Minor Queries Answered.

"Paul's eve,And here's a heave!"

"Paul's eve,

And here's a heave!"

According to the received notions, the first "heave" cannot be objected to; but, upon its being repeated, the inhabitants of the house whosedoor is thus attacked may, if they can, seize the offenders, and inflict summary justice upon them; but, as they usually effect their escape before the door can be opened, this is not easily managed.

Query, Can this apparently unintelligible custom have any reference to the 21st verse of theIXth chap. of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans: "Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?"—the earthen fragments thus turned to dishonour being called "Paul's pitchers."

Any more probable conjecture as to the origin or meaning of this custom, or any account of its occurring elsewhere, will greatly oblige

F. M. (a Subscriber).

Disinterment for Heresy.—A remarkable instance of disinterment on account of heresy is stated to have occurred a little before the Reformation, in the case of one Tracy, who was publicly accused in convocation of having expressed heretical tenets in his will; and, having been found guilty, a commission was issued to dig up his body, which was accordingly done. I shall be much obliged to any of your readers who will favour me with the date and particulars of this case.

Arun.

"Just Notions," &c.—At the end of the Introduction ofThe Christian Instructed in the Principles of Religion, by W. Reading, Lond. 1717, occur the following lines: (Query, whether original, or, if not, from whence quoted?)—

"Just notions will into good actions grow,And to our reason we our virtues owe;False judgments are the unhappy source of ill,And blinded error draws the passive will.To know our God, and know ourselves, is allWe can true happiness or wisdom call."

"Just notions will into good actions grow,

And to our reason we our virtues owe;

False judgments are the unhappy source of ill,

And blinded error draws the passive will.

To know our God, and know ourselves, is all

We can true happiness or wisdom call."

U. Q.

Pursuits of Literature.—How came the author of thePursuits of Literatureto be known? I have before me the 11th edition (1801); and in the Preface to the fourth and last dialogue, the author declares that "neither my name nor situation in life will ever be revealed." He does not pretend to be the sole depository of his own secret; but he says again:

"My secret will be for ever preserved, Iknow, under every change of fortune or of political tenets, while honour, and virtue, and religion, and friendly affection, and erudition, and the principles of a gentleman have binding force and authority upon minds so cultivated and dignified. When they fall, I am contented to fall with them."

Nevertheless, the author of thePursuits of Literatureis known. How is this?

S. T. D.

Satirical Medal.—I possess a medal whose history I should be glad to know. It is apparently of silver, though not ringing as such, and about an inch and a quarter in diameter. On the obverse are two figures in the long-waisted, full-skirted coats, cavalier hats, and full-bottomed wigs of, I presume, Louis XIV.'s time. Both wear swords; one, exhibiting the most developed wig of the two, offers a snuff-box, from which the other has accepted a pinch, and fillips it into his companion's eyes. The legend is "Faites-vous cela pour m'affronter?"

The mitigated heroism of thisqueryseems to benotedon the reverse, which presents a man digging in the ground, an operation in which he must be somewhat hampered by a lantern in his left hand; superfluous one would deem (but for the authority of Diogenes), as the sun is shining above his head in full splendour. The digger's opinion, that the two combined are not more than the case requires, is conveyed in the legend,—

"Je cherche du courage pour mon maistre."

The finding was curious. On cutting down an ash-tree in the neighbourhood of Linton, Cambridgeshire, in 1818, a knob on its trunk was lopped off, and this medal discovered in its core! It was probably the cause of the excrescence, having been, perhaps, thrust under the bark to escape the danger of its apparently political allusion. The Linton carrier purchased it for half-a-crown, and from him it passed in 1820 into hands whence it devolved to me.

Is anything known of this medal, or are any other specimens of it extant? I pretend to no numismatic skill, but to an unlearned mind it would seem to contain allusion to the insult which Charles II. and his government were supposed to submit to from Louis XIV.; to be, in fact, a sort of metallic HB.

Some friend, I forget who, pronounced the workmanship Dutch, which would, I think, favour the above theory. The figures are in bold and prominent relief, but to a certain degree rounded by wear, having been evidently carried in the pocket for a considerable time.

G. W. W.

Matthew's Mediterranean Passage.—I should be thankful for any information as to where the following work could be seen, and also respecting the nature of its contents.

"Somerset.—Matthew's Mediterranean Passage by water from London to Bristol, &c., and from Lynne to Yarmouthe. Very rare, 4to. 1670."

The above is quoted from Thos. Thorpe's Cat., part iii., 1832, p. 169., no. 7473.

Mercurii.

Inscription on an Oak Board.—I have an old oak board, on which are carved the following lines in raised capital letters of an antique form, with lozenges between the words:—

"IF . YOV . WOVLD . KNOW . MY . NAME .OR . WHO . I . WAS . THAT . DID . THE . SAME .LOKE . IN . GENESIS . WHERE . HEE . DOO . INDIGHT."

"IF . YOV . WOVLD . KNOW . MY . NAME .

OR . WHO . I . WAS . THAT . DID . THE . SAME .

LOKE . IN . GENESIS . WHERE . HEE . DOO . INDIGHT."

The letters are two inches long, and a quarter of an inch high from the sunken face of the board, which is four feet long by ten inches wide. It has a raised rim or border round the inscription; which proves that it had not contained more lines than as above. It was found at Hereford, in a county which still abounds in timbered houses, and it had been lately used as a weather-board. The legend was submitted to the late Sir Samuel Meyrick of Goderich Court; who was of opinion, that it had formerly been over the chimney-piece or porch of some dwelling-house, and is a riddle involving the builder's or founder's name. If any of your readers can suggest the age and original use of this board, or explain the name concealed in the lines, it will oblige

P. H. F.

Expressions in Milton.—Allow me to ask some correspondent to give the meaning of the following expressions from the prose works of Milton:—

"A toothless satire is as improper as a toothed sleck stone, and as bullish."

"A toothed sleck stone," I take to mean a "jagged whetstone," very unfit for its purpose; but what is the force of the term "as bullish?"

Again:

"I do not intend this hot seasons tobid you the base, through the wide and dusty champaign of the councils."

The meaning I receive from this is, "I don't mean to carry you through the maze of the ancient councils of the church;" but I wish to know the exact force of the expression "to bid you the base?"

R. (a Reader).

Saints' Days.—Thechorea invitais not a very satisfactory explanation of St. Vitus's dance; and though St. Vitus is not in the Roman martyrology of our day, yet he is in the almanacs of the fifteenth century, and probably earlier. The martyr Vitus makes the 15th of June a red letter-day in the first almanac ever printed. Who was St. Vitus, and how did he give his name to the play of the features which is called his dance? Again, the day before St. Patrick is celebrated in Ireland, St. Patricius is celebrated in Auvergne. Can any identity be established?

Chepstow Castle.—In Carlyle'sLife of Cromwell, vol. i. pp. 349, 350., there is a letter from Cromwell, dated before Pembroke, wherein he directs a Major Saunders, then quartered at or near Brecon, to go to Monmouthshire and seize Sir Trevor Williams of Llangevie, and Mr. Morgan, High Sheriff of Monmouth, "as," he writes, "they were very deep in the plot of betraying Chepstow Castle." Carlyle has the following foot-note to the letter:

"Saunders by his manner of indorsing this letter seems to intimate that he took his two men; that he keeps the letter by way of voucher. Sir Trevor Williams by and bye compounds as a delinquent, retires then into Llangevie House, and disappears from history. Of Sheriff Morgan, except that a new sheriff is soon appointed, we have no farther notice whatever."

Can any of your correspondents give me information in what work I can find a tolerably full account of this "betraying of Chepstow Castle?" and also of what place in the county was this Morgan, Sheriff of Monmouth?

Danydd Gam.

The Wilkes MSS. and "North Briton."—I inquired long since what had become of these MSS., which Miss Wilkes bequeathed to Peter Elmsley, of Sloane Street, "to whose judgement and delicacy" she confided them,—meaning, I presume, that she should be content to abide by his judgement as to the propriety of publishing them, or a selection; but certainly to be preserved for the vindication of her father's memory; otherwise she would have destroyed them, or directed them to be destroyed. In 1811 these MSS. were, I presume, in the possession of Peter Elmsley, Principal of St. Alban's Hall, as he submitted the Junius Correspondence, through Mr. Hallam, to Serjeant Rough, who returned the letters to Mr. Hallam. Where now are the original Junius Letters, and where the other MSS.? TheAthenæumhas announced that the Stowe MSS., including the Diaries and Correspondence of George Grenville, are about to be published, and will throw a "new light" on the character of John Wilkes. I suspect any light obtained from George Grenville will be very like the old light, and only help to blacken what is already too dark. I therefore venture to ask once again, Where are the Wilkes MSS.? and can they be consulted? Further, are any of your readers able and willing to inform us who were the writers of the different papers in theNorth Briton, either first or second series? Through "Notes and Queries" we got much curious information on this point with reference to theRolliad.

W. M. S.

"O wearisome Condition of Humanity!"—Can any of your readers inform me in what "noble poet of our own" the following verses are to be found. They are quoted by Tillotson in vol. ii. p. 255. of his Works, in 3 vols. fo.

"O wearisome condition of humanity!Born under one law, to another bound;Vainly begot, and yet forbidden vanity;Created sick, commanded to be sound.If Nature did not take delight in blood,She would have found more easy ways to good."

"O wearisome condition of humanity!

Born under one law, to another bound;

Vainly begot, and yet forbidden vanity;

Created sick, commanded to be sound.

If Nature did not take delight in blood,

She would have found more easy ways to good."

Bloomsbury.

Places called "Purgatory."—The Rev. Wm. Thornber, in hisHistory of Blackpool in the Fylde District of Lancashire, gives the following explanation of the name as applied to particular fields, houses, &c.:—

"The last evening in October (or vigil of All Souls)was called the Teanlay night; at the close of that day, till within late years, the hills which encircle the Fylde shone brightly with many a bonfire, the mosses rivalling them with their fires kindled for the object of succouring their friends in purgatory. A field near Poulton, in which this ceremony of the Teanlays was celebrated (a circle of men standing with bundles of straw raised high on pitchforks), is named Purgatory; and will hand down to posterity the farce of lighting souls to endless happiness from the confines of their prison-house: the custom was not confined to one village or town, but was generally practised by the Romanists."

It is certain that places may be found here and there in the county still going by the name of Purgatory. Can any of your correspondents throw further light on the matter, or tell us if the custom extended to other counties?

P. P.

Epitaph in Hall's "Discovery."—The following epitaph occurs inBishop Hall's Discovery of a New World, by an English Mercury, an extremely rare little volume, unknown to Ames or Herbert; and is, I should imagine, a satire on some statesman of the time. Query, on whom?

"Passenger.,"Stay, reade, walke, Here lieth Andrew Turnecoate, who was neither Slave, nor Soldier, nor Phisitian, nor Fencer, nor Cobler, nor Filtcher, nor Lawier, nor Usurer, but all; who lived neither in citty, nor countrie, nor at home, nor abroade, nor at sea, nor at land, nor here, nor elsewhere, but everywhere. Who died neither of hunger, nor poyson, nor hatchet, nor halter, nor dogge, nor disease, but altogether. I., I. H., being neither his debtour, nor heire, nor kinsman, nor friend, nor neighbour, but all: in his memory have erected this, neither monument, nor tombe, nor sepulcher, but all; wishing neither evill nor well, neither to thee, nor mee, nor him, but all unto all."—P. 140.

"Passenger.,

"Stay, reade, walke, Here lieth Andrew Turnecoate, who was neither Slave, nor Soldier, nor Phisitian, nor Fencer, nor Cobler, nor Filtcher, nor Lawier, nor Usurer, but all; who lived neither in citty, nor countrie, nor at home, nor abroade, nor at sea, nor at land, nor here, nor elsewhere, but everywhere. Who died neither of hunger, nor poyson, nor hatchet, nor halter, nor dogge, nor disease, but altogether. I., I. H., being neither his debtour, nor heire, nor kinsman, nor friend, nor neighbour, but all: in his memory have erected this, neither monument, nor tombe, nor sepulcher, but all; wishing neither evill nor well, neither to thee, nor mee, nor him, but all unto all."—P. 140.

C. J. Francis.

Canon and Prebendary.—What is the difference between acanonand aprebendorprebendaryin a cathedral, or a collegiate church establishment?

W. J.

[The distinction seems to be this, that a prebendary is one who possesses a prebend, which formerly a canon might or might not hold. Subsequently, when canons received prebends for their support, the two classes became confounded; the one, however, is a name of office (canon), the other of emolument (prebendary)."Une partie du clergé était toujours auprès de l'évêque, pour assister aux prières et à toutes les fonctions publiques. L'évêque consultait les prêtres sur toutes les affaires de l'église: et pour l'exécution il se servait des diacres et des ministres inférieurs. Le reste du clergé était distribué dans les titres de la ville et de la campagne, et ne se rassemblait qu'en certaines occasions, d'où sont venus les synodes. De cette première partie de clergé sont venus les chanoines des cathédrales. Il est vrai que du commencement on nommait clercs canoniques, tous ceux qui vivaient selon les canons, sous la conduite de leur évêque; et qui étaient sur le canon ou la matricule de l'église, pour être entretenus à ses dépens, soit qu'ils servissent dans l'église matrice, ou dans les autres titres. Depuis, le nom de canonique ou chanoines fut particulièrement appliqué aux clercs, qui vivaient en commun avec leur évêque."—Institution du Droit Ecclésiastique, par M. l'Abbé Fleury, 1ière partie, chap. xvii.So much for the origin of canons. As to prebendaries:"Præbenda, est jus percipiendi reditus ecclesiasticos, ratione divini officii, cui quis insistit. Alia est canonicatui annexa, alia sine ea confertur.Gl. in c. cum M. Ferrariensis, 9. in verbo receperunt de constit."Præbendam, beneficium et titulumnihil reipsa interest: usu tamen loquendi in alia ecclesia vocatur Præbenda, in alia beneficiam, seu titulus.Secund. Pac. Isag. Decret. hoc tit."—Lib. 2. tit. xxviii. of theAphorisms of Canon Law, by Arn. Corvinus.Paris, 1671.In theQuare Impeditof Mallory, the distinction is thus expressed:—"There is a difference taken between aprebendaryand acanon, for a prebendary isa præbendoandnomen factiin respect of the maintenance given to him: butCanonicus est nomen juris; and in our usual translations a secular is translated to a regular, but note converso, a regular to a secular,Palm 501."—p. 34. sub tituloAdvowson.]

"Une partie du clergé était toujours auprès de l'évêque, pour assister aux prières et à toutes les fonctions publiques. L'évêque consultait les prêtres sur toutes les affaires de l'église: et pour l'exécution il se servait des diacres et des ministres inférieurs. Le reste du clergé était distribué dans les titres de la ville et de la campagne, et ne se rassemblait qu'en certaines occasions, d'où sont venus les synodes. De cette première partie de clergé sont venus les chanoines des cathédrales. Il est vrai que du commencement on nommait clercs canoniques, tous ceux qui vivaient selon les canons, sous la conduite de leur évêque; et qui étaient sur le canon ou la matricule de l'église, pour être entretenus à ses dépens, soit qu'ils servissent dans l'église matrice, ou dans les autres titres. Depuis, le nom de canonique ou chanoines fut particulièrement appliqué aux clercs, qui vivaient en commun avec leur évêque."—Institution du Droit Ecclésiastique, par M. l'Abbé Fleury, 1ière partie, chap. xvii.

So much for the origin of canons. As to prebendaries:

"Præbenda, est jus percipiendi reditus ecclesiasticos, ratione divini officii, cui quis insistit. Alia est canonicatui annexa, alia sine ea confertur.Gl. in c. cum M. Ferrariensis, 9. in verbo receperunt de constit."Præbendam, beneficium et titulumnihil reipsa interest: usu tamen loquendi in alia ecclesia vocatur Præbenda, in alia beneficiam, seu titulus.Secund. Pac. Isag. Decret. hoc tit."—Lib. 2. tit. xxviii. of theAphorisms of Canon Law, by Arn. Corvinus.Paris, 1671.

"Præbendam, beneficium et titulumnihil reipsa interest: usu tamen loquendi in alia ecclesia vocatur Præbenda, in alia beneficiam, seu titulus.Secund. Pac. Isag. Decret. hoc tit."—Lib. 2. tit. xxviii. of theAphorisms of Canon Law, by Arn. Corvinus.Paris, 1671.

In theQuare Impeditof Mallory, the distinction is thus expressed:—

"There is a difference taken between aprebendaryand acanon, for a prebendary isa præbendoandnomen factiin respect of the maintenance given to him: butCanonicus est nomen juris; and in our usual translations a secular is translated to a regular, but note converso, a regular to a secular,Palm 501."—p. 34. sub tituloAdvowson.]

What Amount of Property constitutes an Esquire?—The practice of subjoining "Esquire" to the names of persons has become so universal, that the real significance of the title is quite lost sight of. Will some one of your correspondents inform me what amount of property really constitutes an Esquire?

W. L.

[No fixed amount of property is a qualification for the title or rank of Esquire. For the description of persons so entitled to be designated, see Blackstone'sCommentaries, vol. i.; and the later the edition, the greater advantage W. L. will have in the notes and remarks of the latest law writers.]

Cromwell Family.—Will some of your correspondents be so good as to inform me, to whom the children (sons and daughters) of Oliver Cromwell's daughter Bridget were married, those by her first marriage with Ireton as well as those by her second marriage with Fleetwood. I can learn but the marriage of one: Ireton's daughter Bridget married a Mr. Bendyshe.

M. A. C.

[Cromwell's daughter, Bridget, who was relict of Henry Ireton, married Charles Fleetwood of Armingland Hall, Norfolk, and Stoke Newington, Middlesex: she died, 1681, without any issue by Fleetwood. See Fleetwood's pedigree in No. IX. of theBibl. Topog. Britannica, pp. 28, 29. By her first husband, Henry Ireton, to whom she was married in 1646, she had one son and four daughters, of whom a full account will befound in Noble'sHouse of Cromwell, vol. ii. pp. 319-329., in which volume will be found an account of the family of Fleetwood.]

Daughters of the Sixth Earl of Lennox.—J. W. wishes for information as to who married, or what became of the daughters and granddaughters of Charles Stuart, the sixth Earl of Lennox, and brother of Darnley?

[The brother of Darnley (the husband of Mary Queen of Scots) was Charles, fifth earl of Lennox, who left an only daughter, the interesting and oppressed Lady Arabella Stuart, as every common Peerage will state.]

Wife of Joseph Nicholson.—Any information as to who was the wife of Joseph Nicholson, who resided in London the latter part of the seventeenth century, would much oblige one of his descendants.

He was second son of the Rev. Joseph Nicholson, rector of Plumland, Cumberland, who was married to Mary Miser, of Crofton.

His eldest brother was Dr. Wm. Nicholson, Bishop of Carlisle, afterwards Bishop of Derry, and died there 1727. The bishop's nephew, Rev. James Nicholson, son of the above Joseph, came to Ireland as chaplain to his uncle, and became rector of Ardrahan, co. Galway, and died there about 1776.

Andrew Nicholson.

[If our correspondent will refer to the title-page of the Bishop's celebrated work,The English, Scotch, and Irish Historical Libraries, as well as to his correspondence with Thoresby, the Leeds antiquary, he will find his name spelt Nicolson, without the letterh. This deserves to be noted, as there was another Dr. William Nicholson, consecrated Bishop of Gloucester,A.D.1660.]

Six Abeiles.—In Mrs. Barrett Browning's beautiful poem,Rhyme of the Duchess May, the following lines occur:

"Sixabeilesi' the kirkyard grow,On the northside in a row."

"Sixabeilesi' the kirkyard grow,

On the northside in a row."

Will you or some of your readers kindly inform me whatabeilesare. From the context, they would seem to be some kind of tree, but what tree I cannot discover.

M. A. H.

Monkstown, co. Cork, Feb. 18. 1851.

[Bailey, in hisDictionary, says, "An abele-tree is a fine kind of white poplar." See also Chambers'Cyclopædia.]

Southey.—There is ajeu d'espritattributed to Southey, on the expedition of Napoleon into Russia, beginning,—

"Buonaparte must needs set outOn a summer's excursion to Moscow,"

"Buonaparte must needs set out

On a summer's excursion to Moscow,"

and ending,—

"But there's a place which he must go to,Where the fire is red, and the brimstone blue,Sacre-bleu, ventre-bleu,He'll find it hotter than Moscow."

"But there's a place which he must go to,

Where the fire is red, and the brimstone blue,

Sacre-bleu, ventre-bleu,

He'll find it hotter than Moscow."

I know this was printed, for I saw it when a boy. Where can it be found?

[See "The March to Moscow," in Southey'sPoetical Works, p. 464., edit. 1850.]

Epigram against Burke.—Can any reader supply me with some lines of great asperity against Edmund Burke, excited (I believe) by the unrelenting hostility exhibited by Burke against Warren Hastings?

The sting of the epigram is contained in the last line, which, alluding to the exemption of Ireland from all poisonous reptiles, runs as follows:—

"And saved her venom to create a Burke."

And if the said lines shall be forthcoming, I should be glad also to be informed of their reputed author.

A Borderer.

[The following epigram, thrown to Burke in court, and torn by him to shreds, has been always attributed to Mr. Law (Lord Ellenborough), but erroneously:—"Oft have we wonder'd that on Irish groundNo poisonous reptile has e'er yet been found;Reveal'd the secret stands of nature's work,She saved her venom to create a Burke."The real author was one Williams, notorious for hisnom de guerre, Anthony Pasquin.—Townsend'sHistory of Twelve Eminent Judges.]

[The following epigram, thrown to Burke in court, and torn by him to shreds, has been always attributed to Mr. Law (Lord Ellenborough), but erroneously:—

"Oft have we wonder'd that on Irish groundNo poisonous reptile has e'er yet been found;Reveal'd the secret stands of nature's work,She saved her venom to create a Burke."

"Oft have we wonder'd that on Irish ground

No poisonous reptile has e'er yet been found;

Reveal'd the secret stands of nature's work,

She saved her venom to create a Burke."

The real author was one Williams, notorious for hisnom de guerre, Anthony Pasquin.—Townsend'sHistory of Twelve Eminent Judges.]

Knights Hospitallers.—Where may a correct list be found of the names of the several persons who held the appointment of Master of the Knights Hospitallers in England, from the period of their first coming until the dissolution of their houses?

S. P. O. R.

[See Dugdale'sMonasticon Anglicanum, new edition, vol. vi. pp. 796-798.]

(Vol. iii., p. 220.)

I am much obliged to your correspondent A. L. R. for his kind notice of my pamphlet on Mesmerism, and equally so to yourself for inserting it; because it gives me an opportunity of explaining to him, and others to whom I am personally unknown, and who are therefore not aware of my circumstances and movements, why the work was not continued without delay. In doing this I will try to avoid trespassing on your goodness by one word of needless egotism. In my Preface I described my materials as a "number of fragments belonging to various ages and places," as "scattered facts and hints" which I had met with in books which were not suspected of containing such matter; and some of them books not likely to fall into the hands of anybody but a librarian, or at least a person having access to a public library. It may be easily understood that rough materials thus gathered were not fit forpublication; and that, without the books from which they had been "noted" and "queried," they could not be made so: and if I had anticipated the course of events (notwithstanding an inducement which I will mention presently), I should not have thought of publishing a Part I. But when I sent it to the press, I had no idea that I should ever return here, or be at an inconvenient distance from the libraries which were then within my reach, and open to my use. As it was, I regretted that I had done so, and felt obliged to hurry the pamphlet through the press, that I might pack up these papers, and many other things more likely to be hurt by carriage, for a residence an hundred miles off; and here they arein statu quo. I have not attempted to do any thing with them, not only because I have been very much occupied in other ways, but because I do not know that I could fit them for publication without referring to some books to which I have not access. At the same time I feel bound to add, that while I still think that some of the things to which I refer might be worth printing, yet I do not consider them so important as the matter which formed the subject of the Part already published. I did think (and that was the inducement to which I have already referred) that it was high time to call the attention of disinterested and reflecting persons to thefactsalleged by mesmerists, and to thenamesby which they are attested. I have the satisfaction of knowing that I have in some degree succeeded in this design. I may perhaps some day find a channel for publishing the fragments alluded to; but in the mean time, I shall be very glad if I can supply anything which your correspondent may think wanting, or explain anything unintelligible in what is published, if he will let me hear from him either with or without his name. I am sorry to ask for so much space, knowing how little you have to spare; but I cannot resist the temptation to offer an explanation, which will be so widely circulated, and among such readers as I know this will be, if you can find room for it.

J. R. Maitland.

Gloucester, March 24.

(Vol. iii., p. 185.)

The following observations, though slight in themselves, may tend to show that Charles Lord Howard of Effingham, afterwards Earl of Nottingham, was, or professed to be, a Protestant.

1st. On his embassy to Spain, Carte says (I quote from Collins'sPeerage, vol. iv. p. 272.)—

"On Friday the last of this Month His Catholick Majesty ratified the peace upon Oath in a great chamber of the palace.... It was pretended that the Clergy would not suffer this to be done in a Church or Chapel where the neglect of reverence of the Holy Sacrament would give scandal."

I presume the "neglect of reverence" was apprehended in the case of the English ambassador.

2nd. In Fuller'sWorthies(Surrey), speaking of Lord Nottingham, it is said—

"He lived to be very aged, who wrote 'man,' (if not married) in the first of Queen Elizabeth, being an invited guest at the solemn consecration of Matthew Parker at Lambeth; and many years after, by his testimony, confuted those lewd and loud lies which the papists tell of the Nag's Head in Cheapside."

3rd. He was one of the commissioners on the trial of Garnet and others; and told him, as he stood in a box made like a pulpit—

"Sir, you have this day done more good in that pulpit wherein you now stand, than you have done in any other pulpit all the days of your life."—Archæologia, vol. xv.

His coffin-plate has been engraved somewhere, and, if his will exists, it might probably settle the question.

Q. D.

Lord Howard of Effingham(Vol. iii., p. 185.).—There is some proof that he was a Protestant in the letter of instructions to him from King James (Biog. Brit., p. 2679.):

"Only we forewarn you, that in the performance of that ceremony, which is likely to be done in the King's (of Spain) chapel, you have especial care that it be not done in the forenoon, in the time of mass, to the scandal ofourreligion; but rather in the afternoon, at what time their service is more free from note of superstition."

May Lord Effingham have changed his religion between the Armada and his mission to Spain?

C. B.

(Vol. iii., p. 188.)

The Volpes were an ancient, noble Florentine family of the second class, some branches of which according to the usage of Florence, changed their name, and adopted that of Bigliotti. The object of the change was to remove the disqualification which attached to them, as nobles, of holding offices under the republic. In illustration of this singular practice, the following extracts may be cited:

"Le peuple nomma une commission pour corriger les statuts de la république, et réprimer par les lois l'insolence des nobles. Une ordonnance fameuse, connue sous le nomd'Ordinamenti della Giustizia, fut l'ouvrage de cette commission. Pour le maintien de la liberté et de la justice, elle sanctionna la jurisprudence la plus tyrannique, et la plus injuste. Trente-sept familles, les plus nobles et les plus respectables de Florence, furent exclus à jamais du priorat, sans qu'il leur fùt permis de recouvrer les droits de cité, en sefaisant matriculer dans quelque corps de métier, ou en exerçant quelque profession.... Les membres de ces trente-sept familles furent désignés, même dans les lois, par les noms de grands et de magnats; et pour la première fois, on vit un titre d'honneur devenir nonseulement un fardeau onéreux, mais une punition."—Sismondi,Histoire des Républiques Italiennes, tom. iv. pp. 63-4.: Paris, 1826."The people, now sure of their triumph, relaxed the Ordinances of Justice, and, to make some distinction in favour of merit or innocence, effaced certain families from the list of the nobility. Five hundred and thirty persons were thus elevated, as we may call it, to the rank of commoners. As it was beyond the competence of the Republic of Florence to change a man's ancestors, this nominal alteration left all the real advantage of birth as they were, and was undoubtedly an enhancenent of dignity, though, in appearance, a very singular one. Conversely, several unpopular commoners were ennobled in order to disfranchise them. Nothing was more usual, in subsequent times, than such an arbitrary change of rank, as a penalty or a benefit. (Messer Antonio de Baldinaccio degli Adimari, tutto che fosse de più grandi e nobili, per grazia era misso tra 'l popolo.—Villani, xii. c. 108.) Those nobles who were rendered plebeian by favour, were obliged to change their name and arms."—Hallam'sMiddle Ages, vol. i. p. 435-6.: London, 1834."In the history of Florentine families, a singular feature presents itself; by a practice peculiar to Italy, nay, it is believed to Florence, families, under certain circumstances, were compelled to change their arms and their surnames, the origin of which was as follows. After having long suffered the insolent factions of the great families to convulse the state, the middle classes, headed indeed by one of the nobles, by a determined movement, obtained the mastery. To organize their newly-acquired power, they instituted an office, the chief at Florence during the republican era, that of Gonfalonier of Justice; they formed a species of national guard from the whole body of the citizens, who were again subdivided into companies, under the command of other officers of inferior dignity, also styled Gonfaloniers (Bannarets). As soon as any noble committed violence within the walls of the city, likely to compromise the public peace, or disturb the quiet of the state, the great bell at the Palazzo Vecchio raised its alarum, the population flew to arms, and hastened to the spot, where the Gonfalonier of Justice speedily found himself in a position, not merely to put an end to the disturbance, but even to lay siege to the stout massive fortresses which formed the city residences of the insolent and refractory offenders to which they then withdrew. But the reforming party did not stop there; by the new constitution, which was then introduced, the ancient noble families, termed by cotemporary historians 'i grandi,' and explained to include those only which had ever been illustrated by the order of knighthood, were all placed under a severe system of civil restrictions, and their names were entered upon a roll called the Ordinances of Justice; the immediate effect was that, losing all political rights, they were placed in a most disadvantageous position before the law."By a remarkable species of democratic liberality, a man or a family might be emancipated from this position and rendered fit for office, born again as it were into a new political life, by renouncing their connections (consorteria) and changing their arms and surnames. They were then said to be made plebeian or popular (fatti di popolo). Niebuhr has noticed the analogy of such voluntary resignation of nobility to the 'transitio ad plebem' of the Romans."This practice of changing arms and surnames originated from the Ordinances of Justice promulgated about that time, which expressly requires this as a condition to the enjoyment by any of the old families of popular rights. It gave rise to great varieties of surnames and armorial bearings in different branches of the same house. But it has nevertheless been noted that in all these mutations it was still the endeavour of the parties to retain as much as possible of the ancient ensigns and appellations, so that traces of descent and connexion might not in the progress of years be altogether obliterated. Thus the Cavalcanti took the name of Cavallereschi, the Tornaquinci that of Tornabuoni. Sometimes they obtained the object by a play upon the name itself thus; at other times by making a patronymic of the Christian name of the first or some other favourite ancestor; thus a branch of the Bardi assumed the name of Gualterotti, and a branch of the Pazzi that of Accorri. Sometimes they took their new name from a place or circumstance calculated to preserve the memory of their origin; thus the Agolanti designated themselves Fiesolani, the Bostichi from the antiquity of their stock, Buonantichi. In mutation of arms a similar object was borne in mind. Thus the Buondelmonti simply added to their ancient bearings a mountain az. and a cross gu. The Baccelli, who were a branch of the Mazzinghi, replaced the three perpendicular clubs, the ancient ensigns of the family, by two placed in the form of a cross."As the object of these provisions was to discriminate for the future those of the ancient families who had acceded to the principles of the popular institutions from their more haughty kindred, who remained true to the defence of their feudal and aristocratical pretensions, the change either of arms or surname was not required if the whole family became converts to the new doctrines; for then there was no need of discrimination, and the law was not framed out of any dislike merely to particular ensigns, but only to the principles and opinions which they had up to a certain time been understood to represent."—Mazzinghi.

"The people, now sure of their triumph, relaxed the Ordinances of Justice, and, to make some distinction in favour of merit or innocence, effaced certain families from the list of the nobility. Five hundred and thirty persons were thus elevated, as we may call it, to the rank of commoners. As it was beyond the competence of the Republic of Florence to change a man's ancestors, this nominal alteration left all the real advantage of birth as they were, and was undoubtedly an enhancenent of dignity, though, in appearance, a very singular one. Conversely, several unpopular commoners were ennobled in order to disfranchise them. Nothing was more usual, in subsequent times, than such an arbitrary change of rank, as a penalty or a benefit. (Messer Antonio de Baldinaccio degli Adimari, tutto che fosse de più grandi e nobili, per grazia era misso tra 'l popolo.—Villani, xii. c. 108.) Those nobles who were rendered plebeian by favour, were obliged to change their name and arms."—Hallam'sMiddle Ages, vol. i. p. 435-6.: London, 1834.

"In the history of Florentine families, a singular feature presents itself; by a practice peculiar to Italy, nay, it is believed to Florence, families, under certain circumstances, were compelled to change their arms and their surnames, the origin of which was as follows. After having long suffered the insolent factions of the great families to convulse the state, the middle classes, headed indeed by one of the nobles, by a determined movement, obtained the mastery. To organize their newly-acquired power, they instituted an office, the chief at Florence during the republican era, that of Gonfalonier of Justice; they formed a species of national guard from the whole body of the citizens, who were again subdivided into companies, under the command of other officers of inferior dignity, also styled Gonfaloniers (Bannarets). As soon as any noble committed violence within the walls of the city, likely to compromise the public peace, or disturb the quiet of the state, the great bell at the Palazzo Vecchio raised its alarum, the population flew to arms, and hastened to the spot, where the Gonfalonier of Justice speedily found himself in a position, not merely to put an end to the disturbance, but even to lay siege to the stout massive fortresses which formed the city residences of the insolent and refractory offenders to which they then withdrew. But the reforming party did not stop there; by the new constitution, which was then introduced, the ancient noble families, termed by cotemporary historians 'i grandi,' and explained to include those only which had ever been illustrated by the order of knighthood, were all placed under a severe system of civil restrictions, and their names were entered upon a roll called the Ordinances of Justice; the immediate effect was that, losing all political rights, they were placed in a most disadvantageous position before the law.

"By a remarkable species of democratic liberality, a man or a family might be emancipated from this position and rendered fit for office, born again as it were into a new political life, by renouncing their connections (consorteria) and changing their arms and surnames. They were then said to be made plebeian or popular (fatti di popolo). Niebuhr has noticed the analogy of such voluntary resignation of nobility to the 'transitio ad plebem' of the Romans.

"This practice of changing arms and surnames originated from the Ordinances of Justice promulgated about that time, which expressly requires this as a condition to the enjoyment by any of the old families of popular rights. It gave rise to great varieties of surnames and armorial bearings in different branches of the same house. But it has nevertheless been noted that in all these mutations it was still the endeavour of the parties to retain as much as possible of the ancient ensigns and appellations, so that traces of descent and connexion might not in the progress of years be altogether obliterated. Thus the Cavalcanti took the name of Cavallereschi, the Tornaquinci that of Tornabuoni. Sometimes they obtained the object by a play upon the name itself thus; at other times by making a patronymic of the Christian name of the first or some other favourite ancestor; thus a branch of the Bardi assumed the name of Gualterotti, and a branch of the Pazzi that of Accorri. Sometimes they took their new name from a place or circumstance calculated to preserve the memory of their origin; thus the Agolanti designated themselves Fiesolani, the Bostichi from the antiquity of their stock, Buonantichi. In mutation of arms a similar object was borne in mind. Thus the Buondelmonti simply added to their ancient bearings a mountain az. and a cross gu. The Baccelli, who were a branch of the Mazzinghi, replaced the three perpendicular clubs, the ancient ensigns of the family, by two placed in the form of a cross.

"As the object of these provisions was to discriminate for the future those of the ancient families who had acceded to the principles of the popular institutions from their more haughty kindred, who remained true to the defence of their feudal and aristocratical pretensions, the change either of arms or surname was not required if the whole family became converts to the new doctrines; for then there was no need of discrimination, and the law was not framed out of any dislike merely to particular ensigns, but only to the principles and opinions which they had up to a certain time been understood to represent."—Mazzinghi.

The identity of the Volpes and Bigliottis is attested by ancient sepulchral monuments of the family in Santo Spirito at Florence. To mark the ancient origin, they retained or assumed the fox (volpe) as their arms. Borghini, in hisDiscorsi(Florence, 1584-5), mentions the family as an instance of the name giving rise to the arms, and mentions Sandro Biglotti, 1339, as the first who assumed the fox as his ensigns. The distinction and influence enjoyed at Florence by the family is indicated by its having contributed ten Gonfaloniers of Justice to the republic; an office corresponding in rank with those of Doge of Veniceand Doge of Genoa. Details of several branches of the family will be found inSaggi Istorici D'Antichità Toscane di Lorenzo Cantini: Firenze, 1798.

Among the junta of twenty noblemen of Venice, chosen in 1355, on the discovery of the conspiracy of Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice, we find the name of "Ser Niccolò Volpe":—

"Questi [que' del Consiglio de' Dieci] elessero tra loro una Giunta, nella notte, ridotti quasi sul romper del giorno, di venti nobili di Vinezia de' migliori, de' piu savii, e de' piu antichi, per consultare, non pero che mettessero pallottola."—Vitæ Ducum Venetorum,—though the title is in Latin, the work is in Italian,—published in Muratori'sRerum Italicarum Scriptores, tom. xii. p. 634.

The following particulars are extracted from theBiographie Universelle:—

"Ivo. Biliotti, d'une famille patricienne de Florence (qui avoit fourni dix Gonfaloniers de Justice à cette république, et placé ses armes sur les monnaies de l'état), fut un des derniers défenseurs de la liberté de sa patrie, et un des meilleurs capitaines de son temps. En 1529, il defendit le fort de Spello, en Toscane, contre les troupes liguées du pape et de l'Empereur Charles Quint. Il obligea le prince d'Orange, qui les commandait, à se retirer, et se distingua aussi au siége de Florence. Il passa au service de Francois Ier, roi de France, avec de Gondi et Pierre de Strozzi, ses parents, et fut tué au siége de Dieppe. Une partie de la famille Biliotti, proscrite par les Médicis, se refugia à Avignon et dans le comtat Venaissin, vers la fin du 15esiècle. Le 29 juillet, 1794, le chef de cette maison, Joseph Joachim, Marquis de Biliotti, chevalier de St. Louis, âgé de soixante-dix ans, aussi distingué par ses vertus que par sa naissance, fut la dernière victime du tribunal révolutionnaire d'Orange, qui fut suspendu le lendemain de sa mort."

The only particulars of Iovanni Volpe furnished by the Gwerclas MSS. are given in the annexed pedigree. The marriage of his daughter Frances with my ancestor, Richard Hughes of Gwerclas, arose from the latter (before his accession to the family estates and representation, consequent on the decease without issue—February 6, 18 James I., 1620-1—of his elder brother, Humffrey Hughes, Esq., of Gwerclas, Baron of Cymmer-yn-Edeirnion, High Sheriff of Merionethshire in 1618) having been secretary of the princely Cliffords, Earls of Cumberland, to whom Iovanni Volpe had been physician. There can be little doubt that Iovanni was descended from a branch of the Italian Volpes which had retained the ancient name; a supposition confirmed by the tradition of my family, and by the fact of the fox being assigned to his daughter Frances as her arms, in an emblazoned genealogy of the house of Gwerclas compiled in 1650 by the most accurate and eminent of Welsh antiquaries, Robert Vaughan of Hengwrt, Esq.

I may add, that among the Gwerclas pictures are portraits of Richard Hughes and Frances; the latter exhibiting in features an complexion the unmistakeable impress of Italian lineage.

William Hughes.

Twyford, Hants, March 18. 1851.

WILLIAM WOLPE. ===Arms, Vert a fox |courant, proper. ||-------+|JOHN WOLPE,aliterVULP, "An Italian === ---- ----, "Descendeddoctor; was ffamous in Queene Eliza- | of the ffamily of the Monn-beth's tyme, went with George Erle | taynes in Yorkshire, whoof Cumberland most of his sea | keepe the name this dayevoyages, and was with him at the | [1622.]."takeing of Portorico, in the Indies." ||+------------+|RICHARD EVERS (1st) === FRANCES, "Sole === (2nd) RICHARD HUGHES, Esq., of"Of the ffamily of | daughter." Died | Gwerclas, co. Merioneth, Baron ofEvers of Coventry." | 29 June, 1636, | Cymmer-yn-Edeirnion. Married| circa æt. 50. | 2 Nov. 1601. Died 21 March, 1641,| | circa æt. 80.| |+----------------+ +----------------------+| |MARTHA, "Only daughter." === RICHARD LLOYD HUMFFREY HUGHES, Esq. of Gwerclas,Born 25 January, 1599. | of Vaerdre [in Baron of Cymmer-yn-Edeirnion, sonMarried, 27 June, 1616. /|\ Edeirnion, co. and heir. High Sheriff of Merioneth-Merioneth]. shire in 1670. Born 14 Aug. 1605."Had issue sonnes and daughters, now [19 April, Buried at Llangar in Edeirnion,1622] liveing." 4 May, 1682. ---|/|\

Giovanni Volpe or Master Wolfe(Vol. iii., p. 188.).—This person was certainly never "physician to Queen Elizabeth," but he may have received from her Majesty the appointment of apothecary, as he did from her successor. On New-Year's day, 1605-6, John Vulp presented to the king "a box of Indian plums," receiving in return 7 oz. di. di. qr. of gilt plate; he is then named the last of five apothecaries who paid their votive offerings to royalty. (Nichols'sProgresses, &c. of King James I., vol. i. p. 597.) In 1617 he had risen to be the king's principal apothecary, and by the name of John Wolfgango Rumlero received "for his fee by the year 40li.," as appears by the abstract of his Majesty's revenue attached to the pamphlet entitledTime brought to Light by Time. From the name here given him, it may be conjectured that he was rather from Germany than Italy. However, he also went by the plain English name of Master Wolfe.

He is thus alluded to in the epilogue to Ben Jonson'sMasque of the Metamorphosed Gipsies, when it was performed at Windsor in September, 1621:—

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