The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1872-11-09 00:00:00

A LITERARY DINNER.

The retirement of 11. Ir. Thome from the editorship
of the well-known Notes and Queries furnished the
occasion for a complimentary dinner to that gentleman
at Willia'syrooms, London, on Friday evening. "in
recognition of the manner in which he has conducted
this periodical for 23 years, and of his general services
to literature." The first number of Notes and Queries
was issued on the Ist of November, 1849, and Fri-
day was, therefore the 23rd anniversary of its founda-
tion.
More than 120 gentlemen sat down to dinner. Earl
Stanhope was the chairman, Lord Lyttelton the vice-
chairman ; and among those present were—Viscount
Gort. Lord Houghton, the Earl of Verul am, Lord Crewe,
the Hon. E. Twisleton, Sir William Tite, Sir Charles
Dilke, Mr. Benjamin Moran, United States' Charge
d'Affaires, Sir M. Digby Wyatt, Sir T. Duff us Hardy,
Sir &bald D. Scott, Sir Alexander Mallet, Sir Frederick
Pollock. Sir Edward Sunrke, Sir Albert W. Woods,
Canon Robertson, Mr. John Murray, Mr. Thomas J.
Arnold, Dr. Doran, Mr. J. Winter Jones, Professor
Owen, Mr. George Godwin, Mr. J. W. Bulerworth,
Mr. Joseph Durnam. R.A., Mr. Puluran, Mr. Henry
Stone Smith, Mr. W. D. Christie, Mr. James Trifle,
organist of Westminster Abbey ; Mr. Frederick Oa cry,
Mr. G. Scharf, Mr. C. Austen Leigh, Mr. C. Knight
Watson, Mr. Shirley Brooks, Mr. Herman Merivale.
Mr. J. Gough Nichols, Mr. Norman Maccoll, the
Rev. James S. Brewer, the Rev. W. D. Macray, Mr.
C. S. Perceval, the Rev. A. .1. Picton, Dr. W. Smith,
Mr. Charles, Clarke, Mr. It. Cooke, the hon. storey
tarp, Mr. H. F. Turle, &c.
After the usual loyal toasts,
The Chairman, in proposing the toast of the evening,
said that Mr. Thorns, in his private character, and as
librarian of the House of Lords, was highly entitled to
their esteem and regard—(cheers)--but it was more
especially as editor of Notes and Queries— amidst for
twenty-three years—that they assembled that evening
to do him honour. (Hear, hear.) Now the dis-
tinguishing feature of Notes and Queries he took to be
this—that it did not pursue any one branch of in-
quiry or diecussion merely, but it invited and obtained
co-operation from various branches of knowledge
towards the elucidation of any particular point.
A single student, who confined his inquiries to
his own room, without communication with
others, was apt to be led astray, but let him
join another and his shortcomings were likely
to be corrected. (Hear, hear.) It was like the two
halves of the 1.10 note—the one half completed the
other. It might happen that when one branch of
knowledge or one sphere of observation was punned,
very erroneous conclusions might be arrived at. For

illustration, suppose a person before embarking on the
Thames, on some navigation, enquired before be sailed
who was the principal authority in the neighbouring din.
trict, he would be answered it was the Sheriff of Mid-
dlesex ; then suppose he entered the _Red Sea and
stayed at Jeddah. the port of Mecca, and asked who the
principal authority there was, he would be told the
Sheref of Mecca. (Laughter.) Now, if he relied on his
own observation exclusively, the inference would seem
irresistible that Europe had derived the word from
Asia. But if this opinion had been put forward in
Notes and Queries, this gentleman would be met by some
Arabic scholar who would tell him that the word
Sheref was purely Arabic, and had never been trans-
lated in any foreign language ; and then he would be
met by our Anglo-Saxon scholars, who would tell
him that the word was made up of shire and reeve—
(laughter) and that there was not the smallest con-
nection between the two wools. This was an instance
of a plausible deduction which was, however, incorrect.
lie would niention another instance. 'fake the word
equerry. It meant a wan, an attendant on a prince or
princess, following on horseback. To any one who
had merely studied Latin it would seem almost cer-
tain to be derived from equw, a horse. Here again some
French student would inform Notes and Queries that
the word was derived from ernyer, which meant a
knight, and that there was no connection between the
two. He therefore thought that great advantage was
derived from such a felicitously inaugurated work as
Notes and Queries, which was confined to no particular
class of literature, and produced an agreeable variety.
Notes and Queries was a publication which provided in-
formation on every conceivable subject.
Taught by thy converse happily to steer
From grave to gay, from lively to severe.

It was a publication that kept the attention alive with-
out wearying it, and was useful to the scholar and
general reader. The editor of such a journal must be
a man of varied knowledge, and he must also have a
deep love of knowlgdge and law. He ought to be
free from all party spirit. (Hear, hear.) Now, all
these conditions had been fulfilled in the person of Mr.
Thorns -(heels)—and, as one proof of it, men of the
most varied opinions had met that evening in his
honour. Amongst his other service to the cause of
literature, Mr. Thome bad in preparation, and nearly
completed, an "Essay on Longevity ; " and he could
only hope that the author himself would live to be in-
chided in the list of those who had attained one
hundred years. (Cheers and laughter.)
Mr. Thome, who was received with loud cheer!, ex-
premed his thanks for the sympathy he had received
from the many kind friends who came to do him
honour on that occasion. Born with few natural ad-
vantages beyond a contented spirit and a good diges-
tion, so that while unfortunately he could speak of
himself as a fellow that hath had losses, yet he could
happily boatit he had had no quarrels; with an educa-
tion not much beyond Shakespeare— (a laugh)—se to
its classicality, but extended partly in the direction of
France and Germany, and partly in that which brought
down upon one of Shakespeare's beet commentators
Pope's charge that
lie had stuffed his head
With all such reading as was never read,
he had for the more than half a century, during which
he had served the public in various capacities, always
done with his might what his hand found to do. (Hear,
hear.) And if at his leisure from official duties he
indulged his taste for literary speculation, he always
took care ao to doss never my chiefs

Kind soul to cross,
By perm ng stanzas when I should engross.
In short, without boasting with Verges that he had
been as honest as any man alive, that is, an old man,
and no honester than himself—he had always en-
deavoured to do his duty; and now when verging upon
threescore and ten, he found himself rewarded far
above his desert. Net only blest :
• •

With all that should accompany old age,
As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends,
but—what he could hardly realise even at this moment
—receiving at the hands of a body of English gentle-
men of the highest social and intellectual rank the
greatest honour which an English gentleman could re-
ceive—a public acknowledgement of their approval and
esteem. (Cheers.)
Mr. W. D. Christie then proposed the toast of
"Literature and Science with all our sympathies," in
a neat speech, coupling therewith the names of Mr.
Moran, United States Clara d'Affaries, Lord Hough-
ton, and Professor Owen, who severally returned
thanks.
The other toasts of the evening were "The Press,"
propoeed by Lord Lyttleton and acknowledged by Mr.
S. Brooks; "The Contributors to Notes and Queries."
proposed by Sir F. Pollock and acknowledged by Sir
E. Smirke; "The Future Success of Notes and Queries,"
proposed by Herman Merivale and responded to by
Or. Doran ;and "The Chairman," proposed by the
Hon. E. Twisleton.