258
NOTES AND QUERIES. [9< s. n. SEPT. 24, 's
was the Duke of Wellington. All the envy and
malice which had accumulated during his brilliant
and honest career was poured upon him at this
juncture. It has been said a hundred times that
he could have saved Ney's life if he had chosen to
do so. He went every possible length with the
king's ministers to induce them to spare the life of
one of the bravest soldiers that ever lived. He
found his remonstrances were vain ; he then en-
deavoured to approach the king personally on the
subject. Louis XVIII. showed great rudeness on
the occasion. So determined was the king, and
those about him, to prevent the duke having any
opportunity of personally asking that Ney s life
should be spared, that not only did Louis XVIII.
turn his back upon the duke when he approached
him, but the Comte d'Artois placed himself between
the duke and the king. The duke felt this insult
very much, and openly, and very properly, showed
his resentment. The second duke told me more
than once that his father said to him often that
whatever Ney deserved, he had done his utmost to
prevent his execution. After Marshal Ney was shot
every effort was made on the part of the French
royal family to reconcile the duke to the king.
The duke sternly refused ; I believe that he showed
to the last how deeply he felt the indignity to which
he had been exposed." Vide large-paper edition,
pp. 123, 124, 125.
HENRY GERALD HOPE.
"AND NOW, O FATHER" (9 th S. ii. 187). Is it not a mistake to j udge this fine intercessory hymn in the way suggested by MR. WILSON ? The line he particularizes is a natural request when read in connexion with the context, especially with the preceding line : fold them closer to Thy mercy's breast, O do Thine [not Thy] utmost for their souls' true
weal ;
From tainting mischief keep them white and clear And crown Thy gifts with strength to persevere.
Surely the prayer is both natural and re verent. I am sorry that this hymn has not been included in our new Scottish ' Church Hymnary.' ROBERT F. GARDINER.
64, Abbotsford Place, Glasgow.
"ORDO" (9 th S. ii. 148). Would not thi denote a degree, or the state of a gentleman '
EVERARD HOME COLEMAN. 71, Brecknock Road.
This inscription is not Latin, but Gaelic, and stands for the words "a prayer for": " O'r do " for Oraidh do. JOHN MALONE.
New York, U.S.
AUTHORS OF QUOTATIONS WANTED (9 th S. I. 389).
She should never have looked at me If she meant I should not love her !
Browning's ' Cristina,' st. i. <lod be thanked, the meanest of his creatures Boasts two soul-sides, one to face the world with, One to show a woman when he loves her !
Browning's ' One Word More,' st. xvii. W. G. B. S.
(9*8. ii. 69.)
I do not know who is the author of the lines "Said Day to Night," &c., quoted by MR. P. H. WILLIAMS : but they would appear to have been suggested by the following little poem in Victor
Hugo's
ay
Voix
Interiewres,' dated 3 Juin, 1837,
jj.ugu UIA -Lni/tuieaues, uaucn o o uiu, j.uu<,
which, as it is very short, perhaps I may be allowed to quote in extenso :
La tombe dit h, la rose :
Des pleurs dont 1'aube t'arrose
Que fais-tu, fleur des amours ?
La rose dit a la tombe :
Que fais-tu de ce qui tombe
Dans ton gouffre ouvert toujours ?
La rose dit : Tombeau sombre, De ces pleurs je fais dans 1'ombre Un parfum d'ambre et de miel. La tombe dit : Fleur plaintive, De chaque ame qui m arrive Je fais un ange du ciel.
[s it unreasonable of me to quote another little
- welve-line poem, containing a somewhat similar
thought, in Victor Hugo's ' Les Contemplations,' dated Avril, 1854?-
La source tombait du rocher Goutte a goutte a la mer affreuse. L'oce"an, fatal au nocher, Lui dit : Que me veux-tu, pleureuse ?
Je suis la tempete et 1'effroi ; Je finis ou le ciel commence. Est-ce que j'ai bespin de toi, Petite, moi qui suis 1'immense ?
La source dit au gouffre amer :
Je te donne, sans bruit ni gloire,
Ce qui te manque, 6 vaste mer !
Une goutte d'eau qu'on peut boire. Has not Emerson a little poem containing a dialogue between a mountain and a squirrel, in which the squirrel tells the mountain that although he, the squirrel, does not carry forests on his back, neither can he, the mountain, crack a nut ?
JONATHAN BOUCHIER.
NOTES ON BOOKS, &c.
The English Catalogue of Books. Vol. V. (Sampson
Low & Co. )
AMONG the volumes of reference which this emi- nently complicated life of ours renders indispensable to us ' The English Catalogue of Books,' the fifth volume of which, covering the years 1890 to 1897, has just seen the light, stands., in some respects, conspicuous and alone. Unlike peerages, direc- tories, and similar works, with which it is natural to class it, its record is permanent, and not ephemeral. It preserves for the present and subsequent genera- tions a record of the products of our press, which, in different forms and with many and important breaks, has continued for nearly three ana a half centuries. It is complete so far as this country is concerned, and adequate in the information it sup- plies as regards the United States ; it is convenient in arrangement and easy of reference, and is, in fact, as we have previously said, indispensable to all concerned witn the production, the sale, and the purchase of books. That the book should
