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. SUSSEX COURT ROLLS. Can any of your readers give me information as to the present possessor of the ancient Court Rolls of the manor of Ote Hall, otherwise Hot-hall or What-all, a subinfeudation of the manor of Withdean Caylif, in Sussex? Sir Wm. Burrell, in his MSS., mentions having seen and examined them, since which time I have been unable to trace them. Muntham, Horsham. P. S. GODMAN. DICTIONARIES PUBLISHED IN PARTS."Homer was the first inventor of the art which hath so long lain dormant, of publishing by numbers; an art now brought to such perfection, that even dictionaries are divided and exhibited piecemeal to the public; nay, one bookseller hath (to encourage learning and ease the public) contrived to give them a dictionary in this divided manner for only fifteen shillings more than it would have cost entire."-Fielding, Joseph Andrews,' bk. ii. ch. i., vol. i. p. 84 (ed. 1893). To what dictionary does Fielding allude? ISABELLA OF FRANCE.-I shall be grateful to any reader of 'N. & Q.' who will kindly explain which Isabella of France gave her name to a peculiar yellow colour. G. L. S. "PIN."-When I order a small cask of ale, it is charged in the bill as one pin." I thought that probably the word was a provincialism; but in Goldsmith's 'Almanack' it appears at the head of beer measure, meaning four gallons and a half, and it has so appeared for the last twenty-five years. Whitaker takes no notice of "pin." What is the origin of the term? J. DIXON. THE OATH OF VARGES.' - A friend has a picture called 'The Oath of Varges. The oath is being sworn by a man in dark velvet, with the order of the Golden Fleece. Ecclesiastics are on ROLLAND. Is there any record of the marriage of a Miss Rolland (Christian name and place of residence unknown) with George Haig, who was born at Alloa in 1712? He went to South Carolina, and married Elizabeth Watson, of St. John's (Mrs.) A. STUart. parish there, in 1742. 19, Regent Terrace, Edinburgh. "MORPHIL."-What is the meaning of this word? It is not to be found in Littré, Tarver, or ordinary French dictionaries. It occurs in an early poem by Léon Gozlan, ‘L'Ennui du Sultan,' contributed about 1830 to Le Keepsake Americain,' an annual conducted by the engraver Galadon. Here is the context: Les almées à travers leur voile, It may be an Arabic word, from the vocabulary of the author of 'Les Orientales' or 'Lalla Rookh.' J. H. Willesden Green. RIDING OF ECCLESIASTICS.-In 'S. P. Dom.' (ed. Gairdner), xiii. i. 1205, sub anno 1538, occurs the following, from Edward, Bishop of Meath, to Ant. St. Leger: "As my disease of stranguillion gets worse, I desire licence to ride on a pillion, if I am to attend Parliament and the like as I have done." Does this refer to a dispensation from "To GRIDE."-In that division of 'In Memoriam' which has successively taken its place as "cv.," "cvi.," and "cvii.," without change of text, Tennyson describes a February storm which blew without, while his dead friend's birthday was being kept within, "with festal cheer." The fierce "blast of north and east" shakes the wood which grides and clangs Its leafless ribs and iron horns Together. I have not elsewhere seen grides used in this sense, and after consulting Richardson and Skeat feel somewhat doubtful whether it is one the word will bear. But as no wise man lightly charges Tennyson with inaccuracy, I submit the question to your expert readers. J. D. C. TRANSLATION WANTED. Will one of your readers take compassion on ignorance, and kindly send to me direct a translation of the following, which is inscribed round the bowl of a silver-gilt spoon in my possession ?" Froukie en Douwe S. Obbema Zyn [? Lyn] geboren de 13 Sept 1812." GILBERT H. F. VANE. High Ercall Vicarage, Wellington, Salop. "N.C.P.”—I have recently come into possession of a book published in 1726, by Thomas Lediard, N.C.P., Philos. Cult. The writer was well acquainted with German, as the book in question is an English-German grammar. May I ask you to tell me the signification of the letters N.C.P., which follow the name? H. A. LEDIARD, M.D. PRUSIAS.-Victor Hugo, in 'Les Misérables,' partie iv. livre i. chap. i., says that, after great convulsions, like the French Revolution and the wars of Napoleon, "La nation ne demande que le repos; on n'a qu'une soif, la paix; on n'a qu'une ambition, être petit. Ce qui est la traduction de rester tranquille. Les grands événements, les grands hasards, les grandes aventures, les grands hommes, Dieu merci, on en a assez vu, on en a par-dessus la tête. On donnerait César pour Prusias et Napoléon pour le roi d'Yvetot." Who is Prusias-a real or fictitious character ? JONATHAN BOUCHIER. EPISTOLARY CHRISTMAS GREETINGS.-When did it first become the custom to wish "A Merry Christmas" by letter? In James Howell's' Familiar Letters' there is an instance: "Till then I bid you farewell, and, as the Season invites me, I wish you a Merry Christmas (bk. i. sec. ii. letter x., 1622). Surely there are many earlier. W. A. HENDERSON. 'MACBETH.'-Can any reader of 'N. & Q.' tell me where an article on the Third Murderer in Macbeth, written within the last few years, is to be found? Nothing later than the discussion in 'N. & Q.' in 1869 is quoted by MR. FURNESS; but I am under the impression that some one has attempted since to connect this unexplained personage with the requirements of stage craft in Shakspeare's day. R. F. CHOLMELEY. The High House, Brook Green. NAMES OF OLYMPIC VICTORS.-In 'L'Art de Vérifier les Dates,' vol. iii. pp. 172-227, I find in their order the names of the victors who gave name each to his Olympiad. But one would like to know from what source this list was drawn up. In the Parian or Arundelian Chronicle in Boeckh, ii. 293, No. 2374, I find no Olympian names. Whence, then, did the Benedictines obtain their JAMES D. BUTLER. Olympic table? Madison, Wis., U.S. NOVEL OF DESMOND.'-In Scott's 'Journal' (p. 156) I read : "In the evening (March 16, 1826), after dinner, read Mrs. Charlott Smith's novel of Desmond,' decidedly the worst of her compositions." The book was published in 1792, and a note refers the reader to vol. iv. of Scott's 'Miscellaneous Works' for criticisms of the author's works. Can any one give me a description of the plot and the period of which it treats? I am particularly anxious to learn both. Manchester. J. B. S. DESCENDANTS OF FLORA MACDONALD.-This heroine, by her husband Macdonald of Floddigarry, had a large family. I should be glad to learn something of their descendants, who, I believe, are widely spread at the present day. Should the information available on the subject exceed the PRINCE OF WALES, 1805.-I have a small coloured print of George Augustus, Prince of Wales, drawn by E. Scott, engraved by W. Evans, engraved from a drawing in the collection of the Prince of Wales, and published by his Royal Highness's permission by W. Walker, 48, Albemarle Street, Piccadilly, July 8, 1805. H.R. H. is in uniform. I should like to ascertain of what -corps. The tunic is a light blue. R. J. F. DOMRÉMY.-Twice over in the notes to Lamartine's 'Jeanne d'Arc,' in the Pitt Press series of University Local Examination Aids, does a careful editor tell us that, at the request of La Pucelle, her birthplace was set free by Charles VII. from any kind of impost. "This privilege was granted by the king in an Ordinance dated July 31, 1429, and confirmed by another in 1459. It continued in force for more than three centuries." When and why was Domrémy delivered again into the power of the tax-gatherers? Am I right in thinking that Domrémy-Remichurch? I want to see a book on French place-names. ST. SWITHIN. BATTLE OF NASEBY.-Can any one refer me to a good bibliography of the above battle? MORRIS PAYNE, 3, Forest Villas, South Woodford. SIMON DE MONTFORT.-Where can I find the best account of the life and work of this great man? Has any monograph or separate biography -ever been published? W. FLETCHER. HERALDRY OF MATTHEW PARIS.-Does he give the correct coat of arms, as illustrated in the Rolls Series of his 'History of England.' He gives the same shield-a lion rampant, with double tail-for Wm. Mareschal, who died 1219; Simon Montfort, 1219; Earl of Arundel, 1221; Richard, Earl of Cornwall, 1225. In the original (according to the editor's notes) the colouring was different. Later on in the same work Matthew Paris gives to the sons of the above the lion with ordinary tail. ARTHUR HUSSEY. Wingeham, near Dover. AN EARLY POSTAL COVER.—I have a pamphlet of ninety-seven pages, by Rowland Hill, on Post Office reform, published by Charles Knight, 1837; and on p. 93 he gives a description of a postal Cover : "The covers are manufactured upon a highly ingenious plan of Mr. Dickinson's, the blue lines, which are, in fact, formed by silken threads enwoven in the texture of the paper, being intended as a security against forgery." Inserted in the pamphlet is a specimen of the cover. It is nine inches by seven when open, covered with buff chequered lines, an ornamental circle, with white centre, for the direction. There are four oval medallions on the circle, with "London District Post, V.R." and crown on each. One has "One ounce one penny"; another, " Not exceeding one ounce." There are ten blue threads at irregular distances passing through it. Can any of your readers inform me if this cover was in general use; and is it uncommon? Eastbourne. Replies. JAS. B. MORRIS. LAMB'S RESIDENCE AT DALSTON. (8th S. iii. 88; v. 18, 114, 194, 477.) COL. PRIDEAUX's notice of my identification of the site of Lamb's lodging-place at Dalston induces me to remind such of your readers as are interested in the subject that the few remaining houses of Kingsland Row (20 to 23, Market Row), being, as I believe, the property of the railway company, are likely to disappear at any time should the ground whereon they stand be required for extension purposes. They might meanwhile be photographed or sketched an engraving of them would be an interesting appendage to a future edition of the 'Essays.' Miss Pollard wrote to me some pilgrimage to the place, and in reply I gave her months ago, saying that she intended to make a the names and addresses of old inhabitants who might be able to describe Kingsland Row as it was before it fell a sacrifice to the railway navvy. One of these persons is Mr. Peter Basham, bootmaker, who in 1860 (to choose a year for example) carried on business at 1a, Kingsland Row, according to Kelly's London directory, and at 1[a], Market Row, according to the same publisher's suburban directory as well as according to Mr. Basham himself, but whose present address is 51, Stamford Road, within two minutes' walk of his old abode, and immediately facing the shop of a rival cobbler who owns the wonderfully apt name of Charles Sowter. I have had a chat with Mr. Basham, whose acquaintance with the Row dates back nearly fifty years, he having served his apprenticeship to the "gentle craft " at a house therein; yet, strange to say, he has no recollection of the name Kingsland Row. 'It has always,” he says, “been called Market Row." This shows how difficult the Roberts's 'Excerpta e Rotulis Finium,' i. 128). identification would have been had it depended The only daughters of Hugh de Lacy to whom I upon oral inquiries addressed to residents in Kings- have found contemporary references are the wives land. I have already adverted to the curious fact of Alan of Galloway and Miles MacCostelloe. that the two directories for one and the same year But even if Maud de Lacy were accepted, the notice the place by different names, the London descent of Queen Victoria from Cathal Crobhderg directory having called it Kingsland Row from would not be proved, for Hugh de Lacy, Earl of the beginning; still more curiously, each absolutely Ulster, and his brother Walter were sons of Hugh ignores an alternative name. No doubt, as Mr. de Lacy the elder by his first wife, and not by Basham observed, and as I have previously sug- the daughter of the King of Connaught. This is gested, the appellation Market Row arose out of shown by Earl Hugh's own grants to the Abbey the commercial character of the place; all the houses of St. Thomas, Dublin, "pro salute anime mee, et from No. 1 to No. 11 (No. 1 consisting of four domini patris mei Hugonis de Lasci, et matris mee houses, and No. 7 of two, differentiated by letters) Roeis de Monemune, cujus corpus in predicta appear in the 1860 suburban directory with ecclesia requiescit" ("Register of St. Thomas, tradesmen for their occupants, when there is a Dublin,' pp. 7 and 13, Rolls Series). Moreover, blank until we come to the last shop at the eastern Hugh de Lacy the elder probably did not marry corner, No. 23, now occupied by Mrs. Goldsmith, the daughter of the King of Connaught till 1180 leading us to suppose that the intermediate houses or 1181, and his eldest son Walter was certainly were in private occupation. Mr. Basham told me of full age when he did homage to Richard for his that the Row was never a public thoroughfare, Irish lands at Northampton in March, 1194 ('Hisa bar having originally been placed at the Kings-toire de Guillaume le Maréchal'); nor is it proland Green end to exclude carriages, which might bable that the second son, Hugh, was but a lad otherwise have passed through in order to evade of seventeen when he fought under John de toll; at a rather late period the bar was removed Courci in 1199, or a young man of three-andand succeeded by a series of posts. His animad-twenty when he was made Earl of Ulster in May, versions upon the former rural aspect of the neighbourhood coincided with my boyish impressions of fifty years ago, and he showed me two lithographic views of Kingsland Gate as it appeared in 1820 and 1860 respectively. The earlier of these transports us to a country roadside; but as I question their fidelity, especially that of the 1860 view, which contains a palpable anachronism, I pass them by. It cannot, however, be doubted that the place bore much resemblance to a country village when Lamb chose lodgings there. If there were houses on the northern side of Dalston Lane, his abode must have faced their backs, so that there could have been little inviting to the eye in front. But a map of so late a date as 1847 shows a very open stretch in rear, in the direction of Shacklewell. An examination of the maps in the Crace Collection, if I could obtain a sight of them, would enable me to judge more precisely of the environment. Anyhow, if Lamb wanted seclusion and quiet in inexpensive lodgings, he selected the right spot in Kingsland Row. F. ADAMS. 80, Saltoun Road, Brixton, S.W. DE BURGHS, EARLS OF ULSTER (8th S. v. 229, 391).—Mr. T. A. Archer has stated sufficiently in the 'Dictionary of National Biography' (vii. 329) the reasons for discrediting the story that Walter de Burgh was husband of Maud de Lacy, daughter of Hugh de Lacy, Earl of Ulster. The story first appears in a fifteenth century manuscript, and, as T. W. remarks, Walter's father, Richard de Burgh, was certainly married to Egidia, daughter of Walter de Lacy, before April 21, 1225 (see 1205, and appointed to be the chief adviser of the All the points raised by F. G., T. W., and MR. T. W. states that he has never seen it stated that Hugh de Lacy the elder married Rohais de Monmouth. He will find it in the 'Dictionary of National Biography,' and also that she was the mother of two sons, Walter, Lord of Meath, Hugh, Earl of Ulster, and two daughters, who married Richard de Beaufo and William Fitz Alan. and The same authority states that by Rose, daughter of Roderick O'Conor, he had one son William, killed 1253, s.p., and one daughter Matilda, who married Geoffrey de Marisco. Again, the Dictionary of National Biography' mentions that Geoffrey de Marisco had nine sons, but does not say by which of his wives, Eva de Bermingham or Matilda de Lacy, so that it is uncertain whether any descendants of the marriage of the De Lacys with the daughter of the King of Connaught exist or not. Can any of your readers give information on this point? Several of Geoffrey de Marisco's sons married, and one daughter, Joan, married Theobald Fitz Walter, and was ancestress of the Dukes of Ormond. T. W. also states that Bolderon of Monmouth (the probable father of Rohais above mentioned) married a daughter of "Strongbow." The 'Dictionary of National Biography' makes her Strongbow's sister. I believe the pedigree making Geoffrey de Marisco grandfather of Geoffrey FitzPiers, Earl of Essex (through a supposed fifth son Piers) is exploded. I should be glad to know the name of his father. T. W. is mistaken in thinking Walter de Burg married Aveline, daughter of John FitzGeoffrey. She was his granddaughter, daughter of John FitzJohn FitzGeoffrey (vide Burke's 'Extinct Peerages,' p. 209, edit. 1883). MR. RADCLIFFE states that Rich. de Burg, sen., married Una or Agnes, daughter of Hugh O'Conor, son of Cahill Croibdearg, King of Connaught, and grand-niece of Roderick above mentioned. Burke's Peerage' says he married Hodierna, daughter of Robert de Gernon and granddaughter of Cahill Croibdearg. T. W. and the 'Dictionary of National Biography' state that his wife was Egidia, daughter of Walter de Lacy, second Lord of Meath. 1549), which custom appears to have been practised for many years after that date, perhaps till 1723, the year in which the Rev. John Lewis published his History of Thanet'? The learned orientalist, John Gregory, Prebendary of Sarum (collated Nov. 28, 1643), thus writes :— "Remaining yet [1646] unto us of this, is that which we more commonly call the Chrisome (ab unctione, as the Manuel, &c.), wherewith the women use to shrowd the Child, if dying within the month. Otherwise it is to be brought to the Church at the day of Purification." On referring to Gurgany's life of Gregory, I find that the latter was born at Amersham. He was instructed in Oriental learning by John Dod, the Puritan, and became in 1638 chaplain to Bishop Dappa. J. H. W. "MENDING" "6 OR ENDING" (8th S. v. 486).It may be interesting to add to the examples given of the "little jingle" about ending or mending the following, from the Eikon Basilike ': · "I had the charity to interpret that most part of my subjects fought against my supposed errors, not my perBon; and intended to mend me, not to end me.' J. T. Y. REV. HENRY STEBBING, D.D. (8th S. v. 424).— According to the obituary notice in the City Press, 66 Had be three wives; and, if so, which Sept. 26, 1883, his mother was a member of the was the mother of his son Walter, Earl of Uister? Suffok family of Rede" (not Read). There is a J. G. portrait of him in the Illustrated London News, Oct. 6, 1883, where he is described as CURIOUS CUSTOM AT CHURCHING OF WOMEN first editor of the Athenæum.” And in the Athenæum, (8th S. v. 385).-The Rev. John Hunte, curate of Herne, Kent, in a letter dated August 10, 1621, Sept. 29, 1883, is a long obituary notice of him, mentions an ancient custom beyond the memory mention that there is a fine portrait of him, enwith a list of his principal works. I may also of man," then observed in his parish. After mentioning the amount of tithe due to the vicar he graved by S. W. Reynolds, after T. W. Harland, gives the "church fees" and also a large lithograph by C. Baugniet. : "It. For a chrystning at the mother's churchinge, if the childe then be living, half an ell of linen cloth; and a penny if the child be departed; 1a only at the mother's comeing to give thanks. But the antient duty for chrystning was a crysome (or the face cloth that covered the child at its baptisme), if it lived; but, if the child died, the minister was to have ij. for the baptizing, and was to loose the face cloth (for that was to wind the child in)."- Memorials of Herne,' pp. 58, 59. KNOWLER. There is a somewhat similar observance alluded to by Dickens, the great collector of lower middleclass customs: "[The marriage] was completely done, however, and when we were going out of church, Wemmick took the cover off the font, and put his white gloves in it, and Was not this a survival of the custom of returning the chrisom to the priest (vide Rubric of AMBROSE HEAL. Dr. Stebbing was a versatile writer, and it is recorded of him that he was ready to accept any commission from a publisher, whether to compose heard him refer to his connexion with the Athea volume of sermons or a cookery book. I have nceum in its early days; he is stated to have been joint editor with J. S. Buckingham in 1828, and he told me that he wrote the "leaders which appeared in the four volumes of 1828-9-there are none in 1830-also the review of Hampden's 'Evidences' (p. 2, 1828). This is merely the tittle-tattle of an old bookseller. P. N. R. For a short but sympathetic memoir see 'Annual Register,' 1883, p. 171. St. James's, Hampstead, had a burial-ground in very bad condition. The chapel was an afterthought (see 'Interment in Towns Report,' 1843, p. 98). For notice of Dr. Fast-Day" sermon there, with a porStebbing's trait, see Illustrated London News, April 29, 1854, pp. 398-400. He is said to have taken a view of the war which was not considered orthodox in those days. EDWARD H. MARSHALL, M.A. |