180 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 42. 



duction, (pp. 35, 36., Toland's Edition, 1700), 

 S])eaking of Ii-elaud under the name of Panopea, 

 says,— 



" Panopea, the soft Mother of a slothful and pusil- 

 lanimous people, is a neighbor Hand, antiently sub- 

 jected by tlie A rms of Oceu»7a; since almost depopulated 

 for shaking the Yoke, and at length replanted with a 

 new Race. But (through what virtues of the Soil, or 

 vice of the Air, soever it be), they com still to dcge- 

 nerat. Wherfore seeing it is neither likely to yield 

 men fit for Arms, nor necessary it should ; it had bin 

 the Interest of Oceana so to have dispos'd of this Pro- 

 vince, being both rlfh iu the nature of the Soil, and 

 full of commodious Ports for Trade, that it might 

 have bin order'd for the best in relation to her Purse, 

 whicli, in my opinion (if it had been thought upon in 

 time), might have bin best don by planting it with 

 Jews, allowing them their own Rights and Laws; for 

 that would have brought them suddenly from all ])arts 

 of the World, and in sufficient numbers. And though 

 the Jews 1)0 now altogether for merchandize, yet in the 

 Land of Canaan (except since their exile, from whence 

 they have not bin Landlords), they were altogether 

 for Agriculture, and there is no cause why a man 

 should doubt, but having a fruitful Country and ex- 

 cellent Ports too, they would be good at both. Pa- 

 nopea well peopled, would be worth a matter of four 

 millions of dry rents; that is b.sidus the advantage of 

 the Agriculture and Tiaile, which, with a Nation of 

 that Industry, coins at least to as much more. Wher- 

 fore Panopea being farui"d out to the Jews and their 

 Heirs for ever, for the i)ay of a provincial Army to 

 protect them during the term of seven years, and for 

 two millions annual Reveiuie from that timeforward, be- 

 sides the Customs which would pay the provincial Army, 

 would have bin a bargam of such advantage both to 

 them and this Commuuvvealth, as is not to be found 

 otherwise by either. To receive the Jews after any 

 other manner into a Commonwealth, were to maim it ; 

 for they of all Nations never incorporat, but taking up 

 the room of a Limb, areof no use or office to the body, 

 while they suck the nourishment which would sustain 

 a natural and usefid member." 



Henry Kersley. 

 Corpus Christ! Hall, Maidstone. 



News. 



a few olv) materials for its elucidation. 



" A'aywrn, vulgo Nnvvelle. Ugutio : ' Humor, murmu,; 

 grind vu/gn dicitur Novum.'' Occurrit non semel in 

 Epistolis Marini Sanuti. ' Novis de Obitu Papa; 

 auditis,' in Regesta Universitatis Paris, an. \?,9'\. 

 Spicileg. Acher., torn vi. p. 60." 



So far Ducange, who also refers to the follow- 

 ing: 



" Supervenerunt nobis Nova certa de morte, videlicet 

 quorundam Nobilium, nobis adha;rentiuin, captorum 

 per partem dicti Philippi in Britannia, et de speciali 

 Praeccpto suo Parisiis ignominiosaa morti traditorum ; 

 nee non de Strage, &c. &c." — Charta an. 1346, apud 

 Rymer, t. v. p. 497. 



The derivation of this word has been so stre- 

 nuously and ably discussed by the contending jiar- 

 ties in your pages, that I have no intention of 

 interfering (non nostrum tantas componere lites) 

 further than to furnish a lew materials bearing 

 on the subject, which may not have come under 

 their notice. 



It seems uncertain whether iVewe* was considered 

 by our ancestors plural or singular. Resolute John 

 Florio is sadly inconsistent iu his use of it : in his 

 World of Wordes, ed. 1598, we have: 



" Nova, newe, fresli, a noueltie, a newe report. 

 " Novella, a tale, a nouell, a noueltie, a discourse, a 

 neives, a message." 



In Queen Anna's World of Wordes, 1 G 1 1 : 



" Nova, a noueltie, a new report, 



" Novella, a tidinc/, or newes. 



" Novellante, a teller of newes or tidings." 



Here we hitve newes treated both as singular and 

 plural! while we have tiding as the singular of 

 tidings., a form which, from long disuse, would now 

 appetvr strange to us. In the following extract 

 from Florio's very amusing book of Dialogues, 

 Second Frutes, 1591, he makes neives decidedly 

 plural : — 



" C. What doo they say abroade? what newes have 

 you. Master Tiberio ? T. Nothing that I know ; can 

 you tell whether the post be come? C. No, Sir; 

 they saye in the Exchange that the great Turke makes 

 great preparation to warre with the Persian. T. 'Tis 

 but a deuice ; tliese he ?ieu-es cast abroade to feede the 



common sorte, I doo not beleeue them C. Yea, 



but theg are written to verie worshipful marchants. 

 T. By so much the lesse doo I beleeue them ; doo not 

 you know that euerie yeare such newes are spreade 

 abroade? C. I am almost of your niinde, for I seldome 

 see these written reports prove true. 2'. Prognosti- 

 cations, )iewes, deuices, and letters from forraine 

 countries (good Master Ca?sar), are but used as con- 

 fections to feed the common people withal. C. A 

 man must giue no more credite to Exchange and 

 Powles' newes than to fugiliues promises and plaiers 

 fables." 



In Thomas's Principal Rules of the Italian Gram- 

 mer, with a Dictionaries printed by Thomas Powell 

 in 1562, but written in 1548, we have — 



" Novella, a tale, a parable, or a neweltee. 



" JVvvelluzza, an ynkelyiig. 



" Novellare, to tell tales or newes." 



In the title-page of a rare little volume printed 

 in 1616, we have the adjective new in apposition 

 with the substantive newes, thus : 



" Sir Thomas Overburie his Wife, with now Elegies 

 upon his (now knowne) imtimely death. Whereunto 

 are annexed New Newes and Characters written by 

 hiraselfe and other leaned Gentlemen. Editio sep- 

 tiina. London : printed by Edward Griffin for Law- 

 rence Lisle, 1616, 12mo." 



The head of one section is — 



