Notes and Queries, Number 75, April 5, 1851 | Page 5

any person is possessed of an impression of Shakspeare's Venus and Adonis, 4to. Printed by Richard Field for John Harrison, 1593, and will bring it to Mr. Thomas Longman, bookseller, in Paternoster Row, he will receive one guinea for it."
Malone gave 25l. for the copy in his collection in the Bodleian.
J. F. M.
Moorfields in Charles II.'s Time.--I copy this from The New Help to Discourse, published about 1670:
"Two gentlemen of Stepney going homewards over Moor-fields, about twelve of the clock at night, were staid by an impertinent constable with many frivolous questions, more by half to show his office than his wit; one whereof was, If they were not afraid to go home at that time of the night? They answered, 'No.' 'Well,' said he, 'I shall let you pass at this time; but if you should be knockt on the lead before you get home, you cannot but report that there was a good watch kept in Moor-fields."
BLOWEN.
Yankee, Derivation of.--The word Yankee is nothing more than the word English so transformed by the imperfect pronunciation of the natives of Massachusets--Yenghis, Yanghis, Yankies. The orthography of this much-used epithet, which is not given, we believe, in any English or American work, was communicated to M. Philarète {261} Charles by one of the best-informed men of that province.
"Le mot Yankee, appliqué aujourd'hui comme sobriquet aux populations agricoles et commer?antes du nord, n'est autre que le mot English transformé par la prononciation défectueuse des indigènes du Massachusets: Yenghis, Yanghis, Yankies. Nous tenons de l'un des hommes les plus instruit de la province cette curieuse étymologie, que ne donne aucun ouvrage americain ou anglais. Les Anglais, quand ils se moquent des Yankies, se moquent d'eux-mèmes."--Philarète Charles, "Les Americains," in Revue des Deux Mondes, May 15, 1850.
J. M.
A Word to Literary Men (Vol. iii., p. 161.).--Perhaps MR. KENNETH R. H. MACKENZIE will allow me to add the following as a rider to his suggestion:--
"Even after all the labours of the Prussian scholars," says Dr. Arnold, "much remains to be done towards obtaining a complete knowledge of the number, and still more of the value, of the Greek MSS. now existing in Europe. It is not easy to know how many MSS. of any given writer are extant, where they are to be found, and, above all, whether from their age and character they are worth the trouble of an exact collation. A labour of this kind cannot be accomplished by individuals; but the present spirit of liberal co-operation, which seems to influence literary as well as scientific men throughout Europe, renders its accomplishment by the combined exertions of the scholars of different countries by no meals impracticable. It would be exceedingly convenient to possess an alphabetical list of all the extant Greek and Latin writers, with a catalogue raisonnée of the MSS. of each; and if such a work were attempted, there is little doubt, I imagine, that in point of number a very large addition would be made to the stock of MSS. already known. What the result might be in point of value is another question; still it is desirable to know what we have to trust to; and when we have obtained a right estimate of our existing resources in manuscripts, we shall then be better able to judge what modern criticism will have to do from its own means towards bringing the text of the ancient writers to the greatest possible state of perfection."--Preface to Thucydides, vol. iii. page iv. 2d edit.
M. N.
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Queries.
POEMS OF JOHN SEGUARD OF NORWICH.
In the Letters on the British Museum, 1767 (referred to Vol. iii., p. 208.), at p. 33. is given a short Latin poem, which the writer states he "found among the manuscripts;" and adds, "It was written by John Seward in the time of Henry V., who conquered Charles VI. of France." The poem is as follows:
"Ite per extremam Tanaim, pigrosque Triones, Ite per arentem Lybiam, superate calores Solis, et arcanos Nili deprendite fontes, Herculeumque sinum, Bacchi transcurrite metas, Angli juris erit quicquid complectitur orbis. Anglis rubra dabunt pretiosas ?quora conchas, Indus ebur, ramos Panchaia, vellera Seres, Dum viget Henricus, dum noster vivit Achilles; Est etenim laudes longe transgressus avitas."
If these lines are compared with the contemporary Leonine verses in praise of Henry V., preserved in MS. Cott. Cleop. B. i. f. 173. beginning:
"Ad Salvatoris laudes, titulos et honores."
their great superiority, in point of Latinity, will be perceived, and this Query forthwith arises: Who was John Seward?
In reply to this, the following information has been collected. The name of the author was not Seward, but Seguard. He is not mentioned by Leland, but Bale calls him "insignis sui temporis rhetor ac poeta;" and states further, that in the city of Norwich, "non sine magno auditorum fructu, bonas artes ingenue