Sept. 24. 1853.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



295 



afterwards Master of the Rolls. The Poor Knights' 

 rejoinder to their former petition. The memorial of 

 the Poor Knights to John Willes, Esq., Attorney- 

 General. Another petition to J. Willes, Esq. Copy 

 of an indenture between Queen Elizabeth and the 

 Dean and Chapter of Lands, to the value of 600/. a 

 year and upwards, for the maintenance of the Poor 

 Knights, 1 Eliz. Orders and rules for the establish- 

 ment and good government of the said thirteen Poor 

 Knights. The case of the Poor Knights (printed), 

 with several other papers relating to them.] 



" Elijah's Mantle." — Who was the author of 

 Elijah's Mantle f And are there any ajrounds for 

 ascribing it to Canning ? W. Frasee. 



Tor-Mohun. 



[This poem was attributed to Canning, as noticed 

 by Mr. Bell, in his Life of George Cunning, p. 206. 

 He says, " Mr. Canning's reputation was again put 

 into requisition as sponsor for certain verses that ap- 

 peared at this time in the public journals. The best of 

 these is a piece called Elijah's Mantle."2 



MILTON AND MALATESTI. 



(Vol. ii., p. 146. ; Vol. viii., p. 237.) 



When I gave some account of La Tina of 

 Antonio Malatesti, and its dedication to Milton, 

 two years since, I was not aware that it had been 

 printed, as I had no other edition of Gamba's 

 Serie delV Edizioni de' Testi di Lingua, than the 

 first printed in 1812. That account was derived 

 from the original MS. which formerly passed 

 through my hands. I fear that my friend Mr. 

 Bolton Corney will be disappointed if he should 

 meet with a copy of the printed book, for the MS. 

 contained no other dedication than the inscription 

 on the title-page, of which I made a tracing. It 

 represents an inscribed stone tablet, in the follow- 

 ing arrangement : 



«LA 



Tina Equiuoci Rusticali 



di Antonio Malatesti co- 



posti nella sua Villa di 



Taiano il Settembre dell' 

 L'Anno, 1637. 



Sonetti Cinquanta 

 Dedicati all' 111"° Signore 

 Et Padrone Oss"" II Signor' 

 Giouanni Milton Nobil' 

 Inghilese." 



I copied at the time eight of these equivocal 

 sonnets, and in my former notice gave one as a 

 specimen. They are certainly very ingenious, 

 and may be "graziosisslmi" to an Italian ear and 

 imagination ; but I cannot think that the pure 

 mind of Milton would take much delight in ob- 

 scene allusions, however neatly wrapped up. 



Milton seems to have dwelt with pleasure on 

 his intercourse with these witty, ingenious, and 

 learned men, during his two-months' sojourn at 

 Florence ; and it is remarkable that Nicolas Hein- 

 sius has spoken of the same men, in much the 

 same terms, in his dedication to Carlo Dati of the 

 second book of his Italici Componimenti : 



" Sanctum mehercules habebo semper Jo. Bapt. Donij 

 memoriam, non tarn suo nomine (et si hoc quoque) 

 aut quod Frescobaldos, Cavalcantes, Gaddios, Cultel- 

 linos, alios urbis vestra; viros precipuos mihi conciltarit, 

 quorum amicitiam feci hactenus, et faciam porro 

 maximi, quam quod tibi me conjunxerit, mi Datej 

 cujus opera in notitiam, ac familiaritatem plurimorum 

 apud vos hominum eximiorum mox irreperem." 

 And, after mentioning others, he adds : 



" Quid de Valerlo Chimentellio, homine omni litera- 

 tura perpalita, dicam ? Quid de Joanne Pricteo? qui 

 ingens civitati vestrae ornamentum ex ultima nuper 

 accessit Britannia." 



One feels some degree of disappointment at not 

 meeting here with the name of Milton. 



Of the distinguished men mentioned by Milton, 

 some interesting notices occur in that curious 

 little volume, the Bihliotheca Aprosiana. Bene- 

 detto Buommattel and Carlo Dati are well known 

 from their important labours ; and of the others 

 there are scattered notices In Itilli Notizie degli 

 Uomini Illustre Florentine, and In Salvini Fasti 

 Consolari delV Accademia Fiorentina. I have an 

 interesting little volume of Latin verses by Jacopo 

 Gaddi, with the following title : Poetica Jacohi 

 Gaddii Corona e Selectis Poematiis, Notis Alle- 

 goriis contexta, Bononiae, 1637, 4to. 



There is a good deal of Ingenious and pleasing 

 burlesque poetry extant by Antonio Malatesti. 

 I have before mentioned his Sphinx : of this I 

 have a dateless edition, apparently printed about 

 the middle of the last century at Florence : the 

 title Is La Sfinge Enimmi del Signor Antonio Ma- 

 latesti. Commendatory verses are prefixed by 

 Chimentelli, Coltellini, and Galileo Galilei. The 

 last, from the celebrity of the writer, may deserve 

 the small space It will occupy in your pages. It 

 is itself an enigma : 



" Dei, Signor Galileo Galilei 



SONETTO. 



Mostro son' io piii strano, e piu difForme, 

 Che I'Arpia, la Sirena, o la Chimera ; 

 Ne in terra, in aria, in acqua e alcuna fiera, 

 Ch' abbia di membra cosi varie forme. 

 Parte a parte non ho che sia conforme, 

 Piu che s' una sia bianca, e 1' altra nera j 

 Spesso di Cacciator dietro ho una schiera, 

 Che de' miei pie van ritracciando 1' orme. 

 Nelle tenebre oscure e il mio soggiorno ; 

 Che se dall' ombre al chiaro lume passo, 

 Tosto r alma da me sen fugge, come 

 Sen fugge il sogno all' apparir del giorno, 

 E le mie membra disunito lasso, 

 E r esser perdo con la vita, e' 1 nome." 



