Chapter 2

More than a year ago (Vol. vi., p. 503.) I made a Query respecting Catholic Floral Directories, and two works in particular which were largely quoted in Mr. Oakley's _Catholic Florist_, Lond. 1851; and I again alluded to them in Vol. vii., p. 402., but have not got any reply. The two works referred to, viz. the _Anthologia Borealis et Australis_, and the _Florilegium Sanctorum Aspirationum_, are not to be heard of anywhere (so far as I can see) save in Mr. Oakley's book. During the last year I have ransacked all the bibliographical authorities I could lay hold of, and made every inquiry after these mysterious volumes, but all in vain.

The orthography and style of the passages cited are of a motley kind, and most of them read like modern compositions, though here and there we have a quaint simile and a piece of antique spelling. In fact they seem more like imitations than anything else; and I cannot resist the temptation of placing them on the same shelf with McPherson's _Ossian_ and the poems of Rowley. In some places a French version of the _Florilegium_ is quoted: even if that escaped one's researches, is it likely that two old English books (which these purport to be), of such a remarkable kind, should be unknown to all our bibliographers, and to the readers of "N. & Q.," among whom may be found the chief librarians and bibliographers in the three kingdoms. Is it not strange also that Mr. Oakley and his "compiler" decline giving any information respecting these books?

I shall feel extremely obliged to any correspondent who will clear up this matter, and who will furnish me with a list of Catholic Floral Directories.

EIRIONNACH.

* * * * *

GEORGE ALSOP.

George Alsop was ordained deacon 1666-67, priest 1669, by Henry King, Bishop of Chichester. He printed in 1669--

"An Orthodox Plea for the Sanctuary of God, Common Service, and White Robe of the House. Printed for the Author, and sold by R. Reynolds, at the Sun and Bible in the Postern."

It is a small 8vo. of eighty-six pages, exclusive of the dedication to the Bishop of Chichester, and an Epistle to the Reader, and has a portrait of the author by W. Sherwin.

Can any of your readers give me any account of this George Alsop, his preferment, if any, and the time of his death?

He is, I feel persuaded, a different person from the author of _A Character of Maryland_, 12mo., 1666.

P. B.

* * * * *

Minor Queries.

_B. L. M._--What is the meaning of the abbreviation B. L. M. in Italian epistolary correspondence? I have reason to believe that it is used {586} where some degree of acquaintance exists, but not in addressing an entire stranger. In a correspondence now before me, one of the writers, an Italian gentleman, uses it in the subscription to _every one_ of his letters, _except the first_, thus:

"Ho l'honore d' essere col piu profondo rispetto B. L. M. Il di Lei Umiliss. Dev. Servo."

"Frattanto la prego di volermi credere nella piu ampla estentione del termine B. L. M. Il di Lei Ubb^o. ed Obligato Servitore."

I need not add more examples. There is nothing in Graglia's _Collection of Italian Letters_ that explains it.

J. W. T.

Dewsbury.

_Member of Parliament electing himself._--In the biographical notices of the author of an _Inquiry into the Rise and Growth of the Royal Prerogative in England_, 1849, I find the following curious circumstances:

"The writ for election (of a member for the county of Bute) was transmitted to the sheriff, Mr. McLeod Bannatine, afterwards Lord Bannatine. He named the day, and issued his precept for the election. When the day of election arrived, Mr. Bannatine was the only freeholder present. As freeholder he voted himself chairman of the meeting; as sheriff he produced the writ and receipt for election, read the writ and the oaths against bribery at elections; as sheriff he administered the oaths of supremacy, &c., to himself as chairman; he signed the oaths as chairman and as sheriff; as chairman he named the clerk to the meeting, and called over the roll of freeholders; he proposed the candidate and declared him elected; he dictated and signed the minutes of election; as sheriff he made an indenture of election between himself as sheriff and himself as chairman, and transmitted it to the crown office."

Can any of your correspondents furnish me with a similar case?

H. M.

Peckham.

"_Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re._"--This rule is strongly recommended by Lord Chesterfield in one of his letters, as "unexceptionably useful and necessary in every part of life." Whence is it taken, and who is its author?

J. W. T.

Dewsbury.

_Jacobite Garters._--Can any of your readers inform me of the origin of the "rebel garters," a pair of which I possess, and which have been carefully handed down with other Stuart relics by my Jacobin fathers?

They are about 4 feet long, and 1¼ inch deep, of silk woven in the loom; the pattern consists of a stripe of red, yellow, and blue, once repeated, and arranged so that the two blue lines meet in the centre. At each end, for about six or seven inches, and at spaces set at regular intervals, these lines of colour are crossed, so as to form a check or tartan; the spaces corresponding with the words in the following inscription, and one word being allotted to each space:

"_Come lett us with one heart agree_"

and it is continued on the other:

"_To pray that God may bless P. C._"

The tartan, however, does not appear to be the "Royal Stuart."

Probably they were distributed to the friends and adherents of poor Prince Charles Edward, to commemorate some special event in his ill-fated career. But it would be interesting to know if many of them remain, and, if possible, their correct history.

E. L. I.

_Daughters taking their Mothers' Names._--Can any of your readers favour me with any instances, about the time of the first, second, and third Edwards, of a daughter adding to her own name that of the mother, as Alicia, daughter of Ada, &c.

BURIENSIS.

_General Fraser._--Have there been any _Life_ or _Memoirs_ ever published of General Fraser, who fell in Burgoyne's most disastrous campaign? If any such exist I should be glad to know of them.

W. FRASER.

Tor-Mohun.

_A Punning Divine._--Wanted the whereabouts of the following sentence, which is said to be taken from a volume of sermons published during the reign of James I.:

"This _dial_ shows that we must _die all_; yet notwithstanding, _all houses_ are turned into _ale houses_; our _cares_ into _cates_; our _paradise_ into a _pair o' dice_; _matrimony_ into a _matter of money_, and _marriage_ into a _merry age_; our _divines_ have become _dry vines_; it was not so in the days of _Noah_,--O no!"

W. W.

Malta.

_Contango._--A technical term in use among the sharebrokers of Liverpool, and I presume elsewhere, signifying a sum of money paid for accommodating either a buyer or seller by carrying the engagement to pay money or deliver shares over to the next account-day. Can your correspondents say from whence derived?

AGMOND.

_Pedigree to the Time of Alfred._--Wapshott, a blacksmith in Chertsey, holds lands held by his ancestors temp. Alfred (McCulloch's _Highlands_, vol. iv. p. 410.). Can this statement be confirmed in 1853?

A. C.

"_Service is no inheritance._"--Will you or any of your readers have the goodness to inform me {587} what is the origin of the adage occurring twice in the _Waverley Novels_, thus:

"Service, I wot, is no inheritance now-a-days; some are wiser than other some," &c. (See _Peveril of the Peak_, chap. xiv.)

and

"Ay, St. Ronan's, that is a' very true,--but service is nae inheritance, and as for friendship it begins at hame."--_St. Ronan's Well_, chap. x.

I have seen a stone in an old building in the north of Scotland, with the following inscription, cut in letters of an ancient form: "Be gude in office, or (or perhaps 'for,' part of the stone being here broken off) servitude is no inheritance to none." And I am curious to know the origin of this proverb, so similar to that put by Sir Walter Scott in the mouths of two of his homely characters; the one English and the other Scotch. An answer will very much oblige

G. M. T.

Edinburgh.

_Antiquity of Fire-irons._--In an old book, published 1660, I met with the following couplet:

"The burnt child dreads the fire; if this be true, Who first invented tongs its fury knew."

Query, When were fire-irons first used?

ALIQUIS.

_General Wolfe at Nantwich._--I observe in the pamphlet entitled _Historical Facts connected with Nantwich and its Neighbourhood_, lately referred to in "N. & Q.," it is stated that according to local tradition General Wolfe, the hero of Quebec, may in his boyhood have lived in the Yew Tree House, near Stoke Hall. Now as this brave warrior was a native of Kent, it is scarcely probable he would have been a visitor at the house alluded to, unless he had relatives who resided there. Is he known to have had any family connexion in that quarter, since the fact of his having had such, if established, would tend to confirm the traditionary statement respecting his domicile at the Yew Tree House?

T. P. L.

Manchester.

_"Corporations have no Souls," &c._--It was once remarked that public corporations, companies, &c. do harsh things compared with what individuals can venture to do, the fact being that they have neither noses to be pulled nor souls to be saved; you have no hold upon them either in this world or the next.

B.

_Leeming Family._--A member of the Society of Friends, named Thomas Leeming, lived at or near Wighton in the Wolds, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, between the years 1660 and 1670. What were the dates of his birth and death? what were the names of his parents, his brothers, and his children? did any of them leave their native country? and how would a letter from the inquirer reach a descendant of the family, who could furnish farther information on the subject? An answer to the whole or part of the above Queries will much oblige the undersigned.

W.

_MS. Poems and Songs._--In the third volume of MR. PAYNE COLLIER'S invaluable _History Of English Dramatic Poetry_, p. 275., it is stated,--

"Mr. Thorpe, of Bedford Street, is in possession of a MS. full of songs and poems, in the handwriting of a person of the name of Richard Jackson, all copied prior to the year 1631, and including many unpublished pieces by a variety of celebrated poets."

Can any of the contributors to "N. & Q." oblige P. C. S. S. by informing him where this MS. now exists, and whether the whole, or any portion of it, has been published?

P. C. S. S.

_Bishop Watson._--In a lecture delivered by this bishop at Cambridge, he gave the following quotation:

"Scire ubi aliquid invenire posses, ea demum maxima pars eruditionis est."

Will any of your readers inform me whence the passage is taken?

G.

* * * * *

Minor Queries with Answers.

_Herbert's "Memoirs of the Last Years of Charles I."_--Can any of your correspondents inform me under what title and at what date Sir Thomas Herbert's _Narrative of the Last Years of Charles I._ was published? I have at present in my possession what appears to be the original MS., and am desirous of comparing it with the printed copy. The MS. bears the title of _Carolina Threnodia: a Plain and very Particular Narrative of what happened in the Last Years of King Charles the First_, by Sir Thomas Herbert, an eye and ear witness. Its opening pages contain a reference to other letters on the same subject of an earlier date (May 1 and 13, 1678). Were these letters ever published, under what title, and when?

J. B.

Prestwich.

[This work has already been incidentally noticed in our Second Volume, pp. 140. 220. and 476.; and in Vol. iii., p. 157. Two editions of Herbert's Memoirs have been published; the first in 1702, and the second in 1813. The edition of 1702 is the best, as it contains an "Advertisement to the Reader," and several documents omitted in the edition published by G. and W. Nicol of Pall Mall in 1813. The following is the title to it:--

"Memoirs of the Two last Years of the Reign of that unparallel'd Prince, of ever-blessed Memory, King Charles I. By Sir Tho. Herbert, Major Huntington, {588} Col. Edw. Coke, and Mr. Hen. Firebrace. With the Character of that Blessed Martyr, by the Reverend Mr. John Diodati, Mr. Alexander Henderson, and the Author of the _Princely Pelican_. To which is added, the Death-Bed Repentance of Mr. Lenthal, Speaker of the Long Parliament; extracted out of a Letter written from Oxford, Sept. 1662. London: printed for Robert Clavell, at the Peacock, at the West-end of St. Paul's, 1702,"

The "Advertisement to the Reader" states that, "there having been of late years several Memoirs printed and published relating to the life and actions of the Royal Martyr, King Charles I., of ever-blessed memory, it was judged a proper and seasonable time to publish Sir Thomas Herbert's _Carolina Threnodia_, under the title of his _Memoirs_, there being contained in this book the most material passages of the two last years of the life of that excellent and unparallel'd prince, which were carefully observ'd and related by the author in a large answer of a letter wrote to him by Sir William Dugdale. In the same book is printed Major Huntington's relation made to Sir William of sundry particulars relating to the King; as also Colonel Edw. Coke's and Mr. Henry Firebrace's narratives of several memorable passages observed by them during their attendance on him at Newport, in the Isle of Wight, anno '48. All these were copied from a MS. of the Right Reverend the Bishop of Ely, lately deceased; and, as I am credibly informed, a copy of the several originals is now to be seen amongst the Dugdale MSS. in Oxford library. To these Memoirs are added two or three small tracts, which give some account of the affairs of those times, of the character of K. Charles I., and of his just claim and title to his _Divine Meditations_. These having been printed anno 1646, 48, 49, and very scarce and difficult to procure, were thought fit to be reprinted for publick service. As to the letter which gives an account of Mr. Lenthal's carriage and behaviour on his death-bed, it was printed anno 1662, and the truth of it attested by the learned Dr. Dickenson, now living in St. Martin's Lane.... This I thought fit to advertise the reader of, by way of introduction, that he might be satisfied of the genuineness of the respective pieces, and thereby be encouraged to peruse them with confidence and assurance."]

"_Liturgy of the Ancients._"--Who was the author of a thin 4to. book entitled _The Liturgy of the Ancients represented, as near as may be, in English Forms, &c._, "London, printed for the Authour, 1696." He added to it "A Proposal of a compleat work of Charity."

T. G. LOMAX.

Lichfield.

[Edward Stephens is the author of this Liturgy, who describes himself as "late of Cherington, co. Gloucester, sometime barrister-at-law of the Hon. Society of the Middle Temple, and since engaged, by a very special Divine Providence, in the most sacred employment." He farther informs us, that "when it pleased God to discharge him from the civil service, his first business in public was a gentle and tacit admonition of the neglect of the most solemn and peculiar Christian worship of God in this nation; accompanied by such public acts in the very heart of the chief city, as made it a most remarkable witness and testimony against them who would not receive it, but rejected the counsel and favour of God towards them." Stephens's Liturgy has been republished by the Rev. Peter Hall, in his _Fragmenta Liturgica_, vol. ii., who thus notices the author:--"Stephens was the leader of a class by no means contemptible, though himself as odd a mixture of gravity and scurrility, learning and trifling, pietism that could stoop to anything, and liberalism that stuck at nothing, as English theology affords." Some account of Edward Stephens will be found in Leslie's _Letter concerning the New Separation_, 1719; and in _An Answer to a Letter from the Rev. C. Leslie, concerning what he calls the New Separation_, 1719. Stephens advocated the practice of daily communion.]

"_Ancient hallowed Dee._"--What is the historical, traditional, or legendary allusion in this epithet, bestowed by Milton on the river Dee?

J. W. T.

Dewsbury.

[Dee's divinity was Druidical. From the same superstition, some rivers in Wales are still held to have the gift or virtue of prophecy. Giraldus Cambrensis, who wrote in 1188, is the first who mentions Dee's sanctity from the popular traditions. In Spenser, this river is the haunt of magicians:

"Dee, which Britons long ygone Did call DIVINE."

And Browne, in his _Britannia's Pastorals_, book ii. § 5., says,

"Never more let HOLY Dee, Ore other rivers brave," &c.

Much superstition was founded on the circumstance of its being the ancient boundary between England and Wales; and Drayton, in his tenth Song, having recited this part of its history, adds, that by changing its fords it foretold good or evil, war or peace, dearth or plenty, to either country. He then introduces the Dee, over which King Edgar had been rowed by eight kings, relating to the story of Brutus. See more on this subject in Warton's note to line 55. in Milton's _Lycidas_:

"Now yet where Deva spreads her wizard stream."

_Who was True Blue?_--In the churchyard of Little Brickhill, Bucks, is a table monument bearing the following inscriptions:

"Here lieth y^e body of _True Blue_, who departed this life January y^e 17th, 1724-5, aged 57. Also y^e body of Eleanor, y^e wife of _True Blue_, who departed this life January 21st, 1722-3, ageed (sic) 59."

Who was "True Blue?" If it were not for his wife Eleanor, one would take him to be some kin to "Eclipse" or "Highflyer." Lysons makes no mention of such a person; nor, I am assured by a friend who has made the search for me, does Lipscomb; although another friend referred me there under the conviction that he was not only named, but that his history was given. The kind {589} of tombstone is sufficient to show that he was a person of some property, and yet he has not only no "Esq." affixed to his name, but it is without the prefix "Mr." One can scarcely doubt that the name is not a real one. Browns, Blacks, Whites, and Greens there are in abundance, but nobody ever heard of a "Blue;" nor, so far as I know, did anybody ever christen his child "True." Yet what could have been the incidents of a life that required the fiction to be carried even to the grave?

G. J. DE WILDE.

[The foregoing monumental inscription is given in Lipscomb's _Bucks_, vol. iv. p. 76., to which is subjoined the following note:--"The singularity of this name has occasioned much curiosity; but no information can be obtained besides that of _True Blue_ having been a stranger, who settled here, and acquired some property, which after his decease was disposed of. It has been conjectured that he lived here under a feigned name. One Hercules True, about 1645, kept a house at Windsor, to which deer-stealers were accustomed to resort; and he uttered violent threats against a person, whose son, having been killed in attempting to resist the deer-stealers in the Great Park, Thomas Shemonds prosecuted the murderers, and True declared he would knock his brains out, and is believed to have afterwards absconded."]

_Charge of Plagiarism against Paley._--Has any reply been made to the accusation against Paley, brought forward some years ago in _The Athenæum_? It was stated (and apparently proved) that his _Natural Theology_ was merely a translation of a Dutch work, the name of whose author has escaped my recollection. I suppose the archdeacon would have defended this shameful plagiarism on his favourite principle of expediency. It seems to me, however, that it is high time that either the accusation be refuted, or the culprit consigned to that contempt as a man which he deserved as a moralist.

FIAT JUSTITIA.

[We have frequently had to complain of the loose manner in which Queries are sometimes submitted to our readers for solution. Here is a specimen. The communication above involves two other Queries, which should have been settled before it had been forwarded to us, namely, 1. In what volume of the _Athenæum_ is the accusation against Paley made? and, 2. What is the title of the Dutch work supposed to be pirated? After pulling down six volumes of the _Athenæum_, we discovered that the charge against Paley appeared at p. 803. of the one for the year 1848, and that the work said to be pirated was written by Dr. Bernard Nieuwentyt of Holland, and published at Amsterdam about the year 1700. It was translated into English, under the title of _The Religious Philosopher_, 3 vols. 8vo., 1718-19. The charge against Paley has been ably and satisfactorily discussed in the same volume of the _Athenæum_ (see pp. 907. 933.), and at the present time we have neither "ample room nor verge enough" to re-open the discussion in our pages.]

_Weber's_ "_Cecilia._"--Can you inform me whether a work by Gottfried Weber, entitled _Cecilia_, is to be had in English or in French? I find it constantly referred to in the said Weber's work on the _Theory of Musical Composition_, and in Müller's _Physiology_.

For any information you can give me on the subject I shall feel much indebted.

PHILHARMONICUS.

Dublin.

[_Cæcilia_ is a musical art journal published in Germany, and is thus noticed at page 12. of Warner's edition of Godfrey Weber's _Theory of Musical Composition_:--"Since 1824 we have been laid under great obligations to our distinguished mathematician and writer on acoustics, Professor _W._ Weber, for most interesting developments on all these points, which he has arranged into an article in the journal _Cæcilia_, vol. xii., expressly for musicians and musical instrument manufacturers."]

_Andrew Johnson._--In the character of Samuel Johnson, as drawn by Murphy, there is the remark, "Like his uncle Andrew in the ring at Smithfield, Johnson, in a circle of disputants, was determined neither to be thrown or conquered." Other allusions are made, in Boswell's _Life_, to this uncle having "kept the ring," but I cannot find out who he could have been. There was a noted bruiser, Tom Johnson; but certainly he was not the person in question. I shall be glad if any of your readers can inform me who this "Uncle Andrew" was, and what authority there is for believing that he was a pugilistic champion of note.

PUGILLUS.

[In the _Variorum Boswell_, i. e. Croker's ed., 1847, p. 198., PUGILLUS will find a note by the editor, stating that Dr. Johnson told Mrs. Piozzi that his uncle Andrew "for a whole year kept the ring at Smithfield, where they wrestled and boxed, and never was thrown or conquered."]

_MS. by Glover._--Can MR. BOLTON CORNEY, or MR. R. SIMS, inform me whether the Lansdowne MS. 205. is in Glover's handwriting?

H. M.

[This volume (Lansdowne, 205.) contains twenty-six articles in different hands. Art. 3. contains _pedigrees by Glover in his own hand_. See MS. Harl. 807., and an autograph letter in MS. Cot., Titus B. vii. fol. 14.]