THE SCREW PROPELLER.

"It is little:But in these sharp extremities of fortune,The blessings which the weak and poor can scatterHave their own season. 'Tis a little thingTo give a cup of water; yet its draughtOf cool refreshment, drain'd by fever'd lips,May give a shock of pleasure to the frameMore exquisite than when nectarean juiceRenews the life of joy in happiest hours.It is a little thing to speak a phraseOf common comfort, which, by daily use,Has almost lost its sense; yet, on the earOf him who thought to die unmourn'd, 'twill fallLike choicest music; fill the glazing eyeWith gentle tears; relax the knotted handTo know the bonds of fellowship again;And shed on the departing soul a sense,More precious than the benison of friendsAbout the honour'd death-bed of the rich,To him who else were lonely, that anotherOf the great family is near and feels."

"It is little:

But in these sharp extremities of fortune,

The blessings which the weak and poor can scatter

Have their own season. 'Tis a little thing

To give a cup of water; yet its draught

Of cool refreshment, drain'd by fever'd lips,

May give a shock of pleasure to the frame

More exquisite than when nectarean juice

Renews the life of joy in happiest hours.

It is a little thing to speak a phrase

Of common comfort, which, by daily use,

Has almost lost its sense; yet, on the ear

Of him who thought to die unmourn'd, 'twill fall

Like choicest music; fill the glazing eye

With gentle tears; relax the knotted hand

To know the bonds of fellowship again;

And shed on the departing soul a sense,

More precious than the benison of friends

About the honour'd death-bed of the rich,

To him who else were lonely, that another

Of the great family is near and feels."

The analogy is as beautiful as it is true.

H. M. Bealby.

North Brixton.

Before this talented judge was advanced to the bench, he amused himself and instructed his clients by occasionalmetricalnotes, of which the annexed is a specimen. To make it intelligible to those whom it maynotconcern, I must add an explanation by the attorney in the suit, who has obligingly placed the learned serjeant's notes at my disposal. This gentleman says: "These notes are in the margin of a brief held by the serjeant as leading counsel in an action of ejectment brought against a person named Rock, in 1842. In converting into rhyme the evidence of the witness Hopkins, as set out in the brief, he has adhered strictly to the statements, whilst he has at the same time seized the prominent points of the testimony as supporting the case."

John Hopkins will identify the spot,Unless his early sports are quite forgot,And from his youngest recollection showThe house fell down some forty years ago.And then—a case of adverse claim to meet,Show how the land lay open to the street;And there the children held their harmless rambles,Till Robert Woolwich built his odious shambles,And never did the playmates fear a shock,From anything so hateful as aRock.

John Hopkins will identify the spot,

Unless his early sports are quite forgot,

And from his youngest recollection show

The house fell down some forty years ago.

And then—a case of adverse claim to meet,

Show how the land lay open to the street;

And there the children held their harmless rambles,

Till Robert Woolwich built his odious shambles,

And never did the playmates fear a shock,

From anything so hateful as aRock.

Perhaps the above may elicit from other quarters similar contributions; indeed, any memorial of the friend of Charles Lamb must be precious to the Muse.

T. J. Buckton.

Lichfield.

In 1781, when the steam engine, only recently improved by Watt, was merely applied to the more obvious purposes of mine drainage and the like, Darwin, in hisBotanic Garden, wrote—

"Soon shall thy arm, unconquer'd Steam! afarDrag the slow barge, or drive the rapid car."

"Soon shall thy arm, unconquer'd Steam! afar

Drag the slow barge, or drive the rapid car."

And in an appended note prophecies that the new agent might "in time be applied to the rowing of barges, and the moving of carriages along the road." The ingenious chronicler of the "loves of the plants," however, was in no doubt, when he wrote, aware of the experiments of D'Auxiron, Perier, and De Jouffroy; those prosecuted at Dalswinton and in America were some years later, about 1787-8 I think. But in another and less widely known poem by the same author, theTemple of Nature, published in 1802, there occurs a very complete anticipation of one of the most important applications of science to navigation, which may prove as novel and striking to some of your readers as it did to me. It is, indeed, a remarkable instance of scientific prevision. In a note to line 373, canto ii. of the poem, the author sets out with, "The progressive motion of fish beneath the water is produced principally by the undulation of their tails;" and after giving therationaleof the process, he goes on to say that "this power seems to be better adapted to push forward a body in the water than the oars of boats;" concluding with the query, "Might not some machinery resembling the tails of fish be placed behind a boat so as to be moved with greater effect than common oars, by the force of wind or steam?"

Anon.

The Memoranda Roll of the Exchequer, 4 & 5 Edward II., membrane 14., contains a list of the chattel-property of Richard de Fering, Archbishop of Dublin, which had been sold by Master Walter de Istelep, the custos of said See, for the sum of 112l.10s.9¾d.sterling, consisting, amongst other things, of—

iij affr', price xijs.xiij bobus, iiijli. vs.xlvij acr' warrectan' & rebinand' ibidem, lxxs.vjd.ij carucis cum apparatu, iiijs.v crannoc' frumenti ad semen & liberationes famulorum ibidem sibi venditis per predictum custodem, xxijs.vjd.xj crannoc', iij bussellis aven', xxxixs.iijd.iij carucis cum apparatu, vjs.

iij affr', price xijs.

xiij bobus, iiijli. vs.

xlvij acr' warrectan' & rebinand' ibidem, lxxs.vjd.

ij carucis cum apparatu, iiijs.

v crannoc' frumenti ad semen & liberationes famulorum ibidem sibi venditis per predictum custodem, xxijs.vjd.

xj crannoc', iij bussellis aven', xxxixs.iijd.

iij carucis cum apparatu, vjs.

The chattel-property of Sir James Delahyde is set forth upon the Memoranda Roll 3 & 4 Rich. II., mem. 3.dorso, and is as follows:

"Unu' collobiu' de rubio scarleto duplucat' cū panno rubio, unu' collobiu' duplex de sanguineto et Bukhorn', unu' collobiū duplex, de sanguineto et nigro, unu' gip' de serico auro int'text furrat' cū menivero, unu' gyp' de rubio et nigro furrat' cu' calibir', unu' gyp' furrat cu' grys, unu' paltok' de nigro serico, unu' paltok de nigro panno, unu' paltok' de nigro Bustian, duo cap'icia, una' pec' de rubio Wyrset, unam pec' de nigro Wyrset, una' pec' panni linei vocat' Westenale, quinq; pec' Aule pro camera & Aula, tres curtynis cū uno celuro de rubio Wyrset, quinq; mappas, duas pelves cū lavatorio & quatuor p'ia secular'."

Upon the attainder of William Fytzhenry of Dublin, "Capytayn," in the reign of Edward VI., it was found by inquisition that he had "unum torquem aureum ponder' septem uncias dī," put in pledge for 20l., and worth 22l.sterling. In this reign "quinque vasa vocat' fyrkyns de prunis" each worth 6s.8d.; a firkin of wine, 5s., "a fyrkyn de aceto," 6s.8d.; "quinque tycks", worth 11s.8d.each; and "duas duodenas cultellorum," worth 4s.,were brought to Dublin from St. Mallow in Brittany. In this reign also 200 "grossos arbores," near Drogheda, were valued at 16l.; 18 "porcos" were worth 40s.; 3 "modios frumenti" worth 20s.; and 5 "lagenas butteri," 20s.During this reign a sum of 300l.was paid out of the Treasury to Sir William Seyntloo, for the purpose of fortifying, &c. the Castle of Dyngham, called "The Governor of Offayley," of which sum he paid to Matthew Lynete, the Clerk of the Ordnance,—

For the hire of 4 carts from Dublin to the forte, 28th December, 71s.1½d.ster.3 other carts from Dublin to the sayd forte, 27th March, 2 Edw. VI., 40s.The carters that came from Dublin to the forte, 15th January and 19th April, 2 Edw. VI., for the hire of 4 cartes by the space of 6 dayes, 53s.4d.

For the hire of 4 carts from Dublin to the forte, 28th December, 71s.1½d.ster.

3 other carts from Dublin to the sayd forte, 27th March, 2 Edw. VI., 40s.

The carters that came from Dublin to the forte, 15th January and 19th April, 2 Edw. VI., for the hire of 4 cartes by the space of 6 dayes, 53s.4d.

In the 6 Edward VI. the goods of Thomas Rothe of Kilkenny, merchant, which were seized by a searcher at Waterford, consisted of "30 pecias auri vocat' Crussades," and "un' wegge argenti ponderant' xvj uncias argenti precij cujuslibet uncie, 4s."

In the same year the property of Andrew Tyrrell, a merchant of Athboy, consisted of—

In Queen Mary's time, in Ireland, a yard of black velvet was valued at 20s.sterling; a yard of purple-coloured damask, at 13s.4d.sterling; and a yard of tawny-coloured damask, at 10s.sterling.

The foregoing have been taken from the ancient records of the Irish Exchequer.

James F. Ferguson.

Dublin.

I have observed in some former Numbers of "N. & Q.," that an interest has been manifested in regard to the writings, and especially to the letters, of this prelate. It may therefore be interesting to your readers to be informed, that an original painting, and perhaps the only one, of the Bishop, is preserved at Trelawny House in Cornwall; and from its close resemblance to the engraved portrait which is found in his works, I have no doubt it is that from which that likeness was taken. There are also several letters in the handwriting of Bishop Atterbury among the documents preserved in the collection at that ancient mansion. That this portrait and the letters should be preserved at Trelawny, is explained by the fact, that before his elevation to the episcopal bench, Dr. Atterbury was chaplain to Bishop Trelawny.

J. C.

Lines by Bishop Atterbury on Mr. Harley being stabbed by Guiscard:

"Devotum ut cordi sensit sub pectore ferrum,Immoto Harlæus saucius ore stetit.Dum tamen huic læta gratatur voce senatus,Confusus subito pallor in ore sedet.O pudor! O virtus! partes quam dignus utrasqueSustinuit, vultu dispare, laude pari."

"Devotum ut cordi sensit sub pectore ferrum,

Immoto Harlæus saucius ore stetit.

Dum tamen huic læta gratatur voce senatus,

Confusus subito pallor in ore sedet.

O pudor! O virtus! partes quam dignus utrasque

Sustinuit, vultu dispare, laude pari."

I found these lines written on the back of an odd volume of Atterbury'sSermons. Most likely they have already appeared in print.

E. H. A.

"Milton Blind."—A little poem bearing this title, and commencing,—

"Though I am old and blind,"

is said to have been included in an edition of the poet's works recently published at Oxford. It was written by Miss Lloyd, a lady of this city, a short time ago.

Uneda.

Philadelphia.

Hydropathy.—For a long time, I believe in common with many others, I have imagined that the water cure is of late origin, and that we are indebted for it to Germany, to which we look for all novel quackeries (good and bad) in medicine and theology. This belief was put to flight a short time ago by a pamphlet which I discovered among others rare and curious. It is entitledCuriosities of Common Water, or the Advantages thereof in preventing and curing many Distempers. The price of the pamphlet was one shilling, and the author rejoices in the name of John Smith. After his name follows a motto, the doctrine of which itis the duty of all licensed to kill according to law strenuously to protest against both by argument and practice:

"That's the best physick which doth cure our illsWithout the charge of pothecaries pills."

"That's the best physick which doth cure our ills

Without the charge of pothecaries pills."

E. W. J.

Crawley.

Cassie.—Mr. M. A. Lower(a correspondent of "N. & Q."), in hisEssays on English Surnames(see vol. ii. p. 63.), quotes from a brochure on Scottish family names. He seems, from a footnote, to be in difficulty about the wordcassie.May I suggest to him that it is a corruption of "causeway?"

The "causeway" is, in Scotch towns, an usual name for a particular street; and of a man's surname, his place of residence is a most common source of derivation.

W. T. M.

The Duke of Wellington.—Lord de Grey, in hisCharacteristics of the Duke of Wellington, pp. 171, 172., gives the following extract from the despatches published by Colonel Gurwood, and refers to vol. viii. p. 292.

"It would undoubtedly be better iflanguageof this description were never used, and if officers placed as you were could correct errors and neglect inlanguage, which should not hurt the feelingsof the person addressed, and without vehemence."

Compare this passage with the following advice which Don Quixote gives to Sancho Panza before he sets off to take possession of his government:

"Al che has de castigar con obras, no trates mal con palabras, pues le basta al desdichado la pena del suplicio sin la anadidura de las malas rezones."—Part II. ch. xlii.

See translation ofDon Quixoteby Jarvis, vol. iv. b.III.ch. x. p. 76.[1]

The very depreciatory terms in which the Emperor Napoleon used to speak of the Duke of Wellington as a general is well known. The following extract from Forsyth'sNapoleon at St. Helena and Sir Hudson Lowe, appears to me worthy of being brought under the notice of the readers of "N. & Q.:"

"After the governor had left the house (upon the death of Napoleon he had gone to the house of the deceased with Major Gorrequer to make an inventory of and seal up his papers), Count Montholon called back Major Gorrequer to ask him a question, and he mentioned that he had been searching for a paper dictated to him by Napoleon a long time previously, and which he was sorry he could not find, as it was aeulogium on the Duke of Wellington, in which Napoleon had spoken in the highest terms of praise of the military conduct of the Duke."—See vol. iii. p. 299.

J. W. Farrer.

Footnote 1:(return)Jarvis translates the passage inDon Quixote,—"Him you are to punish with deeds, do no evil; intreat with words, for the pain of the punishment is enough for the wretch to bear, without the addition of ill-language."

Jarvis translates the passage inDon Quixote,—"Him you are to punish with deeds, do no evil; intreat with words, for the pain of the punishment is enough for the wretch to bear, without the addition of ill-language."

Romford Jury.—The following entry appears on the court register of the Romford Petty Sessions (in Havering Liberty) for the year 1730, relating to the trial of two men charged with an assault on Andrew Palmer. As a curious illustration of the manner in which justice was administered in country parts in "the good old times," I think it may be interesting to the readers of "N. & Q."

"The jury could not for several hours agree on their verdict, seven being inclinable to find the defendants guilty, and the others not guilty. It was therefore proposed by the foreman to put twelve shillings in a hat, and hustle most heads or tails, whether guilty or not guilty. The defendants, therefore, were acquitted, the chance happening in favour of not guilty."

E. J. Sage.

Edward Law (Lord Ellenborough), Chief Justice.—J. M.'s quotation of the song in theSupplement to the Court of Sessions Garland(Vol. ix., p. 221.), reminds me of the lines on Mr. Law's being made Chief Justice:

"What signifies now, quirk, quibble, or flaw,SinceLawis madeJustice, seek justice fromLaw."

"What signifies now, quirk, quibble, or flaw,

SinceLawis madeJustice, seek justice fromLaw."

W. Collyns.

Drewsteignton.

Chamisso.—Chamisso, in his poem of "The Three Sisters," who, crushed with misery, contended that each had the hardest lot, has this fine passage by the last speaker:

"In one brief sentence all my bitter causeOf sorrow dwells—thou arbiter! oh, pauseEre yet thy final judgment thou assign,And learn my better right—too clearly proved.Four words comprise it—I was never loved:The palm of grief thou wilt allow is mine.""He knew humanity—there can be no grief like that grief. Death had bereaved one sister of her lover—the second mourned over her fallen idol's shame—the third exultingly says,—'Have they not lived and loved?'"

"In one brief sentence all my bitter cause

Of sorrow dwells—thou arbiter! oh, pause

Ere yet thy final judgment thou assign,

And learn my better right—too clearly proved.

Four words comprise it—I was never loved:

The palm of grief thou wilt allow is mine."

"He knew humanity—there can be no grief like that grief. Death had bereaved one sister of her lover—the second mourned over her fallen idol's shame—the third exultingly says,—

'Have they not lived and loved?'"

The above is written in a beautiful Italian female hand on the fly-leaf-of theBasia, 1775.

E. D.

Dates of Maps.—It is very much to be wished that map-makers would always affix to their maps the date of their execution; the want of this in the maps of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge has often been an annoyance to me, for it frequently happens that one or both of two maps including the same district are without date,and when they differ in some of the minor details, it requires some time and trouble to find, from other sources, which is the most modern, and therefore likely to be the most accurate.

J. S. Warden.

Walton.—The following cotemporary notice of the decease and character of honest Isaac's son, is from a MS. Diary of the Rev. John Lewis, Rector of Chalfield and Curate of Tilbury:

"1719, Dec. 29. Mr. Canon Walton of Polshott died at Salisbury; he was one of the members of the clergy club that meets at Melksham, and a very pious, sober, learned, inoffensive, charitable, good man."

E. D.

Whittington's Stone on Highgate Hill.—It is well that there is a "N. & Q." to record the removal and disappearance of noted objects and relics of antiquity, as one after another disappears before the destroying hand of Time, and more ruthless and relentless spirit of enterprise. I have to ask you on the present occasion to record the removal of Whittington's stone on Highgate Hill. I discovered it as I strolled up the hill a few days since. I was informed that it was removed about a fortnight since, and a public-house is now being built where it stood.

Tee Bee.

Turkey and France.—The following fact, taken from the foreign correspondence ofThe Times, may suitably seek perpetuity in a corner of "N. & Q."

"I wish to mention a curious fact connected with the port of Toulon, and with the long existing relations between France and Turkey, and which I have not seen mentioned, although it is recorded in the municipal archives of this town. In the year 1543, the sultan, Selim II., at the request of the King of France, sent a large army and fleet to his assistance, under the command of the celebrated Turkish admiral Barbarossa, who, according to the record, was the grandson of a French renegade. This army and fleet occupied the town and port of Toulon at the express wish of Francis I., from the end of September 1543, to the end of March 1544. And on this day, the last of March 1854, a French army and fleet has sailed from the same port of Toulon to succour the descendant of the Sultan Selim in his distress. What a remarkable example of the rise and fall of empires!"

It will not invalidate the force of the foregoing extract to state, that Selim II. did not become sultan until 1566, and that it must have been his father Suleyman (whom he succeeded) who came to the rescue of France in 1543. The same Turkish fleet was afterwards nearly annihilated by the Venetians in 1571, at the battle of Lepanto.

Geo. Dymond.

The following is an extract from the letter of the French general, Custine, to the National Convention, June 14, 1793:

"My morality is attacked; it is found out that I have awomanfor my aide-de-camp. Without pretending to be a Joseph, I know too well how to respect myself, and the laws of public decency, ever to render myself guilty of such an absurdity. I found in the army a woman under the uniform of a volunteer bombardier, who, in fulfilling that duty at the siege of Liege, had received a musket-ball in the leg. She presented herself to the National Convention, desired to continue her military service, and was admitted to the honours of the sitting. She was afterwards sent by you, Representatives, to the Minister of War, who gave her the rank of aide-major to the army. On my arrival here, the representatives of the people, commissioners with this army, had dismissed her. Her grief was extreme; and the phrenzy of her imagination, and her love for glory, would have carried her to the last extremity. I solicited the representatives of the people to leave her that rank which her merit and wounds had procured her; and they consented to it. This is the truth. She is not my aide-de-camp, butattached to the staff as aide-major. Since that time I have never had any public or private conversation with her."—From thePolitical State of Europe, 1793, p. 164.

Can any of your readers furnish me with the name and history of this French heroine?

James.

Philadelphia.

"Chintz Gowns."—Tuesday, Jan. 9, 1768:

"Two ladies were convicted before the Lord Mayor, in the penalty of 5l., for wearing chintz gowns."—Gentleman's Magazine, vol. xxxviii. p. 395.

Can any other instances be given?

Investigator.

"Noctes Ambrosianæ."—Can any one inform me why the celebrated "Noctes Ambrosianæ" of Blackwood'sMagazinehas never been printed in a separate form in this country (I understand it has been so in America)? I should think few republications would meet with a larger sale.

S. Wmson.

B. Simmons.—Will you permit me to ask for a little information respecting B. Simmons? I believe he was born in the county of Cork: for he has sung, in most bewitching strains, his return to his native home on the banks of the Funcheon. He was the writer of that great poem on the "Disinterment of Napoleon," which appeared inBlackwoodsome years ago. He was a regularpoetical contributor to its pages for many years. He held a situation in the Excise Office in London, and died there I believe in July, 1852.

What manner of man was he; young or old, married or single? Any information respecting such a child of genius and of song must be interesting to those who have ever read a line of his wondrous poems. To what other periodicals did he contribute?

Ith.

Green Stockings.—Is the custom of sending a pair of green stockings to the eldest unmarried daughter of a family, upon the occasion of the marriage of a younger sister, of English, Irish, or Scottish origin?

L. A.

Nicholas Kieten.—In the thirteenth century, "there was a giant in Holland named Nicholas Kieten, whose size was so prodigious, that he carried men under his arms like little children. His shoe was so large, that four men together could put their feet in it. Children were too terrified to look him in the face, and fled from his presence." So says our author; but he does not give the dimensions of Kieten. May not such a real giant, in the thirteenth century, have laid the foundation of the fabulous stories of giants that have for so many years been the favourite romances of the nursery? Kieten appears to be the type of the giants of our modern pantomimes. Will he serve as a key, to disclose the origin of these marvellous stories and captivating absurdities?

Timon.

Warwickshire Badge.—Will you permit me to ask, through your journal, if any of your readers can inform me whether the proper Warwickshire badge is "the antelope" or "the bear and ragged staff?" The former is borne by the 6th regiment of the line, they being the Royal First Warwickshire. The latter is borne by the 36th regiment of militia, they being the First Warwickshire. This latter badge is also borne by the retainers of the Earls of Warwick and Leicester; which latter county would seem to lay as much claim to the bear and ragged staff as Warwick does.

The county cannot well have both, or either; this makes me think that the bear and ragged staff is not acountybadge, but pertains more properly to the Earl of Warwick.

Antiquary.

Armorial.—Will any correspondent oblige me with the names to the following coats: 1. Arg., three hares (or conies) gu. 2. Arg., on a bend engrailed vert, between two bucks' heads cabossed sable, attired or, three besants; a canton erminois. 3. Quarterly, per fesse indented sable and or. 4. Per pale sable and or, a cheveron between three escallop shells, all counterchanged. 5. Gu., a lion rampant arg. Glover'sOrdinary of Armswould, I think, answer the above Query; and if any of yournumerousreaders, who possess that valuable work, would refer to it in this case, they would be conferring a favour on your constant subscriber,

Cid.

Would any correspondent help me to the solution of the following case?—A. was thelastandonlyrepresentative of an ancient family; he left at his decease, some years ago, a daughter and heiress who married B. Can the issue of B. (having no arms of their own)legallyuse the arms, quarterings, crest, and motto of A., without a license from the Heralds' College?

Cid.

Lord Brougham and Horne Tooke.—In Lord Brougham'sStatesmen of the Time of George III., he says of Mr. Horne Tooke:

"Thus he (H. T.) would hold that the law of libel was unjust and absurd, becauselibelmeans a little book."

Can any of the readers of "N. & Q." say on what occasion Tooke maintained this strange doctrine, or where his Lordship obtained his information that Tooke did maintain it?

Bloomsbury.

Rileys of Forest Hill.—Can any of your correspondents inform me relative to the arms and motto of the Rileys of (Forest Hill) Windsor, Berks, their descent, &c.?

J. M. R.

Fish "Lavidian."—In some ancient acts of parliament mention is made of a fish called "lavidian," and from the regulations made concerning it, it appears to have been of such small size as to be capable of being caught in the meshes of an ordinary net. But I cannot find that this name is contained in any of the books of natural history, written by such authors as Gesner or Rondeletius. Is it at this time a common name anywhere? Or can any of your readers assist in determining the species?

J. C.

"Poeta nascitur, non fit."—Can any of your correspondents inform me who is the author of the well-known saying—

"Poeta nascitur, non fit"?

I have more than once seen it quoted as from Horace, but I have never been able to find it in any classical author whose works I have examined. Cicero expresses a similar sentiment in his oration for the poet Archias, cap. viii.:

"Atqui sic a summis hominibus eruditissimisque accepimus, ceterarum rerum studia, et doctrina, et præceptis, et arte constare: poëtam natura ipsa valere, et mentis viribus excitari, et quasi divino quodam spiritu inflari."

J. P.

Boston, U.S.A.

John Wesley and the Duke of Wellington.—It has always been understood that the property bequeathed to the Colleys, who in consequence took the surname of Wesley, afterwards altered to Wellesley, was offered to and declined by the father of John Wesley, who would not allow his son to accept the condition, a residence in Ireland, and the being adopted by the legatee. Has there been a relationship ever proved between the founder of the Methodists and the victor of Waterloo?

Prestoniensis.

Haviland—Can any of your Plymouth correspondents give any information, as tombs, in memory of persons of the name of Haviland, Havilland, or De Havilland, existing in the churches of that place, of a date prior toA.D.1688? Mention is made of such tombs as existing in a letter of that date in my possession. Also, in what chronicle or history of the Conquest of England, mention is made of a Sieur de Havilland, as having accompanied Duke William from Normandy on that occasion?

D. F. T.

Byron.—Will you kindly inform me, through the medium of your "N. & Q.," whence the line "All went merry as a marriage bell" (in Byron'sChilde Harold) is derived?

C. B.

"Rutabaga."—What is the etymology of the wordrutabaga? I have heard one solution of it, but wish to ascertain whether there is any other. The word is extensively used in the United States for Swedish turnips or "Swedes."

Luccus.

A Medal.—A family in this city possesses a silver medal granted to Joseph Swift, a native of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, by the University of Oxford or of Cambridge, of which the following is a description. It is about two inches in diameter; on the face are the head and bust of Queen Anne in profile, with an inscription setting forth her royal title, and on the reverse a full-length figure of Britannia, with ships sailing and men ploughing in the background, and this motto, "Compositis venerantur Annis." The date isMDCCXIII. An explanation of the object of the medal is desired.

Oldbuck.

Philadelphia.

The Black Cap.—Can any of your antiquarian legal readers inform me of the origin of the custom of the judges putting on a black cap when pronouncing sentence of death upon a criminal? I can find no illustration of this peculiar custom in Blackstone, Stephens, or other constitutional writers.

F. J. G.

The Aboriginal Britons.—A friend of mine wants some information as to the history, condition, manners, &c. of the Britons, prior to the arrival of the Romans. What work, accessible to ordinary readers, supplies the best compendium of what is known on this subject? The fullest account of which I have, just now, any recollection, is contained in Milton'sHistory of England, included in an edition of Milton'sProse Works, three vols. folio, Amsterdam, 1694. Is Milton'sHistorya work of any merit or authority?

H. Martin.

Halifax.

"Gossip."—This word, in its obsolete sense, according no doubt to its Saxon origin, means a sponsor, one who answers for a child in baptism, a godfather. Its modern acceptation all know to be widely different. Can any of your correspondents quote a passage or two from old English authors, wherein its obsolete sense is preserved?

N. L. J.

[The word occurs in Chaucer,The Wyf of Bathes Prologue, v. 5825.:"And if I have agossib, or a friend,(Withouten gilt) thou chidest as a frend,If that I walke or play into his hous."And in Spenser,Faerie Queene, b. i. c. 12.:"One mother, when as her foole-hardy childDid come too neare, and with his talons play,Halfe dead through feare, her little babe reuil'd,And to hergossipsgan in counsell say."Master Richard Verstegan is more to the point:"Our Christian ancestors, understanding a spiritual affinity to grow between the parents and such as undertooke for the child at baptisme, called each other by the name ofGodsib, which is as much as to say, that they weresibtogether, that is,of kintogether through God. And the child, in like manner, called such his God-fathers, or God-mothers."—Restitution of Decayed Intelligence, ch. vii.A quotation or two from that delightful oldgossip, Mr. Pepys, will show its use in the middle of the seventeenth century:"Lord's Day. With my wife to church. At noon dined nobly, ourselves alone. After dinner, my wife and Mercer by coach to Greenwich, to begossipto Mrs. Daniel's child. My wife much pleased with the reception she had, and she was godmother, and did hold the child at the font, and it is called John."—Diary, May 20, 1666."Lord's Day. My wife and I to Mr. Martin's, where I find the company almost all come to the christening of Mrs. Martin's child, a girl. After sitting long, till the church was done, the parson comes, and then we to christen the child. I was godfather, and Mrs. Holder (her husband, a good man, I know well) and a pretty lady that waits, it seems, on my Lady Bath at Whitehall, her name Mrs. Noble, were godmothers. After the christening comes in the wineand sweetmeats, and then to prate and tattle, and then very good company they were, and I among them. Here was Mrs. Burroughs and Mrs. Bales (the young widow whom I led home); and having staid till the moon was up, I took my prettygossipto Whitehall with us, and I saw her in her lodging."—Ibid., Dec. 2, 1666.]

[The word occurs in Chaucer,The Wyf of Bathes Prologue, v. 5825.:

"And if I have agossib, or a friend,(Withouten gilt) thou chidest as a frend,If that I walke or play into his hous."

"And if I have agossib, or a friend,

(Withouten gilt) thou chidest as a frend,

If that I walke or play into his hous."

And in Spenser,Faerie Queene, b. i. c. 12.:

"One mother, when as her foole-hardy childDid come too neare, and with his talons play,Halfe dead through feare, her little babe reuil'd,And to hergossipsgan in counsell say."

"One mother, when as her foole-hardy child

Did come too neare, and with his talons play,

Halfe dead through feare, her little babe reuil'd,

And to hergossipsgan in counsell say."

Master Richard Verstegan is more to the point:

"Our Christian ancestors, understanding a spiritual affinity to grow between the parents and such as undertooke for the child at baptisme, called each other by the name ofGodsib, which is as much as to say, that they weresibtogether, that is,of kintogether through God. And the child, in like manner, called such his God-fathers, or God-mothers."—Restitution of Decayed Intelligence, ch. vii.

A quotation or two from that delightful oldgossip, Mr. Pepys, will show its use in the middle of the seventeenth century:

"Lord's Day. With my wife to church. At noon dined nobly, ourselves alone. After dinner, my wife and Mercer by coach to Greenwich, to begossipto Mrs. Daniel's child. My wife much pleased with the reception she had, and she was godmother, and did hold the child at the font, and it is called John."—Diary, May 20, 1666."Lord's Day. My wife and I to Mr. Martin's, where I find the company almost all come to the christening of Mrs. Martin's child, a girl. After sitting long, till the church was done, the parson comes, and then we to christen the child. I was godfather, and Mrs. Holder (her husband, a good man, I know well) and a pretty lady that waits, it seems, on my Lady Bath at Whitehall, her name Mrs. Noble, were godmothers. After the christening comes in the wineand sweetmeats, and then to prate and tattle, and then very good company they were, and I among them. Here was Mrs. Burroughs and Mrs. Bales (the young widow whom I led home); and having staid till the moon was up, I took my prettygossipto Whitehall with us, and I saw her in her lodging."—Ibid., Dec. 2, 1666.]

"Lord's Day. My wife and I to Mr. Martin's, where I find the company almost all come to the christening of Mrs. Martin's child, a girl. After sitting long, till the church was done, the parson comes, and then we to christen the child. I was godfather, and Mrs. Holder (her husband, a good man, I know well) and a pretty lady that waits, it seems, on my Lady Bath at Whitehall, her name Mrs. Noble, were godmothers. After the christening comes in the wineand sweetmeats, and then to prate and tattle, and then very good company they were, and I among them. Here was Mrs. Burroughs and Mrs. Bales (the young widow whom I led home); and having staid till the moon was up, I took my prettygossipto Whitehall with us, and I saw her in her lodging."—Ibid., Dec. 2, 1666.]

Humphry Repton.—To snatch from utter oblivion the once highly reputed Humphry, the king of landscape gardeners, to whom many of our baronial parks owe much of their picturesque beauty, and who, by the side of Sir Joseph Paxton, would now most duly have taken knightful station in these go-ahead days, I ask, in what publication was it, that in 1780, or thereabouts, being an indefatigable attendant at all exhibitions and sales of art, he, the said Humphry, was accustomed (as well able he was) to enlighten the public upon what was passing in matters of art now nearly three quarters of a century ago? Was it theBee? Again, did he not, at his death, leave two large volumes for publication, entitledRecollections of my Past Life? Where are these?

Inquest.

[The MS. collection of the late Humphry Repton, containing interesting details of his public and private life, has been used by Mr. Loudon in his biographical notice of Repton prefixed to the last edition ofThe Landscape Gardening, 8vo., 1840. Mr. Loudon states that 'these papers were left as a valued memorial for his children: it may be imagined, therefore, that they contain details of a private nature, which would be found devoid of interest to the world. Mr. Repton, indeed, possessed a mind as keenly alive to the ludicrous, as it was open to all that was excellent, in the variety of characters with whom his extensive professional connexions brought him acquainted; and he did not fail to observe and note down many curious circumstances and traits of character, in themselves highly amusing, but, for obvious reasons, unfit subjects for publication. Not one taint of satire or ill-nature, however, ever sullied the wit which flowed spontaneously from a mind sportive sometimes even to exuberance." His artistic critiques will be found in the following works:The Bee: or, a Critique on the Exhibition of Paintings at Somerset House, 1788, 8vo.Variety: a Collection of Essays, 1788, 12mo.The Bee: a Critique on the Shakspeare Gallery, 1789, 8vo.Odd Whims: being a republication of some papers in Variety, with a Comedy and other Poems, 2 vols. 12mo., 1804.]

"Oriel."—I should be glad if any of your correspondents could inform me of the origin of the termoriel, as applied to a window? It is not, I believe, necessarily to the East.

T. L. N.

Jamaica.

[Oriol, orOriel, is a portico or court; also a small room near the hall in monasteries, where particular persons dined. (Blount'sGlossog.) Du Cange says, "Oriolum, porticus, atrium;" and quotes Matthew Paris for it. Supposed by some to be a diminutive fromareaorareola. "In modern writings," says Nares, "we meet with mention ofOrielwindows. I doubt the propriety of the expression; but, if right, they must mean those windows that project like a porch, or small room. At St. Albans was anoriel, or apartment for persons not so sick as to retire to the infirmary. (Fosbroke'sBrit. Monachism, vol. ii. p. 160.) I may be wrong in my notion oforielwindow, but I have not met with ancient authority for that expression. Cowel conjectured thatOrielCollege, in Oxford, took its name from some such room or portico. There is a remarkable portico, in the farther side of the first quadrangle, but not old enough to have given the name. It might, however, be only the successor of one more ancient, and more exactly anoriel." For articles on the disputed derivation of this term, which seems involved in obscurity, see Parker'sGlossary of Architecture; a curious paper by Mr. Hamper, inArchæologia, vol. xxiii.; andGentleman's Magazinefor Nov. 1823, p. 424., and March, 1824, p. 229.]

"Orchard."—Professor Martyn, in his Notes on Virgil'sGeorgics, seems to be of opinion that the English word "orchard" is derived from the Greekορχατος, which Homer uses to express the garden of Alcinous; and he observes that Milton writes itorchat, thereby corroborating this impression. Is the word spelt according to Milton's form by any other writers?

N. L. J.

[It is speltorchatby J. Philips,Cider, book i.:——"Else false hopesHe cherishes, nor will his fruit expectTh' autumnal season, but in summer's pride,When other orchats smile, abortive fail."]

[It is speltorchatby J. Philips,Cider, book i.:

——"Else false hopesHe cherishes, nor will his fruit expectTh' autumnal season, but in summer's pride,When other orchats smile, abortive fail."]

——"Else false hopes

He cherishes, nor will his fruit expect

Th' autumnal season, but in summer's pride,

When other orchats smile, abortive fail."]

"Peckwater."—Why is the quadrangle at Christ Church, in Oxford, called "Peckwater?"

N. L. J.

[The Peckwater Quadrangle derives its name from an ancient hostle, or inn, which stood on the south-west corner of the present court; and was the property of Ralph, the son of Richard Peckwater, who gave it to St. Frideswide's Priory, 30th Henry III.; and about the middle of the reign of Henry VIII., another inn, called Vine Hall, was added to it; which, with other buildings, were reduced into a quadrangle in the time of Dean Duppa and Dr. Samuel Fell. The two inns were afterwards known by the name of Vine Hall, or Peckwater's Inn; and by this name were given to Christ Church, in 1547, by Henry VIII.]

Richard III.—What became of the body after the battle of Bosworth Field? Was it buried at Leicester?

A. Briton.

Athenæum.

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