Minor Queries Answered.
Jacobite Toast.—
"God bless the King, I mean the Faith's Defender.
God bless—no harm in blessing—the Pretender;
Who that Pretender is, and who is King,
God bless us all—that's quite another thing."
Can any of your readers say who is the author of the above?
G. M. B.
[The above lines, "intended to allay the violence of party spirit!" were spoken extempore by the celebrated John Byrom, of Manchester, a Nonjuror, but better known as the inventor of the Universal Short Hand. They will be found in his Miscellaneous Poems, vol. i. p. 342. edit. 1773.]
Rev. Barnabas Oley.
—The part played by this active and loyal clergyman, who was deprived of his vicarage of Great Gransden in Huntingdonshire during the interregnum, is generally known to readers of the early history of that period. Walker, who has a notice of him (Sufferings of the Clergy, p. 141.), says he died in 1684, but does not tell us whether he was married or not. I believe he was, and left descendants; and the object of this Query is to ascertain what were the names of his children, and with whom they intermarried.
D.
Rotherfield.
[We do not think Barnabas Oley was ever married, as his will, preserved among Bishop Kennett's Collections, does not mention either wife or children among the legacies to "his near kindred and blood." His will, with its codicils, are curious documents, and ought to be printed. See the Lansdowne MSS., No. 988. fol. 94.]
Sweet-singers.
—Swift says, in his Abstract of Collins, "Why should not William Penn the Quaker, or any Anabaptist, Papist, Muggletonian, Jew, or Sweet-singer, have liberty to come into St. Paul's church?" Wanted, some historical notice of the Sweet-singers.
A. N.
[Timperley, in his Dictionary of Printing, has the following note respecting them: "May 27, 1681. The Sweet-singers of the city of Edinburgh renounce the printed Bible at the Canongate tolbooth, and all unchaste thoughts, words, and actions, and burn all story books, ballads, romances, &c.">[
"Philip Quarll."
—Did a Mr. Bicknell write Philip Quarll? Was he the author of any other books? Is there a recent edition of Philip Quarll? and, if not, why not?
E. C. R.
Sunderland.
[Lowndes states that this work has been "frequently reprinted." The only editions known to us are the first in 1727, and the one published in a series by Harrison and Co. in 1731. The editor's initials are P. L.]
Dedication of Middleton Church.
—What is the dedication of the little church at Middleton, Essex (near Sudbury, Suffolk)? I cannot find it in the Liber Regis, in Wright's Essex, nor in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary.
W. SPARROW SIMPSON.
[The indefatigable Newcourt, in his Repertorium, vol. ii. p. 418., was unable to give the dedication, and has left a blank for it to be supplied by some future antiquary.]
Lunatic Asylum benefited by Dean Swift.
—Which of the lunatic asylums benefited by the "will" of Dean Swift; either founded or endowed by the bulk of his property?—Vide Memoirs.
SAMPSON LOW, Jun.
169. Fleet Street.
[St. Patrick's, or Swift's Hospital, for the reception of lunatics and idiots, situated near Dr. Steevens's Hospital, adjoining to James Street, Dublin. It was opened in 1757. For some account of it see Scott's "Memoir of Dean Swift," Works, vol. i. pp. 438. 527.]