Chapter C: I. R

_Mary Howe_ (Vol. v., p. 226.).--Mary Howe was probably one of the three daughters of Scrope, first Viscount Howe, by his second wife, Juliana, daughter of William Lord Allington. She was, in 1720, appointed a maid of honour to Caroline, Princess of Wales; and in 1725 married Thomas, eighth Earl of Pembroke, whom she survived, as well as her second husband, John Mordaunt, a brother of Charles, Earl of Peterborough. She died in 1749 _s. p._

BRAYBROOKE.

_Dutch Chronicle of the World_ (Vol. v., p. 54.).

"_Historische Chronica._ Mit Merianischen Kupfern. viii. Theile.
Frankf. 1630. sqq. in 4. Hæc editio propter elegantiam figurarum
rara est. Bibl. Solger. ii. p. 298."--Bauer. _Bibl. Libror.
Rariorum._

"_Historische Chronica_, &c., folio. Francf. 1657.

"---- 3 vol. fol. Francf. 1743, 45 and 59."--_Bibliothecæ Regiæ
Catalogus_ (_in Mus. Brit._) s. v. _Abelinus_.

"Abelin John Philip, an historian, born at Strasburgh, died 1646;
often known by the name of John Louis Gottfried, or Gothofredus.
_Historical Chronicle from the beginning of the World to the year
1619_; being a number of plates by Merian, with letter-press
descriptive of them."--_Watt's Bibl. Brit._

The life of Merian is given by Sandrart, in his _Academia Artis Pictoriæ_. Strutt, in his _Dictionary of Engravers_, neglects to mention that Matthæus Merianus Basileensis was employed at Nancy, together with Brentel, A.D. 1608, in designing _Pompæ_ (funebres) _Caroli III. Lotharingiæ Ducis_. They are etched in a slight style, but with great spirit. The procession consists of a great many plates: these, bound up together with the description, make a large folio volume. I bought a copy six years ago. Can any of your readers inform me whether there is another in England?

BIBLIOTHECAR. CHETHAM.

_Thistle of Scotland_ (Vol. i., pp. 24. 90. 166.).--I have just accidentally stumbled upon my promised note on this subject; and as it appears to be entirely different from any yet offered to you, I gladly send it for the information of your correspondents. I copied it from an old scrap-book:

"_The Scotch Thistle._--The origin of the national badge is thus
handed down by tradition:--When the Danes invaded Scotland it was
deemed unwarlike to attack an enemy in the darkness of night,
instead of a pitched battle by day: but, on one occasion the
invaders resolved to avail themselves of stratagem; and in order
to prevent their tramp from being heard, they marched barefooted.
They had thus neared the Scottish force unobserved, when a Dane
unluckily stepped with his foot upon a superbly prickled thistle,
and uttered a cry of pain, which discovered the assailants to the
Scots, who ran to their arms, and defeated the foe with great
slaughter. The thistle was immediately adopted as the insignia of
Scotland."

R. H.

_Bull the Barrel_ (Vol. v., p. 200.).--The practice of "bulling the barrel" or "cask," as mentioned by C. FORBES, is an every-day occurrence in the Navy. As soon as a rum cask is emptied, a few gallons of water are put into the cask (and it is struck down again into the spirit-room); this is done to keep the wood moist, and prevent it from shrinking, so as to keep the cask water-tight: this is called "bulling the cask;" and from the water receiving after some time a strong impregnation, which makes it really strong grog, salt water is used, though even the "salt-water bull," as it is called, when again poured out, has often proved too attractive for seamen to resist. Again, it is common to talk in the same way of "bulling a tea-pot," coffee-pot, &c.; that is, after the first "brew" has been exhausted, by adding fresh water, and boiling over again, to make a "_second brew_" from the old materials. This probably was derived from "bulling the cask;" but whether the "bulling" originally applied to the preserving the water-tight qualities of the cask, or to the making the "second brew," I cannot pretend to say, though I should define the present acceptation of the term "bulling" to be "the obtaining an impregnation from that which had been already used."

G. M. T. R. N.

_Bishop Kidder's Autobiography_ (Vol. v., p. 228.).--Mr. Bowles, in the introduction to his _Life of Bishop Ken_, vol. i. p. xi. (Lond. 1830), expresses his thanks to the late Bishop of Bath and Wells "for the information contained in the MS. life of Ken's successor, Bishop Kidder;" and adds:

"This work, never printed, is a very curious and valuable
document, _preserved in the episcopal palace of Wells_."

J. C. R.

_Which are the Shadows?_ (Vol. v., p. 196.).--The story is told as of Wilkie at the Escurial by Southey in _The Doctor_, vol. iii. p. 235.; also, with a fine compliment to the "British Painter," by Wordsworth, in one of the pieces published with _Yarrow Revisited_ (1835, pp. 305-6.). The coincidence with the note by Mr. Rogers--to whom, by the way, Wordsworth's volume is dedicated--has long perplexed me. One is unwilling to suppose that the touching words ascribed to the two monks were a stock speech common to aged monks who have such pictures to show; but what better explanation is there? I believe that the first edition of _Italy_ appeared, not in 1830, as your correspondent supposes, but in 1822. Is the story to be found in _that_ edition?

J. C. R.

_Welsh Names "Blaen"_ (Vol. v., p. 128.).--Although my acquaintance with the language of the Cymri is very limited, I think that a knowledge of the cognate Erse or Gaelic enables me to make a shrewd guess at the meaning of the word _Blaen_, prefixed to the names of so many farms in Wales. The Gaelic word _Baile_, pronounced _Ballé_, signifies a town--the Scotch _toun_--or farm, and, with the preposition _an_ or _na_--Anglicè _of_--is written _Baile'n_, pronounced _Ballen_: this, I think, is probably the same word as _Blaen_, and means, being interpreted, "the farm of." In the examples given by your correspondent α, the words affixed to _Blaen_ are descriptive; many of them scarcely differ in sound from their Gaelic synonyms _e.g._ _Blaen-awen_ is the Gaelic _Baile'n abhuinn_, pronounced _Ballen avine_, Ang. "the farm on, or of the river;" _Blaen-argy_--Gaelic, _Baile'n airgiod_, "the silver farm," or perhaps _'n arguin_, of strife; _Blaen-angell_--Gaelic, _Baile'n aingeal_, "angel farm"; _Blaen-y-foss_--Gaelic, _Baile-na-fois_, pronounced _f[=o]sh_, and synonymous with the Dutch _lust_, "leisure or pleasure farm;" and _Blaen-nefern_--Gaelic, _Baile-na-fearn_, "alder farm." In England these farms or towns would have been called respectively, _Riverton_, _Silverton_, _Alderston_, and so on. The same word, generally spelt _Bally_, forms part of the name of a very large proportion of the small towns and farms in Ireland.

W. A. C.

Ormsary.

_The Verb "to commit"_ (Vol. v., p. 125.).--The verb _to commit_, in the sense used by Junius, was employed by Lord Chesterfield so far back as the year 1757. In a letter to his son (Nov. 26), his lordship, after instructing Mr. Stanhope what to say to one of the foreign ministers, directs him to send to his own court an account of what he had done:

"Tell them you thought the measure of such great importance that
you could not help taking this little step towards bringing it
about, but that you mentioned it only from yourself, and that you
have not _committed_ them by it."

Lord Chesterfield's _Letters to his Son_ were not published until 1774, which will account for Walker ascribing to Junius the merit of introducing into the English language the French signification of the verb _to commit_.

WILLIAM CRAMP.

_Beócera-gent_ (Vol. v., p. 201.).--As I asked a question relating to the Irish, perhaps I may be allowed the so-called Irish mode of answering it myself.

_Beócherie_ is evidently derived from _Beóceraige_, the islet of bee-hives, or bee-keepers (who were regularly appointed officers in Saxon England); but as I was utterly at a loss for the word _gent_, I requested the opinion of Dr. Lèo, from whom I have received the following satisfactory reply:--

"The word _gent_ seems to be the same word as our German _gante_,
and the Scottish _gauntree_; i.e. a _tree_ which forms a stand for
barrels, hives, &c. In several parts of Germany, where the culture
of bees has, from distant periods, been carried on extensively,
the hives are transported from one place to another according to
the seasons: now in the forests, when the pine-trees are in
flower; now in the fields, when the rape blossoms; then again in
the woods, when the heather blossoms; and at last, when winter
approaches, in the barn. A tree forms the stand for the bee-hive,
and thatch protects it from the rain. Such a tree seems to be the
_beócera-gent_.

"In an old Glossary, the old high-German word, _gantmari_, is
interpreted as _tignarius_ (i.e. _faber tignarius_, a carpenter).
This word presupposes another word _gant_, a beam or a rafter,
probably equivalent to your Ang.-Sax. _gent_; and thus
_beócera-gent_ would be a beam upon which to stand bee-hives."

The question still remains, Why was the islet in question called Parva Hibernia?

B. WILLIAMS.

The Lodge, Hillingdon.

_New Zealand Legend_ (Vol. v., p. 27.).--This strange legend reminds me of the fine passage in _Caractacus_, of which I know not whether it is an original conception, or taken from any author:--

"Masters of wisdom! No: my soul confides
In that all-healing and all-forming Power,
Who, on the radiant day when Time was born,
Cast his broad eye upon the wild of ocean,
And calm'd it with a glance; then, plunging deep
His mighty arm, pluck'd from its dark domain
This throne of freedom, lifted it to light,
Girt it with silver cliffs, and call'd it Britain;
He did, and will preserve it."

C. B.

_Twenty-seven Children_ (Vol. v., p. 126.).--To E. D.'s Query, "whether there is any well-authenticated instance of a woman having had more than twenty-five children?" something like a reply will be found in the following paragraph, which formed one of a series of "Curious Extracts," in the _Edinburgh Antiquarian Magazine_ (1848):--

"'_Extraordinary Number of Children._--The following
extraordinary, yet well-attested fact, is copied from Brand's
_History of Newcastle_, lately published. The fact is mentioned
and corroborated by a quotation from an Harleian MS. No. 980-87. A
weaver in Scotland had, by one wife, a Scotch woman, _sixty-two_
children, all living till they were baptized; of whom four
daughters only lived to be women, but forty-six sons attained to
man's estate. In 1630, Joseph Delavel, Esq., of Northumberland,
rode thirty miles beyond Edinburgh, to be satisfied of the truth
of this account, when he found the man and woman both living; but
at that time had no children abiding with them. Sir John Bowes and
three other gentlemen having, at different periods, taken each ten
in order to bring them up; the rest also being disposed of. Three
or four of them were at that period (1630) at
Newcastle.'--_European Magazine_, Dec. 1786."

But, of course, the question still arises, _can_ this wonderful instance be recognised as "a well-attested fact?"

R. S. F.

Perth.

In Wanley's _Wonders of the Little Moral World_ (London, 1806), vol. i. p. 76., will be found several instances of numerous families by one mother; in one case (No. 27.) fifty-seven children; and in another (No. 6.), no less than seventy-three! Your correspondent can refer to the authorities, which are also given. The authenticity of one of the cases mentioned (No. 23.) will probably be easily ascertained, as it is said to be the copy of an inscription in the churchyard of Heydon in Yorkshire, to the following effect:--

"Here lieth the body of William Strutton of Padrington, buried the
18th of May, 1734, aged ninety-seven, who had by his first wife
twenty-eight children, and by a second wife seventeen; was father
to forty-five, grandfather to eighty-six, great-grandfather to
ninety-seven, and great-great-grandfather to twenty-three--in all
251."--_Gent. Mag. Aug. 1731._

There appears to be some mistake in the reference, and I may mention that I have not been able to find the epitaph in Mr. Urban's pages with the assistance of the general index.[8]

E. N.

[Footnote 8: [It occurs in the October number of 1734, p. 571.--ED.]]

_Reeve and Muggleton_ (Vol. v., pp. 80. 236.).--One of the handsomest quartos of our day, both in typography and engravings, is, _Two Systems of Astronomy: first, the Newtonian System ... second, the System in accordance with the Holy Scriptures_ ... by Isaac Frost, London, 4to., 1846 (Simpkin and Marshall). This work is Muggletonian, and contains some extracts from _The Divine Looking-Glass of the Third Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ_, by Reeve and Muggleton. I request your readers to draw no inference from the letter with which I sign my communications.

M.

_Black Book of Paisley_ (Vol. v., pp. 201.).--In reply to ABERDONIENSIS, I beg to inform him that the "Maitland Club" (_Glasgow_) circulated as the contribution of the Earl of Glasgow in the year 1832 a very handsome volume, entitled _Registrum Monasterii de Passelet_, M.C.LXIII-M.D.XXIX. to which there was prefixed an highly interesting prefatory notice and illustrative notes, in which it is there stated--

"That it may be proper to correct a popular mistake regarding
_another_ record connected with the Monastery of Paisley. _The
Black Book of Paisley_, quoted by Buchanan and our earlier
historians, and which (having disappeared) was raised by later
antiquaries into undue importance as a distinct and original
chronicle, was nothing more than a copy of Fordun
(_Scotichronicon_), with Bowers' Continuation. It appears to have
been acquired by Thomas Lord Fairfax, but when Gale and Hearne
wrote, had already been deposited in the Royal Library, where it
is still preserved. (13. E. X.) Hearne particularly notices the
inscription on this volume: 'Iste liber est Sancti Jacobi et
Sancti Mirini de Pasleto.'--_Præfatio ad Fordun_, p. lxvi."

T. G. S.

Edinburgh.

_Pasquinades_ (Vol. v., p. 200.).--I have had these Italian lines in my MS. book for many years as an "Epigram on Bonaparte's Legion of Honor." If of earlier date, and another origin, they have been made good use of by the would-be wits of the day, as a quiz upon Napoleon's honorary badge.

HERMES.

_Elegy on Coleman_ (Vol. v., p. 137.).--The Elegy on Coleman I have seen paraphrased or travestied, and thus attributed to Dryden, who, not being able to pay his wine-merchant's bill, was told, on dining with this creditor, in the exhilaration of his cups, that if he (Dryden) would _improvise_ four lines expressive of pleasure to God, to the Devil, to the World, and to the Merchant, the debt would be forgiven. Instantly, therefore, the poet extemporised the following verses, sufficiently redolent of their inspiring source:

"God is pleased when we abstain from sin;
The devil is pleas'd when we remain therein;
The world is pleas'd with good wine,
And you're pleased when I pay for mine."

J. R.

Cork.

_Liber Conformitatum, &c._ (Vol. v., p. 202.).--On the _Liber Conformitatum_, I confidently assert, from accurate inquiry, that no edition preceded that of 1510, nor is there any authority for the alleged one of Venice. A long account of this most disedifying volume will be found in DeBure's _Bibliographie Instructive_, No. 4540. I am in possession of the second edition in 1511, perfectly identical in the text. Its absurdity is equal to its obvious, though not intended, blasphemy; for it is written in genuine simplicity of design. I have likewise the _Alcorand des Cordeliers_, with the second book by Conrad Badius, the son of Jodocus Badius Ascencius, a native of Belgium, but one of the early Parisian printers, and author himself of various works. The title of my edition of the _Alcoran_, printed at Geneva, 1575, differs from that of 1586, but necessarily of the same import, and quite as prolix.

J. R.

Cork.

_Grimesdyke; Grimes Graves_ (Vol. v., p. 231.).--As J. F. F. has repeated Blomefield's account of these curious pits (commonly known as _Grimes Graves_, in Weeting parish, Norfolk), it is right to add some more recent information respecting them. An investigation was made there last month, by digging a trench through the middle of a pit, and at the depth of about three feet an oval fire-place of flints was discovered, containing numerous bones of oxen, &c. One of the smaller pits was then similarly treated, and we found the same proofs of habitation. No stone implements were discovered, but further researches may bring some to light. Blomefield's statement that it is a Danish camp is quite without foundation, and his "form of a quincunx," in which he supposed the pits to be, could have existed only in his own imagination, stimulated by the learned labours of Sir Thomas Browne. There can be no doubt now that they were dwellings of the British, similar to the pits on the coast at Weybourne. That _Grime_ was a Danish leader, "Præpositus," &c., is also open to doubt. When so many British earthworks are designated by this name, what is more likely than that the Saxons, not knowing whose hands had erected them, superstitiously ascribed them to the _grim_ spirit, the Devil?--whence _Grimsdyke_, the Devil's ditch, &c. Neither this opinion, however, nor Mr. Guest's (a "boundary") seems applicable to a Hundred, as _Grimeshoo_, unless as being so full of Grime's operations.