Volume 4 — Replies.

PLAIDS AND TARTANS. (Vol. iv., p. 107.)

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.

RELIGIOUS STATISTICS. (Vol. iv., p. 382.)

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:—

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):

But this work contains no summary of the total amounts of its own enumerations.

A HERMIT AT HAMPSTEAD.

ROYAL LIBRARY. (Vol. iii., p. 427.; Vol. iv., pp. 69. 154.)

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.

DAMASKED LINEN. (Vol. ii., p. 199.; Vol. iii., pp. 13. 229.)

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.

VERMIN, PAYMENTS FOR DESTRUCTION OF. (Vol. iv., pp. 208. 389.)

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.

WAS RALEIGH IN VIRGINIA? (Vol. iv., pp. 190. 241.)

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.

Replies to Minor Queries.

Bunting's Irish Melodies.

—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.

Colonies in England (Vol. iv., pp. 272. 370.).

—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.

"History of Anglesey," &c. (Vol. iv, p. 317.).

—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.

The Lowey of Tunbridge (Vol. iv., p. 294.).

—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.

Praed's Works (Vol. iv., p. 256.).

—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.]

John à Cumber (Vol. iv., p. 83.).

—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.

Punishment of Prince Edward of Carnarvon (Vol. iv., pp. 338. 409.).

—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.

Joceline's Legacy (Vol. iv., pp. 367. 410.).

—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.

Bristol Tables (Vol. iv., p. 406.).

—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.

Grimsdyke or Grimesditch (Vol. iv., pp. 192. 330.).

—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.

Derivation of "Æra" (Vol. iv., p. 383.).

—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.

Scent of the Blood-hound (Vol. iv., p. 368.).

—C. H. asks whether it be true that hound loses his scent—

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.

Monk and Cromwell Families (Vol. iv., p. 381.).

—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.

"Truth is that which a man troweth" (Vol. iv., p. 382.).

—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.

"Worse than a Crime" (Vol. iv., p. 274.).

—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.

Verses in Classical Prose (Vol. iv., p. 382.).

—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.

Cruelty of the Spaniards in Peru (Vol. iv., p. 257.).

—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.

Nolo Episcopari (Vol. iv., p. 346.).

—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.

Hougoumont (Vol. iv., p. 313.).

—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.

Call a Spade, a Spade (Vol. iv., p. 274.).

—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:—

"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.

"Tace is Latin for a Candle" (Vol. i., p. 385.; Vol. ii., p. 45.).

—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.

Collars of SS. (Vol. iv., pp. 147. 236.).

—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.

Locusts of the New Testament (Vol. iv., pp. 255. 351.).

—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.

Theodolite (Vol. iv., p. 383.).

—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.

"A Posie of other Men's Flowers" (Vol. iv., p. 211.).

—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.

Voltaire (Vol. iii. p. 433.).

—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:—

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.

Sinaïtic Inscriptions (Vol. iv., p. 382.).

—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.

Le Greene at Wrexham (Vol. iv., p. 371.).

—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.

Cross-legged Effigies (Vol. iv., p. 382.).

—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.

The Word Ἀδελφὸς (Vol. iv., p. 339.).

—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.

Finger Pillories (Vol. iv., p. 315.).

—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?]

Blackloana Heresis (Vol. iv., p. 239.).

—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.

Quaker Expurgated Bible.

—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.

"Acu tinali merida" (Vol. iv., p. 406.).

—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.