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HENRY CHETTLE
Dr. Rimbault, in the introduction to his edition of Kind-Hearts' Dream, for the Percy Society, says, "Of the author, Henry Chettle, very little is known: … we are ignorant of the time and place of his birth or death, and of the manner in which he obtained his living." (Pp. vii. viii.) I trouble you with this note in the hope that it may furnish him with a clue to further particulars of Henry Chettle.
Hutchins (Hist. of Dorset., vol. i. p. 53. ed. 1774) mentions a family named Chettle, which was seated at Blandford St. Mary from 1547 to about 1690, and gives the following names as lineal successors to property in that parish: Henry Chettle, ob. 1553. John, s. and h., ob. 1590. Edward, s. and h., ob. 1609, "leaving Henry, his son and heir, eleven years nine months old." Among the burials for the same parish (p. 57.) occurs "Henry Chettle, Esq., 1616;" and at pp. 119. 208. the marriage of "Henry Chettle, Gent., and Susan Chaldecot, 1610." This last extract is from the register of the parish of Steple, in the Isle of Purbeck, which also contains, says Hutchins, many notices of the Chettle family; but all, I should infer, subsequent to the year 1610.
I have ascertained that the statement in Hutchins corresponds with the entry in the register of Blandford St. Mary, of the burial of Henry Chettle in 1616; and that there is no entry of the baptism of any one of that name. In fact, the registers only begin in 1581. Now it is clear that there were two persons of this name living at the same time, viz. H.C., aged eleven years in 1609; and H.C., who marries in 1610. And if the conjecture of the learned editor be correct, as probably it is, that the poet, Henry Chettle, "died in or before the year 1607," it is equally clear that he was a third of the same name, and that he could not be the person whose name occurs as buried in 1616. But the name is not a common one, and there seems sufficient to warrant further research into this subject. I venture, therefore, to make these two suggestions in the form of Queries:
I. Can any internal evidence be gathered from the writings of Henry Chettle, as to his family, origin, and birthplace? Kind-Heart's Dream, the only one of his works which I have either seen or have the means of consulting, contains nothing specific enough to connect him with Dorset, or the West. It would seem, indeed, as if he were acquainted with the New Forest, but not better than with Essex, and other parts adjacent to London.
II. Would it not be worth while to search the Heralds' Visitations for the county of Dorset, the Will-office, and the Inquisitions "post mortem?" The family was of some consequence, and is mentioned even in Domesday-book as holding lands in the county. Hutchins blazons their arms—Az. 3 spiders, or; but gives no pedigree of the family.
E.A.D.
COVERDALE'S BIBLE
We are told by Mr. Granville Penn, in the Preface to the Annotations to the Book of the New Covenant, that "in 1535 Coverdale printed an English translation of the Old Testament, to which he annexed Tyndale's revision of the New, probably revised by himself. These last constitute what is called Coverdale's Bible. Now, the title-page of Coverdale's Bible expressly states that it was faithfully and truly translated out of Douche and Latyn into Englishe;" and that this is literally true may be seen by comparing any portion of it with the common German version of Luther. The following portion is taken quite at hazard from the original edition; and I have added Tyndale's version of 1526, as edited by Mr. Offor:
1535
JOHN, VI. 41
Thē murmured the Iewes ther ouer, that he sayde: I am yt bred which is come downe from heauē, and they sayde: Is not this Iesus, Iosephs sonne, whose father and mother we knowe? How sayeth be then, I am come downe from heauē? Iesus answered, and sayde vnto them: Murmur not amonge youre selues. No man can come vnto me, excepte the father which hath sent me, drawe him. And I shal rayse him vp at the last daye. It is wrytten in the prophetes: They shal all be taughte of God. Who so euer now heareth it of the father and lerneth it, commeth vnto me. Not that eny man hath sene the father, saue he which is of the father, the same hath sene the father.
Luther
41 Da murreten die Juden daruber, das er sagte: Ich bin das brodt, das vom himmel gekommen ist.
42 Und sprachen; Ist dieser nicht Jesus, Joseph's sohn, dess vater und mutter wir kennen? Wie spricht er denn: Ich bin vom himmel gekommen?
43 Jesus antwortete, und sprach zu ihnen: Murret nicht unter einander.
44 Es kann niemand zu mir kommen, es sey denn, das ihn ziche der Vater, der mich gesandt hat; und Ich werde ihn auferwecken am jungsten tage.
45 Es stehet geschrieben in den propheten: Sie werden alle von Gott gelehret seyn. Wer es nun höret vom Vater, und lernet es, der kommt zu mir.
46 Nicht das jemand den Vater habe gesehen ohne der vom Vater ist, der hat den Vater gesehen.
Tyndale, 1526
The iewes murmured att itt, be cause he sayde: I am thatt breed which is come doune from heven. And they sayde: Is nott this Jesus the sonne of Joseph, whose father, and mother we knowe? How ys yt then thatt he sayeth, I came doune from heven? Jesus answered and sayde vnto them: Murmur not betwene youre selves. No man can come to me except my father which hath sent me, drawe hym. And y will rayse hym vp at the last daye. Hit is written in the prophetes: And they shall all be taught of God. Every man which hath herde, and lerned of the father, commeth unto me, not that eny man hath sene the father, save he which is off God. The same hath sene the father.
Authorized Version
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
ECHO.
ANSWER TO COWLEY
On the fly-leaf of a copy of Cowley's Works (London, 1668), I find the following lines:—
AN ANSWER TO DRINKING (PAGE 32.)
"The thirsty earth, when one would think
Her dusty throat required more drink,
Wets but her lips, and parts the showers
Among her thousand plants and flowers:
Those take their small and stinted size,
Not drunkard-like, to fall, but rise.
The sober sea observes her tide
Even by the drunken sailor's side;
The roaring rivers pressing high
Seek to get in her company;
She, rising, seems to take the cup,
But other rivers drink all up.
The sun, and who dare him disgrace
With drink, that keeps his steady pace,
Baits at the sea, and keeps good hours.
The moon and stars, and mighty powers,
Drink not, but spill that on the floor
The sun drew up the day before,
And charitable dews bestow
On herbs that die for thirst below.
Then drink no more, then let that die
That would the drunkard kill, for why
Shall all things live by rule but I,
Thou man of morals, tell me why?"
On the title-page, in the same hand-writing as the "Answer," is the name of the Rev. Archibald Foyer, with the date 1700.
Y.
FOLK LORE OF LANCASHIRE. NO. 1
Lancashire, like all other counties, has its own peculiar superstitions, manners, and customs, which find no parallels in those of other localities. It has also, no doubt, many local observances, current opinions, old proverbs, and vulgar ditties, which are held and known in common with the inhabitants of a greater extent of county, and differ merely in minor particulars;—the necessary result of imperfect oral transmission. In former numbers of this work a few isolated specimens of the folk-lore of this district have been noticed, and the present attempt is to give permanency to a few others.
1. If a person's hair, when thrown into the fire, burns brightly, it is a sure sign that the individual will live long. The brighter the flame the longer life, and vice versâ.
2. A young person frequently stirs the fire with the poker to test the humour of a lover. If the fire blaze brightly, the lover is good-humoured; and vice versâ.
3. A crooked sixpence, or a copper coin with a hole through, are accounted lucky coins.
4. Cutting or paring the nails of the hands or feet on a Friday or Sunday, is very unlucky.
5. If a person's left ear burn, or feel hot, somebody is praising the party; if the right ear burn, then it is a sure sign that some one is speaking evil of the person.
6. Children are frequently cautioned by their parents not to walk backwards when going an errand; it is a sure sign that they will be unfortunate in their objects.
7. Witchcraft, and the belief in its reality, is not yet exploded in many of the rural districts. The writer is acquainted with parties who place full credence in persons possessing the power to bewitch cows, sheep, horses, and even those persons to whom the witch has an antipathy. One respectable farmer assured me that his horse was bewitched into the stable through a loophole twelve inches by three; the fact he said was beyond doubt, for he had locked the stable-door himself when the horse was in the field, and had kept the key in his pocket. Soon after this, however, a party of farmers went through a process known by the name of "burning the witch out," or "killing the witch," as some express it; the person suspected soon died, and the neighbourhood became free from his evil doings.
8. A horse-shoe is still nailed behind many doors to counteract the effects of witchcraft: a hagstone with a hole through, tied to the key of the stable-door, protects the horses, and, if hung up at the bed's head, the farmer also.
9. A hot iron put into the cream during the process of churning, expels the witch from the churn; and dough in preparation for the baker is protected by being marked with the figure of a cross.
10. Warts are cured by being rubbed over with a black snail, but the snail must afterwards be impaled upon a hawthorn. If a bag containing as many small pebbles as a person has warts, be tossed over the left shoulder, it will transfer the warts to whoever is unfortunate enough to pick up the bag.
11. If black snails are seized by the horn and tossed over the left shoulder, the process will insure good luck to the person who performs it.
12. Profuse bleeding is said to be instantly stopped by certain persons who pretend to possess the secret of a certain form of words which immediately act as a charm.
13. The power of bewitching, producing evil to parties by wishing it, &c., is supposed to be transmitted from one possessor to another when one of the parties is about to die. The writer is in possession of full particulars respecting this supposed transfer.
14. Cramp is effectually prevented by placing the shoes with the toes just peeping from beneath the coverlet; the same is also prevented by tying the garter round the left leg below the knee.
15. Charmed rings are worn by many for the cure of dyspepsia; and so also are charmed belts for the cure of rheumatism.
16. A red-haired person is supposed to bring in ill-luck if he be the first to enter a house on New Year's Day. Black-haired persons are rewarded with liquor and small gratuities for "taking in the new year" to the principal houses in their respective neighbourhoods.
17. If any householder's fire does not burn through the night of New Year's Eve, it betokens bad luck during the ensuing year; and if any party allow another a live coal, or even a lighted candle, on such an occasion, the bad luck is extended to the other part for commiserating with the former in his misfortunes.
Many other specimens of the folk lore of this district might be enumerated; but since many here have implicit faith in Lover's expression,—
"There is luck in odd numbers;"
I will reserve them for a future opportunity, considering that seventeen paragraphs are sufficient to satisfy all except the most thorough-paced folklorians.
T.T. WILKINSON.
Burnley, Lancashire.
MINOR NOTES
Proclamation of Langholme Fair.—In an old paper I find the following proclamation of a fair, to be held in a town in Scotland; it may, perhaps, amuse some of your numerous readers:—
"O yes! and that's a time. O yes! and that's twa times. O yes! and that's the third and last time: All manner of pearson or pearsons whatsoever let 'em draw near, and I shall let you ken that there is a fair to be held at the muckle town of Langholme, for the space of aught days; wherein if any hustrin, custrin, land-louper, dukes-couper, or gang-y-gate swinger, shall breed any urdam, durdam, brabblement, or squabblement, he shall have his lugs tacked to the muckle trone, with a nail of twal-a-penny, until he down of his hobshanks and up with his mucle doubs, and pray to heaven neen times, Gold bles the king, and thrice the muckle Lord of Relton, pay a groat to me Jammey Ferguson, bailiff of the aforesaid manor. So ye heard my proclamation, and I'll haam to dinner."
Perhaps some of your correspondents north of the Tweed can give the meaning (if there be any) of a few of the choice expressions contained in this document.
MONKBARNS.
Seats in Churches.—The following curious notice of seats in churches occurs in Thompson's History of Swine; which is quoted by him from Whitaker's Whalley, 2nd edit. 4to. p. 228.:—
"My man Shuttleworth, of Harking, made this form and here will I sit when I come; and any cousin Nowell may make one behind me, if he please, and my son Sherburne shall make one on the other side; and Mr. Catteral another behind him; and for the residue the use shall be, first come first speed; and that will make the proud wives of Whalley rise betimes to come to church."
Which seems to convey the idea, that it was at that time customary for persons to make their seats in the churches. Query, When did pews come into general use?
R.W.E.
Hull.
[The earliest notice of pews occurs in the Vision of Piers Plouman, p. 95., edit. 1813:—
"Among wyves and wodewes ich am ywoned sute
Yparroked in puwes. The person hit knoweth."
See also The History of Pews, a paper read before the Cambridge Camden Society, 1841.]
Flemish Account.—T.B.M. (Vol. i., p. 8.) requests references to early instances of the use of this expression. In the History of Edward II., by E.F., written A.D. 1627 (see "NOTES AND QUERIES" Vol. i., pp. 91. 220.), folio edition, p. 113., I find "The Queen (Isabella) who had already a French and an Italian trick, was jealous lest she should here taste a Flemish one;" because she feared lest the Earl of Henault should abandon her cause. This instance is, I think, earlier than any yet referred to.
S.G.
Use of Monosyllables.—The most remarkable instance of the use of monosyllables that I remember to have met with in our poets, occurs in the Fire-worshippers in Lalla Rookh. It is as follows:—
"I knew, I knew it could not last—
'Twas bright, 'twas heav'nly, but 'tis past!
Oh! ever thus, from childhood's hour,
I've seen my fondest hopes decay;
I never lov'd a tree or flow'r
But 'twas the first to fade away.
I never nurs'd a dear gazelle
To glad me with its soft black eye,
But when it came to know me well,
And love me, it was sure to die!
Now, too—the joy most like divine
Of all I ever dreamt or knew,
To see thee, hear thee, call thee mine,—
Oh misery! must I lose that too?
Yet go! On peril's brink we meet;—
Those frightful rocks—that treach'rous sea—
No, never come again—tho' sweet,
Tho' Heav'n, it may be death to thee!"
This passage contains 126 words, 110 of which are monosyllables, and the remainder words of only two syllables. The sentiment embodied throughout is that of violent mental emotion; and it affords a further illustration of the correctness of MR. C. FORBES'S theory (Vol. i., p. 228.) that "the language of passion is almost invariably broken and abrupt."
HENRY H. BREEN.
St. Lucia, W.I., Nov. 1850.
Specimen of Foreign English.—
"RESTORATIVE HOTEL, FINE HOK.
KEPT BY FRANK PROSPERI,
FACING THE MILITARY QUARTER
AT POMPEII.
That hotel open since a very few days, is renowned for the cleanness of the apartments and linen; for the exactness of the service, and for the eccelence of the true french cookery. Being situated at proximity of that regeneration, it will be propitius to receive families, whatever, which will desire to reside alternatively into that town, to visit the monuments new found, and to breathe thither the salubrity of the air.
That establishment will avoid to all the travellers, visitors, of that sepult city, and to the artists, (willing draw the antiquities) a great disorder, occasioned by the tardy and expensive contour of the iron-whay. People will find equally thither, a complete sortment of stranger wines, and of the kingdom, hot and cold baths, stables and coach houses, the whole with very moderated prices. Now, all the applications and endeavours of the hoste, will tend always to correspond to the tastes and desires, of their customers, which will acquire without doubt, to him, in to that town, the reputation whome, he is ambitious."
The above is a literal copy of a card in the possession of a friend of mine, who visited Pompeii, 1847.
W.L.
Epitaph.—While engaged in some enquiries after family documents in the British Museum lately, I lighted on a little poem, which, though not connected with my immediate object, I copied, and here subjoin, hoping your readers will be as much attracted as I was by the simplicity and elegance of the lines and thoughts; and that some one of them, with leisure and opportunity, will do what I had not time to do, namely,—decypher in the MSS. the name of the "Worthie Knight" on whom this epitaph was composed, and give any particulars which can be ascertained concerning him.
EPITAPH ON –
(Harleian MSS., 78. 25. b. Pluto 63 E.)
"Under this stone, thir ly'th at reste
A Friendlie Manne—A Worthie Knight,
Whose herte and mynde was ever prest
To favour truthe—to furder righte.
"The poore's defense—hys neighbors ayde,
Most kinde alwaies unto his Kyne,
That stynt alle striffes that might be stayed,
Whose gentil grace great love dyd wynne,
"A Man that was fulle earneste sette
To serve hys prince at alle assayes,
No sicknesse could him from itt lette,
Which was the shortninge of hys daies.
"His lyf was good—he dyed fulle welle,
Hys bodie here—the soule in blisse;
With lengthe of wordes, why should I telle,
Or further shewe, that well knowne is,
Since that the teares of mor or lesse
Right welle declare hys worthynesse."
A.B.R.
QUERIES
THE TALE OF THE WARDSTAFF
Can any of your antiquarian correspondents furnish further elucidation of the strange ceremony of the gathering of the Wardstaff (which was in old time one of the customs of the hundred of Ongar, in Essex) than are to be found in Morant's History of Essex, vol. i. p. 126.? from whence it was incorrectly copied in Blount's Jocular Tenures by Beckwith, 4to. ed. It has been also more correctly given by Sir Francis Palgrave, in his Rise and Progress of the English Commonwealth, Part II. p. clvii., who justly styles it—
"a strange and uncouth fragment of the earliest customs of the Teutons; in which we can still recognise the tone and the phraseology of the Courts of the Eresburg. The Irminsule itself having been described as a trunk of a tree, Thor was worshipped under the same rude symbol; and it may be suspected that the singular respect and reverence shown to the ward-staff of the East Saxons is not without its relation to the rites and ceremonies of the heathen time, though innocently and unconsciously retained."
At the time of publication of his learned and interesting work, Sir Francis did me the honour to adopt some conjectural corrections of Morant's very corrupt transcript of the rhyme, which I furnished at his request, in common with others suggested by the late Mr. Price. Since that time, a more mature examination of it has enabled me, I think, to put it into a form much more nearly resembling what it must have originally been; many of the corrections being obviously required by the prose details which accompany it in the MS. from which Morant gave it. It may not, therefore, be unacceptable to some of your readers, to subjoin this corrected copy. It may be proper to premise, that "The Tale of the Wardstaff" is the tallying or cutting of it, and that it was evidently originally spoken in parts, assigned as under; although it should seem that there is no indication of this arrangement in the MS.
"THE TALE OF THE WARDSTAFF
The Bailiffe of the Liberty.
"Iche athied3 the staffe byleve,
Thanne staffe iche toke byleve,
Byleve iche will tellen4
Now the staffe have iche got.
Lord of Ruckwood Hall.
"Tho the staffe to me com
Als he hoveon for to don,
Faire and well iche him underfing
Als iche hoveon for to don.
The Bailiffe.
"All iche theron challenged,
That theron was for to challenge,
Nameliche,—this:—and—this:
And all that ther was for to challenge.
Lord of Ruckwood.
"Fayer iche him uppdede
Als iche hoveon for to don.
The Bailiffe.
"All iche warnyd to the Ward to cum,
That therto hoveon for to cum,
By SUNNE SHINING.
Lord of Ruckwood.
"We our roope theder brouhton,
A roope beltan5,
Als we hoveon for don;
And there waren and wakeden,
And the Ward soe kept,
That the King was harmless,
And the Country scatheless.
The Bailiffe.
"And a morn, when itt day was,
And the sun arisen was,
Faier honour weren to us toke,
Als us hoveon for to don.
The Lords, and the Tenants
Fayre on the staffe we scorden,
Als we hoveon for to don,
Fayre we him senden,
Theder we hoveon for to sende.
The Bailiffe.
And zif ther is any man
That this wittsiggen can
Iche am here ready for to dôn
Azens himself, iche ône,
Other mid him on,
Other mid twyn feren,
Als we ther weren.
–
"Sir, byleve take this staffe,
This is the Tale of the Wardstaffe."
It will be at once apparent that this is a corrupt transcript of a semi-Saxon original of much earlier date; and by comparing it with Morant's very blundering copy, the conjectural corrections I have essayed will be perceived to be numerous. Many of then will, however, be found not only warranted, but absolutely necessary, from the accompanying prose account of the ceremony. The MS. from which it was taken by Morant, was an account of the Rents of the hundred of Ongar, in the time of John Stonar of Loughton, who had a grant of it for his life in the 34th year of King Henry VIII. He seems to have died 12th June, 1566, holding of the Queen, by the twentieth part of a knight's fee, and the yearly rent of 13l. 16s. 4d., the manor, park, chase, &c., of Hatfield Broad Oak, with the hundreds of Ongar and Harlow; and the Wardstaff of the same hundreds, then valued at 101l. 15s. 10d. As the Wardstaff is said by Morant to make a considerable figure in old records, it is reasonable to hope that a more satisfactory account of it may still lie amongst unsunned ancient muniments. All the old Teutonic judicial assemblies were, as Sir F. Palgrave remarks, held in the open air, beneath the sky and by the light of the sun. The following is a part of the ancient rhyme by which the proceedings of the famous Vehm-Gerichte were opened, which were first printed by Schottelius, and the whole of which may be found in Beck's Geschichte der Westphalischen Fehm-Gerichte, and in Sir F. Palgrave's work. The similarity of expression is remarkable.
"All dewile an düssem Dage,
Mit yuwer allen behage,
Under den HELLEN HIMMEL klar,
Ein fry Feld-gericht openbar;
Geheget BYM LECHTEN SONNENSHIN
Mit nöchterm Mund kommen herin,
De toel ock is gesettet recht,
Dat maht befunden uprecht,
So sprecket Recht ane With und Wonne
Up Klage und Antwort, WEIL SCHIENT DIE SONNE."
I must refer to Morant, to Beckwith or Sir F. Palgrave, for the details of the ceremony of the Wardstaff, which it should appear was observed at least as late as the reign of Queen Elizabeth, but in Morant's time it had long been neglected. In the hope that some of your antiquarian correspondents may be enabled to throw more light on this very curious custom, I will merely add, that Morant suggests that it is possible some elucidation of it might be found "in the Evidence House in Hatfield Church, where (he says) are a great number of writings relating to the priory and lordship."
S.W. SINGER.
Jan 11. 1851.
