Notes and Queries, Number 204, September 24, 1853. Various
in rhyme; I should thank them the more if they would do the same: as to explanation, the longer the better.
"Principis hic Baculus, patriæ columenque, decusque,
Hoc uno, ingratos quo beet, ipse miser."
This ragged staff by Leicester's potent hand,
Brought succour, safety, to this threaten'd land:
One thing alone embitters every thought,
He to ungrateful men these blessings brought.
Now for a word of commentary: and first as to "Stadtholder of Holland, A.D. 1585." The good woman who showed the picture informed us that it was painted by order of the stadtholder, and presented to Leicester; if so, there would have been a jussu provinciarum fœderatarum depictus, or something of that sort; but no such compliment was to be expected from the Dutch, for they hated him, complained of his conduct, memorialised the queen against him: see the pamphlets in the British Museum, 4to. 1587, C. 32. a. 2. But though it was most unlikely that the Dutch or their stadtholder should have presented this picture to Leicester, it well accorded with Leicester's vanity and presumption, and still more with that vanity and presumption as displayed in his conduct as commander-in-chief of the forces in Holland, to call himself The Stadtholder, and to order his painter to put that title under his portrait.
The verses may now be referred to in support of this view of the subject. Leicester therein represents himself as unhappy, because he had bestowed blessings on the ungrateful Dutch.
In conclusion, take the following full-length portrait of Leicester's indignation (Leicester, a Belgis vituperatus, loquitur):
"This ragged staff my resolution shows,
To save my Queen and Holland from their foes:
Still deeply seated in my heart remains
One cause, one fruitful cause, of all my pains;
'Tis base ingratitude—'tis Holland's hate.
My presence sav'd that country, chang'd its fate.
But the base pedlars gain'd my sov'reign's ear,
And at my counsels and my courage sneer;
They call me tyrant, breaker of my word,
Fond of a warrior's garb without his sword.
A servile courtier, saucy cavalier,
Bold as a lion when no danger's near,
They say I seek their country for myself,
To fill my bursting bags with plunder'd pelf;
They say with goose's, not with eagle's wing,
I wish to soar, and make myself a king.
Dutchmen! to you I came, I saw, I sav'd:
Where'er my staff, my bear, my banner wav'd,
The daunted Spaniard fled without a blow,
And bloodless chaplets crown'd my conquering brow.
Dutchmen! with minds more stagnant than your pools,
(But in reproachful words more knaves than fools),
You will not see, nor own the debt you owe
To him who conquers a retreating foe.
Such base ingratitude as this alloys
My triumph's glory, and my bosom's joys."
Tunbridge Wells.
EARLY USE OF TIN
Mr. Layard, in his work upon Nineveh and Babylon, in reference to the articles of bronze from Assyria now in the British Museum, states, that the tin used in the composition was probably obtained from Phœnicia; and, consequently, that that used in the Assyrian bronze may actually have been exported nearly three thousand years ago from the British Isles.
The Assyrians appear to have made an extensive use of this metal; and the degree of perfection which the making of bronze had then reached, clearly shows that they must have been long experienced in the use of it. They appear to have received what they used from the Phœnicians. When and by whom was tin first discovered in our island? Were the Celtic tribes acquainted with it previously to the arrival of the Phœnicians upon our shores?
It is said that the Phœnicians were indebted to the Tyrian Hercules for their trade in tin; and that this island owed them its name of Baratanac, or Britain, the land of tin. Was the Tyrian Hercules, or, as he was afterwards known and worshipped, as the Melkart of Tyre, and the Moloch of the Bible, was he the merchant-leader of the first band of Phœnicians who visited this island? When did he live?
Stansted, Montfichet.
ST. PATRICK—MAUNE AND MAN
Amongst the many strange derivations given of the name of Mona or Man (the island), I find one in an old unpublished MS. by an unknown author, of the date about 1658, noticed by Feltham (Tour through the Isle of Man, p. 8.), on which I venture to ground a Query. The name of the island is there said to have been derived from Maune, the name of the great apostle of the Mann, before he received that of Patricius from Pope Celestine.
Now if St. Patrick ever had the name Maune, he could not have given it to the island, which was called Mona, Monabia, and Menavia, as far back as the days of Cæsar, Tacitus, and Pliny. I have not access to any life of St. Patrick in which the name Maune occurs; but in the Penny Cyclopædia, under the head "Patrick," I find it said, "According to Nennius, St. Patrick's original name was Maur," and I find the same stated in Rose's Biographical Dictionary. But the article in the latter is evidently taken from the former, and I suspect the Maur may in both be a misprint for Maun.3 Can "N. & Q." set me right, or give me any information likely to solve the difficulty?
I may as well notice here that amongst the many ways in which the name of this island has been pronounced and spelt, that of Maun seems to have prevailed at the period of the Norwegian occupation. On a Runic monument at Kirk Michael, we have it very distinctly so spelt.
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.