Chapter C: Fox, Major-General

Addison Road.

P.S.--I have left my miniature with my friend Mr. Domenic Colnaghi at Pall Mall East, for the inspection of any of your correspondents. It will be there till the _31st March_.

THE QUEEN OF THE ISLE OF MAN.

(Vol. v., p. 132.)

In an interesting communication from MR. WM. SIDNEY GIBSON in a late Number of your publication there occurs the following statement, to which I beg to add a few remarks. He says:

"After the death of Magnus, the island was seized by Alexander
III. of Scotland. A daughter and heiress of Reginald sued for it
against John Baliol, before Edward I. of England, as lord
paramount of Man.

"_Rot. Parl._, 31 Edw. I."

And farther on he states:

"From sundry records it appears that Edward II. and Edward III.
committed its custody to various persons, and the latter at length
conferred his right to it upon William Montacute, Earl of
Salisbury, in consideration, probably, of that valiant earl having
by his arms regained the island from the Scots, who had resumed
possession, and of the circumstance that his grandmother, the wife
of Simon de Montacute, was sister and heiress of one of the former
kings of Man, and related to the lady who had claimed it as her
inheritance on the death of Magnus."

Now, I think MR. GIBSON, on reflection, will agree with me in concluding that the wife of Simon de Montacute, and the lady who claimed the island on the death of Magnus, were one and the same person. There is no document, I believe, of the kind he refers to, of the "31st" of Edw. I.; but in the "21st" of Edw. I., which date is probably intended, there is amongst the Scotch Rolls (anno 21 Edw. I. m. 4.) a citation from Edward I., as supreme lord of Scotland, directed to John Baliol, King of Scots, to answer the complaint of _Aufrica_, cousin and heiress of Magnus, late King of Man, &c. This is in the year 1292-3; and a few years later we again meet with _Aufrica_, for amongst the ancient charters in the British Museum is one marked "V. 73." It is a deed by which "_Aufrica_, heiress of the land of Man," gives up her right therein "to her noble and potent husband, Simon de Montagu." This deed is dated at Bridgewater, on Thursday the Vigil of the Annunciation, 1305; _i.e._ March 24, 1306.

In this charter (V. 73.) she calls herself _Aufrica de Connought_: and this is rather curious, for in a volume of pedigrees in the British Museum, in the handwriting of Robert Glover, Somerset Herald (Bib. Harl. 807.), she is said to be the daughter of Fergus, Lord of Galloway (Galway?), and Queen of Man. _Galway_ it is in another MS. in the same collection (MSS. Harl. 1074. folio 22.), where she is styled "Aufrica, Reyne de Man," and daughter of Fergus, Lord of Galway. In both these MSS. she is said to be the wife of Simon de Montagu, who is styled "Roy de Man par sa femme."

F. C. M.

Replies to Minor Queries.

_Old Scots March_ (Vol. v., p. 104.).--The following quotation from a "Dissertation on Scottish Music," by Mr. Tytler, of Woodhouselee (the grandfather of the historian), contained in the _Transactions of the Society of Scottish Antiquaries_, vol. i. p. 486., although not an answer to his Query, may perhaps prove interesting to J.M.:--

"To the wandering harpers we are certainly indebted for that
species of music which is now scarcely known, I mean _the Port_.
Almost every great family had a _Port_ that went by the name of
the family. Of the few that are still preserved are, _Port
Lennox_, _Port Gordon_, _Port Seton_, and _Port Athole_, which are
all of them excellent in their kind. The _Port_ is not of the
martial strain of the _march_, as some have conjectured; those
above named being all in the plaintive strain, and modulated for
the harp.

"The _pibroch_, the march or battle-tune of the _Highland clans_,
with the different strains introduced of the _coronich_, &c., is
fitted for the _bagpipe_ only: its measure, in the _pas grave_ of
the _Highland piper_, equipped with his flag and military ensigns,
when marching up to battle, is stately and animating, rising often
to a degree of fury."

Although anxious to do so, I have never yet been able to meet with any of the _ports_ here referred to.

E. N.

_Elizabeth, Equestrian Figure of_ (Vol. iv., p. 231.).--The "unnatural gait" which MR. LAWRENCE inquires about, is known in Spain as the "paso Castiliano;" and supplies the place of the more familiar trot, which the Spanish horses are rarely broken into.

I did not see the piece of plate alluded to, but probably the horse was a Spanish (Andalusian) jennet, which would account for the peculiarity of the pace. I cannot explain how this step is taught, but Spanish horses fall into it at once on being touched with the spur, and simultaneously curbed; and they perform long journeys thus, at the rate of five miles an hour, with little fatigue to themselves or their riders. Does not the dromedary also _pace_ in the same way?

G. W. T.

_Meaning of Stickle_ (Vol. iv., p. 209.).--MR. RELTON'S supposition that the word _stickle_ is used for a _pool_, is at variance with the common usage of the word in Devonshire, where only I have met with it. It is there used to describe the shallow swift running water immediately below a pool. It is thus equivalent to the word _rapids_. It is by no means obsolete, or a mere technical term of the "patient anglers." The opposition in the line quoted, "Near to some _stickle_ or _deep_ bay," would alone have been a good reason to doubt whether it could be the same as _pool_.

G. W. T.

_Latin Names of Towns_ (Vol. i., pp. 287. 402. 474.).--There is a class of persons who ought to be contributors to (*?) (I like the idea of a recent correspondent better than "N. & Q." with its marks of quotation) to a much larger extent than is the case. I mean those who having asked questions, and profited by the answer, find additional answer, or better answer, by their subsequent researches. As one of these, in reference to my Query about Latin names of towns in Vol. i., I mention the list given in Riccioli's _Geographia et Hydrographiæ Reformatæ_, of which the first edition was licensed in 1658 (I don't know where it was printed), and the record is of Venice, folio, 1672. This work contains, from more than 250 authors whose names are given, more than 8500 Latin names rendered into vernacular, and a much larger number reversely given.