Replies to Minor Queries.
Dyson's Collection of Proclamations (Vol. v., p. 371.).
—DR. RIMBAULT will find, in the Grenville Collection in the British Museum, an extraordinary volume of proclamations published during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, "collected together by the industry of Humfrey Dyson, of the City of London, Publique Notary. London, 1618." The volume is fully described in Bibliotheca Grenvilliana, Part the Second, 1848, pp. 368-373.
H. F.
"Up, Guards, and at them!" (Vol. v., p. 396.).
—I know not what your correspondent A. A. D. may mean by asking "whether the battle of Waterloo was not a myth!" but I am glad to be able to state, from the very best authority, the circumstance of the celebrated order to the Guards on that day. It was at all times the Duke of Wellington's habit to cover as much as possible troops exposed to the fire of cannon, by taking advantage of any irregularity of ground, and making them sit or lie down, the better to cover them from fire till the moment of attack; and the Duke's common practice was, just as the enemy came close, and was on the point of attacking him, he attacked them. What he may have said on this occasion, and probably did say, was, "Stand up, Guards;" and then gave the commanding officers the order to attack. One would not pledge oneself to the very syllables of such a command on such an occasion; but what I have stated is the recollection of one who was present, and it is equivalent at least to the popular version of "Up, Guards, and at them!"
C.
[Our correspondent's doubt, whether Waterloo itself is not a myth, was intended, we presume, as a hit at the historical scepticism of the present day.]
Bawderich, and Bells (Vol. iii., pp. 328. 435. 503.).
—May I be allowed to call the attention of your readers who are curious in such matters, to a cut of the Bawderich and its Gear, engraved in the 13th and 14th Numbers of Willis's Current Notes, about which there have already been several notices in your interesting periodical?
I would also request any gentlemen who have access to old parish records, to see what entries they can find relating to the item in question, and anything about the "wheles" of the belles. It is desirable to find out by whom, and when, the present whole wheel was introduced. Originally a half-wheel only was used, and such may still be found in some towers. In Dorsetshire the half-wheel is common; and there being no "fillet" nor "ground truck," "peals of changes" cannot be rung as they are in other towers.
H. T. E.
Algernon Sydney (Vol. v., p. 318.).
—MR. HEPWORTH DIXON invites your readers to furnish him with references to any works which may throw light on the history of Algernon Sydney. May I suggest to him to look at the article on Macaulay's History of England which appeared in the Quarterly Review two or three years ago, wherein there are statements, from cited authorities, which seem to prove that that "illustrious patriot" was no exception to the famous rule, that "every man has his price."
C. E. D.
"History is Philosophy teaching by Examples" (Vol. v., p. 153.).
—If your correspondent T., who cannot find this passage in any of Lord Bolingbroke's writings, will turn to the second letter of that nobleman, "On the Study and Use of History," he will perceive that the sentence is there quoted from Dionysius of Halicarnassus. The writer in the Encyclopædia Metropolitana evidently takes it at second-hand from this work; and there can be no doubt that the currency of the quotation is entirely attributable to Lord Bolingbroke's use of it. This sentence is the text which he illustrates at much length in his historical essay.
JOSHUA G. FITCH.
On a Passage in Pope (Vol. i., p. 201.).
—P. C. S. S. has an inquiry respecting the interpretation of these lines in Pope's Imitation of Horace's "Epistle to Augustus:"
"The hero William and the martyr Charles,
One knighted Blackmore, and one pension'd Quarles;
Which made old Ben, and surly Dennis swear,
'No Lord's Anointed, but a Russian bear!'"
And C. having repeated this Query (Vol. iv., p. 59.), I am induced to impart to them a "guess" which I made not long since. I must premise by asking your correspondents whether the unctuous substance known as "bear's grease" was in use at the period referred to; and if the reply be in the affirmative, I would suggest the following interpretation of the couplet.
King William and King Charles had shown so little wisdom and discrimination in their knighting and pensioning of worthless poets, that they must be supposed to have been anointed, at their coronation, with bear's grease, instead of the holy ointment commonly used for such purposes, and which is considered to possess the power of conferring on the kingly office those very virtues in which William and Charles had shown themselves so deficient. In this sense, Old Ben and Dennis, each in reference to the sovereign of his time, might have exclaimed,—
"No Lord's Anointed, but a Russian bear."
—the word "Russian" being obviously intended to describe bears in general.
It is not for me to say how far this guess about "bear's grease" may suit the fancy of C. and P. C. S. S. They will probably look upon it as "tiré par les cheveux." If so, let them produce a better solution.
HENRY H. BREEN.
St. Lucia.
Plague Stones (Vol. v., pp. 226. 333.).
—Near Ravensworth Castle is a stone column, concerning which there is a tradition that it was one of the crosses erected to hold markets at during the great plague at Newcastle in 1645, when the produce of the county was not allowed to be exposed for sale at a less distance than three miles from that town.
C. T.
There is another stone of this description on the boundary between Dent and Widdal, in the West Riding of the county of York; it is near an old road from Dent to Hawes, and is now called the "Cross upon Cross-hills."
W. B. M.
Dee Side.
"Archæologia Cambrensis, Vol. I., 2nd Edit."
—In reply to the Queries of R. H. (see No. 125. p. 274.), 1. "Why the reprinted pages of the 1st volume of the Archæologia Cambrensis do not agree with those in the original copies?" and 2. Why "nearly a whole page of interesting matter has been omitted?"—it may be sufficient to state that the introduction of two additional notes at pages 204. and 209. rendered the first impossible: and, secondly, that the omission complained of was anything but of interest, as it only related to a supposed irregularity in the delivery of the early numbers, which subsequent inquiry proved to be groundless, and therefore it was suppressed.
Besides the notes above-mentioned, the letter-press has been revised and various typographical errors corrected, so as to render the second edition in many respects superior to the first.
†
Town-halls (Vol. v., p. 295.).
—MR. PARKER is reminded of the very curious Town-hall at Ashburton, in Devonshire, constructed entirely of timber.
M. Y. R. W.
Emaciated Monumental Effigies (Vol. v., pp. 247. 301. 353.).
—BURIENSIS has been furnished by several of your correspondents with many examples of the representation of an emaciated corpse in connexion with tombs, but no one has yet referred him to that very remarkable instance at Tewkesbury. The tomb is usually assigned, I believe, to Abbot Wakeman. If anything were needed to refute the absurd notion of the forty days' fast, I think the figure on this tomb would supply the clue to the true conception of the artist; and show that it was intended, by such figures, to remind the passers-by of their own mortality by representing the hollow cheek and sunken eyes, and emaciated form, of a corpse from which life had only recently departed: for, in the figure on this tomb, the idea of mortality is carried still further, and the more humbling and revolting thought of corruption and decay is suggested to the mind by the representation of noxious reptiles and worms crawling over the lifeless form, and revelling in their disgusting banquet.
M. Y. R. W.
I have read somewhere that these monuments with emaciated figures were erected during the lifetime of the individual as an act of humiliation, and to remind himself as well as others of mortality and the instability of human grandeur. If this cannot be disproved by facts, it affords a satisfactory solution. There is a small chapel connected with Bishop Fleming's in Lincoln Minster, and with others, where masses were said for the repose of their souls; so it is probable that these were at least designed during their lives, which would manifest their humility.
C. T.
Coleridge's "Friend" (Vol. v., p. 351.).
—Mr. Crewe, the bookseller of Newcastle-under-Lyne, has communicated to me some corrections upon my last notice. The great potter's name was Josiah, not Joseph. This was an accidental lapsus memoriæ on my part. Wedgwood is spelt without the e, though I believe it has been spelt both ways by the family. It seems that Miss Sarah Wedgwood is still alive, and till lately resided at Camphill, Maer; but the Maer estate has been sold to Mr. Wm. Davenport, and she now resides near London. Mr. Crewe sends me the following extract, which confirms the identity of the munificent co-patron of Coleridge.
"Extract from a Letter from Coleridge to Wordsworth, dated Shrewsbury, January, 1798.
"You know that I have accepted the munificent liberality of Josiah [Joshua?] and Thomas Wedgwood; I accepted it on the presumption that I had talents, honesty, and propensities to persevering effort."
Memoirs of Wordsworth, vol. i. p. 116.
C. M. I.
Enigma on the Letter "I" (Vol. v., p. 321.).
—Having both Miss C. Fanshawe's enigmas, I send you a copy of that on the letter "I," which is inquired for by E. S. S. W., in case it should not reach you from any other quarter. In an old scrap-book in my possession it stands thus:
"ENIGMA BY LORD BYRON.
"I am not in youth, nor in manhood, nor age,
But in infancy ever am known:
I am stranger alike to the fool and the sage;
And, though I'm distinguish'd in history's page,
I always am greatest alone.
"I am not in the earth, nor the sun, nor the moon:
You may search all the sky, I'm not there;
In the morning and evening, though not in the noon,
You may plainly perceive me: for, like a balloon,
I am always suspended in air.
"I am always in riches; and yet, I am told,
Wealth ne'er did my presence desire.
I dwell with the miser, but not with his gold:
And sometimes I stand in his chimney so cold,
Though I serve as a part of the fire.
"I often am met in political life:
In my absence no kingdom can be.
And they say there can neither be friendship nor strife,
No one can live single, no one take a wife,
Without interfering with me.
"My brethren are many; and of my whole race
Not one is more slender and tall:
And, though not the oldest, I hold the first place;
And ev'n in dishonour, despair, and disgrace,
I boldly appear 'midst them all.
"Though disease may possess me, and sickness, and pain,
I am never in sorrow or gloom:
Though in wit and in wisdom I equally reign,
I'm the heart of all sin, and have long lived in vain,
And ne'er shall be found in the tomb.
"(I.)"
How came Miss Fanshawe's enigmas to be attributed to Lord Byron?
J. SANSOM.
Oxford.
Mother Carey's Chickens (Vol. v., p. 344.).
—Navigators meet with the Little Petrel, Storm Finch, or Stormy Petrel, the Procellaria pellagica of Linnæus, in every part of the ocean, diving, running on foot, or skimming over the highest waves with the greatest ease. It seems to foresee the coming storm long ere the seamen can discover any signs of its approach; and they make this known by congregating together under the wake of the vessel, as if to shelter themselves from it, and they thus warn the mariner to guard against the coming danger. At night they set up a piercing cry. This usefulness to the sailor is the obvious cause of the latter having such an objection to their being killed. I am unable to say who Mother Carey was; but I might venture a conjecture why the bird who guards the seaman with such care bears its familiar name.
UNICORN.
The name of "Mother Carey's Chickens" is said to have been originally bestowed upon Stormy Petrels by Captain Carteret's sailors, probably from some celebrated ideal hag of that name. As these birds are supposed to be seen only before stormy weather, they are not welcome visitors.
WM. YARRELL.
Burnomania (Vol. v., p. 127.).
—Your correspondent ELGINENSIS has got the "Burnomania" of Dr. William Peebles, the minister of Newton-upon-Ayr, himself one of the minor poets of Scotland by virtue of his Crisis, or the Progress of Revolutionary Principles, Edinburgh, 1803 and 1804; and Poems, consisting of Odes and Elegies, Glasgow, 1810; all in my collection.
Like the transcendent powers of a living vocalist, the genius of Burns could brook no rival, and for a long period, notwithstanding the futile attempts of the smaller poetical fry to arrest its progress by their Lilliputian shafts, the "Ayrshire Ploughman" maintained a species of monopoly of the public mind and attention.
Dr. Peebles, as a candidate for poetical fame, no doubt found this "Burnomania" sufficiently annoying; he therefore put forth his puny arm, in the publication alluded to by ELGINENSIS, to stem it, and, considering that the poetry of Burns was then in the zenith of its popularity, we need not add that the worthy Doctor's work proved but a turf to the cataract, and is only now known as a curiosity.
I may however notice, that Dr. Peebles had a deeper grudge than rivalry to settle with Burns, the satirical poet having aimed at him in the "Holy Fair" and the "Kirk's Alarm;" and should your correspondent seek to know more of the author of his book, he will find him noticed in Paterson's Contemporaries of Burns, Edinburgh, 1830.
While upon the subject I may further note, that among many other carpers at the "Burnomania" was James Maxwell, better known as the "Poet in Paisley," who attacked Burns and his friend Lapraik in a brochure, entitled "Animadversions on some Poets and Poetasters of the present Age, especially R——t B——s and J——n L——k, with a Contrast of some of the former Age: Paisley, Neilson, for the Author, 1788. In this curious piece, which was unknown to Motherwell,—our pair of poets, with all their patrons and friends,—among whom Maxwell is shocked to find both ministers and elders,—
"For some of our clergy his poems esteem,
And some of our elders think no man like him,"—
all these, and such like, are severely censured by the moral poet for admiring "this stupid blockhead," besides being menaced with a certain place, to which their favourites are certainly doomed, should they continue to support such arch-enemies of the Kirk and order. How appropriate, then, is the remark of the Rev. Hamilton Paul, one of Burns' warmest admirers and editors, when, lumping all these envious spirits together, he says,—
"Some weak attempts have been made by narrow-minded men to expose to ridicule this 'Burnomania,' as they term it; but like self-love converted by the plastic power of the poet into social affection, it is spreading wider and wider every day."
"Friends' kindred, neighbour, first it doth embrace; Our country next, and next all human race."
J. O.
Cagots (Vol. iv., pp. 190. 331. 387.).
—THEOPHYLACT will find an account of the Cagots in the Magasin Pittoresque for 1838, where they are stated to be descended from the Goths, their name of Cagots being derived from caas Goth (chien de Goth), which corresponds with the derivation given by Scaliger.
In Brittany they were known under the name of Cacous and Caqueux: in Guienne and Gascony under that of Cahets; in Navarre, Caffos; in the mountains of Bearn, &c., as Cagots or Capots.
The same work for 1840 contains an account of the Cretins; also noticed by Kohl in his Alpen-Reisen (reviewed in Westminster Review, July, 1849).
PHILIP S. KING.
Chantrey's Sleeping Children (Vol. ii., pp. 70. 94.).
—There is, in Ashbourne Church in Derbyshire, a beautiful figure of a sleeping child by Thomas Banks, R.A., from which it is generally said that Chantrey took the idea of his celebrated monument in Lichfield Cathedral. It is a tradition in Ashbourne, that Chantrey drew the sketch for his sleeping children at an inn in the place, immediately after having seen Banks' sculpture in the parish church. The monument at Ashbourne is to Penelope, daughter of Sir Brooke Boothby, born April 11th, 1785, died Nov. 12th, 1791, and on it there are inscriptions in four languages, English, French, Latin, and Italian. The following description of it, taken from The History and Topography of Ashbourne, may be acceptable to some your readers, who may compare it with their recollections of Chantrey's figures:—
"It represents a child of delicate and amiable features, who has long suffered from slow and incurable disease, lightly, but rather carelessly, reclining on her right side. The position of the meek and lovely sufferer shows that she has just assumed it in order to seek temporary relief from pain, or from the weariness that a protracted repose, even on the softest materials, eventually causes. The little patient is extended, in the position just described, on a marble mattress and pillow, to which the hand of the sculptor has communicated the apparent texture of the softest down. The expression of the countenance is slightly indicative of pain, felt even in the intervals of slumber; and the little hands, lifted towards the countenance, plainly show that the sufferer has so placed them, in order that they and the arms may be in some measure a support to the body, and relieve it from the aching tenderness caused by long contact with the couch on which it rests. Around the head is bound, in loose folds, a handkerchief, which allows the artist greater scope to exhibit the child's features. The body-costume is a low-fronted frock with short sleeves, most gracefully sculptured. The whole of the drapery is in the most finished style, and the ease and softness of the folds are an admirable proof of the delicate chiselling of the artist. He has shown his natural and pure taste in the manner in which he has placed the feet. The entire position of the figure is faultless; and it represents, with refined fidelity to nature, the female infant form, patiently and slowly perishing beneath the steady undermining progress of irresistible decay."
W. FRASER.
Arkwright (Vol. v., p. 320.).
—This surname would originally denote the fabricator of such arks, or large chests made of strong oaken planks, as are still to be found under that name in most old farmhouses, at least in this neighbourhood, where they are chiefly used for storing meal or flour. The fact of our translators of the Bible having called the sacred chest in the Holy of Holies by this term seems to point to a more general use of the word in their days than at present obtains. Mr. Hunter (Hallamsh. Gloss., p. 5.) says that the strong boxes in which the Jews kept their valuables were anciently called their arks (archas), and that the word is so found in the Fœdera, 45 Hen. III. It occurs twice in the Church Accounts of this parish.
"1527. Minatus ē. p̅ d. Willm̅us browne archas et cistas diffrīgere.
"1744. pd. Wm. Yates for setting up ark."
Cf. also Lower's Eng. Surnames, 2nd ed., p. 92.; and the Latin arca, a chest, coffer, or box.
J. EASTWOOD
Ecclesfield, Sheffield.
It is rather curious that the word wright for carpenter is still commonly used in Scotland, but that Sievewright is the only surname in which it appears in that country; while in England it is found in several, although the word itself is there obsolete, unless it is still to be found in the northern counties.
C. E. D.
Pilgrimages to the Holy Land (Vol. v., pp. 289. 290.).
—Seeing a notice in "N. & Q." of Breydenbach's Opus Transmarinum, and a suggestion of Dr. Kitto that this work was written by Felix Faber, I am induced to call attention to another work written by the latter, which is still extant in his own MS., in the library at Ulm, bearing the following title: Fratris Felicis Fabri Evagatorium in Terræ Sanctæ, Arabiæ et Ægypti Peregrinationem, and which was printed for the first time for the Literarische Verein at Stuttgart, a society established there about ten years since, with objects somewhat similar to our Camden Society. This was one of its earliest publications, and as the number of copies printed was very small, the volumes are now rarely to be met with. The author informs his brethren of the monastery of Ulm, for whose especial benefit he professes to have written his book, that he composed it soon after his return from his second journey, the interval between the first and second journey having been occupied in reading and making notes from all the existing books on the same subject which he could meet with (it is to be regretted that he has not given us a list of these), "de quibus omnibus," he adds, "tuli quidquid deserviebat proposito meo, ex qua collectura grande volumen comportavi." With this collection of notes he appears to have set forth on his second expedition, "quia post hæc omnia in multis dubius remansi et incertus, quia multa legeram et pauca videram." Traversing Jerusalem, Arabia, and Ægypt, "conferens ea, quæ prius legeram et collegeram ad ipsa loca, et concordantias sanctarum scripturarum cum locis, et loca cum scripturis quantum potui, investigavi et signavi. Inter hæc nonnunquam de locis sanctis etiam, in quibus non fui, exactam diligentiam feci, ut earum dispositionem conscriberem, sed non nisi illo addito: ibi non fui, sed auditu aut lectione didici."
[The MS. is dated 1484.]
F. N.
"Merchant Adventurers" (Vol. v., p. 276.).
—C. I. P. will find an account in Mortimer under the head "Of Commerce," &c., vol. ii. p. 164. et seq. It refers to Cabot's scheme, as also Chancellor's: the first charter of incorporation was granted 2 Phil. & Ma. (Feb. 6, 1554) by the name of "The Merchants Adventurers for the Discoveries of Lands, Countries, Isles, &c. not before known or frequented by the English," &c. In the year 1560, 2 Eliz., her charter confirmed all former charters and privileges to "the Company of Merchant Adventurers of England," and likewise granted them two ample charters, one in the sixth, the other in the twenty-eighth of her reign. In the former of the latter they are specially designated by Eliz. as "Merchant Adventurers."
[There are other particulars in connexion with them which I do not send you, reference being easy of access.]
J. EBFF.
Bolt Court, Fleet Street.
Anderson's History of the Origin of Commerce, 2 vols., London, 1764, contains some information on the subject of this Company, whose title was that of "Merchant Adventurers," and whose trade was chiefly with the Netherlands.
In 1604, James I., after concluding a treaty of peace and commerce with Spain, incorporated a company of merchants for an exclusive trade to Spain and Portugal; but this monopoly being found prejudicial to commerce, in the following year the patent was revoked by act of parliament.
If C. I. P. has not access to Anderson, and will communicate his address, I shall be happy to give him any information in my power on this subject.
BROCTUNA.
Bury, Lancashire.