Under another letter he may
give a run of proverbs in reverse order." [6]
Pappity Stampoy, who was scarcely an honorable man, soon got a Roland
for his Oliver. As Wilson says, the _Adagia Scotica or a Collection
of Scotch Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, Collected by R. B. Very
Usefull and Delightfull_ (London: Nathaniel Brooke, 1668) "Turns
out to be a page-for-page reprint ... provided with a new title and
the initials of a new collector in order (is it unjust to say?) to
deceive customers."
Apart from its rarity, Pappity Stampoy's little book has both a curious
interest and a value of its own. Bibliographers have failed to decipher
the pseudonym, or to identify the printer. Some lucky chance may supply
the answers to these questions. The collection has some value to a
student of proverbs for a few scantily recorded texts that have
presumably been taken from the 1659 edition of Fergusson. Although they
do not appear in the old standard collections made by Bohn, Apperson,
and Hazlitt, Morris P. Tilley, who has used R. B.'s collection, has found
and pinned them down. More interesting and important than such details
about the recording of proverbs is the publication of Pappity Stampoy's
book in London.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25