EXPRESSION BY MEASUREMENTS. 289 



London publishers, a work already referred to, by Mr. Luke Owen 

 Pike, entitled " The English and their Origin. A Prologue to Au- 

 thentic English History." Mr. Pike, a graduate of Oxford, and 

 member of Lincoln's Inn, has devoted himself to literary and scientific 

 pursuits; and specially taken an active part in the Anthropological 

 Society of London, of which he is a Vice President. His " Origin of 

 the English'^ attracted considerable notice, was reviewed in various 

 leading journals; and so, as would seem, tempted a literary rival, who 

 had already contested the palm with him at the Eisteddfod of their 

 common Welsh nationality, to follow in his steps with his '' Pedigree 

 of the English People." But the latter presented, in certain parts, 

 so near a resemblance to its predecessor, not only in language, method 

 and argument, but even in such errors as the most painstaking author 

 is liable to, that the literary barrister summoned his rival before Vice- 

 Chancellor James, on the 27th of April last, for having, in plain terms, 

 stolen his ideas, his arguments, quotations, references, and even his 

 very blunders, and made open merchandise of the whole as his own. 



It must be admitted that the defendant cuts a very sorry figure in 

 court. Though we propose to have a word to say, before closing, iu 

 reference to certain claims of priority and originality set forth on Mr. 

 Pike's behalf: there is no doubt that his work was the honest result of 

 much labour and research, handled in a scholarly manner; and with 

 no other than the legitimate aims of authorship in view. As to his 

 rival, he is a Doctor of Philosophy; conversant at least with the Welsh 

 language; and Professor, in Carmarthen College, not only of German, 

 but of Ecclesiastical History, Mental and Moral Science, and General 

 Literature. But notwithstanding such a comprehensive profession, his 

 classical knowledge does not seem to have stood him in good stead. 

 The property in certain criticisms in dispute between plaintiff and de- 

 fendant, relative to Gildas, the old historian, of the sixth century as is 

 believed, brought the latter's name prominently into court. But the 

 defendant, it seems, only knew him through Bohn's translation; and 

 is indeed quoted in court as statiog that " Gildas copied Bede," though 

 the venerable monk of Jarrow, whose labours are thus affirmed to have 

 been turned to account sometime towards A.D. 550, belongs as a his- 

 torian to the eighth century. The plaintiff's counsel drew from him the 

 admission that he resorted to Bohn's edition '-because he felt diffident 

 of translating the Latin himself." His own counsel, more bent on 

 winning his cause, than careful of his client's scholarly reputation, 



