Queries.

"Have thou no other Gods Butt me.Unto no Image bow thy kneeTake not the name of God in vainDoe not thy Sabboth day profaineHonour thy ffather and Mother tooAnd see ytthou no murder dooffrom vile Adultry keep the cleaneAnd Steale not tho thy state be meaneBear no ffalse Witness, shun ytBlottWhat is thy neighbour's Couet not.Whrite these thy Laws Lord in my heartAnd Lett me not from them depart."

"Have thou no other Gods Butt me.

Unto no Image bow thy knee

Take not the name of God in vain

Doe not thy Sabboth day profaine

Honour thy ffather and Mother too

And see ytthou no murder doo

ffrom vile Adultry keep the cleane

And Steale not tho thy state be meane

Bear no ffalse Witness, shun ytBlott

What is thy neighbour's Couet not.

Whrite these thy Laws Lord in my heartAnd Lett me not from them depart."

Whrite these thy Laws Lord in my heart

And Lett me not from them depart."

S. Wiswould.

Vellum-bound Books.—In a list of thirty books printed for T. Carnan and F. Newbery, and issued in 1773, I find the phrasetwo volumes bound in one in the vellum mannerin seven instances; also,four volumes bound in two in the vellum manner; and,six volumes bound in three in the vellum manner. In other cases we have only the wordboundorsewed. I have a suspicion that the phrasein the vellum mannermay have some obsolete meaning; and submit this note to the consideration of those who are in search of avellum-bound Junius.

Bolton Corney.

Putting in order this morning a mass of pamphlets, which my women-kind threaten to sweep into the kitchen unless moretidilykept, I came upon a few poetical tracts by "Thomas Gill, the Blind Man of St. Edmundsbury." Not having had any previous acquaintance with this poetical moralist, I have looked over the lot; but beyond the above description of himself upon their titles, they afford little information regarding their author.

There is, however, proof, inThe Blind Man's Case at London, 1711, that Gill was a character in his day. In what he loftily calls "The Argument" to these eight pages of doggrel, he says:

"The Blind Man of Bury by the Persuasions of his Printer, and some other supposed Friends, takes his Wife with him to London, with an Intention to settle there, where they met with so many Inconveniences, and so great Difficulties and Charges, as soon disgusted them with the Place."

Hereupon the blind man, finding himself disappointed in his expectations of, apparently, a larger sphere for his begging operations, opens out upon the metropolis in a fine round style of abuse in his "Letter to his Good Friend and Benefactor at Bury."

Desirous that my successor in the O—— library should have the advantage of all the information I can collect, in regard to the bibliographical curiosities therein contained, I am induced to avail myself of the medium your pages afford to inquire whether any of your Suffolk antiquaries can give me, or point out where I can help myself to, any particulars touching my new friend with an old face.

J. O.

Having applied in vain to several distinguished numismatists respecting certain bronze medals in my cabinet, which have baffled my own researches, I now beg to seek for information through the medium of "N. & Q.," to which I have been already much indebted; and have little doubt but that among your many intelligent correspondents some one will be found to solve my difficulties.

The medals to which I refer, and which I will describe very briefly, are the following; and I am desirous of obtaining some account of the persons in whose honour they were struck:—

1.Astalia.Size (Mionnet's scale), 16. "Diva Julia Astalia." Bust to the left. Rev. "Unicum for. et pud. Exemplum." A phœnix rising from its ashes. Probably not later than the early part of the sixteenth century.

2.Conestagius.Size, 15½. "Hieronimus Conestagius,MDXC." Bust in armour to the right, with ruff round the neck. Beneath, "MART. S***." Rev. A pen and a sword in saltire. An oval in high relief, of Italian workmanship.

3.Meratus.Size, 13½. "Franciscus MeratusI.P.F." Bearded bust to the right. Rev. "Me Duce Tutus Eris." A figure seated holding a book in its right hand. Query the meaning of the initials after the name?

4.Aragonia.Size, 13. "D. Maria Aragonia." Bust to the right, with a crown falling from her head. Rev. None.

5.Hanna.Size, 18. "Martinus de Hanna." Bust in a gown, to the right. Rev. "Spes mea in Deo est." A full-length figure, with hands clasped and raised towards heaven: apparently a foreign Protestant divine.

6.Corsi.Size, 20. "Laura Corsi March. Salviati." Hooded bust to the left, with crucifix suspended from the neck. Beneath, "MDCCVIII." Rev. "Mens immota manet." Full-length female figure, with helmet on her head, leaning on a spear round which a serpent is twined, with a stag by her side. In the background, on one side, is represented a castle on a wooded height; on the other, a vessel is seen labouring in a storm. A striking medal; and the lady's portrait makes one feel interested to learn her history, which seemingly ought to be known: but I must confess my ignorance even whether the Marquisate of Salviati be in Italy or Sicily.

John J. A. Boase.

P.S.—John de Silvâ, Count de Portalegre, who accompanied Don Sebastian in his expedition to Africa against Muley Moloch, published at Genoa in 1585 a work entitledDell' Unione del Regno di Portogallo alla Corona di Castiglia, under the name ofConestaggio; but not having the book by me, I do not know whether the Christian name "Geronimo" also appears.

[The remainder of the title-page reads, "Istoria Del Sig. Ieronimo De Franchi Conestaggio Gentilhuomo Genovese."]

In the church of St. Mary Luton, Beds, there is a brass slab bearing the figures of a knight and his two wives, with the following inscription:

"Pray for the soules of John Acworth Squyer and Alys and Amy his wyfes, which John deceased the xvij day of March the yer of our LordM′vcxiij.On whose souls Jhu have mercy."

For arms, he bore quarterly, 1st and 4th, erm. on a chief indented gu. 3 coronets or. 2nd and 3rd, or, between 3 roses a chev. gu.

In the reign of Henry VIII. there was one Johan Acworth (a lady of the bedchamber to Katherine Howard), who married Sir John Bulmer, and went to reside at York.

John Acworth was, I believe, succeeded by his son, George Acworth, who married Margaret, thedaughter of — Wilborefoss, of Durham, Esquire, and had issue a daughter, Johan Acworth. This Johan Acworth married Sir Edward Waldegrave, the youngest son of George Waldegrave, of Smalbridge, Essex, Esq. I do not know if George Acworth had any other issue.

In 1560 there was a George Acworth who was public orator of Cambridge. He was formerly of Peterhouse, and took his D.C.L. at St. John's, Oxon. He was in his early days the friend and companion of Archbishop Parker. In 1576, he was appointed Master of the Faculties, Judge of the Prer. Court of Ireland. He is said to have died in Ireland, but where or when I do not know.

There was another of the name, Allin Acworth, formerly of Magdalen Hall, Oxon, and Vicar of St. Nicholas, Rochester, Kent. He was a sufferer by the Act of Uniformity, having been, in consequence of that Act, expelled his vicarage in 1666. Of his subsequent history I find no trace.

If any of your correspondents can give me any information relative to any of the above, their descent, or intermarriages, I shall be much obliged.

The name is, I believe, an uncommon one, and is only borne, as far as I can learn, by one family now in existence. There was, however, another family of the name formerly belonging to Suffolk, who bore for arms: Sa. a griffin segreant armed and langued or. But I cannot find any trace of their residence, &c., or when they flourished or became extinct.

I believe there was a Baron of the name in the reign of one of the early Henries, but unfortunately can discover no certain information about him.

The above particulars are wanted for genealogical purposes.

G. B. A.

"Row the boat, Norman."—In theChronicles of Englandcollected by John Stow, and printed in 1580, is the following passage:—

"1454. John Norman, Draper, Maior. Before thys time the Maiors, Aldermen, and Commoners of the Citie of London were wonte all to ride to Westminster when the Maior should take hys charge, but this Maior was rowed thyther by water; for the whiche the watermen made of hym a song, 'Rowe the boate, Norman,' &c."

Are any of your correspondents in possession of the words of this song? or is the tune to which it was sung known?

T. G. H.

The Hereditary Standard Bearer.—In Crawford'sPeerage of Scotlandit is mentioned, that in the year 1107 Alexander I., by a special grant, appointed a member of the Carron family (to whom he gave the name of Scrimgeour, for his valour in asharp fight) the office of Hereditary Standard Bearer. Can you inform me how the Scrimgeours were deprived of this honour? The family is not extinct, and yet I see the Hereditary Royal Standard Bearer is now a Wedderburne, and the Earl of Lauderdale is also Hereditary Standard Bearer. There surely must have been injustice committed some time to cause such confusion. When and how did it take place?

T. G. H.

Walton's Angler; Seth's Pillars; May-butter; English Guzman.—In Walton'sComplete Angler, in the beginning of the discourse between Piscator and Venator, the former, expatiating on the antiquity of the art of angling, gives as one of the traditions of its origin, that Seth, one of the sons of Adam,

"Left it engraven on those pillars which he erected, and trusted to preserve the knowledge of the mathematics, music, and the rest of that precious knowledge, and those useful arts which, by God's appointment or allowance, and his noble industry, were thereby preserved from perishing in Noah's flood."

What is the tradition of Seth's Pillars?

Piscator in chap. v. says:

"But I promise to tell you more of the fly-fishing for a trout, which I may have time enough to do, for you see it rains May-butter."

What is May-butter, or the origin of the saying?

In the amusing contest between the gypsies related in the same chapter, these worthies were too wise to go to law about the residuary shilling, and did therefore choose their choice friends Rook and Shark, and our late English Guzman, to be their arbitrators and umpires.

What is the explanation of these names? There appears to be some natural consequence to this choice, for the decision seems to have been arrived at by the act of reference. The notes explain that by "our English Guzman"[3]was intended one James, a noted thief. I suppose his prototype was Don Guzman D'Alfarache; but no interpretation of the passage is given. Would it be found to have reference to some passage in the book referred to in the note?

Anon.

Footnote 3:(return)[Sir Harris Nicolas says: "The allusion is to a work which had appeared three years before:The English Gusman; or, the History of that unparalleled Thief, James Hind, written by G. F. [George Fidge] 4to., London, 1652. Hind appears to have been the greatest thief of his age; the son of a saddler at Chipping Norton, and apprenticed to a butcher. In the rebellion he attached himself to the royal cause, and was actively engaged in the battles of Worcester and Warrington. In 1651, he was arrested by order of parliament, under the name of Brown, 'at one Denzy's, a barber over against St. Dunstan's Church, Fleet Street;' which circumstance may have introduced him to Walton's notice."—Ed.]

[Sir Harris Nicolas says: "The allusion is to a work which had appeared three years before:The English Gusman; or, the History of that unparalleled Thief, James Hind, written by G. F. [George Fidge] 4to., London, 1652. Hind appears to have been the greatest thief of his age; the son of a saddler at Chipping Norton, and apprenticed to a butcher. In the rebellion he attached himself to the royal cause, and was actively engaged in the battles of Worcester and Warrington. In 1651, he was arrested by order of parliament, under the name of Brown, 'at one Denzy's, a barber over against St. Dunstan's Church, Fleet Street;' which circumstance may have introduced him to Walton's notice."—Ed.]

Radish Feast.—I copied the following from the north door of St. Ebbe's Church, Oxford. Can any of your correspondents explain the origin and meaning of this feast?

"St. Ebbe's Parish."The annual meeting for the election of Church-wardens for this Parish will be held in the vestry of the Parish Church on Easter Tuesday, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon."Wm. Brunner,"Wm. Fisher,braceChurchwardens."Dated 10 April, 1852."The Radish Feast will be at the Bull Inn, New Street, immediately after the Vestry."

"St. Ebbe's Parish.

"The annual meeting for the election of Church-wardens for this Parish will be held in the vestry of the Parish Church on Easter Tuesday, at 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

"Dated 10 April, 1852.

"The Radish Feast will be at the Bull Inn, New Street, immediately after the Vestry."

R. R. Rowe.

Cambridge.

What Kind of Drink is Whit?—In going over the famous old mansion Cothele, near Tavistock, the other day, I saw, among other primæval crockery, three pot-bellied jugs, two of which were inscribed "Sack, 1646;" and the third, a smaller one, "Whit, 1646." What kind of drink iswhit?

W. G. C.

"Felix natu," &c.—

"Felix natu, felicior vitâ, felicissimus morte."

Of whom was this said, and by whom?

Henry H. Breen.

St. Lucia.

"Gutta cavat lapidem."—Can any reader of "N. & Q." inform me whence the following verse is taken?

"Gutta cavat lapidem, non vi sed sæpe cadendo."

The first half, I know, is the commencement of a line inOv. ex Ponto, Ep. x. v. 5., which concludes with—

"... consumitur annulus usu."

I have seen it quoted, but no reference given.

A. W.

Kilburn.

Punch and Judy.—Are any of your readers of "N. & Q." not aware thatPunch and Judyis a corruption, both in word and deed, ofPontius cum Judæis, one of the old mysteries, the subject of which was Pontius Pilate with the Jews; and particularly in reference to St. Matt. xxvii. 19.? I should be glad to hear of some similar instances.

Bœoticus.

Edgmond, Salop.

Sir John Darnall(Vol. v., pp. 489. 545.).—Can either of your correspondents, E. N. or G., inform me whether the Sir John Darnall, who is the subject of their communications, is descended from John Darnall, who was a Baron of the Exchequer in 1548, or give me any particulars of the "birth parentage, education, life, character, and behaviour" of the latter?

Edward Foss.

The Chevalier St. George.—Can any of the numerous readers of "N. & Q." inform me where ample and minute accounts, either in print or MS., of the Life and Court of the Chevalier St. George, particularly from the death of James II. to his own death, can be obtained; also, of his ministers of state, personal attendants, &c.? I have already examined such of the Stuart Papers as have been published by Mr. Glover, and by Brown in hisHistory of the Highland Clans.

J. W. H.

Declaration of 2000 Clergymen.—Several allusions have been lately made at Parliament to the 2000 clergymen who signed a Declaration calling in question the Queen's supremacy. Was a list of these clergymen ever published? If so, in what newspaper or periodical? What were the exact words of the declaration?

Rusticus.

MS. "De Humilitate."—Can any of your correspondents give me any information as to the date, authorship, or value of a MS. that has lately fallen into my hands? It is a thin quarto, beautifully written upon parchment. The title page is wanting, and the MS. commences with the index: but the title of the work isDe Humilitate. It consists of twenty-four chapters. The heading of the first two is as follows:

"Incipit prologus in libello qui inscribitur de humilitate,Cap. I. Quam perniciosum sit et Deo odibile superbiæ initium, et qualiter ac de quibus gloriandum sit.II. Quod sit superbia fugienda et sectanda humilitas, quæ in sui vera cognitione fundata consistit," &c.

"Incipit prologus in libello qui inscribitur de humilitate,

Cap. I. Quam perniciosum sit et Deo odibile superbiæ initium, et qualiter ac de quibus gloriandum sit.

II. Quod sit superbia fugienda et sectanda humilitas, quæ in sui vera cognitione fundata consistit," &c.

The top of the first page has a rich initial letter; and at the bottom a coat of arms: Crest, a leopard rampant; shield, argent, 3 bars gules, on a chief azure 3 fleur de lys or. The heading of each chapter is written in red ink.

Ceyrep.

MS. Work on Seals.—Moule, in hisBibliotheca Heraldica, states that there was at the date of the publication of his work (1822), in the library at Stowe, a MS. work, two volumes, folio, by Anstis, on the Antiquity and Use of Seals. Can any of your readers inform me in whose possession this work now is?

A. O. D. D.

Sir George Carew.—Sir George Carew, the able commander and crafty statesman of Queen Elizabeth's time, was created Earl of Totness. His grandfather mortgaged his ancestral estate of Carew, in Pembrokeshire, to Sir Rhys ap Thomas, who, with its subsequent possessors, Sir John Perrot and the Earl of Essex, made great additions to Carew Castle, the magnificent remains of which entitle it to be called the ruined Windsor of Wales.

The Carews then pushed their fortunes in Ireland, and endeavoured to recover the "Marquisate of Cork" on an obsolete and false claim.

The writer wishes for an accurate pedigree of Sir George Carew, showing his relationship to Sir Peter Carew, who was buried at Ross, and to Sir Peter who was killed at the skirmish of Glendalough in 1581.

Docking Horses' Tails.—I should be glad to learn when the practice of docking horses' tails commenced in England, or in any country of Europe, and what was the immediate cause of this amputation? I cannot trace in the plates of Froissart, or others of a later date, any indication of this practice, and in them there are no tails lopped of their fair proportions.

What other nations besides the English have ever docked their horses' tails; and where is any account to be found of their reasons for so doing?

If any of your correspondents will answer these Queries, I shall feel obliged.

Tail.

St. Albans, William, Abbot of.—Archbishop Morton addressed a monition in 1490 to William, Abbot of St. Albans. It is to be found in Wilkin'sConcilia, iii. 632., and is extracted from Archbishop Morton'sRegister, fol. 22. b. Now, in Tanner'sNotitia, and in Dugdale'sMonasticon, it is stated that William Wallingford, Abbot of St. Albans, died in 1484; and that the chair was vacant until 1492, when Thomas Ramryge was elected abbot. Archbishop Morton's original letter is, I believe, to be seen in the register at Lambeth, and its date is distinctly 1490. This date, moreover, agrees with the Excerpta of Dr. Ducarel in the British Museum.

Can any of your readers solve this difficulty for me, as I am anxious to know immediately whether I may safely identify "William," the notorious evil-liver of Morton's monition, with "Wallington," who bears a respectable character in Dugdale'sMonasticon.

L. H. J. Tonna.

Jeremy Taylor on Friendship.—

"I am grieved at every sad story I hear. I am troubled when I hear of a pretty bride murdered in her bride-chamber by an ambitious and enraged rival," &c.—Jeremy Taylor on Friendship, p. 37, fol. Lond. 1674.

This was writtenA.D.1657: what is the case referred to?

C. P. E.

Colonel or Major-General Lee.—The dates of his letters tend to prove that Lee was on the continent in 1770, and this is apparently borne out by the "memoirs" published both in America and in England. But Dr. Girdleston, in his strange work published in 1813, asserts that on the 20th April, 1770, at the christening of Sir Charles Davis's eldest son, Charles Sydney, Lee was at Rushbrooke in Suffolk. The proof, however, is not adduced in a simple and straightforward manner. At page 6, Dr. Girdlestone tells us that some person, not named, remembers that Lee stood sponsor, &c.; at page 7, that the register proves that the baptism took place on the 20th April, 1770; and at page 13, that the register proves that Lee was on the 20th April "in that church." This last is the only fact bearing on the question at issue. Will any of your intelligent correspondents residing at Bury favour you with a copy of the register of the baptism of Charles Sydney on the 20th April, 1770?

C. M. L.

"Roses all that's fair adorn."—Can you inform me where I can find a copy of an old poem, which begins as follows:

"Roses all that's fair adorn,Rosy-finger'd is the morn," &c.;

"Roses all that's fair adorn,

Rosy-finger'd is the morn," &c.;

since I have searched in vain for it.

W. S.

Donne.—In Walton'sLife of Donneit is said that Donne left behind him—

"The resultance of 1400 authors, most of them abridged and analysed with his own hand; he left also some six score of sermons, all written with his own hand."

Can any one tell me what has become of these MSS., and where they are now to be found if they still exist?

Ajax.

[The Sermons have been published in three volumes folio: the first printed in 1640, containing eighty; the second in 1649, containing fifty; and the third in 1660, containing twenty-six.]

Dr. Evans.—Who was Dr. Evans, author of theSketch of Christian Denominations? It would not be easy to ascertain, from internal evidence, what "denomination" he was himself! Who is the modern editor, the Rev. James Bransby?

A. A. D.

[Mr. Evans was born at Uske in Monmouthshire in 1767, studied at the Bristol Academy, and afterwards at the Universities of Aberdeen and Edinburgh. In 1792 he became pastor of a congregation of General Baptists in Worship Street, London; and opened an academy for youth in Hoxton, which was subsequently removed to Islington. In 1819 he obtained the diploma of Doctor of Laws from Brown University, in Rhode Island, America. His death took place Jan. 25, 1827. In doctrinal matters, we believe he was a mitigated Socinian; and we believe his Editor, who was a schoolmaster at Carnarvon, held the same theological views.]

(Vol. iii., p. 449.; Vol. iv., p. 381.; Vol. v., p. 67.)

At Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and many other places in the North of England, grey peas, after having been steeped a night in water, are fried with butter, given away, and eaten at a kind of entertainment on the Sunday preceding Palm Sunday, whichwas formerly called Care or Carle Sunday, as may be yet seen in some of our old almanacks. They are calledcarlings, probably, as we call the presents at fairs,fairings. Marshal, in hisObservations on the Saxon Gospels, tells us that "the Friday on which Christ was crucified is called in German both Gute Freytag and Carr Freytag;" that the wordkarrsignifies a satisfaction for a fine or penalty; and that Care or Carr Sunday was not unknown to the English in his time, at least to such as lived among old people in the country.

In the old Roman calendar I find it observed on this day (the 12th of March), that a dole is made of soft beans. I can hardly entertain a doubt but that our custom is derived from hence. It was usual among the Romanists to give away beans in the doles at funerals; it was also a rite in the funeral ceremonies of heathen Rome. There is a great deal of learning in Erasmus'sAdagesconcerningthe religious use of beans, which were thought to belong to the dead. An observation which he gives us of Pliny concerning Pythagoras's interdiction of the pulse, is highly remarkable. It is "that beans contain the souls of the dead." For which cause also they were used in the Parentalia. Plutarch also, he tells us, held that pulse to be of the highest efficacy for invoking the manes. Ridiculous and absurd as these superstitions may appear, it is yet certain that ourcarlingsdeduce their origin from thence. On the interdiction of this pulse by Pythagoras, the following occurs in SpencerDe Leg. Hebr., lib. i. p. 1154.:—

"Quid enim Pythagoras, ejusque præceptores, Ægypti Mystæ, adeo leguminum, fabarum imprimis, esum et aspectum fugerent; nisi quod cibi mortuorum cœnis et exequiis proprii, adeoque polluti et abominandi haberentur," &c.—Brand'sObservations on Popular Antiquities, Ellis's ed., vol. i. pp. 95-99.

In the notes in loco is mentioned "a practice of the Greek church, not yet out of use, to set boyled corne before the singers at their commemorations of the dead," v.Gregorii Opusc., p. 128. The length of this reply will not admit of my here enumerating the other emblems of the resurrection of the body used by the fathers and other writers. I shall therefore conclude with an extract from Rennel'sGeographical System of Herodotus, p. 632., relating to the Pythagorean prohibition of beans:—

"The Bengalese have theNymphæa nelumboin their lakes and inundations; and its fruit certainly resembles at all points that of the second species of water-lily described by Herodotus; that is, it has the form of the orbicular wasp's nest; and contains kernels of the size and shape of a small bean. Amongst the Bramins this plant is heldsacred; but the kernels, which are of a better flavour than almonds, are almost universally eaten by the Hindoos."It may, however, be a question whether it has always been the case; and whether in the lapse of time that has taken place since the days of Pythagoras (who is supposed to have visited India, as well as Chaldæa, Persia, and Egypt), a relaxation in discipline may not have occasioned the law to be dispensed with; instances enough of a like kind being to be met with elsewhere.Kyamosin the Greek language appears to signify, not only a bean, but also the fruit or bean of theNymphæa nelumbo. Is it not probable then that the mystery of the famous inhibition of Pythagoras, an enigma of which neither the ancients nor the moderns have hitherto been able to give a rational solution, may be discovered in those curious records of Sanscrit erudition, which the meritorious labours of some of our countrymen in India are gradually bringing to light?"

"It may, however, be a question whether it has always been the case; and whether in the lapse of time that has taken place since the days of Pythagoras (who is supposed to have visited India, as well as Chaldæa, Persia, and Egypt), a relaxation in discipline may not have occasioned the law to be dispensed with; instances enough of a like kind being to be met with elsewhere.Kyamosin the Greek language appears to signify, not only a bean, but also the fruit or bean of theNymphæa nelumbo. Is it not probable then that the mystery of the famous inhibition of Pythagoras, an enigma of which neither the ancients nor the moderns have hitherto been able to give a rational solution, may be discovered in those curious records of Sanscrit erudition, which the meritorious labours of some of our countrymen in India are gradually bringing to light?"

Bibliothecar. Chetham.

(Vol. v., p. 466.)

In Downes'Roscius Anglicanus, edit. 1789, mention is made of these two actors, thus:

"Hart was apprentice to Robinson, an actor who lived before the Civil Wars; he afterwards had a captain's commission, and fought for Charles I. He acted women's parts when a boy."Mohun was brought up under Robinson, as Hart and others were: in his youth he acted Bellamente, inLove's Cruelty, which part he retained after the Restoration."—Page 10.

"Hart was apprentice to Robinson, an actor who lived before the Civil Wars; he afterwards had a captain's commission, and fought for Charles I. He acted women's parts when a boy.

"Mohun was brought up under Robinson, as Hart and others were: in his youth he acted Bellamente, inLove's Cruelty, which part he retained after the Restoration."—Page 10.

It appears to have been the practice of the old actors—the "master actors," as they were called—to take youths as apprentices, and to initiate them in female characters, as a preparatory step towards something weightier. Richard Robinson, above-mentioned,circa1616, usually performed female characters himself.[4]In 1647 his name occurs, with several others, prefixed to the dedication of the first folio edition of Fletcher'sPlays. He served in the king's army in the civil wars, and was killed in an engagement by Harrison, who refused him quarter, and who was afterwards hanged at Charing Cross.

The patent of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, of which Mr. Hart and Major Mohun formed part of the company, having descended from Thomas to Charles Killigrew—

"In 1682 he joined it to Dr. Davenant's patent, whose company acted then in Dorset Garden, which, upon the union, were created the King's Company: after which Mr. Hart acted no more, having a pension to the day of his death from the United Company. I must not omit to mention the parts in several plays of some of the actors, wherein they excelled in the performance of them. First, Mr. Hart, in the part of Arbaces, inKing and no King; Amintor, in theMaid's Tagedy; Othello; Rollo; Brutus, inJulius Cæsar; Alexander. Towards the latter end of his acting, if heacted in any one of these but once in a fortnight, the house was filled as at a new play, especially Alexander; he acting that with such grandeur and agreeable majesty, that one of the Court was pleased to honour him with this commendation; that Hart might teach any king on earth how to comport himself."[5]

In Rymer'sDissertation on Tragedyhe is thus noticed:

"The eyes of the audience are prepossessed and charmed by his action, before aught of the poet can approach their ears; and to the most wretched of characters Hart gives a lustre which dazzles the sight, that the deformities of the poet cannot be perceived.""He was no less inferior in Comedy; as Mosca, in theFox; Don John, in theChances; Wildblood, in theMock Astrologer; with sundry other parts. In all the Comedies and Tragedies he was concerned, he perform'd with that exactness and perfection that not any of his successors have equall'd him."[6]

"He was no less inferior in Comedy; as Mosca, in theFox; Don John, in theChances; Wildblood, in theMock Astrologer; with sundry other parts. In all the Comedies and Tragedies he was concerned, he perform'd with that exactness and perfection that not any of his successors have equall'd him."[6]

It would seem that through Hart's "excellent action" alone Ben Jonson'sCatiline(his own favourite play), which had been condemned on its first representation, was kept on the stage during the reign of Charles II. With Hart this play died.

Previous to Nell Gwyn's elevation to royal favour, it is said, upon the authority of Sir George Etherge, inLives of the most celebrated Beauties, &c., 1715, she was "protected" by Lacy, and afterwards by Hart. Whether this be true or not, it is certain that she received instructions in the Thespian art from both of these gentlemen.

The cause of Hart retiring from the stage was in consequence of his being dreadfully afflicted with the stone and gravel, "of which he died sometime after, having a salary of forty shillings a week to the day of his death."

Hart's Christian name was Charles. He is believed by Malone to have been Shakspeare's great nephew.[7]

Major Mohun remained in the "United Company" after Hart's retirement.

"He was eminent for Volpone; Face, in theAlchemist; Melantius, in theMaid's Tragedy; Mardonius, inKing and no King; Cassius, inJulius Cæsar; Clytus, inAlexander; Mithridates, &c. An eminent poet[8]seeing him act this last, vented suddenly this saying: 'Oh, Mohun, Mohun! thou little man of mettle, if I should write 100 plays, I'd write a part for thy mouth.' In short, in all his parts, he was most accurate and correct."[9]

Rymer remarks:

"We may remember (however we find this scene of Melanthius and Amintor written in the book) that at the Theater we have a good scene acted; there is work cut out, and both our Æsopus and Roscius are on the stage together. Whatever defect may be in Amintor and Melanthius, Mr. Hart and Mr. Mohun are wanting in nothing. To these we owe what is pleasing in the scene; and to this scene we may impute the success of the 'Maid's Tragedy.'"

Major Mohun's Christian name was Michael.

W. H. Ln.

Berwick-on-Tweed.

Footnote 4:(return)SeeThe Devil is an Ass, Act II. Sc. 8.Footnote 5:(return)Roscius Anglicanus, p. 23.Footnote 6:(return)Ibid., p. 24.Footnote 7:(return)SeeHistorical Account of the English Stage, in Malone's edition of Shakspeare, vol. i. part ii. p. 278. Lond. 1790.Footnote 8:(return)Thought by Thomas Davies to have been Lee.Footnote 9:(return)Roscius Anglicanus.

SeeThe Devil is an Ass, Act II. Sc. 8.

Roscius Anglicanus, p. 23.

Ibid., p. 24.

SeeHistorical Account of the English Stage, in Malone's edition of Shakspeare, vol. i. part ii. p. 278. Lond. 1790.

Thought by Thomas Davies to have been Lee.

Roscius Anglicanus.

(Vol. v., pp. 466. 549.)

There can be no doubt, I think, that a burial ground, whether parish churchyard or cemetery, so long as it has been consecrated, or even licensed by the bishop, is onlylegallyuseable for interments performed according to "the ecclesiastical laws of this realm;"i.e.the burial service, as rubrically directed, must be read by a clergyman over the corpse. Whether the bishop would have proceeded by law against the clergyman in Carlile's case, supposing he had desisted from the service under the protests of the sons, may be questioned; but that he could have done so is beyond a doubt. The sixty-eighth canon says, that "no minister shall refuse or delay to bury any corpse that is brought to the church or churchyard ... in such manner and form as is prescribed in the Book of Common Prayer. And if he shall refuse, &c., he shall be suspended by the bishop of the diocese from his ministry by the space of three months." The consecration, or episcopal licence, seems to tie the burial ground to the burial service, except in the three cases of persons who die excommunicated, unbaptised, or by their own hands; and I imagine that a clergyman would render himself liable to suspension by his bishop, who either allowed interments to take place in the churchyard without the burial service, or, on the other hand, used the service in unconsecrated or unlicensed ground. By the 3 Ja. I. c. 5., there is a penalty for burying a corpse away from the church; but this law is either repealed or obsolete. If any services of the church be used by a clergyman, except "according to order," I imagine that he renders himself liable to penal consequences; but it may be sometimes thought best to omit them. Sometimes, however, as in the case of baptisms being allowed in drawing-rooms, there is such an intentional oversight as is quite indefensible.

The story which I have heard of Baskerville's burial is as follows;—He died at Birmingham, but was not interred, and his corpse was kept in the house in which he had lived. After a time this house was sold, and the purchaser of it became embarrassed by the unexpected discovery that he was in possession of the old printer's mortal remains. He applied to the clergyman ofthe parish for release from his difficulty; and this gentleman, being a man of the world, said that he was the last person who ought to have been consulted, but since it was so, the churchyard and the shades of evening afforded a remedy.

Perhaps it is worth adding, that when Sir W. Page Wood, the late Solicitor-General, would have brought a bill into parliament to relieve dissenters from the payment of church rates, on condition that they consented to forego all claim upon the services of the church, including of course the burial service, the bargain was declined by them.

Alfred Gatty.

(Vol. v., p. 559.)

Your correspondentMr. Breenis mistaken in supposing this "epigram" to refer to the Barberini spoliation of the Coliseum; it was an equally important and more sacrilegious theft that aroused Pasquin's satire and indignation.

Urban VIII. (Matteo Barberini), 1623-44, had just stripped the dome of the Pantheon of the bronze that adorned it, to construct therewith the baldacchino over the high altar in St. Peter's. The amount of metal obtained, says Venuti, was upwards of 450,250 pounds weight; and upon the principle of robbing Peter to pay Paul, the material thus stolen from the Madonna was dedicated to the service of San Pietro. Bernini was the artist employed, from whose taste, perhaps, little better was to be expected; and the baldacchino, though highly ornamented, richly gilt, and of imposing dimensions, certainly makes the beholder regret that the metal was moved from its original position. It was costly enough too, upwards of 20,000l.having been expended upon its production.

Urban evidently had a practical turn for warfare by no means unusual to the possessors of the "holy see," for we find that the surplusage of the metal was cast into cannon for the defence of St. Angelo.

This pope certainly wasoneof the most unsparing despoilers of the Coliseum, inasmuch as the huge pile of the Palazzo Barbarini was erected by him with stone supplied solely from that convenient and inexpensive quarry. If, however, we reflect that he did but follow the example of many of his predecessors (Paul II. built the Palazzo di Venezia, and Paul III. the Farnese, from the same exhaustless supply), and that the Coliseum was not only much ruined by the "barbarians" during the various sieges of Rome, but was used as a fortress by the Frangipani in the Middle Ages, the pasquinade quoted byMr. Breenwould hardly have been applicable to Urban's misdeeds in that quarter. Nor was the Coliseum at that time consecrated ground, as it was not till the year 1750 that Benedict XIV., with a view to protect it from future depredation, dedicated it to the memory of the Christian martyrs who had perished in its arena. But the Pantheon, consecrated as early asA.D.608, under the name of S. Maria Rotonda, had been respected and spared by all, whether Arian or barb-"arian;" and it was reserved for a "Santo Padre" of the seventeenth century to despoil a Christian Church, and himself set an example of sacrilege to the Christian world. Urban was the sole member of the Barberini family (of Florentine extraction) that ever attained the papal tiara. The amount of wealth stated to have been amassed by him during his pontificate appears almost fabulous.

The author of the pasquinade in question is, I believe, unknown.

A. P.

Bayswater.

(Vol. v., p. 535.)

I am inclined to think that your correspondents, however deeply they may be versed in "Folk-Lore," are generally not much acquainted with "Horse-Lore." Such, at least, is the opinion that is warranted by the extraordinary nature of the questions (not many in number, it is true) which have been put in relation to that subject, and of the replies that have been given to them. In the case now before us, J. R. has only superficially considered the matter. He takes one out of many definitions "in our dictionaries," and on that takes his stand. He is manifestly in error. The tempting facility of referring all words similar in appearance to the same etymon lies at the root of his mistake; forrestive, as he will find on more patient investigation, is by our lexicographers (Richardson, for example) classed under a different root fromrest, used to expressquiescence, orrepose.Restive, or more properlyrestiff, is equivalent to the Frenchrétif, or Italianrestio; and, as applied to horses, means those which resist the will of their rider. Hence, whether in standing stock still, in running away, in rearing, in plunging, or in kicking, they employ their natural means of defence against the control of the cavalier, and may equally be calledrestiff. In support of this view, take the following quotation, to which others might be added. It is from Grisone,Ordini di Cavalcare, 4to., 1550:

"Se il cavallo è restio, il più delle volte procede per colpa del Cavaliero, per una di questi ragioni. Overo il Cavallo è vile, e di poca forza, e essendo troppo molestato si abandona e avvilisce di sorte che accorando non vuole caminare avante; over è superbo, e gagliardo, e dandogli fatica, egli mancandogli un poco di lena, si prevalerà con salti, e con aggrupparsi, e con altre malignità, ò fara pur questo dal principio che si cavalca, di maniera che se allora conoscerà chi il Cavaliero lo teme,prenderà tant' animo, che usando molte ribalderie, si fermerà contra la volontà sua;e di queste due Specie di Restii[which J. R. will be pleased tonote], la peggior è quella che nasce da viltà, e da poca forza."—Folio 92, verso.

Thus much for the equestrian part of the subject. With regard to the use of the wordrestiveby the author of theEclipse of Faith, that is purely a matter of taste, which it is unnecessary here to discuss; but I hope that the foregoing opinion of one who in his day passed for the most accomplished horseman of Europe, will suffice to show that, in the passage quoted, the term is not so entirely misapplied as J. R. supposes.

F. S. Q.

(Vol. v., p. 321.)

In your answers to Minor Queries (Vol. v., p. 321.) I find it stated, that the inhabitants of the part of Kent lying between Rochester and London beinginvicti, have ever since (the Norman Conquest) been designated as Men of Kent; while those to the eastward, through whose district the Conqueror marched unopposed, are only "Kentish Men."

As I have always understood that the contrary is the case, and that the inhabitants of East Kent are called "Men of Kent," and those in West Kent, "Kentish Men"—because in East Kent the people are less intermixed with strangers than in West Kent, from its proximity to the metropolis—I was desirous of correcting what appeared to me to be a manifest error: but not finding any direct authority on the point, I consulted my friend Charles Sandys, Esq., of Canterbury, as a Kentish antiquary, on the subject. And I now send you a letter from that gentleman, which you are at liberty to print.

Geo. R. Corner.

Eltham.

"'MEN OF KENT,' AND 'KENTISH MEN.'

"I am not aware that any professed treatise has been written or published upon our provincial distinction of 'Men of Kent' and 'Kentish Men.' That some such traditionary distinction, however, (whatever it may be) has existed from time immemorial in our county, cannot be disputed, and I think it has an undoubted and unquestionable historic origin, which I will endeavour briefly to illustrate.

"The West Kent Men, according to the tradition, are styled 'Kentish Men;' whilst those of East Kent are more emphatically denominated 'Men of Kent.'

"And now for my historical authorities:—

"That the East Kent people were denominated from ancient time 'Men of Kent,' may, I think, be inferred from the ancient Saxon name of its metropolis,Cant-wara-burh[Canterbury], literally, 'The City of the Men of Kent;' the royal city and seat of government of King Ethelbert at the time of the arrival of St. Augustine (A.D.597) to convert our idolatrous Saxon ancestors from the worship of Woden and his kindred deities to that of the Saviour of the world.

"St. Augustine, having succeeded in his holy mission, and having been consecrated Archbishop of the Saxons and Angles in Britain, fixed his metropolitical see in the royal city of Canterbury, which had been granted to him by King Ethelbert on his conversion (who thereupon retired to his royal fortress, or Castrum, of Regulbium,Reculver). And in that city it has ever since continued for a period of more than twelve centuries.

"The conversion of the Pagan inhabitants of Kent proceeded so rapidly that St. Augustine, with the assistance of King Ethelbert, soon founded another episcopal see at Rochester, and thus divided the Kentish kingdom into two dioceses: the eastern, or diocese of Canterbury; the western, or diocese of Rochester. And thus, I conceive, originated the divisions of East and West Kent: the men of the former retaining their ancient name of 'Men of Kent;' whilst those of the latter adopted that of 'Kentish Men.'

"The Saxon (or Jutish) kingdom of Kent continued a separate and independent kingdom of the Octarchy from the time of Hengist (A.D.455) until its subjugation by Offa, King of Mercia, in the eighth century, to which it continued tributary until King Egbert reduced all the kingdoms of the Octarchy under his dominion, at the commencement of the ninth century,—and thus became the first King of all England.

"That Kent was separated at an early period into the two divisions of East and West Kent, may be inferred from a charter (Kemble,Cod. Dipl.ii. 19.) relating to some property withheld from the church of Canterbury, and which is specially described as having been that "of Oswulf, duke and prince of the province ofEast Kent" ('dux atque princeps provinciæOrientalis Cantiæ') c.A.D.844.

"TheSaxon Chroniclealso confirms this view of the matter, thus:

A.D.853. "Ealhere with the 'Men of Kent' fought inThanetagainst the heathen army (Danes)."—Thanet is inEastKent.

A.D.865. "The heathen army sate down inThanet, and made peace with the 'Men of Kent.' And the 'Men of Kent' promised them money for the peace."

A.D.902. ... "Battle at theHolmes, between the 'Kentish Men' and the 'Danish Men.'—This, I take it, occurred inWestKent.

A.D.999. "The army (Danes) went up along the Medway toRochester, and then the 'Kentishforces' stoutly joined battle ... and full nighall the 'West Kentish men' they ruined and plundered."

A.D.1009. "Then came the vast hostile army (Danes) toSandwich, and they soon went their way toCanterbury; and all the people of 'East Kent' made peace with the army, and gave them 3000 pounds."

"Thus, I trust, I have satisfactorily shown from our ancient annals, that the distinction between 'Kentish Men' and 'Men of Kent,' existed at a period long anterior to the Norman Conquest, and is distinctly recognised in the foregoing historical passages. And its origin may, I think, be attributed to the ancient division of the Jutish kingdom of Kent into the two dioceses ofCanterburyandRochester.

"Our Gavelkind Tenure and free Kentish customs, of which I have attempted a history in my recently publishedConsuetudines Kanciæ, gave rise to our well-known old provincial song of 'The Man of Kent,' its burthen being:

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