Oct. 19. 1850.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



325 



with that of Cologne, 1478 ; and Maittaire with 

 that of Nuremberg, in 1480. Different state- 

 ments have been made as to the precise period 

 when this humble- minded writer lived. Alta- 

 mura {Bill. Dumin., pp. 147. 500.) places him 

 in the year 1400. Quetif and Echard (i. 762.), 

 Fabrieius and Mansi (Bibl. Med. et inf. Latin.), 

 prefer 1418, on the unstable ground of a testimony 

 supposed to have proceeded from the author him- 

 self; for whatever confusion or depravation may 

 have been introduced into subsequent impressions, 

 the ediiio princeps, of which I have spoken, does 

 not present to our view the alleged passage, viz., 

 " a Christo autera transacti sunt milleqiuidringenti 

 decern et octo auni," but most plainly, " M.cccc. 

 & liij. anni." {Serm. l.xxxv., tom. ii.) To this 

 same " Discipulus " Oudin (iii. 26.54.), and Gerius 

 in the Appendi.x to Cave (p- 187.), attribute the 

 Speculnmni Exemplorum, respecting which I have 

 before proposed a Qiiery ; but 1 am convinced that 

 they have coiiibunded the Specidum with the 

 Promptuarium. The former was first printed at 

 Deventer, a. d. 1481, and the compiler of it enters 

 upon his prologue in the following striking style : 

 " Impressoria arte jamdudum longe lateque per 

 orbem diffusa, nuiltiplicatisque libris quaruni- 

 cunque fere materiarum," &c. He then expresses 

 his surprise at the want of a good collection of 

 Exempla ; and why should we determine without 

 evidence that he must have been Heroldus ? 



R. G. 



FAIRFAX S TASSO. 



In a copy of Fairfax's Godfrey ofBuUoigne, ed. 

 1600 (the first), which I possess, there occurs a 

 very curious variorum reading of the first stanza 

 of the first book. The stanza, as it is given by 

 ISIr. Knight in his excellent modern editions, reads 

 thus : 



" The sacred armies and the godly knight, 

 That the great sepulchre of Christ did free, 

 I sing ; much wrought his valour and foresight, 

 And in that glorious war much suffer'd he ; 

 III vain 'gainst him did hell oppose her might, 

 In vain the Turks and Morians armed be ; 



His soldiers wild, to brawls and mutines prest, 

 Reduced he to peace, so heaven him blest." 



By holding up the leaf of my copy to the light, 

 it is easy to see that the stanza stood originally as 

 given above, but a cancel slij) printed in pre.cindy 

 the mine type &a the rest of the book gives the lol- 

 lowing elegant variation : 



" I sing tlie warre made in the Holy Land, 



And the Great Chiefe that Christ's great tomho did 



free : 

 Much wrought he with his wit, much with his hand, 

 Much in tliul braue atchieumcnt sudVed hee : 



In vaine doth hell that Man of God withstand, 

 In vaine the worlds great princes armed bee ; 



For heau'n him fauour'd ; and he brought againe 

 Vnder one standard all his scatt'red traine." 



Queries. — 1. Does the above variation occur in 

 any or many other copies of the edition of 1600? 



2. Which reading is followed in the second old 

 edition ? T N. 



Demerary, September 11. 1850. 



dKtnor CQucrtcsi. 



Jeremy Taiflors Ductor Dubitanlium. — Book I. 

 chap. 2. Rule 8. § 14.— 



" If he (the judge) see a stone thrown at his brother 

 judge, as happened at Ludlow, not many years since." 



(The first ed. was published in 1660). Does any 

 other cotemporary writer mention this circum- 

 stance ? or is there any published register of the 

 assizes of that time ? 



Ibid. Chap. 2. Rule 3. § 32.— 



" The filthy gingran." 



Apparently a drug or herb. Can it be identified, 

 or its etymology pointed out ? 



Ibid. §.50.— 



" That a virgin should conceive is so possible to 

 God's power, that it is possible in nature, say the 

 Arabians." 



Can authority for this be cited from the ancient 

 Arabic writers ? A. T. 



First Earl of Hoscommon. — Can you or any of 

 your correspondents put me on any plan by which 

 I may obtain some information on the following 



: subject ? James Dillon, first Earl of Roscommon, 

 married Helen, daughter of Sir Christopher Barn- 



I well, by whom he had seven sons and six daugh- 

 ters ; their names were Robert, Lucas, Thomas, 

 Christoi)her, George, John, Patrick. Robert suc- 

 ceeded his father in 1641, and of his descendants 

 and those of Lucas and Patrick I have some 

 accounts ; but what I want to know is, who are the 

 descendants of Thomas (particularly), or of any 

 of the other three sons ? 



Lo<lge, in his Peerage, very kindly kills all the 

 sons, Patrick included ; but it appears that he did 

 not de])art this life until he had left issue, from 

 whom the late Earl had his origin. If Lodge is 

 thus wrong in one case, he may be in others, and 

 I have reason to believe that Thomas left a son 

 settled in a place in Ireland called Portlick. 



Francis. 



St. Cuthbert.— The body of St. Cuthbert, as is 

 well known, had many wanderings before it found 

 a magnificent resting-place at Durham. Now, in 

 an anonymous Hixtor-y of the Cathedral Church of 

 Durham, without date, we have a very particular 

 account of the dclaccnient of the shrine of St. 



