# Notes and Queries/Series 1/Volume 1/Number 5

Layout 2
NOTES AND QUERIES:
A MEDIUM OF INTER-COMMUNICATION
FOR
LITERARY MEN, ARTISTS, ANTIQUARIES, GENEALOGISTS, ETC,
"When found, make a note of."—Captain Cuttle.
No. 5.]
Saturday, December 1. 1849.
Price Threepence. Stamped Edition 4d.
| CONTENTS. | Page. |
| Notes:― |
| Lord Chatham―Queen Charlotte, Original Letter respecting | 65 |
| Cibber's Apology | 67 |
| Ancient Tapestry, by J. R. Planché | 68 |
| Travelling in England | 68 |
| Prison Discipline and Execution of Justice | 70 |
| Medal of the Pretender, by Edw. Hawkins | 70 |
| John Aubrey, by J. Britton | 71 |
| Inedited Song by Suckling | 72 |
| White Gloves at Maiden Assizes, by William J. Thoms | 72 |
| Adversaria―Don Quixote―Dr. Dove | 73 |
| Inscription on Church Plate | 73 |
| Anecdotes of Books, by Joseph Hunter | 73 |
| Queries answered, No. 3.―Flemish Account | 74 |
| Answer to Minor Queries:―Richard Greene, &c. | 74 |
| Queries:― |
| Sanuto's Doges of Venice | 75 |
| MSS. of Sir Roger Twysden | 76 |
| Minor Queries:―Honnore Pelle―Bust of Sir Walter Raleigh, &c. | 76 |
| Miscellaneous:― |
| Notes on Books, Catalogues, Sales, &c. | 77 |
| Books and Odd Volumes wanted | 78 |
| Notices to Correspondents | 79 |
| Advertisements | 79 |
Lord Chatham―Queen Charlotte.
Original Letter, written on the Resignation of Mr. Pitt, in 1761―Public Feeling on the Subject, and Changes at Court in consequence―First Impressions of Queen Charlotte.
[The following valuable original letter is now published for the first time. It will be found to be of very considerable historical curiosity and interest. The resignation of the Great Commoner in 1761, and his acceptance at the same time of a pension and a peerage for his family, were events which astonished his admirers as much as any thing else in his wonderful career. Even now, after the recent publication of all the letters relating to these transactions, it is difficult to put any construction on Mr. Pitt's conduct which is consistent with the high-spirited independence which one desires to believe to have been a leading feature of his character. There may have been great subtlety in the way in which he was tempted; that may be admitted even by the stoutest defenders of the character of George III.; but nothing can excuse the eager, rapturous gratitude with which the glittering bait was caught. The whole circumstances are related in the Chatham Correspondence, ii. 146., couples with Adolphus's Hist. of England.
A kind judgment upon them may be read in Lord Mahon's Hist. of England, iv. 365., and one more severe—perhaps, more just-in Lord Brougham's Historical Sketches, in the article on Lord Chatham. See also the Pictorial History of the Reign of George III., i. 13. After consulting all these authorities the reader will still find new facts, and a vivid picture of the public feeling, in the following letter.]
Dear Robinson,―I am much obliged to you for both your letters, particularly the last, in which I look upon the freedom of your expostulations as the strongest mark of your friendship, and allow you to charge me with any thing that possibly can be brought against one upon such an occasion, except forgetfulness of you. I left town soon after receiving your first letter, and was moving about from place to place, till the coronation brought me to town again, and has fixed me here for the winter; however I do not urge my unsettled situation during the summer as any excuse indolence, which I was ashamed of before I received your second letter, and have been angry with myself for it since; however, as often as you'll do me the pleasure, and a very sincere one it is I assure you, of letter me hear how you do, you may depend upon the utmost punctuality for the future, and I undertake very seriously to answer every letter you shall write me within a fortnight.
Teh ensuing winter may possibly produce many things to amaze you; it has opened with one that I am sure will; I mean Mr. Pitt's resignation, who delivered up the seals to the King last Monday. The reason commonly given for this extraordinary step is a resolution taken in Council contrary to Mr. Pitt's opinion, concerning our conduct towards the Spaniards, who, upon the breaking off of the negotiations with France and our sending Mr. Bussy away, have, it is said, made some declarations to our Court which Mr. Pitt was for having the King treat in a very different manner from ​that which the rest of the Cabinet advised; for they are said to have been all against Mr. Pitt's opinion, except Lord Temple. The effect of this resignation you'll easily imagine. It has opened all the mouths of all the news-presses in England, and, from our boasted unanimity and confidence in the Government, we seem to be falling apace into division and distrust; in the meantime Mr. Pitt seems to have entered, on this occasion, upon a new mode of resignation, at least for him, for he goes to Court, where he is much taken notice of by the King, and treated with great respect by every body else, and has said, according to common report, that he intends only to tell a plain story, which I suppose we are to have in the House of Commons. People, as you may imagine, are very impatient for his own account of a matter about which they know so little at present, and which puts public curiosity to the rack.
Fresh matter for patriots and politicians! Since writing the former part of this letter, I have been at the coffee-house, and bring you back verbatim, a very curious article of the Gazette. "St. James's, Oct. 9. The Right Hon. William Pitt having resigned the Seals into the King's hands, his Majesty was this day pleased to appoint the Earl of Egremont to be one of his principal Secretaries of State, and in consideration of the great and important services of the said Mr. Pitt, his Majesty has been graciously pleased to direct that a warrant be prepared for granting to the Lady Hester Pitt, his wife, a Barony of Great Britain, by the name, style and title of Baroness of Chatham to herself, and of Baron of Chatham to her heirs male; and also to confer upon the said William Pitt, Esq. an annuity of 3000l. sterling during his own life, that of Lady Hester Pitt, and that of their son John Pitt, Esq.!"
A report of this matter got about the day before, and most unfortunately all the newspapers contradicted it as a scandalous report, set on foot with a design to tarnish the lustre of a certain great character. This was the style of the morning and evening papers of Saturday, and of those who converse upon their authority; so that upon the coming in of the Gazette about ten o'clock at night, it was really diverting to see the effect it had upon most people's countenances at Dick's Coffee House, where I was; it occasioned a dead silence, and I think every body went away without giving their opinions of the matter, except Dr. Collier, who has always called Mr. Pitt all the rogues he can set his mouth on. It appears at present a most unaccountable proceeding in every part of it, for he seems to have forfeited his popularity, on which his consequence depended, for a consideration which he might have commanded at any time; and yet he does not make an absolute retreat, for in that case one should think he would have taken the peerage himself.
Lord Temple has resigned the Privy Seal, which is commonly said to be intended for Lord Hardwycke; some comfort to him for the loss of his wife, who died a few weeks ago. So that we seem to be left in the same hands out of which Mr. Pitt gloried in having delivered us; for, as you have probably heard before this time, Mr. Legge was removed from his place in the spring, for having refused to support any longer our German measures, as has been commonly said and not contradicted that I know of. Every body agrees that he was quite tired of his place, as is generally said on account of the coolness between him and Mr. Pitt, the old quarrel with the Duke of Newcastle, and some pique between him and Lord Bute on account of the Hampshire election. People were much diverted with the answer he is said to have made to the Duke of Newcastle when he went to demand the seal of his office. He compared his retirement to Elysium, and told the Duke he thought he might assure their common friends there, that they should not be long without the honour of his Grace's company; however, he seems to be out in his guess, for the Newcastle junto, strengthened by the Duke of Bedford, who has joined them, seems to be in all its glory again. This appeared in the Church promotions the other day, for Dr. Young was translated, the master of Bennet made a bishop, and Mr. York dean: however, as you will probably be glad of a more particular account of our Church promotions, I am to tell you that the scene opened soon after the King's accession with the promotion of Dr. Squire to the Bishoprick of St. David's, upon the death of Ellis. Some circumstances of this affair inclined people to think that the old ecclesiastical shop was quite shut up; for the Duke of Newcastle expressed great dissatisfaction at Squire's promotion, and even desired Bishop Young to tell every body that he had no hand in it. Young answered, that he need not give himself that trouble, for Dr. Squire had told every body so already, which is generally said to be very true: for he did not content himself with saying how much he was obliged to Lord Bute, but seemed to be afraid lest it should be thought he was obliged to any body else. What an excellent courtier! The next vacancy was made by Hoadly, upon which Thomas was translated from Salisbury to Winchester, Drummond from St. Asaph to Salisbury, Newcome from Llandaff to St. Asaph, and that exemplary divine Dr. Ewer made Bishop of Llandaff. These were hardly settled when Sherlock and Gilbert dropt almost together. Drummond has left Salisbury for York, Thomas is translated from Lincoln to Salisbury, Green made Bishop of Lincoln, and succeeded in his deanery by Mr. York: Hayter is translated from Norwich to London, Young from Bristol to Norwich, and Newton is made Bishop of Bristol; and I must not forget to tell you, that, among several new ​chaplains, Beadon is one. This leads me naturally to Lord Bute, who, though the professed favourite of the King, has hitherto escaped the popular clamour pretty well: the immense fortune that is come into his family by the death of old Wortley Montague has added much to his consequence, and made him be looked upon as more of an Englishman, at least they can no longer call him a poor Scot.
His wife was created a peeress of Great Britain at the same time that Mr. Spencer, Mr. Doddington, Sir Richard Grosvenor, Sir Nat. Curzen, Sir Thomas Robinson, and Sir William Irby were created peers. He has married his eldest daughter to Sir James Lowther and is himself, from being Groom of the Stole, become Secretary of State—Lord Holderness being removed with very little ceremony indeed, but with a pension, to make room for him. He and Mr. Pitt together have made good courtiers of the Tories; Lords Oxford, Litchfield, and Bruce, being supernumerary lords, and Norbonne Berkeley, Northey, and I think George Pitt, supernumerary Grooms of the Bedchamber. Sir Francis Dashwood is Treasurer of the Chamber, in the room of Charles Townshend, who was made Secretary at War upon Lord Barrington's succeeding Mr. Legge as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Lord Talbot, who is in high favour, is Steward of the Household, and with his usual spirit has executed a scheme of economy, which, though much laughed at at first, is now much commended. They made room for him upon Lord Bute's being made Secretary, at which time Lord Huntingdon was made Groom of the Stole, and succeeded as Master of the Horse by the Duke of Rutland, who was before Steward of the Household. Thus have I concluded this series of removals, which was first begun, after the old King's death, by Lord Bute's being Groom of the Stole in the room of Lord Rochford, who has a pension, and Lord Huntingdon's being made Master of the Horse instead of Lord Gower, who was made Master of the Wardrobe in the room of Sir Thomas Robinson, who has his peerage for a recompense; and written you a long letter, which may perhaps be no better for you upon the whole than an old newspaper. However, I was determined your curiosity should be no sufferer by my long silence if I could help it.
I must not conclude without saying something of our new Queen. She seems to me to behave with equal propriety and civility, though the common people are quite exasperated at her not being handsome, and the people at Court laugh at her courtesies. All our friends are well, and have had nothing happen to them that I know of which requires particular mention. Gisborne either has or will write to you very soon. Convince me, dear Robinson, by writing soon that you forgive my long silence, and believe me to be, with the sincerest regard for you and yours, your most affectionate friend {{right|G.Cruch.
Mrs. Wilson's, Lancaster Court, Oct$^r$. 12th. (Addressed) To The Ho$^d$ Mr. Will$^m$ Robinson Recomends a Messieurs Tierney & Merry a Naples. (Memorandum indorsed) Ring just rec$^d$ that of 22$^d$ Sept. 16th Oct$^r$. 1761.
* ↑ The name is not easy to be made out: but as far as it is determinable by comparison of hand-writing, it is "Cruch." The letter passed through the post-office.
* ↑ The part printed in italics was added by some other person than the writer of the letter.
Characters of Actors in Cibber's Apology.
Reverting to a Query in your Second Number, P. 29, your correspondent Dramaticus may rest assured that Colley Cibber's characters of actors and actresses (his contemporaries and immediate predecessors) first appeared in his Apology, 4to. 1740, and were transferred verbatim, as far as I have been able to consult them, to the subsequent editions of that very entertaining and excellent work. If Colley Cibber were not a first-rate dramatist, he was a first-rate critic upon performers; and I am disposed to place his abilities as a play-wright much higher than the usual estimate.
Probably the doubt of your correspondent arose from the fact, not hitherto at all noticed, that these characters no sooner made their appearance, than they were pirated, and the pirated work may have been taken for the original. It is a scarce tract, and bears the following title—The Theatrical Lives and Characters of the following celebrated Actors; and then follow sixteen names, beginning with Betterton, and ending with Mrs. Butler, and we are also told that A General History of the Stage during their time is included. The whole of this, with certain omissions, principally of classical quotations, is taken from Cibber's Apology, and it professed to be "Printed for J. Miller, in Fleet Street, and sold at the pamphlet shops," without date. The whole is nothing but an impudent plagiarism, and it is crowned and topped by a scrap purporting to be from Shakspeare, but merely the invention of the compiler. In truth, it is the only original morsel in the whole seventy pages. At the end of the character of Betterton, the following is subjoined, and it induces a Query, whether any such work, real or pretended, as regards Betterton, is in existence?
"N. B. The author of this work has, since he began it, had a very curious manuscript of Mr. Betterton's
communicated to him, containing the whole duty of a Player; interspersed with directions for young Actors, as to the management of the voice, carriage of the body, &c. &c., reckoned the best piece that has ever been wrote on the subject," p. 22.
This "best piece" on the subject is promised in the course of the volume, but it is not found in it. Did it appear anywhere else and in any other shape? As the Query of Dramaticus is now answered, perhaps he may be able to reply_to_this question from
T. J. L.
I should have sent this note sooner, had I not waited to see if any body else would answer the Query of Dramaticus, and perhaps afford some additional information.
Ancient Tapestry.
Sir,―I believe I can answer a Query in your Third Number, by N., respecting the whereabouts of a piece of ancient tapestry formerly in the possession of Mr. Yarnold, of Great St. Helen's, London, described, upon no satisfactory authority, as "the Plantagenet Tapestry." It is at present the property of Thos. Baylis, Esq., of Colby House, Kensington. A portion of it has been engraved as representing Richard III., &c.; but it is difficult to say what originated that opinion. The subject is a crowned female seated by a fountain, and apparently threatening two male personages with a rod or slight sceptre, which she has raised in her left hand, her arm being stayed by another female standing behind her. This has been said to represent Elizabeth of York driving out Richard III., which, I need scarcely say, she did not do. There are nineteen other figures, male and female, looking on or in conversation, all attired in the costume of the close of the 15th century, but without the least appearance of indicating any historical personage. It is probably an allegorical subject, such as we find in the tapestry of the same date under the gallery of Wolsey's Hall at Hampton Court, and in that of Nancy published by Mons. Jubinal.
I believe one of the seven pieces of "the siege of Troy," mentioned in Query, No. 3., or an eighth piece unmentioned, is now in the possession of Mr. Pratt, of Bond Street, who bought it of Mr. Yarnold's widow.
I may add that the tapestry in St. Mary's Hall, Coventry, contains, undoubtedly, representations of King Henry VI., Queen Margaret, and Cardinal Beaufort. It is engraved in Mr. Shaw's second volume of Dresses and Decorations; but the date therein assigned to it (before 1447) is erroneous, the costume being, like that in the tapestries above mentioned, of the very end of the 15th century. {{r|J. R. Planché. Brompton, Nov. 20. 1849.
[To this Note, so obligingly communicated by Mr. Planché, we may add, that the tapestry in question was exhibited to the Society of Antiquaries at their opening meeting on the 22nd ultimo.]
Travelling in England.
Mr. Editor,―Your No. 3. has just fallen into my hands, with the wonderful account of Schultz's journey of fifty miles in six hours, a hundred years ago. I am inclined to think the explanation consists in a misprint. The distances are given in figures, and not in words at length, if we may trust your correspondent's note on p. 35. May not a 1 have "dropped" before the 6, so that the true lection will be, "dass wir auf dem ganzen Wege kaum 16 Stunden gefahren sind"? This time corresponds with the time of return, on which he set out in the evening (at 8?) of one day and arrived at noon the next. It was also most likely that the spring carriages of fifteen years later date should go much faster than the old springless vehicles. Any one who has corrected proofs will appreciate the "dropping" of a single type, and may be ready to admit it on such circumstantial evidence.
I may remark that 1749 was still Old Style in England; but the German Schultz, in dating his expedition on Sunday, 10 Aug. 1749, has used the New Style, then prevalent in Germany. Sunday, 10 Aug. 1749, O.S., was on Thursday, 31 July, 1749, N.S. The York coach-bill cited on the same page is in O.S.
Is not "Stäts-Kutsche," in the same communication, a misprint?
A. J. E.
G. G. has perhaps a little overrated the import of the passage he quotes from Schultz's travels. "Dass wir kaum 6 Stunden gefahren sind"―even supposing there is no misprint of a 6 for an 8 or 9, which is quite possible―will not, I apprehend, bear the meaning he collects from the words, viz. that the journey occupied no more than six hours, or less even than so much.
In the first place, I believe it will be allowed by those familiar with German idioms, that the phrase kaum 6 Stunden, is not to be rendered as though it meant no more or less than 6; but rather thus: "but little more than 6;"―the "little more," in this indefinite form of expression, being a very uncertain quantity, it may be an hour or so.
Then he says merely that they "kaum 6 Stunden gefahren sind," which may mean that the time actually spent in motion did not exceed the number of hours indicated, whatever that may be; and not that the journey itself, "including stoppages," took up no more. Had he meant to say this, I imagine he would have used a totally different phrase: e.g. dass wir binnen kaum mehr als 6 Stunden nach London schön gekommen sind; or something like these words.
Making these allowances, the report is conceivably true, even of a period a century old, as regards the rate of day-travelling on the high road ​to Norwich, still at that time a place of much business with London. The second journey of the Pastor on the same road was, it seems, by night: but what is perhaps of more consequence to explain is the apparent difference between it and the other. It appears that in the second instance we are told when he arrived at his journey's end; in the former, nothing beyond the number of hours he was actually moving, may have been communicated to us.
V.
Mr. Editor,―I inclose copies of advertisements which appear in some old newspapers in my possession, and which in some degree illustrate the session, and which in some degree illustrate the history of travelling, and in themselves show, I imagine, the advance made between 1739 and 1767, since I consider that "The Old Constant Froom Flying Waggon," of the former date, was the parent of "The Frome Stage Machine" of the latter.
I notice in the Sherborne paper all public stage conveyances are designated as machines.
Copies of advertisements in The Daily Advertiser of the 9th April, 1739:―
"For Bath.
A good Coach and able Horses will set out from the Black Swan Inn, in Holborn, on Wednesday or Thursday.
Enquire of William Maud."
"Exeter Flying Stage Coach in Three Days, and Dorchester and Blandford in Two days.
Go from the Saracen's Head Inn, in Friday Street, London, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and from the New Inn, in Exeter, every Tuesday and Thursday, perform'd by
Joan Payne, John Sanderson, Thomas Bury.
Note.―Once a week there is an entire Dorchester and Blandford Coach from Dorchester on Mondays, and from London on Fridays.
The Stage begins Flying on Monday next, the 16th instant."
"The old standing constant Froom Flying Waggon in Three days
Sets out with Goods and Passengers from Froom for London, every Monday, by One o'clock in the morning, and will be at the King's Arms Inn, at Holborn Bridge, the Wednesday following by Twelve o'clock at Noon; from whence it will set out on Thursday morning, by One o'clock, for Amesbury, Shrewton, Chittern, Heytesbury, Warminster, Froom, and all other places adjacent, and will continue allowing each passenger fourteen pounds, and be at Froom, on Saturday by Twelve at noon.
If any Passengers have Occasion to go from either of the aforesaid Places they shall be supplied with able Horses and a Guide by Joseph Clavey; the Proprietor of the said Flying Waggon. The Waggon calls at the White Bear in Piccadilly coming in and going out.
Note.―Attendance is constantly given at the King's Arms, Holborn Bridge aforesaid, to take in Goods and Passengers' names; but no Money, Plate, Bank Notes, or Jewels will be insured unless delivered as such, perform'd by
Joseph Clavey.
N.B. His other Waggons keep their Stages as usual."
From Cruttwell's Sherborne, Shaftesbury, and Dorchester Journal, or Yeovil, Taunton, and Bridgewater Chronicle, of Friday, February 6th, 12th, and 20th, 1767.
"Taunton Flying Machine, Hung on Steel Springs, in Two Days.
Sets out from the Saracen's Head Inn in Friday Street, London, and Taunton, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, at Three o'clock in the morning; and returns every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, lays at the Antelope in Salisbury, going Up and Down: To carry Six inside Passengers, each to pay
| | £ | s. | d. |
| To Taunton | 1 | 16 | 0 |
| Ilminster | 1 | 14 | 0 |
| Yeovil | 1 | 8 | 0 |
| Sherborne | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Shaftesbury | 1 | 4 | 0 |
Outside Passengers and Children in the Lap, Half-Fare as above, each Inside Passenger allowed Fourteen Pounds Luggage; all above, to Taunton Two-pence per Pound, and so in Proportion to any Part of the Road.
No Money, Plate, Jewels, or Writings, will be accounted for if Lost, unless Entered as such, and Paid for accordingly.
Performed by John Whitemash. Thomas Liley."
From the same Paper of Friday, April 17th, 24th, and May 1st, 1767:―
"Frome, 1767.
The Proprietors of the FROME STAGE MACHINE,
In Order to make it more agreeable to their Friends in the West, have engaged to set out Post Chaises from the Christopher Inn, in Wells, every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday Evenings, at Five o'clock, to stop at the George Inn, at Shepton Mallet, and set out from thence at a Quarter past Six, to carry Passengers and Parcels to Frome, to be forwarded from thence to London in the One Day Flying Machine, which began on Sunday the 12th of April, 1767: Also a Chaise from Frome every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Evenings to Shepton and Wells, as soon as the Coach arrives from London, if any Passengers, &c. go down, at the following Prices:―from Wells to Frome Four Shillings, from Shepton Three Shillings, small Parcels from Wells to Frome 6d. each, from Shepton 4d., large ditto a Halfpenny per Pound from each place. All Passengers who intend taking the Advantage of this method of travelling, are desired to take their Places at the above Inns in Wells and Shepton as follows: viz. those who intend going on Sunday enter the Tuesday before their going, those who go on Tuesday enter the Thursday before, and for Thursday the Sunday before, that proper notice may be given at Frome to secure the places: If at any time
more than three Passengers an extra Chaise to be provided.
Fare to and from London £1 8s. Od. Trowbridge, £1 6s. Od. Devizes £1 2s. 6d. One half to be paid at Booking, the other at entering the machine. Inside allowed 10lb. wt., all above Three Half-pence per pound from Frome as usual. The Coach will set out from the Crown Inn in Frome, at Ten o'clock in the evening of every Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday; and from the Bull Inn in Holborne, London, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Evening, at the same Hour.―Books are kept, Places taken, and Parcels received, at the Christopher in Wells, the George in Shepton, the Crown in Frome, the Woolpack in Trowbridge, and the Bull in Holborne, London; calls going in and coming out, at the White Bear Inn, Piccadilly, and the new White Horse Cellar.
Perform'd by R. Messeter, at the Crown, at Thatcham, and J. Hitchcock, at the Catherine Wheel, Beckhampton.
"N. B. No Jewels, Plate, Money, Writings, or other things of Value, will be paid for if lost, unless enter'd as such, and paid for accordingly."
With regard to G. G.'s Query as to the time occupied in the journey of Schultz from Colchester to London, do not the circumstances sufficiently prove that by some means six must have been written for sixteen? Sixteen hours would give a rate of travelling nearer the average of those days, and was about the time occupied on the return to Colchester. For if we allow a due time after twelve for dinner, settling accounts, and going to the inn whence the "Stäts-Kutsche" started, and for partaking of the meal there provided, we shall very easily get to seven or eight in the evening; sixteen hours after that time would be "towards noon" in the following day.
A. D. M.
Prison Discipline and Execution of Justice.
Sir,―I am glad that you devote some part of your columns to the good work of bringing forward facts and anecdotes which, though not generally known, your readers individually may have happened to notice, and which illustrate the manners of our ancestors. I dare say few of your correspondents have met with the London Magazine for the year 1741. An imperfect copy fell into my hands when a lad; ever since which time I have been in a state of great wonderment at the story contained in the leaf which I enclose. I need hardly say that the italics are mine; and perhaps they are hardly necessary. Yours, &c.,
Beta.
"Tuesday, 21 [June].
"A very extraordinary Affair happen'd at the County Gaol in Hertford, where four Highwaymen, very stout lusty Fellows, viz. Theophilus Dean, Charles Cox (alias Bacon-Face), James Smith, and Luke Humphrys, lay under Sentence of Death, pass'd on them the last Assizes, and were intended to have been executed the following Day; Mr. Oxenton, the Gaoler, who keeps an Inn oppose to the Prison, went into the Gaol about four a Clock in the Morning, as was his Custom, attended by three Men, to see if all was safe, and, having lock'd the outward Door, sent one of his Men down to the Dungeon, where the four Felons had found means to disengage themselves from the Pillar and Chain to which they had been lock'd down, and one of them, viz. Bacon-Face, had got off both his Hand-Cuffs and Fetters; on opening the Door, they disabled the Man and all rush'd out; then coming up Stairs they met the Gaoler and his other two Men, of whom they demanded the Keys, threatening to murder them if their request was not immediately comply'd with: they then forced his men into the Yard beyond the Hatchway, and a Battle ensu'd, in which the Gaoler behav'd so manfully, tho' he had but one Man to assist him, that he maintain'd the Possession of his Keys till he was heard by his Wife, then in Bed, to call out for Assistance, who fortunately having another Key to the Gaol, ran to rescue him; the Fellows saw her coming and demanded her Key, threatening to murder her if she offer'd to assist her Husband: By this Time the Neighbourhood was alarm'd, and several Persons got to the Gaol Door, when Mrs. Oxenton, notwithstanding their Threats, at the utmost Hazard of her Life, open'd the same and caught hold of her Husband, who was almost spent, and, with the Assistance of some Persons, got him out and lock'd the Door without suffering the Fellows to escape: They continued cursing and swearing that they would murder the first Man that attempted to enter the Gaol. In the mean Time Robert Hadsley, Esq., High-Sheriff, who lives about a Mile from the Town, was sent for, and came immediately; he parley'd with them some Time to no Purpose, then order'd Fire-Arms to be brought, and, in case they would not submit, to shoot at them, which these Desperadoes refusing to do, they accordingly fired on them, and Theophilus Dean receiving a Shot in the Groin, dropt; then they surrender'd, and the Sheriff instantly caus'd Bacon-Face to be hang'd on the Arch of the Sign Iron belonging to the Gaoler's House, in the Sight of his Companions and great Numbers of People; the other three were directly put into a Cart and carried to the usual Place of Execution, and there hang'd before seven a Clock that Morning."―Lond. Mag. July, 1741, p. 360.
Satirical Medal of the Pretender.
I am well acquainted with the medal described by Mr. Nightingale, and can confirm his statement of the difficulties which numismatists have experienced in attempting to explain the circumstances alluded to by the lobster which is the badge of "the order of the pretended Prince of Wales," and upon which, on the other side of the medal, Father Petre is represented as riding with the young prince in his arms. Upon other medals also the Jesuit appears carrying the prince, who is decorated, or amusing himself, with a windmill. There is likewise a medal on which a Jesuit is represented concealed within a closet or altar, and ​raising or pushing up through the top the young prince to the view of the people, while Truth is opening the door and exposing the imposition. Similar representations of the Jesuit's interference occur upon caricatures and satirical prints executed in Holland. Upon one, entitled "Arlequin sur l'Hippogryphe, a la croisade Lojoliste," the lobster, on which the Jesuit is mounted, carries a book in each claw; the young prince's head is decorated with a windmill. All these intimate the influence of Father Petre upon the proceedings of James II, and of the Jesuits in general in the imposition, as was by many supposed, of the pretended prince. The imputation upon the legitimacy of the young child was occasioned in a great degree, and almost justified, by the pilgrimages and superstitious fooleries of his grandmother, increased by his mother's choosing St. Francis Xavier as one of her ecclesiastical patrons, and with her family attributing the birth of the prince to his miraculous interference. This may have provoked the opposers of popery to take every means of satirising the Jesuits; and the following circumstances related in the Life of Xavier probably suggested the idea of making the lobster one of the symbols of the superstitions and impositions of the Jesuits, and a means of discrediting the birth of the prince by ridiculing the community by whose impositions they asserted the fraud to have been contrived and executed.
The account is given by a Portuguese, called Fausto Rodriguez, who was a witness of the fact, has deposed it upon oath, and whose juridical testimony is in the process of the Saint's canonization.
"'We were at sea,' says Rodriguez, 'Father Francis, John Raposo, and myself, when there arose a tempest which alarmed all the mariners. Then the Father drew from his bosom a little crucifix, which he always carried about him, and leaning over deck, intended to have dipt it into the sea; but the crucifix dropt out of his hand, and was carried off by the waves. This loss very sensibly afflicted him, and he concealed not his sorrow from us. The next morning we landed on the Island of Baranura; from the time when the crucifix was lost, to that of our landing, it was near twenty-four hours, during which we were in perpetual danger. Being on shore, Father Francis and I walked along by the sea-side, towards the town of Tamalo, and had already walked about 500 paces, when both of us beheld, arising out of the sea, a crab fish, which carried betwixt his claws the same crucifix raised on high. I saw the crab fish come directly to the Father, by whose side I was, and stopped before him. The Father, falling on his knees, took his crucifix, after which the crabfish returned into the sea. But the Father still continuing in the same humble posture, hugging and kissing the crucifix, was half an hour praying with his hands across his breast, and myself joining with him in thanksgiving to God for so evident a miracle; after which we arose and continued on our way.' Thus you have the relation of Rodriguez."―Dryden's Life of St. Francis Xavier, book iii.
Edw. Hawkins.
John Aubrey.
As the biographer and editor of that amiable and zealous antiquary John Aubrey, I noticed with peculiar interest the statement of your correspondent, that the date of your first publication coincided with the anniversary of his birthday; but, unhappily, the coincidence is imaginary. Your correspondent has, on that point, adopted a careless reading of the first chapter of Aubrey's Miscellanies, whereby the 3rd of November, the birthday of the Duke of York, afterwards James the Second, has been frequently stated as that of the antiquary himself. See my Memoir of Aubrey, 4to. 1845, p. 123. In the same volume, p. 13., will be found an engraving of the horoscope of his nativity, from a sketch in his own hand. So far as his authority is of any value, that curious sketch proves incontestably that "the Native" was born at 14 minutes and 49 seconds past 17 o'clock (astronomical time) on the 11th of March, 1625-6; that is, at 14 minutes and 49 seconds past 5 o'clock A.M. on the 12th of March, instead of the 3rd of November.
Few things can be more mortifying to a biographer, or an antiquary, than the perpetuation of an error which he has successfully laboured to correct. It is an evil, however, to which he is often subjected, and which your valuable publication will go far to remedy. In the present case it is, doubtless, to be ascribed to the peculiar nature of my Memoir of Aubrey, of which but a limited number of copies were printed for the Wiltshire Topographical Society. The time and labour which I bestowed upon the work, the interesting character of its contents, and the approbation of able and impartial public critics, justify me in saying that it deserves a far more extensive circulation.
After this allusion to John Aubrey, I think I cannot better evince my sympathy with your exertions than by requesting the insertion of a Query respecting one of his manuscripts. I allude to his Monumenta Britannica, in four folio volumes―a dissertation on Avebury, Stonehenge, and other stone circles, barrows, and similar Druidical monuments―which has disappeared within the last thirty years. Fortunately a large portion of its contents has been preserved, in extracts made by Mr. Hutchins, the historian of Dorsetshire, and by the late Sir Richard Colt Hoare, Bart.; but the manuscript certainly contained much more of great local interest, and some matters which were worthy of publication. In the Memoir already mentioned, p. 87., the history of the manuscript down to the time of its disappear- ​ance is fully traced. Referring such of your readers as may feel interested in the subject to that volume, and reserving for future numbers a long list of other interesting Queries which are now before me, it will gratify me to obtain, through your medium, any information respecting the MS. referred to. I remain, Sir, yours truly,
John Britton.
[Our modesty has compelled us to omit from this letter a warm eulogium on our undertaking, well as we know the value of Mr. Britton's testimony to our usefulness, and much as we esteem it.]
Inedited Song by Sir John Suckling.
I do not remember to have seen the following verses in print or even in MS. before I accidentally met with them in a small quarto MS. Collection of English Poetry, in the hand-writing of the time of Charles I. They are much in Suckling's manner; and in the MS. are described as—
Sir John Suckling's Verses.
A. D.
White Gloves at a Maiden Assize.
The practice of giving white gloves to judges at maiden assizes is one of the few relics of that symbolism so observable in the early laws of this as of all other countries; and its origin is doubtless to be found in the fact of the hand being, in the early Germanic law, a symbol of power. By the hand property was delivered over or reclaimed, hand joined in hand to strike a bargain and to celebrate espousals, &c. That this symbolism should sometimes be transferred from the hand to the glove (the hand-schuh of the Germans) is but natural, and it is in this transfer that we shall find the origin of the white gloves in question. At a maiden assize no criminal has been called upon to plead, or, to use the words of Blackstone, "called upon by name to hold up his hand;" in short, no guilty hand has been held up, and, therefore, after the rising of the court our judges (instead of receiving, as they did in Germany, an entertainment at which the bread, the glasses, the food, the linen—every thing, in short—was white) have been accustomed to receive a pair of white gloves. The Spaniards have a proverb, "white hands never offend;" but in their gallantry they use it only in reference to the softer sex; the Teutonic races, however, would seem to have embodied the idea, and to have extended its application.
William J. Thoms.
A Limb of the Law, to a portion of whose Query, in No. 2. (p. 29.), the above is intended as a reply, may consult, on the symbolism of the Hand and Glove, Grimm Deutsches Rechtsaltherthümer, pp. 137. and 152., and on the symbolical use of white in judicial proceedings, and the after feastings consequent thereon, pp. 137. 381. and 869. of the same learned work.
[On this subject we have received a communication from F. G. S., referring to Brand's Popular Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 79., ed. 1841, for a passage from Fuller's Mixed Contemplations, London, 1660, which proves the existence of the practice at that time; and to another in Clavell's Recantation of an Ill-led Life, London, 1634, to show that prisoners, who received pardon after condemnation, were accustomed to present gloves to the judges:—
Mr. Editor,—"Anciently it was prohibited the Judges to wear gloves on the bench; and at present in the stables of most princes it is not safe going in without pulling off the gloves."—Chambers' Cyclopædia, A.D. MDCCXLI.
Was the presentation of the gloves a sign that the Judge was not required to sit upon the Bench—their colour significant that there would be no occasion for capital punishment? Embroidered gloves were introduced about the year 1580 into England.
Or were gloves proscribed as the remembrances of the gauntlet cast down as a challenge? "This is the form of a trial by battle; a trial which the tenant or defendant in a writ of right has it in his election at this day to demand, and which was the only decision of such writ of right after the Conquest, till Henry II., by consent of Parliament, introduced the Grand Assise, a peculiar species of trial by jury."—Blackstone, Commentaries, ​vol. iii. p. 340. Perhaps after all it was only an allusion to the white hand of Justice, as seems probable from the expression Maiden-Assize.
Yours, &c.
M. W.
Nov. 17. 1849.
P.S. Perhaps the "Lady-bird" in Suffolk derives its episcopal title, alluded to by Legour, from appearing in June, in which month falls the Festival of St. Barnabas.
Adversaria.
Don Quixote.
Sir, Have the following contradictions in Cervantes' account of Sancho's ass "Dapple" ever been noticed or accounted for?
In Don Quixote, Part. I. chap. 23., we find Dapple's abduction at night by Gines de Passamonte; only a few lines afterwards, lo! Sancho is seated on her back, sideways, like a woman, eating his breakfast. In spite of which, chap. 25. proves that she is still missing. Sancho tacitly admits the fact, by invoking "blessings on the head of the man who had saved him the trouble of unharnessing her." Chap. 30. contains her rescue from Passamonte.
Malanion.
Doctor Dove, of Doncaster.
The names of "Doctor Dove, of Doncaster," and his steed "Nobbs," must be familiar to all the admirers, in another word, to all the readers, of Southey's Doctor.
Many years ago there was published at Canterbury a periodical work called The Kentish Register. In the No. for September, 1793, there is a ludicrous letter, signed "Agricola," addressed to Sir John Sinclair, then President of the Royal Agricultural Society; and in that letter there is frequent mention made of "Doctor Dobbs, of Doncaster, and his horse Nobbs." This coincidence appears to be too remarkable to have been merely accidental; and it seems probable that, in the course of his multifarious reading, Southey had met with the work in question, had been struck with the comical absurdity of these names, and had unconsciously retained them in his memory.
P. C. S. S.
Inscription on Ancient Church Plate.
Mr. Editor,—Herewith I have the pleasure of sending you a tracing of the legend round a representation of St. Christopher, in a latten dish belonging to a friend of mine, and apparently very similar to the alms-basins described by Clericus in No. 3.
The upper line—"In Frid gichwart der," written from right to left, is no doubt to be read thus: Derin Frid gichwart. The lower line contains the same words transposed, with the variation of "gehwart" for "gichwart." The words "gehwart" and "gichwart" being no doubt blunders of an illiterate artist.
In Modern German the lines would be:—
In allusion, perhaps, to the eucharist or alms, to hold one or the other of which the dish seems to have been intended.
þ.
Anecdotes of Books.
MS. of English Gesta Romanorum.
Your work, which has so promising a commencement, may be regarded as, in one department, a depository of anecdotes of books. Under this head I should be disposed to place Notes of former possessors of curious or important volumes: and, as a contribution of this kind, I transmit a Note on the former possessors of the MS. of the Gesta Romanorum in English, which was presented to the British Museum in 1832, by the Rev. W. D. Conybeare, now Dean of Llandaff, and has been printed at the expense of a member of the Roxburgh Club. It is No. 9066 of the MSS. called Additional.
Looking at it some years ago, when I had some slight intention of attacking the various MSS. of the Gesta in the Museum, I observed the names of Gervase Lee and Edward Lee, written on a flyleaf, in the way in which persons usually inscribe their names in books belonging to them; and it immediately occurred to me that these could be no other Lees than members of the family of Lee of Southwell, in Nottinghamshire, who claimed to descend from a kinsman of Edward Lee, who was Archbishop of York in the reign of Henry VIII., and who is so unmercifully handled by Erasmus. The name of Gervase was much used by this family of Lee, and as there was in it an Edward Lee who had curious books in the time of Charles II., about whose reign the name appears to have been written, there can, I think, be little reasonable doubt that this most curious MS. formed a part of his library, and of his grandfather or father, Gervase Lee, before him.
Edward Lee, who seems to have been the last of the name who lived in the neighbourhood of Southwell, died on the 23rd of April, 1712, aged 76.
That he possessed rare books I collect from this: that the author of Grammatica Reformata, 12mo. 1683, namely John Twells, Master of the Free School at Newark, says, in his preface, that he owed the opportunity of perusing Matthew of Westminster "to the kindness of that learned patron of learning, Edward Lee, of Norwell, Esquire."
And now, having given you a Note, I will add ​a Query, and ask, Can any one inform me what became of this library, or who were the representatives and heirs of Edward Lee, through whom this MS. may have passed to Mr. Conybeare, or give me any further particulars respecting this Edward Lee?
A person who asks a question in such a publication as yours ought to endeavour to answer one. I add therefore that Mr. Thorpe—no mean authority on such a point—in his Catalogue for 1834, No. 1234, says that E. F. in the title-page of The Life of King Edward II., represents "E. Falkland:" but he does not tell us who E. Falkland was, and it is questionable whether there was any person so named living at the time when the book in question was written. There was no Edward Lord Falkland before the reign of William III. Also, in answer to Dr. Maitland's Query respecting the fate of Bindley's copy of Borde's Dyetary of Health, 1567, in a priced copy of the Catalogue now before me, the name of Rodd stands as the purchaser for eleven shillings.
Joseph Hunter.
Nov. 26. 1849.
Queries Answered, No. 3.
A Flemish Account, &c.
The readiness with which we adopt a current saying, though unaware of its source, and therefore somewhat uncertain as to the proper mode of applying it, is curiously exemplified by the outstanding query on the origin and primary signification of the phrase A Flemish account.
I have consulted, in search of it, dictionaries of various dates, the glossaries of our dramatic annotators, and the best collections of proverbs and proverbial sayings—but without success.
The saying casts no reproach on the Flemings. It always means, I believe, that the sum to be received turns out less than had been expected. It is a commercial joke, and admits of explanation by reference to the early commercial transactions between the English and the Flemings.
I rely on the authority of The merchants mappe of commerce, by Lewes Roberts, London, 1638, folio, chap. 179:—
In Antwerp, which gave rule in trade to most other cities, the accounts were kept in livres, sols, and deniers; which they termed pounds, shillings, and pence of grosses. Now the livre was equal only to twelve shillings sterling, so that while the Antwerp merchant stated a balance of 1l. 13s. 4d., the London merchant would receive only 1l.—which he might fairly call A Flemish account!
The same instructive author furnishes me with a passage in illustration of a recent question on the three golden balls, which seem to require additional research. It occurs in chap. 181:—
"This citie [Bruges] hath an eminent market place, with a publicke house for the meeting of all marchants, at noone and evening: which house was called the Burse, of the houses of the extinct familie Bursa, bearing three purses for their armes, ingraven upon their houses, from whence these meeting places to this day are called Burses in many countries, which in London wee know by the name of the Royall Exchange, and of Britaines Burse."
Bolton Corney.
I think it probable that the expression "Flemish Account" may have been derived from the fact that the Flemish ell measures only three quarters of our yard, while the English ell measures five quarters, and that thence the epithet Flemish was adopted as denoting something deficient.
Q. Q.
When commerce was young, the Flemings were the great merchants of Western Europe; but these worthies were notorious, when furnishing their accounts current, for always having the balance at the right side (for themselves), and hence arose the term. I am not at this moment able to say where this information is to be had, but have met it somewhere.
Junior.
I wonder that some better scholar than myself should not have explained the phrase "Flemish account;" but though I cannot quote authority for the precise expression, I may show whence it is derived. To flem, in old Scotch (and in old English too, I believe), is to "run away;" in modern slang, to "make oneself scarce," "to levant." Flemen is an outcast, an outlaw. It is easy to understand the application of the word to accounts. Your querist should consult some of the old dictionaries.
Scotus.
There is an old story that a Count of Flanders once gave an entertainment to some Flemish merchants, but that the seats on which they sat were without cushions. These "princes of the earth" thereupon folded up their costly velvet cloaks, and used them accordingly. When reminded, on their departure, of having left their cloaks behind, they replied, that when asked to a feast they were not in the habit of carrying away with them the chair cushions. Could this have originated the expression "Flemish account?" In this case the proud merchants gave such an account of a valuable article in their possession, as made it out to be quite worthless to the owner.
Musafir.
Answers to Minor Queries.
Richard Greene, Apothecary.
Mr. Richard Green, the subject of H. T. E.'s Query (No. 3. p. 43.), was an apothecary at Lichfield, and related to Dr. Johnson. He had a considerable collection of antiquities, &c., called "Green's Museum," which was sold, after his death, for a thousand pounds. See Boswell's Johnson, Croker's edition, vol. v. p. 194.
Form of Petition.
Sir,—In reply to B. in your third number, who requests information as to the meaning of the "&c." at the foot of a petition, I fear I must say, that at the present day, it means nothing at all. In former times it had a meaning. I send you a few instances from the Chancery Records of the year 1611. These petitions to Sir E. Phillips or Phelips, M. R., end thus:—
"And he and his wife and six children shall dailie praie for your Worship's health and happines!
"And shee shall accordinge to her bounden duetie pray for your good Worship in health and happinesse longe to continewe!
"And both your said supliants and their children shal be bound dailie to praie for your Worship's health and happines with increase of honour!"
These instances are taken at random from amongst many others, The formula, slightly varied, is the same in all. The modern form was, however, even at that early date, creeping in, for I see a petition to L. C. Ellesmere, of the same year, has
"And he shall dailie praie, &c."
This will probably suffice to answer B.'s Query.
Cecil Monro.
Registrar's Office, Court of Chancery, Nov. 20. 1849.
Greene of Greensnorton.
Sir Thomas Greene, of Greensnorton, Co. Northampton, Knt. died 30 Nov. 1506-22 Hen. VII. By Jane, daughter of Sir John Fogge, Knt., he left issue two daughters and coheirs:
Ann, the eldest, æt. 17, at her father's death, was wife of Nicholas Vaux, Lord Vaux, of Harrowden, who died in 1556, now represented by George Mostyn, Baron Vaux, and Robert Henry, Earl of Pembroke, and Edward Bourchier Hartopp, Esq.
Matilda, the youngest, was aged 14 at her father's death, and married Sir Thomas Parr, by whom she had William Marquess of Northampton (who died s.p. 1571); Anne, wife of William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke (now represented by Robert Henry, Earl of Pembroke); and Catherine, Queen Consort of King Henry VIII. The assumption of arms, by Richard Green, the Apothecary, in 1770, will afford no ground for presuming his descent from the Greensnorton family.
G.
Cottle's Life of Coleridge, when reviewed in the Times.
The Times review of Joseph Cottle's Remisniscences of Coleridge and Southey, appeared Nov. 3. 1847; and on the following day, Mr. Thomas Holcroft complained by letter of a misrepresentation of his father by Mr. Cottle.
Times, Herald, Chronicle, &c., when first established.
We are enabled, by the courtesy of several correspondents, to furnish some reply to the Query of D. (No. 1. p. 7.)
The Times first appeared under that title on the 1st January, 1788, but bore the Number 941, it being a continuation, under a new name, of the Universal Register, of which 940 numbers had been published.—The Morning Chronicle must have commenced in 1769, as a correspondent, F. B., writes to tell us that he possesses No. 242. dated Monday, 12th March, 1770. See further Nichol's Literary Anecdotes, i. 303.; and for Morning Advertiser, established in 1794, the same volume, p. 290. Another correspondent writes:—During 1849 the Morning Chronicle has completed its 81st year; next in seniority stands the Morning Post, at 77; and the Morning Herald, at 65. The Times in the numbering of its days, is in its 64th year, but has not really reached its grand climacteric, for its three years of infancy passed under the name of The Universal Register, it having only received its present appellation in the opening of 1788. The Morning Advertiser is wearing away its 54th year.
The Public Ledger, commenced in 1759, or 1760, is however, the oldest Daily Paper.
Dorne the Bookseller—Henno Rusticus, etc.
Sir,—In answer to W. in page 12. of No. 1., I beg to suggest that Dormer, written Dōmř in the MS.—a common abbreviation—may be the name of the Oxford bookseller, and Henno Rusticus may be Homo rusticus, "the country gentleman." The hand-writing of this MS. is so small and illegible in some places, that it requires an Œdipus to decipher it; and the public will have much reason to thank those lynx-eyed antiquaries who have taken great pains to render it intelligible. "The Sige of the End," is of course properly explained to be "the Signe of the End."
J. I.
Sanuto's Doges of Venice.
Sir,—The high value of your Journal as a repertory of interesting literary information, which without it might be lost to the world, is becoming daily more apparent from the number and character of your correspondents. You have my best wishes for its success.
The communication of Sir Frederick Madden respecting the singular and obvious error in Marin Sanuto's Lives of the Doges of Venice, has renewed in me a desire for information which I have hitherto been unable to obtain; and I will, therefore, with your permission, put it here as a Query.
Who was the foreigner who gave to the world the very interesting book respecting Sanuto under the following title?—Ragguagli sulla Vita e sulle Opere di Marin Sanuto, &c. Intitolati dall' amicizia di ​uno Straniere al nobile Jacopo Vicenzo Foscarini.—Opera divise in trè parti, Venezia, 1837-8. in 8vo.
The able writer has noticed the very mutilated and incorrect manner in which Muratori has printed all that he has given of Sanuto, and especially Le Vite de' Dogi, of which the original copy still remains inedited in the Estensian Library at Modena. There can be no doubt that some ignorant or indolent transcriber made the mistake of iudeo for richo, so satisfactorily and happily elucidated by Sir Frederick Madden. How much it is to be regretted that the Diary of Sanuto, so remarkable for its simplicity and ingenuous truthful air, should still remain inedited. It relates to an epoch among the most interesting of Modern History, and the extracts given in the Ragguagli only make us wish for more.
From this Diary it appears that the Valori were among the most distinguished citizens of a state which could boast that its merchants were princes. The palace they inhabited is now known by the name of the Altoviti, its more recent owners, and many of the tombs of the Valori are to be found in the church of St. Proculus. Macchiavelli mentions Bartolomeo Valori among the Cittadini d' autorità, and, according to Nardi, he was Gonfaloniere in the first two months of the years 1402, 1408, and 1420. He was also one of the Platonic Academy that Ficino assembled around him. In this Diary of Sanuto will be found many minute and interesting details respecting Savonarola, and the relation of the tragical death of Francisco Valori, who had also been several times Gonfaloniere, and whom Savonarola, in his confession, said it was his intention to have made perpetual Dictator.
I would have given a specimen of this very interesting diary, but that I scrupled to occupy space which your correspondents enable you to fill so effectively, for I fully subscribe to the dictum of the Ragguagliatore, "Il Sanuto si presenta come lo Scott degli Storici, compiacendosi come Sir Walter delle giostre, delle feste, e delle narrazioni piacevole e di dolce pietà.
S. W. S.
Mickleham, Nov. 23. 1849.
Mss. of Roger Twysden.
Sir,—An answer to the following "Query" would be most interesting to myself, and, perhaps, not altogether without its value to the literary world.
Among Sir Roger Twysden's MSS. I have a letter from him to his son at Oxford, requesting his intercession with the University for the loan of the MS. of Walter Mapes "de nugis curialium," in order that he might prepare it for publication. He instances the liberality of the Archbishop of Canterbury in having lent him from Lambeth the Epistles of Anselm and Becket; and adds, that, by being permitted to retain these MSS. in his hands for some years, he had now prepared them for the press.
I cannot learn that they were ever printed, and among the voluminous MS. remains of Sir Roger now in my hands, I cannot find the smallest trace of them. Can any of your readers inform me what became of this collection, which, by Sir Roger's statement, was finished and completely ready for the press?
To this "Query" I may as well add a "Note," which may be interesting to some of your readers.
In Sir Roger's MS. Journal of his persecutions by the Parliament, he states:
"It is sayd King Charles subscribed the byll for taking away the votes of Bishops, in y$^t$ very house where Christian religion was first preached,—viz. S$^t$. Augustines by Canterbury."
Lambert B. Larking.
Ryarsh Vicarage, Nov. 17.
Minor Queries.
Honnore Pelle.
Who was "Honnore Pelle, 1684"? My reason for asking this is, I have a marble bust of Charles II. of colossal size, most splendidly sculptured, with the long curling hair and full court dress of the period, and the execution and workmanship of which would do honour to any sculptor of the past or present time. On the stump of the arm are the name and date which I have given above, and I have in vain looked into biographical works.
W. L.
Bust of Sir Walter Raleigh.
Is there an authentic bust of Sir Walter Raleigh in existence? and if so, where is it to be found?
J. B.
Motto of University of Cambridge.
From what author, "chapter and verse," comes the motto of the University of Cambridge, Hunc lucem et Pocula Sacra? It is used as a quotation in Leighton on St. Peter's Epistle, but in the last edition the learned editor does not give a reference.
J. J. S.
Family of Giles of Worcestershire.
Can you tell me any thing of a family named "Giles," whose crest was a horse's head? They were connected with Worcestershire.
Passage from an Old Play.
Can any of your many readers oblige me by informing me where the following very striking passage can be found? I have seen the lines quoted as from an "Old Play;" but a tolerably extensive knowledge of old plays, and a diligent ​search, have not hitherto enabled me to find them:—
C. A. H.
Athenæum Club, Nov. 17. 1849.
Dalton's Doubting's Downfall.
About thirty years ago the following appeared in Lackington and Co.'s book catalogue: "Dalton (Edward) Doubting's Downfall, 1s. 6d." Application was made, when other books were ordered, three several times; in each case the answer was "sold." Since that date inquiries have been instituted from time to time, in the usual quarters, but always unsuccessfully. No clue can be given as to the size or date, but from the quaintness of the title it is presumed to be about the period of the Commonwealth.
Should any of your readers procure this work, the liberal price of 20s. if a book, or 10s. if a pamphlet, will be paid for it through your medium, by
E.
Authors of Old Plays.
Query the authors of the following plays?—
1. The Tragedy of Nero newly written. London: printed by Aug. Mathewes for Thomas Jones, and are to be sold at his shoppe in Saint Dunstane's Churchyard in Fleete Street. 1633.
2. Sicily and Naples, or the Fatall Vnion, a Tragedy. By S H. A B è C. Ex. Oxford: printed by William Turner, 1640.
3. Emilia. London printed for the author, 1672.
4. Sir Gyles Goose-Cappe Knight, a comedy lately acted with great applause at the private House in Salisbury Court. London: printed for Hugh Perry, and are to be sold by Roger Ball, at the Golden Anchor in the Strand, neere Temple Barre, 1636.
I have given the title-pages in full, omitting a Latin motto which adorns the title-page of the M.A. of Exeter College.
Q. D.
Periwinkle—a Mocking Emblem.
Can any of your readers, learned in the language of flowers, inform me why, when Sir W. Fraser (the last of Wallace's adherents) was led in triumph through the streets of London, with his legs tied under his horse's belly—a garland of Periwinkle was in mockery placed upon his head?" See Tytler's History of Scotland, cap. 3.
Melanion.
Wives of Ecclesiastics.
Sir,—In looking over some ancient charters a few days ago, I met with one dated 22 Edw. III., by which "Willielmus de Bolton clericus et Goditha uxor ejus," release a claim to certain lands. If William de Bolton was an ecclesiastic, as I suppose, how is it that his wife is openly mentioned?
I shall be much obliged to any of your readers for an explanation.
A Subscriber.
Whelps.
Sir,—In Howell's Letters, Sect. 5. p. 9. the following words occur:—
"At the return of this fleet two of the Whelps were cast away, and three ships more."
I should feel obliged to any of your correspondents who might be able to favour me with an explanation of the word Whelps in this passage.
J. J.
Notes on Books, Catalogues, Sales, etc.
J. J. S. informs us, with reference to a Note in No. 2. (p. 21.), "that an account of Anglesey Abbey, in Cambridgeshire, is ready, and will be published ere long."
Our attention has been directed to the Prospectus of a series of "Cottage Prints from Sacred Subjects, intended chiefly for distribution among the poor," which will be so produced as to form a set of illustrations to the Bible; "although it is chiefly contemplated that the Prints, protected by a small frame, should find their way into the homes of the poor, and decorate their walls." The Editors, the Rev. H. J. Rose and Rev. J. W. Burgon, well observe: "We shall in vain preach reverence to the ear on Sundays, if the eyes may be familiarised with what is irreverent for the six days following. On the other hand, we shall surely be supplying ourselves with a powerful aid, if we may direct the eye to forms of purity and beauty; and accustom our village children, (who are now our hope,) from infancy, to look daily on what is holy, and pure, and good."—Subscribers of one guinea in advance are promised, in the course of the year, at least fifty such engravings as the four which accompany the Prospectus.
Messrs. Puttick and Simpson commenced on Thursday a nine days' Sale of the "Curious, rare, and valuable Library of a well-known Collector, deceased;" also another Collection, including—
Theology; Spanish, English, and other Chronicles: Specimens of the Early Typography of English_and Foreign Printers; a very complete Series of the Productions of the Family of Aldus; rare editions of the Classics; numerous interesting and important Spanish Books; a very extensive Collection of Works relating
to the Discovery, History, Natural History, Language, Literature, and Government of America and its Dependencies, Mexico, the East and West Indies, &c.! Voyages, Travels, and Itineraries: Fine Books of Prints; Botanical Works; Natural History and Philosophy; Works containing Specimens of Early Engraving, Wood-cuts, and Emblems; a most interesting Collection of English Poetry, Plays, and Works illustrative of the History and Progress of the English Language and Literature, including a perfectly unique Collection of the Works of Daniel De Foe; several hundred rare Tracts, particularly an extensive Series relating to Charles I. and his Contemporaries, others of a Local and Personal Character, Biographies, rare Histories of remarkable Characters, Facetiæ, and an unusually large assemblage of curious and rare Articles in almost every Class of Literature; a few MSS. &c.
Among the Lots deserving attention in the course of the coming week, are Nos. 1323 to 1375, a large collection of publications relative to America; Nos. 1612 to 1620, relating to Canada.
1574 Barros (Joan, de) Decades da Asia. Decada 1, 2., Lisboa, 1552-53; Decada 3., ib. 1563; Decada 4., Madrid, 1615; Couto, Decada 4, 5, 6., Lisboa, 1602-16; Decada 8, 9, 10. ib. 1736—together 8 vols. morocco
Nearly all the copies of the 6th Decade were destroyed by fire, and the few that are to be met with are generally, if not always, deficient in some leaves. The title-page to this copy (as in Mr. Grenville's) is supplied by the title to the 4th Decade, and a few leaves are wanting. For the rarity of this work, see Bibliotheca Grenvilliana, vol. i. p. 60.
And, lastly, Lot 1701; which contains a matchless series, in 154 vols., of the Works of Daniel De Foe, whom Coleridge was inclined to rank higher than Addison for his humour and as a writer of racy vigorous English.
The Lot is thus described:—
"This matchless Series of the Works of this distinguished Author was formed with unwearied diligence by his Biographer, the late Mr. Walter Wilson, during the greater portion of his life.
"The numbers to 208 refer to the Catalogue of the Works as published in his Life of Defoe, 3 vols. 1830; those following have been discovered by Mr. Wilson since the period of that publication. This Collection is rendered still further complete by the addition of upwards of forty pieces by a recent possessor. The extreme difficulty of forming such a collection as the present is very apparent when we compare its voluminous contents with those very few collections which, during the last fifty years, have on the dispersion of celebrated libraries occurred for sale."
WE have this week received a most important and valuable
{{fine block| "Catalogue of Bibles and Biblical Literature, containing the best works, ancient and modern, on the Criticism, Interpretation, and Illustration of Holy Scripture, and including such of the Fathers and Ecclesiastical Writers as have treated on these subjects, classified with Analytical Table of Contents and Alphabetical Indexes of Subjects and Authors, &c. on Sale, by C. J. Stewart, 11. King William St., West Strand.
Mr. Stewart explains that in addition to what are "strictly regarded as Biblical, there will be found in it the works of those Fathers, Medieval and more recent Writers, who treat upon subjects connected with Scripture, each accompanied with an enumeration of such portions of his works; and under heads (more especially extensive under commentators) references are given to these writers, so as to afford a condensed view of authorities or sources of information." Mr. Stewart states also that he has other Catalogues in preparation,—we presume in continuation of the present one, and exhibiting the same system of arrangement,—and, if so, we feel that the series will be of the greatest value to all theological students.
Collectors of Autographs and Engraved Portraits will thank us for directing their attention to a
"Catalogue of Books, Prints, Manuscripts, and Autograph Letters; being a part of the Stock of Horatio Rodd, brother and successor to the late Thomas Rodd, No. 23. Little Newport Street,"
in which they will find many interesting Autographs and curious Portraits.
We have also received
"A List of Secondhand Books on Sale by George Honnor, 304. Strand;" and
"A Catalogue of Books, Ancient and Modern, on Sale, by W. Pedder, 12, Holywell St. Part VI. 1849."
BOOKS AND ODD VOLUMES
WANTED TO PURCHASE.
* The Women's Petition against Coffee. 8vo. 1674.
* Job's Lamentation for his Children. 1750
* Harrod's Sevenoake, a Poem. 4to. 1753.
* Burney's Treatise on Music (not his History).
* Gray's Elegy (Professor Young of Glasgow's Criticism of).
* Life of Hon. Robert Price, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, London, 1734.
* Flores Bernardi.
* Regnorum Provinciarum Civitatumque Nomina Latina (Coronelli, potius Alphonsus Lasor a Varea). Fol. 2 Vols. Venet. 1716. Or the 2nd Vol. only.
* Budden's Discourse for Parents' Honour and Authoritie. 8vo, 1616.
* The Two Wolves in Lamb's Skins, or Old Eli's Lamentation over his Two Sons. 8vo. 1716.
* Averell's Four notable Histories, etc. 4to 1590.
* Nature, a Poem. Folio. 1736.
* Barnefield's Plowman's Complaint. 4to. 1580.
* Gill's Instructions for Children, in Verse. 1709.
* Jermin's Father's Institution of his Child. 1658
* Southey's Cowper. Vols. X. XII. XIII. XIV.
* Cairn's Edition of Goldsmith's Miscellaneous Works. Edinburgh. 1801. Vol. III.
* Cooper's (C. P.) Account of the most important Public Records. 8vo. 1832.—The First Volume of.
* Livy.—Vol. I. of Crevier's Edition. 6 vols. 4to. Paris. 1739.
* Ogilby's Britannia. Folio. 1675. Vol. II.
* Swift's Works.
* Adams' Moral Tales. London.
* Autobiography of Dr. Johnson. Published in 1805.
Notices to Correspondents.
The matter is so generally understood with regard to the management of periodical works, that it is hardly necessary for the Editor to say that he cannot undertake to return manuscripts; but on one point he wishes to offer a few words of explanation to his correspondents in general, and particularly to those who do not enable him to communicate with them except in print. They will see, on a very little reflection, that it is plainly his interest to take all he can get, and make the most and the best of everything; and therefore he begs them to take for granted that their communications are received, and appreciated, even if the succeeding Number bears no proof of it. He is convinced that the want of specific acknowledgment will only be felt by those who have no idea of the labour and difficulty attendant on the hurried management of such a work, and of the impossibility of sometimes giving an explanation, when there really is one which would quite satisfy the writer, for the delay or non-insertion of his communication. Correspondents in such cases have no reason, and if they understood an editor's position they would feel that they have no right, to consider themselves undervalued; but nothing short of personal experience in editorship would explain to them the perplexities and evil consequences arising from an opposite course.
Communications received.—J. W. M.—Anglo-Cambrian—J. A. G.—J. F. M.—J. Britton.—T. W.—J. S.—F. E. M.—A. G.—W. Williams—W. Figg.—L. * * B.—E. V.—L. B. L.—H. G. (Milford), whose suggestion will not be lost sight of.—G. M.—S. A. A.—Trin. Coll. Dubl.—J. W. Burrows.—S. A.—A. F.—W. Robson.—J. S. B.—Wicamicus.—C. B.—D.—H. Andrews.—R. Snow.—C. W. G.—Naso.—Scotus.—Rev. F. M.
Answers to Queries respecting Rev. T. Leman, Katherine Pegg, &c. in our next.
Will Musarum Studiosus enable us to communicate with him directly?
Philo is thanked for his proposed endeavours to enlarge our circulation. We trust all our friends and correspondents will follow Philo's example by bringing Notes and Queries under the notice of such of their friends as take an interest in literary pursuits. For it is obvious that they will extend the usefulness of our Paper, in proportion as they increase its circulation.
We have received many complaints of a difficulty in procuring our paper. Every Bookseller and Newsvender will supply it if ordered, and gentlemen residing in the country may be supplied regularly with the Stamped Edition, by giving their orders direct to the publisher, Mr. George Bell, 186. Fleet Street, accompanied by a Post Office order for a quarter (4s. 4d.). All communications should be addressed To the Editor of "Notes and Queries," 186. Fleet Street.
A neat Case for holding a Year's Numbers (52) of Notes and Queries is preparing, in consequence of the suggestion of several Subscribers, and will very soon be ready.
Eight Days' Sale of highly interesting British Historical Portraits, forming the second portion of the very important and valuable Stock of Prints, the property of Messrs. W. and G. Smith, the long-established, well-known, and eminent print-sellers of Lisle-street, having retired from business.
Messrs. S. Leigh Sotheby and Co., auctioneers of literary property and works illustrative of the fine arts, will SELL by AUCTION, at their House, 3. Wellington Street, Strand, on Monday, December 3. and seven following days, (Sunday excepted), at 1 precisely each day, the second portion of the important and valuable STOCK of PRINTS, the property of Messrs. W. and G. Smith; comprising one of the most numerous and interesting collections of British historical portraits ever offered for sale, and containing a vast number of extremely rare prints by the most eminent English engravers, generally in the finest condition, and a large number of fine proofs and prints after the works of Sir Joshua Reynolds. May be viewed four days prior to the sale, and catalogues had.
Recently published in 8 vols. 8vo., price 4l. 16s. cloth.
A NEW EDITION of SHAKSPEARE'S WORKS, (comprising the Plays and Poems,) the Text formed from an entirely new Collation of the Old Editions; with the Various Readings, Notes, a Life of the Poet, and a History of the Early English Stage. By J. Payne Collier, Esq., F. S. A. Author of The History of English Dramatic Poetry and the Stage," &c &c. The Type of this edition has been expressly cast for it, and is the largest used for Shakspeare's Works for these Twenty Years..
{{fine block| "The most perfect text with the fewest possible notes. Whoever wants to know what Shakspeare wrote must refer to Collier's edition."—Monthly Magazine.
"Mr. Collier has brought to his task the aid of great research, discrimination, and intimate knowledge of the true mode of treating his subject."-Age.
Whittaker and Co., Ave Maria Lane.
MILLER'S CATALOGUE of BOOKS; ready this day, will be found to contain an extremely valuable, interesting, and highly curious collection, comprising works on Freemasonry, History, Biography, Poetry, and the Drama, Books of Wit and Humour, with choice Pictorial Publications and Modern Table Books, many in first-rate bindings suitable for the drawing-room; also a few Bibles and a small portion of Divinity and Controversial Works, with Collections of Tracts, Trials, and Illustrated Scraps for fireside amusement, and a few pieces of Irish History, Antiquities, and Biography; with varieties in Greek, Latin, French, Italian, German, and Spanish. To be had GRATIS, and can be sent POSTAGE FREE to any book-buyer on receipt of an address.
John Miller, 43. Chandos-street, King William-street, Strand.
MR. MURRAY'S LIST OF WORKS.
LORD CAMPBELL'S LIVES OF THE CHIEF JUSTICES OF ENGLAND. 2 vols. 8vo. 30s. (On Dec. 7th.)
LORD CAMPBELL'S LIVES OF THE LORD CHANCELLORS OF ENGLAND. 3rd Edition. 7 vols. 8vo. 5l. 2s.
HALLAM'S EUROPE DURING THE MIDDLE AGES. Ninth Edition. 2 vols. 8vo. 24s. NOTES SUPPLEMENTAL. 8vo. 10s. 6d.
HALLAM'S HISTORY of ENGLAND FROM THE ACCESSION OF HENRY VII. TO THE DEATH OF GEORGE II. Fifth Edition. 2 vols. 8vo. 24s.
HALLAM'S LITERARY HISTORY of EUROPE DURING THE 15th, 16th, and 17th CENTURIES. Third Edition. 3 vols. 8vo. 36s.
TICKNER'S HISTORY OF SPANISH LITERATURE. With Criticisms and Biographical Notices. 3 vols. 8vo. (Next week.)
MARRYATS HISTORY of POTTERY and PORCELAIN, from the Earliest Period in various Countries. With coloured Plates and 130 Woodcuts, 8vo. (Nearly ready.)
THE ROMAN ESQUE AND POINTED STYLES OF ARCHITECTURE IN FRANCE; with Notices of some of the principal Buildings on which it is founded. 8vo. (In Dec.)
DYER'S LIFE OF JOHN CALVIN; from authentic Sources, and particularly his Correspondence. With a Portrait. 8vo. (On Dec. 7.)
IRVING'S LIFE OF COLUMBUS, with HIS VOYAGES and those of HIS COMPANIONS. A new edition, thoroughly revised by the Author. With Maps. 3 vols. 8vo. (Next week.)
CUNNINGHAM'S HANDBOOK FOR LONDON: Past and Present. A new and revised edition. 1 vol. post 8vo. (In Jan.)
"We can conceive no companion more welcome to an enlightened foreigner visiting the metropolis than Mr. Cunningham with his laborious research, his scrupulous exactness, his alphabetical arrangement, and his authorities from every imaginable source. As a piece of severe compact and finished structure, the 'Handbook' is not to be surpassed."—The Times.
"In the production of the 'Handbook for London' must be recognised the fulfilment of a work useful in purpose, and national in character."—Morning Chronicle.
MILMAN'S LIFE AND WORKS OF HORACE.
Now ready, 1 vol. (700 pp.) crown 8vo., 42s.
HORACE: A New Edition of the Text, Beautifully printed, and illustrated by upwards of 300 Vignettes of Coins, Gems, Bas-reliefs, Statues. Views, &c., taken chiefly from the Antique. With a Life, by Rev. H. H. Milman, Dean of St. Paul's.
"Not a page can be opened where the eye does not light upon some antique gem. Mythology, history, art, manners, topography, have all their fitting representatives. It is the highest praise to say, that the designs throughout add to the pleasure with which Horace is read. Many of them carry us back to the very portraitures from which the old poets drew their inspirations."—Classical Museum.
⁂ For the convenience of Purchasers, the Work is arranged so as to be bound in Two Volumes, for which proper Titles are given.
John Murray, Albemarle Street.
A CATALOGUE OF ENGLISH AND FOREIGN THEOLOGY including some of the rarest works of our early English Divines, nearly a complete Series of the Fathers of the Church, the various Councils, and most important Ecclesiastical Historians, Liturgical Writers, &c. The whole in very fine condition on sale at the prices affixed, for ready money only. By John Leslie, 58. Great Queen Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London.
⁂ The above will be forwarded to any part of the kingdom, upon receipt of six Postage Stamps.
BIBLICAL LITERATURE.
Just published, and may be had, Postage free, on a Remittance of 24 Postage Stamps.
A CLASSIFIED CATALOGUE of Editions and Versions of Holy Scripture and of critical, explanatory, and illustrative Works; including such patristic and ecclesiastical Writers as have treated on Scriptural topics, the latter arranged so as to exhibit a chronological Series of Biblical Interpretation down to the Reformation; with references under each head to authorities or sources of information.
On sale by C. J. Stewart, 11. King William Street, West Strand, London.
"There is no branch of literature in which classed catalogues are of so much importance as in biblical, and we therefore feel bound to notice a very excellent volume lately issued by Mr. Stewart under the title of 'A Catalogue of Bibles and Biblical Literature.' It is exceedingly well arranged, and will afford important facilities to those in search of books in particular departments... The preparation of such catalogues is a work of expense and labour, but must be well repaid (?) by the facilities afforded to purchasers."—Kitto's Journal of Sacred Literature.
"We have much pleasure in recommending to our readers' attention this valuable and well-arranged catalogue. Mr. Stewart's collection of works, in all the branches of a theological library, ranks high, both for number and selectness, among the very best in the country."—Christian Observer.
Printed by Thomas Clark Shaw, of No. 8. New Street Square, at No. 5. New Street Square, in the Parish of St. Bride, in the City of London; and published by George Bell, of No. 186. Fleet Street, in the Parish of St. Dunstan in the West, in the City of London, Publisher, at No. 186. Fleet Street aforesaid.—Saturday, December 1. 1849.