360
NOTES AND QUERIES. [io s. xn. OCT. so, im
The sort of " satisfaction " which means a due]
has no modern book quotations for the nineteenth
century except one from Medwin's ' Angler in
Wales,"' and another from a military dictionary.
What have the great army of novelists done thus
to be left out in the cold with all their fine scenes
unrecorded ? There was the fiery gentleman with
the camp-stool in 'Pickwick,' chap, ii., who men-
tioned "satisfaction" twice in two adjacent remarks.
In the same sense 'Charles O'Malley' has in
chap. Ixxxviii. after a duel : " ' Mr. McMahon is
satisfied,' replied he, ' and so is the other gentle-
man.'"
For the figurative sense of " Saturnalia " " some- times," as the ' Dictionary ' observes, " construed as singular" by the crowd of writers who increas- ingly misuse Latinisms we add a passage from a writer of more importance than any quoted. Matthew Arnold speaks, at the end of his book
- On Translating Homer,' of " the saturnalia of
ignoble personal passions " exhibited in the pursuit of literary success.
This section ends with the uncompleted word "sauce," and the last sense mentioned shows the wide range of the ' Dictionary,' for it is that sort of linguistic "sauce" which comes, as Dickens hints in ' Our Mutual Friend,' from the " wicious pride ' of youth.
Memorials of Old Middlesex. Edited by J.
Tavenor-Perry. (Bemrose & Sons.) THE excellent series of " Memorials of the Counties of England " is here continued with signal success. In the present volume the area dealt with is rather curtailed by the fact that the cities of London and Westminster are excluded. By the term " Old Middlesex " the historic county as it was known until recent years is meant, no regard being paid to the boundaries of the modern County of London.
The editor has contributed a lucid description of the county in general. ' The Ancient Churches of Middlesex ' is dealt with by the Rev. Dr. Cox, but the lengthy record of bad or inartistic restora- tions is rather melancholy reading. Mr. J. harles Wall is responsible for the ' Battle-fields of Middlesex ' ; he does not, however, absolutely concur in the popular belief that the decisive battle between Suetonius Paulinus and Boadicea was fought in or near the prese'nt King's Cross :
"It is the want of geographical detail which leaves Barnet the only distinguished battle-field in the county. Had the equally momentous conflict between Suetonius and Boadicea been on the traditionary site, the battle of A.D. 61 which eclipsed that of 1471, in the magnitude of its national importance would considerably add to the interest of the county records."
A most interesting chapter is that contributed by Lord Ilchester on Holland House. It is sometimes difficult to believe that such an old and historic mansion yet exists in the heart of London, partly because so few people get a chance to see it. But so it is, and Holland House is still in the heyday of its architectural glory. The list of those who lived or visited there, and '-he doings therein, form a page of history :
" The melancholy predictions of Macaulay concerning the fate of Holland House are for- tunately still unrealized. The old house as yet stands in its own grounds facing Kensington High Street, and the roar of the ever-increasing traffic
is nothing more than the distant sound of the
sea* breaking upon a shingly beach. . . .With the
fabric time has dealt hardl y, it is true. The stone
is seared and crumbling from the fumes of the
heavily laden atmosphere of the Metropolis.
But the brickwork remains intact, and judicious
restorations from time to time have retained the
original features of the building as they were in
the time of Sir Walter Cope and his architect
John Thorpe. There let it stand as a memorial
to future generations of those men of renown in
statecraft, literature, and philosophy, who have
been wont to foregather under its hospitable roof ;
and let the prophecy of Hookham Frere, scratched
on the pane of his dressing-room window, prove
true :
May neither time destroy, nor waste impair ; Nor fire consume thee till the twentieth Heir ; May taste respect thee, and may fashion spare.
The chapter dealing with ' Fulham Palace and the Bishops of London,' by Mr. S. W. Kershaw, is also of great interest, as is that by Dr. Cox on 4 The Monastery and House of Syon.' Other chapters deal with ' Chiswick House,' ' The Parks and Historic Houses,' ' The Story of Chelsea,' 4 Harrow-on-the-Hill,' ' The Recreative Haunts of Poets and Painters,' and ' The Pilgrimage of the Brent,' in all of which the same high level is maintained. We note, however, that in ' Parks and Historic Houses ' Twyford Abbey is hardly correctly described. It is certainly a convalescent home, but it is first and foremost one of the homes of the Lay Order of the Alexian Brotherhood.
We have said enough to show that the volume is a worthy companion to those of the series which have already been published.
We must call special attention to the following
notices :
To secure insertion of communications corre- spondents must observe the following rules. Let each note, query, or reply be written on a separate slip of paper, with the signature of the writer and such address as he wishes to appear. When answer- ing queries, or making notes with regard to previous entries in the paper, contributors are requested to put in parentheses, immediately after the exact heading, the series, volume, and page or pages to which they refer. Correspondents who repeat queries are requested to head the second com- munication " Duplicate."
WE cannot undertake to answer queries privately, nor can we advise correspondents as to the value of old books and other objects or as to the means of disposing of them.
EDITORIAL communications should be addressed to "The Editor of 'Notes and Queries '" Adver-
- isements and Business Letters to "The Pub-
ishers "at the Office, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, E.G.
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R. PIERPOINT. You have missed the reply at
M. L. R. BRESLAR ( "Mother -in- law = Step- mother "). See 9 S. ix. 445, 517.
