understood his business better than be of the CASANOVIANA. Piombi. The MS. was given to De Bernis, who handed it to the Duc de Choiseul, and subsequently to Madame de Pompadour. From that moment Casanova became an interesting object in her eyes, and received marks of condescension which helped to advance his fortunes. De Bernis presented his protégé personally to the Duc de Choiseul, at that time perhaps the most powerful man in France, and also to M. de Boulogne, Comptroller General of Finances. At the period when De Bernis was sent as ambassador to Venice, that noble establishment known as the École Militaire was founded. Its author was the Marquis de Marigny, who suggested to Madame de Pompadour the desirability of founding a royal school, or college, for the gratuitous support and military education of a certain number of youths, and especially those whose fathers had fallen in the king's service on the field of battle. Madame de Pompadour was much pleased with the idea, and brought the matter before the king. When submitted to (Continued from 8th S. viii. 504.) The career of the once celebrated Abbé de Bernis, who at the time took Casanova under his protection, forms an example of the strange vicis. situdes of political life in that age of feminine intrigue. François de Bernis, born in 1715, sprang from a good stock, connected by marriage with the most powerful families in France. Like many other scions of noble houses in those days, De Bernis looked to the Church as a sure step towards a lucrative post. Without any definite aims he became what was known as "un Abbé sans fonction." Though short of stature and somewhat rotund, he was not bad looking, and he possessed a talent for writing "occasional verse to please the ladies. The facility with which he spun these webs of fancy attracted the favourable notice of the vainly great and the greatly vain, who wel-Louis XV. he gave it a favourable reception, and comed him to that mystic function when women engaged at their toilettes received the addresses of men. But this style of living so displeased his natural protector, the great Cardinal de Fleury, that he told De Bernis to expect nothing from him, and to look elsewhere for preferment. When the old cardinal died, in 1743, the frivolous De Bernis paid assiduous court to the then all-powerful Madame de Pompadour, who was graciously pleased to entrust him with her secret correspond ence. The young abbé was given a lodging at the Tuilleries, with a salary of one hundred louis d'or. Although Louis XV. made no objection to this arrangement, he by no means shared Madame de Pompadour's admiration for the little poetaster. "C'est un fat "said the king-" un prêtre de mauvaises mœurs "" -an expression which, coming from the lips of Louis XV., must have sounded peculiar. However, the ladies prevailed. De Bernis, at the age of twenty-nine, was made an Academician of France, and from that moment made his way upward by leaps and bounds. Through Madame de Pompadour's influence, he was sent in 1751 as Ambassador to Venice, where he renewed his acquaintance with Casanova and blended a dissolute existence with the most astute diplomacy. When the "Seven Years' War" broke out De Bernis was recalled to Paris, entered the Grand Council, and soon afterwards was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs. While in that capacity entrusted with the fortunes of France, Casanova, in January, 1757, penniless but acute, renewed his acquaintance. De Bernis received him well, and gave him a rouleau of one hundred louis. At De Bernis' request, Casanova shut himself up in his lodgings, and employed eight days in writing an account of his escape from the it was decided to accommodate five hundred youths in that establishment. The great architect Soufflot was summoned to prepare plans, and in due course the building was erected. But the deplorable state of the national finances in 1757 was a source of increasing anxiety to M. de Boulogne; no less than twenty millions of francs being urgently needed for the carrying on of the Ecole Militaire. The king, with the best will in the world, was unable to provide the necessary funds, and his ministers were at their wits' end. De Bernis was shrewd enough to appreciate the wondrous capacity of Casanova; and, under the pretence of aiding his protégé to make his fortune, he introduced him to M. de Boulogne as a great financier. Although lotteries had been established in France ever since the time of Catherine de Medicis, in 1533, there was a strong prejudice against them; while the difficulty in finding some one of sufficient public credit to support the bank against the chances of a loss, had rendered all previous attempts to float one in aid of the École Militaire futile. In periods of exuberant patriotism the French people were willing enough to risk their savings-as in the case of the Spanish Succession War-but under ordinary circumstances the people glanced with averted eyes at all proposals of that nature. Casanova hit upon a plan by which an enormous sum of money could be raised. It was a proposal which chimed in well with the daring note in his character. He proposed a lottery in which the bank would be backed by no less a personage than the king himself. The wiseacres shook their heads at first. The king, they said, would never agree to it. But after a series of conferences Casanova persuaded the greatest financiers in France to adopt a scheme which, he says, was initiated and matured by inspiration. At a conference held at the Ecole Militaire, Casanova persuaded the cautious M. Duverney to adopt his plan. The king was consulted, and shortly afterwards an Order in Council was issued, and M. de Sartines drew up a prospectus inviting his lambs to the slaughter. An Italian named Calsabigi, of whose previous performances I have no knowledge, was named chief director of the lottery, with a subsidy of three thousand francs for each drawing, and an annual salary of four thousand francs. Calsabigi and Casanova agreed to act loyally towards each other-indeed, it was essential to the complete success of the scheme that they should do so. Calsabigi installed himself at the chief bureau in the Rue Montmartre, while Casanova obtained a concession for six smaller ones situated in different parts of Paris. His salary was computed at four thousand francs a year-that amount being charged against the profits arising from the lottery -in addition to this he was to receive 6 per cent. on all the tickets sold at his oureaus. With a keen eye to business, Casanova at once sold five of his bureaus for two thousand rancs apiece, thereby securing ten thousand fancs with which to "operate" on his own account. The sixth he reserved for himself. It was situated in the Rue St. Denis. The contacting parties arranged that all the winning numbrs would be paid at the principal bureau eight days after each drawing. This was Casanova's oportunity. In order to attract the public to his own particular bureau, and thereby increase his commissions, he publicly announced that all wining numbers purchased at his own bureau wold be paid twenty-four hours after each drawng. In consequence, an enormous crowd flocked to the Rue St. Denis, and his receipts rose, or the first drawing alone, to 40,000 francs. The gaeral receipts amounted to 2,000,000 francs, while the total gains touched six hundred thousand frars-approximately 24,000Z. Of this enormous sumParis alone contributed four hundred thousand fancs. The second drawing was equally successil, and, the ball once set rolling, a passion fr lotteries grew apace. The two largest lotteries or charitable purposes at that time in France were the Loterie de Piété, and the Loterie des Enfans Touvés. By a decree made in the following year, 1776 hese two lotteries were amalgamated with Casanoa's lottery, under the comprehensive title "Lotrie Royale.' The evil effects of this revived crze was felt by every class in France; and in 173 M. Chaumette, the Procureur Général de la Comune de Paris, appealed to the National Convenon to abolish all lotteries. His resolution was afeed to. But in 1797 the passion for gambling agm revived, and the Loterie Royale was not finally ppressed until 1836. M. de Berr, impressed by the necessity of making Casanra useful, now sent him on a secret expedition to Dunkirk. Although his mission was of the simplest, and could have been performed equally well by a Frenchman, Casanova received an honorarium of twelve thousand francs. His allusion to this extravagance is characteristic: "Tels étaient en France tous les ministres. Ils prodiguaient l'argent, qui ne leur coûtait rien, pour enricher leurs créatures. Ils étaient despotes, le peuple foulé finances étaient en un mauvais état immanquable. Une était compté pour rien. L'État était endetté, et les révolution etait nécessaire-je le crois;-Mais il ne la fallait pas sanglante, il la fallait morale et patriotique. Mais les nobles et le clergé n'avaient pas des sentiments assez généreux pour savoir faire quelques sacrifices nécessaires au roi, à l'État, et à eux-mêmes.' On Casanova's return to Paris he was received in society and made the acquaintance of many whose names are familiar to us through the various memoirs of that period. One night he dined in the company of the Comte de St. Germain. Instead of eating his dinner this celebrated adventurer talked incessantly; but he talked so well that it was impossible not to listen to him. He posed before the world as a worker of miracles; and although he spoke dogmatically and monopolized the conversation, he possessed so much grace and wit that his extravagances were not displeasing. He was a savant, and spoke many languages fluently. He was a first-rate musician, and a chemist. His appearance was agreeable, and he obtained great influence over women, partly through delicate flattery, and partly by means of a mysterious "wash," which was said to preserve youth and beauty. St. Germain, with measureless generosity, always made his dupes a present of that wash, assuring them that it was far too costly for them to buy. By various devices he obtained the patronage of Madame de Pompadour, who persuaded Louis XV. to spend one hundred thousand livres in building a laboratory for him at Chambord. Casanova says: "Cet homme singulier, et né pour être le premier des imposteurs, disait, avec un ton d'assurance et par manière panacée, qu'il faisait tout ce qu'il voulait de la nature, d'acquit, qu'il avait trois cents ans, qu'il possédait la qu'il avait le secret de fondre les diamants et que de dix ou douze petits, il en formait un grand de la plus belle eau et sans qu'il perdissent rien de leur poids. Toutes ces opérations n'étaient pour lui que pures bagatelles. Malgré ses rodomontades, ses mensonges évidents, et ses disparates outrées, je n'eus par la force de le trouver insolent. Je ne le trouvai pas non plus respectable; mais, comme malgré moi et à mon insu, je le trouvai étonnant, car il m'étonna." At about this time Casanova's brother, François, had the honour of being admitted as a member to the Academy of France. He had recently exhibited a battle-piece that won the admiration of the connoisseurs. This picture, which was purchased by the Directors of the Academy for five hundred louis, may, I believe, still be seen upon its walls. RICHARD EDGCUMBE. (To be continued.) DEVONSHIRE DIALECT. The vocabulary of Devonshire remains yet to be investigated; and unless the investigator shall present himself shortly there will be little left to investigate, for our beautiful dialect is being improved off the face of the earth by School Boards. The following WestCountry words seem to owe their origin to the Cornish language :— Goars, an exudation or secretion. Corn. goos, blood. Pillum, dust. Corn. pilm. Tallet, a loft over a linhay. Corn. tallic, a garret. Gor-bellied contains the Celtic prefix for great. Ardur (now I believe obsolete), a plough. Corn. ardur. For the BALDWIN'S GARDENS, HOLBORN. benefit of the REV. E. WALFORD, COL. W. F. PRIDEAUX, and others interested in London topography, I send the copy of the depositions taken in time and manner stated. The facts contained therein are eminently suggestive and almost conclusive as to the origin of the above name, which has not been given in any previous history or guide-book that I am aware of : "Deposition of Elizabeth Wethered of Barkhampstead St Peters in the county of Hertford widdow taken and examined at her house in the said towne on the 27th of March Anno 'm 1668 by Virtue of a Comission out of his Mjty High Court of Chancery directed to Edward Hall Henry Bowyer Thomas Guholl in a cause Depending in the courte between Sir Clement ffarnham Kat and Dame Katherine his wife and Henry Baldwyn def. "Elizabeth Wethered of Barkhampstead St Peters aforsaid widdow aged nynte four years or thereabouts sworne and examined the day and yeare above written deposeth nd saith as followeth. "In the second Interrogatory this depont Garth deposeth that John Baldwyn as she hath heard late of Red Heath in the parish of Watford in the county of Hertford was the Husband of her mother Agnes Wethered widdow deceased and further this depont heard that the said John Baldwyn in the second interrogatory mentioned was the Father of Thomas Baldwyn late of the parish of St. Martyns in the fields in the county of Middlesex deceased and this depont well knows and sayeth that Richard Baldwyn was the son of the same John and eldest Brother of the aforsaid Thomas Baldwyn which said Richard Baldwyn her Brother was owner of Baldwyns gardens in the parish of St Andrews Holborne in the said county Middlesex and lived there upon the said ground and that this depont hath lodged in the house of the said Richard Baldwyn several times.' "Jurat die et Anno Supdit coram nobis. "EDWARD HALL." H. C. FINCH. NEW YEAR SUPERSTITION IN DEVONSHIRE. On New Year's day one of our maidens (not a Devonshire one) was going to do the family washing, when our West-Country girl exclaimed in horror : Pray dont'ee wash on New Year's day, Or you'll wash one of the family away. On inquiry I find the belief widely spread hereabouts, that if the year commences in domestic circles with a washing day, one of the occupants of the house is washed out (i. e., dies) during the year. HARRY 'HEMS. Fair Park, Exeter. 'THE RIVALS.'-As Sheridan's famous comedy has been recently revived, it may not be inopportune to note the follwing incident, which took place on 30 Oct., 1795, just a century ago :— went to Covent Garden Thatre to see The Rivals,' the "Last night when His Majesty and the princesses crowd in the streets, to se their sovereign pass, was very great; and the theatrewas full in every part. The loyal songs God save the ling' and 'Rule Britannia,' were both sung, and both enored. Near the end of the play, a great degree of clamur was excited by Captain Absolute repeating, as his reson for fighting a duel, the words 'I serve the King.' Ithe midst of it, Mr. Macmanus walked on the stage, to person knew why, and placed himself opposite to the king's box. The noise then increased to an almost larming degree, till Mr. Macmanus retired; and the it subsided. An odd accident happened as His Majsty went to the theatre; one of the horse soldiers' pistol in the holster, went off, and shot the next horse in the boulder. This gave rise to a false and perhaps maliciou report (for it was industriously circulated) that His Majesty had been fired at."-Lady's Magazine, vol. xxv p. 534. 'The Rivals' was first proaced early in 1775,* was received with "general aprobation," but was withdrawn after the first "to emove some imperfections." The original Sir Anthony was Mr. Shuter, and Mrs. Malaprop M. Green. W.A. HENDERSON. Dublin. THE QUEEN'S ENGLISH.-A ody of press correctors is going to hold a confernce with a view to settling the spelling of certa words in the English language. It is to be hoed that another body may have something to sa about rightly [* 17 Jan., 1775.] " spelt words which are wrongly used, and about slovenly pronunciation. An example of each may suffice. "The estate was divided between the seven surviving sons.' The estate could only be divided between two, or amongst seven, sons. Press correctors are constantly guilty of this error. Too many of us, high and low, mispronounce "Don't you. Don't tchoo think so?" And when a girl who should know better says, "Let me kish you," one shudderingly says, "Nay." AND. W. TUER. "DOCKERER" OR "DOCKERRER."-A quotation sent in for the Dictionary from the Statutes of Ireland at Large,' 1765, vol. ii. 406, is of date 1662, "Dockerrers, the timber containing forty skins, 13s. 4d." The only ight I have as yet upon this word is the entry in Halliwell: " Dockerer, fur made of the skin of the dossus, or weasel, the petit gris." I have not discovered the source of Halliwell's explanation; and I shall be obliged to any one who can tell me this, or throw any further light upon the word, or upon the entry from the Irish statutes. What, e. g., bes 66 the timber 19 mean ? Dossus is given by Do Cange as Ital. dosso, Fr. petit gris. But Ital. doso is apparently not a weasel, and Fr. petit-gris is th fur of the grey squirrel. J. A. H. MURRAY. Oxford. JOHN RANKING. Can any reader give me information as to th life of Mr. John Ranking? He wrote two bookson the Mongols, published in 1826 and 1827. In the latter he endeavoured to prove that they wer the founders of the Mexican and Peruvian empres. I am especially anxious to know where he ived, and the date of his death. E. I. CARLYLE. [See Allibone's' fictionary,' s. v. "John Ranking."] says: · "ADE."-Tb Shropshire Word-Book' (1879) "Ade, a each in the Severn. This term is applied by nvigators of the Severn to reaches where there areeddies in the river, as Sweney [sic] Ade, Preen's Ale, &c.' See The Severn Valley, by J. Randall 1862, pp. 69, 70." 'Salopia Antiqua' (1841) has: "Ade, a reach in a river. the 'buts' of ploughed lands to carry off the water from the 'reans."" Cp., "Ade, aid, a deep gutter cut across ploughed land" (Salopia Antiqua'). Is ade (a reach in a river) the same word as aid, ade (a deep gutter)? Can any correspondent suggest an etymology if the two words are from one source, or etymologies should they be unrelated? Are these two words, or either of them, known anywhere outside Shropshire? THE EDITOR OF THE 'ENGLISH DIALECT DICTIONARY.' the persons whose portraits were painted by Opie ? JOHN OPIE, R.A.-Is there any record of ali The Dict. of Nat. Biography states that he painted 508. This exact figure would lead one to suppose that there is. If there is, where can it be consulted? Did Opie ever paint in Dublin? ROBERT F. S. COLVILL. Killester, co. Dublin. "BITMAY."-I find in Blomefield's History of Norwich' that in the portion of the river which runs through the parish of St. John, Southgate, there are "several bitmays, or pieces of land gained out of the river, which pay small rent to the city." Can any one tell me the meaning, or rather the origin, of this word? F. NORGATE. "AMIABLE JUNE."-"It was now the season of the year which an old English writer calls 'the amiable month of June'" (Longfellow's' Hyperion,' cap. x.). Who is the old English writer referred to? And in which of the modern American poets do the following lines occur? These thick-sown snowflakes tell of time's release; and ANNE BOLEYN.-MR. C. W. Cass, T. W., MR. W. D. PINK give some interesting information regarding Anne Boleyn, which encourages me to ask through your kind intermediation whether Anne Boleyn had any of the blood of the Northamptonshire Greens in her, as had Catherine Parr. I have heard that she had; and if established it would be a curious fact in the marriages of Henry VIII. W. G. JAMES RALFE.-Are any personal details availChronology'? James Ralfe, steward of Winchester able respecting James Ralfe, author of 'Naval College, who died in 1863, at the age of eighty-six, may possibly have been related to him. Could assistance be sent direct to Prof. J. K. Laughton, 5, Pepys Road, Wimbledon ? S. L. Ex. THE SURNAME TULLIVER.-In Virginia, U.S., Boden's ad Preen's ade,' 'Swinny ade,' near there exists (as I have lately learned) a family of Coalport. his signification is confined to barge- the name of Toliver, who assert that they came men, owner, and bowhalers." The 'Shropshire thither from Italy some centuries ago, their oriWordbook has also "Aid, a gutter cut across ginal patronymic being Tagliaferro. An interest I have inquired at is no church at Benham. ing article in the Bookman for November last identified many of the scenes and localities in George Eliot's Mill on the Floss.' It would be curious to know if this author borrowed the unusual name of Tulliver from any real family so called in the neighbourhood of Gainsborough (the proto-anent a place or property in Lancashire which bore OGNALL.—I am desirous of securing information type of the "aged town of St. Oggo "). the name of Ognall Hall about the year 1700. Possibly it may have been spelt Augnell. Can any one familiar with the nomenclature of the northern counties put me on the track of it? J. G. C. OSWALD HUNTER BLAIR, O.S.B. Fort Augustus, N.B. ART BIOGRAPHY.-Can any one tell me who is the author of a book entitled 'Our Living Painters: their Lives and Works. A Series of nearly a hundred Notices of Contemporary Artists of the English School'? It was published by James Blackwood, at Paternoster Row, London, in 1859. Reference to any detailed biographies of the watercolour artists of the British school during the present century would be much appreciated. T. CANN HUGHES, M.A. The Groves, Chester. LOWELL ON HAWTHORNE.-About 1887 or 1888 a life of Hawthorne by the late Mr. Russell Lowell was several times advertised as "in preparation," as a volume of the series of "American Men of Letters.' Was such a work ever published; or must it be added to the long list of books promised, but never written ? Wimbledon. G. L. APPERSON. BREHON Laws. This is a term met with in Irish history, as, for example, in the 'View of the State of Ireland,' by the poet Spenser. As there are doubtless Celtic scholars among your readers, I shall take it as a favour if any one can tell me whether any of these laws exist in an English translation; also whether the word brehon in its technical sense is entirely obsolete in the native Irish language, or still used; and if the latter, how it is locally pronounced. FRANK E. EVANS. THE WAINFLEET SOCIETY.-Can any of your readers tell me what has become of this society; or is it still in existence? I have a stray copy of its report for 1867, containing an account of its monthly meetings in London (at the rooms of the English Church Union, in Burleigh Street), and its country meeting, held that year at Watford, and also an interesting paper on 'St. Alban's Abbey,' by Mr. E. W. Godwin, before it was so tenderly taken in hand by Lord Grimthorpe. E. WALFORD. Ventnor. JAMES BEEVERELL.-Who was this gentleman, Allgemeines Gelehrten-Lexicon?] MIDSUMMER.—A pleasure air, called "Winter- |