The Arke of Artificial Day. Before proceeding, to point out the indelible marks by which Chaucer has, as it were, stereotyped the true date of the journey to Canterbury, I shall clear away another stumbling-block, still more insurmountable to Tyrwhitt than his first difficulty of the "halfe cours" in Aries, viz. the seeming inconsistency in statements (1.) and (2.) in the following lines of the... more...

A LEADER FROM A FOREIGN NEWSPAPER: THE NEW RUSSIAN MANIFESTO. Mention was recently made, in Vol. ix., p. 218., of the valuable character of many of the leading articles in the continental journals, and a wish expressed that translations of them were more frequently communicated in our own papers to English readers. The great newspapers of this country are too rich in varied talent and worldwide... more...

OUR SHAKSPEARIAN CORRESPONDENCE. We have received from a valued and kind correspondent (not one of those emphatically good-natured friends so wittily described by Sheridan) the following temperate remonstrance against the tone which has distinguished several of our recent articles on Shakspeare:— Shakspeare Suggestions (Vol. viii., pp. 124. 169.).— "Most busy, when least I do." I am... more...

DIVISION OF INTELLECTUAL LABOUR. Every one confesses, I believe, the correctness of the principle called "Division of labour." But if any one would form an adequate estimate of the ratio of the effect produced, in this way, to the labour which is expended, let him consult Dr. Adam Smith. I think he states, as an example, that a single labourer cannot make more than ten pins in a day; but if... more...

HIGH CHURCH AND LOW CHURCH. A Universal History of Party; with the Origin of Party Names would form an acceptable addition to literary history: "N. & Q." has contributed towards such a work some disquisitions on our party namesWhigandTory, andThe Good Old Cause. Such names asPuritan,Malignant,Evangelical, can be traced up to their first commencement, but some obscurity hangs on the... more...

THE ROLLIAD. (22d Ed., 1812.) Finding that my copy of The Rolliad ("Notes and Queries," Vol. ii., p. 373.) contains fuller information regarding the authors than has yet appeared in your valuable periodical, I forward you a transcript of the MS. notes, most of which are certified by the initial of Dr Lawrence, from whose copy all of them were taken by the individual who gave me the volume. W.... more...

"THAT SWINNEY." Junius thus wrote to H. S. Woodfall in a private note, to which Dr. Good has affixed the date July 21st, 1769 (vol. i. p. 174.*) "That Swinney is a wretched but dangerous fool. He had the impudence to go to Lord G. Sackville, whom he had never spoken to, and to ask him whether or no he was the author of Junius: take care of him." This paragraph has given rise to a great... more...

ON THE USE OF THE HOUR-GLASS IN PULPITS. George Herbert says: "The parson exceeds not an hour in preaching, because all ages have thought that a competency."—A Priest to the Temple, p. 28. Ferrarius, De Ritu Concion., lib. i. c. 34., makes the following statement: "Huic igitur certo ac communi malo (the evil of too long sermons) ut medicinam facerent, Ecclesiæ patres in concionando... more...

PROCLAMATION OF HENRY VIII. AGAINST THE POSSESSION OF RELIGIOUS BOOKS. The progress of the Reformation in England must have been greatly affected by the extent to which the art of printing was brought to bear upon the popular mind. Before the charms of Anne Boleyn could have had much effect, or "doubts" had troubled the royal conscience, Wolsey had been compelled to forbid the introduction or... more...

OLD POPULAR POETRY: "ADAM BELL, CLYM OF THE CLOUGH, AND WILLIAM OF CLOWDESLY." I have very recently become possessed of a curious printed fragment, which is worth notice on several accounts, and will be especially interesting to persons who, like myself, are lovers of our early ballad poetry. It is part of an unknown edition of the celebrated poem relating to the adventures of Adam Bell, Clym... more...