Chapter I: Part 1

{49}

NOTES AND QUERIES:

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

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

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No. 65.] SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 1851. [Price Sixpence. Stamped Edition 7d.

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CONTENTS.

NOTES:-- Page
Traditional English Ballads, by Dr. E.F. Rimbault 49
The Father of Philip Massinger 52
Touchstone's Dial, by George Stephens 52
Discrepancies in Dugdale's Account of Sir Ralph de
Cobham, by W. Hastings Kelke 53
Henry Chettle 54
Coverdale's Bible 54
Answer to Cowley 55
Folk Lore of Lancashire, No. 1., by T.T. Wilkinson 55
Minor Notes:--Proclamation of Langholme Fair--Seats
in Churches--Flemish Account--Use of
Monosyllables--Specimen of Foreign English--Epitaph 56

QUERIES:--
The Tale of the Wardstaff, by S.W. Singer 57
Ballad ascribed to Sir C. Hanbury Williams, by G.H.
Barker 59
Minor Queries:--Book called Tartuare--William Wallace
in London--Obeism--Aged Monks--Lady Alice
Carmichael--"A Verse may find him"--Daresbury,
the White Chapel of England--Ulm Manuscript--
Merrick and Tattersall--Dr. Trusler's memoirs--
Life of Bishop Frampton--Probabilism--Sir Henry
Chauncy's Observations on Wilfred Entwysel--Theological
Tracts--Lady Bingham--Gregory the Great--John
Hill's Penny Post in 1659--Andrea Ferrara--Imputed
Letter of Sallustius--Thomas Rogers of
Horninger--Tandem D.O.M.--The Episcopal Mitre 59

REPLIES:--
The Passage in Troilus and Cressida, by John Taylor 62
Black Images of the Virgin, by J.B. Litchfield 63
Outline in Painting 63
Ten Children at a Birth 64
Shakspeare's Use of "Captious" 65
Sword of William the Conqueror 66
Meaning of Eisell 66
Altar Lights, &c. 68
Replies to Minor Queries:--Handbell before a Corpse
--Sir George Downing--Hulls, the Inventor of
Steamboats--"Clarum et venerabile Nomen"--Occult
Transposition of Letters--Darby and Joan--Did
Bunyan know Hobbes?--Mythology of the Stars--Dodo
Queries--Holland Land--Swearing by Swans--The
Frozen Horn--Cockade and True Blue--The
Vavasours of Hazlewood--"Breeches" Bible--Histoire
des Sévarambes--Verses attributed to Charles
Yorke--Archbishop Bolton of Cashel--Erasmus and
Farel--Early Culture of the Imagination--William
Chilcot--By and bye--Mocker--Was Colonel Hewson
a Cobbler?--Mole--Pillgarlick--A recent Novel
--Tablet to Napoleon--North Sides of Churchyards
--Wisby--Singing of Swans--Dacre Monument at
Herstmoneux--Herstmoneux Castle--Suem;
Ferling; Grasson--Portrait of Archbishop Williams
--Swans hatched during Thunder--Etymology of Apricot
--"Plurima gemma latet circa tellure sepulta"--
Time when Herodotus wrote--Lucy and Colin--
Translations of Apuleius, &c.--Etymology of "Grasson"
--Lynch Law--"Talk not of Love"--The Butcher
Duke--Curfew--Robertson Struan 68

MISCELLANEOUS:--
Notes on Books, Sales, Catalogues, &c. 77
Books and Odd Volumes Wanted 78
Notices to Correspondents 78
Advertisements 78

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NOTES.

TRADITIONAL ENGLISH BALLADS.

The task of gathering old traditionary song is surely a pleasant and a lightsome one. Albeit the harvest has been plentiful and the gleaners many, still a stray sheaf may occasionally be found worth the having. But we must be careful not to "pick up a straw."

One of your corespondents recommends, as an addition to the value of your pages, the careful getting together of those numerous traditional ballads that are still sometimes to be met with, floating about various parts of the country. This advice is by no means to be disregarded, but I wish to point out the necessity of the contributors to the undertaking knowing something about ballad literature. An acquaintance with the ordinary _published_ collections, at least, cannot be dispensed with. Without this knowledge we should be only multiplying copies of worthless trifles, or reprinting ballads that had already appeared in print.

The traditional copies of old _black-letter_ ballads are, in almost all cases (as may easily be seen by comparison), much the worse for wear. As a proof of this I refer the curious in these matters to a volume of _Traditional Versions of Old Ballads_, collected by Mr. Peter Buchan, and edited by Mr. Dixon for the Percy Society. The Rev. Mr. Dyce pronounces this "a volume of _forgeries_;" but, acquitting poor Buchan (of whom more anon) of any intention to deceive, it is, to say the least of it, a volume of _rubbish_; inasmuch as the ballads are all worthless modern versions of what had appeared "centuries ago" in their _genuine_ shape. Had these ballads _not existed in print_, we should have been glad of them in any form; but, in the present case, the publication of such a book (more especially by a learned society) is a positive nuisance.

Another work which I cannot refrain from noticing, called by one of the reviewers "A valuable contribution to our stock of ballad literature"? is Mr. Frederick Sheldon's _Minstrelsy of the English Border_. The preface to this volume {50} promises much, as may be seen by the following passage:--

"It is now upwards of forty years since Sir Walter Scott published his
_Border Minstrelsy_, and during his 'raids,' as he facetiously termed
his excursions of discovery in Liddesdale, Teviotdale, Tyndale, and the
Merse, very few ballads of any note or originality could possibly
escape his enthusiastic inquiry; for, to his love of ballad literature,
he added the patience and research of a genuine antiquary. Yet, no
doubt many ballads _did_ escape, and still remain scattered up and down
the country side, existing probably in the recollection of many a
sun-browned shepherd, or the weather-beaten brains of ancient hinds, or
'eldern' women: or in the well-thumbed and nearly illegible leaves of
some old book or pamphlet of songs, snugly resting on the 'pot-head,'
or sharing their rest with the 'Great Ha' Bible,' _Scott's Worthies_,
or Blind Harry's lines. The parish dominie or pastor of some obscure
village, amid the many nooks and corners of the Borders, possesses, no
doubt, treasures in the ballad-ware that would have gladdened the heart
of a Ritson, a Percy, or a Surtees; in the libraries, too, of many an
ancient descendant of a Border family, some black-lettered volume of
ballads, doubtlessly slumbers in hallowed and unbroken dust."

This reads invitingly; the writer then proceeds:--

"From such sources I have obtained may of the ballads in the present
collection. Those to which I have stood godfather, and so baptized and
remodelled, I have mostly met with in the 'broad-side' ballads, as they
are called."

Although the writer here speaks of Ritson and Percy as if he were acquainted with their works, it is very evident that he had not looked into their contents. The name of Evans' _Collection_ had probably never reached him. Alas! we look in vain for the tantalising "pamphlet of songs,"--still, perhaps, snugly resting on the "pot-head," where our author in his "poetical dream" first saw it. The "black-lettered volume of ballads" too, in the library of the "ancient descendant of a Border family," still remains in its dusty repository, untouched by the hand of Frederick Sheldon.

In support of the object of this paper I shall now point out "a few" of the errors of _The Minstrelsy of the English Border_.

P. 201. _The Fair Flower of Northumberland_:--

"It was a knight in Scotland born,
Follow my love, come over the Strand;
Was taken prisoner, and left forlorn
Even by the good Erle Northumberland."

This is a corrupt version of Thomas Deloney's celebrated ballad of "The Ungrateful Knight," printed in the _History of Jack of Newbery_, 1596, and in Ritson's _Ancient Songs_, 1790. A Scottish version may be found in Kinloch's _Ballads_, under the title of the "The Provost's Daughter." Mr. Sheldon knows nothing of this, but says,--

"This ballad has been known about the English Border for many years,
and I can remember a version of it being sung by my grandmother!"

He also informs us that he has added the last verse but one, in order to make the "ends of justice" more complete!

P. 232. _The Laird of Roslin's Daughter_:--

"The Laird of Roslin's daughter
Walk'd through the wood her lane;
And by her came Captain Wedderburn,
A servant to the Queen."

This is a wretched version (about half the original length) of a well-known ballad, entitled "Captain Wedderburn's Courtship." It first appeared _in print_ in _The New British Songster_, a collection published at Falkirk, in 1785. It was afterwards inserted in Jamieson's _Popular Ballads and Songs_, 1806; Kinloch's _Ancient Ballads_, 1826; Chambers' _Scottish Ballads_, 1829, &c. But hear what Mr. Sheldon has to say, in 1847:--

"This is a fragment of an apparently ancient ballad, related to me by a
lady of Berwick-on-Tweed, who used to sing it in her childhood. I have
given all that she was able to furnish me with. The same lady assures
me that she never remembers having seen it in print [!!], and that she
had learnt if from her nurse, together with the ballad of 'Sir Patrick
Spens,' and several Irish legends, since forgotten."

P. 274. _The Merchant's Garland_:--

"Syr Carnegie's gane owre the sea,
And's plowing thro' the main,
And now must make a lang voyage,
The red gold for to gain."

This is evidently one of those ballads which calls Mr. Sheldon "godfather." The original ballad, which has been "baptized and remodelled," is called "The Factor's Garland." It begins in the following homely manner:--

"Behold here's a ditty, 'tis true and no jest
Concerning a young gentleman in the East,
Who by his great gaming came to poverty,
And afterwards went many voyages to sea."

P. 329. _The rare Ballad of Johnnie Faa_:--

"There were seven gipsies in a gang,
They were both brisk and bonny O;
They rode till they came to the Earl of Castle's house,
And here they sang so sweetly O."

This is a very _hobbling_ version (from the recitation of a "gipsy vagabond") of a ballad frequently reprinted. It first appeared in Ramsay's _Tea-Table Miscellany_; afterwards in Finlay's and Chambers' Collections. None of these versions were known to Mr. Sheldon.

I have now extracted enough from the _Minstrelsy of the English Border_ to show the mode of "ballad editing" as pursued by Mr. Sheldon. The instances are sufficient to strengthen my position.

One of the most popular traditional ballads still {51} floating about the country, is "King Henrie the Fifth's Conquest:"--

"As our King lay musing on his bed,
He bethought himself upon a time,
Of a tribute that was due from France,
Had not been paid for so long a time."

It was first printed from "oral communication," by Sir Harris Nicolas, who inserted two versions in the Appendix to his _History of the Battle of Agincourt_, 2d edition, 8vo. 1832. It again appeared (not from either of Sir Harris Nicolas's copies) in the Rev. J.C. Tyler's _Henry of Monmouth_, 8vo. vol. ii. p. 197. And, lastly, in Mr. Dixon's _Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England_, printed by the Percy Society in 1846. These copies vary considerably from each other, which cannot be wondered at, when we find that they were obtained from independent sources. Mr. Tyler does not allude to Sir Harris Nicolas's copies, nor does Mr. Dixon seem aware that any _printed_ version of the traditional ballad had preceded his. The ballad, however, existed in a printed "broad-side" long before the publications alluded to, and a copy, "Printed and sold in Aldermary Church Yard," is now before me. It is called "King Henry V., his Conquest of France in Revenge for the Affront offered by the French King in sending him (instead of the Tribute) a ton of Tennis Balls."

An instance of the various changes and mutations to which, in the course of ages, a popular ballad is subject, exists in the "Frog's Wedding." The pages of the "NOTES AND QUERIES" testify to this in a remarkable degree. But no one has yet hit upon the _original_ ballad; unless, indeed, the following be it, and I think it has every appearance of being the identical ballad licensed to Edward White in 1580-1. It is taken from a rare musical volume in my library, entitled _Melismata; Musicall Phansies, fitting the Court, Citie, and Countrey Humours. Printed by William Stansby for Thomas Adams_, 1611. 4to.

"THE MARRIAGE OF THE FROGGE AND THE MOUSE.

"It was the Frogge in the well,
Humble-dum, humble dum;
And the merrie Mouse in the mill,
Tweedle, tweedle twino.

"The Frogge would a-wooing ride,
Humble-dum, &c.
Sword and buckler by his side,
Tweedle, &c.

"When he was upon his high horse set,
Humble-dum, &c.
His boots they shone as blacke as jet.
Tweedle, &c.

"When he came to the merry mill pin,
Humble-dum, &c.
Lady Mouse, beene you within?
Tweedle, &c.

"Then came out the dusty Mouse,
Humble-dum, &c.
I am Lady of this house,
Tweedle, &c.

"Hast thou any minde of me?
Humble-dum, &c.
I have e'ne great minde of thee,
Tweedle, &c.

"Who shall this marriage make?
Humble-dum, &c.
Our Lord, which is the Rat,
Tweedle, &c.

"What shall we have to our supper?
Humble-dum, &c.
Three beanes in a pound of butter,
Tweedle, &c.

"When supper they were at,
Humble-dum, &c.
The frogge, the Mouse, and even the Rat,
Tweedle, &c.

"Then came in Gib our Cat,
Humble-dum, &c.
And catcht the Mouse even by the backe,
Tweedle, &c.

"Then did they separate,
Humble-dum, &c.
And the Frogge leapt on the floore so flat,
Tweedle, &c.

"Then came in Dicke our Drake,
Humble-dum, &c.
And drew the Frogge even to the lake,
Tweedle, &c.

"The Rat ran up the wall,
Humble-dum, &c
A goodly company, the Divell goe with all,
Tweedle, &c."

From what I have shown, the reader will agree with me, that a collector of ballads from oral tradition should possess some acquaintance with the labours of his predecessors. This knowledge is surely the smallest part of the duties of an editor.

I remember reading, some years ago, in the writings of old Zarlino (an Italian author of the sixteenth century), an amusing chapter on the necessary qualifications for a "complete musician." The recollection of this forcibly returns to me after perusing the following extract from the preface to a _Collection of Ballads_ (2 vols. 8vo. Edinburgh, 1828), by our "simple" but well-meaning friend, "Mr. Peter Buchan of Peterhead."

"No one has yet conceived, nor has it entered the mind of man, what
patience, perseverance, and general knowledge are necessary for an
editor of a Collection of Ancient Ballads; nor what mountains of
difficulties he has to overcome; what hosts of enemies he has to
encounter; and what myriads of little-minded quibblers he has to
silence. The writing of explanatory notes is like no other species of
literature. History throws {52} little light upon their origin [the
ballads, I suppose?], or the cause which gave rise to their
composition. He has to grope his way in the dark: like Bunyan's
pilgrim, on crossing the Valley of the Shadow of Death, he hears sounds
and noises, but cannot, to a certainty, tell from whence they come, nor
to what place they proceed. The one time, he has to treat of fabulous
ballads in the most romantic shape; the next, legendary, with all its
exploded, obsolete, and forgotten superstitions; also history, tragedy,
comedy, love, war, and so on; all, perhaps, within the narrow compass
of a few hours,--so varied must his genius and talents be."

After this we ought surely to rejoice, that any one hardy enough to become an Editor of Old Ballads is left amongst us.

EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.

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THE FATHER OF PHILIP MASSINGER.

Gifford was quite right in stating that the name of the father of Massinger, the dramatist, was Arthur, according to Oldys, and not Philip, according to Wood and Davies. Arthur Massinger (as he himself spelt the name, although others have spelt it Messenger, from its supposed etymology) was in the service of the Earl of Pembroke, who married the sister of Sir Philip Sidney, in whose family the poet Daniel was at one time tutor. I have before me several letters from him to persons of note and consequence, all signed "Arthur Massinger;" and to show his importance in the family to which he was attached, I need only mention, that in 1597, when a match was proposed between the son of Lord Pembroke and the daughter of Lord Burghley, Massinger, the poet's father, was the confidential agent employed between the parties. My purpose at present is to advert to a matter which occurred ten years earlier, and to which the note I am about to transcribe relates. It appears that in March, 1587, Arthur Massinger was a suitor for the reversion of the office of Examiner in the Court of the Marches toward South Wales, for which also a person of the name of Fox was a candidate; and, in order to forward the wishes of his dependent, the Earl of Pembroke wrote to Lord Burghley as follows:--

"My servant Massinger hathe besought me to ayde him in obteyning a
reversion from her Majestie of the Examiner's office in this courte;
whereunto, as I willingly have yielded, soe I resolved to leave the
craving of your Lordship's furtheraunce to his owne humble sute; but
because I heare a sonn of Mr. Fox (her Majestie's Secretary here) doth
make sute for the same, and for the Mr. Sherar, who now enjoyethe it,
is sicklie, I am boulde to desier your Lordship's honorable favour to
my servaunte, which I shall most kindlie accepte, and he for the same
ever rest bounde to praye for your Lordship. And thus, leaving further
to trouble you, &c. 28. March, 1587. H. PEMBROKE."

The whole body of this communication, it is worth remark, is in the handwriting of Arthur Massinger (whose penmanship was not unlike that of his son), and the signature only that of the Earl, in whose family he was entertained. I have not been able to ascertain whether the application was successful; and it is possible that some of the records of the court may exist, showing either the death of Sherar, and by whom he was succeeded about that date, or that Sherar recovered from his illness. As I have before said, it is quite clear that Arthur Massinger was high in the confidence and service of Lord Pembroke ten years after the date of the preceding note.

I have a good deal more to say about Arthur Massinger, but I must take another time for the purpose.

THE HERMIT OF HOLYPORT.

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TOUCHSTONE'S DIAL.

(Vol. ii., p. 405.)

The conjecture of Mr. Knight, in his note to _As You Like It_, and to which your correspondent J.M.B. has so instructively drawn our attention, is undoubtedly correct. The "sun-ring" or ring-dial, was probably the watch of our forefathers some thousand years previous to the invention of the modern chronometer, and its history is deserving of more attention than has hitherto been paid to it. Its immense antiquity in Europe is proved by its still existing in the _remotest_ and _least civilised_ districts of North England, Scotland, and the Western Isles, Ireland, and in Scandinavia. I have in my possession _two_ such rings, both of brass. The one, nearly half an inch broad, and two inches in diameter, is from the Swedish island of Gothland, and is of more modern make. It is held by the finger and thumb clasping a small brass ear or handle, to the right of which a slit in the ring extends nearly one-third of the whole length. A small narrow band of brass (about one-fifth of the width) runs along the centre of the ring, and of course covers the slit. This narrow band is movable, and has a hole in one part through which the rays of the sun can fall. On each side of the band (to the right of the handle) letters, which stand for the names of the months, are inscribed on the ring as follows:--

J A S O N D
J M A M F J

[the letters in the lower row inverted]

_Inside_ the ring, opposite to these letters, are the following figures for the hours:--

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
12
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

[the figures in the upper row inverted, the 12 sideways]

The small brass band was made movable that the ring-click might be properly _set by the sun_ at stated periods, perhaps once a month.

The second sun-ring, which I bought in Stockholm in 1847, also "out of a deal of old iron," is {53} smaller and much broader than the first, and is perhaps a hundred years older; it is also more ornamented. Otherwise its fashion is the same, the only difference being in the arrangement of the inside figures, which are as follows:--

6 7 8 9 10 11
12
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

[the figures in the lower row inverted]

The ring recovered by Mr. Knight evidently agrees with the above. I hope Mr. K. will, sooner or later, present the curiosity to our national museum,--which will be driven at last, if not by higher motives, by the mere force of public opinion and public indignation, to form a regularly arranged and grand collection of our own British antiquities in every branch, secular and religious, from the earliest times, down through the middle ages, to nearly our own days. Such an archæological department could count not only upon the assistance of the state, but upon rich and generous contributions from British sources, individuals and private societies, at home and abroad, as well as foreign help, at least in the way of exchange. But any such plan must be _speedily_ and _well_ organised and _well announced_!

I give the above details, not only because they relate to a passage in our immortal bard, who has ennobled and perpetuated every word and fact in his writings, but because they illustrate the astronomical antiquities of our own country and our kindred tribes during many centuries. These sun-dials are now very scarce, even in the high Scandinavian North, driven out as they have been by the watch, in the same manner as the ancient clog[1] or Rune-staff (the carved wooden perpetual almanac) has been extirpated by the printed calendar, and now only exists in the cabinets of the curious. In fifty years more sun-rings will probably be quite extinct throughout Europe. I hope this will cause you to excuse my prolixity. Will no _astronomer_ among your readers direct his attention to this subject? Does anything of the kind still linger in the East?

GEORGE STEPHENS.

Stockholm.

[Footnote 1: The Scandinavian Rune-staff is well known. An engraving of an ancient English clog (but with Roman characters, instead of Runic) is in Hone's _Every-Day Book_, vol. ii.]

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DISCREPANCIES IN DUGDALE'S ACCOUNT OF SIR RALPH DE COBHAM.

There are some difficulties in Dugdale's account of the Cobham family which it may be well to bring before your readers; especially as several other historians and genealogists have repeated Dugdale's account without remarking on its inconsistencies. In speaking of a junior branch of the family, he says, in vol. ii. p. 69., "There was also Ralphe de Cobham, brother of the first-mentioned Stephen." He only mentions one Stephen but names him twice, first at page 66., and again at 69. Perhaps he meant the _above_-mentioned Stephen. He continues:--

"This Ralphe took to wife Mary Countess of Norfolk, widdow of Thomas of
Brotherton. Which Mary was Daughter to William Lord Ros, and first
married to William Lord Braose of Brembre; and by her had Issue John,
who 20 E. III., making proof of his age, and doing his Fealty, had
Livery of his lands."

At page 64. of the same volume he states that Thomas de Brotherton died in 12 Edward III., which would be only eight years before his widow's son, by a subsequent husband, is said to have become of age. That he did become of age in this year we have unquestionable evidence. In _Cal. Ing. P. Mortem_, vol. iv. p. 444., we find this entry:--

"Anno 20 Edw. III. Johannes de Cobham, Filius et Hæres Radulphi de
Cobeham defuncti. Probatio ætatis."

There is also abundant proof that Thomas de Brotherton died in 12 Edward III. The most natural way of removing this difficulty would be to conclude that John de Cobham was the son of Ralph by a previous marriage. But here we have another difficulty to encounter. He is not only called the son of Mary, Countess of Norfolk, or Marishall, by Dugdale, but in all contemporaneous records. See Rymer's _Foed._, vol. vi. p. 136.; _Rot. Orig._, vol. ii. p. 277.; _Cal. Rot. Pat._, p. 178., again at p. 179.; _Cal. Ing. P. Mortem_, vol. iii. pp. 7. 10. Being the son-in-law of the Countess, he was probably called her son to distinguish him from a kinsman of the same name, or because of her superior rank. She is frequently styled the widow, and sometimes the wife of Thomas de Brotherton, even after the death of her subsequent husband, Sir Ralph de Cobham. In the escheat at her death she is thus described:--

"Maria Comitissa Norfolc', uxor Thome de Brotherton, Comitis Norfolc',
Relicta Radi de Cobeham, Militis."

It is remarkable that this discrepancy in Sir John Cobham's age, and the time of his supposed mother's marriage with his father, has never before, as far as my knowledge extends, been noticed by any of the numerous writers who have repeated Dugdale's account of this family.

Before concluding I will mention another mistake respecting the Countess which runs through most of our county histories where she is named. For a short period she became an inmate of the Abbey of Langley, and is generally stated to have entered it previously to her marriage with Sir Ralph de Cobham. Clutterbuck, in his _History of Hertfordshire_ (vol. ii. p. 512.), for instance, relates the circumstance in these words:--

{54}

"In the 19th year of the reign of Edward III., she became a nun in the
Abbey of Langley, in the country of Norfolk; but quitting that
religious establishment, she married Sir Ralph Cobham, Knt., and died
anno 36 Edward III."

By _Cal. Ing. P. Mortem_, vol. i. p. 328., we find that Ralph Cobham died 19th Edward III.[2], that is, the same year in which the Countess entered the Abbey, from whence we may conclude that she retired there to pass in seclusion the period of mourning.

W. HASTINGS KELKE.

[Footnote 2: If my copy be correct, it is 19 Edw. II. in the printed calendar: but it must have been Edw. III., for, from the possessions described, it must have been Sir Ralph Cobham who married the widow of Thomas de Brotherton.]

* * * * *

HENRY CHETTLE.

Dr. Rimbault, in the introduction to his edition of _Kind-Hearts' Dream_, for the Percy Society, says, "Of the author, Henry Chettle, very little is known: ... we are ignorant of the time and place of his birth or death, and of the manner in which he obtained his living." (Pp. vii. viii.) I trouble you with this note in the hope that it may furnish him with a clue to further particulars of Henry Chettle.

Hutchins (_Hist. of Dorset._, vol. i. p. 53. ed. 1774) mentions a family named Chettle, which was seated at Blandford St. Mary from 1547 to about 1690, and gives the following names as lineal successors to property in that parish: Henry Chettle, ob. 1553. John, s. and h., ob. 1590. Edward, s. and h., ob. 1609, "leaving Henry, his son and heir, eleven years nine months old." Among the burials for the same parish (p. 57.) occurs "Henry Chettle, Esq., 1616;" and at pp. 119. 208. the marriage of "Henry Chettle, Gent., and Susan Chaldecot, 1610." This last extract is from the register of the parish of Steple, in the Isle of Purbeck, which also contains, says Hutchins, many notices of the Chettle family; but all, I should infer, _subsequent_ to the year 1610.

I have ascertained that the statement in Hutchins corresponds with the entry in the register of Blandford St. Mary, of the burial of Henry Chettle in 1616; and that there is _no_ entry of the baptism of any one of that name. In fact, the registers only begin in 1581. Now it is clear that there were two persons of this name living at the same time, viz. H.C., aged eleven years in 1609; and H.C., who marries in 1610. And if the conjecture of the learned editor be correct, as probably it is, that the poet, Henry Chettle, "died in or before the year 1607," it is equally clear that he was a _third_ of the same name, and that he could not be the person whose name occurs as buried in 1616. But the name is not a common one, and there seems sufficient to warrant further research into this subject. I venture, therefore, to make these two suggestions in the form of Queries:

I. Can any _internal_ evidence be gathered from the writings of Henry Chettle, as to his family, origin, and birthplace? _Kind-Heart's Dream_, the only one of his works which I have either seen or have the means of consulting, contains nothing specific enough to connect him with Dorset, or the West. It would seem, indeed, as if he were acquainted with the New Forest, but not better than with Essex, and other parts adjacent to London.

II. Would it not be worth while to search the Heralds' Visitations for the county of Dorset, the Will-office, and the Inquisitions "post mortem?" The family was of some consequence, and is mentioned even in Domesday-book as holding lands in the county. Hutchins blazons their arms--Az. 3 spiders, or; but gives no pedigree of the family.

E.A.D.

* * * * *

COVERDALE'S BIBLE.

We are told by Mr. Granville Penn, in the Preface to the _Annotations to the Book of the New Covenant_, that "in 1535 Coverdale printed an English translation of the Old Testament, to which he annexed Tyndale's revision of the New, probably revised by himself. These last constitute what is called _Coverdale's Bible_. Now, the title-page of Coverdale's Bible expressly states that it was faithfully and truly translated out of Douche and Latyn into Englishe;" and that this is literally true may be seen by comparing any portion of it with the common German version of Luther. The following portion is taken quite at hazard from the original edition; and I have added Tyndale's version of 1526, as edited by Mr. Offor:

1535.

JOHN, VI. 41.

The[3] murmured the Iewes ther ouer, that he sayde: I am yt bred which
is come downe from heaue[4], and they sayde: Is not this Iesus, Iosephs
sonne, whose father and mother we knowe? How sayeth be then, I am come
downe from heaue[5]? Iesus answered, and sayde vnto them: Murmur not
amonge youre selues. No man can come vnto me, excepte the father which
hath sent me, drawe him. And I shal rayse him vp at the last daye. It
is wrytten in the prophetes: They shal all be taughte of God. Who so
euer now heareth it of the father and lerneth it, commeth vnto me. Not
that eny man hath sene the father, saue he which is of the father, the
same hath sene the father.

_Luther._

41 Da murreten die Juden daruber, das er sagte: Ich bin das brodt, das
vom himmel gekommen ist.

{55}

42 Und sprachen; Ist dieser nicht Jesus, Joseph's sohn, dess vater und
mutter wir kennen? Wie spricht er denn: Ich bin vom himmel gekommen?

43 Jesus antwortete, und sprach zu ihnen: Murret nicht unter einander.

44 Es kann niemand zu mir kommen, es sey denn, das ihn ziche der Vater,
der mich gesandt hat; und Ich werde ihn auferwecken am jungsten tage.

45 Es stehet geschrieben in den propheten: Sie werden alle von Gott
gelehret seyn. Wer es nun höret vom Vater, und lernet es, der kommt zu
mir.

46 Nicht das jemand den Vater habe gesehen ohne der vom Vater ist, der
hat den Vater gesehen.

_Tyndale, 1526._

The iewes murmured att itt, be cause he sayde: I am thatt breed which
is come doune from heven. And they sayde: Is nott this Jesus the sonne
of Joseph, whose father, and mother we knowe? How ys yt then thatt he
sayeth, I came doune from heven? Jesus answered and sayde vnto them:
Murmur not betwene youre selves. No man can come to me except my father
which hath sent me, drawe hym. And y will rayse hym vp at the last
daye. Hit is written in the prophetes: And they shall all be taught of
God. Every man which hath herde, and lerned of the father, commeth unto
me, not that eny man hath sene the father, save he which is off God.
The same hath sene the father.

_Authorized Version._

41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which
came down from heaven.

42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father
and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from
heaven?

43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among
yourselves.

44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw
him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God.
Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father,
cometh unto me.

46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he
hath seen the Father.

ECHO.

* * * * *

ANSWER TO COWLEY.

On the fly-leaf of a copy of Cowley's Works (London, 1668), I find the following lines:--

AN ANSWER TO DRINKING (PAGE 32.).

"The thirsty earth, when one would think
Her dusty throat required more drink,
Wets but her lips, and parts the showers
Among her thousand plants and flowers:
Those take their small and stinted size,
Not drunkard-like, to fall, but rise.
The sober sea observes her tide
Even by the drunken sailor's side;
The roaring rivers pressing high
Seek to get in her company;
She, rising, seems to take the cup,
But other rivers drink all up.
The sun, and who dare him disgrace
With drink, that keeps his steady pace,
Baits at the sea, and keeps good hours.
The moon and stars, and mighty powers,
Drink not, but spill that on the floor
The sun drew up the day before,
And charitable dews bestow
On herbs that die for thirst below.
Then drink no more, then let that die
That would the drunkard kill, for why
Shall all things live by rule but I,
Thou man of morals, tell me why?"

On the title-page, in the same hand-writing as the "Answer," is the name of the Rev. Archibald Foyer, with the date 1700.

Y.

* * * * *

FOLK LORE OF LANCASHIRE. NO. 1.

Lancashire, like all other counties, has its own peculiar superstitions, manners, and customs, which find no parallels in those of other localities. It has also, no doubt, many local observances, current opinions, old proverbs, and vulgar ditties, which are held and known in common with the inhabitants of a greater extent of county, and differ merely in minor particulars;--the necessary result of imperfect oral transmission. In former numbers of this work a few isolated specimens of the folk-lore of this district have been noticed, and the present attempt is to give permanency to a few others.

1. If a person's hair, when thrown into the fire, burns brightly, it is a sure sign that the individual will live long. The brighter the flame the longer life, and _vice versâ_.

2. A young person frequently stirs the fire with the poker to test the humour of a lover. If the fire blaze brightly, the lover is _good-humoured_; and _vice versâ_.

3. A crooked sixpence, or a copper coin with a hole through, are accounted _lucky_ coins.

4. Cutting or paring the nails of the hands or feet on a Friday or Sunday, is very unlucky.

5. If a person's _left_ ear burn, or feel hot, somebody is _praising_ the party; if the _right_ ear burn, then it is a sure sign that some one is speaking evil of the person.

6. Children are frequently cautioned by their parents not to walk _backwards_ when going an errand; it is a sure sign that they will be unfortunate in their objects.

7. Witchcraft, and the belief in its reality, is not yet exploded in many of the rural districts. The writer is acquainted with parties who place full credence in persons possessing the power to bewitch cows, sheep, horses, and even those persons to whom the witch has an antipathy. One respectable farmer assured me that his horse was {56} _bewitched into the stable through a loophole twelve inches by three_; the _fact_ he said was beyond doubt, for he had locked the stable-door himself when the horse was in the field, and had kept the key in his pocket. Soon after this, however, a party of farmers went through a process known by the name of "_burning the witch out_," or "_killing the witch_," as some express it; the person suspected soon died, and the neighbourhood became free from his evil doings.

8. A horse-shoe is still nailed behind many doors to counteract the effects of witchcraft: a _hagstone_ with a hole through, tied to the key of the stable-door, protects the horses, and, if hung up at the bed's head, the farmer also.

9. A hot iron put into the cream during the process of churning, expels the witch from the churn; and dough in preparation for the baker is protected by being marked with the figure of a cross.

10. Warts are cured by being rubbed over with a black snail, but the snail must afterwards be impaled upon a hawthorn. If a bag containing as many small pebbles as a person has warts, be tossed over the _left_ shoulder, it will transfer the warts to whoever is unfortunate enough to pick up the bag.

11. If black snails are seized by the horn and tossed over the _left_ shoulder, the process will insure _good luck_ to the person who performs it.

12. Profuse bleeding is said to be instantly stopped by certain persons who pretend to possess the secret of a certain form of words which immediately act as a charm.

13. The power of bewitching, producing evil to parties by _wishing_ it, &c., is supposed to be transmitted from one possessor to another when one of the parties is about to die. The writer is in possession of full particulars respecting this supposed transfer.

14. Cramp is effectually prevented by placing the shoes with the _toes_ just peeping from beneath the coverlet; the same is also prevented by tying the garter round the _left_ leg _below_ the knee.

15. Charmed rings are worn by many for the cure of dyspepsia; and so also are charmed belts for the cure of rheumatism.

16. A _red-haired_ person is supposed to bring in ill-luck if he be the first to enter a house on New Year's Day. _Black-haired_ persons are rewarded with liquor and small gratuities for "taking in the new year" to the principal houses in their respective neighbourhoods.

17. If any householder's fire does not burn _through_ the night of New Year's Eve, it betokens bad luck during the ensuing year; and if any party allow another a live coal, or even a lighted candle, on such an occasion, the bad luck is extended to the other part for commiserating with the former in his misfortunes.

Many other specimens of the folk lore of this district might be enumerated; but since many here have implicit faith in Lover's expression,--

"There is luck in _odd_ numbers;"

I will reserve them for a future opportunity, considering that _seventeen_ paragraphs are sufficient to satisfy all except the most thorough-paced _folklorians_.

T.T. WILKINSON.

Burnley, Lancashire.

* * * * *

MINOR NOTES.

_Proclamation of Langholme Fair._--In an old paper I find the following proclamation of a fair, to be held in a town in Scotland; it may, perhaps, amuse some of your numerous readers:--

"O yes! and that's a time. O yes! and that's twa times. O yes! and
that's the third and last time: All manner of pearson or pearsons
whatsoever let 'em draw near, and I shall let you ken that there is a
fair to be held at the muckle town of Langholme, for the space of aught
days; wherein if any hustrin, custrin, land-louper, dukes-couper, or
gang-y-gate swinger, shall breed any urdam, durdam, brabblement, or
squabblement, he shall have his lugs tacked to the muckle trone, with a
nail of twal-a-penny, until he down of his hobshanks and up with his
mucle doubs, and pray to heaven neen times, Gold bles the king, and
thrice the muckle Lord of Relton, pay a groat to me Jammey Ferguson,
bailiff of the aforesaid manor. So ye heard my proclamation, and I'll
haam to dinner."

Perhaps some of your correspondents north of the Tweed can give the meaning (if there be any) of a few of the choice expressions contained in this document.

MONKBARNS.

_Seats in Churches._--The following curious notice of seats in churches occurs in Thompson's _History of Swine_; which is quoted by him from _Whitaker's Whalley_, 2nd edit. 4to. p. 228.:--

"My man Shuttleworth, of Harking, made this form and here will I sit
when I come; and any cousin Nowell may make one behind me, if he
please, and my son Sherburne shall make one on the other side; and Mr.
Catteral another behind him; and for the residue the use shall be,
_first come first speed; and that will make the proud wives of Whalley
rise betimes to come to church_."

Which seems to convey the idea, that it was at that time customary for persons to make their seats in the churches. Query, When did pews come into general use?

R.W.E.

Hull.

[The earliest notice of pews occurs in the _Vision of Piers Plouman_,
p. 95., edit. 1813:--

"Among wyves and wodewes ich am ywoned sute
Yparroked _in puwes_. The person hit knoweth."

See also _The History of Pews_, a paper read before the Cambridge
Camden Society, 1841.]

{57} _Flemish Account._--T.B.M. (Vol. i., p. 8.) requests references to early instances of the use of this expression. In the _History of Edward II._, by E.F., written A.D. 1627 (see "NOTES AND QUERIES" Vol. i., pp. 91. 220.), folio edition, p. 113., I find "The Queen (Isabella) who had already a French and an Italian trick, was jealous lest she should here taste a Flemish one;" because she feared lest the Earl of Henault should abandon her cause. This instance is, I think, earlier than any yet referred to.

S.G.

_Use of Monosyllables._--The most remarkable instance of the use of monosyllables that I remember to have met with in our poets, occurs in the Fire-worshippers in _Lalla Rookh_. It is as follows:--

"I knew, I knew it could not last--
'Twas bright, 'twas heav'nly, but 'tis past!
Oh! ever thus, from childhood's hour,
I've seen my fondest hopes decay;
I never lov'd a tree or flow'r
But 'twas the first to fade away.
I never nurs'd a dear gazelle
To glad me with its soft black eye,
But when it came to know me well,
And love me, it was sure to die!
Now, too--the joy most like divine
Of all I ever dreamt or knew,
To see thee, hear thee, call thee mine,--
Oh misery! must I lose _that_ too?
Yet go! On peril's brink we meet;--
Those frightful rocks--that treach'rous sea--
No, never come again--tho' sweet,
Tho' Heav'n, it may be death to thee!"

This passage contains 126 words, 110 of which are monosyllables, and the remainder words of only two syllables. The sentiment embodied throughout is that of violent mental emotion; and it affords a further illustration of the correctness of MR. C. FORBES'S theory (Vol. i., p. 228.) that "the language of passion is almost invariably broken and abrupt."

HENRY H. BREEN.

St. Lucia, W.I., Nov. 1850.

_Specimen of Foreign English._--

"RESTORATIVE HOTEL, FINE HOK.
KEPT BY FRANK PROSPERI,
FACING THE MILITARY QUARTER
AT POMPEII.

That hotel open since a very few days, is renowned for the cleanness of
the apartments and linen; for the exactness of the service, and for the
eccelence of the true french cookery. Being situated at proximity of
that regeneration, it will be propitius to receive families, whatever,
which will desire to reside alternatively into that town, to visit the
monuments new found, and to breathe thither the salubrity of the air.

That establishment will avoid to all the travellers, visitors, of that
sepult city, and to the artists, (willing draw the antiquities) a great
disorder, occasioned by the tardy and expensive contour of the
iron-whay. People will find equally thither, a complete sortment of
stranger wines, and of the kingdom, hot and cold baths, stables and
coach houses, the whole with very moderated prices. Now, all the
applications and endeavours of the hoste, will tend always to
correspond to the tastes and desires, of their customers, which will
acquire without doubt, to him, in to that town, the reputation whome,
he is ambitious."

The above is a literal copy of a card in the possession of a friend of mine, who visited Pompeii, 1847.

W.L.

_Epitaph._--While engaged in some enquiries after family documents in the British Museum lately, I lighted on a little poem, which, though not connected with my immediate object, I copied, and here subjoin, hoping your readers will be as much attracted as I was by the simplicity and elegance of the lines and thoughts; and that some one of them, with leisure and opportunity, will do what I had not time to do, namely,--decypher in the MSS. the _name_ of the "Worthie Knight" on whom this epitaph was composed, and give any particulars which can be ascertained concerning him.

EPITAPH ON ----

(_Harleian MSS._, 78. 25. b. Pluto 63 E.)

"Under this stone, thir ly'th at reste
A Friendlie Manne--A Worthie Knight,
Whose herte and mynde was ever prest
To favour truthe--to furder righte.
"The poore's defense--hys neighbors ayde,
Most kinde alwaies unto his Kyne,
That stynt alle striffes that might be stayed,
Whose gentil grace great love dyd wynne,
"A Man that was fulle earneste sette
To serve hys prince at alle assayes,
No sicknesse could him from itt lette,
Which was the shortninge of hys daies.
"His lyf was good--he dyed fulle welle,
Hys bodie here--the soule in blisse;
With lengthe of wordes, why should I telle,
Or further shewe, that well knowne is,
Since that the teares of mor or lesse
Right welle declare hys worthynesse."

A.B.R.

* * * * *

QUERIES.

THE TALE OF THE WARDSTAFF.

Can any of your antiquarian correspondents furnish further elucidation of the strange ceremony of the gathering of the Wardstaff (which was in old time one of the customs of the hundred of Ongar, in Essex) than are to be found in Morant's _History of Essex_, vol. i. p. 126.? from whence it was incorrectly copied in Blount's _Jocular Tenures_ by Beckwith, 4to. ed. It has been also more correctly given by Sir Francis Palgrave, in his _Rise and Progress of the English Commonwealth_, Part II. p. clvii., who justly styles it--

"a strange and uncouth fragment of the earliest customs of the Teutons;
in which we can still recognise {58} the tone and the phraseology of
the Courts of the Eresburg. The _Irminsule_ itself having been
described as a trunk of a tree, Thor was worshipped under the same rude
symbol; and it may be suspected that the singular respect and reverence
shown to the ward-staff of the East Saxons is not without its relation
to the rites and ceremonies of the heathen time, though innocently and
unconsciously retained."

At the time of publication of his learned and interesting work, Sir Francis did me the honour to adopt some conjectural corrections of Morant's very corrupt transcript of the rhyme, which I furnished at his request, in common with others suggested by the late Mr. Price. Since that time, a more mature examination of it has enabled me, I think, to put it into a form much more nearly resembling what it must have originally been; many of the corrections being obviously required by the prose details which accompany it in the MS. from which Morant gave it. It may not, therefore, be unacceptable to some of your readers, to subjoin this corrected copy. It may be proper to premise, that "The _Tale_ of the Wardstaff" is the _tallying_ or _cutting_ of it, and that it was evidently originally spoken in parts, assigned as under; although it should seem that there is no indication of this arrangement in the MS.

"THE TALE OF THE WARDSTAFF.

_The Bailiffe of the Liberty._
"Iche athied[6] the staffe byleve,
Thanne staffe iche toke byleve,
Byleve iche will tellen[7]
Now the staffe have iche got.

_Lord of Ruckwood Hall._
"Tho the staffe to me com
Als he hoveon for to don,
Faire and well iche him underfing
Als iche hoveon for to don.

_The Bailiffe._
"All iche theron challenged,
That theron was for to challenge,
Nameliche,--this:--and--this:
And all that ther was for to challenge.

_Lord of Ruckwood._
"Fayer iche him uppdede
Als iche hoveon for to don.

_The Bailiffe._
"All iche warnyd to the Ward to cum,
That therto hoveon for to cum,
By SUNNE SHINING.

_Lord of Ruckwood._
"We our roope theder brouhton,
A roope beltan[8],
Als we hoveon for don;
And there waren and wakeden,
And the Ward soe kept,
That the King was harmless,
And the Country scatheless.

_The Bailiffe._
"And a morn, when itt day was,
And the sun arisen was,
Faier honour weren to us toke,
Als us hoveon for to don.

_The Lords, and the Tenants_
Fayre on the staffe we scorden,
Als we hoveon for to don,
Fayre we him senden,
Theder we hoveon for to sende.

_The Bailiffe._
And zif ther is any man
That this wittsiggen can
Iche am here ready for to dôn
Azens himself, iche ône,
Other mid him on,
Other mid twyn feren,
Als we ther weren.
----
"Sir, byleve take this staffe,
This is the Tale of the Wardstaffe."

It will be at once apparent that this is a corrupt transcript of a semi-Saxon original of much earlier date; and by comparing it with Morant's very blundering copy, the conjectural corrections I have essayed will be perceived to be numerous. Many of then will, however, be found not only warranted, but absolutely necessary, from the accompanying prose account of the ceremony. The MS. from which it was taken by Morant, was an account of the Rents of the hundred of Ongar, in the time of John Stonar of Loughton, who had a grant of it for his life in the 34th year of King Henry VIII. He seems to have died 12th June, 1566, holding of the Queen, by the twentieth part of a knight's fee, and the yearly rent of 13l. 16s. 4d., the manor, park, chase, &c., of Hatfield Broad Oak, with the hundreds of Ongar and Harlow; and the _Wardstaff_ of the same hundreds, then valued at 101l. 15s. 10d. As the _Wardstaff_ is said by Morant to make a considerable figure in old records, it is reasonable to hope that a more satisfactory account of it may still lie amongst unsunned ancient muniments. All the old Teutonic judicial assemblies were, as Sir F. Palgrave remarks, held in the open air, beneath the sky and _by the light of the sun_. The following is a part of the ancient rhyme by which the proceedings of the famous Vehm-Gerichte were opened, which were first printed by Schottelius, and the whole of which may be found in Beck's _Geschichte der Westphalischen Fehm-Gerichte_, and in Sir F. Palgrave's work. The similarity of expression is remarkable.

{59}

"All dewile an düssem Dage,
Mit yuwer allen behage,
Under den HELLEN HIMMEL klar,
Ein fry Feld-gericht openbar;
Geheget BYM LECHTEN SONNENSHIN
Mit nöchterm Mund kommen herin,
De toel ock is gesettet recht,
Dat maht befunden uprecht,
So sprecket Recht ane With und Wonne
Up Klage und Antwort, WEIL SCHIENT DIE SONNE."

I must refer to Morant, to Beckwith or Sir F. Palgrave, for the details of the ceremony of the Wardstaff, which it should appear was observed at least as late as the reign of Queen Elizabeth, but in Morant's time it had long been neglected. In the hope that some of your antiquarian correspondents may be enabled to throw more light on this very curious custom, I will merely add, that Morant suggests that it is possible some elucidation of it might be found "in the Evidence House in Hatfield Church, where (he says) are a great number of writings relating to the priory and lordship."

S.W. SINGER.

Jan 11. 1851.

[Footnote 3: aþied, cut.]

[Footnote 4: _i.e._ tally, or _score_.]

[Footnote 5: _i.e._ a rope with a _bell_ appended.]

* * * * *

BALLAD ASCRIBED TO SIR C. HANBURY WILLIAMS.

Being engaged on a collection of fugitive pieces by wits of the last century, yet unprinted, I wish to take the opinion of your valuable correspondents as to the authorship of the enclosed piece. It has been pointed out to me in an album, dated at the beginning Feb. 14th, 1743; it occurs towards the end of the volume (which is nearly filled), without date, and signed C.H. Williams.