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ENIGMATICAL EPITAPH
In the church of Middleton Tyas, in the North Riding of the county, there is the following extraordinary inscription on the monument of a learned incumbent of that parish:—
"This Monument rescues from oblivion the Remains of the Rev. John Mawer, D.D., late Vicar of this Parish, who died Nov. 18th, 1763, aged 60. The doctor was descended from the royal family of Mawer, and was inferior to none of his illustrious ancestors in personal merit, being the greatest linguist this nation ever produced. He was able to write and speak twenty-two languages, and particularly excelled in the Eastern tongues, in which he proposed to his Royal Highness Frederick Prince of Wales, to whom he was firmly attached, to propagate the Christian religion in the Abyssinian empire,—a great and noble design, which was frustrated by the death of that amiable prince."
Whitaker, after giving the epitaph verbatim in his History of Richmondshire, vol. i. p. 234., says:
"This extraordinary personage, who may seem to have been qualified for the office of universal interpreter to all the nations upon earth, appears, notwithstanding, to have been unaware that the Christian religion, in however degraded a form, has long been professed in Abyssinia. With respect to the royal line of Mawer I was long distressed, till, by great good fortune, I discovered that it was no other than that of old King Coyl."
As I happen to feel an interest in the subject which disinclines me to rest satisfied with the foregoing hasty—not to say flippant explanation of the learned historian, I am anxious to inquire whether or not any reader of the "Notes and Queries" can throw light on the history, and especially the genealogy, of this worthy and amiable divine? While I have reason to believe that Dr. Mawer was about the last person in the world to have composed the foregoing eulogy on his own character, I cannot believe that the allusion to illustrious ancestors "is merely a joke," as Whitaker seems to imply; while it is quite certain that there is nothing in the inscription to justify the inference that the deceased had been "unaware that the Christian religion" had "long been professed in Abyssinia:" indeed, an inference quite the reverse would be quite as legitimate.
J. H.
Rotherfield, Feb. 23. 1851.
SHAKSPEARE'S "MERCHANT OF VENICE"
(Act IV. Sc. 1.)
In the lines—
"The quality of Mercy is not strained,
It droppeth, as the gentle rain from heaven,
Upon the place beneath."
What is the meaning of the word "strained?" The verb to strain is susceptible of two essentially different interpretations; and the question is as to which of the two is here intended? On referring to Johnson's Dictionary, we find, amongst other synonymous terms, To squeeze through something; to purify by filtration; to weaken by too much violence; to push to its utmost strength. Now, if we substitute either of the two latter meanings, we shall have an assertion that "Mercy is not weakened by too much violence (or put to its utmost strength), but droppeth, as the gentle rain from heaven," &c., where it would require a most discerning editor to explain the connexion between the two clauses. If, on the other hand, we take the first two meanings, the passage is capable of being understood, if nothing else. Beginning with to squeeze through something; what would present itself to our ideas would be, that "Mercy does not fall in one continuous stream (as would be the case, if strained) on one particular portion of the earth, but expands into a large and universal shower, so as to spread its influence over the entire globe." This, however, though not absurd, is, I fear, rather forced.
To come to the second explanation of to purify, which in my opinion is the most apt, I take it that Shakspeare intended to say, that "Mercy is so pure and undefiled as to require no cleansing, but falls as gently and unsullied as the showers from heaven, ere soiled by the impurities of earth."
With these few remarks, I shall leave the matter in the hands of those whose researches into the English language may have been deeper than my own, with a hope that they may possess time and inclination to promote the elucidation of a difficulty in one of the most beautiful passages of our great national bard; a difficulty, by the way, which seems to have escaped the notice of all the editors and commentators.
L. S.
Minor Queries
Was Lord Howard of Effingham, who commanded in chief against the Spanish Armada, a Protestant or a Papist?—On the one hand, it is highly improbable that Queen Elizabeth should employ a popish commander against the Spaniards.
1. The silence of Dr. Lingard and other historians is also negatively in favour of his being a Protestant.
But, on the other hand, it has been repeatedly asserted, in both houses of Parliament, that he was a Papist.
2. It is likely, because his father was the eldest son by his second wife of Thomas, second Duke of Norfolk, and was created Baron Howard of Effingham by Queen Mary.
3. Whatever his own religion may have been, he was contemporary with his cousin, Philip, Earl of Arundel, whom Camden calls the champion of the Catholics, and whose violence was the cause of his perpetual imprisonment.
4. The present Lord Effingham has recently declared that by blood he was (had always been?) connected with the Roman Catholics.
Under these and other circumstances, it is a question to be settled by evidence.
C. H. P.
Brighton.
Lord Bexley—how descended from Cromwell?—In the notice of the late Lord Bexley in The Times, it is stated that he was maternally descended from Oliver Cromwell, the Protector, through the family of Cromwell's son-in-law, Ireton.
Burke, in his Peerage, mentions that Henry Vansittart, father of Lord Bexley, was governor of Bengal (circa 1770), and that he married Amelia Morse, daughter of Nicolas Morse, governor of Madras.
It would therefore appear that this said Nicolas Morse was a descendant of General Ireton. I wish to ascertain if this assumption be correct; and, if correct, when and how the families of Morse and Ireton became connected? If any of your correspondents can furnish information on this subject, or acquaint me where I can find any account or pedigree of the Morse family, I shall feel much indebted to them.
Pursuivant.
Earl of Shaftesbury.—I have read with great interest Lord Shaftesbury's letter to Le Clerc, published in No. 67. May I ask your correspondents Janus Dousa and Professor des Amories Van der Hoven, whether the Remonstrants' library of Amsterdam contains any papers relating to the first Earl of Shaftesbury, which might have been sent by the third Earl to Le Clerc; and whether any notices or traditions remain in Amsterdam of the first Lord Shaftesbury's residence and death in that city? Any information relative to the first Earl of Shaftesbury will greatly oblige.
CH.
Family of Peyton.—Admiral Joseph Peyton [Post-Captain, December 2, 1757—Admiral, 1787—ob. 1804] was Admiral's First Captain in the fleet under Darby, at the relief of Gibraltar, 1781. He was son of Commodore Edward Peyton [Post-Captain, April 4, 1740], who is supposed to have gone over from England, and settled in America, and there to have died. I should be very glad of further particulars of these persons. Are my dates correct? How is this branch of the family (lately represented by John Joseph Peyton, Esq., of Wakehurst, who married a daughter of Sir East Clayton East, Bart., and died in 1844, leaving four children minors) connected with the Baronets Peyton, of Iselham, or Dodington? Who was the father of the above Commodore? It may aid the inquiry to mention that this branch is related to the Grenfell family: William Peyton, second son of the above Admiral Joseph, having married a first cousin of Pascoe Grenfell, Esq., M.P. for Great Marlow (who died in 1833).
Ache.
"La Rose nait en un Moment."—I wish to learn the name of the author of the following verses, and where they are to be found. Any of your correspondents who can inform me shall receive my sincere thanks:—
"La Rose nait en un moment,
En un moment elle est flêtrie;
Mais ce que pour vous mon cœur sent,
Ne finira qu'avec ma vie."
T. H. K.
Malew, Man.
John Collard the Logician.—Could any of your correspondents tell me where I could find any account of John Collard, who wrote three treatises on Logic:—The first, under the name of N. Dralloc (his name reversed), Epitome of Logic, Johnson, St. Paul's Church Yard, 1795; in his own name, Essentials of Logic, Johnson, 1796; and in 1799, the Praxis of Logic. He is mentioned as Dralloc by Whately and Kirwan; but nobody seems to have known him as Collard but Levi Hedge, the American writer on that subject. I made inquiry, some forty years ago, and was informed that he lived at Birmingham, was a chairmaker by profession, and devoted much of his time to chemistry; that he was known to and esteemed by Dr. Parr; and that he was then dead.
At the close of his preface to his Praxis he says,—
"And let me inform the reader also, that this work was not composed in the pleasant tranquillity of retirement, but under such untoward circumstances, that the mind was subject to continual interruptions and vexatious distraction."
Then he adds,—
"I have but little doubt but this Praxis will, at some future period, find its way into the schools; and though critics should at present condemn what they have either no patience or inclination to examine, I feel myself happy in contemplating, that after I am mouldered to dust, it may assist our reason in this most essential part."
B. G.
Feb. 20. 1851.
Traherne's Sheriffs of Glamorgan.—Could any of your readers tell me where I might see a copy of A List of the Sheriffs of County Glamorgan, printed (privately?) by Rev. J. M. Traherne? I have searched the libraries of the British Museum, the Athenæum Club, and the Bodleian at Oxford, in vain.
Edmond W.
Haybands in Seals.—I have, in a small collection of Sussex deeds, two which present the following peculiarity: they have the usual slip of parchment and lump of wax pendant from the lower edge, but the wax, instead of bearing an armorial figure, a merchant's mark, or any other of the numerous devices formerly employed in the authentication of deeds instead of one's chirograph, has neatly inserted into it a small wreath composed of two or three stalks of grass (or rather hay) carefully plaited, and forming a circle somewhat less in diameter than a shilling. The deeds, which were executed in the time of Henry the Seventh, relate to the transfer of small landed properties. I have no doubt that this diminutive hayband was the distinctive mark of a grazier or husbandman who did not consider his social status sufficient to warrant the use of a more regular device by way of seal. I have seen a few others connected with the same county, and, if I recollect rightly, of a somewhat earlier date. I shall be glad to ascertain whether this curious practice was in use in other parts of England.
M. A. Lower.
Lewes.
Edmund Prideaux, and the First Post-office.—Polwhele, in his History of Cornwall, says, p. 139.:
"To our countryman Edmund Prideaux we owe the regular establishment of the Post-office."
He says again, p. 144.:
"Edmund Prideaux, Attorney-General to Oliver Cromwell, and Inventor of the Post-office."
Now the Edmund spoken of as Attorney-General, was of Ford Abbey, in Devonshire, and second son of Sir Edmund Prideaux, of Netherton, in the said county, therefore could not be one of the Cornish branch.
Query No. 1. Who was the Edmund Prideaux, his countryman, that regularly established the Post-office?
Query No. 2. How were letters circulated before his time?
Query No. 3. Was Edmund Prideaux the Attorney-General, the inventor of the Post-office, as he states; if not, who was?
Query No. 4. Has any life of Edmund Prideaux as Attorney-General been published, or is any account of him to be found in any work?
G. P. P.
William Tell Legend.—Could any of your readers tell me the true origin of the William Tell apple story? I find the same story told of—
(1.) Egil, the father of the famous smith Wayland, who was instructed in the art of forging metals by two dwarfs of the mountain of Kallova. (Depping, Mém. de la Société des Antiquaires de France, tom. v. pp. 223. 229.)
(2.) Saxo Grammaticus, who wrote nearly a century before Tell, tells nearly the same story of one Toko, who killed Harold.
(3.) "There was a souldier called Pumher, who, daily through witchcraft, killed three of his enemies. This was he who shot at a pennie on his son's head, and made ready another arrow to have slain the Duke Remgrave (? Rheingraf), who commanded it." (Reginald Scot, 1584.)
(4.) And Adam Bell, Clym of the Clough, and William of Cloudeslie.
G. H. R.
Arms of Cottons buried in Landwade Church, &c. (Vol. iii., p. 39.).—Will Jonathan Oldbuck, Jun., oblige me by describing the family coat-armour borne by the Cottons mentioned in his Note? It may facilitate his inquiry, in which, by the way, I am much interested.
R. W. C.
Sir George Buc's Treatise on the Stage.—What has become of this MS.? Sir George Buc mentions it in The Third University of England, appended to Stowe's Annals, ed. 1631, p. 1082.—
"Of this art [the dramatic] have written largely Petrus Victorius, &c.—as it were in vaine for me to say anything of the art; besides, that I have written thereof a particular treatise."
If this manuscript could be discovered, it would doubtless throw considerable light upon the Elizabethan drama.
Edward F. Rimbault.
A Cracowe Pike (Vol. iii., p. 118.).—Since I sent you the Query respecting a Cracowe Pike, I have found that I was wrong in supposing it to be a weapon or spear: for Cracowe Pikes was the name given to the preposterous "piked shoes," which were fashionable in the reign of Richard II., and which were so long in the toes that it was necessary to tie them with chains to the knee, in order to render it possible for the wearer to walk. Stowe, in his Chronicle, tells us that this extravagant fashion was brought in by Anne of Bohemia, Queen of Richard II. But why were they called Cracowe pikes?
I. H. T.
St. Thomas of Trunnions.—Who was this saint, and why is he frequently mentioned in connexion with onions?
"Nay softe, my maisters, by Saincte Thomas of Trunions,
I am not disposed to buy of your onions."
Apius and Virginia, 1575.
"And you that delight in trulls and minions,
Come buy my four ropes of hard S. Thomas's onions."
The Hog hath lost his Pearl, 1614.
"Buy my rope of onions—white St. Thomas's onions," was one of the cries of London in the seventeenth century.
Edward F. Rimbault.
Paper-mill near Stevenage (Vol. ii., p. 473.).—In your number for December 14, 1850, one of your correspondents, referring to Bartholomeus de Prop. Rerum, mentions a paper-mill near Stevenage, in the county of Hertford, as being probably the earliest, or one of the earliest, established in England. I should feel much obliged if your correspondent, through the medium of your pages, would favour me with any further particulars on this subject; especially as to the site of this mill, there being no stream within some miles of Stevenage capable of turning a mill. I have been unable to find any account of this mill in either of the county histories.
Hertfordiensis.
Mounds, Munts, Mounts.—In the parish register of Maresfield in Sussex, there is an entry recording the surrender of a house and three acres of land, called the "Mounds," in 1574, to the use of the parish; and in the churchwardens' accounts at Rye, about the same time, it is stated that the church of Rye was entitled to a rent from certain lands called "Mounts." In Jevington, too, there are lands belonging to the Earl of Liverpool called Munts or Mounts, but whether at any time belonging to the church, I am unable to say. Any information as to the meaning of the word, or account of its occurring elsewhere, will much oblige
R. W. B.
Church Chests.—A representation of two knights engaged in combat is sometimes found on ancient church chests. Can any one explain the meaning of it? Examples occur at Harty Chapel, Kent, and Burgate, Suffolk. The former is mentioned in the Glossary of Architecture, and described as a carving: the latter is painted only, and one of the knights is effaced: the other is apparently being unhorsed; he wears a jupon embroidered in red, and the camail, &c., of the time of Richard II.: a small shield is held in his left hand: his horse stoops its head, apparently to water, through which it is slowly pacing. Is this a subject from the legend of some saint, or from one of the popular romances of the middle ages? Are any other examples known?
C. R. M.
The Cross-bill.—Is "The Legend of the Cross-bill," translated from Julius Mosen by Longfellow, a genuine early tradition, or only a fiction of the poet?
2. Is the Cross-bill considered in any country as a sacred bird? and was it ever so used in architectural decoration, illumination, or any other works of sacred art?
3. What is the earliest record on evidence of the Cross-bill being known in England?
H. G. T.
Launceston.
Iovanni Volpe.—Can any of your readers supply a notice of Iovanni Volpe, mentioned in a MS. nearly cotemporary to have been
"An Italian doctor, famous in Queen Elizabeth's time, who went with George Earl of Cumberland most of his sea voyages, and was with him at the taking of Portorico?"
Another MS., apparently of the date of James I., describes him as "physician to Queen Elizabeth."
He had a daughter, Frances, widow of Richard Evers, Esq. ("of the family of Evers of Coventry"), who married, 2d November, 1601, Richard Hughes, Esq., then a younger son, but eventually representative, of the ancient house of Gwerclas and Cymmer-yn-Edeirnion, in Merionethshire, and died 29th June, 1636.
M. N. O.
Auriga.—How comes the Latin word Auriga to mean "a charioteer?"
Varro.
To speak in Lutestring.—1. Philo-Junius—that is, Junius himself—in the 47th Letter, writes:
"I was led to trouble you with these observations by a passage which, to speak in lutestring, I met with this morning, in the course of my reading."
Had the expression in Italics been used before by any one?
2. In the 56th Letter, addressed to the Duke of Grafton, Junius asks:
"Is the union of Blifil and Black George no longer a romance?"
What part of that story is here referred to?
Varro.
"Lavora, come se tu," &c.—In Bohn's edition of Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living and Dying, I observe in the notes several Italian sentences, mostly couplets or proverbs. One peculiarly struck me: and I should feel obliged if any of your readers could tell me whence it was taken, name of author, &c. The couplet runs thus (Vide p. 182. of the work):—
"Lavora, come se tu avessi a camper ogni hora:
Adora, come se tu avessi a morir allora."
Indeed it would not be amiss, if all the notes were marked with authors' names or other reference, as I find some few of the Latin quotations as well as the Greek, and all the Italian ones, require a godfather.
W. H. P.
Tomb of Chaucer.—Are any of the existing English families descended from the poet Chaucer? If so, might they not fairly be applied to for a contribution to the proposed restoration of his tomb? His son Thomas Chaucer left an heiress, married to De la Pole, Duke of Suffolk; but I have not the means of ascertaining whether any of their posterity are extant.
C. R. M.
Family of Clench.—Can any of your readers supply me with the parentage and family of Bruin Clench of St. Martin's in the Fields, citizen of London? He married Catharine, daughter of William Hippesley, Esq., of Throughley, in Edburton, co. Sussex; and was living in 1686. His christian name does not appear in the pedigrees of the Clinche or Clench family of Bealings and Holbrook, co. Suffolk, in the Heralds' Visitations, in the British Museum. His daughter married Roger Donne, Esq., of Ludham, co. Norfolk, and was the maternal grandmother of the poet Cowper.
C. R. M.
