,390 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 54. 



tlie orthography, and some omissions, in the Cam- 

 ,clen Society's publication, but perhaps not more 

 than may be accounted for by supposing tlie Sloane 

 copy to have been made by a not very careful 

 transcriber. 



Here again is seen the valuable iise which might 

 be made of your excellent publication. Had a 

 " Hue and Cry " been made in the " Notes and 

 Queries" after the original MS. of this obituary, 

 information might have been" immediately given 

 which would have added greatly to the value of 

 this number of the Camden Society's publications. 



Gastjjos. 



Cambridge, Oct. 28. 1850. 



George Wither the Poet, a Printer. — In the 

 "Premonition to the Reader" prefixed to George 

 Wither's B7-ilains Bememhranccr, 12mo. 1628, 

 the author acquaints us with some circumstances 

 relative to his work which are not generally known. 

 A\'hile craving some apology for his writing, 

 Wither observes : 



" It js above two years since I laboured to get tbis 

 booke printed, and it hath cost me more money, more 

 pains, and much more time to ])ul)lish it, than to com- 

 pose it, for I was faine to imprint every sheet tliereof 

 with my nwne hcnirl, because 1 could not get allowance 

 to doe it publikely." 



Edwaed F. Eimbault. 



Corruption of the Text of Oihhons " Decline 

 and Full." — A corruption, which seems to have 

 ai'isen from an attempt at emendation, hns crept 

 into Note 17. on the 55th chapter of Gibbon's 

 Histori/. Boot is twice printed instead of 7-oof in 

 the later editions, including Mr. ^Milman's. "What 

 comes from the roof," may not be very intelligible; 

 still roof is the word in the original edition of 

 Gibbon, where it corresponds to toil in Gibbon's 

 authority, Fleury, and to tectum in Fleury's 

 authority. J. E. B. Mayor. 



Ti-aditional Story concerning Cardinal Wolsey. 

 — In David Iluglison (Dr. Pugh's) Walk.'i through 

 London and the surrounding Suburbs, 12mo. 1817, 

 vol. ii. p. 3(56., I find the following: — 



" Passing on to Cheshunt : here is a plain brick 

 edifice, in which Cardinal Wolsey is said to liave 

 resided. It has been nearly rebuilt since his time, but 

 is still surrounded by a deep moat. In the upper pare 

 of this house, called Cheshunt House, is a room, the 

 door of which is stained with blood : the tradition is — 

 an unfortunate lady became a victim to the Cardinal's 

 jealousy, and that he dispatched her with his own 

 hand. If so, it is unaccountable tliat the murderer 

 should have suffered those marks of bis violence to have 

 remained." 



Is there any old authority for this charge against 

 the Cardinal ? Edward F. 11imbaui.t. 



caticn'cS. 



EARLY SALE OF GEMS, DRAWINGS, AND CURI- 

 OSITIES. 



At tlie risk of showing my ignorance, I wish to 

 have it removed by answers to my present Queries. 



I have before me a printed catalogue of a col- 

 lection of antiques, drawings, and curiosities, 

 which were to be sold by auction not far from a 

 century and a half ago. It is upon a sheet of four 

 pages, rather larger than foolscap, which it en- 

 tirely fills. It seems to me a remarkable assem- 

 blage of valuable relics, and it is thus headed : — 



" A catalogue, being an extraordinary and great 

 collection of antiques, original drawings, and other 

 curiosities, collected by a gentleman very curious . . . 

 will be sold by auction at Coveiit Garden Coffee House, 

 in the Little Piazza, on Wednesday next, being the 

 9th instant June, 1714." 



This is the oldest English catalogue of the kind 

 that I happen to have met with, and my first 

 question upon it is, is there any older ? Next, if 

 the fact be known, who was the "gentleman very 

 curious " who owned the collection ? 



We are farther informed by the auctioneer 

 (whose name is not given), that " The antiques are 

 all in precious stones, most of them engraved by 

 the greatest masters of the old Greeks and Eomans ; 

 the drawings are of the oldest and best Italian 

 masters;" and it is advertised, besides, that "the 

 aforesaid rarities may be seen on Monday the 7th, 

 Tuesday the 8tli, and Wednesday till the time of 

 sale, which will begin at 1 1 o'clock in the morning 

 for the antiques, and at 6 o'clock in the evening 

 for the drawings." After a statement that the 

 "conditions of sale are as usual," we come to the 

 list of the gems, under the heads of " Names of the 

 Jewels," and " What they represent." There are 

 fifty-one lots of those that are "set in silver for 

 seals," and they are upon cornelian, beril, sar- 

 donix, jasper, &c. For the purpose of identi- 

 fication (if possible) I will quote two or three : — 



" 3. Sardonix — The head of Anacreon. 

 17. Cornelian — Pallas crowning Hercules. 

 30. Beryl — The Trojan Horse, as in Fortuna 



Lyceto. 

 51. A cornelian ring, with the bead of Lais of 

 Corinth, engraved by Mr. Christian." 



To these succeed twelve lots of" stones not set," 

 including a " Head of Christ," a " Gadetian Droll," 

 the " Entry of Severus, the Emperor, into Britain," 

 &c. Then we come to 22. " Camejus, for the 

 most part modern ; " and to 10. " Other extraor- 

 dinary Rarities," including 



4. " The Picture of Mathew of Ley den, King of the 

 Anabaptists, done in miniature by Holbein. 



7. A box with 8 Calcedonies set in gold, in which 

 are engraved the Passion of our Saviour," &c. 



