Minor Queries with Answers.
Dr. Richard Sherlock.—Dr. Richard Sherlock, afterwards Vicar of Winwick, had his first cure in Ireland. I should be glad to know where he officiated, and to receive any information respecting him beyond what is met with in his nephew, Bishop Wilson's, life of him.
William Denton.
[A few additional notes have been added to Bishop Wilson's Life of Dr. Richard Sherlock, in the seventh edition, 2 vols. 1841-44. The editor, the Rev. H. H. Sherlock, M. A., has the following note on his first cure in Ireland: "Wood (Athen. Oxon., vol. iv. p. 259. Bliss) leads us to suppose that Dr. Sherlock was ordained immediately after taking his Master's degree, and adds, that 'soon after he became minister of several small parishes in Ireland, united together, and yielding no more than 80l. a year.' The editor has not been able to obtain any particulars of his ordination, nor the names of the united parishes in Ireland where he ministered. Canonically, he could not have been ordained earlier than A. D. 1636.">[
Cardinal Fleury and Bishop Wilson.—There exists a tradition to the effect that during a war between this country and France, Cardinal Fleury gave directions to the French cruisers not to molest the Island of Man, and this out of regard to the character of its apostolic bishop, Wilson. I should be glad to know whether any and what authority can be assigned for this story.
William Denton.
[The story rests upon the authority of the Rev. C. Cruttwell, the bishop's biographer and editor. The following passage occurs in the Life of Bishop Wilson, vol. i. p. 226 of his Works, third edition, 8vo., 1784, and in the folio edition, p. 57.:—"Cardinal Fleury wanted much to see him [the bishop], and sent over on purpose to inquire after his health, his age, and the date of his consecration; as they were the two oldest bishops, and he believed the poorest, in Europe; at the same time inviting him to France. The Bishop sent the Cardinal an answer, which gave him so high an opinion of him, that he obtained an order that no French privateer should ravage the Isle of Man." Feltham, in his Tour through the Isle of Man, 1798, after quoting this story, adds, "And that the French still respect a Manksman, some recent instances confirm.">[
Dr. Dodd a Dramatist.—I have seen it somewhere stated, that after Dr. Dodd's trial, he sent for Mr. Woodfall to consult him respecting the publication of a comedy he had written in his youth, entitled Sir Roger de Coverley, and which he had actually revised and completed while in Newgate. Was it ever published; and if not, where is the MS.?
V. T. Sternberg.
[Woodfall's interview with Dr. Dodd at the Old Bailey, is given in Cooke's Memoirs of Samuel Foote, vol. i. p. 195., and is quoted in Baker's Biographia Dramatica, vol. iii. p. 278., edit. 1812. It appears that Dodd's comedy was commenced in his earlier days, and finished during his confinement in Newgate; but was neither acted nor printed. In a pamphlet, entitled Historical Memoirs of the Life and Writings of the late Rev. William Dodd, published anonymously in 1777, but attributed to Mr. Reed, it is stated at p. 4., that "Sir Roger de Coverley is now in the hands of Mr. Harris of Covent Garden Theatre.">[
Trosachs.—Can I learn through "N. & Q." the derivation and meaning of the name Trosachs, as applied to the mountain pass bordering on Loch Katrine?
J. G. T.
Trosachs Hotel.
[The name Trosachs signifies in Gaelic the rough or bristled territory; a signification perfectly applicable to the confused mass of abrupt crags which, in some convulsion of nature, has been separated from the neighbouring mountains of Ben Vennu and Ben An. This glen was first rendered an object of popular attention by Sir Walter Scott, in his poem of The Lady of the Lake.]
Quarter.—Whence comes the use of the word Quarter, as applied to sparing of life in battle?
J. G. T.
Trosachs Hotel.
[A correspondent of the Gent. Mag., vol. lxvi. p. 920., suggests, that it may be traced to the reverence for the sacred symbol of our faith, which the early Christian warriors wore depicted on their military habiliments. Orlando, who bore this emblem on his shield, was called 'Il Cavaliere del Quartiero;' though it is something singular that he won the device from Almonte, a Saracen chief.]