Notes And Queries,(Series 1, Vol. 2, Issue 1), by Various
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Various >> Notes And Queries,(Series 1, Vol. 2, Issue 1),
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NOTES AND QUERIES:
A MEDIUM OF INTER-COMMUNICATION FOR LITERARY MEN, ARTISTS, ANTIQUARIES,
GENEALOGISTS, ETC.
* * * * *
"When found, make a note of."--CAPTAIN CUTTLE
* * * * *
No. 1
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1849.
Price Threepence. Stamped Edition, 6d.
* * * * *
NOTES AND QUERIES.
The nature and design of the present work have been so fully stated in
the Prospectus, and are indeed so far explained by its very Title, that
it is unnecessary to occupy any great portion of its first number with
details on the subject. We are under no temptation to fill its columns
with an account of what we hope future numbers will be. Indeed, we would
rather give a specimen than a description; and only regret that, from
the wide range of subjects which it is intended to embrace, and the
correspondence and contributions of various kinds which we are led to
expect, even this can only be done gradually. A few words of
introduction and explanation may, however, be allowed; and indeed, ought
to be prefixed, that we may be understood by those readers who have not
seen our Prospectus.
"WHEN FOUND, MAKE A NOTE OF," is a most admirable rule; and if the
excellent Captain had never uttered another word, he might have passed
for a profound philosopher. It is a rule which should shine in gilt
letters on the gingerbread of youth, and the spectacle-case of age.
Every man who reads with any view beyond mere pastime, knows the value
of it. Every one, more or less, acts upon it. Every one regrets and
suffers who neglects it. There is some trouble in it, to be sure; but in
what good thing is there not? and what trouble does it save! Nay, what
mischief! Half the lies that are current in the world owe their origin
to a misplaced confidence in memory, rather than to intentional
falsehood. We have never known more than one man who could deliberately
and conscientiously say that his memory had _never_ deceived him; and he
(when he saw that he had excited the surprise of his hearers, especially
those who knew how many years he had spent in the management of
important commercial affairs) used to add,--because he had never trusted
it; but had uniformly written down what he was anxious to remember.
But, on the other hand, it cannot be denied that reading and writing
men, of moderate industry, who act on this rule for any considerable
length of time, will accumulate a good deal of matter in various forms,
shapes, and sizes--some more, some less legible and intelligible--some
unposted in old pocket books--some on whole or half sheets, or mere
scraps of paper, and backs of letters--some lost sight of and forgotten,
stuffing out old portfolios, or getting smoky edges in bundles tied up
with faded tape. There are, we are quite sure, countless boxes and
drawers, and pigeon-holes of such things, which want looking over, and
would well repay the trouble.
Nay, we are sure that the proprietors would find themselves much
benefited even if we were to do nothing more than to induce them to look
over their own collections. How much good might we have done (as well as
got, for we do not pretend to speak quite disinterestedly), if we had
had the looking over and methodizing of the chaos in which Mr. Oldbuck
found himself just at the moment, so agonizing to an author, when he
knows that the patience of his victim is oozing away, and fears it will
be quite gone before he can lay his hand on the charm which is to fix
him a hopeless listener:--"So saying, the Antiquary opened a drawer, and
began rummaging among a quantity of miscellaneous papers ancient and
modern. But it was the misfortune of this learned gentleman, as it may
be that of many learned and unlearned, that he frequently experienced on
such occasions, what Harlequin calls "_l'embarras des richesses_"--in
other words, the abundance of his collection often prevented him from
finding the article he sought for." We need not add that this
unsuccessful search for Professor Mac Cribb's epistle, and the scroll of
the Antiquary's answer, was the unfortunate turning-point on which the
very existence of the documents depended, and that from that day to this
nobody has seen them, or known where to look for them.
But we hope for more extensive and important benefits than these, from
furnishing a medium by which much valuable information may become a sort
of common property among those who can appreciate and use it. We do not
anticipate any holding back by those whose "NOTES" are most worth
having, or any want of "QUERIES" from those best able to answer them.
Whatever may be the case in other things, it is certain that those who
are best informed are generally the most ready to communicate knowledge
and to confess ignorance, to feel the value of such a work as we are
attempting, and to understand that if it is to be well done they must
help to do it. Some cheap and frequent means for the interchange of
thought is certainly wanted by those who are engaged in literature, art,
and science, and we only hope to persuade the best men in all, that we
offer them the best medium of communication with each other.
By this time, we hope, our readers are prepared to admit that our title
(always one of the most difficult points of a book to settle), has not
been imprudently or unwisely adopted. We wish to bring together the
ideas and the wants, not merely of men engaged in the same lines of
action or inquiry, but also (and very particularly) of those who are
going different ways, and only meet at the crossings, where a helping
hand is oftenest needed, and they would be happy to give one if they
knew it was wanted. In this way we desire that our little book should
take "NOTES," and be a medley of all that men are doing--that the Notes
of the writer and the reader, whatever be the subject-matter of his
studies, of the antiquary, and the artist, the man of science, the
historian, the herald, and the genealogist, in short, Notes relating to
all subjects but such as are, in popular discourse, termed either
political or polemical, should meet in our columns in such
juxta-position, as to give fair play to any natural attraction or
repulsion between them, and so that if there are any hooks and eyes
among them, they may catch each other.
Now, with all modesty, we submit, that for the title of such a work as
we have in view, and have endeavoured to describe, no word could be so
proper as "NOTES." Can any man, in his wildest dream of imagination,
conceive of any thing that may not be--nay, that has not been--treated
of in a _note?_ Thousands of things there are, no doubt, which cannot be
sublimed into poetry, or elevated into history, or treated of with
dignity, in a stilted text of any kind, and which are, as it is called,
"thrown" into notes; but, after all, they are much like children sent
out of the stiff drawing-room into the nursery, snubbed to be sure by
the act, but joyful in the freedom of banishment. We were going to say
(but it might sound vainglorious), where do things read so well as in
notes? but we will put the question in another form:--Where do you so
well test an author's learning and knowledge of his subject?--where do
you find the pith of his most elaborate researches?--where do his most
original suggestions escape?--where do you meet with the details that
fix your attention at the time and cling to your memory for ever?--where
do both writer and reader luxuriate so much at their case, and feel that
they are wisely discursive?--But if we pursue this idea, it will be
scarcely possible to avoid something which might look like self-praise;
and we content ourselves for the present with expressing our humble
conviction that we are doing a service to writers and readers, by
calling forth materials which they have themselves thought worth notice,
but which, for want of elaboration, and the "little leisure" that has
not yet come, are lying, and may lie for ever, unnoticed by others, and
presenting them in an unadorned _multum-in-parvo_ form. To our readers
therefore who are seeking for Truth, we repeat "When found make a NOTE
of!" and we must add, "till then make a QUERY."
* * * * *
PLACE OF CAPTURE OF THE DUKE OF MONMOUTH.
20th October, 1849.
Mr. Editor,--Mr. Macaulay's account of the Battle of Sedgemoor is
rendered singularly picturesque and understandable by the personal
observation and local tradition which he has brought to bear upon it.
Might not his account of the capture of Monmouth derive some few
additional life-giving touches, from the same invaluable sources of
information. It is extremely interesting, as every thing adorned by Mr.
Macaulay's luminous style must necessarily be, but it lacks a little of
that bright and living reality, which, in the account of Sedgemoor, and
in many other parts of the book, are imparted by minute particularity
and precise local knowledge. It runs as follows:--
"On Cranbourne Chase the strength of the horses failed. They were
therefore turned loose. The bridles and saddles were concealed.
Monmouth and his friends disguised themselves as country-men, and
proceeded on foot towards the New Forest. They passed the night in
the open air: but before morning they were surrounded on every
side.... At five in the morning of the seventh, Grey was seized by
two of Lumley's scouts.... It could hardly be doubted that the chief
rebel was not far off. The pursuers redoubled their vigilance and
activity. The cottages scattered over the healthy country on the
boundaries of Dorsetshire and Hampshire were strictly examined by
Lumley; and the clown with whom Monmouth had changed clothes was
discovered. Portman came with a strong body of horse and foot to
assist in the search. Attention was soon drawn to a place well
suited to shelter fugitives. It was an extensive tract of land
separated by an inclosure from the open country, and divided by
numerous hedges into small fields. In some of these fields the rye,
the pease, and the oats were high enough to conceal a man. Others
were overgrown by fern and brambles. A poor woman reported that she
had seen two strangers lurking in this covert. The near prospect of
reward animated the zeal of the troops.... The outer fence was
strictly guarded: the space within was examined with indefatigable
diligence; and several dogs of quick scent were turned out among the
bushes. The day closed before the search could be completed: but
careful watch was kept all night. Thirty times the fugitives
ventured to look through the outer hedge: but everywhere they found
a sentinel on the alert: once they were seen and fired at: they then
separated and concealed themselves in different hiding places.
"At sunrise the next morning the search recommenced, and Buyse was
found. He owned that he had parted from the Duke only a few hours
before. The corn and copsewood were now beaten with more care than
ever. At length a gaunt figure was discovered hidden in a ditch. The
pursuers sprang on their prey. Some of them were about to fire; but
Portman forbade all violence. The prisoner's dress was that of a
shepherd; his beard, prematurely grey, was of several days' growth.
He trembled greatly, and was unable to speak. Even those who had
often seen him were at first in doubt whether this were the
brilliant and graceful Monmouth. His pockets were searched by
Portman, and in them were found, among some raw pease gathered in
the rage of hunger, a watch, a purse of gold, a small treatise on
fortification, an album filled with songs, receipts, prayers, and
charms, and the George with which, many years before, King Charles
the Second had decorated his favourite son."--_Hist. Eng._, i. pp.
616-618. 2nd edition.
Now, this is all extremely admirable. It is a brilliant description of
an important historical incident. But on what precise spot did it take
place? One would like to endeavour to realise such an event at the very
place where it occurred, and the historian should enable us to do so. I
believe the spot is very well known, and that the traditions of the
neighbourhood upon the subject are still vivid. It was near Woodyate's
Inn, a well-known roadside inn, a few miles from Salisbury, on the road
to Blandford, that the Duke and his companions turned adrift their
horses. From thence they crossed the country in almost a due southerly
direction. The tract of land in which the Duke took refuge is rightly
described by Mr. Macaulay, as "separated by an inclosure from the open
country." Its nature is no less clearly indicated by its local name of
"The Island." The open down which surrounds it is called Shag's Heath.
The Island is described as being about a mile and a half from Woodlands,
and in the parish of Horton, in Dorsetshire. The field in which the Duke
concealed himself is still called "Monmouth Close." It is at the
north-eastern extremity of the Island. An ash-tree at the foot of which
the would-be-king was found crouching in a ditch and half hid under the
fern, was standing a few years ago, and was deeply indented with the
carved initials of crowds of persons who has been to visit it. Mr.
Macaulay has mentioned that the fields were covered--it was the eighth
of July--with standing crops of rye, pease, and oats. In one of them, a
field of pease, tradition tells us that the Duke dropped a gold
snuff-box. It was picked up some time afterwards by a labourer, who
carried it to Mrs. Uvedale of Horton, probably the proprietress of the
field, and received in reward fifteen pounds, which was said to be half
its value. On his capture, the Duke was first taken to the house of
Anthony Etterick, Esq., a magistrate who resided at Holt, which adjoins
Horton. Tradition, which records the popular feeling rather than the
fact, reports, that the poor woman who informed the pursuers that she
had seen two strangers lurking in the Island--her name was Amy
Farrant--never prospered afterwards; and that Henry Parkin, the soldier,
who, spying the skirt of the smock-frock which the Duke had assumed as a
disguise, recalled the searching party just as they were leaving the
Island, burst into tears and reproached himself bitterly for his fatal
discovery.
It is a defect in the Ordnance Survey, that neither the Island nor
Monmouth Close is indicated upon it by name.
I know not, Mr. Editor, whether these particulars are of the kind which
you design to print as "NOTES." If they are so, and you give them place
in your miscellany, be good enough to add a "QUERY" addressed to your
Dorsetshire correspondents, as to whether the ash-tree is now standing,
and what is the actual condition of the spot at the present time. The
facts I have stated are partly derived from the book known as _Addison's
Anecdotes_, vol. iv., p. 12. 1794, 8vo. They have been used, more or
less, by the late Rev. P. Hall, in his _Account of Ringwood_, and by Mr.
Roberts, in his _Life of Monmouth_.
With the best of good wishes for the success of your most useful
periodical,
Believe me, Mr. Editor,
Yours very truly,
JOHN BRUCE.
* * * * *
SHAKESPEARE AND DEER-STEALING.
In "The Life of Shakespeare," prefixed to the edition of his Works I saw
through the press three of four years ago, I necessarily entered into
the deer-stealing question, admitting that I could not, as some had
done, "entirely discredit the story," and following it up by proof (in
opposition to the assertion of Malone), that Sir Thomas Lucy had deer,
which Shakespeare might have been concerned in stealing. I also, in the
same place (vol. i. p. xcv.), showed, from several authorities, how
common and how venial offence it was considered in the middle of the
reign of Elizabeth. Looking over some MSS. of that time, a few weeks
since, I met with a very singular and confirmatory piece of evidence,
establishing that in the year 1585, the precise period when our great
dramatist is supposed to have made free with the deer of the knight of
Charlcote, nearly all the cooks'-shops and ordinaries of London were
supplied with stolen venison. The following letter from the lord mayor
(which I copy from the original) of that day, Thomas Pullyson, to
secretary Walsingham, speaks for itself, and shows that the matter has
been deemed of so much important as to call for the interposition of the
Privy Council: the city authorities were required to take instant and
arbitrary measures for putting an end to the consumption of venison and
to the practice of deer-stealing, by means of which houses &c. of public
resort in London were furnished with that favourite viand. The letter of
the lord mayor was a speedy reply to a communication from the queen's
ministers on the subject:--
"Right honorable, where yesterday I receaved letters from her Ma'tes
most honorable privie councill, advertisinge me that her highnes was
enformed that Venison ys as ordinarilie sould by the Cookes of
London as other flesh, to the greate distruction of the game.
Commaundinge me thereby to take severall bondes of xl'li the peece
of all the Cookes in London not to buye or sell any venison
hereafter, uppon payne of forfayture of the same bondes; neyther to
receave any venison to bake without keepinge a note of theire names
that shall deliver the same unto them. Whereupon presentlie I called
the Wardens of the Cookes before me, advertisinge them hereof,
requiringe them to cause their whole company to appeare before me,
to thende I might take bondes accordinge to a condition hereinclosed
sent to your Ho.; whoe answered that touchinge the first clause
thereof they were well pleased therewith, but for the latter clause
they thought yt a greate inconvenience to their companie, and
therefore required they might be permitted to make theire answeres,
and alledge theire reasons therof before theire honors. Affirmed
alsoe, that the Tablinge howses and Tavernes are greater receyvors
and destroyers of stollen venison than all the rest of the Cittie:
whereupon they craved that eyther they maye be likewise bounden, or
else authoritie may be geven to the Cookes to searche for the same
hereafter. I have therefore taken bondes of the wardens for their
speedy appearance before theire honors to answere the same; and I am
bolde to pray your Ho. to impart the same unto their Ho., and that I
maye with speede receyve theire future direction herein. And soe I
humbly take my leave. London, the xj'th of June, 1585.
"Your honors to commaunde,
"THOMAS PULLYSON, maior."
I dare say that the registers of the Privy Council contain some record
of what was done on the occasion, and would enable us to decide whether
the very reasonable request of the Cooks of London had been complied
with. Whether this be or be not so, the above document establishes
beyond question that in the summer of 1585 cooks'-shops, tabling-houses
(i.e. ordinaries), and taverns, were abundantly supplied with stolen
venison, and that the offence of stealing must have been very common.
J. PAYNE COLLIER
Kensington, Oct. 26, 1849
* * * * *
"PRAY REMEMBER THE GROTTO!" ON ST. JAMES' DAY.
When the great popularity which the legends of the Saints formerly
enjoyed is considered it becomes matter of surprise that they should not
have been more frequently consulted for illustrations of our folk-lore
and popular observances. The Edinburgh Reviewer of Mrs. Jameson's
_Sacred and Legendary Art_ has, with great judgement, extracted from
that work a legend, in which, as he shows very clearly[A], we have the
real, although hitherto unnoticed, origin of the Three Balls which still
form the recognised sign of a Pawnbroker. The passage is so curious,
that it should be transferred entire to the "NOTES AND QUERIES."
[A] Edinburgh Review, vol. lxxxix. p.400.
"None of the many diligent investigators of our popular antiquities
have yet traced home the three golden balls of our pawnbrokers to
the emblem of St. Nicholas. They have been properly enough referred
to the Lombard merchants, who were the first to open loan-shops in
England for the relief of temporary distress. But the Lombards had
merely assumed an emblem which had been appropriated to St.
Nicholas, as their charitable predecessor in that very line of
business. The following is the legend: and it is too prettily told
to be omitted:--
"'Now in that city (Panthera) there dwelt a certain nobleman, who
had three daughters, and, from being rich, he became poor; so poor
that there remained no means of obtaining food for his daughters but
by sacrificing them to an infamous life; and oftentimes it came into
his mind to tell them so, but shame and sorrow held him dumb.
Meanwhile the maidens wept continually, not knowing what to do, and
not having bread to eat; and their father became more and more
desperate. When Nicholas heard of this, he thought it shame that
such a thing should happen in a Christian land; therefore one night,
when the maidens were asleep, and their father alone sat watching
and weeping, he took a handful of gold, and, tying it up in a
handkerchief, he repaired to the dwelling of the poor man. He
considered how he might bestow it without making himself known; and,
while he stood irresolute, the moon coming from behind a cloud
showed him a window open; so he threw it in, and it fell at the feet
of the father, who, when he found it, returned thanks, and with it
he portioned his eldest daughter. A second time Nicholas provided a
similar sum, and again he threw it in by night; and with it the
nobleman married his second daughter. But he greatly desired to know
who it was that came to his aid; therefore he determined to watch:
and when the good Saint came for the third time, and prepared to
throw in the third portion, he was discovered, for the nobleman
seized him by the skirt of his robe, and flung himself at his feet,
saying, "O Nicholas! servant of God! why seek to hid thyself?" and
he kissed his feet and his hands. But Nicholas made him promise that
he would tell no man. And many other charitable works did Nicholas
perform in his native city.'
"These three purses of gold, or, as they are more customarily
figured, these three golden balls, disposed in exact pawnbroker
fashion, are to this day the recognised special emblem of the
charitable St. Nicholas."
And now for the more immediate object of the present Note, which is to
show--what, when once pointed out, will, I think, readily be admitted,
namely, that in the grotto formed of oyster shells, and lighted with a
votive candle, to which on old St. James's day (5th August) the passer
by is earnestly entreated to contribute by cries of, "Pray remember the
Grotto!" we have a memorial of the world-renowned shrine of St. James at
Compostella.
The popularity which St. James formerly enjoyed in England, and the zeal
with which his shrine was visited by natives of this country, have
recently been so clearly shown by Mr. J.G. Nichols, in his interesting
little volume, _Pilgrimages to St. Mary of Walsingham and St. Thomas of
Canterbury_, that I need not here insist upon these points.
What the original object of making these grottoes may have been I can
only suggest: but I shall not be surprised if it should turn out that
they were formerly erected on the anniversary of St. James by poor
persons, as an invitation to the pious who could not visit
Compostella, to show their reverence for the Saint by almsgiving to
their needy brethren.
Oysters are only allowed to be sold in London (which city, by the by,
levied a tax of two pence on every person going and returning by the
river Thames on pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James), after St.
James's day. Why is this? I wish Mr. Wansey, who is an able antiquary,
and one authorised to look into the records of Fishmongers' Company,
would give us the information upon this point which these documents may
be expected to furnish.
WILLIAM J. THOMS.
P.S.--I should be glad if any of the readers of "NOTES AND QUERIES"
could explain to that Erasmus alludes, when he says, "Culmeis ornatus
torquibus, brachium habet ova serpentum," which L'Estrange translated,
"Straw-works,--snakes, eggs for bracelets;" and Mr. Nichols, who
honestly states that he is unable to explain the allusion, as he does
not find such emblems elsewhere mentioned,--"adorned with straw
necklaces and bracelets of serpents' eggs."
* * * * *