356 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 261. 



Dr. Adams may also be useful. Probably the 

 passao-e of Caelius Aureli;mus, to vvlilcli he refers, 

 is Mori). Chron. ii. iv. § 84. p. 375., ed. 1755. 



M.D. 



The Greeks were not only acquainted with the 

 art of extracting teeth, but made false ones, and 

 also stopped decayed ones, &c., with gold. 



Tkistis. 



Oblige pronounced ohleege (Vol. x., p. 256.). — 

 No one seems to have stated the cause of this. 

 There can be no doubt it was imported from 

 France, together with its pronunciation; comp. 

 Je suis oblige. Tristis. 



Death and Sleep (Vol. x., p. 229.). — To the 

 passages illustrative of this idea, which have 

 already been given in " N. & Q.," may be added 

 the following lines. I have heard them attri- 

 buted to an eminent dignitary in the church, 

 whose name has escaped me : 



" Somne levis, quanquam certissinia mortis imago, 

 Consortem cupio te tamen esse, tori. 

 Alma quies optata veni ; nam sic sine vita 

 Vivere quam suave est, sic sine morte mori." 



J. G. 



Exon. 



" Crreat let me call him, for he conquered me " 

 (Vol. X., p. 288.). — This will be found in Young's 

 tragedy of The Revenge, Act I. Sc. 1. 



J.K.R.W. 



[Wc are also indebted to H. Deneny, W.W. E. T., and 

 other correspondents for replies to this Query.] 



Friday an unhicky Day (Vol. v., p. 200. ; Vol. vi., 

 p. 592.). — Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit 

 on a Friday, and died on a Friday. See Soames' 

 Anglo-Saxon Church, p. 255. 



WirxiAM Fraseb. B.C.L. 



Alton, Staffordshire. 



NOTES ON BOOKS, ETC. 



It must frequently have occurred to many of our 

 readers, that as the field of literature is becoming every 

 day more and more extended, the literati of the nine- 

 teenth century, without that useful pioneer, A General 

 Index, would frequently be compelled to traverse some 

 acres of print to ascertain some fact, or date, or name. 

 In an index, says Shakspeare, 



" There is seen 

 The baby figure of the giant mass 

 Of things to come at large." 

 And Johnson, too, aptly explains it " the Discoverer, the 

 hand that points to anything, as the hour of a dial." So 

 important are these useful documents considered by the 

 legislature, that during the last century the following 

 sums were paid for compiling indexes to the Journals of 

 the House of Commons: Mr. Edward Moore, 6400Z. as a 

 final compensation for thirteen years' labour ; the Rev. Mr. 



Foster, 3000/. for nine j-ears' labour ; the Rev. Dr. Roger 

 Flaxman, 3000/. for the same time, &c. For the sake of 

 the literary brotherhood, this is a matter deserving more 

 consideration than it has hitherto received from all who 

 are practically interested in the onward progress of know- 

 ledge. It is, however, gratifying to find that the subject 

 has at last been taken up by a few gentlemen in the me- 

 tropolis, who have just issued a "Preliminary Prospectus 

 of a Society for the Compilation of a General Literary 

 Index." 



The plan proposed for carrying out the objects of the 

 Association is as follows : 



" Every member will be requested to furnish quarterly, 

 or at such periodical intervals as may be thought de- 

 sirable, his contributions, upon paper of a given size. It 

 will be the duty of the secretaries to classify and arrange 

 in alphabetical order the united contributions, and this 

 compilation will be printed periodically, and distributed 

 amongst the members. Thus each periodical part will be 

 an index in itself, so far as it extends, and after the lapse 

 of a short time, the collection of references thus obtained 

 Avill no doubt be sufficiently valuable for pviblication in 

 one general alphabetical aiTangement, the copyright of 

 which will be the property of the Association. 



"The expenses of the Association will be limited to the 

 outlay required for stationery and the printing of the 

 quarterly parts. It is considered that an annual sub- 

 scription of 10s. will be amply sufficient, and this sum is 

 accordingly proposed as the payment to be required from 

 persons desirous of joining the Association. No farther 

 liability will be incurred by the members. 



" The appointment of a committee to superintend the 

 general arrangement of the work, and of two secretaries 

 to attend to its being carried out, will take place as soou 

 as the number of members is suflScient. 



" Every member who joins the Association will l>c ex- 

 pected to furnish his contribution to the Index, and to 

 pledge himself to the accuracy of the matter furnished, 

 grounded on a personal examination of the books referred 

 to. 



"References must be made, in general, to the best 

 editions of the works ; but in cases where a contributor is 

 deprived of access to the best edition, it will be tlie duty 

 of the secretaries to adapt the reference to such edition by 

 an inspection of the work at some public library. 



" Members will be supplied with such instructions as 

 will ensure uniformity of plan. 



"Suggestions on the subject of the proposed Associa- 

 tion will be gratefully received from all persons desirous 

 of taking part in it. Communications to be addressed to 

 the Hon Sec, pro tern., H. C. Nisbet, Esq., 6. Lincoln's 

 Inn Fields, London." 



The object is so good that we have given these details 

 at length, although there are many of them which ob- 

 viously require farther consideration. 



The" long- announced volume of Curiosities of London, 

 by Mr. John Timbs, F.S.A., is just ready for publication 

 by subscription. The work will exceed 750 closely 

 printed pages : the author's materials have been five-and- 

 twenty years in collection; and the verification of names, 

 dates, and circumstances has been aided by commu- 

 nications, as well as by the author's personal recollection 

 of nearly fifty j-ears' changes in the aspect of the metro- 

 polis. The " Curiosities " will include the topography of 

 the town in its more celebrated localities and associations : 

 manners and characteristics ; its existing antiquities, and 

 collections of rare art and vertu, libraries and museums ; 

 its public buildings, and royal and noble residences ; its 

 great institutions, its public amusements and exhibitions, 

 manufacturing and commercial establishments ; so as to 

 chronicle the renown of Modern as well as Ancient London. 



