QUERIES.

P. MATHIEU'S LIFE OF SEJANUS.

In a letter from Southey to his friend Bedford, dated Nov. 11, 1821 (Life and Correspondence, vol. v. p. 99.), he desires him to inform Gifford that

"In a volume of tracts at Lowther, of Charles I.'s time, I found a life of Sejanus by P.M., by which initials some hand, apparently as old as the book, had written Philip Massinger. I did not read the tract, being too keenly in pursuit of other game; but I believe it had a covert aim at Buckingham. I have not his Massinger, and, therefore, do not know whether he is aware that this was ever ascribed to that author; if he is not, he will be interested in the circumstance, and may think it worthy of further inquiry."

As others may be led by this hint to enter on such an inquiry, I would suggest that it may save much trouble if they first satisfy themselves that the Life of Sejanus by P. Mathieu may not have been the tract which fell in Southey's way. It is to be found in a volume entitled

"Unhappy Prosperity, expressed in the History of Ælius Selanus and Philippa the Catanian, with observations upon the fall of Sejanus. Lastly, Certain Considerations upon the life and Services of Monsieur Villeroy, translated out of the original [French] by S'r T. H.[awkins], second edition, 12'o. London, 1639."

This was just eleven years after Buckingham met his fate at the hands of Felton. How long the interval between the first and this, the second edition, may have been, I cannot tell. Nor do I know enough of the politics of the time to determine whether anything can be inferred from the fact that the translation is dedicated to William Earl of Salisbury, or to warrant me in saying that these illustrations of the fate of royal favourites may have been brought before the English public with any view to the case of George Villiers. A passage, however, in Mathieu's dedication of the original "to the king," seems to render it not improbable, certainly not inapplicable:

"You (Sir) shall therein [in this history] behold, that a prince ought to be very carefull to conserve his authority entire. Great ones [court favourites] here may learne, it is not good to play with the generous Lyon though he suffer it, and that favours are precipices for such as abuse them."

Having referred to this work of Mathieu's, I shall feel obliged to any of your correspondents who will favour me with a notice of it, or of the author.

Balliolensis.

THE ANTIQUITY OF SMOKING.

I feel much interested in the Query of your correspondent Z.A.Z. (Vol. ii., p. 41.) I had a "Query" something similar, with a "Note" on it, lying by me for some time, which I send you as they stand.—Was not smoking in use in England and other countries before the introduction of tobacco? Whitaker says, a few days after the tower of Kirkstall Abbey fell, 1779, he

"Discovered imbedded in the mortar of the fallen fragments several little smoking pipes, such as were used in the reign of James I. for tobacco; a proof of a fact which has not been recorded, that, prior to the introduction of that plant from America, the practice of inhaling the smoke of some indigenous plant or vegetable prevailed in England." (Loidis and Elmete.)

Allowing, then, pipes to have been coeval with the erection of Kirkstall, we find them to have been used in England about 400 years before the introduction of tobacco. On the other hand, as Dr. Whitaker says, we find no record of their being used, or of smoking being practised; and it is almost inconceivable that our ancestors should have had such a practice, without any allusion being made to it by any writers. As to the antiquity of smoking in Ireland, the first of Irish antiquaries, the learned and respected Dr. Petrie, says:

"The custom of smoking is of much greater antiquity in Ireland than the introduction of tobacco into Europe. Smoking pipes made of bronze are frequently found in our Irish tumuli, or sepulchral mounds, of the most remote antiquity; and similar pipes, made of baked clay, are discovered daily in all parts of the island. A curious instance of the bathos in sculpture, which also illustrates the antiquity of this custom, occurs on the monument of Donogh O'Brien, king of Thomond, who was killed in 1267, and interred in the Abbey of Corcumrac, in the co. of Clare, of which his family were the founders. He is represented in the usual recumbent posture, with the short pipe or dudeen of the Irish in his mouth."

In the Anthologia Hibernica for May 1793, vol. i. p. 352., we have some remarks on the antiquity of smoking "among the German and Northern nations," who, the writer says, "were clearly acquainted with, and cultivated tobacco, which they smoked through wooden and earthen tubes." He refers to Herod. lib. i. sec. 36.; Strabo, lib. vii. 296.; Pomp. Mela 2, and Solinus, c. 15.

Wherever we go, we see smoking so universal a practice, and people "taking to it so naturally," that we are inclined to believe that it was always so; that our first father enjoyed a quiet puff now and then; (that, like a poet, man "nascitur non fit" a smoker); and that the soothing power of this narcotic tranquillised the soul of the aquatic patriarch, disturbed by the roar of billows and the convulsions of nature, and diffused its peaceful influence over the inmates of the ark. Yes, we are tempted to spurn the question, When and where was smoking introduced? as being equal to When and where was man introduced? Yet, as some do not consider man as a smoking animal "de natu et ab initio," the question may provoke some interesting replies from your learned correspondents.

Jarltzberg.

SIR GREGORY NORTON, BART.

I am desirous to be informed of the date and particulars of the above baronetcy having been created. In The Mystery of the good old Cause briefly unfolded (1660), it is stated, at p. 26., that Sir Gregory Norton, Bart. (one of the king's judges), had Richmond House, situated in the Old Park, and much of the king's goods, for an inconsiderable value. Sir Gregory Norton has a place also in The Loyal Martyrology of Winstanley (1665), p. 130.; and also in History of the King-killers (1719), part 6. p. 75. It is unnecessary to refer to Noble's Regicides, he having simply copied the two preceding works. Sir Gregory died before the Restoration, in 1652, and escaped the vindictive executions which ensued, and was buried at Richmond in Surrey. There was a Sir Richard Norton, Bart., of Rotherfield, Hants (Query Rotherfield, Sussex, near Tunbridge Wells), who is mentioned by Sylvanus Morgan in his Sphere of Gentry; but he does not record a Sir Gregory. Nor does the latter occur in a perfect collection of the knights made by King James I., by J.P. (Query John Philipot?), London, Humphrey Moseley, 1660, 8vo. I have examined all the various works on extinct and dormant baronetcies ineffectually. In the Mercurius Publicus of Thursday, 28th June, 1660, it appears that on the preceding Saturday the House of Commons settled the manor of Richmond, with house and materials, purchased by Sir Gregory Norton, Bart., on the queen (Henrietta Maria) as part of her jointure.

D.N.

MINOR QUERIES.

City Offices.—Can any of your correspondents recommend some book which gives a good history of the different public offices of the city of London, with their duties and qualifications, and in whom the appointments are vested?

A Citizen.

Harefinder, Meaning of.—Can any of your readers kindly give a feasible explanation of phrase harefinder, as it occurs in Much Ado about Nothing, Act i. Sc. 1.? A reference to any similar term in a contemporary would be very valuable.

B.

Saffron-bag.—Having lately read Sir E.B. Lytton's novel of The Caxtons—to which I must give a passing tribute of admiration—I have been a good deal puzzled, first, to ascertain the meaning, and, second, the origin of the saffron-bag of which he speaks so much. I have asked many persons, and have not been able to obtain a satisfactory solution of my difficulty. Should you or any of your contributors be able, I wish you would enlighten not only me but many of my equally unlearned friends.

W.C. Luard.

Bishop Berkley's successful Experiments.—I have somewhere read that Bishop Berkley succeeded in increasing the stature of an individual placed in his charge. Will any of your correspondents give me the details of such process, with their opinions as to the practicability of the scheme?

F.W.

Portrait (Unknown).—A very carefully painted portrait, on an oak panel, has been in the possession of my family for many years, and I should be much pleased if any of your correspondents could enable me to identify the personage.

The figure, which is little more than a head, is nearly the size of life, and represents an elderly man with grey hair and a long venerable beard: the dress, which is but little shown, is black. At the upper part of the panel, on the dexter side, is a shield, bearing these arms:—Argent on a fess sable between three crosses patées, Or, as many martlets of the last. Above the shield is written "In cruce glorior." I have searched in vain for those arms. On the prints published by the Society of Antiquaries, of the funeral of Abbot Islip, is one nearly similar,—the field ermine on a fess between three crosses patées, as many martlets. The colours are not shown by the engraver. A manuscript ordinary, by Glover, in my possession, contains another, which is somewhat like that on the picture, being—Argent on a fess engrailed sable, bearing three crosses patées, Gules, as many martlets on the field. This is there ascribed to "Canon George." It is very probable that the gold crosses on the white field was an error of the portrait painter.

The size of the oak panel, which is thick, is seventeen inches wide, and twenty-two in height. The motto is in a cursive hand, apparently of about the time of Edward VI.

T.W.

Wives, Custom of Selling.—Has there ever been any foundation in law for the practice of selling of wives, which our neighbours the French persist in believing to be perfectly legal and common at the present day? What was the origin of the custom? An amusing series of "Notes" might be made, from instances in which the custom is introduced as characteristic of English manners, by French and other foreign writers.

G.L.B.

Hepburn Crest and Motto.—Can some of your numerous readers give me the origin of the crest and motto of the family of Hepburn, namely, a horse argent, furnished gules, passant, and tied to a tree proper. Motto, "Keep Traist."

I should also be glad to know the name of any book containing the legends, or authentic stories, relating to the heraldic bearings of various families?

R.E.

Concolinel.—I have recently met with a curious manuscript which contains numerous tunes of the time of Queen Elizabeth, one of which is stated in a recent hand to be the "tune of Concolinel mentioned by Shakspeare;" but the old index, if there was one that indicated this, is now missing. My reason for writing to you is to ask whether Dr. Rimbault, or any of your other correspondents, can refer me to any information that will enable me to ascertain whether my MS. really contains that tune. It certainly does contain several others noticed by Shakspeare.

R.

"One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church."—Can any of your correspondents inform me how, or why, the word "holy" is omitted in the above article of the Nicene (Constantinopolitan) Creed, in all our Prayer-books? It is not omitted in the original Greek and Latin.

J.M.W.

The Norfolk Dialect.—Mr. Dickens' attempt to give interest to his new novel by introducing this dialect would have been even more successful had he been more familiar with the curious peculiarities of that east-coast language. Many of the words are, I believe, quite peculiar to Norfolk and Suffolk, such as, for instance, the following:

Perhaps some reader can explain the origin of these words.

Icenus.

Sir John Perrot.—Sir John Perrot, governor of Ireland in the reign of Henry VIII., was one of the few rulers over that most unfortunate country who have ruled it wisely. I believe that he was beheaded in the reign of Elizabeth. Will any of your readers kindly inform me whether his life has ever been published, or where I can meet with the best account of him?

E.N.W.

"Antiquitas sæculi juventus mundi."—Mr. Craik in his admirable little work on Bacon; his Writings and his Philosophy, after quoting the paragraph containing this fine aphoristic expression, remarks that,

"From the manner in which it is here introduced as a Latin phrase, there would seen to be some reason for doubting whether it be an original thought of Bacon's. It has much the appearance of some aphorism or adage of the schools." (Vol. ii. p. 55.)

Mr. Craik adds in a note,

"A friend, however, who, if we were to name him, would be recognised as one of the first of living authorities on all points connected with the history of learning and philosophy, informs us that he feels certain of having never met with the expression or the thought in any writer previous to Bacon."

In Basil Montagu's edition of The Advancement of Learning it is marked as a quotation. Query. Has the expression, or the thought, been traced to any writer previous to Bacon?

J.M.B.