Notes and Queries, Number 70, March 1, 1851

"Que suis-je helas? et de quoi sert la vie?
J'en suis fors qu'un corps privé de cueur;
Un ombre vayn, un objet de malheur,
Qui n'a plus rien que de mourir en vie.
Plus ne me portez, O enemys, d'envie,
Qui n'a plus l'esprit à la grandeur,
J'ai consommé d'excessive douleur,
Voltre ire en bref de voir assouvie.
Et vous amys qui m'avez tenu chere,
Souvenez-vous que sans cueur, et sans santey,
Je ne scaurois auqun bon œuvre faire.
Souhaitez donc fin de calamitey,
Et que sus bas étant assez punie,
J'aie ma part en la joie infinie."

The verses are written on a sheet of paper, by Mary herself, in a large rambling hand. The following literal translation of them was made by a countrywoman of Mary's, a lady in beauty of person and elegance of mind by no means inferior to that accomplished and unfortunate princess:

"Alas, what am I? and in what estate?
A wretched corse bereaved of its heart,
An empty shadow, lost, unfortunate:
To die is now in life my only part.
Foes to my greatness, let your envy rest,
In me no taste for grandeur now is found;
Consum'd by grief, with heavy ills oppress'd,
Your wishes and desires will soon be crown'd.
And you, my friends, who still have held me dear,
Bethink you, that when health and heart are fled,
And ev'ry hope of future good is dead,
'Tis time to wish our sorrows ended here;
And that this punishment on earth is given,
That my pure soul may rise to endless bliss in heaven."

Immediately before her execution she repeated the following Latin prayer, composed by herself, and which has been set to a beautiful plaintive air, by Dr. Harington of Bath:

"O Domine Deus speravi in te!
O care mi Jesu, nunc libera me!
In durâ catenâ, in miserâ poenâ desidero te!
Languendo, gemendo, et genuflectendo,
Adoro, imploro, ut liberes me!"

It may be thus paraphrased:

"In this last solemn and tremendous hour,
My Lord, my Saviour, I invoke Thy power!
In these sad pangs of anguish and of death,
Receive, O Lord, Thy suppliant's parting breath!
Before Thy hallowed cross she prostrate lies,
O hear her prayers, commiserate her sighs!
Extend thy arms of mercy and of love,
And bear her to thy peaceful realms above."
Anecdotes of some Distinguished Persons,

    8vo. London, 1795, vol. i. p. 154.
    H. E.
Tandem D. O. M. (Vol. iii., p. 62.)—I would suggest that this inscription might be resolved into

"Tandem Deus Otia Misit,"

a thanksgiving for the fulfilment of some oft-made prayer or long-cherished hope; the idea—if I am right in my conjecture—having probably been taken from the 6th line of Virgil's 1st Eclogue—

"O Melibæe! deus nobis hæc otia fecit."

Any accounts that remain of the great Carthaginian Captain's Cornish namesake, may perhaps tend to show that he had preferred the "otium cum dignitate" of literary leisure to the turmoil of the battle of life, and to the use of the harness, whether civil or military, that it had forced him to wear.

    C. Forbes.

Temple.

[J. V. S. suggests, "May it not in its complete state be 'Tandem Deo, Optimo et Maximo,' and its translation, 'When all is done, let praise be to God most mighty and most beneficent?'" and X. Z. says, "Possibly, 'Tandem desiderato opere mactus'—not, I think, a very choice specimen of Latinity, but perhaps good enough for a fly-leaf."]

Tandem D. O. M. (Vol. iii., p. 62.).—Is not D. O. M. the common abbreviation for "Deo Optimo Maximo?" and so the whole phrase an acknowledgment by the painful (and probably pious) collector of the most interesting library referred to, of his thanks to God on having "at length" obtained possession of some long-coveted folio, or vainly-sought-for edition?

    J. Eastwood.

Ecclesfield.

D. O. M.—I am emboldened by the Query respecting "Tandem D. O. M. (Vol. iii., p. 62.) to ask, what is the solution of D. O. M.? On the head of a tombstone, the inscription is frequent on the continent. I am aware that it is interpreted "Deo Optimo Maximo" when occurring in the dedication of a church; but it appears on a tomb to supply the place of our M.S., or the D. M. of the Romans. Can any of your readers give me the true meaning? It must be well known, I should think, to all who have studied inscriptions. As I am indebted to Faber Marinus for an excuse for putting this Query, it is only courteous to suggest a solution to his D. O. M.—may it be "Datus omnino Musis?"

    Ωω.

Miscellaneous

NOTES ON BOOKS, SALES, CATALOGUES, ETC

To such of our readers, and we believe they form neither the least numerous nor the least intelligent portion of our friends, who consider the columns which we devote to Folk Lore among the most interesting parts of our paper, we recommend an attentive perusal of a little work, which has just reached a second edition, and which is calculated to invest with fresh interest that very curious subject. We allude to Dr. Herbert Mayo's volume On the Truths contained in Popular Superstitions, with an Account of Mesmerism. Dr. Mayo's object is "to exhibit in their true light the singular natural phenomena by which old superstition and modern charlatanism have in turn profited,—to indicate their laws, and to develope their theory"—and he does this in a way to excite the reader's deepest attention, and to convince him that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in his philosophy.

Daily Steps towards Heaven, or Practical Thoughts on the Gospel History, and especially on the Life and Teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. For every Day in the Year, according to the Christian Seasons, with Titles and Characters of Christ, and a Harmony of the Four Gospels, is the ample and descriptive title of a small devotional volume, which has been received with such favour by all classes of churchmen as to have passed through two large editions in little more than a twelve-month; which is better testimony to its merits than any we could give.

Messrs. Sotheby and Wilkinson will sell on Monday next, and the five following days, a valuable collection of Books, from the library of a gentleman in the country, among which will be found some curious early English Tracts relating to the Church, and some scarce poetical pieces.

Messrs. Puttick and Simpson, of 191. Piccadilly, will sell on Monday, and five following days, the valuable library of the late Rev. George Innes, Head Master of the King's School, Warwick; together with the library of a clergyman.

Books Received.—Dr. Pusey's Letter to the Lord Bishop of London, in explanation of some Statements contained in a Letter by the Rev. W. Dodsworth.

Directions for the Preservation of English Antiquities, especially those of the First Three Periods. By J. Y. Akerman. This little tract, which is illustrated with numerous woodcuts, has been prepared by the Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries, in a cheap form (it is sold for a penny!), that by its wide circulation, especially among agricultural labourers, it may be the means of preserving many remains of interest. Is it too much to ask those who approve of Mr. Akerman's object to assist in its circulation; and to further that object by depositing any articles which it may be the means of rescuing from destruction either in the British Museum, or the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries.

Catalogues Received.—B. Quaritch's (16. Castle Street, Leicester Square) Cheap Book Circular, and Catalogue of Books in all Languages; J. Russell Smith's (4. Old Compton Street, Soho) Catalogue of Ancient Manuscripts on Vellum and Paper; Deeds, Charters, and other Documents relating to English Families and Counties; Hebrew Manuscripts, Autograph Letters, &c.

BOOKS AND ODD VOLUMES WANTED TO PURCHASE