I find that the passage runs as follows:--

"Christiani posthabitis scripturis sanctis, earumque
interpretibus, Arabum Chaldaeorumque libris evolvendis
incumbentes, legem suam nesciebant, et linguam propriam non
advertebant latinam, ita ut ex omni Christi collegio vix
inveniretur unus in milleno hominum genere, qui salutatorias
fratri posset rationabiliter dirigere litteras."

So that although Mabillon says that scarce one in a thousand could
address a _Latin_ letter to another, yet he by no means says that it was
on account of their general ignorance, but because they were addicting
themselves to other branches of learning. They were devoting all their
energies to Arabic and Chaldaean science, and in their pursuit of it
neglected other literature. A similar remark might be made of respecting
many distinguished members of the University to which I belong; yet who
would feel himself justified in inferring thence that Cambridge was sunk
in ignorance?

CANTAB.

* * * * *

ADVERSARIA

[In our Prospectus we spoke of NOTES AND QUERIES becoming
everybody's common-place book. The following very friendly
letter from an unknown correspondent, G.J.K., urges us to carry
out such an arrangement.

"Sir,--I beg leave to forward you a contribution for your 'NOTES
AND QUERIES,' a periodical which is, I conceive, likely to do a
vast deal of good by bringing literary men of all shades of
opinion into closer juxtaposition than they have hitherto been.

"I would, however, suggest that in future numbers a space might
be allotted for the reception of those articles (short of
course), which students and literary men in general, transfer to
their common-place books; such as notices of scarce or curious
books, biographical or historical curiosities, remarks on
ancient or obsolete customs, &c. &c. &c. Literary men are
constantly meeting with such in the course of their reading, and
how much better would it be if, instead of transferring them to
a MS. book to be seen only by themselves, or perhaps a friend or
two, they would forward them to a periodical, in which they
might be enshrined in imperishable pica; to say nothing of the
benefits such a course of proceeding would confer on those who
might not have had the same facilities of gaining the
information thus made public.

"In pursuance