Queries.

STRUT-STOWERS, AND YEATHERS OR YADDERS.

In the Collection of divers curious Historical Pieces printed by the Rev. Francis Peck at the end of his Memoirs of Oliver Cromwell, is—

"Some account of the Murder of the Hermit of Eskdale-side, near Whitby, in Com. Ebor. by William de Bruce (Lord of Ugle Barnby), Ralph de Peircy (Lord of Snealon), and one Allatson, a Gent., and of the remarkable penance which the Hermit enjoyned them before he died."

The story is briefly this:—On the 16th October, 15 Henry II., De Bruce, De Peircy, and Allatson were hunting the wild boar in Eskdale-side, where was a chapel and hermitage, in which lived a monk of Whitby, who was a hermit. The boar being hotly pursued by the dogs, ran into the chapel and there laid down and died. The hermit shut the door on the hounds, who stood at bay without. The three gentlemen coming up, flew into a great fury, and ran with their boar-staves at the hermit and so wounded him that he ultimately died. The three gentlemen, fearing his death, took sanctuary at Scarborough, but the Abbot of Whitby being in great favour with the king, removed them out of sanctuary, whereby they became liable to the law. The dying hermit (he survived till the 8th December), on the abbot's proposing to put them to death, suggested the following penance, to which, in order to save their lives and goods, they consented, and to which the abbot likewise agreed:

"You and yours shall hold your lands of the Abbat of Whitby and his successors after this manner, viz. upon the eve [or morrow before] Ascension Day, you, or some of you, shall come to the wood of Stray-Head, which is in Eskdale-side, by sun-rising, and there shall the officer of the abbat blow his horn, that ye may know how to find him. And he shall deliver to you, William de Bruce, ten stakes, eleven strut-stowers, and eleven yeathers, to be cut by you, and those that come for you, with a knife of a penny price. And you Ralph de Peircy, shall take one and twenty of each sort, to be cut in the same manner. And you, Allatson, shall take nine of each sort, to be cut as aforesaid. And then ye shall take them on your backs, and carry them to the town of Whitby, and take care to be there before nine of the clock, and at the same hour, if it be a full sea, to cease your service. But, if it be low water at nine of the clock, then each of you shall, the same hour, set your stakes at the edge of the water, each stake a yard from the other, and so yeather them with your yeathers, and stake them on each side with your strut-stowers, that they may stand three tides, without removing by the force of the water. And each of you shall really do, perform, and execute this service yearly at the hour appointed, except it be a full sea, when this service shall cease; in remembrance that ye did most cruelly slay me. And that ye may the more seriously and fervently call upon God for mercy, and repent unfeignedly of your sins, and do good works, the officer of Eskdale-side shall blow, Out on you! Out on you! Out on you! for this heinous crime of yours. And if you or yours shall refuse this service at the aforesaid hour, when it shall not be a full sea, then you shall forfeit all your lands to the Abbat of Whitby and his successors."

There is a similar account, with verbal and other variations, "From a printed copy published at Whitby a few years ago," in Blount's Jocular Tenures, by Beckwith, pp. 557-560. In that account the word, which in Mr. Peck's account is "yeathers," is "yadders." Mr. Beckwith states, "This service is still annually performed."

Sir Walter Scott (Marmion, Canto II. st. 13.) thus alludes to the legend:

In note 2. C. the popular account printed and circulated at Whitby is given. It is substantially the same with that given by Beckwith, but for "strut-stowers" we have "strout-stowers;" and for "yadders" we have "yethers." It appears, also, that the service was not at that time performed by the proprietors in person; and that part of the lands charged therewith were then held by a gentleman of the name of Herbert.

I shall be glad if any of your correspondents will elucidate the terms strut-stowers, and yeathers or yadders.

C. H. Cooper.

Cambridge.

Minor Queries.

Archbishop Parker's Correspondence.—I am now engaged in carrying out a design which has been long entertained by the Parker Society, that of publishing the Correspondence of the distinguished prelate whose name that Society bears. If any of your readers can favour me with references to any letters of the archbishop, either unpublished, or published in works but little known, I shall feel extremely obliged. I add my own address, in order that I may not encumber your pages with mere references. Any information beyond a reference will probably be as interesting to your readers generally as to myself.

John Bruce.

5. Upper Gloucester Street, Dorset Square.

Amor Nummi.—Can any of your correspondents inform me as to the authorship of the following verses?

It must have appeared in an English ministerial paper about the year 1805.—From the Navorscher.

Dionysios.

The Number Nine.—Can any of your mathematical correspondents inform me of the law and reason of the following singular property of the numbers? If from any number above nine the same number be subtracted written backwards, the addition of the figures of the remainder will always be a multiple of nine; for instance—

972619

916279

56340 the sum of which is 18, or 9 × 2.

925012

210529

714483 the sum of which is 27, or 9 × 3.

83

38

45 the sum of which is 9.

John Lammens.

Position of Font.—The usual and very significant position of the font is near the church door. But there is one objection to this, viz. that the benches being best arranged facing the chancel, the people cannot without much confusion see the baptisms. This being so, perhaps a better place for the font is at the entrance of the chancel. The holy rite, so edifying to the congregation, as well as profitable to the recipient, can then be duly seen; and the position is tolerably symbolical, expressing as it were "the way that is opened for us into the holiest of all." I am curious to know if there are any ancient examples of this position, and how far the canon sanctions it, which directs that the font be set up in "the ancient usual places" [plural]? While on the subject let me put another Query. The Rubric directs that the font be "then," i. e. just before the baptism, filled with pure water. In what vessel is the water brought, and who fills the font? What are the precedents in this matter? Rules, I think, there are none.

A. A. D.

Aix Ruochim or Romans Ioner.—On the verge of the cliff at Kingsgate, near the North Foreland, is a small castle or fort of chalk and flint, known by the above name. Can any of your readers give any information regarding the date of the erection of this curious edifice? Some of the local guidebooks attribute it to the time of Vortigern, or about 448; but this seems an almost fabulous antiquity.

A. O. H.

Blackheath.

"Lessons for Lent," &c.—Lessons for Lent, or Instructions on the Two Sacraments of Penance and the B. Eucharist, printed in the year 1718. Who was the author?

H.

"La Branche des réaus Lignages."—Have any of your correspondents met with a romance, of which I have a MS. copy, entitled "La Branche des réaus Lignages?" The MS. I possess is evidently a modern copy, and begins thus:

The poem is divided by numbers, probably referring to the pages of the original: beginning with 1292, and ending with 1307. It is also evident, from the first verses themselves, that I have only a fragment before me.—From the Navorscher.

Ganske.

Marriage Service.—Are there any parishes in which the custom of presenting the fee, together with the ring, in the marriage service, as ordered by the rubric, is observed?

E. W.

"Czar" or "Tsar."—Whence the derivation of the title Czar or Tsar? I know that some suppose it to be derived from Cæsar, while others trace it from the terminal -sar or -zar in the names of the kings of Babylon and Assyria: as Phalas-sar, Nebuchadnez-zar, &c. In Persian, sar means the supreme power. I have heard much argument about its origin, and would be much obliged if any reader of "N. & Q." could state the correct derivation of the word.

By which Emperor of Russia was the title first assumed?

J. S. A.

Old Broad Street.

Little Silver.—There are several places in Devonshire so called, villages or hamlets. It is said, they are alway situated in the immediate neighbourhood of a Roman, or some other ancient camp. Hence, some people suppose the name is given to these localities from the number of silver coins frequently found there.

Will any of your correspondents throw light on this subject?

As every one knows, there is also a Silverton in Devonshire—Silver-town par excellence. Is it in any way connected with the "Little Silvers?"

A. C. M.

Exeter.

On Æsop's (?) Fable of washing the Blackamoor.—Is it possible the well-known fable was a real occurrence? The following extract would seem to allude to an analogous fact:

"Counting the labour as endlesse as the maids in the Strand, which endeavoured by washing the Black-a-more to make him white."—Case of Sir Ignoramus of Cambridge, 1648, p. 23.

R. C. Warde.

Kidderminster.

Wedding Proverb.—Is the following distich known in any part of England?—

I met with it in an American book, but it was probably an importation.

Spinster.

German Phrase.—What is the origin of a sarcastic German phrase often used?

"Er erwartet dass der Himmel voll Bassgeigen längt."

L. M. M. R.

German Heraldry.—Where can I refer to a book in which the armorial bearings of all the principal German families are engraved?

Speriend.

Leman Family.—About the middle of the seventeenth century, say 1650 to 1670, two gentlemen left England for America, who are supposed to have been brothers or near relatives of Sir John Leman, who was Lord Mayor of London in 1616. Traditions, which have been preserved in manuscript, and which can be traced back over one hundred years, tell of a correspondence which took place between the said Sir John and the widow of one of the brothers, in relation to her returning to England.

The writer of this (a descendant of one of these gentlemen) is anxious to learn the names of the brothers and near relatives of this Sir John; and whether any evidence exists of their leaving England for America, &c., &c.; and would feel much indebted to any one who would supply the information through your paper.

R. W. L.

Philadelphia.

A Cob-wall.—Why do the inhabitants of Devonshire call a wall made of tempered earth, straw, and small pebbles mixed together, a cob-wall? Walls so constructed require a foundation of stone or bricks, which is commonly continued to the height of about two feet from the surface of the ground. Has the term cob reference to the fact that such a wall is a superstructure on the foundation of stone or brick?

A. B. C.

Inscription near Chalcedon.—In 1675, when Sir Geo. Wheler and his travelling companion visited Chalcedon (as recorded in his Voyage from Venice to Constantinople, fol., Lond. 1682, p. 209.), it was famous only for the memory of the great council held there in A.D. 327, the twentieth of the reign of Constantine the Great:

"The first thing we did (he says) was to visit the metropolitan church, where they say it was kept; but M. Nanteuil assured us that it was a mile from thence, and that he had there read an inscription that mentioneth it. Besides, it is a small obscure building, incapable to contain such an assembly."

Has the inscription here spoken of been noticed by any traveller, and can any of your readers refer to a copy of it; and say whether it is cotemporary, and whether it has been more recently noticed?

W. S. G.

Newcastle-on-Tyne.

Domesday Book.—What does the abbreviation glđ, or gelđ, applied to terra, signify? Also, in the description of places, there is frequently a capital letter, B., or M., or S. before it, as in one case, e. g. "B. terr. glđ wasta." Can any one inform me what it signifies?

In the case of many parishes, it is stated that there was a church there: is it considered conclusive authority that there was not one, if it is not mentioned in Domesday Book?

A. W. H.

Dotinchem.—What modern town in Holland, or elsewhere, bore or bears the name of Dotinchem, at which is dated a MS. missal I have inspected, written in the fifteenth century? The reason for believing the place to be Dutch is, that the Calendar marks the days of the principal saints of Holland with red letters. There are other indications in the Calendar of the missal having been written in and for the use of a community situated where the influence of Cologne, Liège, Maestricht, and Daventer would have been felt.

Perhaps, should the above Query not be answered in England, some correspondent of your Dutch cotemporary the Navorscher may have the goodness to reply to it.

G. J. R. Gordon.

Sidmouth.

"Mirrour to all," &c.—Can you refer me to any possessor of the poetical work entitled a Mirrour to all who love to follow the Wars (or Waves), 4to.: London, printed by John Wolfe, 1589? A copy was sold by Mr. Rodd for six guineas. (See his Catalogue for 1846.)

H. Delta.

Oxford.

Title wanted.—I have a copy of the Pugna Porcorum, the margin of which is covered with illustrative and parallel passages, among which is the following:

I shall be much obliged to any one who will give me the full title to the book from which this is quoted, and any account of it.

G. H. W.

Portrait of Charles I.—Countess Du Barry.—In Bachaumont's Mémoires Secrets, &c., I read the following passage under date of March 25, 1771:

"L'impératrice des Russies a fait enlever tout le cabinet de tableaux de M. le Comte de Thiers, amateur distingué, qui avait une très-belle collection en ce genre. M. de Marigny a eu la douleur de voir passer ces richesses chez l'étranger, faute de fonds pour les acquérir pour le compte du roi.

"On distinguait parmi ces tableaux un portrait en pied de Charles I., roi d'Angleterre, original de Vandyk. C'est le seul qui soit resté en France. Madame la Comtesse Dubarri, qui déploie de plus en plus son goût pour les arts, a ordonné de l'acheter: elle l'a payé 24,000 livres. Et sur le reproche qu'on lui faisait de choisir un pareil morceau entre tant d'autres qui auraient dû lui mieux convenir, elle a répondu que c'était un portrait de famille qu'elle retirait. En effet, les Dubarri se prétendent parents de la Maison des Stuards."

Can you give me any account of this portrait of King Charles by Vandyk, for which the Countess Du Barry paid the sum of 1000l. sterling?

What grounds are there for the allegation, that the Countess was related to the royal House of Stuart?

Henry H. Breen.

St. Lucia.

Minor Queries with Answers.

"Preparation for Martyrdom."—Can any of your correspondents discover for me the author of the following work?—

"A Preparation for Martyrdom; a Discourse about the Cause, the Temper, the Assistances, and Rewards of a Martyr of Jesus Christ: in Dialogue betwixt a Minister and a Gentleman his Parishioner. Lond. 1681, 4to."

In order to afford somewhat of a clue to this discovery, I send a few extracts from another anonymous work: A Letter to the late Author of the "Preparation for Martyrdom," alluding to various circumstances relating to the author:

"I must confess that I had once as great a veneration for you as for any one [of] your figure in the church; but then you preach'd honestly, and liv'd peaceably; but since pride or ambitious discontent, or some particular respects to some special friends of the adverse party, or something I know not what else, has thrust you upon scribbling, and a design of being popular; since you had forsaken your first love (if ever you had any) to our church and establishment, and appear to be running over ad partem Donati, to the disturbers of our church and peace, you must needs pardon this short reflection, though from an old friend, and sometimes a great admirer of you.

"As for the present establishment, you have (you conclude) as much already from that as you are likely to have, but you claw the democratical party, hoping at long run to see an (English) Parliament; that is, we must know, one that has no French pensioners shuffled into it to blast the whole business, such as will be govern'd by your instructions; and then Presbytery (you trust) will be turn'd up Trump, the Directory once more take place of the Liturgy, and God knows what become of the Monarchy, and Mr. C. be made a great man.

"What an excellent design was that of your Stipulation, which I heard one say was like a new modell'd Independency. 'Twas intended, I suppose, as an expedient to reduce the sheep of your own flock, which through your default chiefly (as is commonly reported) were gone astray; but because this tool could not work, without the force of a law to move it, therefore by law it must have been establisht, and the whole nation forsooth comprehended under it, and all must have set their instruments to your key, and their voices to the tune of B—ley. Oh! had this engine but met with firm footings in Parliament, as was hoped, our English world had been lifted off its pillars long before this day; it had gone round, and in the church all old things had been done away, and everything had appeared new. But, Sir, I trust the foundations of our church stand more sure than to need such silly props as your Catholicon (as you vainly call it) to support 'em.

"What an excellent thing too is your book of Patronage? 'Twere no living for Simon Magus, or any of his disciples here, if those rules you there lay down were but duly attended to.

"But in those two books you showed yourself pragmatical only; but in this of Martyrdom not a little impious, in your unworthy reflections upon almost all the honest people of England since the beginning of the reign of Oliver the First, and some time before; not sparing many loyal worthies' memory who held up a good cause upon their sword points (as you express it) as long as they could; and when they could do so no longer, either dy'd for't, or deliver'd themselves up to the will of the conqueror, yet never (as you) abjur'd the cause. Our rulers you suppose are ill affected (otherwise your talk of Popery at your rate is like that of one that were desirous and in conspiracy to bring in Popery): and, undoubtedly, it had been in already, had not the prayers of Mr. C., and the fifty righteous Non-Cons in every city, prevented it."

Ἁλιέυς.

Dublin.

[The Preparation for Martyrdom is not to be found either in the Bodleian or British Museum Catalogues. The author of the Letter in reply to it, however, has afforded a clue to its authorship. Zachary Cawdrey, who appears to have been an admirer of the Vicar of Bray, was Rector of Barthomley in Cheshire during the Commonwealth, and for fourteen years after the Restoration; this explains the hint in the Letter, of "setting their voices to the tune of B—ley." Cawdrey, moreover, was the author of Discourse of Patronage; being a Modest Inquiry into the Original of it, and a further Prosecution of the History of it: which is also noticed in the Letter. Zachary Cawdrey was born at Melton Mowbray about 1616; at the age of sixteen he entered St. John's College, Cambridge; and in 1649 became Rector of Barthomley, where he died Dec. 24, 1684. His brother David was one of the ejected, and the author of several works.]

Reference wanted.—I find, in Blackwood, No. XXXVI. p. 432., a reference to an article in the Edinburgh Review, by Sir D. K. Sandford, on Greek banquets. As I cannot find the article itself, may I ask your assistance?

P. J. F. Gantillon.

N. B.—In the article in Blackwood, p. 441., for "Hegesander" read Hegesippus; p. 444., for "Demgle" read Demglus; p. 450., for "Nausidice" read Nausinicus; p. 455., for "Hesperides" read Hyperides.

[The article will be found in the Edinburgh Review, vol. lvi. p. 350. January, 1833.]

Speaker of the House of Commons in 1697.—Who was the Speaker who succeeded Sir John Trevor, and was Speaker of the House of Commons in 1697?

W. Fraser.

Tor-Mohun.

[Peter Foley, Esq., succeeded Sir John Trevor, March 14, 1694. Sir Thomas Littleton, Bart., was chosen the next Speaker, December 3, 1698.]