Chapter I: Front Matter

Transcriber's note: A few typographical errors have been corrected: they are indicated by footnotes to the relevant item.

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{125}

NOTES AND QUERIES:

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

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

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No. 171.] SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 5. 1853 [Price Fourpence. Stamped Edition 5d.

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CONTENTS.

NOTES:-- Page

Jacob Grimm on the Genius and Vocation of the English
Language 125

Preservation of valuable Papers from Damp; Drying Closets 126

Position of the Clergy in the Seventeenth Century, by
J. Lewelyn Curtis 126

General Wolfe 127

Inscriptions in Books 127

FOLK LORE:--Baptismal Custom--Subterranean Bells--
Leicestershire Custom--Hooping Cough: Hedera Helix 128

MINOR NOTES:--The Aught And Forty Daugh--Alliterative
Pasquinade--The Names "Bonaparte" and "Napoleon"--A
Parish Kettle--Pepys's Diary; Battle of St. Gothard--
First Folio Shakspeare--An ancient Tombstone 128

QUERIES:--

Excessive Rainfall, by Robert Rawlinson 130

Baptist Vincent Lavall, by William Duane 130

Graves of Mickleton, co. Gloucester, by James Graves 130

Searson's Poems 131

MINOR QUERIES:--Haberdon or Habyrdon--Holles Family--"To
lie at the Catch"--Names of Planets: Spade--Arms in
painted Glass--The sign of "The Two Chances"--
Consecrators of English Bishops--A nunting Table--John
Pictones--Gospel Place--York Mint--Chipchase of
Chipchase--Newspapers--On alleged historical Facts--
Costume of Spanish Physicians--Genoveva--Quotation--
"God and the World"--"Solid Men of Boston"--Lost MS.
by Alexander Pennecuik--"The Percy Anecdotes"--Norman
Song--God's Marks--The Bronze Statue of Charles I.,
Charing Cross 132

MINOR QUERIES WITH ANSWERS:--Hutter's Polyglott--Ethnology
of England--Pitt of Pimperne--"The Bottle Department" of
the Beer-trade 134

REPLIES:--

Bishop Pursglove (Suffragan) of Hull, by John I. Dredge,
&c. 135

The Gregorian Tones by Dr. E. F. Rimbault 136

Love's Labour's Lost, Act V. Sc. 2., by Thos. Keightley 136

Niágara or Niagára, by Robert Wright 137

Drengage, by Wm. Sidney Gibson 137

Chatterton 138

Literary Frauds of Modern Times 139

Sir H. Wotton's Letter to Milton 140

PHOTOGRAPHIC NOTES AND QUERIES:--Sir W. Newton's
Process--Collodion Film on Copper Plates--Treatment
of the Paper Positive after fixing 140

REPLIES TO MINOR QUERIES:--Essay for a New Translation of
the Bible--Touchstone--Early Edition of Solinus--Straw
Bail--Doctor Young--Scarfs worn by Clergymen--Cibber's
Lives of the Poets--"Letters on Prejudice"--Statue of
St. Peter, &c. 142

MISCELLANEOUS:--

Books and Odd Volumes wanted 146

Notices to Correspondents 146

Advertisements 146

* * * * *

Notes.

JACOB GRIMM ON THE GENIUS AND VOCATION OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

I send you a very eloquent tribute to the genius and power of the English language by Jacob Grimm, extracted from a paper entitled "Ueber den Ursprung der Sprache," read before the Royal Academy of Berlin, January 9, 1851, and contained in the _Transactions_ of that Society, "Section of Philology and History for 1851," p. 135.: Berlin, 4to., 1852:--

"Jacob Grimm _Ueber den Ursprung der Sprache_. Abhandlungen der K.
Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, 1851.

"Keine, unter allen neueren Sprachen, hat gerade durch das Aufgeben und
Zerrütten alter Lautgesetze, durch den Wegfall beinahe sämmtlicher
Flexionen, eine grössere Kraft und Stärke empfangen, als die Englische,
und von ihrer nicht einmal _lehrbaren_, nur _lernbaren_ Fülle freier
Mitteltöne ist eine wesentliche Gewalt des Ausdrucks abhängig geworden,
wie sie vielleicht noch nie einer andern menschlichen Zunge zu Gebote
stand. Ihre ganze überaus geistige, wunderbar geglückte Anlage und
Durchbildung war hervorgeganen aus einer überraschenden Vermählung der
beiden edelsten Sprachen des späteren Europas, der Germanischen und
Romanischen, und bekannt ist, wie im Englischen sich beide zu einander
verhalten, indem jene bei weitem die sinnliche Grundlage hergab, diese
die geistigen Begriffe zuführte. Ja, die Englische Sprache, von der
nicht umsonst auch der grösste und überlegenste Dichter der neuen Zeit
im Gegensatz zur classischen alten Poesie, ich kann natürlich nur
Shakespeare meinen, gezeugt und getragen worden ist, sie darf mit
vollem Recht eine Weltsprache heissen, und scheint gleich dem
Englischen Volke ausersehn künftig noch in höherem Masse an allen Enden
der Erde zu walten. Denn an Reichthum, Vernunft und gedrängter Füge
lässt sich keine aller noch lebenden Sprachen ihr an die Seite setzen,
auch unsere Deutsche nicht, die zerrissen ist, wie wir selbst zerrissen
sind, und erst manche Gebrechen von sich abschütteln müsste, ehe sie
kühn mit in die Laufbahn träte."

(_Translation._)

Of all modern languages, not one has acquired such great strength and
vigour as the English. It has accomplished this by simply freeing
itself from the ancient phonetic laws, and casting off almost all {126}
inflections; whilst, from its abundance of intermediate sounds
[_Mitteltöne_[1]], tones not even to be taught, but only to be learned,
it has derived a characteristic power of expression such as perhaps was
never yet the property of any other human tongue. Its highly spiritual
genius, and wonderfully happy development, have proceeded from a
surprisingly intimate alliance of the two oldest languages of modern
Europe--the Germanic and Romanesque.[2] It is well known in what
relation these stand to one another in the English language. The former
supplies the material groundwork, the latter the higher mental
conceptions. Indeed, the English language, which has not in vain
produced and supported the greatest, the most prominent of all modern
poets (I allude, of course, to Shakspeare), in contradistinction to the
ancient classical poetry, may be called justly a LANGUAGE OF THE WORLD:
and seems, like the English nation, to be destined to reign in future
with still more extensive sway over all parts of the globe. For none of
all the living languages can be compared with it as to richness,
rationality, and close construction [Vernunft und gedrängter Füge], not
even the German--which has many discrepancies like our nation, and from
which it would be first obliged to free itself, before it could boldly
enter the lists with the English.

I transmit the text, as many of your readers may prefer the extract--as most "foreign extracts" are preferred--"neat as imported:" although, owing to the kindness of a friend, it is fairly represented in the translation. It is however very difficult to find words which precisely express the meaning of German scientific terms.

S. H.

[Footnote 1: _Mitteltöne_ are those sounds which stand between the three fundamental vowels, _a_, _i_, _u_, as pronounced by the continental nations.]

[Footnote 2: _Romanesque._ Those languages which have descended from the Latin, as the Spanish, Frank, or French, &c.]

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PRESERVATION OF VALUABLE PAPERS FROM DAMP; DRYING CLOSETS.

The desiccative powers of lime are familiar to chemists, and, I believe, to many practical men; but I do not know of lime having been used for the above purpose.

A strong chest, in my possession, containing important papers (title-deeds, marriage certificates, &c.), gradually became damp, and subjected its contents to a slow process of decay. This arose, I found, from a defect in its construction, wood having been improperly introduced into the latter, and concealed; so that some singular chemical compounds would appear to have been formed. The papers were gradually injured to an extent enforcing attention; and the process continued in them after their removal into a well-constructed chest, giving me the impression of a process resembling the action of a ferment. Several attempts were made to dry them by fires, the rays of the sun, &c.; but the damp was always renewed.

They were thoroughly dried in a very few days, and permanently kept dry, by placing and keeping in the chest a box containing a little quicklime.

At a later period, a large closet, so damp as to render articles mouldy, was thoroughly dried, and kept dry, by a box containing lime.

The chest was about 2 feet 6 inches, by 2 feet 1 inch, and 1 foot 8 inches; and the box placed in it for several months was about 1 foot 2½ inches, by 8½ inches, and 3 inches. After about a year, although no very perceptible damp was discovered, yet, in consequence of the value of the papers, and the beauty of some of them as manuscripts, I introduced two such boxes. These proportions were selected to enable the boxes to stand conveniently on a shelf with account-books and packages of papers.

The closet is about 11 feet 4 inches, by 2, irregular dimensions, which I estimate at about 6 feet, and 2 feet 4 inches. The box used in this case is 1 foot 4 inches, by 11 inches, and 7 inches.

The lime should be in pieces of a suitable size. For the chest, I prefer pieces about the size of a large English walnut; for the closet, of an orange.

It is necessary either that the box should be strongly made, or be formed of tin, or other metal, on account of the lateral expansive force of the lime. Room for expansion upwards is not sufficient protection. The same expansion renders it necessary that the box should not be more than two-fifths filled with fresh lime.

I leave the tops open. If covered, they must be so disposed that the air within the boxes shall freely communicate with that of the chest or closet.

I have used these boxes several years, and only changed the lime once a year.

B. H. C.

Philadelphia.

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POSITION OF THE CLERGY IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

The _Proceedings and Papers_ of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, Session IV., 1851-2, include a paper contributed by Thomas Dorning Hibbert, of the Middle Temple, Esq., being the second of a series of "Letters relating to Lancashire and Cheshire, temp. James I., Charles I., and Charles II."

One of these letters, written in or about the year 1605, by the Rev. William Batemanne, from Ludgarsall (Ludgar's Hall), "a parish which lies in the counties of Oxford and Bucks," and addressed "to his louinge father Ihon Batemanne, alderman at Maxfelde" (Macclesfield), contains, as the learned contributor remarks, "strong confirmation of Mr. Macaulay's controverted statement, that the country clergy occupied a very humble position in the sixteenth and seventeenth {127} centuries." He adds, that "no clergyman could now be found who would think of sending his sister to an inn to learn household matters."

The Rev. William Batemanne, "who appears to have been educated at Oxford," writes thus:

"... My sister Katren is placed in a verie good house in Bissiter
[Bicester], wher shea shall learne to doe all manner of thinges that
belonge to a good huswyfe. It is a vitailinge house greatlie occupied.
Shea shall not learne onelie to dresse meate and drinke excellent well,
but allso bruinge, bakinge, winnowinge, with all other thinges
theirunto appertaininge, for they are verie rich folkes, and verie
sharpe and quicke both of them. The cause why my Ant received her not,
as shea answered us, was because all this winter shea intendeth to have
but one servant woman, and shea thought my sister was not able to doe
all her worke, because shea imagined her to be verie raw in theire
countrey worke, w^{ch} thinge trewlie shea that hath her now did
thinke, and theirefore her wage is the slenderer, but xvj^s [16s.],
w^{ch} in this place is counted nothinge in effecte for such a strong
woman as shea is; but I bringinge her to Bissiter uppon Wednesday,
beinng Michaelmas even, told her dame the wage was verie small, and
said I trusted shea would mend it if shea proved a good girle, as I had
good hope shea would. Quoth I, it will scarce bye her hose and shooes.
Nay, saith shea, I will warrant her have so much given her before the
yeare be expyred, and by God's helpe that w^{ch} wants I myselfe will
fill upp as much as I am able...."

J. LEWELYN CURTIS.

* * * * *

GENERAL WOLFE.

I copy the following interesting Note from the _London Chronicle_, August 19, 1788:

It is a circumstance not generally known, but believed by the army
which served under General Wolfe, that his death-wound was not received
by the common chance of war, but given by a deserter from his own
regiment. The circumstances are thus related:--The General perceived
one of the sergeants of his regiment strike a man under arms (an act
against which he had given particular orders), and knowing the man to
be a good soldier, reprehended the aggressor with much warmth, and
threatened to reduce him to the ranks. This so far incensed the
sergeant, that he took the first opportunity of deserting to the enemy,
where he meditated the means of destroying the General, which he
effected by being placed in the enemy's left wing, which was directly
opposite the right of the British line, where Wolfe commanded in
person, and where he was marked out by the miscreant, who was provided
with a rifle piece, and, unfortunately for this country, effected his
purpose. After the defeat of the French army, the deserters were all
removed to Crown Point, which being afterwards suddenly invested and
taken by the British army, the whole of the garrison fell into the
hands of the captors; when the sergeant of whom we have been speaking
was hanged for desertion, but before the execution of his sentence
confessed the facts above recited."[3]

In Smith's _Marylebone_, p. 272., is a notice of Lieutenant McCulloch, according to whose plan Wolfe attacked Quebec. McCulloch became destitute, and died in Marylebone workhouse in 1793. A letter from Wolfe to Admiral Saunders is in the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for 1801; and one addressed by him to Barré was sold by Puttick and Simpson about three years since.

A portrait of Wolfe by Sir Joshua Reynolds is in possession of Mr. Cole of Worcester.

Since my last notice, I have heard that Mr. Henry George, proprietor of the _Westerham Journal_, made some collections towards a life of Wolfe: if so, it is not improbable that Mr. Streatfield obtained them at his sale in 1844. In conclusion, I beg to inquire, whence come the lines quoted by the Marquis of Lansdowne?--

"Enough for him
That Chatham's language was his mother-tongue,
And Wolfe's great name compatriot with his own."

H. G. D.

Knightsbridge.

[Footnote 3: [The incident related above has been preserved by Sir William Musgrave, in his _Biographical Adversaria_ (Additional MSS., No. 5723., British Museum), who has added the following note:--"This account was had from a gentleman who heard the confession." For some further notices of Mrs. Henrietta Wolfe, the mother of the General, relative to her death and the disposal of her property, see the Addit. MSS., No. 5832., p. 78.--ED.]]

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INSCRIPTIONS IN BOOKS.

It occurs to me that an interesting collection might be formed of the various forms and methods by which the ownership of books is sometimes found to be asserted on their fly-leaves. _Borrowers_ are exhorted to faithful restitution; and consequences are threatened to those who misuse, or fail to return, or absolutely steal the valued literary treasure.

I forward a few such Notes as have fallen in my way, thinking they may interest your readers, and shall be obliged by any additions. The first is an admonition to borrowers, by no means a superfluous one, as I know to my cost. It is _printed_ on a small paper, about the size of an ordinary book-plate, with blank for the owner's name, to be filled up in manuscript:

"THIS BOOK
Belongs to . . . . . .

"If thou art borrowed by a friend,
Right welcome shall he be
To read, to study--not to lend,
But to return to me.

{128}
"Not that imparted knowledge doth
Diminish learning's store;
But books, I find, if often lent,
Return to me no more.

. . . . . .

"Give your attention as you read,
And frequent pauses take;
Think seriously; and take good heed
That you no _dog's-ears_ make.

"Don't wet the fingers, as you turn
The pages, one by one.
Never _touch_ prints, _observe_: and learn
Each idle gait to shun."

On the fly-leaf of a Bible I find the following, which, however, is taken from _The Weekly Pacquet of Advice from Rome_, vol. ii. p. 198. No 15., dated Friday, Dec. 26, 1679:

"Sancte Liber! venerande Liber! Liber optime, salve!
O Animæ nostræ, Biblia dimidium!"

A very common formula, in works of a devotional nature, is as follows:

"This is Giles Wilkinson his book.
God give him grace therein to look."

We now come to some of a menacing description:

"Si quis hunc furto rapiet libellum,
Reddat:--aut collo dabitur capistrum,
Carnifex ejus tunicas habebit,
Terra cadaver."

And again:

"Si quis hunc librum rapiat scelestus,
Atque furtivis manibus prehendat,
Pergat ad tetras Acherontis undas
Non rediturus."

These last partake somewhat of the character of the diræ and anathemas which are sometimes found at the end of old MSS., and were prompted, doubtless, by the great scarcity and consequent value of books before the invention of printing.

BALLIOLENSIS.

* * * * *

FOLK LORE.

_Baptismal Custom._--In many country parishes the child is invariably called by the name of the saint on whose day he happens to have been born.

I know one called _Valentine_, because he appeared in the world upon the 14th of February; and lately baptized a child myself by the name of Benjamin _Simon Jude_. Subsequently, on expressing some surprise at the strange conjunction, I was informed that he was born on the festival of SS. Simon and Jude, and that it was always _very unlucky to take the day from a child_.

RT.

Warmington.

_Subterranean Bells._--Hone, in his _Year-Book_, gives a letter from a correspondent in relation to a tradition in Raleigh, Nottinghamshire, which states that many centuries since the church and a whole village were swallowed up by an earthquake. Many villages and towns have certainly shared a similar fate, and we have never heard of them more.

"The times have been
When the brains were out the man would die,
That there an end."

But at Raleigh, they say, the old church-bells still ring at Christmas time, deep, deep in earth; and that it was a Christmas-morning custom for the people to go out into the valley, and put their ears to the ground to listen to the mysterious chimes of the subterranean temple. Is this a tradition peculiar to this locality? I fancy not, and seem to have a faint remembrance of a similar belief in other parts. Can any of your correspondents favour "N. & Q." with information hereon?

J. J. S.

_Leicestershire Custom._--A custom exists in the town of Leicester, of rather a singular nature. The first time a new-born child pays a visit, it is presented with an egg, a pound of salt, and a bundle of matches. Can any of your correspondents explain this custom?

W. A.

_Hooping Cough: Hedera Helix._--In addition to my former communications on this subject, I beg to forward the following:--

Drinking-cups made from the wood of the common ivy, and used by children affected with this complaint, for taking therefrom all they require to drink, is current in the county of Salop as an infallible remedy; and I once knew an old gentleman (now no more) who being fond of turning as an amusement, was accustomed to supply his neighbours with them, and whose brother always supplied him with the wood, cut from his own plantations. It is necessary, in order to be effective, that the ivy from which the cups are made should be cut at some particular change of the moon, or hour of the night, &c., which I am now unable to ascertain: but perhaps some of your readers could give you the exact period.

J. B. WHITBORNE.

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Minor Notes.

_The Aught and Forty Daugh._--The lordship of Strathbogie, now the property of his Grace the Duke of Richmond, was anciently known by this name. It is one of the toasts always drunk at the meetings of agricultural associations, the anniversary of his Grace's birthday, &c., in the district. The meaning has often puzzled newspaper readers at a distance. It was the original estate of the powerful family of Gordon in the north of Scotland. A _daugh_, or _davach_, contains 32 oxgates of 13 acres each, or 416 acres of arable land. At {129} this rate, the whole lordship was anciently estimated at 20,000 acres of arable land, and comprehends 120 square miles in whole.

KIRKWALLENSIS.

_Alliterative Pasquinade._--The following alliterative pasquinade on Convocation, which I have cut from one of the newspapers, is, I think, sufficiently clever to deserve preservation in the pages of "N. & Q.:"

"The Earl of Shaftesbury has given notice that he will call the
attention of the House to the subject of Convocation after the recess.
The exact terms of his lordship's motion have not as yet been
announced; but it is understood that it will be in the form of an
abstract resolution, somewhat to the following effect:--

"'That this House, considering the consanguinity and concordant
consociation of Gog and Magog to be concludent to, and confirmatory of,
a consimilar connatural conjunction and concatenation between
Convocation and Confession with its concomitant contaminations, and
conceiving the congregating, confabulating, and consulting of
Convocation to be conducive to controversy and contention, and
consequent conflicts, confusion and convulsion, concurs in the
conviction that to convene, and to continue Convocation, is a
contumacious contravention of the Constitution, and a contrivance for
constraint of conscience, and that the contemptible conspiracy,
concocted for concerting the constituting and conserving of the
continuous concorporal consession and conciliar conference of
Convocation, is to be contumeliously conculcated by the consentient and
condign condemnation of this House.'"

AGRIPPA.

_The Names "Bonaparte" and "Napoleon."_--Among the many fabulous tales that have been published respecting the origin of the name of _Bonaparte_, there in one which, from its ingeniousness and romantic character, seems deserving of notice.

It is said that the "Man in the Iron Mask" was no other than the twin (and elder) brother of Louis XIV.; that his keeper's name was _Bonpart_; that that keeper had a daughter, with whom the Man in the Mask fell in love, and to whom he was privately married; that their children received their mother's name, and were secretly conveyed to Corsica, where the name was converted into _Bonaparte_ or _Buonaparte_; and that one of those children was the ancestor of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was thus entitled to be recognised not only as of French origin, but as the direct descendant of the rightful heir to the throne of France.

The Bonapartes are said to have adopted the name of _Napoleon_ from Napoleon des Ursins, a distinguished character in Italian story, with one of whose descendants they became connected by marriage; and the first of the family to whom it was given was a brother of Joseph Bonaparte, the grandfather of Napoleon I. Many are the _jeux de mots_ that have been made on this name; but the following, which I have just met with in _Littérature Française Contemporaine_, vol. ii. p. 266., is perhaps the most remarkable.

The word _Napoleon_, being written in Greek characters, will form seven different words, by dropping the first letter of each in succession, namely, [Greek: Napoleôn, Apoleôn, Poleôn, Oleôn, Leôn, Eôn, Ôn]. These words make a complete sentence, and are thus translated into French: "Napoléon, étant le lion des peuples, allait détruisant les cités."

HENRY H. BREEN.

St. Lucia.

_A Parish Kettle._--In the accounts of the churchwardens of Chudleigh in Devonshire, during a period extending from 1565 to 1651, occasional mention is made of "the church chyttel," "parish chettle," "parish chetell or furnace," "parish crock;" and charges are made for malt and hops for brewing ale; and the money received for ale sold is accounted for. There may also have been provided, for the use of the parish, a vessel of smaller dimensions than the crock, for in the year 1581 there is an entry of 1s. 2d. received "for the lone of the parish panne." As cyder must have been at that time, as it is now, the common drink of the working-classes, the parish "crock" must have been provided for the use of the occupiers of the land. I suppose that the term _crock_, for a pot made of brass or copper, had its origin in times when our cooking-vessels were made of crockeryware.

I have never seen, in the ancient accounts of churchwardens, any mention made of a "town plough," which GASTROS notices (Vol. vi., p. 462.).

S. S. S. (2.)

_Pepys's Diary; Battle of St. Gothard._--LORD BRAYBROOKE, in a note on 9th August, 1664, on which day Pepys mentions a great battle fought in Hungary, observes, "This was the battle of St. Gothard, fought 1st August, so that the news reached England in eight days." This would scarcely be possible even in these days of railways. The difference of styles must have been overlooked, which would make the intelligence arrive in eighteen days, instead of eight.

J. S. WARDEN.

_First Folio Shakspeare._--It would be extremely desirable that every one who possesses, or knows of a copy of the _first folio_, would send to "N. & Q." a note of the existence of such copy; its present owner's name; date of acquisition; last owner's name; the price paid; its present condition; and any other circumstances peculiar to the copy. When the editor should receive an adequate number of replies to this suggestion, he might publish a list in some methodised form, and subsequent lists as occasion might require. I have examined the libraries of several great country-houses, and have never found a first folio; not even at Wilton, {130} where, of all the houses in England, we are most sure that it must have been.

C.

_An ancient Tombstone._--In the month of December, 1851, a tombstone was found at the quay of Aberdeen, near Weigh House Square, in excavating for a common sewer. On it is carved a cross, and a shield containing the initials "G. M.," a nameless instrument, or a couple of instruments, placed crosswise, and a heart with a cross in the centre. Round the edge is cut exquisitely, in Old English letters, with contractions such as we see in old MSS., the following inscription, "Hic jacet honorabilis Vir Georgius Manzs (Menzies?), civis de Abirden, cum uxore eius Anneta Scherar, qui obiit XXVII die mensis Septembris, anno D. N. I. MIIIIXX." In former times, the Menzieses, the Collisons, and the Rutherfords held ruling power in Aberdeen, as in more recent times did the Gibbons, Bannermans, and Hogarths.

KIRKWALLENSIS.

* * * * *

Queries.

EXCESSIVE RAINFALL.

The following quotation induces me to put a Query to the numerous scientific readers of your widely-circulated publication:

"It is a remarkable circumstance that an unprecedented quantity of rain
has fallen during the last year (1852) all over the world,--England,
Ireland, Europe generally, Africa, India, and even in Australia."

Query, Is it anywhere recorded that so widespread a rainfall has been previously noticed? It is said that excessive rainfall has been general all over the world; and it would appear to have been general over a great portion of the land. This, however, does not constitute the whole world. The area of our globe is composed of about four-fifths water to one-fifth land; so that an excess of rain might fall upon every square mile of land, and yet the _average_ rainfall of the whole world not be exceeded. This is an important truth, and should be generally understood. Taking the surface of the whole world, there is probably, year by year, the same amount of sunshine and heat, the same quantity of evaporation, and the same volume of rainfall; but there is inequality of distribution. We find a dry summer in America, and a wet one in Europe; excessive wet in the south of Europe, with excessive drought in the north; with similar excesses over much more limited areas. This case holds good even for the extraordinary year of 1852. Excess of rain has fallen on most of the land over the earth's surface; but there has been a minimum on the great oceans; as see the accounts of the fine weather, light winds, and calms, experienced in the voyages to Australia.

The question of general equality and local excesses may now, through our commerce, have that attention given to it which has hitherto been impossible. It is well worthy of study.

ROBERT RAWLINSON.

* * * * *

BAPTIST VINCENT LAVALL.

I have in my possession a manuscript of about six hundred pages, entitled "Lavall's Tour across the American Continent, from the North Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean, in a more southern Latitude than any yet attempted: performed in the Years 1809 and 1810." A map of the route accompanies it.

The accounts of the country, and of the Indian tribes, correspond with what we learn from other sources; and gentlemen of information in Indian affairs believe the work to be the genuine production of a person who has been over the ground described.

According to this work, Lavall was a native of Philadelphia, and born in 1774. His father, who was a royalist, settled in Upper Canada, and engaged in the fur trade. In 1809 Baptist Vincent Lavall visited England to receive a legacy left him by a relation. Here he was persuaded to join a vessel fitting out for the purpose of trading in the North Pacific. It was a schooner of about two hundred tons, called the Sea Otter, commanded by Captain Niles. This vessel was lost upon the coast of Oregon, on the 15th of August, 1809, whilst Lavall and three of the crew were on shore hunting. They made their way across the continent to New Orleans.

Can any information be furnished from any custom-house in England as to the Sea Otter, Captain Niles?

WILLIAM DUANE.

Philadelphia.

* * * * *

GRAVES OF MICKLETON, CO. GLOUCESTER.

There are three portraits engraved by Vertue, which give the pedigree of this family thus far:

John Graves of York, =
born 1515, ob. 1616. |
|
+------------------+
|
---- Graves =
|
+-------+
|
= Richard Graves of Mickleton, Esq., =
ob. 1669. |
|
+--------------------------+
|
---- Graves =
|
+--------------+
|
Richard Graves of Mickleton, Esq. =
ob. 1731.

The title engraved on the plate states that the first Richard Graves given above, was twice {131} married, and had _six_ sons and _thirteen_ daughters. It does not give the Christian names of any of the children, and leaves it uncertain whether the Richard Graves who died in 1731 was a child of the first or second marriage. This last-mentioned Richard was an antiquary of some note, and a correspondent of Hearne, who calls him "Gravesius noster."

Query 1. Is the full pedigree of this family anywhere to be had? 2. Is there a record of any of the six sons of the Richard who died in 1669 having settled in Ireland, as a soldier or otherwise, in the time of the Commonwealth? According to Mr. Editor's excellent arrangement, I transmit to him a stamped envelope, and shall feel much obliged to any correspondent of "N. & Q." who will give me the desired information. In the life of the Rev. Richard Graves, a younger son of Richard the antiquary (_Public Characters_, Dublin, 1800 p. 291.), it is stated that his collections for the History of the Vale of Gresham came, after his death, into the hands of James West, Esq., President of the Royal Society, at whose death they were purchased by the Earl of Shelburne, A.D. 1772. Query, Are they still in existence?

JAMES GRAVES.

Kilkenny.

* * * * *

SEARSON'S POEMS.

The Query of G. C. (Vol. vi., p. 578.) relative to Mrs. Mackey's _Poems_, has induced me to trouble you with a similar one respecting the author of a volume in my possession. It is entitled _Mount Vernon_, a Poem, &c. &c., by John Searson, formerly of Philadelphia, Merchant; Philadelphia, printed for the author by Folwell. After the title-page (which is too long to be given _in extenso_) follows a dedication to General Washington, in which the author, after recording that he last returned to America from Ireland in 1796, and that having been established for several years at Philadelphia as a merchant, he had been subjected to unforeseen losses in trade and merchandize, proceeds as follows:

"Having a pretty good education in my youth, from an uncle, a clergyman
of the Church of England, I published two poems in Ireland, was well
received, and two publications since my last arrival in America, having
disposed of the last copy of one thousand, _Art of Contentment_, and
did myself the honour to visit your Excellency 15th May last [1799], so
as to obtain an adequate idea of Mount Vernon, wishing to compose a
poem on that beautiful seat, which I now most humbly dedicate to your
Excellency, with your likeness," &c.

Next follows a "Preface to the readers of Mount Vernon, a Poem," in which he says:

"I published a rural, romantic, and descriptive poem of Down Hill, the
seat of the Earl of Bristol, Bishop of Londonderry, in Ireland; for
which the gentlemen of that country actually gave me a guinea per copy,
and Sir George Hill, from Dublin, gave me five guineas in the city of
Londonderry; more, I am assured, as feeling from my having seen better
days, than from the intrinsic value of it."

Besides _Mount Vernon_, the book contains several other poems, &c., and extends to eighty-three pages, 8vo., with four pages subsequently inserted at the end. It is, I believe, a very scarce book in America, and the copy I possess is probably unique in this country. Like Mrs. Mackey's poems, it seems to have been written in earnest, and it is impossible within the limits of an article of this nature to give an adequate idea of the vein of self-complacency which pervades the book, or of the high estimation in which the author evidently held his own productions both in prose and verse.

A few quotations illustrative of his descriptive powers must suffice:

"Mount Vernon! I have often heard of thee,
And often wish'd thy beauties for to see."--P. 9.

"The house itself is elegant and neat,
And is two stories high, neat and complete."--P. 10.

"A thought now strikes my mind, of Mount Vernon,
That happiness may ever shine thereon;
For, Nature form'd it pleasing to the mind;
Therefore, true earthly bliss we here might find:
Or, in a cottage, if our God be there,
For He is omnipresent, everywhere.
A garden was the first habitation
Of our parents, and near relat'on," (_sic_) &c.--P. 14.

Of Alexandria he informs us that--

"The buildings here are generally neat,
The streets well pav'd, which makes walking complete.
I've seen their houses, where they preach and pray,
But th' congregation small on stormy day."--P. 38.

Of George Town he says:

"A pleasing rural prospect rises here,
To please th' enquiring mind as we draw near.
The building in George Town is very neat;
But paving of the streets not yet complete.
Some rural seats near to the Town is fine,
Which please the fancy and amuse the mind."--P. 39.

And lastly, from his _Valedictory_, we learn that--

"Poets, like grasshoppers, sing till they die,
Yet, in this life, some laugh, some sing, some cry."--P. 83.

These extracts are not given as the _worst_ specimens. Is anything more known of John Searson, and of his other valuable productions, either in Ireland or America? As I perceive you have correspondents at Philadelphia, they will perhaps kindly afford me some information on the subject.

LEICESTRIENSIS.

[Another work by this author may be found in some of our public
libraries, entitled _Poems on various {132} Subjects and different
Occasions, chiefly adapted to Rural Entertainment in the United States
of America_. 8vo. 1797. The Preface to this work also gives some
account of Searson's residence in Ireland, where, he says, "I lived
happily for fifteen years, till another king (or agent) arose, who knew
not Joseph, who, in the most inhuman, cruel, and tyrannical manner,
made use of his interest to have me put out of my place." The work
concludes with the following advertisement respecting himself:--"Being
unemployed at present, should any of my kind subscribers know of any
vacancy as tutor in some gentleman's family, a place in some public
office, genteel compting-house, or vacancy for a schoolmaster, the
author will be grateful for the favour of acquainting him of it. He may
be heard of by applying to Mr. Mathew Carey, of Market Street,
bookseller."]

* * * * *

Minor Queries.

_Haberdon, or Habyrdon._--A manor now belonging to the school at Bury St. Edmund's bears this name. Can any meaning be given to the word?

The land formerly belonging to the Abbey of St. Edmund, several registers of that monastery, A.D. 1520 and 1533, let the said manor of Habyrdon, on condition the tenant should yearly find one white bull, &c. The leases all describe this manor of Habyrdon and make it specially necessary to find a white bull. The land is contiguous to the town of Bury, and is called Haberdon at the present time, presents a hilly appearance and remains of ancient intrenchments. I have not heard of any other place by this name.

C. G.

Paddington.

_Holles Family._--I am very desirous of obtaining any information that can be procured concerning the Holles family prior to the time of Sir William, who was Lord Mayor of London in 1540. I should also be obliged if any of your numerous correspondents can inform me, whether that member of the family who married a lady named Gelks, I think since 1700, left any posterity; from whom he was descended, and in what county he lived? Also, who the Gelkses were, and whether the family is represented now; and, if so, of what county they are?

The arms of the Holleses were--Ermine, two piles conjoining in the points sable. The crest was a boar's head erased, azure, langued gules, pierced with a pheon.

The Gelks bore--Ermine, three chevrons azure, charged with nine bezents inter nine annulets gules.