once with the same hand he wiped his face), that all men might see his hand burned before his body was touched."—Acts and Monuments, ed. 1839, vol. viii. p. 90.

Burnet is more circumstantial:

"When he came to the stake he prayed, and then undressed himself: and being tied to it, as the fire was kindling, he stretched forth his right hand towards the flame, never moving it, save that once he wiped his face with it, till it was burnt away, which was consumed before the fire reached his body. He expressed no disorder from the pain he was in; sometimes saying, 'That unworthy hand;' and oft crying out, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' He was soon after quite burnt."—Hist. of the Reformation, vol. iii. p. 429., ed. 1825.

Hume says:

"He stretched out his hand, and, without betraying either by his countenance or motions the least sign of weakness, or even feeling, he held it in the flames till it was entirely consumed."—Hume, vol. iv. p. 476.

It is probable that Hume believed this, for while Burnet states positively as a fact, though only inferentially as a miracle, that "the heart was found entire and unconsumed among the ashes," Hume says, "it was pretended that his heart," &c.

I am not about to discuss the character of Cranmer: a timid man might have been roused under such circumstances into attempting to do what it is said he did. The laws of physiology and combustion show that he could not have gone beyond the attempt. If a furnace were so constructed, that a man might hold his hand in the flame without burning his body, the shock to the nervous system would deprive him of all command over muscular action before the skin could be "entirely consumed." If the hand were chained over the fire, the shock would produce death.

In this case the fire was unconfined. Whoever has seen the effect of flame in the open air, must know that the vast quantity sufficient entirely to consume a human hand, must have destroyed the life of its owner; though, from a peculiar disposition of the wood, the vital parts might have been protected.

The entire story is utterly impossible. May we, guided by the words "as the fire was kindling," believe that he then thrust his right hand into the flame—a practice I believe not unusual with our martyrs, and peculiarly suitable to him—and class the "holding it till consumed" with the whole and unconsumed heart?

I may observe that in the accounts of martyrdoms little investigation was made as to what was possible. Burnet, describing Hooper's execution, says, "one of his hands fell off before he died, with the other he continued to knock on his breast some time after." This, I have high medical authority for saying, could not be.

H. B. C.

U. U. Club.

UNREGISTERED PROVERBS.

In Mr. Trench's charming little book on Proverbs, 2nd ed., p. 31., he remarks:

"There are not a few (proverbs), as I imagine, which, living on the lips of men, have yet never found their way into books, however worthy to have done so; either because the sphere in which they circulate has continued always a narrow one, or that the occasions which call them out are very rare, or that they, having only lately risen up, have not hitherto attracted the attention of any one who cared to record them. It would be well, if such as take an interest in the subject, and are sufficiently well versed in the proverbial literature of their own country to recognise such unregistered proverbs when they meet them, would secure them from that perishing, which, so long as they remain merely oral, might easily overtake them; and would make them at the same time, what all good proverbs ought certainly to be, the common heritage of all."

"Note.—The pages of the excellent Notes and Queries would no doubt be open to receive such, and in them they might be safely garnered up," &c.

I trust this appeal of Mr. Trench's will be at once responded to by both the editor and correspondents of this periodical. With the former

must rest the responsibility of withholding from reproduction any proverbs, which though sent him as novelties, may be already registered in the recognised collections.

Mr. Trench's first contribution to this bouquet of the wild flowers of proverbial lore is the following, from Ireland:

"'The man on the dyke always hurls well.' The looker on," says Mr. Trench in explanation, "at a game of hurling, seated indolently on the wall, always imagines that he could improve on the strokes of the actual players, and if you will listen to him, would have played the game much better than they, a proverb of sufficiently wide application."—P. 32.

Each proverb sent in should be accompanied with a statement of the class among whom, or the locality in which, it is current. The index to "N. & Q." should contain a reference to every proverb published in its pages, under the head of Unregistered Proverbs, or Proverbs only. Correspondents should bear in mind the essential requisite of a proverb, currency. Curt, sharp sayings might easily be multiplied; what is wanted, however, is a collection of such only as have that prerequisite of admission into the ranks of recognised proverbs. And while contributors should not lose sight of "the stamp of merit," as that which renders the diffusion of proverbs beneficial to mankind, still they should not reject a genuine proverb for want of that characteristic, remembering that,—

And that the mere form of a proverb often affords some indication of its age and climate, even where the matter is spurious. I have a large MS. collection of English proverbs by me, from which I doubt not I shall be able to extract some few which have never yet been admitted into any published collection. Of these at some future time.

C. Mansfield Ingleby.

Birmingham.

MR. JUSTICE TALFOURD.

The noble sentiments uttered by Justice Talfourd in his last moments gave a charm to his sudden death, and shed a hallowed beauty about the painfully closing scenes of this great man. I want them to have a niche in "N. & Q.," and along with them a passage from his beautiful tragedy of Ion, which may be considered as a transcript of those thoughts which filled his mind on the very eve of quitting the high and honourable duties of his earthly course. It forcibly illustrates the loving soul, the kind heart, and the amiable character of this deeply lamented judge.

After speaking of the peculiar aspect of crime in that part of the country where he delivered his last charge, he goes on to say:

"I cannot help myself thinking it may be in no small degree attributable to that separation between class and class, which is the great curse of British society, and for which we are all, more or less, in our respective spheres, in some degree responsible, and which is more complete in these districts than in agricultural districts, where the resident gentry are enabled to shed around them the blessings resulting from the exercise of benevolence, and the influence and example of active kindness. I am afraid we all of us keep too much aloof from those beneath us, and whom we thus encourage to