Notes and Queries, Vol. III, Number 87, June 28, 1851 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc.

A compact snapshot of Victorian scholarship, this issue gathers the inquisitive musings of literary men, artists, antiquarians and genealogists who sought to untangle the small mysteries of the past. One standout essay revisits Chaucer’s “Canterbury Pilgrimage,” juxtaposing the poet’s celestial descriptions with modern astronomical calculations to test the accuracy of his observations. The author presents a tidy table of sun, moon and star positions, inviting readers to weigh medieval imagination against the precision of contemporary science.

The same volume also preserves a quirky fragment of seventeenth‑century political satire: a set of epigrams discovered on the flyleaf of a rare Cromwell biography. Their witty, hand‑written commentary offers a glimpse into the period’s underground humor and the enduring fascination with the “Usurper.” Together, these pieces illustrate the periodical’s role as a lively forum for the exchange of curious facts and scholarly debate.