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Minor Queries

Paul Pitcher Night.—Can any of the contributors to "Notes and Queries" throw light upon a curious custom, prevalent in some parts of Cornwall, of throwing broken pitchers, and other earthen vessels, against the doors of dwelling-houses, on the eve of the Conversion of St. Paul, thence locally called "Paul pitcher night?" On that evening parties of young people perambulate the parishes in which the custom is retained, exclaiming as they throw the sherds,—

"Paul's eve,
And here's a heave!"

According to the received notions, the first "heave" cannot be objected to; but, upon its being repeated, the inhabitants of the house whose door is thus attacked may, if they can, seize the offenders, and inflict summary justice upon them; but, as they usually effect their escape before the door can be opened, this is not easily managed.

Query, Can this apparently unintelligible custom have any reference to the 21st verse of the IXth chap. of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans: "Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?"—the earthen fragments thus turned to dishonour being called "Paul's pitchers."

Any more probable conjecture as to the origin or meaning of this custom, or any account of its occurring elsewhere, will greatly oblige

F. M. (a Subscriber).

Disinterment for Heresy.—A remarkable instance of disinterment on account of heresy is stated to have occurred a little before the Reformation, in the case of one Tracy, who was publicly accused in convocation of having expressed heretical tenets in his will; and, having been found guilty, a commission was issued to dig up his body, which was accordingly done. I shall be much obliged to any of your readers who will favour me with the date and particulars of this case.

Arun.

"Just Notions," &c.—At the end of the Introduction of The Christian Instructed in the Principles of Religion, by W. Reading, Lond. 1717, occur the following lines: (Query, whether original, or, if not, from whence quoted?)—

"Just notions will into good actions grow,
And to our reason we our virtues owe;
False judgments are the unhappy source of ill,
And blinded error draws the passive will.
To know our God, and know ourselves, is all
We can true happiness or wisdom call."

U. Q.

Pursuits of Literature.—How came the author of the Pursuits of Literature to be known? I have before me the 11th edition (1801); and in the Preface to the fourth and last dialogue, the author declares that "neither my name nor situation in life will ever be revealed." He does not pretend to be the sole depository of his own secret; but he says again:

"My secret will be for ever preserved, I know, under every change of fortune or of political tenets, while honour, and virtue, and religion, and friendly affection, and erudition, and the principles of a gentleman have binding force and authority upon minds so cultivated and dignified. When they fall, I am contented to fall with them."

Nevertheless, the author of the Pursuits of Literature is known. How is this?

S. T. D.

Satirical Medal.—I possess a medal whose history I should be glad to know. It is apparently of silver, though not ringing as such, and about an inch and a quarter in diameter. On the obverse are two figures in the long-waisted, full-skirted coats, cavalier hats, and full-bottomed wigs of, I presume, Louis XIV.'s time. Both wear swords; one, exhibiting the most developed wig of the two, offers a snuff-box, from which the other has accepted a pinch, and fillips it into his companion's eyes. The legend is "Faites-vous cela pour m'affronter?"

The mitigated heroism of this query seems to be noted on the reverse, which presents a man digging in the ground, an operation in which he must be somewhat hampered by a lantern in his left hand; superfluous one would deem (but for the authority of Diogenes), as the sun is shining above his head in full splendour. The digger's opinion, that the two combined are not more than the case requires, is conveyed in the legend,—

"Je cherche du courage pour mon maistre."

The finding was curious. On cutting down an ash-tree in the neighbourhood of Linton, Cambridgeshire, in 1818, a knob on its trunk was lopped off, and this medal discovered in its core! It was probably the cause of the excrescence, having been, perhaps, thrust under the bark to escape the danger of its apparently political allusion. The Linton carrier purchased it for half-a-crown, and from him it passed in 1820 into hands whence it devolved to me.

Is anything known of this medal, or are any other specimens of it extant? I pretend to no numismatic skill, but to an unlearned mind it would seem to contain allusion to the insult which Charles II. and his government were supposed to submit to from Louis XIV.; to be, in fact, a sort of metallic HB.

Some friend, I forget who, pronounced the workmanship Dutch, which would, I think, favour the above theory. The figures are in bold and prominent relief, but to a certain degree rounded by wear, having been evidently carried in the pocket for a considerable time.

G. W. W.

Matthew's Mediterranean Passage.—I should be thankful for any information as to where the following work could be seen, and also respecting the nature of its contents.

"Somerset.—Matthew's Mediterranean Passage by water from London to Bristol, &c., and from Lynne to Yarmouthe. Very rare, 4to. 1670."

The above is quoted from Thos. Thorpe's Cat., part iii., 1832, p. 169., no. 7473.

Mercurii.

Inscription on an Oak Board.—I have an old oak board, on which are carved the following lines in raised capital letters of an antique form, with lozenges between the words:—

"IF . YOV . WOVLD . KNOW . MY . NAME .
OR . WHO . I . WAS . THAT . DID . THE . SAME .
LOKE . IN . GENESIS . WHERE . HEE . DOO . INDIGHT."

The letters are two inches long, and a quarter of an inch high from the sunken face of the board, which is four feet long by ten inches wide. It has a raised rim or border round the inscription; which proves that it had not contained more lines than as above. It was found at Hereford, in a county which still abounds in timbered houses, and it had been lately used as a weather-board. The legend was submitted to the late Sir Samuel Meyrick of Goderich Court; who was of opinion, that it had formerly been over the chimney-piece or porch of some dwelling-house, and is a riddle involving the builder's or founder's name. If any of your readers can suggest the age and original use of this board, or explain the name concealed in the lines, it will oblige

P. H. F.

Expressions in Milton.—Allow me to ask some correspondent to give the meaning of the following expressions from the prose works of Milton:—

"A toothless satire is as improper as a toothed sleck stone, and as bullish."

"A toothed sleck stone," I take to mean a "jagged whetstone," very unfit for its purpose; but what is the force of the term "as bullish?"

Again:

"I do not intend this hot seasons to bid you the base, through the wide and dusty champaign of the councils."

The meaning I receive from this is, "I don't mean to carry you through the maze of the ancient councils of the church;" but I wish to know the exact force of the expression "to bid you the base?"

R. (a Reader).

Saints' Days.—The chorea invita is not a very satisfactory explanation of St. Vitus's dance; and though St. Vitus is not in the Roman martyrology of our day, yet he is in the almanacs of the fifteenth century, and probably earlier. The martyr Vitus makes the 15th of June a red letter-day in the first almanac ever printed. Who was St. Vitus, and how did he give his name to the play of the features which is called his dance? Again, the day before St. Patrick is celebrated in Ireland, St. Patricius is celebrated in Auvergne. Can any identity be established?

M.

Chepstow Castle.—In Carlyle's Life of Cromwell, vol. i. pp. 349, 350., there is a letter from Cromwell, dated before Pembroke, wherein he directs a Major Saunders, then quartered at or near Brecon, to go to Monmouthshire and seize Sir Trevor Williams of Llangevie, and Mr. Morgan, High Sheriff of Monmouth, "as," he writes, "they were very deep in the plot of betraying Chepstow Castle." Carlyle has the following foot-note to the letter:

"Saunders by his manner of indorsing this letter seems to intimate that he took his two men; that he keeps the letter by way of voucher. Sir Trevor Williams by and bye compounds as a delinquent, retires then into Llangevie House, and disappears from history. Of Sheriff Morgan, except that a new sheriff is soon appointed, we have no farther notice whatever."

Can any of your correspondents give me information in what work I can find a tolerably full account of this "betraying of Chepstow Castle?" and also of what place in the county was this Morgan, Sheriff of Monmouth?

Danydd Gam.

The Wilkes MSS. and "North Briton."—I inquired long since what had become of these MSS., which Miss Wilkes bequeathed to Peter Elmsley, of Sloane Street, "to whose judgement and delicacy" she confided them,—meaning, I presume, that she should be content to abide by his judgement as to the propriety of publishing them, or a selection; but certainly to be preserved for the vindication of her father's memory; otherwise she would have destroyed them, or directed them to be destroyed. In 1811 these MSS. were, I presume, in the possession of Peter Elmsley, Principal of St. Alban's Hall, as he submitted the Junius Correspondence, through Mr. Hallam, to Serjeant Rough, who returned the letters to Mr. Hallam. Where now are the original Junius Letters, and where the other MSS.? The Athenæum has announced that the Stowe MSS., including the Diaries and Correspondence of George Grenville, are about to be published, and will throw a "new light" on the character of John Wilkes. I suspect any light obtained from George Grenville will be very like the old light, and only help to blacken what is already too dark. I therefore venture to ask once again, Where are the Wilkes MSS.? and can they be consulted? Further, are any of your readers able and willing to inform us who were the writers of the different papers in the North Briton, either first or second series? Through "Notes and Queries" we got much curious information on this point with reference to the Rolliad.

W. M. S.

"O wearisome Condition of Humanity!"—Can any of your readers inform me in what "noble poet of our own" the following verses are to be found. They are quoted by Tillotson in vol. ii. p. 255. of his Works, in 3 vols. fo.

"O wearisome condition of humanity!
Born under one law, to another bound;
Vainly begot, and yet forbidden vanity;
Created sick, commanded to be sound.
If Nature did not take delight in blood,
She would have found more easy ways to good."

Q.

Bloomsbury.

Places called "Purgatory."—The Rev. Wm. Thornber, in his History of Blackpool in the Fylde District of Lancashire, gives the following explanation of the name as applied to particular fields, houses, &c.:—

"The last evening in October (or vigil of All Souls) was called the Teanlay night; at the close of that day, till within late years, the hills which encircle the Fylde shone brightly with many a bonfire, the mosses rivalling them with their fires kindled for the object of succouring their friends in purgatory. A field near Poulton, in which this ceremony of the Teanlays was celebrated (a circle of men standing with bundles of straw raised high on pitchforks), is named Purgatory; and will hand down to posterity the farce of lighting souls to endless happiness from the confines of their prison-house: the custom was not confined to one village or town, but was generally practised by the Romanists."

It is certain that places may be found here and there in the county still going by the name of Purgatory. Can any of your correspondents throw further light on the matter, or tell us if the custom extended to other counties?

P. P.

Epitaph in Hall's "Discovery."—The following epitaph occurs in Bishop Hall's Discovery of a New World, by an English Mercury, an extremely rare little volume, unknown to Ames or Herbert; and is, I should imagine, a satire on some statesman of the time. Query, on whom?

"Passenger.,

"Stay, reade, walke, Here lieth Andrew Turnecoate, who was neither Slave, nor Soldier, nor Phisitian, nor Fencer, nor Cobler, nor Filtcher, nor Lawier, nor Usurer, but all; who lived neither in citty, nor countrie, nor at home, nor abroade, nor at sea, nor at land, nor here, nor elsewhere, but everywhere. Who died neither of hunger, nor poyson, nor hatchet, nor halter, nor dogge, nor disease, but altogether. I., I. H., being neither his debtour, nor heire, nor kinsman, nor friend, nor neighbour, but all: in his memory have erected this, neither monument, nor tombe, nor sepulcher, but all; wishing neither evill nor well, neither to thee, nor mee, nor him, but all unto all."—P. 140.
C. J. Francis.

Minor Queries Answered

Canon and Prebendary.—What is the difference between a canon and a prebend or prebendary in a cathedral, or a collegiate church establishment?

W. J.

[The distinction seems to be this, that a prebendary is one who possesses a prebend, which formerly a canon might or might not hold. Subsequently, when canons received prebends for their support, the two classes became confounded; the one, however, is a name of office (canon), the other of emolument (prebendary).
"Une partie du clergé était toujours auprès de l'évêque, pour assister aux prières et à toutes les fonctions publiques. L'évêque consultait les prêtres sur toutes les affaires de l'église: et pour l'exécution il se servait des diacres et des ministres inférieurs. Le reste du clergé était distribué dans les titres de la ville et de la campagne, et ne se rassemblait qu'en certaines occasions, d'où sont venus les synodes. De cette première partie de clergé sont venus les chanoines des cathédrales. Il est vrai que du commencement on nommait clercs canoniques, tous ceux qui vivaient selon les canons, sous la conduite de leur évêque; et qui étaient sur le canon ou la matricule de l'église, pour être entretenus à ses dépens, soit qu'ils servissent dans l'église matrice, ou dans les autres titres. Depuis, le nom de canonique ou chanoines fut particulièrement appliqué aux clercs, qui vivaient en commun avec leur évêque."—Institution du Droit Ecclésiastique, par M. l'Abbé Fleury, 1ière partie, chap. xvii.
So much for the origin of canons. As to prebendaries:
"Præbenda, est jus percipiendi reditus ecclesiasticos, ratione divini officii, cui quis insistit. Alia est canonicatui annexa, alia sine ea confertur. Gl. in c. cum M. Ferrariensis, 9. in verbo receperunt de constit.
"Præbendam, beneficium et titulum nihil reipsa interest: usu tamen loquendi in alia ecclesia vocatur Præbenda, in alia beneficiam, seu titulus. Secund. Pac. Isag. Decret. hoc tit."—Lib. 2. tit. xxviii. of the Aphorisms of Canon Law, by Arn. Corvinus. Paris, 1671.
In the Quare Impedit of Mallory, the distinction is thus expressed:—
"There is a difference taken between a prebendary and a canon, for a prebendary is a præbendo and nomen facti in respect of the maintenance given to him: but Canonicus est nomen juris; and in our usual translations a secular is translated to a regular, but not e converso, a regular to a secular, Palm 501."—p. 34. sub titulo Advowson.]

What Amount of Property constitutes an Esquire?—The practice of subjoining "Esquire" to the names of persons has become so universal, that the real significance of the title is quite lost sight of. Will some one of your correspondents inform me what amount of property really constitutes an Esquire?

W. L.

[No fixed amount of property is a qualification for the title or rank of Esquire. For the description of persons so entitled to be designated, see Blackstone's Commentaries, vol. i.; and the later the edition, the greater advantage W. L. will have in the notes and remarks of the latest law writers.]

Cromwell Family.—Will some of your correspondents be so good as to inform me, to whom the children (sons and daughters) of Oliver Cromwell's daughter Bridget were married, those by her first marriage with Ireton as well as those by her second marriage with Fleetwood. I can learn but the marriage of one: Ireton's daughter Bridget married a Mr. Bendyshe.

M. A. C.

[Cromwell's daughter, Bridget, who was relict of Henry Ireton, married Charles Fleetwood of Armingland Hall, Norfolk, and Stoke Newington, Middlesex: she died, 1681, without any issue by Fleetwood. See Fleetwood's pedigree in No. IX. of the Bibl. Topog. Britannica, pp. 28, 29. By her first husband, Henry Ireton, to whom she was married in 1646, she had one son and four daughters, of whom a full account will be found in Noble's House of Cromwell, vol. ii. pp. 319-329., in which volume will be found an account of the family of Fleetwood.]

Daughters of the Sixth Earl of Lennox.—J. W. wishes for information as to who married, or what became of the daughters and granddaughters of Charles Stuart, the sixth Earl of Lennox, and brother of Darnley?

[The brother of Darnley (the husband of Mary Queen of Scots) was Charles, fifth earl of Lennox, who left an only daughter, the interesting and oppressed Lady Arabella Stuart, as every common Peerage will state.]

Wife of Joseph Nicholson.—Any information as to who was the wife of Joseph Nicholson, who resided in London the latter part of the seventeenth century, would much oblige one of his descendants.

He was second son of the Rev. Joseph Nicholson, rector of Plumland, Cumberland, who was married to Mary Miser, of Crofton.

His eldest brother was Dr. Wm. Nicholson, Bishop of Carlisle, afterwards Bishop of Derry, and died there 1727. The bishop's nephew, Rev. James Nicholson, son of the above Joseph, came to Ireland as chaplain to his uncle, and became rector of Ardrahan, co. Galway, and died there about 1776.

Andrew Nicholson.

[If our correspondent will refer to the title-page of the Bishop's celebrated work, The English, Scotch, and Irish Historical Libraries, as well as to his correspondence with Thoresby, the Leeds antiquary, he will find his name spelt Nicolson, without the letter h. This deserves to be noted, as there was another Dr. William Nicholson, consecrated Bishop of Gloucester, A.D. 1660.]

Six Abeiles.—In Mrs. Barrett Browning's beautiful poem, Rhyme of the Duchess May, the following lines occur:

"Six abeiles i' the kirkyard grow,
On the northside in a row."

Will you or some of your readers kindly inform me what abeiles are. From the context, they would seem to be some kind of tree, but what tree I cannot discover.

M. A. H.

Monkstown, co. Cork, Feb. 18. 1851.

[Bailey, in his Dictionary, says, "An abele-tree is a fine kind of white poplar." See also Chambers' Cyclopædia.]

Southey.—There is a jeu d'esprit attributed to Southey, on the expedition of Napoleon into Russia, beginning,—

"Buonaparte must needs set out
On a summer's excursion to Moscow,"

and ending,—

"But there's a place which he must go to,
Where the fire is red, and the brimstone blue,
Sacre-bleu, ventre-bleu,
He'll find it hotter than Moscow."

I know this was printed, for I saw it when a boy. Where can it be found?

M.

[See "The March to Moscow," in Southey's Poetical Works, p. 464., edit. 1850.]

Epigram against Burke.—Can any reader supply me with some lines of great asperity against Edmund Burke, excited (I believe) by the unrelenting hostility exhibited by Burke against Warren Hastings?

The sting of the epigram is contained in the last line, which, alluding to the exemption of Ireland from all poisonous reptiles, runs as follows:—

"And saved her venom to create a Burke."

And if the said lines shall be forthcoming, I should be glad also to be informed of their reputed author.

A Borderer.

[The following epigram, thrown to Burke in court, and torn by him to shreds, has been always attributed to Mr. Law (Lord Ellenborough), but erroneously:—

"Oft have we wonder'd that on Irish ground
No poisonous reptile has e'er yet been found;
Reveal'd the secret stands of nature's work,
She saved her venom to create a Burke."

The real author was one Williams, notorious for his nom de guerre, Anthony Pasquin.—Townsend's History of Twelve Eminent Judges.]

Knights Hospitallers.—Where may a correct list be found of the names of the several persons who held the appointment of Master of the Knights Hospitallers in England, from the period of their first coming until the dissolution of their houses?