Kitabı oku: «Notes and Queries, Number 214, December 3, 1853», sayfa 2

Minor Notes

Chair Moving.—Recent occurrences made me look back at Glanvill's Blow at Modern Sadducism, and I observed that in his account of the "Dæmon of Tedworth," who was supposed to haunt the house of Mr. Mompesson, and who was the original of Addison's "drummer," it is stated that on the 5th November, 1662, "in the sight and presence of the company, the chairs walked about the room," p. 124.

N. B.

Epitaph on Politian in the Church of the Annunciation at Florence.—

 
"Politianus in hoc tumulo jacet Angelus, unum
Qui caput, et linguas (res nova) tres habuit."
 

—From Travels of Sir John Reresby.

Y. B. N. J.

[The following translation of this epitaph is given in the Ency. Britannica, but it is there stated to be in St. Mark's, Florence:

 
"Here lies Politian, who, things strange indeed,
Had, when alive, three tongues, and but one head."]
 

Epitaph in Torrington Churchyard, Devon.—

 
"She was—my words are wanting to say what.
Think what a woman should be—she was that."
 

Which provoked the following reply:

 
"A woman should be both a wife and mother,
But Jenny Jones was neither one nor t'other."
 

Balliolensis.

The early Delights of Philadelphia.—In Gabriel Thomas's Description of the Settlement of Philadelphia occurs the following passage:

"In the said city are several good schools of learning for youth, for the attainment of arts and sciences, also reading and writing. Here is to be had, on any day in the week, cakes, tarts, and pies; we have also several cook-shops, both roasting and boiling, as in the city of London: happy blessings, for which we owe the highest gratitude to our plentiful Provider, the great Creator of heaven and earth."

Is not this a superb jumble?

A Leguleian.

Misapplication of Terms.—Legend is a thing "to be read" (legendum), but it is often improperly applied to traditions and oral communications. Of this there have been some instances in "N. & Q." One has just turned up, Vol. v., p. 196.: "I send you these legends as I have heard them from the lips of my nurse, a native of the parish."

J. W. Thomas.

Dewsbury.

"Plantin" Bibles in 1600.—While looking over the "Stackhouse Library" (see "N. & Q.," Vol. viii., p. 327.), I observed on the fly-leaf of an Hebrew Bible, 1600 (A. 100 in catalogue), a short MS. memorandum, which I think worth preserving. It ran as follows:

R. C. Warde.

Kidderminster.

Ancient Gold Collar found in Staffordshire.—It may probably interest some of your readers to know that a very ancient golden collar was lately found in the village of Stanton, Staffordshire, which is about three miles north of Ashbourne.

A labourer digging up a field, which had not been ploughed or dug up in the memory of man, turned up the collar, which, being curled up at the time, sprang up, and the labourer taking it for a snake, struck it out of his way with his spade: the next morning it was discovered not to be a snake. Unfortunately the blow had broken off a small piece at one end. The collar is now in the possession of the person with whom the curate of Stanton lodges. The description given to me is, that it is about two feet long, and formed of three pieces of gold twined together, and, with the above exception, in a very good state of preservation.

I hear that there is a similar collar in the British Museum, that was found in Ireland, but none that was found in England; and that the authorities of the Museum have been informed of this collar, but have taken no steps to obtain possession of it.

S. G. C.

[Our correspondent is under an erroneous impression as to gold torques not being found in England. Several are figured in the Archæologia, and we have some reason to believe that the torque now described, and of which we should be glad to receive any farther particulars, resembles one which formed part of the celebrated Polden find described by Mr. Harford in the fourteenth volume of the Archæologia, and figured at p. 90.; and also that found at Boyton in Suffolk in 1835, and engraved in the Archæologia, vol. xxvi. p. 471.—Ed.]

Queries

PICTURES IN HAMPTON COURT PALACE

There are two or three of these concerning which I should be obliged to any reader of your publication who would satisfy my Queries.

No. 119., "The Battle of Forty," by P. Snayers. This seems a kind of combat à outrance of knights armés de pied en cap. Where can I find any account or detail of it?

No. 314., "Mary of Lorraine, mother of Mary Queen of Scots." This is a very pleasing picture, in good preservation, and as it was not in its present position two years ago, I conclude it has recently been added. She was ninth child of Claude de Lorraine, first Duc de Guise, born in 1515, and married in 1538 to James V. of Scotland, and she died in the forty-fifth year of her age, 10th June, 1560. There are the arms of the Guise family in the right-hand corner, with a date of 1611. Pray by whom was it painted, and where can find any notices respecting it?

No. 166., "George III. reviewing the 10th Light Dragoons, commanded by the Prince of Wales." This picture was considered the chef d'œuvre of Sir William Beechey, and was painted in 1798; and it has been supposed the likeness of the Duke of York was the best taken of that Prince. Could any reader inform me on what day this review took place?¹

When one sees a picture of Shakspeare, No. 276., and more especially in the palace of his cotemporary sovereigns, one is naturally led to inquire into its authenticity. I am therefore desirous to obtain some information relative to it.

In "N. & Q.," vol. vi., p. 197., you had several correspondents inquiring concerning the custom of royalty dining in public: perhaps it may interest them to know that there are two very attractive pictures of this ceremony in this collection, numbered 293 and 294: the first is of Charles I. and Henrietta Maria; the other Frederick V., Count Palatine and King of Bohemia, who married Elizabeth, daughter of James I. These two pictures are by Van Bassen, of whom, perhaps, some correspondent may be enabled to give an account.

Φ.

Richmond, Surrey.

Minor Queries

Helmets.—What is the antiquity of the practice of placing helmets over the shields of armorial bearings; and what are the varieties of helmets in regard to the rank or degree of persons?

S. N.

The Nursrow.—What is the origin of the word Nursrow, a name applied by Plott, in his History of Staffordshire, to the shrew mouse, and by the common people in Cheshire at the present day to the field-mouse; or rather, perhaps, indiscriminately to field and shrew mice?

N. R.

City Bellmen.—When were city bellmen first established? By whom appointed? What were their duties? What and how were they paid? What have been their employment and duties down to the present day?

Crito.

Pope's Elegy on an Unfortunate Lady.—In the new editions of Pope's Works, in course of publication, edited by Mr. Carruthers, Inverness, it is conjectured that the poet threw "ideal circumstances" into his most pathetic and melodious elegy, and "when he came to publish his letters, put wrong initials, as in other instances, to conceal the real names" (Pope's Poet. Works, Ingram, Cook, and Co., vol. ii. p. 184.). The initials are Mrs. W., niece of Lady A. I have always thought that a clue might be obtained to the name of this lady, by following up the hints in Pope's printed correspondence. Mrs. or Miss W. is mentioned or alluded to by Craggs and Pope, in connexion with the characters in the Rape of the Lock. One suggests the other. Inquiry should be directed to the families of Fernor of Tusmore, Lord Petre, and Sir George Brown. But I have heard a tradition in a Catholic family in the north of England that the lady was a Blount; probably one of the Blounts of Soddington, or of some one of the numerous branches of that ancient family.

An Inquirer.

"Too wise to err, too good to be unkind."—In what author may this passage be found?

 
"Too wise to err, too good to be unkind."
 

E. P. H.

Clapham.

Passage in the "Christian Year."—In the beautiful lines on Confirmation in this work, the following verse occurs:

 
"Steady and pure as stars that beam
In middle heaven, all mist above,
Seen deepest in the frozen stream:—
Such is their high courageous love."
 

I should be grateful for an explanation of the third line.

A. A. D.

David's Mother.—I used to think it was impossible to ascertain from the Old Testament the name of David's mother. In the Genealogies recorded in the Sacred Scriptures, by J. S. (usually assumed to stand for John Speed, the historian and geographer), the name of the Psalmist's mother is given "Nahash." Can this be made out satisfactorily? Will the text 2 Sam. xvii. 25., as compared with 1 Chron. ii. 15., warrant it?

Y. B. N. J.

Emblems.—Can any of your readers inform me what are the emblematic meanings of the different precious stones, or of any of them? or in what work I shall find them described?

N. D.

"Kaminagadeyathooroosoomokanoogonagira."—In an appeal to the Privy Council from Madras, the above unparalleled long word occurs as the descriptions of an estate. I believe that its extreme length and unpronounceable appearance is without an equal. Can any of your readers acquainted with Indian literature translate it? if so, it would greatly oblige

F. J. G.

"Quid facies," &c.—I have lately met with the following curious play on words in an old MS. book. Can any of your correspondents give any account of it?

 
"Quid facies, facies Veneris si veneris ante?
Ne pereas, per eas; ne sedeas, sed eas!"
 

Balliolensis.

Will of Peter the Great.—M. Lamartinière, in a French pamphlet on the Eastern question, gives a document in several articles containing advice with respect to the policy of his successors on the throne of Russia, in which he advises her to make great advances in the direction of Constantinople, India, &c., and advocates the partition of Poland. Upon what authority does this document rest? and who is M. Lamartinière?

R. J. Allen.

H. Neele, Editor of Shakspeare.—In the preface to Lectures on English Poetry, being the Remains of the late Henry Neele (Lond. 1830), mention is made of a new edition of Shakspeare's dramatic works, "under the superintendence of Mr. Neele as editor, for which his enthusiastic reverence for the poet of 'all time' peculiarly fitted him, but which, from the want of patronage, terminated after the publication of a very few numbers." These very few numbers must have appeared about 1824-1827; yet the answer to my repeated inquiries after them in London is always "We cannot hear of them." Can any one give me farther information?—From the Navorscher.

J. M.

MS. by Rubens on Painting.—May I inquire of M. Philarète Chasles whether he ever saw or heard of a manuscript said to be written in Latin by Rubens, and existing in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris? One or two fragments have occasionally been quoted: I think one may be found in Sir Joshua Reynolds' Discourses, and the same is used by Burnet in his work on painting; but no authority is given as to the source of the information.²

If such a work can be found, it would confer a great boon upon the profession of the fine arts, if it were brought to light without delay.

Weld Taylor.

Peter Allan.—Will some correspondent of "N. & Q." afford information as to the exact date and place of birth of the celebrated Peter Allan, whose cave at Sunderland is regarded as one of the principal curiosities of the north of England? What is known of his general history; and is any member of his family now living?

E. C.

Haschisch or Indian Hemp.—I have been for some time trying to procure some of the Haschisch, or Indian hemp, about which Dr. Moreau has published such an amusing book, Du Haschisch et de l'Aliénation Mentale, Par. 1845.—Can any of your readers tell me where I can get any? The narcotic effects of the common hemp plant are well known in our country districts: where, under its ironical alias Honesty, the dried stalk is often smoked, but the tropical variety appears to be infinitely more powerful in its operation.

V. T. Sternberg.

Crieff Compensation.—During the rebellion in 1715, the village of Crieff, Perthshire, was burnt by the Highland army, on account of the attachment of its inhabitants to the royal cause. It has been stated that, some years ago, the descendants of the sufferers received from government a sum equivalent to a certain proportion of the loss which had been sustained.

Is there any official record in reference to this compensation?

D.

Admission to Lincoln's Inn, the Temple, and Gray's Inn.—Have there ever been published, or do there exist anywhere in MSS., lists of the persons who have been from time to time matriculated as students of those inns of court?

A publication of them would be of the greatest value to the biographical department of literature.

G.

Orders for the Household of Lord Montagu.—The second Viscount Montagu, grandson and heir of Anthony Browne, created Viscount in 1554, ob. 1592, compiled a detailed code of regulations for his family, thus entitled:

"A Booke of Orders and Rules established by me, Anthony, Viscount Mountague, for the better direction and government of my howsholde and family, together with the generall dutyes and charges apperteyninge to myne officers and other servantes. Anno Dni 1595."

Has this curious illustration of ancient domestic manners ever been published?

Albert Way.

Minor Queries with Answers

Cateaton Street.—I am anxious to ascertain the meaning and derivation of this word: the London Cateaton Street, I believe, is changed into Gresham Street. I have lately learnt that there is a Cateaton Street in Liverpool also.

Etymo.

[Cateaton Street, or "Catteten Street," says Stow, "is a corruption of Catte Street, which beginneth at the north end of Ironmonger Lane, and runneth to the west end of St. Lawrence Church." In 1845, this street was renamed Gresham Street.]

Portrait of Lee, Inventor of the Stocking-frame.—In Hatton's History of London (published in 1708), it is stated that a picture (by Balderston) of Lee, the inventor of the stocking-frame, hung in the hall of the Framework Knitters' Company. The inquirer wishes to ascertain whether the picture is yet in existence or not; and, if still in existence, where it can be seen.

M. E.

[In Cunningham's Handbook of London, p. 527., s. v. Weavers' Hall, Basinghall Street, is a quotation from the Quarterly Review for January, 1816, in which the picture is spoken of as then existing in the Stocking Weavers' Hall.]

Cocker's Arithmetic (Vol. iv., pp. 102. 149.).—Some correspondence appears in "N. & Q." about the first edition of "Old Cocker." I should be glad to ascertain the date of the latest edition.

Tyro.

[The British Museum contains the following editions of Cocker's Arithmetic:—the 20th, Lond. 1700; the 37th, perused and published by John Hawkins (with MS. notes), Lond. 1720; 41st, Lond. 1724; 50th, corrected by Geo. Fisher, Lond. 1746. Watt notices one revised by J. Mair, Edinb. 1751. In Professor de Morgan's Arithmetical Books, p. 56., where a full history of Cocker's book is given, mention is made of an Edinburgh edition, 1765, and a Glasgow edition of 1777.]

Lyke Porch or Litch Porch.—What is the proper name for the porch found, not unfrequently, at the churchyard gate under which the body was, I believe, supposed to rest before the funeral? Is it lyke or litch? The derivation may be different in different parts of England, as they were originally Saxon or Danish. Lüg Dan., lyk Dutch, and leiche Ger., are all different forms of the same word. The first two approach nearer to lyke, the latter to litch.

J. H. L.

[In most works on ecclesiastical architecture it is called lich-gate, from Anglo-Saxon lich, a corpse: hence Lich-field, the field of dead bodies. In the Glossary of Architecture we read "Lich-gate, or corpse-gate, leichengang, Germ., from the Ang.-Sax. lich, a corpse, and geat, a gate; a shed over the entrance of a churchyard, beneath which the bearers sometimes paused when bringing a corpse for interment. The term is also used in some parts of the country for the path by which a corpse is usually conveyed to the church."]

Henry Burton.—Henry Burton was born in 1579; studied at Oxford, and was at one time minister of St. Matthew, Friday Street. In 1636, he drew upon himself the vengeance of the Star-Chamber, by two discourses in which he severely inveighed against the bishops. For this offence he was fined, deprived of his ears, and sentenced to imprisonment for life. He was liberated by the parliament in 1640, and died in 1648. What theological works did he write?—From the Navorscher.

Dionysius.

[Burton's pen was so prolific, that we cannot find room for a list of his works; and must refer Dionysius to the Bodleian Catalogue, where they fill nearly a column, and to Watt's Bibliotheca, s.v.]

British Mathematicians.—I am anxious to learn if there is any book which contains an account of the lives and works of eminent British arithmeticians and mathematicians?

Euclid.

[Consult the following:—Biographia Philosophica: being an Account of the Lives, Writings, and Inventions of the most eminent Philosophers and Mathematicians, by Benjamin Martin: London, 1764, 8vo. There is also a Chronological Table of the most eminent Mathematicians affixed to John Bossut's General History of Mathematics, translated from the French by John Bonnycastle: London, 1803, 8vo. Some notices of our early English mathematicians will also be found in the Companion to the Almanac for 1837, and in the Magazine of Popular Science, Nos. 18. 20. and 22.]

"Les Lettres Juives."—Will any of your correspondents inform me who is the author of Lettres Juives? The first volume of my edition, in eight volumes 12mo., has the portrait of Jean Batiste B., Marquis de –, né le 29 Juin, 1704.

J. R.

Sunderland.

["Par le Marquis D'Argens," says Barbier.]