Replies to Minor Queries.
Family of Etty, the Artist (Vol. iii., p. 496.).
—"Mr. Etty, Sen., the architect," mentioned in the passage quoted by your correspondent from Thoresby's Diary, was John Etty, who died Jan. 28th, 1709, at the age of seventy-five. Drake calls him "an ingenious architect," and quotes these lines from his epitaph in the church of All Saints, North Street, in York (Eboracum, p. 277.):—
"His art was great, his industry no less,
What one projected, t'other brought to pass."
Although Thoresby and Drake dignify him with the title of architect, he was in fact a carpenter, or what would now be styled "a builder." Mr. Etty had several sons: Marmaduke, the painter mentioned by Thoresby, was one of them. He was called in those days a painter-stainer. Two others, James and William, were brought up to the business of a carpenter—as their father and grandfather were before then. William had two sons: the eldest of whom, John, was also a carpenter. The other was the Reverend Lewis Etty, clerk; who, about a century ago, was incumbent of one of the York churches. I suspect that no work is now extant which is known to be the production of either the architect or the painter; and, but for the incidental allusion to them in the Diary of the Leeds antiquary, the memory of their very names had long since perished. The fact stated in the Diary, of Grinlin Gibbons having wrought at York with Mr. Etty, the architect, is not mentioned in any of the biographical notices of that skilful artist, although its accuracy may be safely accepted upon Thoresby's authority.
The late William Etty, R.A., never claimed descent from the old York family. Most probably he did not know that such persons ever existed. His father, John Etty, and his grandfather, Matthew Etty, were established as millers at York during the latter part of the last century. To the occupation of a miller, John Etty added that of a ginger-bread baker; and in the house in Feasegate, York, where his distinguished son was born, he carried on an extensive business in supplying the smaller shops and itinerant dealers with gingerbread of all descriptions, when it was a more popular luxury or "folk-cate" than it is now. A characteristic anecdote is told of William Etty, which may not inappropriately be introduced here. In his latter days, when in the zenith of his fame, the large sum he was about to receive for one of his pictures was the subject of conversation at a friend's table. "Ah!" said the artist, with the quiet simplicity of manner for which he was remarkable, "it will serve to gild the gingerbread!"
It is possible that a keen genealogist might succeed in connecting the illustrious artist of our day with the Ettys of Thoresby's time, and thus establish a case of hereditary genius. "Mr. Etty, the painter," had a son called John, who attained man's estate about the year 1710. He does not appear to have settled at York, and it is by no means out of the range of probability, that he was the progenitor of Matthew Etty, the miller; who was, I believe, a native of Hull, and who, by the way, named one of his sons, John.
EBORACOMB.
Parish Register of Petworth (Vol. iii., pp. 449. 485. 510.).
—By the parish register abstract accompanying the population returns of 1831, it appears that in that year the earliest existing register of Petworth commenced in 1559. We are indebted to the late Mr. Rickman for this abstract of the dates of all the parish registers in the kingdom; and it would be well if, at the next census, a similar return was called for, that it may be seen what registers are then missing.
As to lost registers, I may state that I possess the bishop's transcripts of sixty registers, signed by the minister and churchwardens of parishes in the county of Kent; they comprise the baptisms, marriages, and burials for the years 1640 and 1641. The registers of sixteen of these parishes do not begin until after 1641, consequently these transcripts are the only records now existing of the baptisms, marriages, and burials in those sixteen parishes for 1640 and 1641.
J. S. B.
Death (Vol. iii., p. 450.).
—The ancients found in the successive transformations of the butterfly a striking and beautiful parallel to the more important career of human existence. Thus to their fancy the caterpillar, or larva, represented man's earthly course; the pupa, or chrysalis state, his death and utter inanition; while the perfect state of the insect typified man's rise to life and glory, a bright glorious being, without spot or trace of earthly stain. The Greeks from this notion named the butterfly "Psyche." A careful examination of the anatomy and physiology of the insect world will show the strict and amazing beauty of this simile.
TEE BEE.
Lord Mayor not a Privy Councillor (Vol. iv., p. 9.).
—Your printer has misprinted clamour instead of your own expression demur. Let me add that there was neither clamour nor even demur on that occasion—all went off quietly in the usual course. There is also an omission of two words in a subsequent line, which, though easily supplied, I may as well notice.
"The proclamation is that of the peers alone, but assisted by the others," should rather be "the proclamation is that of the peers alone, but assisted by the ex-Privy Councillors and others," as this marks the distinction between the two classes of assistants more strongly.
C.
"Suum cuique tribuere," &c. (Vol. iii., p. 518.).
—Your correspondent M.D. will find the passage in Cic. Offic., i. 5.
Y. V. S.
Sydenham.
Meaning of Complexion (Vol. i., p. 352.).
—Addison says in Cato:
"'Tis not a set of features or complexion,
The tincture of a skin that I admire."
Here he uses the word complexion as something distinct from "tincture of the skin." The colour of the hair and irides commonly indicates the colour of the skin. If they are dark, the skin is ordinarily dark; and if blue or light, the skin is ordinarily fair. I have seen flaxen hair and surpassing whiteness of skin with eyes as black as death.
S. H.
Gillingham (Vol. iii., pp. 448. 505.).
—As a means of furnishing your correspondent QUIDAM with some historical and local data that may tend to identify the place where that memorable council was convened, by which the succession to the English crown was transferred from the Danish to the Saxon line, I would refer him to Lambard's Perambulation of Kent, published in 1596, pp. 351, 352, 353., as adducing strong evidence in favour of the council alluded to having been held at Gillingham next Chatham.
FRANCISCUS.
Nao, a Ship (Vol. iii., pp. 477. 509.).
—I perfectly agree with GOMER that the early Britons must have possessed vessels more capacious than osier baskets or cyry-glau before they were able to transport warlike assistance to their brethren the Armoricans of Gaul; but I can inform GOMER and A. N. in addition, that a much older term for a ship was made use of by the first inhabitants of Britain, namely Naf, from whence no doubt the Latin Navis sprang; and from the same root the Welsh word Nawf, a swim (now used), was derived. This term Naf is handed down to us in one of the oldest British triads, but which has been always, in my opinion, improperly interpreted. In speaking of the three master works of the island of Britain, is the ship of Nefydd Naf Neifion (or Noah); the translation is simply this—
| Nefydd | naf | neifion. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| i. e. The ship constructor | of the ship | of ships. |
Here you have the hero personified by his avocation, and the noun from which the proper name is derived, both in the singular and plural number; in the latter sense it is made use of by D. ab Gwilym in the following couplet:
"Y nofiad a wnaeth Neifion
O Droia fawr draw i Fôn."
"The swimming, that the ships performed
From great Troy, afar, to Monâ."
JOHN FENTON.
Glyn y mêl, Fishguard, June 27, 1851.
John Perrot (Vol. iii., p. 336.).
—I possess a neatly written MS., of 88 pp. small 8vo., entitled A Primmer for Children, written by a suffering Servant of God, John Perrot; corrected, ammended, and made more easie: London, in the Yeare 1664. The only notice of him after this date is in p. 290. of Sewel's History of the Quakers:
"Perrot now walked in an erroneous path, grew worse from time to time; even to that degree that, being come into America, he fell into manifold sensualities and works of the flesh; for he not only wore gawdy apparel, but also a sword; and being got into some place in the government, he became a severe exacter of oaths."
E. D.
Sneck up (Vol. i., p. 467.; Vol. ii., p. 14.).
—Sneck up is a stage direction for hiccup, which Sir Toby was likely to observe after his "pickle herring." Davis is quite right in following Theobald. A word for Theobald. Every commentator is indebted to him, and almost every one has abused him, from Warburton and Pope to Coleridge, and without Theobald's notes and most sagacious amendments, ordinary readers would be puzzled to read Shakspeare. The booksellers, I am glad to see, had sense enough to see Theobald's merit, and gave him a far larger sum for his edition than has been paid to most of his successors.
S. H. (2)
Meaning of Senage (Vol. iv., p. 6.).
—Have the kindness to inform W.H., that in my extracts from the Parish Account Book of St. Peter's Mancroft in this city, under the years 1582 and 1588, are entered as follows:—
"1582. Pd to the Bisshopp for Senage Money ... xxjd.
1588. Pd for Senage and Proxage to the Bisshopp, ixd."
In Cowel's Law Dictionary, by Thomas Manley, folio, 1701, under the term "Senege," he says:
"There goes out yearly in Proxage and Senage 33s. 6d. Perhaps senege may be money paid for Synodals, as Proxyes or Procurations." "Proxyes are yearly payments made by parish priests to their bishop, or archdeacon, in lieu of victuals for the visitor and his attendants" (which it was formerly the custom to provide).
"Senage. The Senes be only courts to gather Senage and Proxye. The bishop should hold a Synod or Sene twice a year."—Becon's Reliques of Rome, p. 213.
"The priests should come to the Sene as they were wont to do."
The senes, courts, or ecclesiastical councils, were held for the purpose of correcting any neglect or omissions of the Church Reeves (as they were called), and fining them for such omissions, as well as receiving the usual and accustomed payments; and sometimes they were fined for having secreted some Catholic reliques, which were discovered by the visitors (of course after the Reformation), as I have found entries of fines having been paid; and more frequently are entries of "Payd for the withdraft" of the charge for some neglect in not providing articles necessary for the performance of divine worship.
In Sir Thomas More's Works, folio, 1557, pp. 909., 991., "Senes or Indightments" (perhaps Citements or Citations) are mentioned.
No doubt (I think) the term senege is derived from these courts being termed "Senes" and "Seens."
G. H. I.
Norwich, July 5. 1851.
Early Visitations (Vol. iv., p. 8.).
—Your remark that Mr. Noble's statements "are extremely loose" is, generally speaking, very just; although in the particular instance referred to there is some foundation for his statement, as in the 12th Henry VI. commissions were issued into the several counties, not merely to collect the names of the gentry, but to administer an oath to the gentry and others for conservation of the peace and observance of the laws. The returns containing the names of the parties sworn in all the counties (except twelve) are printed by Fuller in his Worthies from records in the Tower, which are probably yet extant. See Rotuli Parliamentorum, iv. 455.; v. 434.; Fuller's Worthies of England, chap. xiv.; Grimaldi's Origines Genealogicæ, 68, 69. I do not understand that all the parties who were sworn were accounted gentlemen, although Dr. Fuller's and Mr. Grimaldi's impressions on this point appear to have been similar to Mr. Noble's.
C. H. COOPER.
Cambridge, July 5. 1851.
Rifles (Vol. iii., p. 517.).
—I am neither Mr. Gordon Cumming, nor an officer of the Rifle Brigade; nevertheless, I have seen much of rifles and rifle-firing; and I think I can assure your correspondent A. C. that "We make the best rifles" is rather an assumption. That the Americans make most excellent ones, there can be no doubt; but I question whether they ever turned out a rifle which, either for finish or performance, would bear comparison with those made by Purdey, Lancaster, and others. As an example of what an English rifle will do, I subjoin the performance ——[4] of one made by Beattie of Regent Street on Minie's principle for an officer in the artillery now going out to the Cape. At one thousand measured yards, sixteen balls out of thirty were put into the target; and at four hundred yards, balls were driven through four regulation targets, each of two inch oak, placed six inches apart from one another; and into the earthen mound behind them ten or twelve inches. If the Americans can beat that, either for precision or force, they may claim to make the best rifles.
[4] In Woolwich Marshes.
E. N. W.
Southwark, June 30. 1851.