Chapter C: Clifton Barry

_Sir Ralph Killigrew._--Who was Sir Ralph Killigrew, born _circa_ 1585. I should be very much obliged to be referred to a good pedigree of the Killigrew family of the above period.

PATONCE.

* * * * *

Minor Queries with Answers.

_Pepys._--I have lately acquired a collection of letters between Pepys and Major Aungier, Sir Isaac Newton, Halley, and other persons, relating to the management of the mathematical school at Christ's Hospital; and containing details of the career of some of the King's scholars after leaving the school. The letters extend from 1692 to 1695; and are the original letters received by Pepys, with his drafts of the answers. They are loosely stitched, in order of date, in a thick volume, and are two hundred and upwards in number. Are these letters known, and have they ever been published or referred to?

A. F. B.

Diss.

[It is a singular coincidence that we should receive the communication
of A. F. B. on the day of the publication of the new and much improved
library edition of Pepys's _Diary_. Would our correspondent permit us
to submit his collection to the editor of Pepys, who would no doubt be
gratified with a sight of it? We will guarantee its safe return, and
any expenses incurred in its transmission. On turning to the fourth
volume of the new edition of the _Diary_, we find the following letter
(now first published) from Dr. Tanner, afterwards Bishop of St. Asaph,
to Dr. Charlett, dated April 28, 1699:--"Mr. Pepys was just finishing a
letter to you last night when I gave him yours. I hear he has printed
some letters lately about the abuses of Christ's Hospital; they are
only privately handed about. A gentleman that has a very great respect
for Mr. Pepys, saw one of them in one of the Aldermen's hands, but
wishes there had been some angry expressions left out; which he fears
the Papists and other enemies of the Church of England will make ill
use of." Is anything known of this "privately printed" volume? In the
Life of Pepys (4th edit., p. xxxi.), mention is made of his having
preserved from ruin the mathematical foundation at Christ's Hospital,
which had been originally designed by him.--ED.]

"_Retainers to Seven Shares and a Half._"--Can any reader of "N. & Q.," conversant with the literature of the seventeenth century, furnish an explanation of this phrase? It occurs in the preface to _Steps to the Temple, &c._, of Richard Crashaw (the 2nd edit., in the Savoy, 1670), addressed by "the author's friend" to "the learned reader," and is used in disparagement of pretenders to poetry. The passage runs thus:

"It were prophane but to mention here in the preface those under-headed
poets, retainers to seven shares and a half; madrigal fellows, whose
only business in verse is to rime a poor sixpenny soul, a subburb
sinner into hell," &c.

H. L.

[The performers at our earlier theatres were distinguished into whole
shares, three-quarter sharers, half sharers, seven-and-a-half sharers,
hired men, &c. In one scene of the _Histriomastic_, 1610, the dissolute
performers having been arrested by soldiers, one of the latter
exclaims, "Come on, players! now we are the sharers, and you the hired
men;" and in another scene, Clout, one of the characters, rejects with
some indignation the offer of "half a share." Gamaliel Ratsey, in that
rare tract, _Ratseis Ghost_, 1606, knights the principal performer of a
company by the title of "Sir Three Shares and a Half;" and Tucca, in
Ben Jonson's _Poetaster_, addressing Histrio, observes, "Commend me to
Seven shares and a half," as if some individual at that period had
engrossed as large a proportion. Shakspeare, in _Hamlet_, speaks of "a
whole share" as a source of no contemptible emolument, and of the owner
of it as a person filling no inferior station in "a cry of payers." In
_Northward Ho!_ also, a sharer is noticed with respect. Bellamont the
poet enters, and tells his servant, "Sirrah, I'll speak with none:" on
which the servant asks, "Not a player?" and his master replies:

"No, though a sharer bawl:
I'll speak with none, although it be the mouth
Of the big company."

The value of a share in any particular company would depend upon the
number of subdivisions, upon the popularity of the body, upon the
stock-plays belonging to it, upon the extent of its wardrobe, and the
nature of its properties.--See Collier's _English Dramatic Poetry_,
vol. iii. p. 427.]

_Madden's "Reflections and Resolutions proper for the Gentlemen of Ireland."_--This work, by the Rev. Samuel Madden, was first published in Dublin in 1738, and was reprinted at the expense of the late Mr. Thomas Pleasants, in one vol. 8vo., pp. 224, Dub. 1816. I possess two copies of the original edition, likewise in one vol. 8vo., pp. 237, and I have seen about a dozen; and yet I find in the preface to the reprint the following paragraph:

"The very curious and interesting work which is now reprinted, and
intended for a wide and gratuitous circulation, is also of uncommon
rarity; there is not a copy of it in the library of Trinity College, or
in any of the other public libraries of this city, which have been
searched on purpose. (One was purchased some {200} years ago for the
library of the Royal Dublin Society, if I mistake not, for 1l. 6s., or
rather more.) The profoundly learned Vice-Provost, Doctor Barrett,
never met with one; and many gentlemen well skilled in the literature
of Ireland, who have been applied to for information on the subject,
are even unacquainted with the name of the book."

Of Dr. Madden, known as "Premium" Madden, few memorials exist; and yet he was a man of whom Johnson said, "His was a name Ireland ought to honour." The book in question does not appear to be of "uncommon rarity." Is it considered by competent judges of "exceeding merit?" I would be glad to know.

ABHBA.

[Probably, from this work having appeared anonymously, it was unknown
to the writers of his life in Chalmers' and Rose's _Biographical
Dictionaries_, as well as to Mr. Nichols, when he wrote his account of
Dr. Madden in his _Literary Anecdotes_, vol. ii. p. 32. A volume
containing the _Reflections and Resolutions_, together with the
author's tragedy, _Themistocles_, 1729, and his tract, _A Proposal for
the General Encouragement of Learning in Dublin College_, 1732, is in
the Grenville Collection in the British Museum. This volume was
presented by Dr. Madden to Philip, Earl of Chesterfield, as appears
from the following MS. note on a fly-leaf: "To his Excellency the Right
Hon. Philip Earl of Chesterfield, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, these
Tracts, writ (how meanly soever) with a real zeal for the service of
that country, are most humbly presented by the author, his most
obedient humble servant."]

_King Edward I.'s Arm._--Fuller, speaking of the death and character of King Edward I., winds up with these words:

"As the arm of King Edward I. was accounted the measure of a yard,
generally received in England; so his actions are an excellent model
and a praiseworthy platform for succeeding princes to
imitate."--_Church History_, b. iii., A.D. 1307.

Query, Is there historical proof of this statement of "honest Tom?" He gives no reference apparently considering the fact too well established to require any.

J. M. B.

[Ask that staunch and sturdy royalist, Peter Heylin, whether Old Tom is
not sometimes more facetious than correct; and whether, in the extract
given above, we should not read _Richard I._ for Edward I. In
Knyghton's _Chronicle_, lib. II. cap. viii. sub Hen. I., we find,
"Mercatorum falsam ulnam castigavit adhibita brachii sui mensura." See
also William of Malmsbury in Vita Hen. I., and Spelm. Hen. I. apud
Wilkins, 299., who inform us, that a new standard of longitudinal
measure was ascertained by Henry I., who commanded that the ulna, or
ancient ell, which answers to the modern yard, should be made of the
exact length of his own arm.]

_Elstob, Elizabeth._--Can any of your numerous correspondents state where that celebrated Saxon linguist, Mrs. Elizabeth Elstob, was buried? In Chambers's _Biographical Illustrations of Worcestershire_, she is said to have been buried at Saint Margaret's, Westminster; but after every inquiry, made many years since of the then worthy churchwarden of the parish, our researches were in vain, for there is no account of her sepulture in the church or graveyard.

J. B. WHITBOURNE.

[Most of the biographical notices of Mrs. Elizabeth Elstob state that
she was buried at St. Margaret's, Westminster. We can only account for
the name not appearing in the register of that church, from her having
_changed her name_ when she opened her school in Worcestershire, as
stated, on the authority of Mr. Geo. Ballard, in Nichols's _Literary
Anecdotes_, vol. iv. p. 714. Ballard's Correspondence is in the
Bodleian.]

_Monumental Brasses in London._--Can any of your correspondents favour me with a list of churches in London, or within a mile of the same, containing monumental brasses? I know of St. Helen's, Bishopsgate, only.

J. W. BROWN.

[As our young crypto-antiquary dates his letter from Crosby Hall, he
will probably find in its library the following works to assist him in
his researches:--_List of Monumental Brasses in England_ (Rivington),
_Manual for the Study of Monumental Brasses_ (Parker), and Sperling's
_Church Walks in Middlesex_ (Masters). Two are noticed in Waller's
_Monumental Brasses_, fol., 1842, viz. Dr. Christopher Urswick, in
Hackney Church, A.D. 1521, and Andrew Evyngar and wife, in All-Hallows
Barking Church. If we mistake not, there is one in St. Faith's, near
St. Paul's.]

* * * * *

Replies.

RAPPING NO NOVELTY; AND TABLE-TURNING.

(Vol. viii., pp. 512. 632.; Vol. ix., pp. 39. 88. 135.)

"There is a curious criminal process on record, manuscript 1770,
noticed by Voltaire as in the library of the King of France, which was
founded upon a remarkable set of visions said to have occurred to the
monks of Orleans.

"The illustrious house of St. Memin had been very liberal to the
convent, and had their family vault under the church. The wife of a
Lord of St. Memin, Provost of Orleans, died, and was buried. The
husband, thinking that his ancestors had given more than enough to the
convent, sent the monks a present, which they thought too small. They
formed a plan to have her body disinterred, and to force the widower to
pay a second fee for depositing it again in holy ground.

"The soul of the lady first appeared to two of the brethren, and said
to them, 'I am damned, like Judas, because my husband has not given
sufficient.' They hoped to extort money for the repose of her soul. But
the husband said, 'If she is really damned, all the money in the world
won't save her,' and gave them nothing. Perceiving their mistake, they
declared she appeared again, saying she was in _Purgatory_, and {201}
demanding to be disinterred. But this seemed a curious request, and
excited suspicion, for it was not likely that a soul in purgatory would
ask to have the body removed from holy ground, neither had any in
purgatory ever been known to desire to be exhumed.

"The soul after this did not try _speaking_ any more, but haunted
everybody in the convent and church. Brother Peter of Arras adopted a
very awkward manner of conjuring it. He said to it, 'If thou art the
soul of the late Madame de St. Memin, strike four knocks,' and the four
knocks were struck. 'If thou art damned, strike six knocks,' and the
six knocks were struck. 'If thou art still tormented in hell, because
thy body is buried in holy ground, knock six more times,' and the six
knocks were heard still more distinctly. 'If we disinter thy body, wilt
thou be less damned, certify to us by five knocks,' and the soul so
certified. This statement was signed by twenty-two cordeliers. The
father provincial asked the same questions and received the same
answers. The Lord of St. Memin prosecuted the father cordeliers. Judges
were appointed. The general of the commission required that they should
be burned; but the sentence only condemned them to make the 'amende
honorable,' with a torch in their bosom, and to be banished."

This sentence is of the 18th of February, 1535. Vide Abbé Langlet's _History of Apparitions_.

From the above extract, and from what your correspondents MR. JARDINE and R. I. R. have written, it is satisfactorily shown that rapping is no novelty, having been known in England and France some centuries ago. MR. JARDINE has given us an instance in 1584, and leads us to suppose that it was the earliest on record. I now give one as early as 1534; and it would be interesting to know if the monks of Orleans were the first to have practised this imposition, and to have been banished for their deception and fraud.

WILLIAM WINTHROP.

Malta.

In Ammianus Marcellinus, lib. XXIX. cap. i. p. 552. of a Paris edition, 1681, two persons, Patricius and Hilarius, charged with disseminating prophecies injurious to the Emperor Valens, were brought before a court of justice, and a tripod, which they were charged with using, was also produced. Hilarius then made the following acknowledgment:

"Construximus, magnifici judices, ad cortinæ similitudinem Delphicæ,
diris auspiciis, de laureis virgulis infaustam hanc mensulam quam
videtis; et imprecationibus carminum secretorum, choragiisque multis ac
diuturnis ritualiter consecratam movimus tandem; movendi autem, quoties
super rebus arcanis consulebatur, erat institutio talis. Collocabatur
in medio domûs emaculatæ odoribus Arabicis undique, lance rotunda pure
superposita, ex diversis metallicis materiis fabrefacta; cujus in
ambitu rotunditatis extremo elementorum viginti quatuor scriptiles
formæ incisæ perite, dijungebantur spatiis examinate dimensis. Hac
linteis quidam indumentis amictus, calciatusque itidem linteis soccis,
torulo capiti circumflexo, verbenas felicis arboris gestans, litato
conceptis carminibus numine præscitionum auctore, cærimoniali scientia
perstitit; cortinulis pensilem anulum librans, sartum ex carpathio filo
perquam levi, mysticis disciplinis initiatum: qui per intervalla
distincta retinentibus singulis litteris incidens saltuatim, heroos
efficit versus interrogationibus consonos, ad numeros et modos plene
conclusos; quales leguntur Pythici, vel ex oraculis editi Branchidarum.
Ibi tum quærentibus nobis, qui præsenti succedet imperio, quoniam omni
parte expolitus fore memorabatur et adsiliens anulus duas perstrinxerat
syllabas, [Greek: THEO] cum adjectione litteræ postrema, exclamavit
præsentium quidem, Theodorum præscribente fatali necessitate portendi."

In lib. XXXI. cap. ii. p. 621. of same edition, a method of prognostication by the Alami is described; but there is no mention of tables there. The historian only says:

"Rectiores virgas vimineas colligentes, easque cum incantamentis
quibusdam secretis præstituto tempore discernentes, aperte quid
portendatur norunt."

H. W.

The mention of table-turning by Ammianus Marcellinus reminds me of a curious passage in the _Apologeticus_ of Tertullian, cap. xxiii., to which I invite the attention of those interested in the subject:

"Porro si et magi phantasmata edunt et jam defunctorum infamant animas;
si pueros in eloquium oraculi elidunt; si multa miracula circulatoriis
præstigiis ludunt; si et somnia immittunt habentes semel invitatorum
angelorum et dæmonum assistentem sibi potestatem, _per quos_ et capræ
et _mensæ divinare consueverunt_; quanto magis," &c.

Here table divination by means of angels and demons seems distinctly alluded to. How like the modern system! The context of this passage, as well as the extract itself, will suggest singular coincidence between modern and ancient pretensions of this class.

B. H. C.

* * * * *

GENERAL WHITELOCKE.

(Vol. viii., pp. 521. 621.)

Much interesting information concerning General Whitelocke, about whose conduct some difference of opinion appears to exist, will be found in the Rev. Erskine Neale's _Risen from the Ranks_ (London, Longmans, 1853); but neither the date nor the place of his death is there given. The reverend writer's account of the general's conduct is not at all favourable. After alluding to him as "a chief unequal to his position," he says:

"John Whitelocke was born in the year 1759, and received his early
education in the Grammar School at Marlborough. His father was steward
to John, fourth Earl of Aylesbury; and the peer, in {202}
acknowledgment of the faithful services of his trusted dependent,
placed young Whitelocke at Lochee's Military Academy, near Chelsea.
There he remained till 1777, when, the Earl's friendly disposition
remaining in full force, and the youth's predilection for a military
career continuing unabated, an ensigncy was procured him, through Lord
Aylesbury's intervention, in the 14th regiment of Foot."--_Risen from
the Ranks_, p. 68.

Through the influence of his brother-in-law, General Brownrigge, Whitelocke's promotion was rapid; and in 1807 he was gazetted commander-in-chief of an expedition destined for the recapture of Buenos Ayres. His conduct during this expedition became the subject of a court-martial; he was found guilty, sentenced to be cashiered, and declared to be "totally unfit to serve his Majesty in any military capacity whatever."

Judging from the evidence adduced, the conduct of the commander-in-chief was totally unworthy of the flag under which he served, and highly calculated to arouse the indignation of the men whom he commanded; and for some considerable time, whenever the soldiers met together to take a friendly glass, the toast was, "Success to _grey hairs_, but bad luck to _White-locks_!" On the whole, the Rev. E. Neale's account seems to be quite impartial; and most persons, after reading the evidence of the general's extremely vacillating conduct, will be inclined to agree with him in awarding this unfortunate officer the title of the "Flincher-General at Buenos Ayres."

JAMES SPENCE HARRY.

I have only just seen your correspondent's Reply (Vol. ix., p. 87.) respecting General Whitelocke. He is right in stating that the general resided at Clifton: he might have added, as late as 1830; but he had previously, for time, lived at Butcombe Court, Somersetshire.

There is an anecdote still rife in the neighbourhood, that when Whitelocke came down to see the house before taking it, he put up at an inn, and after dinner asked the landlord to take a glass of wine with him. Upon announcing, however, who he was, the landlord started up and declared he would not drink another glass with him, throwing down at the same time the price of the bottle, that he might not be indebted to the general.

Respecting the story of the flints, it is said that he desired them to be taken out of the muskets, wishing that the men should only use their bayonets against the enemy.

ARDELIO.

I remember well that soon after the unsuccessful attack of General Whitelocke upon Buenos Ayres, it was stated that the flints had been taken out of the muskets of some of our regiments because they were quite raw troops, and the General thought that they might, from want of knowledge and use of fire-arms, do more mischief to themselves than to the enemy, and that they had better trust to the bayonet alone. The consequence was, that when they entered the streets of the town, they found no enemy in them to whom they could apply the bayonet. The inhabitants and troops were in the strong stone houses, and fired on and killed our men with perfect impunity, as not a shot could be fired in return: to surrender was their only chance of life. A reference to a file of newspapers of that date (which I am too lazy to make myself) will show whether this was understood at the time to be a fact or not.

J. SS.

In the _Autobiography of B. Haydon_ (I think vol. i.), he mentions that as he was passing through Somersetshire on his way from Plymouth to London, he saw General Whitelocke. A reference to the passage may interest G. L. S.

W. DENTON.

The following charade was in vogue at the time of Whitelocke's death:

"My first is an emblem of purity;
My second is that of security;
My whole forms a name
Which, if yours were the same,
You would blush to hand down to posterity."

J. Y.

* * * * *

"MAN PROPOSES, BUT GOD DISPOSES."

(Vol. viii., p. 552.; Vol. ix., p. 87.)

1. If your correspondent H. P. will again examine my communication on this subject, he will find that I have _not_ overlooked the view which attributes the _De Imitatione_ to John Gerson, but have expressly referred to it.

2. If Gerson _was_ the author, this will not prove that in quoting the proverb in question, Piers Ploughman quoted from the _De Imitatione_, as H. P. supposes. The dates which I gave will show this. The _Vision_ was written about A.D. 1362, whereas, according to Du Pin, John Gerson was born December 14, 1363, took a prominent part in the Council of Constance, 1414, and died in 1429. Of the Latin writers of the fifteenth century, Mosheim says:

"At their head we may justly place John Gerson, Chancellor of the
University of Paris, the most illustrious ornament that this age can
boast of, a man of great influence and authority, whom the Council of
Constance looked upon an its oracle, the lovers of liberty as their
patron, and whose memory is yet precious to such among the French
clergy as are at all zealous for the maintenance of their privileges
against papal despotism."--_Ecc. Hist._, cent. xv. ch. ii. sec. 24.

3. Gerson was not a Benedictine monk, but a Parisian curé, and Canon of Notre Dame:

"He was made curate (_curé_, parson or rector) of St. John's, in Greve,
on the 29th of March, 1408, and {203} continued so to 1413, when in a
sedition raised by the partizans of the Duke of Burgundy, his house was
plundered by the mob, and he obliged to fly into the church of Notre
Dame, where he continued for some time concealed."--Du Pin, _History of
the Church_, cent. xv. ch. viii.

It is said that the treatise in question first appeared--

"Appended to a MS. of Gerson's _De Consolatione Theologiæ_, dated 1421.
This gave rise to the supposition that he was the real author of that
celebrated work; and indeed it is a very doubtful point whether this
opinion is true or not, there being several high authorities which
ascribe to him the authorship of that book."--Knight's _Penny
Cyclopædia_, vol. vi. art. "Gerson."

Was there then _another_ John Gerson, a monk, and Abbot of St. Stephen, between 1200 and 1240, to whom, as well as to the above, the _De Imitatione_ has been ascribed? This, though not impossible, appears extremely improbable. Is H. P. prepared with evidence to prove it?

Du Pin, in the chapter above quoted, farther says, in speaking of the _De Imitatione Christi_:

"The style is pretty much like that of the other devotional books of
Thomas à Kempis. Nevertheless, in his lifetime it was attributed to St.
Bernard and Gerson. The latter was most commonly esteemed the author of
it in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Afterwards some MSS. of it
were found in Italy, where it is attributed to one Gerson or Gessen, to
whom is given the title of _abbot_. Perhaps Gersen or Gessen are only
corruptions of the name of Gerson. Notwithstanding, there are two
things which will hardly let us believe that this was Gerson's book;
one, that the author calls himself a monk, the other, that the style is
very different from that of the Chancellor of Paris. All this makes it
difficult to decide to which of these three authors it belongs. We must
leave Thomas à Kempis in possession of what is attributed to him,
without deciding positively in his favour."

J. W. THOMAS.

Dewsbury.

This saying is quoted twice, as follows, in _The Chronicle of Battel Abbey from 1066 to 1177_, translated by Mr. Lower, 8vo., London, 1851:

"Thus, '_Man proposes, but God disposes_,' for he was not permitted to
carry that resolution into effect."--P. 27.

"But, as the Scripture saith, '_Man proposes, but God disposes_,' so
Christ suffered not His Church to want its ancient and rightful
privileges."--P. 83.

Mr. Lower says in his Preface, p. x.:

"Of the identity of the author nothing certain can be inferred, beyond
the bare fact of his having been a monk of Battel. A few passages would
almost incline one to believe that Abbot Odo, who was living at the
date of the last events narrated in the work, and who is known to have
been a literary character of some eminence, was the writer of at least
some portions of the volume."

It is stated at the beginning to be in part derived from early document and traditional statements.

E. J. M.

Hastings.

* * * * *

NAPOLEON'S SPELLING.

(Vol. viii., pp. 386. 502.)

The question as to Napoleon's spelling may seem, at first sight, to be one of little importance; and yet, if we will look at it aright, we shall find that it involves many points of interest for the philosopher and the historian. During a residence of some years in France, I had heard it remarked, more than once, by persons who appeared hostile to the Napoleon dynasty, that its great founder had, in his bulletins and other public documents, shown an unaccountable ignorance of the common rules of orthography: but I had never seen the assertion put forth by any competent writer until I met with the remarks of Macaulay, already quoted by me, Vol. viii., p. 386.

In reply to my inquiry as to the authority for this statement, your correspondent C. has readily and kindly furnished a passable from Bourrienne's _Mémoires_, in which it is alleged that Napoleon's "orthographe est en général _extraordinairement estropiée_."

From all this it must be taken for granted, as, indeed, it has never been denied, that Napoleon's spelling is defective; but the question to be considered is, whether that defectiveness was the effect of ignorance or of design. That it did not arise from ignorance would seem probable for the following reasons.

Napoleon received his education chiefly in France; and it is to be presumed that the degree of instruction in grammar, orthography, &c., _ordinarily_ bestowed on educated Frenchmen, was not withheld from him.

To say the least of it, he was endued with sufficient intelligence to acquire an _ordinary_ knowledge of such matters.

Nay more: he was a man of the highest order of genius. Between the possession of genius, and a knowledge of orthography, there is, I admit, no necessary connexion. The humblest pedagogue may be able to spell more correctly than the greatest philosopher. But neither, on the other hand, does genius of any kind necessarily preclude a knowledge of spelling.

While still a young man, Napoleon wrote several works in French, such as the _Souper de Beaucaire_, the _Mémoire sur la Culture du Mûrier_, &c. Some of the manuscripts of these writings must be still extant; and a comparison of the spelling of his unpretending youth, with that of his aspiring {204} manhood, would show at once whether the "_orthographe extraordinairement estropiée_" of his later productions was the result of habit or design.

The orthography of the French language is peculiarly intricate; and it is no uncommon thing to meet with educated men in that country who are unable to spell with accuracy. That Napoleon may have been in a similar predicament, would not be surprising; but that it should be said of the most _extraordinary_ man of the age, that his spelling is _extraordinairement estropiée_, seems inexplicable upon any fair supposition, except that he accounted the rules of spelling unworthy the attention of any but copyists and office drudges; or (which is more probable) that he wished this extraordinary spelling to be received as an indication of the great rapidity with which he could commit his thoughts to paper.

HENRY H. BREEN.

* * * * *

MEMOIRS OF GRAMMONT.

(Vol. viii., pp. 461. 549.; Vol. ix., p. 3.)

There appearing to be a strong feeling that a correct edition of these _Memoirs_ should be published, with the present inaccurate notes thoroughly revised, I send you a few notes from a collection I have made on the subject.

The proper orthography of the name is "Gramont," and the family probably originally came from Spain. Matta's friend, the Marquis de Sevantes, asserts the fact; and it is corroborated by the fact, that on the occasion of the Marshal de Grammont's demanding the hand of the Infanta Maria Theresa for Louis XIV., the people cried, "Viva el Marescal de Agramont, que es de nuestro sangue!" And the King of Spain said to the Marshal after the presentation of his sons, the Counts de Guiche and De Louvigny, "Teneis Muy Buenos y lindos hijos y bien se hecha de ver que los Agramonteses salen de la sangue de Espana."

The Grammont family had been so enriched and ennobled by its repeated marriages with the heiresses of great families, that, like many noble houses of our own times, members of it hardly knew their own correct surname: thus, in the famous declaration of the parliament of Paris against the Peers in 1717, on the subject of the Caps, it was said:

"The Grammonts have determined on their armorial bearings, and hold to
those of the house of Aure. The Count de Grammont said one day to the
Marshal, What arms shall we use this year?"

The Grammonts in the male line are descended from Sancho Garcia d'Aure, Viscount de l'Arboust. Menaud d'Aure, his lineal representative, married Claire de Grammont, sister and heiress of Jean, Seigneur de Grammont, and daughter of Francis, Seigneur de Grammont, and Catherine d'Andoins his wife.

Menaud d'Aure is the ancestor who is disguised in the _Memoirs_ as "Menaudaure" and "Menodore;" and in the notes, coupled with "la belle Corisande," they are styled two of the ancestresses of the family celebrated for their beauty.

Philibert, who was styled Philibert de Grammont and de Toulongeon, Count de Grammont and de Guiche, Viscount d'Aster, Captain of fifty men at arms, Governor and Mayor of Bayonne, Seneschal of Bearne, married on Aug. 7, 1567, Diana, better known as "La belle Corisande" d'Andouins, Viscountess de Louvigny, Dame de Lescun, the only daughter of Paul Viscount de Louvigny; who, although a Huguenot, was killed at the siege of Rouen, fighting under the command of the Duke de Guise. They had two children: Antoine, subsequently the first duke, and Catherine, who married Francois Nompar de Chaumont, Count de Lauzun, the ancestor of the celebrated Duke de Lauzun, who was first introduced at court by his relative the Marshal de Grammont.

This Philibert, Count de Grammont, was killed at the siege of La Fere in Aug. 1580. The connexion between his widow, the fair Corisande, and Henry IV., was subsequent to the Count's death.

The Duchy Peerage was created on Dec. 13, 1643. Antoine, the first duke, married, firstly, on Sept. 1, 1601, Louise, eldest daughter of the Marshal de Roquelaure; she died in 1610, leaving Antoine, subsequently the Marshal Duke de Grammont, and Roger, Count de Louvigny, killed in a duel in Flanders on March 18, 1629. The Duke de Grammont married, secondly, on March 29, 1618, Claude, eldest daughter of Louis de Montmorency, Baron de Boutteville; and had Henri, Count de Toulongeon, who died unmarried on Sept. 1, 1679; Philibert, the celebrated Chevalier de Grammont, who was born in 1621; and three daughters.

The Marshal de Grammont was one of the most celebrated men of the court of Louis XIV.: he was a favourite both of Richelieu and Mazarin, and married a niece of the former; and, as a wit, was not inferior to his brother the Chevalier. He sided with the Court during the wars of the Fronde; whilst the Chevalier in the first instance joined the Prince of Condé, probably from their mutual connexion with the Montmorency family. The Marshal died at Bayonne, on July 12, 1678, aged seventy-four years, leaving four children, of whom the Count de Guiche and the Princess de Monaco are well known.

The Chevalier de Grammont received his outfit from his mother, and joined the army under Prince Thomas of Savoy, then besieging Trin in Piedmont, which was taken on Sept. 24, 1643. The notes to the _Memoirs_ say May 4, 1639; but that {205} was a former siege by the French, then under the command of the Cardinal de la Vallette.

Probably this will be as much as you can afford space for at present, and I will therefore reserve any farther communications for a future Number.

W. H. LAMMIN.

Fulham.

* * * * *

THE MYRTLE BEE.

(Vol. viii., p. 593.)

Ere venturing an opinion as to the exact size of the above, as compared with the Golden-crested Wren, I should much like to ascertain where I am likely to meet with a faithful specimen of the latter? The Myrtle Bee is about half the size of the common Wren, certainly not larger: and I always took it for granted, the bird derived its name from its diminutiveness and the cover it frequented. I cannot say the bird was generally known in the neighbourhood, having only met with it when in company with sportsmen, in a description of country little frequented by others. I originally obtained the name when a boy from a deceased parent whom I accompanied out shooting; and for a succession of years the bird was familiar to me, in fact, to all sportsmen of that period who shot over the immediate locality; we all knew it, although its name was seldom mentioned. In fact, it never induced a thought beyond--"Confound the bees, how they bother the dogs"--or some such expression. I am unacquainted with the Dartford Warbler (_Sylvia provincialis_, Gmel.); but the description as quoted by Mr. Salmon from Yarrell's _Hist. of British Birds_, 1839, vol. i. p. 311. et seq., differs from the Myrtle Bee. The Warbler is said to haunt and build among furze on commons, and flies with jerks; whereas I never met with the Myrtle Bee among furze, neither does it fly with jerks: on the contrary, its short flight is rapid, steady, and direct. The description of the Warbler appears to agree with a small bird well known here as the Furze Chat, but which is out of all proportion as compared with the Myrtle Bee.

As regards the Query touching the possibility of my memory being treacherous respecting the colour of the bird, after a lapse of twenty-five years, more faith will be placed therein on my stating that I am an old fly-fisher, making my own flies: and that no strange bird ever came to hand without undergoing a searching scrutiny as to colour and texture of the feathers, with the view of converting it to fishing purposes. No such use could be made of the Bee. In a former Number I described the tongue of the Myrtle Bee as round, sharp, and pointed at the end, appearing capable of penetration. I beg to say that I was solely indebted to accident in being able to do so, viz. the tongue protruded beyond the point of the bill, owing to the pressure it received in my dog's mouth; the dog having brought it out enveloped in dead grass, from the foot of the myrtle bush.

CHARLES BROWN.

* * * * *

CELTIC ETYMOLOGY.

(Vol. ix., p. 136.)

MR. CROSSLEY seems to confine the word _Celtic_ to the Irish branch of that dialect. My notion of the words _iosal_ and _iriosal_ is taken from the Highland Gaelic, and the authorised version of the Bible in that language. Let Celtic scholars who look to the sense of words in the _four_ spoken languages, decide between us. There can be no doubt of the meaning of the two words in the Gaelic of Job v. 11. and Ps. iv. 6. In Welsh, and (I believe) in bas-Breton, there is no word similar to _uim_ or _umhal_, in the senses of _humus_ and _humilis_, to be found. In Gaelic _uir_ is more common than _uim_, and _talamh_ more common than either in the sense of _humus_; and in that of _humble_, _iosal_ and _iriosal_ are much more common than _umhal_.

It is certain that Latin was introduced into Ireland before it reached the Highlands, and Christianity with it; and therefore, as this word is not found in one branch of the Celtic at all, and is not a very common word in another, it is not unreasonable to suppose that it is of Latin origin. The sense which MR. CROSSLEY declares to be the only sense of _iosal_ and _iriosal_, is precisely that which is the nearest to the original meaning of _low_, and _low as the earth_; and this is also the sense which _humilis_ always bears in classical Latin, though Christianity (which first recognised _humility_ as a virtue, instead of stigmatising it as a meanness) attached to it the sense which its derivatives in all modern Romance languages, with the exception of Italian, exclusively bear.

Now MR. CROSSLEY has omitted to notice the fact that _umhal_ in Gaelic, and, I believe, _umal_ in Irish, have not the intermediate sense of _low_ and _cringing_, but only the Christian sense of _humble_, as a virtuous attribute. It seems natural that if _uim_ and _umal_ were radical words, the latter would bear the some relation to _uim_, in every respect, which _humilis_ does to _humus_, its supposed derivative. But unless _humus_ be derived from [Greek: chamai] (the root of [Greek: chthôn] and [Greek: chthamalos]), how does MR. CROSSLEY account for the _h_, which had a sound in Latin as well as _horror_ and _hostilis_, both of which retain the aspirate in English, though they lose it in French? If MR. CROSSLEY will tell me why _horreur_ and _hostile_ have no aspirate in French, I will tell him why _heir_, _honour_, and _humour_ have none in English, though _humid_ (which is as closely connected with _humour_, as _humidus_ is with _humor_) retains the aspirate. {206}

These Celtic etymologies, however, though amusing, do not touch the main point, which is simply this: the usual mode of pronouncing the word _humble_ in good English society. What that is, seems to be so satisfactorily shown by your correspondent S. G. C., Vol. viii., p. 393., that all farther argument on the subject would be superfluous.

E. C. H.

* * * * *

PHOTOGRAPHIC CORRESPONDENCE.

_Improvements in the Albumenized Process._--Your expectation of being soon able to announce the successful manufacture of a new negative calotype paper, will, I am sure, be gladly received by many photographers, and especially by those who, like me, have been subjected to much disappointment with Turner's paper. For one sheet that has turned out well, at least half-a-dozen have proved useless from spottiness, and some sheets do not take the iodizing solution evenly, from an apparent want of uniformity in the texture of the paper, which causes the solution to penetrate portions the moment it is laid on the solution. Undoubtedly, when it does succeed, it is superior to Whatman's, but this is not enough to compensate for its extreme uncertainty.

In DR. DIAMOND'S directions for the calotype, he gave a formula for the addition of bromide of potassium to the iodide of potassium, but did not speak with much certainty as to the proportions. Will he kindly say whether he has made farther trials; and if so, whether they confirm the proportions given by him, or have led him to adopt any change in this respect? and will he likewise say whether the iodizing solution which he recommends for Turner's paper, is suitable also to Whatman's?

In albumenizing paper, I have not found it desirable to remove the paper very slowly from the solution. Whenever I have done so, it has invariably dried with waves and streaks, which quite spoiled the sheet. A steady motion, neither too slow nor too quick, I have found succeed perfectly, so that I now never spoil a sheet. I have used the solution with less albumen than recommended by DR. DIAMOND. My formula has been.--

Albumen 8 oz.
Water 12 oz.
Muriate ammon. 60 grs.
Common salt 60 grs.

And this, I find, gives a sufficient gloss to the paper; but that of course is a matter of taste.

I have not either found it essential to allow the paper to remain on the solution three minutes or longer, as recommended by DR. DIAMOND. With Canson paper, either negative or positive, a minute and a half has been sufficient. I have used two dishes, and as soon as a sheet was removed, drained, and replaced, I have taken the sheet from the other dish. In this way I found that each sheet lay on the solution about one and a half minutes, and with the assistance of a person to hang and dry them (which I have done before a fire), I have prepared from forty to forty-five sheets in an hour, requiring of course to be ironed afterwards.

I have tried a solution of nitrate of silver of thirty grains to one ounce of distilled water, to excite this paper, and it appears to answer just as well as forty grains. I send you two small collodion views, takes by me and printed on albumenized paper prepared as mentioned, and excited with a 30-grain solution of nitrate of silver.

Is there any certain way of telling the right side of Canson paper, negative and positive? On the positive paper on one side, when held in a particular position towards the light, shaded bars may be observed; and on this side, when looked _through_, the name reads right. Is this the right or the wrong side?

C. E. F.

Since I wrote to you last, I have tried a solution of twelve grains only of nitrate of silver to the ounce of distilled water, for the paper albumenized, as mentioned in my letter of the 13th of February, and have found it to answer perfectly. The paper I used was _thin_ Canson, floated for one minute exactly on the solution; but I have no doubt the thick Canson will succeed just as well; and here I may observe that I have never found any advantage in allowing the paper to rest on the solution for three or four minutes, as generally recommended, but the contrary, as the paper, without being in the least more sensitive, becomes much sooner discoloured by keeping. My practice has been to float the thin Canson about half a minute, and the thick Canson not more than a minute.