I am not going to enter into the controversy respecting the antiquity of
the Highland kilt and tartans, nor when and where they were invented.
But in reference to these questions, I beg leave to cite a passage,
which may be found in the second book of the History of Tacitus, in
which is designated a garb having a very distinct analogy to the trews
and tartans of the Highland chiefs.
In lib. ii. sec. xx. the return of Cæcina from Germany into Italy is
thus described:—
"At Cæcina, velut relictâ post Alpes sævitiâ ac licentiâ, modesto
agmine per Italiam incessit. Ornatum ipsius, municipia et coloniæ
in superbiam trahebant, quod versicolore sagulo, bruccas tegmen
barbarum, indutus, togatos adloqueretur."
Cæcina and Valens had been the Imperial "Legati" in Upper Germany, and
the former is thus described in lib. i. sec. liii.:—
"At in superiore Germaniâ, Cæcina decorâ juventâ, corpore ingens,
animi immodicus, scito sermone, erecto incessu studia militum
inlexerat."
So it seems that this handsome Roman, "great in stature," and "graceful
in youth," thought (like many of our modern fine gentlemen when they get
among the hills) the partycoloured plaid and barbarian clothing so
extremely becoming, that he was determined to set the fashion of wearing
it in Italy, and actually was intrepid enough to appear like a male
Bloomer before the astonished eyes of the "Togati," and to answer the
addresses of the "Municipia" and "Coloniæ" clad in this outlandish
costume.
I leave to more learned antiquaries the task of tracing this Celtic
habit, "in superiore Germaniâ," into the Scottish Highlands. For myself
I have little doubt that from the earliest division of the community
into septs or clans, the chiefs assumed the pattern of this "tegmen
versicolor" which best pleased them, and in course of time the pattern
distinguished the wearers as belonging to such and such chiefs. As to
the kilt, in all probability it was the apology for nudity.
The chiefs wore the trews, the humbler vassals or serfs either wore no
nether garments at all, or covered their loins with a scanty apron,
which gradually comprising more ample folds, has been modernised into
the kilt.
But I beg leave to put forward these speculations with all possible
modesty, feeling quite inadequate to discuss such momentous matters from
being only
A BORDERER.
I have a memorandum (not dated) which states that M. Pradt, in his work
on Ancient and Modern Jesuitism, gives curious calculations on the
religious statistics of the world. The terrestrial globe, he estimates,
contains 670,000,000 inhabitants, who are thus divided:—
Protestants and their dependants
40,000,000
Of the Greek Church
36,000,000
Of these, China alone, according to the most probable accounts, contains
300,000,000.
An elaborate, valuable, and now, I believe, a scarce work, entitled The
Consumption of Public Wealth by the Clergy of every Christian Nation,
&c. (published by Effingham Wilson in 1822), among details, founded on
authorities of repute, and which are named, gives for each nation,
"France," "Scotland" (its Kirk), "Spain," "Portuguese Church,"
"Hungarian Churches," "Clergy in Italy," "Clergy in Austria," "Clergy in
Prussia," "Clergy in Russia," "England and Wales," "Established Church
Property Ireland," &c. &c., the particulars required by Q. E. D. For
instance, under the heading "Hungarian Churches," we are preliminarily
told that—
"Hungary contains about 8,000,000 people of various religious
persuasions, who live happily together ever since the days of
that excellent Emperor Joseph II. He laboured resolutely and
successfully, in spite of the bigots of his own religion by whom
he was surrounded, to root out the evils of religious discord
from his dominions; and he left, as a glorious legacy to his
people, for which his memory will be ever dear, the blessings of
concord and harmony between his subjects of all
denominations."
It is then narrated that there are (in Hungary):
"Catholics, Latin and Greek
4,750,000
Unitarian Christians
46,000
Various small Christian Sects, and persons of the Jewish faith
200,000."
But this work contains no summary of the total amounts of its own
enumerations.
A HERMIT AT HAMPSTEAD.
Your correspondent J. H. M. remarks (Vol. iv., p. 69.): "In justice to
King George IV., the letter which he addressed to the late Earl of
Liverpool, on presenting the books to his own subjects, should be
printed in your columns." Heartily concurring in this opinion, I have
much pleasure in supplying your readers with a transcript of the same. I
copied it some years back from the original, then in the possession of a
noble friend:
"Dear Lord Liverpool,—The king, my late revered and excellent
father, having formed, during a long period of years, a most
valuable and extensive library, consisting of about one hundred
and twenty thousand volumes, I have resolved to present this
collection to the British nation. Whilst I have the satisfaction
by this means of advancing the literature of my country, I also
feel that I am paying a just tribute to the memory of a parent,
whose life was adorned with every public and private virtue. I
desire to add, that I have great pleasure, my lord, in making
this communication through you. Believe me, with great regard,
your sincere friend,
"G. R.
"Pavilion, Brighton, 15th of January, 1823."
EDWARD F.
RIMBAULT.
Your correspondent C. says, "the whole story of the projected sale to
Russia is absolutely unfounded." He seems to consider that, because the
Princess Lieven never heard a syllable about the matter, the whole story
was unfounded—that is, that when a part of a story is untrue the whole
must be untrue. What is really the truth I do not positively know; but
I will give you the story, as I heard it at the time, from one who had
good means of information. George IV. disliked the expense of keeping up
the Royal Library; he was also occasionally out of temper at the claims
made or insinuated by some members of the family, that as the library
had not been bequeathed, they had all an equal property in it. To get
rid of the expense and the claims he resolved to dispose of it, and said
something about this wish at his own dinner-table. This was, perhaps, in
the presence of the Russian ambassador, or some distinguished Russian,
or at least came to his ears; and he spoke to Lord Liverpool upon the
subject, expressing a desire to purchase. Lord L. immediately waited
upon the king, and remonstrated in the strongest terms against allowing
such a library collected by a king of England to be sent out of the
country; and went so far as to say that he would resign his office if
the measure was persisted in. The king then resolved to relieve himself
from all annoyance about the matter by presenting it to the nation. Such
I believe to be the outline of the truth: the minute details I did not
"make a Note" of at the time, and will not trust my memory to relate
them.
GRIFFIN.
In the subjoined account of some old patterns, I have, for the sake of
brevity, enclosed in brackets the descriptions of the several objects
represented, beginning with the highest and most distant. The words
enclosed within inverted commas are the inscriptions.
No. I.
[Two horsemen, with steel-caps, riding away at speed.]
[Crown.]
“PVRSV'D BY MEN. PRESERV'D BY GOD.”
[Crown.] [Crown.]
[Oak branches surrounding a head surmounted
with a low-crowned hat and flowing wig.]
I may mention that this bears the mark of an ancestor of its present
possessor, who was about forty years of age at the time of the
Restoration, and died in 1707.
No. II.
“SISTE SOL IN GIBEON ET LVNA IN VALLE IAALON.”
[Sun] “RIS” [Moon] “SEL.”
[Fortified town.]
[Mortars throwing shells into the town.]
[Tents and cannon.]
[Trophy] “EGENIVS.” [Trophy.]
[Equestrian figure holding a baton.]
Can any of your readers be so good as to explain the allusion of the
above ungainly and somewhat profane compliment to Prince Eugene?
No. III.
“STAD ANT
WERPEN.”
[City gate.]
[Water with ships.]
“DER HERTZOG VON MARLBORVK.”
[Equestrian figure in the proper costume, holding a baton.]
The above probably commemorates the surrender
of Antwerp to the
allied armies soon after the battle of Ramillies, May 27, 1706.
No. IV.
“CAROLVS KÖNIG IN SPANIGEN.”
[Equestrian figure.]
[Trophy of arms and banners.]
“MADRIED.”
[City and gates.]
[Batteries with cannon planted.]
I presume this must refer to the short-lived triumph of Charles
(afterwards Emperor of Germany), who was crowned King of Spain at Vienna
in 1703, and entered Madrid in 1706.
No. V.
[City.]
[River with boats.]
[Cannon and mortars.]
[Tents and halberdiers, and arms strewn about on the ground.]
“KÖNIG GEORGE.”
[Crown.] [Crown.]
[Harp.] [Harp.]
[Equestrian figure holding a sceptre.]
Will some one be so kind as to explain the meaning of this design?
I may mention that there is little doubt that this cloth, as well as the
others, belonged to the son of the gentleman before mentioned, and that
it is very unlikely that it ever belonged to the royal household. This
may perhaps affect the inference of your correspondent H. W. D. from the
inscription "Der König Georg II." (Vol. iii., p. 229.).
No. VI.
[A group of figures:—On the right an eastern
monarch standing, and in an attitude of command
towards a female figure on the left, who
is stooping down to put something into the
gaping mouth of a dragon, while with her left
hand she points towards the king. Behind the
woman are three men turning towards the king
in attitudes of entreaty.]
“BABYLON.”
[A man and woman kneeling down, with hands
raised as in supplication or astonishment.]
“DANIEL, XIIII.”
[A tree with two birds in it. In front of the tree
an angel flying downwards; and underneath, a
man in the same attitude, holding a vessel
shaped like a pitch-kettle in the left hand, and
what appears to be a small loaf or cake in the
right.]
All the above figures are in oriental costume. The date of this cloth
cannot be later than about 1720. In each case the pattern is repeated
in rows; the alternate rows being reversed so that on whichever side the
cloth is turned, half of the patterns have the inscriptions legible.
W. S. T.
The authority by which churchwardens paid for the destruction of vermin,
is by acts of parliament (8 Eliz. cap. 15. and 14 Eliz. cap. 11.), but
not AS churchwardens; and the payment for vermin out of the
church-rate is illegal: but they are ex officio appointed by the
statutes quoted, "with six other parishioners," as shown by FRANCISCUS,
Vol. iv., p. 389.
There can be no doubt, that in course of time this assessment got into
desuetude; that churchwardens, being the "distributors," they charged it
on the church-rate by way of simplifying the machinery. This, and
other duties of churchwardens and other parish officers, many of which
have become obsolete, may be seen in Lambard's Eirenarcha, or Office of
the Justice of the Peace, first published in 1581, which passed through
many editions from that date to 1637. The work is commended by
Blackstone as deserving the perusal of students.
With regard to the old names of vermin, Glead and Ringteal are
described by Osbaldiston, in his Dictionary of Recreation, as a sort
of kite; the latter with whitish feathers about the tail. Greas'-head
and Baggar he does not notice. May they not be provincialisms?
H. T. ELLACOMBE
Clyst St. George.
In further illustration of this Query, and of
J. EASTWOOD'S reply (p.
389.), may be quoted:—
"That the distributers of the provision for the destruction of
noysome foule and vermine being chosen, and having money [as
before shown by me, Vol. iv., p. 389.], shall give and pay the
same money so to them delivered, to every person that shall bring
to them any heades of old crowes, choughes, pies, or rookes,
taken within the several parishes, for the heads of every three
of them a peny; and for the heads of every sixe young crowes,
choughes, pyes, or rookes, taken, as is aforesaid, a peny; and
for every sixe egges of any of them unbroken, a peny; and
likewise for every twelve stares heades, a peny. All which said
heads and egges, the said distributers in some convenient place
shall keep, and shall every moneth at the least bring foorth the
same before the said churchwardens and taxors, or three of them,
and then and there to them shall make a true account in writing,
what money they have laid forth and paid for such heads and
egges, and for the heads of such other raveinous birds and
vermine, as are hereafter mentioned, that is to say:
- "For everie head of merton, haukes, fursekite,
moldkite, bussard, scag, carmerant, or ringtaile
iid
- For every two egges of them
id
- For every iron or ospraies heads
iiiid
- For the head of every woodwall, pie, jay, raven, or kite
id
- For the head of every bird which is called the kingsfisher
id
- For the head of every bulfinsh, or other birde that devoureth the
blouth of fruit
id
- For the heads of every foxe or gray
xiid
- For the head of every fichewe, polcat, wesell, stote, faire,
badger, or wildecat
id
- For the heads of every otter or hedghog
iid
- For the heads of every three rats or twelve mice
id
- For the heads of every moldwarpe or want,
an halfe-penie.
- "All which sayd heads and egges shall be foorthwith, after such
account made in the presence of the sayd churchwardens and
taxors, or of three of them, burned, consumed, or cut in
sunder.—Vid. 8 Eliz. c. 15.; 14 Eliz. c 11.; and 39 Eliz. c.
18."
FRANCISCUS.
Raleigh never visited Virginia. The numerous expeditions thither, set on
foot by him, and in which he had so large a concern as to cause them to
be called his voyages, no doubt gave rise to the popular error.
We first find Raleigh's name, in connexion with discovery in North
America, in 1579. In that year Sir Humphrey Gilbert, his stepbrother,
prevailed upon him to join in a projected voyage. The accounts of this
voyage are very scanty: all, I believe, that is known on the subject is
to be found in Hakluyt, vol. iii. p. 146., in the following words:
"Others failed of their promises contracted, and the greater
number were dispersed, leaving the Generall with few of his
assured friends, with whom he adventured to sea; where having
tasted of no lesse misfortune, he was shortly driven to retire
home with the losse of a tall ship, and (more to his grief) of a
valiant gentleman, Miles Morgan."
It will be observed that Raleigh's name is not mentioned, the "Generall"
being Gilbert. It appears, however, to be generally assumed by his
biographers that he did accompany this expedition in person. It may, at
all events, be predicated with tolerable certainty, that Raleigh was not
amongst those who deserted Sir Humphrey. Tytler adds the following
particulars, in his Life of Raleigh (Edinburgh, 1833), p. 27., on the
authority of Oldys's Life of Raleigh, pp. 28, 29.:
"On its homeward passage the small squadron of Gilbert was
dispersed and disabled by a Spanish fleet, and many of the
company were slain; but, perhaps owing to the disastrous issue of
the fight, it has been slightly noticed by the English
historians."
Schomburgk adds, in the Introduction to his reprint of Raleigh's
Guiana, published for the Hakluyt Society in 1848, also on the
authority of Oldys, that during the engagement "Raleigh was exposed to
great danger."
We may therefore assume that he did sail with Gilbert on this occasion.
There is no appearance, however, of the expedition having reached
America at all; and most certainly Virginia was not then visited.
The next voyage undertaken by Gilbert was in 1583. Raleigh took a great
interest in this expedition, and fitted out a barque of two hundred
tons, which bore his name; and although the "most puissant" vessel in
the fleet, it only ranked as "Vice-admirall." The "Delight, alias the
George, of burthen 120 tunnes, was Admirall, in which went the
Generall." They "began their voyage upon Tuesday, the eleventh day of
June, in the yere of our Lord 1583;" but "about midnight" of the 13th
June, "the Vice-admirall forsooke us, notwithstanding that we had the
winde east, faire, and good. But it was after credibly reported that
they were infected with a contagious sickness, and arrived greatly
distressed at Plimmouth.... Sure I am no cost was spared by their owner,
Master Raleigh, in setting them forth." So writes worthy Master Hayes,
who commanded the Golden Hinde, the "Rear-admirall" of the expedition.
It may be easily believed that Raleigh was not on board of the vessel
which belonged to him. Sir H. Gilbert, who was ignorant of the cause of
desertion, wrote thus to Sir George Peckham, after his arrival in
Newfoundland:—"On the 13th the bark Raleigh ran from me, in fair and
clear weather, having a large wind. I pray you solicit my brother
Raleigh to make them an example to all knaves." The subsequent history
of this disastrous expedition need not be dwelt upon. Gilbert reached
Newfoundland, but was lost in returning on board the Squirrel of ten
tons!
On the 25th March, 1584, Raleigh obtained letters patent from Queen
Elizabeth authorising him to establish a colony in North America, south
of Newfoundland. "The first voyage made" under this patent "to the
coasts of America" was "with two barks, wherein were Captains M. Philip
Amadas, and M. Arthur Barlowe, who discovered part of the countrey now
called Virginia, anno 1584:" the account of which voyage is stated to
have been "written by one of the said Captaines, and sent to Sir
Walter Raleigh, knight, at whose charge and direction the said voyage
was set forty"—Hak. vol. iii. p. 246.
The next voyage is called (p. 251.) "The voyage made by Sir Richard
Grenvill for Sir Walter Raleigh to Virginia, in the yeere 1585." Sir
Richard left a colony under the government of Master Ralph Lane. A list
of all the colonists, to the number of 107, "as well gentlemen as
others, that remained one whole yeere in Virginia," is given in Hakluyt,
at p. 254. The first name is Master Philip Amadas, Admirall of the
countrey;" the second is "Master Hariot." On the 10th June of next year
the colony was visited by Sir Francis Drake, with no less than
twenty-three
sail of vessels, "in his prosperous returne from the
sacking of Saint Domingo." Sir Francis gave the colonists, who had
suffered severely from "scarsity," the means of returning to England,
which they did, leaving Virginia on the 18th of June, and arriving at
Portsmouth on the 28th of July, 1586. Governor Lane was greatly blamed
for his precipitate desertion of the colony. Hariot wrote a description
of the country, which occupies fifteen folio pages of Hakluyt. Hallam
(in the passage quoted by
MR. BREEN) is correct in describing Hariot as
the companion of Raleigh; for that he was, and very much esteemed by
him: but he is wrong in making it appear that they were together in
Virginia.
In the meantime Raleigh at home was far from being forgetful of his
colonists, although they seemed so little inclined to depend upon him.
He got ready no less than four vessels: various delays, however,
occurred to retard their sailing; and Raleigh at last getting anxious
started off one of them as a "bark of aviso," or despatch boat, as it is
called in one of the old accounts. It arrived at the site of the colony
"immediately after the departing of our English colony out of this
paradise of the world;" and "after some time spent in seeking our colony
up in the countrey, and not [of course] finding them, it returned with
all the aforesaid provision into England." Thus Hakluyt, page 265., who
also states that it was "sent and set forth at the charges of Sir Walter
Raleigh and his direction;" expressions surely inconsistent with any
supposition that he was on board of this bark of aviso; and yet it would
appear, from the Introduction of Sir Robert Schomburgk, already referred
to, that this was the identical occasion on which Raleigh was
erroneously supposed to have visited Virginia. As what Sir Robert says
is very important, and bears very directly on the question, I quote his
words:
"It has been asserted by Theobald and others, that Sir Walter
Raleigh himself accompanied this vessel, which he sent for the
relief of the young colony; such may have been his intention, as
Captain Smith states in the first book of his General History of
Virginia; but we have so many proofs that Sir Walter did not
leave England in that year, that we are surprised that such an
erroneous statement has found credence up to the present day."
This is a strong opinion of Sir Robert, and if borne out by evidence,
would be conclusive; but in the first place, his reference to Smith's
Virginia is incorrect; and besides, Smith, for anything he relates
prior to 1606, is only secondary evidence. His book was published in
1624, and is reprinted in Pinkerton's Voyages (1812). On reference to
it there I can find no such intention attributed to Raleigh; and in
fact Smith's account is manifestly taken from Hakluyt (1599), who, it is
well known, had his information on these voyages chiefly from Raleigh
himself.[1] In the second place, it would have been well if Sir Robert
had mentioned some distinct proof that Raleigh was in England on some
one day that the vessel was absent, rather than generally stating that
he did not leave England during 1586. Unfortunately, there is a want of
precision as to the exact dates when the vessel left and returned to
England; enough is said, however, to fix upon the two months at least
from the 20th of May to the 20th of July as being embraced in the period
during which she was on her voyage. In Hakluyt it is stated that she did
not sail until "after Easter:" in 1586 Easter Sunday was, by my
calculation, on the 3rd April. The 20th of May is therefore a liberal
meaning to attach to the expression "after Easter." She arrived in
Virginia "immediately after" Drake sailed, on the 18th of June. Say then
that she even arrived on the 19th June; only spent one day in searching
for the colony; and took thirty days to go home; this would bring us to
the 20th July. It will be noticed that I narrow the time as much as
possible, to strengthen the evidence that would be gained by proving an
alibi for Sir Walter. If it can be shown that he was in England on any
day between the 20th May and the 20th July, the supposition that he went
on this occasion to Virginia must be given up as untenable. I have
therefore directed my inquiries to this point. In the sketch of the life
of George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, given in Lodge's Portraits, a
work certainly not of indisputable authority, but tolerably correct
notwithstanding, I find the following statement:
"His [Cumberland's] fleet consisted of three ships, and a
pinnace, the latter commanded by Sir Walter Raleigh.... It
sailed from Gravesend on the 26th of June, 1586; but was
repeatedly driven back by contrary winds, and could not finally
leave England till the end of August."
Now, if this were quite correct, it would be conclusive, that if Sir
Walter Raleigh sailed from Gravesend on the 26th June, he could not have
started from Virginia to return to England on the 20th of the same
month. I thought it well, however, to verify this statement of Mr.
Lodge, and had recourse to my old friend Hakluyt as usual. I there found
(vol. iii. pp. 769. et seq.) that on starting from Gravesend, there were
only two vessels called respectively the Red Dragon and the Clifford;
these vessels arrived at Plymouth on the 24th of July, and were there
detained by westerly winds until the 17th of August, when they—
"Then departed with another ship, also for our Rear-admirall,
called the Roe, whereof W. Hawes was Captaine; and a fine
pinnesse also, called the Dorothie, which was Sir Walter
Raleigh's."
It therefore follows, that the pinnace might have joined them
immediately before the 17th of August, a date too late for our purpose.
Nay more, the only authority for Mr. Lodge's statement, that the vessel
was commanded by Sir Walter, rests upon the words which I have put in
Italics; his name is not mentioned in the subsequent account of the
expedition, although, on the 7th of February, 1587, it was found
necessary to hold a council of war, at which no less than eighteen
officers assisted, all of whom, beginning with the admiral, are named.
Raleigh's name does not occur; and is it conceivable that he, if present
in the fleet, would have been absent on such an occasion? This therefore
affords one additional instance in which Raleigh was presumed to be
present merely because he fitted out a vessel. Being inconclusive as a
positive piece of evidence on the main question, my chief reason for
referring to it was to show how hastily some writers make assertions,
and how probable it is that "Theobald and others" went upon similar
grounds in their statement as to Raleigh's having visited Virginia. In
justice to Mr. Lodge, I must mention that the error into which he fell
with respect to Raleigh, in his sketch of the life of the Earl of
Cumberland, is not repeated in his biography of Raleigh, in which it may
be supposed he was more careful. Raleigh's having concerned himself
sometime in July or August in fitting out a vessel for Cumberland's
expedition, undoubtedly forms part of that chain of evidence alluded to
by Schomburgk, tending to prove his continued residence in England in
1586. I feel inclined, however, to search for positive evidence on the
point. In the very valuable collection of letters entitled the
Leicester Correspondence, published for the Camden Society in 1844, I
find his name occurring several times. On the 29th of March, 1586,
Raleigh writes "from the court" to the Earl of Leicester, at that time
in the Low Countries: he states that he had moved the Queen to send
Leicester some pioneers, and found her very willing; but that since, the
matter had been stayed, he knew not for what cause. He then goes on to
protest against certain rumours which had been afloat as to his having
been acting a treacherous part with the Queen against the Earl.
Leicester had been in some disgrace with her Majesty, and Raleigh in a
postscript says:
"The Queen is in very good tearms with yow, and, thanks be to
God, well pacified, and yow are agayne her 'sweet Robyn.'"
On the 1st of April the Queen herself writes to Leicester a letter,
which will repay perusal. And on the same day, Walsingham, at the
express instance of the Queen, signifies to Leicester that Rawley, "upon
her honor," had done Leicester good offices; and that, during the time
of her displeasure, he dealt as earnestly for him as any other of his
friends. All this shows Raleigh in high favour and standing at the
court; and it is most improbable that he could, at such a moment, absent
himself no less than three months from it. These letters appear to have
been unusually long in reaching Leicester; in the early part of April he
complains of not getting letters from the Queen, and on the 27th a great
many reached him all at once. On the 31st of May, Leicester writes to
Walsingham, and speaks of Rawley's pioneers; saying that he had written
to him saying that they were ready to come. This could not refer to
Raleigh's letter of 29th of March, because in it he states that the
matter had been stayed; it must refer to one of a later date, which does
not appear, but which was written, in all probability, some time on in
May; it could not have been in Leicester's possession on the 29th of
May, because on that day he writes to Walsingham, and mentions the same
subject; namely, his wish for a reinforcement of 1000 men, which led him
to speak of Rawley's pioneers on the 31st. With regard to the time it
took to communicate with Leicester, he was at the Hague on the 30th of
July, and on that day he knew of Drake's arrival at Portsmouth, stated
in Hakluyt's account of Drake's voyage to have taken place on the 28th;
although it is true, Governor Lane, who came home in the fleet, says the
27th of the same month. This was very speedy communication; but the
arrival of Drake, and the results of his enterprise, were looked for
with the utmost anxiety by the English ministry; and, no doubt, their
satisfaction on the subject was communicated to Leicester by a rapid
express. On the 9th of July we find Walsingham writing to Leicester:
"And lastly, that yt shall in no sorte be fyt for her Majestye to
take any resolutyon in the cause until Sir Francis Drake's
returne, at lest untyll the successe of his vyage be seene;
wheruppon, in verry trothe, dependethe the lyfe and death of the
cause according to man's judgment."
In a letter from Burleigh to Leicester, dated 20th of June, 1586, occurs
the following:
"In Irland all thynges are quiet, and a nombre of gentilmen of
Somersett, Devon, Dorcet, Cheshyre, and Lancashyre, are making
themselves to go to Monster, to plant two or three thousand
people, mere English, there this year."
In a note to this, Mr. Bruce, the editor, states, that Stow records the
names of the honourable and worshipful gentlemen who made the attempt to
colonise Munster, and names, amongst others, Sir Walter Raleigh. It was
on this occasion that
the poet Spenser got his grant of 3,028
acres in the county of Cork, which "is said to be dated June 27, 1586."
So the Rev. Mr. Mitford, in his life of Spenser, prefixed to the Aldine
edition of his poems (1839); and although he seems uncertain as to the
date, there can be no doubt but that it is correct. Now I think that
most people will agree with me in thinking that the whole of this,
Raleigh's movements so far as they can be traced, his position at court,
and the busy and stirring nature of the time, make it altogether
improbable that Raleigh was absent in the month of June, 1586, on a
voyage to Virginia. Hakluyt's not mentioning that he was in the vessel,
would of itself be convincing to my mind, knowing the extent of his
information on all subjects connected with Raleigh, and his minute and
painstaking accuracy. Knowing, however, that this was the voyage in
which Raleigh was stated to have visited Virginia, I have thought it
worth while to search for more positive evidence. How far I have
succeeded may be seen, but it is open to others to fix the fact of
Raleigh's having been in England within the time I have limited. As a
hint to go upon, I may mention that Babington's conspiracy was known to
the English ministry on the 9th of July, although the conspirators were
not apprehended until a month after; if Raleigh could be shown to have
had any share in the discovery of the plot, his presence in England in
the beginning of July, 1586, would be established beyond all doubt.
I have already been more than sufficiently tedious on the subject of the
voyage of this little bark; what I have brought forward however bears
more or less upon the question as to Raleigh having visited Virginia: I
am clearly of opinion that on this occasion he did not. I cannot
refrain, however, from adding a word or two of purely speculative
conjecture. There is something rather suspicious in Drake visiting
Virginia with the whole of his armament, and losing time in doing so,
when the whole nation, from the queen downwards, was on the very
tenter-hooks of anxiety for intelligence of him and of his success. The
question arises, was it a rendezvous? and did the "bark of aviso" bear
other and more important despatches than those addressed to Master Ralph
Lane? Might not its arrival a day or two earlier have directed Drake to
strike a blow at some defenceless but important part of the Spanish
empire, deadly in proportion to its being unexpected? These are
questions which I can in no wise answer, but they have arisen in my
mind; and if it were so, we might be fain to believe, in spite of
everything that I have been able to bring forward, that Raleigh was
indeed on board his gallant little bark, but that, the mark not having
been hit, the attempt was kept secret. It must not be forgotten that at
that time, with the exception of this little colony, England had not a
rood of land in the New World. However, I must remember that history
ought not to deal in conjecture.
About fourteen or fifteen days after the departure of the bark, Grenvill
made his appearance with the other three vessels. After making every
search he returned home, leaving fifteen men on the Island of Roanoke.
Subsequent expeditions found no traces of these men excepting the bones
of one of them. No one has ever asserted that Raleigh was on board of
this fleet.
Nothing daunted by these failures—
"In the yeere of our Lord 1587, Sir Walter Raleigh, intending to
persevere in the planting of his countrey of Virginia, prepared a
newe colonie of one hundred and fiftie men to be sent thither,
under the charge of John White, whom hee appointed Governour, and
also appointed unto him twelve assistants, unto whom he gave a
charter, and incorporated them by the name of the Governour and
Assistants of the Citie of Raleigh in Virginia."—Hak. Vol.
iii. p. 280.
This colony, owing to contentions with the natives and other causes, did
not thrive; and in August of the same year White was, much against his
wish, induced to return to England for assistance. He failed in his
first attempt to go back with aid. In 1593 he gives, at Hakluyt's
request, an account of a voyage he made thither in 1590, but which quite
failed in its object. The men with whom he embarked showed a greater
disposition towards buccaneering, than to assist him in his search for
the unfortunate colonists. He found traces of their having gone to the
Island of Croatan; but his associates would not prosecute the search,
and poor White, with a sad heart, was obliged to leave them, if they
even then survived, to their fate. From that day to this no intelligence
has ever been got as to what became of them. This voyage was made, if
not under Raleigh's auspices, at all events with his assistance. It has
been supposed by some that this voyage of White in 1590 was the last
attempt made by Raleigh to succour his colonists—he has even been
reproached with it. This, however, was not the case. At p. 1653. vol.
iv. of Purchas, a very brief account is given of a ship having been
purchased by Raleigh and sent out under the command of—
"Samuell Mace (a sufficient marriner who had been twice before at
Virginia), to fynd out those people which he had sent last
thither by Captain White in 1587."
The ill success of the previous attempts to communicate with the colony
seems to have been ascribed to the practice which prevailed in that day
of engaging seamen for the voyage with a share in the profits; this
Raleigh attempted to remedy by hiring "all the cumpanye for wages by the
month." I quote from Strachey's Virginia, printed by the Hakluyt
Society from an original MS., whose statement bears undoubted marks
of
being the original from which Purchas took his account, and
somewhat abridged it. In spite of Raleigh's precautions as to the
hiring, the people behaved ill, and—
"They returned, and brought no comfort or new accesse of hope
concerning the lives and safety of the unfortunate English
people, for which only they were sett forth, and the charg of
this employment was undertaken."
Here ends the history of Sir Walter Raleigh's connexion with Virginian
discovery and colonisation. A new company was at the moment in
contemplation, and it even despatched its first pioneer vessel in the
same month of 1602 as Raleigh did. Raleigh may have had, to a certain
extent, a selfish object in view. His patent of 1584 was conditional, as
regarded its continuance, on his planting a colony within six years; and
had he been able to have discovered any remains, however small, of the
colony of '87, he could have prevented interlopers. The nature of his
position also in England in March, 1602, may perhaps afford a clue to
his designs. At that moment his royal mistress lay on the bed of
sickness, dying by inches. The clouds were beginning to gather around
Raleigh's head. His star, which had been in the ascendant for more than
twenty years, was getting nigh its setting. Raleigh, a man of wisdom and
foresight, as well as conduct and action, knew all this. He knew what he
had to expect, and what he afterwards in fact experienced, from the new
king, to whom all eyes were turned. Is it not most likely that he looked
to Virginia as his haven of refuge, where, if he could maintain his
patent rights, he might have set his enemies at defiance? Had this
dream, if he entertained it, been realised, the twelve years'
imprisonment and the bloody scaffold on which his head fell, might have
been averted. This, however, was not to be;—the search, as already
mentioned, was fruitless, and the new company went on; and, finally,
under a fresh charter from James I., Virginia was again colonised in
1606, since which time its history and existence have been
uninterrupted. On Raleigh's return from his last expedition to Guiana in
1618, only a few months before his murder, he touched at Newfoundland,
being, as I verily believe, the only occasion on which he set his foot
in North America.
It may cause your readers to smile, and perhaps be a surprise to some of
them, when I conclude this long paper, written on the subject of
Raleigh's connexion with Virginia, by asserting that he never had any
connexion, direct or indirect, with it! All the colonies with which he
had to do were planted in North Carolina and the islands thereto
belonging. To have laid any stress upon this, or to have mentioned it
earlier than now, would have amounted to nothing but a play upon names.
The country called Virginia in Queen Elizabeth's reign, embraced not
only the state now so called, but also Maryland and the Carolinas.
Virginia Proper was in reality first planted by the company of 1606, who
fixed their settlement on the Chesapeake.
T. N.
Demerary, Oct. 1851.
—On p. 167. of the third volume of
"NOTES AND QUERIES,"
MR. STEPHENS, of Stockholm asks a question concerning the
Irish Airs of this distinguished musician. As a member of the Royal
Academy of Music in Stockholm, I feel more than ordinary pleasure in
answering the Query of your esteemed correspondent.
Edward Bunting was born at Armagh in 1773. He claimed descent from
Patrick Gruama O'Quin, who as killed in arms in July, 1642; and it was
to this origin that Bunting attributed his musical talents, as well as
certain strong Irish predilections, for which he was through life
remarkable. His first collection of Irish Airs was published in 1796;
his second in 1809; and his third, and last, in 1840. The first work
contains sixty-six native Irish airs never before published. The second
added seventy-five tunes to the original stock. This volume, like the
first, afforded a copious fund of new melodies, of which the
song-writers of the day eagerly and largely availed themselves. The
third and final collection consists of upwards of 150 melodies; "Of
these," the editor remarks in his Preface, "considerably more than 120
are now for the first time published, the remainder being sets much
superior to those already known." Bunting did not live to carry out his
plan of republishing his first two collections uniform with the third.
He died December 21, 1843, aged seventy. A copious memoir of him,
accompanied with a portrait, may be found in the Dublin University
Magazine, No. XLI., January, 1847.
EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.
—In Vol. iv., p. 207.
inquiry is made about the existence of colonies of Moors and others in
different parts of England: I was not aware of there being any such as
those he mentions, but as your correspondent wishes to know of any
others which may still exist, I can inform him that colonies of
Spaniards are known of in Mount's Bay and Torbay. The latter, from
having intermingled with the surrounding population, have not now, I
believe, much more than a traditionary Spanish descent; whilst the
former, on the contrary, have kept aloof, and are easily distinguished
from their marked Spanish features. This colony is planted at Mousehole;
and, according to their account, they have been settled there upwards of
three
centuries. Another account declares the original settlers
to have formed part of the Spanish Armada; and that after its defeat,
they made a descent on this part of the Cornish coast, drove out or
killed the former inhabitants and have ever since remained unmolested,
and in great measure distinct from the surrounding inhabitants. The
nature of the country in which they settled has, no doubt, proved
favourable to them in this respect, as the soil is barren and rocky,
with thinly scattered villages inhabited by a hardy race of fishermen.
H. L.
The settlement of a colony of Flemings in the lower part of
Pembrokeshire, called Rhos and Castle Martin, in the time of Henry I.,
was one of the subjects discussed at the meeting of the Cambrian
Archæological Association at Tenby in August last, where the subject was
fully debated, and the fact seemed established. A full report of this
discussion is contained in the October number of the Cambrian
Archæological Association, published by Pickering, London.
T. O. M.
—This publication is
attributed to the Rev. J. Thomas in a note to page 230. of the Cambrian
Plutarch, by the late J. Humphreys Parry.
T. O. M.
—There still is, I
believe, a district known by this name. In order to save the valuable
space in "NOTES AND QUERIES," I will merely refer E. N. W. for
information respecting it to the following works:
"A Perambulation of Kent; written in the yeere 1570 by William
Lambarde of Lincolnes Inn, Gent. Imprinted at London by Edm.
Bollisant, 1596."—Page 425.
This first I believe to be a somewhat scarce book.
"A Topographie or Survey of the County of Kent. By Richard
Kilburne, London, 1659."—Pp. 276, 277.
"Tunbridge Wells and its Neighbourhood. By Paul Amsinck, Esq.,
London, 1810."—Pp. 97-99.
There are incidental notices of Tunbridge Lowey in Hasteds History of
Kent. From the Parliamentary Gazetteer I extract the following (to
which my attention has been directed by a friend):—
"Tunbridge Lowey, a division in the Lathe of Aylesford, County of
Kent. Area, 20,660 acres; houses, 2,072; population in 1831,
12,233."
In 1841 the census returns for that district gave a population of
14,638.
There is also, I believe, another "Lowey," viz. that of Pevensey.
R. VINCENT.
—About five years since I saw in
the travelling library of an American lady a very good edition of
Praed's Poems, small 8vo. clear type, published (I believe) in the
States. The owner promised to send me a fac-simile of the work, on her
return to New York; but family bereavements and various painful
circumstances have arisen to banish the recollection of such a promise.
I have asked for the book in vain in London; but if your correspondent
K. S. is very anxious to procure a copy, I would suggest an order for
it, given through Chapman in the Strand, to whom Wiley and Putnam
appear to have transferred the American literary agency. I should think
the price would not exceed six or seven shillings.
YUNAF.
[This collection was published by Griswold of New York in 1844.
We saw a copy at Tupling's, No. 320. Strand, a few days since.]
—Some months ago
MR. J. P. COLLIER
made some inquiries respecting John à Kent, the Princess Sidanen, and
John à Cumber. Respecting the two latter I was enabled to furnish some
information; and since that I have fallen upon the traces of John à
Cumber. My inquiries have recently been directed to the scene of the
Battle of Cattraeth or Siggeston (Kirby Sigston); and I have
endeavoured, hitherto ineffectually, to find some good description of
the scenery of the North Riding of Yorkshire, and of the great plain of
Mowbray, which was probably the scene of the conflict described by
Aneurin, and which, I believe, includes both Catterick and Sigston. It
was in that country that I found John à Cumber, who is most probably the
person described in the following extract:—
"Thirsk.—In the reign of Henry VII. an insurrection broke out
here, in consequence of an obnoxious tax. This was a subsidy
granted by the parliament to the king, to enable him to carry on
the war in Brittany against the French. The Earl of
Northumberland had signified at an assembly, that the king would
not remit any part of the tax, though the northern people had
besought it; when they, taking the earl to be the cause of the
answer, fell upon, and slew him, together with several of his
servants, at the instigation of one John à Chamber. They then
placed themselves under a leader, Sir John Egremond, who, on
being defeated by the Earl of Surrey, fled into Burgundy. John à
Chamber and some others were taken, and executed at York."—A
Picturesque Tour in Yorkshire and Derbyshire, by the late Edward
Dayes, London, 1825, pp. 147-8.
Dayes gives no authorities;[2] but this may afford a clue to further
discoveries.
T. STEPHENS.
Merthyr, Nov. 21. 1851.
—MR. W. S. GIBSON will find further particulars of the offence
and punishment of this prince in a paper by Mr. Blaauw on the recently
discovered letters of Prince Edward, which is published in the second
volume of the Sussex Archæological Collections. The offence appears to
have been committed in May or June, 1305, and the minister was, as has
been stated, Walter de Langton, Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry, the
king's Treasurer, but in the letters called Bishop of Chester; a seeming
discrepancy arising from the fact that the Bishops of Lichfield and
Coventry were not unfrequently called Bishops of Chester at that period,
which was two centuries before the present see of Chester was created.
W. S. W.
Middle Temple.
It may be as well to add a note to your two communications from
MR. JOSEPH BURTT and R. S. V. P., that the Bishop of Chester, named by the
former, is one and the same person with the Bishop of Lichfield and
Coventry, named by the latter, as suggested by
MR. FOSS; the two
bishoprics being identical, and almost as often called by one title as
by the other.
P. P. C.
—The first edition I
believe to have been "The Mother's Legacie to her Vnborne Childe, by
Elizabeth Iocelin, London. Printed by Iohn Hauiland, for William Barret,
1624." pp. 114. + title, approbation and epistle dedicatorie (40).
Henry Jocelyn, a younger son of Sir Thomas Jocelyn, who died 4 Eliz.,
married Anne, daughter and heir of Humphry Torrell, Esq., of Torrell's
Hall, Essex, by whom he had Sir Thomas Jocelyn, Knt., and other sons;
one of whom I suspect to have been the Tourell Jocelin, husband to Eliz.
Jocelin, the authoress of this excellent little tract.
P. B.
—The four remarkable bronze
tables, respecting which E. N. W. inquires, formerly stood under the
piazza of the "Tolzey," or "Counter," in Bristol; the place where the
merchants transacted business. On the opening of the Exchange in 1743,
they were removed, and fixed in front of that building, where they now
stand. It appears that they were presented to the city at different
times, and by different persons. On a garter, beneath the surface of one
of them, is the following inscription:—
"Thomas Hobson of Bristol made me, anno 1625. Nicholas Crisp of
London gave me to this honourable city in remembrance of God's
mercy in anno domini 1625. N. C."
On a ring round the surface is this inscription:
"Praise the Lord, O my soul! and forget not all his benefits. He
saved my life from destruction, and ... to his mercy and
loving-kindness. Praise...."
On a ring round the surface of the second is the following:
"A.D. 1631. This is the gift of Mr. White of Bristoll, Merchant,
brother unto Dr. Thomas White, a famous benefactor to this
citie."
On the garter round the exterior is this inscription:
"The church of the Living God is the pillar and ground of the
truth. So was the work of the pillars finished."
The third table has the following words round the surface:
"This Post is the gift of Master Robert Kitchen, Merchant, some
time Maior and Alderman of this city, who deceased Sep. 1. 1594."
On the ring below the surface:
"His Executors were fower of his servants. John Barker, Mathew
Howil, and Abell Kitchin, Aldermen of this city, and John
Rowborow, Sherif. 1630."
Six lines in verse, and a shield with armorial bearings, formerly
appeared as the centre of this table; but they are now obliterated.
The fourth table, which is supposed to be the oldest, has no
inscription.
These curious round tables, on which the merchants of this ancient city
formerly made their payments, and wrote their letters, &c., are now used
by the newsmen, who here sell the daily journals, &c. In times of
popular excitement, they have been sometimes used as pedestals, whence
mob-orators, and candidates for parliamentary honours, have harangued
the populace.
J. R. W.
—There is a
hundred in Norfolk called Grimeshoe or Grimeshow, of which Blomefield,
in his History, vol. ii. p. 148., says:
"It most probably derives its name from Grime and hoo, a
hilly champaign country. This Grime was (as I take it) some
considerable leader or general, probably of the Danes, in this
quarter; and if he was not the præsitus comitatus, or
vicecomes, that is, the shire reeve or sheriff, he was
undoubtedly the Centuriæ præpositus, that is, the
hundred-greeve; and, as such, gave the name to it, which it
retains to this day."
Near this is a curious Danish encampment, with a number of pits and
tumuli, called Grime's Graves, from the aforementioned Grime. These
are about two miles east of the village of Weeting, on a rising ground.
On the west side of the village is a bank and ditch, extending several
miles, called the Fen-dyke or Foss. The encampment contains about two
acres, and is of a semicircular form. There are numerous deep pits dug
within it in the quincunx form, and capable of concealing a large army.
There are also several tumuli, one in particular of a long shape. The
usual opinion respecting these remains is, that it was the seat of great
military operations between the Saxons and Danes.
E. S. TAYLOR.
—With regard to the
derivation of Æra (or Era). I have
always been accustomed to
explain the derivation of Æra or Era thus:—that it is a term
transferred from the [brazen] tablets, on which the records of events
were noted, to the events themselves, and thence to the computum, or
fixed chronological point from which the reckoning proceeds.
My difficulty here has been to find sufficient instances of the use of
brass in ancient times for these purposes. Brass was the material on
which laws, &c. were commonly registered: but the fasti at present
discovered, as far as I can learn, are engraven on marble; as, for
instance, the Fasti Capitolini, discovered in the Roman Forum in 1547,
and the fragments afterwards brought to light in 1817, 1818.
Isidore of Hispola, in the eighth century, in his Origines, gives this
derivation:
"Æra singulorum annorum constituta est a Cæsare Augusto, quando
primum censum exegit. Dicta autem Æra ex eo, quod omnis orbis æs
reddere professus est reipublicæ."
I quote on the authority of Facciolati, who adds that others derive the
word from the letters A.ER.A., "annus erat Augusti." These are not at
all satisfactory; and I shall be glad if you will allow me to throw in
my derivation as "being worth what it will fetch."
THEOPHYLACT.
Koch says, in note 5 to the Introduction of his Revolution of Europe,
that "æra" is derived from the initials of the phrase "Anno erat
regnante Augusto;" and was first used among the Spaniards, who dated
from the renewal of the second triumvirate even down to the fourteenth
or fifteenth centuries.
HD.
—C. H. asks whether it
be true that hound loses his scent—
"If he fele swetness of þe flouris."
A few years ago a master of fox-hounds in the New Forest excused some
bad sport in March thus "The hounds can't hunt for those d—d stinking
violets!" rather to the amusement of some of his field.
G. N.
—A SUBSCRIBER seems to
imply that the Monk and Cromwell families intermarried. In Chauncy's
Hertfordshire, vol. i. p. 582. of the new edition, but which was
originally printed in 1700, it is stated, that the well-known manor of
Theobalds was granted by Charles II. to the great Monk in tail male; on
the death of his son, Duke Christopher, it reverted to the crown; and
that King William, by letters patent of the 4th of April, 1689, gave it
to William Bentinck, who was created Earl of Portland. It must have come
therefore, to the Cromwells by intermarriage either with Bentinck,
which, I believe, was not the case, or with some subsequent purchasers
of the manor. Theobalds originally belonged to Sir Robert Cecil, of whom
James I. obtained it in exchange for Hatfield. It was given as reward
for restoring the Stuarts to Monk, and to Bentinck for assisting again
to expel them.
J. H. L.
—For the
information of your correspondent Γ. I send the following,
which I believe to be the original authority for the above saying. It is
taken from the celebrated work of Horne Tooke's, entitled Diversions of
Purley, which, though highly interesting as a treasury of philological
information, contains this among other absurd attempts to base moral
conclusions on the foundation of etymology:—
"Truth is the third person singular of the indicative trow.
It was formerly written troweth, trowth, trouth, and
troth. And it means (aliquid, anything, something) that which
one troweth, i.e. thinketh, or firmly believeth."
Dugald Stewart, in his Philosophical Essays, justly observes regarding
the principle involved in such speculations, that "if it were admitted
as sound, it would completely undermine the foundations both of logic
and of ethics."
TYRO.
Dublin.
—In reply to a question you
attribute the famous saying concerning the murder of the Duc D'Enghien
to Talleyrand.
If you will refer to p. 266. vol. i. of Fouché's Memoirs, 2nd edition,
1825, C. Knight, you will find that he claims the saying to himself:
"I was not the person who hesitated to express himself with the
least restraint respecting the violence against the rights of
nations and of humanity. 'It is more than a crime, it is a
political fault.' I said words which I record, because they have
been repeated and attributed to others."
J. W.
Walsall.
In matters of rumour different people hear different things. I never
heard the words "c'estoit pire qu'un crime, c'estoit une faute,"
ascribed to any one but Fouché of Nantes. I have understood that the
late Prince of Condé would not hold any intercourse with the Prince de
Talleyrand, or with the Court when he was present officiating as Grand
Chamberlain of France, owing to his full conviction of that minister's
privity to the murder of his son. But how is that consistent with
Talleyrand's more than condemning, and even ridiculing the action?
A. N.
—Merely as matter of
information, permit me to refer your correspondent A. A. D. to the notes
of Glareanus and Drakenborch on the first lines
of Livy's
preface, and to the "variorum" commentators on the first line of
Tacitus' Annals ("Urbem Romanam ad principio reges habuere"), for a
collection of examples of the occurrence of verse in prose compositions.
THEODORE ALOIS BUCKLEY.
—Probably the
melodramatic spectacle mentioned by
MR. HASKINS was derived from a
Spanish book, of which I possess an English translation, bearing the
following title:—
"A Relation of the First Voyages and Discoveries made by the
Spaniards in America, with an Account of their unparalleled
Cruelties on the Indians, in the destruction of above Forty
Millions of People. Together with the Propositions offered to the
King of Spain, to prevent the further ruin of the West Indies. By
Don Bartholomew de las Casas, Bishop of Chiapa, who was an
Eye-witness of their Cruelties. Illustrated with Cuts. London,
printed for Daniel Brown at the Black Swan and Bible without
Temple Bar, and Andrew Bell at the Cross Keys and Bible in
Cornhill, near Stocks Market, 1699." 8vo. pp. 248.
The "cuts" are twenty-two in number, on two fly-sheets, and represent
torturing death in the most horrible variety.
A MS. note on a fly-leaf, in the handwriting of Mr. Bowdler of Bath,
says, "This book is taken out of the fourth part of Purchas's
Pilgrims, fol. 1569."
E. WARING.
Hotwells, Clifton.
—Bishop Jeremy Taylor seems to
ascribe the above oft-quoted words to the Roman Pontifical:—
"It is lawful to desire a Bishoprick; neither can the
unwillingness to accept it be, in a prudent account, adjudged the
aptest disposition to receive it (especially if done in
ceremony—(in Pontifical. Rom.)—just in the instant of their
entertainment of it, and possibly after a long ambition.)"—Life
of Christ, Ad Sect. IX. Part I. 2.; Considerations upon the
Baptism of Jesus, p. 96. Lond. 1702. Fol.
On more occasions than one I have hunted Roman Pontificals in vain, but
I may have been unfortunate in the editions to which I had access.
It cannot at all events have descended from remote antiquity, for
"episcopari" is a comparatively modern word.
St. Bernard uses it in his 272nd Epistle; but the Benedictine editors
speak of it as an "exotic."
RT.
Warmington.
—The assertion of your correspondent
A. B. R. I have met with before, but forget where: viz. that the proper
designation of the château in question is Goumont, and that
Hougoumont is only a corruption of Château Goumont.
This may be the case; but the Duke must not be charged with the
corruption, for I have now before me a map of the Département de la
Dyle, published "l'An 8 de la République Française, à Bruxelles, &c.,
par Ph. J. Maillart et Sœur," &c., in which the place is distinctly
called Hougoumont.
A. C. M.
Exeter.
—I have found two early,
but unauthenticated, instances of the use of this saying, in a note by
J. Scaliger on the Priapeia, sive Diversorum Poetarum in Priapum
Lusus:—
"Simplicius multo est, ——, latinè Dicere, quid faciam?
crassa Minervæ mea est."
Carmen, ii. 9, 10.
"Ἄγροικός
εἰμι· τὴν σκάφην
σκάφην λέγω;"
Aristophanes.—"Unde jocus maximi Principis, Philippi Macedonis.
Quum ii, qui prodiderant Olynthum Philippo, conquestum et
expostulatum ad ipsum venissent, quod injuriosè nimis vocarentur
proditores ab aliis Macedonibus:
οἱ Μακεδόνες, inquit,
ἀμαθεῖς
καὶ ἄγροικοί
εἰσι· τὴν σκάφην
σκάφην λέγουσι."—J. Scaliger.
For which note see the "Priapeia," &c., at the end of an edition of
Petronius Arbiter, entitled, Titi Petronii Arbitri Equitis Romani
Satyricon. Concinnante Michaele Hadrianide. Amstelodami. Typis Ioannis
Blaeu. M.DC.LXIX.
As I cannot at this moment refer to any good verbal index to
Aristophanes, I cannot ascertain in what part of his works Scaliger's
quotation is to be found. Burton, in his preface to the Anatomy of
Melancholy ("Democritus Junior to the Reader"), repeats the saying
twice, i.e. in Latin and English, and presents it, moreover, in an
entirely new form:
"I am aquæ potor, drink no wine at all, which so much improves
our modern wits; a loose, plain, rude writer, ficum voco ficum,
et ligonem ligonem, and as free as loose; idem calamo quod in
mente: I call a spade a spade; animis hæc scribo, non auribus,
I respect matter, not words," &c.—Democritus Jr. to the Reader,
Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy, Blake,
MDCCCXXXVI. one vol.
8vo. p. 11.
C. FORBES.
Temple.
—Your correspondent H. B. C. states that the earliest use he has
met with of this phrase is in Dean Swift's Polite Conversation,
written, as appears by the preface, about 1731; but he will find, in
Dampier's Voyages, the same phrase in use in 1686, or perhaps earlier:
not having the work itself at hand, I cannot refer him to the passage,
but he will find it quoted in the United Service Journal for 1837,
Part III. p. 11.
J. S. WARDEN.
Balica, Oct. 1851.
—With reference to the
different notices that have appeared
in your pages respecting
effigies bearing the collar of SS, and especially in compliance with the
desire expressed by MR. E. FOSS, that information should be sent to you
of any effigy that might be met with having this distinction, I beg to
state that in the church of St. Mary, Ruabon, Denbighshire, there is a
finely executed high tomb of alabaster, bearing the effigies of "John ap
Ellis Eyton" and of his lady "Elizabeth Chalfrey Ellis Eyton;" the
former deceased A.D. 1524, and the latter
A.D. 1527. The knight wears
the collar of SS, to which is suspended a rose-shaped ornament, and is
stated to have been at the battle of Bosworth, and, for his services on
that day, to have been granted by Henry VII. what lands he chose. The
knight's gauntlets lie together on his right side, and his feet rest
against a lion.
G. J. R. G.
Pen-y-lau, Ruabon.
—In reference
to the word ἀκρὶς, which has given rise to so much discussion
in your very valuable periodical, may I be permitted to observe that the
pâtois spoken in this town (Nice = Nizza = Nicæa, founded by the
Phocæans, expelled their Asian abode by Harpagus; Strabo, l. 4. p. 184.;
Herod. i. 163.) bears many traces of its Greek origin. The tree which
answers to the "locust" is called by the peasantry acroòb; and in
order that you, or any of your correspondents, may observe its
similarity in every point to the Eastern tree, I have transmitted a
packet of its fruit to your office. I do not know whether Grimm's law
would authorise the antithesis of a d for a p sound, but every
student of Romaic will allow the tendency that i and o sounds have
for interchanging. This would give acreed,
ακρίδ, the root of
ἀκρὶς.
NICÆENSIS.
—If your correspondent J. S. WOOD will
refer to Todd's Johnson's Dictionary, he will find the derivation of
the word thus—
"THEODOLITE (Fr. from
θεῶ, Gr., contracted of
θεάω, or
θεάομαι, to observe; and
δολιχὸς,
long. See Morin, Fr. and Gr. Etym. Dict.), a mathematical
instrument for taking heights and distances."
HENRY WILKINSON.
Brompton, Nov. 15. 1851.
—Your
correspondent MR. C. FORBES appears anxious to know where Montaigne
speaks of "a posie of other men's flowers." I believe that there is an
error in confining Montaigne's idea thus exclusively to poetry, for I
presume the passage sought for is what I shall now quote; but if so, it
applies generally to any borrowed thought from an author embellished by
another:
"La vérité et la raison sont communes à un chascun, et ne sont
plus à celui qui les adictes premièrement, qu'à qui les dict
aprez: ce n'est non plus selon Platon que selon moy, puisque luy
et moy l'entendons, et veoyons de mesme. Les abeilles pillotent
deça delà les fleurs; mais elles en font aprez le miel, qui est
tout leur; ce n'est plus thym, ny mariolaine; ainsi les pièces
empruntées d'aultruy, il les transformera et confondra pour en
faire un ouvrage tout sien, à scavoir son jugement,"
&c.—Essays, livre i. chap. 25.
I hope that this will satisfactorily answer your correspondent's
inquiry.
J. R.
—On the subject of anagrams, lately
adverted to by your correspondents, I not long since referred to that
which showed that the name of Voltaire, as adduced by me in the
Gentleman's Magazine a few years back, instead of being, as asserted
by Lord Brougham and others, that of an estate, was in fact the anagram
of his family patronymic, with the adjunct of l. j., or junior (le
jeune), to distinguish him from his elder brother. We see similarly the
President of the French National Assembly uniformly called "Dupin
l'aîné"; and his brother Charles, until created a Baron, always "Dupin
le jeune." Observing, therefore, that Voltaire was in reality Arouet le
jeune, or, as he signed it, Arouet l. j., and that the two letters u and
j were, until distinguished by the Elzevir, indiscriminately written v
and i, the anagram will thus be clearly proved: every letter, though
transposed, being equally in both:—
A R O V E T L J
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
V O L T A I R E
4 3 7 6 1 8 2 5
Although, as above mentioned, this unquestionable fact has already
appeared in another publication, and, indeed, likewise in the Dublin
Review for June 1845 (both from me), yet the old mis-statement of this
celebrated personage's biographers still continued to be asserted, as it
has been in your own pages. This is my motive for now addressing you on
the matter. Voltaire, I may add, was a little partial to his paternal
name. To the Abbé Moussinot, his Parisian agent, he thus wrote on the
17th of May, 1741:
"Je vous ai envoyé ma signature, dans laquelle j'ai oublié le nom
d'Arouet, que j'oublie assez volontiers."
And, on another occasion:
"Je vous renvoie d'autres parchemins, où se trouve ce nom, malgré
le peu de cas que j'en fais."
Mixing with the higher classes of society, he wished, like them, to be
known by a territorial possession, and framed the name now resounding
through the world, prefixing to it the nobiliary particle, De. His
elder brother was named Armond, whose death preceded that of the younger
by thirty-seven years, 1741-1778; both were unmarried. Numerous, and
curious too, are the anagrams which my memory could furnish me.
J. R.
—The decipherer of these
inscriptions was the late Professor Beer of Berlin. T. D. will find his
alphabet, together with that of the Himyaritic inscriptions, and others
which resemble them, in Dr. (John) Wilson's Lands of the Bible.
E. H. D. D.
—A survey of the lordships
of Bromfield and Yale (within the former of which this town is
situated), made by Norden about the year 1620 for Charles I., then
Prince of Wales, has been preserved in the Harleian Collection in the
British Museum. The descriptive part is in Latin; but before the names
of the places and streets in this town the French article le is used,
as Le highe street, Le hope street, Le church street, Le beast market,
Le greene. The larger part of this Le greene (now called "The Green")
has still grass growing upon it; and there is no tradition that either a
granary or corn-mill was ever situated there.
☞
Wrexham.
—In the parish church of
Limington, Somerset, is a figure of a cross-legged knight, with his hand
on the hilt of his sword, as if about to draw it. The date of the
foundation of the chantry in which he lies is said to be 1329, and the
mouldings and windows appear to testify its correctness.
ב.
—Your correspondent,
the Rev. T. R. BROWN, is right in acquiescing in the ordinary derivation
of ἀδελφὸς from
ἀ and
δέλφυς, but wrong, as
I think, in endeavouring to find cognate forms in the Indo-Germanic
languages. The fact is, that the word is solely and peculiarly Greek.
The Sanscrit word for brother is, as every body knows, bhratri (Latin,
frater, &c.); and that this form was not entirely unknown to the
Hellenic races, is evidenced by their use of
φράτρα, or
φράτρη, in various senses, all of which may easily be reduced
to the one common idea of brotherhood. How it happened that the word
φρατὴρ was lost in Greek, and
ἀδελφὸς substituted,
we think we can satisfactorily explain, and, if so, the elucidation will
make clearer an interesting point in Greek manners. It appears that
they, in common with some Eastern nations, looked upon the relationship
between brothers of the same mother as much closer in blood than that in
which the brothers were related through the father alone; and hence the
well-known law forbidding
ἀδελφοὶ
ὁμομητρίοι alone to
marry. In the same manner we find Abraham (Gen. xx. 12.) using a similar
excuse for marrying Sarah:
"And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my
father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my
wife."
It is not difficult, therefore, to understand how this notion prevailing
among the Greeks, might lead them to frame a new word from
ἀ
and
δέλφυς, to express the uterine relation of brothers, which
would soon in common use supplant the older Indo-German term
φρατὴρ. For further reasons which may have influenced the dropping of
the word
φρατὴρ, I would refer to a learned article on
"Comparative Philology" in the last number of the Edinburgh Review, by
Dr. Max Müller.
With regard to the derivations suggested by
MR. BROWN from the Hebrew,
Arabic, &c., I think I am justified in laying down as a rule that no
apparent similarity between words in the Semitic and Asian families can
be used to establish a real identity, the two classes of language being
radically and fundamentally distinct.
J. B.
—Meeting recently with a person
who, although illiterate, is somewhat rich in oral tradition and local
folk lore, I inquired if he had ever seen such a thing as that described
by MR. LAWRENCE. He replied that he had not, but that he had frequently
heard of these "stocks," as he called them, and that he believed they
were used in "earlier days" for the purpose of inflicting penance upon
those parishioners who absented themselves from mass for any lengthened
period. My informant illustrated his explanation with a "traditionary"
anecdote (too fabulous to trouble you with), which had been the means of
imparting the above to him. Whether correct or not, however, I must
leave others to determine.
J. B. COLMAN.
[Will our correspondent favour us with the tradition to which he
refers?]
—The accounts given of
Blacklow and his religious heresy merely excite curiosity. Will no one
furnish some brief particulars of him and his proceedings? For what was
Peter Talbot famous, and where may his history be read?
E. A. M.
—A MEMBER OF THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS (Vol.
iv., p. 412.) has answered my Query respecting this Bible in a manner
not very satisfactory. He says "no committee was ever appointed by the
Society of Friends" to publish such a Bible, and that the Society adopt
the English authorised version only. The authority from which I quoted
did not say that the committee had been appointed by the Society of
Friends, or that the object of the proposed publication was to supersede
the version authorised by the Church, which (as is well known) is
adopted, as your correspondent states, by the Society. What she states
is this:—That about four years ago a Committee of Friends intended to
publish such an edition of the Bible, for daily perusal in Friends'
families; and that a prospectus was printed, in which it was promised
that every passage of the Bible would be carefully expunged
which
was unfit for reading aloud, and also those which might be called
dangerous, which the unlearned and unstable might wrest to their own
destruction.
My Query was, whether such a Bible was ever published, and whether any
of your correspondents could furnish a copy of the prospectus alluded
to? It is no answer to this to say, that the committee who proposed to
publish this Bible were not appointed by the Society of Friends, and
that the Friends applied to by your correspondent knew nothing of the
project. The authoress of the work I quoted has since been publicly
named, and if this query should meet her eye, perhaps she may be able to
give me the information I require. It is the more incumbent upon her to
do so, as the tone of your correspondent is evidently intended to throw
a doubt upon her veracity.
T.
—An ingenious friend has
suggested to me the following explanation of this passage:
Ἄκουε
τὴν ἄλλην μερίδα. It is rendered almost certain by the words that come
immediately after, in the line quoted by C. W. G., i.e. "audi alteram
partem." I am unable, however, to point out the source from which the
Greek motto was derived. Perhaps some of your readers will solve this
ulterior question.
C. H.