Chapter X: Y. Z

_The Phrase "and tye."_--The clerk in a parish in the north-west part of Sussex frequently makes use of an expression which I cannot understand,--nay more, he is unable to explain it himself! The expression is used by several of the old men in the parish, though by none of them so often as by the clerk. "Well, master, how are ye to-day?" He answers, "Middling, thanky'e _and tye_." He brings these two words in at the end of most sentences. If you ask him whether there are many people in the church, he will say, "Fairish number _and tye_;" or, "No, not many _and tye_."

Can any of your correspondents say if they have heard it elsewhere, or tell the meaning of it?

NEDLAM.

_Stonehenge, a Pastoral, by John Speed._--Is any MS. of this dramatic pastoral known to exist? It was acted, according to Wood, before the President and Fellows of St. John's College, Oxford, in 1635.

EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.

"_Buro--Berto--Beriora._"--A gold ring was found in France, in the province of Artois, between thirty and forty years ago, bearing the following inscription:

"buro + berto + beriora."

The ring is of a proper size for a man's finger, is plain, and rounded on the outside. The words are on the inner side, which is flat. They are well engraved, and very distinct. The character is the black letter of the fifteenth century. Perhaps, through the medium of "N. & Q.," a satisfactory interpretation of the three words may be obtained, which has been long sought in vain.

A. F. A. W.

_'Prentice Pillars._--"Deaths by Fasting," and "Genevra's Chest," have reminded me of another tradition, no doubt equally groundless. It is said by the vergers that one of the circular windows in the transepts of Lincoln Minster was designed by an apprentice; and that the master, mortified at being surpassed, put an end to his own existence. There is another "'prentice window" at Melrose: a similar anecdote is connected with two pillars in Roslyn Chapel. And there may have been many more of these clever apprentices and foolish architects, but can one case be substantiated?

C. T.

_Archer Rolls: Master of Archery._--In George Agar Hansard's _Book of Archery_, 8vo. London, Longman and Orme, 1840, p. 151., it is stated that "Her Gracious Majesty, Alexandrina Victoria" has her name inscribed upon the _Archer Rolls_. Query, what are the Archer Rolls?

It is further said:

"That illustrious lady, in imitation of the warrior race of
monarchs from whom she springs, has given a proof of real British
feeling, by the appointment of a Master of Archery among her
household officers."

I confess I can find no authority upon which this assertion is founded. I have looked into the Calendar of the time, and have consulted officers of the present household upon the existence of the office, without success.

I should be glad to ascertain the point, being engaged on a manuscript concerning the practice of archery.

TOXOPHILUS.

_Witchcraft: Mrs. Hicks and her Daughter._--In the _Quarterly_ for March 1852, in the article on "Sir Roger de Coverley," mention is made of "Mrs. Hicks and her daughter," who were executed at Huntingdon in 1716 for "selling their souls to the devil, making their neighbour vomit pins, and raising a storm by which a certain ship was _almost_ lost." I would wish to know whether there is extant any account of this trial; I do not mean of the _result_, but whether I can anywhere meet with any account of the trial itself; of the judge before whom it was tried; the evidence, especially as to the ship which was _almost_ lost; and whether (what was observed upon in the answer of your correspondent H. B. C. to some Queries about "Old Booty's Ghost") the time of the crime being committed in Huntingdonshire, agrees with the position of the ship at the moment.

J. H. L.

University Club.

_Antony Hungerford._--In 4 Henry V. (1417) Sir Hugh Burnell, a descendant of Robert Burnell, Bishop of Bath and Wells, and Lord Chancellor in the reign of Edward I., entered into articles of agreement with Sir Walter Hungerford (through the King's mediation by letters) for the marriage of Margery, one of Sir Hugh's grandchildren, to Edmund Hungerford, son of Sir Walter. There was issue of this marriage, as I find by a fine levied by Antony Hungerford in the 32nd of Henry VIII.; but any further information respecting this family I am not able to meet with. If any of your correspondents can assist me in my inquiries I shall feel much obliged.

W. H. HART.

New Cross, Hatcham.

_Rev. William Dawson._--Can any of the readers of "N. & Q." favour me with some particulars regarding the ancestry of the Rev. William Dawson, minister of the Gospel at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who was appointed Professor of Hebrew and other Oriental languages in the University of Edinburgh in 1732? He is supposed to have been descended from the Irish family of Cremorne.

E. N.

"_Up, Guards, and at them!_"--Is there authority for the "Up, Guards, and at them!" traditionally put in the mouth of "the Duke" at Waterloo? I have heard not.

A. A. D.

P.S. Is not the battle itself a myth?

_St. Botolph._--I much wish some of the readers of "N. & Q." would refer me to any authorities they may know of respecting St. Botolph?

Private hints directed "A. B., Mr. Morton's, Publisher, Boston," will be most thankfully received.

A. B.

_Rental of Arable Land in 1333._--In the year 1333, it appears from _The Custom Book_, fol. 60., that the then Sheriff of Norfolk sent a copy of the king's proclamation to the Bailiffs of Norwich, commanding them to cause proclamation to be made in the city that "no man presume to take more than 24_s._ for the best living ox fatted with grain, and if not fatted with grain only 16_s._; the best fat cow 12_s._; the best fat swine of two years old, only 4_s._; the best fat mutton unclipped, 20_d._; and if clipped, then 14_d._; a fat goose, 2_d._; two pullets, 1_d._; four pigeons, 1_d._; a good fat capon, 2_d._; a fat hen, 1_d._; and twenty-four eggs, 1_d._" Can any of the readers of "N. & Q." inform me what was the _then_ yearly (average) rental of an acre of arable land, and the value per annum of an acre (average) of pasture? Also the relative value of one shilling sterling, as compared with one shilling at the present time?

JOHN FAIRFAX FRANCKLIN.

West Newton.

_Dress shows the Man._--Can any of your correspondents inform me in what Greek author ἱμάτιον ἀνήρ, "the dress shows the man," is to be found?

W. S.

Richmond, Surrey.

_Burnet (Gilbert)._--Can any of your readers help me to identify the Gilbert Burnet, whose correspondence with Professor Francis Hutcheson on the Foundation of Virtue was published, first in _The London Journal_, and afterwards in a separate pamphlet, in 1735? Was he Gilbert son of Bishop Burnet, or was he the vicar of Coggeshall, who abridged the _Boyle Lectures_; or was he a third Gilbert Burnet, in addition to the other two?

TYRO.

Dublin.

_Where was Cromwell buried?_--It has been the belief of many that the burial at Westminster Abbey was a mock ceremony, that in case a change in the ruling powers should take place, his remains were deposited in a place of greater security, and that the spot selected for his grave was the field of Naseby. The author of _The Compleat History of England_ speaks of a "Mr. Barkstead, the regicide's son," as being ready to depose--

"That the said Barkstead his father, being Lieutenant of the
Tower, and a great confident of Cromwell's, did, among other such
confidents, in the time of his illness, desire to know where he
would be buried; to which the Protector answered, 'where he had
obtained the greatest victory and glory, and as nigh the spot as
could be guessed where the heat of the action was, viz. in the
field at Naseby in com. Northampton.' That at midnight, soon after
his death, the body (being first embalmed and wrapt in a leaden
coffin) was in a hearse conveyed to the said field, Mr. Barkstead
himself attending, by order of his father, close to the hearse.
That being come to the field, they found about the midst of it a
grave dug about nine feet deep, with the green-sod carefully laid
on one side and the mould on the other, in which the coffin being
put, the grave was instantly filled up, and the green-sod laid
exactly flat upon it, care being taken that the surplus mould
should be clean removed. That soon after the like care was taken
that the ground should be ploughed up, and that it was sowed
successively with corn."

The author further states that the deponent was about fifteen years old at the time of Cromwell's death.

Some seven or eight years ago I visited the field of Naseby, and whilst there I met by accident with the aged clergyman of Naseby. Our conversation naturally referred to the historical incident that had given so much interest to the spot; and finally we spoke of this very subject. I remember his telling me that he had collected some very important memoranda relative to this matter, I think he said, "which proved the arrival of his remains at _Huntingdon_, on their road _elsewhere_."

Has this subject been properly investigated? and has any research been made which has led to a satisfactory decision of the question?

A. B.

Islington.

Minor Queries Answered.

_Knollys Family._--QUÆRENS would be glad to know whether any of the Knollys family, claimants of the earldom of Banbury, married either an _Etheridge_ or a _Blackwell_?

Also, especially, who were the wives of Major-General William Knollys, calling himself eighth Earl of Banbury, and of his father, Thomas Woods Knollys, calling himself seventh earl.

[Thos. Woods Knollys, called Earl of Banbury (father of the last
claimant to the Earldom of Banbury), married Mary, daughter of
William Porter of Winchester, attorney-at-law; he died the 18th
March, 1793; and she, 23rd March, 1798.

Their eldest son, William Knollys, called in his father's lifetime
Viscount Wallingford, and afterwards Earl of Banbury, married
----, daughter of Ebenezer Blackwell.]

_Emblematical Halfpenny._--I enclose a rude drawing of a halfpenny, and should be glad to be favoured with a more detailed account of its emblematical import than I at present possess. It is thus described in Conder's _Provincial Coins_, Ipswich, 1798, p. 213.:

"A square of daggers, the word 'fire' at each corner, a foot in
the middle, under it the word 'honor;' over it 'France,' and the
word 'throne' bottom upwards; on one side 'glory' defaced, on the
other 'religion' divided. 'A Map of France,' 1794."

On reverse, in a radiation, "May Great Britain ever remain the reverse," encircled with an open wreath of oak. Engrailed.

PETROPROMONTORIENSIS.

[The types here described appear to explain themselves. That of
the obverse is clearly emblematical of the then state of France,
with France surrounded by fire and sword, honour trodden under
foot, the throne overturned, religion shattered, and glory
defaced; while the reverse expresses a very natural wish.]

_National Proverbs._--Will any of your correspondents refer me to any collections of proverbs of different nations, or to writers who may have given lists of those of any particular people, either ancient or modern?

SIGMA.

[To answer our correspondent fully would fill an entire Number of
"N. & Q." We had thought of giving him a list of the best
collections of the proverbs of different nations, as Le Roux de
Lincy's _Livre des Proverbes Français_; Korte's _Die Sprichwörter
und Sprichwörtlichen Redensarten der Deutschen_; but we shall be
doing him better service by referring him to two books, in which
we think he will find all the information of which he is in
search; viz., 1. Nopitsch, _Literatur der Sprichwörter_; and 2.
Duplessis, _Bibliographie Parémiologique. Etudes Bibliographiques
et Litéraires sur les Ouvrages, Fragmens d'Ouvrages et Opuscules
spécialement consacrés aux Proverbes dans toutes les langues_.]

_Heraldic Query._--An armiger had two wives, and issue by both: by the first, sons; by the second, who was an _heiress_, daughters only. Have the descendants of the second marriage right to quarter the ancestor's arms, male issue of the first marriage still surviving? It would seem that they have, as otherwise the arms of the heiress' family cannot be transmitted to her posterity, nor the heraldic representation carried on.

G. A. C.

[The daughter of armiger by his second wife would of course
quarter her mother's arms with those of her father. In case of the
daughter marrying and having issue, such issue, to show that the
grandmother was an heiress, would, with their paternal crest,
quarter those of the grandmother, placing the arms of armiger on a
canton.]

_Chantrey's Marble Children._--I have just had placed before me a memorandum to the effect that "there is at Leyden the perfect and undoubted original of Chantrey's celebrated figures of the children at Lichfield." The reference is to Poynder's _Literary Extracts_, Second Series, p. 63. As I have not seen the book, and have no access to it, will some correspondent of "N. & Q." inform me whether the foregoing passage contains the whole of Poynder's statement; or otherwise afford any information relative to its origin? I need scarcely add, that the reputation of the great English sculptor is nowise involved in the issue of the question.

D.

[We subjoin the whole of Mr. Poynder's article, which is signed
"Miscellaneous:"--"There is at Leyden the perfect and undoubted
original of Chantrey's celebrated figures of the children at
Lichfield; and on a friend of the writer mentioning the
circumstance to that artist, he did not deny the fact. The figures
form the foreground of a celebrated painting in the Town-hall,
commemorating the heroic conduct of a former defender of that
city, when it was reduced by famine to the greatest extremities.
On this occasion the citizens are represented as earnestly
importuning the governor to surrender, and representing their
deplorable condition from the effects of the siege. Many dying
figures are introduced into the painting, and among them the
children in question are seen locked in each other's arms,
precisely as in the sculpture at Lichfield. The story proceeds to
relate, that the commander declared he would never surrender the
city; and added, that whether his fellow-citizens chose to hang
him, or throw him into the dyke, he was determined never to open
the gates to such a monster as the Duke of Alva. It is further
stated, that the providential relief of the city by some troops of
his own side rewarded his courage."]

_Autobiography of Timour._--In 1785, _Institutes, Political and Military, of the Emperor Timour_ (incorrectly called Tamerlane), were published at Calcutta, printed by Daniel Stuart. This work, which may more properly be named autobiographical memoranda, written by Timour, was composed by him originally in the Turkish language, and translated by Abu Taulib Alhusseini into Persian, and by Major Davy into English, to which Dr. Joseph White, of Oxford, added notes; and other matter was affixed by a person whose name is not given. The rules for carrying to a successful result great enterprises are profound and dignified, and the enterprises extraordinary and interesting, though only given in outline. This part ends with the capture of Bagdat (_d_?). I wish to know if there exists an accredited translation from the original by Timour in the Turkish, and of what more this extraordinary work consists; and if any part, or all, has ever been printed in England, or in any European language?

ÆGROTUS.

[In the year 1787, the late Professor Langlés of Paris published a
French translation of the _Institutes_, under the title of
_Instituts Politiques et Militaires de Tamerlane, proprement
appellé Timour, écrits par lui-même en Mogol, et traduits en
François sur la version Persane d'Abou Taleb al Hosseini, avec la
Vie de ce Conquerant_, &c. And in 1830 another English translation
was published by Major Charles Stewart, late Professor of Oriental
Languages in Hon. E. I. Company's College, entitled, _The
Mulfuz[=a]t Tim[=u]r, or Autobiographical Memoirs of the Moghul
Emperor Tim[=u]r_. In the Preface to this edition our
correspondent will find an interesting bibliographical account of
the work and its various translations.]

Replies.

THE EARL OF ERROLL.

(Vol. v., p. 297.)

I am somewhat of opinion that your correspondent PETROPROMONTORIENSIS is correct, about this nobleman being by _birth_ the first subject in Scotland, only he has apparently omitted the word "hereditary" before those of Great Constable of Scotland, or Lord High Constable of Scotland. Indeed, some writers make him _by birth_, not only the first subject in Scotland, but also in England. Dr. Anderson, the learned and laborious editor of _The Bee_, at p. 306. of vol. v. of that publication, in the article on James, Earl of Erroll, who died 3rd June, 1778, says:

"As to rank, in his lordship's person were united the honours of
Livingston, Kilmarnock, and Erroll. As hereditary High Constable
of Scotland, Lord Erroll is _by birth_ the first subject in Great
Britain, after the blood royal, and, as such, had a right to take
place of every hereditary honour. The Lord Chancellor, and the
Lord High Constable of England, do indeed take precedence of him,
but these are only temporary honours which no man can lay claim to
_by birth_; so that, _by birth_, Lord Erroll ranks, without a
doubt, as the first subject of Great Britain, next after the
Princes of the blood royal."

It would appear that the personal appearance of Earl James was in good keeping with his high rank. He was accounted the handsomest man in Britain, and at the coronation of George III. he attended in his robes, and by accident neglected to take off his cap when the king entered. He apologised for his negligence in the most respectful manner; but his majesty, with great complacency, entreated him to be covered, as he looked upon his presence at the solemnity as a very particular honour.

The Earl of Erroll's charter of appointment to this high office, is dated at Cambuskenneth, 12th November, anno 1316; and is still preserved in the charter room of the family seat, Slains Castle, Cruden, Aberdeenshire. The youthful inheritor of this high office is the Right Honourable William Harry, Earl of Erroll, Baron Hay of Slains, Baron Kilmarnock of Kilmarnock, in the county of Ayr, Captain in the Rifle Brigade, born in 1823, succeeded his father, seventeenth Earl, in 1846.

INVERURIENSIS.

GENERAL WOLFE.

(Vol. iv., p. 438.; Vol. v., p. 185., &c.)

Although not affording answers to the Queries in Vol. iv., p. 438. _et infra_, the following may not be uninteresting to your correspondent. There is much concerning Wolfe in the _Historical Journal of Campaigns in North America_, by Captain Knox, dedicated by permission to Sir Jeffery Amherst, who commanded that part of the expedition against Canada which, striking on the lower end of Lake Ontario, descended the St. Lawrence to Montreal, whilst Wolfe, ascending the river, operated against Quebec. Thus it appears that General and Sir Jeffery Amherst were one and the same person. The frontispiece to the 1st vol. is a portrait of General Amherst, that of vol. 2nd is a portrait of General Wolfe; both so characteristic, that I should presume they are likenesses, although no authority is given.

In 1828, I saw at Quebec the man who attended Wolfe as orderly-serjeant on the day of his death; and what may be considered a curious coincidence was, that he bore the same name as Wolfe's mother, viz. Thompson. Mr. Thompson was a very respectable and much-respected old man; and, I believe, was occasionally a guest at the Governor's table. He had a son in the Commissariat department, who is no doubt in possession of all his father knew concerning Wolfe.

According to Mr. Thompson, Wolfe always addressed his men "brother soldiers;" and their pet-name for him was, "The little red-haired corporal." Thompson was not the only remnant of Wolfe's army in 1828, as appears by the following:--

"General Orders, Head Quarters, Quebec, 7th Aug. 1828.

"1. The Commander of the Forces is pleased to authorise the
payment of a pension, at the rate of 1_s._ per diem from 25th May
last, to Robert Simpson, a veteran, now ninety-six years of age,
who fought on the plains of Abraham under Gen. Wolfe," &c. &c.

On the 12th Jan. 1829, died at Kingston, U. C., John Gray of Argyleshire, N. B., aged ninety-six. He had served at Louisburg, Quebec, &c. &c. under Sir Jeffery Amherst and General Wolfe.

A. C. M.

Exeter.

I send the following extracts from the newspapers respecting Wolfe, scarcely knowing whether it may be worth while. Such as they are, they are at your service:--

"Hoc ultimum opus virtutis edens in victoria coesus."

"To the highest military merit undoubtedly belongs the highest
applause, but setting aside the froth of panegyrick--

"Who formed the 20th regt. of foot, exemplary in the field of
Minden, only by practising what was familiar to them?

"Who at Rochefort offered to make a good landing, not asking how
many were the French, but where are they?

"Who, second then in command, was second to none in those
laborious dangers which reduced Louisburgh?

"Who wrote like Cæsar from before Quebec?

"Who, like Epaminondas, died in victory?

"Who never gave his country cause of complaint except by his
death?

"Who bequeathed Canada as a triumphant legacy?

"Proclaim, 'twas WOLFE!"--_Newcastle Courant_, Oct. 27, 1759.

"The late brave General Wolfe was to have been married on his
return to England to a sister of Sir James Lowther, a young lady
whose immense fortune is her least recommendation. She had shown
so much uneasiness at the thoughts of his making his campaign in
America, that nothing but the call of honour could have prevailed
with him to accept of that command in the discharge of which he
fell so gloriously."--_N. C. Journal_, 1759.

"His mother is, we hear, so much afflicted for the loss of her son
that 'tis feared she will never get the better of her disorders.
The inhabitants in her neighbourhood sympathised with her so much
that they did not make any public rejoicings, lest it should add
to her grief. Even the mob of London discovered by their behaviour
the night of the illuminations for the victory, what they felt for
so brave a man.

"_They_ mourn Quebec; for Wolfe _our_ sorrows flow;
Victors and vanquish'd felt the twofold blow.
To both perpetual let each loss remain;
If Quebec be restored, Wolfe fell in vain."

_Newcastle paper_, 1759.

E. H. A.

You have lately published some inquiries relative to Wolfe's early career. Is the following fact worth stating? Tradition points to an old house, once an inn, at the back of the Town-hall at Devizes, where the young officer resided while enlisting soldiers into his regiment.

WILTONIENSIS.

JAMES WILSON, M.D.

(Vol. v., pp. 276. 329.)

This writer will be one instance of the use of such an organ of inquiry as "N. & Q." MR. CORNEY'S reply to my Query reminds me of Wilson's _History of Navigation_, with which I have long been acquainted: but I had quite forgotten, or perhaps never remarked, that this Wilson was _James_, and _M.D._ Baron Maseres reprinted the _History of Navigation_ in the fourth volume of the _Scriptores Logarithmici_: it is an elaborate summary, of wide research, and puts the author's learning and judgment beyond a doubt. Maseres, in his Preface, gives a mention of Wilson, and, in addition to the facts now brought out, states, in his own curiously explicit style, that Dr. Pemberton's _Epistola ad Amicum J. W. de Cotesii inventis_, "was addressed to this Dr. James Wilson, who was the person meant by the word _Amicum_, with the two letters _J. W._, which were the initial letters of his name." I happen to possess Brook Taylor's copy of this _Epistola_ (4to. 1722), and its Supplement (4to. 1723), in which Taylor has written, "E libris Br. Taylor, ex dono eximii paris amicorum, autoris D. H. Pemberton atque editoris D. J. Wilson." Thus it is established that the author of the dissertation on the fluxional controversy appended to Robins's tracts, lived in friendship with some of the most distinguished parties to that quarrel. It is also established that he was fully conversant with the mathematics of the day; for Pemberton's letter, called out by Wilson's own queries, could have been read by none but a previous reader of Cotes and the highest fluxionists. As to Wilson's age, he says (Robins's _Math. Tr._, vol. ii. p. 299.) he was a fellow-student of Pemberton at Paris: the latter was born in 1694, and the former was probably of nearly the same age. They were close friends to the end of their lives, and Wilson published Pemberton's _Course of Chemistry_, delivered at Gresham College, 8vo. 1771, according to Hutton and Watt. These last-named authorities both attribute to Pemberton himself the dissertation on the fluxional controversy in Robins's _Tracts_: but it certainly has Wilson's name to it; or rather, it is said to be by the _publisher_ (which we now call _editor_) of the volumes. It is very likely that Pemberton gave help: assuredly he must have been consulted by his intimate friend on facts the truth of which was within his own knowledge. Accordingly, the following assertions, made by Wilson, are not to be lightly passed over: first (which also Robins assumes again and again), that _Newton_ wrote the anonymous account of the _Commercium Epistolicum_ (_Phil. Trans._, No. 342.) usually attributed to Keill, which, in Latin, forms the Preface to the second edition of that work. Secondly, that Newton wrote the criticism on John Bernoulli's letter at the end of the second edition. Thirdly, that Newton himself, and not Pemberton, omitted the celebrated Scholium from the third edition of the _Principia_. Montucla, in the second edition (1802, vol. iii. p. 108) of his _History of Mathematics_, gives statements on these points from a private source, to the effect that the notes of the original edition of the _Comm. Epist._ were Newton's, and that the informant had seen the matter which was substituted for the Scholium, in Newton's handwriting, among the proof-sheets preserved by Pemberton. If Wilson were the informant, which may have been, for Montucla's first edition was published in 1758, Montucla must have confounded the two editions of the _Comm. Epist._ If not, it must have been some one who did not draw his account from the dissertation, in which there is nothing about the proof-sheets. Montucla, however, has lowered the credit of his informant by making him assert that the second edition of the _Principia_ was managed by Cotes and Bentley, without communication with Newton. This, which all the world knows to be untrue of the book, is true of the prefatory parts; and Wilson gives an account of Newton's dissatisfaction with those parts. If Wilson were the informant, Montucla has again misunderstood him.

A. DE MORGAN.

OLIVER CROMWELL.--THE "WHALE" AND THE "STORM" IN 1658.

(Vol. iii., p. 207.)

B. B. may see, in the British Museum library, a tract of four leaves only, the title of which I will transcribe:

"London's Wonder. Being a most true and positive relation of the
taking and killing of a great Whale neer to Greenwich; the said
Whale being fifty-eight foot in length, twelve foot high, fourteen
foot broad, and two foot between the eyes. At whose death was used
Harping-irons, Spits, Swords, Guns, Bills, Axes, and Hatchets, and
all kind of sharp Instruments to kill her: and at last two Anchors
being struck fast into her body, she could not remoove them, but
the blood gush'd out of her body, as the water does out of a pump.
The report of which Whale hath caused many hundred of people both
by land and water to go and see her: the said Whale being slaine
hard by _Greenwich_ upon the third day of June this present yere
1658, which is largely exprest in this following discourse.
_London, printed for Francis Grove, neere the Sarazen's head on
Snowhill, 1658._"

Surely after reading the above, your sceptical correspondent can no longer hesitate to accept as a matter of veritable fact this story so _very_ like a whale.

Evelyn, who lived near Greenwich, and was most probably one of the wonder-struck spectators of the huge monster of the deep which had been so rash as to visit our shores, notes in his _Diary_ under the above-mentioned date--

"A large whale was taken betwixt my land butting on the Thames and
Greenwich, which drew an infinite concourse to see it by water,
horse, coach, and on foote, from London and all parts. It appear'd
first below Greenwich at low water, for at high water it would
have destroyed all ye boates; but lying now in shallow water
encompass'd with boates, after a long conflict it was kill'd with
a harping yron, struck in ye head, out of which spouted blood and
water by two tunnells, and after an horrid grone it ran quite on
shore and died. Its length was 58 foote, height 16; black skin'd
like coach leather, very small eyes, greate tail, onely 2 small
finns, a picked snout, and a mouth so wide that divers men might
have stood upright in it: no teeth, but suck'd the slime onely as
thro' a grate of that bone which we call whale-bone; the throate
yet so narrow as would not have admitted the least of fishes. The
extreames of the cetaceous bones hang downewards from the upper
jaw, and was hairy towards the ends and bottom within side: all of
it prodigious, but in nothing more wonderfull then that an animal
of so greate a bulk should be nourished onely by slime thro' those
grates."

Having disposed of this matter, I shall now turn my attention to the great storm that immediately preceded the death of that "arch rebell Oliver Cromwell, cal'd Protector," which, be it remembered, took place on Friday the 3rd of September, 1658.

"Toss'd in a furious hurricane,
Did Oliver give up his reign."

So saith the witty author of _Hudibras_; and to these lines his editor, Grey, adds the note--

"At Oliver's death was a most furious tempest, such as had not
been known in the memory of man, or hardly ever recorded to have
been in this nation. (See Echard's _History of England_, vol. ii.)
Though most of our historians mention the hurricane at his death,
yet few take notice of the storm in the northern counties on that
day the House of Peers ordered the digging up his carcase with
other regicides. (See _Mercurius Publicus_, No. 51. p. 816.)"

Cotemporaneous proof of the occurrence is afforded by S. Carrington in prose, and by Edmund Waller in verse.

"Nature itself," says Carrington, "did witness her grief some two
or three days before by an extraordinary tempest and violent gust
of weather, insomuch that it might have been supposed that herself
had been ready to dissolve ... all which is so lively set forth by
the quaintest wit of these times (E. Waller), who expresseth it
more elegantly and copiously than my rough prose can possibly
reach to."

"_Upon the late Storm, and his Highness' Death ensuing
the same._[6]

"We must resign; Heaven his great soul doth claim
In storms as loud as his immortal fame.
His dying groans, his last breath shakes our isle,
And trees uncut fall for his funeral pile;
About his palace their broad roots were tost
Into the air--so Romulus was lost.
New Rome in such a tempest mist their King,
And from obeying fell to worshipping.

* * * * *

"Nature herself took notice of his death,
And sighing swell'd the sea with such a breath,
That to remotest shores her billows rould,
The approaching fate of their great Ruler told."

[Footnote 6: Vide _Three Poems upon the Death of his late
Highnesse Oliver, Lord Protector_, written by Waller, Dryden, and
Sprat. 4to. London, 1659.]

The ensuing night, Carrington adds, was serene and peaceful. (See his _Life of Cromwell_, 1659, p. 223.) Ludlow, in his Memoirs, also notices the storm. On the afternoon of Monday, August 30, he set out for London. He says:

"On the Monday afternoon I set forward on my journey (from Essex);
the morning proving so tempestuous that the horses were not able
to draw against it; so that I could reach no further than Epping
that night. By this means I arrived not at Westminster till
Tuesday about noon."

A. GRAYAN.

AUTHENTICATED INSTANCES OF LONGEVITY.

(Vol. v., pp. 178. 296.)

O. C. D. has avowed himself incredulous as to the reality of the reported remarkable ages of the old Countess of Desmond, Jenkins, Parr, &c., and he suggests that there should be unquestionable evidence of such extraordinary deviations from the usual course of human life before we credit them. I confess myself of the same way of thinking; and perhaps my doubts have been strengthened from the circumstance, that, although the longevity of members of the Society of Friends is well known at the insurance offices, I do not recollect an instance of any one attaining one hundred years in the United Kingdom. Upwards of ninety is not uncommon, from eighty to ninety common; and more than one-third of the whole deaths are from seventy upwards. There was a well-authenticated instance of a "Friend" in Virginia, named William Porter, who attained one hundred and seven years, who could hoe Indian corn a year previous to his death; but it was considered a rare occurrence in America.

As some of the readers of "N. & Q." may be curious in such matters, the following is an accurate statement of the ages at the time of death of members of the Society of Friends in the past two years. The extra number of females arises from the greater number of males who leave the society, or are excommunicated or emigrate. The average duration of life in these two years appears about 52 years 6 months 4 days. The number of members in the society in the United Kingdom is computed at 19,000 or 20,000. In America they are far more numerous.

_Deaths in the Society of Friends in 1849-1850,
1850-51._

Males. Females.
Under 5 Years 33 27
From 5 to 10 5 13
" 10-15 1 3
" 15-20 11 11
" 20-30 21 16
" 30-40 16 24
" 40-50 18 24
" 50-60 31 38
" 60-70 44 54
" 70-80 64 84
" 80-90 38 37
" 90 upwards 4 7
--- ---
286 338

A MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS.

I noticed, within the last week, the following inscription on a tombstone in Conway churchyard:

"Also, Here Lieth the Body of
Lowry Owens, the wife of
William Vaughan, who
died May the 1st, 1766,
aged 192."

The round of the "9" was above the line; the figures were in their natural places, and had evidently not been altered; but as the inscription was remarkably clear for its age, the only explanation that occurred to me was that it had been recut by some ignorant person, when nearly defaced. Immediately above it was the following, referring, I presume, to her husband:

"Here Lyeth ye Body of
William Vaughan, who
Dyed ye 16 day of A Pril,
1735, aged 72."

If so, and the age of Mrs. Vaughan be correct as stated, she must have been nearly a hundred or so when married. Can any of your correspondents living in the neighbourhood explain how the mistake arose?

AGMOND.

59. Catherine Street, Liverpool.

Replies to Minor Queries.

_Haberdascher.--Hurrer_ (Vol. v., p. 137.).--Precision is of great importance in investigating the meaning of our ancient technical terms.

_Haberdascher_ was, I apprehend, the _generic_ name of dealers in small wares. Hats and caps were formerley called _hures_ and _howves_ or _houfes_; and when haberdashers dealt in such articles they were _pro tanto hurrers_. But as early as the time of Edward I. there were traders called hatters, who were not haberdashers; and at a later period, when the term hurrer was obsolete, there were "haberdashers of hats." In the reign of Edw. IV. a curious petition was presented to Parliament, which is not unworthy of being put upon your Notes. It sets forth--

"That whereas huers, bonnets, and cappes, as well single as
double, were wont to be truly made, wrought, fulled, and thickked
by the might and strength of men, that is to say, with hand and
foot; and they that have so made, wrought, fulled, and thickked
such huers, bonnets, and cappes, have well and honestly afore this
gotten their living thereby, and thereupon kept apprentices,
servants, and good household. It is so that there is a subtile
mean found now of late, by reason of a Fullyng Mille, whereby more
cappes may be fulled and thickked in one day than by the might and
strength of four score men by hand and foot may be fulled and
thickked in the same day: the which huers, bonnets, and cappes, so
fulled and thickked by such mill, are bruised, broken, and
deceivably wrought, and cannot by the mean of any mill be truly
made."

The petitioners conclude by praying Parliament to impose heavy penalties upon all who use the fulling mill, or who sell huers, hats, or bonnets that have been "fulled or thickked" by means of any such mill. So early did the antagonism between hand-labour and machinery prevail.

I doubt whether the more ancient name of _haberdasher_ were _milainer_. There were _haberdashers_ at York in the time of Edward III., but no _milliners_. In 1372 the _haberdashers_ of London were separated from the _hurrers_, with whom they had been previously associated. I should be glad to have a reference to the use of the term _milainer_, as applied to traders of any sort prior to the reign of Edward III.

I should also be obliged to any of your correspondents who will tell me what was the description of trade or business carried on by _uphalders_ in former times.

Δ.

_Cou-bache_ (Vol. v., p. 131.).--In Halliwell's _Archaic Dictionary_ the word _balk_ is interpreted, "a ridge of greensward left by the plough in ploughing, or by design, between the different occupancies in a common field." This is exactly the meaning of the word as it is commonly used in Yorkshire at this day; but in a Yorkshire village with which I am acquainted, we have the very phrase of the _Golden Legend_, "_cou-bache_," (pronounced _skoo-bauk_, the prefix _s_ being a not infrequent corruption), as the name of a wide grassy road between thorn-hedges, upon the verbage of which the milch cows of the villages are pastured. This seems to be just the sort of place described in the legend as the scene of Kenelm's murder. I need not add, that it is not unusual to find pure Anglo-Saxon words retained in the rural dialects of Yorkshire.

Δ.

_Meaning of Groom.--M. F. Barrière_ (Vol. v., p. 347.)--Having some reason to doubt the high editorial authority attributed to M. Barrière by J. R. (Cork), I would request your ingenious correspondent to favour us with references to one or two (or more, if not too troublesome) of the "_frequent cases_" in which the _Quarterly Review_ adopts M. Barrière's statements.

The filthy _espièglerie_ related by that very suspicious authority St. Simon, of the Duchess of Burgundy, already sufficiently _incredible_, is rendered _impossible_ in J. R.'s version of "_administered to herself_." St. Simon supposes no such legerdemain.

The _Groom of the Stole_ is the first lord of the King's bed-chamber; under a Queen the equivalent office and title is _Mistress of the Robes_.

C.

_Grinning like a Cheshire Cat_ (Vol. ii., pp. 377, 412.).--In one of your early Numbers I have seen some Queries respecting the phrase "Grinning like a Cheshire Cat." I remember to have heard many years ago, that it owes its origin to the unhappy attempts of a sign painter of that county to represent a lion rampant, which was the crest of an influential family, on the sign-boards of many of the inns. The resemblance of these _lions_ to _cats_ caused them to be generally called by the more ignoble name. A similar case is to be found in the village of Charlton, between Pewsey and Devizes, Wiltshire. A public-house by the roadside is commonly known by the name of _The Cat at Charlton_. The sign of the house was originally a lion or tiger, or some such animal, the crest of the family of, I believe, Sir Edward Poore.

H.

_Mallet's Death and Burial_ (Vol. v., p. 319.).--I am _now_ able to answer a Query which I lately sent to you. David Mallet died in George Street, Hanover Square, and was buried in the burial-ground of Grosvenor Chapel, South Audley Street.

Can any of your readers tell me when and where Mrs. Mallet, his widow, died? Who was T. C., the writer of a letter in the _Gentlemen's Magazine_, vol. lxii. pt. 1. p. 100.

F.

_Town-halls_ (Vol. v., p. 295.).--MR. J. H. PARKER, in his Query respecting old town-halls, mentions the Town-hall of Weobly, in Herefordshire, as an early example of timber-work. Similar examples exist at Hereford, Ross, Ledbury, and Leominster, in the same country. These buildings are all constructed upon the same plan, viz. a large oblong room supported on wooden pillars; so that there is an open covered space beneath, which is used for the purposes of a market. With respect to the age of these buildings I can give no information; but something might doubtless be determined, partly by records, and partly by the internal evidence of the style of construction.

L.

In reply to MR. J. H. PARKER'S Query about Town-halls, I beg to say that in Leicester there are still standing a Guildhall (part of which is undoubtedly of a date as early as the middle of the fourteenth century) and a County Hall, called "The Castle," similar to the old building at Oakham. The foundation-walls of the latter are parts of the original fabric, and one of the windows is clearly of the Transition period.

JAYTEE.

_Whiting's Watch_ (Vol. iii., p. 352.).--On reading this you may exclaim, "Quæ regio in terris nostri non plena laboris." Before this note reaches you, I may have been anticipated; but I will venture it, if only to show that your delightful publication extends its charms even to the "benighted."

I wish to inform C. O. S. M., in furtherance of his Query, that Whiting's watch is included in Thorpe's (178. Piccadilly) _Catalogue_ for 1843, No. 689, and is there given as from the collection of the late Duke of Sussex, who obtained it from the Rev. John Bowen.

B. C.

Madras, March 13.

_The Birthplace of St. Patrick_ (Vol. v., p. 344.) is fully discussed by DR. ROCK at the end of a small work entitled _Did the Early Church in Ireland acknowledge the Pope's Supremacy?_ Perhaps CEYREP may think his question met by the authorities set forth in the above-named book.

BRITO.

_Family of Grey_ (Vol. v., p. 298.).--I am much obliged by the answer to part of my Query; but I should be very glad to know the _name_ of the lady Thomas, second brother of the Marquis of Dorset, married, and who was mother by him of Margaret, wife of John Astley[7], Master of the Jewels to Queen Elizabeth.

[Footnote 7: Query, not Ashley.]