Notes and Queries, Number 48, September 28, 1850

In Short

This issue of a nineteenth-century periodical functions as an open intellectual exchange where correspondents submit queries, present historical research, and settle scholarly disputes. Within its pages, contributors investigate everything from personal memories of the 1780 Gordon Riots to obscure etymologies and editorial mistakes in Gibbon. The publication has endured because it captures the working engine of Victorian antiquarianism, recording a lively, collaborative culture of research where every reader could serve as an authority on niche historical and literary facts.

The Story

The issue opens with personal historical memory as a contributor signing himself "Senex" recalls his childhood experiences during the London Riots of 1780. He describes his family watching the fires from a roof in St. Pancras and relates the grim detail of attending the execution of a young lad convicted on the evidence of a witness who matched a piece of cloth cut from the suspect's jacket. Following this vivid memoir, the prose shifts toward literary commentary and political history. A submission signed "Grendon" provides political satires directed at William III, while C. Forbes examines the physical expressions of emotion in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, connecting Brutus's grief to classical references in Petronius, Plutarch, and Montaigne.

The focus then broadens into a series of short, highly specific linguistic and historical observations. Etymological notes dissect terms like "cad," "epergne," and "bumbailiff," while Rev. J.E.B. Mayor corrects an error regarding the Roman Anician family found in Gibbon's Declension and Fall, urging future editors to revise chapters on Mahomet. Other contributors offer warnings against dubious historical sources, such as Ockley’s History of the Saracens, and request information regarding the authenticity of academic epigrams.

The volume transitions into active inquiries sent in by the readership. One detailed query investigates the manuscript history of the Orkneyinga Saga and the Codex Flateyensis, seeking to reconcile conflicting records surrounding King Haco’s 1263 expedition to Scotland. Other queries ask about the lineage of Edward the Outlaw, the English translation of Conde’s work on the Arabs in Spain, and various obscure legal or corporate entities.

The latter half provides answers to queries raised in earlier issues. Scholars weigh in on the true author of marginalia in Cave's Historia Literaria, confirming Henry Wharton rather than Archbishop Tenison. A lengthy debate unfolds over the origin of the "Collar of SS," with Dr. Rock arguing it derives from the Salisbury liturgy's "Sanctus," while another note adds the Serjeant Trumpeter to those privileged to wear it. Giovanni Joacchino Passano's diplomatic mission as French ambassador is clarified using Cavendish's Life of Wolsey. Regional traditions are explored, including the Scottish custom of "handfasting" in Eskdalemuir, alongside geographic debates over the lost Baltic city of Veneta or Julin. The issue concludes with genealogical breakdowns of the Hardwick family, classical sources for quotes in Bishop Andrewes, historical uses of the term "blackguard," and brief notices on new publications and antiquarian meetings.

How It Unfolds

Memories of urban unrest "Senex" shares firsthand boyhood recollections of the 1780 Gordon Riots, describing distant views of burning buildings and the execution of a young rioter identified by a cut piece of jacket fabric.

Satire and classical parallels Contributors present anti-Williamite Jacobite verses and analyze Shakespearean portrayals of intense grief, linking dramatic gestures in Julius Caesar to Latin and French literature.

Linguistic and textual corrections Brief entries explore the origins of common words like "cad" and "doggrel," while Rev. Mayor points out chronological mistakes in Gibbon's references to Roman tribunes.

Inquiries into sagas and lineage Readers post scholarly questions regarding discrepancies in the Orkneyinga Saga concerning King Haco's burial, alongside questions on medieval royal genealogies.

Resolving historical mysteries Correspondents submit answers to previous issues, identifying anonymous handwritings in library catalogs and debating whether the ceremonial "Collar of SS" originates from liturgical Latin or administrative titles.

Customs and final notices The text covers the legalities of Scottish trial marriages, traces the fate of King James II's remains, and finishes with notices for archæological society meetings and upcoming books.

The People

• Senex: An elderly contributor writing from personal memory who seeks to record minor incidents of the 1780 London Riots before those who witnessed them pass away.
• C. Forbes: A reader based in the Temple who analyzes Shakespeare's language, eager to prove that physical gestures in drama mirror classical descriptions of intense anger and grief.
• Rev. J.E.B. Mayor: A scholar from Marlborough College who systematically identifies factual errors in major historical works like Gibbon's and seeks to correct the public record.
• Dr. Rock: An antiquarian contributor who argues against popular heraldic gossip to advance a liturgical explanation for the mysterious ceremonial Collar of SS.
• S.W. Singer: A historical researcher who uses early printed sources to untangle the diplomatic career and true identity of the French ambassador Giovanni Joacchino Passano.

In Its Own Voice

"The events of 1780, in themselves so terrific, were well adapted to be written indelibly on the memory of a young, and ardent boy." Writing under a pseudonym, an aged spectator reflects on how the terror of the Gordon Riots permanently imprinted itself on his childhood mind.

"Rejoice, yee fops, yo'r idoll's come agen / To pick yo'r pocketts, and to slay yo'r men;" A recovered seventeenth-century Jacobite poem harshly mocks King William III upon his return from military campaigns in Flanders.

"The Collar of SS. 'is to this day a mystery to the most learned and indefatigable antiquaries'..." Dr. Rock cites contemporary costume historians to illustrate the ongoing confusion surrounding the origin of England's iconic official collar.

What It's Really About

This publication is fundamentally about the democratization of historical and literary scholarship. Rather than relying on single authoritative institutions, it relies on a networked community of readers, clergymen, and scholars working together to verify facts. The issue demonstrates how historical truth is assembled piecemeal—through the correction of library catalogs, the precise translation of classical phrases, and the preservation of personal memoirs. It addresses underlying questions about how memory turns into history, how errors persist in famous texts if left unchallenged, and how localized traditions contribute to a nation's collective heritage.

Why Read It Today

This issue offers an entertaining glimpse into the Victorian passion for collecting knowledge. For modern readers, it functions as an open window into the working habits of nineteenth-century researchers. The prose moves swiftly from grim personal accounts of eighteenth-century executions to precise debates over medieval Scandinavian sagas and the origins of everyday slang.

Reading the volume requires some comfort with unparsed Latin citations, untranslated classical quotes, and sudden shifts between unrelated topics. The text does not build a single continuous narrative, but rather acts as a mosaic of brief, densely factual entries. It will strongly appeal to local historians, etymologists, and lovers of odd historical trivia who enjoy seeing historical facts debated in real time. What remains with the reader is a deep appreciation for the meticulous curiosity of the contributors, whose collaborative efforts laid the groundwork for modern textual reference and historical cataloging.