Two burnish'd piles aloft in transverse gold, nor that of the marble saints which

Fatigue the sight, and awe the town below, arrest their judgment; nor even the hollow winds which blow in "reverend horrors" (whatever they may be), and then fly

In tempests independent of the sky avail to save the poem, though really that is a very remarkable line, and rich in utter oommonplace.

I would fain know something more about the poet. He seems to have written several prologues and epilogues, notably "An Epilogue spoken by Mrs. Sterling on her quitting the Stage "; and he also wrote a tragedy called The Rival Generals,' in five acts, "Acted at the Theatre Royal in Dublin by His Majesty's Servants"; but I have not had the courage to read it, though the author says that it met with "uncommon applause " upon the stage. "James Forth, Esq., late Secretary to the Hon. Commissioners of the Customs and Excise," wrote a prologue to it, spoken by Mr. Elrington, on King William's birth-night; and Col. John Allen wrote an epilogue, spoken by Mr. Giffard. I think that the play would very likely reward perusal, as on the first page I read

And the east blushes with unusual purple; and a little further on

The great success glutted big expectation; and an apostrophe to woman,

He cer

Thou soul of man! by whom we know we're men. Who was the Rev. James Sterling? tainly allowed himself a licence, in his 'Loves of Hero and Leander,' which would not be tolerated to-day in any clergyman. Did the play live? And who was the Mrs. Sterling who retired from the stage with his lines upon her lips-not altogether a swan song, but a little better than some of the other effusions? Surely "ambient lead" is very fine-quite what our neighbours call "high falutin'," when it is remembered that the covering of the dome is the object commemorated !

W. SPARROW Simpson.

G. A. SALA.—As ‘N. & Q.' is taken as a record, I would, whilst bearing testimony to the marvellous memory of Sala, in his autobiographical jottings, observe that, whilst in the main correct, he sometimes fails, as he charges Sir Edward Lawson with doing, when giving an inventory of the Sala habiliments upon the occasion of his first interview with the proprietor of the Daily Telegraph.

Reference was not the correspondent's forte, and, as he carried his library in his head, minor details sometimes suffered-for instance, in describing the doings on a memorable Saturday (7 March, 1863) some thirty years after the event, he is not quite

exact.

When the Prince of Wales brought his bride to town, I met Sala and Rumsey Forster-the Telegraph and Post-upon London Bridge, and walked between the two to Temple Bar, escaping the At that period dangers at the Mansion House. the City and the Metropolitan Police were not in accord, separate passes being required by both, that were challenged at the confines of the City. We had passed as the Three Mousquetaires thus far, when G. A. Sala was terribly attacked by the police, and driven back, his linen disarrayed, and his coat torn, to return to the Telegraph office, and then and there to write a tirade against the "force" astonishing to read now.

In his 'Memoirs' he charges me with exciting the ire of the police by wearing a green coat and and carried no crop, though I had a large white carrying a hunting crop. I wore ne coloured coat horse in Hyde Park. waterproof cape and a cane, expecting to find my

At Paddington Station Rumsey Forster (the "Jenkins" of Punch) went with the royal pair to Windsor, I returning, in a deluge of rain, to dress for a civic repast at 7.30, where I fell asleep from fatigue between two ladies, who failed to win their gloves for fear of awakening the dormant, two courses being lost by the lapse.

Sala tells of how Thackeray mistook him for myself, doubtless because we both published at the same house (Ackermann, in the Strand), his 'Great Exhibition Wot is to Be' being broad comic and my 'Rejected Contributions' more in serio than jest. At that period Sala was painting at Soyer's Symposium in Gore House, I helping Owen Jones in the arrangement of the first World's JOHN LEIGHTON, F.S.A. Show in 1851.

"Mr. Henry Burton, late Chaplain to His Majesty's sword at a poor Cottage on Bromley Com'on; but Ship Valeur, being distracted, stabbed himself with his coming to himself was very Penitent and continued so for a fortnight after his wounds were in a fair way of Recovery, but he ventured abroad and caught cold and relapsed into y like plurisy and Asthma, wch he had before the unhappy accident. All wch circumstances being considered and ye Coroner's Inquest thereupon burial, Feb. 23, 1716-7, I visiting him under this misacquitting of self murder, he was allowed Christian fortune. He desired to be buried at Keston."-Parish Register of Keston, co. Kent.

Eden Bridge.

C. E. GILDERSOME-DICKINSON.

KITCHEN-MIDDENS. (See 'The Yule of Saxon Days,' 8 S. viii. 481.)-The supposition of E. STREDDER that the kitchen-middens are the remains of mid-winter festivities can hardly be correct, the contents of these mounds consisting of implements of the neolithic age only (flint celts, saws, scarpers, borers, fish-hooks, gorgets, &c.), there being present no bronze or iron implements

must have been quoting Joseph Warton, who said, "that he who wishes to know whether he has a true taste for poetry or not, should consider whether he is highly delighted or not with the perusal of Milton's 'Lycidas.'" See one of the notes at the end of 'Lycidas' in the edition of Milton's "Poetical Works' by Edward Hawkins, 1824. E. YARDLEY.

PUBLIC EXECUTIONS.-In 'N. & Q.,' 8th S. iv. 404, there is a note by me on the benefits which our forefathers supposed to flow from causing schoolboys to be spectators of the hanging of criminals. When I wrote it I had forgotten that Sir Walter Scott had borne testimony to this custom being not unknown in Scotland. In 'The Heart of Midlothian' Mr. Saddletree is represented as saying :

SIR SIDNEY SMITH'S ESCAPE FROM PARIS.Capt. (afterwards Admiral) Pleville le Pelley has left memoirs, still unpublished, which give the following account of Sir S. Smith's escape from the Temple :

"Sidney Smith had been detained as a state prisoner and then as a prisoner of war. England offered 4,000 French prisoners for him. I bastened to the Directory, to inform them of this tempting_proposal. It was rejected. Some time afterwards I learned that the English prisoner was allowed to go about Paris. I complained to the governor, and insisted that he should be closely watched. The Minister of Police received orders

accordingly. We next learned that Pitt had thrown into prison all the captains and officers who had been on parole. I informed the Directory of this, but they gave no answer......Six days after I had quitted the ministry, was announced that Sidney Smith had escaped, and next day a justice of the peace brought me half a sheet of paper, stamped Bureau des Prisonniers de Guerre,' upon which was written: Requisition to hand over Sidney Smith to the officer and troop bearers hereof, who will conduct him to Fontainebleau. Dated 8 Floréal, signed

Pleville de Pelley, but quite at the foot of the letter, three fingers' length intervening between the last line imitated. At the bottom of the half sheet was the decree and the signature. My signature had been very well of the Directory on the subject, signed Barrot and Lagarde. I was examined by the justice of the peace. Three days afterwards the same interrogatory by the director of the jury, who very politely invited me as a matter of form to go before the jury, which I did the same day. The trick and plot were admitted. I would not call as witnesses the prisoners' commissaries, who went to see Sidney Smith twice every decade [ten days], nor any of the clerks at the Bureau of Prisoners of War. I might perhaps have placed many people in a fix. I wished no harm to anybody, and I was morally sure that justice would be rendered me.' J. G. ALGER.

Paris,

A " "PITCH "

OF NEWSPAPERS.-Following on so closely some remarks in N. & Q.' relative to the application of the word "pitch" as regards cheese exposed for sale at a market, it was interesting to come across in a newspaper an account discussing of St. James (London) vestrymen (21 Nov.) a request that had been made to them for permission to erect in the streets some kiosks for the sale of newspapers. These kiosks I gather were to supersede those unlicensed stalls the presence of which is familiar in most great thoroughfares. The request was unfavourably received; one vestryman saying, "He would like to see all the present newspaper 'pitches' rated. At the 'pitch' outside the Burlington Arcade, in Piccadilly, more newspapers were sold than at newsgents' shops in the parish, yet the owner of the 'pitch' was not rated." The verb "to pitch," the assumed monopoly of the cheese vendor, seems peculiarly adaptive to the circumstances of the al fresco newsvendor. RICHARD LAWSON.

Urmston, Manchester.

"PESSIMISM."—It is usual to regard pessimism as a word of the nineteenth century, and to consider that its special function is to denote the views of life advocated by weeping philosophers, from Heraclitus to Schopenhauer. Dictionaries define it in accordance with this limitation; one, e.g., says that the system comprises "the doctrines of those who teach that everything exists for the worst, and who persist in looking upon the worst side of everything" (Stormonth). Ogilvie's 'Imperial Dictionary of 1850 does not contain the term at all, although it gives pessimist, with the definition "One who complains of everything; one who maintains that the present state of things only tends to evil." The Encyclopaedic Dictionary' enters pessimism, pessimist, pessimistic, pessimistical, pessimize, all with reference to the worldsorrow and its depressing exponents. pessimism must have been used in the days of Coleridge's youth, or Coleridge himself must have invented and employed it, with a significance that it retains no longer. Writing to Southey, in 1794,

Now,

he refers to an 'Elegy' of Southey's sent to him, of which its author appears to have been enamoured, and goes on:

"I think it the worst thing you ever wrote...... Why, 'tis almost as bad as Lovell's Farmhouse,' and that would be at least a thousand fathoms deep in the dead sea of pessimism."-Letters of S. T. Coleridge,' i. 115, As a designation of the great and unspeakable gathering of all the worst that has been said and thought, this is not without merit. But for the tearful fraternity, whose hold is now secure, the "dead sea of pessimism" might have been a convenient phrase in the art of criticism.

Helensburgh, N.B.

Queries.

THOMAS BAYNE.

We must request correspondents desiring information on family matters of only private interest to affix their

names and addresses to their queries, in order that the

answers may be addressed to them direct.

"ADWINE."-In Smith's 'Isle of Wight Words' (1881), published by the English Dialect Society, Series C. 23, we find :

"Adwine, to clear away or cut down regularly. Goo into the ground and cut the wheeat adwine right drow."" Is this word still in use in the Isle of Wight, Hampshire, or elsewhere in the south of England? Any information on this country word will be received with thanks by

THE EDITOR OF THE 'ENGLISH DIALECT DICTIONARY.'

Clarendon Press, Oxford. WILL OF CROMWELL.-Did Oliver Cromwell, the Protector, make a will; if so, was it ever proved? Where could a copy be had? No record at Doctors' Commons. W. R. BRADSHAW.

OIL PAINTING.-I have a very fine picture, "E 1747." Subject: in the foreground signed Infant Jesus in Mary's lap; to her right Joseph with ass and mothering bag, to left angel (?) presenting fruit to infant. Overhead cherubim presenting fruit to Mary (fruit resemble large cherries); background, landscape with shepherd and sheep in the distance. The limbs and faces of the figures are beautifully modelled. I should like to know what artist used that signature; and for any information respecting the picture I should be very grateful.

LADY BETTY.

"CHINESE SENSITIVE LEAF."-I shall be grateful to any reader who can give me information as to a material known as "Chinese sensitive leaf," of which a few fragments have come into my possession. It is a delicate papery substance, possessing a remarkable bygroscopic quality, by which it curves violently away from a moist surface. It was formerly used for making toys; thus,

a figure of a man is cut out from a sheet of Chinese leaf, which, when placed on the hand, writhes and contorts itself in a curious way. My fragmente came from such a toy, which had lain forgotten for something like a century in an old Welsh manos house. The envelope in which it was contained bore a statement that the material was invented by Jan Pertista, and was sold by G. Cheese, of Bristol. One of my objects in writing is to learn, if possible, how I may obtain a further supply of "leaf," which I find exactly suitable for the construction of a hygrometer for certain botanical experiments. FRANCIS DARWIN.

Wychfield, Cambridge.

[We remember well, some threescore years ago, & design of the knave of hearts in this material. Some kind of mystic significance was supposed to attach itself to the way in which it curled when laid on the palm of the hand.]

་

THE SHRINE OF ST. AUDREY AT ELY.-Cole, in his MSS., Brit. Museum,' vol. xviii. p. 95, states that Henry VII, and his son Henry VIIL came on devotion to the shrine of St. Audrey at Ely. He gives no authority for this statement. What is the date of this visit; and where is the C. BUTLER account of it to be found? Ely.

GRAMMATICAL: "MORE THAN ONE."-The other day I wrote in a publication of established importance and authority that of certain things more than one was worthy of notice, or something to a similar effect. Though passed in proof, this was altered in the page to were worthy of notice. than one more I hold that, as a sentence, requires a singular verb. Am I right; or do HI. T. more than one" require a plural?

66

He had

CAPT. AUSTIN.-Is anything known of the above as Provost or Governor of Aberdeen in the days of the Pretender? His crest was the Pascha! himself to be suspected, he gave orders to his Lamb; and family tradition says that, knowing bankers that if they should receive his plate-chest, it was to be put on board the first vessel sailing for the Continent. The chest, which had holes in the lid, was kept in a hall. Here Capt. Austin and his wife were breakfasting one morning, when a party of soldiers arrived to arrest him. just time to get into the chest, his wife putting in his cup, plate, &c., and when the soldiers entered she was sitting upon it. On their departure, the chest was sent to the bankers and put on board a ship sailing for Holland. Capt. Austin married a Rachel Fraser, cousin of Simon Fraser, also of the Earl of Sutherland, and of Mrs. Ramsay, daughter of Sir A. Lindsay of Evelick, and wife of the artist. Their daughter, Jane Austin, saw Simon's head on Temple Bar when she came to stay with Mrs. Ramsay, at whose house she met her future husband, Philip Reinagle. Who was

Rachel Fraser, sometimes called Ferrier? Capt. Austin's two sons were in the navy. Another daughter is said to have married an uncle of the Duke of Wellington, a very jealous man, who did not like music himself, and therefore forbade her to touch her harp, which she played very beautifully. On one occasion his jealousy was aroused by hearing her spoken of with admiration by some officers who had met her at a ball, and, returning home unexpectedly, to see what she was doing, he heard the sound of the harp. To revenge himself, he had the heart of her favourite horse roasted for dinner, not telling her what it was until she had eaten some. He was jealous of the horse as well S. GAYE.

as of the harp. 3A, Maida Hill West.

'DEAN SWIFT'S CREED.'-I have heard of verses bearing this name, which, read in one way, gave Protestant doctrine, and, read in another way, gave Roman Catholic doctrine. I have searched in vain the index to Swift's works, and also the Indexes of 'N. & Q.' M. R.

[Is this what is sought ?—

I hold as faith

What England's Church allows; What Rome's Church saith My conscience disavows.

Where the king's head

That Church can have no shame, The flock's misled

That holds the Pope supreame. When the altar's drest

There's service scarce divine, The people's blest

With table bread, and wine. He's but an asse

Who then communion flies; Who shuns the masse

Is catholic and wise.

The lines are to be read continuously or alternately. We have never heard them imputed to Swift.]

MAYNARD FAMILY, OF NEVIS, WEST INDIES. -I am anxious to trace the descent of William Maynard, of the island of Nevis; and having examined all the wills and registers there, and also all the Maynard wills in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, the records in the Heralds' College, and, I think, every other available source of information, I venture, as a last resource, to ask if any of the correspondents of 'N. & Q.' can help me. A William Maynard, according to family tradition,

went to Nevis at the end of the seventeenth century as secretary to William, Lord (?) Digby. The earlier records of Nevis have been burnt, but in 1712 there is an entry showing that a William Maynard was party to a bill of sale in reference to lands in Gingerland parish, and in 1735 a William Maynard purchased land to add to his property there. This land is still in the possession of his descendants. On 27 March, 1737, William Maynard, junior, married Frances Webbe, by

whom he had a numerous family, of which I have full particulars. It is the ancestry of this man that I am anxious to ascertain. He was living at Gingerland in 1750, in which year his youngest child, James, was born. He is said to have returned to England and died in Yorkshire. A search in the wills at York has not enabled me to find his will. It is curious that Edward Maynard, the antiquary, of whom a full account appears in the 'Dictionary of National Biography,' by his will, proved in P.C.C. 1740 (176 Browne), leaves pictures of Lord and Lady Sunderland to (William) Lord Digby, "in acknowledgement of constant friendship and favours." This Lord Digby died in 1752. JOHN S. MAYNARD. Hove Hospital, Sackville Road, Hove, Brighton. CREKEDERUS.-In St. George's Church, Southwark, there is a monument to William Evans, a member of the Company of Merchant Taylors, who died in 1590. The lines on his monument say that he left money "To Crekederus' poor, his native soil so dear." William Evans's will was dated 1581. Where was the place called Crekederus at that time; and can it now be identified? J. BURSILL.

THE REV. JAMES CRANSTOUN.-Will any of the readers of N. & Q.' give me information regarding the Rev. James Cranstoun, chaplain of King Charles I.? He held the benefice of St. Mary Overie, Southwark (now known as St. Saviour's), but was deprived of it after the execution of that monarch. I should like to know who his parents were, the date of his birth or death, and the names of his wife and children, and any facts concerning them. ZETA.

possession entitled "Domiduca | Oxoniensis | sive 'DOMIDUCA OXONIENSIS.'—In a book in my

Musae Academicae | Gratulatio | ob Auspicatissimum | Serenissimae Principis | Catharinae | Lusitanae, regi suo Desponsatae, | in Angliam Appulsum. Ac: [here follow the arms of the University of Oxford] Ox | Oxoniae, | Excudebant A. & L. Lichfield, Acad. Typogr., | Anno Dom. M.DC.LX.II." The twelfth page (including, for purposes of reckoning, the title-page) is left blank. This is so unusual an occurrence in the midst of practically consecutive letterpress, that I venture to ask whether it is a feature of all copies of this

book.

R. J. WALKER.

readers give me, or tell me where I could find, the ISABELLA OF ANGOULEME.-Could any of your pedigree, male and female, of Isabella of Angoufeme (wife of King John) as far back as William II., Earl of Angouleme, who died in 1028? J. G.

THE CROSS ON THE MISTLETOE.-If you look at the white gobular berries of the mistletoe in a good light with clear eyes or through a good magnifying