Queries.

RIGBY CORRESPONDENCE.

In looking over old family papers, I find a bundle of letters, sixty-seven in number, some of them very interesting, written to my grandfather by Richard Rigby, commencing in the year 1758, and ending 1781. This Richard Rigby, it appears, held the then sinecure office of Master of the Rolls in Ireland, but resided altogether in England, and held office under several administrations as Paymaster of the Forces. His letters from 1769 to 1781 are all dated from the Pay Office. He is the Mr. Rigby whose awkward integrity is alluded to by Philo-Junius in his letter of 22nd June, 1769, and who is ironically styled "Modest" by Atticus in letter of 14th November, 1768. My object is to endeavour to ascertain from some of your correspondents whether there is any representative of Mr. Rigby who possibly might have in his possession the counterpart of the correspondence above alluded to, which to Irishmen could not fail to be of interest, and probably of historic value. The writer was a member of the Irish House of Commons, and, it appears, was in the habit of giving very graphic details of Irish politics in general, and of the proceedings of the House of Commons in particular. Under date of 8th December, 1769, Mr. Rigby thanks him

"For your constant accounts of what passes in your parliaments. If it was not for the intelligence I give the ministers from you and the rest of my friends, they would know no more of what is doing in the Irish Parliament than in the Turkish Divan. For (neither) the Lord Lieutenant nor his Secretary ever write a line to the Secretary of State."

Again, 2nd December, 1771:

"I am much obliged to you for your constant intelligence, and so are greater persons than myself, for I happened to be with Lord Rochford to-day when his letters arrived from his Excellency, and he had sent no despatches of a later date than the 26th, so that his Majesty and his ministers would have known nothing of a report having been made by that committee, but for my information. Lord R. sent your letters with my leave to the King. They will do no discredit to the writer, especially when compared to that blotting paper wrote by his Excellency."

In another letter he talks of the reports of speeches made by his correspondent being far better than those of any note-taker; so that if they are forthcoming, I have no doubt they would be of interest and value to the historian of Ireland of that time.

K. K.

HERALDIC QUERIES.

Can any of your correspondents furnish me with the names to the following coats of arms? Some are entire, others are lost, from the glass having been cut to fit the divisions. These remnants form part of the chapel and hall windows of the old Bishop's Palace (now the Deanery) at Worcester.

I. Quarterly 1 and 4. Barry of 6, azure and or, on a chief of 1st; 3 pallets between 2 gyrons of 2nd; over all an inescutcheon erm.

I. Quarterly 2 and 3. Quarterly 1 and 4 a chevron between 3 roses or cinquefoils; 2 and 3, a chevron between 3 martlets. (Colours obliterated.)

II. Sable, 3 church bells or, impaling a shield, per fess invecked (this last cut off).

III. A saltire voided between 12 cross crosslets.

IV. Quarterly 1 and 4. Arg. a chevron between 3 foxes' heads erased gu.

IV. Quarterly 2. Arg. on a bend sa., 3 dolphins or.

IV. Quarterly 3. Party per pale pily sa. and arg. impaling sa., a bordure arg.

IV. Over all a crescent for difference, and shield surrounded with following names, "Edmundus Fox secundus filius Charoli Fox, 1586." (Query, Who were these people?)

V. Imperial crown over poppy head. (Query, Whose emblem or badge?)

VI. A bull's head sa., guttée, horned, and langued, or. (Query, Whose crest or badge?)

VII. A chevron between 3 roundles, having for crest 2 lion's paws holding a roundle.

VIII. Sa. a chevron between 3 lions' faces or, crescent for difference, having for crest a griffin.

IX. Or 3 Talbot's heads proper.

X. Quarterly 1. Sa. lion rampant, or.

X. Quarterly 2. Paly of —— gu. and arg. (Cut off.)

X. Quarterly 3. Arg. a muscle ——. (Colour gone.)

X. Quarterly 4. (Cut off.)

XI. —— on a chevron between 3 lions' heads; 3 roses (colours gone), with crest. A man's head and shoulders robed with eastern crown on head.

XII. Or six fleurs-de-lis sable, 3. 2. and 1., with motto "Argrete constante."

XIII. Arg. on a chevron sa., 3 mullets of 1st between 3 lions' heads erased of 2nd.

XIV. Sa. a chevron arg. between 3 porpoises or, impaling lion rampant. (Colour gone.)

XV. Quarterly sa. and arg., a cross moline quarterly, erm. and ——. (Colour gone.)

The names to these coats of arms might enable one to trace whence the original bits came; it might be possible that the old windows of the cathedral (said to have been destroyed) served for filling up the borders of the old palace windows.

W. H. P.

ON A PASSAGE IN ACTS XV. 23.

Dr. Burton (Greek Test., Oxford, 1848), in a note on the words ὁι πρεσβύτεροι καὶ ὁι ἀδελφοί (Acts xv. 23.), says: "Most MSS. read ὁι πρεσβύτεροι ἀδελφοί." I should feel much obliged to any of your readers who could kindly direct me to some particular manuscripts, to which Dr. Burton may possibly have alluded when he wrote the above note; or who could refer me to any Greek MSS. of authority, in which the καὶ is not found. I have been enabled to consult the Codex Laudianus, a MS. of the seventh century; also the MS. Canon, of the early part of the tenth century; and the Codex Ebner., of the twelfth century. In neither of these is the καὶ missing. Nor am I aware of any Greek Bible or New Testament printed without the καὶ; nor indeed of any translation without the conjunction (though there may be some such) in Latin, or in any other language, with the single exception of the Vulgate after St. Jerome, and its several versions. The Bibles of Sixtus V. and Clement VIII., agreeing in this particular, read alike, "Apostoli et seniores fratres." On the other hand, Vutablus, in his new translation, reads, "Apostoli et presbyteri et fratres;" which is likewise the reading of the interp. Syriac., as given in the Biblia Regia; also of Beza, as given in the edition of the Bible, Oliva Roberti Stephani, 1556; whilst in the Novum Testamentum e Græco archetypo Latino sermone redditum, Theodoro Beza interprete, ed. Hanov. 1623, the reading is, "Apostoli, et seniores, et fratres;" which is also the reading in Bibl. Sacr. ex Sebastiani Castellionis interpretatione, ed. Francofurti, 1697. To which may be added the Biblia Gallica, 1580; the Bibl. Belg., ed. Leydæ, 1737; and Luther's German Bible,—all which retain the and.

I have also consulted a more important version, namely, the ancient Italic, which also reads, "Apostoli, et seniores, et fratres;" but which (in Pet. Sabatier's edition, Par. 1751) has appended to the verse the following note:

"V. 23.—MS. Cantabr. Scripserunt epistolam per manus suas continentem hæc, Apostoli, et presbyteri fratres, hiis qui sunt per Antiochiam, et Syriam, et Ciliciam, qui sunt ex gentibus fratribus, salutem.—Græc. textui Laud. consonat [versio Italica], nisi quòd habet κατὰ τὴν Ἀντιόχειαν, καὶ Συρίαν, καὶ Κιλικίαν, pro Antiochiæ, et Syriæ, et Ciliciæ. MSS. quidam, pro χειρὸς manum, legunt χειρῶν, cum Vulg.; aliique plures tollunt καὶ post seniores. Irenæus, l. iii. c. 12. p. 199. a. legit: Apostoli, et presbyteri fratres, his qui sunt in Antiochia, et Syria, et Cilicia, fratribus ex gentibus salutem. S. Pacian., Paræn. ad Pœnit., p. 315. h.: Apostoli, et presbyteri fratres, his qui sunt Antiochiæ, et Syriæ, et Ciliciæ, fratribus qui sunt ex gentibus salutem. Vigil. Taps. l. xii. De Trin., p. 329. c.: Apostoli, et presb. fratres, iis, qui Antiochiæ, et Syr., et Cilic. fratribus qui sunt ex gentibus salutem."

This note certainly goes far to corroborate (if indeed it was not the chief authority for) Dr. Burton's assertion; but it does little to satisfy my curiosity on a point, which I conceive to be of considerable interest, and of no slight importance, at the present time. The Cambridge MS. appears to be in Latin only; as is also the passage referred to in Irenæus, whose original Greek is lost. So that, after all, there is some ground to suspect that there in fact exists no Greek manuscript whatsoever without the καὶ.

I will add another note, which I find at the passage in Irenæus (Contr. Hær., lib. iii. cap. 14. p. 199., ed. Par. 1710):

"Sic cum Irenæo habent codd. Cantabrig. et Alexand. et Vulgatus interpres. At in editis Græcis: πρεσβύτεροι καὶ ὁι ἀδελφοί."

J. Sansom.

Oxford.