Part 3
"Que le Roy ne povoit avec son honneur bailler aide et assistence a icelluy son bon frere et cousin a l'encontre du Roy de Naples, qui estoit son confrere et allye, veu et considere qu'il avoit prise et recue l'ordre de la garretiere. Et si le roi autrement faisoit, ce seroit contrevenir au serment qu'il a fait par les statuz du dit ordre."
Will the Emperor of Russia be deprived of his ill-deserved honours, or what is the course now pursued? It was not unusual formerly for kings to exchange orders, and to return them in case of war.
OSCAR BROWNING.
* * * * *
Queries.
SIR HENRY WOTTON'S VERSES, "THE CHARACTER OF A HAPPY LIFE."
Owing to the almost perfect identity of these verses with some by a German poet, George Rudolph Weckerlin, a doubt has been expressed in a German work as to whether they are to be considered the production of Sir Henry Wotton, or a translation from the _Geistliche und weltliche Gedichte_ of Weckerlin, a lyrical poet of considerable eminence and popularity in his day, and who died in London in 1651. Weckerlin was employed in important affairs connected with the Protestants in Germany during the Thirty Years' War, as secretary to an embassy in London from that country; and was also employed on several occasions by James I. and Charles I. An edition of Weckerlin's _Poems_ was edited by him while he resided in London, and was printed at Amsterdam in 1641, and again in 1648. A previous collection had {421} appeared at Stutgart in 1618. Many of his poems, which he had left in MS. with his brother Ludwig in Germany, perished with him during the horrors of the war. "What has become," Weckerlin feelingly exclaims, "of my _Myrta_, that dear poem, composed of so many sonnets and stanzas?"
Perhaps some of the readers of "N. & Q.," who are conversant with the literature of England and Germany during the period alluded to, may be able to solve the question as to the real author of the verses mentioned.
JOHN MACRAY.
Oxford.
* * * * *
Minor Queries.
_Plants and Flowers._--Might I inquire of your correspondent EIRIONNACH why his long-promised Notes on the "ecclesiastical and rustic pet names" of plants and flowers have never been forthcoming? I have often lingered on the threshold of the "garden full of sunshine and of bees," where EIRIONNACH has laboured; would he kindly be my guide to the pleasant domain, and indicate (without trespassing on your columns I mean) the richest gatherings of the legendary lore and poetry of the vegetable kingdom? Are there any collections of similes drawn from plants and flowers? Dr. Aitkin has broken ground in his _Essay on Poetical Similes_. Any notes on this subject, addressed to the "care of the Editor," will greatly oblige
SIGMA.
Customs, London.
_Quotations wanted._--Whence the following:
1. "Condendaque Lexica mandat Damnatis, poenam pro poenis omnibus unam."
Quoted at the end of the Preface to Liddell and Scott's _Lexicon_?
2. "_Rex_ erat _Elizabeth_, sed erat _Regina Jacobus?_"[1]
P. J. F. GANTILLON.
[Footnote 1: Rapin has given the parentage of this pasquil at the end of his History of James I.:
"Tandis qu' Elizabeth fut Roy L'Anglois fut d'Espagne l'effroy, Maintenant, devise et caquette, Regi par la Reine Jaquette."
"Extinctus amabitur idem."
Unde?
W. T. M.
_Griffith, William, Bishop of Ossory._--Any facts relative to the life of this prelate will be acceptable, as I am about to go to press with a work comprising _Lives of the Bishops of Ossory_.
JAMES GRAVES.
Killkenny.
"_Cowperiana._"--Southey, in his preface to the last volume of his edition of Cowper's _Works_ (dated Aug. 12, 1837), speaks of his intention to publish two additional volumes under the title of _Cowperiana_. Were these ever published? If not, will they ever be?
W. P. STORER.
Olney, Bucks.
_John Keats's Poems._--Can any of your readers inform me what legend (if any) John Keats the poet refers to in his beautiful poem of _St. Agnes' Eve_, st. xix., when he says:
"Never on such a night have lovers met, Since Merlin paid his demon all the monstrous debt."
And pray let me know what is implied in the concluding lines of his absurd poem of _Hyperion_, as they have always been a mystery to me.
[Greek: Xanthos].
_Holland._--We have the kingdom of Holland, we have the Holland division of Lincolnshire, and in Lancashire we have the two townships of Downholland and Upholland. Is the derivation of each the same, and, if it be, what is the affinity?
PRESTONIENSIS.
_Armorial._--Can the younger son of a peer use the supporters to his family arms?
PRESTONIENSIS.
_Stoke and Upton._--These names of places are so very common, and in some counties, as Bucks, Worcester, and Devon, apply to adjoining villages, that it would be interesting to know the origin of the names, and of their association.
JNO. D. ALCROFT.
_Slavery in England._--One of the recent volumes published by the Chetham Society, the _Stanley Papers_, part ii., contains the household books of the third and fourth Earls of Derby, temp. Queen Elizabeth. I find in the "orders touching the government of my Lo. his house," that at the date thereof (1558) slavery in some form or other existed in England, for in the mansion of this powerful noble it was provided--
"That no _slaves_ nor boyes shall sitt in the hall, but in place therefore appoynted convenyent."
And,--
"That the yemen of horses and groomes of the stable shall not suffre any boyes or _slaves_ to abye about the stables, nor lye in theym, nor in anie place about theym."
Was there then in England the form of slavery now in existence in the United States, and until lately in the West Indies; or was it more like the serfdom of Russia? And when was this slavery abolished in England?
PRESTONIENSIS.
"_Go to Bath._"--What is the origin of this saying?
R. R.
{422}
_Mummy Chests._--Harris, in his _Natural History of the Bible_, says:
"The imperishable chests which contain the Egyptian mummies were of _cypress_."
Shaw, in his _Travels_, p. 376., says:
"The mummy chests, and whatever figures and instruments are found in the catacombs, are all of them of _sycamore_."
Which is right, and how can we account for the contradiction?
N. L. J.
_The Blechenden Family._--Thomas Blechenden, D.D., a Prebendary of Canterbury, whose will was proved in 1663, had a younger brother Richard, who had a daughter Mary. It is desired to know if Mary married, and if so, to whom? The family were of Ruffin's Hill in Kent, and Richard is described as "of London."
GWILLIM.
Philadelphia.
_Francklyn Household Book._--In the extracts from this MS., given in the _Archaeologia_, vol. xv. p. 157., is an entry,--
"Given to the prisoners at White Chappel, 1s."
Who were they?
"Nov. 12, 1624. Given to Mr. Atkynson's man for writing out the causes which are to be hearde in the Star Chamber this tearme, 1s."
Who and what was Mr. Atkynson?
"June 13, 1625. Spent by Wyllyam when he was sworn by the pages, 6s. 6d."
What does this refer to?
"April 17, 1625. Given to Sir Charles Morrison's groomes, 3s."
Who and what was Sir Charles Morrison?
In another extract given elsewhere, I find,--
"August 5, 1644. For bay salt to stop the barrells, 6d."
What does this mean?
"January 17, 1644. For four giggs and scourgesticks, 1s."
What are giggs and scourgesticks?
"November 10, 1646. For haulfe a pound of cakes and jumballs, 10d."
What are jumballs?
Can any of your readers tell me where this _Livre des Acconts pour Chevalier Jean Francklyn en son_ [sic] _Maison au Wilsden_ now is? When the extracts were published in the _Archaeologia_, it was said to be in the possession of the late Sir John Chardin Musgrave, Bart. I have applied to the present Sir George Musgrave, and also to George Musgrave, Esq., of Gordon Square, and Bedfordshire, who is descended from Sir Christopher Musgrave, who married to his second wife a daughter of Sir George Francklyn; but neither can give me any tidings of this MS.
J. K.
_Lord Rosehill's Marriage._--An American paper of August 22, 1768, has the following:
"Last week was married in Maryland, the Right Honorable Lord Rosehill to Miss Margaret Cheer, a lady much admired for her theatrical performances."
Who was Lord Rosehill?
W. D. R.
Philadelphia.
_Colonel Butler._--Can you give me any information respecting Colonel Butler, who fought during the civil wars, I fear, under the banner of the usurper? He belonged to a Lincolnshire family, and either his daughter or some relative married a person of the name of Hairby or Harby.
AGARES.
_Willesdon, co. Middlesex._--Information is solicited respecting the families of Willesdon, Roberts, Francklyn, Barne, Poulett, Atye, Troyford, and Nicolls of this place, as well as of other families known to have belonged to this parish.
Any communications as to the church, its original construction, or its reconstruction about the end of the fourteenth, or beginning of the fifteenth, century, or illustrative of the general history of the parish in early or recent times, or biographical notices of its vicars, will be gladly received; and as such information may not be generally interesting to your readers, I would request contributors to address any communications they may be pleased to favour me with, to J. K., care of Mr. Fenton, Kensall Green, Harrow Road, Middlesex.
J. K.
* * * * *
Minor Queries with Answers.
_Ashes of "Lignites."_--A paragraph has been making the circuit of the public papers, recommending the use of ashes of _lignites_, to preserve esculent roots. It may have originated with some dealer in _lignites_; but plain dealers would like to be informed what _lignites_ are?
RUSTICUS.
[Lignite is a fossil wood carbonized to a certain degree, but retaining distinctly its woody texture. Dr. MacCulloch, _On Rocks_, p. 636., observes: "In its chemical properties, lignite holds a station intermediate between peat and coal; while among the varieties a gradation in this respect may be traced; the brown and more organised kinds approaching very near to peat, while the more compact kinds, such as jet, approximate to coal."]
_Bishop Bathurst._--I have heard it often asserted that the late Dr. Bathurst, Bishop of Norwich, was the youngest of _forty-two_ children. Can this {423} be satisfactorily ascertained? I remember hearing it many years since during the bishop's lifetime. Such a circumstance is not beyond the bounds of possibility, if we are to believe the Parish Register of Bermondsey; for there appears an entry there of the marriage, on Jan. 4, 1624-5, of James Harriott, Esq., one of the _forty_ children of his father. I myself knew intimately a lady, a clergyman's widow, who was the mother of twenty-six children (Vol. v., p. 106.; Vol. ix., p. 186.); and I have heard it said that one of her brothers-in-law was father of twenty-four, and another of fourteen children. The late Sir Robert Wigram, Bart., had twenty-four children: he died at the age of eighty-six.
Y. S. M.
[Mrs. Thistlethwaite, in her _Memoirs_ of her father, p. 6, states, that "Benjamin Bathurst, Esq., the father of the Bishop of Norwich, having married, first, Miss Poole, an heiress, he had issue by her twenty-two children; by his second wife, Miss Brodrick, daughter of Dr. Brodrick, a Brother of Lord Midleton's, Mr. Bathurst had a second family of fourteen children, of whom my father was third child and second son. He was a seven months' child, and I have heard that he was so extremely small an infant, that he could not be dressed like other children for some time after his birth, but was obliged to be wrapped in cotton. My father used to say in a joke, that he was wrapped in cotton, and put into a quart mug." The bishop's father had four children, one daughter and three sons. These four had a hundred children between them, thirty-six of whom fell to the lot of the bishop's father.]
"_Selah._"--What is the meaning of the word _Selah_, which occurs so often in the Psalms? I have observed that most people, in reading, omit it. Should it be read or not?
F. M. MIDDLETON.
[A diversity of opinion prevails as to the exact import of this term. The great musical critic Mattheson, in a work written on the word, having rejected eleven meanings, decides in favour of the twelfth, which makes the word equivalent to the modern Italian _da capo_. In this view, the word _selah_ directs a repetition of the air or song from the commencement, to the parts where it is placed. Herder held that _selah_ denoted a swell, or a change in the rapidity of the movement, or in the key. The Easterns, he says, are fond of a very uniform, and, as it appears to Europeans, mournful music; but at certain points, they of a sudden change the key, and pass into a different melody. These points, he thinks, were among the Hebrews indicated by the word _selah_. The balance of authority, however, is in favour of the former view.--_The People's Dict. of the Bible._ Consult also, Julius Bate's _Critica Hebraea_, and Gesenius' _Hebrew and English Lexicon_.]
_The Long Parliament._--Where is a list of it, including its various changes, to be seen?
Y. S. M.
[Among the _King's Pamphlets_ in the British Museum (Press-mark, E. 1836.) is the following "A List of the Names of the Long Parliament, anno 1640; likewise of the Parliament holden at Oxford; as also of the three ensuing Parliaments holden at Westminster in the years 1653, 1654, 1656, and of the late Parliament, dissolved April 22, 1659, with a Catalogue of the Lords of the other House. London: Printed in the year 1659." There is also another pamphlet entitled "The Names of the Members of Parliament which began on the 4th June, 1653. 4to. London, 1654."]
"_The Three Pigeons._"--Was it the house at Brentford, mentioned by DR. RIMBAULT (Vol. ix., p. 331.), that suggested Tony Lumpkin's convivial ballad in praise of "The Three Jolly Pigeons?"
G. TAYLOR.
Reading.
[It is highly probable that the scene "An Ale-house Room" in Goldsmith's comedy _She Stoops to Conquer_ is the "Three Pigeons" at Brentford, as this remarkable hostel dates its origin from the days of Shakspeare and Ben Jonson. It is frequently mentioned by the early dramatists, and appears at one time to have been in some repute, having had for its landlord the celebrated tragedian, John Lowin, cotemporary of Shakspeare, and one of the original actors in his plays, who died in this house at a very advanced age:
"Thou art admirably suited for the Three Pigeons At Brentford, I swear I know thee not."--_The Roaring Girl._
"We will turn our courage to Braynford--westward, My bird of the night--to the Pigeons."--Ben Jonson's _Alchymist_.
See Faulkner's _History of Brentford_, p. 144.]
_Captain Cook._--Wanted, the pedigree of Capt. Jas. Cook (the circumnavigator), and full account of his lineal and collateral descendants.
WARDALE G. MCALLISTER.
Philadelphia.
[Dr. Kippis's _Life of Captain Cook_ may be consulted with advantage. It is carefully compiled, and will be found in the fourth volume of his _Biographia Britannica_, as well as in a separate 4to. volume, 1788. For the death of the eldest and only surviving son of the celebrated navigator, see _Gentleman's Magazine_ for February, 1794, p. 182., and p. 199. of the same volume.]
_Varnish for old Books._--Can any of your readers oblige me with a good receipt for varnishing the bindings of old books? Bees-wax and turpentine, used very thin, is a tolerably good one; but I am desirous of learning another.
INVESTIGATOR.
[A little common glue-size, made thin, would be better than bees-wax and turpentine. The best varnish that can be used is that made in France, and may be had at Barbe Lechertier's, Artists' Colourman, 60. Regent's Quadrant. It is called French varnish for leather, and is sold at 14s. per pound. There is also a common varnish for leather, which can be purchased {424} at Reilly's varnish manufactory, 19. Old Street, St. Luke's. It is sold at about 3s. 6d. per pint.]
_Cabbages._--When were cabbages first cultivated in England? Who introduced them?
C. H.
[Evelyn says, "'Tis scarce a hundred years since we first had cabbages out of Holland, Sir Anthony Ashley, of Wiburg St. Giles, in Dorsetshire, being, as I am told, the first who planted them in England."--_Acetaria_, sect. 11. They were introduced into Scotland by the soldiers of Cromwell's army.]
* * * * *
Replies.
ADDISON'S HYMNS.
(Vol. ix., p. 373.)
After the correspondence that took place ("N. & Q.," Vol. v.), I had hoped that Addison would have been left in peaceable possession of those "divine hymns" ascribed to his pen; but this is not to be. A former correspondent, J. G. F., doubted whether they were not composed by Andrew Marvell? This inquiry was, I hope, satisfactorily answered, by myself in the first instance, and afterwards by MR. CROSSLEY, Vol. v., pp. 513, 548.
In No. 234. a later correspondent, S. M., asks whether the hymn "When rising from the bed of death," which he says is "taken from the chapter on 'Death and Judgment,' in Addison's _Evidences of the Christian Religion_," was written by Addison or Dr. Isaac Watts? In what edition of the _Evidences_ does S. M. find either the chapter he speaks of, or this hymn? The place which it occupies is in No. 513. of the _Spectator_. As I have elsewhere stated, Addison was accustomed to throw a little mystery over these poems; and "the excellent man in holy orders," to whom this hymn is attributed, is unquestionably the ideal clergyman, the occasional visitor of the club, spoken of in the second number of the _Spectator_.
In the letter that accompanies this hymn, the supposed writer says,--
"The indisposition which has long hung upon me, is at last grown to such a head, that it must quickly make an end of me or of itself.... Were I able to dress up several thoughts of a serious nature, which have made great impressions on my mind during a long fit of sickness, they might not be an improper entertainment for one of your Saturday's papers."
What a natural remark from a writer who, Addison tells us, treats divine topics "as one who has no interests in this world, as one who is hastening to the object of all his wishes, and conceives hope from his decays and infirmities!" This sublime paper, or "series of thoughts," stamped with the peculiar beauties and polish of Addison's style, closes with the hymn in question, composed, as the writer says, "during this my sickness."
Watts survived the date of this paper above thirty-five years. Had it been his own composition, would he not have claimed the authorship, and incorporated the hymn amongst his sacred songs?
Let us not, in the pages of "N. & Q." at least, witness farther attempts to misappropriate the writings of one, whose undying fame will be cotemporaneous with the literature of England. Still, in the beautiful language of Addison's friend Tickell, may he in his hymns--
----"warn poor mortals left behind, A task well suited to his gentle mind."
J. H. MARKLAND.
* * * * *
LONGFELLOW.
(Vol. ix., pp. 174. 255.)
A communication from a gentleman, who married into a family of this name, informs me that the Longfellows of Brecon were a branch of a Yorkshire family; and that a portion of more than one family, probably from the same county, are now settled in Kent. My friend has not before had his attention turned to this subject, but he promises farther inquiry.
T. S. N.
Bermondsey.
Why should W. P. STORER suppose that the name of Longfellow originated otherwise than in the lengthy proportions of an ancestor? Surely the well-known surnames, Rufus, Longshanks, Strongbow, are sufficient to warrant us in saying that Longfellow need have nothing to do with Longueville. From what shall we derive the names of Longman, Greathead, Littlejohn, and Tallboy?
JOHN P. STILWELL.
Dorking.
By the kindness of the Registrar-General, I am enabled to point, with some precision, to a few of the localities in which the name of Longfellow exists in this country. Upon reference to the well-arranged indexes in his office, it appears that the deaths of sixty-one persons bearing this name were recorded in the years 1838 to 1852; and of these, fifty occurred in the West Riding of Yorkshire, namely, in Leeds thirty-five; Otley, and its neighbourhood, ten; Selby four, and in Keighley one. The other instances were, in the metropolis seven, and one each in Swansea, Newport (Monmouth), Tewkesbury, and Hastings. More than one third of the males bore the Christian name of William.
It is not probable that the Longfellows are numerous in any part of England: indeed, as we {425} know that of the general population the average annual mortality is 2.2 per cent, the sixty-one deaths in fifteen years, or four deaths yearly, might be supposed to result from about two hundred persons of the name; but inferences of this nature, except when large masses are dealt with, are often very fallacious.
May not the derivation of the name be from _long fallow_, of the same family as Fallows, Fellowes, Fallowfield, and Langmead, which are not uncommon?
JAMES T. HAMMACK.
19. St. Mark's Crescent, Regent's Park.
C. H. quotes some lines said to have been written on a window-shutter of the "Golden Lion," Brecon, when a Mr. Longfellow was proprietor, fifty or sixty years ago:
"Tom Longfellow's name is most justly his due; Long his neck, long his bill, which is very long too; Long the time ere your horse to the stable is led," &c.
These lines remind me of the following passage of the poet Longfellow's in his _Hyperion_, which, not to speak of a possible plagiarism, has at least a strange _family_ resemblance:
"If you go to Zurich, beware how you stop at 'The Raven.' I wrote in the travellers' book--
'Beware of the Raven of Zurich; 'Tis a bird of omen ill, With a noisy and an unclean breast, And a very, very long bill.'
"If you go to 'The Golden Falken' you will find it there. I am the author of those lines--LONGFELLOW."
G. DYMOND.
* * * * *
BOOKS BURNT BY THE HANGMAN.
(Vol. ix., pp. 78. 226.)
As the subject is interesting, you will probably permit me to cite a few more examples:--In Geo. Chalmers' _Catalogue_, "Burnt by the hangman" is appended to a copy of Wm. Thomas' _Historie of Italie_, 1549; but I do not find this stated elsewhere. The opinions emitted in this work are of a free nature certainly, in respect to the governed and governing powers; but whatever was the fate of his book, I rather think Thomas (who was executed in Mary's reign) suffered for some alleged act of overt treason, and not for publishing seditious books. _An Information from the States of the Kingdome of Scotland to the Kingdome of England, showing how they have bin dealt with by His Majesty's Commissioners_, 1640: in a proclamation (March 30, 1640) against seditious pamphlets sent from Scotland, this tract was prohibited on account of its containing many most notorious falsehoods, scandals, &c.; it was ordered to be burnt by the common hangman. (Rymer's _Foed._, as quoted by Chalmers.)
There is now before me a modern impression of an old cut in two compartments: the upper representing the demolition of the "Crosse in Cheapeside on the 2nd May, 1643;" and the lower a goodly gathering of the public around a bonfire, viewing, with apparent satisfaction, the committal of a book to the flames by the common executioner, with this inscription: