"Cane Decane canis; sed ne cane, cane Decane,De cane, de canis, cane Decane, cane."
"Cane Decane canis; sed ne cane, cane Decane,
De cane, de canis, cane Decane, cane."
Which may be thus freely translated:
"Hoary Deacon, sing; but then,Not of dogs, but hoary men."
"Hoary Deacon, sing; but then,
Not of dogs, but hoary men."
W. W. E. T.
Warwick Square, Belgravia.
—Are there any letters of the Rev. Jno. Meekins, D.D., Oxon., chaplain to George, Prince of Denmark, the royal consort of Queen Anne, extant? and in what year did he die?
MICŒNIS.
—Will some of your correspondents kindly inform me where I can meet with an authority to prove the Lord Mayor of London is styledmayorby virtue of crown charters, and lord aslordof the manor of Finsbury? I have seen such a statement, but cannot bring to mind the work in which it occurred.
AMANUENSIS.
—I want information on this matter, and consider "N. & Q." peculiarly the place wherein to seek it, because it is a matter mainly dependent on local custom. All the notice of Frebord that I have been able to discover in books is derived from Dugdale. For instance, in Jacob'sLaw Dictionary, ed. 1807, I read—
"Frebord,Franchordus, ground claimed in some places more or less, beyond, or without the fence. It is said to contain two foot and a half."
Mon. Ang., tom. ii. p. 141.
I heard, the other day, of a Warwickshire gentleman who claimed ten or twelve feet; but the immediate reason for my Query is a claim at present under the notice of a friend of mine is for sixty-six feet freebord! Is not such a claim preposterous?
P. M. M.
—In a book entitledPhysico-Theology, being the substance of sixteen sermons preached in St. Mary-le-Bone Church, London, at the Honourable Mr. Boyle's lectures in 1711 and 1712, with notes, &c., by the Rev. W. Derham (asecond edition, with additions, published in 1714), the authors, in treating of the stature and size of man's body, says there is greatreason to think the size of man was always the same from the Creation; and in a note at page 330., after quoting Dr. Hakewill'sApolog.and other authorities, concludes with these words:—
"Nay, besides all this probable, we have some more certain evidence. Augustus was five foot nine inches high, which was the just measure of our famous Queen Elizabeth, who exceeded his height two inches, if proper allowance be made for the difference between the Roman and our foot."
Vide Hakewill,Apolog., p. 215.
Probably some of your learned correspondents may give additional information on this interesting subject.
J. F. ALLEN.
Macclesfield.
—Can any of your readers inform me if there exists an original picture of Charles Mordaunt, the famous Earl of Peterborough, and where such can be seen?
A TRAVELLER.
—In looking at some of the old books in the library of the British Museum, I observed, on the fly-leaf of an old Bible, an inscription by Martin Luther, the meaning of which was the following:—
"Elijah the prophet said, the world had existed 2000 years before the law (from Adam to Moses); would exist 2000 years under the Mosaic dispensation (from Moses to Christ), and 2000 years under the Christian dispensation; and then the world would be burnt."
The manuscript was in German and very much effaced, so that I am not able to remember the words, though I very well remember the meaning.
Could any reader inform me in what part of the Bible this prophecy of Elijah's is to be found? for I have searched for it in vain.
C. H. M.
—I should be glad to be informed, through your publication, where I may find this line,—
"O Juvenis frustra est tua Doctrina Plebs amat Remedia."
"O Juvenis frustra est tua Doctrina Plebs amat Remedia."
J. W. V.
—In Macaulay's essay on Southey's edition ofThe Pilgrim's Progress(Longman & Co., p. 184.) occurs a curious use of this expression:
"The types are often inconsistent with each other; and sometimes the allegorical disguise is altogether thrown off.... It is not easy to make a simile go on all-fours. But we believe that no human ingenuity could produce such a centipede as a long allegory in which the correspondence between the outward sign and the thing signified should be exactly preserved. Certainly no writer ancient or modern has achieved the adventure."
This meaning I cannot find in Bailey'sDictionary, and it has escaped the curious vigilance of Blakie's compilers. The saying, however, is a very old one. Sir Edward Coke employs it (Coke upon Littleton, lib. i. c. 1. sect. 1. p. 3.a.):
"But no simile holds in everything; according to the ancient saying,Nullum simile quatuor pedibus currit."
There is a marginal reference here to 1 Hen. VII. 16.
Perhaps some of your philological correspondents can throw some light on the origin of the phrase, or at least give me some other examples of its use. Is the expression "To be on all-fours with" good English?
C. MANSFIELDINGLEBY.
is said by Hume, and by some minor writers after him, to have been killed by a stag in the New Forest; but William of Malmesbury and Roger of Wendover both say that he died of fever, consequent on malaria, which struck him while hunting there. This is well known to be of frequent occurrence in the neighbourhood of desolated human dwellings; and thus seems to involve even a more striking instance of retributive justice than the fate which Hume assigns to him. The fatality attending most of this name in our history is singular. Of nine princes (three of them kings) who have borne the name of Richard, seven, or, if Hume is right, eight, have died violent deaths, including four successive generations of the House of York.
J. S. WARDEN.
—Your correspondent's mention of myArithmetical Books(Vol. v., p. 392.) reminds me of a Query which I made in it, and which has never obtained the slightest answer—Who was Francis Walkinghame, and when was his work on arithmetic first published? The earliest edition I know of is the twenty-third, in 1787; but I am told, on good authority, that Mr. Douce had the sixteenth edition of 1779.
A. DEMORGAN.
—I shall be much obliged to anybody who will explain a phenomenon which I have observed.
Suppose 1. A street from twenty to thirty feet broad.
2. At the open window of a house on one side stands a man looking at the corresponding window of the house on the opposite side; that is, he looks at what was a window, but is now filled up with a large board that is covered with an inscription of short lines, black on white; in short, just such a board as one sees at a turnpike gate.
3. From shortness, or defect, of sight (I cannot say which), the man is unable to read the inscription as he stands at his window.
4. He sits down on a low seat, so as to bring his eye almost close to, and just on a level with, the sill of his own window. He then slowly raises and depresses his head. As he does this, it of course appears to him as if his own window-sill travelled up and down the board opposite.
5. In doing so it comes successively under each line of the inscription.
6. As it does so, that one line becomes perfectly legible.
N. B.
—Although I cannot find it in your former volumes, nor in your Index, I think there was an inquiry in one of your past Numbers as to the meaning of the phrase "To sham Abraham."
If there has been any reply, will you be good enough to refer me to it? as it may explain the passage in Burton'sAnatomy of Melancholy, that "every village almost will yield dummerersAbraham-men," &c. (PartI. sec. 2., vol. i. p. 360.)
W. W. E. T.
Warwick Square, Belgravia.
["To sham Abraham" is a cant expression, having reference to the practices of a class of vagabonds and cheats once common in this country. In Decker'sEnglish Villaniesthere are many curious particulars of the habits of this class of impostors. "She's all Abram," that is, quite naked. "What an Abram!" an exclamation for a ragged fellow. "An Abraham-man" was an impostor who personated a poor lunatic called Tom of Bedlam: one of this class is described by Shakspeare in hisLear, Act II. Sc. 3.:
"The basest and most poorest shape,That every penury, in contempt of man,Brought near to beast."
"The basest and most poorest shape,
That every penury, in contempt of man,
Brought near to beast."
Among sailors, "An Abram" is being unwell, or out of sorts. When Abraham Newland was Cashier of the Bank of England, it was sung—
"I have heard people say,That sham Abraham you may,But you must not sham Abraham Newland."]
"I have heard people say,
That sham Abraham you may,
But you must not sham Abraham Newland."]
—Can you give me the date of, or any account of the author of a small black-letter French work on heraldry entitled,Le Blason des Couleurs en Armes, &c. The author introduces himself as "Je Sicille Herault a tres puissant roy Alphōse Darragon: de Sicilie: de Vallence de Maillaque: de Corseique et Sardeigne: Conte de Barselonne," &c.; and at the end of the first part it is said to be "compose par Sicille Herault du roy Alphōse daragon."
H. N. E.
[See Brunet,Manuel du Libraire, vol. i. p. 279., ed. Bruxelles, 1838, 8vo.]
—Can any of your correspondents inform me of the meaning and origin of the term "Banyan-day," which is frequently used by sailors?
W. B. M.
Dee Side.
[A marine term for those days in which the sailors have no flesh meat; and is probably derived from the practice of the Banians, a caste of Hindoos, who entirely abstained from all animal food.]
—Can any of your correspondents inform me whether a General Edward Urmston, who married in 1752 Leonora daughter of the first Earl Bathurst, had any children; or whether he was himself an only son or child: also when he was born, or when he died? His wife died in 1798 (I believe).
E. B.
[Lieutenant-General Edward Urmston, some time in the 1st regiment of Foot Guards, and afterwards, 10th November, 1770, Colonel of the 65th Regiment of Foot. He married in 1752 Leonora Bathurst; died 21st December, 1778, aged 59, and there is an altar tomb to his memory in the churchyard of Harrow, co. Middlesex. She died 1798.]
—Can any of your readers inform me where I can find a collection of the works of Alexander Neville, the poetical writer, born anno 1544, second son of Sir Alex. [Richard] Neville of South Leverton, Notts, by Ann, fourth daughter of Sir Edw. [Walter] Mantle; he died anno 1614? Any particulars or references concerning him would be acceptable. Was he the Alexander Neville who sate for Christchurch, Hants, 1585, and for Saltash 1601.
J. K.
[There is no edition of the collected works of Alexander Nevile or Nevyle; the following will be found in the British Museum under the wordNevyllus:—1.De Furoribus Norfolciensium, Ketto Duce, 4to., 1575. According to Hearne, there are two editions of this date of 1575; the first, without the passage displeasing to the Welshmen, dedicated only to Abp. Parker; the other, with two dedications, viz. that to Abp. Parker, and a new one to Abp. Grindall. The offensive passage is at p. 132. "Sed enim Kettiani rati," &c., to "Nam præter quam quod," &c., p. 133. 2. The same work in English,Norfolk Furies and their Foyle, under Kett and their accursed Captaine; with a Description of the famous Citye of Norwich, by Richard Woods, 4to., 1615, 1623. 3.Academiæ Cantabrigiensis Lachrymæ, Tumulo Nobilissimi Equitis D. Philippi Sidneij Sacratæ, 4 to., 1587. A biographical notice of Alexander Nevile is given in Chalmers'Biog. Dict., which does not mention that he ever had a seat in parliament. He died in 1614, and was buried in Canterbury Cathedral.]
—What is the meaning or origin of the word "Lindisfarne?"
K. N. P.
[Holy Island was called Lindisfarne from the Lindis, a rivulet which empties itself into the sea from the opposite shore:farne, the concluding syllable, is a corruption of the Celtic wordfahren, a recess.]
—Was there ever a general index published to the whole or any portion of theCritical Review, which commenced in 1756, and I believe ended in 1816? If so, where can it be obtained.
W. J. B.
[There were five series of theCritical Reviewbetween the years 1756 and 1817. No general index has been published.]
—Can any of your readers state the origin of the expression "no great shakes," which has obtained an almost universal use, and is employed under a great variety of circumstances? No doubt a knowledge of its derivation would interest many subscribers to "N. & Q." as well as
I. J. H. H.
[Shakes, as used in the following passage by Byron, is a vulgarism, which probably may be traced to the custom ofshakinghands, theshakebeing estimated according to the value set upon the person giving it, and hence applied to the person. Byron writing to Murray, Sept. 28, 1820, says, "I had my hands full, and my head too just then (when he wroteMarino Faliero), so it can be no greatshakes."—See Richardson'sDict.s.v.]
—Is the translation of Richard de Bury'sPhilobiblon, "with a memoir of the illustrious bishop," promised by W. S. G., Vol. ii. p. 203., yet published?
L. S.
[Our correspondent should remember, that "church work is slow work," as Addison facetiously makes Sir Roger de Coverley complain. From a prospectus recently issued, we learn that thePhilobiblonis still preparing for publication; and that gentlemen who may wish to have copies are requested by the author to transmit their names to Mr. R. Robinson, Pilgrim Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne.]
—Who is the author of theLife of Bishop Ken, by a Layman, published a year or two since?
E. G.
Dorchester.
[J. L. Anderson, Esq., author ofThe River Dove, &c., and editor of Bishop Ken'sApproach to the Holy Altar.]
—Can any of your informants give me the origin of the wedding ring, by whom it was introduced, and what it was meant to signify, and does now signify?
BOSQUECILLO.
[Wheatly, in hisRational Illustration of the Book of Common Prayer, ch. x. sect. 5., has ably discussed the origin of the marriage ring, accompanied with numerous references to early and later writers on this visible pledge of fidelity.]
—Will any of your correspondents kindly inform me where I can find anauthenticaccount of the hospitals, monasteries, and religious houses pillaged and destroyed, consequent on the commission of inquiry issued by Henry VIII.?
T. DYSON.
Gainsborough.
[The most authentic account of English monasteries, &c. will be found in Dugdale'sMonasticon, edited by Cayley and Ellis; Tanner'sNotitia, edit. 1744; and Stevens'sAdditions to Dugdale. In Dodd'sChurch History, by Tierney, vol. i. p. 458., will be found "A List of the Abbots, Priors, and other Superiors of the Principal Religious Houses in England, from the Foundation to their Suppression." And for a list of all the mitred abbots and priors of England, who are known to have been mitred, or to have sat in parliament subsequent to the beginning of the reign of Edward III., seeGlossary of Heraldry, pp. xxix. xxx.]
—Can you inform me who were the nine bishops who attended the Hampton Court conference in 1603-4?
C. H. D.
[Archbishop of Canterbury, John Whitgift; London, Richard Bancroft; Durham, Tobias Matthew; Winchester, Thomas Bilson; Worcester, Gervase Babington; St. David's, Anthony Rudd; Chichester, Anthony Watson; Carlisle, Henry Robinson; Peterborough, Thomas Dove.]
The story referred to by Jeremy Taylor reminds me of a somewhat similar instance of dishonest astuteness I lately heard of in Scotland, from an old Highlander; the which, though courtesy forbade me to dispute, I at the time received "cum grano," and have since been unable to verify. It was as follows:
The custodians (whether rightful or not, I know not, as no date was assigned to the action of the narrative) of the Scottish regalia being bound by an oath to deliver it to the Governor of Carlisle, as the nearest representative of the English sovereign, by a certain day, determined upon a plan for performing (!), and at the same time evading, their promise. Having selected the most able steed in Scotland, a suitable deputation escorted the regaliaand the horseto the appointed place of tradition. The embassy carrying with them the more valuable and portable of their treasures—the jewels, not the horse, of which hereafter,—were duly admitted to an audience with the governor, who received them in the presence of the principal inhabitants of Carlisle: and having produced and surrendered the regalia (and doubtless taken an acquittance!), surreptitiously, and with gipsey adroitness, regained possession of it, and conveying it from the audience chamber, immediately delivered it to an expectant messenger; who, mounted on the before-mentioned horse, awaited its return outside the hall; and who,ventre à terre, pursued his eager flight across the border, nor once drew rein until his precious burden was again deposited in the custody of Scottish tenure. Whether the deputation was dismissed, and escaped before the discovery of its chicanery, or whether the conspirators received the well-merited punishment of their audacious dissimulation, my informant knew not. And although the story tells more in favour of the astuteness thanthe honesty of his countrymen (if true), he narrated it with considerable unction, and declared that it was generally believed and admired in Scotland; the patriotism displayed, the dangerous nature of the enterprise, and the success which attended it, palliating any stigma which might attach to the want of faith, double dealing, and casuistry which marked the transaction.
The method by which the horse's title to be considered the ablest in Scotland was ascertained, was ingenious. The horses the most renowned for fleetness and endurance were secretly collected, and having been deprived of water for a considerable time, were presently, one by one, permitted to bury their heads in the grateful bucket, and the duration of each draught was scrupulously watched and recorded; the animal that retained its nostrils for the longest time immersed being selected for the honour of rescuing the royal treasure, as having given proofs of its superior wind and bottom.
Is any credit to be attached to the story: and if historical, can any reader inform me where it is recorded?
C. A.
St. John's Wood.
The replies of FABER, EXON., and P. T. to the inquiry of STEPHEN, concerning the origin of Gospel Oaks, are not very explanatory.
The oak was consecrated to the god of thunder—Ang.-Sax.,Thunor; Gallic,Taranis; Irish,Toran; Anc. N.Thorr—as being more generally struck by lightning than any other tree; and the acorn was called by the RomansJovis glans, the fruit of the supreme god.
"Quercus Jovi placuit."Phædrus,III. 17.
"Quercus Jovi placuit."
Phædrus,III. 17.
"Magna Jovis antiquo robore quercus."Virg.Georg.III. 332.
"Magna Jovis antiquo robore quercus."
Virg.Georg.III. 332.
At Dodona stood theδρῦς ὑψίκομος Διός.—Od.XIV. 327. Woods, groves, and trees were the temples and sacred emblems of the Deity among the greater part of the Pagans, but especially among the Teutonic and Celtic tribes. Maximus Tyrius, an author of the second century, informs us, concerning the worship of the Celts:
"Κελτοὶ σέβουσι μὲν Δία, ἄγαλμα δὲ Διὸς Κελτικὸν ὑψηλὴ δρῦς."
And Tacitus gives us the oldest testimonies concerning the Germans,Germ.9.:
"Ceterum, nec cohibere parietibus Deos, neque in ullam humani oris speciem assimulare, ex magnitudine cœlestium arbitrantur.Lucos ac nemora consecrant, Deorumque nominibus appellant secretum illud, quod sola reverentia vident."
Vid.Germ.39. cap. 40. cap. 43., &c.
Also, a passage of the later Claudian is to the same purpose:
Ut procul Hercyniæ per vasta silentia silvæVenari tuto liceat, lucosque vetustaReligione truces, etrobora Numinis instarBarbarici, nostræ feriant impune bipennes.Cons. Stilich.I. 288.
Ut procul Hercyniæ per vasta silentia silvæ
Venari tuto liceat, lucosque vetusta
Religione truces, etrobora Numinis instar
Barbarici, nostræ feriant impune bipennes.
Cons. Stilich.I. 288.
From these passages it will be seen that the gods dwelt in these groves, and that sacred vessels and altars were placed there, but no images; neither were temples erected.[2]The practice of worshipping the gods in woods and trees continued for many centuries, till the introduction of Christianity (Vid. Willibald,A.D.786,in Vita Bonifacii), and the converters did not disdain to adopt every means to raise Christian cultus to higher authority than that of Paganism, by acting upon the senses of the heathen,e.g.using white robes for those baptized, lighting of candles, burning of incense, &c.; and they erected the Christian churches, for the most part, upon the site of Pagantreeor temple; Sulp.Severus(ed. Amst. 1665), p. 485.:
"Nam ubi fana destruxerat (Martinus),statim ibi aut ecclesias aut monasteria construebat."
Dietm.V. Merseb., 7. 52., p. 859.:
"Fana idolorum destruens incendit, et mare dæmonibus cultum inmissis quatuor lapidibus, sacro Chrismate perunctis et aqua purgans benedicta, novam Domino ... plantationem eduxit."
[2]BrissoniusDe Regno Pers.II.28.: "Persæ diis suis nulla templa vel altaria constituunt, nulla simulacra."
The heathen gods were represented as impotent, in opposition to the true God, though not as powerless in themselves, and were converted into inimical evil powers, which must submit, but could nevertheless exercise a certain hurtful influence.
Some heathen traditions and superstitions remained, their names only being altered into those of Christ, Maria, and the saints. In this manner they spared the assuefactions of the people, and made them believe that the sacredness of the place was not lost, but henceforth depended on the presence of the true God.
The above facts will perhaps sufficiently explain the origin of the Gospel Oak.
PROFESSORTHEODOREGOEDES.
Hampden House, Reading.
There is a tree called by this name a few miles from Winchester, in the parish of Tichborne or Cheriton,—Ithinkthe latter, but have no means of ascertaining at the present moment. Mention of it is made in Duthy'sSketches of Hampshire.
L. G.
The case related by MR. GATTYis interesting, but requires sifting. Perhaps he will be goodenough to do it, or to put me on the trail. As the energetic sister may be a reader of "N. & Q.," I do not wish to annoy her by printing the forger's name, but I shall be glad to have the place and date of the conviction.
About twenty years ago, the rule of hanging for forgery was broken in the case of Fry, a school-master, who was sentenced to death without any hope of mercy, and not reprieved till he had heard the "condemned sermon"—I think, not till the day before that which was fixed for his execution. He showed great fear; rolled upon the chapel floor, and delivered to the sheriffs a well-written protest against the right to inflict capital punishment. His being spared caused much surprise; and between that event and the abolition of the punishment of death for forgery, few, if any, were executed for that crime.
The sister, falling, at the feet of Baron G——, who "was notorious for his unflinching obduracy," is a melo-dramatic event which, I think, would have found its way to the newspapers. But the most extraordinary thing is the conclusion:
"The forger was placed in the hulks prior to transportation; and before this took place he had forged a pass or order from the Home Secretary's office for his own liberation, which procured his release, and he was never afterwards heard of."
Letters to convicts in the hulks are opened by the officers before being delivered to the prisoners. It is not usual for the Home Secretary to write to a convict enclosing "a pass or order." On the contrary, a pardon is attended with a good number of formalities, and without one I do not think that any convict would have been allowed to quit the vessel. In that class of prisoners, leave of absence on parole, or a "day rule," would have been something peculiar enough to make the turnkey ask, "Where did you get this?" In short, a convict who made his escape as described must be as extraordinary a person as the strong American, who could sit in a basket and lift himself upon a table by the handles.
"She returned to the city at which the assizes had been held just as they were concluded. The two judges were in the act of descending the cathedral nave, after partaking of the Holy Sacrament, when," &c.
It is usual for the judges to attend divine service on the commission-day if they arrive soon enough, or the day after if they do not. If a Sunday occur during the sitting of the commission, they also attend; but I never knew, and on inquiring I cannot hear, that they ever so attended at the close of the assizes, when they are always glad to get on to the next town, if the circuit is not concluded, and away altogether if it is.
H. B. C.
U. U. Club.
Allow me to call upon your correspondent I. J. H. H., who dates from St. Asaph, to explain what he means by a Lordship Marcher; and what proof he possesses that his friend Mr. Lloyd is the "only Lord Marcher now extant in the kingdom?" The most authentic single record which we possess of the number, names, and situation of these lordships is the statute 27 Hen. VIII. ch. 26. The writs issued to the Lords Marchers, at various times before that statute, would perhaps furnish materials for a more exact enumeration of them; but the above Act was unquestionably intended to include all of them; and the only reason why the information conveyed by it is not complete is, that some of the names specified in it may perhaps be those of townships, or other districts within, or parcel of, some Lordship Marcher, and that other lordships seem to be comprehended under a general description, such as "all lordships lying between Chepstow Bridge and Gloucestershire." Hence, the number of real Lordships Marchers may,perhaps, be fewer or more than are there mentioned. Herbert, in hisHistory of Henry VIII., says that there were 141 Lordships Marchers. (Kennett'sCompl. Hist., vol. ii. p. 189.)
The lordship of Kemes is not, I think, specified in the Act; but I presume that it is comprehended within some of the descriptions of lordships in it. Probably it is included in sect. 16. In old writs of summons to attend the King in his wars, Kemes is associated with Dyvett or with Llandovery.
The statute referred to did, in fact, extinguish the most characteristic privileges of a Lordship Marcher, and reduced it nearly to the level of an ordinary lordship, with such royalties only as have often been granted, and are still enjoyed, by Lords of Manors, or honours in other parts of England and Wales. The franchises left to them are enumerated in sections 25. and 30., explained by the later statute 1 & 2 Phil. & Mary, ch. 15. The palatine jurisdiction which they once possessed, and the exemption from ordinary process, exist no longer; and the various local customs prevailing in each lordship, which were repugnant to the common law of England, must have been almost wholly abolished by the operation of that Act. The lordships themselves remain in name, and in little more than in name.
Hence I am afraid that I. J. H. H.'s friend must be prepared to surrender the distinction of being the sole surviving Lord Marcher. In the strict and original sense of the term, there is now no such lordship in existence. In the sense in which alone the title can now be assumed, he shares the honour with many others; among others, with the Duke of Beaufort, who holds the very extensive and important Marcher Seignory of Gower and Kilvey.
Probably the number of private lordships of this kind is not now great; for, at the passing of the above statute, the majority were in the Crown; and if any have since been re-granted, it is most likely that their franchises and tenure would be so modified as to leave no vestige of the Marcher privileges in them.
The statement of your correspondent suggests to me another doubt. How could any Lordship Marcher be "erected by Martin of Tours?" Every such lordship must be of the creation of the Crown, either shown or presumed. The date of the establishment of these marcherships is so ancient that, perhaps, no one may have actually seen any document to prove them but charters of confirmation and inquisitions post-mortem; still thelawrefers their origin to specific Crown grants, and not to the act or authority of a mere subject. If, therefore, Martin, who was a tenant in capite of the Crown, founded the lordship of Kemes, he must have done—as the military invaders of Ireland in a subsequent reign did—conquered the territory with his own arms, and obtained palatine jurisdiction over it, with the assent and by the authority of the King.
Let me add, that the MS. treatise in the Harleian Collection (referred toante, p. 135.) is printed in Pennant'sWales, and, more correctly, in vol. ii. of theTransactions of the Cymmrodorion Society. It is much to be lamented that the treatise on the Lordships Marchers, bequeathed by Sir Matthew Hale to the Society of Lincoln's Inn, is not to be found in that library. If the work was composed by that eminent judge himself, it must be one of the highest value and authority. Does any one possess it, or a copy of it?
E. SMIRKE.
"Can any of your readers inform me of any traces of the doctrine of the resurrection before the Christian era?" I shall endeavour as briefly as possible to do justice to this important subject by giving extracts from, and references to, various authors, especially Hody in his workThe Resurrection of the (Same) Body Asserted from the Traditions of the Heathens, &c.The arguments derived from this source are as follow:—
1. "The gross notions of the heathens concerning the soul in its state of separation, that it has all the same parts as the body has."
Confer Farmer on theWorship of Human Spirits in the Ancient Heathen Nations, p. 419.et seq.;Æschyli Persæ, v. 616.; and Blomfield's note;Nicolaus de Sepulchris Hebræorum, &c., cap. ix. and xiv.
2. "Their opinion concerning the transmigration of souls." Confer VossiiIdololat., lib. i. c. x.
3. "Their opinion concerning the duration of the soul as long as the body lasted, and its adherence to the body after death," v. Cicero,Tuscul. Quæst., lib. i.;Lucret., lib. iii. Concerning the opinion of the Egyptians, v.Greenham on Embalming.
4. "The belief that some men have ascended up into heaven in their bodies, there to remain for ever," v. Hody.
5. "That others have done so even after death upon a re-union of their souls and bodies." (H.) "There were not only certain persons under the law and among the Jews who were raised to life; but there were also histories among the Gentiles of several who rose the third day; and Plato mentioneth another who revived the twelfth day after death,Plato de Rep., lib. x.;Plin.lib. vii. 52., "De his qui elati revixerunt;"Philostrat.lib. iii. c. xiii."—Pearson on the Creed.There are histories of this description inBonifacii Hist. Ludiceæ, p. 561.et seq.
6. "The opinion of the Pythagoreans and Platonists, &c., concerning the restitution of our bodies, and of all other things in the world to their former state, after the revolution of many ages, by a new birth or production." On the Platonic year confer Gale'sCourt of the Gentiles, book iii. c. 7.; on the Phœnix cycle of the Egyptians, Rev. Edw. Greswell'sFasti Catholici and Origines Calendariæ. By some this restitution is considered as merely astronomical,v.Costard'sHist. of Astronomy, p. 131. "The opinion of some of the Genethliacal writers, that the soul returns and is united to the same body in the space of 440 years."—Varro ap Aug. de Civit.xxii. 28.; Jackson'sWorks, vol. iii. p. 424. "The opinion of the Stoics concerning the reproduction of all the same men, &c., after the general conflagration," v.Eusebii Praep. Evang., lib. xv.;M. Antonin. Imp., lib. xi. The resurrection was asserted by the Persian Magi, the Indian Brachmans, and other philosophers both oriental and western. "Thus we have demonstrated what evident notices the heathens had of the last conflagration, with the ensuing judgment, and man's immortal state; and all from sacred oracles and traditions."—Gale,ut suprà.
BIBLIOTHECAR. CHETHAM.
A Query has been put respecting a clergyman marrying himself. Such a thing did once occur in the case of the Rev. J. D. T. M. F——g, curate of the parish of S——n M——t, Somersetshire. The parish register informs us that—
"On three several Sundays, namely, on the 22nd and 29th days of July, and the 5th August in the year1787, banns of marriage were published in the parish church between J. D. T. M. F——g and H. V. B——t; and after the third publication, no impediment being alleged, the said J. D. T. M. F——g and H. V. B——t wereimmediatelymarried in the face of the congregation, on the 5th of August, 1787, by J——n F——g curate."
The parties' names are appended to the form "This marriage was solemnised between us;" and then follows, "in the presence of" two witnesses who signed their names, one of them being the "clark," as he spelt the word. The event occurred "on a Sacrament Sunday." An aged parishioner, who was about seventy-four or seventy-five years of age when my informant wrote, perfectly remembered the ceremony; and added, that previously to Mr. F.'s return from the Lord's Table to the reading desk, in order to continue the service, from the Second Lesson, he exchanged a kiss with his blushing bride! It appears that, owing to several persons having disputed thevalidityof this marriage, the said parties were re-married by the Rev. W. N——s, officiating minister, on the 9th October in the same year.
I have heard that Mr. F. was always regarded as an eccentric man, if not deranged. I think I have heard that the bride was a milk girl, with whom the reverend gentleman fell in love because "she reminded him of his first love!" The marriage was decidedly opposed by his relatives and friends, which led to the above-mentioned singular occurrence. I believe, before performing the ceremony himself, Mr. F. publicly inquired "whether there was any one provided to marry him?" As there was not, he proceeded to the performance of the ceremony himself.
I have heard also of some such case of a clergyman marrying himself in Ireland. But the marriage was, I believe, pronounced null and void, and the clergyman deposed from the ministry.
Connected with this subject, I would relate another circumstance related to me as a fact by a clergyman, now a surrogate, who for very many years was curate of the parish adjoining that in which it occurred. He related it to justify and to explain his own somewhat unusual practice of using thesurnamesas well as Christian names of the parties throughout the Marriage Service, saying that in the parish of B——y, Gloucestershire, the not doing so led to thewrong couple being married, owing to the stupidity of the parties and their friends! The rector, Rev. Mr. M——d, on discovering the mistake, formally pronounced the whole proceeding null and void, and then married the right couple!
A correspondent lately inquired whether a person could be buried in a garden! In N——h, Gloucestershire, such a thing occurred about sixteen years ago. An eccentric old gentleman built a kind of summer-house in his garden, and prepared his own tomb in it, and was there buried according to his directions. I rather think the funeral service was read, under the express sanction of the bishop, by the rector of an adjoining parish, who was a friend of the deceased.
E. W. D.
—I can hardly suppose that MR. H. DIXONcan have made any progress in his inquiries as to Algernon Sydney, without having met with the "authorities" mentioned by your correspondent C. E. D.; and yet it is certainly strange that, if MR. DIXONhad seen these authorities, he could have called Sydney "anillustrious patriot." It may be therefore as well to state that the specific evidence which destroys Sydney's claim to the title not merely of an "illustrious patriot," but even ofan honest man, and shows him to have been a corrupt traitor of the worst class, is to be found in the Appendix to Sir John Dalrymple'sMemoirs, vol. i. pp. 339. 386. (8vo edit. 1790), where are transcribed the secret despatches of the French ambassador, Barillon, to Louis XIV., detailing thebribesby which he engaged Algernon Sydney to that factious and traitorous opposition which had, for a hundred years prior to Dalrymple's publication, passed off forpatriotism. I shall be very curious indeed to see what light MR. H. DIXONmay be able to throw on this curious and infamous case; of which the best that even Mr. Macaulay can say is, that Barillon'slouis d'orswere "a temptation which conquered the virtue and the pride of Algernon Sydney."—History of England, vol. i. p. 228.
C.
—It may be doubted whether Mr. Faber will thank J. R. R. for republishing his absurd blunder. It must not, however, be allowed to gain a settlement in "N. & Q.," or to pass for a real explanation, while it is in reality one of the most unfortunate "cock-and-bull" stories that ever was invented. The truth is, that Reinerius, a writer of the Middle Ages, lays it to the charge of the Waldenses that they did not hold the traditions of the Church and, by way of instance, he specifies that they didnotbelieve (as, he took for granted, all his orthodox readersdid) that the cock on the church steeple was symbolical of a doctor or teacher. Reinerius did not think of adding a word of explanation about its overlooking the parish from its elevated position, or of its prescriptive right from the days of St. Peter to do a pastor's office by reminding men of the duty of repentance, or of any of the things which writers on symbolism had said, or might say. He nakedly states, "Item, mysticum sensum in divinis scripturis refutant: præcipue in dictis et actis ab Ecclesia traditis: ut quod gallus super campanile significat Doctorem."Mr. Faber, who was somewhat out of his way in dealing with the thoughts and language of mediæval writers, catching a sight of this passage, blundered between abelland abelfry, putcampanumforcampanile, and thus got an idea of a "cock-on-a-bell," and that this symbol meant a doctor. Whereupon it occurred to him to set the world right with the wonderful discovery which J. R. R. has revived for the amusement of your readers.
S. R. MAITLAND.
—In the seventeenth century there were four professors of philosophy in every university in Scotland. Thomas Crawford was one of the professors in the University of Edinburgh from 1640 to 1662.
Thomas Crawford, educated at St. Leonard's College, St. Andrew's, graduated A.M. 1621. Succeeded Mr. Samuel Rutherford as Professor of Humanity in the University of Edinburgh, 1625. Appointed Rector of the High School of Edinburgh in 1630. Elected Professor of Philosophy (or Regent) in the University of Edinburgh, 1640, and continued in that office till his death, in 1662.
He was the author ofA Short History of the University of Edinburgh, from 1582 to 1646, first printed in 1808; and ofNotes and Observations on G. Buchanan's History of Scotland: Edinb. 1708, 8vo. pp. 187.
Both these posthumous publications are very meagre.
J. L.
Coll. Edinburgh.
—In the church of Abbey Dore, Herefordshire, is the following inscription on a slab in the floor:—
"In memory of Elizabeth, yeDaughter of Thomas Lewis, who departed this life the 31stday of May, 1715, aged 141 years."
I was assured that the age of the deceased, as here stated, is confirmed by the parish register.
W. J. BERNHARDSMITH.
Temple.
—Perhaps the following tract is one of those about which S. G. inquires:
"The Huntyng and Fyndyng out of the Romish Fox: whiche more than seven yeares hath bene hyd among the Byshoppes of England, after that the Kynges Hyghnes Henry VIII. had commanded hym to be dryven out of hys Realme. Written by Wyllyam Turner, Doctour of Physicke, and formerly Fellow of Pembroke College in Cambridge. Basyl, 1543."
This tract has just been reprinted, with some curtailments and amendments, and with a short memoir of the author prefixed, by my friend, Robert Potts, Esq., M.A. Trin. Coll., Cam.; and was published by J. W. Parker, London. The copy from which this reprint has been made is in the library of Trinity College.
W. SPARROWSIMPSON, B.A.
—With the Editor of "N. & Q." I think the interpretation of "muck" for the old word used by Wyckliffe is "not satisfactory:" I therefore suggest another, perhaps equally questionable. Every rustic in grazing districts knows, that in the hot season of the year sheep are liable to be fearfully flyblown in their living flesh; and that the maggots thence resulting are calledmokes, or mawks. Is not the preacher's allusion in the text to certain shepherds, or rather sheep of Christ's flock, who, rather than give one of theirmokesto help one of their "needy brethren," will allow themselves to "perish" and "be taken of" these maggots? The term in question is, or was formerly, in provincial use as a metonym for lendiculosity in a figurative sense—a tetchy, whimsical individual, being said to be "maggoty,"vulgo,mokey. Lendix has not, however, in all cases been treated with abhorrence; for one of the elder Wesleys not only printed a book of rhymes with the title ofMaggots, but prefixed to it his portrait, with one of theseanimi impetu concitarirepresented as creeping on the forehead!
D.
—J. C. E. will find a very elaborate and interesting paper "On the Ice formed, under peculiar Circumstances, at the bottom of Running Waters," by the Rev. J. Farquharson, in thePhilosophical Transactions of the Royal Society for 1835, Part II. p. 329.
J. H.
Hallamshire.
—I beg to suggest to your correspondent J. M., that this nobleman was Richard Boyle, third Earl of Burlington, and fourth Earl of Cork, who had a passion for architecture, and was the architect of numerous buildings in the metropolis and other parts of the kingdom. He repaired Inigo Jones's church of St. Paul, Covent Garden. He built the front of Burlington House in Piccadilly; the dormitory at Westminster School; the Assembly Rooms at York; and several villas and mansions in various parts of the country, besides publishing some architectural works. Bishop Berkeley was introduced to him by Pope about the year 1722, and I believe derived some benefit from his patronage. His architectural pursuits are alluded to by Pope in the epistle on the use of riches, which was addressed to him.
G. R. J.
—Inquiry is made about one of our old English poets, who is said to have lived at the old house inWelling, where there is ahigh yew hedge.
I am the owner of the house referred to, and have lived here since 1811. I have never heard the report, but I think that it may have arisen from the fact, that about eighty years ago a MajorDenhampossessed the house. It is possible thathe may have been mistaken for his namesake,Denhamthe poet.
ESTE.
—In vol. i. p. 175. of theAnalecta Scotica(Edinburgh, 1834) will be found some curious "fragments relative to the office of Great Constable of Scotland," more particularly before it became heritable in the noble family of Erroll.
E. N.
—In answer to A. W. I beg to say that the iron plate was taken from the ruins of a cottage which was burnt down on the estate of Sir Henry Shiffner some time since; it formed the fire-back of the kitchen: the inscription was turned to the wall, and therefore not visible.
This inscription is a fac-simile of the iron plate placed to the memory of Ann Forster in the church of Crowhurst in Surrey, and it would appear that the founder cast several plates similar to that in Lewes Castle, which are known to exist and be used as fire-backs. See Brayley and Britton'sHistory of Surrey, vol. iv. p. 131., and note at foot of the same page.
WILLIAMFIGG.
Lewes.
The monumental (cast iron?) plate in Lewes castle, referred to by A. W., probably came from the church of Crowhurst in Surrey, where there are several monuments to members of the family of Gaynsford, and there were (in Sept. 1847, when I visited the building) more than one iron plate in the pavement with inscriptions of the exact character of that at Lewes, and with the letters similarly inverted and reversed. My impression is that I saw the memorial in question in the church; but I cannot now discover the notes I made on the subject at the time, nor a rubbing which I took of another iron plate of a more ornate though not less rude character. I remember, in passing within sight of the church on the Dover Railway, since 1847, to have noticed scaffolding about the tower; possibly the plate now at Lewes may have been removed at that time.
R. C. H.
The plate was presented to the Antiquarian Museum in Lewes Castle by Sir H. Shiffner, Bart., about two years ago, when he rescued it from a farm-house burnt down on his property near Lewes. It has been traced to a cottage where it previously served the same purpose as at the farm-house, as back to the fire-place; but no further record of its former history can be discovered. It is not unusual, however, to find monumental plates thus desecrated.
E. A. S.
—Allow me to suggest to your correspondent W. H. K. the possibility that the name in question may originally have been Ceolwoldsburh or Ceolweardesburh, i.e.the burghorcastle of CeolwoldorCeolweard, analogously with Brihthelmstûn, now contracted intoBrighton. The A.-S.cehas constantly been corrupted intoche.
D.
—The printer's account supplied by MR. BURTTdoes not relate, except possibly to a very trifling extent, to theBasilicon Doron; but it is evidently Robert Barker's bill, mainly in the matter of King James'sApologie for the Oath of Allegiance.
R. G.
—In an edition ofHudibrasof 1704 appears the following "annotation" to the line "As Friar Bacon's noddle was:"—
"The tradition of Friar Bacon and the Brazen-head is very commonly known, and considering the times he lived in, is not much more strange than what another great philosopher of his name has since deliver'd of a ring that, being ty'd in a string, and held like a pendulum in the middle of a silver bowl, will vibrate of itself, and tell exactly against the sides of the divining-cup the same thing with, Time is, Time was, &c."
I have tried this experiment with the ring, and find the oscillation takes place as described by AGMONDwith the shilling. If, however, the thread is tightly pressed between the finger and thumb, the vibration ceases. This latter circumstance appears to support AGMOND'S idea, that the motive power is due to the pulse, the circulation of the blood ceasing by pressure.
C. N. S.
—The places mentioned in the following lines are all within about four miles of each other in the county of Gloucester, and twenty years ago the adjectives exactly described the condition of the people; but the great civiliser, the steam-engine, has now taken away the force of the description; and although the first and third lines may be as true as ever, the second and fourth are not:—