420
NOTES AND QUERIES. [io* s. n. NOV. 10, MM.
careful only concerning the exterior coat of white-
wash we suppose concession must be made. The
ballads may or may not have taken their rise in
Scotland. Many of them are familiar enough to
residents in the northern counties of England, and
some of them, such as " Where are you going, my
pretty fair maid?" are, in more or less altered
versions, known much further south. A good many
-of the songs are modern. Such are, for instance,
- The Massacre of Ta Phairshons,' by Aytoun, which
appears in Bon Gaultier, and 'The Heights of Alma.' In slightly altered form we have heard many of the songs sung in the West Riding. " Nae- body comin' to marry me " there begins :
Last night the dogs did bark, I went to the gate to see ;
And every lass had a spark, But nobody com in' to me.
The musical notation adds greatly to the attraction of a volume which many of our readers will find wholly to their mind.
Aucassin and Nicolete. Done into English by
Andrew Lang. (Nutt.)
THE first edition of Mr. Lang's version of ' Aucassin and Nicolete ' was issued in a luxurious shape and in a strictly limited edition, which went forthwith out of print. Of various translations issued near the -same period this was at once the best and the most popular. In addition to its merits as a rendering -of this unique cante-fable we take the word from Mr. Lang it is valuable for its introduction and .notes, which embody all that is known concerning a twelfth-century work of highest interest more, indeed, than is told by Lacurne de Sainte-Palaye or M6on. The edition of Bida we have not seen. We have not to introduce to our readers this exquisite love story, nor even Mr. Lang's masterly version, preserving all the charm of the original. A new edition has long been demanded, and is now issued. Mr. Nutt disclaims all intention to compete with the earlier edition. In its morocco "jacket," with its beautiful type and its illustrated and rubricated title-page, the book is, however, itself an ouvrage de luxe. It is also a delightful possession.
A List of Emigrant Ministers to America, 1690-1811.
By Gerald Fothergill. (Stock.) THIS will be found a useful book by American genealogists who wish to trace pedigrees back to their forefathers in the old country. (Several of the ancestors of noteworthy American citizens figure therein. For example, Aaron Cleveland, who figures in this list in 1755, was the direct ancestor of President G rover Cleveland. It appears that King William III. directed Henry Compton, Bishop of London, to apply to the Treasury for 201. each, to defray the expenses of their passage for such clergy- men as were willing to go to the colonies with ministerial intent, and that at first these sums were readily handed over ; but as time went on difficulties -arose and many of these volunteers were subjected to great inconvenience, the excuse offered by the Lords of the Treasury being that several of those to whom the bounty had been handed over did not proceed on their mission.
Mr. Fothergill has collected his information from several classes of documents now preserved in the Public Record Office. The fact that these warrants continued to be issued for so long a period indicates that the payments must have been a legal charge,
but we fail to understand from what portion of the
revenue they were derived.
It appears from the Reports of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel that many of these persons were natives of the colonies who had come over to receive ordination. Schoolmasters, as well as clergymen, were sometimes sent out, and the author thinks that they also were in holy orders. We confess to having some doubt of this, except in the cases where proof can be furnished.
The list is arranged alphabetically. It includes more than twelve hundred names, most of them English or Scotch, but there are a few Frenchmen and Germans among them.
The Fight at Donibristle, 1316 : a Ballad. Edited
by John Smith. (Glasgow, MacLehose & Sons.) THIS is a rendering in ballad form of an incident narrated by Bower in his continuation of Fordun. It is sufficiently spirited, but is indubitably modern. No serious attempt is, indeed, made to deceive.
a ta
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QUELQU'UN (" Books on the Flagellants"). * His- toria Flagellantium : sive de Perverse Flagellorum Usu apud Christianos,' Paris, 1700, by Jacques Boileau, of whom his celebrated brother Nicolas Boileau said that if he had not been a Doctor of the Sorbonne he would have been a Doctor of Italian Comedy.
R. RICKARDS (" Child Commissions in the Army"). A much more remarkable example than that you furnish is to be seen at 9 th S. vii. 251, where an instance is supplied of a commission granted to an infant of eighteen months. See also 8 th S. viii. 421, 498 ; ix. 70, 198, 355, 450.
FRANK PENNY ("Hollantyde"). The 'N.E.D.' explains this as short for Allhallowtide. See the illustrative quotations.
MOT/CE.
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