484 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 268. 



have published, in several languages, seven different 

 works, on various subjects, under the name of E. H. — an 

 enigma on Sahib-el-Sicia, which, in the Arabic, means 

 friend of the unfortunate : it is a title which I have ac- 

 quired, and of which I am not a little vain. In the year 

 1782, I was in London ; and advantageonsly known to 

 the ministry, and other noblemen — one cf whom wished 

 me to write on the then present state of Turkey. I did 

 so, and left my work with him, little thinking I should 

 behold it in print; but, on my arrival at this place (Cal- 

 cutta, 1790), I found it had been published, and actually 

 met with a copy of it here." 



" In a note to the translator (Mr. Mortimer, formerly 

 British Consul at Ostend), in the Preface, be says that I 

 informed him my real name Avas E. H. ; but he, and all 

 the above noblemen, knew my name was A. G., for which 

 I substituted the aforesaid enigmatical one upon my title." 



I may farther observe, that this " friend of the 

 unfortunate" — 



" Published in Latin at Naples, 1775, De la Comparaison 

 de la Porte Ottamnne avec In Porte Romaine, — deflfendii 

 par Rome, et quelque autre Koyaumes. Une Petite Bro- 

 chure sur la Pohrpie, — en Inngue Polonaise; deffendfi 

 en plusieurs Endroits ; " 



And (lastly, which promises to be the soundest of 

 his prophecies) : 



" Stir la N(cessii6 ahsnlue de la Cour de Russie d'l-tre 

 tovjours la bonne et sincere Amie de VAngleterre, si elle 

 veut conserver sa Grandeur En Lange Russe, h Moscow, 

 1780, deffendA par le Grouv." Russe, et les Copies ra- 

 massdes." 



One is curious to know something more of the 

 man who thus seems to have been sroing about 

 the world disturbing governments, wliile rejoicing 

 in his acquired name of the " Friend of the Un- 

 fortunate." J. O. 



[Some farther particulars of this singular character 

 win be found in the following work : The Present State 

 of the Ottoman Empire ; containing a more accurate and 

 interosting account of the religion, government, military 

 establish inent, manners, customs, and amusements of the 

 Turks, than any yet extant : including a particular de- 

 scription of the court and seraglio of the Grand Signor, 

 and interspersed with many singular and entertaining 

 anecdotes. Translated from the French MS. of Elias 

 Habesci, man}' years resident at Constantinople, in the 

 service of the Grand Signor. London: 8vo., 1784. In 

 the Preface he gives the following account of himself: — 

 " To remove every idea of presumption, it may be proper 

 to declare, in the most solemn manner, that I am by birth 

 a Greek; that I was carried when an infant to Constan- 

 tinople, and was brought up there by an uncle, who 

 enjoyed a considerable office of honour and confidence in 

 the seraglio. A long personal attendance u]>on this rela- 

 tive, after I came to years of discretion, and my own 

 employment as secretary to a Grand Vizar in the reign 

 of the late Sultan Mustapha III., gave me dailj' oppor- 

 tunities, first in assisting my uncle in the discharge of his 

 functions, which lay chiefly within the walls of the 

 seraglio, and afterwards in my oAvn department, of ac- 

 quiring a perfect knowledge of many curious and en- 

 tertaining particulars, which it is impossible any traveller 

 or any foreign ambassador at the Porte could obtain." 

 The translator adds in a note : " For private reasons, 

 Habesci assumed, on his travels, the name of Alexander 

 Ghiga, and by that appellation was known to the few 

 friends ho had in London : but before his departure, he 



gave the translator his real name in writing, which is in 

 the hands of the publisher, R. Baldwin, 47. Paternoster 

 Row." In chap. xxi. Habesci, speaking of the Turkish 

 policy with respect to Russia, remarks that, "in fact, the 

 Russian power is augmented to such a degree, that if 

 none of the other principal powers of ICurope interpose to 

 save the Ottoman empire, it must be crushed ... In a 

 word, the Christian powers interested in the preservation 

 of the Ottoman empire in Europe, must not be surprised, 

 if the Porte, yielding to the circumstancos of the times, 

 and finding itself unable to repel the Russians by force of 

 arms, should negotiate a treaty for ceding the Ottoman 

 domains in Europe to the court of Petersburg, contenting 

 itself hereafter to make Prusa, in Asia Minor, its scat of 

 government, and thereby gratifying the most sanguine 

 wishes of the ambitious Catharine, whose ultimate aim 

 has long been to remove the seat of her empire from the 

 north to the south, — from the icy region of Petersburg to 

 the serene climate of Constantinople."] 



Minav ^utviti. 



French Churches. — In recent rambles in Pi- 

 cardy I have been much puzzled as to what age I 

 was to assign to their churches, the architecture 

 of which we should denominate Early English in 

 old England. • Anon. 



Bristol Lectureships. — A correspondent wishes 

 to ascertain if the lectureships left to three of the 

 churches in Bristol by William Pine, formerly of 

 that city, are still observed ; and if so, after what 

 services ? If not, what course should be adopted 

 to cause their restoration ? The names of the 

 churches are believed to be St. James, St. Philip, 

 and Christ Church. J. W. J. 



Baptismal Query. — A man was baptized under 

 the name of Henry RedcliflT Smith. Now lledcliff 

 is the mother's family name, and was formerly 

 written " De Redclyffe." Could the form of De 

 Redclyffe be resumed P B. 



Hull. 



Rev. Thomas Stackhouse. — Whose son was the 

 Rev. Thomas Stackhouse, M.A., author of a Greek 

 Grammar, an Atlas of Ancient and Modern Geo- 

 graphy, and other works ? He died 1785. 



Anon. 



Pronunciation of " Two." — In Dryden's cele- 

 brated verses written under Milton's picture, wfl 

 find the following rhyme : 



" The force of Nature could no further go. 

 To make a third she join'd the other two.'' 



Query, Did the correct pronunciation of tico itk* 

 Dryden's time rhyme with go ? In many parts of 

 Lancashire the common people are still in the 

 habit of pronouncing who as if written woe. 



T. T. W. 



The '■^Dublin Letter." — Can any one who has 

 directed his attention to the numerous publica- 



