Volume 4 — Queries.

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS AND BOTHWELL'S CONFESSION.

Although Mr. Cosh, at p. 248. of his admirable work on The Method of Divine Government, observes on the rapidity with which females descend to the depths of sin, the old apothegm, "Nemo repenti turpissimus fuit," recurs when thinking of Mary Queen of Scots, and leads me to ask the following question. Permit me to preface it with a remark. Mary is represented by all contemporary and subsequent writers to have been, from her earliest years to the death of Darnley, worthily beloved for her amiable qualities of heart and her superiority of intellect, and then to have fallen suddenly into an abyss of sin and wickedness, comprising domestic treason, murder, perjury, the subornation of perjurers, adultery, the conniving at divorce without adequate grounds, and all the other crimes connected with such proceedings; and then, after fifteen months of such a desperate course, to have risen to her former elevation, and have passed the remainder of her life with dignity, calmness, resignation, and in the habitual exercise of sincere piety, and to have met her death with a degree of heroism which has secured the admiration of posterity, and strengthened the doubts of her being guilty of the crimes imputed to her. The whole controversy, from Buchanan to Bell, is, I take for granted, known to your readers. Your publication is not the place suited to an examination of such mental operations, which are without a historical prototype, and without a known parallel. If any light can be thrown on any part of this subject, it becomes an act of historical justice, a work of Christian charity to Mary, and an illustration of the workings of the mind in a great emergency.

The late Chevalier Bronsted, of whose learning and accuracy his archæological works bear record, and whose straightforward simplicity of mind was highly estimated by all who knew him, had read in manuscript the second part of the confession of Bothwell, made previous to his death. I think the manuscript was in the private cabinet of the King of Denmark. In that confession he owned to have violated the person of Mary, and that she became enceinte; that she miscarried, and immediately took measures to rid herself of him. Concluding that event to have transpired, there seems to be some clue to her forwarding the discussion of her council, and acquiescing in their request to marry Bothwell. A young queen, surrounded by ruffians, barbarians, and selfish and unprincipled leaders of factions, placed in a situation in which every feeling of the woman was outraged, every sentiment lacerated, her honour, her station, her life in jeopardy, her memory liable to degradation and disgrace, in terror, having in such extremity no friend to whom she could apply for advice and succour, she may have been induced to adopt means for her safety which, if injudicious, were excusable. My request is, to learn if any of your correspondents have seen or are cognisant of this very curious and important document.

ÆGROTUS.

Minor Queries.

229. "'Tis Twopence now," &c.

—Can any of your correspondents tell me where the following lines are to be found?—

I met with them in a newspaper (I think the Morning Herald) between twenty and thirty years ago, but I believe they have been transferred to that sheet from the pages of some periodical. The lines above given are the concluding lines of the piece; the preceding lines were devoted to the description of the dying away of the tones of the organ, and the musings of the poet amongst the tombs in Westminster Abbey.

REMIGIUS.

230. Scythians blind their Slaves.

—Can any of your correspondents explain to me the reason why, according to Herodotus, the Scythians used to blind their slaves? The passage is in chapter ii. book iv. I believe the reasoning to be hopelessly unreasonable, and have always been told that it is so, though I have met with many who have read the chapter again and again without even noticing the difficulty. The question is this:—What are we to supply in thought in order to connect the practice of blinding the slaves with the process of milking the mares, and stirring the milk to separate the cream or butter from it? Is it thus? The Scythians only feed cattle, and have no other use for slaves than to stir the milk, which they can do when blinded, at the same time that they are unable to escape, having been deprived of sight, and so their masters have not the trouble of watching them. This does not satisfy me; nor will it, I think, satisfy any one else.

THEOPHYLACT.

Blackheath.

231. The "Gododin."

—In the Note on "The Antiquity of Kilts," MR. STEPHENS quotes the Gododin, an ancient poem, or poems, on which there is great diversity of opinion regarding its contents. The Gododin was written or composed by Aneurin, in the dialect of the Northumbrian Britons, about the year 510, according to Llwyd. It is evident that a work of this description, with the usual accidents attending on transmission, must necessarily be somewhat obscure at the present day. Indeed, it appears to be so much so, that there are two very different versions; one giving it as the description of a battle, in which the intoxicated Britons were easy victims to the swords of the "stranger;" the other version, by the Rev. E. Davies, refers it to the "Brad y Cyllyll Hirion," (or, Plot of the Long Knives), or massacre of the British chiefs at Stonehenge, during a feast. Now as this event is stated to have occurred in 472, the Dinogat of Aneurin is not the Dinogat of 577. Moreover Davies describes him as Octa, a son of the Saxon Hengist. As MR. STEPHENS does not follow this version, and as he has given considerable attention to those subjects, perhaps he is enabled to decide this questio vexata. It should be observed that Davies accompanies his version with reasons that give it much weight.

GOMER.

232. Frontispiece to Hobbes's Leviathan.

—There are curious circumstances about this frontispiece which some of your readers may explain. The figure of Leviathan represents the upper part of a man with a crown on his head, a sword in his right hand, and a crozier in his left, the body and arms being made up of small human figures in various dresses. In the common editions the face has a manifest resemblance to Cromwell (the work was published in 1651), although it wears, as I have said, a regal crown. But in the copy belonging to Trinity College Library, the face appears to be intended for Charles I. The engraving of this copy is very much worse than the other, and is not worked into the same careful detail by the artist, though the outline is the same: and the text of the book is a separate and worse impression, though the errata are the same with the other copies, as well as the date. How Hobbes himself, or any other person, should come to print the Leviathan in this manner, it seems difficult to explain.

I have also a small French translation of Hobbes, De Corpore Politico, dated 1652, which has a similar figure for a frontispiece, but with an upright sword in the right, and a balance in the left, hand.

W. W.

Cambridge.

233. Broad Arrow or Arrow Head.

—What is the origin of the arrow head as a government mark?

↗

234. Deep Well near Bansted Downs.

—Mr. Robert Hooke, professor at Gresham College, writing in 1674, says he has—

"seen at a gentleman's house, not far from Bansted-Downs in Surrey, a well which is dug through a body of chalk, and is near 360 feet deep, and yet dry almost to the very bottom."

Is this well still known, and can any of your correspondents vindicate its situation, and give any particulars relating to it? The pamphlet in which it is mentioned is curious, for it is "an attempt to prove the motion of the earth [in its orbit] from observations." It will be observed that the work was written in the year 1674.

W. S. G.

Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

235. Upton Court.

—About nine miles from Reading, on the road to Newbury, and removed about two miles from the high road, is an ancient manor house called Upton Court. It is most curious as to architecture, and is a most interesting specimen of the houses of the gentry of former days. It belonged to a Catholic family of the name of Perkins. The chapel, in the house, and the hiding-place for priests, can still be seen. It is said that Pope wrote the Rape of the Lock there. I should be glad to know if any of your correspondents can confirm this fact from authentic evidence.

A. E.

236. Derivation of Prog.

—In Vol. iv., p. 175., Pirog is stated to be the Russian custom of the mistress of a family distributing on certain occasions bread or cake to her guests.

Query, Is this the origin of our slang word prog, meaning provisions?

J. SS.

237. Metrical History of England.

—I am nearly an octogenarian, consequently I ought to have something better, and humbly hope I have something better, to employ my thoughts than relics of old ditties and forgotten rhymes. Still the recurring questions of numerous grandchildren compel one to resort to long forgotten lore, and to request those whose memory still survives to compensate for the deficiencies of my own. I am particularly anxious to recover my lapsis in the following metrical, yet logical, history of England, which I have long ago forgotten:

If either MR. HALLIWELL, or DR. RIMBAULT, will favour me, they will confer a great obligation, and add much to the hilarity of my ensuing Christmas table.

MÆRIS.

238. Finger Pillories in Churches.

—Besides some interesting monuments, &c., to be found in the church of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, there stands under the western gallery a finger pillory, or stocks to confine the fingers only: it is fastened at its right-hand extremity into the wall, and consists of two pieces of oak; the bottom and fixed piece is three feet eight inches long; the width of the whole is four and a half inches, and when closed it is five inches deep: the left-hand extremity is supported by a leg of the same width as the top, and two feet six inches in length; the upper piece is joined to the lower by a hinge, and in this lower and fixed horizontal part are thirteen perpendicular holes, varying in size; the largest are towards the right hand: these holes are sufficiently deep to admit the finger to the second joint, and a slight hollow is made to receive the third one, which lies flat; there is of course a corresponding hollow in the top or movable part, which, when shut down, incloses the whole finger.

Its use is stated to have been for the punishment of persons guilty of mal-practices during divine service: truly, a mischievous urchin, or a lout of a farm servant, dragged off to the stocks, must have been a scene extremely edifying to the congregation, particularly if the offenders were obstreperous, and had no inclination whatever to be in a fix.

Query, Is there another known instance of stocks for the fingers alone, and applied to similar purposes?

THOS. LAWRENCE.

Ashby-de-la-Zouch.

239. Stallenge Queries.

—1. What was the christian name, birth, and parentage of the Stallenge who planted the mulberry trees at Sion House at the commencement of the seventeenth century?

2. What was the name of the first wife of that Sir Nicholas Stallenge who, towards the close of the sixteenth century, married as his second wife Florence Kenn, widow of Sir Christopher Kenn, of Kenn, in the county of Somerset?

3. What city or castle in England was Sir Thomas Stallenge his son governor of?

4. What was the name of the wife of the said Sir Thomas Stallenge?

M. C. U.

240. Ancient MS. History of Scotland.

—In the year 1796, there was in the possession of the Rev. Robert Rennie, minister of Kilsyth, Stirlingshire, an old MS. which that gentleman (in Sir John Sinclair's Statistical Account) thus describes:—

"It seems to be a chronicle of Scotland. The most of it is legible. It takes up the history of Scotland at the Christian era, and contains a regular series of all the remarkable events in every king's reign, with the name of the kings, down to the year 1565. I have compared it with many histories and annals of Scotland, but am of opinion that it is an original, and not a copy."

Can any of your correspondents give any additional information regarding it?

ABERDONIENSIS.

241. Pharetram de Tutesbit.

—Can you tell me the meaning of Pharetram de Tutesbit and sagittas flectatas in the following?

"William de Gresely tenet manerium de Drakelow in Com. Derby in Capite, et reddit unum arcum sine corda, et unum Pharetram de Tutesbit, et duodecim Sagittas flectatas, et unum buzonem."—Blount's Tenures.

H. N. E.

Bitton Vicarage, Oct. 1851.

242. Inundation at Deptford.

—In Lysons' Environs of London, vol. iv. p. 359., it is stated that in the year 1671 a great inundation happened at and near Deptford, which did much mischief, so that the inhabitants were obliged to retire in boats to the upper town, and that an account of it was extant in a small pamphlet published at the time. If any of your correspondents could inform me where a copy of this is to be met with, or give me any further particulars concerning the occurrence, I should feel very much obliged.

W. H. HART.

New Cross.

243. Butler's Sermons.

—In the account of Bishop Butler, attached to his works, mention is made of MS. sermons, from which those which have been published were selected. Is it known if there are any writings of his in existence, and where they are? His executor was Dr. Nathaniel Foster.

L.

244. Coleridge's Christabel.

—Can any one familiar with the Coleridge Papers inform me whether the following is a veritable fragment of the poet's own continuation of Christabel, or perhaps of one of those conclusions (some serious, some jocose) which we owe to Tupper, Moir, and Maginn?

MORTIMER COLLINS.

245. Epigram ascribed to Mary Queen of Scots.

—When the Queen visited the library of Trinity College, Dublin, in 1849, she was shown an early edition of Sallust, which had belonged to Mary Queen of Scots, and has her autograph signature, and many MS. notes and a MS. Latin epigram, supposed to be her Majesty's composition. The volume is a small quarto, title Opera Sallustiana, with the date 1523, and a colophon:

"Impressus per Antonium Blanchard anno domini M. quingentessimo xxiii. pridie Kalend. Sextilis."

But on a page following the title there appears—

"Ex officina nostra caleographa Parrhisiis pridie Kalendas Novembris anni hujus M. CCCCC quarti."

The volume was presented to the College library by Mr. Croker, as appears by a dono dedit in his handwriting, and by the following note in that of the learned Dr. Barrett:—

"This book, which formerly belonged to Mary Queen of Scots, was presented by James I. to Bishop Hall (fol. 90.), and presented to this library, July 26, 1800, by John Wilson Croker, F.C., A.B."

The presentation by James to the Bishop is thus recorded:—

"Hunk [sic] librum Jacobus rex dono dedit amico suo reverendo Doctori Hall."

These details may interest bibliographers, as I do not find any notice of this edition in Dibdin, or any other work within my reach[2] but the main object of my curiosity is the Latin epigram in the Queen's hand, and supposed (I suspect erroneously) to be her composition. The lines are:

The obvious reason for doubting ex facie that this is the Queen's composition, is its masculine character; but some of your many learned correspondents may be able to say whether the verses are to be found elsewhere, and attributed to any other author?

I myself have not seen the volume for above fifty years; but the foregoing extracts have been furnished me by a friend who lately examined it. One curious particular, however, I remember. The capital letters at the head of the several divisions of the work are, after the manner of the time, ornamented with devices, and one of these, which Queen Mary must have seen (if she, indeed, wrote the MS. notes), is of a most grotesque character, totally unfit for a lady's, or indeed for any body's eye; and I dare say that page was not exhibited in 1849.

C.

Minor Queries Answered.

Meaning of Farlieu.

—Devonshire leases for lives often reserve a money payment on the death of each life as a "heriot" or "farlieu." Can you inform me of the etymology and meaning of the latter word? it appears almost synonymous with "heriot."

CLERICUS.

[Bailey, in his Dictionary, says "Farleu or Farley is a duty of sixpence paid to the lord of the manor of West Slapton in Devonshire, in the western parts; farleu being distinguished as the best good thing from heriot the best beast."]

"History of Anglesey."

—I would be glad if any of your readers can afford me any information regarding the writer of a work bearing the following title:—

"A History of the Island of Anglesey, from its first Invasion by the Romans, until finally acceded to the Crown of England, &c. Serving as a Supplement to Rowlands' Mona Antiqua Restaurata. To which are also added, Memoirs of Owen Glendower, 4to. Lond. 1775, pp. 88."

Watt, in his Bibliotheca Britannica, ascribes to Dr. John Campbell, author of a Political Survey of Great Britain, &c., &c., the authorship of a little world entitled—

"A true and exact Description of the Island of Shetland, &c. Together with an account of the Great White Herring Fishery of that place, 12 mo. Lond. 1750, and 2d ed. 1753."

In the preface the writer states that he spent five years in Shetland. Now I want to know if Dr. Campbell ever spent five years in Shetland; for if not, he could not be the author, though it would appear from vol. i. p. 679. of the Political Survey that he had at least visited Shetland more than once. Also, as I have only the second edition, if any one would be so kind as to give me a copy of the title-page of the first edition, and the number of pages, I would feel obliged, as I suspect that in both these respects the editions differ.

Βορεας.

[The following is a copy of the title-page of the first edition of the latter work:—"An Exact and Authentic Account of the greatest White Herring Fishery in Scotland, carried on yearly in the Island of Zetland, by the Dutch only. The Method the Dutch use in catching the Herrings, and an exact account of their way of curing, and lasting, or casking them. And a Method laid down whereby we may easily engross that profitable branch of trade into our own hands. To which is prefixed a Description of the Island, its situation, produce, the manners and customs of the inhabitants, and their method of trading with the Dutch. By a Gentleman who resided Five Years on the Island. London: Printed for Joseph Davidson, at the Angel, in the Poultry, 1750." Pp. 34, and a Preface to the Candid Reader of three pages.]

The Word "Rile."

—May I add to the East-Anglian Vocabulary the adjective rile == muddy? "The water is too rile to drink" was the remark of a servant the other day. The verb to rile is given in Forby's Vocabulary.

CHARLES THIRIOLD.

[Is not rile a corruption of the American colloquialism royle or roil, to make turbid by stirring up the sediment, or to make angry? Theodore de la Guard, in The Simple Cobler of Aggawam, p. 2. A.D. 1647, says: "Sathan is now in his passions, he feeles his passion approaching: he loves to fish in royled waters."]