378
NOTES AND QUERIES. w s. x. NOV. s, 1002.
was probably put together by some monk for
the benefit of his brethren in what certain
writers have called the " Dark Ages." Poly-
dore Vergil does not give it, neither does the
compiler of the 'Officina,' which was so
popular in the sixteenth' century. Whoever
the authors were of these verses, as they
sought for no fame, let us say of them,
" Requiescant in pace." JOHN T. CURRY.
Some of your readers would perhaps like to know of one Italian (Tuscan) form of the above j there may be several. Here it is : Trenta giorni ha Settembre, April, Giugno, e Novembre, Di Vent' otto ce n' e uno E gli altri n' han trentuno.
M. HAULTMONT.
SIR WALTER SCOTT AND SIR DAVID WILKIE (9 th S. x. 129, 235, 315). In the first chapter of 'The Bride of Lammermoor' mention is made of "the sketches of a contemporary, the Scottish Teniers, as Wilkie has been de- servedly styled." W. C. B.
NOTES ON BOOKS, &c.
Old English Songs and Dances. Decorated by
W. Graham Robertson. (Longmans & Co.) NOT only a gift-book of surpassing beauty is this col- lection of quaint old English songs and dances with the admirably appropriate and spirited designs of Mr. Graham Robertson, it is also a work to delight the soul of the antiquary. The latter must not be a mere Dryasdust, but one like our erudite friend Mr. Ebsworth, or our half-concealed contributor O., whose identity we may not reveal who loves the romance, humour, mirth, and satire of our ancestors. Chiefly from Western sources appear to be the songs Mr. Graham Robertson has selected, and many of them are familiar to us in name only. No information is supplied concerning the source or authorship of the songs, though three of them are said on the half-title to be taken from a recently published volume. It so happens that 'Cupids Garden ' is the only one with which we are familiar. Of this two verses are given, and if we could have a grudge against a book so delectable it woulc be that the third verse, with its marvellous con- cluding lines, is omitted. Not knowing where it is to be found, we quote this from distant memory : Says I, " My stars and garters, this here 's a pretty
go For a nice young maid as never was to sarve al
mankind so ! " Then t' other young maid looked sly at me, a
from her seat she ris'n. Says she, " Let thee and me go our own way, am
we '11 let she go shis'n."
The ' Song of Willow ' is, of course, suggestiv of Desdemona's swan-song, from which, however it differs iV_- important respects. It is taken appar ently, with slight alterations, from a black-fette
allad in the Pepys Collection, entitled ' A Lover's
)omplaint, being forsaken of his Love.' Chappell's
Popular Music of the Olden Time' gives the
lusical notation. 'Troy Town' is also from a
'epysian ballad called 'The Wandering Prince of
"Voy,' from which it differs in other respects
esides being considerably abridged. It is not,
owever, from the archaeological standpoint that
bis volume is to be judged, though that is the
tandard we are naturally most disposed to employ,
t is as an artistic treasury that it is most remark -
ble. The coloured designs by Mr. Graham Robert-
on are singularly powerful and artistic, and
onstitute, in some respects, a new departure
n art. They consist principally of head and
ail pieces, though to each song is appended
design occupying an entire page without being
ny larger than the others. ' Blue Muslin ' thus has
a headpiece equally quaint and pretty, showing a
over holding up a blue shawl ana striving to enfold
n it a fair and chubby, but wholly recalcitrant
naiden. The tailpiece is a symbolical night scene,
n which the burden of the song is reversed, and
he lover, enveloped in a blue mantle, is seeking to
- scape from the pursuit of the damsel, now con-
certed to tenderness. The full-page illustration, which is very pretty, shows a girl on a green meadow, with a cottage and trees in the back- _ round, holding up her blue skirt for the purpose of dancing. Music also is supplied in the simplest form of notation. As is one, so are all, except that in the case of dances such as ' Barley Break,' ' The Shaking of the Sheets,' and ' Bobbing Joan ' a single 'llustration suffices. An old-fashioned and very
- hick type is supplied, and most of the designs have
a thick black border. We despair of conveying an idea of the spirit and beauty of the illustrations, and can only return to our first suggestion as to the charm of the work as a gift-book. The Christmas visitor who takes this work to a house in which the youths and maidens have a cultivated taste is sure )f the warmest of welcomes. It is the best book of its class the season has brought us.
A General History of the Kemp and Kempe Families of Great Britain and the Colonies. By Fred. Hitchin-Kemp, assisted by Daniel Wm. Kemp, J.P., and John Tabor Kemp, M.A. (Leadenhall Press.)
THE days are long past when the study of genealogy was in need of vindication, and a man when tracing the origin and growth of his ancestry had to protect himself from the accusation of snoboery. It is now generally recognized that the history of a family, scientifically investigated and truthfully told, forms a valuable contribution to national knowledge. There seems, indeed, every probability that before the close of the century a full record of most families of historical importance will be accessible on the shelves of our great libraries. It would be absurd for us, a propos of the account of a single family, to undertake the defence of that which no longer needs defending. In the case of all genealogical investi- gation a sense is constantly aroused of the culpa- bility of those who have allowed priceless documents to perish of neglect, or even to undergo a fate such as that which befell unique plays of Tudor times at the hands of Warburton's ceok. Such losses affect rather middle-class families than those of great territorial possessors, in whose libraries or muniment rooms records are constantly stored and kept. As in many other cases, the families of Kemp,
