2''<« S. V. 124., May 15. '58.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



393 



following extract from the Rev. James Hall's 

 Tour through Ireland, vol. ii. p. 158. (London, 

 1813), may not prove uninteresting : — 



" On sailing across to the Mull of Cantire, instead of 

 eighteen or twenty miles (as most geographers make it, 

 and as was laid down in the large map of Britain and 

 Ireland, published in London, and continued till lately, 

 ■when, in consequence of my hint, tlie plate was corrected), 

 I found it scarcely twelve. This being the case, which 

 may be depended on (for I consulted several of the king's 

 pilots at Dublin, as Well as others, on the subject), would 

 it not be prudent in government to erect telegraphs here, 

 as well as in England, that, in case of an attack, inform- 

 ation from the one country to the other might not depend 

 on the wind and the waves, but on sight. It is between 

 twelve and thirteen miles from Beacon Hill to the next 

 point of information by the telegraph, on the road to 

 Portsmouth from London, and nearly ten from that at 

 Putney to the next on the same road. So that the Mull 

 of Cantire and Ireland being so near, there seems little 

 difficulty in communicating information from Ireland to 

 Britain, and vice versa', and, consequently, round and 

 through the empire, which I should think a matter of 

 importance." 



Mr. Hall had very little idea of a submarine 

 communication. Abhba. 



The First English Steam-ship of War to carry 

 Foreign Mails. — The following notices are taken 

 from the United Service Journal of 1830 : — 



" It has long been contemplated to employ steam navi- 

 gation for the conveyance of foreign mails. H. M. steam- 

 vessel ' Meteor,' Lt. W. H. Symons, is to proceed to the 

 Mediterranean on this service. The first adoption of 

 steam in the conveyance of the foreign post office mail 

 has taken place. H. M. steam-vessel ' Meteor,' Lieut. W. 

 H. Symons, left Falmouth on the 5th of Feb. for the 

 Mediterranean. We look on this as an era in steam na- 

 vigation, which bids fair to introduce its more general 

 adoption for the purposes of government." 



w. w. 



Caroline, Countess of Melfort. — She was sister 

 to the last Earl of Barrymore, and was living in 

 1811. When did she die, and where ? L. (2.) 



Lines in '■'■Eikon JBasilike." — I shall feel grate- 

 ful to any of your readers who can direct me to 

 the source of the following lines. They are in- 

 scribed on the fly-leaf of a small copy of the Eikon 

 Basilike (printed in 1649) which has lately come 

 into my possession : 



" Soe falls yt statly ceder, whilst it stood, 

 That was y« onley glorie of y^ wood : 

 Great Charles, thou earthly God, celestiall man, 

 Whose life like others though it were a span, 

 Yet in y* space was comprehended more 

 Then earth hath waters or the ocean shoore. 

 Thy heavenlie vertues Angells should rehears. 

 It is a Theame too high ffor human vears j 

 He y' would know thee right, then let him looke 

 Upon thy rare incomparable Booke, 

 And read it ore and ore, w*!* if he doe, . 

 He'l find thee King and Preist and Prophet tooj 



And sadly see our losse, and though in vaine, 

 Wth fruitless wishes call thee back againe : 

 Nor shall oblivion sitt upon thy hearse. 

 Though there were neither monument nor vears ; 

 Thy sufferings and thy death let no man name, 

 It was thy glory but 3 kingdoms' shame." 

 " Nee Carolus Magnus, 



Nee Carolus quintus, 



Sed Carolus Agnus, 



Hie jacet intus." 



An inscription states that this copy was " Ka- 

 tharina Seddon's Booke, given her by Sir Jo. 

 Booth, ffeb. 4*^ 1659." Sir Jo. Booth was, I be- 

 lieve, knighted for his loyal services during the 

 Civil Wars. J. C. Wilson. 



Quotations wanted. — 



" When we survey yon glittering orbs on high. 

 Say, do they only grace the spangled sky ? 

 Have they no influence, no functions given 

 To execute the awful will of Heaven ? " 



" 'Tis not by a rash endeavour. 



Men or states to greatness climb ; 

 Would you win your rights for ever. 

 Calm and thoughtful bidef your time ! " 



Archias. 



" . . O come instable suerta 

 Mudas de aspecto. A delirar 

 Quisieras obligarni qual tii. 

 No : te prob^ k memido 

 Ya adversa, ya feliz. Yo no me fio 

 De tu favor, y de tus iras rio ; 

 No me oflfusca tu luz enganosa, 

 No me encanta tu risa alevosa, 

 Ya no temo que penas mi des. 

 Se que & veces por entre las flores. 

 La serpiente se esconde y retira. 

 Que en el aire, dmenudo se mira, 

 Una estrella, que estrella no es ! " 



Can any of your correspondents furnish me with 

 the title of the Spanish play from which this is 

 taken, as well as the name of the author ? E. Z. O. 



Forgiveness. — Is there any word in any lan- 

 guage which expresses the simple idea of the 

 generous forgiveness of an injury, entirely apart 

 from compensation, either voluntary or obligatory? 

 The absence of any such word from our own lan- 

 guage compels me to resort to the very term, 

 forgiveness, which suggests the Query. It would 

 seem that in its original sense a person was said 

 to be absolved from the consequences of his own 

 acts for (something) given. In consideration of 

 it he was pardoned, par-donne. Dr. Johnson says, 

 "forgive' is derived from the Saxon forgifan, 

 which bears the same analogy. Among the Ro- 

 mans, to efface an offence was to "condone" it, 

 condonure (still the same idea), or to pay for it, 

 ah -solvere. The Greek aipC-nfxi implies liberation 

 from some previous obligation ; airoXwiv is to re- 

 lease for a ransom ; x^P'T^A"" ^^ bestow as a 

 favour what might have been exacted as a penalty. 

 A gift, an equivaleat, a compensation, a fine, or a 



