182
NOTES -AND QUERIES. [9 th s. vm. AUG. 31, 1901.
went so far as to call it "the greatest histori-
cal novel in the language," and " a picture of
the past more faithful than anything in the
works of Scott." The scene is laid just past
the middle of the fifteenth century. I he
accuracy of antiquarian knowledge can only
be tested by the examination of prominent
details. With all respect, then, for the author
and for his panegyrist, I propose to point out
one or two curious faults which the fortifier
seems to me to have committed, but which
may easily be forgiven by his multitude of
readers out of their gratitude and admiration
for the rest of the work, in spite of its style,
which is to me frequently a matter of abhor-
rence. Indeed, the author makes his hero
speak, p. 122 (Chatto & Windus's edition, 1899),
of "the garlic, that men and women folk
affect, but cowen abhor from [sicV* This is
strange English in a book so modern other-
wise in its diction as to have "cheek" for
impudence, and " What the Dickens " for an
exclamation.
A more serious blunder, as I believe, occurs on p. 166, where he makes his "monastic leech" speak of "the little four-footed creature that kills the poisonous snake." Was the mongoose known in Holland in or about 1455 { I am, of course, open to correction, and should be glad to know that our authoi was right here ; but I very much doubt it. Another case is that (p. 516) in which "the
child cried a good deal ; and Margaret
suspected a pin."
Now it is not likely that a poor Dutch- woman or her baby at that date should be suffering from a superfluity of stray pins We know that brass pins were brought from France in 1540, and were first used in Eng land, it is said, by Catherine Howard, queei of Henry VIII. Pins were made in EnglaiK in 1543 (Stow). Our author, therefore, wouk certainly appear to have anticipated theii use in Holland by a century or more.
There may be many other such errors in this excellent book ; but to hunt them up were an ungrateful task. Those few which have mentioned struck me casually in read ing the delightful pages of Charles Reade' greatest novel. There are many misprints in this edition, but for these neither he nor hi ghost can be held responsible.
JULIAN MARSHALL.
BATTLE OF COPENHAGEN. The followin Hotels taken from 'Scraps from a Journal by F. S., printed for private circulation i 1836. The author was Sir Francis Syke Bart. :
" I visited the dockyard; they were repairing th fleet, and the ships apparently were beautiful
uilt ; they are good sailors, as well as fast. You
ee also here the remnants of balls sticking in a
ouse, near this dockyard. Underneath is this m-
cription ' Anglishman's frendskaft English-
man's friendship.'" P. 41. W C B
THE Two SOHNEBBELIE, DRAUGHTSMEN. The discussion with regard to what is known n France as the Schncebele incident, revived
the publication in the Figaro newspaper i the late Felix Faure's comments on his on temporaries, recalls the names of two topo- raphical draughtsmen named Schnebbehe, ather and son, whose names are now well- io-h forgotten. Jacob Schnebbelie (1760-92), raughtsman to the Society of Antiquaries, lade the drawings for the second and third olumes of 'Vetusta Monumenta.' He com-- nenced the publication of the ' Antiquaries' luseum ' in 1791, but only lived to complete hree parts. Schnebbelie the elder died 21 Feb- uary, 1792, in Poland Street, leaving a widow nd three children in poor circumstances. His son, Robert Bremmel Schnebbelie, made drawings for Wilkinson's l Londina Illus- rata,' and died in 1849, but the precise date s unknown (Gent. Mag., 1792, i. 189 ; Nichols's Anec. ,' vol. vi. passim ; Redgrave's ' Diet.').
There is a good memoir of the elder Schneb- belie prefixed to the * Antiquaries' Museum.' ?\vo sons and a daughter were born during the last years of their father's life, and a son was born five days after his death in 1792, >ut I ain not sure if this was Robert. Schneb- >elie the elder was buried in St. James's DU rial-ground, Hampstead Road, which has 3een converted into a recreation ground.
There is a plan of Elvetham House, an Elizabethan house one and a half miles from Hartford Bridge, Hants, drawn by J. Schneb- belie, in the ' Antiquaries' Museum.' Many of the Schnebbelies' drawings are in the Crace Collection, among others Elias Ashmole's house, Ship Yard, Temple Bar, published by Wilkinson in 1815, and No. 17, Fleet Street, 1807 (portfolio xix. 29). JOHN HEBB.
NEW TESTAMENT TRANSLATION. Allow me, in continuation of a note I sent you some months ago on the R.V. of the Lord's Prayer, to bring before readers the 'Twentieth Cen- tury New Testament,' part i., the Gospels and Acts, 1898 ; part ii., St. Paul's Epistles, 1900. This is the work of an anonymous company, who may be corresponded with through their treasurer at 10, Gordon Road, Clifton, Bristol. They specially invite criti- cisms and suggestions for a new edition. The aim is different from that of a national translation, where ambiguities of the original are sometimes retained to the greater ob-
