Relative to the meaning of Ἀκρίδες in Matt. iii., I beg to refer your correspondent Βορέας to the note in Dr. Burton's _Gr. Test._, where he will find reference to the authors who have discussed the question. DX. THE SOUL'S ERRAND. (Vol. iv., p. 274.) This beautiful little poem is assigned by Bishop Percy to Sir Walter Raleigh, by whom it is said to have been written the night before his execution; this assertion is, however, proved to be unfounded, from the fact that Raleigh was not executed until 1618, and the poem in question was printed in the second edition of Francis Davidson's _Poetical Rhapsody_, in 1608. "It is nevertheless possible," observes Sir Harris Nicolas (Introduction to _Poetical Rhapsody_, p. ci.), "that it was written by Raleigh the night before he _expected_ to have been executed at Winchester, November, 1603, a circumstance which is perfectly reconcileable to dates, and in some degree accounts for the tradition alluded to." This ground must be now abandoned, as it is certain that MS. copies of the poem exist of a still earlier date. Malone had a MS. copy of it dated 1595 (_Shakspeare by Boswell_, vol. ii. p. 579.); Brydges speaks of one in the British Museum dated 1596 (_Lee Priory edit. of Raleigh's Works_, vol. viii. p. 725.); and Campbell says, "it can be traced to a MS. of a date as early as 1593" (_Specimens_, p. 57. second edit.). "The Soul's Errand" is found in the folio edition of Joshua Sylvester's _Works_, and also in the poems of Lord Pembroke. Ritson, whose authority merits some attention, peremptorily attributes it to Francis Davison. "_The Answer to the Lye_," he observes, "usually ascribed to Raleigh, and pretended to have been written the night before his execution, was in fact by Francis Davison" (_Bib. Poet._ p. 308.). The evidence in favour of these three claimants has been well examined by the Rev. John Hannah (see _Poems by Sir Henry Wotton, Sir Walter Raleigh, and others_, 12mo. 1845, pp. 89-99.), and completely set aside. The same gentleman has printed a curious poetical piece, from an old MS. Miscellany in the Chetham Library at Manchester (8012. p. 107), which does something to establish Raleigh's claim. It commences as follows:-- "Go, Eccho of the minde; A careles troth protest; Make answere yt _rude Rawly_ No stomack can disgest." "In these verses (remarks Mr. Hannah) three points especially deserve attention; first, that they assign the disputed poem to Raleigh _by name_; next, that they were written _when he was still alive_, as is plain from the concluding stanza; and lastly, that they give the reason why it has been found so difficult to discover its true author, for the 13th stanza intimates that 'The Lie' was anonymous, though its writer was not altogether unknown."