Chapter II: Front Matter (2)

While I thank MR. PETER CUNNINGHAM for his ready compliance with my request, I am sorry to say that I cannot concur in the reliance which he expresses on the authority of Sir George Buc. The passage quoted from that writer contains so palpable a blunder in that part of the history of the Temple of which we have authentic records, that I look with much suspicion on that portion of the relation, with regard to which no documentary evidence has been found.

He makes "Hugh Spencer, Earle of Glocester," the next successor of the Earl of Lancaster in the possession of the Temple after the suppression, and places "Andomare de Valence" in the house _after_ the execution of Spencer for treason: an account which receives a somewhat significant contradiction in the fact, that Valence died in 1323, and Spencer was beheaded in 1326.

With reference to Buc's assertion, that "the other third part, called the Outward Temple, Doctor Stapleton, Bishop of Exceter, had gotten in the raign of the former king, Edward the Second, and conuerted it to a house for him and his successors, Bishops of Exceter," I can only say that no such grant has ever been discovered, and that every fact on which we have any information in relation to the Templars' possessions in London, contradicts the presumption that any part of them was disposed of to the bishop. He was raised to his see in 1307. The Templars were suppressed in 1309. Their lands and tenements in London were then placed in the hands of custodes appointed by the king, who in 1311 transferred them into the custody of the sheriffs of London, with directions to account for the rents into the Exchequer. In both of these documents, and in the grants to the Earls of Lancaster and Pembroke, ALL the property that belonged to the Templars in London and its suburbs is expressly included; without excepting any part of it as having been previously granted to the bishop; which, had any such been made, would inevitably have been specially noticed. And I have already shown in my former communication (p. 325.) that the grant by the Hospitallers themselves to Hugh le Despenser in 1324 is of the _whole_ of their house called the New Temple, and that the bishop's mansion is therein stated to be its western boundary.

All these particulars confirm me in my opinion, that the bishop's house never formed any part of the New Temple.

EDWARD FOSS.

THE OLD LONDON BELLMAN AND HIS SONGS OR CRIES.

(Vol. iii., pp. 324. 377.)

The songs of the old bellman are interesting relics of the manners and customs of "London in the olden time;" but they must not be confounded with the more modern "copies of verses" which, until lately, were annually handed about at Christmas time by that all-important functionary the "Parish Beadle." The history of the old London bellman may be gleaned from a series of tracts from the pen of those two prolific writers--Thomas Dekker and Samuel Rowlands. The first of these in the order of date is _The Belman of London. Bringing to light the most notorious Villanies that are now practised in the Kingdome. Profitable for Gentlemen, Lawyers, Merchants, Citizens, Farmers, Masters of Households, and all sortes of Servants to marke, and delightfull for all Men to Reade._ Printed at London for Nathaniel Butler, 4to. 1608. The author of this tract was Thomas Dekker. Its popularity was so great that it passed through _three_ editions in the course of one year. The title-page above given is that of the first impression. It is adorned with an interesting woodcut of the bellman with bell, lantern, and halberd, followed by his dog. In the following year the same author printed his _Lanthorne and Candle-light, or the Bellman's second Nights-walke. In which he brings to light a Brood of more strange Villanies then ever were till this yeare discovered, &c._ London, printed for John Busbie, 4to. 1609. The success of the _Bellman of London_, which Dekker published anonymously, induced him to write this second part, to the dedication of which "to Maister Francis Mustian of Peckham" he puts his name, while he also admits the authorship of the first part. This is the second edition of _Lanthorne and Candle-light_, but it came out originally in the same year. On the title-page of this tract the bellman is represented in a night-cap, without his dog, and with a "brown bill" on his shoulder. Three years later Dekker produced his _O per se O, or a New Cryer of Lanthorne and Candle-light. Being an Addition, or Lengthening of the Bellman's Second Night-walke, &c._ Printed at London for John Busbie, 4to. 1612. Previous to the year 1648, this production went through no fewer than _nine_ distinct editions, varying only in a slight degree from each other. One of these editions, now before me, has for its title _English Villanies Eight severall times Prest to Death by the Printers_, 4to. 1648. The author in this calls the bellman "the childe of darkeness, a common night-walker, a man that hath no man to wait upon him, but onely a dogge; one that was a disordered person, and at midnight would beat at men's doores bidding them (in meere mockerie) to looke to their candles, when they themselves were in their dead sleepes." The following verses are at the back of the title-page, preceded by a woodcut of a bellman. The same lines are also given, "with additions," in the earlier editions of the _Villanies_, but they are too indecent to quote:

"THE BELL-MAN'S CRY.

"Men and children, maids and wives,
'Tis not too late to mend your lives:
Midnight feastings are great wasters,
Servants' riots undoe masters.
When you heare this ringing bell,
Thinke it is your latest knell:
Foure a clock, the cock is crowing,
I must to my home be going:
When all other men doe rise,
Then must I shut up mine eyes."

The exceeding popularity of the _Bellman of London_ induced Samuel Rowlands to bring out his _Martin Mark-all, Beadle of Bridewell, his Defence and Answere to the Belman of London, discovering the long-concealed Originall and Regiment of Rogues when they first began to take head, and how they have succeeded, &c._ Printed for John Budge, &c., 4to. 1610. The object of this publication was to expose Dekker's _Bellman_, which Rowlands says was only a "vamp up" of Harman's _Caveat or Warening for Common Cursetors_; but Harman himself was only a borrower, and the origin of his work is _The Fraternitye of Vacabondes_, printed prior to 1565. Greene's _Ground-work of Coney-catching_ is another work which may be pointed out as having been taken from the same original. But as these tracts do not contain any "bellman's songs," I need not now dwell upon them.

Among the many curious musical works printed in London at the close of the sixteenth and the beginning of the following century, I can scarcely point out a more desirable volume than one with this title: _Melismata, Musical Phansies fitting the Court, City, and Country Humours, to three, four, and five voices_:

_To all delightful, except to the spiteful;
To none offensive, except to the pensive._

London, printed by William Stansby, &c., 4to. 1611. The work is in five divisions, viz., 1. Court Varieties; 2. Citie Rounds; 3. Citie Conceits; 4. Country Rounds; 5. Country Pastimes. Among the "City Conceits" we have the following:

"A BEL-MAN'S SONG.

"Maides to bed, and cover coale,
Let the mouse out of her hole;
Crickets in the chimney sing,
Whilst the little bell doth ring:
If fast asleepe, who can tell
When the clapper hits the bell."

But perhaps the most curious collection of bellman's songs that has been handed down to us, is a small tract of twelve leaves entitled _The Common Calls, Cries, and Sounds of the Bel-Man; or Diverse Verses to put us in minde of our Mortality_, 12mo. Printed at London, 1639. This excessively rare and interesting "set of rhymes" is now before me, and from them I have extracted a few specimens of the _genuine_ old songs of the London bellman of past times:--

"THE BEL-MAN'S SOUNDS.

"_For Christmas Day._

"Remember all that on this morne,
Our blessed Saviour Christ was borne;
Who issued from a Virgin pure,
Our soules from Satan to secure;
And patronise our feeble spirit,
That we through him may heaven inherit."

"_For New-Yeares Day._

"All you that doe the bell-man heere,
The first day of this hopefull yeare;
I doe in love admonish you,
To bid your old sins all adue,
And walk as God's just law requires,
In holy deeds and good desires,
Which if to doe youle doe your best,
God will in Christ forgive the rest."

"COMMON SOUNDS.

"The belman like the wakefull morning cocke,
Doth warne you to be vigilant and wise:
Looke to youre fire, your candle, and your locke,
Prevent what may through negligence arise:
So may you sleepe with peace and wake with joy,
And no mischances shall your state annoy."

"All you which in your beds doe lie,
Unto the Lord ye ought to cry,
That he would pardon all your sins;
And thus the bell-man's prayer begins:
Lord, give us grace our sinful life to mend,
And at the last to send a joyfull end:
Having put out your fire and your light,
For to conclude, I bid you all good night."

The collection of Bellman's songs here described is sometimes found appended to a little work entitled _Time well Improved, or Some Helps for Weak Heads in their Meditations_, 12mo. 1657. The latter publication is a reprint, with a new title-page, of Samuel Rowlands' _Heaven's Glory, seeke it; Earth's Vanitie, fly it; Hell's Horror, fere it_. But whether the songs in question were written, or merely collected by Rowlands, does not appear.

EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.

_The Bellman_ (Vol. iii., p. 324.).--Your correspondent F. W. T. will find a very amusing sketch of a night-watchman in _Gemälde aus dem häuslichen Leben und Erzählungen_ of G. W. C. Starke: whether it may help his inquiries or not I cannot say. It will at least inform him of the difficulties in which a conscientious and gallant watchman found himself when he attempted to improve on the time-honoured terms in which he had to "cry the hours."

BENBOW.

Birmingham.

THE TRAVELS OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN, AND THE AUTHOR OF THE SABBATH.

(Vol. iii., p. 305.)

1. In answer to the communication of A COLLECTOR, allow me to remark, that although Bruce did not publish his _Travels_ till about seventeen years after his return to Great Britain, various details had got abroad; and, as usually happens, the actual facts, as given by himself, were either intentionally or accidentally misrepresented. Latterly, Bruce, indignant at the persecution he suffered, held his tongue, and patiently awaited the publication of his _Travels_ to silence his accusers. Amongst other teasing occurrences, Paul Jodrell brought him on the stage in a clever after-piece which was acted in the Haymarket in 1779, and was published in 8vo. in 1780. A copy of this piece, which is called _A Widow and no Widow_, is now before me: and Macfable, a Scotch travelling impostor, was acted by Bannister; and the hits at Bruce cannot be mistaken.

Further, Bruce himself understood that he was the party meant by "Munchausen," and he complained of this and many other attacks to a distant relative of mine, who died a few years since, and who mentioned the circumstances to me; adding, that Bruce uniformly declared that the publication of his work would, he had no doubt, afford a triumphant answer to his calumniators.

Whilst on the subject of Munchausen, I may observe, that the story of the frozen words is to be found in _Nugæ venales, or a Complaisant Companion_, by Head, the author or compiler of the _English Rogue_. It occurs among the lies, p. 133.:

"A soldier swore desperately that being in the wars between the
Russians and Polemen, there chanced to be a parley between the two
generals where a river parted them. At that time it froze so
excessive that the words were no sooner out of their mouths but
they were frozen, and could not be heard till _eleven_ days after,
that a thaw came, when the dissolved words themselves made them
audible to all."

As my copy has a MS. title, I should be obliged if any of your readers could furnish me with a correct one.

2. There were _not_ "two James Grahame" cotemporaries. The author of _Wallace_ was the author of _The Sabbath_, as well as of _Poems and Tales, Scotch and English_, thin 8vo., Paisley, 1794: a copy of which, as well as of _Mary Stewart_ and _Wallace_, is in my tolerably extensive dramatic library. The latter is defective, ending at p. 88.; and was saved some years ago from a lot of the drama about to be consigned to the snuff-shop. Probably the same reasons which caused the suppression of a political romance from the same pen, and of which I have reason to believe the only existing copy is in my library, may have induced the non-completion of _Wallace_. Grahame, like many other young men just emerging at that particular time from the Scotch Universities, had imbibed opinions which in after years his good sense repudiated. He concealed his authorship of the Paisley poems (now very scarce), and the secret only transpired after his death. From the intimacy that subsisted between myself and his amiable nephew and namesake, whose untimely death, in 1817, at the age of twenty, I have never ceased to lament, I had the best means of learning many facts relative to the poet, who was, according to all accounts, one of the most estimable and truly pious men that ever lived. As to the crude opinions of early youth, can we forget that the truly admirable Southey was the author of _Wat Tyler_?

Whether there were only six copies of _Wallace_ _completed_, I cannot say; but this much I can assert, that there were a great many printed, and that, as before mentioned, the greater part went to the snuff-shop; probably, because people were not fond of purchasing a drama wanting the title and end.

In concluding, I may mention, that the "Mary Stewart" in the 12mo. edition of the _Poems of Grahame_, is quite altered from the one printed in 8vo. in 1801.

J. M.

THE PENN FAMILY.

(Vol. iii., p. 409.)

In reply to your correspondent A. N. C., William Penn, eldest son of the famous Quaker, married Mary Jones, by whom he had three children, Gulielma Maria, Springett, and William. The latter had a daughter by his first wife, Miss Fowler, who married a Gaskill, from which marriage the present Penn Gaskills of Rolfe's Hould, Buckinghamshire, are descended. While writing on this subject, allow me to send you two other "notes."

Hugh David, a Welshman, who went out to America in the same vessel with William Penn, used to relate this curious anecdote of the state founder. Penn, he says, after watching a goat gnaw at a broom which lay on deck, called out to him, "Hugh, dost thou observe the goat? See what hardy fellows the Welsh are; how they can feed on a broom! However, Hugh, I am a Welshman myself, and will relate by how strange a circumstance our family lost their name. My grandfather was named John Tudor, and lived on the top of a hill or mountain in Wales. He was generally called John Penmunith, which in English is--_John on the top of the hill_. He removed from Wales into Ireland, where he acquired considerable property. Upon his return to his own country he was addressed by his friends and neighbours, not in the former way, but as Mr. Penn. He afterwards removed to London, where he continued to reside under the name of John Penn, which has since been the family name." David told this story to a Quaker, who wrote it down in these words, and gave the MS. to Robert Proud, the historian of Pennsylvania. The same David, in a copy of doggrel verses presented to Thomas Penn on a visit to Philadelphia in 1732, made an allusion to this descent. I quote four of the lines:

"For the love of him that now descended be,
I salute his loyal one of three,
That ruleth here in glory so serene,
I branch of Tudor, alias Thomas Penn."

This is at least curious. But I attach little credit to Mr. David's report. He certainly mistook or ill remembered Penn's words; as his grandfather was Giles Penn, and his ancestors for two generations before Giles are known to have been William.

The second note refers to Penn's descendants, and may claim a corner in your chronicle on more than one ground. William Penn was born in 1644: in 1844 his grandson, Granville Penn, well known as a writer on classical subjects, was still alive! The descendants of his first marriage with Miss Springett, six years ago were in the fifth and sixth generation after him; those by his second wife, Hannah Callowhill, in the second.

HEPWORTH DIXON.

ON THE WORD "PRENZIE" IN "MEASURE FOR MEASURE."

(Vol. iii., p. 401.)

I have read with attention the argument of your correspondent LEGES on the passage in _Measure for Measure_, in which the word "prenzie" occurs; and to much that he advances I should, like the modest orator who followed Mr. Burke, be contented to say "ditto." Nevertheless, as I cannot agree with him altogether, I beg permission to make a few remarks upon the question. The extent of my agreement with your correspondent will be shown in stating, that I think neither "priestly," "princely," nor "precise" to be the true word. We disagree, however, in the measure of our dislike; for of the three suggested corrections, "princely" is, to my mind, by far the best, and "precise," beyond all measure, the worst. Indeed, but that Mr. Knight has adopted the latter term, as well as Tieck, I should have regarded it as an instance of the difficulty in the way of the best qualified Germans of understanding the niceties of English meaning, or of feeling how far license might be tolerated in English versification. In adopting this term Mr. Knight appears to have forgotten that it has a special application as the Duke (Act I. Sc. 4.) uses it. Taken in connexion with the expressions "stands at a guard" and "scarce confesses," _cautiously exact_ would appear to express the sense in a passage the whole spirit of which shows a scarcely disguised suspicion. The Duke, evidently, would not have been surprised, as Claudio was; and the expression appropriate to a close observer like the one, is a most unlikely epithet to have been chosen by the other. More fatal, however, is the destruction of the measure. Both instances go beyond all bounds of license. And though we may pass over the error in a critic so eminent even as Tieck, we need feel no compunction at exposing "earless on high" an Englishman who has pilloried so often and so mercilessly others for the same offence.

While, however, LEGES has shown good cause against the adoption of either of the above epithets, it does not appear to me that he has succeeded in establishing a case in favour of the word "pensive," which he proposes instead. In the first place, the passages your correspondent quotes, show Angelo to be "strict," "firm," "precise," to be "a man whose blood is very snow-broth," &c., but certainly not "pensive" in the common acceptation of the word. Secondly, he fails to show that, if Shakspeare meant by "pensive" anything more than _thoughtful_ in the passages he cites, he meant anything so strong as _religiously melancholy_, which would be the sense required to be of any service to him as an epithet to the word "guards."

I will now, with your permission, call attention to what I consider an oversight of enquirers into this subject. The conditions required, as your correspondent well states, are "that the word adopted shall be (1) suitable to the reputed character of Angelo; (2) an appropriate epithet to the word 'guards;' (3) of the proper metre in both places; and (4) similar in appearance to the word 'prenzie.'" Now, it does not appear to have been considered that this similarity was to be sought in manuscript, and not in print; or, if considered, that much more radical errors arise from illegible manuscripts than the critics have allowed for. In his "Introductory Notice," Mr. Knight says the word (_prenzie_) "appears to have been inserted by the printer in despair of deciphering the author's manuscript." Yet in his note to the text he has printed it, together with three suggested emendations, as though he would call attention to the comparative similarity in print. But if, as all have hitherto assumed, the printer had read the first three or four letters correctly, is it not most probable that the context, with the word recurring within four lines, would have set him right? And his having twice inserted a word having no apparent meaning, is it not as probable that he was misled at the very beginning of the word by some careless combination of letters presenting accidentally the same appearance in the two instances? Having thus shown that the search for the true word may have been too restricted, I will proceed to make a final suggestion.

When Claudio exclaims in surprise--

"The ( ) Angelo!"

it is quite clear that the epithet which has to be supplied is one in total contrast to the character just given of him by Isabella. What is this character?

"This _outward-sainted_ deputy,--
Whose settled visage and deliberate word
Nips youth i' the head, and follies doth emmew,
As falcon doth the fowl,--_is yet a devil;
His filth within being cast, he would appear
A pond as deep as hell_."

To this it appears to me Claudio would naturally exclaim:

"The _saintly_ Angelo!"

and Isabella, as naturally following up the contrast, would continue--

"O, 'tis the cunning livery of hell,
The _damned'st body to invest and cover_
In _saintly guards_!"

My acquaintance with the handwriting of the age is very limited, but I have no doubt there are possible scrawls in which _saintlie_ might be made to look like _prenzie_. If any one knows a better word, let him propose it; only I beg leave to warn him against _pious_, which I have already tried, and for various reasons rejected.

SAMUEL HICKSON.

St. John's Wood, May 24. 1851.

_"Prenzie" in "Measure for Measure."_--It must be gratifying to the correspondents of "NOTES AND QUERIES" to know that their suggestions receive attention and consideration, even though the result be unfavourable to their views. I am therefore induced to express, as an individual opinion, that the reading of the word "prenzie," as proposed by LEGES, does not appear more satisfactory than those already suggested in the various editions.

Of these, "precise" is by far the most consonant with the sense of the context; while "pensive," almost exclusively restricted to the single meaning, _contemplative_,--action of mind rather than strictness of manner,--is scarcely applicable to the hypocritical safeguard denounced by Isabella.

From the original word, too, the deviation of "precise" is less than that of "pensive." Since the former substitutes _e_ for _n_, and transposes two letters in immediate proximity, while the latter substitutes _v_ for _r_, and transposes it from one end of the word to the other.

But "precise" has the immeasurable advantage of repetition by Shakspeare himself, in the same play, applied to the same person, and coupled with the same word "guard," which is undoubtedly used in both instances in the metaphorical sense of _defensive covering_, and not in that of "countenance or demeanour," nor yet in that of "the formal trimmings of scholastic robes:"

"Lord Angelo is precise;
Stands at a guard with envy--
O, 'tis the cunning livery of hell
The damned'st body to invest and cover
In precise guards."

Therefore, while I cannot quite join with Mr. Knight in understanding "precise" as applicable to the formal cut of Angelo's garments, I nevertheless agree with him, on other grounds, in awarding a decided preference to the reading of the German critic.

A. E. B.

_The Obsolete Word "Prenzie."_--I agree with your correspondent LEGES, that the several emendations which have been suggested of the word "prenzie," do not "answer all the necessary conditions." LEGES says, "it is universally agreed that the word is a misprint."[5] Now misprinting may be traced to wrong letters being dropped in the boxes into which compositors put the types, and which generally are found to be neighbours (this is hardly intelligible but to the initiated). However, _they_ will at once see that a more unfortunate illustration could hardly have been suggested. An error, made by the printer, often passes "the reader" or corrector, because it is something, in appearance and sound, like what should have been used. But in this word there is no assimilation of either to any one of the words conjectured to have been meant. Moreover, such a word would never have been _twice_ used erroneously in the same piece. May it not rather have been an adaptation from the Norman _prisé_, or the Latin _prenso_, signifying _assumed_, _seized_, &c.? The _sound_ comes much nearer, the _sense_ would do. I hardly like to venture a suggestion where so many eminent commentators entertain other views; but it seems to me that it is a main excellence of your periodical to encourage such suggestions; and if mine be not too wild, your insertion of it will oblige

B. B.

[Footnote 5: Old as well as modern typographers need have broad
backs. Bale, in his Preface to the _Image of both Churches_, says,
"But ij cruel enemies have my just labours had * * * The
_printers_ are the first whose heady hast, negligence, and
couetousnesse commonly corrupteth all bokes * * * though they had
in their handes ij learned correctours w'h take all paynes possyble
to preserue them."]

P.S. May I end this note by adopting a Query many years since put forth by a highly valued and, alas! deceased friend and coadjutor in antiquarian pursuits,--"What is the date of that edition of the Bible which reads (Psalm cxix. 161.): _Printers_ have persecuted me without a cause?"

_On a Passage in "Measure for Measure"_ (Vol. iii., p. 401.).--One of the very few admissible conjectural emendations on Shakspeare made by the ingenious and gifted poet and critic Tieck, is that which Mr. Knight adopted, and I cannot think your correspondent LEGES happy in proposing to substitute "pensive."

There can be no doubt that "guards" in the passage in question signifies _facings_, _trimmings_, _ornaments_, and that it is used metaphorically for _dress_, _habit_, _appearance_, and not for _countenance_, _demeanour_.

The context clearly shows this:

"_Claud._ The _precise_ Angelo?

"_Isab._ O, 'tis the cunning _livery_ of hell,
The damned'st body _to invest and cover_
In _prècise guards_."

Isabella had before characterised Angelo--

"This _outward-sainted_ deputy is yet a devil:"

and the Duke afterwards says:

"Oh, what may man within him hide,
Though angel _on the outward side_."

In _Much Ado about Nothing_ (Act I. Sc. 1.), Benedick says:

"The body of your discourse is sometimes _guarded_ with
fragments, and the _guards_ are but slightly basted on neither."

That the epithet "precise" is peculiarly applicable to the assumed sanctity of Angelo, the poet has decided in Act I. Sc. 4., where the Duke describes him thus:

"Lord Angelo is _precise_,
Stands at a guard with envy, scarce confesses
That his blood flows, or that appetite
Is more to bread than stone. Hence we shall see,
If power change purpose, what our _seemers_ be."

"The 'pensive' Angelo" might be admissible, though not so appropriate as "the precise;" but "pensive" is inapplicable to the word "guards," in the sense which the poet everywhere attaches to it. In the second Scene of this Act the Clown says:

"Craft being richer than innocency, stands for the _facing_."

Your correspondent may be assured that the word he would substitute was never written or printed "penzive" in Shakspeare's time.

Mr. Collier's objection, that "precise" "sounds ill as regards the metre, the accent falling on the wrong syllable," has no weight with me, for it is doubtful whether the accent was not placed on the first syllable of "prècise" by the poet and his cotemporaries; but were this not the case, I should still very much prefer the reading proposed by Tieck, and adopted by Mr. Knight, to any other that has been proposed, and have little doubt that it is the true one.

S. W. SINGER.

Replies to Minor Queries.

_Countess of Pembroke's Epitaph_ (Vol. iii., p. 307.).--Let me thank your correspondent MR. GATTY for his information. In order to complete the history of this inscription, it may be stated that though Gifford is silent as to Jonson having any claim to it, yet, by admitting it into his works (vol. viii. p. 337.), he concurs apparently with Whalley and others, in assigning this "delicate epitaph," as Whalley terms it, to Jonson, though it "hath never yet been printed with his works." Gifford considers that Jonson did not "cancel," as it has been alleged, the six lines, "Marble piles let no man raise," but that he possibly never saw them. They certainly contradict the preceding ones; admitting that such a character as the Countess _might_ again appear. These last-mentioned verses, Gifford adds, were copied from the poems of William Herbert Earl of Pembroke, "a humble votary of the Muses." This nobleman, whose amiable character is beautifully drawn by Clarendon, deeply venerated his excellent mother; he, perhaps, could not feel satisfied in leaving her praises to be sung by another poet, and therefore added this well-intended but feeble supplement.

J. H. M.

_Court Dress_ (Vol. iii., p. 407.).--There are no orders of the Earl Marshal, printed or manuscript, upon the subject of court costume--it is not within his department. It is more likely that the Lord Chamberlain has notices upon the subject. In all cases of court mourning, his lordship specifies the dress, and notifies the changes, not always, however, strictly adopted or comprehended.

Gh.

_Ex Pede Herculem_ (Vol. iii., p. 302.).--The origin of this proverb is to be found, I think, in Plutarch, who is quoted by Aulus Gellius (i. 1.) as saying in substance as follows:

"Pythagoras ingeniously calculated the great stature of Hercules,
by comparing the length of various stadia in Greece. All these
courses were nominally 600 feet in length, but Hercules was said
to have measured out the stadium at Olympia with his own feet,
while the others followed a standard of later days. The
philosopher argued that by how much the Olympic course exceeded
all others in length, by the same proportion did the foot of
Hercules exceed that of men of a subsequent age; and again, by the
same proportion must the stature of Hercules have been
pre-eminent."

(The original is to be found also in _Plutarchi Varia Scripta_, ed. Tauchnitz, vol. vi. p. 393.)

C. P. Ph***.

_The Day of the Accession of Richard III._ (Vol. iii., p. 351.).--I have examined the original inrolment of the entry upon the Remembrance Roll _ex parte Capitalis Rememoratoris Hiberniæ_, of the second year of Richard III., with the _fac-simile_ of that entry which appears in the Irish Record Reports (1810-1815, plate 9.), and I find that the _fac-simile_ is correct. The accession of Richard III. is shown by the entry upon the original record to have taken place on the twenty-_sixth_ day of June. This entry is, as I have stated, upon the roll of the second year of Richard III., and not of the first year, as stated by the said Record Reports, there being no Remembrance or Memoranda Roll of the first year of that monarch to be found amongst the Exchequer Records of Ireland. Upon this subject of Richard III.'s accession, I beg to transmit to you the copy of a regal table which is entered in the Red Book of the Exchequer, probably the most ancient, as well as the most curious, record in Ireland. Judging by the character of the handwriting of this _Tabula Regum_, I would come to the conclusion, that the entries prior in date to that of Henry VIII.'s reign have been made during the time of that monarch; or, in other words, that this table has probably not been compiled at any time previous to the reign of Henry VIII.

J. F. F.

Nomina Regum [Angliae] post [conquestum] [Willielmi] [Bastardi].

[Willielmus] conquestor regnavit [per] XXI [annos]. Beried at
Cane.
[Willielmus] Rufus regnavit [per] XIII [annos].
Henricus primus regnavit [per] XXXVI [annos].
[Stephanus] regnavit [per] XX [annos].
Henricus [secundus] regnavit [per] XXXVI [annos].
Henricus [tercius] regnavit [per] unum [annum] [imperfectum] &
ideo non [debet] scribi.
[Ricardus] regnavit [per] IX [annos].
[Johannes] regnavit [per] XVIII [annos].
Henricus [tercius] regnavit [per] LVI [annos].
Edwardus [primus] regnavit [per] XXXV [annos].
Edwardus [secundus] regnavit [per] XIX [annos].
Edwardus [tercius] regnavit [per] L [annos] & CXLVIII
dies.
[Ricardus] [secundus] regnavit [per] XXII [annos] & C dies.
Henricus quartus regnavit [per] XIII [annos] &
[quartrium] [anni]
[XX]'IIIJ., II dies.
Henricus [quintus] regnavit [per] IX [annos] & [quarterium]
anni LXIII dies.
Henricus sextus regnavit [per] XXXVIII [annos]
[quinquaginta] & III
dies.
Edwardus quartus regnavit [per] XXII [annos] XXXVII dies.
[Ricardus] [tercius] regnavit [per] II [annos] [dimidium].
Henricus septimus regnavit XXIII [annos] &
[dimidium] sex
[septimanas].
Henricus [octavus] regnavit XXXVIII [annos].
Edwardus sextus VII [annos].
Philipus et Maria V.
Elizabeth regina nunc XLIII.
Jacobus qui hodie regnat XXII plane.
Carolus Rex.

_Tennyson's "In Memoriam_" (Vol. iii., pp. 142. 227.).--I beg to withdraw my former suggestion as to "the crimson-circled star," which, on reconsideration, appears to me manifestly erroneous.

If you can find space for a second suggestion, I think the question will be cleared up by the following extract from the valuable work which I cited before (the _Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology_, edited by Dr. W. Smith):

"Eos, [Greek: Êôs], in Latin Aurora, the goddess of the morning
red, who brings up the light of day from the east. At the close of
night she ascended up to the heaven from the river Oceanus to
announce the coming light of the sun to the gods as well as to
men. In the Homeric poems, Eos not only announces the coming
Helios (the sun), but accompanies him throughout the day, and her
career is not complete till the evening: hence she is sometimes
mentioned when one would have expected Helios (_Od._ v. 390. x.
144.); and the tragic writers completely identify her with Hemera
(the day), of whom, in later times the same mythes are related as
of Eos."

As Aurora rises from the river Oceanus, he may be called her _father_, and as she sinks into the same, he may be called her _grave_. The expression then will mean neither more nor less than this, "We returned home before the close of day."

Perhaps Mr. Tennyson had a line of Lycidas running in his mind:

"So sinks the day-star in the ocean bed."

Milton's day-star, however, I take to be the sun himself.

Another of your correspondents, I see, suggests a different interpretation of the "crimson-circled star."

I hope I shall not be considered as taking too great a liberty if I avail myself of the medium of your pages to request Mr. Tennyson (deus ex machinâ) to descend and settle the question.

X. Z.

_Cardinal Azzolin_ (Vol. iii., pp. 370. 371.).--Cardinal Azzolini was appointed by Alexander VII. Intendant to Queen Christina on her receiving a pension of 12,000 scudi from that Pope. On the withdrawal of this grant by Innocent XI., her majesty wrote a furious letter to the Cardinal, which is one of the most curious pieces contained in a _Collection of Letters_, edited by M. Matter (Paris, chez Amiot). That a close intimacy existed between the Queen and the Cardinal appears from some allusions in contemporary letters (1685-1687). See M. Valéry's _Correspondence de Mabillon et de Montfaucon avec l'Italie_ (Paris, 1846), vol. i. p. 99.: "La Reine de Suède, grande amie du Cardinal Azzolin" ... vol. ii. p. 83.:

"Il n'y a plus de différend qu'entre le marquis Del Monte et le
Cardinal Azzolin [_sic_], à qui aura meilleure _part dans les
bonnes grâces de la Reine pendant sa vie_, et dans son testament
après sa mort."

The editor adds (vol. iii. p. 298.):

"Le Cardinal Azzolini fut _le principal héritier de Christine_."

C. P. Ph***.

_Babington's Conspiracy_ (Vol. iii., p. 390.).--In Dr. Maitland's _Index of English Books in the Lambeth Library_ will be found the following entry:

"* Babington (Anthony), His Letter to the Queen. No place,
printer, or date." The asterisk denotes that it is not mentioned
by Herbert in his edition of Ames.

This, I believe, will be a satisfactory answer to J. BT.'s Query.

H. P.

_Robert de Welle_ (Vol. ii., p. 71.).--Not observing that H. W.'s Query regarding Robert de Welle has as yet been answered, I would refer him to Blomefield's _Hist. of Norf._, vol. vii. p. 288., edit. 1807, 8vo., where under "Bicham-well" he will find a Robert de Welle, lord of the manor of Well Hall, an. 1326 (20 Edw. II.), which was held under the _Earl of Clare_, the capital lord. He died circ. 9 Edw. III.

I have met also with a Roger de Welle, in an old roll undated, but about the time of Hen. III., in which he is entered as holding a manor in Wimbotsham, co. Norf.:

Rogerus de Welle tenet manerium suum de Winebodesham cum libero
tenemento villanis suis et cotariis ad illud manerium
pertinentibus de comite Warenne per servicium quarte partis unius
scuti et comes de domino rege in capite, per quale servicium
nescimus. Et habet in eodem manerio unum messuagium et unam
carucatam terre arabilis et xiiij acras prati in dominico unum
molendinum ad ventum liberum tauros et verres eidem manerio
pertinentes et facit sectam ad curiam de Castelacre de tribus
septimanis in tres septimanas. Et capit amerciamenta pistorum et
braciatorum et hoc sine waranto ut credimus. Et clamat habere
warennam per cartam domini regis.

The manor passed from him to Ingaldesthorp, under which manor the continuator of Blomefield mentions (vol. vii. p. 517.) that Roger de _Frevil_ in 13 Hen. III. had a carucate of land here. This is probably the same person as Roger de Welle, as it was not uncommon for persons at that period to be known by different designations.

Thomas Knox, M.P. for Dungannon, was created Baron Welles, 1780. H. W. will find the history of the family in Lodge's _Peerage of Ireland_, by Archdall, vol. vii. p. 195., ed. 1789.

G. H. D.

_Family of Sir John Banks_ (Vol. iii., p. 390.).--The following is a correct list of the descendants of Sir John Banks; and as his wife is an historical character, her own immediate descent, as well as the notice of those of the present day who may claim her as their ancestor, may not be uninteresting to your correspondent:--

Thomas Hawtrey, of Chequers, co. Bucks, Esq.,
A. 9 H. VII.
|
Ralph Hawtrey, fourth Son = Winifred, d. and h. of Wm.
| Wallaston, Esq., of
| Ruislip, co. Middx.
|
|
Edward Hawtrey, of Ruislip, Esq. = Elizabeth, d. of Gabriel
| Dormer, co. Oxon, Esq.
|
|
Ralph Hawtrey, of Ruislip, Esq. = Mary, d. of Ed. Altham of
| Mark's Hall, co. Essex,
| Esq.
|
------------------------------------
| |
John Hawtrey, Mary, only = Sir John Banks,
of Ruislip, daughter, | Queen's Coll.
Esq., eldest d. 1661. | Oxon, 1604.
Son. Buried at | Chief Justice,
Ruislip. | temp. C. I.
The Heroine | 1640. D. 1644.
of Corfe | Of Stanwell,
Castle. | Middx., and
| Corfe Castle,
| Dorset.
|
|
|||
--------------------------------------------------
1. John Banks, d. before his father.
2. Sir Ralph Banks, Kt.
3. Jerome.
4. Charles.
5. William.

6. Bridget, d. 1636, at Stanwell, Middx.
7. Alice.
8. Elizabeth.
9. _Mary._
10. Joan.
11. Anne, b. 1637, at Stanwell.
12. Frances.
13. Arabella, baptized July 31, 1642, at Stanwell.

Of these only two appear to have left descendants: _Sir Ralph Banks_, who is the ancestor of the Earl of Falmouth, and Baroness Le Despenser; and of George Bankes, Esq., M. P. for Corfe Castle, his lineal descendant. _Mary Banks_, third daughter, married Sir Robert Jenkinson, Knt.; and is the ancestor of the Earls of Liverpool and Verulam, of the Countesses of Craven, Clarendon, and Caledon; Viscountess Milton, and Viscountess Folkestone.

Burke's _Commoners_ would probably answer the rest of R. C. H. H.'s Query, or Lysons' _Middlesex_.

L. H.

_Charles Lamb's Epitaph_ (Vol. iii., p. 322.).--I can explain to MARIA S. how this epitaph came to be attributed to Wordsworth. The late laureate did write some lines on the occasion of Lamb's death, beginning--

"To a good man of most dear memory,
This stone is sacred."

They were composed, the author says,

"With an earnest wish,
Though but a doubting hope, that they might serve
Fitly to guard the precious dust of him,
Whose virtues called them forth. _That aim is missed._"
Vol. v. p. 141. ed. 1850.

C. P. Ph***.

_Quebeça and his Epitaph_ (Vol. iii., p. 223.).--This epitaph is said, upon the authority of _Segrais_, to be upon the king of Spain's preceptor, and to be seen at _Saragossa_. The version of it in my possession differs from that supplied by your correspondent, and is as follows:

"Here lies John Cabeça, preceptor of my lord the king. When he is
admitted to the choir of angels, whose society he will embellish
by his powers of song, God shall say to the angels, 'Cease, ye
calves! and let me hear John Cabeça, the preceptor of my lord the
king.'"

J. B. COLMAN.

Eye, March 24. 1851.

_The Frozen Horn_ (Vol. iii., p. 282.).--The story of the frozen and thawed words in Rabelais' _Pantagruel_, book iv. c. 55. and 56., is borrowed from a passage in Plutarch's _Morals_, vol. vi. p. 293., Leipsic, Reiske's edition. I beg to subjoin the Latin translation of this fable of so remote a date:

"Joco enim Antiphanes dixit, in urbe quadam voces illico frigore
loci congelare, ac per æstatem, gelu soluto, demum exaudiri, quæ
dicta erant hyeme; ita ille quæ adolescentes e Platone
audivissent, aiebat, plerosque vix tandem ingravescente ætate
intelligere."

C. I. R.

_West Chester_ (Vol. iii., p. 353.).--JOHN FRANCIS X. asks "why so designated?" Camden will answer him. That antiquary gives the Roman, British, and Saxon names, and adds:

"Nos contractius _West Chester_ ab occidentali
situ."--_Britannia_, edit. 1607, p. 458.

But X. adds:

"In _Maps of Cheshire_ 1670, and perhaps later, the city is thus
called."

The writer has the maps and plans of Braun, Hollar, Saxton, Speed, and Blome, before him, but these have "Chester" simply; and does not at present recollect any county map with the prefix mentioned. Perhaps X. will oblige by a reference.

LANCASTRIENSIS.

_West Chester_ (Vol. iii., p. 353.).--So called in contradistinction to Chester-le-Street, Chester Magna, Chester Parva, Chesterfield, Chesterton, and a hundred other Chesters throughout England. To be _sent to West Chester_ (frequently so called in the beginning of the last century), was to be sent into banishment, _i. e._ into Ireland; of which Chester was in those days the usual, and indeed almost the only, route.

C.

_Registry of Dissenters_ (Vol. iii., p. 370.).--I beg to inform D. X. that I have met with several instances of Dissenters' _burials_ being entered in parish registers, at a time when a more amicable feeling than now exists prevailed between churchmen and themselves. In the register of Warbleton, co. Sussex, in particular, there are several entries of Quakers who were buried in their own cemetery in that parish, about 150 years since.

M. A. LOWER.

Lewes.

_Registry of Ministerial Offices performed by Dissenters_ (Vol. iii., p. 370.).--The note of D. X. has led me to examine the baptismal registers of Ecclesfield parish, and I find on the parchment fly-leaf of the book which contains the baptisms, that date from nearly the beginning of the seventeenth century, the following heading--"Births of the children of some Dissenters enter'd as given." Then comes a list of the names of fourteen children, with the dates of their births; and, after several miscellaneous entries of baptisms, I find,

"January 3. 1750-1, Samuel, son of Thomas Sayles, said to be
baptised at Sheffield by ye Popish priest."

The enrolment of births is, no doubt, quite improper. But the entering of dissenting baptisms in the parish register (mentioned by D. X.) would not, I think, be equally open to reprobation; inasmuch as the registering has always been of baptisms _in the parish_, and not merely _in the church_. Hence, if dissenting baptism be, as no doubt it is, a valid title to burial by the clergyman, he might, not unreasonably, be disposed to keep a list of such irregular administrations. That the law has regarded them as irregular, is evident from the fact, that when in 1812 an act was passed "for the better regulating and preserving parish and other registers of births, baptisms, marriages, and burials in England," the 146th chap. of the same distinctly declares, that when a baptism is performed by any other than the licensed minister of the parish, the certificate of its performance must state that it was "according to the rites of the United Church of England and Ireland." No dissenting baptism, therefore, could now be registered by the clergyman.

In our burial register there is a slip of paper pinned, with this inscription upon it:

"These are to certify that the remains of Ann, the wife of Thomas
Ellis, was buried in the Methodist chapel-yard in Ecclesfield, the
5th day of November, 1826, aged (about) seventy-three."

The poor woman chose to lie apart from her "rude forefathers;" and she has continued to be the solitary tenant of the small enclosure round the chapel. It seems, however, that her friends did the best they could towards preserving her name on the list of those who sleep in the consecrated cemetery.

ALFRED GATTY.

_Poem on the Grave_ (Vol. iii., p. 372.).--A correspondent in your No. of May 10th, signed A. D., wishes to be informed of the author of "The Grave," a very beautiful poem; and he gives a portion of it thus:--

"_1st Voice._

"How peaceful the grave, its quiet how deep,
Its zephyrs breathe calmly, and soft is its sleep,
And flow'rets perfume it with ether."

"_2nd Voice._

"How lonesome the grave, how deserted and drear,"

(From what I remember of the poem, this stanza flows on thus):--

"With the howls of the storm wind, the creaks of the bier,
And the white bones all clattering together."

This poem extends to fifteen or twenty stanzas, and is exquisite in its imagery, and peculiarly forcible (its author was a Russian, I think Derzhavin), and in its original language might compare with the works of the most polished poetry of advanced nations. It can be found translated in Bowring's _Russian Anthology_, 12mo., published about 1824: where also will be found some beautiful translations from _Lomonosoff_, "Or Broken Nose," and other Russian poets. Derzhavin also has his grandest poem on God, translated there: this poem is popular in no less than thirty-six languages, and is familiar to the Chinese and Tartar nations, and even as far as Southern India. I give the exordium, which is noble:--

"O Thou Eternal One, whose presence bright
All space doth occupy, all motion guide;
Unchanged through time's all-devastating flight;
Thou only God! There is no God beside!"

And in a further portion of the poem, describing Heaven as the abode of God, he speaks thus:

"What shall we call them? Piles of crystal light,
A glorious company of golden streams,--
Lamps of celestial ether burning bright,--
Suns lighting systems with their joyous beams?"

I think I have quoted sufficient to direct A. D.'s attention to the northern poets, who, though few in number, make up their deficiency in quantity by the sterling and magnificent quality of their works.

GREGORY BATEMAN.

Tansor Rectory, near Oundle, Northamptonshire,
May 15. 1851.

The poem inquired for by A. D. is copied in an album in my possession "from Bowring's translation of Russian Poetry," and is entitled "The Churchyard."

J. R. PLANCHÉ.

_Round Robin_ (Vol. iii., p. 353.).--The "little predie round-robin," mentioned by Dr. Heylin, was no doubt a small pancake. (See Halliwell's _Archaic and Provincial Dictionary_, under "Round Robin.")

Of the derivation of the petition also called a round robin, I find the following account in the _Imperial Dictionary_:--

"ROUND ROBIN, n. [Fr. _rond_ and _ruban_.] A written petition,
memorial, or remonstrance signed by names in a ring or circle. The
phrase is originally derived from a custom of the French officers,
who, in signing a remonstrance to their superiors, wrote their
names in a circular form so that it might be impossible to
ascertain who had headed the list. It is now used to signify an
act by which a certain number of individuals bind themselves to
pursue a certain line of conduct."

The round robin sent to Dr. Johnson on the subject of his epitaph on Goldsmith is well known. In speaking of it Boswell states that the sailors make use of it "when they enter into a conspiracy, so as not to let it be known who puts his name first or last to the paper."

C. H. COOPER.

Cambridge, May 3. 1851.

_Derivation of the Word "Yankee"_ (Vol. iii., p. 260.).--Your correspondent J. M., and M. Philarète Charles, are both incorrect in saying that this derivation is not given in any English or American work. In the _Poetical Works of John Trumbull, LL.D._, published at Hartford (U.S.), 1820, in two volumes, in the Appendix, appears the following Note:

_"Yankies._--The first settlers of New England were mostly
emigrants from London and its vicinity, and exclusively styled
themselves the English. The Indians, in attempting to utter the
word _English_, with their broad guttural accent, gave it a sound
which would be nearly represented in this way, _Yaunghees;_ the
letter _g_ being pronounced hard, and approaching to the sound of
_k_ joined with a strong aspirate, like the Hebrew _cheth_, or the
Greek _chi_, and the _l_ suppressed, as almost impossible to be
distinctly heard in that combination. The Dutch settlers on the
river Hudson and the adjacent country, during their long contest
concerning the right of territory, adopted the name, and applied
it in contempt to the inhabitants of New England. The British of
the lower class have since extended it to all the people of the
United States. This seems the most probable origin of the term.
The pretended Indian tribe of Yankoos does not appear to have ever
had an existence; as little can we believe in an etymological
derivation of the word from ancient Scythia or Siberia, or that it
was ever the name of a horde of savages in any part of the world."

I some time ago thought of sending you a copy of this "Note," but had forgotten it, until recalled to my memory by reading J. M.'s extract.

T. H. KERSLEY, A.B.

King William's College, Isle of Man.

_Yankee--Yankee-doodle_ (Vol. iii., p. 260.).--In a curious book on the Round Towers of Ireland (I forget the title), the origin of the term Yankee-doodle was traced to the Persian phrase, "Yanki dooniah," or "Inhabitants of the New World." Layard, in his book on _Nineveh and its Remains_, also mentions "Yanghi-dunia" as the Persian name of America.

BENBOW.

Birmingham.

_Yankee._--The following lines from a poem, written in England by the Rev. James Cook Richmond, of Providence, Rhode Island, and dated Sept. 7, 1848, gives the derivation of this word:--

"At Yankees, John, beware a laugh,
Against yourself you joke:
For _Yenghees_ 'English' is, but half
By Indian natives spoke."

M. Philarète Charles then has too hastily concluded that this etymology is not given in "aucun ouvrage américain ou anglais," and has supplied us with a surprising coincidence, since he appears to have fairly translated the first two lines, viz.: "Les Anglais, quand ils se moquent des _Yankies_, se moquent d'eux-mêmes."

W. DN.

_Letters on the British Museum_ (Vol. iii., pp. 208. 261.).--Your correspondent's Query as to the author of these letters, published by Dodsley in 1767, 12mo., has not yet been answered. The author's name was Alexander Thomson. It is inserted in manuscript in two copies of this work which I possess. I have also seen the assignment of the copyright to Dodsley, in which the same name occurs as that of the author.

JAS. CROSSLEY.

_Names of the Ferret_ (Vol. iii., p. 390.).--The name by which the male ferret is known in the midland counties is the _hob_: the female is called the _jill_. In that district there is a saying current, which is applied to the human genus:

"There's never a Jack but finds a Jill."

In Welsh, the name of the ferret is _ffured_, which means a wily, crafty creature.

A RATCATCHER.

_Anonymous Ravennas_ (Vol. i., p. 124.).--W. C.'s Query has not received much elucidation as yet; as a small contribution, I may remark that the Benedictine Dom. Porcheron brought the MS. to light, and published it at Paris, 1686, 8vo., under the title, _Anonymi Ravennatis, qui circa sæculum septimum vixit, de Geographiâ libri quinque_, with a dedication to the Duc de Bourbon, son of the great Condé. My authority is, the _Correspondence inédite de Mabillon et de Montfaucon avec l'Italie_, par M. Valéry, Paris, 1846, vol. ii. pp. 2, 3, 5.