  Wither's Haleluiah.—Mr. R. A. Willmott, in his Lives of Sacred Poets, has done himself credit by doing justice to George Wither, and vindicating his claims as poet, whom it has long been the fashion to underrate, but who Southey said "had the heart and soul of a poet in him."—(Life, iii. 126.) In the Life, Mr. Willmott says:
It is therefore very probable that the work is seldom to be met with. I have a copy, but it is unfortunately imperfect; wanting a few leaves (only a few I imagine) at the end. There is no index, nor table of contents, by which I might ascertain the extent of the deficiency. The last page is 478, and contains a portion of Hymn 60, part iii. If any reader of "Notes and Queries" would kindly inform me what is the number of pages of the work, and where a copy may be seen, he will oblige [The work consists of 487 pages, with an index of twelve more. A copy of it in in the Library of the British Museum.] Voltaire's Henriade.—Is it known who is the author of the English translation of this poem into blank verse, published in 1732. The preface and the notes create a desire to know the author. In one of the notes (17) he speaks of something as being "proved at large in my History of Christianity now ready for the press." I am not aware that any such work exists. Was it ever published? If not what became of the manuscript? [Voltaire's Henriade was translated by John Lockman, a gentleman of great literary industry, who died Feb. 2, 1771. See Nichols's Bowyer, and Chalmers's Biographical Dictionary. A list of his published works will be found in Watt's Bibliotheca Britan.] Christ-Crosse A.—In Tatham's Fancie's Theater, 12mo., 1640, is a poem in praise of sack, wherein the following lines occur: "The very children, ere they scarce can say Their Pater Noster, or their Christ-crosse A, Will to their Parents prattle, and desire To taste that Drinke which Gods doe so admire." Can any of your readers inform me the meaning of "Christ-Crosse A" here mentioned? Does it allude to some alphabet then in use? [The alphabet was so designated, because in the old primers a cross was prefixed to it. Nares tells us that in French it was called Croix de par Dieu; and upon reference to Cotgrave for an expression of that term we find, "The Christ's-cross-row; or the hornbook wherein a child learns it."] Apple-pie Order.—Spick and Span new.—My wife very much grudges my spending threepence a week for the "Notes and Queries", and threatens me with stopping the allowance unless I obtain from some of your correspondents answers to the two following Queries:— 1. What is the origin of the phrase "Apple-pie order?" 2. Ditto—of "Spick and span new?" [We leave to some of our friends the task of answering the first of the Queries which our correspondent has put to us by desire of his "better-half." There is much curious illustration of the phrase Spick and Span in Todd's Johnson, s. v. Spick: and Nares in his Glossary says, "Span-newe is found in Chaucer: 'This tale was aie span-newe to begin.'—Troil. and Cres., iii. 1671. It is therefore of good antiquity in the language, and not having been taken from the French may best be referred to the Saxon, in which spannan means to stretch. Hence span-new is fresh from the stretchers, or frames, alluding to cloth, a very old manufacture of the country; and spick and span is fresh from the spike, or tenter, and frames. This is Johnson's derivation, and I cannot but think it preferable to any other." A very early instance of the expression, not quoted by Todd, may be found in the Romance of Alexander: "Richelich he doth him schrede In spon-neowe knightis weode."—L. 4054-5. And Weber, in his Glossary (or rather, Mr. Douce, for the "D" appended to the note shows it to have proceeded from that accomplished antiquary), explains it, "Spon-neowe, span-new, newly spun. This is probably the true explanation of spick and span new. Ihre renders sping-spang, plane novus, in voce fick fack." The learned Jamieson, in his Dictionary, s. v. Split-new (which corresponds to the German Splitter neu, i. e. as new as a splinter or chip from the block), shows, at greater length than we can quote, that split and span equally denote a splinter or chip; and in his Supplement, s. v. Spang-new, after pointing out the connexion between spinga (assula) and spaungha (lamina), shows that, if this be the original, the allusion must be to metal newly wrought, that has, as it were, the gloss from the fire on it: in short, that the epithet is the same as one equally familiar to us, i. e. fire-new, Germ. vier-neu. We will bring this note to a close by a reference to Sewell's Dutch Dictionary, where SpikspËlder nieuw is rendered "Spick and span new."] Theory of the Earth's Form.—Have any objections to the received theory of the earth's spherical form, or any revival of the old "plane" doctrine, been recently noticed and controverted by scientific men of known standing? [The old theory has been advanced, and even lectured on, within these two years; but no notice has been taken of it by scientific men.] Carolus Lawson.—Who was "Carolus Lawson," of whom I have a good print, engraved by Heath. He is called "ScholÆ Mancuniensis Archididascalus," 1797. "Pietas alumnorum" is inscribed underneath, and on the back is written, probably by some grateful pupil—
[Mr. Charles Lawson was educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, and was presented by the president, Dr. Randolph, in 1749, to the place of Second Master of Manchester Grammar School; upon the death of Mr. Purnell, in 1764, he succeeded him as Head Master. The colleges of St. John, in Cambridge, and of Brazenose, in Oxford, can bear witness to the success with which he laboured for more than half a century in his profession, having received from the Manchester school, whilst under his direction, a very considerable number of well-grounded classical scholars. He died at Manchester on April 19, 1807, aged seventy-nine. Some further particulars respecting him may be found in the Gentleman's Magazine, vol. lxxvii. part i. p. 583.] |
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