Replies to Minor Queries.
Pseudo MSS.—The Devil, Cromwell and his Amours.
—It is too bad! In Vol. iii., p. 282., there is a good page and a half taken up with a verbatim extract from Echard, which has either been alluded to or quoted by every writer on Cromwell from Echard's time down to a few months ago, when it appeared in Chambers's Papers for the People, No. 11. Again, in Vol. iv., p. 19., there is another page and a half relating to Cromwell, which, I fearlessly assert, I have seen frequently in print, but cannot at present tell where; and more important avocations forbid me to search. As if that was not enough, in Vol. iv., p. 50. there is another half page respecting the preservation of these precious MSS.! Is it not too bad? Do, worthy Mr. Editor, make the amende honorable by publishing the true characters of the MSS. forwarded by S. H. H., which you have so inadvertently published as original.
W. PINKERTON.
[Our correspondent seems to doubt that the communications to which he refers were really printed from contemporary MSS. The Editor is able to vouch for that having been certainly the fact. They are not printed from transcripts from Echard, but from real MSS. of the time of Charles II., or thereabouts; while the fact of these early transcripts having been printed surely does not furnish any argument against the valuable suggestion of S. H. H. as to the preservation of similar documents for the use of the public, and in the manner pointed out in his communication.—ED.]
Anonymous Ravennas (Vol. i., pp. 124. 220. 368.; Vol. iii., p. 462.).
—Your correspondents have neglected to observe that this author's Chorography of Britain was published by Gale, "ad calcem Antonini Iter Britanniarum," viz., Britanniæ Chorographia cum Autographo Regis Galliæ Mso. et Codice Vaticano collata; Adjiciuntur conjecturæ plurimæ cum nominibus locorum Anglicis, quotquot iis assignari potuerint: Londini, 1709, 4to.
A copy of the edition of Anonymi Ravennatis Geographiæ Libri Quinque (of the last of which the Chorography of Britain forms a part) noticed by J. I. (Vol. i., p. 220.) is now before me; as also a later edition, published by the editor's son, Abram Gronovius: Lugduni Batavorum, 1722, 8vo.
Horsley's Britannia Romana, book iii. chap. iv., contains "1. Some account of this author and his work; 2. The Latin text of this writer;[2] 3. Remarks upon many of the places mentioned by him, and more particularly of such as seem to be the same with the stations per lineam valli in the Notitia." His remarks are diametrically opposite to the conjectures of Camden and Gale.
[2] The Chorography from Gale's edition.
T. J.
Margaret Maultasch (Vol. iv., p. 56.).
—Your correspondent who inquires where he can meet with the particulars of the life of Margaret, surnamed Maultasch, Countess of Tyrol, will find them in the Supplement of the Biographie Universelle, vol. lxxiii. p. 136.
The great heiress in question, though a monster of ugliness, was twice married: first to John Henry, son of Wenceslaus, King of Bohemia (1331), from whom she procured a divorce on the plea of his incapacity; and, secondly (1341), to Louis of Bavaria, eldest son of the Emperor Louis IV., by whom she had a son, Mainard, who died without issue during his mother's lifetime.
I know not upon what authority rest the imputed irregularities of her life, but her biographer, in the article above mentioned, casts no such slur upon her character. Nor can I discover that the armorial bearings of the town of Halle, in Tyrol, have any such significant meaning as has been hinted at. They are to be found in Matthew Merian's Topographia Provinciarum Austriacarum, printed at Frankfort on the Maine in 1649, engraved on the view of Halle, at p. 139., and appear to be a cask or barrel, supported by two lions. There is no statue of Margaret Maultasch among those which surround the mausoleum of Emperor Maximilian (not Matthias) in the Franciscan church at Inspruck; but her ludicrously hideous features may be found amongst the historical portraits engraved in the magnificent work descriptive of the Museum of Versailles, published a few years ago at Paris, under the auspices of King Louis Philippe.
W. S.
Denton, July 28.
Pope's Translations or Imitations of Horace (Vol. i., p. 230.; Vol. iv., p. 58.).
—Is your correspondent C. correct in attributing A true Character of Mr. Pope and his Writings, in a Letter to a Friend, printed for Popping, 1716, to Oldmixon? In the Testimonies of Authors, prefixed to the Dunciad, and the Appendix, and throughout the Notes, Dennis is uniformly quoted and attacked as the author. Oldmixon's feud with Pope was hardly, I think, so early.
Assuming your correspondent's quotation from the pamphlet to be correct, the terms made use of will surely refer to Pope's Imitation of Horace (S. ii. L. i.), a fragment of which was published by Curll about this time (1716). It was afterwards republished in folio about 1734, printed for J. Boreman, under the title of Sober Advice from Horace to the young Gentlemen about Town, but in an enlarged state, and with some of the initials altered, and several new adaptations. Mrs. Oldfield and Lady Mary are not introduced in the first edition. I have both, but at present can only refer to the second one in folio. From this the Imitation was transferred to the Supplement to Pope's Works, published by Cooper: London, 1757, 12mo., and from thence to the Supplementary Volumes to the later editions. The publication of it formed an article of impeachment against Dr. Jos. Warton, by the author of the Pursuits of Literature, as all who have read that satire will well remember.
JAS. CROSSLEY.
Brother Jonathan (Vol. iii., p. 495.).
—The origin of this term, as applied to the United States, is given in a recent number of the Norwich Courier. The editor says it was communicated by a gentleman now upwards of eighty years of age, who was an active participator in the scenes of the revolution. The story is as follows:
"When General Washington, after being appointed commander of the army of the revolutionary war, came to Massachusetts to organize it, and make preparations for the defence of the country, he found a great want of ammunition and other means necessary to meet the powerful foe he had to contend with, and great difficulty to obtain them. If attacked in such condition, the cause at once might be hopeless. On one occasion at that anxious period a consultation of the officers and others was had, when it seemed no way could be devised to make such preparations as were necessary. His Excellency Jonathan Trumbull the elder was then governor of the State of Connecticut, on whose judgment and aid the general placed the greatest reliance, and remarked, 'We must consult Brother Jonathan on the subject.' The general did so, and the governor was successful in supplying many of the wants of the army. When difficulties afterwards arose, and the army was spread over the country, it became a by-word, 'We must consult Brother Jonathan.' The term Yankee is still applied to a portion, but 'Brother Jonathan' has now become a designation of the whole country, as John Bull has for England."—Dictionary of Americanisms, by John Russell Bartlett, 1849.
H. J.
Cromwell's Grants of Land in Monaghan (Vol. iv., p. 87.).
—E. A. asks whether there are any grants of land in the county of Monaghan recorded as made by Cromwell, and where such records are preserved? I fear I can give but a negative answer to the question: but among the stores of the State Paper Office are many books of orders, letters, &c. during the Commonwealth. Among them are two bundles dated in 1653, which relate to the lands granted by lot, to the adventurers who had advanced money for the army, in the different provinces of Ireland. Monaghan is not mentioned.
SPEC.
Stanedge Pole (Vol. iii., p. 391.).
—In answer to your correspondent A. N., I beg to state that Stanedge Pole is between six and seven miles from Sheffield, on the boundary line between Yorkshire and Derbyshire, on a long causeway which was in former times the road from Yorkshire to Manchester. Its only antiquity consists in having been for centuries one of the meers marking the boundaries of Hallamshire. In Harrison's Survey of the Manor of Sheffield, 1637, appears an account of the boundaries as viewed and seen the 6th of August, 1574, from which the following is an extract:—
"Item. From the said Hurkling Edge so forward after the Rock to Stannedge, which is a meer between the said Lordshipps (of Hallamshire and Hathersedge).
"Item. From Stannedge after the same rock to a place called the Broad Rake, which is also a meer between the said Lordshipps of Hallamshire and Hathersedge."
The situation is a very fine one, commanding a very beautiful and extensive view of the surrounding country.[3]
[3] Its elevation is, according to the Ordnance Survey, 1463 feet.
H. J.
Stanedge.
Baskerville the Printer (Vol. iv., p. 40.).
—Baskerville was interred in the grounds attached to the house in which he lived, near Easy Row, Birmingham. The land becoming valuable for building purposes, he was, after lying there about half a century, disinterred and removed to the workshop of a lead merchant, named Marston, in Monmouth Street, Birmingham. While there I saw his remains. They were in a wooden coffin, which was enclosed in one of lead. How long they had been above ground I do not know, but certainly not long. This, as far as I can recollect, is about twenty-five years since. The person who showed me the body, and who was either one of the Marstons or a manager of the business, told me he had seen the coffins opened, and that the features were then perfect. When exhibited to me the nose and lips were gone, as were also two front teeth, which had been torn from the mouth surreptitiously and taken away. I understood that it was known who had them, and that they would be restored. The shroud was discoloured, I presume from natural causes, being of a dirty yellow colour, as though it had been drawn through a clay pit. The texture and strength of the cloth remained unaffected. Baskerville entertained peculiar opinions on religious subjects. There was a rumour of some efforts having been made to deposit his remains in one of the church burial grounds, but they were not successful. A year or two ago, while in Birmingham, a snuff-box was shown me, on the lid of which a portrait of Baskerville was painted, which fully agreed with a description of his person given me many years previously by one who had known him. This portrait had not, from its appearance, been painted very long. From its being there I infer that there is in existence at least one original portrait of this eminent printer.
Inscription on a Claymore (Vol. iv., p. 59.).
—Is your correspondent "T. M. W., Liverpool," who inquires the translation of an "inscription on a claymore," certain that his quotation is correct? To me it appears that it should run thus:
[X] GOTT BEWAR DE
[X] GERECHTE SCHOTTEN.
or, "God preserve the righteous (or just) Scots;" referring, no doubt, to the undertaking in which they were then engaged.
I believe that formerly, and probably at the present time, many of the finest sword blades were made abroad, and sent to England to be mounted, or even entirely finished on the Continent. I have in my possession a heavy trooper's sword, bearing the name of a celebrated German maker, although the ornaments and devices are unquestionably English. Another way of accounting for the inscription is, that it belonged to some of those foreign adventurers who are known to have joined Charles Edward.
W. SHIRLEY.
Burton Family (Vol. iv., p. 22.).
—In Hunter's History of Hallamshire, p. 236., is a pedigree of Burton of Royds Mill, near Sheffield, in which are the following remarks:—
"Richard Burton of Tutbury, Staffordshire, died May 9th, 8 Henry V. Married Maud, sister of Robert Gibson of Tutbury; and had a son, Sir William Burton of Falde and Tutbury, Knight; slain at Towtonfield, 1461, from whom descended the Burtons of Lindley."
"Thomas Burton of Fanshawgate, who died in 1643, left three sons; Michael, Thomas, and Francis. Michael was of Mosborough, and had a numerous issue; the names of his children appear on his monumental brass in the chancel of the church at Eckington. Thomas, the second son, was of London and Putney, married, and had issue. Francis, the youngest, was lord of the Manor of Dronfield, and served the office of High Sheriff of Derby in 1669. Was buried at Dronfield in 1687."
I find no account of any Roger Burton; but if your correspondent E. H. A. is not in possession of the above pedigree, and should wish for a copy, I shall be glad to send him it.
JOHN ALGOR.
Eldon Street, Sheffield.
Notation by Coalwhippers (Vol. iv., p. 21.).
—The notation used by coalwhippers, &c., mentioned by I. J. C., is, after all, I expect, but a part of a system which was probably the origin of the Roman notation. The first four strokes or units were cut diagonally by the fifth, and taking the first and last of these strokes we readily obtain V, or the Roman five; but as the natural systems of arithmetic are decimal, from the number of fingers, it is most probable that the tens were thus marked off, or by a stroke drawn across the last unit thus X, whence we obtain the Roman ten: these tens were repeated up to a hundred, or the second class of tens, which were probably connected by two parallel lines top and bottom [C];, which would be the sign of the second class of tens, or hundreds; this became afterwards rounded into C: the third class of tens, or thousands, was represented by four strokes M, and these symbols served by abbreviation for some intermediate numbers; thus X divided became V, or 5, the half of 10; then L, half of [C], represented 50, half of 100; and M becoming rounded thus (M); was frequently expressed in this manner CIƆ; and this became abbreviated into D, 500, half of CIƆ or 1000: and thus, by variously combining these six symbols (though all derived from the one straight stroke), numbers to a very high amount could be expressed.
THOS. LAWRENCE.
Ashby de la Zouch.
Statue of Charles II. (Vol. iv., p. 40.).
—The following passage is from Hughson's History of London, vol. ii. p. 521.:
"Among the adherents and sufferers in the cause of Charles II. was Sir Robert Viner, alderman of London. After the Restoration the worthy alderman, willing to show his loyalty and prudence, raised in this place [i. e. the Stock's Market] the statue above mentioned. The figure had been carved originally for John Sobieski, king of Poland, but by some accident was left upon the workman's hands. Finding the work ready carved to his hands, Sir Robert thought that, with some alteration, what was intended for a king of Poland might suit the monarch of Great Britain; he therefore converted the Polander into an Englishman, and the Turk underneath his horse into Oliver Cromwell; the turban on the last figure being an undeniable proof of the truth attached to the story. The compliment was so ridiculous and absurd, that no one who beheld it could avoid reflecting on the taste of those who had set it up; but as its history developed the farce improved, and what was before esteemed contemptible, proved in the end entertaining. The poor mutilated figure stood neglected some years since among the rubbish in the purlieus of Guildhall; and in 1779, it was bestowed by the common council on Robert Viner, Esq., who removed it to grace his country seat."
The earliest engraving of "the King at the Stock's Market" may be seen in Thomas Delaune's Present State of London, 12mo. 1681.
EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.
Serius, where situated? (Vol. iii., p. 494.).
—The Serius, now Serio, rises in the chain of mountains in the south of the Valteline, between the lakes Como and Ixo: it flows through a valley called the Val Seria, passes near Bergamo and Cremona, and falls into the Adda a little before that river joins the Po.
J. M. (4)
Corpse passing makes a Right of Way (Vol. iii., pp. 477. 507. 519.).
—Some time ago, I buried in our churchyard a person from an adjoining parish; but, instead of taking a pathway which led directly from the house of the deceased to the church, they kept to the high-road,—so going four miles instead of one. When I asked the reason, I was told that the pathway was not a lich-road, and therefore it was not lawful to bring a corpse along it.
J. M. (4)
The Petworth Register (Vol. iii., p. 510.; Vol. iv., p. 27.).
—Your correspondents LLEWELLYN and J. S. B. do not appear to be acquainted with Heylyn's quotations from the book thus designated. In one place (p. 63., folio; vol. i. p. 132., 8vo.) he refers to it for a statement—
"That many at this time [A.D. 1548] affirmed the most blessed Sacrament of the altar to be of little regard," &c.
And in another place (p. 65., folio; vol. i. p. 136., 8vo.), he gives an extract relating to Day, Bishop of Chichester:—
"Sed Ricardus Cicestrensis, (ut ipse mihi dixit) non subscripsit."
Hence the Register would seem to have been a sort of chronicle, kept by the rector of Petworth; and it does not appear whether it was or was not in the same volume with the register of births, marriages, and deaths. In the latter case, it may possibly be still in the Petworth parish chest; for the returns to which your correspondents refer, would probably not have mentioned any other registers than those of which the law takes cognizance. On the other hand, if the chronicle was attached to the register of births, &c., it may have shared the too common fate of early registers; for, when an order of 1597 directed the clergy to transcribe on parchment the entries made in the proper registers since the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, they seem to have generally interpreted it as a permission to make away with the older registers, although there are cases in which the proper books are still preserved. (I am myself acquainted with two in this neighbourhood; and J. S. B., if I am right in identifying him with the author of the very curious and valuable History of Parish Registers, can no doubt mention many others.) But how did Heylyn, who collected most of his materials about 1638, get hold of the book?
J. C. ROBERTSON.
Bekesbourne.
Holland's "Monumenta Sepulchralia Ecclesiæ S. Pauli" (Vol. ii., p. 265.; Vol. iii., p. 427.; Vol. iv., p. 62.).—Sir Egerton Brydges, in his Censura Literaria, vol. i. p. 305., attributes this work to Henry Holland. In his notice of Heroologia Anglica, he says:
"The author was Henry Holland, son of Philemon Holland, a physician and schoolmaster at Coventry, and the well-known translator of Camden, &c. Henry was born at Coventry, and travelled with John, Lord Harrington, into the Palatinate in 1613, and collected and wrote (besides the Heroologia) Monumenta Sepulchralia Ecclesiæ S. Pauli, Lond., 4to.; and engraved and published A Book of Kings, being a true and lively effigies of all our English Kings from the Conquest till this present, &c., 1618. He was not educated either in Oxford or Cambridge; having been a member of the society of Stationers in London. I think it is most probable that he was brother to Abraham Holland, who subscribes his name as 'Abr. Holland alumnus S. S. Trin. Coll. Cantabr.' to some copies of Latin verses on the death of John, second Lord Harrington, of Exton, in the Heroologia; which Abraham was the author of a poem called Naumachia, or Holland's Sea-Fight, Lond. 1622, and died Feb. 18, 1625, when his Posthuma were edited by 'his brother H. Holland.' At this time, however, there were other writers of the name of Hen. Holland.—(See Wood's Athenæ, i. 499.)"
J. Y.
Hoxton.
Mistake as to an Eclipse (Vol. iv., p. 58.).
—From your correspondent's mention of it, I should have supposed Casaubon meant that the astronomers had been mistaken in the calculation of an eclipse. But the matter is of another kind. In the lunar eclipse of April 3, 1605, two observers, Wendelinus and Lansberg, in different longitudes, made the eclipse end at times far more different than their difference of longitudes would explain. The ending of a lunar eclipse, observed with the unassisted eye, is a very indefinite phenomenon.
The allusion to this, made by Meric Casaubon, is only what the French call a plat de son métier. He was an upholder of the ancients in philosophy, and his bias would be to depreciate modern successes, and magnify modern failures. When he talks of the astronomer being "deceived in the hour," he probably uses the word hour for time, as done in French and old English.
M.
"A Posie of other Men's Flowers" (Vol. iv., p. 58.).
—D. Q. is referred to Montaigne, who is the author of the passage; but not having access to his works, I am not able to give a paginal reference.
H. T. E.
Clyst St. George.
Davies' History of Magnetical Discovery (Vol. iv., p. 58.).
—The History, &c., by T. S. Davies, is in the British Annual for 1837, published by Baillière.
M.
Marriage of Bishops (Vol. iv., p. 57.).
—A. B. C. will find his questions fully answered in Henry Wharton's tract, entitled A Treatise of the Celibacy of the Clergy, wherein its Rise and Progress are historically considered, 1688, 4to. pp. 168. There is also another treatise on the same subject, entitled An Answer to a Discourse concerning the Celibacy of the Clergy, by E. Tully, 1687, in reply to Abraham Woodhead.
E. C. HARRINGTON.
The Close, Exeter, July 28. 1851.
"The Right divine of Kings to govern wrong" (Vol. iii., p. 494.).
—The same idea as that conveyed in this line is frequently expressed, though not in precisely the same words, in Defoe's Jure Divino, a poem which contains many vigorous and spirited passages; but I do not believe that Pope gave the line as a quotation at all, or that it is other, as far as he is concerned, than original. The inverted commas merely denote that this line is the termination of the goddess's speech. The punctuation is not very correct in any of the editions of the Dunciad; and sometimes inverted commas occur at the end of the last line of a speech, and sometimes both at the beginning and end of the line.
JAMES CROSSLEY.
Equestrian Statues (Vol. iii., p. 494.).
—In reply to F. M.'s Query respecting the Duke of Wellington's statue being the only equestrian one erected to a subject in her Majesty's dominions, I may mention that there is one erected in Cavendish Square to William Duke of Cumberland, who, though of the blood royal, was yet a subject.
D. K.