Chapter I: Part 1

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{177} NOTES AND QUERIES:

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

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

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NO. 12.] SATURDAY, JANUARY 19. 1850. [Price Threepence. Stamped Edition, 4d.

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CONTENTS.

NOTES:-- Page
Passage in Hudibras, by E.F. Rimbault 177
Field of the Brothers' Footsteps 178
Notes on Books and Authors, by Bolton Corney 178
Receipts of the Beggar's Opera 178
Notes on Cunningham's London, by E.F. Rimbault 180
Sewerage in Etruria 180
Andrew Frusius 180
Opinions respecting Burnet 181

QUERIES:--
St. Thomas of Lancaster, by R. Monckton Milnes 181
Shield of the Black Prince, &c. by J.R. Planché 183
Fraternitye of Vagabondes, &c. 183
The name of Shylock, by M.A. Lower 184
Transposition of Letters, by B. Williams 184
Pictures in Churches 184
Flaying in Punishment of Sacrilege 185
Minor Queries:--Pokership or Parkership--Boduc or
Boduoc--Origin of Snob--Mertens the Printer--
Queen's Messengers--Bishop of Ross' Epitaph, &c.--
Origin of Cannibal--Sir W. Rider--Origin of word
Poghele, &c. 185

MISCELLANIES--including ANSWERS TO MINOR QUERIES:--
Darkness at the Crucifixion--High Doctrine--Wife of
King Robert Bruce--The Talisman of Charlemagne
--Sayers the Caricaturist--May-Day--Dr. Dee's Petition
--Lines quoted by Goethe--Queen Mary's Expectations
--Ken's Hymns--Etymology of Daysman, &c. 186

MISCELLANEOUS:--
Notes on Books, Sales, Catalogues, &c. 189
Books and Odd Volumes wanted 190
Notices to Correspondents 190
Advertisements 191

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ORIGIN OF A WELL-KNOWN PASSAGE IN HUDIBRAS.

The often-quoted lines--

"For he that fights and runs away
May live to fight another day,"

generally supposed to form a part of _Hudibras_, are to be found (as Mr. Cunningham points out, at p. 602. of his _Handbook for London_), in the _Musarum Deliciæ_, 12mo. 1656; a clever collection of "witty trifles," by Sir John Mennis and Dr. James Smith.

The passage, as it really stands in _Hudibras_ (book iii. canto iii. verse 243.), is as follows:--

"For those that fly may fight again,
Which he can never do that's slain."

But there is a much earlier authority for these lines than the _Musarum Deliciæ_; a fact which I learn from a volume now open before me, the great rarity of which will excuse my transcribing the title-page in full:--

"Apophthegmes, that is to saie, prompte, quicke, wittie, and sentencious saiynges, of certain Emperours, Kynges, Capitaines, Philosophiers, and Oratours, as well Grekes as Romaines, bothe veraye pleasaunt and profitable to reade, partely for all maner of persones, and especially Gentlemen. First gathered and compiled in Latine by the right famous clerke, Maister Erasmus, of Roteradame. And now translated into Englyshe by Nicolas Udall. _Excusam typis Ricardi Grafton_, 1542. 8vo."

A second edition was printed by John Kingston, in 1564, with no other variation, I believe, than in the orthography. Haslewood, in a note on the fly-leaf of my copy, says:--

"Notwithstanding the fame of Erasmus, and the reputation of his translator, this volume has not obtained that notice which, either from its date or value, might be justly expected. Were its claim only founded on the colloquial notes of Udall, it is entitled to consideration, as therein may be traced several of the familiar phrases and common-place idioms, which have occasioned many conjectural speculations among the annotators upon our early drama."

The work consists of only two books of the original, comprising the apophthegms of Socrates, Aristippus, Diogenes, Philippus, Alexander, Antigonus, Augustus Cæsar, Julius Cæsar, Pompey, Phocion, Cicero, and Demosthenes.

On folio 239. occurs the following apophthegm, which is the one relating to the subject before us:--

"That same man, that renneth awaie,
May again fight, on other daie.

"¶ Judgeyng that it is more for the benefite of
one's countree to renne awaie in battaile, then to lese
his life. For a ded man can fight no more; but who
hath saved hymself alive, by rennyng awaie, may, in
many battailles mo, doe good service to his countree.

"§ At lest wise, if it be a poinet of good service, to
renne awaie at all times, when the countree hath most
neede of his helpe to sticke to it."

Thus we are enabled to throw back more than a century these famous Hudibrastic lines, which have occasioned so many inquiries for their origin.

I take this opportunity of noticing a mistake which has frequently been made concerning the _French_ translation of Butler's _Hudibras_. Tytler, in his _Essay on Translation_; Nichols, in his _Biographical Anecdotes of Hogarth_; and Ray, in his {178} _History of the Rebellion_, attributes it to Colonel Francis Towneley; whereas it was the work of _John_ Towneley, uncle to the celebrated Charles Towneley, the collector of the Marbles.

EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.

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FIELD OF THE BROTHERS' FOOTSTEPS.

I do not think that Mr. Cunningham, in his valuable work, has given any account of a piece of ground of which a strange story is recorded by Southey, in his _Common-Place Book_ (Second Series, p. 21.). After quoting a letter received from a friend, recommending him to "take a view of those wonderful marks of the Lord's hatred to _duelling_, called _The Brothers' Steps_," and giving him the description of the locality, Mr. Southey gives an account of his own visit to the spot (a field supposed to bear ineffaceable marks of the footsteps of two brothers, who fought a fatal duel about a love affair) in these words:--"We sought for near half an hour in vain. We could find no steps at all, within a quarter of a mile, no nor half a mile, of Montague House. We were almost out of hope, when an honest man who was at work directed us to the next ground adjoining to a pond. There we found what we sought, about three quarters of a mile north of Montague House, and about 500 yards east of Tottenham Court Road. The steps answer Mr. Walsh's description. They are of the size of a large human foot, about three inches deep, and lie nearly from north-east to south-west. We counted only seventy-six, but we were not exact in counting. The place where one or both the brothers are supposed to have fallen, is still bare of grass. The labourer also showed us the bank where (the tradition is) the wretched woman sat to see the combat."

Mr. Southey then goes on the speak of his full confidence in the tradition of their indestructibility, even after ploughing up, and of the conclusions to be drawn from the circumstance.

To this long note, I beg to append a query, as to the latest account of these footsteps, previous to the ground being built over, as it evidently now must be.

G.H.B.

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ON AUTHORS AND BOOKS, NO. 4.

Verse may picture the feelings of the author, or it may only picture his fancy. To assume the former position, is not always safe; and in two memorable instances a series of sonnets has been used to construct a _baseless fabric_ of biography.

In the accompanying sonnet, there is no such uncertainty. It was communicated to me by John Adamson, Esq., M.R.S.L., &c., honourably known by a translation of the tragedy of _Dona Ignez de Castro_, from the Portuguese of Nicola Luiz, and by a _Memoir of the life and writings of Camoens_, &c. It was not intended for publication, but now appears, at my request.

Mr. Adamson, it should be stated, is a corresponding member of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Lisbon, and has received diplomas of the orders of Christ and the Tower-and-Sword. The _coming storm_ alludes to the menace of invasion by France.

"SONNET.

"O Portugal! whene'er I see thy name
What proud emotions rise within my breast!
To _thee_ I owe--from _thee_ derive that fame
Which here may linger when I lie at rest.
When as a youth I landed on thy shore,
How little did I think I e'er could be
Worthy the honours thou has giv'n to me;
And when the coming storm I did deplore,
Drove me far from thee by its hostile threat--
With feelings which can never be effaced,
I learn'd to commune with those writers old
Who had the deeds of they great chieftains told;
Departed bards in converse sweet I met,
I'd seen where they had liv'd--the land Camoens grac'd."

I venture to add the titles of two interesting volumes which have been printed subsequently to the publications of Lowndes and Martin. It may be a useful hint to students and collectors:--

"BIBLIOTHECA LUSITANA, or catalogue of books and tracts, relating to the history, literature, and poetry, of Portugal: forming part of the library of John Adamson, M.R.S.L. etc. _Newcastle on Tyne_, 1836. 8vo.

"LUSITANIA ILLUSTRATA; notices on the history, antiquities, literature, etc. of Portugal. Literary department. Part I. Selection of sonnets, with biographical Sketches of the author, by John Adamson, M.R.S.L. etc. _Newcastle upon Tyne_, 1842. 8vo."

BOLTON CORNEY.

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RECEIPTS TO THE BEGGAR'S OPERA ON ITS PRODUCTION.

Every body is aware of the prodigious and unexpected success of Gay's _Beggar's Opera_ on its first production; it was offered to Colley Cibber at Drury Lane, and refused, and the author took it to Rich, at the Lincoln's-Inn-Fields theatre, by whom it was accepted, but not without hesitation. It ran for 62 nights (not 63 nights, as has been stated in some authorities) in the season of 1727-1728; of these, 32 nights were in succession; and, from the original Account-book of the manager, C.M. Rich, I am enabled to give an exact statement of the money taken at the doors on each night, distinguishing such performances as were for the benefit of the author, viz. the 3rd, 6th, 9th, and 15th nights, which put exactly 693l. 13s. 6d. into Gay's pocket. This is a new circumstance in the biography of one of our most fascinating English writers, whether in prose or verse. Rich records that the king, queen, and {179} princesses were present on the 21st repetition, but that was by no means one of the fullest houses. The very bill sold at the doors on the occasion has been preserved, and hereafter may be furnished for the amusement of your readers. It appears, that when the run of the _Beggar's Opera_ was somewhat abruptly terminated by the advance of the season and the benefits of the actors, the "takings," as they were and still are called, were larger than ever. The performances commenced on 29th January, 1728, and that some striking novelty was required at the Lincoln's-Inn-Fields theatre, to improve the prospects of the manager, may be judged from the fact that the new tragedy of _Sesostris_, brought out on the 17th January, was played for the benefit of its author (John Sturm) on its 6th night to only 58l. 19s., while the house was capable of holding at least 200l.

In the following statement of the receipts to the _Beggar's Opera_, I have not thought it necessary to insert the days of the months:--

£ s. d.
Night 1 - - - 169 12 0
2 - - - 160 14 0
(Author) 3 - - - 162 12 6
4 - - - 163 5 6
5 - - - 175 19 6
(Author) 6 - - - 189 11 0
7 - - - 161 19 0
8 - - - 157 19 6
(Author) 9 - - - 165 12 0
10 - - - 156 8 0
11 - - - 171 10 0
12 - - - 170 5 6
13 - - - 164 8 0
14 - - - 171 5 0
(Author) 15 - - - 175 18 0
16 - - - 160 11 0
17 - - - 171 8 6
18 - - - 163 16 6
19 - - - 158 19 0
20 - - - 170 9 6
21 - - - 163 14 6
22 - - - 163 17 6
23 - - - 179 8 6
24 - - - 161 7 0
25 - - - 169 3 6
26 - - - 163 18 6
27 - - - 168 4 6
28 - - - 153 3 6
29 - - - 165 2 6
30 - - - 152 8 6
31 - - - 183 4 0
32 - - - 185 8 6

Therefore, when the run was interrupted, the attraction of the opera was greater than it had been on any previous night, excepting the 6th, which was one of those set apart for the remuneration of the author, when the receipt was 189l. 11s. The total sum realised by the 32 successive performances was 5351l. 15s., of which, as we have already shown, Gay obtained 693l. 13s 6d. To him it was all clear profit; but from the sum obtained by Rich are, of course, to be deducted the expenses of the company, lights, house-rent, &c.

The successful career of the piece was checked, as I have said, by the intervention of benefits, and the manager would not allow it to be repeated even for Walker's and Miss Fenton's nights, the Macheath and Polly of the opera; but, in order to connect the latter with it, when Miss Fenton issued her bill for _The Beaux's Stratagem_, on 29th April, it was headed that it was "for the benefit of Polly." An exception was, however, made in favour of John Rich, the brother of the manager, for whose benefit the _Beggar's Opera_ was played on 26th February, when the receipt was 184l. 15s. Miss Fenton was allowed a second benefit, on the 4th May, in consequence, we may suppose, of her great claims in connection with the _Beggar's Opera_, and then it was performed to a house containing 155l. 4s. The greatest recorded receipt, in its first season, was on the 13th April, when, for some unexplained cause the audience was so numerous that 198l. 17s. were taken at the doors.

After this date there appears to have been considerable fluctuation in the profits derived from repetitions of the _Beggar's Opera_. On the 5th May, the day after Polly Fenton's (her real name was Lavinia) second benefit, the proceeds fell to 78l. 14s., the 50th night produced 69l. 12s., and the 51st only 26l. 1s. 6d. The next night the receipt suddenly rose again to 134l. 13s. 6d., and it continued to range between 53l. and 105l. until the 62nd and last night (19th June), when the sum taken was 98l. 17s. 6d.

Miss Fenton left the stage at the end of the season, to be made Duchess of Bolton, and in the next season her place, as regards the _Beggar's Opera_, was taken by Miss Warren, and on 20th September it attracted 75l. 7s.; at the end of November it drew only 23l., yet, on the 11th December, for some reason not stated by the manager, the takings amounted to 112l. 9s. 6d. On January 1st a new experiment was tried with the opera, for it was represented by children, and the Prince of Wales commanded it on one or more of the eight successive performances it thus underwent. On 5th May we find Miss Cantrell taking Miss Warren's character, and in the whole, the _Beggar's Opera_ was acted more than forty times in its second year, 1728-9, including the performances by "Lilliputians" as well as comedians. This is, perhaps, as much of its early history as your readers will care about.

DRAMATICUS.

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{180} NOTES UPON CUNNINGHAM'S HANDBOOK FOR LONDON.

_Lady Dacre's Alms-Houses, or Emanuel Hospital._--"Jan. 8. 1772, died, in Emanual Hospital, Mrs. Wyndymore, cousin of Mary, queen of William III., as well as of Queen Anne. Strange revolution of fortune, that the cousin of two queens should, for fifty years, by supported by charity."--_MS. Diary_, quoted in Collett's _Relics of Literature_, p. 310.

_Essex Buildings._--"On Thursday next, the 22nd of this instant, November, at the _Musick-school in Essex Buildings_, over against St. Clement's Church in the Strand, will be continued a concert of vocal and instrumental musick, beginning at five of the clock, every evening. Composed by Mr. Banister."--_Lond. Gazette_, Nov. 18. 1678. "This famous 'musick-room' was afterwards Paterson's auction-room."--Pennant's _Common-place Book_.

_St. Antholin's._--In Thorpe's Catalogue of MSS. for 1836 appears for sale, Art. 792., "The Churchwarden's Accounts, from 1615 to 1752, of the Parish of _St. Antholin's_, London." Again, in the same Catalogue, Art. 793., "The Churchwardens and Overseers of the Parish of _St. Antholin's_, in London, Accounts from 1638 to 1700 inclusive." Verily these books have been in the hands of "unjust stewards!"

_Clerkenwell._--Names of eminent persons residing in this parish in 1666:--Earl of Carlisle, Earl of Essex, Earl of Aylesbury, Lord Barkely, Lord Townsend, Lord Dellawar, Lady Crofts, Lady Wordham, Sir John Keeling, Sir John Cropley, Sir Edward Bannister, Sir Nicholas Stroude, Sir Gower Barrington, Dr. King, Dr. Sloane. In 1667-8:--Duke of Newcastle, Lord Baltimore, Lady Wright, Lady Mary Dormer, Lady Wyndham, Sir Erasmus Smith, Sir Richard Cliverton, Sir John Burdish, Sir Goddard Nelthorpe, Sir John King, Sir William Bowles, Sir William Boulton.--_Extracted from a MS. in the late Mr. Upcott's Collection._

_Tyburn Gallows._--No. 49. Connaught Square, is built on the spot where this celebrated gallows stood; and, in the lease granted by the Bishop of London, this is particularly mentioned.

EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.

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SEWERAGE IN ETRURIA.

I have been particularly struck, in reading _The Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria_, of George Dennis, by the great disparity there appears between the ancient population of this country and the present.

The ancient population appears, moreover, to have been located in circumstances not by any means favourable to the health of the people. Those cities surrounded by high walls, and entered by singularly small gateways, must have been very badly ventilated, and very unfavourable to health; and yet it is not reasonable to suppose they could have been so unhealthy then as the author describes the country at present to be. It is hardly possible to imagine so great a people as the Etruscans, the wretched fever-stricken objects the present inhabitants of the Maremna are described to be.

To what, then, can this great difference be ascribed? The Etruscans appear to have taken very great pains with the drainage of their cities; on many sites the cloaca are the only remains of their former industry and greatness which remain. They were also careful to bury their dead outside their city walls; and it is, no doubt, to these two circumstances, principally, that their increase and greatness, as a people, are to be ascribed. But why do not the present inhabitants avail themselves of the same means to health? Is it that they are idle, or are they too broken spirited and poverty-stricken to unite in any public work? Or has the climate changed?

Perhaps it was owing to some defect in their civil polity that the ancients were comparatively so easily put down by the Roman power, which might have been the superior civilisation. Possibly the great majority of the people may have been dissatisfied with their rulers, and gladly removed to another place and another form of government. It is even possible, and indeed likely, that these great public works may have been carried on by the forced labour of the poorest and, consequently, the most numerous class of the population, and that, consequently, they had no particular tie to their native city, as being only a hardship to them; and they may even have had a dislike to sewers in themselves, as reminding them of their bondage, and which dislike their descendants have inherited, and for which they are now suffering. At any rate, it is an instructive example to our present citizens of the value of drainage and sanitary arrangements, and shows that the importance of these things was recognised and appreciated in the earliest times.

C.P.F.

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ANDREW FRUSIUS--ANDRÉ DES FREUX.

Many of your readers, as well as "ROTERODAMUS," will be ready to acknowledge their obligation to Mr. Bruce for his prompt identification of the author of the epigram against Erasmus (pp. 27, 28.). I have just referred to the catalogue of the library of this university, and I regret to say that we have no copy of any of the works of Frusius. Mr. Bruce says he knows nothing of Frusius as an author. I believe there is no mention of him in any English bibliographical or biographical work. There is, however, a notice {181} of him in the _Biographie Universelle_, vol. xvi. (Paris), and in the _Biografia Universale_, vol. xxi. (Venezia). As these works have, perhaps, found their way into very few private English libraries, I send you the following sketch, which will probably be acceptable to your readers. It is much to be lamented that sufficient encouragement cannot be given in this country for the production of a _Universal Biography_. Roses's work, which promised to be a giant, dwindled down to a miserable pigmy; and that under "The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge" was strangled in its birth.

André des Freux, better known by his Latin name, Frusius, was born at Chartres, in the beginning of the sixteenth century. He embraced the life of an ecclesiastic, and obtained the cure of Thiverval, which he held many years with great credit to himself. The high reputation of Ignatius Loyola, who was then at Rome, with authority from the Holy See to found the Society of the Jesuits, led Frusius to that city, where he was admitted a member of the new order in 1541, and shortly after became secretary to Loyola. He contributed to the establishment of the Society at Parma, Venice, and many towns of Italy and Sicily. He was the first Jesuit who taught the Greek language at Messina; he also gave public lectures on the Holy Scriptures in Rome. He was appointed Rector of the German College at Rome, shortly before his death, which occurred on the 25th of October, 1556, three months and six days after the death of Loyola. Frusius had studied, with equal success, theology, medicine, and law: he was a good mathematician, an excellent musician, and made Latin verses with such facility, that he composed them, on the instant, on all sorts of subjects. But these verses were neither so elegant nor so harmonious, as Alegambe asserts[1], since he adds, that it requires close attention to distinguish them from prose. Frusius translated, from Spanish into Latin, the _Spiritual Exercises_ of Loyola. He was the author of the following works:--Two small pieces, in verse, _De Verborum et Rerum Copia_, and _Summa Latinæ Syntaxeos_: these were published in several different places; _Theses Collectæ ex Interpretatione Geneseos; Assertiones Theologicæ_, Rome, 1554; _Poemata_, Cologne, 1558--this collection often reprinted at Lyons, Antwerp and Tournon, contains 255[2] epigrams against the heretics, amongst whom he places Erasmus;--a poem _De Agno Dei_; and, lastly, another poem, entitled _Echo de Presenti Christianæ Religionis Calamitate_, which has been sometimes cited as an example of a great _difficulté vaincue_. The edition of Tournon contains also a poem, _De Simplicitate_, of which Alegambe speaks with praise. To Frusius was also owing an edition of Martial's _Epigrams_, divested of their obscenities.

EDW. VENTRIS. Cambridge, Jan. 10. 1850.

[Our valued correspondent, MR. MACCABE, has also informed us that the "_Epigrams_ of Frusius were published at Antwerp, 1582, in 8vo., and at Cologne, 1641, in 12mo. See Feller's _Biographie_."]

[1] I presume in his _Bibliotheca Scriptorum Societatis
Jesu_.

[2] Duthilloeul, according to Mr. Bruce, says 251.

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OPINIONS RESPECTING BURNET

A small _catena patrum_ has been given respecting Burnet, as a historian, in No. 3. pp. 40, 41., to which two more _scriptorum judicia_ have been appended in No. 8. p. 120., by "I.H.M.". As a sadly disparaging opinion had been quoted, at p. 40., from Lord Dartmouth, I hope you will allow the following remarks on the testimony of that nobleman to appear in your columns:--

"No person has contradicted Burnet more frequently,
or with more asperity, than Dartmouth. Yet
Dartmouth wrote, 'I do not think he designedly published
anything he believed to be false.' At a later
period, Dartmouth, provoked by some remarks on
himself in the second volume of the Bishop's history,
retracted this praise; but to such a retraction little
importance can be attached. Even Swift has the
justice to say, 'After all he was a man of generosity and
good nature.'"--_Short Remarks on Bishop Burnet's History_.

"It is usual to censure Burnet as a singularly inaccurate
historian; but I believe the charge to be
altogether unjust. He appears to be singularly inaccurate
only because his narrative has been subjected to
a scrutiny singularly severe and unfriendly. If any
Whig thought it worth while to subject Reresby's
_Memoirs_, North's _Examen_, Mulgrave's _Account of the
Revolution_, or the _Life of James the Second_, edited by
Clarke, to a similar scrutiny, it would soon appear that
Burnet was far indeed from being the most inexact
writer of his time."--Macaulay, _Hist. England_, vol. ii.
p.177, 3rd. Ed.

T. Bath.

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QUERIES

SAINT THOMAS OF LANCASTER.

Sir,--I am desirous of information respecting the religious veneration paid to the memory of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, cousin-german to King Edward the Second. He was taken in open rebellion against the King on the 16th of March, 1322, condemned by a court-martial, and executed, with circumstances of great indignity, on the rising ground above the castle of Pomfret, which at the time was in his possession. His body was probably given to the monks of the adjacent priory; and soon after his death miracles were said to be performed at his tomb, and at the place of {182} execution; a curious record of which is preserved in the library of Corpus Christi College, at Cambridge, and introduced by Brady into his history of the period. About the same time, a picture or image of him seems to have been exhibited in St. Paul's Church, in London, and to have been the object of many offerings. A special proclamation was issued, denouncing this veneration of the memory of a traitor, and threatening punishment on those who encouraged it; and a statement is given by Brady of the opinions of an ecclesiastic, who thought it very doubtful how far this devotion should be encouraged by the Church, the Earl of Lancaster, besides his political offences, having been a notorious evil-liver.

As soon, however, as the King's party was subdued, and the unhappy sovereign, whose acts and habits had excited so much animosity, cruelly put to death, we find not only the political character of the Earl of Lancaster vindicated, his attainder reversed, his estates restored to his family, and his adherents re-established in all their rights and liberties, but within five weeks of the accession of Edward the Third, a special mission was sent to the Pope from the King, imploring the appointment of a commission to institute the proper canonical investigation for his admission into the family of saints. His character and his cause are described, in florid language, as having been those of a Christian hero; and the numberless miracles wrought in his name, and the confluence of pilgrims to his tomb, are presumed to justify his invocation.

In June of the same year (1327), a "king's letter" is given to Robert de Weryngton, authorising him and his agents to collect alms throughout the kingdom for the purpose of building a chapel on the hill where the Earl was beheaded, and praying all prelates and authorities to give him aid and heed. This sanction gave rise to imposture; and in December a proclamation appeared, ordering the arrest and punishment of unauthorised persons collecting money under this pretence, and taking it for their own use.

In 1330, the same clerical personages were sent again to the Pope, to advance the affair of the canonization of the Earl, and were bearers of letters on the same subject from the King to five of the cardinals, all urging the attention of the Papal court to a subject that so much interested the Church and people of England.

It would seem, however, that some powerful opposition to this request was at work at the Roman see. For in the April of the following year another commission, composed of a professor of theology, a military personage, and a magistrate of the name of John de Newton, was sent with letters to the Pope, to nine cardinals, to the referendary of the Papal court, and to three nephews of his Holiness, entreating them not to give ear to the invectives of malignant men ("commenta fictitia maliloquorum"), who here asserted that the Earl of Lancaster consented to, or connived at, some injury or insult offered to certain cardinals at Durham in the late king's reign. So far from this being true, the letters assert that the earl defended these prelates to the utmost of his power, protected them from enemies who had designs on their lives, and placed them in security at his own great peril. The main point of the canonization is again urged, and allusion made to former repeated supplications, and the sacred promise, "Knock, and it shall be opened unto you," appealed to. The vindication of the Earl from the malicious charge against him is omitted in the letters to two of the cardinals and the lay personages. Were these the two cardinals who fancied themselves injured?

This, then, is all I can discover in the ordinary historical channels respecting this object of ancient public reverence in England. The chapel was constructed and officiated in till the dissolution of the monasteries; the image in St. Paul's was always regarded with special affection; and the cognomen of _Saint_ Thomas of Lancaster was generally accepted and understood.

Five hundred years after the execution of the Earl of Lancaster, a large stone coffin, massive and roughly hewn, was found in a field that belonged of old to the Priory of Pomfret, but at least a quarter of a mile distant from the hill where the chapel stood. Within was the skeleton of a full-grown man, partially preserved; the skull lay between the thighs. There is no record of the decapitation of any person at Pomfret of sufficient dignity to have been interred in a manner showing so much care for the preservation of the body, except the Earl of Lancaster. The coffin may have been removed here at the time the opposite party forbade its veneration, from motives of precaution for its safety.

Now, I shall be much obliged for information on the following points:--

Is any thing known, beyond what I have stated, as to the communications with Rome on the subject of his canonization, or as to the means by which he was permitted by the English church to become a fit object for invocation and veneration?

What are the chief historical grounds that endeared his memory to the Church or the people? The compassion for his signal fall can hardly account for this, although a similar motive was sufficient to bring to the tomb of Edward II., in Gloucester Cathedral, an amount of offerings that added considerably to the splendour of the edifice.

Are any anecdotes or circumstances recorded, respecting the worship of this saint in later times, than I have referred to?

{183} What is the historic probability that the stone coffin, discovered in 1822, contained the remains of this remarkable man?

I have no doubt that much curious and valuable matter might be discovered, by pursuing into the remote receptacles of historical knowledge the lives and characters of persons who have become, in Catholic times, the unauthorised objects of popular religious reverence after death.

RICH. MONCKTON MILNES. 26. Pall Mall, Jan. 12th.

[To this interesting communication we may add that "_The Office of St. Thomas of Lancaster_," which begins,

"Gaude Thoma, ducum decus, lucerna Lancastriæ,"

is printed in the volume of "_Political Songs_" edited by Mr. Wright for the Camden Society, from a Royal MS. in the British Museum.--MS. Reg. 12.]

* * * * *

SHIELD OF THE BLACK PRINCE--SWORD OF CHARLES I.

In Bolton's _Elements of Armories_, 1610, p. 67., is an engraving of a very interesting shield, of the kind called "Pavoise," which at that period hung over the tomb of Edward the Black Prince, at Canterbury, in addition to the shield still remaining there. Bolton says, "The sayd victorious Princes tombe is in the goodly Cathedral Church erected to the honour of Christ, in Canterburie; there (beside his quilted coat-armour, with half-sleeves, Taberd fashion, and his triangular shield, both of them painted with the royall armories of our kings, and differenced with silver labels) hangs this kind of Pavis or Target, curiously (for those times) embost and painted, and the Scutcheon in the bosse being worne out, and the Armes (which, it seemes, were the same with his coate armour, and not any particular devise) defaced, and is altogether of the same kinde with that upon which (Froissard reports) the dead body of the Lord Robert of Dvras, and nephew to the Cardinall of Pierregoort, was laid, and sent unto that Cardinale, from the Battell of Poictiers, where the Blacke Prince obtained a Victorie, the renowne whereof is immortale."

Can any of your correspondents inform me when this most interesting relic disappeared? Sandford, whose _Genealogical History_ was published some sixty or seventy years later, says, "On an iron barr over the Tombe are placed the Healme and Crest, Coat of Maile, and Gantlets, and, on a pillar near thereunto, his shield of Armes, richly diapred with gold, all which he is said to have used in Battel;" but he neither mentions the missing "Pavoise," engraved in Bolton, or the scabbard of the sword which yet remains, the sword itself having been taken away, according to report, by Oliver Cromwell. Did that unscrupulous Protector(?) take away the "Pavoise" at the same time, or order his Ironsides to "remove that bauble?"--and how came he to spare the helmet, jupon, gauntlets, shield, and _scabbard_? I have strong doubts of his being the purloiner of the sword. The late Mr. Stothard, who mentions the report, does not quote his authority. I will add another query, on a similar subject:--When did the _real_ sword of Charles the First's time, which, but a few years back, hung at the side of that monarch's equestrian figure at Charing Cross, disappear?--and what has become of it? The question was put, at my suggestion, to the official authorities, by the secretary of the British Archæological Association; but no information could be obtained on the subject. That the sword _was_ a real one of that period, I state upon the authority of my lamented friend, the late Sir Samuel Meyrick, who had ascertained the fact, and pointed out to me its loss.

J.R. PLANCHÉ.

* * * * *

FRATENRNITYE OF VAGABONDES--REV. MR. GENESSE--RED MAIDS.

[We have for some time past been obliged, by want of space, to omit all the kind expressions towards ourselves, in which friendly correspondents are apt to indulge; but there is something so unusual in the way in which the following letter begins, that we have done violence to our modesty, in order to admit the comments of our kind-hearted correspondent. We have no doubt that all his questions will be answered in due course.]

Never, during my life (more than half a century), do I remember hailing the appearance of any new publication with such unfeigned delight. I had hugged myself on having the friendship of a certain "BOOKWORM," possessing a curious library, of some three or four thousand volumes; how much must I have rejoiced, therefore, at finding that, through the medium of your invaluable journal, my literary friends were likely to be increased one hundred-fold; and that, for the small sum of three pence weekly, I could command the cordial co-operation, when at a loss, of all the first scholars, antiquaries, and literary men of the country; that without the trouble of attending meetings, &c., I could freely become a member of the "Society of Societies;" that the four thousand volumes, to which I had, previously, access, were increased more than ten thousand-fold. It is one of the peculiar advantages of literary accumulation, that it is only by diffusing the knowledge of the materials amassed, and the information gained, that their value is felt. Unlike the miser, the scholar and antiquary, by expending, add to the value of their riches.

Permit me to avail myself of the "good the bounteous gods have sent me," and make one or two inquiries through the medium of your columns. {184} In the first place, can any of your readers inform me by whom a pamphlet, of the Elizabethan period, noticed in the _Censura Literaria_, and entitled _The Fraternitye of Vagabondes_, was reprinted, some years since?--Was it by Machelle Stace, of Scotland Yard, who died a brother of the Charter-House?

In the second place, can any of your clerical readers tell me where I can find any account of the late Rev. Mr. Genesse, of Bath, author of a _History of the Stage_, in ten volumes, one of the most elaborate and entertaining works ever published, which must have been a labour of love, and the labour of a life?

And, in the third and last place, I find, in the _Bristol Gazette_ of the early part of last month, the following paragraph:--"THE RED MAIDS, 120 in number, enjoyed their annual dinner in honour of the birthday of their great benefactor, Alderman Whitson. The dinner consisted of joints of _veal_ (which they only have on this occasion), and some dozens of plum puddings. The mayor and Mayoress attended, and were much pleased to witness the happy faces of the girls, to whom the Mayoress distributed one shilling each."

Can any of your curious contributors give me any account of these _Red Maids_?--why they are so called, &c., &c.?--and, in fact, of the charity in general?

It will not be one of the least of many benefits of your publication, that, in noticing from time to time the real intention of many ancient charitable bequests, the purposes of the original benevolent founder may be restored to their integrity, and the charity devoted to the use of those for whom it was intended, and who will receive it as a charity, and not, as is too often the case, be swallowed up as a mere place,--or worse, a sinecure.

ARTHUR GRIFFINHOOF, JUN.

* * * * *

THE NAME OF SHYLOCK.

Dr. Farmer has stated that Shakspere took the name which he has given to one of the leading characters in the _Merchant of Venice_ from a pamphlet entitled _Caleb Shilloche, or the Jew's Prediction_. The date of the pamphlet, however, being some years posterior to that of the play, renders this origin impossible. Mr. C. Knight, who points out this error, adds--"_Scialac_ was the name of a Marionite of Mount Libanus."

But "query," Was not _Shylock_ a proper name among the Jews, derived from the designation employed by the patriarch Jacob in predicting the advent of the Messiah--"until _Shiloh_ come"? (Gen. xlix. 10.) The objection, which might be urged, that so sacred a name would not have been applied by an ancient Jew to his child, has not much weight, when we recollect that some Christians have not shrunk from the blasphemous imposition of the name _Emanuel_ ("God with us") upon their offspring. St. Jerome manifestly reads SHILOACH, for he translates it by _Qui mittendus est. (Lond. Encyc_. in voc. "Shiloh.") Now the difference between _Shiloach_ and _Shylock_ is very trivial indeed. I shall be very glad to have the opinion of some of your numerous and able contributors on this point.

But, after all, Shylock may have been a _family name_ familiar to the great dramatist. In all my researches on the subject of _English surnames,_ however, I have but once met with it as a generic distinction. In the _Battel Abbey Deeds_ (penes Sir T. Phillipps, Bart.) occurs a power of attorney from John Pesemershe, Esq., to _Richard Shylok_, of Hoo, co. Sussex, and others, to deliver seizin of all his lands in Sussex to certain persons therein named. The date of this document is July 4, 1435.

MARK ANTONY LOWER.

* * * * *

TRANSPOSITION OF LETTERS.

I should be obliged if any of your readers would give me the reason for the transposition of certain letters, chiefly, but not exclusively, in proper names, which has been effected in the course of time.

The name of our Queen Bertha was, in the seventh century, written Beorhte.

The Duke Brythnoth's name was frequently written Byrthnoth, in the tenth century.

In Eardweard, we have dropped the _a_; in Ealdredesgate, the _e_. In Aedwini, we have dropped the first letter (or have sometimes transposed it), although, I think, we are wrong; for the given name Adwin has existed in my own family for several centuries.

John was always written Jhon till about the end of the sixteenth century; and in Chaucer's time, the word _third_, as every body knows, was written _thridde_, or _thrydde_. I believe that the _h_ in Jhon was introduced, as it was in other words in German, to give force to the following vowel. Certain letters were formerly used in old French in like manner, which were dropped upon the introduction of the accents.

B. WILLIAMS. Hillingdon, Jan. 5.

* * * * *

PICTURES OF QUEEN ELIZABETH AND CHARLES I. IN CHURCHES.

Your correspondent "R.O." will find two pictures of Charles I. of the same allegorical character as that described by him in his note (_antè_, p. 137.), one on the wall of the stairs leading to the north gallery of the church of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, and the other in the hall of the law courts in Guildhall Yard. I know nothing of the history of the first-mentioned picture; the latter, until within a few years, hung on the wall, above the {185} gallery, in the church of St. Olave, Jewry, when, upon the church undergoing repair, it was taken down, and, by the parishioners, presented to the corporation of London, who placed it in its present position. In the church of St. Olave there were two other pictures hung in the gallery, one representing the tomb of Queen Elizabeth, copied from the original at Westminster, the other of Time on the Wing, inscribed with various texts from Scripture. Both these pictures were presented at the same time with the picture of Charles I. to the corporation, and are now in the hall in Guildhall Yard. The representation of Queen Elizabeth's tomb is to be met with, I believe, in some other of the London churches. The picture in Bishopsgate Church is fully described in the 1st vol. of Malcolm's _Londinium Redivivum_, p. 243., and the St. Olave's pictures are mentioned in the 4th vol. of the same work, p. 563. Malcolm states he was not able to find any account of the Bishopsgate painting in the parish books. Hitherto I have not been able to discover anything connected with the history of the St. Olave's pictures, which, as the old church was destroyed in the great fire of 1666, were doubtless placed there subsequently to that year. I shall be glad if any of your readers can throw any light as to the time when, and the circumstances under which, such pictures as I have mentioned, referring to Queen Elizabeth and Charles I., were placed in our churches.

JAMES CROSBY.

* * * * *

FLAYING IN PUNISHMENT OF SACRILEGE.

In the _Journal of the Archæological Institute_, for September, 1848, there are some most interesting notes on the subject of "Flaying in Punishment of Sacrilege," by Mr. Way. Since then I have felt peculiar interest in the facts and traditions recorded by Mr. Way. Can any of your correspondents, or Mr. Way himself, give any further references to authors by whom the subject is mentioned, besides those named in the paper to which I allude? A few weeks ago I received a piece of skin, stated to be human, and taken from the door of the parish church of Hadstock, in Essex. Together with this I received a short written paper, apparently written some fifty years ago, which ascribes the fact of human skin being found on the door of that church, to the punishment, _not_ of _sacrilege_, but of a somewhat different crime. The piece of skin has been pronounced to be human by the highest authority. As the above query might lead to some lengthy "notes," I desire only to be informed of the titles of any works, ancient or modern, in which distinct mention, or allusion, is made of the punishment of flaying.

R.V. Winchester.

* * * * *

MINOR QUERIES.

_Pokership or Parkership_.--In Collins' _Peerage_, vol. iv. p. 242., 5th edition, 1779, we are told that Sir Robert Harley, of Wigmore Castle, in 1604, was made Forester of Boringwood, alias Bringwood Forest, in com. Hereford, _with the office of the 'Pokership_,' and custody of the forest or chase of Prestwood for life. The same word occurs in the edition (the 3rd) of 1741, and in that edited by Sir Egerton Brydges in 1812 (vol. iv. p. 57.).

If _Pokership_ be not a misprint or misreading of the original authority, viz. _Pat. 2. Jac. I._ p. 21., for _Parkership_, can any of your readers tell me the meaning of "the _Pokership_," which is not to be found in any book of reference within my reach? I like the "NOTES AND QUERIES" very much.

Audley End, Jan. 9. 1850. BRAYBROOKE.

_Boduc or Boduoc on British Coins._--I observe there is a prevailing opinion that the inscription on the British coin, "Boduc or Boduoc," must be intended for the name of our magnanimous Queen Boadicea. I am sorry to cast a cloud over so pleasant a vision, but your little book of QUERIES tempts me to throw in a doubt.

Although the name Budic is not met with in the pedigrees of England, commonly given by Welsh heralds, yet it is often found among the families of the Welsh in Brittany, and as they are reported to be early descendants of the Welsh of England, there can be little doubt that the name was once common in England. I beg leave, therefore, to _query_, Whether the inscription is not intended for a Regulus of Britain of that name?

P.

_The Origin of the word Snob._--Can any of your valuable correspondents give me the origin or derivation of the word Snob?

When, and under what peculiar circumstances, was it first introduced into our language?

In the town in which I reside, in the north of England, the word Snob was formerly applied to a _cobbler_, and the phrase was in use, "_Snip_ the _tailor_, and _Snob_ the _cobbler_."

I cannot discover how and why the word Snob was enlarged into its present comprehensive meaning.

Explanations of many of the slang phrases met with in the dramatic works of the last century, such as, "Thank you, sir, I owe you one," "A Rowland for an Oliver," "Keep moving, dad," &c. &c. would perhaps give much light upon the manners of the times, and an interesting history might be compiled of the progress of slang phrases to the present day.

ALPHA.

_Mertens, Martins, or Martini, the Printer._--Can any of your correspondents inform me what was really the surname of Theodoric Mertens, Martins, or Martini, the printer of Louvain, and who {186} was a friend of Erasmus? In a small volume of his, now before me, printed in 1517, the colophon gives: "Lovanii apud Theodoricum Martinum anno MDXVII mense April;" while, on the reverse of _the same leaf_, is a wooden block, of his device, occupying the whole page, and beneath it are inscribed the words "Theodoricus Martini." This appears to put _Mertens_ out of the question.

W.

_Queen's Messengers_.--I should esteem it a favour conferred if any of your readers could give me any memoranda touching the early origin of the corps now termed Queen's Messengers, the former "Knightes caligate of Armes." The only mention that I have read of their origin is a brief notice in Knight's _London_, No. 131. p. 91; but doubtless there exists, did I know what works to consult, many more voluminous a history of their origin and proceedings than the short summary given in the work of Mr. Knight. In whose reign were they first created? and by whom were they appointed? In fact, any data relating to their early history would very much oblige,

J.U.G.G.

_Bishop Lesly of Ross' Epitaph.--Machoreus or Macorovius, "De Prælio Aveniniano."_--Would any of your readers be so kind as to favour me with a copy of the Latin epitaph of Bishop Lesly, of Ross, inscribed on his tomb in the abbey church of Gurtenburg, near Brussels?

Can any one furnish the _entire_ title and imprint of a Latin poem, _De Prælio Aveniniano_, said to have been written in 1594, by a Scottish Jesuit named Alexander Macorovius, or Machoreus? Any particulars concerning this author would gratify

LLEWELYN ST. GEORGE.

_The Word "Cannibal."_--When was the word _Cannibal_ first used in English books?--To what language does it belong?--and what is its exact meaning?

W.

_Sir William Rider_.--"H.F." would feel obliged by a reference to any work containing an account of Sir William Rider and his family. He was Lord Mayor of London in 1600; and his daughter Mary was married to Sir Thomas Lake, of Cannons, Secretary of State temp. James I. He wishes more particularly to ascertain the date of Sir William Rider's death.

_The Word "Poghele."_--What is the etymology and precise meaning of the word "Poghele" (pronounced Poughley), or rather the first part of it, which occurs occasionally as the name of a place in the county of Berks, and perhaps elsewhere?

W.

_Duncan Campbell._--Was the Duncan Campbell, of whom memoirs were written by Defoe, a real or an imaginary person? If the former, where can one find any authentic account of him?

L.B.

_Boston de Bury de Bib. Monasteriorum._--Can any of your correspondents give me a reference to the original MS. of _Boston de Bury de Bibliothecis Monasteriorum_?

P.

_Cazena on the Inquisition_.--Can any one tell me what is the public opinion of Cazena's work on the Inquisition? I see Limborch and many others quoted concerning that tribunal, but never Cazena. Is the book scarce?--or is it not esteemed? I never saw but one copy.

P.

_The Reconciliation_, 1554.--In 1554, Cardinal Pole directed a register to be kept in every parish of all the parishioners who, on a certain day, were to be reconciled to the Church of Rome and absolved. (Burnet's _Ref_. vol. iii. p. 245.)

The Bishop of London's Declaration thereon (Feb. 19. 1554) runs thus:--

"And they not so reconciled, every one of them
shall have process made agaynst him accordyng to
the canons, as the case shall requyre; for which purpose
the pastours and curates of every paryshe shall be
commanded by their archedeacon to certyfye me in
writinge of every man and woman's name that is not
so reconciled."

Have any of your readers at any time seen and made a _note_ of such a register?

The most probable place of deposit would be the Bishop's Registry, but I have never yet been fortunate enough to meet with one of these curious returns.

J.S.B.

* * * * *

MISCELLANIES.

_Darkness at the Crucifixion_.--The following passage, in a volume of Lectures by the Rev. H. Blunt, has fallen under my notice:--

"It was this Dionysius (the Areopagite) of whom
the earliest Christian historians relate that, being at
Heliopolis, in Egypt, at the time of our Lord's crucifixion,
when he beheld the mid-day darkness which
attended that awful event, he exclaimed, 'Either the
God of Nature suffers, or the frame of the world will
be dissolved.'"

Having very limited opportunity of studying the ancient historians, I should be greatly obliged if you would inform me from what work this account is derived; or refer me to any authors, _not_ having embraced Christianity, who give a description of the crucifixion of our Saviour; and especially with reference to the "darkness over all the earth" at the time of that event, mentioned by St. Luke, who also adds, that "the sun was darkened." Your kindly consenting, as you did in your second number, to receive queries respecting references, has induced me to trouble you so far.

S.A.M.

[Our correspondent will find much that is to his purpose, both in the way of statements and of reference {187} to original authorities, in Lardner's _Jewish and Heathen Testimonies_, chap. xiii. of the Heathen Authors; vol. ii. p. 125. of the original 4to. edition; or vol. vii. p. 370. of the 8vo. edition of his works by Kippis, 1788.]

_High-Doctrine_.--In the Cambridgeshire fens there are a great number of Dissenters, and I believe Cromwell's Ironsides were chiefly recruited from those districts. On the higher lands adjoining are the old parish churches; and in conversation it is not uncommon to hear the tenets of the Church of England described as _High land Doctrine_, in contra-distinction to the _Low land_, or Dissenters' doctrine.

The thing is amusing, if nothing else, and I heard it while staying some few years ago with my brother, who lives on the edges of the Cambridgeshire fens.

E.H.

_Wife of Robert de Bruce_.--In the Surrenden Collection is an interesting roll, entitled "Liberatio facta Ingelardo de Warlee Custodi Garderobe, 7 E. 2."