Read Ebook: Notes and Queries Number 136 June 5 1852 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men Artists Antiquaries Genealogists etc. by Various

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NOTES:-- Page

Autobiography of William Oldys, by Charles Bridger 529

On Cosin's "History of Popish Transubstantiation," edited by the Rev. J. S. Brewer 531

Ancient Guildhalls in England 532

The Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, by Henry Edwards 532

Robert Drury 533

Folk Lore:--Gabriel Hounds--Weather Prophecy--Origin of Moles--Mistletoe 534

QUERIES:--

Mr. Halliwell's Annotated Shakspeare Folio 535

Restive 535

Reason and Understanding according to Coleridge, by C. Mansfield Ingleby 535

Minor Queries:--Banning or Bayning Family--Ladies styled Baronets--St. Christopher and the Doree--Custom of Women wearing Masks in the Theatre--Brass of Abbot Kirton; Matrices--Lines on Chaucer--The Nacar--Cilgerran Castle--Use of Slings by the Early Britons--"Squire Vernon's Fox Chase"--The Death Watch--Genealogical Queries--Ben Jonson's adopted Sons--Kyrle's Tankard at Balliol--Irish Language in the West Indies--"Battle of Neville's Cross"--Sir Walter Raleigh's Ring--"Narne; or, Pearle of Prayer"--Sir George Howard--"Love me, love my Dog"--Mummy Wheat--A Photographic Query--"Stunt with false Care"--Winchester College--Old Royal Irish Academy House, Grafton Street--Quotations wanted--Shakspeare's Seal--The long-lived Countess of Desmond 536

MINOR QUERIES ANSWERED:--Temple Church and Lincoln's Inn Chapel--Edmund Bohun--"Nimrod" 539

REPLIES:--

The Three Estates of the Realm, by William Fraser 539

Burials in Woollen, by John Booker and J. B. Colman 542

Braem's MS. "Memoires touchant le Commerce" 543

General Pardons, by John Gough Nichols 544

The Dodo, by A. D. Bartlett 544

Whipping of Princes by Proxy 545

Replies to Minor Queries:--Penkenol--Johnny Crapaud--Sir John Darnall--Bastides--Compositions under the Protectorate--Hoax on Sir Walter Scott--Statute of Limitations abroad--Lines on Crawfurd of Kilbirnie-- Swearing on a Skull--Rhymes on Places--The Silent Woman--Serpent with a human Head--Poem on the Burning of the Houses of Parliament--Large Families--Frebord-- Milton's Epitaph--Can Bishops vacate their Sees?-- Sleekstone, Meaning of--Poems in the Spectator--Line on Franklin--St. Christopher--Lines on Woman--Burial-- Portrait of Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland 545

MISCELLANEOUS:--

Notes on Books, &c. 549

Books and Odd Volumes wanted 550

Notices to Correspondents 550

Advertisements 551

Notes.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM OLDYS.

Previous to receiving the appointment of Norroy King at Arms, Oldys wrote a short account of his own life, which is now in my possession; and as it contains some interesting particulars of his connexion with the Earl of Oxford, in the formation of the magnificent collection of manuscripts now in the British Museum, I have forwarded a copy of it, which you are at liberty to make use of, if suited to the pages of "N. & Q."

"The sum of this case is, that for the profit of about 500l. I devoted the best part of ten years' service to, and in his lordship's library; impoverished my own stores to enrich the same; disabled myself in my studies, and the advantages they might have produced from the publick; deserted the pursuits which might have obtained me a permanent accommodation and procured the prejudice and misconceit of his lordship's surviving relations. But the profits I received were certainly too inconsiderable to raise any envy or ill will; tho' they might probably be conceived much greater than they were. No, it was what his lordship made me more happy in, than his money, which has been the cause of my greatest unhappiness with them; his favour, his friendly reception and treatment of me; his many visits at my chambers; his many invitations by letters, and otherwise, to dine with him, and pass whole evenings with him; for no other end, but such intelligence and communications, as might answer the inquiries wherein he wanted to be satisfied, in relation to matters of literature, all for the benefit of his library. Had I declined those invitations, I must, with great ingratitude, have created his displeasure; and my acceptance of them has displeased others. Some survivors would surely, in respect to the memory of such a noble and honourable person, not totally disregard what he had so distinguished; but think a man worthy of being recommended to some provision, whom he, after a very deliberate experience, had seen reason so decently to provide for. I look upon most places of attendance at Court to be an idle, loytering, empty course of life; in which a man is obliged to dress expensively, keep frothy, vain, or vicious company, and to have the salary more backwardly paid than in other places. Therefore I should prefer some office in the Revenue, rather than to be upon the Civil List.

"Any clerkship, that must double a man down to a desk for a set of hours, morning and afternoon, he should be inured to from his youth, to be anything dextrous or easy in; but one, who has been the greatest part of his life master of his own time and thoughts, has his head pre-occupied; at least is commonly fitter for the direction than the execution of business; unless it be such in which his head will concur with his hand. Besides, not to mention other incongruities, how would it fit a man, growing in years, to be company for a pack of young clerks? or, how could he hope to be continued, of such honourable persons, as should recommend him even to that situation, but might with the same trouble to something more convenient for him?

"I have been assured by persons of experience, that an handsome post is not only sooner procured as having less candidates, but a man's pretension is more regarded. Whereas, in business of ordinary or mean account, his merits and abilities are thought proportionable, and therefore his pretension or request is less regarded. Besides, places that are something considerable, are generally less slavish and engrossing of a man's time; which, God knows, I desire not to be better employed than mine is, and may be by myself; only, a part of it more profitably: and yet, the convenience of such leisure, with the credit attending such a place, I should more value than the profit.

"There is a common advice, that a man should not put in for everything, because it implys too high thoughts of his own sufficiency, as if he thought himself fit for everything: which is the character of an arrogant and conceited coxcomb. This offering of one's self, without latitude or limitation, is indeed one extreme; but the other is, to nail one's self down to some one individual place, like a dainty guest, that can taste but of one dish, and so wait for the vacancy; wherein he is led, by his own election, first to go barefoot in waiting for a dead man's shoes; and when he is dead, then he shall probably see another wear them. So that any vacancy which will accommodate the candidate with a competency suitable to his condition and qualifications; or, at least, equal to what he has appeared in, and decently enjoyed, cannot, 'tis presumed, be thought unreasonable.

"Two or three hundred a year may be thought a very liberal allowance from a single person; in places of the government 'tis thought no burden, because the publick contributions are settled for the payment: there is no new charge or salary created, and they have stood the test of various changes or revolutions in the administrations. If I were to be restored to a place of two hundred a year now, it would not be by one fourth part of the advantage to me that it might have been five years since: for I should look upon myself in conscience obliged to sequester so much, even though I should live long enough to enjoy such a place ten years, to re-imburse such friends as have assisted me in all that time, but can no longer now. So that this one act of accommodation would indeed save more persons than one from ruin."

If it is not already known that Oldys obtained the appointment of Norroy through the intercession of Sir Peter Thompson, to whom the above autobiographic sketch was addressed, I think I can confidently assert such was the fact. I am collecting materials for biographical notices of the King's Heralds and Pursuivants-at-Arms. Will you permit me, through the medium of "N. & Q.," to make known to your correspondents that I have such a work in hand; and that I should be obliged for any unpublished particulars, either relative to Oldys, or any other members of the College of Arms.

CHARLES BRIDGER.

As every work of value, and likely to live, should be made as correct as possible, I beg insertion in "N. & Q." of some remarks on a note in Mr. Brewer's very satisfactory edition of so important a volume as that of Cosin on the papal doctrine of transubstantiation. The note occurs in p. 130., and is as follows:--

"There is a copy of one edition of this Index in the British Museum, but I cannot find the passage to which Bp. Cosin refers. The other Index to which he refers is not to be found in the British Museum, Bishop Tenison's library, or Sion College."

EUPATOR.

ANCIENT GUILDHALLS IN ENGLAND.

The guildhall of Leicester cannot boast of any outside show. It is plain to meanness in this respect; it is on one side a mere barn in appearance; yet it has its claim on the attention of the antiquary.

Meanwhile, the old hall seems to have served as a lock-up or gaol, and was finally sold in 1653 to a maltster, who would undoubtedly convert the roomy old structure into a malt-house.

JAYTEE.

THE SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON.

Amongst the oddities which cross our path, I recollect one which, at the time it occurred, caused no small surprise to the young, of which I then was one. I think it must be about forty-six years ago, a man travelled about Hampshire professing to cure the blind, sick, and lame; and although he did not belong to the medical order, yet numerous cures were attributed to him, and he had quite a collection of crutches and walking-sticks, left by his patients, who, it was said, no longer required his or their aid. I well know that he was looked upon by the common sort of people with wonder, and almost awe. The notion prevalent amongst them was, that, being the seventh son of a seventh son, he was endowed by nature with extraordinary healing powers. After a few months his fame, such as it was, evaporated, and I have not heard of him since, nor have I read of any pretender acting like him since then. Can any of your readers enlighten my darkness on the above, or on any other seventh of a seventh? and is there any account or tradition of a similar impostor in any other county of England? Also, if ancient or modern history records any such wonderful attributes in reference to a seventh daughter of a seventh daughter?

The above was written before I saw MR. COOPER's allusion to the subject, in Vol. iii., p. 148. I hope to be favoured with that gentleman's further notice of the seventh son of a seventh son.

I should esteem it a favour if some one of your numerous and learned readers would inform me if that word denoting seven, which is in such frequent use in the Old and New Testaments, is susceptible of being rendered "several," "many," or some other indefinite quantity?

Seven appears also to be a favourite number in modern days. I subjoin a few of the many instances of its popular adoption:--

Seven ages. Seven Champions. Seven Churches. Seven days in a week. Seven days' notice. Seven Dials. Sevenfold. Seven Hills. Seven months' child. Seven penitential psalms. Seven senses. Seven-shilling piece. Seven Sisters. Seven Sleepers. Seven Sons. Seventh son of the seventh son. Seven stars. Seven stages of life. Seven times. Seven times seven years a jubilee. Seven wise men. A jury of seven matrons. Seven wonders of the world. Seven years' apprenticeship. Seven years, a change. Seven years' transportation. Seven years' Income-tax, Sevenpence in the pound yearly; and these last are two of the Seven abominations.

HENRY EDWARDS.

ROBERT DRURY.

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