Minor Notes.

"You leaden messengers,That ride upon the violent wings of fire,Fly with false aim;movethestill-piecingair,That sings with piercing,—do not touch my lord!"All's Well that Ends Well, Act III. Sc. 2.

"You leaden messengers,

That ride upon the violent wings of fire,

Fly with false aim;movethestill-piecingair,

That sings with piercing,—do not touch my lord!"

All's Well that Ends Well, Act III. Sc. 2.

"the elements,Of whom your swords are tempered, may as wellWoundthe loud winds, or with bemock'd at stabsKill thestill-closingwaters, as diminishOne dowle that's in my plume."The Tempest, Act III. Sc. 3.

"the elements,

Of whom your swords are tempered, may as well

Woundthe loud winds, or with bemock'd at stabs

Kill thestill-closingwaters, as diminish

One dowle that's in my plume."

The Tempest, Act III. Sc. 3.

There can be little doubt that the clever corrector ofMr. Collier'sfolio had the last of these passages in view when he altered the wordmoveof the first, intowoundof the second: but in this instance he overshot the mark, in not perceiving the nice and subtle distinction which exists between them. The first implies possibility: the second impossibility.

In the second, the mention of, to "wound the loud wind, or kill the still-closing water," is to set forth the absurdness of the attempt; but in the first passage there is a direct injunction to a possible act: "Fly with false aim, move the still-piecing air." To say "woundthe still-piecing air" would be to direct to be done, in one passage, that which the other passage declares to be absurd to expect!

If it were necessary to disturbmoveat all, the wordcleavewould be, all to nothing, a better substitution thanwound.

Whether the annotating ofMr. Collier'sfolio be a real or a pseudo-antique, it is impossible to deny that its executor must have been a clever, as he was certainlya slashinghitter. It cannot, therefore, be wondered that he should sometimes reach the mark: but that these corrections should be received with that blind and superstitious faith, so strangely exacted for them, can scarcely be expected. Indeed, it is to be regretted that they have been introduced to the public with such an uncompromising claim to authority; as the natural repugnance againstenforcedopinion may endanger the success of the few suggestive emendations, to be found amongst them, which are really new and valuable.

A. E. B.

Leeds.

P.S.—With reference to the above Note, which, although not before printed, has been for some time in the Editor's hands, I have observed in a Dublin paper of Saturday, April 9th, a very singular coincidence; viz. the recurrence of the self-same misprint corrected by Malone, but retained by Messrs. Collier and Knight in their respective editions of Shakspeare. Had the parallel expressionsstill-closing,still-piecing, which I have compared in the above paper, been noticed by theseeditors, they would no more have hesitated in accepting Malone's correction than they would object to the same correction in the misprint I am about to point out; viz.

"Two planks were pointed out by the witnesses, viz. one with a knot in it, and another which was piered with strips of wood," &c.—Saunders's Newsletter, April 9th, 3rd page, 1st col.

The Passage in "King Henry VIII.," Act III. Sc. 2.(Vol. vii., pp. 5. 111. 183.).—Is an old Shakspearian to talk rashly in "N. & Q." without being called to account? "If 'we can,'" saysMr. Singer, "'by no means part withhave,' we must interpolatebeenafter it, to make it any way intelligible, to the marring of the verse." Now, besides the passage in the same scene—

——"my loyalty,Which ever has, and ever shall be growing,"

——"my loyalty,

Which ever has, and ever shall be growing,"

pointed out by your Leeds correspondent, there is another equally in point inAll's Well that Ends Well, Act II. Sc. 5., which, being in prose, settles the question as to whether the omission of the past participle after the auxiliary was customary in Shakspeare's time. It is Lafeu's farewell to Parolles:

"Farewell, Monsieur: I have spoken better of you, than you have or will deserve at my hand; but we must do good against evil."

Either this is "unintelligible," and "we must interpolate"deserved, or (the only possible alternative) all three passages are free fromMr. Singer'sobjection.

C. Mansfield Ingleby.

Birmingham.

On a Passage in "Macbeth."—Macbeth (Act I. Sc. 7.) says:

"I have no spurTo prick the sides of my intent, but onlyVaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself,And falls on the other."

"I have no spur

To prick the sides of my intent, but only

Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself,

And falls on the other."

Should not the third line be—

"Vaulting ambition, which o'erleapsits sell!"

Sellis saddle (Latin,sella; French,selle), and is used by Spenser in this sense.

"O'erleapingitself" is manifest nonsense; whereas the whole passage has evident reference to horsemanship; and to "vault" is "to carry one's body cleverly over anything of a considerable height, resting one hand upon the thing itself,"—exactly the manner in which some persons mount a horse, resting one hand on the pommel of the saddle.

It would then be perfectly intelligible, thus—

"Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps its saddle (sell),And falls on the other (side of the horse)."

"Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps its saddle (sell),

And falls on the other (side of the horse)."

DoesMr. Collier's"New Text," or any other old copy, prove this?

S. Singleton.

Greenwich.

Robert Weston.—I copy the following from a letter of R. L. Kingston to Dr. Ducarel in Nichols'sLiterary History, vol. iii. p. 629.:

"Robert Weston was Lord of Manor of Kilmington in Devon, and divided his estate among four daughters, reserving to the eldest son the royalties of his courts. In his will or deed of settlement is this clause:—'That the Abbot of Newnhams, near Axminster, had nothing to do in the highway any further than to his land of Studhays, and that he should stand without the court gate of his land of Studhays, and take his right ear in his left hand, and put his right arm next to his body under his left across, and so cast his reap-hook from him; and so far he shall come.'"

Balliolensis.

Sonnet on the Rev. Joseph Blanco White.—Some years ago, I copied the following sonnet from a newspaper. Can you say where it first made its appearance? After the annexed testimony of Coleridge, it is needless to say anything in its praise.

"SONNET ON THE REV. JOSEPH BLANCO WHITE.Mysterious Night! When our first parent knewThee from report divine, and heard thy name,Did he not tremble for this lovely frame,This glorious canopy of light and blue?Yet 'neath a curtain of translucent dew,Bathed in the rays of the great setting flame,Hesperus, with the host of heaven, came,And lo! Creation widen'd in man's view.Who could have thought such darkness lay conceal'dWithin thy beams, O Sun! Or who could find,Whilst fly, and leaf, and insect, stood reveal'd,That to such countless orbs thou mad'st us blind?Why do we then shun death with anxious strife?If light can thus deceive—wherefore not life?"

"SONNET ON THE REV. JOSEPH BLANCO WHITE.

Mysterious Night! When our first parent knew

Thee from report divine, and heard thy name,

Did he not tremble for this lovely frame,

This glorious canopy of light and blue?

Yet 'neath a curtain of translucent dew,

Bathed in the rays of the great setting flame,

Hesperus, with the host of heaven, came,

And lo! Creation widen'd in man's view.

Who could have thought such darkness lay conceal'dWithin thy beams, O Sun! Or who could find,Whilst fly, and leaf, and insect, stood reveal'd,That to such countless orbs thou mad'st us blind?Why do we then shun death with anxious strife?If light can thus deceive—wherefore not life?"

Who could have thought such darkness lay conceal'd

Within thy beams, O Sun! Or who could find,

Whilst fly, and leaf, and insect, stood reveal'd,

That to such countless orbs thou mad'st us blind?

Why do we then shun death with anxious strife?

If light can thus deceive—wherefore not life?"

Coleridge is said to have pronounced this "The finest and most grandly conceived in our language; at least, it is only in Milton's and in Wordsworth's sonnets that I recollect any rival."

Balliolensis.

English and American Booksellers.—It is rather curious to note, that whilst English booksellers are emulously vying with one another to publish editions ofUncle Toms,Queechys,Wide Wide Worlds, &c., they neglect to issue English works which the superior shrewdness of Uncle Sam deems worthy of reprinting. Southey'sChronicle of the Cid, which was published by Longman in 1808, and not since printed in England, was brought out in a very handsome octavo form at Lowell, U. S., in 1846. And this, the "first American edition," as it is called on the title-page, can be readily procured from the booksellers in London; whereas the English original is not to be met with. In like manner, Macaulay'sEssayswere collected and published first in America; and so with Praed'sPoems, and many others.Uncle Sam has lately announced collections of Dr. Maginn's and De Quincey's scattered Essays, for which we owe him our most grateful acknowledgments.

J. M. B.

Tunbridge Wells.

Odd Mistake.—

"One of the houses on Mount Ephraim formerly belonged toJudge Jeffries, a man who has rendered his name infamous in the annals of historyby the cruelty and injustice he manifested in presiding at the trial of King Charles I."—Descriptive Sketches of Tunbridge Wells, by John Britton, F.S.A., p. 59.

Voilà comment on fait l'histoire!

J. M. B.

Tunbridge Wells.

Thomas Shakspeare.—In the year 1597 there resided in Lutterworth in Leicestershire, only distant from Stratford-upon-Avon, the birth-town of Shakspeare, a very few miles, oneThomas Shakspeare, who appears to have been employed by William Glover, of Hillendon in Northamptonshire, gentleman, as his agent to receive for him and give an acquittance for a considerable sum of money.

Having regard to the age in which this Thomas Shakspeare lived, coupled with his place of residence, is it not probable he was a relative of the great Bard?

Charlecote.

Early Winters.—I heard it mentioned, when in St. Petersburg very lately, that they have never had so early a commencement of winter as this last year since the French were at Moscow.

I find in accounts of the war, that the wintercommencedthen (1812) on November 7,N. S., with deep snow. Last year (1852) it commenced at St. Petersburg on October 16,N. S., as noted in my diary, with snow, which has remained on the ground ever since, accompanied at times withverysevere frost.

Query: Can November 7,N. S., be the correct date? If it is, this last winter's commencement must be unprecedented; as I have always heard it remarked, that the winter began unusually early the year the French were at Moscow.

I may mention as a note, that by the last accounts from Russia, they say the ice in the Gulf of Finland was four and a half feet thick.

J. S. A.

Old Broad Street.

I have lately been much interested in a pack of cards, complete (fifty-two) in their number and suits, engraved in the time of the Commonwealth at the Hague, and representing the chief personages and the principal events of that period. I have been able, by reference to historical authorities, and, in particular, to the Ballads and Broadsides in the British Museum, forming the collection presented to the nation by George III., to explain the whole pack, with the exception of two. These are "Parry, Father and Sonne," and "Simonias slandering the High Priest, to get his Place." The former simply represents two figures, without any thing to offer a clue to any event; the latter gives the representation of six Puritans, forming an assembly, who are being addressed by one of the body. I cannot find any notice of Simonias, or to whom such a name has been applied, in any of the Commonwealth tracts with which I am acquainted. Probably some of your readers can help me in this matter. Of these cards I can find no notice: they are not mentioned by Singer, and appear to have escaped the indefatigable research of Mr. Chatto. They were purchased at the Hague, more than thirty years since, for thirty-three guineas, and are exceedingly curious: indeed they form a bundle of Commonwealth tracts. All the principal persons of the time figure in some characteristic representation, and the private scandal is also recognised in them. Thus, Oliver is to be found under a strong conflict with Lady Lambert; Sir Harry Mildmay solicits a citizen's wife, for which his own corrects him; and he is also being beaten by a footboy,—which event is alluded to in Butler'sPosthumous Works. General Lambert, of whom your pages have given some interesting information, is represented as "The Knight of the Golden Tulip," evidently in reference to his withdrawal with a pension to Holland, where he is known to have ardently cultivated flowers, and to have drawn them in a very superior manner. I hope this communication may enable me to complete my account of these cards, the explanation of which may probably throw light upon some of the stirring events of that extraordinary period of our history.

T. J. Pettigrew.

Saville Row.

A vellum MS. has lately come into my possession, containing the Service for the Dead, Prayers, &c., with the tones for chanting, &c., in Latin, written for a German Order, apparently about the year 1430.

This tome, which is in small 4to., is very remarkable and valuable on account of the binding. This is red leather, stamped with double lines forming lozenges, and powdered with additional stamps, Or, a lion, a fleur-de-lys, an eagle, and a star. The whole is on the plain leather, without any gilding.

But in addition hereto, a full inscription runs along each back, at top and bottom and each side, stamped withmovable metal typesapplied by hand,without gold, as is done by the bookbinder to this day in blind stamping.

The legend on the first back is as follows:

That is,—

"Diez puchlein ist schwester Margreten, sehuest abtisse zu Sankt Katherein zu Mur."

The legend on the last back is,—

That is,—

"Nach Crist gepurtMCCCCXXXVuvart gepunden diez puch ... k."

The whole inscription will therefore be, in English,—

A letter or two is illegible, from the injury made by the clasp, before the lastK. Both the clasps are torn away, perhaps from their having been of some precious metal. Has thisKanything to do with Köster?

Can any particulars be given of the abbess, monastery, and town mentioned?

Is any other specimen of movablemetaltypes known of so early a date?

George Stephens.

Copenhagen.

Among the pictures at Brickwall House, Northiam, Sussex, are the following portraits by artists whose names are not mentioned either in Bryan, or Pilkington, or Horace Walpole's notices of painters. I shall be thankful for any information respecting them.

1. A full-length portrait in oils (small size) on canvas (29 inches by 24) of a gentleman seated, dressed in a handsome loose gown, red slippers, and on his head a handsome, but very peculiar velvet cap; on the ground, near him, a squirrel; and on a table by his side, a ground plan of some fortification. "John Sommerpinxit, 1700."

N. B.—The late Capt. Marryatt, and subsequently another gentleman, guessed it to be a portrait of Wortley Montague from the peculiar dress; but the fortification would seem to indicate a military personage. The picture is well painted.

2. A half-length portrait in oils (small size) on canvas (20-1/2 inches by 17), of an old lady seated; a landscape in the background. A highly finished and excellent picture; the lace in her cap is most elaborate. "T. Vander Wilt, 1701."

N. B.—I conclude this is the artist's name, though possibly it may be the subject's.

3. A pair of portraits (Kit Kat size), of John Knight of Slapton, Northamptonshire, aged seventy-two; and Catherine his wife, aged thirty-seven. "Lucas Whittonuspinxit, 1736."

N. B.—Inferior portraits by some provincial artist. I conclude Lucas is the surname, and Whittonus indicates his locality; if so, what place?

Whilst on this subject, I would add another Query respecting a picture in this house: a very highly finished portrait (small size) by Terburgh, of a gentleman standing, in black gown, long brown wig, and a book on a table by him. "Andries de Græff. Obiit lxxiii.,MDCLXXIIII."

Can you tell me anything about this old gentleman?

T. F.

Christian Names.—Can any of your correspondents inform me when it became a common practice to have more than one Christian name? Lord Coke says (Co. Litt. 3 a):

"And regularly it is requisite that the purchaser be named by the name of baptism and his surname, and that special heed be taken to the name of baptism;for that a man cannot have two names of baptism as he may have divers surnames."

And further on he says:

"If a man be baptized by the name of Thomas, and after, at his confirmation by the bishop, he is named John, he may purchase by the name of his confirmation.... And this doth agree with our ancient books, where it is holden that a man may have divers names at divers times,but not divers Christian names."

It appears, then, that during the first half of the seventeenth century a man could not have two Christian names.

Also, at what period did the custom arise of using as Christian names words which are properly surnames?

Ericas.

Lake of Geneva.—The chronicler Marius (in the second volume ofDom Bouquet) mentions that, in the reign of the sons of Clotaire, an earthquake or landslip, in the valley of the Upper Rhone, enlarged the Lemannus, or Genevese Lake, by thirty miles of length and twenty of breadth, destroying towns and villages. Montfaucon, in hisMonumens de la Monarchie,i. p. 63., states that the Lake of Geneva was formed on this occasion: absurdly, unless he means that upon this occasion its limits were extended to Geneva, having previously terminated further east. What vestiges of this catastrophe are now perceptible?

A. N.

Clerical Portrait.—May I request the assistance of "N. & Q." in discovering the name of a reverend person whose portrait I have recently met with in my parish? The individual from whom I procured it could give me no other history of it, but that he had bought it at the sale of the effects of a respectable pawnbroker in the village many years ago.

Afterwards I learned from another resident in the parish that he well remembered visiting the shop of the same broker, in company with another gentleman still living, when this identical portrait was the subject of conversation, and the broker went into his private room and brought out a book, conceived to be a magazine, from which he read a description of the person of whom this was the portrait, to the following effect, viz., "That he was born of obscure parentage in the parish of Glemham, Suffolk; that he was sent to school, and afterwards became a great man and a dignitary of the church, if not a bishop; and became so wealthy that he gave a large sum for the repairs of Norwich Cathedral."

These are the only particulars which I have yet ascertained as to the portrait, for neither of the gentlemen who were present at this transaction with the broker, though they agree in the circumstances which I have above narrated, can rememberthe nameof my great unknown.

I look, however, with confidence to the wide range of your correspondents, and hope to receive some clue which may guide me to the wished-for discovery.

The portrait is an oil painting, a fine full florid face, with a long wig of black curly hair resting on the shoulders, gown and band, date probably from Queen Anne to George II.

J. T. A.

Arms: Battle-axe.—With some quarterings of Welsh arms in Bisham (Marlow) of Hobey, is one of three battle-axes. The same appear near Denbigh, supposed taken in with a L. R. from Vaughan. Query, What family or families bore three battle-axes?

A. C.

Bullinger's Sermons.—Will some of your correspondents kindly give me some information regarding a volume of sermons by Henry Bullinger, which I have reason to believe is of rather rare occurrence? It isFestorum dierum Domini et Servatoris nostri Jesu Christi Sermones Ecclesiastici:Heinrycho Bullingero, Authore.There is a vignette, short preface (on title-page), with a Scripture motto, Matt. xvii. Date is,"Tiguri apud Christoph. Froschoverum a.MDLVIII." I believe there is a copy in the University Library, Cambridge.

Enivri.

Monkstown, Dublin.

Gibbon's Library.—Matthews, in hisDiary of an Invalid, says, when visiting Gibbon's house at Lausanne, "His library still remains; but it is buried and lost to the world. It is the property of Mr. Beckford, and lies locked up in an uninhabited house at Lausanne" (1st edit. 1820, p. 319.). This was written about 1817. Was the library ever transferred to Fonthill or to Bath, or does it still remain at Lausanne?

J. H. M.

Dr. Timothy Bright.—Can any of your correspondents inform me whether this gentleman, author of aTreatise on Melancholy, an edition of Fox'sMartyrs, &c., was an ancestor of the Rev. Henry Bright, prebend of Worcester Cathedral, and instructor of Samuel Butler, author ofHudibras?

H. A. B.

Townley MSS.—I request to know, where are the Townley MSS.?AThey are quoted by Nicolas in the Scope and Grosvenor Rolls? Also, where are the MSS. often referred to in theHistory of the House of Yveryas then penes the Earl of Egmont; and also a folio of Pedigrees by Camden Russet?

H. T. Ellacombe.

A[For a notice of the Townley MSS., see "N. & Q.," Vol. iv., p. 103.](return)

Order of St. John of Jerusalem.—1. Who were the members of the British Language of St. John of Jerusalem, when Elizabeth took away their property?

2. What members of the British Language were present when, in 1546, the English commander Upton attacked and defeated the famous Corsair Dragut at Tarschien in Malta? Also, what members of it were present when the Chevalier Repton, Grand Prior of England in 1551, was killed, after signally defeating the Turks in another attack which they made on the island?

3. What became of the records of the Language?

N.B.—Some of them, belonging to the Irish branch of it, were lately bought of a Jew by a private gentleman in the Grand Duchy of Baden. They are supposed to have been deposited for security at Heidersheim near Fribourg, which was the chief seat of the German Language of the Order.

R. L. P.

Wartensee, Lake of Constance.

Consecrated Roses, Swords, &c.—Where will any account be found of the origin of the custom, which has long prevailed at Rome, of the Pope's blessing, on the eve at certain festivals, roses andother articles, and which were afterwards frequently presented to sovereigns and potentates as tokens of friendship and amity?

West, Kipling, and Millbourne.—In 1752 there was a firm of West and Kipling in Holborn: the Christian name of West was Thomas; and there is reason to believe that he had two sons, Francis and Thomas. A George Millbourne, Esq., of Spring Gardens, married a cousin of Thomas West, the partner of Kipling: these facts are referred to in the will of a lady provedA.D.1764. Can any reader of "N. & Q." furnish me with materials or references from which I may gather information of these families of West and Millbourne? The smallest contribution will be thankfully received by

F. S.

Font Inscriptions.—I would request the favour of any such of ancient date. A collection of them would be interesting. I can give three.

At Lullington, Somerset, on a Norman font, in characters of that date:

"In hoc Fontu sacro pereunt delicta lavacro."

At Bourn, Lincoln:

"Supome nomI H Cest nomqde."

At Melton Mowbray:

"Sancta Trinitas misere nobis."

H. T. Ellacombe.

Welsh Genealogical Queries.—CanJohn ap William ap John(Vol. vii., p. 292.), or some other reader, enlighten me as to who the following personages were, or where a pedigree of them is to be found:

As these Queries are not of general interest, I inclose a stamped envelope for the answers.

E. H. Y.

The Butler and his Man William.—These mythological personages, the grotesque creation of Mr. Grosvenor Bedford's fertile imagination, are frequently referred to and dilated on in the letters addressed to him by Southey (Life of Southey, by his Son, vol. ii. p. 335., &c.), when urging Mr. Bedford to write a Pantagruelian romance on their lives and adventures, which however was never accomplished. What therefore is the meaning of the following paragraph, which appears at the conclusion of the review of volume ii. of Southey'sLife, contained in theGent.'s Mag.for April, 1850, p. 359.?

"We will only add, that with respect to theButlermentioned at p. 335., the editor seems but imperfectly informed. His portrait, and that of hisman William, are now hanging on the walls of our study. His Life is on our table. He himself has long since returned to the 'august abode' from which he came."

J. M. B.

Tunbridge Wells.

Longhi's Portraits of Guidiccioni.—The Count Alessandro Cappi of Ravenna is about to publish an elaborate life of his fellow-townsmanLuca Longhi, with very copious illustrations from that painter's works.

He has ransacked Italy in vain for a portrait of Monsignor Giovanni Guidiccioni, President of Romagna, painted by Luca Longhi in 1540. This portrait possesses more than ordinary interest, since (to use the words of Armenini, author ofVeri Precetti della Pittura)"fu predicato per maraviglioso in Roma da Michelangelo Buonarrotti."Count Cappi, supposing that the picture may have found its way to England, hopes by the publication of this notice to discover its whereabouts. Any correspondent who shall be kind enough to furnish him, through this journal, with the desired information, may be assured of his"più vera riconoscenza."

W. G. C.

Sir George Carr.—Wanted, pedigree and arms, wife's name and family, of Sir George Carr, who was joint clerk of the council of Munster from 1620 to 1663, or thereabouts. Sir George had two sons at least, William and Thomas; William was alive in 1673. Whom did he marry, and what family had he?

Y. S. M.

Dublin.

Dean Pratt.—Dr. Hesseywill feel obliged to any reader of "N. & Q." who can answer the following questions.

At what College of what University did Dr. Samuel Pratt, Dean of Rochester, receive his education, and by whom was he ordained?

He was born in 1658, left Merchant Taylors' school (where he passed his early years) in 1677, and was created D.D. by royal mandate, at Cambridge, in 1697, but no college is attached to hisname in the list of Cambridge graduates. Still, if he was of neither university, it seems difficult to account for his having had the successive preferments of Chaplain to the Princess of Denmark, Almoner to the Duke of Gloucester, Clerk of the Closet to the Queen, and in 1706 Dean of Rochester. He died in 1728, aged seventy-one.

Merchant Taylors'.

Portrait of Franklin.—I have heard of a story to the effect that when Franklin left England, he presented a portrait of himself, by West, to Thurlow. I am exceedingly anxious to know if there is any foundation for this, as during the last week I saw in a shop near the chapel here, a portrait of the philosopher which I rather suspect to be the one alluded to.

H. G. D.

Knightsbridge.

"Enquiry into the State of the Union."—A book of much importance has fallen into my hands, entitled—

"An Enquiry into the State of the Union of Great Britain. The past and present State of the public Revenues. By theWednesday'sClub inFriday Street. London: printed for A. and W. Bell, at the Cross Keys, Cornhill; J. Watts, in Bow Street, Covent Garden: and sold by B. Barker and C. King, in Westminster Hall; W. Mears and J. Brown, without Temple Bar; and W. Taylor, in Paternoster Row. 1717."

Can any of your correspondents throw a light upon thisWednesday'sClub, in Friday Street? Was it a real club or fictitious?

By so doing you would greatly oblige me, and afford important information to this office.

James A. Davies.

National Debt Office.

Bishop of Oxford in 1164.—Among the names of the bishops who signed the Constitutions of Clarendon I see "Bartholomeus Oxoniensis Episcopus." How is this signature accounted for? There are no other signatures of suffragan or inferior bishops attached.

W. Fraser.

Tor-Mohun.

[Clearly a misprint for BartholomeusExoniensisEpiscopus, the celebrated Bartholomew Iscanus, the opponent of Thomas à Becket. Our correspondent should have given the title of the work where he found the signatures, as they are not appended to the "Constitutions" in Matthew Paris, Spelman, or Wilkins.]

Roman Inscription found at Battle Bridge.—I shall be very much obliged if any one of your numerous readers or correspondents will be so kind as to furnish me with an authentic copy of the inscription on the Roman stone which in July 1842 was found at Battle Bridge, St. Pancras, and also state where the original stone is to be seen. The account of the discovery of the stone is mentioned in a paragraph which appeared inThe Timesnewspaper of the 30th July, 1842, in the following manner:

"Antiquities discovered.—A Roman inscription has within these few days past been discovered at Battle Bridge, otherwise, by an absurd change of denomination, known as King's Cross, New Road, St. Pancras. This discovery appears fully to justify the conjectures of Stukeley and other antiquaries, that the great battle between the Britons under Boadicea and the Romans under Suetonius Paulinus took place at this spot. Faithful tradition, in the absence of all decisive evidence, still pointed to the place by the appellation of Battle Bridge. The inscription, which in parts is much obliterated, bears distinctly the letters 'LEG. XX.' The writer of this notice has not yet had an opportunity personally to examine it, but speaks from the information of an antiquarian friend. The twentieth legion, it is well known, was one of the four which came into Britain in the reign of Claudius, and contributed to its subjugation: the vexillation of this legion was in the army of Suetonius Paulinus when he made that victorious stand in a fortified pass, with a forest in his rear, against the insurgent Britons. The position is sketched by Tacitus, and antiquaries well know that on the high ground above Battle Bridge there are vestiges of Roman works, and that the tract of land to the north was formerly a forest. The veracity of the following passage of Tacitus is therefore fully confirmed:—'Deligitque locum artis faucibus, et a tergo sylva clausum; satis cognito, nihil hostium, nisi in fronte, et apertam planitiem esse, sine metu insidiarum.'He further tells us that the force of Suetonius was composed of'Quartadecima legio cumvexillariis vicessimariiset e proximis auxiliares.'"

S. R.

[A sketch of this fragment of stone, discovered by Mr. E. B. Price, is given in theGentleman's Magazinefor August, 1842, p. 144.]

Blow-shoppes.—

"Wild bores, bulls, and falcons bredde there in times paste; now, for lakke of woodde, blow-shoppes decay there."—Leland'sItin., Hearne's edit., vol. vii. p. 42.

What is the meaning ofblow-shoppe?

J. B.

[Leland appears to refer to blacksmiths' forges, which decayed for lack of wood.]

Bishop Hesketh(Vol. vii., p 209.).—There is evidently an error in your note respecting the death of Bishop Hesketh, but it is one common to all the lists of Manx bishops to which I have access. You state that he died in 1510: it is certain that he was living in 1520.

He was a son of Robert Hesketh, of Rufford, co. Lanc., and his brother Richard Hesketh, "learned in the lawe," and who is stated by Kimber to have been Attorney-General to King Hen. VIII.,by his will, dated 15th August, 1520, appointed his "trusty brethren Hugh, bishopp of Manne, and Thomas Hesketh, esquier," executors, and proceeded:

"I wyll that the said Bishopp shall haue a goblett of syluer wta couir, and my said brothir Thomas to haue a pouncid bool of syluer, a counterpoynt, and a cordyn gemnete bedde wtthe hangings, a paire of fustyan blanketts, and a paire of shetys, and a fether bedde that lyeth uppon the same bedde, for their labours."

So that the vacancy, if there really was any, between his death and the consecration of Bishop Stanley, is much less than is generally supposed.

H. A.

[Our authority for the date of Bishop Hesketh's death was Bishop Hildesley's MS. list of the Manx bishops, which he presented to the British Museum, and which appears to have been carefully compiled. His words are, "Huan Hesketh died 1510, and was buried in his cathedral of St. Germans in Peel." It is clear, however, there is an error somewhere, which did not escape the notice of William Cole, the Cambridge antiquary; for in his MS. Collections, vol. xxvi. p. 24., he has the following entry:—"Huan Hesketh was living 13 Henry VIII., 1531, at which time Thomas Earl of Derby appointed, among others, Sir Hugh Hesketh, Bishop of Man, to be one of his executors. (See Collins'sPeerage, vol. ii. p. 33.) Wolsey was appointed supervisor of the will, and is in it called Lord Chancellor: he was so made 1516, which proves that he was alive after 1510. The will of Richard Hesketh, Esq.—to be buried in his chapel at Rufford: executors, Hugh Hesketh, Bishop of Man, his brother; and Thomas Hesketh, Esq.—was proved Nov. 13, 1520. (InReg. Manwaring, 3.) He continued bishop, I presume, forty-three years, from 1487 to 1530. It is plain he was so thirty-four years."]

Form of Prayer for Prisoners.—

"It is not, perhaps, generally known, that we have a form of prayer for prisoners, which is printed in the Irish Common Prayer-Book, though not in ours. Mrs. Berkeley, in whose preface of prefaces to her son's poems I first saw this mentioned, regrets the omission; observing, that the very fine prayer for those under sentence of death, might, being read by the children of the poor, at least keep them from the gallows. The remark is just."—Southey'sOmniana, vol. i. p. 50.

What Irish Common Prayer-Book is here meant? I have the books issued by the late Ecclesiastical History Society, but do not see the service among them. Could the prayer referred to be transferred to "N. & Q.;" or where is the said Irish Prayer-Book to be found?

Thomas Lawrence.

Ashby-de-la-Zouch.

[The Book of Common Prayer according to the use of the Church of Ireland, we believe, may frequently be met with. An edition in folio, 1740, is in the British Museum, containing "The Form of Prayer for the Visitation of Prisoners, treated upon by the Archbishops and Bishops, and the rest of the Clergy of Ireland, and agreed upon by Her Majesty's License in their Synod, holden at Dublin in the Year 1711." We are inclined to think that Mrs. Berkeley must have intended its beautiful exhortation—not the prayer—for the use of the poor. See "N. & Q.," Vol. vi., p. 246.]

(Vol. vii., pp. 303. 362.)

Without entering on the question as to possible connexion of the poet with the family above mentioned, the discussion may be simplified by solving a difficulty suggested byCliviger(p. 362.), arising from Hurstwood Hall (another estate in Hurstwood) having been possessed by Townley, and by explaining, 1st, The identity of the tenement once owned by Spencers; 2ndly, The seeming cause of Whitaker's silence; and, 3rdly, The certainty of possession by the Spencers.

I. The former estate of the Spencers in Hurstwood is a tenement which was purchased by the late Rev. John Hargreaves from the representatives of William Ormerod, of Foxstones, in Cliviger, in 1803, and which had been conveyed in 1690, by John Spencer, then of Marsden, to Oliver Ormerod of Hurstwood, and his son Laurence; the former of these being youngest son, by a second marriage, of Peter Ormerod of Ormerod, and co-executor of his will in 1650. So much for the locality.

II. As for Dr. Whitaker's silence, I know, from correspondence with him (1808-1816), that, from an irregularity in the Prerogative Office, he was not aware of this will, and uninformed as to this second marriage, or the connexion of this purchaser's family with the parent house; and I think it as probable that he was as unaware of the ancient possession of the purchased tenement by Spencers, as it is certain that this theory as to the connexion of the poet with it wasthenunknown. If otherwise, he would doubtless have extended his scale, and included it.

III. As to the certainty of possession by Spencers, I have brief extracts from deeds as to this tenement as follows:—

1677. Indenture of covenants for a fine, betweenJohn Spencer the elder, and Oliver Ormerod of Cliviger, and note of fine.

1687. Will of sameJohn Spencer, late of Hurstwood, mentioning possession of this tenement as the inheritance of hisgreat-grandfather,Edmund Spencer.

1689. Family arrangements ofJohn Spencer(the son) as to same tenement, then in occupation of "Oliver Ormeroyde" before mentioned.

1690. Conveyance fromJohn Spencerto O. and L. O., as before mentioned.

InGentleman's Magazine, August, 1842 (pp. 141, 142.), will be found numerous notices of these Spencers or Spensers, with identified localities from registers.

I think that this explanation will solve the difficulty suggested byCliviger. On the main question I have not grounds sufficient for an opinion, but add a reference toGentleman's Magazine, March, 1848, p. 286., for ageneral objectionbyMr. Crossley, President of the Chetham Society, who is well acquainted with the locality.

Lancastriensis.

I was about to address some photographic Queries to the correspondents of "N. & Q." when a note caught my attention relating to Edmund Spenser (in the Number dated March 26.). The Mr. F. F. Spenser mentioned therein was related to me, being my late father's half-brother. I regret to say that he died very suddenly at Manchester, Nov. 2, 1852. During his lifetime, he took much pains to clear up the doubts about the locality of the poet's retirement, and his relatives in the North; and has made out a very clear case, I imagine. On a visit to Yorkshire in 1851, I spent a few days with him, and took occasion to urge the necessity of arranging the mass of information he had accumulated on the subject; which I have no doubt he would have done, had not his sudden death occurred to prevent it. These facts may be of some interest to biographers of the poet, and with this object I have ventured to trouble you with this communication.

J. B. Spencer.

11. Montpellier Road, Blackheath.

(Vol. ii., p. 196.; Vol. v., p. 413.; Vol. vii., pp. 193. 288.)

I do not know whether you will permit me to occupy a small portion of your valuable space in an attempt to suggest an origin of the custom of throwing an old shoe after a newly married bride.

Your correspondents assume that the old shoe was thrown after the bridefor luck, and for luck only. I doubt whether it was so in its origin.

Among barbarous nations, all transfers of property, all assertions and relinquishments of rights of dominion, were marked by some external ceremony or rite; by which, in the absence of written documents, the memory of the vulgar might be impressed. When, among Scandinavian nations, land was bought or sold, a turf was delivered by the trader to the purchaser: and among the Jews, and probably among other oriental nations, a shoe answered the same purpose.

In Psalm lx., beginning with "O God, thou hast cast me off," there occurs the phrase, "Moab is my washpot, over Edom have I cast out my shoe." Immediately after it occurs the exclamation, "O God! who has cast us off!" A similar passage occurs in Psalm cix.

By this passage I understand the Psalmist to mean, that God would thoroughly cast off Edom, and cease to aid him in war or peace. This interpretation is consistent with the whole tenor of the Psalm.

The receiving of a shoe was an evidence and symbol of asserting or accepting dominion or ownership; the giving back a shoe, the symbol of rejecting or resigning it.

Among the Jews, the brother of a childless man was bound to marry his widow: or, at least, he "had the refusal of her," and the lady could not marry again till her husband's brother had formally rejected her. The ceremony by which this rejection was performed took place in open court, and is mentioned in Deut. xxv. If the brother publicly refused her, "she loosed his shoe from off his foot, and spat in his face;" or, as great Hebraists translate it, "spat before his face."Hisgiving up the shoe was a symbol thatheabandoned all dominion over her; andherspitting beforehimwas a defiance, and an assertion of independence. This construction is in accordance with the opinions of Michaelis, as stated in hisLaws of Moses, vol. ii. p. 31.

This practice is still further illustrated by the story of Ruth. Her nearest kinsman refused to marry her, and to redeem her inheritance: he was publicly called on so to do by Boaz, and as publicly refused. And the Bible adds, "as it was the custom in Israel concerning changing, that a man plucked off his shoe and delivered it to his neighbour," the kinsman plucked off his shoe and delivered it to Boaz as a public renunciation of Ruth, of all dominion over her, and of his right of pre-marriage.

These ceremonies were evidently not unknown to the early Christians. When the Emperor Wladimir made proposals of marriage to the daughter of Raguald, she refused him, saying, "That she would not take off her shoe to the son of a slave."

There is a passage inGregory of Tours(c. 20.) where, speaking of espousals, he says, "The bridegroom having given a ring to the fiancée, presents her with a shoe."

From Michelet'sLife of Lutherwe learn, that the great reformer was at the wedding of Jean Luffte. After supper, he conducted the bride to bed, and told the bridegroom that, according to common custom, he ought to be master in his own housewhenhis wife was not there: and for a symbol, he took off the husband's shoe, and put it upon the head of the bed—"afin qu'il prit ainsi la domination et gouvernement."

I would suggest for the consideration of your correspondents that the throwing a shoe after a bride was a symbol of renunciation of dominion and authority over her by her father or guardian; and the receipt of the shoe by the bridegroom, even if accidental, was an omen that that authority was transferred to him.

John Thrupp.

Surbiton.

(Vol. vii., pp. 105. 183.)

That the Orkney and Zetland Islands were transferred by Denmark to Scotland in 1468, in pledge for payment of part of the dower of the Princess of Denmark, who was married to James III., King of Scotland, under right of redemption by Denmark, is an admitted historic fact; but it is asserted by the Scottish, and denied by the Danish historians, that Denmark renounced her right of redemption of these Islands. The question is fully discussed, with references to every work and passage treating of the matter, in the first introductory note to the edition ofThe General Grievances and Oppressions of the Isles of Orkney and Shetland, published at Edinburgh, 1836. And the writer of the note is led to the conclusion that there was no renunciation, and that Denmark still retains her right of redemption. Mr. Samuel Laing, in hisJournal of a Residence in Norway, remarks, that the object of Torfæus' historical work,Orcades, seu Rerum Orcadensium Historiæ libri tres, compiled by the express command of Christian V., King of Denmark, was to vindicate the right of the Danish monarch to redeem the mortgage of the sovereignty of these islands; and he adds, that in 1804, Bonaparte, in a proclamation addressed to the army assembled at Boulogne for the invasion of England, descanted on the claim of Denmark to this portion of the British dominions. In a note he has the farther statement, that in 1549 an assessment for paying off the sum for which Orkney and Zetland were pledged was levied in Norway by Christian III. (VideLaing'sNorway, 1837, pp. 352, 353.) From the preceding notice, it would appear, that Denmark never renounced her right of redemption, now merely a matter of antiquarian curiosity. And it is pertinent to mention, that the connexion of Orkney and Zetland was with Norway, not Denmark. I observe in the Catalogue of MSS., in the Cottonian Library in the British Museum (Titus C. VII. art. 71. f. 134.), "Notes on King of Denmark's Demand of the Orcades, 1587-8," which may throw some light on the matter.

In the historical sketch given by Broctuna, Kenneth II., King of Scotland, is said to have taken the Orkneys from the PictsA.D.838; and that they remained attached to that kingdom till 1099, when Donald Bain, in recompense of aid given to him by Magnus, King of Norway, gifted all the Scotch isles, including the Orkneys, to Norway. This is not what is understood to be the history of Orkney.

In the middle of the ninth century, Harold Harfager, one of the reguli of Norway, subdued the other petty rulers, and made himself king of the whole country. The defeated party fled to Orkney, and other islands of the west: whence, betaking themselves to piracy, they returned to ravage the coast of Norway. Harold pursued them to their places of refuge, and conquered and colonised Orkney aboutA.D.875. The Norwegians at that time destroyed or expelled the race then inhabiting these islands. They are supposed to have been Picts, and to have received Christianity at an earlier date, but it is doubtful if there were Christians in Orkney at that period: however, Depping says expressly, that Earl Segurd, the second Norwegian earl, expelled the Christians from these isles. I may remark, that the names of places in Orkney and Zetland are Norse, and bear descriptive and applicable meanings in that tongue; but hesitate to extend these names beyond the Norwegian colonisation, and to connect them with the Picts or other earlier inhabitants. No argument can be founded on the rude and miserable subterraneous buildings called Picts' houses, which, if they ever were habitations, or anything else than places of refuge, must have belonged to a people in a very low grade of civilisation. Be this as it may, Orkney and Zetland remained under the Norwegian dominion from the time of Harold Harfager till they were transferred to Scotland by the marriage treaty in 1468, a period of about six hundred years. What cannot easily be accounted for, is the discovery of two Orkney and Zetland deeds of the beginning of the fifteenth century prior to the transfer, written not in Norse, but in the Scottish language.

R. W.

(Vol. vii., p. 339.)

The numerous and interesting inquiries ofAn Amateurrespecting a catalogue of Hogarth's works has brought to my recollection the discovery of one of them, which I was so fortunate as to see in its original situation. About the year 1815 I was invited by a friend, who was an artist, to visit a small public-house in Leadenhall Street, to see a picture by Hogarth: it was "The Elephant," since, I believe, pulled down, being in a ruinous condition. In the tap-room, on the wall, almost obscured by the dirt and smoke, and grimed by the rubbing of numberless foul jackets, was an indisputable picture by the renowned Hogarth. It represented the meeting of the committee of theSouth Sea Company, and doubtless the figures were all portraits. It was painted in his roughest manner; but every head was stamped with that character for which he stood unrivalled. I have since heard that, when the house was pulled down, this picture was sold as one of the lots, in the sale of furniture, and bought by a dealer. It was painted on the wall, like a fresco; and how to remove it was the difficulty. On sounding the wall it was found to be lath and plaster, with timber framework (the usual style of building in the reign of Elizabeth). It was therefore determined to cut it out in substance, which was accordingly performed; and by the help of chisels, thin crowbars, and other instruments, it was safely detached. The plaster was then removed from the back down to the priming, and the picture was backed with strong canvas. It was then cleaned from all its defilement, and, on being offered for sale at a good price, was bought by a nobleman, whose name I have not heard, and is now in his collection.

I do not know whether your correspondent has heard of Hogarth's portrait of Fielding. The story, as I have heard or read it, is as follows:—Hogarth and Garrick sitting together after dinner, Hogarth was lamenting there was no portrait of Fielding, when Garrick said, "I think I can make his face."—"Pray, try my dear Davy," said the other. Garrick then made the attempt, and so well did he succeed, that Hogarth immediately caught the likeness, and exclaimed with exultation, "Now I have him: keep still, my dear Davy." To work he went with pen and ink, and the likeness was finished by their mutual recollections. This sketch has been engraved from the original drawing, and is preserved among several original drawings and prints in theillustratedcopy of Lysons'sEnvirons, vol. i. p. 544., in the King's Library, British Museum.

While I am writing about unnoticed pictures by what may be callederraticartists, I may mention that in the parlour of the "King's Head," corner of New Road and Hampstead Road, on the panel of a cupboard, is a half-length of a farmer's boy, most probably the work of G. Morland, who visited this house on his way to Hampstead, and probably paid his score by painting this picture; which is well known to have been his usual way of paying such debts.

E. G. Ballard.

Agreeably to the suggestion ofAn Amateur, I beg to send you the following list of pictures, from a catalogue in my possession:

Catalogueof the Pictures and Prints, the property of the late Mrs. Hogarth, deceased, sold by Mr. Greenwood, the Golden Head, Leicester Square, Saturday, April 24, 1790.Pictures by Mr. Hogarth.41. Two portraits of Ann and Mary Hogarth.42. A daughter of Mr. Rich the comedian, finely coloured.43. The original portrait of Sir James Thornhill.44. The heads of six servants of Mr. Hogarth's family.45. His own portrait—a head.46. A ditto—a whole-length painting.47. A ditto, Kit Kat, with the favourite dog, exceeding fine.48. Two portraits of Lady Thornhill and Mrs. Hogarth.49. The first sketch of the Rake's Progress.50. A ditto of the altar of Bristol Church.51. The Shrimp Girl—a sketch.52. Sigismunda.53. A historical sketch, by Sir James Thornhill.54. Two sketches of Lady Pembroke and Mr. John Thornhill.55. Three old pictures.56. The bust of Sir Isaac Newton, terra cotta.57. Ditto of Mr. Hogarth, by Roubilliac.58. Ditto of the favourite dog, and cast of Mr. Hogarth's hand.

Catalogueof the Pictures and Prints, the property of the late Mrs. Hogarth, deceased, sold by Mr. Greenwood, the Golden Head, Leicester Square, Saturday, April 24, 1790.

Pictures by Mr. Hogarth.

W. D. Haggard.

(Vol. vii., pp. 128. 200. 328.)

In a little brochure entitledChristmas, its History and Antiquity, published by Slater, London, 1850, the writer says that—

"In Berkshire it is confidently asserted, that if any one watches on Christmas Eve he will hearsubterranean bells; and in the mining districts the workmen declare that at this sacred season high mass is performed with the greatest solemnity on that evening in the mine which contains the most valuable lobe of ore, which is supernaturally lighted up with candles in the most brilliant manner, and the service changed by unseen choristers."—P. 46.

The poet Uhland has a beautiful poem entitledDie Verlorne Kirche. Lord Lindsay says:

"I subjoin, in illustration of the symbolism, and the peculiar emotions born of Gothic architecture,The Lost Churchof the poet Uhland, founded, I apprehend, on an ancient tradition of the Sinaitic peninsula."—Sketches of Christian Art.

I give the first stanza of his translation:

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