Aug. 10. 1850.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



173 



The Plant "■ Hcsmony" (Vol. ii., p. 88. and 

 p. 141.)-^The mystical meaning of" Hsemony" is 

 evolved by Colei'ulge in a passage which occurs in 

 his Statesman's Manual, appendix B., and which 

 cannot fail to interest the readers of Comus. 



" It is found in the study of the Old and New Tes- 

 tament, if only it be combined with a spiritual partak- 

 ing of tlie Redeemer's blood, of which, mysterious as 

 the symbol may be, the sacramental wine is no mere or 

 arbitrary memento. This is the only certain, and this 

 is the universal, preventive of all debasing superstitions; 

 this is the true harmony (aijua, blood, oXvos, wine), which 

 our Milton has beautifully allegorised in a passage 

 strangely overlooked by all his commentators. Bear 

 in mind, reader ! the character of a militant Cliristian, 

 and the results (in this life and in the next) of the re- 

 demption by the blood of Clirist, and so peruse the 

 passage." 



T. M. B. 



Mildew in Boohs (Vol. ii., p. 103.). — Your cor- 

 respondent B. suggests that " .any hints as to the 

 Ciiiise or remedy of mildeio in boohs will be most 

 acceptable." I venture, therefore, an opinion that 

 the cause is to be found in the defective bleaching 

 and manufacture of the rags from which the paper 

 is made, and the careless or intentional admixture 

 of linen with cotton rags. The comparatively 

 modern method of bleaching with oxymuriate of 

 lime, or chlorine in substance, with the ad-liljitum 

 and unacknowledged admixture of gypsum (to 

 give weight and firmness to the paper), are, I be- 

 lieve, the true causes of the defects in question, 

 which are to be found more in modern books and 

 prints than in those of an earlier date, and do not 

 arise from damp, as the term " mildew " might 

 seem to imply, although the same appearance no 

 doubt arises from that cause alone in the older 

 paper. But paper made and bleached by the pro- 

 cesses I have mentii)ned will become covered with 

 brown spots, however dry it may be kept. 



I have a folio edition of La Armaria Real de 

 Madrid, printi'd at Paris, without date, but sub- 

 sequently to 1838 by the preface. The paper is 

 very stout and fine, and was free from bleinisii 

 when I purchased it three years ago, but at present 

 it is covereil with brown jjatches, and the beauty 

 of the work desti'oyed, although it has been kept 

 in a very dry room. 



For such defects I should be equally delighted 

 with B. to discover a remedy ; but I fear that so 

 long as our paper manufacturers study expedition 

 and economy in ])reference to quality, the case is 

 hopeless. The asiies left after the combustion of 

 a sheet of paper clearly indicate the amount of 

 modern sophistication, and greatly exceed those of 

 more ancient [)aper. In fact, some paper may now 

 be classed, with more propri(!ty, among mineral 

 than vegetable productions. Mildew, arising from 

 damp iu old books, may be arrested, if not re- 



moved, by exposure to light, air, and a dry atmo- 

 sphere. Henbt Wllkinson. 



The Carpenter's Maggot (Vol. ii., p. 104.). — 

 The ancient tune known as the Carpenter' s Mag- 

 got, and until lately played at the annual dinner of 

 the Livery of the Carpenters' Company, may be 

 found at p. 258. of the first volume of a rare work 

 entitled The Dancing Master, sm. obi. 1721. The 

 same volume contains a choice assemblage of 

 " Maggots," i. e. Barker's Maggot, Cary's Maggot, 

 Draper's IMaggot, Hill's ]\Iaggot, Huntington's 

 Maggot, M. Coppinger's Maggot, &c. 



The word Maggot, from the French Magot, 

 means a whim, or a fancy. The bird " mag})ie," 

 originally " niaggofy-pie," was so called on account 

 of its whimsic^d drollery. "A maggoty-pated 

 fellow" is often used to imply a whimsical man. 



I do not trace the word, as applied to a tune, 

 earlier than the end of the seventeenth century. 

 Before that time, tunes of a similar description 

 were termed Fancies. 



If your correspondent F. T. P. wishes to have a 

 copy of the tune from my volume, he is quite wel- 

 come. I append my London address to this Reply, 

 in order that he may favour me with a communi- 

 cation. EuWARD F. ElMBAULT. 



3. Augustus Square, Park Village East. 



Martello Towers (Vol. ii., p. 9. and p. 110.). — 

 The interesting account of Le Tellier's defence in 

 Corsica, shows clearly what first drew the attention 

 of our government to these forts; but E.V.'s queries 

 do not yet seem satisfactorily answered. The late 

 Duke of Richmond, it is said, gave the plan of the 

 first erected along the British Channel. But as to 

 their name and origin I apprehend that (as in the 

 case of diaries Martel, whose blows also fell so 

 numberless and effectual on the heads of eneinies, 

 Vol. i., p. 86.) the old Frank word martel is much 

 more likely to have originated the name than any 

 localittj, town, or tower, in either Spain or Corsica; 

 and the following extract from Dr. Robertson's 

 Life of Charles V. (bk. c. p. 452., 8vo. ed.) should 

 not be passed over in their history : — 



" The commerce of the Mediterranean was greatly 

 interrupted by his cruisers (viz. Haseen Aga's, about 

 1,541), and sucli frequent alarms given to the coast of 

 Spain, that there was a necessity of erecting watch 

 towers at proper distances, and of keeping guards con- 

 stantly on foot, in order to descry the approach of his 

 squadrons, and to protect the inhabitants from his 

 descents." 



The doctor then gives a marginal reference to 

 Jovii Hist. L. 40. p. 2fi6. for authority. I have 

 not .Jovius, nor access to him here ; but I would 

 be obliged by learning whether he gives any and 

 what more specific account of these towers, or how 

 they were called. Lambda. 



