136 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 69. 



every European dialect durinor the Middle Age, 

 sometimes in verse, but usually in prose, and be- 

 came an admired folk-book. Among the versions 

 lately recovered I may mention one into Old- 

 Swedish (a shorter one, published in my Old- 

 Swedish Legendarium, and a longer one, not yet 

 published) ; and one in Old-Norwegian, from a. 

 vellum MS. of the thirteenth century, shortly to 

 appear in Chrlstiania. George Stephens. 



Stockholm. 



Parallel Passages. — Under "Parallel Passages" 

 (Vol. ii., p. 263.) there occur in two paragraphs — 

 '■'■Ther-e is an acre sown unth royal seed" conclud- 

 ing with '■'living like gods, to die like men" from 

 Jeremy Taylor's Holy Dying; and froui Francis 

 Beaumont — 



" Here's an acre sown indeed 

 With the richest royalest seed. 



Tliovgh gods they were, ns men thei/ died." 

 Which of these twain borrowed the " royal 

 seed" Irom the other, is a matter of little moment; 

 but the correspondence of living as gods, and dying 

 as men, both undoubtedly taken from Holy Scrip- 

 ture ; the phrase occurring in either Testament : 

 " I have said, Ye are gods . . . But ye shall die 

 like men" (Psalm Ixxxii. 6, 7.); quoted by our 

 Saviour (John, x. 34.) : " Jesus answered them. Is 

 it not written in your law, I said. Ye are Gods? " 



J. G. M. 

 Hallamshire. 



Caiise of Rarity of William IV.^s Copper 

 Coinage. — The copper coinage of William IV. is 

 become so scarce, that possibly a doubt may some 

 day arise, whether any but a very limited issue of 

 it was ever made ; it may be well, therefore, to 

 introduce a note on the cause of its disappearance, 

 while the subject is comparatively recent. 



When the copper coins of the last reign appeared, 

 a sliglit tinge in the colour of the metal excited 

 the suspicion of those accustomed to examine such 

 things, that it contained gold, which proved to 

 be the fact ; hence their real value was greater 

 than that for which they passed current, and they 

 were speedily collected and melted down by ma- 

 nufacturers, principally, I believe, as an alloy to 

 gold, whereby every ])article of that metal which 

 they contained was turned to account. I have 

 been told that various Birmingham establishments 

 had agents in diflferent parts of the country, ap- 

 pointed to collect this coinage. R. C. H. 



Burnet. — In the list of conflicting judgments on 

 Burnet, quoted by your correspondents (Vol. i., 

 pp. 40. 120. 181. 341. 493.), I find no reference to 

 the opini(>n of his cotemporary. Bishop Nicolson. 

 Tliat writer takes a somewhat partial view of the 

 character and merits of the historian, and canvasses, 

 by anticipation, much of what has been urged 

 against him by our more modern critics. But, as 



the weight of authorities already cited appears to 

 militate against Burnet, I am induced to send you 

 some of Bishop Nicolson's remarks, for the sake 

 of those readers who may not have immediate 

 access to them. I quote from his English His- 

 torical Library, 2nd edition, p. 119. : 



" In the months of December and January in the 

 year following (1680), the historian (G. Burnet) had 

 tlie thanks of both Houses of Parliament for what he 

 had already done; and was desired to proceed to the 

 finishing of the whole work, which was done accord- 

 ingly- This historian gives a punctual account of all 

 the affairs of the Reformation, fr<'m its first beginning 

 ill the reign of Henry VIII., till it was finally com- 

 pleted and settled by Queen Elizabeth, a.d. 1559. 

 And the whole is penned in such a masculine style as 

 becomes an historian, and such as is this authors pro- 

 perty in all his writmgs. The collection of records 

 which he gives in the conclusion of each volume are 

 good vouchers of the truth of all he delivers (as such) 

 in the body of his history ; and are much more per- 

 fect than could reasonably be expected, after the pains 

 taken, in Queen Mary's days, to suppress everything 

 that carried the maiks of the Ileform;ition upon it. 

 The work has had so much justice done it, as to meet 

 with a general acceptance abroad, and to he translated 

 into most of the Kiuopean languages ; insomuch that 

 even the most piquant of the author's enemies allow it 

 to have a reputation firmly and deservedly estnhlisliid. 

 Indeed, some of the French writers have cavilled at it; 

 but the most eminent of them ( M. Varillas and M. 

 Le Grand) have received due correction from the 

 author himself." 



Henkt H. Breen, 



St. Lucia, Dec. 1R50. 



Coleridge^s Opinion of Defoe. — Wilson, in his 

 Memoirs of the Life and Times of Defoe, vol. ii. 

 p. 205., having quoted the opinion of the Editor 

 of Cadell's edition o^ Robinson Crxisoe, — "that 

 Defoe wanted many of those qualities, both of 

 mind and manner, which fitted Steele and Ad- 

 dison to be the inimitable arbitri elegantiarum of 

 English society, there can be no doubt," — Cole- 

 ridge wrote in the margin of his copy, " I doubt 

 this, particularly in respect to Addison, and think 

 I could select from Uefoe's writings a volume 

 ecpial in size to Addison's collected papers, little 

 inferior in wit and humour, and greatly superior 

 in vigor of style and thought." Ts. 



Millei-''s "■Philosophy of 3foderH History ." — In the 

 memoir, chiefly autobiographical, prefixed to the last 

 edition (pulilished 'oy Mr. Bohn, 1848-9) of this 

 most able and interesting work, we find the follow- 

 mg words, p. xxxv. : 



" In the preceding period of my lecturing, I col- 

 lected a moderate audience [seldom exceeding ten per- 

 sons] in the Law School [his friend, Alexander Knox, 

 being always one], sufficient to encourage me, or at 

 least to permit me, to persevere, but not to animate 

 my exertions by publicity. But as I was ajiproaching 

 the sixteenth century, the number of my hearers in- 



