"storied urn or animated bust"
"storied urn or animated bust"
as a record of his sepulture within that venerable pile.
In making an inspection of the Commandery, an old building, probably once belonging to the Knights Templars, I was gravely told, and my informant even showed me the very spot beneath the floor of one of the rooms, in which, as tradition points out, he is said to have been buried.
J. B. WHITBORNE.
—Having observed various remarks on the ring finger in your last volume, I shall be much obliged if you can give me any information on the subject. As a lady of my acquaintance has had the misfortune to lose that finger, it has been said that she cannot be legally married in the Church of England in consequence, and had better, if ever solicited, cross the border to Scotland to make the marriage binding.
A RING.
—Historians agree that King Henry VII., on his arrival in London after the battle of Bosworth, took up his residence for a few days at the Bishop of London's palace, and Bacon tells us[4]this palace was in Bishopsgate Street. Can any of your readers inform me where it stood?
J. G.
[4][Where? Our correspondent should have given the reference.—ED.]
—Can H. C. K., who appears to have access to an old pedigree of this family, answer any of the following Queries?
1. Which was the Richard Earl of Clare whose daughter married William de Braose, who was starved to death at Windsor in 1240?
2. Who was Isabel de Clare, who married William de Braose, grandson of the above?
3. Who was Alice, daughter of Richard Earl of Clare, who married William third Baron Percy?
4. Who was Mabel, daughter of an Earl of Clare, who married Nigel de Mowbray, a baron at the coronation of Richard I.?
5. Who was —— de Clare, treasurer of the church of York, living between 1150 and 1200?
E. H. Y.
Ptolemy's Scotland,A.D. 146.Richard's Ditto,A.D. 446.Roman Ditto,A.D.80 to 446.Pictish Ditto,A.D. 446 to 843.Picts and Scots Ditto,A.D. 843 to 1071.Sheriffdoms, Earldoms, and Lordships of the 15th Century.Highlands in Clans, 1715-45. Track of Prince Charles Stuart.
Ptolemy's Scotland,A.D. 146.
Richard's Ditto,A.D. 446.
Roman Ditto,A.D.80 to 446.
Pictish Ditto,A.D. 446 to 843.
Picts and Scots Ditto,A.D. 843 to 1071.
Sheriffdoms, Earldoms, and Lordships of the 15th Century.
Highlands in Clans, 1715-45. Track of Prince Charles Stuart.
I should be glad to hear where this progressive series, or any of them, might be met with. I understand it was considered a very complete Atlas of Scotland in the olden times; but on applying to my Edinburgh bookseller, I was informed they were out of print. I think they bear date 1834, and I should think the plates are still in existence. They were said to be very accurate, and the price was under a pound. They were published by John Lothian, formerly Geographer and Map Publisher, Edinburgh.
ELGINENSIS.
—Partial to my sweet tea-cake, I often think when eating it of Sally Lunn, the pretty pastrycook of Bath, to whose inventive genius we are said to be indebted for this farinaceous delicacy. Is anything known of Sally Lunn? is she a personage or a myth?
SHIRLEYHIBBERD.
—At the late assizes for the county of Suffolk, the witnesses in two separate cases spoke of a "bough-house," and the explanation given was, that certain houses where beer, &c. was sold at fair-time only had boughs outside to indicate their character. As an illustration of the familiar proverb, "Good wine needs nobush," and as the word does not occur in Forby'sGlossary of East Anglia, it may perhaps deserve a place.
BURIENSIS.
—The curious collection of old proclamations, &c., in the library of the Society of Antiquaries is sometimes referred to asDyson's, sometimes asAmes's. Was Dyson the original collector? and, if so, when did he live?
EDWARDF. RIMBAULT.
—Can any of your correspondents inform me what is the origin of this expression? It occurs inGuy Mannering, and printed in Italics, but not within inverted commas. Is it a quotation?
T. D.
"God bless the King, I mean the Faith's Defender.God bless—no harm in blessing—the Pretender;Who that Pretender is, and who is King,God bless us all—that's quite another thing."
"God bless the King, I mean the Faith's Defender.
God bless—no harm in blessing—the Pretender;
Who that Pretender is, and who is King,
God bless us all—that's quite another thing."
Can any of your readers say who is the author of the above?
G. M. B.
[The above lines, "intended to allay the violence of party spirit!" were spoken extempore by the celebrated John Byrom, of Manchester, a Nonjuror, but better known as the inventor of the Universal Short Hand. They will be found in hisMiscellaneous Poems, vol. i. p. 342. edit. 1773.]
—The part played by this active and loyal clergyman, who was deprived of his vicarage of Great Gransden in Huntingdonshire during the interregnum, is generally known to readers of the early history of that period. Walker, who has a notice of him (Sufferings of the Clergy, p. 141.), says he died in 1684, but does not tell us whether he was married or not. I believe he was, and left descendants; and the object of this Query is to ascertain what were the names of his children, and with whom they intermarried.
D.
Rotherfield.
[We do not think Barnabas Oley was ever married, as his will, preserved among Bishop Kennett's Collections, does not mention either wife or children among the legacies to "his near kindred and blood." His will, with its codicils, are curious documents, and ought to be printed. See theLansdowne MSS., No. 988. fol. 94.]
—Swift says, in hisAbstract of Collins, "Why should not William Penn the Quaker, or any Anabaptist, Papist, Muggletonian, Jew, orSweet-singer, have liberty to come into St. Paul's church?" Wanted, some historical notice of the Sweet-singers.
A. N.
[Timperley, in hisDictionary of Printing, has the following note respecting them: "May 27, 1681. The Sweet-singers of the city of Edinburgh renounce theprintedBible at the Canongate tolbooth, and all unchaste thoughts, words, and actions, and burn all story books, ballads, romances, &c."]
—Did a Mr. Bicknell writePhilip Quarll? Was he the author of any other books? Is there a recent edition ofPhilip Quarll? and, if not, why not?
E. C. R.
Sunderland.
[Lowndes states that this work has been "frequently reprinted." The only editions known to us are the first in 1727, and the one published in a series by Harrison and Co. in 1731. The editor's initials are P. L.]
—What is the dedication of the little church at Middleton, Essex (near Sudbury, Suffolk)? I cannot find it in theLiber Regis, in Wright'sEssex, nor in Lewis'sTopographical Dictionary.
W. SPARROWSIMPSON.
[The indefatigable Newcourt, in hisRepertorium, vol. ii. p. 418., was unable to give the dedication, and has left a blank for it to be supplied by some future antiquary.]
—Which of the lunatic asylums benefited by the "will" of Dean Swift; either founded or endowed by the bulk of his property?—VideMemoirs.
SAMPSONLOW, Jun.
169. Fleet Street.
[St. Patrick's, or Swift's Hospital, for the reception of lunatics and idiots, situated near Dr. Steevens's Hospital, adjoining to James Street, Dublin. It was opened in 1757. For some account of it see Scott's "Memoir of Dean Swift,"Works, vol. i. pp. 438. 527.]
Some years ago I remember meeting with the following explanation of the beautiful legend of St. Christopher, and unfortunately forgot to take aNoteof it. It recurred to my mind on lately reading Mr. Talbot's work on English etymologies, the writer of which appears to take a similar view of the allegorical meaning.
Part of the legend is founded on the meaning of the GreekΧριστοφερων, coupled with a circumstance in the original legend, which is of German origin, and is an allegorizing of our blessed Lord's bearing the sins of the world, andofferinghimself up on the altar of the cross. In a Latin document ofA.D. 1423, the name is abbreviated intoX'poferus; in an English one of the same date it is speltChristopfore; and in French,Christopfre.ChristopfersignifiesChrist's sacrifice: that is, the sacrifice of the cross continually offered up in the sacrament of the altar, or the mass, themessopfer, so named from the Germanopfer, a sacrifice; Welshoffeiriad, a priest;offrwm, a sacrifice;offeren, the mass; Irish,oifrionn, oraifrionn.
The perfection of our blessed Lord's humanity, His resistance of evil, and mighty strength displayed in bearing the sins of the universe, are shadowed out in the great stature and vast strength of the giant Christopher. According to the legend, when he had succeeded in reaching the shore, and had set down his burden, he said: "Chylde, thou hast put me in grete peryll, thou wayest alle most as I had had the world upon me; I might bere no greater burden;" and the child answered, "Christopher, marvel thou nothing, for thou hast not only borne all the world upon thee, but its sins likewise."
Mr. Talbot says, the name Christopher,Christoffer, may have been given to children born on Good Friday, the day of the Great Sacrifice, as those born on Christmas, Easter, and All Saints were named Pascal, Noel, Toussaint.
JARLTZBERG.
I. REHETOUR.
(See theThree Treatises, published by Dr. Todd, Dublin, 1851. Text, pages xxv, xxvi and lxv; Note on Rehetours, p. clxxi-ii.)
It is certain that Monastery and Minster were originally one word in Latin; it is generally believed that Rhythm and Rhyme were one in Greek; and it is possible thatRehetourandCatererhad one prototype in Spanish: of this last pair only one survived; it is naturally that which, by being equal to the other in sense, excels it in harmony with the English tongue.
Convinced that the office assigned to theRehetoursin the lordly household could not have been filled by any such character as ascribed to theRehâteur,Reheater, orRehaiteur; convinced, moreover, that the ScottishRehator,Rehatoure, and the EnglishRehetourmust be either both restored to their common kindred, or else consigned to common oblivion, I chose the former alternative; and after a careful inquest held on these twin foundlings, together withRehete,Reheting, two other departed strangers of the same age, I venture to pronounce the following verdict:—
1. A native of Spain,Regatero(see Stephen'sSpanish Dictionary, 1726, and all that is said aboutRegatonin theDiccionarioof the Academy, Madrid, 1737, folio), travelling in Great Britain, changed toRehetour,Rehator, &c.
2. By trade a retailer of provisions, huckster, or purveyor, his character strongly partook of the nature of his commodities, so as to become tainted; this appears from the quotations in Jamieson'sEtym. Dictionary, and is attested by the Spanish proverb,Ni compres de Regaton, ni te descuides en meson: Wycklyffe in all three passages expresses his apprehension of "harm." The Frenchregrattierfromgratter(to scratch, scrape), andRegatero,Regaton, fromgato(a cat), whether they be, or be not, truly thus derived, bear equally marks of a contemptible impression.
3. In Wycklyffe's simile theRehetourstake care of the bodily, the ecclesiastics of the spiritual food, the Pope being the steward of the household. The ScottishRehatourwe find no longer as an ordinary plain dealer, but in a state of depravity, so as to be a mere byeword, even in the sense of blackguard, which word itself, if we believe Nares (see hisGlossary) that it owes its existence to those menials of the court, cannot have been barely "a jocular name," but their disposition must have corresponded to their black exterior, otherwise the joke could not have remained a lasting stigma. I believe, however, the wordblackguard, by inserting thel, merely simulates a vernacular origin, it being properlyBeguards(see Boiste,Dictionnaire Universel), fromBeghardus(seeMediæval Glossaries), once a German participlebekārt(nowbekehrt),converted, applied to the Fraterconversus, secular begging monks who, increasing in number and misdeeds, soon became universally notorious, and ultimately (mixed up with impostors who assumed their dress) would serve in any capacity rather than the honest and irreproachable.
4. IfCatererproceeded from the Spanish, it arrived thus—Recatero—Recaterer—Caterer; thecforgbeing either the natural result from the accent which the majority of speakers withdrew from the latter syllable of the word, or is accounted for by "Recatear lo mismo que regatear:" the derivation fromreandcautus, as given by Covarrubias, likewise protects thec.
5. It is possible that the primitive rootKatorGat, in the sense of hollow, hole, cavity, cave, &c., whenceGate,Cot,Cottage,Cattegat(Sinus Codanus), probably alsoRegatta, was the first element of both the Spanish and the English term; the spot or situation where the eatables were originally exposed for sale thus causing them first to be calledcates(a plural noun like wages), then the singularcate, &c., the noun of agent having most probably preceded the verbcater, which has come last. A similar derivation is certain with regard tohuckster, which, besideshuckeback, joins the Swedishhökare, GermanHöker, &c., from the bending, crooked, or squatting position in some brook or crook or corner.
6. The verbReheteis aptly derived by Jamieson fromRehaiter; both are extinct, yet their kindredheiter(formerlyhaiter), with its two verbserheiternandaufheitern, are still in full vigour among the Germans, to whom they afford serenity of mind, mood, and weather. The French compound word for wishing,souhaiter, refers its verbhaiterto the Swedishheta, Germanheissen, Anglo-Saxonhetan, as inUlf het aræran cyrice, "ULFbid rear the church" (see Latham,Engl. Lang.1850, p. 99.): now if also from thehaiterof that compound we may suppose a derivativeRehaiter, or at least one of the kind to have served Chaucer in his participleReheting, which has been the puzzle of his commentators in the following passage fromTroilus(III. line 350.):
"And all the reheting of his sikes (sighs) sore,At ones fled, he felt 'hem no more;"
"And all the reheting of his sikes (sighs) sore,
At ones fled, he felt 'hem no more;"
we may easily understand thereby that, as it were, a rebidding, an importunate insisting upon, therepetition of his sighs, ceased and were at an end; so that in the time of Edward III. a person complaining of a troublesome cough, headache, &c., might call it a reheting cough, &c.
II. MOKE.
(See the saidThree Treatises, pages cxxxvii, and Notes, pages ccxx. ccxxiii-iv.)
Wyckliffe using the possessive "their moke," not the mere "a," as we would say, I would not give "a pin," "a button," &c., together with the evidence of the Irishmuc, and the obsolete GermanMocke, which has been defined "Sus fœminea, quæ ob fœtus alitur," hardly leaves a doubt that he means that animal, which may be traced also in the wordsmuck,mucky, &c. The reader may judge for himself by the following passage:—
"Crist gave his life for hise brether, and so rewled hise shepe; thei wolen notgyue her moketo helpherenedy brethern, but letenhere shepperishen, and taken of hem."
In allusion to their not feeding their flock, but suffering their sheep to perish, he prefers to mention an eatable object.
N. L. BENMOHEL, A.M.
2. Trinity College, Dublin.
[MR. BENMOHELis wrong in supposing the wordBeghardto signifybekehrt, conversus, and to be a name given to the Fratres Conversi of monasteries, who, by the way, were not "secular begging monks," nor necessarily monks at all. Any person, by a donation to a convent, could be enrolled amongst itsfratresorsorores, entitled to the prayers of the monks, and to a share of their superabundant merits; and, being clothed at his death in the habit of the order, was afrater conversus. Another class ofconversiwere lay monks (not necessarilybeggingmonks), who attended on the other monks, and performed certain lay duties in monasteries. MR.BENMOHELwill see some account of them in Dr. Todd'sIntroduction to the Book of Obits and Martyrol. of Christ's Church Cathedral, Dublin, p. xxvii.
TheBeghards, on the other hand, were not, properly speaking, monks at all, inasmuch as they were not under any monastic vow. They professed poverty, and lived on alms generally; but in other respects their mode of life was various, and their orthodoxy and morality very doubtful. They are generally denounced by the ecclesiastical authorities; and, except in some few places and under certain regulations, were never recognised by the Church. The best account of them will be found in Mosheim's posthumous and unfinished treatise,De Beghardis et Beguinis. The name is evidently, as Mosheim shows, a compound ofbeg(from the old Saxonbeggen, mendicare) andhard, orhart, a servant, famulus, servus: the same word which we still use in the composition of such words as shepherd, cow-herd, swine-herd. So thatBeghardis not otherwise different from our wordbeggar, than in so far as it was formerly applied to a religious sect.
MR. BENMOHEL'Sexplanation ofRehetouris very ingenious, and may very possibly be true. His interpretation ofMuckis not so satisfactory.]
At the bottom of a street leading from Bury St. Edmunds to the Newmarket road, stands an octagonal stone of Petworth marble with a hole in it, which is said to have been filled with water or vinegar in the time of the small-pox in 1677, for people to dip their money in on leaving the market. What truth may attach to the traditionary use of the stone I know not; but the stone is the base of a cross called St. Peter's Cross, and the hole is the socket for the shaft.
BURIENSIS.
Are the stones mentioned by your correspondent J. J. S. as plague stones anything more than the "holy stones" common at the meeting of old cross roads in Lancashire, and perhaps other counties? The square hole in them is surely nothing more than the socket in which the way-side cross was formerly placed. Perhaps, however, he is speaking of a different and less common kind of stone, in which case, if a list is made, it must be by some competent person, able to distinguish the one from the other.
P. P.
In compliance with the suggestion of J. J. S., I may note that what I suppose (since reading his communication in "N. & Q.") to be a "plague stone" is to be seen close to Gresford in Denbighshire. I met with it last summer, and could not then imagine what it could be. It is a large hexagonal (I think) stone, with a round cavity on the top, which certainly was full of water when I passed it. This cavity is pretty deep, and the stone must be nearly three feet high, by from two to three across. I regret I made no measurements of it. It is situated about a quarter of a mile from the town on the road to Wrexham, under a wide-spreading tree, on an open space where three roads meet. Should this be seen by any Gresfordite, perhaps he would send you a more accurate description of this stone, with any legend that may be attached to it.
G. J. R. G.
Notwithstanding his name, which appears to indicate northern origin, your correspondent W. FRASERmay possibly be unacquainted with Robert Chambers's amusing work, entitledPopular Rhymes of Scotland, which contains numerous verses on both places and families, besides other curious matter.
E. N.
The following doggrel I have heard in Surrey:
"Sutton for good mutton,Cheam for juicy beef,Croydon for a pretty girl,And Mitcham for a thief"
"Sutton for good mutton,
Cheam for juicy beef,
Croydon for a pretty girl,
And Mitcham for a thief"
A. A. D.
I beg to contribute the inclosed, which I have heard from a former incumbent of the parish of Sutton Long in Somersetshire.
"Sutton Long, Sutton Long, at every door a tump of dung.Some two; some three; it's the dirtiest place that ever you see."
"Sutton Long, Sutton Long, at every door a tump of dung.
Some two; some three; it's the dirtiest place that ever you see."
It was an ancient saying in the parish, and I believe the wordtumpis Somersetshire for heap.
A village in Essex, called Ugley, possesses the unfortunate saying:
"Ugly church, ugly steeple;Ugly parson, ugly people."
"Ugly church, ugly steeple;
Ugly parson, ugly people."
The first line is literally true; to give an opinion on the second would descend too much into personalities.
METAQUO.
A particularly appropriate rhyme is that of
"Stow on the Wold (Would?)Where the wind blows cold."
"Stow on the Wold (Would?)
Where the wind blows cold."
S. L. P.
Oxford and Cambridge Club.
—Though the Rev. Wm. Barnes has almost perfectionated the catalogue of Dorset provincialisms in the Glossary to his beautiful poems in the Dorset dialect, I still sometimes meet with a stray omission, viz.:
Blasty. To feed a fire with the dust of furze, &c.Clean-sheaf.Altogether,e.g."I've clean-sheaf vargot."Crudelee.To crow, as a baby does.Eickered.Blotchy.Giblets.The smaller pieces of a shirt.Scousse.To barter.Snyche.Eager; ready to snap at.Squeapity.To squeak, as an ungreased wheel.Stump.Disturbance.Treaden.The sole of the foot.
Blasty. To feed a fire with the dust of furze, &c.
Clean-sheaf.Altogether,e.g."I've clean-sheaf vargot."
Crudelee.To crow, as a baby does.
Eickered.Blotchy.
Giblets.The smaller pieces of a shirt.
Scousse.To barter.
Snyche.Eager; ready to snap at.
Squeapity.To squeak, as an ungreased wheel.
Stump.Disturbance.
Treaden.The sole of the foot.
C. W. B.
In addition to the names already given, the following occur to my mind:—
In connexion with this inquiry, would it not be interesting to make out a list of proper names of individuals, the pronunciation of which is different from the spelling; and, if possible, to trace (for example) how Trevelyan and St. John becameTrevethlanandSinjin, and the high-sounding Cholmondeley sank, in the bathos of pronunciation, to plain Chumley?
CUTHBERTBEDE, B.A.
—Presuming that the proposal at Vol. v., p. 173., involves the discussion and illustration of the words inserted, allow me, as a Lancashire man, to express my belief that the wordpickhas invariably the sense of "to throw," and not "to push." It is in fact another form of the verb "to pitch;" the two terminations being almost convertible, especially in words formed from the Saxon, as "fetch" from "feccean," "stitch" from "stician," "thatch" from "theccan," the earlier form of the latter word being retained in the well-known lines of "Bessy Bell and Mary Gray."Pick, in the sense of "throw," will be found in Shakspeare'sHenry VIII., Act V. Sc. 3.:
"I'llpickyou o'er the pales."
"I'llpickyou o'er the pales."
And inCoriolanus, Act I. Sc. 1.:
"As high as I couldpickmy lance."
"As high as I couldpickmy lance."
And see the notes of the various commentators on these passages. If the subject be worth further illustration, I may mention that in the district of the cotton manufacture, the instrument by which the shuttle isthrownacross the loom is called apicker; and each thread of the woven fabric, being the result of one throw of the shuttle, is, by using the word in a secondary sense, called apick. I have heard a story of a worthy patron of the Arts, more noted for his wealth than his taste, who, attributing certain freedom of touch in a picture, for which he had given a commission, to a want of due pains in elaboration, expressed his dissatisfaction by saying, "there were not the right number ofpicksto the inch;" the threads of calico, when received from the weaver, being usually counted under the microscope as a test of the goodness of the work.
J. F. M.
—I have noted the following North Lincolnshire provincialisms since the appearance of MR. RAWLINSON'Ssuggestion:—
Beat.A bundle of flax.Blower.A winnowing machine.Bumble.A rush used to make the seats of chairs.Bun. The stalk of hemp.Casson.Cow dung.Charking.The wall lining a well.Choo.}} Words used in driving pigs.Huigh.}Connifolde.To cheat; to deceive.Coul Rake.An instrument used to scrape mud from roads.Dozel.A toppen; a ball placed on the highest point of a corn-rick.Feat.Clever.Fingers-and-toes.Turnips are said to go to fingers and toes when instead of forming bulbs they branch off into small knotty substances.Gizen.To stare vacantly.Grave.To dig turf.Gyme.A breach in a bank.Hales.The handles of a plough.Hethud.A viper.Kedge.Trash; rubbish.Kelp.The handles of a pail.Ketlack.Wild mustard.Kittlin.A kitten.Lew.A word used in driving geese.Livery.Sad; heavy; said of freshly-ploughed soil.Mazzen.To stupify; to make dizzy.Meant.Meaning of.Nobut.Only.Nout.Nothing.Nozzel.The spout of a pump.Rate.To revile.Snail-shelley.Cankered; said of wood.Tod.Dung.
Beat.A bundle of flax.
Blower.A winnowing machine.
Bumble.A rush used to make the seats of chairs.
Bun. The stalk of hemp.
Casson.Cow dung.
Charking.The wall lining a well.
Choo.}
} Words used in driving pigs.
Huigh.}
Connifolde.To cheat; to deceive.
Coul Rake.An instrument used to scrape mud from roads.
Dozel.A toppen; a ball placed on the highest point of a corn-rick.
Feat.Clever.
Fingers-and-toes.Turnips are said to go to fingers and toes when instead of forming bulbs they branch off into small knotty substances.
Gizen.To stare vacantly.
Grave.To dig turf.
Gyme.A breach in a bank.
Hales.The handles of a plough.
Hethud.A viper.
Kedge.Trash; rubbish.
Kelp.The handles of a pail.
Ketlack.Wild mustard.
Kittlin.A kitten.
Lew.A word used in driving geese.
Livery.Sad; heavy; said of freshly-ploughed soil.
Mazzen.To stupify; to make dizzy.
Meant.Meaning of.
Nobut.Only.
Nout.Nothing.
Nozzel.The spout of a pump.
Rate.To revile.
Snail-shelley.Cankered; said of wood.
Tod.Dung.
K. P. D. E.
I believe more than one of the courts to be haunted by persons who may have suggested Mr. Dickens's "Little Old Lady." More than twenty years ago a female of about fifty was a constant attendant on the Court of Queen's Bench in Banco: I never saw her at a Nisi Prius sitting. She was meanly but tidily dressed, quiet and unobtrusive in manners, but much gratified by notice from any barrister. It was said she had been ruined by a suit, but I could not learn anything authentic about her; though I several times spoke and listened to her, partly from curiosity and partly from the pleasure which she showed at being spoken to. Her thoughts seemed fixed upon the business of the day, and I never extracted more than, "Will they take motions?—Willitcome on next?—I hope he will bring it on to-day!" but who was "he," or what was "it," I could not learn; and when I asked, she would pause as if to think, and pointing to the bench, say, "That's Lord Tenterden." I have seen her rise, as about to address the court, when the judges were going out, and look mortified as if she felt neglected. I cannot say when she disappeared, but I do not remember having seen her for the last eight years.
I have heard that an old woman frequented Doctors' Commons about seven years ago. She appeared to listen to the arguments, but was reserved and mopish, if spoken to. She often threw herself in the way of one of the leading advocates, and always addressed him in the same words: "Dr. ——, I amvirgo intacta."
The sailor-looking man described by Charles Lamb lasted a long time. I remember him in Fleet Street and the Strand when I was boy, and also an account which appeared in the newspapers of his vigorous resistance when apprehended as a vagrant; but I cannot fix the dates. I think, however, it was about 1822. His portrait is in Kirby'sWonderful and Eccentric Museum, vol. i. p. 331. Below it is, "Samuel Horsey, aged fifty-five, a singular beggar in the streets of London." The date of the engraving is August 30, 1803. As the accompanying letter-press is not long, I copy it:
"This person, who has so long past, that is to say, during nineteen years, attracted the notice of the public, by the severity of his misfortunes, in the loss of both his legs, and the singular means by which he removes himself from place to place, by the help of a wooden seat constructed in the manner of a rocking-horse, and assisted by a pair of crutches, first met with his calamity by the falling of a piece of timber from a house at the lower end of Bow Lane, Cheapside. He is now fifty-five years of age, and commonly called the King of the Beggars: and as he is very corpulent, the facility he moves with is very singular. From his general appearance and complexion, he seems to enjoy a state of health remarkably good. The frequent obtrusion of a man naturally stout and well made, but now so miserably mutilated as he is, having excited the curiosity of great numbers of people daily passing through the most crowded thoroughfares of the metropolis, has been the leading motive of this account, and the striking representation of his person here given."
The likeness is very good. Among the stories told of him, one was that his ample earnings enabled him to keep two wives, and, what is more, to keep them from quarrelling. He presided in the evenings at a "cadgers' club," planted at the head of the table, with a wife on each side. Not having been present at these meetings I do not ask anybody to believe this report.
H. B. C.
U. U. Club.
I believe Mr. Dickens's sketch, in theBleak House, of the woman who haunts the various Inns of Court, to be a clever combination of different real characters. It is principally taken from a stout painted old woman, long since dead, and who I believe was really ruined by some suit in Chancery, and went mad in consequence, and used to linger about the Courts, expecting some judgment to be given in her favour. Mr. Dickens seems to have combined this woman's painful history with the person and appearance of the diminutive creature mentioned by MR.ALFREDGATTY. This latter personage is the daughter of a man for many years bedmaker in one of the Inns of Court (I think Gray's Inn), and much of her eccentricity is assumed, as, when begging from the few lawyers who are old enough to remember her father as their bedmaker, no one is more rational and collected. Though this little woman is well known from her singular appearance and demeanour, there is no romance about her history, and her craziness (if it really exists) is not to be attributed to the Court of Chancery,—at which, as it is in the position of the dying lion inthe fable, every donkey (I mean no disrespect to Mr. Dickens) must have its fling.
If any correspondent really feels an interest in this little creature's history, I can undertake, with very little trouble, to supply the fullest particulars.
B. N. C.
Oxford.
Although I have for many years ceased to be an inhabitant of the metropolis, I am much gratified at the suggested record of these worthies, and think it would be a most interesting book, were truthful particulars got together concerning them, with good portraits—I mean striking likenesses—of these beings, who, as ALFREDGATTYobserves, "come like shadows, so depart." I will inform him something about the "half-giant," of whom Charles Lamb says, that he "was brought low during the riots of London." I almost doubt this, for just about then he lived in the parish of St. Mary-le-Strand; indeed, before then, my grandfather was there overseer, or otherwise a parochial authority, and he had him apprehended and imprisoned as a rogue and a vagabond. I have often heard my father talk about him; indeed, he knew this man well, and I regret that I have forgotten his name. He always spoke of him as having beena sailor, and that he had his legs carried away by a cannon-ball. This burly beggar had two daughters, to each of whom he is said to have given 500l.on her wedding; and it was also said he left a handsome sum of money at his death. But, doubtless, some curious correspondent will be able to forward the desideratum with farther information. I only tell the little I know.
The old porter, John, at the King's printing-office, whom I remember as quite a character, "N. & Q." have peculiar facilities to immortalise. We sexagenarians all remember the blackee at the crossing by Waithman's in Bridge Street. He was said to have died very rich, and reported to have sold his "walk," when he retired from business, for 1000l.
But other "characters" might amusingly be introduced, such as those two or three last roses in summer who continue to wear pig-tails or pantaloons. I would even not omit Baron Maseres, and such peculiarities—the German with his Bible and beard, without a hat—et hoc genus omne. There is a large work of the kind, exhibiting portraits and biographies of these illustrious personages in Edinburgh; it is now scarce and valuable. I remember spending a most interesting evening over it with a Scotchman, who knew and described many of the characters developed.
B. B.
Pembroke.
SIRJ. EMERSONTENNENThas accumulated many interesting particulars, but by no means exhausted the subject. O'Brien, in hisEssay on the Round Towers, advocates the opinion of their being idolatrous objects—remnants of Buddhism. TheLia failis celebrated in Irish history. The episcopal city of Elphin has its name from a celebrated pillar stone, which remained erect until Charles II.'s time, when it fell in accordance with an ancient prophecy. This is attested by the cotemporary evidence of O'Flaherty. Clogher has its name from another celebrated stone, designated "The Golden Stone," which I believe was oracular. There was in the city of Dublin, until recently, a curious remnant of this veneration for stones, and in which we could probably trace the transition from the Pagan to the Christian usage. At the base of the tower of St. Audoen's Church was a rude-looking stone, something like a spud-post, let into the wall, but so as to abut upon the street. On the upper part of this stone was carved a cross in very low relief. The stone was designated "The Lucky Stone," and the lower classes of the people, especially hawkers and itinerant vendors of small wares, believed that their success in business depended on their making a daily visit to this stone, which they kissed; and thus a portion of the stone became perfectly smooth and polished. There was a tradition, too, that whenever the stone was removed, it was miraculously conveyed back to its place. Thus it was said to have been stolen away to Galway, but to have been restored to its original site on the following day. However this may be, it remained attached to the church tower until about the year 1828, when some alterations being made in the church, it disappeared from its place. The belief was, that one of the churchwardens, a man in trade, had removed the stone into his own place of business, with a view of engrossing all the luck to himself. Whether he succeeded or not, I do not know; but after an interval of twenty years the identical stone reappeared in front of a large Roman Catholic chapel lately erected near St. Audoen's Church. It remained there, a conspicuous and well-remembered object, near the donation-box, which it perhaps assisted; but about six months ago it again disappeared, having been removed, I know not where.
R. T.
Theobald long since observed—
"I do not remember a passage throughout our poet's works more intricate and depraved in the text, of less meaning to outward appearance, or more likely to baffle the attempt of criticism in its aid."
He then proposes his reading:
"The dram ofbaseDoth all the noble substance ofworth outTo his own scandal;"
"The dram ofbase
Doth all the noble substance ofworth out
To his own scandal;"
observing that "the dram of base" means thealloyof baseness or vice, and that it is frequent with our poet to use theadjective of qualityinstead of the substantive signifying the thing.
It would be tedious to enumerate all the hapless attempts at emendation which have been subsequently made, but I must be allowed to refer to that adopted by MR. SINGERas long since as the year 1826, when he vindicated the original reading,doubt, from the unnecessary meddling of Steevens and Malone. MR.SINGERthus printed the passage:
"The dram ofbaleDoth all the noble substanceoftendoubt,To his own scandal."
"The dram ofbale
Doth all the noble substanceoftendoubt,
To his own scandal."
Balewas most probably preferred tobaseas more euphonous, and nearer to the wordealein thefirstquarto; but MR. S. would now perhaps adoptbase, as suggested by the wordease, in thesecondquarto, for the reasons given by Theobald and your correspondent A. E. B.
It is evident thatdoutcannot have been the poet's word, for, as your correspondent remarks, the meaning is obviously, that "the dram of base" renders all the noble substance doubtful or suspicious, not that it extinguishes it altogether. This will appear from what precedes:
"Or by some habit that too mucho'erleavensThe form of plausive manners," &c.
"Or by some habit that too mucho'erleavens
The form of plausive manners," &c.
Under present impressions, therefore, I should prefer, as the least deviation from the old copies, to read: