164 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 70. 



poetical effusion nominally to the wrong lady ! 

 which does not appear to have been the case. 



Therefore, even if the masking be admitted, it 

 can In no way lessen the inconsistency of the cross 

 questions, which to me appears to have arisen from 

 a most palpable instance of clerical or typogra- 

 phical transposition. 



Steevens was on the right scent, although he 

 rejected it in the same breath, when he said, — 



" No advantage would be gained by an exchange of 

 names, because the last speech is determined to Biron 

 by Maria, who gives a character of him alter he has 

 made his exit." 



This is a good reason against a transposition in 

 tlie male names, but it is none whatever against 

 the same occurrence in the ladies' names ; and 

 consequently it is there that the true solution of 

 the difficulty must be sought. 



If we admit tliat a substitution may have oc- 

 cutred, of " Rosaline" for " Katharine," in Boyet's 

 answer to Dumain, and vice versa in his answer 

 to Biron, all difficulty disappears at once. 



The completeness with which the idea of trans- 

 position not only accounts for the existence of tlie 

 error, but at the same time suggests the manner 

 in which it may be corrected, ought of itself to 

 secure its reception, even if it were not corrobo- 

 rated in a very singidar way by the following col- 

 lateral circumstance. 



It may be observed that Boyet points out two 

 of the ladies, not only by name, but also by styling 

 them "heirs;" one of Falconbridge, the other of 

 AleuQon. Now in their previous descripti(ms of 

 their respective lovers, one of the ladies (Maria) 

 says she had met Longaville at a marriage of a 

 "Falconbridge;" another lady (Katharine) says 

 she had met Dumain at " Duke Alen^on's." When, 

 therefore, we find that Bo^-et, in reply to Longa- 

 ville's question, designates Maria as " heir of Fal- 

 conbridge," it is in direct analogy that he should, in 

 answer to Dnmain's question, designate Katharine 

 as " heir of Alen(jon ;" but, in consequence of the 

 transposition of names, Boyet appears, as the text 

 now stands, to confer that designation, not upon 

 Katharine, but upon Rosaline, whom Biron had 

 met at Brabant I 



There can be no doubt, therefore, that the 

 names of Katharine and Rosaline have been trans- 

 ]iosed contrary to the author s intention, and the 

 only wonder is — not that such a very common- 

 place error should have been committed — but 

 that it should have been suffered to remain 

 thi'ough so many editions up to the present time. 



A. G. B. 



Leeds, Feb. 10. 1851. 



NOTES ON NEWSPAPERS. 



I send you the following, as a help to " Materials 

 for a satisfactory History of Newspapers," alluded 



to in the last volume of " Notes and Queries," 

 p. 375. 



I have in my possession some old newspapers, 

 ranging from 1691 to 1694, entitled A Collection 

 for Improvement of Husbandry and Trade, edited , 

 by John Houghton, F.R.S., St. Bartholomew 

 Lane, behind the Royal Exchange, London. The 

 size is a small folio, published weekly, generally 

 every Friday. It was carried on for some time 

 merely as a single leaf, with no advertisements. 

 In tliis form, the editor siiys — 



" These papers are 2d. each here, and anybody may 

 have them by the post. But where that is thought 

 too much, it may be eased by ten or twelve obliging 

 themselves constantly to take them from a bookseller, 

 cofFee-man, or some other, who may afford to pay a 

 carrier, and sell them there for 2d., or at most 3d. ; or 

 carriers themselves may gain well, if they'll serve the 

 country gentlemen. And any such bookseller, coffee- 

 man, or carrier, ihat will apjjly themselves to me, shall 

 have good encouragement, with liberty to return those 

 that won't sell." 



Ultimately the editor determined on admitting 

 advertisements. He then doubled the size of his 

 paper, making it two leaves instead of one. In 

 reference to this increased size he says, — 



'' My collection I shall carry on as usual. This 

 part is to give away ; and those who like it not, may 

 omit the reading. I believe it will help on trade, par- 

 ticularly encourage the advertisers to increase the vent 

 of my papers. 1 shall receive all sorts of advertise- 

 ments, but shall answer for the reasonableness of none ; 

 unless I give thereof a particular character, on which 

 (as I shall give it) may be dependance, but no argu- 

 ment that others deserve not as well." 



" I am inf'orm'd that great numbers of gazettes are 

 each lime primed, which makes them the most uni- 

 versal intelligencers; but I'll suppose mine their first 

 handmaid, becnuse it goes (tho" not so thick, yet) to 

 most parts. It's also lasting, to be put into volumes 

 with indexes; and particularly there shall be an index 

 of all the advertisements, whereby, for ages to come, 

 they may be useful. I have publish'd on the subject 

 of Husbandry and Trade, two quarto volumes, three 

 i folio volumes, with the great sheet of taxes, acies, 

 1 houses, &c. ; and am weekly carrymg on this paper, 

 which may be brought to anybodies house within the 

 Bills of Mortality, or penny post, for one penny the 

 week ; and anywhere else in England (where enough 

 will encourage a bookseller or carrier). The volumes 

 may be had from most booksellers of England, Scot- 

 land, or Ireland." 



The Collection, which the editor will carry on a» 

 usual, refers to the single sheet. The Gazette 

 must have been the London Gazette. In what 

 sort of way the editor could suppose that adver- 

 tisements could be useful for ages to come, we, in 

 this age of enlightenment and knowledge, are at a 

 loss to conceive. The great sheet of taxes, acres, 

 houses, &c., I have, and may give you an account 

 of its contents at some future time. TUe first page 



