach have the same etymological significa- 

 tion as the phrase " to bear away the bell," in re- 

 spect of its chief and crowning ignominy ? 



John Pavin Phillips. 



Haverfordwest. 



A Lesson for Laureates. — In rWaller & Sons 

 Autograph Catalogue, among a number of interest- 

 ing articles appears the following : 



"401. Wordsworth (William), the Poet. Autograph 

 distich, with attestation by himself: 



* The God of Love, ah benedicit^. 



How naughty and how great a Lord is he ! ' 



' This is my favourite autograph for ladies,' signed Wil- 

 liam Wordsworth, Rvdal Mount, April 26, 1826." 



T. W. 



Ancient Cheshire Games (circ. 1 630.) — 



" Auntient customs in games used by boys and girles merity 



• sett out in verse. 



" Any they dare chalenge for to throw 4ihe sleudge. 

 To Jumpe or leape over dich or hedge. 

 To wrastle, play at stooleball, or to Kuntie, 

 To pich the barre, or to shoote off a Gonne, 

 To play at Loggets, nine holes, or ten pinnes, 

 To trye it out at footeball, by the shinnes. 

 At Tick tacke, Irish, noddy, maw and Ruffe, 

 At hott cockley, leape frogge, or blindmans buffe. 

 To drinke the halph potts or deale at the whole can. 

 To play at chesse or pen and ink horn John, 

 To daunce the morris, play at barley breake. 

 At all exployts a man can think or speake, 

 At shove groate, or venterpoynte or crosse and pile, 

 At beshrow him that's last at any style. 

 At leapinge ore a Christmase eve bonefier 

 Or at the drawinge danne out of the myer, 

 At Shoote Cocke, gregory, stoole ball and what not, 

 Pickepoynt topp and scourge to make him hott." 



Randle Holmes's MSS. Brit. Mus. 



Z. z 



'■'■Knowledge is Power." — I send you a happy 

 epigram, struck off* many years ago by no less a 

 person, I believe, than the present Archbishop of 

 Dublin, when a resident at Oriel College, Oxford. 



A student having been somewhat officiously in- 

 terfered with by a Proctor of the College of All 

 Souls, and, as it seemed, unjustly fined for the 

 offence of frequenting taverns, when it seemed 

 that he had been there only in search of a parcel 

 which was to come by the coach, was waited upon 

 by the friends of the supposed delinquent and 

 expostulated with, but to no purpose. The only 

 answer received was : "I have the power to fine 

 him, and I shall do so." This being mentioned to 

 the Archbishop produced the following lines : 



" ' Knowledge is Power,' so saith the learned Bacon, 

 And sure in that, the Sage was not mistaken ; 

 But happy would it be for All Souls' College, 

 If, on the contrary. Power gave Knowledge." 



The sting of the epigram, which was sufficiently 

 sharp forty years ago, has long since lost its point. 



R. W. B. 



<!SL\xttiti. 



QUBEIES EESPECTINQ CEBTAINT THEOSOPHISTS AND 

 MYSTICS. 



1 . Cmiahs Rhodiginus. — The Lectionum An^ 

 tiquarum Libri Triginta has long been a favourite 

 with me as a vast repertory of profound and va- 

 luable learning ; and I would fain know some- 

 thing about the compiler or compilers ; for it 

 appears that Vindex Ceselius originally compiled 

 these "Commentaries," and thatCaslius of Rhodes 

 re-arranged, enlarged, and re-edited them. 



The title of the Aldine edition (Venetiis, mdxvi.), 

 which in that of Geneva (1620) is given in its 

 proper place as the advertisement Ad Lectorem, is 

 worth quoting : 



" Sicuti Antiquarum Lectionum Commentarios concin- 

 narat olira Vindex Ceselius; Itanunceosdem per incuriam 

 interceptos reparavit Lodovicus CcbHus Rhodiginus, in 

 corporis unam velut molem aggestis primum linguao 

 utriusque floribus ; mox advocato ad partes Platone item 

 ac Platonicis omnibus, necnon Aristotele ac Haereseos 

 ejusdem viris aliis, sed et Theologorum plerisque, ac Jure- 

 consultorum, ut Medicos taceam, et Mathesin professos. 

 Ex qua velut Lectionis farragine explicantur linguae 

 Latinae loca, quingentis baud pauciora fere, vel aliis in- 

 tacta, vel pensiculate parum excussa. Opto valeas, qui 



leges, livore positO, oCtij yap aVTint\apyS><Ti,t i(covrj." 



The last and best edition of this noble work * 

 with which I am acquainted, is that of Geneva, 

 1620, a stout folio of 1720 numbered columns, or 

 860 closely printed pages. It is thus entitled : 



"Ludovici Caelii Rhodigini Lectionum Antiquarum 

 Libri Triginta, Recogniti ab auctore, atque ita locupletati, 

 ut tertia plus parte auctiores sint redditi : Ob omnifariam 

 Abstrusarum et Reconditiorum tam jerum quam vocum 

 explicationem (quas vix unius hominis aetas, libris per- 

 petuo insudans, observaret) merito Comucopiae seu The- 

 saurus utriusque linguae appellandi." 



' There is another edition which I have not met with, 

 viz. Francof. 1666, folio. 



