arms as pleting my contention that then every or and Welsh man, to share in our Union Jack. I have had several letters from Welsh correspondents, one of whom, a Scottish F.S.A., writes to me as follows: "The attempt to oust the leek as a national eniblem in favour of a doubtful daffodil, the placing of a daffodil in the watermark on the new Treasury notes, and the idea of quartering the Colonies and India on the arms while the Welsh dragon does not appear, is repulsive to the national pride, and would be resented." I had suggested in 'N. & Q.' that the red dragon might be adopted as the national emblem of Wales, though one cannot shut one's eyes to the fact that it is only the national badge, and not the arms of the country. This renewed discussion, however, as to what is the most fitting emblem to represent Wales in the event of any such suggested change in the royal arms being carried into effect, has led me to reconsider the question how far the red dragon would be really appropriate for that purpose. The result of this reconsideration is shown in a further letter to The Morning Post of Aug. 28 last, an extract from which I would After ask permission to refer to here. stating Boutell's opinion ('Heraldry, Historical and Popular,' 1864, p. 324) that the arms of Wales might presumably be held to be represented in the arms of England, I wrote :— "Wales seems long ago to have been divided into North and South. Boutell is again very instructive on this point. He states (p. 325) that the arms of the Principality of Wales (Quarterly, 1 and 4, Gules, a lion passant guardant or; 2 and 3, Or, a lion passant guardant gules) form part of an achievement of Queen Elizabeth, though he feels bound to add that Owen Glendwr, as Prince of Wales, A.D. 1404, blazons the lions rampant. Again, Edward Plantagenet, son of Edward IV., and Arthur Tudor, son of Henry VII., bore separately for the Principality Argent, three lions coward in pale, gules. He adds a note that this last coat is said to have been assigned specifically to North Wales, while the arms of South Wales were the above-menThese several tioned quartered lions rampant. bearings are all shown in plate lx. as · "The late Rev. Dr. Woodward, a later but equally reliable authority, at p. 237 of vol. i. of his Heraldry, British and Foreign' (1896), also gives the before-mentioned quartered lions passant guardant as the arms borne by Llewyllyn ap Griffith, Prince of North Wales, but states that they were still used as the arms of the Principality of Wales. " According to these authorities, ancient arms for Wales-both North and South-certainly did exist. But which of these three distinct coats should be selected to represent Wales if it presently be decided that she' should be represented in any new royal arms? It will be a curious coincidence if the question should turn out to be the substitution of Welsh lions for English ones! But from which coat ? Surely, not that of North Wales, as given by Mr. Boutell. The tail of the British lion may often have been twisted in days gone by, but I scarcely think that we can allow that of its Welsh confrère to remain permanently between its legs (i.e., 'coward ')." And I went on to say that, in face of this evidence of the existence of ancient arms of the Principality, I could no longer suggest that the red dragon should be promoted from the dignity of a badge," or a supporter," to an equal share in the royal arms. to be another reason why the red dragon would not, perhaps, be suitable as a component part of the royal arms. Since the general disuse of the numerous personal badges used by our sovereigns which dates from the time of Queen Anne-the royal badges have been more clearly defined, and now consist, as settled under the Sign Manual in 1801, of the rose, the thistle, and the shamrock, for England, Scotland, and Ireland respectively, whilst a dragon, wings addorsed gules, passant on a mount vert," represents Wales. I also mentioned that there would seem My Welsh correspondent has since sent me, à propos of his remarks about the leek, a copy of a very interesting pamphlet upon the question as to which is the proper national emblem for Wales-the leek or the daffodil contributed by Mr. A. E. Hughes to vol. xxvi. of the Cymmrodorion Society's publications (1916), which society had published some ten years before a paper by Mr. Ivor B. John advocating the claim of the daffodil to that honour. Mr. Hughes traces the connexion of the leek with Wales from the time of the battle of Crecy (1346), when that flower-which abounded on the battle-field-was worn by the Welsh in their head-pieces. This presupposes, of course, a greater antiquity. But," says Mr. Hughes (p. 39), "the Crecy tradition has indeed shown a tendency to cling to Court circles until comparatively recent times, but cannot, apparently, boast of such an array of support as the St. David legend." He also refers to the connexion of the leek with St. David's Day (March 1), and cites evidence that in the time of the Tudor sovereign Henry VIII. the yeomen of the King's guard presented a leek on St. David's SAMUEL OWEN, UNCLE OF AUGUST STRINDBERG. This connexion is alluded to by Shakespeare in King Henry V.' in the scene (Act IV. sc. vii.) between the king and the SAMUEL OWEN, who, as his name indicates, Welshman Fluellen, which would appear probably had Welsh blood in his veins, was to be the earliest reference to the origin of born at no great distance from the border the custom in English literature. It is between Wales and England. He first saw there referred to as an ancient the light on May 12, 1774, at Norton-incustom."* Hales, near Market Drayton, Shropshire. This pamphlet makes out, I think, a very The boy had practically no schooling, but strong case why the leek, and not the was set to look after geese, pigs, and sheep. daffodil, should be regarded as the national Later on he worked as a horse-driver on emblem for Wales. But was not this the canal, and then, at the age of eighteen, question practically concluded in favour was apprenticed to a carpenter. Owen soon of the leek when His Majesty, a few displayed considerable mechanical ability, years ago, ordained that the leek should and attracted attention by his eagerness to be worn, as we now see it, in the head-learn. At the cost of great sacrifices, he dress of his newly formed Welsh Guards, acquired knowledge in an evening school in conjunction with the rose, the thistle, when the day's work was done. After the and the shamrock of the other royal regi-lapse of some years he left his native county, ments of foot-guards ? and worked as a joiner at Bolton and at Nevertheless, the red dragon, as I stated, | Watt's new factory near Birmingham. borne as the badge of the old Welch Regi- Here it was that he became familiar with the ment, is a very popular cognizance in the steam engine knowledge which was public estimation; and if there should be any destined to stand him in good stead. Next difficulty, heraldically, in deciding upon the he proceeded to a works at Leeds, whence proper set of lions to represent the ancient he was sent to Stockholm in 1804 to set up arms of Wales, the choice might well be a number of steam-engines which had been left to His Majesty as the "Fountain of bought from the firm by a prominent Honour." In which case the leek might Swede. In 1806 he again visited Stockwell take, I think, the place of the red holm for a similar purpose, and this time dragon, if the latter be promoted to the remained in Sweden for good. For three rank of arms, in the series above mentioned years he was foreman at Bergsund foundry, of the royal badges, and would, as a plant, and then in 1809 he started at Kungsholm be more consonant to the other national in Stockholm a foundry and machineemblems, the rose, the thistle, and the factory. This works played an extremely shamrock. important part in the development of Swedish industry. Threshing-machines and many other implements-often the first of their kind in Sweden-were manufactured by Samuel Owen. The men who had worked under him were employed by other firms, and the Kungsholm works thus became a centre for the dissemination of knowledge in engineering. It is interesting to note in this connexion the circumstance, to which Mr. Hughes refers, that our Tudor sovereigns wore green and white as their royal colours, the colours of the leek. I am not aware of any other suggestion as to the origin of the Tudor livery colours, for they are certainly not derived from the tinctures of their arms, as is usually the case in these matters. In conclusion we may all agree with The arms are fair 1 Henry IV.,' Act V. sc. ii. J. S. UDAL, F.S.A. Not less useful was Owen's activity as a shipbuilder. He is known, and justly, as the father of the Swedish steamboat industry. It is worth noting that, some time before John Ericsson satisfactorily demonstrated the possibilities of the propeller, Owen had conducted experiments with a boat called the Witch of Stockholm. These experiments were made in 1816, and King Charles XIV., who took a great interest in Owen's efforts, had a vessel built specially for further investigations. The latter were, however, not a success, and from that time onwards Owen built paddle-boats only. The first steamer of this type constructed by him was finished in 1817, and in the following year made voyages on Lake Mälar. The steamer soon became popular in Sweden, and, thanks to Owen, Sweden was the first European country after Great Britain to have a steamship service and a steamship industry. In recognition of his services, Owen was made a member of the Swedish Academy of Sciences and of the Academy of Agriculture. This great pioneer never became rich. In fact, as the result of competition and the great losses he had suffered, Samuel Owen had to shut down his works and hand over his property to his creditors. For a while he carried on a scheme for the draining of bogs in the province of Småland; and then from 1847 to 1851 he again acted as foreman at a foundry. After settling at the town of Södertelje he returned to Stockholm, and died there on Feb. 15, 1854. His position might have been precarious but for the fact that he had been granted a pension by the Swedish State for the pioneer work he had done. Apart from his merits as an industrial organizer, Samuel Owen will always be remembered in Sweden as one of those who helped to introduce Methodism and the temperance movement into that country. One other interesting fact remains to be mentioned. The wife of Samuel Owen was the aunt of August Strindberg, one of the greatest names in nineteenthcentury Swedish literature. In his autobiography The Son of a Maid' Strindberg describes this aunt, who after the death of her husband took up her abode with Strindberg's parents. There sat the old lady, who had known so many famous people, and instructed her young nephews in the art of politeness. With her lace cap, and surrounded by vestiges of former greatnessfurniture with coverings of an English pattern, and the bust of Samuel Owen in the uniform of the Academy of Sciences she was a figure to inspire young Strindberg with respect. He tells us also that Mrs. Owen drank tea after the English custom and read English books. We may doubtless attribute to these surroundings, in part at least, the familiarity with English thought that Strindberg afterwards displayed-a familiarity which was to be of far-reaching importance for his development as an author. HERBERT G. WRIGHT. University College, Bangor. SHAKESPEARIANA. 'HAMLET,' I. iv. 36-8 (12 S. iv. 211). A. As a preliminary to tackling this passage, admittedly impossible as it stands in the Second and Third Quartos, it is expedient to clear the ground by considering causes of corruption. We will assume that Shakespeare originally wrote sense, however difficult for a cursory reader to follow. handwriting, may have done his best(1) The printer, confronted with very bad printed exactly what he made of it, with no intrusion of his own intelligence. (2) Finding the MS. unintelligible, he may have emended" on his own, modestly or recklessly. (3) He may have printed from dictation, in which case his ear, not his eye, was deceived. Many of the proposed emendations seem to rest on this supposition. Is it a possible one? B. (1) It is commonly accepted that cale is a mistake for evil. Surely a very odd mistake! Evil is a common word, which it is hard to believe that any printer could Yet, on the other hand, at II. ii. 577 the corrupt into a rare or non-existent one. Quarto did print deale for devil. The presumed intermediate form e'il is hardly worth consideration, in spite of the Scottish deil" for devil. Shakespeare was writing English; and the notion that e'il was used for metre's sake is ludicrous. The 24 lines of this speech contain 8 other hypermeters. (2) The only other tenable suppositions are (a) that eale has displaced some other word; (b) that it is a genuine word itself, which occurs nowhere else, and whose The 'N.E.D.' does meaning is now lost As to (a), there is still an not recognize it. opening for a brilliant conjectural restoration; but the restorer must satisfy himself whether the printer was baffled by bad handwriting or misled by pronunciation. Is (b) possible? Note that the word passed through the Third Quarto unchallenged. The word is required to mean some ingredient of a mixture, a modicum of which has power to spoil or corrupt the mass; as, e.g., rennet or some acids, dropped into milk or cream, would operate. of C. It is also commonly agreed that a dout is wrong. "Often dout seems to me at present the least unsatisfactory. ' Is dout (do out) to be taken as meaning the signification of turn, pervert, corrupt, or put out," extinguish"? This is con- the like. Shakespeare's meaning evidently sonant with the idea of liquid in dram. Or is that a little leaven leavens the whole as meaning " eject," "expel"? One objec- lump." tion that I have seen to the word often, Prof. Elze's reading is quoted in The viz., that it is too limited, is sufficiently Athenæum of Aug. 11, 1866, pp. 217-18, refuted by oft in 11. 23 and 28. viz., often daub ; and if these words In a MS. the most likely word to be were merely altered to 66 overdaub," the misread as dout would be clout. Clout change would, I think, supply much the patch gives no sense; but a noun clout is best sense and rhythm to the passage another form of clot, and the participle hitherto forthcoming :clouted, of clotted. The 'N.E.D. admits The dram of eale under clouted that a verb clout for clot is Doth all the noble substance overdaub conceivable, though no instances are listed. To his (its) own scandal. To revert to a notion indicated above, if Compare King Lear,' IV. i. 51, eale could be a lost word for vinegar, or be Tom's a-cold. I cannot daub it further," a printer's misreading for esil (Esile in the which Warburton rendered "disguise Folio), we should gain a good and clear further " ; and Richard III.,' III. metaphor: "It often happens that a v. 30:small portion of vinegar dropped into a nobler substance (such as milk) curdles it all." (c) His own means the depraved man's.' This remoteness of reference, and false concord, is more licentious writing, but thoroughly Shakespearean in style. H. K. ST. J. S. 6 Poor So smooth he daub'd his vice with show of virtue, 66 The As thus rendered, the meaning would be SHAKESPEARE: A SURVIVAL OF AUGURY.— At 12 S. iii. 297 I referred to a possible use by Shakespeare of oral tradition. In Ire- ' land there is a widespread belief that it is unlucky to see one magpie, but lucky to see Among the six pages of closely written two. I believe there are other traditional notes on this passage in Furness's Variorum facts available concerning the magpie, but edition is one from the First Series of this particular case is interesting as ShakeN. & Q.' (v. 377) resembling the emenda-speare referred to the bird as a means of tion now suggested by PROF. ELLERSHAW. The writer of the note in 1852 advocated the reading o'er a doubt," which he explained &s doth cast a doubt over all the noble substance, bring into suspect all the noble qualities ; and H. D. in The Athenæum of Aug. 18, 1866, suggested "overdout.' Dyce, it appears, agreeing with Lettsom, considered that a verb must lurk under See Furness, 'Variorum Shakespeare.' the corruption 'a doubt' or doubt' with " [Endorsed :] Thank Mr. Walpole for his care of Officers Letters & desire he will continue so to do. Whatever charge shall arise shall be pay'd by me on his making up the Acct, but I am to pay only those expenses without which the Prisoners could not receive their letters. BRITISH NAVY, 1587-1919.-At a moment | unhappy countrymen I shall as willingly conwhen every member of the British Empire tribute to it as to convince your Lordship on all is, or should be, proud of his incomparable occasions of the sincere regard with which I have the honour to be My Lord Navy, it may be well to record, for the Your Lordships historian's future use, the following early Most obedient & very hum: Servant reference. It occurs in a rare poetical THOMAS WALPOLE. tract believed to survive in two original exemplars only. The slender volume was issued to mark Queen Elizabeth's thirty years' reign of unexampled prosperity, and just a year before the stearnfull" navy had a chance of showing the Spaniards the stuff it was made of, despite miserable supplies of provisions and munitions. append the extract from Maurice Kyffin's 'Blessednes of Brytaine,' 1587, in its archaic spelling, believing that hitherto it has not seen the light of print in 'N. & Q.': We may not here omit in silent forte I Her royall ships strong-wrought for stearnfull Whereof all worldly realmes do raise report warre, Through raging seas discovering regions farre A scowre-sea navy, all bright & bravely burnisht, Foorth spowting fire; faire, huge, and fully furnisht. WM. JAGGARD, Lieut. PRISONERS OF WAR AND THEIR LETTERS IN 1758.-At the present time, when many prisoners of war are returning from Germany, the following letter to Lord Barring ton, Secretary at War (now preserved at the Public Record Office under the heading "War Office, 1/977"), will be read with interest, as showing the difficulties connected with letters from and to English prisoners of war a century and a half ago : My Lord Broad Street buildings In sending your Lordship the inclosed Letter time; to know that the monetary obstacle It is pleasant, even after this lapse of did not prove insurmountable. १ E. H. FAIRBROTHER. · SIR THOMAS BROWNE: TOM BROWN.-In the preface to Dr. Greenhill's Golden Treasury edition of the 'Religio Medici' is a detail which requires, I think, some further explanation. In giving an account, on p. ix, of the way in which translations of the Religio Modici were received on the Continent, he observes that the book "was by some persons much misunderstood, and gave occasion to great and most undeserved misrepresentation of the author's religious opinions.' An instance of this is appended at the foot of the page : "The following Note (which deserves preservation on account of its monstrous ignorance and from one of the copies in the National Library absurdity) was copied by the present Editor at Paris: 'Th. Brown, un des plus déclaréz ennemis de toute Réligion, et que l'Univers. d'Oxford avoit autrefois chassé pour ses débauches, avant sa mort écrit une lettre pleine dans un Recueil postume de ses dialogues.' de sentimens de pénitence: elle est imprimée Dr. Greenhill apparently leaves the reader to suppose that this ludicrously false account is the invention of malicious bigotry. What has really happened is that the reported facts of one man's life have been transferred to another of a similar name. It was Thomas Brown (1663-1704) who is said, when an undergraduate at Christ Church, to have been threatened with expulsion by Dean Fell. I have not examined the posthumous 'Collection of all the Dialogues of Mr. Thomas Brown,' 1704, but feel safe in accepting from so sound an authority as Mr. A. H. Bullen the statement, in the 'D.N.B.,' that to this edition "was appended a letter (the genuineness of which was attested by Thomas Wotton, curate of St Lawrence Jewry) purporting to have been written by Brown on his death-bed. In this letter Brown, after expressing regret for having written anything that would be likely to have a pernicious influence, protests against being responsible for lampoons, trips, London Spies, 12: 6 the situation of prisoners is deserving compassion in every consideration, & therefore these letters were sent to the Commissioners of sick and wounded, & by them directed to the War Office, though neither would pay the charges, many have been forwarded by us to the prisoners in France for which we have paid the postage to flanders and our Correspondent at Paris Monsieur de Monmartel has never brought us any further account, we cannot therefore charge him with those he is so kind to send us. I should be glad therefore to receive your Lordships orders in what manner or to whom the prisoners letters in France ought to be directed in future. If I can be in this or any other shape assistant to my | in which he had no hand." |