Volume 5 — Queries.

SPEAKER LENTHALL.

In a biographical notice (MS.) of Speaker Lenthall by the Rev. Mark Noble, I find the following passage:

"His (Lenthall's) ancestor is mentioned in the will of Sir Richard Williams alias Cromwell. Sir Richard was the great-grandfather of Oliver Lord Protector. There was always a friendship between the family of Cromwell and that of Lenthall."

Can any one versed in Cromwellian lore kindly inform me if any such will is in existence; and if so, what is its date? I should be glad to know too if there is any further authority for the statement in the text, that there was always a friendship between the Cromwells and Lenthalls, assuming such friendship to have subsisted anterior to the days of the Commonwealth.

It is stated by Wood (Athen. Oxon., article LENTHALL), and repeated in substance by Noble in his Protectoral House of Cromwell, that "two or more" of the Speaker's son, Sir John Lenthall's speeches, "spoken in the time of usurpation," are in print. Having hitherto failed in discovering any trace of these speeches, I should greatly value any clue that may direct me to them if still extant. On Noble's authority, when unsupported, of course little reliance can be placed; but in any matter of detail, or pure and simple fact, related by Wood, I have considerable, though not altogether implicit, faith.

In a brief and singularly inaccurate memoir of Lenthall, in the Lives of the Speakers, lately published by Churton, the following passage occurs:

"We omitted to state in reference to Mr. Lenthall's strenuous exertions in favour of the gallant Earl of Derby, that Mrs. Cromwell, in one of her letters to the Protector, urges him to endeavour to effect a reconciliation with the Speaker," &c. &c.

As no authority is cited, I should be glad to learn where the letters of Mrs. Cromwell thus referred to are to be found. Are they in print or MS.? If any of your readers should be able to enlighten me in respect of all or any of the above Queries, and would kindly do so either through the medium of the Notes, or to my address as below, I should be greatly obliged.

F. KYFFIN LENTHALL.

36. Mount Street, Grosvenor Square.

NOTTE OF IMBERCOURT, SURREY.

I find that Robert Roper, Esq., of Heanor Hall, co. Derby, married ... daughter of William Nott, Esq., of Imbercourt, co. Surrey, and had issue, with other children, Rebecca; married first Sir William Villiers, Bart., of Brooksby, co. Leicester, elder brother of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham; and secondly Capt. Francis Cave of Ingarsby Hall, co. Leicester.

Can any one of your readers supply me with the Christian name of Robert Roper's wife; and with the names of his other issue: also whether the representation of this branch of the Roper family has devolved upon the descendants of Rebecca Cave? I find in my mem. book a reference to Dodsw. MSS. in Bibl. Bodl. 41. fol. 70., which I have no means of consulting at present.

I find that William Notte, with Elizabeth his wife, his father-in-law and mother-in-law, are buried at Thames Ditton, co. Surrey. Manning and Bray's Surrey, vol. i. p. 463., contains the following passage:

"On a stone, or brass plates, are the portraits of a man kneeling at a table, and of a woman: behind the man are three sons; behind the woman, three daughters all kneeling, and underneath:

"'Here under lyeth the bodies of Robert Smythe, Gent., and Katheryn his wife, daughter to Sir Thomas Blount of Kinlett, Knyght, which Robert dyed the 3rd daye of Sept. 1539, and the sayd Katheryn dyed the x day of July, 1549.'

"Below these, on the same stone, are also the portraits of a man with fourteen sons behind him; and a woman with five daughters, all kneeling; and underneath:

"'Here under lyeth the bodies of William Notte, Esquyre, and Elizabeth his wife, daughter to the above-named Robert Smyth, and Katheryn his wyfe; whiche William dyed the 25th day of Nov. 1576, and the sayd Elizabeth dyed the xv day of May, 1587.'

"Above are the arms, Notte, on a bend between 3 leopards heads one and two, 3 martlets; crest, an otter with a fish in his mouth in a tussock of reeds.'"

Can any one of your readers refer me to any notice or pedigree of this family of Notte, who were lords of the manor of Imbercourt in the parish of Thames Ditton?

Can any one tell me to what family this Robert Smythe belonged? Was he one of the Smythes of Ostenhanger in Kent? Was his wife Katheryne too the daughter of Sir Thomas Blount by the daughter of Sir Richard Crofts of Eldersfield? The History of the Croke family does not notice her existence. And, lastly, would some one on the spot kindly inform me, whether the above-mentioned brasses are still extant, and in sufficiently perfect condition to admit of a rubbing being taken of them?

TEWARS.

Minor Queries.

Suffragan Bishops.

—Can any of your readers favour me with information in regard to any seals of suffragan bishops in England, besides that which is engraved in the Archæologia, vol. vii.? Any references or notices on the subject of suffragans would be thankfully received, which may not be included in the observations collected by Dr. Pegge.

ALBERT WAY.

Poison.

—I should feel much indebted to any of your correspondents who will inform me what is the true etymon of this word—the strict meaning of the term originally—and when first used in our language?

However trifling this Query may at first sight appear, yet I am very anxious to ascertain whether, originally, the term was applied exclusively or principally to deadly agents operating on the body through the skin, or an external wound, and not through the stomach?

The Greek word Toxicon is rendered "venenum," quod barbarorum sagittæ eo illinebantur (Vide Diosc. Lib. VI. cap. XX.) Again, Iòs, jaculum, sagitta. Item, venenum, quod serpentes et cætera animalia venenata ejaculatur. Horace uses the words "pus atque venenum," not to express two different things, but merely to add force and point to his satire; just as in like manner we read "crafts and subtleties" in the Liturgy, or "a thief and a robber" in the Scripture.

Now, is it not probable that our word "poison" takes its origin from this "pus?"

CARBO.

Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell.

—In the Critic of February 2, 1852, p. 78., there is an excellent letter, written by a lady, in defence of female doctors. In this letter Elizabeth Blackwell, M.D., is mentioned with great respect. It appears, from the Critic of January 15, p. 45., that Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell is an American lady, and graduated in some American university, and that she was received with distinguished marks of attention both in London and Paris, and especially at St. Bartholomew's Hospital. Can any of your correspondents favour us with a biography of this lady, and state in what university, and when she graduated?

SOB.

Martha, Countess of Middleton.

—In Worcester Cathedral is a marble monument to the memory of "Martha,[5] Countess of Middleton, who died the 9th of February, 1705, aged 71."

Can any of your readers inform me who this lady was? I have been unable to find her name in any of the pedigrees within any reach.

J. B. WHITBORNE.

Lord Lieutenant and Sheriff.

—The latter officer, the sheriff, claims precedency over the Queen's representative, the lord lieutenant, in the county, whilst in office. It seems contrary to all reason, but will any of your legal friends state upon what authority such precedence is maintained; and in what instances they know that, when present, the lord lieutenant has ranked below the sheriff?

L. I.

Vikingr Skotar.

—Mr. W. F. Skene, in his Highlanders, quotes Ari Froda or Arius Multiscius for the assertion, that the Hebrides were occupied, on the departure of Harold Harfagr, "by Vikingr Skotar, a term which is an exact translation of the appellation Gallgael" (vol. ii. p. 27.). That is true, on the assumption that Vikingr is not Icelandic for pirate, but only for Scandinavian pirate; which assumption I should doubt.

But I wish to be informed in what edition of Ari Froda, and at what page thereof, the words Vikingr Skotar may be found.

A. N.

The Abbot of Croyland's Motto.

—Will you allow me to call MR. LOWER'S attention to a passage in his English Surnames, vol. ii. p. 122., 3rd edition, which he has passed over without comment, but which struck me as requiring some editorial notice:

"The motto of John Wells, last abbot of Croyland, engraved upon his chair, which is still extant, is:

Reading "Domino" for "Domine" would make the first line of this inscription plain enough, as a quotation from the canticle "Benedicite, omnia opera;" but what are we to think of the second line? Could not the worthy abbot have given the pun upon his name in English, without using those particular words, or placing them in such a position that they actually look as if they were intended as a translation, word for word, of their Latin companions, in defiance of all the laws of grammar?

C. FORBES.

Temple.

Apple Sauce with Pork.

—Why and when was the custom of eating apple sauce with pork first introduced?

BONIFACE.

Gipsies.

—In Shinar, or the province of Babylon, are the mountains of Singares, and the city and river of Singara. Have they anything to do with the origin of Zingari, the Italian name for gipsies?

L. M. M. R.

Breezes from Gas Works.

—Why do secretaries to provincial gas companies call small pieces of coke breezes; and why do they by letters offer to sell "breezes at tenpence per sack?" My residence is not far distant from the works of one of these Æolian gas companies; and when the wind is in the east, I inhale breezes which my senses tell me do not blow from "Araby the blest."

X. Y. Z.

The Phrase "and tye."

—The clerk in a parish in the north-west part of Sussex frequently makes use of an expression which I cannot understand,—nay more, he is unable to explain it himself! The expression is used by several of the old men in the parish, though by none of them so often as by the clerk. "Well, master, how are ye to-day?" He answers, "Middling, thanky'e and tye." He brings these two words in at the end of most sentences. If you ask him whether there are many people in the church, he will say, "Fairish number and tye;" or, "No, not many and tye."

Can any of your correspondents say if they have heard it elsewhere, or tell the meaning of it?

NEDLAM.

Stonehenge, a Pastoral, by John Speed.

—Is any MS. of this dramatic pastoral known to exist? It was acted, according to Wood, before the President and Fellows of St. John's College, Oxford, in 1635.

EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.

"Buro—Berto—Beriora."

—A gold ring was found in France, in the province of Artois, between thirty and forty years ago, bearing the following inscription:

The ring is of a proper size for a man's finger, is plain, and rounded on the outside. The words are on the inner side, which is flat. They are well engraved, and very distinct. The character is the black letter of the fifteenth century. Perhaps, through the medium of "N. & Q.," a satisfactory interpretation of the three words may be obtained, which has been long sought in vain.

A. F. A. W.

'Prentice Pillars.

—"Deaths by Fasting," and "Genevra's Chest," have reminded me of another tradition, no doubt equally groundless. It is said by the vergers that one of the circular windows in the transepts of Lincoln Minster was designed by an apprentice; and that the master, mortified at being surpassed, put an end to his own existence. There is another "'prentice window" at Melrose: a similar anecdote is connected with two pillars in Roslyn Chapel. And there may have been many more of these clever apprentices and foolish architects, but can one case be substantiated?

C. T.

Archer Rolls: Master of Archery.

—In George Agar Hansard's Book of Archery, 8vo. London, Longman and Orme, 1840, p. 151., it is stated that "Her Gracious Majesty, Alexandrina Victoria" has her name inscribed upon the Archer Rolls. Query, what are the Archer Rolls?

It is further said:

"That illustrious lady, in imitation of the warrior race of monarchs from whom she springs, has given a proof of real British feeling, by the appointment of a Master of Archery among her household officers."

I confess I can find no authority upon which this assertion is founded. I have looked into the Calendar of the time, and have consulted officers of the present household upon the existence of the office, without success.

I should be glad to ascertain the point, being engaged on a manuscript concerning the practice of archery.

TOXOPHILUS.

Witchcraft: Mrs. Hicks and her Daughter.

—In the Quarterly for March 1852, in the article on "Sir Roger de Coverley," mention is made of "Mrs. Hicks and her daughter," who were executed at Huntingdon in 1716 for "selling their souls to the devil, making their neighbour vomit pins, and raising a storm by which a certain ship was almost lost." I would wish to know whether there is extant any account of this trial; I do not mean of the result, but whether I can anywhere meet with any account of the trial itself; of the judge before whom it was tried; the evidence, especially as to the ship which was almost lost; and whether (what was observed upon in the answer of your correspondent H. B. C. to some Queries about "Old Booty's Ghost") the time of the crime being committed in Huntingdonshire, agrees with the position of the ship at the moment.

J. H. L.

University Club.

Antony Hungerford.

—In 4 Henry V. (1417) Sir Hugh Burnell, a descendant of Robert Burnell, Bishop of Bath and Wells, and Lord Chancellor in the reign of Edward I., entered into articles of agreement with Sir Walter Hungerford (through the King's mediation by letters) for the marriage of Margery, one of Sir Hugh's grandchildren, to Edmund Hungerford, son of Sir Walter. There was issue of this marriage, as I find by a fine levied by Antony Hungerford in the 32nd of Henry VIII.; but any further information respecting this family I am not able to meet with. If any of your correspondents can assist me in my inquiries I shall feel much obliged.

W. H. HART.

New Cross, Hatcham.

Rev. William Dawson.

—Can any of the readers of "N. & Q." favour me with some particulars regarding the ancestry of the Rev. William Dawson, minister of the Gospel at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, who was appointed Professor of Hebrew and other Oriental languages in the University of Edinburgh in 1732? He is supposed to have been descended from the Irish family of Cremorne.

E. N.

"Up, Guards, and at them!"

—Is there authority for the "Up, Guards, and at them!" traditionally put in the mouth of "the Duke" at Waterloo? I have heard not.

A. A. D.

P.S. Is not the battle itself a myth?

St. Botolph.

—I much wish some of the readers of "N. & Q." would refer me to any authorities they may know of respecting St. Botolph?

Private hints directed "A. B., Mr. Morton's, Publisher, Boston," will be most thankfully received.

A. B.

Rental of Arable Land in 1333.

—In the year 1333, it appears from The Custom Book, fol. 60., that the then Sheriff of Norfolk sent a copy of the king's proclamation to the Bailiffs of Norwich, commanding them to cause proclamation to be made in the city that "no man presume to take more than 24s. for the best living ox fatted with grain, and if not fatted with grain only 16s.; the best fat cow 12s.; the best fat swine of two years old, only 4s.; the best fat mutton unclipped, 20d.; and if clipped, then 14d.; a fat goose, 2d.; two pullets, 1d.; four pigeons, 1d.; a good fat capon, 2d.; a fat hen, 1d.; and twenty-four eggs, 1d." Can any of the readers of "N. & Q." inform me what was the then yearly (average) rental of an acre of arable land, and the value per annum of an acre (average) of pasture? Also the relative value of one shilling sterling, as compared with one shilling at the present time?

JOHN FAIRFAX FRANCKLIN.

West Newton.

Dress shows the Man.

—Can any of your correspondents inform me in what Greek author ἱμάτιον ἀνήρ, "the dress shows the man," is to be found?

W. S.

Richmond, Surrey.

Burnet (Gilbert).

—Can any of your readers help me to identify the Gilbert Burnet, whose correspondence with Professor Francis Hutcheson on the Foundation of Virtue was published, first in The London Journal, and afterwards in a separate pamphlet, in 1735? Was he Gilbert son of Bishop Burnet, or was he the vicar of Coggeshall, who abridged the Boyle Lectures; or was he a third Gilbert Burnet, in addition to the other two?

TYRO.

Dublin.

Where was Cromwell buried?

—It has been the belief of many that the burial at Westminster Abbey was a mock ceremony, that in case a change in the ruling powers should take place, his remains were deposited in a place of greater security, and that the spot selected for his grave was the field of Naseby. The author of The Compleat History of England speaks of a "Mr. Barkstead, the regicide's son," as being ready to depose—

"That the said Barkstead his father, being Lieutenant of the Tower, and a great confident of Cromwell's, did, among other such confidents, in the time of his illness, desire to know where he would be buried; to which the Protector answered, 'where he had obtained the greatest victory and glory, and as nigh the spot as could be guessed where the heat of the action was, viz. in the field at Naseby in com. Northampton.' That at midnight, soon after his death, the body (being first embalmed and wrapt in a leaden coffin) was in a hearse conveyed to the said field, Mr. Barkstead himself attending, by order of his father, close to the hearse. That being come to the field, they found about the midst of it a grave dug about nine feet deep, with the green-sod carefully laid on one side and the mould on the other, in which the coffin being put, the grave was instantly filled up, and the green-sod laid exactly flat upon it, care being taken that the surplus mould should be clean removed. That soon after the like care was taken that the ground should be ploughed up, and that it was sowed successively with corn."

The author further states that the deponent was about fifteen years old at the time of Cromwell's death.

Some seven or eight years ago I visited the field of Naseby, and whilst there I met by accident with the aged clergyman of Naseby. Our conversation naturally referred to the historical incident that had given so much interest to the spot; and finally we spoke of this very subject. I remember his telling me that he had collected some very important memoranda relative to this matter, I think he said, "which proved the arrival of his remains at Huntingdon, on their road elsewhere."

Has this subject been properly investigated? and has any research been made which has led to a satisfactory decision of the question?

A. B.

Islington.

Minor Queries Answered.

Knollys Family.

—QUÆRENS would be glad to know whether any of the Knollys family, claimants of the earldom of Banbury, married either an Etheridge or a Blackwell?

Also, especially, who were the wives of Major-General William Knollys, calling himself eighth Earl of Banbury, and of his father, Thomas Woods Knollys, calling himself seventh earl.

[Thos. Woods Knollys, called Earl of Banbury (father of the last claimant to the Earldom of Banbury), married Mary, daughter of William Porter of Winchester, attorney-at-law; he died the 18th March, 1793; and she, 23rd March, 1798.

Their eldest son, William Knollys, called in his father's lifetime Viscount Wallingford, and afterwards Earl of Banbury, married ——, daughter of Ebenezer Blackwell.]

Emblematical Halfpenny.

—I enclose a rude drawing of a halfpenny, and should be glad to be favoured with a more detailed account of its emblematical import than I at present possess. It is thus described in Conder's Provincial Coins, Ipswich, 1798, p. 213.:

"A square of daggers, the word 'fire' at each corner, a foot in the middle, under it the word 'honor;' over it 'France,' and the word 'throne' bottom upwards; on one side 'glory' defaced, on the other 'religion' divided. 'A Map of France,' 1794."

On reverse, in a radiation, "May Great Britain ever remain the reverse," encircled with an open wreath of oak. Engrailed.

PETROPROMONTORIENSIS.

[The types here described appear to explain themselves. That of the obverse is clearly emblematical of the then state of France, with France surrounded by fire and sword, honour trodden under foot, the throne overturned, religion shattered, and glory defaced; while the reverse expresses a very natural wish.]

National Proverbs.

—Will any of your correspondents refer me to any collections of proverbs of different nations, or to writers who may have given lists of those of any particular people, either ancient or modern?

SIGMA.

[To answer our correspondent fully would fill an entire Number of "N. & Q." We had thought of giving him a list of the best collections of the proverbs of different nations, as Le Roux de Lincy's Livre des Proverbes Français; Korte's Die Sprichwörter und Sprichwörtlichen Redensarten der Deutschen; but we shall be doing him better service by referring him to two books, in which we think he will find all the information of which he is in search; viz., 1. Nopitsch, Literatur der Sprichwörter; and 2. Duplessis, Bibliographie Parémiologique. Etudes Bibliographiques et Litéraires sur les Ouvrages, Fragmens d'Ouvrages et Opuscules spécialement consacrés aux Proverbes dans toutes les langues.]

Heraldic Query.

—An armiger had two wives, and issue by both: by the first, sons; by the second, who was an heiress, daughters only. Have the descendants of the second marriage right to quarter the ancestor's arms, male issue of the first marriage still surviving? It would seem that they have, as otherwise the arms of the heiress' family cannot be transmitted to her posterity, nor the heraldic representation carried on.

G. A. C.

[The daughter of armiger by his second wife would of course quarter her mother's arms with those of her father. In case of the daughter marrying and having issue, such issue, to show that the grandmother was an heiress, would, with their paternal crest, quarter those of the grandmother, placing the arms of armiger on a canton.]

Chantrey's Marble Children.

—I have just had placed before me a memorandum to the effect that "there is at Leyden the perfect and undoubted original of Chantrey's celebrated figures of the children at Lichfield." The reference is to Poynder's Literary Extracts, Second Series, p. 63. As I have not seen the book, and have no access to it, will some correspondent of "N. & Q." inform me whether the foregoing passage contains the whole of Poynder's statement; or otherwise afford any information relative to its origin? I need scarcely add, that the reputation of the great English sculptor is nowise involved in the issue of the question.

D.

[We subjoin the whole of Mr. Poynder's article, which is signed "Miscellaneous:"—"There is at Leyden the perfect and undoubted original of Chantrey's celebrated figures of the children at Lichfield; and on a friend of the writer mentioning the circumstance to that artist, he did not deny the fact. The figures form the foreground of a celebrated painting in the Town-hall, commemorating the heroic conduct of a former defender of that city, when it was reduced by famine to the greatest extremities. On this occasion the citizens are represented as earnestly importuning the governor to surrender, and representing their deplorable condition from the effects of the siege. Many dying figures are introduced into the painting, and among them the children in question are seen locked in each other's arms, precisely as in the sculpture at Lichfield. The story proceeds to relate, that the commander declared he would never surrender the city; and added, that whether his fellow-citizens chose to hang him, or throw him into the dyke, he was determined never to open the gates to such a monster as the Duke of Alva. It is further stated, that the providential relief of the city by some troops of his own side rewarded his courage."]

Autobiography of Timour.

—In 1785, Institutes, Political and Military, of the Emperor Timour (incorrectly called Tamerlane), were published at Calcutta, printed by Daniel Stuart. This work, which may more properly be named autobiographical memoranda, written by Timour, was composed by him originally in the Turkish language, and translated by Abu Taulib Alhusseini into Persian, and by Major Davy into English, to which Dr. Joseph White, of Oxford, added notes; and other matter was affixed by a person whose name is not given. The rules for carrying to a successful result great enterprises are profound and dignified, and the enterprises extraordinary and interesting, though only given in outline. This part ends with the capture of Bagdat (d?). I wish to know if there exists an accredited translation from the original by Timour in the Turkish, and of what more this extraordinary work consists; and if any part, or all, has ever been printed in England, or in any European language?

ÆGROTUS.

[In the year 1787, the late Professor Langlés of Paris published a French translation of the Institutes, under the title of Instituts Politiques et Militaires de Tamerlane, proprement appellé Timour, écrits par lui-même en Mogol, et traduits en François sur la version Persane d'Abou Taleb al Hosseini, avec la Vie de ce Conquerant, &c. And in 1830 another English translation was published by Major Charles Stewart, late Professor of Oriental Languages in Hon. E. I. Company's College, entitled, The Mulfuzāt Timūr, or Autobiographical Memoirs of the Moghul Emperor Timūr. In the Preface to this edition our correspondent will find an interesting bibliographical account of the work and its various translations.]