Notes and Queries, Number 198, August 13, 1853: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Geneologists, etc

In Short

This mid-nineteenth-century periodical serves as a vital medium of inter-communication for literary men, artists, antiquaries, and genealogists. Across its pages, contributors debate obscure textual cruces in Bacon's essays, share rural folk-lore remedies from Warwickshire and Northamptonshire, correct genealogical errors in peerages, and troubleshoot the chemical intricacies of early photography. It has endured because it captures the meticulous, collaborative intellectual energy of an era dedicated to preserving antiquarian lore, solving historical puzzles, and building a collective archive of human knowledge.

The Story

This volume opens with meticulous literary scholarship, beginning with detailed notes on Markby's edition of Bacon's Essays. Contributors analyze Bacon's classical allusions, examine his phrasing regarding truth, death, and sedition, and pinpoint textual gaps left unresolved by modern editors. From these classical foundations, the text broadens into geographical and historical observations, citing Gage's survey of the Isthmus of Panama and comparing Welsh and Irish legends of enchanted visions.

The progression then shifts into the rich, varied domain of regional folk-lore. Observers record enduring moon superstitions, Warwickshire remedies for adder bites involving the reptile's own fat, and a curious Northamptonshire custom where bachelors contribute silver money to forge a protective ring for women afflicted with fits. Interspersed among these rural practices are literary curiosities, such as an inquiry into the historical absence of tobacco and coffee in the Arabian Nights, and a transcription of a vibrant Sussex epitaph commemorating Thomas Tipper, a brewer, scholar, and admirer of Hudibras.

Moving deeper into legal and historical antiquities, the volume presents the intricate, mandatory services owed to the Abbot of Whitby, detailing precise measurements of stakes, strut-stowers, and yeathers. Philological debates follow, tackling the etymology of the title Czar, the origin of Devonshire Little Silvers, and the reality behind the fable of washing a blackamoor. The argumentative current then sharpens through polemical exchanges, including an anonymous letter rebuking a churchman for dangerous ecclesiastical innovations, and a rigorous critique by Henry H. Breen, who uses specific linguistic errors to prove that Laurence Sterne could not have written the French of the Drummer's Letter.

Genealogical corrections form the next major movement, as William Hardy consults public records in the Tower of London to rectify longstanding chronological errors in peerages regarding the descendants of John of Gaunt and the marriage of Lord Fauconberge. The inquiry then turns thoroughly modern and practical with a dedicated photographic correspondence. Here, practitioners troubleshoot technical hurdles, debating the merits of black velvet camera linings, cyanuret of potassium versus hyposulphite of soda for clearing plates, and the chemical safety of ammonio-nitrate of silver.

The progression concludes with a dense network of replies to minor queries. Writers trace the literary remains of Robert Fairlie, verify extraordinary multi-generational families in Montenegro, and debate the etymological roots of terms like parvise and humbug. The volume ends not with a grand summation, but with practical reality: lists of rare books sought by collectors, notices to correspondents, and advertisements for architectural treatises and health foods.

How It Unfolds

Baconian textual analysis The volume opens with close readings of Lord Bacon's essays, where scholars trace elusive classical quotations and debate the exact meanings of historical allusions. Contributors untangle obscure phrasing left unclarified by recent editorial efforts, establishing a rigorous academic foundation.

Folk-lore and rural customs The discussion descends into the British countryside, documenting superstitions surrounding the moon's phases, Warwickshire remedies for adder bites involving reptile fat, and Northamptonshire silver-coin rituals for healing fits. These surviving traditions reveal the persistent grip of folk belief.

Historical and philological puzzles Writers investigate diverse historical anomalies, from the structural demands of ancient feudal tenures at Whitby to the linguistic derivations of the imperial title Czar. Queries also probe the historical reality behind literary tropes like washing the blackamoor white.

Literary and genealogical corrections Critical debates emerge as contributors challenge authorship claims regarding Laurence Sterne's French prose and evaluate sharp anonymous ecclesiastical disputes. Concurrently, archival researchers correct egregious chronological errors in English peerages by consulting primary records from the Tower of London.

Photographic troubleshooting The text pivots sharply into cutting-edge mid-nineteenth-century science, addressing the practical mechanics of early photography and chemical manipulation. Correspondents enthusiastically debate the best black velvet camera linings, optimal developing solutions, and the chemical stability of silver compounds.

Antiquarian closure The progression finishes with a sprawling miscellany of replies to minor historical and linguistic queries, tracking rare poetry, regional architecture, and etymological roots like humbug. It concludes with practical publisher notices and comprehensive lists of books wanted by collectors.

The People

Scholar Mr. Markby seeks to illuminate the obscurities of Lord Bacon's philosophical writings, facing the barrier of untraced classical quotations and ambiguous historical allusions; he emerges with a more precisely mapped text through collaborative peer input. Brewer Thomas Tipper wants to leave an honest, varied comic record of a life well-lived, though time threatens to erase his memory; he survives unforgettably through his uniquely candid gravestone inscription and his mastery of Hudibras.

Literary critic Henry H. Breen desires grammatical precision and historical truth regarding Laurence Sterne's linguistic capabilities, challenged by widespread admiration for flawed French passages; he successfully establishes that Sterne could not have authored the Drummer's Letter. Genealogist William Hardy aims to restore factual integrity to English peerages, obstructed by centuries of accumulated clerical errors and reliance on faulty authorities like Dugdale; he overcomes this by unearthing concrete facts within the public records of the Tower of London. Finally, French governor Colonel Vialla de Sommières seeks to document human longevity, encountering skepticism regarding extreme family structures; he triumphs by meticulously verifying a rare six-generational male lineage in Montenegro. Each figure operates as an investigator of truth, striving to clear away error, whether in ancient manuscripts, stone epitaphs, or biological records.

In Its Own Voice

Discussing the exacting and peculiar feudal duties exacted from landowners, the text details the annual penance demanded by the northern monastery:

And you Ralph de Peircy, shall take one and twenty of each sort, to be cut in the same manner.

Addressing the persistence of popular meteorological myths despite scientific progress, a contributor dismisses old assumptions about lunar influence:

To suppose that the weather varies with the amount of illuminated surface on the moon would make the change in the weather vary with the amount of moonshine, which of course is absurd, as in that case the clouds would have much more to do with the question than the moon's shadow.

Evaluating the linguistic slip-ups in classic English literature, a critic analyzes the vocabulary choices attributed to fictional characters:

Now, the man who could write the Drummer's Letter would not have applied the epithet "opiniâtre" to a horse; and, at any rate, he would have said "C'est le cheval le plus opiniâtre du monde."

What It's Really About

Beneath its mosaic of antiquarian curiosities, this volume explores the collective construction and verification of human knowledge. It investigates how historical truth is recovered not through grand theoretical systems, but through cumulative minutiae: the precise gloss on a philosophical essay, the careful transcription of a regional tombstone, the chemical behavior of silver compounds, and the correction of ancestral lineages. The underlying argument asserts that human culture is preserved through active, communal inquiry. Contributors demonstrate that collective scholarship acts as a bulwark against error, superstition, and time, relying on empirical observation, documentary evidence, and open scholarly debate to establish shared cultural memory.

Why Read It Today

Readers who cherish the texture of Victorian intellectual life, patient archival detective work, and the quiet joys of obscure erudition will find deep satisfaction here. Reading these pages feels like sitting in a nineteenth-century study surrounded by stacks of old manuscripts, parish registers, and scientific journals, listening to learned correspondents debate fine points of grammar and folklore.

However, modern readers must navigate the period's dense academic prose, specialized antiquarian terminology, and archaic structural formats that demand slow, deliberate attention. One must push through thickets of medieval land tenures, specialized photographic chemical formulas, and nineteenth-century polemics that can occasionally feel remote from contemporary concerns. Yet what stays with you long after closing the volume is its earnest spirit of inquiry—the sense of dedicated minds coming together across distances to rescue forgotten epitaphs, correct ancestral records, and interrogate the small mysteries of history. It offers a refreshing antidote to superficial skimming, rewarding those willing to immerse themselves in the unglamorous, meticulous craft of preserving the past.