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Page 5
J.F.M.
[We are much indebted to our valued correspondent for the offer he has
so kindly made us of the MS. Notes in question, which we shall gladly
receive; and also for his extremely useful suggestion of the advantage
of such notifications to intending editors, as he describes.]
_Milton's L'Allegro._--Your correspondent (No. 18. p. 286.) has been
anticipated by Headley, who suggested, long ago, that the word _tale_
here implied the _numbering_ sheep. When Handel composed his beautiful
air, "Let me wander not unseen," he plainly regarded this word in the
more poetical sense. The song breathes the shepherd's tale of _love_
(perhaps addressed to "the milkmaid singing blithe") far more than it
conveys a dull computation of the _number_ of "his fleecy care." Despite
of that excellent commentator, Tom Warton, who adopted Headley's
suggestion, it is to be hoped that readers will continue, though it may
be in error, to understand the line as your correspondent _used_ to do:
an amatory _t�te-�-t�te_ is surely better suited to "the hawthorn in the
dale," than either mental arithmetic, or the study of Cocker.
J.H.M.
* * * * *
DOCTOR DANIEL DOVE OF DONCASTER AND HIS HORSE NOBS--GOLDEN AGE OF
MAGAZINES.
It appears from the preface to the last edition of _The Doctor, &c._
that the story of Dr. Daniel Dove and his horse was one well known in
Southey's domestic circle.
A letter is there quoted from Mrs. Southey (then Miss Caroline Bowles),
in which she says:--
"There is a story of Dr. D.D. of D. and of his horse Nobs, which
has I believe been made into a Hawker's Book. Coleridge used to
tell it, and the humour lay in making it as long-winded as
possible; it suited, however, my long-windedness better than his,
and I was frequently called upon for it by those who enjoyed it,
and sometimes I volunteered it, when Coleridge protested against
its being told."
While upon the subject of _The Doctor_, may I direct your attention to
the following passage on p. 269. of the one volume edition, which you
will admit in many respects accurately describes your "NOTES AND
QUERIES"?
"Our Doctor flourished in the golden age of magazines, when their
pages were filled with voluntary contributions from men who never
aimed at dazzling the public, but each came with his scrap of
information or his humble question, or his hard problem, or his
attempt in verse.
"In those days A was an antiquary, and wrote articles upon altars
and abbeys, and architecture. B made a blunder, which C corrected.
D demonstrated that E was in error, and that F was wrong in
philology, and neither philosopher nor physician, though he
affected to be both. G was a genealogist. H was an herald who
helped him. I was an inquisitive inquirer who found reason for
suspecting J to be a Jesuit. M was a mathematician. N noted the
weather. O observed the stars. P was a poet who peddled in
pastorals, {317} and prayed Mr. Urban to print them. Q came in the
corner of the page with his query. R arrogated to himself the right
of reprehending every one who differed from him. S sighed and sued
in song. T told an old tale, and when he was wrong, U used to set
him right. V was a virtuoso. W warred against Warburton. X excelled
in algebra. Y yearned for immortality in rhyme, and Z in his zeal
was always in a puzzle."
Surely, Sir, you have revived the Golden Age of magazines, and long may
you flourish.
Q.D.
* * * * *
THE USE OF BEAVER HATS IN ENGLAND.
The notice from Fairholt's _Costume in England_, concerning the earliest
use of a beaver hat in England, is not very satisfactory. Beaver hats
were certainly used in this country long before Stubbes's time. They
were originally, like many other articles of dress, manufactured abroad,
and imported here. Indeed, this was a great source of complaint by the
English artizan until a comparatively late period. The author of _A
Brief Discourse of English Poesy_, n.d. (temp. Eliz.) says:--
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