Chapter M: W. B

Having visited the church of St. Andrew at Antwerp during the autumn of last year, I am able to inform your correspondent C. E. D. (Vol. v., p. 415.) that the monument to which he alludes still exists.

The portrait of Mary Queen of Scots is above the tablet, which was, I believe, erected to the memory of Elizabeth Curle; who, after the execution of her mistress, resided at Antwerp, and was buried in that church.

F. H.

The monument dedicated to the memory of their beloved mistress by the two noble ladies of the household of Mary Queen of Scots, Lady Barbara Mowbray, the wife, and Elizabeth Curle, the sister, of Gilbert Curle, the queen's confidential secretary, still exists in the church of St. Andrew at Antwerp. The history, or rather _story_ of the decapitated head having been borne away by these ladies, and buried at the foot of the pillar on which the monument is placed, which is alluded to by your correspondent, is too apocryphal for belief. There is no reason to suppose that any _head_ of the queen was carried away by these devoted women into exile, excepting in the shape of her portrait painted on copper; which, instead of being interred _beneath_ the monument, is still to be seen placed above the dedicatory inscription. It is true that in the edition of Descamps' _Voyage Pittoresque de la Flandre_, published at _Paris_ and _Rouen_ in 1769, it is stated that the monument was surmounted by "_son buste en marbre_;" but this error was corrected in the _Antwerp_ edition of 1792, where it is correctly affirmed to be "_son portrait peint_."

Mention is made of this crowned portrait, of a circular form, in Mackie's _Castles and Prisons of Queen Mary_, and of the close resemblance it bears to another in the possession of Lady Cathcart; who assured Mr. Mackie that the two portraits were painted by order of the queen, and presented by her to _two Scottish ladies_, but whose names are not mentioned.

The following epitaph to the memory of these two faithful servants of the unhappy queen, has also been preserved by Jacques Le Roy in his _Théâtre Sacré du Brabant_, tom. ii. p. 90. It was copied by him from a blue marble slab placed over the entrance to the vault in which they were deposited:--

"D. O. M.

_Sub hoc lapide duarum feminarum vere piarum conduntur corpora_ D.
BARBARÆ MOUBRAY _et_ D. ELISABETHÆ CURLE _utræque Scotæ, nobilissimæ
Mariæ Reginæ à cubiculis, quarum monumentum superiori affigitur
columnæ. Illa vidua mortalium legi cessit_ XXXI. _Julii anno 1616
ætatis_ LVII., _dum hæc semper cælebs_ XXIX. _Maii, ætatis_ LX. _Dni_
M.DC.XX."

In the inscription placed against the pillar, dedicated to the memory of Queen Mary, Lady Barbara is said to be a daughter of Lord John Mowbray--_Barbara Moubray, D. Johan Moubray, Baronis F._

The writer of this note is desirous of obtaining some authentic information respecting these two noble Scottish families, and hopes this {518} communication may serve to elicit what he has long sought to trace. The armorial bearings of both families (originally affixed to the monument) have been effaced.

He would be glad also to be referred to any documents tending to throw light on the obscure history of poor Mary's intriguing _French_ secretary, Nau; as to where he was born, his connexions and avocations in early life; how, and by what secret influence he entered into the service of the queen; and, lastly, how he came to be pardoned, and what became of him afterwards? She declared, in her last hours, that _he was the cause of her death_?

NHRSL.

* * * * *

LORD KING; THE SCLATERS; DR. KELLET, ETC.

(Vol. v., p. 457.)

If BALLIOLENSIS wishes for a more particular account of the Sclater family than that which follows, I shall be happy to correspond with him upon the subject.

_Anthony Sclater, D.D._, was vicar of Leighton Buzzard for fifty years, and died, aged 100, about 1620. His son--

_William Sclater, D.D._, Fellow of King's, and vicar of Pitminster in Somersetshire, is the person mentioned by Dr. Kellet. He was an exceedingly learned man, and the author of many theological works (for a list, see _Bib. Bod. Cat._), some of which were published after his death, _which occurred in 1627_. There is a curious and interesting account of him in Fuller's _Worthies_, vol. i. p. 119. (see also _Athenæ Oxonienses_). His son--

_William Sclater, also D.D. and Fellow of King's_, was vicar of Collumpton, Devon, and prebend of Exeter, and appears to have kept up by several works and sermons the reputation of the family for doctrinal theology.[2] His son--

_Francis Sclater, B.D._ (Fellow of C. C. C. Oxon. May 17, 1667, æt. 17), was likewise a person of extraordinary learning and abilities, as appears from several notices, and more particularly from the inscription on a silver-gilt cup presented to C. C. C. in memory of him by his father; and from an elegant Latin epitaph which was placed on the south wall of St. James's, Clerkenwell.[3] He died in 1685, æt. 35, leaving a son--

_Christopher Sclater, M.A._, born 1679, rector of Loughton in Essex, and afterwards of Chingford in the same county. His eldest son--

_William Sclater, D.D._, seems (from MSS. still existing) to have inherited the theological talent of his ancestors, but o. s. p. Richard Sclater, Esq., the second son of Christopher, was grandfather to William Lutley Sclater, Esq., of Hoddington House, Hants, the present representative of the family. By a third son, Christopher Sclater was grandfather to Eliza Sclater, wife of ---- Draper, Esq., and celebrated for her Platonic attachment to Lawrence Sterne. From MSS. preserved in the family, it is clear that she must have been a woman of considerable talent.

I had always supposed _William Sclater_, the Nonjuror, and author of _An Original Draught_, &c., to have been a brother of _Francis Sclater_; but, if it be true that his work was a posthumous publication (as I learn for the first time from the Note by the EDITOR of "N. & Q."), I think it most probable that it was his father (the vicar of Collumpton above mentioned), who would have been about sixty years of age in 1688, and who was certainly a man of learning and scholarship.

I have no doubt that Edward Sclater, the pervert of Putney, belonged to the same family, though I know not in how near relationship.

The name of Sclater, which is curious, seems to have originated in a place called Slaughter (olim Sclostre or Sclaughtre, _temp._ King John) in Gloucestershire, where a family of Sclaughters flourished as lords of the manor for upwards of 300 years. The arms of both families are: arg. a saltier az.; crest, an eagle sa. rising out of a ducal coronet. The motto of the Sclater family (which they owe, no doubt to one of their learned ancestors) is a Greek quotation from Gal. vi. 14.: "[Greek: ei mê en tôi staurôi]."

About the commencement of the seventeenth century, another branch of the same family (whose patronymic was Thomas) was settled in Cambridgeshire. The last male representative of these, Sir Thomas Sclater, Bart., died without issue in 1684 (see Burke's _Ext. Baronetages_).

I should be glad of any information respecting the connexion of these two branches with each other, or of either with the parent stem in Gloucestershire. I should also be glad of information respecting one Will. Slatyer, D.D. (whose name is sometimes, I _believe_ erroneously, spelt Sclater) a very learned person, chaplain to James I., the {519} author of some curious historical and genealogical works, and a celebrated Hebraist in those times. He was a cotemporary of Sclater of Pitminster, and died at Ottenden in Kent about the same time; but it is doubtful whether they were relations.

S. L. P.

Oxford and Cambridge Club.

[Footnote 2: This Dr. Sclater appears to have been at one time minister of St. James, Clerkenwell, from the following work in the Bodleian Catalogue. "_The Royal Pay, and Pay-master, or the Indigent Officer's Comfort; a Sermon before the Military Company, on Rev._ ii. 10. By William Sclater, D.D., Minister of St. James, Clerkenwell, 4to. Lond. 1671."--ED.]

[Footnote 3: F. Sclater, S. T. B. C. C. C., Oxon. olim socius, Eccl. Anglicanæ Spes, academiæ gloria, Eruditorum desiderium, Sanæ doctrinæ contrà omnes regnantes errores, etiam inter iniquissima tempora propugnator acerrimus. Vir fuit ingenio acri ac vivido judicio sagaci candore animi egregio. Quibus accessit eloquentia singularis atque doctrina omnibus numeris absoluta. Ideoque sive dissererit, sive concionaretur, ab illius ore non populus magis quam clerus et literati avidè pendebant.... Obit. Maii. 12. d. A.D. 1685. æt 35. Deflendus quidem multum, sed magis imitandus Gulielmus SS. T.P. moestissimus Pater P.]

The following Notes are very much at the service of your correspondent BALLIOLENSIS. It is true that they do not afford a precise answer to his immediate Query, but they comprise particulars which may very probably lead to it, and will at least be interesting in compliance with his request for any notices respecting the family of Sclater.

Anthony Sclater was minister of Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire for about fifty years, and died at the age of nearly one hundred. His son, William Sclater, was born there in 1577; educated at Eton and King's College, Cambridge, B.D. and D.D., preacher at Walsall, co. Staffordshire; presented to the vicarage of Pitminster, near Taunton, co. Somerset, by John Coles, Esq.; and to a rectory in the same county by John, afterwards Lord Powlett. Died at Pitminster, 1627. He was the author of the following works, and of others unpublished:--

"A Key to the Key of Scripture, or an Exposition, with Notes, on the
Epistle to the Romans, &c. 4to, London, 1611. Dedicated to Sir Henry
Hawley, Knt., and four other Gentlemen."

"The Minister's Portion, a Sermon on 1 Cor. ix. 13, 14. 4to. Oxford,
1612. Dedicated to Thomas Southcote, Esq., of Mohun's Ottery in
Devonshire."

"The Sick Soul's Salve, a Sermon on Prov. xviii. 14. 4to. Oxford, 1612.
Dedicated to John Horner, Esq., and to the devout Anna his wife, at
Melles in Somerset."

"The Christian's Strength, a Sermon at Oxford on Philip. iv. 13. 4to.
Oxford, 1612. Dedicated to William Hill, Esq., of Pitminster."

"An Exposition upon the First Epistle to the Thessalonians. 4to.
London, 1619. Dedicated to the Lord Stanhope, Baron of Haringdon."

"The Question of Tythes revised, &c. 4to. London, 1623. Dedicated to
Lake, Bishop of Bath and Wells."

"A Briefe Exposition upon the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians. 4to.
London, 1629. Dedicated to 'John Pawlet, Esq., his very honourable good
Patron, and Elisabeth his Wife, his much honoured Patronesse.'"

"Utriusque Epistolæ ad Corinthios Explicatio, &c. Edited by his Son.
4to. Oxon. 1633. Dedicated to 'Edvardo Keletto, S. T. D. Sancti Petri
apud Exoniensis residentiario, nec non M. Georgio Goadio coll. Regalis
in Academia Cantabrig. Socio, suo non ita pridem tutori dilectissimo.'"

"A Brief and Plain Commentary on the Prophecy of Malachy, &c. Published
by his Son. 4to. London, 1650. Dedicated to Mr. Henry Walrond of
Bradfield, Devon."

"An Exposition on the Fourth Chapter of the Romans, &c. Published by
his Son. 4to. London, 1650. Dedicated to 'John Bampfield of Poltimore
in Devon, Esq., a most eximious and exemplary Worthy of the West.'"

William Sclater, son of the above, was born at Pitminster; admitted member of King's College, Cambridge, in 1626; Fellow of that College; Chaplain to the Bishop of Exeter's Barony of St. Stephen's in Exeter, and preacher at St. Martin's in that city, 1639; Prebendary of Exeter Cathedral; admitted Vicar of Collumpton, co. Devon, 4th Feb. 1644, on the presentation of Roger Mallack of Exeter, Esq. Living there in 1650, then styled B.D., and late Fellow of King's College; D.D.; minister of St. Peter's-le-Poor, Broad Street, London, in 1654. Died before 1660.

The following were his published works:

"The Worthy Communicant rewarded, &c.; a Sermon in Exeter Cathedral,
21st April, 1639. 4to. London, 1639. Dedicated to Dr. Peterson, Dean of
Exeter."

"Papisto-Mastix: or Deborah's Prayer against God's Enemies, a Sermon on
Judges, v. 31. 4to. London, 1642."

"The Crowne of Righteousness, &c.; a Funeral Sermon at St. Botolph's
Aldersgate, Sept. 25, 1653, for Mr. Abraham Wheelock, B.D., &c. 4to.
London, 1654."

The registers of Pitminster and Collumpton would perhaps assist in tracing the descendants of these worthies, whose name still exists near Exeter. Fuller, under "BEDFORDSHIRE," gives some further particulars. The works above-mentioned may almost all, I think, be found in the Bodleian.

J. D. S.

BALLIOLENSIS will find an account of "William Sclater," whom he rightly supposes to have been at Eton and King's, in Harwood's _Alumni Etonensis_, p. 200., under the year 1593, 35 Eliz. He will there see that he died 1627, in the fifty-first year of his age, and was the author of _Comment on the Romans and Thessalonians_; _Sermons at St. Paul's Cross_; and the _Treatise on Tithes_, styled _The Minister's Portion_.

Under 1598 occurs "John Sclater." From a MS. account it is stated, "John Sclater, B.D., 1613, Rector of Holford, Somerset; then of Church Lawford, Warwick. (See _Dugdale_.) Query, If ejected 1662? if so, his farewell sermon in Collection A." (See too _Harwood_, p. 203.)

Under 1626 occurs "William Sclater," at p. 227. of _Harwood_, probably a mistake for 1625. In MS. under 1625 appears "William Sclater, son of W. S. of 1593, of Pitminster, Somerset, where his father was V.; R. of St. Steph., Exon.; D.D. 1651; Minister of St. Peter le Poor, Broad Street. (See _Engl. Worth._, 8vo., p. 21.) Pr. of Exon., Sept. 18, 1641. (See _Walker_, ob. 1656. See _Wood_.)"

Edward Kellet occurs in _Harwood_ under 1598, {520} p. 204. The account of his works given there agrees with the extract from the _Gentleman's Magazine_. It is also stated that he was the author of a sermon entitled _A Return from Argier, preached at Minehead, March 16, 1627, on the Re-admission of a relapsed Christian into our Church, on Gal._ v. 2.: London, 1628, 4to, and that he was a sufferer from the rebellion. In Harwood he is described as Rector of Bagborough and Crocombe, and Canon of Exeter. The MS. account is very short. He is there described as "R. of Rowbarrow, Som.; Can. of Exon.--See his works in _Wood_."

J. H. L.

* * * * *

BIRTHPLACE OF ST. PATRICK.

(Vol. v., p. 344.).

From the following extracts I send in answer to your correspondent CEYREP, there seems to be very great doubt if St. Patrick ever existed in reality, but that we ought rather to place him in the same category with St. Amphibalus, St. Denis, &c. Dr. Ledwich relates that--

"In Usuard's, and the _Roman Martyrology_, Bishop Patrick, of Auvergne,
is placed at the 16th day of March, and on the same day the office of
the Lateran canons, approved by Pius V., celebrates the festival of a
Patrick, the apostle of Ireland. The 17th of March is dedicated to
Patrick, Bishop of Nola. Had not Dr. Maurice, then, the best reasons
for supposing that Patricus Auvernensis sunk a day lower in the
calendar, and made for the Irish a Patricius Hibernensis? This seems
exactly to be the case. It is very extraordinary the 16th and 17th of
March should have three Patricks, one of Auvergne, another of Ireland,
and a third of Nola! The antiquities of Glastonbury record three
Patricks, one of Auvergne, another archbishop of Ireland, and a third
an abbot. The last, according to a martyrology cited by Usher, went on
the mission to Ireland, A.D. 850, but was unsuccessful: he returned and
died at Glastonbury. If all that is now advanced be not a fardel of
monkish fictions, which it certainly is, the last Patrick was the man
who was beatified by the bigoted Anglo-Saxons, for his endeavours to
bring the Irish to a conformity with the Romish church."

Dr. Aikin remarks upon this--

"The author now ventures upon the bold attempt of annihilating St.
Patrick. It is an undoubted fact, that this saint is not mentioned in
any author, or in any work of veracity, in the fifth, sixth, seventh or
eighth centuries. His name is in Bede's _Martyrology_; but it is more
than probable that that martyrology is not Bede's: nor can it be
conceived that Bede, in his other works, should never notice the signal
service rendered by Patrick to the Roman church, and the signal
miracles wrought by him in its behalf, if he had ever heard of them;
for the old venerabilis was zealously devoted to that church and its
mythology."

The saint certainly vanishes into "an airy nothing," if we are to credit the above authors. I have also consulted Ware, a Roman Catholic writer, author of the _Antiquitates Hibernicæ_, and nowhere can I find a trace of St. Patrick's birthplace, although he is frequently mentioned. In his seventh chapter he says, "Sancti præcipui Hibernici Seculi quinti, qui Euangelium in Hibernia prædicærunt, fuerunt Palladius, Patricius," and many others. The twenty-sixth chapter entitled "Monasteriologia Hibernica, sive Diatriba de Hiberniæ Coenobiis, in qua Origines eorum et aliæ Antiquitates aperiuntur," gives the names and titles of the founders of monasteries, as also their dates, and, in speaking of one of them, but in this case specifying no date, relates a curious circumstance as to the building of a church. It may perhaps interest your readers, and I will therefore quote the passage (p. 212.):

"Sanctus Patricius construxit hoc coenobium Canonicis regularibus,
eique præfecit Abbatem S. Dunnium: Ecclesiam verò adjecit (juxta
Jocelinum Furnessensem), contra morem receptum, non ab Occidente in
Orientem, sed à Septentrione in Austrum protensam."

This nevertheless hangs upon the reality of a St. Patrick. In another part of the same work it is said of a monastery (p. 219.):

"S. Dabeocum fundâsse ferunt Seculo 5, vivente S. Patricio. Alii S.
Patricium fundatorem volunt."

From these quotations it is clear Ware treated him as a real actor in Irish ecclesiastical affairs; but the two first-named authors appear to set the matter at rest.

E. M. R.

Grantham.

* * * * *

Replies to Minor Queries.

_Cabal_ (Vol. iv., p. 507.).--The two quotations from _Hudibras_ evidently refer to two different meanings of this word _Cabal_. The first, alluding to the ancient Cabala, or Mysteries, or Secrets, from whence _Cabalistic_; the second, to its more modern, or political acceptation,--both, however, including the idea of _secrecy_ or _privity_, as opposed to a general participation of knowledge or purpose. It is the latter application of the word to which the inquiry of E. H. D. D., at p. 443., Vol. iv., refers: and MR. KERSLEY's quotation from a book printed in 1655 (p. 139., Vol. v.), proves its usage in this sense at least seven years before Burnet's derivation of the word from the initials of the five chief ministers of Charles II. I do not think that Pepys could use the word _Cabal_, as applicable to the "king's confidential advisers," _several_ years before Burnet derived it from their initials; the ministers in question having been appointed circa 1670. Burnet's definition was published in 1672, and Pepys was appointed Secretary to the Admiralty in 1673. Blount, in his _Glossographia_, 3rd edition, 1670, says, "We use to say he is not of our _cabal_, that is, he is not received into our {521} council, or is not privy to our secrets." Cole, in his _English Dictionary_, 1685, defines _Cabal_, "a secret council:" and Bailey derives _Caballer_ from _cabaleur_ (French), "a party man" and _To cabal_, from _cabaler_ (French), "to plot together privately, to make parties;" and _Cabal_, from "a junto, or private council, a particular party, a set, or gang."

I find among my papers a scrap relating to the derivation of the word _Whig_. I do not know where I took it from; but the origin which it gives to this much-used word is new to me, and may be to some others of your readers also:

"The word Whig was given to the Liberal party in England by the
Royalists in Cromwell's days, from the initial letters of their motto,
'We hope in God.'"

P. T.

Stoke Newington.

_Portrait of Charles Mordaunt, Earl of Peterborough_ (Vol. v., p. 441.).--There is very fine portrait of Charles Earl of Peterborough (the famous Earl) at Drayton House, in Northamptonshire, the ancient seat of the Mordaunt family, and which is now in the possession of Wm. Bruce Stopford, Esq.

J. B.

A full-length portrait of the Earl of Peterborough, by J. B. Vanloo, is in the collection of the Marquis of Exeter at Burghley. The picture belonged to the father-in-law of the present owner, the late W. S. Poyntz, Esq., of Midgham.

J. P., JR.

_The Word "Oasis"_ (Vol. v., p. 465.).--I beg to inclose MR. TEMPLE an instance of the use of the above word in English poetry, it will be found in a poem entitled _Hopes of Matrimony_, by John Holland, author of _Sheffield Park_, published by Francis Westley, 1822, and now lies before me.

"Is there a manly bosom can enfold,
A human heart, so withered, dead, and cold,
As not to feel, or never to have felt,
At genial Love's approach, its ices melt?
No--in the desert of the dreariest breast,
Some verdant spot, its presence have contest;
Though parch'd and bloomless, and as wild as bare,
A rill of nature once meander'd there;
E'en where Arabia's arid waste entombs
Whole caravans, the green oasis blooms."

O[)a]sis will be found also in Lemprière's _Classical Dictionary_, but not in the same sense as above.