Chapter C: DAY

"Were I to name, out of the times gone by,
The poets dearest to me, I should say,
Pulci for spirits, and a fine, free way,
Chaucer for manners, and a close, silent eye;
Spenser for luxury and sweet sylvan play,
Horace for chatting with from day to day;
Milton for classic taste and harp strung high,
Shakspeare for all--but most, society.
But which take with me could I take but one?
Shakspeare, as long as I was unoppress'd
With the world's weight, making sad thoughts intenser;
But did I wish out of the common sun
To lay a wounded heart in leafy rest,
And dream of things far off and healing--Spenser."

* * * * *

MR. POORE'S LITERARY COLLECTIONS--INIGO JONES--MEDAL OF STUKELEY--SIR JAMES THORNHILL.

Sir,--With thanks for the insertion of my former letter, I proceed to submit a few literary queries for solution through the medium of your pages.

In connection with the country of Wilts, I will first mention the literary collections of the late Edward Poore, Esq., of North Tidworth, which I examined, with much satisfaction, on my visits to him there, in the year 1798 and 1799. Mr. Poore was a man of considerable attainments, and corresponded with many distinguished characters, both at home and abroad. He travelled over many parts of the continent, and his letters and notes relating to public and private occurrences and persons were remarkably curious and interesting. I have long lost all trace of them, and should be glad to ascertain where they are likely to be found.

An immense boon would be conferred on the cause of Architecture and Archæology by the recovery of Inigo Jones's Sketches and Drawings of Ancient Castles. These, together with his Plans, Views, and Restorations of _Stonehenge_, probably descended to his nephew, Webb. The latter were engraved, and published in Webb's volume on Stonehenge; but the Sketches of Castles have never yet been published. On the ground of Inigo Jones's intimacy with Lord Pembroke, I was referred to the library at Wilton as a probable despositor of his drawings, but without success; as I am informed, they do not form a part of that valuable collection. Perhaps I may be allowed to correct the error which so commonly ascribes the erection of Wilton House to Jones. In the _Natural History of Wiltshire_, by John Aubrey, which I edited in 1847 (4to.), it is clearly shown that the mansion was built in 1633 by, or from the designs of, Solomon de Caus, architect, who was probably aided by his brother Isaac, and that it was rebuilt in 1648, after an extensive fire, by Webb, who, as is well known, married a niece of Inigo Jones. The latter celebrated architect recommended the employment of these parties, and probably approved of their designs, but had no further share in their production. His advice, however, to the Earl of Pembroke, was the means of preserving the famous _Porch at Wilton_, ascribed to Hans Holbein, which gives him a peculiar claim to the gratitude of all architectural antiquaries.

I possess a large collection of the manuscript journals, papers, drawings, and correspondence of Dr. Stukeley. To the kindness of my old friend Dr. Ingram, President of Trinity College, Oxford, I also owe a large Bronze Medal, with a medallion portrait of Stukeley on the obverse, and a view of Stonehenge on the reverse. This is evidently a cast from moulds, and rather crudely executed, and I am induced to regard it as unique. I shall be much gratified if any of your correspondents can furnish me with a clue to its history, or to the name of its maker. I would here venture to suggest some inquiry into the biography of _Charles Bertram_, of Copenhagen, who furnished Dr. Stukeley with the manuscript of the _Itinerary of Richard of Cirencester_, which has led to so much curious discussion. It would be interesting to learn whether Bertram's papers were bequeathed to any public library at Copenhagen.

Sir James Thornhill was in the habit of making sketches and descriptive memoranda in his various travels and excursions. Some years ago one of his pocket-books was lent to me, in which he had not only written notices of the places visited, but made very clever pen sketches of several objects. Whilst in my possession, I copied many pages, and also traced some of the drawings. Among the latter is a Market Cross at Ipswich, long since destroyed, also the Sessions House and the Custom House of Harwich, with various antiquities, &c., at Ryswich, Delph, Tournay, Brussels, and the Hague. I have often regretted that I did not copy the whole volume, as it contained many curious facts and anecdotes. I have tried in vain to ascertain the name and address of the possessor. He was a country gentleman, and lodged in Southampton Row, Russell Square. The volume is dated 1711, and contains full accounts of buildings and works of art. He says, "Killigrew told King Charles that Ipswich had a large river without water, streets without names, and a town without people."

In July, 1817, I published a small volume entitled _Antiquarian and Architectural Memoranda relating to Norwich Cathedral_, in which were two copper-plates, a ground-plan of the church, and a view of the west front; with woodcuts of the font, and of the Erpingham gateway, both engraved by John Thompson. The plates and cuts were sold by auction (by Mr. Southgate of Fleet Street), with the stock of the work, and have been resold by the purchaser. I have sought in vain to re-obtain the woodcuts, and shall be gratified to find that it is still practicable.

After many years' search for the documents, &c., referred to in this and my preceding letter, I am still reluctant to abandon their pursuit. That valuable collections are sometimes protected from destruction, in obscurity, for years, is shown by the loss and recovery of the well-known collection of Architectural Designs and Drawings by John Thorpe, now in the Soane Museum. That singular and interesting series was in the possession of the Earl of Warwick, in the latter part of the last century. In 1807 I applied to his lordship for permission to examine it; but he informed me that Richard Cumberland, the author, had borrowed it many years before, in order to submit it to Lord George Germaine, and that it had not since been heard of. Thus, from before 1785, when Lord George Germaine died, the drawings were lost until about thirty years afterwards, when I purchased them for Sir John Soane, at the sale of the library of ---- Brooke, Esq., of Paddington (probably a relative of the Earl of Warwick), into whose possession they had unaccountably passed.

JOHN BRITTON.

* * * * *

THE MIDDLE TEMPLE.

In Mr. Frederick Devon's _Pell Records_, vol. iii. p. 34., there is an entry in the Issue Roll of Easter, 41 Henry III. 1257, of a payment.

"To the Brethren of the _Middle_ Temple, £4. in part of £8.
appointed alms for the support of three chaplains to celebrate
divine service, at Easter Term, in the 41st year, by writ patent."

And in p. 88. is the following writ for payment at Easter Term, 4 Edward I. 1276:--

"Pay out of our Treasury, from the day of the death of the Lord
King Henry, our Father, of renowned memory, for each year, to our
beloved Master and Brethren of the Knights Templars in England, £8.
_which our father granted_ to them by his charter to be received
yearly at our Exchequer, for the support of three chaplains, daily
for ever, to perform divine service in the New Temple, London, one
of whom is to perform service for our aforesaid father, the other
for all Christian people, and the third for the faithful deceased,
as was accustomed to be done in the time of our aforesaid father.
Witness, &c."

I presume that there can be no doubt that the grant referred to in the last extract is that which is mentioned in the first. But if so, what is meant by "Brethren of the _Middle Temple?_"

Both entries are before the suppression of the order, and it was not till long after the suppression that the Temple was occupied by the lawyers as a place of study; nor till long after the establishment of lawyers there, that is to say, more than a hundred years after the date of the first extract, that the Temple was divided into two houses, called, as now, the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple. Added to which, the church of the Temple is in that division which is called the _Inner_ Temple.

Can any of your correspondents favour me with the precise words of the original record, or explain the meaning of the term used?

EDWARD FOSS.

* * * * *

MINOR QUERIES.

_Henry Lord Darnley._

Can any of your readers inform me where the celebrated Darnley, second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, was born? His birth took place in England, where his father, Matthew Stuart, Earl of Lennox, was residing, being banished from Scotland. Henry VIII. gave the Earl his niece in marriage, and several estates in Yorkshire; among others, the lands of Jervaux Abbey, and the adjacent manor of West Scrafton. Middleham Castle, which was then perfect, and belonged to the King, lies between these, and was probably at least an occasional residence of the Earl, though we have no correct account of its occupants after the death of Richard III.

W.G.M.J. Barker.

Banks of the Yere, Nov. 28. 1849.

_Coffee, the Lacedaemonion Black Broth._

Your "notes on Coffee" in No. 2. reminded me that I had read in some modern author a happy conjecture that "coffee" was the principal ingredient of the celebrated "Lacedaemonian black broth," but as I did not "make a note of it" at the time, and cannot recollect the writer from whom I derived this very probable idea, I may perhaps be allowed to "make a query" of his name and work.

R.O.

Eton, Nov. 26. 1849.

_Letters of Mrs. Chiffinch._

The Chafins, of Chettle, in Dorsetshire, possessed at one time some interesting family memorials. In the third volume of Hutchins's _Dorset_, pp. 166, 167., are printed two or three letters of Thomas Chafin on the battle of Sedgemoor. In a manuscript note, Hutchins alludes to letters, written by a female member of the family, which contain some notices of the court of Charles II. Can your Dorsetshire correspondents inform me whether these letters exist? I suspect that the lady was wife of the notorious Chiffinch; and she must have seen and heard strange things. The letters may be worthless, and it is possible that the family might object to a disclosure of their contents. The manuscript memorandum is in Gough's copy of the _History of Dorset_ in the Bodleian Library.

J.F.M.

_Sangred--Dowts of Holy Scripture._

In the will of John Hedge, of Bury St. Edmund's, made in 1504, is this item:--

"I beqweth to the curat of the seid church iiij_s_. iiij_d_. for a
_sangred_ to be prayed for in the bedroule for my soule and all my
good ffrends soulls by the space of a yeer complete."

In the same year Thomas Pakenham, of Ixworth Thorpe, bequeathed 6 hives of bees to the sepulchre light, "to pray for me and my wyffe in y'e _comon sangered_;" and in 1533, Robert Garad, of Ixworth, bequeathed to the high altar ij_s_. "for _halfe a sangred_."

Can any of your reader explain what the _sangred_ is? or give me any information about the book referred to in the following extract from the will of William Place, Master of St. John's Hospital, Bury St. Edmund's, made in 1504:--

"Item. I beqweth to the monastery of Seynt Edmund forseid my book
of the _dowts of Holy Scryptur_, to ly and remain in the cloyster,"
&c.

BURIENSIS.

_Catsup, Catchup, or Ketchup._

Will any of your philological readers be so obliging as to communicate any _note_ he may have touching the original or definition of the word _Catchup?_

It does not appear in Johnson's _Dictionary_. Mr. Todd, in his edition, inserts it with an asterisk, denoting it as a new introduction, and under _Catsup_ says, see _Catchup_. Under this latter word he says--"Sometimes _improperly_ written _Ketchup_, a poignant liquor made from boiled mushrooms, mixed with salt, used in cooking to add a pleasant flavour to sauces." He gives no _derivation_ of the word _itself_, and yet pronounces the very common way of spelling it improper.

What reference to, or connexion with, _mushrooms_ has the word?--and why _Catsup_, with the inference that it is synonymous with _Catchup_?

G.

"_Let me make a Nation's Ballads, who will may make their Laws!_"

One perpetually hears this exclamation attributed to different people. In a magazine which I took up this morning, I find it set down to "a certain orator of the last century;" a friend who is now with me, tells me that it was unquestionably the saying of the celebrated Lord Wharton; and I once heard poor Edward Irving, in a sermon, quote it as the exclamation of Wallace, or some other Scottish patriot. Do relieve my uncertainty, and, for the benefit of our rising orator, tell us to whom the saying ought to be set down.

C.U.B.E.R.

_To endeavour Oneself._

In the Collect for the 2nd Sunday after Easter, in the preface to the Confirmation Service, and in the form of Ordering of priest, the verb "endeavour" takes (clearly, I think) a middle-voice form, "to endeavour one's self." Is there any other authority for this usage? No dictionary I have seen recognises it.

G.P.

_Date of the Anonymous Ravennas._

Can you inform me of the date of the _Chorographia Britanniæ Anonymi Ravennatis?_

W.C.

[This is a very difficult question. We should be glad to hear any
of our correspondents upon the subject.]

_The Battle of Towton._

The "Note" on the battle-field of Sedgemoor, induces a "Query" concerning another equally celebrated locality.

It is well known in the neighbourhood, that the field of Towton, at least that part of it which is now, and, according to tradition, has remained pasture since the days of the wars of York and Lancaster, produces two species of roses, which grow in stunted patches throughout its extent. Has their presence ever been noticed or accounted for? If we again allow tradition to give its evidence, we are told they were planted on the graves of the fallen combatants.

PETER H. JENNINGS.

Tadcaster.

_A Peal of Bells._

Mr. Editor,--The following question was put to me by a clergyman and a scholar, who, like myself, takes an interest in the subject of Bells. At first sight I fancied that a satisfactory answer could easily be given: but I found that I was mistaken, and I shall be very glad if any of your correspondents will favour me with a solution of the difficulty.

Can you _define_ what is a _Peal?_ Of course we know what is meant by a _Peal of Bells_, and to _ring a Peal_; but I want it defined as to duration, mode of ringing it, &c. &c. None of the old writers explain what they mean by ringing a _Peal_.

ALFRED GATTY.

Ecclesfield Vicarage, Dec. 11. 1849.

_Lines quoted by Goethe._

If any of your readers can inform me who is the author of the following lines, quoted by Goethe in his _Autobiography_, he will greatly oblige me:--

"Then old age and experience, hand in hand,
Lead him to death, and make him understand,
After a search so painful and so long,
That all his life he has been in the wrong."

TREBOR.

King's College, Dec. 8. 1849.

_MS. Sermons by Jeremy Taylor._

I venture to send you the following note, as embodying a query, which I am sure deserves, if possible, to be answered.

"Southey, _Omniana_, i. 251. Coleridge asserts (_Literary Remains_,
i. 303.), that there is now extent, in MS., a folio volume of
unprinted sermons by Jeremy Taylor. It would be very interesting to
learn in what region of the world so great a treasure has been
suffered to rust during a hundred and fifty years."--Willmott's
_Life of Bishop Jeremy Taylor_, p. 87.

OXONIENSIS.

_Papers of John Wilkes._

John Wilkes, it is well known, sent to the newspapers copies of Lord Weymouth's and Lord Barrington's Letters respecting the riots in St. George's Fields in 1768. We Can easily conjecture how he did or how he might have, got possession of a copy of Weymouth's Letter, which was addressed to the magistrates of Surrey; but Barrington's letter was strictly official, and directed to the "Field officers, in staff waiting, for the three regiments of Foot Guards." Has the circumstance ever been explained? If so, where? Can any of your readers inform me the _exact date_ of the first publication of Barrington's Letter in the newspaper? Is it not time that Wilkes' Letters and MSS. were deposited in some of our public libraries? They would throw light on many obscure points of history. They were left by Miss Wilkes to Mr. Elmsley, "to whose judgement and delicacy" she confided them. They were subsequently, I believe, in the legal possession of his son, the Principal of St. Alban's; but really of Mr. Hallam.

W.

_John Ross Mackay._

The following is from a work lately published, _Chronicles and Characters of the Stock Exchange_, by John Francis:--

"'The Peace of 1763,' said John Ross Mackay, Private Secretary to
the Earl of Bute, and afterwards Treasurer to the Ordnance, 'was
carried through and approved by pecuniary distribution.'"

Will Mr. Francis, or any of your contributors, inform me where I can find the original statement?