The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-02-07 00:00:00

A LOST LEAF.

In January, 1847, the late Rev. Dr. Todd, Librarian
of Trinity College, Dublin, gave an account to the
R:lral Irish Academy of a fragment of an ancient
purple manuscript of the Gospels' in Latin, which he
had purchased in Dublin. This fragment was but a
single leaf, containing a portion of the Gospel ac
cording to St. Matthew. Dr. Todd at the time
adduced proofs of its great antiquity, from the
character in which it was written, and the form
of the letters it seemed to agree with those menu.
scripts that are known to be of the fourth or begin-
ning of the fifth century, such as the Codex Vercen
lent& and the Codex Veronensis, the former is gene.
rally believed to be the autograph of Eueehms, first
Bishop of Vercelli, in the diocese of Milan, who died
Al), 371. The latter is a purple manuscript written
in letters of gold and silver, and is assigned by Bliiri•
chini to the beginning of the fifth century. From a
critical comparison with these Dr. Todd concluded
that this leaf belonged to a mannecript of the fourth
or early part of the fifth century, of the Eneebian re-
vision, ono of those which were in use before the
Hieronymian Vulgate and from which Jerome made
the recensien now known as the Latin Vulgate.
In the Academy of the lit of March, 1879, Mr.
Graves Law stated that the fragment in question was
without doubt a missing leaf of the Codex Palatinue,
in the Imperial Library of Vienna, which was edited
by Tischendorf in 1847; but it would appear that one
more vicissitude had happened to the leaf itself,
which for more than a quarter of a century had not
been forthcoming when asked for at the manuscript-
room of the Library of Trinity College. On the
recent appointment of Dr. Ingram to the librarian-
ship, he made every inquiry for the leaf, but without
success until the other day, when, through the
zeal and eneigy of the assistant-librarian, Mr.
French, it was found. Au examination at once
established the correctness of Mr. Law's statement
that it is a fragment of the Codex 'Watkins. and
verified the judgment el Dr. Todd as to its antiquity,
as Tischenctorf pronounces this codex to belong to
the fourth or filth century. How the leaf became
detached from the codex will probably always rental d a
mystery. It is not known apparently, how the codex
was acquired by the Vienna Library. It was not there
before the year 1800, and it appears to have been first
mentioned as being there in 1829 by that eminent
Belavonian scholar Ropiter. It may, therefore, never
be determined whether the lost leaf came from Vienna
to Ireland or the codex went from Ireland to Vienna.
The foregoing faces were laid by Dr. Ingram before
the Royal Irish Academy at their last meeting. —The
Times,

President Grevy hag awarded a silver medal to
Captain Large, the commanderotftheEngiit a French shlatreeannier
fill
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vfoergeflant conduct in rescuing he crew o

A telegram from R)u-te ntates that recent rains have
caused the rivera to overflow in Sicily, and that much
damage ha l been done.
At Cariterbur.,, on Tueeday, at a parade of the 17th
Dinc,rs, who have pat returned from Zululand to Join the
depOt of their regunent garrisoned here, a representailon
W 9.4 made that volunteers were required to augment the
strength of the 9Q.LancerB, now at the front in Afghanistan.
Some of the ran at once offered themselves, ant were
accepted subject to the usual medical examination for
another round of foreign duty.