same treatise, says, on the authority of "Bosius," that they were a remedy against the "comitialem morbum," or epilepsy. The said "Bosius," or rather "Bozius," wrote a ponderous work, "de Signis Ecclesiæ Dei" (a copy of which, by the by, is not to be seen in the library of the British Museum, although there are two editions of it in the Bodleian), in which he discourseth as follows:—"Monetæ adhuc aliquot exstant, quæ in honorem Helenæ Augustæ, et inventæ crucis, cum hujusmodi imaginibus excusæ antiquitus fuerunt. Illis est præsens remedium adversus morbum comitialem: et qui hodie vivit Turcarum Rex Amurathes, quamvis a nobis alienus, vim sanctam illarum expertus solet eas gestare; e morbo namque hujusmodi interdum laborat. Nummi quoque Sancti Ludovici Francorum regis mirifice valent adversus nonnullos morbos."—Lib. xv. sig. 68.

This mention of the sultan Amurath carrying these coins about his person as a precaution against a disease to which he was subject, and indeed the whole passage shows a belief in their efficacy was still prevalent in the sixteenth century, when Bozius wrote. It only remains to add, that Du Cange, in his Glossary, does not enumerate the "money of St. Helena" under the word "moneta;" nor does he allude to the coins of St. Louis, which, according to Bozius, were endowed with similar properties.

Having sent you a "Note," permit me to make two or three "Queries." 1. What is the earliest known instance of the use of a beaver hat in England? 2. What is the precise meaning of the term "pisan," so often used, in old records, for some part of defensive armour, particularly in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries? It does not bear any relation to the fabrics of Pisa.

T. HUDSON TURNER.

TRANSLATIONS OF GRAY'S ELEGY.

Sir,—My best apology for troubling you with such a lengthened Query is, that it will serve, to some extent, as a Note. Will any of your correspondents inform me of any additions to the following list of translations of Gray's Elegy? It may possibly be more incomplete than I am aware of, as it is drawn up, with two exceptions, from copies in my own library only.

Greek:

1. By Professor Cooke, printed with his edition of Aristotle's Poetics, Cantab. 1775. It begins:—

[Greek: "Nux pelei, oud an agros pura kaietai, oud ana komas."]

2. By Dr. Norbury. 4to. Eton. 1793:—

[Greek: "Atgellei kodon barus aeelion katadunta."]

3. By Dr. Sparke, Bishop of Ely. 4to. Lond. 1794:—

[Greek: "Kodon aematos oichomenoio baruktupos aechei."]

4. By Dr. Coote. 4to. Lond. 1794:—

[Greek: "Kodon daeta, phaous tekmor apiontos, epaechei."]

5. By Stephen Weston. 4to. London, 1794:—

[Greek: "Aematos oichomenoio boai chalkos baruaechaes."]

6. By Edward Tew. 4to. Lond. 1795:—

[Greek: "Tael' aechei kodon neon aematos anomenoio."]

There is also a Greek version of the epitaph only, by J. Plumptre, printed with his Greek version of Pope's Messiah. 4to. 1795. In a biographical notice of Dr. Sparke, it is stated that he was among the thirteen candidates when the competition took place for the best translation of Gray's Elegy into Greek. Query, what was this competition, and were any of the other versions published?

Latin:

1. By Lloyd. Query, when and where originally published? My copy, which is among some collections of the late Mr. Haselwood, appears to have been cut out of a Dublin edition. It begins:—

"Audistin! quam lenta sonans campana per agros."

2. By Signor Gio. Costa. 12mo. In Eblana, 1776:—

"Æs triste ingeminat cedentis signa diei."

3. By Gilbert Wakefield, in his "Poemata partim scripta, partim reddita." Cambridge, 1776:—

"Vesper adest, lugubre sonat Campanula; tardis."

4. By C.A. et W.H.R. [C. Anstey and W.H. Roberts.] 4to. London, 1778:—

"Ingeminat signum occiduæ Campana diei."

5. The last-mentioned version originally appeared anonymously in a somewhat different form (4to. Cantab. 1762), the first line being:—

"Audin' ut occiduæ signum Campana diei."

6. An anonymous version, "by a member of the University of Cambridge," printed with the French translation of M. Guedon de Berchere, mentioned below. I have no copy, and do not know the opening line.

7. By S.N.E. 4to. London, 1824. Query, the name of the author. It may perhaps appear on the title-page, which is wanting in my copy:—

"Triste sonans, lentè tinnit campana per agros."

8. By the Rev. J. H. Macauley, in the "Arundines Cami:"—

"Funebris insonuit morituræ nænia lucis."

Italian:

1. By Cesarotti. 8vo. In Padova, 1772:—

"Parte languido il giorno: odine il segno."

2. By Crocchi. Query, when and where originally published? My copy is from the same source as the Latin version by Lloyd:—

"Il Bronzo vespertin con flebil rombo."

3. By Gennari, printed on the same pages with the Latin version by Costa:—

"Nunzio del dì che parte intorno suona."

4. By Giannini. 2nd ed. 4to. London, 1782:—

"Piange la squilla 'l giorno, che si muore."

5. By Torelli. 8vo. Cambridge, 1782:—

"Segna la squilla il dì che già vien manco."

The Latin version by Costa, and the Italian by Cesarotti and Torelli, were reprinted by Bodoni in 1793, in 4to., as a supplement to his edition of Gray.

French:

1. By Mons. P. Guedon de Berchere. I have no copy, and do not know the opening line. Perhaps you will oblige me by inserting it in your list of books wanted to purchase. It is entitled "Elégie composée dans un Cimetière de Campagne." 8vo. Hookham, &c. 1778.

2. By L.D. 8vo. Chatham, 1806. Query, what name is represented by these initials?—

"le Rappel a marqué le jour en son déclin."

3. Prose version. Anonymous. 8vo. A Paris. An vi.:—

"La Cloche du couvre-feu tinte le clas du jour qui expire."

German:

A translation appeared in the Kaleidoscope, a weekly paper published in Liverpool, in May, 1823. It was communicated by a correspondent who had obtained a copy from the writer in Germany:—

"Des Dorfes Glocke schallt den Moor entlang."

I must frankly avow that I have no present object in seeking information beyond the gratification of curiosity; but I would venture to throw out a hint that an edition of this Elegy, exhibiting all the known translations, arranged in double columns, might be made a noble monument to the memory of Gray. The plan would involve the necessity for a folio size, affording scope for pictorial illustration, on a scale capable of doing justice to "the most finished poem in the English language."

J.F.M.

ON AUTHORS AND BOOKS, NO. 2

To revive the memory of estimable authors, or of estimable books, is a pursuit to which a man of leisure may devote himself under the certainty that he can neither want materials to proceed with, not miss the reward of commendation.

It is by the extensive circulation of biographical dictionaries, and the re-productive agency of the press, that the fame of authors and their works is chiefly perpetuated. General biographers, however, relying too much on the intelligence and tact of their precursors, are frequently the dupes of