Chapter M: Dublin

_Wild Oats, Origin of the Phrase._--Can any of your correspondents favour me with the origin and definition of the phrase "To sow your wild oats?" It has never been very clear to me why "oats" should be the grain selected as emblematical of the dissipations and excesses of youth. They constitute the food of the inhabitants of the poorest regions only, and where the absence of all aid from climate and sunshine, renders almost unceasing toil necessary, in order to obtain a meagre subsistence.

The "oat" appears to me so little the companion of luxury and pleasure, that I am wholly at a loss to account for the origin of this phrase, which is in the mouth of every one.

BEAU NASH.

Bath.

_The Dr. Richard Mortons._--I shall feel greatly indebted to any reader of "N. & Q." who can give me some account of Dr. Richard Morton, a celebrated physician of Greenwich, _temp._ William and Mary, and of his son Dr. Richard Morton, who died in 1730. Were they descended from the Mortons of Severn Stoke, co. Worcester? and what was the precise degree of their relationship with the Mortons of Slaugham, co. Sussex?

MARK ANTONY LOWER.

_General Lambert_ (Vol. iv., p. 339.).--A correspondent shows the probability or certainty that the hitherto received opinion as to the long confinement and death in Guernsey of this old parliamentary general is not correct. But Mr. Hallam and others who report this, report also that he was tried with Sir Harry Vane; and that his "submissive behaviour" was such a contrast to that of his noble fellow-prisoner that it perhaps influenced his sentence. Where is the proof of his behaviour to be found? Vane's trial has been published separately. It is also in the _State Trials_, with the trials of the regicides; but neither there nor elsewhere can I find the trial of Lambert.

G. L.

_Cross-legged Effigies and Collars of SS._--As some of your correspondents are sending to "N. & Q." accounts of sepulchral effigies bearing SS. collars, I should be obliged to them if they would mention when such effigies are cross-legged. Does any effigy in this attitude exist _bearing a date_ as late as 1350?

W. H. K.

_The Crooked Billet._--Can any of your readers inform me whether there be any legend connected with the "Crooked Billet," which is frequently used in this neighbourhood as a sign to a village inn? The sign itself is formed of a crooked piece of wood, or two or three pieces joined, and suspended over the door of the public-house.

T. D.

Gainsbro'.

_Collins the Poet, and his Ode on the Music of the Grecian Theatre._--In Seward's _Anecdotes of distinguished Persons_ there is a letter from Collins to Dr. Hayes, professor of music, Oxford, in which, after alluding to his "Ode on the Passions," he mentions another Ode, which appears to have been actually written.

"The subject," he states, "is _the Music of the Grecian Theatre_,
in which," he goes on to say, "I have, I hope naturally,
introduced the various characters with which the chorus was
concerned, as Oedipus, Medea, Electra, Orestes, &c. &c. The
composition too is probably more correct, as I have chosen the
ancient tragedies for my models, and only copied the most
affecting passages in them."

The letter is dated "Chichester, November 8, 1750." Collins died in 1756. The Ode is lost; but assuredly every effort should be made to bring it to light.

SMINTHEUS.

_Bishop Kidder's Autobiography._--In the _Lives of the Bishops of Bath and Wells_, by the Rev. Stephen Hyde Cassan (Rivingtons, 1829), the greater portion of the notice there given of that learned writer and excellent divine, Richard Kidder, bishop of that see from 1691 to 1703, is derived from an autobiographical memoir, of which Mr. Cassan says, "the MS., one of undoubted authority, exists in original at Wells." The reasonable inference from this statement would be, that the MS. is in the Cathedral Library there; but from what I have recently been able to ascertain, through the kindness of a gentleman at Wells, it would appear that Kidder's autobiography is not in the Cathedral Library, nor in the hands of any individual in that place or its neighbourhood: the probability therefore is, that it is in some private collection; and as I believe it contains many particulars connected with the bishop's personal history, which Mr. Cassan has passed over, I shall be glad if any of your readers can inform me where it is to be met with. The bishop's birthplace has been left in some doubt; it has been stated that he was born at Lewes, at Brighthelmstone, and in Suffolk; in the memoir referred to, the question is set at rest, for he says that he was born at East Grinstead, Sussex, in 1633. While upon this subject I would beg information as to the name and family of the bishop's wife, who was killed with him in the great storm of Nov. 1703. I learn from the baptismal registers of their children that her christian name was _Elizabeth_.

JAS. CROSBY.

Strantham.

_Shrine of Edward the Confessor._--Is there any print or drawing, or any written description, which would show the condition of the _shrine of King Edward the Confessor_ previously to the great Rebellion, or in any way throw light upon the various changes, mutilations, and restorations it has undergone, beyond such as is to be derived from the ordinary histories of the abbey?

GEO. S. SCOTT.

"_Wise above that which is written._"--Can any of your correspondents inform me where the words originally occur, "Wise above that which is written?" I was for a long time under the impression that they were taken from one of St. Paul's Epistles, or at least were to be found somewhere in the Bible; but, after having searched Cruden diligently, though ineffectually, I am pretty sure they are not to be found in Holy Writ.

I am convinced that most persons share in the opinion I formerly held, and I have often seen them quoted in sermons just as if they were a passage of Scripture, though, of course, without giving any reference.

R. C. C.

Oxon.

"_Hoffman_," _a Tragedy by Chettle._--Can any correspondent of the "N. & Q." throw any light upon the source of the plot of _Hoffman, a Tragedy_, by Henry Chettle, 4to. 1631? The scene is laid at Dantzig in Prussia; the hero revenges his father's death, which was caused by the Duke of Lüneburg and other princes, by means of a red-hot iron crown placed on his head. He kills the son of the Duke of Lüneburg in the same manner, and assumes his character; is adopted by the Duke of Prussia, and avenges himself by the murder of the duke, and others of his father's judges; is finally discovered, and put to death by means of the iron crown.

I have in vain searched the German chronicle of the period: from the geographical localities being well preserved, as well as the German names (a peculiarity in the old drama), the presumption is, that it has been taken from an historical source. Mention is made in Menzel's _History of Germany_, of a Count Jordan who suffered death by means of an iron crown; and in Goldsmith's _Traveller_, the line of--

"Luke's iron crown and Damon's bed of steel,"

is illustrated by a note in Bohn's edition of that author, of two brothers, George and Luke Leck, who had created a rebellion in Hungary, and of one of them suffering death in this manner; but neither of these two cases apply at all to the subject.

H. B. L.

_Inverted Commas._--When were inverted commas first introduced to indicate quotations in writing?

S. W. RIX.

_Quotations Wanted._--If the subjoined Queries could be inserted _early_, it would greatly oblige me. I want them for a work, of which the first proofs are now before me.

I should be glad if any of the readers of "N. & Q." could refer me to the precise places from whence the following quotations are made:--

1. "Qui vult plenè et sapidè Christi verba intelligere, oportet ut
totam vitam suam Illi studeat conformare."

2. "Gaudium suum ob renascentes literas non sine metu exprimet,
unus scrupulus habet animum meum, ne sub obtentu priscæ literaturæ
caput erigere tentet paganismus.... Optarim frigidas istas
argutias (humanæ eloquentiæ logicarumque subtilitatum) amputari
prorsus, Christumque illum simplicem et purum restitui, penitusque
humanis mentibus inseri."

_Erasmus._ Query--where?

3. "Cujus vita despicitur, restat ut ejus prædicatio contemnatur."

_S. Gregory._

W. D--N.

_Deacons, a Phrase used by Foxe._--In the martyrology of John Foxe we read--

"King Edward died, the world being unworthy of him: the Duke of
Northumberland came down to Cambridge with an army of men, having
commission to proclaim Lady Jane queen.... The duke sent for
Doctor Sandys, being vice-chancellor, for Doctor Parker, for
Doctor Bill, and Master Leaver to sup with him. Amongst other
speeches he said, Masters, pray for us, that we speed well; if
not, you shall be made bishops, and we deacons. And even so it
came to pass: Doctor Parker and Doctor Sandys were made bishops;
and he and Sir John Gates, who were then at the table, were made
deacons, ere it was long after, on the Tower-hill."

I should be glad to know the allusion here, and how men who were executed could be said to be thereby made deacons.

W. D--N.

_The Count de Vordac._--When did the Count de Vordac, a general in the army of the Emperor of Germany, die? His memoirs are scarce; the copy which I have is reprinted at Paris in 1709. He was an Italian, bred for the church, which he relinquished for the profession of arms. He was born about 1660; his memoirs break off abruptly in 1695 when in midlife, and he was serving under our William III. He closes his memoirs with an account of his being at the siege of Namur, which he says cost his own party dear, and himself more particularly. It is very probable he fell at this siege if he continued his narrative while in the camp. His memoirs are curious and very entertaining. I find there that he was much esteemed at Vienna, and his conduct in rescuing the wife of one of the German nobility from a horrible imprisonment with the corpse of the man of whom her lord was jealous, is full of interest as well as horror, from the mode in which it was accomplished. He was personally acquainted with William III., who entrusted him with important commands. His narrative makes the reader anxious to know something of his subsequent history, if he were not a victim to the sword before the close of the war of which he spoke.

CYRUS REDDING.

Minor Queries Answered.

_Hoare's Charity._--Inside the cover of a copy of _The Whole Duty of Man_ (8vo., London, 1727, John Baskett) now before me, is pasted a slip of paper, containing a coat of arms, "Sable, a double eagle expanded or (?) in a bordure argent," surrounded by mantling, and surmounted by helmet and crest; below this is the following:--

"The gift of HENRY HOARE, Esq., who died March 12, 1724-5, aged
forty-seven, and by his last Will and Testament hath vested the
su[=m]e of two thousand pounds in trustees, who are to apply the
yearly interest, rents, and profits arising out of the said
su[=m]e to the purchasing, dispensing, and giving away, yearly,
Bibles, Common Prayer-Books, and such other books as are intirely
agreeable to the principles and doctrine of the Church of England,
as now by law established, and most conducive to the advancement
of Christian faith and piety in the world."

I shall be glad to learn whether this charity is still bestowed, and where: any particulars relative to the original donor will be acceptable. Permit me to add the Query,--Is mine the first edition of _The Whole Duty of Man_? if not, when was it first published, and who was the author?

W. SPARROW SIMPSON, B.A.

[Mr. Henry Hoare was a son of Sir Richard Hoare, Lord Mayor of
London, and an intimate friend of that worthy man, Robert Nelson,
author of the _Companion for the Festivals and Fasts of the Church
of England_; a work which Dr. Johnson recommends as being a most
valuable help to devotion, and as having had the greatest sale of
any book ever printed in England, except the Bible. Mr. Hoare's
name occurs in several parts of Robert Nelson's will, viz. "I give
and bequeath to Mr. Henry Hoare, of London, goldsmith, one of my
executors, 200_l._, upon trust to distribute 100_l._, part
thereof, in such manner as shall be directed by the Society for
Promoting Christian Knowledge; and the other 100_l._ to be
employed by him in promoting parochial libraries.... I give and
bequeath to Mrs. Jane Hoare, wife of the said Mr. Henry Hoare, two
pair of little silver candlesticks for her closet." It is also
worthy a note in our pages that the first legacy received by the
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge was that of Robert
Nelson's, which is thus entered on the minutes of the
Society:--"3d Feb. 1714-15. Mr. Hoare reported, that Mr. Nelson,
lately deceased, had ordered him by his will, as one of his
executors, to pay 100_l._ to the Society for promoting their
designs; and also 50_l._ towards supporting the charity-school at
St. George's Chapel." The name of Mr. Henry Hoare occurs among the
list of subscribers in the first volume of Jeremy Collier's
_Ecclesiastical History_, fol. 1708; and some of his letters to
John Strype, the historian, will be found among the Additional
MSS. in the British Museum, No. 5853. No biographical notice of
Mr. Henry Hoare appears to have been preserved. See Herbert's
_History of the Twelve Great Livery Companies_, vol. ii. p. 285.,
for a notice of his gift to the Goldsmiths' Company.

The first edition of _The Whole Duty of Man_ was published in
1657. Like the enigmatical Junius, its authorship still remains a
problem; but we believe it is now generally supposed to be written
either by Lady Packington or Archbishop Sterne. Our correspondent
will find the question discussed in the Rev. W. B. Hawkins's
Introduction to Pickering's edition of this work, published in
1842; as well as in the valuable communication of J. E. B. Mayor,
Esq., of Marlborough College, in our second volume, p. 292.]

_Dr. Sacheverell's "Sermon at Derby."_--Can any of your correspondents furnish me with information as to the various editions which were published of Dr. Henry Sacheverell's _Sermon at Derby_ in 1709? I am anxious to ascertain how many editions were issued, with their dates and other particulars.

L. J.

[We think our correspondent will not be able to obtain the
information he requires, owing to the great demand at the time for
the two Sermons for which the Doctor was prosecuted. Mr. Lathbury
states (_History of the Nonjurors_, p. 237) that "of the Sermon
'Perils among False Brethren,' no less than forty thousand copies
were sold in a few weeks." We have also now before us two copies
of the Derby Sermon, both printed in 1709, 8vo., but no intimation
on the title-page of their being different editions, which they
evidently are, on an examination of their typographical
composition. The Bodleian contains a quarto edition of the latter
Sermon, 1710.]

_Lucas Lossius._--I have an old 12mo. volume with the following title-page:

"Annotationes Scholasticæ _in Evangelia Dominicalia et_ ea quæ in
Festis IESV CHRISTI, et Sanctorum ejus præcipuis, leguntur in
Ecclesia, _per totius Anni circulum_: non inutile futuræ
puerilibus Scholis.

"_His adjectæ sunt in singula Evangelia Disticha, Argumenta,
Doctrinæ Summariæ, Loci et_ _Ob_jectiones præterea, cum brevibus
ac veris earum solutionibus Dialecticis, exercendæ adolescentiæ
causa.

"_Collecta et dictata à Luca Lossio, in Schola Lunæburgensi._

"(*) [right pointing hand symbol] (*)

"Adiecimus et iam recens erudita Evangeliorum Dominicalium et
Festivalium Disticha, inundæ memoriæ causa, à Vuendelino Helbachio
conscripta.

"(*)

"_Franc. Apud Hæred. Christ. Egen._
M.D.LXXVIII."

The words, and parts of words, in Italics are rubricated.

As I live at a distance from any large library, and have consulted in vain such biographical works as my own scanty shelves afford, I shall be greatly obliged to any of your correspondents who have access to our public libraries, to inform me who Lucas Lossius was, and where any account of him may be met with? Also, who Wendelinus Helbachius, Stigelius, and Bernardus Bomgardius were, whose "Disticha" are interspersed throughout the volume? In the "Epistola Nuncupatoria" mention is made of "Joannis Stigelij, Poetæ clarissimi, nostra ætate," and of "M. Bernardi Bomgardij, Ludimoderatoris Vlzeniani;" but I cannot find any account of these worthies.

I ought to add that each Sunday or Saint's Day is preceded by a curious woodcut representing the subject of which the Gospel treats.

R. BN.

[Lucas Lossius, of Lunenburg, was a Lutheran divine and
schoolmaster, well skilled in music, who published at Nuremberg,
in 1553, _Erotemata Musicæ practicæ_, and together with
Melancthon, the Lutheran ritual, _Psalmodia, seu Cantica sacra
veteris ecclesiæ selecta_. At the period of the Reformation, the
Lutherans preserved more of the ancient hymns and music of the
church in their services than the Calvinists. Some account of
Lossius is given in Hawkins's _History of Music_, vol. iii. p.
102. There is an edition of _Annotationes Scholasticæ_, with the
curious woodcuts printed in the year 1560, at Leipsic.]

_The "Athenian Oracle."_--Can you inform me who were the authors of the "Athenian Oracle," or, in other words, the members of the "Learned Society" who conducted this work? You may feel some interest in it as a kind of prototype and progenitor of your own "N. & Q." Your work, as I apprehend, does not profess to solve and answer so many nice puzzling points in divinity, philosophy, love, &c., as that of the _Oracle_, which furnishes us with a curious picture of the wants, opinions, and manners of the age in which it appeared; but _yours_, though neither dipping so deeply nor ranging so widely, ought to be highly prized as the exponent of the demands of our times more improved, enlightened, and not less inquisitive, and as affording to some of your correspondents far from the great metropolis of letters, a ready channel for information, much to their instruction and pleasure. Pardoning this digression, the copy of the _Athenian Oracle_ I possess is in 3 vols. 8vo., purporting to be an entire collection of all the valuable questions and answers in the old Athenian Mercuries, &c., by a member of the Athenian Society; London, printed for Andrew Bell at the Cross Keys and Bible in Cornhill, near Stocks Market, the second volume 1703, the first and third 1704. The copy bears an autograph on the fly-leaf; "Ex Libris Thomas Browne, Ex Dono plurim; M'ri Guil Carstairs Acad. Edinburg. primarij professoris Cui omnia (two words obscure) Ed. Nov. 23, 1706." The historical celebrity of Carstairs is a _small feather in the cap_ of the copy, but unimportant to some farther knowledge from you of the book and its authors, the former having often supplied much rational fireside entertainment.

N.

Glasgow.

[_The Athenian Gazette_, afterwards called _The Athenian Mercury_,
swelled at last to twenty volumes folio; these becoming scarce, a
collection of the most valuable questions and answers was
reprinted under the title of _The Athenian Oracle_, in 4 vols.
8vo. The fourth volume contains a Supplement, to which is prefixed
"The History of the Athenian Society," and an "Essay upon
Learning." It was projected by the celebrated John Dunton, who
says, "My first project was the _Athenian Gazette_. As the
Athenian Society had their first meeting in my brain, so it has
been kept ever since religiously secret: but I will now oblige the
reader with a true discovery of the _question-project_, and of the
several persons that engaged in it." These were his
brother-in-law, the Rev. Samuel Wesley and Mr. Richard Sault, who
were occasionally assisted by Dr. Norris. The work was also
countenanced by several of the most eminent writers of the age;
and was honoured in particular with a commendatory poem by Swift.
Some curious notices respecting Dunton and his numerous literary
projects will be found in the _Life and Errors of John Dunton_, 2
vols. 8vo., 1818; and in Nichols' _Literary Anecdotes_, vol. v.
pp. 59-83.]

Replies.

FRENCH REVOLUTIONS FORETOLD.

(Vol. v., p. 100.)

A remarkable instance of foresight relative to the fate of some of the French sovereigns appears in an epistle of Erasmus to King Francis I.:

"Prætexunt fidei titulum, sed revera aliud agunt; moliuntur
tyrannidem, etiam in capita Principum. Huc tendunt per cuniculos.
Nisi Princeps ipsorum voluntati per omnia paruerit, dicetur fautor
Hæreticorum; et destitui poterit per Ecclesiam; hoc est, per
aliquos conjuratos Pseudomonachos et Pseudotheologos."

Richer, Doctor of the Sorbonne, after having alluded to this passage, uses the following very striking language:

"Cæterum regno Franciæ his artibus everso, (quod omen Deus
avertat,) reliquis Monarchiis Christianis quæ supererunt eadem
manet pestis; ut prophetia Apostoli, _de iniquitatis mysterio_, et
politicarum Potestatum ruina atque interitu, complementum
sortiatur; cujus pestis et ruinæ complementum in dies singulos
Bullæ Coenæ Domini et Directorii Inquisitorum arcanis promovetur.
_Tumque demum, in fine sæculorum, seditiones, conspirationes, et
bella plusquam civilia fervebunt, propter Potestatum sæculi
exarmatorum imbecillitatem atque impotentiam; quæ nec sibi ipsis,
nec aliis, sufficienter consulere poterunt; quia omnes imperare,
et nemo parere volet_: quibus de bellis consule caput 24.
Matthæi."

_Apologia pro Joanne Gersonio_, pp. 203-4. Lugd. Bat. 1676.

R. G.

GRIMESDYKE.

(Vol. iv. _passim._)

NAUTICUS is informed that in Norfolk one of the hundreds, or subdivisions of the county, is called _Grimshoo_ or _Grimshow_, after (as it is supposed) a Danish leader of the name of _Grime_ or _Gryme_. He was undoubtedly either _Præsitus Comitatus_ or _Centuriæ Præpositus_ of that part of the country, and gave his name to the hundred as hundred-greeve, which name it still retains. In about the centre of this hundred is a very curious Danish encampment, in a semicircular form, consisting of about twelve acres.

In this space are a great number of large deep pits, joined in a regular manner, one near to another, in form of a quincunx, the largest in the centre, where the general's or commander's tent was placed. These pits are so deep and numerous as to be able to conceal a very great army. At the east end of this entrenchment is a large tumulus, pointing towards Thetford, from which it is about five or six miles distant; and which might possibly have served as a watch tower, or place of signal: and here the hundred court used to be called. This place also is known by the name of _The Holes_, or _Grimes-graves_. This part of the country, being open, was a great seat of war between the Saxons and Danes, as appears from many tumuli throughout this hundred, erected over the graves of leaders who fell in battle; or as tokens of victory, to show how far they had led their armies and conquered.--See _Blomfield_ in loco.

J. F. F.

West Newton.

To the various instances already recorded in "N. & Q.," of ancient earthworks having received the name "Grimesdyke," the following may be added.

One on Cranbourne Chase, Dorset; three in Berkshire, viz., one near Silchester, one near Oare, where also are Grimsbury, and Grimsbury Forest; another, intersected by the Thames, near Wallingford; another near Witney, Oxfordshire.

The great fossa and vallum of Lollius Urbicus in Scotland, is called Graham's and Grime's Dyke. The frequency of its application to various earthworks in such distant parts of the kingdom may perhaps be considered sufficient evidence that the name is not derived from that of any landed proprietor, as suggested by one of your correspondents. I have no doubt the derivation suggested by your first correspondent, NAUTICUS, is the true one, viz., that it is of Saxon origin, signifying Wizard, or the Evil Spirit, which indicates, not only that these earthworks were in existence in Saxon times, but that their origin was even then so remote and mysterious that they were supposed to be the work of supernatural agency. Grimesdyke, described by NAUTICUS as beginning near Berkhamsted, Herts (not Hants, as misprinted in "N. & Q."), and running across the Chiltern hills, is mentioned, _temp._ Henry III., in a charter of Edmund, Earl of Cornwall, granting Ashridge to the fraternity of the Bonhommes:

"Usque ad quoddam fossatum quod dicitur Grymesdich."

If this should meet the eyes of my friend NAUTICUS, wherever in the broad seas he may happen to be, he will be glad to hear that this extensive earthwork of antiquity is now undergoing the investigation of an Archæological Society, of which he is an esteemed member. I may further remark that the family name of Grimesdike is doubtless from some ancient place so named, and not these several places from the family. The armorial bearings of the family would at once suggest this conclusion. I have not found the name given to any ancient work in Wales, which of course would not be the case, if it be of Saxon origin.

W. H. K.

POET REFERRED TO BY BACON.

(Vol. iv., p. 257.)

The poet referred to by Bacon is not the author of the _Mirror for Magistrates_, but ARIOSTO, whose _Orlando Furioso_ was then popular in the recent translation of Sir John Harrington. The allegory will be found at the close of the thirty-fourth and commencement of the thirty-fifth books:

"Further, the Duke did in that place behold,
That when the threads were spent that had been spun,
Their names in brass, in silver, or in gold,
Were wrote, and so into great heaps were done;
From which a man that seemed wondrous old,
With whole loads of these names away did run,
And turn'd again us fast, the way he went,
Nor e'er weary was, nor ever spent.

"A heap of names within his cloak he bore,
And in the river did them all unlade;
Or, to say truth, away he cast them all
Into the stream which Lethe we do call.

"He hurl'd therein full many a precious name,
Where millions soon into the bottom sank,
Hardly in every thousand one was found,
That was not in the gulf quite lost and drown'd.

"Yet all about great store of birds there flew
As vulture, carrion crows, and chatt'ring pyes,
And many more of sundry kind and hue,
Making lewd harmony with their loud cries;
These when the careless wretch the treasure threw
Into that stream, did all they could devise,
What with their talons some, and some with beak,
To save some names, but find themselves too weak.

"Only two swans sustain'd so great a poise,
In spite of him that sought them all to drown,
These two do still take up the names they list,
And bare them safe away, and never misst.

"They caught them ere they to the stream arriv'd,
Then went they, with the names they had recover'd,
Up to a hill, that stood the water nigh,
On which a stately church was builded high.

"This place is sacred to immortal Fame,
And evermore a nymph stood at the gate
And took the names ... ...
Then all about the church she hang'd the same
Before the sacred image, in such rate
As they might then well be assur'd for ever,
Spite of that wretch, in safety to persever.

"But as the swans that there still flying are,
With written names, unto that sacred port,
So here Historians learn'd, and Poets rare,
Preserve then in clear fame and good report."

S. W. SINGER.

JOHNSON'S HOUSE, BOLT COURT.

(Vol. v., p. 176.)

A correspondent discussing the question of the site, or of the continued existence, of the house in Bolt Court in which Johnson lived and died, mentions that one person now living called there during the last illness of our sublime moralist. I believe he refers to Mr. Rogers.

The fact is that there is also a lady, an inhabitant of Piccadilly, Viscountess Keith, who not only grew from childhood to the age of twenty in the constant association of the Doctor, but who is also mentioned by Madame D'Arblay as having been a visitor at Bolt Court in 1784. Whether the noble lady referred to, at the extraordinary age she has reached (she was the eldest Miss Thrale), could solve from memory your friend's doubts as to this classical locality, I know not.

M. A.

I am in a position to assure MR. EDWIN LECHLADE that Dr. Johnson's house was burnt down in 1819, the premises having been long previously occupied by the most eminent English printer of his own or any other time, Mr. Thomas Bensley, to whose energy the world is indebted for the perfection of the printing machine.

The house of Johnson's friend, Mr. Allen the printer, was not destroyed by the disastrous fire which reduced to ashes the Doctor's residence; indeed only one corner of it was injured; and, with that exception, it stands as it was built shortly after the Great Fire of London.

Mr. Allen's house stands at the head of Bolt Court; Dr. Johnson's stood to its left. On the site of the latter was erected, after the before-mentioned fire, a spacious printing-office, and both are now in the occupation of Mr. Tyler.

The _Gentleman's Magazine_ (1819, part i., p. 575.), in giving an account of this fire, says in a note:

"It may be interesting to some of our readers to know that the
house in Bolt Court, formerly the residence of Dr. Johnson, formed
part of Mr. Bensley's office, and is now entirely destroyed. A
view of it is preserved in the _European Magazine_ for 1810."

The _European Magazine_ (1810, vol. lvii. pp. 353-4.) contains, besides the view above-mentioned, an article to which your correspondent may be referred, in confirmation of the fact that the house occupied by Dr. Johnson was the one I have referred to, and was not exactly opposite the "Dr. Johnson tavern." The view, I am told by one who well recollects the old house, and is a great lover of Johnsoniana, is a correct representation of it.

Timperley's _Dictionary of Printers and Printing_, also, in relating the occurrence of the fire of Messrs. Bensley's premises, states that a part of it was formerly the residence of Dr. Johnson.

TEE BEE.

In answer to the Query of EDWIN LECHLADE, being in a position to give you unquestionable information, I will, to quote your correspondent's words, let the question be set at rest. Of the house in which Dr. Johnson lived and died, not one brick is left upon another. It was destroyed totally by fire in 1819; and the partywall between that and Mr. Allen's house alone remains, being the west wall of that large residence. When up Bolt Court, you turn to the left through an iron gate leading to a flight of stone steps to the printing-office now occupied by Mr. Tyler, and _where those stone steps are_, stood the doctor's residence. I know of no relic that was saved except the _scraper_, which was distorted into a curious shape by the action of the fire, and being firmly fixed in a heavy stone, it lay about the yard for years.

The late well-known printer Mr. Bensley succeeded Mr. Allen there in business in 1783, going at once to reside in his house _next door_ to Dr. Johnson, whom, of course, as a close neighbour, he often saw, and whose funeral he witnessed. After the Doctor's death the Rev.--Stockdale, of the Church of England, occupied the house; next to him it was tenanted by a Rev.--Moir, (I believe) a Presbyterian; next, by one Copley, an old tailor, whom I have teased many times when a boy; for some of us youngsters having overheard him once in a soliloquy groaning, "Dear me--and the buttons all wrong!" on passing him it became a _mot_ among us expressed sufficiently loud to reach his ears, when he would look unutterable things. He was a worthy but somewhat cross old man, in very respectable circumstances. His was the last family which ever occupied the premises as a dwelling-house; I knew him there for about twenty years. During his abode the freehold was put up for sale by auction, as well as of Allen's house; Mr. Bensley purchased both. This was somewhere about 1804-1807. But as Copley had a lease, he did not vacate till about 1814, when Mr. Bensley appropriated the two houses to his printing purposes (and there, it may not be unworthy of notice, was steam-printing first practised),--so occupied the said premises were, till destroyed by fire in 1819. Mr. Bensley's eldest surviving son succeeded him in 1820, but did not, in re-constructing the premises, build on the site of Dr. Johnson's house, though _a part_ thereof has since been covered. The map--a very fragile, worm-eaten affair--shows the exact dimensions of the house, the place where the walls stood, &c. The property remains in Mr. Bensley's family. I have often heard Mr. Bensley describe the Doctor and his funeral.

The print in the _European Magazine_ is an accurate representation of the appearance of this ancient and gloomy house in the dark corner; but it had many comforts, and "a large garden," in which I have been; it is now all built upon, and has been covered for nearly half a century. Some yet living may have visited Dr. Johnson there: I have often conversed with others who are dead that did--the late Mr. Bowyer Nichols, Mr. Cradock (of Leicestershire), Mr. A. Strahan, and others mentioned in the Doctor's works, when gratifying their curiosity by showing them over the house; and it has fallen to my lot to do so to many literary characters. Indeed as to the place where Dr. Johnson lived and died, there is no more room for doubt than as to where old London bridge stood. I have many times been with the late Mr. James Boswell (son of Dr. Johnson's biographer) in the rather dismal parlour--which spot, it is not to be wondered at, had a peculiar attraction for _him_.

There is _no_ kind of foundation for assigning Dr. Johnson's residence to that where Cobbett lived or wrote--it was a mere joke. As to the "Johnson's Head" tavern, it was an upholsterer's manufactory at the time of Dr. Johnson's death. I myself knew an old man of the name of _Hale_ residing in it, and carrying on that occupation so early as 1800, who had doubtless been there before Dr. Johnson's death; his son followed him, and continued till about 1826-1830 in those premises. By the same token (as Paddy says), while now addressing "N. & Q." (though nearly 300 miles from the spot) I am writing at a table Hale sen. made for me in that house in 1818.

The greater part of Mr. Bensley's extensive premises was _twice_ burned down; but on neither occasion was Allen's house destroyed. It yet stands, though so altered and improved as not to resemble the original edifice. Mr. Tyler's counting-house, by the iron gate at the S. W. corner, however, is left just as used by Allen (except a passage cut off at the end), the panelling, &c., just the same, being the _only_ part remaining unaltered: there was then, of course, no door out to the stone steps, as there stood Dr. Johnson's parlour. In this counting-house, no doubt, Dr. Johnson often was; and in the adjoining parlour he often fed. It was a very old-fashioned room, as I well remember it upwards of half a century ago. His better parlour, or drawing-room, was large and handsomely furnished for the period, with three windows, and two ancient pier-glasses fixed to tables, gilt and adorned according to the taste of the times. Mr. Bensley bought these and a few other household matters, which remained _in statu quo_ till 1805-1808.

I have seen some prints of the inside of Dr. Johnson's house, which do not give a very accurate idea of the appearance of the rooms, &c.; but, I repeat it, the view of the front in the _European Magazine_ is excellent.

The celebrity of Dr. Johnson may induce you to insert this, which, without that influence, I am aware would be too tedious.

B. B.

COOPER'S MINIATURE OF CROMWELL.

(Vol. iv., p. 368.; Vol. v., p. 189. &c.)

It is only within a few months that the existence of the "N. & Q." became known to me. It seemed likely to be such an useful and amusing publication, from the description I received of it from a literary friend (now appointed vice-consul to the Isle of Mytilene), that I lost no time in becoming a subscriber; and I am rejoiced to add, that my expectations have not been disappointed, though I have not had time to read the Notes or attend to the Queries as fully as I could have wished till very lately.

However, I have now observed amongst the Replies, Vol. v., p. 189., a Note relating to the miniature of Cromwell by Cooper, with several references to other Notes and Queries upon the same subject, originating with a Query from LORD BRAYBROOKE in Vol. iv., p. 368. If the following appears to you worthy of insertion, pray use it.

I have a beautiful miniature of Oliver Cromwell, painted with very great care, and which has every appearance of being an original by Cooper. I remember it all my life in my father's (Lord Holland's) room at Holland House; and on his death in 1840, it was left by him to his friend and mine, John Allen, late master of Dulwich College, who died in 1843, and left it with his books to me.

Cromwell is painted in armour, with a remarkably clean, plain, turned-down shirt collar; his usual countenance, somewhat stern, but full of the expression of good sense and intelligence; reddish hair, and a small portion of it under the lower lip. On the back is written in my father's handwriting:

"This miniature was given to me when at school by Lady Diana
Beauclerk, who assured me that it was an original by Cooper, and
that it had been long in the possession of the Beauclerk family,
who had it from Charles II. (Signed) VASSALL HOLLAND."

Lady D. Beauclerk, herself distinguished as an artist, was the daughter of the Duke of St. Albans, a lineal descendant of Charles II.

There is an engraving from a miniature of Cromwell in Carlyle's life of him, said to be in the possession of Archdeacon Berners, which I believe to be also by Cooper. It is larger than mine, and even better painted. I have seen it, but cannot recollect where or when.