Chapter I: Front Matter

NOTES AND QUERIES:

A MEDIUM OF INTER-COMMUNICATION FOR LITERARY MEN, ARTISTS, ANTIQUARIES, GENEALOGISTS, ETC.

* * * * *

"When found, make a note of."--CAPTAIN CUTTLE.

* * * * *

NO. 8.] SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22. 1849. [Price Threepence. Stamped Edition, 4d.

* * * * *

CONTENTS.

NOTES:--
Otloh, the Scribe, by S.W. Singe
Notes on Cunningham's London, by E. Rimbault
Wives of Ecclesiastics
Tower Royal
Ancient Inscribed Dish, by Albert Way
Barnacles, by W. B. MacCabe
Dorne the Bookseller
Rev. W. Stephen's Sermons
Roger de Coverley
Minor Notes:--Omission of Dei Gratia--Grace's
Card--Florins--John Hopkins the Psalmist
Notes in answer to Minor Queries:--Genealogy of
European Sovereigns--Countess of Pembroke's Letter,
Drayton's Poems, &c.--Viz. the corruption of
Videlicot--Authors of Old Plays--Birthplace of
Coverdale--Caraccioli

QUERIES:--
Love, the King's Fool
Mare de Saham, &c.
The Advent Bells
The Poets
Mr. Poore's Literary Collections, &c., by S. Britton
The Middle Temple, by E. Foss
Minor Queries:--Henry Lord Darnley--Coffee the
Lacedaemonian Black Broth--Letters of Mrs.
Chiffinch--Sangred--Dowts of Scripture--Catsup--Nation's
Ballads--To endeavour Oneself--Date of
Anonymous Ravennas--Battle of Towton--A Peal of
Bells--Lines quotes by Goethe--MS. Sermons by
Jeremy Taylor--Papers of John Wilkes--John Ross
Mackay

MISCELLANEOUS:--
Notes on Books, Catalogues, Sales, &c.
Books and Odd Volumes wanted
Notices to Correspondents
Advertisements

* * * * *

WHAT BOOKS DID OTLOH WRITE?

Sir,--In Dr. Maitland's able vindication of the _Dark Ages_ (p. 419. 1st ed.), he concludes his interesting extract from the scribe Otloh's account of himself by saying:--"One would like to know what books they were which Otlohnus thus multiplied; but this, perhaps, is now impossible." I have it accidentally in my power to identify two at least of the number; and if it was his universal practice to subscribe his name, as he does in these instances, a search into the principal repositories of MSS. would, no doubt, give a large list. A valuable MS. volume in my possession has been thus described by a learned Benedictine: "Codex Membranaceus constans foliis 223 numerando; sæculis ix. desinente, x. et xi. incipiente, variis manibus scriptus, per partes qui in unum collectus, ex scriptis variis natidæ scripturæ carlovingicæ, varia continens: 1° Vita et Passio, seu Martirium S. Dionisii; scripta fuit ab Hilduino Abbate Coenobii S. Dionisii in Francia sub Ludovico Pio." It is said that Hilduinus was the first writer who gave the marvellous story of the saint carrying his own head in his hand for nearly two miles after his decapitation. But he tells us that he abridged his narration _ex Græcam et Latinorum Historiis_.

2° Revelatio facta S. Stephano Papæ de consecratione altaris SS. Petri et Pauli ante Sepulchrum S. Martirii Dionisii quæ consecratio facta fuit v. kal. Aug. 754. This part of the MS. is remarkable for containing in one place the date written in Roman ciphers, thus--dccLiiii. v. kl. aug.; a circumstance so rare in MSS. of this age, as to have astonished the learned diplomatists Papebroch and Germon.

3° Historia S. Simeonis Trevirensis Solitarii. Of whom it is recorded that he lived _sub Poppone Episcopo Trevirense, in quædam cellula ad portam nigram sitâ_. At fol. 36. an interesting account of the death of the saint is given by the author, who was present, and with the assistance of two other monks, piously performed his obsequies. It appears that the abbey of S. Maximin was about 120 paces from the cell of the saint at Treves, and it is therefore most probable that the writer was a monk of the Benedictine order then belonging to that foundation; but he puts his name out of doubt by the following couplet, inscribed at the end of the narrative:--

"Presbiter et monachus OTLOH quidam vocitatus
Sancte tibi librum BONIFACII tradidit istum."

This dedication of his labours to S. Boniface may only indicate his veneration for the national saint; but, as he tells us he worked a great deal in the monastery at Fulda (of which S. Boniface was the patron saint and founder), may not this have been one of his labours there? At a subsequent period, it appears, he revised and amplified Wilibald's _Life of Boniface_.

I must summarily indicate the other contents of this interesting MS., which are: 4. Passio SS Sebastiani et Vincentii. 5. Vita S. Burchardi. 6. Vita et Passio S. Kiliani (genere Scoti). 7. Vita S. Sole. 8. Vita S. Ciri. 9. Depositio S. Satiri. 10. Alphabetum Græcum. 11. Officio pro Choro cum notis musicis, pro festo S. Pancratii; sequitur ipsiis martiriis passio. 12. Vita S. Columbani [this is anonymous, but is attributed to his disciple Jonas, and contains much valuable historical matter]. Lastly, 13. Vita S. Wolfgangi, by the hand of our interesting scribe OTLOH, written at the instance of the Benedictine Coenobites of his monastery of S. Emmeram, at Ratisbon, where the saint was buried. This, as in the case of the _Life of S. Boniface_, is a _rifaccimento_; it was made from two older lives of S. Wolfgang, as Otloh himself tells us, one of them by a certain monk named Arnolfus, the other having been brought out of France. He is here, therefore, more an author than a scribe; but he declares modestly that it was a task he would willingly avoid for the future. The passage of his Preface is worth transcribing: "Fratrum quorundam nostrorum hortatu sedulo infimus ego, O coenobitarum S. Emmerammi compulsus sum S. Wolfgangi vitam in libellulis duobus dissimili interdum, et impolita materie descriptam in unum colligere, et aliquantulum sublimiori modo corrigere.... Multa etiam quæ in libro neutro inveniebantur, fidelium quorundam attestatione compertâ addere studui, sicque quædam addendo, quædam vero fastidiose vel inepte dicta excerpendo, pluraque etiam corrigendo, sed et capitularia præponendo. Vobis O fratres mei exactoresque hujus rei prout ingenioli mei parvitas permisit obedivi. Jam rogo cessate plus tale quid exigere a me." At the end of the Life he has written:--

"Presul Wolfgange cunctis semper vererande
Hæc tua qui scripsi jam memor esto milii
Presbiter et Monachus Otloh quidam vocitatus
Sancte tibi librum Bonifacii tradidit istum."

We have here sufficient evidence that Otloh was a worthy predecessor of the distinguished Benedictines to whom the world of letters has been so deeply indebted in more recent times.

Dr. Maitland's mention of the calligraphic labours of the nun Diemudis, Otloh's contemporary, is not a solitary instance: in all ages, the world has been indebted to the pious zeal of these recluse females for the multiplication of books of devotion and devout instruction. An instance, of so late a date as the eve of the invention of printing, now lies before me, in a thick volume, most beautifully written by fair hands that must have been long practised in the art. As the colophon at the end preserves the names of the ladies, and records that the parchment was charitably furnished by their spiritual father, I think it worth transcribing:--

"Expliciunt, Deo laus omnipotente, quinque libri de VITA &
CONVERSATIONE SANCTORVM PATRVM Scripti per manibus Sororum AUE
TRICI et GHEEZE YSENOUDI in festivus diebus suis consororibus
dilectis in memoriam earum. Finiti ano dni M° CCCC° XLIX° in festo
decollationis Sci Johannis baptiste ante sumam missam. Et habebant
ad hoc pergamenum sibi ex caritate provisum de venerabi li
presbitero Dno NICOLAO WYT tunc temporis earundem patre spirituali
& sibi ipsiis spiritualiter ac in Dno sat reverenter dilectio. Ex
caritativo amore sitis propter Deum memores eorum cum uno AVE
MARIA."

I omitted to mention that Massmann, in his _Kleinen Sprachdenkmale des VIII. bis XII. Jahrhunderts_, Leipsig, 1830, p. 50, says: "The Benedictine priest Otloh, of Regensburg, left behind him a work, _De Ammonicione Clericorum et Laicorum_, in which is twice given a Latin prayer (Cod. Monacens. Emmeram. f. cxiii. mbr. sæc. xi.), at fol. 51. _d_., as _Oratio ejus qui et suprascripta et sequentia edidit dicta_, and at fol. 158. as _Oratio cuidam peccatoris_." On fol. 161. _b_. is an old German version, first printed by Pez (Thes. i. 417.), corrected by Graff. Diutiska, 111. 211., by Massmann, at p. 168. Otloh mentions in this prayer the destruction of his monastery of St. Emmeram, which took place in 1062.

I have advisedly called him Otloh, and not Otlohnus.

S. W. SINGER.

Mickleham, Dec. 10. 1849.

* * * * *

NOTES UPON CUNNINGHAM'S HANDBOOK FOR LONDON.

No. 1. "_Gerrard Street, Soho._ * * * At the Turk's Head, in Gerrard Street, Johnson and Sir Joshua Reynolds founded, in the year 1764, 'The Literary Club.'"

It would appear from the following extracts in my Common-place Book, that the _original_ Turk's Head, at which the Literary Club first held their meetings, was in _Greek_ Street, Soho, not in Gerrard Street:--

"The Literary Club was first held at the Turk's Head in Greek
Street, which tavern was almost half a century since removed to
Gerrard Street, where it continued nearly as long as the house was
kept open."--_European Mag._ Jan. 1803.

"The Turk's Head, in Gerrard Street, Soho, was, more than fifty
years since, removed from a tavern of the same sign the corner of
Greek and Compton Streets. This place was a kind of head-quarters
for the Loyal Association during the rebellion of 1745."--Moser's
_Memorandum Book_, MS. dated 1799.

No. 2. _Storey's Gate, Birdcage Walk, St. James's Park._--I have seen it stated, but do not recollect where, that "Storey's" was a house of public entertainment. "Webb's," mentioned in the following extracts, was also a place of a similar description:--

"April 25. 1682.--About nine, this night, it began to lighten,
thunder, and rain. The next morning, there was the greatest flood
in St. James's Park ever remembered. It came round about the
fences, and up to the gravel walks--people could not walk to
_Webb's_ and _Storie's_.

"April 3, 1685.--This afternoon nine or ten houses were burned or
blown up, that looked into S. James's Park, between _Webb's_ and
_Storie's_."--_Diary of Phillip Madox_, MS. formerly in the
possession of Thorpe the bookseller.

No. 3. _Capel Court_.--So named from Sir William Capell, draper, Lord Mayor in 1503, whose mansion stood on the site of the present Stock Exchange.--Pennant's _Common-place Book_.

No. 4. _Bloomsbury Market_.--This market, built by the Duke of Bedford, was opened in March, 1730. Query, was there a market on the site before?--_Ibid_.

No. 5. _Bartlet's Buildings_.--_Mackeril's Quaker Coffee-house_, frequently mentioned at the beginning of the last century, was in these buildings.--_Ibid_.

No. 6. _St. Olave's, Crutched Friars_.--Names of various persons who have occupied houses in this parish: Lady Sydney, 1586--Lady Walsingham, 1590--Lady Essex, 1594--Lord Lumley, 1594--Viscount Sudbury, 1629--Philip Lord Herbert, 1646--Dr. Gibbon, 1653--Sir R. Ford, 1653--Lord Brounker, 1673--Sir Cloudesley Shovel, 1700--_Extracts from the Registers made by the Rev. H. Goodhall_, 1818.

EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.

* * * * *

WIVES OF ECCLESIASTICS.

In reply to your correspondent's query as to the "wives of ecclesiastics," I find amongst my notes one to this effect:--

ERROR, to assume in ancient genealogies that a branch is
necessarily extinct, simply because the last known representative
is described as "Clericus," and _ergo_, must have died S.P.L.

It will be obvious to many of your readers that Clericus is _nomen generale_ for all such as were learned in the arts of reading and writing, and whom the old law deemed capable of claiming benefit of clergy,--a benefit not confined to those in orders, if the ordinary's deputy standing by could say "_legit ut clericus_."

The title of Clericus, then, in earlier times as now, belonged not only to those in the holy ministry of the Church, and to whom more strictly applied the term Clergy, either regular or secular, but to those as well who by their function or course of life practised their pens in any court or otherwise, as Clerk of the King's Wardrobe, Clerks of the Exchequer, &c. Though in former times clerks of this description were frequently in holy orders and held benefices, it must be evident that they were not all so of necessity; and the instances are so numerous where persons having the title of "Clericus" appear nevertheless to have been in the married state, and to have discharged functions incompatible with the service of the Church, that the assertion will not be denied that the restrictions as to contracting matrimonial alliances did not extend to clerks not in holy orders or below the grade of _subdiaconus_. The _Registrum Brevium_ furnishes a precedent of a writ, "_De clerico infra sacros ordines constituto non eligendo in officium_." This distinction alone would prove that other clerks were not ineligible to office. The various decrees of the Church may be cited to show that the prohibition to marry did not include all clerks generally. Pope Gregory VII., in a synod held in 1074, "interdixit clericis, maxime divino ministerio consecratis uxores habere, vel cum mulicribus habitare, nisi quas Nicena Synodus vel alii canones exceperunt."

The statutes made by Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas, Archbishop elect of York, and all the other bishops of England, in 1108, in presence of King Henry I., and with the assent of his barons, confine the interdiction respecting marriages to _Presbyteri, Diaconi et Subdiaconi_, and a provision is made by them for those cases where marriages had been contracted since the interdict at the Council of London (that probably in 1103), viz. that such should be precluded thereafter from celebrating mass, if they persist in retaining their wives. "Illi vero presbyteri, diaconi, subdiaconi, qui post interdictum Londoniensis Concilii foeminas suas tenuerunt vel alins duxcrunt, si amplius missam celebrare voluerint, eas a se omnino sic facient alienas, ut nec illae in domos eorum, nec ipsi in domos earum intrent.... Illi autem presbyteri qui divini altaris et sacrorum ordinum contemptores praelegerint cum mulicribus habitare a divino officio remoti, omnique ecclesiastico beneficio privati, extra chorum ponantur, infames pronunciati. Qui vero rebellis et contemptor foeminam non reliquerit, et missam celebrare presumpserit, vocatus ad satisfactionem si neglexerit, viiij. die excommunicetur. Eadem sententia archidiaconos et cononicos omnes complectitur, et de mulieribus relinquendis et de vitanda carum conversatione, et de districtione censurae si statuta transgressi fuerint.... Presbyteri vero qui relictis mulieribus, Deo et sacris altaribus servire elegerint, xl. dies ab officio cessantes, pro se interim vicarios habebunt, injuncta eis poenitentia secundum hoc quod episcopis corum visum fuerit." In 1138 the penalty for priests marrying was deprivation of their benefices, and exclusion from the celebration of divine service:--"Sanctorum patrum vestigiis inhaerentes, presbyteros, diaconos, subdiaconos uxoratos, aut concubinarios, ecclesiasticis officiis et beneficiis privamus, ac ne quis eorum missam audire praesumat Apostolica auctoriate prohibemus."

Many such decrees have been made at various synods and councils holden for reformation of the clergy, but I can find none wherein marriage is interdicted to clerks generally. I will refer to one more only, viz. that made in the Council of London, held at Westminster in 1175. Here it will be seen most distinctly that the prohibition against entering the marriage state was confined expressly to _Clerici in sacris ordinibus constituti_, and that is was not only lawful for clerks below the grade of subdeacon to marry, but that having subsequently once entered the marriage state and being subsequently desirous _ad religionem transire_, and to continue in the service of the Church, they could not do so and be separated from their wives unless _de communi consensu_; if they continued, however, to live with their wives, they could not hold an ecclesiastical benefice: "Si quis sacerdos vel clericus in sacris ordinibus constitutus, ecclesiam vel ecclesiasticum beneficium habens publice fornicarium habeat," &c.... "Si qui vero infra subdiaconatum constituti matrimonia contraxerint, ab uxoribus sius nisi de communi consensu ad religionem transire voluerint, et ibi in Dei servitio vigilanter permanere, nullatenus separentur: sed cum uxoribus viventes, ecclesiastica benficia nullo modo percipiant. Qui autem in subdiaconatu, vel supra, ad matrimonia convolaverint, mulieres etiam invitas et renitentes relinquant."

This it will be seen that the title "Clericus" under some circumstances, affords no certain indication that a lawful marriage may not have been contracted by the person so described and consequently that he might not have _prolem legitimam_.

W.H.

It does not follow that William de Bolton was an ecclesiastic because he was called Clericus; that designation being, even in that early time, often used in a lay sense.

I have just come across an instance of a prior date. In the Liberate Roll of 26 Henry III. the king directs a payment to be made "to Isabella, the wife of our beloved clerk, Robert of Canterbury, to purchase a robe for our use." Even in the reign of Richard I. it may be doubtful whether the term was not used with both meanings; for in the charter of Walter Mapes, granting certain lands, among the witnesses are "Rogero, capellano, Willelmo, capellano, Thoma, _clerico meo_, Waltero, clerico, Jacobo, clerico, Bricio, fermario meo."

[Symbol: Phi]

[In addition to the information afforded by the preceding
communications "A SUBSCRIBER" will find much curious illustration
of this subject in Beveridge's _Discourses on the Thirty-Nine
Articles_, where he treats of the Thirty-second article "On the
Marriage of Priests."

He must however consult the edition printed at the Oxford
University Press in 1840, which contains for the first time
Beveridge's _Discourses on the last Nine Articles_.]

* * * * *

TOWER ROYAL.

Sir,--In your second number I find a query by Mr. Cunningham, respecting the origin of the name of _Tower Royal_; although I cannot satisfactorily explain it, I enclose a few notes relative to the early history of that place, which may, perhaps, afford a clue to its derivation.

In early records it is invariably called "la Real," "la Reole," "la Riole," or "la Ryal or Ryole;" and it is described simply as a "tenement;" I have never found an instance of its being called a "tower". At the close of the reign of Henry III. it was held by one Thomas Bat, citizen of London, who demised it to Master Simon of Beauvais, surgeon to Edward I.; this grant was confirmed by that sovereign by charter in 1277. (Rot. Cart. 5 Edw. I. m. 17.--Placita de Quo Warranto, p. 461.) This Simon of _Beauvais_ figures in Stow and Pennant as Simon de Beawmes. In 1331 Edward III. granted "la Real" to his consort Philippa, for the term of her life, that is might be used as a depository for her wardrobe. (Rot. Pat. 4 Edw. III. 2nd part, m. 15.) By Queen Philippa it was extensively repaired, if not rebuilt, and the particulars of the works executed there by her direction, may be seen in the Wardrobe Account of the sixth year of her reign, preserved in the Cottonian MS. Galba E iii. fo. 177, et seq.; this account is erroneously attributed in the catalogue to Eleanor, consort of Edward I. One Maria de Beauvais, probably a descendant of Master Simon, received compensation for quitting a tenement which she held at the time Philippa's operations commenced. In 1365 Edward III. granted to Robert de Corby, in fee, "one tenement in the street of la Ryole, London" to hold by the accustomed services. Finally, in 1370 Edward gave the "inn (hospitium) with its appurtenances called le Reole, in the city of London," to the canons of St. Stephen's, Westminster, as of the yearly value of 20_l_. (Rot. Pat. 43 Edw. III. m. 24.)

It is sufficiently clear that in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries this place was not called _Tower Royal_; nor does there appear to be any ground for supposing it was so named in earlier times, or, indeed, that it was ever occupied by royalty before it became Philippa's wardrobe. The question, therefore is narrowed to this point:--what is the significance of "la Real, Reole, or Riole?" I should be glad if any of your correspondents would give their opinions on the subject. I may add, that the building was in the parish of St. Thomas Apostle, not in that of St. Michael Pater Noster Church, as Stow wrote. (Rot. Pat. 4 Edw. III. 2nd part, m. 38.)

T.H.T

Let me refer Mr. P. Cunningham to "Stow's _Survey_, p. 27. 92. Thoms' Edition," for a full answer to his query. The passages are too long to cite, but Mr. C. will find sufficient proof of the part of a royal residence having once stood in this obscure lane, now almost demolished in the sweeping city improvements, which threaten in time to leave us hardly a fragment of the London of the old chronicler.

The Tower was also called the Queen's Wardrobe, and it was there, Froissart tells us, that Joan of Kent, the mother of Richard II., took refuge during Wat Tyler's rebellion, when forced to fly from the Tower of London. The old historian writes that after the defeat of the rebels "pour le premier chemin que le Roy fit, il vint deuers sa Dame de mère, la Princesse, qui estoit en un chastel _de la Riolle_ (que l'on dit la Garderobbe la Reyne) et là s'estoit tenue deux jours et deux nuits, moult ébahie; et avoit bien raison. Quand elle vit le Roy son fils, elle fut toute rejouye, et luy dit, 'Ha ha beau fils, comment j'ay eu aujourd'huy grand peine et angoisse pour vous.' Dont respondit le Roy, et dit, 'Certes, Madame, je le say bien. Or vous rejouissez et louez Dieu, car il est heure de le louer. J'ay aujourd'huy recouvré mon heritage et le royaume d'Angleterre, que j'avoye perdu.' Ainsi se tint le Roy ce jour delez sa mère." (Froissart, ii 123. Par. 1573.)

In Stow's time this interesting locality had been degraded into stable for the king's horses, and let out in divers tenements.

E.V.

[We are indebted to J.E., R.T.S., and other correspondents for
replies to Mr. Cunningham's Query; but as their answers contain
only general references to works which it is reasonable to suppose
that gentleman must have consulted during the preparation of his
_Handbook for London_ we have not thought it necessary to insert
them.]

* * * * *

ANCIENT INSCRIBED DISH.

Mr. Editor,--The subject of inscribed dishes of latten, of which so many varieties have recently been imported, appears to be regarded with interest by several of your readers. I am indebted to the Rev. William Drake, of Coventry, for a rubbing from one of these mysterious inscriptions, upon an "alms-plate" in his possession. In the centre is represented the Temptation. There are two inscribed circles; on the inner and broader one appear letters, which have been read,--RAHEWISHNBY. They are several times repeated. On the exterior circle is the legend On the exterior circle is the legend--ICH. SART. GELUK. ALZEIT. This likewise is repeated, so as to fill the entire circle. I have never before met with these inscriptions in the large number of dishes of this kind which I have examined. The have been termed alms-dishes, and are used still in parochial collections in France, as doubtless they have been in England. They were also used in ancient times in the ceremony of baptism, and they are called baptismal basins, by some foreign writers. This use is well illustrated by the very curious early Flemish painting in the Antwerp Gallery, representing the seven sacraments. The acolyte, standing near the font, bears such a dish, and a napkin. The proper use of these latten dishes was, as I believe, to serve as a laver, carried round at the close of the banquet in old times, as now at civic festivities. They often bear devices of a sacred character; but it is probable that they were only occasionally used for any scared purpose, and are more properly to be regarded as part of the domestic appliances of former times.

ALBERT WAY.

* * * * *

BARNACLES.

In Brand's _Popular Antiquities_, vol. iii. pp. 361, 362., there is an account given of _the barnacle_, "a well-known kind of shell-fish, which is found sticking on the bottoms of ships," and with regard to which the author observes, that "it seems hardly credible in this enlightened age, that so gross an error in natural history should so long have prevailed," as that this shell-fish should become changed into "a species of goose." The author then quotes Holinshed, Hall, Virgidemiarum, Marston, and Gerard; but he does not make the slightest reference to Giraldus Cambrensis, who is his _Topographia Hiberniae_ first gave the account of the barnacle, and of that account the writers referred to by Brand were manifestly but the copyists.

The passage referring to "the barnacle" will be found in the _Topog. Hiber._ lib. i. e. xi. I annex a translation of it, as it may be considered interesting, when compared with the passages quoted in Brand:--

"There are," says Giraldus, "in this country (Ireland) a great
number of birds called barnacles (Bernacre), and which nature
produces in a manner that is contrary to the laws of nature. The
birds are not unlike to ducks, but they are somewhat smaller in
size. They make their first appearance as drops of gum upon the
branches of firs that are immersed in running waters; and then they
are next seen hanging like sea-weed from the wood, becoming encased
in shells, which at last assume in their growth the outward form of
birds, and so hang on by their beaks until they are completely
covered with feathers within their shells, and when they arrive at
maturity, they either drop into the waters, or take their flight at
once into the air. Thus from the juice of this tree, combined with
the water, are they generated and receive their nutriment until
they are formed and fledged. _I have many times with my own eyes
seen several thousand of minute little bodies of these birds
attached to pieces of wood immersed in the sea, encased in their
shells, and already formed._ These then are birds that never lay
eggs, and are never hatched from eggs; and the consequence is, that
in some parts of Ireland, and at those seasons of fasting when meat
is forbidden, bishops and other religious persons feed on these
birds, because they are not fish, nor to be regarded as flesh meat.
And who can marvel that this should be so? When our first parent
was made of mud, can we be surprised that a bird should be born of
a tree?"

The notion of the _barnacle_ being considered a fish is, I am aware, one that still prevails on the western coast of Ireland; for I remember a friend of mine, who had spent a few weeks in Kerry, telling me of the astonishment he experienced upon seeing pious Roman Catholics eating barnacles on Fridays, and being assured that they were nothing else than fishes! My friend added that they had certainly a most "fish-like flavour," and were, therefore, very nasty birds.

W.B. MACCABE.

* * * * *

DORNE THE BOOKSELLER.

Mr. Editor,--I beg to add my protest to your own, respecting the conclusion drawn by your valuable correspondent W. as to his competency to his arduous task, which no person could doubt who knows him. My remarks had reference to the supposed scribe of the catalogue, whose brains, according to W., were in some degree of confusion at times. His name is still _in obscuro_, it seems. "Henno Rusticus" is clear. W., I trust, will accept my apology. I say with Brutus, _verbis paulo mutatis_--

"By heaven, I had rather coin my heart,
And drop my blood for drachmas, than to _plant
In the kind bosom of a friend a thorn_,
By any indirection."

J.I.

* * * * *

REV. WM. STEPHENS' SERMONS.

Sir,--Amongst the books wanted in your sixth number is "a Tract or Sermon" of the Rev. Wm. Stephens. It is a sermon, and one of four, all of which are far above the ordinary run of sermons, and deserving of a place in every clergyman's library. They are rarely met with together, though separately they turn up now and then upon book stalls amongst miscellaneous sermons; it is a pity they are not better known, and much is every day republished less deserving of preservation. The author's widow published her husband's sermons in two volumes; but, strange to say, these, which are worth all the rest, are not included in the collection. The titles of the four sermons are--

"The Personality and Divinity of the Holy Ghost proved from
Scripture, and the Anti-Nicene Fathers." Preached before the
University of Oxford, St. Matthias' Day, 1716-17. Third Edition,
1725.

"The Catholic Doctrine concerning the Union of the Two Natures in
the One Person of Christ stated and vindicated." Preached at the
visitation of the Bishop of Oxford, 1719. Second Edition, 1722.

"The Divine Persons One God by an Unity of Nature: or, That Our
Saviour is One God with His Father, by an External Generation from
His Substance, asserted from Scripture and the Anti-Nicene
Fathers." Preached before the University of Oxford, 1722. Second
Edition, 1723.

"The Several Heterodox Hypotheses, concerning both the Persons and
the Attributes of the Godhead, justly chargeable with more
inconsistencies and Absurdities than those which have been
groundlessly imputed to the Catholic system." Preached at the
visitation of the Bishop of Exeter, 1724.

I shall be glad to learn from any of your readers whether the author published any other sermons or tracts which are not included in the two volumes of his sermons.

WM. DENTON

Shoreditch, Dec. 11. 1849.

* * * * *

ROGER DE COVERLEY.

Sir,--In No. 4 of your "NOTES AND QUERIES" it is asked, if any notice of the tune called _Roger de Coverley_ is to be met with earlier than 1695, when it was printed by H. Playford in his _Dancing Master_? I am happy in being able to inform your correspondent that the tune in question may be found in a rare little volume in my possession, entitled "The Division-Violin, containing a Choice Collection of Divisions to a Ground for the Treble-Violin. Being the first Musick of this kind ever published. London, Printed by J.P. and are sold by John Playford, near the Temple-Church, 1685, small oblong."

I have every reason to believe, from considerable researches, that no earlier copy can be found in print.

EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.

* * * * *

MINOR NOTES.

_Omission of the Words DEI GRATIA from the new Florin._

Ruding, in his _Annals of the Coinage_, iv. 9., furnishes a precedent for the omission of the words DEI GRATIA from the coinage, in the case of the Irish half-pence and farthings coined at the Tower in 1736-7. And he supplies, also, a precedent for the dissatisfaction with which their omission from the new florin has been received, in the shape of two epigrams written at that time, for which he is indebted (as what writer upon any point of English literature and history is not) to Sylvanus Urban. The first (from the _Gentlemen's Magazine_ for June, 1837) is as follows:--

"No Christian kings that I can find,
However match'd or odd,
Excepting ours have ever coin'd
Without the _grace of God_.

"By this acknowledgment they show
The mighty King of Kings,
As him from whom their riches flow,
From whom their grandeur springs.

"Come, then, Urania, aid my pen,
The latent cause assign,--
All other kings are mortal men,
But GEORGE, 'tis plain, 's divine."

The next month produced this address:--

_To the Author of the Epigram on the new Irish Halfpence._

"While you behold th' imperfect coin
Receiv'd without the _grace of God_,
All honest men with you must join,
And even Britons think it odd.

The _grace of God_ was well left out,
And I applaud the politician;
For when an evil's done, no doubt,
'Tis not by _God's grace_, but permission."

_Grace's Card, the Six of Hearts._

As a note to the communications which have lately amused your readers, respecting the nine of diamonds, and the curse of Scotland, allow me to remind you of another card which has a peculiar name, the origin of which is better ascertained.

At the Revolution of 1688, one of the family of Grace, of Courtstown in Ireland, raised and equipped a regiment of foot and a troop of horse, at his own expense, for the service of King James, whom he further assisted with money and plate, amounting, it is said, to 14,000_l_. He was tempted with splendid promises of royal favour, to join the party of King William. A written proposal to that effect was sent to him by one of the Duke of Schomberg's emissaries. Indignant at the insulting proposal, the Baron of Courtstown seized a card, which was accidentally lying near him, and wrote upon it this answer: "Go, tell your master, I despise his offer! Tell him that honour and conscience are dearer to a gentleman than all the wealth and titles a prince can bestow!" The card happened to be the "six of hearts," and to this day that card is generally known by the name of "Grace's card," in the city of Kilkenny.

I derive these particulars principally from the _Memoirs of the Family of Grace_, by Sheffield Grace, Esq. 4to. London, 1823, p. 42.

W.L.

_Florins._

The following extract from the Issue Roll of Easter I Edward III. 1327, may interest the inquirers into the antiquity of the FLORIN, lately introduced into our coinage:--

"To Robert de Wodehouse, keeper of the King's Wardrobe, for the
price of 174 florins from Florence, price each florin as purchased,
39-1/2_d_. paid to the same keeper by the hands of John de Houton,
his clerk, for one pound and one mark of gold, to make oblations on
the day of the coronation for the Lord the King:--and in the manner
was delivered 104 florins and a mark of 70_s_. by the king's
command, under the privy seal, which was used before he received
the government of this kingdom,--£28.12.6."

[Greek: Phi].

_John Hopkins, the Psalmist._

Sir,--Little is known of the personal history of John Hopkins, the coadjutor of Sternhold in the translation of the Psalms. It is generally agreed that he was a clergyman and a schoolmaster in Suffolk, but no one has mentioned in what parish of that county he was beneficed. It is highly probably that the following notes refer to this person, and if so, the deficiency will have been supplied by them.

In Tanner's List of the Rectors of Great Waldingfield in Suffolk, taken from the Institution Book at Norwich, there is this entry:--

"Reg. xix. 55 12 Aug. 1561
Joh. Chetham, ad praes. Willi Spring, Arm.
Jo. Hopkins.
168. 3 April, 1571.
Tho. Cooke, ad praes. Edw. Colman, B.D."

In the Parish Register of Great Waldingfield is the following:--

"Buried, 1570. Mr. John Hopkins, 23rd Oct."