Dec. 1. 1855.] 



NOTES AND QUEKIES. 



433 



si are emploj'ed for the same purposes, both in vocal and 

 instrumental music. So also in Fi'ance, with the excep- 

 tion of the use of ut instead of do. The words in which 

 the far-famed syllables ut re mi fa sol la occur, belong to 

 a hymn addressed to St. John, which Guido, in the early 

 part of the eleventh century, used in teaching singing, on 

 account of the structure of its melody exhibiting at the 

 beginning of each phrase a gradual ascent of six succes- 

 sive tones, and thereby serving as a help to tix the sounds 

 of these tones in the memory. This expedient is founded 

 on the principle of association of ideas — associating in 

 the mind the sound of the tone with the word or syllable 

 to which it is wedded. But Guido did not confine himself 

 to this hymn and its melody, which he gives merely as 

 an example — a most favourable one, however, for his in- 

 tention — for he says that any song will answer the pur- 

 pose that begins with the tone you wish to imprint on the 

 memory. 'Ihat this was his sole object in the use of the 

 words and melody of the hymn in question, and not the 

 displacing of the octave-system to make way for the 

 hexachord-system, which his followers did, by adopting 

 the initial syllables of the lirst six lines of the hymn as 

 the basis of their so-called solmisation, may be seen by 

 consulting the J^pistola Guidonis Micliaeli Monactio de 

 igiioto caiUu directa. In this letter, after some explana- 

 tion of his method of teaching, which appears to have 

 been very successful, he gives tlie hymn and its melody. 

 The melody is expressed in letters of the Koman alpha- 

 bet, one of the two modes of musical notation then in use. 

 It was Guido's favourite mode, and was employed chiefly 

 in the nmsic schools. The other mode was employed in 

 the church choral books, and was expressed by means of 

 signs or characters, called neumae, evidently a Greek 

 word, veO/xa, but changed by the monkish musical writers 

 as to gender and the torm of declension. The signs called 

 points or notes were not in use in Guido's time, nor till 

 more than a hundred years afterwards. As the source of 

 the sj'llabJes so long used in leaching singing, as well as 

 the literal mode of musical notation, are interesting in a 

 historical point of view, as regards music, 1 subjoin a copy 

 of both from K. G. Kiesewetter's work, Guido von Arrezzo, 

 Sein Leben und Werken. Leipsic, 1840 : 



In the Gregorian literal notation, the capital letters re- 

 present the lower octave of sounds ; the small letters, the 

 octave next above, or middle octave; and the double 

 letters (of which no example, however, occurs in the above 

 notation), which were placed in juxtaposition, a a, or 



above one another, the higher octave ; at least so far 



as that notation then went. The Roman letters began 

 with A, tiist space, bass clef, and extended to DD, fourth 

 line, treble clef. Guido had added B13, CO, and DD, to 

 the system. Next below A, however, was placed F, 

 which represented the gravest tone in the system. It was 

 added before Guido's time, and was so written to dis- 

 tinguish it from G, the seventh tone of the .tirst octave. 

 Thus ihe system in use in Guido's time embraced a com- 

 pass of nineteen tones. It may be remarked, that gammn, 

 being by mutation, according to the old system of solmi- 

 sation, convertible into ut, was called in that system 

 gamma ut; and hence our English word gamut = scale. 

 No. 318.] 



The French have gamme, the simple word, in the same 

 sense." 



William Fraser, B.C.L. 



Alton, Staffordshire. 



SCOTT AND THE " WAVERLEr NOVELS." 



(Vol. xii., pp. 342. 371. 385, 386.) 



By way of adding my mite to the materials for 

 solving this question, I have extracted the fol- 

 lowing from the New Monthly/ Magazine for 

 October, 1818. The editor has been reviewing, 

 in no favourable terms, the second series of the 

 Tales of my Landlord; and having wreaked his 

 vengeance on the book itself, he turns to hazard 

 an opinion as to its author : 



"A very current report prevails that these volumes and 

 their companions are from the pen of Walter Scott, who is 

 denominated in most of the Scotch magazines the 

 Mighty Minstrel! But we have the best reasons for 

 affirming that they were not written bj' that gentleman, 

 but bi/ his brothei; and that the motives which induce the 

 real author not to acknowledge them, are extremely 

 politic and reasonable." 



Again, in the New MontTily Magazine for No- 

 vember, 1818, appears a "Memoir of Walter 

 Scott," in which, alluding to Waverley and Guy 

 Mannering, the writer states that Scott himself 

 positively "rejects the merit of having written 

 any part of those interesting stories." The me- 

 moir in question concludes as follows : 



" We have heard it said that he has a brother in 

 America of a kindred genius, and to whom, on that ac- 

 count, some persons have not scrupled to attribute the 

 romances which have excited so much interest, and 

 drawn forth so many inquiries, in regard to their origin." 



Mr. Ballantyne's fortnight has expired, but I 

 for one will gladly " wait a little longer " for his 

 promised exculpation of Scotland's noblest son. 



F. Hughes. 



Chester. 



I have received a very characteristic letter from 

 an eminent litterateur in reference to my recently 

 expressed doubts that Sir Walter Scott was the 

 author of all the Waverley Novels, The gentle- 

 man I refer to does not wish his name to be 

 brought before the public in connection with this 

 subject, but I suppose has no objection that I 

 transcribe a portion both of his letter and my 

 reply. Perhaps I ought to preface the former by 

 observing, that with some of the views expressed 

 I do not concur : 



" I see " N. & Q." weekly, and should have been as 

 blind as a badger not to have seen your interesting paper. 

 Of course the ghosts of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Scott ap- 

 peared to you, else what the d 1 could have put it 



into j'our liead to urge such ' startling arguments,' as 

 BALLA>iTYNE savs, in favour of their claims to the author- 

 ship? They demand a share of the laurels, and, as far as 



