Notes and Queries, Number 54, November 9, 1850

Many years passed happily on, and three smiling children—afterwards the "surgeons of Myddvai"—blessed the shepherd and his Undine-like bride; but at length, on requesting her to go to the field and catch his horse, she replied that she would do so presently; when striking her arm three times he exclaimed, Dôs, dôs, dôs; Go, go, go. This was more than a free dweller in the waters could brook; so calling her ten head of cattle to follow her, she fled to the lake, and once more plunged beneath its waters.

Such is the legend; of which reason vainly expresses its disbelief, as long as the eye of faith can discern physical proofs of its truth in the deep furrow which, crossing the mountain in detached portions, terminates abruptly in the lake; for it seems that when the two oxen were summoned by their mistress, they were ploughing in the field; and at their departure, they carried the plough with them, and dragged it into the lake.

The nymph once more appeared upon the earth; for as her sons grew to manhood, she met them one day in a place which, from this circumstance, received the name of Cwm Meddygon, and delivered to each of them a bag, containing such mysterious revelations in the science of medicine, that they became greater in the art than were ever any before them.

Though so curiously connected with this fable, the "surgeons of Myddvai" are supposed to be historical personages, who, according to a writer in the Cambro-Briton, flourished in the thirteenth century, and left behind them a MS. treatise on their practice, of which several fragments and imperfect copies are still preserved.

No. 4. Trwyn Pwcca.—Many years ago, there existed in a certain part of Monmouthshire a Pwcca, or fairy, which, like a faithful English Brownie, performed innumerable services for the farmers and householders in its neighbourhood, more especially that of feeding the cattle, and cleaning their sheds in wet weather; until at length some officious person, considering such practices as unchristian proceedings, laid the kindly spirit for three generations, banishing him to that common receptacle for such beings—the Red Sea. The spot in which he disappeared obtained the name of Trwyn Pwcca (Fairy's nose); and as the three generations have nearly passed away, the approaching return of the Pwcca is anxiously looked forward to in its vicinity, as an earnest of the "good time coming."

The form which tradition assigns to this Pwcca, is that of a handful of loose dried grass rolling before the wind (such as is constantly seen on moors); a circumstance which recalls to mind the Pyrenean legend of the spirit of the Lord of Orthez, mentioned by Miss Costello, which appeared as two straws moving on the floor. Query, Has the name of "Will o' the Wisp" any connexion with the supposed habit of appearing in this form?

    Seleucus.

CONNEXION OF WORDS—THE WORD "FREIGHT."

The word employed to denote freight, or rather the price of freight, at this day in the principal ports of the Mediterranean, is nolis, nolo, &c. In the Arabian and Indian ports, the word universally employed to denote the same meaning is nol. Are these words identical, and can their connexion be traced? When we consider the extensive commerce of the Phœnicians, both in the Mediterranean and Indian seas, that they were the great merchants and carriers of antiquity, and that, in the words of Hieron, "their numerous fleets were scattered over the Indian and Atlantic oceans; and the Tyrian pennant waved at the same time on the coasts of Britain and on the shores of Ceylon"—it is natural to look to that country as the birthplace of the word, whence it may have been imported, westward to Europe, and eastward to India, by the same people. And we find that it is a pure Arabic word, نول nawil and نولن nawlun, or nol and nolan, both signifying freight (price of carriage), from the root نوه noh, pretium dedit, donum. I am not aware that the word freight (not used in the sense of cargo or merchandise, but as the price of carriage of the merchandise, merces pro vectura) is to be found in the Old Testament, otherwise some light might be thrown on the matter by a reference to the cognate Hebrew word.

But here an interesting question presents itself. The word freight in Greek is ναῦλος or ναῦλον, and in Latin naulum. Have these any connexion with the Arabic word, or are they to be traced to an independent source, and the coincidence in sense and sound with the Arabic merely accidental? If distinct, are the words now in use in the Mediterranean ports derived from the Greek or the Arabic? If the words be not identical, may not the Greek be derived from the Sanscrit, thus

nau, or in the pure form

nawah, or resolved, naus, a ship or boat;

nauyáyin quasi nouyáyil, or abbreviated naul, that which goes into a ship or boat, i.e. freight, fare, or, by metonyme, the price of freight, or passage-money. It is to be noted that nolis, though in general use in the Mediterranean ports (Marseilles, for example) to denote the price of freight, or of carriage, is not so in the northern parts of France. At Havre the word is frêt, the same as our freight, the German fracht, viz. that which is carried or ferried, and, by metonyme, as before, the price of carriage.

    J. Sh.

Bombay.

Minor Notes

Smith's Obituary.—One of the publications of the Camden Society for the year 1849 is the Obituary of Richard Smyth (extending from 1627 to 1674), edited by Sir Henry Ellis. It is printed from a copy of the Sloane MS. in the Brit. Mus., No. 886., which is itself but a transcript, later than Smyth's time. The editor states that "where the original manuscript of the obituary is deposited is not at present known."

I am glad at being able to supply the information here wanted. The original manuscript is in the University Library at Cambridge, marked Mm. 4. 36. It consists of twenty-nine leaves, foolscap folio; and, except that the edges and corners of the leaves are occasionally worn by frequent perusal, is otherwise in excellent condition. It is well and clearly written, but the latter part of it marks the alteration of the hand by the advancing years of the writer. There are many variations in the orthography, and some omissions, in the Camden Society's publication, but perhaps not more than may be accounted for by supposing the Sloane copy to have been made by a not very careful transcriber.

Here again is seen the valuable use which might be made of your excellent publication. Had a "Hue and Cry" been made in the "Notes and Queries" after the original MS. of this obituary, information might have been immediately given which would have added greatly to the value of this number of the Camden Society's publications.

    Gastros.

Cambridge, Oct. 28. 1850.

George Wither the Poet, A Printer.—In the "Premonition to the Reader" prefixed to George Wither's Britain's Remembrancer, 12mo. 1628, the author acquaints us with some circumstances relative to his work which are not generally known. While craving some apology for his writing, Wither observes:

"It is above two years since I laboured to get this booke printed, and it hath cost me more money, more pains, and much more time to publish it, than to compose it, for I was faine to imprint every sheet thereof with my owne hand, because I could not get allowance to doe it publikely."

    Edward F. Rimbault.

Corruption of the Text of Gibbon's "Decline and Fall."—A corruption, which seems to have arisen from an attempt at emendation, has crept into Note 17. on the 55th chapter of Gibbon's History. Root is twice printed instead of roof in the later editions, including, Mr. Milman's. "What comes from the roof," may not be very intelligible; still roof is the word in the original edition of Gibbon, where it corresponds to toit in Gibbon's authority, Fleury, and to tectum in Fleury's authority.

    J. E. B. Mayor.

Traditional Story concerning Cardinal Wolsey.—In David Hughson (Dr. Pugh's) Walks through London and the surrounding Suburbs, 12mo. 1817, vol. ii. p. 366., I find the following:—

"Passing on to Cheshunt: here is a plain brick edifice, in which Cardinal Wolsey is said to have resided. It has been nearly rebuilt since his time, but is still surrounded by a deep moat. In the upper part of this house, called Cheshunt House, is a room, the door of which is stained with blood: the tradition is—an unfortunate lady became a victim to the Cardinal's jealousy, and that he dispatched her with his own hand. If so, it is unaccountable that the murderer should have suffered those marks of his violence to have remained."

Is there any old authority for this charge against the Cardinal?

    Edward F. Rimbault.

Queries

EARLY SALE OF GEMS, DRAWINGS, AND CURIOSITIES

At the risk of showing my ignorance, I wish to have it removed by answers to my present Queries.

I have before me a printed catalogue of a collection of antiques, drawings, and curiosities, which were to be sold by auction not far from a century and a half ago. It is upon a sheet of four pages, rather larger than foolscap, which it entirely fills. It seems to me a remarkable assemblage of valuable relics, and it is thus headed:—

"A catalogue, being an extraordinary and great collection of antiques, original drawings, and other curiosities, collected by a gentleman very curious … will be sold by auction at Covent Garden Coffee House, in the Little Piazza, on Wednesday next, being the 9th instant June, 1714."

This is the oldest English catalogue of the kind that I happen to have met with, and my first question upon it is, is there any older? Next, if the fact be known, who was the "gentleman very curious" who owned the collection?

We are farther informed by the auctioneer (whose name is not given), that "The antiques are all in precious stones, most of them engraved by the greatest masters of the old Greeks and Romans; the drawings are of the oldest and the best Italian masters;" and it is advertised, besides, that "the aforesaid rarities may be seen on Monday the 7th, Tuesday the 8th, and Wednesday till the time of sale, which will begin at 11 o'clock in the morning for the antiques, and at 6 o'clock in the evening for the drawings." After a statement that the "conditions of sale are as usual," we come to the list of the gems, under the heads of "Names of the Jewels," and "What they represent." There are fifty-one lots of those that are "set in silver for seals," and they are upon cornelian, beril, sardonix, jasper, &c. For the purpose of identification (if possible) I will quote two or three:—

"3. Sardonix—The head of Anacreon.

17. Cornelian—Pallas crowning Hercules.

30. Beryl—The Trojan Horse, as in Fortuna Lyceto.

51. A cornelian ring, with the head of Lais of Corinth, engraved by Mr. Christian."

To these succeed twelve lots of "stones not set," including a "Head of Christ," a "Gadetian Droll," the "Entry of Severus, the Emperor, into Britain," &c. Then we come to 22. "Camejus, for the most part modern;" and to 10. "Other extraordinary Rarities," including

4. "The Picture of Mathew of Leyden, King of the Anabaptists, done in miniature by Holbein.

7. A box with 8 Calcedonies set in gold, in which are engraved the Passion of our Saviour," &c.

The "antiques set in gold, being rings or seals," are thirty-seven in number; among them

"8. Ennius the poet, with this motto, Sine lucto memento, a seal.

"19. Homer deified, a seal.

"34. A double seal of Charles I., King of England, and Henrietta, daughter of Henry IV. of France, &c., with a motto of Castus Amor vinxit. Engraved by Simon Monuntum Preclarissimum."

The Drawings come last, and are divided into seven Porta Folios, containing respectively 21, 23, 30, 23, 24, 26 and 42 specimens. In the first two no names of the masters are given: in the third, they are all assigned to various artists, including Emskirk (I spell names as I find them), Paulo Veronesa, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, Tintorett, Giulio Romano, &c. The fourth portfolio has only one name to the 23 lots, viz. Tintorett; and Filippo Bellin is the only master named in the fifth portfolio. In the sixth, we meet with Tintorett, Perugino, Mich. Ang. Bonaroti, Annibal Caracci, Paulo Brill, and Raphael. Of the 42 drawings in Portfolio 7. all have names annexed to them, excepting eight; and here we read those of Guido Reni, Gio Bellini, Andrea Mantegna, Corregio, Andrea del Sarto, Tadeo Zuccaro, &c.

I may have gone into more detail than was necessary; but, besides the Queries I have already put, I want to know if any of these gems, cameos, antiques, or drawings are now known to be in existence; and, if possible, where they are to be found.