Chapter C: H. D

[Archbishop of Canterbury, John Whitgift; London, Richard
Bancroft; Durham, Tobias Matthew; Winchester, Thomas Bilson;
Worcester, Gervase Babington; St. David's, Anthony Rudd;
Chichester, Anthony Watson; Carlisle, Henry Robinson;
Peterborough, Thomas Dove.]

Replies.

SCOTTISH REGALIA.

(Vol. iv., p. 208.)

The story referred to by Jeremy Taylor reminds me of a somewhat similar instance of dishonest astuteness I lately heard of in Scotland, from an old Highlander; the which, though courtesy forbade me to dispute, I at the time received "cum grano," and have since been unable to verify. It was as follows:

The custodians (whether rightful or not, I know not, as no date was assigned to the action of the narrative) of the Scottish regalia being bound by an oath to deliver it to the Governor of Carlisle, as the nearest representative of the English sovereign, by a certain day, determined upon a plan for performing (!), and at the same time evading, their promise. Having selected the most able steed in Scotland, a suitable deputation escorted the regalia _and the horse_ to the appointed place of tradition. The embassy carrying with them the more valuable and portable of their treasures--the jewels, not the horse, of which hereafter,--were duly admitted to an audience with the governor, who received them in the presence of the principal inhabitants of Carlisle: and having produced and surrendered the regalia (and doubtless taken an acquittance!), surreptitiously, and with gipsey adroitness, regained possession of it, and conveying it from the audience chamber, immediately delivered it to an expectant messenger; who, mounted on the before-mentioned horse, awaited its return outside the hall; and who, _ventre à terre_, pursued his eager flight across the border, nor once drew rein until his precious burden was again deposited in the custody of Scottish tenure. Whether the deputation was dismissed, and escaped before the discovery of its chicanery, or whether the conspirators received the well-merited punishment of their audacious dissimulation, my informant knew not. And although the story tells more in favour of the astuteness than the honesty of his countrymen (if true), he narrated it with considerable unction, and declared that it was generally believed and admired in Scotland; the patriotism displayed, the dangerous nature of the enterprise, and the success which attended it, palliating any stigma which might attach to the want of faith, double dealing, and casuistry which marked the transaction.

The method by which the horse's title to be considered the ablest in Scotland was ascertained, was ingenious. The horses the most renowned for fleetness and endurance were secretly collected, and having been deprived of water for a considerable time, were presently, one by one, permitted to bury their heads in the grateful bucket, and the duration of each draught was scrupulously watched and recorded; the animal that retained its nostrils for the longest time immersed being selected for the honour of rescuing the royal treasure, as having given proofs of its superior wind and bottom.

Is any credit to be attached to the story: and if historical, can any reader inform me where it is recorded?

C. A.

St. John's Wood.

GOSPEL OAKS.

(Vol. v., pp. 157. 209.)

The replies of FABER, EXON., and P. T. to the inquiry of STEPHEN, concerning the origin of Gospel Oaks, are not very explanatory.

The oak was consecrated to the god of thunder--Ang.-Sax., _Thunor_; Gallic, _Taranis_; Irish, _Toran_; Anc. N. _Thorr_--as being more generally struck by lightning than any other tree; and the acorn was called by the Romans _Jovis glans_, the fruit of the supreme god.

"Quercus Jovi placuit."--_Phædrus_, III. 17.

"Magna Jovis antiquo robore quercus."--Virg. _Georg._ III. 332.

At Dodona stood the δρῦς ὑψίκομος Διός.--_Od._ XIV. 327.

Woods, groves, and trees were the temples and sacred emblems of the Deity among the greater part of the Pagans, but especially among the Teutonic and Celtic tribes. Maximus Tyrius, an author of the second century, informs us, concerning the worship of the Celts:

"Κελτοὶ σέβουσι μὲν Δία, ἄγαλμα δὲ Διὸς Κελτικὸν ὑψηλὴ δρῦς."

And Tacitus gives us the oldest testimonies concerning the Germans, _Germ._ 9.:

"Ceterum, nec cohibere parietibus Deos, neque in ullam humani oris
speciem assimulare, ex magnitudine coelestium arbitrantur. _Lucos
ac nemora consecrant_, Deorumque nominibus appellant secretum
illud, quod sola reverentia vident."

Vid. _Germ._ 39. cap. 40. cap. 43., &c.

Also, a passage of the later Claudian is to the same purpose:

Ut procul Hercyniæ per vasta silentia silvæ
Venari tuto liceat, lucosque vetusta
Religione truces, et _robora Numinis instar
Barbarici_, nostræ feriant impune bipennes.

_Cons. Stilich._ I. 288.

From these passages it will be seen that the gods dwelt in these groves, and that sacred vessels and altars were placed there, but no images; neither were temples erected.[2] The practice of worshipping the gods in woods and trees continued for many centuries, till the introduction of Christianity (Vid. Willibald, A.D. 786, _in Vita Bonifacii_), and the converters did not disdain to adopt every means to raise Christian cultus to higher authority than that of Paganism, by acting upon the senses of the heathen, _e.g._ using white robes for those baptized, lighting of candles, burning of incense, &c.; and they erected the Christian churches, for the most part, upon the site of Pagan _tree_ or temple; Sulp. _Severus_ (ed. Amst. 1665), p. 485.:

"Nam ubi fana destruxerat (Martinus), _statim ibi aut ecclesias
aut monasteria construebat_."

Dietm. _V. Merseb._, 7. 52., p. 859.:

"Fana idolorum destruens incendit, et mare dæmonibus cultum
inmissis quatuor lapidibus, sacro Chrismate perunctis et aqua
purgans benedicta, novam Domino ... plantationem eduxit."

[Footnote 2: Brissonius _De Regno Pers._ II. 28.: "Persæ diis suis
nulla templa vel altaria constituunt, nulla simulacra."]

The heathen gods were represented as impotent, in opposition to the true God, though not as powerless in themselves, and were converted into inimical evil powers, which must submit, but could nevertheless exercise a certain hurtful influence.

Some heathen traditions and superstitions remained, their names only being altered into those of Christ, Maria, and the saints. In this manner they spared the assuefactions of the people, and made them believe that the sacredness of the place was not lost, but henceforth depended on the presence of the true God.

The above facts will perhaps sufficiently explain the origin of the Gospel Oak.

PROFESSOR THEODORE GOEDES.

Hampden House, Reading.

There is a tree called by this name a few miles from Winchester, in the parish of Tichborne or Cheriton,--I _think_ the latter, but have no means of ascertaining at the present moment. Mention of it is made in Duthy's _Sketches of Hampshire_.

L. G.

MITIGATION OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT TO A FORGER.

(Vol. iv., p. 434.)

The case related by MR. GATTY is interesting, but requires sifting. Perhaps he will be good enough to do it, or to put me on the trail. As the energetic sister may be a reader of "N. & Q.," I do not wish to annoy her by printing the forger's name, but I shall be glad to have the place and date of the conviction.

About twenty years ago, the rule of hanging for forgery was broken in the case of Fry, a school-master, who was sentenced to death without any hope of mercy, and not reprieved till he had heard the "condemned sermon"--I think, not till the day before that which was fixed for his execution. He showed great fear; rolled upon the chapel floor, and delivered to the sheriffs a well-written protest against the right to inflict capital punishment. His being spared caused much surprise; and between that event and the abolition of the punishment of death for forgery, few, if any, were executed for that crime.

The sister, falling, at the feet of Baron G----, who "was notorious for his unflinching obduracy," is a melo-dramatic event which, I think, would have found its way to the newspapers. But the most extraordinary thing is the conclusion:

"The forger was placed in the hulks prior to transportation; and
before this took place he had forged a pass or order from the Home
Secretary's office for his own liberation, which procured his
release, and he was never afterwards heard of."

Letters to convicts in the hulks are opened by the officers before being delivered to the prisoners. It is not usual for the Home Secretary to write to a convict enclosing "a pass or order." On the contrary, a pardon is attended with a good number of formalities, and without one I do not think that any convict would have been allowed to quit the vessel. In that class of prisoners, leave of absence on parole, or a "day rule," would have been something peculiar enough to make the turnkey ask, "Where did you get this?" In short, a convict who made his escape as described must be as extraordinary a person as the strong American, who could sit in a basket and lift himself upon a table by the handles.

"She returned to the city at which the assizes had been held just
as they were concluded. The two judges were in the act of
descending the cathedral nave, after partaking of the Holy
Sacrament, when," &c.

It is usual for the judges to attend divine service on the commission-day if they arrive soon enough, or the day after if they do not. If a Sunday occur during the sitting of the commission, they also attend; but I never knew, and on inquiring I cannot hear, that they ever so attended at the close of the assizes, when they are always glad to get on to the next town, if the circuit is not concluded, and away altogether if it is.

H. B. C.

U. U. Club.

LORDS MARCHERS OF WALES.

(Vol. v., pp. 30. 135. 189.)

Allow me to call upon your correspondent I. J. H. H., who dates from St. Asaph, to explain what he means by a Lordship Marcher; and what proof he possesses that his friend Mr. Lloyd is the "only Lord Marcher now extant in the kingdom?" The most authentic single record which we possess of the number, names, and situation of these lordships is the statute 27 Hen. VIII. ch. 26. The writs issued to the Lords Marchers, at various times before that statute, would perhaps furnish materials for a more exact enumeration of them; but the above Act was unquestionably intended to include all of them; and the only reason why the information conveyed by it is not complete is, that some of the names specified in it may perhaps be those of townships, or other districts within, or parcel of, some Lordship Marcher, and that other lordships seem to be comprehended under a general description, such as "all lordships lying between Chepstow Bridge and Gloucestershire." Hence, the number of real Lordships Marchers may, _perhaps_, be fewer or more than are there mentioned. Herbert, in his _History of Henry VIII._, says that there were 141 Lordships Marchers. (Kennett's _Compl. Hist._, vol. ii. p. 189.)

The lordship of Kemes is not, I think, specified in the Act; but I presume that it is comprehended within some of the descriptions of lordships in it. Probably it is included in sect. 16. In old writs of summons to attend the King in his wars, Kemes is associated with Dyvett or with Llandovery.

The statute referred to did, in fact, extinguish the most characteristic privileges of a Lordship Marcher, and reduced it nearly to the level of an ordinary lordship, with such royalties only as have often been granted, and are still enjoyed, by Lords of Manors, or honours in other parts of England and Wales. The franchises left to them are enumerated in sections 25. and 30., explained by the later statute 1 & 2 Phil. & Mary, ch. 15. The palatine jurisdiction which they once possessed, and the exemption from ordinary process, exist no longer; and the various local customs prevailing in each lordship, which were repugnant to the common law of England, must have been almost wholly abolished by the operation of that Act. The lordships themselves remain in name, and in little more than in name.

Hence I am afraid that I. J. H. H.'s friend must be prepared to surrender the distinction of being the sole surviving Lord Marcher. In the strict and original sense of the term, there is now no such lordship in existence. In the sense in which alone the title can now be assumed, he shares the honour with many others; among others, with the Duke of Beaufort, who holds the very extensive and important Marcher Seignory of Gower and Kilvey.

Probably the number of private lordships of this kind is not now great; for, at the passing of the above statute, the majority were in the Crown; and if any have since been re-granted, it is most likely that their franchises and tenure would be so modified as to leave no vestige of the Marcher privileges in them.

The statement of your correspondent suggests to me another doubt. How could any Lordship Marcher be "erected by Martin of Tours?" Every such lordship must be of the creation of the Crown, either shown or presumed. The date of the establishment of these marcherships is so ancient that, perhaps, no one may have actually seen any document to prove them but charters of confirmation and inquisitions post-mortem; still the _law_ refers their origin to specific Crown grants, and not to the act or authority of a mere subject. If, therefore, Martin, who was a tenant in capite of the Crown, founded the lordship of Kemes, he must have done--as the military invaders of Ireland in a subsequent reign did--conquered the territory with his own arms, and obtained palatine jurisdiction over it, with the assent and by the authority of the King.

Let me add, that the MS. treatise in the Harleian Collection (referred to _ante_, p. 135.) is printed in Pennant's _Wales_, and, more correctly, in vol. ii. of the _Transactions of the Cymmrodorion Society_. It is much to be lamented that the treatise on the Lordships Marchers, bequeathed by Sir Matthew Hale to the Society of Lincoln's Inn, is not to be found in that library. If the work was composed by that eminent judge himself, it must be one of the highest value and authority. Does any one possess it, or a copy of it?

E. SMIRKE.

DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION.

(Vol. iii., p. 374.)

"Can any of your readers inform me of any traces of the doctrine of the resurrection before the Christian era?" I shall endeavour as briefly as possible to do justice to this important subject by giving extracts from, and references to, various authors, especially Hody in his work _The Resurrection of the (Same) Body Asserted from the Traditions of the Heathens, &c._ The arguments derived from this source are as follow:--

1. "The gross notions of the heathens concerning the soul in its state of separation, that it has all the same parts as the body has."

Confer Farmer on the _Worship of Human Spirits in the Ancient Heathen Nations_, p. 419. _et seq._; _Æschyli Persæ_, v. 616.; and Blomfield's note; _Nicolaus de Sepulchris Hebræorum, &c._, cap. ix. and xiv.

2. "Their opinion concerning the transmigration of souls." Confer Vossii _Idololat._, lib. i. c. x.

3. "Their opinion concerning the duration of the soul as long as the body lasted, and its adherence to the body after death," v. Cicero, _Tuscul. Quæst._, lib. i.; _Lucret._, lib. iii. Concerning the opinion of the Egyptians, v. _Greenham on Embalming_.

4. "The belief that some men have ascended up into heaven in their bodies, there to remain for ever," v. Hody.

5. "That others have done so even after death upon a re-union of their souls and bodies." (H.) "There were not only certain persons under the law and among the Jews who were raised to life; but there were also histories among the Gentiles of several who rose the third day; and Plato mentioneth another who revived the twelfth day after death, _Plato de Rep._, lib. x.; _Plin._ lib. vii. 52., "De his qui elati revixerunt;" _Philostrat._ lib. iii. c. xiii."--_Pearson on the Creed._ There are histories of this description in _Bonifacii Hist. Ludiceæ_, p. 561. _et seq._

6. "The opinion of the Pythagoreans and Platonists, &c., concerning the restitution of our bodies, and of all other things in the world to their former state, after the revolution of many ages, by a new birth or production." On the Platonic year confer Gale's _Court of the Gentiles_, book iii. c. 7.; on the Phoenix cycle of the Egyptians, Rev. Edw. Greswell's _Fasti Catholici and Origines Calendariæ_. By some this restitution is considered as merely astronomical, _v._ Costard's _Hist. of Astronomy_, p. 131. "The opinion of some of the Genethliacal writers, that the soul returns and is united to the same body in the space of 440 years."--_Varro ap Aug. de Civit._ xxii. 28.; Jackson's _Works_, vol. iii. p. 424. "The opinion of the Stoics concerning the reproduction of all the same men, &c., after the general conflagration," v. _Eusebii Praep. Evang._, lib. xv.; _M. Antonin. Imp._, lib. xi. The resurrection was asserted by the Persian Magi, the Indian Brachmans, and other philosophers both oriental and western. "Thus we have demonstrated what evident notices the heathens had of the last conflagration, with the ensuing judgment, and man's immortal state; and all from sacred oracles and traditions."--Gale, _ut suprà_.

BIBLIOTHECAR. CHETHAM.

CAN A CLERGYMAN MARRY HIMSELF?

(Vol. v., p. 370.)

A Query has been put respecting a clergyman marrying himself. Such a thing did once occur in the case of the Rev. J. D. T. M. F----g, curate of the parish of S----n M----t, Somersetshire. The parish register informs us that--

"On three several Sundays, namely, on the 22nd and 29th days of
July, and the 5th August in the year 1787, banns of marriage were
published in the parish church between J. D. T. M. F----g and H.
V. B----t; and after the third publication, no impediment being
alleged, the said J. D. T. M. F----g and H. V. B----t were
_immediately_ married in the face of the congregation, on the 5th
of August, 1787, by J----n F----g curate."

The parties' names are appended to the form "This marriage was solemnised between us;" and then follows, "in the presence of" two witnesses who signed their names, one of them being the "clark," as he spelt the word. The event occurred "on a Sacrament Sunday." An aged parishioner, who was about seventy-four or seventy-five years of age when my informant wrote, perfectly remembered the ceremony; and added, that previously to Mr. F.'s return from the Lord's Table to the reading desk, in order to continue the service, from the Second Lesson, he exchanged a kiss with his blushing bride! It appears that, owing to several persons having disputed the _validity_ of this marriage, the said parties were re-married by the Rev. W. N----s, officiating minister, on the 9th October in the same year.

I have heard that Mr. F. was always regarded as an eccentric man, if not deranged. I think I have heard that the bride was a milk girl, with whom the reverend gentleman fell in love because "she reminded him of his first love!" The marriage was decidedly opposed by his relatives and friends, which led to the above-mentioned singular occurrence. I believe, before performing the ceremony himself, Mr. F. publicly inquired "whether there was any one provided to marry him?" As there was not, he proceeded to the performance of the ceremony himself.

I have heard also of some such case of a clergyman marrying himself in Ireland. But the marriage was, I believe, pronounced null and void, and the clergyman deposed from the ministry.

Connected with this subject, I would relate another circumstance related to me as a fact by a clergyman, now a surrogate, who for very many years was curate of the parish adjoining that in which it occurred. He related it to justify and to explain his own somewhat unusual practice of using the _surnames_ as well as Christian names of the parties throughout the Marriage Service, saying that in the parish of B----y, Gloucestershire, the not doing so led to the _wrong couple being married_, owing to the stupidity of the parties and their friends! The rector, Rev. Mr. M----d, on discovering the mistake, formally pronounced the whole proceeding null and void, and then married the right couple!

A correspondent lately inquired whether a person could be buried in a garden! In N----h, Gloucestershire, such a thing occurred about sixteen years ago. An eccentric old gentleman built a kind of summer-house in his garden, and prepared his own tomb in it, and was there buried according to his directions. I rather think the funeral service was read, under the express sanction of the bishop, by the rector of an adjoining parish, who was a friend of the deceased.

E. W. D.

Replies to Minor Queries.

_Algernon Sydney_ (Vol. v., pp. 318. 426.).--I can hardly suppose that MR. H. DIXON can have made any progress in his inquiries as to Algernon Sydney, without having met with the "authorities" mentioned by your correspondent C. E. D.; and yet it is certainly strange that, if MR. DIXON had seen these authorities, he could have called Sydney "an _illustrious patriot_." It may be therefore as well to state that the specific evidence which destroys Sydney's claim to the title not merely of an "_illustrious patriot_," but even of _an honest man_, and shows him to have been a corrupt traitor of the worst class, is to be found in the Appendix to Sir John Dalrymple's _Memoirs_, vol. i. pp. 339. 386. (8vo edit. 1790), where are transcribed the secret despatches of the French ambassador, Barillon, to Louis XIV., detailing the _bribes_ by which he engaged Algernon Sydney to that factious and traitorous opposition which had, for a hundred years prior to Dalrymple's publication, passed off for _patriotism_. I shall be very curious indeed to see what light MR. H. DIXON may be able to throw on this curious and infamous case; of which the best that even Mr. Macaulay can say is, that Barillon's _louis d'ors_ were "a temptation which conquered the virtue and the pride of Algernon Sydney."--_History of England_, vol. i. p. 228.

C.

_Cock-and-Bull Stories_ (Vol. v., p. 414.).--It may be doubted whether Mr. Faber will thank J. R. R. for republishing his absurd blunder. It must not, however, be allowed to gain a settlement in "N. & Q.," or to pass for a real explanation, while it is in reality one of the most unfortunate "cock-and-bull" stories that ever was invented. The truth is, that Reinerius, a writer of the Middle Ages, lays it to the charge of the Waldenses that they did not hold the traditions of the Church and, by way of instance, he specifies that they did _not_ believe (as, he took for granted, all his orthodox readers _did_) that the cock on the church steeple was symbolical of a doctor or teacher. Reinerius did not think of adding a word of explanation about its overlooking the parish from its elevated position, or of its prescriptive right from the days of St. Peter to do a pastor's office by reminding men of the duty of repentance, or of any of the things which writers on symbolism had said, or might say. He nakedly states, "Item, mysticum sensum in divinis scripturis refutant: præcipue in dictis et actis ab Ecclesia traditis: ut quod gallus super campanile significat Doctorem." Mr. Faber, who was somewhat out of his way in dealing with the thoughts and language of mediæval writers, catching a sight of this passage, blundered between a _bell_ and a _belfry_, put _campanum_ for _campanile_, and thus got an idea of a "cock-on-a-bell," and that this symbol meant a doctor. Whereupon it occurred to him to set the world right with the wonderful discovery which J. R. R. has revived for the amusement of your readers.

S. R. MAITLAND.

_Thomas Crawford_ (Vol. v., p. 344.).--In the seventeenth century there were four professors of philosophy in every university in Scotland. Thomas Crawford was one of the professors in the University of Edinburgh from 1640 to 1662.

Thomas Crawford, educated at St. Leonard's College, St. Andrew's, graduated A.M. 1621. Succeeded Mr. Samuel Rutherford as Professor of Humanity in the University of Edinburgh, 1625. Appointed Rector of the High School of Edinburgh in 1630. Elected Professor of Philosophy (or Regent) in the University of Edinburgh, 1640, and continued in that office till his death, in 1662.

He was the author of _A Short History of the University of Edinburgh, from 1582 to 1646_, first printed in 1808; and of _Notes and Observations on G. Buchanan's History of Scotland_: Edinb. 1708, 8vo. pp. 187.

Both these posthumous publications are very meagre.

J. L.

Coll. Edinburgh.

_Longevity_ (Vol. v., pp. 296. 401.).--In the church of Abbey Dore, Herefordshire, is the following inscription on a slab in the floor:--

"In memory of Elizabeth, ye Daughter of Thomas Lewis, who departed
this life the 31st day of May, 1715, aged 141 years."

I was assured that the age of the deceased, as here stated, is confirmed by the parish register.

W. J. BERNHARD SMITH.

Temple.

_Theological Tract--The Huntyng of the Romish Fox_ (Vol. iii., p. 61.).--Perhaps the following tract is one of those about which S. G. inquires:

"The Huntyng and Fyndyng out of the Romish Fox: whiche more than
seven yeares hath bene hyd among the Byshoppes of England, after
that the Kynges Hyghnes Henry VIII. had commanded hym to be dryven
out of hys Realme. Written by Wyllyam Turner, Doctour of Physicke,
and formerly Fellow of Pembroke College in Cambridge. Basyl,
1543."

This tract has just been reprinted, with some curtailments and amendments, and with a short memoir of the author prefixed, by my friend, Robert Potts, Esq., M.A. Trin. Coll., Cam.; and was published by J. W. Parker, London. The copy from which this reprint has been made is in the library of Trinity College.

W. SPARROW SIMPSON, B.A.

_Moke_ (Vol. v., p. 374).--With the Editor of "N. & Q." I think the interpretation of "muck" for the old word used by Wyckliffe is "not satisfactory:" I therefore suggest another, perhaps equally questionable. Every rustic in grazing districts knows, that in the hot season of the year sheep are liable to be fearfully flyblown in their living flesh; and that the maggots thence resulting are called _mokes_, or mawks. Is not the preacher's allusion in the text to certain shepherds, or rather sheep of Christ's flock, who, rather than give one of their _mokes_ to help one of their "needy brethren," will allow themselves to "perish" and "be taken of" these maggots? The term in question is, or was formerly, in provincial use as a metonym for lendiculosity in a figurative sense--a tetchy, whimsical individual, being said to be "maggoty," _vulgo_, _mokey_. Lendix has not, however, in all cases been treated with abhorrence; for one of the elder Wesleys not only printed a book of rhymes with the title of _Maggots_, but prefixed to it his portrait, with one of these _animi impetu concitari_ represented as creeping on the forehead!

D.

_Ground Ice_ (Vol. v., p. 370.).--J. C. E. will find a very elaborate and interesting paper "On the Ice formed, under peculiar Circumstances, at the bottom of Running Waters," by the Rev. J. Farquharson, in the _Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society for 1835_, Part II. p. 329.

J. H.

Hallamshire.

_Nobleman alluded to by Bishop Berkeley_ (Vol. v., p. 345.).--I beg to suggest to your correspondent J. M., that this nobleman was Richard Boyle, third Earl of Burlington, and fourth Earl of Cork, who had a passion for architecture, and was the architect of numerous buildings in the metropolis and other parts of the kingdom. He repaired Inigo Jones's church of St. Paul, Covent Garden. He built the front of Burlington House in Piccadilly; the dormitory at Westminster School; the Assembly Rooms at York; and several villas and mansions in various parts of the country, besides publishing some architectural works. Bishop Berkeley was introduced to him by Pope about the year 1722, and I believe derived some benefit from his patronage. His architectural pursuits are alluded to by Pope in the epistle on the use of riches, which was addressed to him.

G. R. J.

_House at Welling_ (Vol. v., p. 368.).--Inquiry is made about one of our old English poets, who is said to have lived at the old house in _Welling_, where there is a _high yew hedge_.

I am the owner of the house referred to, and have lived here since 1811. I have never heard the report, but I think that it may have arisen from the fact, that about eighty years ago a Major _Denham_ possessed the house. It is possible that he may have been mistaken for his namesake, _Denham_ the poet.

ESTE.

_Constable of Scotland_ (Vol. v., pp. 297. 350.).--In vol. i. p. 175. of the _Analecta Scotica_ (Edinburgh, 1834) will be found some curious "fragments relative to the office of Great Constable of Scotland," more particularly before it became heritable in the noble family of Erroll.

E. N.

_The Iron Plate in Lewes Castle_ (Vol. v., p. 342.).--In answer to A. W. I beg to say that the iron plate was taken from the ruins of a cottage which was burnt down on the estate of Sir Henry Shiffner some time since; it formed the fire-back of the kitchen: the inscription was turned to the wall, and therefore not visible.

This inscription is a fac-simile of the iron plate placed to the memory of Ann Forster in the church of Crowhurst in Surrey, and it would appear that the founder cast several plates similar to that in Lewes Castle, which are known to exist and be used as fire-backs. See Brayley and Britton's _History of Surrey_, vol. iv. p. 131., and note at foot of the same page.

WILLIAM FIGG.

Lewes.

The monumental (cast iron?) plate in Lewes castle, referred to by A. W., probably came from the church of Crowhurst in Surrey, where there are several monuments to members of the family of Gaynsford, and there were (in Sept. 1847, when I visited the building) more than one iron plate in the pavement with inscriptions of the exact character of that at Lewes, and with the letters similarly inverted and reversed. My impression is that I saw the memorial in question in the church; but I cannot now discover the notes I made on the subject at the time, nor a rubbing which I took of another iron plate of a more ornate though not less rude character. I remember, in passing within sight of the church on the Dover Railway, since 1847, to have noticed scaffolding about the tower; possibly the plate now at Lewes may have been removed at that time.

R. C. H.

The plate was presented to the Antiquarian Museum in Lewes Castle by Sir H. Shiffner, Bart., about two years ago, when he rescued it from a farm-house burnt down on his property near Lewes. It has been traced to a cottage where it previously served the same purpose as at the farm-house, as back to the fire-place; but no further record of its former history can be discovered. It is not unusual, however, to find monumental plates thus desecrated.

E. A. S.

_Chelwoldesbury_ (Vol. v., p. 346.).--Allow me to suggest to your correspondent W. H. K. the possibility that the name in question may originally have been Ceolwoldsburh or Ceolweardesburh, i.e. _the burgh_ or _castle of Ceolwold_ or _Ceolweard_, analogously with Brihthelmstûn, now contracted into _Brighton_. The A.-S. _ce_ has constantly been corrupted into _che_.

D.

"_The King's Booke_" (Vol. v., p. 389.).--The printer's account supplied by MR. BURTT does not relate, except possibly to a very trifling extent, to the _Basilicon Doron_; but it is evidently Robert Barker's bill, mainly in the matter of King James's _Apologie for the Oath of Allegiance_.

R. G.

_Key Experiments_ (Vol v., pp. 152. 293.).--In an edition of _Hudibras_ of 1704 appears the following "annotation" to the line "As Friar Bacon's noddle was:"--

"The tradition of Friar Bacon and the Brazen-head is very commonly
known, and considering the times he lived in, is not much more
strange than what another great philosopher of his name has since
deliver'd of a ring that, being ty'd in a string, and held like a
pendulum in the middle of a silver bowl, will vibrate of itself,
and tell exactly against the sides of the divining-cup the same
thing with, Time is, Time was, &c."

I have tried this experiment with the ring, and find the oscillation takes place as described by AGMOND with the shilling. If, however, the thread is tightly pressed between the finger and thumb, the vibration ceases. This latter circumstance appears to support AGMOND'S idea, that the motive power is due to the pulse, the circulation of the blood ceasing by pressure.