Replies to Minor Queries
Cromwell Poisoned (Vol. ii., p. 393.).—Your correspondent P. T. queries if there be any other statement than that which he adduces respecting Cromwell having been poisoned. I would refer him to the Athenæ Oxoniensis of Anthony à Wood, vol. ii. p. 303.,2 in which it is stated that Dr. George Bate's friends gave him credit for having given a baneful dose to the Protector, to ingratiate himself with Charles II. Amidst all the mutations of those changeful times, and whether Charles I., Cromwell, or Charles II. were in the ascendant, Dr. George Bate always contrived to be the chief state physician. In Whitelock's Memorials of the English Affairs (1732), p. 494, it appears that the Parliament, in 1651, ordered Dr. Bate to go into Scotland to attend the General (Cromwell), and to take care of his health; he being his usual physician in London, and well esteemed by him. He wrote a work styled Elenchus Motuum nuperorum in Angliâ. This was severely scrutinised in another, entitled Elenchus Elenchi; sive Animadversiones in Georgii Batei, Cromwelli Paricidæ, aliquando Protomedici, Elenchi Motuum nuperorum in Angliâ. Autore Robt. Pugh; Parisiis, 1664.
Dr. Bate, who died 19th April, 1669, was buried at Kingston upon Thames.
§ N.
Nov. 9. 1850.
"Never did Cardinal bring Good to England" (Vol. ii., pp. 424, 450.).—Beruchino is right in his suggestion that Dr. Lingard may accidentally have omitted a reference to the place from whence he really derived this saying; for Hall tells us in his Chronicle (ed. 1809, p. 758.), that
"Charles, Duke of Suffolke, seeing the delay, gave a great clappe on the table with his hande and said, 'By the masse, now I see that the olde saied sawe is true, that there was never Legatt nor Cardinall that did good in Englande.'"
Whether Charles Brandon was a reader of Piers Ploughman, I know not; but the following passage from that poem proves he was giving expression to a feeling which had long been popular in this country. I quote from Mr. Wright's edition, published by Pickering:
"I knew nevere Cardinal
That he ne cam fra the Pope;
And we clerkes, whan thei come,
For hir comunes paieth,
For hir pelure and hir palfreyes mete,
And pilours that hem folweth.
"The comune clamat cotidie
Ech a man til oother,
The contree is the corseder
That Cardinals comme inne;
And ther thei ligge and lenge moost,
Lecherie there regneth."
L. 13789—13800.
Mr. Wright observes in a note upon this passage, that "the contributions levied upon the clergy for the support of the Pope's messengers and agents was a frequent subject of complaint in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries."
Thetas.
Gloves not worn in the Presence of Royalty (Vol. i., p. 366.).—
"This week the Lord Coke, with his gloves on, touched and kissed the King's hand; but whether to be confirmed a counsellor, or cashiered, I cannot yet learn."—Letter in Court and Times of Charles I., dated April, 1625.
W. Dn.
Nonjurors' Oratories in London (Vol. ii., p. 354.).—
"Nothing, my lord, appears so dreadful to me, as the account I have of the barefaced impudence of your Jacobite congregations in London. The marching of the King's forces to and fro through the most factious parts of the kingdom, must (in time) put an end to our little country squabbles; but your fifty churches of nonjurors could never be thus daring, were they not sure of the protection of some high ally."—Letter from Bishop Nicholson to Archbishop Wake, dated Rose, Sept. 20. 1716. in Ellis's Letters, Series iii.
W. Dn.
"Filthy Gingran" (Vol. ii., p. 335).—I have found the following clue to the solution of my Query on this point:—
"Gingroen (gin-croen) s. f., the toad-flax, a kind of stinking mushroom."—Owen's Welsh Dictionary.
There is, however, some mistake (a high authority informs me) in the explanation given in the dictionary. Toad-flax is certainly not a "mushroom," neither does it "stink." Is the Welsh word applied to both equivocally as distinct objects? In Withering's Arrangement of British Plants, 7th edit., vol. iii., p. 734., 1830, the Welsh name of Antirrhinum Sinaria, or common yellow toad-flax, is stated to be Gingroen fechan.
I must still invite further explanation.
A. T.
Michael Scott (Vol. ii., p. 120.).—A correspondent wishes to know what works of Michael Scott's have ever been printed. In John Chapman's Catalogue for June, 1850, I see advertised
"Michael Scott's Physionomia, Venet. 1532.
—– Chyromantia del Tricasso da Ceresari, 2 vols. in 1, 1532."
H. A. B.
The Widow of the Wood (Vol. ii., p. 406.).—Your correspondent is referred to Lowndes's Bibliographical Manual, vol. iii. p. 1868, for some mention of this work. It is there stated that the late eminent conveyancer, Francis Hargreave, the step-son of the lady, "bought up and destroyed every copy of this work that he could procure."
J. H. M.
Bath.
The Widow of the Wood, 1775, 12mo., pp. vi. and 208. (Inquired after at Vol. ii, p. 406.)—I have this book. It appears to be a Narrative of Complaint of the widow of "John Wh—y, Esq.," of "Great H-y-w—d" (Great Heywood, near Stafford), against Sir W—m W—y in the same neighbourhood.
Thomas Kerslake.
Bristol.
Modum Promissionis (Vol. ii., pp 279. 347.).—Your correspondent C. H. has not solved my difficulty as to modum promissionis. In the hope that he, or others, will still kindly endeavour to do so, I subjoin the context in which it stands:—
"Noluit Jethro legem posteris figere: sed, quoad quietam stationem adeptus esset populus, remedium præsentibus incommodis, atque (ut vulgo loquitur) modum promissionis ostendit."
An old French translation renders it:—
"Il n'a point donc voulu mettre loy pour la posterité: mais seulement remedier aux incommoditez presentes par maniére de provision (comme on dit)," &c.
The general import of the passage is, that Jethro's counsel to Moses, as to the appointment of rulers over the people, was not intended to apply to Canaan, but only to their sojourn in the wilderness.
I do not see how the "formula professionis monasticæ" helps us; unless, indeed, "modus promissionis" were a kind of temporary and conditional vow, which does not appear in Ducange.
C. W. B.
End of Easter (Vol. ii., p. 9).—Should not the end of Easter be considered its octave—Low Sunday?
J. W. H.
First Earl of Roscommon (Vol. ii., p. 325.).—There was, in the burying-ground of Kilkenny-West, some thirty-five years or more ago, an old tombstone belonging to the Dillon Family, on which was traced the genealogy of the Roscommon branch from one of the sons of the first earl (if I remember right, the third or fourth), down to a Thomas, who had, I have heard my father say, a son called Garrett, who had issue two sons, Patrick and Thomas. Patrick was always, in that part of the country, considered the heir to this title. Patrick and Thomas had issue, (living or dead I know not), but should imagine dead; as, had they been living, they would no doubt have come forward when the late earl claimed the title, as he claimed it as being descended from the youngest son of the first earl, whereas Patrick and Thomas were certainly the descendants of one of the elder sons of the first earl; and therefore, had the sons of either Patrick or Thomas come forward, it would no doubt have been decided in their favour. On this account, it was several years before the late earl's claim was fully confirmed, as it was thought that some of the descendants of the elder branches might come forward. This would have attracted my attention earlier had I not been abroad.
An Hibernian.
Mivart's Hotel, London.
Dryden's "Absolom and Achitophel" (Vol. ii. p. 423.).—The passage in Absolom and Achitophel is taken from Fuller's Profane State, speaking of Alva:
"He was one of a lean body and visage, as if his eager soul, biting for anger at the clog of his body, desired to fret a passage through it;"
and from Carew, p. 71.,
"The purest soul that ere was sent
Into a clayey tenement."
C. B.
Cabalistic Author (Vol. ii., p. 424.).—"W. C. or twice five hundred." The meaning is very evident. V. signifies five, and C. one hundred. W. is two V's, therefore W. C. twice five hundred.
Terra Martis.
\[ [Another correspondent points out that W. C., the author, may probably be William Cooper the printer.] \]
Twickenham—Did Elizabeth visit Bacon there? (Vol. ii., p. 408.).—
"At Twickenham Park, either in this [1592] or the following year, through the immediate interest of his steady patron, the Earl of Essex, Mr. Francis Bacon had the honour of entertaining Queen Elizabeth, where he presented her with the sonnet in honour of that generous nobleman."—Nichols's Progresses of Queen Eliz., 2d ed. iii. p. 190.
J. I. D.
Legend of a Saint and Crozier (Vol. ii., p. 267.)—The incident is related of St. Patrick and one of the kings of Cashel, and formed the subject of the first picture exhibited by James Barry. In the Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties, London, 1831, (art. Barry, p. 159.) it is stated that:
"The picture was painted in his twentieth or twenty-first year, on the baptism by St. Patrick of one of the kings of Cashel, who stands unmoved while the ceremony is performed, amidst a crowd of wondering spectators; although the saint, in setting down his crosier, has, without perceiving it, struck its iron point through the royal foot."
Este.
Becket (Vol. ii., pp. 106. 270. 364.).—It so happens that, before seeing, Mr. Venables' communication, with his quotations from the Monasticon (Vol. ii., p. 364), I had taken an opportunity of looking into a friend's copy of that work, and had there found what seems to be a key to the origin of the designation "St. Thomas of Acon or Acres." It is stated, in a quotation from Bp. Tanner, that
"The hospital [in Cheapside] consisted of a master and several brethren, professing the rule of St. Austin, but were of a particular order, which was about this time instituted in the Holy Land, viz. Militiæ Hospitales S. Thomæ Martyris Cantuariensis de Acon, being a branch of the Templars."—Monast. vi. 646.
and the same title occurs in the charter of Edward III. (ibid.) Now it appears to me that the words de Acon here relate, not to the saint, but to the order which took its name from him; and this view is confirmed by the passage which Mr. Venables quotes from Matthew of Westminster, as to the foundation of a chapel in honour of St. Thomas, at Acre, in Syria, A. D. 1190. It is easy to suppose that in course of time, especially when the origin of the designation had been cast into the shade by the cessation of the Crusades, and the ruin of the great order to which the brethren of St. Thomas were at first attached, the patron himself may have come to be styled de Acon or of Acres: and this seems to be the case in the Act of 23 Hen. VI. (Monast. vi. 247.)
Allow me to ask a question as to another point in the history of Becket. Among his preferments is said to have been the parish of "St. Mary Littory or ad Litters," which is commonly supposed to mean St. Mary-le-Strand.3 My friend Mr. Foss, in his elaborate work on The Judges of England, contradicts this, on the ground that there was then no parish of that name; and he supposes St. Mary-at-Hill to be intended. Now the words ad Litters would be alike applicable as a description in either case but it appears to me that, if the city church were meant, it would be styled, as it usually is, ad Montem, and that ad Litters is Latin for le Strand. Was there not then an ancient church so called, until the demolitions of Protector Somerset in that quarter? And is not the common belief as to Becket's parish correct? I ask in great ignorance, but not without having vainly searched some books from which information might have been expected.
J. C. R.
Aërostation (Vol. ii., pp. 199. 317. 380.).—I happen to remember a few old verses of a squib on Lunardi, which may be enough seasoned with the dust of oblivion to interest some of your readers.
"Good folks, can you believe your eyes?
Vincenzo di Lunardi
Has made a voyage to the skies,
That foreigner foolhardy!
"He went up in a round baloon
(For moon is luna, Latin),
To pay a visit to the moon;
A basket-boat he sat in.
"And side by side the moon, he cried
'How do, fair cousin moon? eh!'
Through telescopes they were espied,
Baloon—Lunardi—Luna.
* * * * *
"When weary on the wing, to perch
Once more, and air abandon,
Quite apropos he swooped in search
Of solid earth to 'Stand-on.'4
* * * * *
"Now after all remains to tell
How learned Mr. Baker,
Set up a moonstone where he fell,
And called the field 'wise-acre.'
Perhaps some of your correspondents could supply the remaining stanzas. I fancy there were several more. As far as I can remember, they chiefly related to M. Lunardi's conversation with the moon, which, involving some political allusions, did not so much hit my youthful imagination at the time. When a boy, I have frequently heard my father repeat the lines.
C. J. F.
Aërostation, Works on (Vol. ii., pp. 317. 380.).—If your correspondent who inquires respecting works on aërostation will look into the Revue des Deux Mondes for October 15, he will find an article on that subject, detailing the various attempts made from the time of Montgolfier down to a very recent period.
A still later communication has been made to the world in the French newspaper, La Presse, of yesterday's date (Nov. 7th), relating, in terms of exultation, a successful experiment made in Paris by Messrs. Julien and Arnault to steer a machine against the wind, in which hitherto impracticable attempt they are said to have completely succeeded at repeated times, and the mechanical means by which they attained their object are detailed.
J.M.
Oxford, Nov. 8.
Kilt (Vol. ii., p. 62.).—Your correspondent Σ. will find some information regarding the introduction of the kilt into Scotland in a volume entitled Notes to assist the Memory in various Sciences, 2d edition, London, Murray, 1827. I quote the passage, p. 297.:
"The Pheliebeg. Thomas Rawlinson, an iron-smelter and an Englishman, was the person who, about or prior to A. D. 1728, introduced the pheliebeg, or short kilt, worn in the Highlands. This fact, very little known, is established in a letter from Ewan Baillie, of Oberiachan, inserted in the Edinburgh Magazine for 1785, and also by the Culloden Papers."
The writer of that work, and of that daring statement, was, I have been informed, a Scottish military gentleman of the name of Hamilton. This origin of the kilt is also mentioned by Mr. Robert Chambers in his Life of Duncan Forbes, of Culloden. See his Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen.
Scotus Secundus.
Edinburgh, Nov. 22.
Bacon Family (Vol. ii., p. 247.).—The origin, of this surname is to be found, I conceive, in the word Beacon. The man who had the care of the Beacon would be called John or Roger of the Beacon. Beacon Hill, near Newark, is pronounced in that locality as if spelt Bacon Hill.
W. G. S.
Mariner's Compass (Vol. ii., p. 56.).—The "fleur de lis" was made the ornament of the northern radius of the mariner's compass in compliment to Charles of Anjou (whose device it was), the reigning king of Sicily, at the time when Flavio Gioja, the Neapolitan, first employed that instrument in navigation.
O. P. Q.
Arabic Numerals, Brugsch (Vol. ii., pp. 294. 424.).—Brugsch, Numerorum apud Veteres Ægyptos demoticorum Doctrina. Ex Papyris et Inscriptionibus nunc primum illustrata. 4to., with five plates of facsimiles, &c., is published in this country by Williams and Norgate, Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, where J. W. H. may see it, or whence he may get any information he may require respecting it.