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Page 4
Strutt, in his _Sports and Pastimes_, Book iii. chap. 13., speaks of
Christmas Spectacles in the time of Edward III., as known by the name of
Ludi; and in Warton's _History of English Poetry_, it is said of these
representations that "by the ridiculous and exaggerated oddity of the
Vizors, and by the singularity and splendour of the dresses, every thing
was out of nature and propriety." In Strutt's 16th Plate, specimens will
be found of the whimsical habit and attire in which the mummers were
wont to appear.
My impression that the Merry-Lwyd was by no means a diversion
exclusively Welsh is corroborated by the fact noticed in your Number of
the 23rd of Feb., of its being found to exist in Cheshire. And we know
that many ancient customs lingered in the principality long after they
fell into disuse in England.
GWYNN AB NUDD.
Glamorganshire, March 1. 1850.
_Death-bed Superstition._--When a curate in Exeter I met with the
following superstition, which I do not remember to have seen noticed
before. I had long visited a poor man, who was dying of a very painful
disease, and was daily expecting his death. Upon calling one morning to
see my poor friend, his wife informed me that she thought he would have
died during the night, and consequently she and her friends unfastened
_every lock in the house_. On my inquiring the reason, I was told that
any bolt or lock fastened was supposed to cause uneasiness to, and
hinder the departure of the soul, and consequently upon the approach of
death all the boxes, doors, &c., in the house were unlocked. Can any of
your readers tell me whether this is in any way a general superstition
amongst the lower orders, or is it confined to the West of England?
R.H. {316}
[This remarkable superstition forms the subject of a communication of
the _Athen�um_ (No. 990.) of 17th Oct. 1846: in a comment upon which it
is there stated "that it originates from the belief which formerly
prevailed that the soul flew out of the mouth of the dying in the
likeness of a bird."]
* * * * *
PASSAGE IN L'ALLEGRO--NOTES ON MILTON'S MINOR POEMS.
The suggestion of your correspondent B.H.K. (No. 18. p. 286.) has been
anticipated by Mr. Warton, who, in his 1st edition of _Milton's Poems_,
notices a similar interpretation of the passage, as the suggestion of an
unknown correspondent. In the 2nd edition this correspondent is
mentioned to have been Mr. Headley; and the editor discusses the point
in a note of upwards of a page, illustrating it with parallel passages,
and an analysis of the context. As the book is one of ready access, I
need not trouble you with a quotation; but I may mention that Mr.
Gilchrist has added, in a MS. note in my copy, that "Among the poems
appended to those of Lord Surrey and Sir Thomas Wyatt, is one of
considerable elegance in the same measure as those of Milton, nor is it
unlike in its subject: the following lines may throw some light on the
present inquiry (p. 200. ed. 1717):--
'On hills then shewe the ewe and lambe
And every young one with his damme;
Then lovers walke and _tell their tale_
Both of their bliss and of their bale.'"
[The passage is at p. 57. of the 1st vol. of Dr. Nott's edition.]
I am glad of the present opportunity of mentioning, for the benefit of
all whom it may concern, that my copy of the 1st edition of Warton's
_Milton_ is enriched with numerous notes and parallel passages by Mr.
Gilchrist; and a copy of the 2nd edition has been similarly, but less
copiously, illustrated by Mr. Dunston. I shall be glad if my mention of
them should lead to their being made useful--or, if you wish it, I shall
be happy to transcribe the notes for occasional insertion in your
Journal.
May I be allowed to suggest that similar notifications _to_ intending
editors would have some tendency to do the same good results which may
be expected from the announcements _by_ intending editors suggested by
your correspondent R.R. at p. 243? There must be hundreds of volumes
enriched by the notes of scholars, such as those I have had occasion to
mention, which are dispersed in private libraries, and might, by means
of similar announcements, be made available to the cause of literature.
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