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So, on November 18, he despatched a memorial to Peking which laid the blame for mismanagement of the country not only on Chang Fu-ching, but also on several others in responsible positions. The emperor, naturally, was infuriated, and Feng nearly lost his life as a result; but that is another story.
Now back to the comet. Becoming curious about its very long duration, I wrote to Mr. D. J. Schove of St. David's College, Beckenham, Kent, with whom I have previously corresponded on sun spots and similar phenomena, and asked if there had been any report on it by observers in Europe. He replied:
+4
The comet of 1532 was more important than that of Halley and was visible even in the daytime. It is recorded e.g. in Italy, Switzerland, England, Russia, Japan and Korea.”
And one of my American correspondents, Dr. C. Doris Hellman, professor of history at Queens College, New York, adds to this a Spanish record left by Gaspar G. Molera, who published a tract on it in Barcelona in 1533.
Now I am curious as to whether there is any notice of the comet's appearance in the New World. Mr. Schove writes that Aztec chronicles record the comets of 1490 and 1529, but not those of 1531 and 1532. If any reader of this Journal knows of one I hope he will let me know, or publish it in the JRAS, Hong Kong branch.
Columbia University, 1968.
L. CARRINGTON GOODRICH
WHAT INSPIRED SIR JOHN BOWRING'S HYMN?
Ever so often one hears that John Bowring's famous hymn
“In the cross of Christ I glory
Tow'ring o'er the wrecks of time”
was inspired after he saw the facade of the Collegiate Church of St. Paul in Macao. But is this true?
These words were penned in, or shortly before, 1825, the date of the publication of Bowring's own book entitled HYMNS, in
* See for example, M. Hugo-Brunt in his excellent article on St. Paul's Church in the Journal of Oriental Studies, 1-2 (1954-55) p. 344.