ROBESPIERRE AND CURRAN (9th S. i. 183, 295). In thanking MR. A. R. BAYLEY for his kindness in supplying me, in 'N. & Q.,' with the titles of the several volumes in which I may find information corroborative of Mr. T. P. O'Connor's statement that Robespierre "had some Irish blood in his veins," I must, at the same time, confess that the portraits given as representative of "the Sea-green Incorruptible" in my copies of Lamartine's 'Girondists,' vol. i. (London, Bohn, 1849); Thiers's 'French Revolution,' vol. iii. (London, Bentley, 1854); and H. Sutherland Edwards's 'Old and New Paris,' vol. i. (London, Cassell, 1893), do not remind me of the really fine portrait of the great Irish orator -formerly in the possession of Charles Phillips, author of the admirable work 'Curran and his Contemporaries' (London, Blackwood, 1857)-now in the National Portrait Gallery, London, and representing J. P. Curran as a very coarse-faced, and therefore an ugly, man. I may, however, in connexion with the subject of my doubtfulness, mention that Sir Jonah Barrington has recorded in his "Personal Sketches of his Own Times,' vol. i. p. 205 (London, Routledge, 1869), that though Curran's face " was yellow, furrowed, rather flat, and thoroughly ordinary, there was something so indescribably dramatic in his eye and the play of his eyebrow that his visage seemed the index of his mind, and his humour the slave of his will." On the other hand, as regards the appearance of Robespierre, if Lamartine's opinion is still to be held in estimation,

"his forehead was good, but small, and extremely projecting above the temples; his eyes, much covered by their lids and very sharp at their extremities, were deeply buried in the cavities of their orbits; they gave out a half-blue hue, but it was vague and unfixed; his nose, straight and small, was very wide at the nostrils; his mouth was large, his lips thin, and disagreeably contracted at each corner, his chin small and pointed."

In conclusion I am constrained to say that I cannot accept this graphic description of the likeness of the Monster" as that of the portrait of "Robespierre, from an unpublished

drawing touched up in water-colours attributed to Gérard," that faces vol. i. of the 'Memoirs of Barras, Member of the Directorate,' by G. Duruy (London, Osgood, Mellvaine & Co.). HENRY GERALD HOPE

Clapham, S. W.

The "with" is superfluous unless the whole A CROW TO PLUCK WITH" (9th S. i. 367)— sentence is quoted. "I've a crow to pluck with you" is in common use, varied by “A crow to pull" and "A crow to pick." The ordinary meaning is that some one has a difference to settle with some one else, and tells him so, or that the action of one person is such that another asks for an explanation. THOS. RATCLIFFE, Worksop.

Miscellaneous.

NOTES ON BOOKS, &c.

John and Sebastian Cabot. By C. Raymond Bearley, M.A. (Fisher Unwin.)

THE latest contribution to the series of "Builders of Greater Britain" consists of biographies of John and Sebastian Cabot and an account of the dis covery of North America, by Mr. Beazley, the author of 'Prince Henry the Navigator.' A litera ture on the subject of the Cabots has sprung inte existence within the last sixty years. In the very latest completed volume of 'N. & Q' an active dis nected with John Cabot and the Matthew. Facts cussion is maintained on points of interest_con are, none the less, wanting, and Mr. Beazley handicapped by their non-existence or inacces sibility. The conclusions of Mr. Harrisse, that among treacherous intriguers Sebastian Cabot (long lauded as one of the worthiest of men) has an un the admirable industry and close argument of that enviable supremacy, are not accepted en bloc; but eminent student are warmly commended. To John Cabot's discoveries in 1497 and 1498 England owes her "title" in the New World, and Sebastian's voyage of 1553, which gave our merchants their first glimpse of Persia and Central Asia, was “at least one starting-point of the Elizabethan revival of trade, discovery, and colonial extension." That Sebastian Cabot allowed his father to be de frauded in silence of much of the credit that was justly his" Mr. Beazley concedes. His life-work is, however, almost inseparable from that of his father, to which it is in many respects complementary: and no account of the "builders" of "Greater Britain" could be complete which did not comprise both. Not the least interesting portion of Mr Beazley's volume is found in the two opening chapters, which deal with the alleged visits of the Chinese, the Norsemen, the voyages of St. Brandan, and other myths. These legends are, it is held, in a great measure borrowed from Oriental travel romances, "with some additions from classical myth and Christian hagiology." John Cabot, a Genoese by birth and a Venetian by adoption, is held to letters patent to him were granted in 1496. By the have settled in England about 1491, and the first close of 1497 he was in receipt of a pension from

Henry VII. of 20., fully equal to 2401. in modern value. He is supposed to have died in 1498, during his second voyage; but this is not certain. The balance of probability is in favour of Sebastian Cabot having been born in Venice rather than Bristol. There is, Mr. Beazley holds, no reason for supposing that he ever returned to Italy after he came finally to live in England in 1547. The voyage of 1553, which discovered Russia to English politics and trade, is the most important of Cabot's ventures, though he himself, who was approaching eighty years of age, took no actual part in it. The instructions were, however, his, and are given, with some unimportant omissions, in chap. xii. Considerations of space prohibit our following further this useful and entertaining volume, which deserves, and will obtain, the full attention of all interested in American exploration. It is illustrated by a portrait of Sebastian Cabot and by maps. When it was written the author had not had the opportunity of consulting Mr. Harrisse's latest work, Did Cabot return from his Second Voyage?' which is but just issued.

Memorials of St. Edmund's Abbey. Edited by Thomas Arnold. Vol. III. (Stationery Office.) THE concluding volume of this valuable collection of memorials of a great monastic house leaves little to be desired so far as editorship is concerned. The rule that notes are not to be admitted is necessary in the case of works issued by the authority of the State; but the public has suffered in this case, for we feel sure that if Mr. Arnold had had a free hand, he would have enriched his pages with much learning of which we have been deprived. This is especially the case as regards the present volume, which is made up of short pieces, many of them excerpts from manuscripts which contain much that the editor has been unable to give. We are most of us acquainted with the charters in a poetical form, which some antiquaries of past times appear to have been simple enough to regard as being as old as they made themselves out to be. Mr. Arnold has printed some of these curious pieces. We are not aware that they have ever been edited before; but in this we may be in error. In any case we are glad to find them here. The editor dates them at about 1440. We ourselves should put them a little later; but there is no doubt that he is about correct. When, however, he says that it seems probable that Lydgate was their author we cannot follow him. They are not unlike his manner, we admit; but Lydgate, though he wrote some things of very small merit, and never rose to highclass poetry, could not at his worst, we think, ever have sunk so low as the versifier who turned out these charters. Why, it has been asked, were verses of this sort ever manufactured? It is hard to believe that they could ever give pleasure to any one. The motive, probably, was that they might be committed to memory. Medieval people were very fond of remembering things by the aid of jingles, both in Latin and the vernacular tongues. The habit is not dead yet, or, if it is, has expired very recently.

Bury was proud of possessing the mortal remains of St. Edmund, but, as was often the case, another place claimed to own the relics also. Toulouse was thought to have made out a strong case; but Mr. Arnold, who has investigated the question with great care, believes that the body of the saint remained in its natural resting-place until the

Reformation, when it was destroyed; unless, indeed, it was hidden away by the monks ere the spoliation of the shrine occurred. The editor gives, in the introduction, slight sketches of the lives of the abbots from the fourteenth century downwards. The list of the abbots from Uvinus, who was elected in 1020, to John Reeve, otherwise Melford, who resigned in 1539, is complete and accurate. The glossary is also good, and will be found of service to all who take an interest in the Latin of the Middle Ages. Some English words occur therein.

Folk-lore: Old Customs and Tales of my Neigh bours. By Fletcher Moss. (Didsbury, the Author.) THE district with which Mr. Moss deals, in a rambling, agreeable, and, on the whole, instructive book, is the south-eastern corner of Lancashire, on the confines of Cheshire, and not far from Staffordshire. In collecting the folk-lore of Didsbury and its neighbourhood he has been assiduous, and he has already, in addition, given us A History of Didsbury, Didsbury in the '45,' and 'The Chronicles of Cheadle.' Most of the superstitions, beliefs, customs, &c., he chronicles are familiar to readers of N. & Q.,' but there are some which to many of them will, we fancy, be strange. Here, for instance, is a custom of which we never heard. "My aunt, who still lives at Standon Hall, and is long past the fourscore years, has all her long life religiously taken the first pancake on Shrove TuesIt is supposed day and given it to the gamecocks.' to make the hens lay. We are curious to know if the practice prevails elsewhere. Mr. Moss is not satisfied with the derivation of carling peas, which are eaten on the Fifth Sunday in Lent, from care (a derivation favoured by the 'H. E. D.'), the vulgar pronunciation being different, but is disposed to think it comes from carl or churl. He is, however, prone to heresy in derivations, and accepts the origin of bloody in by'r Lady. He would, apparently, also derive fuddle from foot ale, paid by a stranger entering the harvest field. He is, moreover, not careful to verify his quotations.

Let laws, religion, learning die is not correct. The line is

Let wealth and commerce, laws and learning die, which is a different matter. In scraps of folk-song Mr. Moss quotes from memory and at second hand. Of one stanza which he quotes he says he is afraid the third line is wrong. It is. The third and fourth lines are as follows:

And the devil flew away with the little tailor boy,

With the broadcloth under his arm.

We could give him, an it were necessary, variants which we think improvements of many rimes he supplies. He is right, none the less, to give us the verses as he heard them. Mr. Moss writes discursively on many subjects-ghosts (of which he claims to have had many experiences), migrations of birds, domestic experiences, canvassing at elec tions, what not. He describes bicycling rides and misadventures, visits to celebrated spots (including Hawarden), and innumerable things besides. He is expansive, and fond of giving us his views on all sorts of themes. He is, in fact, a thorough gossip. His book is, however, entertaining enough, and we were sorry when its perusal was completed. The illustrations, which are from photographs, add greatly to its attractions. Some things he tells us are sad enough, as when he says of what must still

be a country place, "There were miles of banks in this neighbourhood lately covered with bluebells and primroses that are now desolate and waste." Alas! yes. How many spots are there within the range of a Londoner's walk where he may see primroses, bluebells, cowslips, or anemones, or even buttercups and daisies? In time, perhaps, as beautiful objects get scarcer and scarcer, our schoolmasters will begin to teach children to practise less barbarous and wanton destruction. Mr. Moss's book we unhesitatingly commend to our readers. It will be useful to some and agreeable to all. Sonnets on the Sonnet. Compiled by the Rev. Matthew Russell, S.J. (Longmans & Co.) AN agreeable idea is here agreeably carried out. Wanderers in the most flowery bypaths of literature are familiar with the sportive fashion in which poets have dealt with bonds imposed upon them by the form of sonnet, rondeau, villanelle, ballade, and triolet, the best known being probably Voiture's 'Rondeau on a Rondeau,' beginning

Ma foi, c'est fait de moi, car Isabeau M'a conjuré de lui faire un rondeau. A hundred years earlier Diego Hurtado de Mendoza had written in a similar vein a Soneto del Soneto, and had been followed by Lope de Vega in a kindred composition

Un soneto me manda hacer Violante, which was translated into French by Desmarais, whom Mr. Russell calls, eccentrically, Régnier (sic) Desmarais. These, with English renderings, and with other poems on the sonnet, are included in a volume which the lover of poetry will gladly put upon his shelves. Ample stores have been placed at Mr. Russell's disposal, English sonnets on the sonnet by Mr. Swinburne, Mr. Austin Dobson, Mr. J. A. Symonds, Mr. Watts-Dunton, and Mr. Henley being given, in addition to others by Wordsworth, Kirke White, Ebenezer Elliot, and other writers. At the end are a few specimens of rondeaux, triolets, &c. A series of sonnets, on which the editor has drawn, were contributed to the Dublin Monthly in 1876-77 (see 'N. & Q.,' 5th S. vii. 306). Hood's Sonnet to a Sonnet' of Sir Philip Sidney has been rejected as not coming within the scheme of the work. Sonnets on the sonnet by Marino, Nencioni, and Poupo are known to be in existence, but have failed to reward a search in which readers of 'N. & Q.' have participated. Ambassadors of Commerce. By A. V. Allen. (Fisher Unwin.)

"THE ROAD," as the country travelled by "bagmen" was once called, is beginning to have a sort of folklore of its own. Mr. Allen has collected some information concerning customs now moribund, but once authoritative. It is not complete, not even adequate we could have supplied him with many matters omitted just as curious as those supplied; but it is good so far as it goes.

WE have received Rrimas, by Gustabo Adolfo Béker, published at Balparaiso by Kárlos Kabezon. MR. AND MRS. TREGASKIS have issued from the Caxton Head one more of their illustrated catalogues of interesting books.

THERE is no temptation to add anything to the elaborate biographies of Mr. Gladstone that have appeared in the principal English publications.

His name is of frequent occurrence in our pages. An elaborate bibliography of his writings is given 8th S. ii. 461, 501; iii. 1, 41, 135, 214, 329, 452; v. 233, 272. We fail, however, to trace his name or his initials to more than one communication to N. & Q,' though it is, of course, possible that he wrote in the early volumes under a pseudonym. The com munication in question is signed in full, appeared 7th S. iii. 489, and is on The Greater Gods of Olympus.'

THE date of the annual exhibition of the ExLibris Society at the Westminster Palace Hotel has been altered to Monday and Tuesday, 13 and 14 June. The annual dinner is fixed for the Monday. Mr. H. B. Wheatley, F.S.A., is President of the

Council.

WITH the appearance of Part V. the first volume of the English Dialect Dictionary,' edited by Prof Joseph Wright and published by Mr. Henry Frowde, becomes complete. This volume, the first part of which was published in July, 1896, contains 17,519 simple and compound words and 2,248 phrases, illustrated by 42,915 quotations, with the exact source from which they have been obtained. There MS. collections of dialect words, and to other are, in addition, 39,581 references to glossaries, to sources, making a total of 82,496 references. The list of voluntary readers, of compilers of unprinted collections of dialect words, and of correspondents shows what large numbers of people have assisted in | furnishing material for this great work.

Notices to Correspondents.

We must call special attention to the following notices:

ON all communications must be written the name and address of the sender, not necessarily for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.

WE cannot undertake to answer queries privately. To secure insertion of communications correspondents must observe the following rule. Let each note, query, or reply be written on a separate slip of paper, with the signature of the writer and such address as he wishes to appear. Correspondents who repeat queries are requested to head the second communication "Duplicate."

FURZE FAMILY (8th S. iii. 68, Jan. 28, 1893)-We have a letter for ALBA COLUMBA, which will be forwarded on receipt of address.

ERRATA.-P. 306, col. 2, 1. 28, for "Vigs" read Uigs.-P. 408, col. 2, 1. 14 from bottom, for "Lincoln " read London,

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