Chapter I: Part 1

{229}

NOTES AND QUERIES:

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

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

* * * * *

No. 175.] SATURDAY, MARCH 5. 1853 [Price Fourpence. Stamped Edition 5d.

* * * * *

CONTENTS.

NOTES:-- Page
Cowper and Tobacco Smoking, by William Bates, &c. 229

"Shakspeare in the Shades:" a Ballad, by Dr. E. F. Rimbault 230

Swedish Words current in England, by Charles Watkins 231

Sir David Lindsay's Viridarium, by Sir W. C. Trevelyan 231

MINOR NOTES:--Unlucky Days--The Pancake Bell--Quoits--The
Family of Townerawe--"History of Formosa"--Notes on
Newspapers 232

QUERIES:--

Wild Plants and their Names 233

Popular Sayings, by M. Aislabie Denham 233

MINOR QUERIES:--Hermit Queries--Derivation of "Cobb"--
Play-bills--Sir Edward Grymes, Bart.--Smollett's
"Strap"--The Iron Mask--Bland Family--Thomas Watson,
Bishop of St. David's, 1687-99, &c.--Crescent--"Quod
fuit esse"--"Coming home to men's business"--Thomas
Gibbes of Fenton--"The Whipping Toms" at Leicester--
The Trial of our Lord--Olney--Album--The Lisle Family--
Wards of the Crown--Tate, an Artist--Philip d'Auvergne--
Somersetshire Ballad--Lady High Sheriff--Major-General
Lambert--Hoyle, Meaning of; and Hoyle Family--Robert
Dodsley--Mary Queen of Scots--Heuristisch: Evristic 234

MINOR QUERIES WITH ANSWERS:--"Eugenia," by Hayes and
Carr--Claret--"Strike, but hear me"--Fever at Croydon--
"Gesmas et Desmas"--Satirical Medal 237

REPLIES:--

The Gookins of Ireland 238

"Stabat quocunque jeceris," by Dr. William Bell 239

"Pic-nics" 240

"Coninger" or "Coningry" 241

Names and Numbers of British Regiments, by Arthur Hamilton 241

Vicars-Apostolic in England 242

Smock Marriages: Scotch Law of Marriage 243

PHOTOGRAPHIC NOTES AND QUERIES:--Mr. Weld Taylor's
Process--Animal Charcoal in Photography--Sir W. Newton
on Use of Common Soda and Alum--Difficulties in
Photographic Practice 244

REPLIES TO MINOR QUERIES:--The Countess of Pembroke's
Letter--Ethnology of England--Drake the Artist--
Sparse--Genoveva of Brabant--God's Marks--Segantiorum
Portus--Rubrical Query--Rosa Mystica--Portrait of
Charles I.--"Time and I"--The Word "Party"--"Mater ait
natæ," &c.--Gospel Place--Passage in Thomson--"Words
are given to man to conceal his thoughts"--Folger Family 245

MISCELLANEOUS:--

Notes on Books, &c. 248

Books and Odd Volumes wanted 249

Notices to Correspondents 249

Advertisements 250

* * * * *

Notes.

COWPER AND TOBACCO SMOKING.

The following genial and characteristic letter from the poet, having escaped the research of the REV. T. S. GRIMSHAW, may be thought worthy of transference from the scarce and ephemeral _brochure_ in which it has, as far as I am aware, alone appeared, to your more permanent and attainable repertory. The little work alluded to is entitled _Convivialia et Saltatoria, or a few Thoughts upon Feasting and Dancing_, a poem in two parts, &c., by G. Orchestikos: London, printed for the author, 1800, pp. 62. At page 39 will be found

"Nicotiana: a Poetical Epistle in praise of Tobacco; intended as a
refutation of the ill-founded remarks of William Cowper, Esq.
respecting this plant, in his elegant poem on Conversation. By Phil.
Nicot.

"The man I pity who abhors the fume
Of fine _Virginia_ floating in his room;
For, truly may Tobacco be defined,
A Plant preserving Health and Peace of mind.
1800."

Next follows the poem, dedicated "To the Tobacconists in general of England and its colonies," and consisting of some 350 lines, concluding with the following:

"Now by way of a Postscript, for I cannot conclude
Without _once more_ entreating, that you'll be so good
As to favour me with an Epistle, and soon,
Which in _my_ estimation will be such a boon
That I'll _carefully_ keep it; and dying, take care
To enjoin like Respect from my Son or my Heir;
And lest He should forget its great Value to ask,
Shall say,
It was wrote by the Hand, that first wrote out the Task:
No more I need mention, its Worth will appear,
And be kept as a Relic I _justly_ hold dear."

Next comes the poet's kindly response:

"Dear Sir,

"It is not in my power to send you an epistle that will entitle itself
to any of the _honours_ which you are so good as to promise to one from
me. My time is not my own, but is partly engaged in attendance on a
dear friend, who has long been in a very helpless state, {230} and
partly to the performance of what I owe to the public, a new edition of
my Homer, and also of the poetical works of Milton.

"With these labours in hand, together with the common avocations
incident to everybody, it is hardly possible that I should have
opportunities for writing letters. In fact, I am in debt to most of my
friends, and to many of them have been long in debt, whose claims upon
me are founded in friendship of long standing. To this cause you will
be so good as to ascribe it, that I have not sooner thanked you for
your humorous and pleasant contest with me on the subject of TOBACCO; a
contest in which I have not, at present, leisure to exercise myself,
otherwise I am hardy enough to flatter myself, that I could take off
the force of some of your arguments.

"Should you execute your design of publishing what you have favoured me
with a sight of, I heartily wish success to your muse militant, and
that your reward may be--many a pleasant pipe supplied by the profits
of your labours.

"Being in haste, I can add no more, except that I am, with respect, and
a due sense of the honour you do me,

Your obliged, &c.,
WILLIAM COWPER.

Weston-Underwood,
Oct. 4, 1793."

I hope that the above will be interesting to your Nicotian readers, and not trespass too far upon your valuable space.

WILLIAM BATES.

Birmingham.

_Snuff and Tobacco._--It is perhaps not generally known that the custom of taking snuff is of Irish origin. In a "Natural History of Tobacco," in the _Harleian Misc._, i. 535., we are told that--

"The Virginians were observed to have pipes of clay before ever the
English came there; and from those barbarians we Europeans have
borrowed our mode and fashion of smoking.... _The Irishmen do most
commonly powder their tobacco, and snuff it up their nostrils_, which
some of our Englishmen do, who often chew and swallow it."

That the clay pipe was the original smoking apparatus in England, is evident from the following lines in Skelton's _Eleanor Rummin_. After lamenting the knavery of that age compared with King Harry's time, he continues:

"Nor did that time know,
To puff and to blow,
In a peece of white clay,
As you do at this day,
With fier and coale,
And a leafe in a hole," &c.

These lines are from an edition of 1624, printed in the _Harl. Misc._, i. 415. Skelton died in 1529, and according to the generally received accounts, tobacco was not introduced into this country till 1565, or thereabouts; so the lines cannot be Skelton's. They are part of an introduction to the tale of _Eleanor Rummin_. Is the author known?

ERICA.

Warwick.

* * * * *

"SHAKSPEARE IN THE SHADES:" A BALLAD.

The ballad, entitled "Shakspeare's Bedside," inserted in your pages (Vol. vii., p. 104.), was printed (probably for the first time) in a collection of poems called _The Muse's Mirrour_, 2 vols. 8vo., printed for Robert Baldwin, 1778. It occurs at p. 90. of the first volume; and at p. 159. of the same volume I find another Shakspearian ballad, which, as the book is rare, I transcribe for the benefit of your readers. The work in question contains a number of clever effusions by the poets and wits of the last half of the eighteenth century. The anonymous compiler thus commences his preface:

"The editor and collector of the following poems does not conceive it
necessary to make any apology for what he has done; but arrogates to
himself the right of some attention for the collecting of such pieces
as would have died upon their births, although the productions of the
best poets and men of genius _for the last twenty years_."

"SHAKSPEARE IN THE SHADES.

"As Shakspeare rang'd over the regions below,
With the Muses attending his side,
The first of his critics he met with was Rowe,
Tho' to keep out of sight he had try'd.

'How comes it, friend Nicholas,' said the old bard,
(While Nic was preparing a speech),
'My ruins so coarsely by you were repair'd,
Who grace to the Graces could teach?'

'Had the time you employ'd when _The Biter_[1] you wrote,
So hiss'd by the critical throng,
Been spent upon mending the holes in my coat,
It had not been ragged so long.'

Rowe blush'd, and made way for diminutive Pope,
Whom Shakspeare address'd with a frown,
And said--'Some apology sure I may hope
From you and your friend in the gown.'

'Had the murderous knife which my plays has destroy'd,
By lopping full many a scene,
To make you a lover like him, been employ'd,
How flat Cibber's letter had been.'

Pope sneak'd off confounded; and Hanmer drew near,
Whose softness a savage might melt;
So Shakspeare said only, 'Sir Thomas, I fear,
With gloves on, my beauties you felt.'

{231}
Supported by Caxton, Wynkin upheld,
Text Tibbald crept forward to sight.
'Is this,' quoth the poet, 'the thing that rebell'd,
And dar'd even Pope to the fight?

'To Kennel, good Tib, for a time will arrive,
When all in their senses shall know,
That half of your consequence, Tib, you derive
From the lash of so envied a foe.

'Eight hundred old plays thou declar'st thou hast read[2];
How could'st thou the public so cozen?
Yet the traces I see (spite of what thou hast said)
Of not many more than a dozen.

'If all thou hast dug, how could Farmer, my Tib,
Or Stevens, find gold in the mine?
Thy trade of attorney sure taught thee to fib,
And truth was no client of thine.

'And yet, to appease me for all thou hast done,
And show thou art truly my friend,
Go watch, and to me with intelligence run,
When Johnson and Capell descend.

'For Johnson, with all his mistakes, I must love;
Ev'n love from the injured he gains;
But Capell a comrade for dulness will prove,
And him thou may'st take for thy pains.'"

EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.

[Footnote 1: _The Biter; an attempt at Comedy_, by Rowe, which was received with that contempt which it well deserved.]

[Footnote 2: Theobald, in the preface to his first edition of Shakspeare, asserts that, exclusive of the works of Beaumont and Fletcher, and Ben Jonson, he had read above eight hundred plays, to ascertain the uncommon and obsolete phrases in his author. The reader who can discover the fruits of this boasted industry in his notes may safely believe him; and those who cannot may surely claim the liberty, like myself, to doubt somewhat of his veracity. This assertion, however, Theobald had sufficient modesty to omit in the preface to his second edition, together with all the criticisms on Greek authors, which I am assured he had collected from such papers of Mr. Wycherley as had been entrusted to his care for very different purposes. It is much to be questioned whether there are five hundred old plays extant, by the most accurate perusal of which the works of Shakspeare could receive advantage; I mean of dramas prior, cotemporary, or within half a century before and after his own.]

* * * * *

SWEDISH WORDS CURRENT IN ENGLAND.

In the summer of 1847 I mentioned to my friend Professor Retzius at Stockholm, certain Scandinavian words in use at Whitby, with which he was much pleased, they not being akin to the German. I have since been mostly in the South of Europe, but have not lost sight of these words; and last spring I wrote out in Switzerland upwards of five hundred Swedish words, which greatly resemble the English, Lowland Scots, &c., but I doubt many of them have the same root with the German correspondents. I now beg you kindly to offer to the notice of our Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic scholars, as well as the estimable Northern _savans_ at Copenhagen and elsewhere, the following words in use at Whitby, and I believe throughout Cleveland and Cumberland, where the local accent and manner of speaking is the same.

"_Agg orm_, Swedish (viper), _agg worm_, Whitby (pron.
w[=o]rrum).--_Bloa bær_ (bilbery), blue berry.--_By_ (village), as a
termination to names of towns, occurs, perhaps, more frequently in this
district than in others; there are some places in Cleveland called Lund
and Upsal.--_Bæck_ (brook), beck.--_Djevul_ (devil), pronounced exactly
in the Swedish manner at Whitby.--_Doalig_ (poorly), dowly.--_Eldon_
(tinder-box), applied to faggots.--_Fors_ (waterfall), spelt force and
foss in Yorkshire books.--_Ful_ (ugly), pron. fool, usually associated
with bigness in Cleveland.--_Foane_ (silly), pron. fond at
Whitby.--_Giller_ (snare), guilder.--_Gæpen_ (handful), gowpen.--_Harr_
(grayling), carrling in Ryedale.--_Kætt_ (flesh), kett, applied to
coarse meat.--_Lek_ (play), at Whitby, to lake.--_Leta_ (to seek), to
late at Whitby.--_Lie_ (scythe), pron. lye.--_Lingon_ (red bilberry),
called a ling berry.--_Ljung_ (ling).--_Lopp_ (a flea).--_Næbb_ (beak),
neb.--_Skaft_ (handle), skaft.--_Skær_ (rock), Whitby skar.--_Smitta_
(to infect), to smit.--_Strandgata_ (creek), at Whitby ghaut.--_Stæd_
(anvil), steady.--_Sæf_ (a rush), siv.--_Tjarn_ (pool), tarn.--_Oenska_
(to wish for), we say to set one an onska, _i.e._ longing or wishing."

Will any one inform me which of the above are Anglo-Saxon words? I may add that there are many French words in the Swedish for aught I know, some of them Norman. As we find German words in the Italian, we may expect to find Scandinavian in the French.

CHARLES WATKINS.

* * * * *

SIR DAVID LINDSAY'S VIRIDARIUM.

In Lord Lindsay's very interesting _Lives of the Lindsays_, vol. i. p. 347., after the description of the very curious "viridarium or garden" of Sir David Lindsay at Edzell, and of the various sculptures and ornaments with which its wall is decorated, the author says: "To show how insecure was enjoyment in that dawn of refinement, the centre of every star along the wall forms an embrasure for the extrusion, if needed, of arrow, harquebuss, or pistol."

Some years before the book was published, I had visited this very interesting spot, and examined these sculptures, and other ornaments, amongst which the _pierced stars_ puzzled me much: however, after a lengthened and very careful investigation, finding that, being at too great a height from the ground, and, moreover, that as the holes in the centre of the stars do not pass through the wall, but merely into small cavities in it, they could not have been used as embrasures, or have served for warlike purposes; and that, as there were no channels or pipes that could have {232} conducted water to them, they could not have been connected with fountains or water-works; I came to the conclusion that the planner of the garden, or at least of its walls, must have been an ardent lover of birds, and that these holes were for providing access for his beloved feathered friends (they would only admit the passage of _small_ birds) to the secure resting-places which the hollow stones afforded; for whose use other niches and recesses seem also to have been planned (though some of the latter were probably intended to hold bee-hives) with a philornithic indifference for the security of the fruit tempting their attacks from all sides, but quite in character with the portrait of Sir David, as depicted by his noble biographer.

W. C. TREVELYAN.

Athenæum.

* * * * *

Minor Notes.

_Unlucky Days._--The subjoined lines on certain days of the several months, I copied some years ago from a MS. on the fly-leaf of an old Spanish breviary, then in the possession of an Irish priest. Though neither their grammar nor prosody are first-rate, yet they may be worthy of preservation as a curiosity. I may add that they appear to have been written by a Trinitarian Brother of Redemption, in the early part of the sixteenth century.

"_January._ Prima dies mensis, et septima truncat in ensis.

_February._ Quarta subit mortem, prosternit tertia sortem.

_March._ Primus mandentem, disrumpit quarta bibentem.

_April._ Denus et undenus est mortis vulnere plenus.

_May._ Tertius occidet et septimus ora relidet.

_June._ Denus pallescit quin-denus foedera nescit.

_July._ Ter-decimus mactat, Julii denus labefactat.

_August._ Prima necat fortem prosternit secunda cohortem.

_September._ Tertia Septembris, et denus fert mala membris.

_October._ Tertius et denus est sicut mors alienus.

_November._ Scorpius est quintus, et tertius e nece cinctus.

_December._ Septimus exanguis, virosus denus et anguis."

W. PINKERTON.

Ham.

_The Pancake Bell._--At the Huntingdonshire village from which I now write, the _little_ bell of the church is annually rung for ten minutes on Shrove Tuesday, at eleven o'clock in the morning: this is called "the Pancake Bell."

CUTHBERT BEDE, B.A.

_Quoits._--The vulgar pronunciation of the irons used in this game is _quaits_. From the following passage in a letter from Sir Thomas Browne to Ashmole, it is probable that the word was formerly thus spelt: "Count Rosenberg played at _quaits_, with silver _quaits_ made by projection as before."

UNEDA.

Philadelphia.

_The Family of Townerawe._--One great advantage of "N. & Q." is not only that inquiries may be made and information obtained by those who are engaged in any research, but also that such persons as happen to possess information on a particular subject may make it known before it is sought or asked for. I therefore beg to inform any person that may be interested in the family of _Townerawe_, that there is in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, a Latin MS. Bible, which belonged to "Raufe Townerawe," who on the 17th of June, 1585, was married to Anne Hartgrane, at Reavesbye, in Lincolnshire, and that at the end of this Bible are recorded the births, deaths and marriages of his children and other members of his family, from the date above mentioned to 1638.

JAMES H. TODD.

Trin. Coll. Dublin.

"_History of Formosa._"--The writer of the fictitious _History of Formosa_, inquired about at Vol. vii., p. 86., was George Psalmanazar, himself a fiction, almost. And this reference to Wiseman's Lectures reminds me that your correspondent RT. (Vol. vii., p. 62.), who discovered the metrical version of that passage of St. Bernard in Fulke Greville's poem, was (to say the least) _anticipated_ by the Cardinal, in the magnificent peroration to the last of those _Lectures upon Science and Revealed Religion_.

B. B. WOODWARD.

_Notes on Newspapers._--The following may be worth a place among your Notes. I copied it from the _Evening Mail_ (a tri-weekly issue from _The Times_ office), but unfortunately omitted to take the date, and the only authority I can offer is _Evening Mail_, No. 12,686. p. 8. col. 2. (leader):

"_The Times_ has its share of antiquities. Our office stands upon the
foundations of Blackfriars, where for centuries Plantagenets, Yorkists,
Lancastrians, and Tudors, held court. We have reason to believe that
just about where we sit was heard that famous cause for annulling the
marriage of Catherine, which led to the English Reformation. Under
these foundations others still older are now open to view. First we
have under us the Norman wall of the city, before it was extended
westward to give more room to Blackfriars, and under that presents
itself the unmistakeable material and composition of the old Roman
wall."

TEE BEE.

{233}

* * * * *

Queries.

WILD PLANTS AND THEIR NAMES.

In looking over some memoranda, I find the following Queries entered; and, as it is more than probable that some of the readers of "N. & Q." who take an interest in our wild flowers, and love the simple, homely names which were given them by our fathers, will easily solve them, I send them for insertion:

1. _Capsella_, _Bursa pastoris_, "Shepherd's Purse." Why was this plant called "St. James's Wort;" French, "Fleur de St. Jacques?" Was it used in medicine? Its old name, "Poor Man's Parmacetic," would imply that it was.

2. _Veronica Chamædrys_, "Eye-bright," "Paul's Betony," and "Fluellin." What was the origin of these two names?

3. _Primula veris_, "Cowslip," "Palsy Wort;" French, "Herbe de la Paralysie." Is this plant used in any of our village pharmacopoeias as a remedy for palsy; and if so, how? I may also add another Query on this plant, and which I trust some _fair_ reader will answer; and that is, How is the ointment prepared from the leaves (?), which is used to remove tan and freckles from the sunburnt?

4. _Viburnum opulus_, "Guelder Rose." Was this plant originally a native of the Low Countries? I am inclined to think that its distribution was of a very wide range.

5. _Neottia spiralis_, "Ladies' Tresses," "Sweet Cods," "Sweet Cullins," and "Stander Grass." What is the origin of these names?

6. _Ribes nigrum_, "Black Currant," "Gazel" (Kent). Meaning?

7. _Stellaria holostea_, "Stitchwort," "All-bones." Meaning? The plant is very fragile.

8. _Orobus tuberosus_, "Bitter Vetch," "Cormeille" (Highlands of Scotland), and "Knapperts" (Scotland generally). Have these terms any signification?

9. _Sinapis arvensis_, "Wild Mustard," "Charlock," "Garlock," "Chadlock," and "Runsh." Derivation and meaning?

10. _Saxifraga umbrosa_, "London Pride," "Saxifrage," "St. Patrick's Cabbage." Is there a legend in connexion with this name; and in what county is this saxifrage so called?

11. _Geum urbanum_, "Yellow Avens," "Herb Bennet," "Star of the North," "Blessed Herb." These names would appear to point to some virtues supposed to be attached to this herb. What are they?

12. _Linum catharticum_, "Purge Flax," "Mill Mountain"?

13. _Sedum acre_, "Biting Stone-crop," "Jack of the Buttery," "Pricket," "Bird's Bread"?

14. _Gnaphalium germanicum_, "Common Cudweed," "Wicked Herb" (_Herba impia_), "Live-long," and "Chaff-weed."

15. _Euphorbia helioscopia_, "Sun Spurge," "Churn-staff"? juice milky, but acrid.

16. _Euphorbia cyparissius_, "Cypress Spurge," "Welcome to our House"?

17. _Chrysanthemum segetum_, "Wild Marigold," "Goules," "Goulans" (Query remains of its old name gold?), "St. John's Bloom," "Ruddes"?

18. _Spergula arvensis_, "Spurrey Yarr" (Scotch)?

19. _Chenapodium Bonus Henricus_, "Mercury Goose-foot," "Good King Henry"?

To all the latter the same Query will apply, What is the origin of the name? It is probable but few of the above names will be now found; or, if found, it will be only in those districts where the march of intellect (?) has not banished all traces of household surgery, home legends, and, I may almost add, home feelings.

Much that is interesting to the antiquary and the naturalist is now fast fading out of the land. The very existence of the cheap literature of the day will rapidly root out all traces of traditionary lore; and strong, _steady_ efforts should be made to rescue as much as possible of it from oblivion. It is with this view I send these Queries; and in case they are deemed worthy of insertion, I purpose to follow them up by a second list of Queries, as to the medical virtues of our wild plants. In the mean time I may add, that any Notes on them, whether as charms or cures, would be most desirable.

ENIVRI.

Tredagh.

* * * * *

POPULAR SAYINGS.

I would feel obliged, Mr. Editor, if you or any of your North of England readers would favour me direct, or otherwise through the medium of "N. & Q.," with the origin and meaning of the following popular local sayings, peculiar to the North Countrie.

Likewise permit me to observe, that if any of them can favour me, through either of the above channels, with a few more of the "dark sayings of antiquity," either in the form of plain prose or rude rustic rhymes, peculiar to any or all of the five northern counties, to wit, York, Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmoreland, they would not only be conferring an obligation upon myself, but likewise upon every one of your numerous readers who take pleasure in the fast-fading traditional relics of our ancestors.

1. As crafty as a Kendal fox.

2. Like the parson of Saddleworth, who could read in no book but his
own.

3. Doncaster daggers.

4. The woful town o' Wetherby.

5. As sure as a louse in Pomfret. (Pontefract.)

6. Like the mayor of Hartlepool, you cannot do that. (Co. Durham.)

{234} 7. Looks as _vild_ (worthless) as a pair of Yorkshire sleeves in
a goldsmith's shop.

8. Hearts _is_ trumps at Eskett Hall. (Near Felton, Northumberland.)

9. Silly good-natured, like a Hexham goose.

10. There are no rats at Hatfield, nor sparrows at Lindham. (Co. Ebor.)

11. A Dent for a Galloway, a Hind for an ass. (Ibid.)

M. AISLABIE DENHAM.

Piersebridge, Darlington, Durham.

* * * * *

Minor Queries.

_Hermit Queries._--1. Some years ago a hermitage existed in certain grounds at Chelsea, the proprietor of which frequently advertised for a hermit, and, I believe, never got one. Who was the proprietor of the said hermitage; and did he ever succeed in getting his toy tenanted?

2. In Gilbert White's poem, _Invitation to Selborne_, the following lines occur:

"Or where the hermit hangs the straw-clad cell,
Emerging gently from the leafy dell,
By fancy plann'd," &c. &c.

The only edition of the "Letters" which I possess, is that by Sir William Jardine and Mr. Jesse, which affords a note on the passage, to the effect that the hermitage referred to was used by a young gentleman, who appeared occasionally "in the character of a hermit." What was the name of the eccentric, and what is known of his hermit life? Is the hermitage still in existence?

3. Where is to be found the best account of anchorites, real and fictitious?

SHIRLEY HIBBERD.

_Derivation of "Cobb."_--What is the derivation of the word _Cobb_? There is but one harbour of that name in England, that of Lyme Regis: there was once another at Swanage. This was also styled, some three centuries ago, the "Cobb or Conners."

Query: What is the derivation of the family name "Cobham?"

G. R. L.

_Play-bills._--Will any of your correspondents inform me in what year play-bills were first introduced; and at what period the _year_ was added to the day of the month and week, which only is attached to the early bills?

J. N. G. G.

_Sir Edward Grymes, Bart._--A correspondent in a recent number of the _Naval and Military Gazette_, asks who was Sir Edward Grymes, Bart., whose appointment appeared in the _War Office Gazette_ of December 10, 1776, as surgeon's mate to the garrison at Minorca, when the baronetcy came into the family, when he died, and whether a gentleman of the same rank has ever, before or since that period, served in a similar situation in the English army?

I have transferred these Queries to the columns of "N. & Q.," supposing that they might be answered by some of its correspondents.

W. W.

Malta.

_Smollett's Strap._--In "N. & Q.," Vol. iii., p. 123., is an extract from the _Examiner_, March 26, 1809, relating to Hugh Hewson, who is there mentioned as being "no less a personage than the identical Hugh Strap."

Mr. Faulkner, in his _History of Chelsea_, vol. i. p. 171., states that Mr. W. Lewis, of Lombard Street, Chelsea, was the original of this character. He established himself in Chelsea by Smollett's advice, and died there about 1785. Faulkner states that he resided with his widow for seven years, and thus having opportunities of being acquainted with the facts, I am inclined to give his account the preference. Now that these different accounts are brought forward, some reader of "N. & Q." may be enabled with certainty to fix who was the identical.

H. G. D.

_The Iron Mask._--MR. JAMES CORNISH (Vol. v., p. 474.) says, that "after half a century's active exertions, the Iron Mask was unveiled," and this sanguine person gives it also as his opinion that the author of _Junius's Letters_ will "eventually be unearthed." The last event may perhaps happen; but what authority has he for asserting that the mysterious secret of the "Masque de Fer" has ever been satisfactorily explained? Numerous, learned, and ingenious, as many of the hypotheses on the subject have been for upwards of a century, I have always imagined that an impenetrable veil of secrecy still continued to cover this wonderful historical mystery.

A. S. A.

Wuzzeerabad.

_Bland Family._--In the Carey pedigree in the _Ducatus Leodiensis_, it is stated that Sir Philip Carey of Hunslet, near Leeds (brother of the first Visct. Falkland), married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of _Rich. Bland of Carleton_ (about A.D. 1600). Can any of your numerous readers inform me _who_ this Mr. Bland was, _whom_ he married, and _which_ Carleton is meant?

I have searched the Yorkshire Visitations at the Museum, and consulted Nich. Carlisle's _History of the Bland Family_, with no result.

Possibly MR. HUNTER, who is so deeply versed in Yorkshire matters, might throw some light on the subject.

G. E. ADAMS.

Oxford and Cambridge Club.

_Thomas Watson, Bishop of St. David's, 1687-99, &c._--No notice of the period or place of his death has yet appeared, nor of the age of _Bishop Turner of Calcutta_, 1829-31, as also that of _Bishop Gobat_. Regarding, the latter prelate, as he is styled D.D. in the ecclesiastical almanacks and {235} directories, I am anxious to learn whether that degree was conferred upon him by any English university on his consecration in 1846?

A. S. A.

Wuzzeerabad.

_Crescent._--The article under this head in the _Encyclopædia Metropolitana_, asserts that the crescent was first adopted by the Ottomans as a symbol after the taking of Constantinople in 1446. If so, the device must have been unknown to the Saracens at the time of the Crusades. Can any of your readers inform me whether this statement is correct?

FICULNUS.

"_Quod fuit esse._"--I should be glad to know the sense of the following epitaph, copied at Lavenham Church, Norfolk, many years since; it has long lain in my note-book, waiting for such a publication as "N. & Q.," through which to inquire its meaning:

"JOHN WELES, Ob. 1694.
Quod fuit esse, quod est
Quod non fuit esse, quod esse,
Esse quod non esse,
Quod est, non est, erit, esse."

A. B. R.

Belmont.

"_Coming home to men's business._"--Where does the phrase "coming home to men's business and bosoms" first occur? I find it said of Bacon's Essays in _Baconiana_, 1st edit. 1679?

J. P.

Birmingham.

_Thomas Gibbes of Fenton._--Can any of your genealogical readers tell me what other issue (if any) there was of the marriage of Thomas Gibbes of Fenton, in the parish of Dartington, in the county of Devon, and Anne, daughter of Sir William Courtenay of Powderham, besides their son William Gibbes, who died in London A.D. 1570?

Also whether John Gibbes of Fenton, father of the above-named Thomas Gibbes, who married the heiress of William May or Mey, had any other issue?

HENRY H. GIBBS.

Frognal, Hampstead.

_"The Whipping Toms" at Leicester._--A singular annual custom, under the above designation, formerly prevailed in this town, from time immemorial, on Shrove Tuesday. It is unnecessary to take up your valuable space with a detailed account of it, as it is fully described in Throsby's _History of Leicester_, p. 356., and in Hone's _Year-Book_, p. 538.

My object is to inquire if any custom at all analogous to it is known to have existed elsewhere, and, if so, what is the supposed origin of it?

Nothing whatever is known of the origin of the custom in this town, beyond a vague popular tradition that it was instituted (like several other curious customs) by John of Gaunt, during his lengthened residence in the castle within what was then termed "The New-Works" of which (now called "The Newarke") the gathering was held.

However venerable from its antiquity, it was, like too many of the sports of the Middle Ages, a custom "more honoured in the breach than the observance," and, as such, was put down in the year 1847 by a local act of parliament; not, however, without a serious affray between the police and the people.

LEICESTRIENSIS.

_The Trial of Our Lord._--I have lately seen an old picture of the Trial of Our Lord before Pilate, who sits in the midst of the Jewish Sanhedrim, each member of which has a scroll over his head, giving his name and the sentence he is said to have uttered on that occasion. I have been told there is a large coarse engraving of this picture sometimes to be found in cottages, but I have not been able to procure one. The names and sentiments are of course fictitious; is anything known of their origin?

P. P.

_Olney._--Can any correspondent state what is the signification of this name? The ancient spelling is _Olnei_ or _Olney_, not _Oulney_, as it has sometimes been spelled of late years. The difficulty is not as to the termination _ey_, but as to the first syllable.

The parish church, which stands at the southern extremity of the town, on the banks of the Ouse, is entirely (modern alterations excepted) of the fourteenth century. There is not a trace of any earlier work. Tradition says that the church was formerly at the other, or northern end of the town, where there is a place which is, as I am informed, described in the deeds of some of the adjoining premises as the old churchyard, though it has been desecrated time out of mind. Closely adjacent is a clear spring, still called "Christenwell," and also the trunk of a very ancient elm. Human bones are stated to have been occasionally dug up within the enclosure.

There is a vague tradition that the town as well as the church has been removed southward, _i. e._ nearer the river. Readers of "N. & Q." who can supply any information respecting the removal of the church and town, or any other particulars (in addition to those contained in Dr. Lipscomb's _History of Bucks_) concerning the parish of Olney, including the hamlet and manor of Warrington, and the now district parish of Weston-Underwood, will greatly oblige

W. P. STORER.

Olney, Bucks.

_Album._--What was the origin, and where do we find the earliest notice of the kind of friendly {236} memorial book so well known among us as an _album_? Was it not first used by the learned men of Germany as a repository for the complimentary tributes of their foreign visitors? Is there any mention of it in any English author earlier than Izaak Walton, who tells us that Sir Henry Wotton, when ambassador at Venice, wrote in the _album_ of Christopher Flecamore a Latin sentence to the effect that "an ambassador is an honest man, sent to lie abroad for the good of his country?" Where is the earliest _specimen_ of an English _album_, according to the modern form and use of the scrapbook so called?

D.

_The Lisle Family._--Can any of the readers of "N. & Q." give me some fuller information than is to be found in Lyttleton's _History of England_, or refer me to any authorities for such, concerning the family and connexions of the following personages?

There was a Lady Lisle, who, temp. Jac. II., was tried at Winchester by the notorious Judge Jeffries, and afterwards executed, for harbouring two rebels after the battle of Sedgemoor. I believe she was beheaded as a favour, instead of being burnt. She was the widow of one of the judges who consented to the death of that ill-fated monarch Charles I.

I observe the barony of Lisle has been extinct, or in abeyance, on four or five different occasions; was either about this time? The present peerage appears to have been created circa 1758. Are these descendants of that family?

I possess portraits of Lord and Lady Lisle (size six feet by four), and much wish to learn the above, together with any other particulars relating to the family.

JOHN GARLAND.

Dorchester.

_Wards of the Crown._--I find the origin of this ancient prerogative of royalty thus quaintly explained at p. 132. of King's _Vale Royall of England_, 1656. Hugh Lupus, first Norman Earl of Chester, and nephew of the Conqueror, at his death in 1101, left his son

"Richard, then an infant of seven years of age, entituled then to his
Earldome of Chester, and _married_ to Matilda, daughter to Stephen,
Earl of Blois. And this Matilda was niece to King Henry I., by reason
whereof the said king took into his tuition and custody the said young
earl; from whence, they say, this of a custome grew to be a law, that
young heirs in their nonage became pupils, or _wards_, unto the king. A
very tender care had this king over this princely child, and brought
him up in the company of his own children, with whom he sent him into
Normandy, and with them there provided the most princely and best
education for them."

Their after-history is well known. Having duly arrived at man's estate, these promising young princes and their companion, Richard, the royal ward, were sent for from Normandy by the affectionate king, whence, taking ship at Harfleur, they set sail for England; but, through some mismanagement, the vessel striking upon a rock, the entire company perished except one butcher, who, by the help of a mast, swam safe to land. This tragedy happened about December 7, 1120.

I believe this to be the first instance recorded in English history of a ward to the king, but shall be happy to receive correction from any better-informed correspondent of "N. & Q."

T. HUGHES.

Chester.

_Tate, an Artist._--A friend of mine has a very fine family portrait, very much admired by judges, and generally ascribed to Reynolds, whose style it greatly resembles. But I believe it has with some confidence been stated to be the work of a pupil of Sir Joshua's, named Tate. The picture is about seventy years old. Would you, or any of your readers, kindly inform me whether an artist of that name lived at that time, and whether he was a pupil of Sir Joshua Reynolds?

A. W.

Kilburn.

_Philip d'Auvergne._--

"On the 12th of March, 1792, the King of Great Britain granted to
Captain Philip d'Auvergne, R. N., his licence to accept the succession
to the said duchy (Bouillon), in case of the death of the hereditary
prince, only son of the reigning duke, without issue male, pursuant to
a declaration of his Serene Highness, dated June 25th, 1791, at the
desire, and with the express and formal consent of the nation."

I find this in Brooke's _Gazetteer_, under the heading of "Bouillon." Can any of your correspondents give a further account of Captain d'Auvergne? I suppose the troubles consequent upon the French Revolution would prevent his accession to the duchy, even if he survived the hereditary prince?

E. H. A.

_Somersetshire Ballad._--I have a note of the following verse of an old ballad. Where can I find the remaining verses?

"Go ask the vicar of Taunton Deane,
And he'll tell you the banns were askit,
And a good fat ceapun he had for his peains,
And he's carrit it whoom in his baskit."

S. A. S.

_Lady High Sheriff._--Can any of your Herefordshire readers inform me who the lady was who served the office of high sheriff for that county, somewhere about the years 1769 or 1770?

Her husband had been appointed, but dying shortly afterwards, his widow took his place, and attended the judges with the javelin-men, dressed in deep mourning. If any one could give me any {237} information about this lady, I should be much obliged: I should be glad to know whether there is another instance of a lady high sheriff on record?

W. M.

_Major-General Lambert_, the first president of Cromwell's council, after the Restoration was exiled to Guernsey, where he remained for thirty years a prisoner. Noble, in his _House of Cromwell_, vol. i. p. 369., says, Mrs. Lambert has been supposed to have been partial to the Protector; "that her name was _Fra._, an elegant and accomplished woman. She had a daughter, married to a Welsh judge, whom she survived, and died in January, 1736-7." Any of your correspondents who may be able, will oblige by informing me who Mrs. Lambert was, when she and the general died, and to whom the daughter was married. Noble evidently had not been able to ascertain who the accomplished woman was.

G.

_Hoyle, Meaning of; and Hoyle Family._--What is the English to the Celtic word Hoyle; and was there any family of the name of Hoyle previous to the year 1600? If so, can you give me any history of them, or say where same may be found? Also, what is the arms, crest, and motto of that family?

F. K.

_Robert Dodsley._--In all the biographies, this amiable and worthy man is said to have been born at Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. Does he anywhere state this himself? If not, what is the evidence in favour of such statement? Not the parish register of Mansfield certainly. I have often thought that a Life of Dodsley _in extenso_ might be made an interesting vehicle for illustrating the progress of an individual from the humble rank of a livery servant to the influential position of a first-class London bookseller in the Augustan age of English literature; including, of course, all the reflex influences of the society of that period. There is plenty of matter; and I think a well-known correspondent of "N. & Q." and _Gent's Mag._, whose initials are P. C., would know where to find and how to use it.

N. D.

_Mary Queen of Scots._--In the _Gentleman's Magazine_, vol. xcix. part ii. p. 77., it is stated that the late Earl of Buchan (who died in April, 1829) "in some letters warmly embraced the cause of Mary Queen of Scots against Dr. Robertson;" but we are not informed whether they were ever printed, or where they are to be found. As I have always felt a strong conviction of the injustice done this unfortunate woman, I shall be gratified by any communication stating where these letters can be met with.

F. R. A.

_Heuristisch--Evristic._--The word _heuristisch_ occurs four times in the _Kritik der Reinen Vernunft_, pp. 480. 515. 520. 568., ed. Leipzig, 1838. I cannot find it in any German Dictionary. Mr. Haywood (ed. 1838) translates it _evristic_, which I cannot find in any English dictionary. I conjecture that it may be [Greek: heuriskô] Germanised, and that it will bear the translation _tentative_. Will some one, better versed than myself in the language of German metaphysics, tell me whether I am right, and, if not, set me so?

H. B. C.

U. U. Club.

Minor Queries with Answers.

_"Eugenia," by Hayes and Carr._--Can any of your readers give me any account of the following play, as to where the scene of it is laid, &c.?

_Eugenia_, a Tragedy, by Samuel Hayes and Robert Carr, 8vo. 1766.

This play, which appears to have never been acted, was written by the Rev. Samuel Hayes, author of several of the Seatonian prize poems, and who was at one time usher in Westminster School. Robert Carr, who assisted him in writing it, appears to have been one of the Westminster scholars about 1766, but I am unable to give any further account of him.

A. Z.

Glasgow.

[The scene, as stated at the commencement of the play, was laid in and
near the Mercian camp, on the confines of Wales, except the first act,
and beginning of the third, which lies in the British camp, distant
from the Mercian eight miles. The _dramatis personæ_ were:--_Britons_:
Cadwallyne, king of the Britons; Ormanus, a noble captive; Albanact,
Eliud, Edgar, officers; Eugenia, Althira, captives. _Mercians_: Penda,
king of Mercia; Ethelred, his son; Osmond, nephew to the king; Offa,
Egbert, Edwin, officers. British and Mercian officers, prisoners,
guards, and other attendants.]

_Claret._--How, or from whence, have we adopted the word _Claret_, as applied to the wines of the Bordeaux district, and which seems to be utterly unknown in other parts of Europe?

VINOS.

[Dr. Pegge, in his _Anonymiana_, cent. iii. sect. 57., says, "There is
a place of the name of _Claret_ in the Duke de Rohan's _Mémoires_, lib.
iv., from whence I conceive the French wine takes its name." It is
stated in the _Mémoires_ as being five miles from Montpellier.]

"_Strike, but hear me._"--On what occasion, and by whom, were these words first used? I have not been able to trace them.

ABHBA.

[These words occur in a conversation between Eurybiades and
Themistocles, and will be found in Plutarch's _Life of Themistocles_,
cap. xi.]

_Fever at Croydon._--In Camden's _Britannia_ before me, with date on (written) title-page 1610, {238} Londini, Georgii Bishop, Joannes Norton, p. 320., under county Svthrey, and against the marginal "Croidon," it is thus stated:

"As for that sudden swelling water or bourne, which the common people
reports to breake foorth heere out of the ground, presaging, I wote not
how, either dearth of corne or the pestilence, may seeme not worthy
once the naming, and yet the euentes sometime ensuing hath procured it
credit."

I have heard it stated, without reference to the above, that the aforesaid stream had risen during the last few months, and, if such be the case, the fever that has been so prevalent in the town seems to bear out the above statement.

Can any of your correspondents inform me whether the above fact is mentioned in any other account of the place, and if so, where?

R. W. H.

[It appears that our early ballad writers do not give a very favourable
account of the locality of Croydon. Listen to Patrick Hannay, Gent., in
1662:--

"It seems of starved Sterilitie the seat,
Where barren downs do it environ round;
Whose parched tops in summer are not wet,
And only are with snow in winter crown'd,
Only with bareness they do still abound;
Or if on some of them we roughness find,
It's tawny heath, badge of the barren rinde.

"In midst of these stands CROYDON cloath'd in black,
In a low bottom sink of all these hills;
And is receipt of all the dirty wracke,
Which from their tops still in abundance trills,
The unpav'd lanes with muddy mire it fills
If one shower fall; or, if that blessing stay,
You may well smell, but never see your way."]

"_Gesmas et Desmas._"--What is the meaning of two terms, _Gesmas_ and _Desmas_, in the following couplet, which I transcribe from MS. entries in an old and rare volume lately bought, of date 1564, and the handwriting would seem coeval with the printing of the book? The lines evidently relate to the crucifixion of our Lord between the thieves; but I have never seen any appellations given to these last, and cannot fix a meaning for the terms with any certainty: they may have reference to the penitence of one, and the hardened state of the other still "tied and bound in the chain of his sins," but I know not to what language to refer them:

"Disparibus meritis pendit tria Corpora lignis
_Gesmas_ et _Desmas_, medius Divina Potestas."

A. B. R.

[Our correspondent is right in supposing that Gesmas and Desmas are the
names traditionally assigned to the two malefactors, and which occur in
the Old Mysteries, &c. _Desmas_ is that of the Penitent Thief. These
names are, we believe, mentioned in the Pseudo-Gospel of Nicodemus; and
some particulars of the legend, we believe, but we cannot just now
ascertain, are preserved in Molan. _De Pictur. Sacris_, 1. iv. c. 9.]

_Satirical Medal._--1. I shall be glad to obtain some information respecting a curious medal in my possession, bearing--

Obv. "Ecclesia perversa tenet faciem diaboli, 666." A face in profile, crowned with the tiara: turned round, the same face becomes that of the devil.

Rev. "Sapientes stulti aliquando." A head with a cardinal's cap, which reversed becomes a face surmounted with a fool's cap and bells.

The medal is of silver, nearly the size of a crown piece; and from the form of the letters is, I suppose, about two hundred years old.

JOHN I. DREDGE.

[This curious medal, which is figured in Rigollot's _Monnaies des Fous_
(Pl. iv. fig. 10.), and the reverse of which has been engraved by
Tilliot (_Fête des Foux_) as the seal of the _Mère Folle_ of Dijon, is
a satirical medal issued by the Protestants. Their opponents retorted,
or provoked its issue, by one which Riggolot has also figured (fig.
11.): which has on one side the head of Calvin, crowned with the tiara,
&c. (which, when turned, becomes that of the Devil), and the words
"_Joan. Calvinus Heresiarch. pessimus_;" and on the reverse a
Cardinal's head, which is turned into a fool's head, with the motto
"_Et Stulti, aliquando sapite_."--Psalm xciii.]

* * * * *

Replies.

THE GOOKINS OF IRELAND.

(Vol. i., pp. 385. 473. 492.; Vol. ii., p. 44.; Vol. iv., p. 103.)

Upon an examination of the ancient records which are preserved in the Exchequer Record Office, at the Four Courts, Dublin, it will be found that in the year 1632 Sir Vincent Gookin acquired, by purchase from David Earl of Barrymore, the lands of Cargane in the county of Cork; and from Mr. William Fitz John O'Hea, in the year 1633, the lands of Ballymacwilliam and Cruary, in the same county; and that he died on the 7th of Feb. 1637[3];--that Captain Robert Gookin, in recompence for his services as a soldier and adventurer, obtained an assignment from the Protector of an estate in the same county, consisting of upwards of five thousand acres, which he afterwards surrendered to Charles II.; and that thereupon the king granted it to Roger Earl of Orrery;--that Vincent Gookin died on the 29th of March, 1692, and that his son Robert, and Dorothy Clayton, were his executors;--that in the year 1681 the collectors of quit rent made a demand upon Thomas Gookin, one of Sir Vincent's sons, for the {239} rent of the lands which his father had purchased from Mr. O'Hea, and that, upon proof being made to the Court of Exchequer by Mr. John Burrowes, one of Sir Vincent's executors, that the estate was a "Protestant interest," or, in other words, that as the family had been of the Protestant religion, and not implicated in the rebellion of 1641, the lands were therefore not liable to the payment of quit rent, they were accordingly put out of charge. It appears also by the records which are deposited in the same office, that Thomas Gookin, gentleman, was indicted at the sessions held at Bandon in the year 1671, "for that he, with several others, riotously and unlawfully did assemble and associatt themselves together at Lislee, on the 27th of December, 1671, and in and uppon David Barry and Charles Carthy, gentlemen, did make a cruell assaulte and affray, and did beate, wound, and falsely imprison them, under colour of a warrant from Henry Bathurst, Esq., made and interlined by the said Thomas Gookin;" and that Elizabeth Gookin, of Lislee, spinster, was one of his sureties. This Elizabeth was probably descended from a Charles Gookin, who claimed the lands of Lislee in the time of the Protector. By the records in the same department, it appears that in and previous to the year 1719 a suit was pending in the Court of Exchequer with respect to the lands of Courtmacsherry; and by the Receiver's account, which bears the autograph of Robert Gookin, it is shown that a payment was made to Mrs. Dorothy Gookin for maintenance, and that there was an arrear due to Lady Mary Erwin, "at ye time of Captain Gookin's death, which happened in September, 1709:" and in the same office there is deposited a deed, dated the 30th of October, 1729, which relates to the lands of Clouncagh, in the same county of Cork, whereto John Allin, an alderman of the city of Cork, and Elizabeth Gookin, otherwise Towgood, his wife, and Robert Gookin, Esq., eldest son and devisee of Robert Gookin deceased, are parties. I have been informed that a lengthened account of Sir Vincent Gookin is to be found in Lord Stafford's State Letters; that much information may be gathered from the Privy Council Papers _tempore_ Cromwell, which are deposited in Dublin Castle, with respect to Captain Robert Gookin; and that in the year 1620 Daniel Gookin was one of the undertakers in the county of Longford, and that his estate of five hundred acres afterwards passed to an ancestor of the late popular novelist Miss Edgeworth.

J. F. F.

Dublin.

[Footnote 3: Amongst the Inquisitions of the county of Cork which are preserved in the Rolls Office of Chancery, there is one which relates to Vincent Gookin, and was taken at Mallow, on the 14th of August, 1638; and is probably an inquisition _post mortem_.]

* * * * *

"STABIT QUOCUNQUE JECERIS."

(Vol. vii., p. 65.)

This little Query may perhaps come under the category you mention in the address of your opening Number for the year, although it might be a sufficient reply merely to say that it was the legend round the common Manx halfpenny, encircling the three legs of man on its reverse; but when we consider these three conjoined limbs in their awkward and impossible position, the propriety of the legend may be doubted, and its presence attributable only to the numismatic necessity of accompanying the figure with its motto. The following epigram has been composed by some Manxman thoroughly convinced of the propriety of the application:

"Reader! thou'st seen a falling cat,
Light always on his feet so pat;
A shuttlecock will still descend,
Meeting the ground with nether end;
The persevering Manksman thus,
A shuttlecock or pauvre puss;
However through the world he's tost--
However disappointed, crost--
Reverses, losses, Fortune's frown,
No chance or change can keep him down.
Upset him any way you will,
Upon his _legs_ you'll find him still.
For ever active, brisk, and spunky,
_Stabit jeceris quocunque_."