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Established 1862. HOLLOWAY'S OINTMENT and PILLS. Though it is imposible, in this climate of changing temperature, to prevent ill health altogether, yet its form and frequency may be much mitigated by the early adoption of remedial measures, When hoarseness, cough, thick breathing, and the attending slight fever indicate irritation of the throat or chest, Holloway's Ointment should be rubbed upon these parts without delay, and his Pills taken in appropriate doses to promote its curative action. No catarrhs or sore throats Printed directions envelope every package can resist trese remedies of Holloway's medicaments, which are suited to all ages and conditions, and to every ordinary disease to which humanity is liable. LONDON, SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 1884. CONTENTS.- No 225. NOTES:-True Years of Birth and Death of Christ, 301-A Few Words on "Anglo-Saxon," 302-Notes on Mr. Smythe Palmer's "Folk-Etymology," 303-Shakspearian Quotations in "A Helpe to Discourse," 304-Spanish Libraries-Signature of George IV.-Hints to Publishers and Printers, 305Samuel Daniel-Cruikshank on Drawing-"A" as a War Cry-It-Error of the Poet Gray, 306. QUERIES:-Women in the Pit of the Theatre, 306-A Trinnettier Child-Frost Fair on the Thames-Balguy: Hake later, on the night of January 9-10, year of Rome MS. Work on Theatrical History-Alpine Custom-Family Curious Book-plate - Savile of Mexborough-Jane Leslie and the feast should have taken place between March and April, and therefore Whiston concludes (translation of Josephus, Ant., bk. xvii. c. ix. § 3, note): "This passover was not one, but thirteen months after the eclipse of the moon already men Heraldic — Sir Charles Blicke-Prince Leopold's Death- NOTES ON BOOKS-Sharman's "Cursory History of Swearing"-G. S. B.'s "Study of the Prologue and Epilogue Hueffer's "Italian and other Studies"-Buxton Forman's "Poetical Works of Keats." Notices to Correspondents, &c. Notes. THE TRUE YEARS OF THE BIRTH AND Notwithstanding all that has been said and written about the turning-point of Christian chronology, the true era of the nativity of Christ, I would venture to ask you to publish the following remarks, leading to further consideration on the subject. Hitherto I have accepted what of late years has been regarded as proved, that Herod the Great died early in B.C. 4 of our ordinary chronology, and that Christ was born towards the end (probably in the autumn) of the previous year, B. C. 5. But a recent examination of the question has led me to waver in this view. interval, thirteen months would make it too long; whereas three, from January to April, would be just about what seems to be required, so that, there would be little or no doubt that B.C. 1 was were we limited to these considerations alone, the true era of Herod's death. The importance, however, of the date in fixing the limits of the life of Christ has caused it to be examined from several points of view, which have been supposed to settle the question in favour of the other hypothesis. Now it is remarkable that the first and most obvious consideration, and that on which the original Christian chronology was founded, points rather to the acceptance of the year B.C. 1' as that of the death of Herod, and of B.C. 2 as of the birth of Christ. The only exact note of time in any of the four Gospels is that in Luke iii. 1, where we learn that the ministry of John the Baptist began in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar. From verse twenty-three of the same chapter it appears that the baptism of Christ (probably in the antumn of the same year) took place about thirty years after his birth. Now this would fix the nativity at about fifteen years before the commencement of the reign of Tiberius, and if the authorities were agreed as to how that is to be reckoned, the question before us would admit of no doubt. Augustus died, it is known, in the month of August of the year A.D. 14. If we count from that, the fifteenth Josephus tells us that during Herod's last ill-year of Tiberius would commence in August of ness there occurred an eclipse of the moon (this, by the way, is the only eclipse of either sun or moon referred to by him in any of his works). Petavius (who has since been generally followed) considered that this was an eclipse which happened on the night of March 12-13, in the year of Rome 750, although that eclipse was only a partial one, the greatest obscuration (at a time which would be about 2 A.M. at Jerusalem) not exceeding six digits or half the moon's diameter. Scaliger had, however, already called attention to a total eclipse which occurred nearly three years A.D. 28, and would be current until August of A.D. 29. If, then, John the Baptist began his ministry in the spring of the latter year, and our Lord was baptized in its autumn, this would carry the Passover mentioned in John ii. to A.D. 30. And if (as I believe) the "feast" of John v. was a Passover, as we know another is alluded to in John vi., we should bring the Passover of the Crucifixion to A.D. 33. This view, however, is not at present generally accepted. It is agreed, for reasons which I shall mention presently, that St. Luke does not reckon the years of the reign of Tiberius from the death of Augustus, but from some previous year when Augustus admitted him to a share in the empire. I imagine, however, that few would have thought of using this argument if it had not been found necessary on other grounds. It certainly would be more natural to reckon from the death of Augustus, and we know that Josephus reckoned the reign of Augustus himself (see Antiquities, bk. xviii. chap. ii. § 2, where he assigns fifty-seven years as the duration of his reign) from the death of Julius, year of Rome 710, although Augustus did not become sole emperor until after the battle of Actium in B.C. 30 (year of Rome 724). Even, however, if we assume them all to be correct, is it not as likely that the tetrarchy of Antipas was reckoned from before his father's death as that the empire of Tiberius was from before the death of Augustus, to which conclusion the other hypothesis would drive us? I do not claim to have settled this important question; but I hope that it will be yet again discussed, and must say that at present I tend to the view that the original Christian chronology of Dionysius Exiguus is more nearly correct than that which has been generally accepted of late years; in other words, I regard it as more probable that the birth of Christ took place towards the end of the year B.C. 2, and his death and resurrection in the spring of A.D. 33, than that these epochs occurred in the years B.C. 5 and A.D. 30 respectively. If this be so, the Crucifixion took place on April 3, and the first Easter Day on April 5 of the year 33; so that we shall, on that supposition, be observing its anniversary on the right day next year, and did not do so the year before last, as many (including myself) then thought we were doing. I should be glad to know whether the coins referred to by Prof. Sattler are really newly-found ones, or whether they are the same as those discussed by Eckhel, two of which are marked LMT and LMA respectively. And with regard to those in which we know that MI stands for 43, and MA for 44, what does the L represent? Florian Riess suggests it as possible that the years may be those of Augustus, and that the Caius Germanicus may be his grandson, and not Caligula, the successor of Tiberius. It occurs to me that the L probably stands for 300, reckoning from the era of the Seleucidæ, which commenced B.C. 311 (year of Rome 442). Then L.MI and L. MA would be 343 and 344 respectively of that epoch, corresponding to A.D. 32 and 33, and having no reference to the years of the reign of Antipas as tetrarch. W. T. LYNN. Blackheath. The principal reasons for the view now generally accepted appear to be (1) the duration of the reign of Herod as assigned by Josephus, and (2) the testimony of certain coins. Now, with regard to (1), Josephus gives as the length of the reign of Herod, thirty-seven years if counted from the time when he was made king by the Romans, thirty-four if counted from the time when he procured Antigonus (the representative of the Asmonean dynasty) to be slain. It is usually assumed that the first of these epochs means his nomination to the Judæan kingdom by the Roman senate, and the second his capture of Jerusalem in conjunction with the Roman general Sosius, when his reign actually commenced. But it has been recently pointed out by Mr. Galloway, in the work before referred to, that it is at least quite as likely that these may mean respectively from the time of the Romans putting him in possession of the kingdom by the taking of Jerusalem and that of the execution (or rather murder) of Antigonus (whom many would still regard as king de jure) by Antony at the instance of Herod. Mr. Galloway shows the probability that this took place some considerable time, and very probably so much as three years, after the taking of Jerusalem; and reckoning thirty-four years from the murder, or thirty-seven from the capture, for the duration of the reign of Herod would bring the end of it down to B.C. 1 as before. Now, with regard (2) to coins. Certain coins of Herod Antipas (Herod the Tetrarch) have been mentioned from Eckhel, which seem to give the duration of his rule as forty-three or even forty-dialects of the oldest English, viz., the Southern, four years. Counting backwards from the known or Wessex, dialect. The other two are the Old date of his banishment, this would make it to Northumbrian and the Old Midland. commence at least so early as B.C. 4, so that it is assumed that his father, Herod the Great, died at least so early as that. MR. PLATT states in "N. & Q." (6th S. vii. 478) that Prof. Sattler, of Munich, claims to have settled the question by means of "three coins struck in the reign of Herod Antipas"; but I presume these are the same coins as those already referred to by Greswell, and discussed in Eckhel, who, by the way, seems to doubt the genuineness of one of them. A FEW WORDS ON "ANGLO-SAXON." I now wish to draw particular attention to the fact that there are also two distinct kinds of AngloSaxon. The former is the real language, as exhibited in extant manuscripts, in trustworthy editions that are not manipulated, and in the best dictionaries only. The other Anglo-Saxon is s pure fiction, a conglomeration of misleading rubbish, but is to be found only too plentifully, being fully and freely cited in various etymological W chief inventor of this language was |