—Can any of your correspondents give me information as to Cozens, the painter? The celebrated painter Turner has declared that for much of the poetry of painting he is indebted to Cozens. Now, on the wall opposite to which I am sitting, hangs a portrait of Cozens by Pine, which has been sometime in our family. I wish to know where I shall find mention of him, or where I can see any of his works.
C. S. B. S.
269. Parliamentary Debates.
—By the fortunate preservation of the MSS. of Mr. Cavendish, there was a probability of our getting a pretty full report of the proceedings of what has been called "the unreported parliament," which sat from 1768 to 1774. Unfortunately, on the death of Mr. Wright, the publication stopped, having arrived only to the debates of March, 1771. Is there any chance of the further publication of this important work? If not, where is the MS., and can it be consulted?
P. D.
Minor Queries Answered.
Merry Wakefield.
—Whence arose the Yorkshire proverb "Merry Wakefield?" Fuller mentions it in his Worthies; but does not give, or guess at, its derivation.
R. W. ELLIOT.
[What peculiar cause of mirth the town of Wakefield hath above others, Fuller certainly confesses he cannot tell, unless that it may be entitled to that epithet from its cheapness, and the plenty of good cheer. Grose, however, adds, "Might it not be mirrie, that is, faithful Wakefield? and allude to some event in the disputes between the houses of York and Lancaster. Mirrie-men is a term that frequently occurs in old ballads, signifying true or faithful men." While again it has been suggested that it derives this complimentary epithet from the reputation of that