Part 3

"He [Sir George Buc] was born at Ely, the eldest son of Robert Bucke, and Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter Lee of Brandon Ferry; the grandson of Robert Bucke, and Jane, the daughter of Clement Higham; the great-grandson of Sir John Bucke, who, having helped Richard to a horse on Bosworth Field, was attainted for his zeal."--Chalmers' _Apology_, p. 488.

The MS. now in Mr. Corser's possession occurs in the _Bibliotheca Heberiana_, Part xi. No. 98., and I observe, by referring to that volume, that the compiler has the following note:--

"This MS. is entirely in the handwriting of Sir George Buck, Master of the Revels in the reign of James I., as prepared by him for publication. The initials G. B. correspond with those of his name, and the handwriting is similar to a MS. Dedication of his poem to Lord Chancellor Egerton, which is preserved at Bridgewater House."

The authorship of _The Famous History of St. George_, then, rests solely upon the initials "G. B.," and the similarity of the handwriting to that of {74} Sir George Buc. Now it must be remembered that the MS. dedication was written in 1605, and the _history_ after 1660! Surely an interval of _fifty-five_ years must have made some difference in the penmanship of the worthy Master of the Revels. I think we must receive the _comparison_ of handwritings with considerable caution; and, unless some of your readers can produce "new evidence" in favour of one or other of the claimants, I much fear that your reverend correspondent will have to exclaim with Master Ford in the play,--

"_Buck._ I would I could wash myself of the _Buck_!"

EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.

I am not quite certain that I can satisfactorily answer Mr. Corser's query; but at least I am able to show that _a_ Sir George Buck, seised in fee of lands in Lincolnshire, did die in or about 1623. In the Report Office of the Court of Chancery is a Report made to Lord Keeper Williams by Sir Wm. Jones, who had been Lord Chief Justice in Ireland, dated the 10th Nov. 1623, respecting a suit referred to him by the Lord Keeper, in which _Stephen Buck_ was plaintiff and _Robert Buck_ defendant. In this report is contained a copy of the will of Sir George Buck, whom I supposed to be _the_ Sir George Buck, the master of the Revels; and the will containing a singular clause, disinheriting his brother Robert because he was alleged to be a Jesuit, and it having been supposed that Sir George Buck died intestate, I published an extract from it in my _Acta Cancellariæ_ (Benning, 1847). On further examination of the whole of the document in question, I find it distinctly stated, and of course that statement was made on evidence adduced, that Sir George Buck was seised in fee of certain lands and tenements in Boston and Skydbrooke, both of which places, I need scarcely say, are in Lincolnshire. It is therefore, at least, not improbable that the testator was a native of Lincolnshire. It also appears that the proceedings in Chancery were instituted previously to June, 1623; and, inasmuch as Sir George Buck's will is recited in those proceedings, he must have died before they were commenced, and not in September, 1623, as I once supposed. It may, perhaps, aid Mr. Corser's researches to know that the will (which is not to be found at Doctors' Commons) mentions, besides the brother Robert, a sister, Cecilia Buck, who had a son, Stephen, who had a son, George Buck, whom his great uncle, Sir George, made ultimate heir to his lands in Lincolnshire.

CECIL MONRO.

Registrars' Office, Court of Chancery.

* * * * *

"A FROG HE WOULD A-WOOING GO."

Your SEXAGENARIAN who dates from "Shooter's Hill," has _not_ hit the mark when he suggests that Anna Bouleyn's marriage with Henry VIII. (in the teeth of the Church) is the hidden mystery of the popular old song,--

"Sir Frog he would a-wooing go, Whether his mother was willing or no."

That some courtship in the history of the British monarchy, leaving a deep impression on the public mind, gave rise to this generally diffused ballad, is exceedingly probable; but the style and wording of the song are evidently of a period much later than the age of Henry VIII. Might not the madcap adventure of Prince Charles with Buckingham into Spain, to _woo the Infanta_, be its real origin? "Heigho! for Antony Rowley" is the chorus. Now "Old Rowley" was a pet name for Charles the Second, as any reader of the Waverley Novels must recollect. No event was more likely to be talked about and sung about at the time, the adventurous nature of the trip being peculiarly adapted to the ballad-monger.

FRANCIS MAHONY.

_"A Frog he would a-wooing go"_ (Vol. ii., p. 45.)--Your correspondent T. S. D. is certainly right in his notion that the ballad of "A frog he would a-wooing go" is very old, however fanciful may be his conjecture about its personal or political application to Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn. That it could not refer to "the Cavaliers and the Roundheads," another of T. S. D.'s notions, is clear from the fact, that it was entered at Stationers' Hall in November, 1581; as appears by the quotation made by Mr. Payne Collier, in his second volume of _Extracts_, printed for the Shakspeare Society last year. It runs thus:--

"Edward White. Lycensed unto him, &c., theis iiij. ballads followinge, that is to saie, A moste strange weddinge of the frogge and the mowse," &c.

Upon this entry Mr. Collier makes this note:

"The ballad can hardly be any other than the still well-known comic song 'A Frog he would a-wooing go.'"

It may have been even older than 1581, when Edward White entered it; for it is possible that it was then only a reprint of an earlier production. I, like Mr. Collier, have heard it sung "in our theatres and streets," and, like T. S. D., always fancied that it was ancient.

THE HERMIT OF HOLYPORT.

_Rowley Powley._--As generally inclined to the belief that everything is older than anybody knows of, I am rather startled by "Rowley Powley" not being as old as myself. I remember seeing mentioned somewhere, without any reference to this chorus, that _rowley powley_ is a name for a plump fowl, of which both "gammon and spinach" are posthumous connexions. I cannot help thinking that this may be a clue to some prior occurrence of the chorus, with or without {75} the song. If "derry down," which has been said to be druidical, were judged of by the last song it went with, how old would be the Druids?

M.

"_A Frog he would a-wooing go._"--It may perhaps be interesting to some of your correspondents on the subject of "A frog he would a-wooing go," to know that there exists an Irish version of that woeful tale, which differs in several respects from the ballad which has so long been familiar to English ears. The burthen of "Heigho! says Rowley," does not occur in the Hibernian composition, but a still less intelligible chorus supplies its place. The air is exceedingly quaint, and seems to me to bear the stamp of antiquity. The words are as follow:--

"Misther Frog lived in a well, Heigho! my lanti-iddity! And the merry mouse in the mill, Terry heigho! for lang for liddity! Says Mr. Frog, 'I will go coort,' Heigho, &c. 'Saddle me nag and polish me boots!' Terry heigho, &c. Frog came _to_ Lady Mouse's hall, Heigho, &c. Gave a rap and thundering call, Terry heigho, &c. 'Where _is_ the people _of_ this house?' Heigho, &c. 'Here am I,' says my Lady Mouse, Terry heigho, &c. 'I've come to court Miss Kitty here,' Heigho, &c. 'If that she can fancy me.' Terry heigho, &c. 'Uncle Rat is not at home;' Heigho, &c. 'He'll give you an answer--I have none,' Terry heigho, &c. Uncle Rat, when he came in, Heigho, &c. 'Who's been here since I left home?' Terry heigho, &c. 'Misther Frog, a worthy man;' Heigho, &c. 'Give him a wife, Sir, if you can,' Terry heigho, &c. 'Where shall we make the bride's bed?' Heigho, &c. 'Down below, in the Horse's Head.' Terry heigho, &c. 'What shall we have for the wedding supper?' Heigho, &c. 'A roasted potato and a roll o' butter.' Terry heigho, &c. Supper was laid down to dine, Heigho, &c. Changed a farthing and brought up wine, Terry heigho, &c. First come in was a nimble bee, Heigho, &c. With his fiddle upon his knee, Terry heigho, &c. Next come in was a creeping snail, Heigho, &c. With his bagpipes under his tail, Terry heigho, &c. Next came in was a neighbour's pig, Heigho, &c. 'Pray, good people, will ye play us a jig?' Terry heigho, &c. Next come in was a neighbour's hen, Heigho, &c. Took the fiddler by the wing, Terry heigho, &c. Next come in was a neighbour's duck, Heigho, &c. Swallow'd the piper, head and pluck, Terry heigho, &c. Next come in was a neighbour's cat, Heigho, &c. Took the young bride by the back, Terry heigho, &c. Misther Frog jumped down the well, Heigho, &c. 'Zounds, I'll never go coort again!' Terry heigho, &c. Uncle Rat run up a wall, Heigho, &c. 'Zounds, the divil's among you all!' Terry heigho, &c."

W. A. G.

* * * * *

Replies to Minor Queries.

_Carucate of Land_ (Vol. ii., p. 9.).--The measure of the carucate was as indefinite in Edward III.'s time as at an earlier period. It then, as before, represented as much land as could be worked with one plough in a year. I am fortunately enabled to give your correspondent E.V. a precise answer to his Query. In a MS. survey of the Hospitallers' lands in England, taken under the direction of Prior Philip Thame, A.D. 1338, which I transcribed from the original, among the records of the order, I find in the "extent" of the "Camera de Hetherington in comitatu Northampton,"--

"Item. v Carucate terre continentes v^c acre terre: pretium cujuslibet, viij^d."

"Bæjulia de Eycle (_i. e._ Eagle in Lincolnshire) cum membris."

"Et ibidem iiij. carucate terre, que continent v^c acras terre et apud le Wodehous iij carucate terre, que continent iij^c: pretium acre, vj^d."

Here we have a decided instance of the variation in the number of acres represented by the carucate. I have generally found that the nearest approximation to correctness, where no other evidence is at hand, is to consider the carucate as designating about 100 acres.

L. B. L.

_Carucate of Land._--A case in point is given in the 33rd vol. of the _Archæologia_, p. 271. The {76} carucate frequently consisted of eight bovatæ of arable land; but the number of acres appears to have varied not only according to the quality of the soil, but according to the custom of husbandry of the shire: for where a two-years' course, or crop and fallow, was adopted, more land was adjudged to the carucate than where a three-years' course obtained, the land lying fallow not being reckoned or rateable. The object would appear to have been to obtain a carucate of equal value throughout the kingdom.

B. W.

_Golden Frog and Sir John Poley_ (Vol. i., p. 214. and 372.).--Your correspondent GASTROS suggests that "to the Low Countries, the land of frogs, we must turn for the solution of this enigma," (Vol. i., p. 372.); accordingly, it appears from the treatise of Bircherodius on the Knights of the Elephant, an order of knighthood in Denmark, conferred upon none but persons of the first quality and merit, that a frog is among the devices adopted by them; and we need not further seek for a reason why this _Symbolum Heroicum_ was worn by Sir John Poley, who served much under Christian, king of Denmark (Vol. i., p. 214.), and distinguished himself much by his military achievements in the Low Countries (p. 372.).

T. J.

_The Poley Frog._--More than half a century ago, I was present when this singular appendage was the subject of conversation in a large literary party, but being then a schoolboy I made "no note of it." My recollection now is, that after some jokes on the name of Poley as that of a frog, allusion was made to an old court story of King James II. throwing a frog into the neck of William, third Earl of Pembroke. The story, with its consequences, may be found in the _Tixall Letters_, vol. i. p. 5.; Wood's _Athenæ Ox._, vol. i. p. 546.; Park's _Royal and Noble Authors_, vol. ii. p. 249.

[Old English G].

I have never seen a head of any engraving of the portrait of Sir John Poley, of Boxsted Hall, not Bexstead. I believe there is none.

D.

_Bands_ (Vol. ii., p. 23.) are the descendants of the ruff a portion of the ordinary civil costume of the sixteenth century. In the reign of James I., the ruff was occasionally exchanged for a wide stiff collar, standing out horizontally and squarely, made of similar stuff, starched and wired, and sometimes edged like the ruff with lace. These collars were called bands. A good example occurs in the portrait of Shakspeare by Cornelius Jansen, engravings of which are well known. At the end of the seventeenth century these broad-falling bands were succeeded by the small Geneva bands, which have ever since been retained by our clergymen and councillors, but in a contracted form, having been originally _bonâ fide_ collars, the ends of which hung negligently over the shoulders. (See Planché's _Brit. Costume_, pp. 350. 390.) Bands are worn by the ecclesiastics in France and Italy, as well as in England.

In the second number of _Popular Tracts Illustrating the Prayer-Book_, p. 3., it is suggested that bands are perhaps the remains of the amice, one of the eucharistic vestments in use previous to the Reformation, which consisted of a square cloth, so put on that one side, which was embroidered, formed a collar round the neck, whilst the rest hung behind like a hood. By analogy with the scarf of our Protestant clergy, which is clearly the stole of the Roman Church retained under a different name, this suggestion is not without some degree of plausibility.

The fact that the present academical costume is derived from the ordinary civil dress of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, sufficiently accounts for the retention of the bands as a part.

ARUN.

Surely bands are no part of the peculiar dress of the clergy, &c., but the ordinary dress of the people, retained by certain classes or professions, because they wished for something regular and distinctive. So the wigs of the judges were the fashionable dress 150 years ago. It is curious that the clergy have cut down their bands, while the lawyers still glory in comparatively large and flowing ones. Bands altered greatly in their form. Taylor, the Water Poet, I think, says--

"The eighth Henry, as I understand, Was the first prince that ever wore a band,"

or, indeed, person of any sort. The date of the same thing in France is mentioned in Vellay, but I forget it now.

C. B.

_Bishops and their Precedence_ (Vol. ii., p. 9.).--It may interest your correspondent E. to refer to a passage in Baker's _Chronicle_, sub anno 1461, p. 204., which would tend to show that the precedency of the spiritual barons was at that period disputed. That writer says:--

"John Earl of Oxford, with his son Aubrey de Vere, &c., was convicted of treason and beheaded. John Earl of Oxford, in a former parliament, had disputed the question concerning the precedency of Temporal and Spiritual Barons, a bold attempt in those days, and by force of whose argument Judgment was given for the _Lords Temporal_."

Where will this judgment or any account of the dispute be found?

G.

_"Imprest" and "Debenture"_ (Vol. ii., p. 40.).--_Imprest_ is derived from the Italian _imprestare_, to lend, which is _im-præstare_, (Fr. _prêter_). _Debentur_, or _Debenture_ (Lat. _debeo_), was originally a Customhouse term, meaning a certificate or ticket presented by an exporter, when a drawback or bounty was allowed on certain exported goods. Hence it seems {77} to mean a certificate acknowledging a debt, and promising payment at a specified time on the presentation of the certificate. Debentures are thus issued by railway companies when they borrow money, and the certificates for annual interest which accompany them are, so to speak, _sub-debentures_. Perhaps this may throw _some_ light upon the matter.

E. S. JACKSON.

_Charade_ (Vol. i., p. 10.).--The charade cited by QUÆSTOR is on my "Notes" as the "Bishop of Salisbury's," and the following answer is said to be by a clergyman:--

"Firm on the Rock of Christ, though lowly sprung, The Church invokes the Spirit's fiery Tongue; Those gracious breathings rouse but to controul The Storm and Struggle in the Sinner's Soul. Happy! ere long his carnal conflicts cease, And the Storm sinks in faith and gentle peace-- Kings own its potent sway, and humbly bows The gilded diadem upon their brows-- Its saving voice with Mercy speeds to all, But ah! how few who quicken at the call-- Gentiles the favour'd 'little Flock' detest, And Abraham's children spit upon their rest. Once only since Creation's work, has night Curtain'd with dark'ning Clouds its saving light, What time the Ark majestically rode, Unscath'd upon the desolating flood-- The Silver weigh'd for it, in all its strength For scarce three pounds were counted, while its length Traced in the Prophet's view with measur'd reed, Squared just a mile, as Rabbins are agreed-- And now I feel entitled well to smile, Since Christ's Church bears the Palm in all our Isle."

I waited some time to see if any solution would be given of the charade; and I now send you the one in my possession, in default of a better.

REBECCA.

_Dutch Language_ (Vol. i., p. 383.).--E. V. asks what are the best _modern_ books for acquiring a knowledge of the Dutch language. If E. V. insist upon _modern_ books, he cannot have better than Hendrik Conscience's novels, or Gerrits's _Zoon des Volks_. I would, however, advise him to get a volume of Jacob Cats' _Poems_, the language of which is not antiquated, and is idiomatic without being difficult to a beginner.

H. B. C.

_"Construe" and "Translate"_ (Vol ii., p. 22.).--It is very common, I apprehend, in language, for two words, originally of the same meaning, or two spellings of the same word, to be gradually appropriated by usage to two subordinate uses, applications, and meanings of the word respectively, and that merely by accident, as to which of the two is taken for one of the subdivisions, and which for the other. We have made such an appropriation in our own time,--despatch and dispatch.

It may be curious, however, to inquire how far back the distinction mentioned by your correspondent is found.

"Construe," originally, must probably have meant, not to turn from one language into another, but to explain the construction, or what is called by the Greek name syntax, much like what in regard to a single word is called parsing.

C. B.

_Dutton Family_ (Vol. ii., p. 21.).--B. will find the _Dutton_ proviso in the statute 17 Geo. II. explained by reference to Ormerod's _Cheshire_, vol. i. pp. 36. 477. 484.; Lyson's _Cheshire_; Blount's _Antient Tenures_, 298., &c. An early grant by one of the Lacy family transferred to Hugh de Dutton and his heirs "magistratum omnium leccatorum et meritricum totius Cestriæ." In the fifteenth century the jurisdiction was claimed by the Dutton family, in respect of the lordship or manor of Dutton, and was then confined to a jurisdiction over the minstrels and musicians of the palatinate and city of Chester, who constituted, I presume, a department among the _leccatores_, or licorish fellows, mentioned above. In virtue of this jurisdiction the lord of Dutton had the advowry or "advocaria" of the minstrels of the district, and annually licensed them at a _Court of Minstrelsy_, where the homage consisted of a jury of sworn fiddlers; and certain dues, namely, flagons of wine and a lance or flagstaff, were yearly rendered to the lord. The last court was held in 1756.

As the early Vagrant Acts included "minstrels" in their definition of rogues and vagabonds, it is evident that the suitors of the Minstrelsy Court would have run the risk of commitment to the House of Correction and a whipping, if the acts had not specially excepted the franchise of the Dutton family from their operation. The earliest statutes are 14 Eliz. c. 5.; 39 Eliz. c. 4.; and 43 Eliz. c. 9. Section 27. of the last Act clearly shows that it was the power of licensing minstrels which the proviso of the acts was intended to save. The pedigree of the Dutton family will be found in the volume of Ormerod already cited.

E. S.

June 5. 1850.

"_Laus tua, non tua fraus_," &c. (Vol. i., p. 416.).--The lines were written by Philelphus on Pope Pius II., as is stated in the book called _Les Bigarrures du Seigneur des Accords_, p. 173. of the edit. 1662.

C. B.

In a small work, entitled _Specimens of Macaronic Poetry_, 8vo., 1831, the verses quoted by "O." are stated to have been written by some poet (not named) in praise of Pope Clement VI. or Pius II., but of which learned authorities do not agree. It seems the poet was afraid he might not receive such a reward as, according to his own estimate, he deserved, and therefore retained the power of converting his flattery into abuse, by simply giving {78} his friends the cue to commence from the last word, and begin backwards. The following are other verses of the same sort:--

AD JULIUM III. PONTIFICEM MAXIMUM. "Pontifici sua sint Divino Numine tuto Culmina, nec montes hos petat omnipotens."

AD CAROLUM V. CAESAREM. "Cæsareum tibi sit felici sidere nomen, Carole, nec fatum sit tibi Cæsareum."

W. G. S.

"O." is referred to a low and scurrilous translation, or rather imitation of the epigrams of Martial and others, purporting to be "by the Rev. Mr. Scott, M.A.," and published in London in 1773.

Therein the lines quoted by "O." are given, accompanied by a sorry attempt at translation; and the epigram is attributed to

"One Cianconius, a Dominican Friar, in honour of Pope Clement the Fourth."

A. E. B.

Leeds.

_Mother of Thomas à Becket_ (Vol. i., pp. 415. 490.).--Thierry, in the 8th vol. of his _Histoire de la Conquête de l'Angleterre par les Normands_, quotes as an authority for the account of the Eastern origin of the mother of Thomas à Becket, _Vita et Processus S. Thomæ Cantuariensis, seu Quadripartita Historia_, cap. ii. fol. 3.

W. G. S.

_Medal of Stukeley._--In answer to Mr. BRITTON'S Queries (Vol. i., p. 122., and Vol. ii., p. 40.), I beg to inform him that the medal of Stukeley was executed soon after that eminent antiquary's death by an artist of the name of Gaal, who was not a die-sinker, but a modeller and chaser. The medal is rare, but not unique: I have one in my own collection, and I have, I think, seen one or two others. They are all cast in a mould and chased.

EDW. HAWKINS

June 13. 1850.

_Dulcarnon_ (Vol. i., p. 254.).--Has _Dulcarnon_ any reference to the Hindostanee _Dhoulcarnein_, two-horned,--the epithet constantly applied in India to Alexander the Great, or Iskander, as they call him? It seems not a bad word for a dilemma or puzzle.

H. W.

Nottingham.

_Practice of Scalping_.--Your correspondent T. J. will find in Mr. Layard's _Nineveh and its Remains_ (vol. ii. p. 374.) the following note:--

"The Scythians _scalped_ and flayed their enemies, and used their skins as horse trappings."--_Herod._ iv. 64.

G. R.

Greenock.

_Scalping._--Perhaps your correspondent T. J. (Vol. ii., p. 12.) may recollect the allusion to "scalping," in Psalm lxviii. 21.; upon which verse an argument has been based in favour of the supposition, that the aborigines of America are derived from the ten tribes of Israel.

J. SANSOM.

_Derivation of Penny_ (Vol. i., pp. 384. 411.).--Akerman's _Numismatic Manual_ (p. 228.) has, under the head of "Penny," the following remarks:--