At the meeting of the Cambrian ArchÆological Society, Lord Cawdor in the chair, I read a letter on this subject from the resident at Lucknow, Colonel Sleeman, to whom India is indebted for the suppression of Thuggee, and other widely extended benefits. Though backed by such good authority, the letter in question was received with considerable incredulity, although Colonel Sleeman represents that he has with him one of these wolf-nurtured youths.

Since reading the letter, I have received from the Colonel's brother a more full account, printed in India, and containing additional cases, which I should have no objection to print in the pages of "N. & Q." In the meantime, further information from Indian experience, where mothers so often expose their children, would be thankfully received.

I appended my letter, for want of a better opportunity, and at the request of several members, to a paper on the doctrine of the Myth, read at the time; observing, that if the account is credible, perhaps Niebuhr may have been precipitate in treating the nurture of the founders of Rome as fabulous, and consigning to the Myth facts of infrequent occurrence. There is both danger and the want of philosophy in rejecting the marvellous, merely as such.

Nor is the invention of Lupa, for the name of the mother of the Roman twins, by any means satisfactory. May not the mysteries of Lycanthropy have had their origin in such a not infrequent fact, if Col. Sleeman may be trusted, as the rearing of infants by wolves?

Gilbert N. Smith.

The Rectory, Tregwynfrid, Tenby, S. W.

"THE LUNEBURG TABLE."—QUEEN ELIZABETH'S LOVE OF PEARLS.

In the Travels of Hentzner, who resided some time in England in the reign of Elizabeth, as tutor to a young German nobleman, there is given (as most of your readers will doubtless remember) a very interesting account of the "Maiden Queen," and the court which she then maintained at "the royal palace of Greenwich." After noticing the appearance of the presence-chamber,—"the floor, after the English fashion, strewed with hay,"—the writer gives a descriptive portrait of her Majesty. He states,—

"Next came the Queen, in her sixty-fifth year, as we were told, very majestic; her face oblong, fair, but wrinkled; her eyes small, but black and pleasant; her nose a little hooked; her lips narrow, and her teeth black (a defect the English seem subject to, from their too great use of sugar). She had in her ears two pearls, with very rich drops.^[2] She wore false hair, and that red."

Then comes the passage to which I beg to call especial attention, and on which I have to invite some information:

"Upon her head a small crown, reported to be made of some of the gold of the celebrated Luneburg table."

What was this table? The work from which I quote (Recollections of Royalty, vol. ii. p. 119.) has a note hereon, merely remarking that, "at this distance of time, it is difficult to say what this was." If, anything, however, can be gleaned on the subject, some of the readers of "N. & Q." in some one of the "five quarters" of the world will assuredly be able to answer this Query.

J. J. S.

Middle Temple.

P.S.—Since the above was written, I find that Elizabeth's christening gift from the Duchess of Norfolk was a cup of gold, fretted with pearls; that noble lady being (says Miss Strickland) "completely unconscious of the chemical antipathy between the acidity of wine and the misplaced pearls." Elizabeth seems thus to have been rich in those gems from her infancy upwards, and to have retained a passionate taste for them long after their appropriateness as ornaments for her had ceased.

Footnote 2: (return)

With respect to the rich pearl earrings above mentioned, it may not be uninteresting to remark, that Elizabeth seems to have been particularly fond of pearls, and to have possessed the same taste for them from youth to even a later period than "her sixty-fifth year." The now faded wax-work effigy preserved in Westminster Abbey (and which lay on her coffin, arrayed in royal robes, at her funeral, and caused, as Stowe states, "such a general sighing, groaning, and weeping, as the like hath not being seen or known in the memory of man") exhibits large round Roman pearls in the stomacher; a carcanet of large round pearls, &c. about her throat; her neck ornamented with long strings of pearls; her high-heeled shoe-bows having in the centre large pearl medallions. Her earrings are circular pearl and ruby medallions, with large pear-shaped pearl pendants. This, of course, represents her as she dressed towards the close of her life. In the Tollemache collection at Ham House is a miniature of her, however, when about twenty, which shows the same taste as existing at that age. She is here depicted in a black dress, trimmed with a double row of pearls. Her point-lace ruffles are looped with pearls, &c. Her head-dress is decorated in front with a jewel set with pearls, from which three pear-shaped pearls depend. And, finally, she has large pearl-tassel earrings. In the Henham Hall portrait (engraved in vol. vii. of Miss Strickland's Lives of the Queens of England), the ruff is confined by a collar of pearls, rubies, &c., set in a gold filagree pattern, with large pear shaped pearls depending from each lozenge. The sleeves are ornamented with rouleaus, wreathed with pearls and bullion. The lappets of her head-dress also are adorned at every "crossing" with a large round pearl. Her gloves, moreover, were always of white kid, richly embroidered with pearls, &c. on the backs of the hands. A poet of that day asserts even that, at the funeral procession, when the royal corpse was rowed from Richmond, to lie in state at Whitehall,—

"Fish wept their eyes of pearl quite out,

And swam blind after,"

doubtless intending, most loyally, to provide the departed sovereign with a fresh and posthumous supply of her favorite gems!

Minor Queries.

St. Dominic.—Was St. Dominic, the founder of the Dominican order, a descendant of the noble family of the Guzmans? Machiavelli wrote a treatise to prove it; but in the Biographie Universelle it is stated (I know not on what authority) that Cardinal Lambertini, afterwards Benedict XIV., having summoned that lawyer to produce the originals, Machiavelli deferred, and refused at last to obey the order: and further, that Cuper the Bollandist wrote on the same subject to some learned men at Bologna, who replied that the pieces cited in Machiavelli's dissertation had been forged by him, and written in the old style by a modern hand.

A Bookworm.

"Will" and "shall."—Can you refer me to any grammar, or other work, containing a clear and definite rule for the distinctive use of these auxiliaries? and does not a clever contributor to "N. & Q." make a mistake on this point at Vol. vi., p. 58., 1st col., 16th line?

W. T. M.

Hong Kong.

Sir John Fleming.—What was the coat of arms borne by Sir John Fleming, or Le Fleming, of St. George's Castle, co. Glamorgan, A.D. 1100? Where is it to be found sculptured or figured? And does any modern family of the name of Fleming, or Le Fleming, claim descent from the above?

Caret.

Deal, how to stain.—I should be much obliged if some one of your correspondents would inform me what is the best composition for giving plain deal the appearance of oak for the purpose of church interiors?

C.

Winton.

Irish Characters on the Stage.—Could any of your correspondents inform me of the names of any old plays (besides those of Shadwell) in which Irishmen are introduced? and which of the older dramatists have enrolled this character among their dramatis personÆ? Was Shakspeare an Irishman?

Philobiblion.

Arms on King Robert Bruce's Coffin-plate.—Can any of your heraldic readers give me any information as to whom the arms found on King Robert Bruce's coffin-plate in 1818 belonged? They are a cross inter four mullets pierced of the field. They are not the arms given in Nisbet to the families of Bruce; neither does Sir. Wm. Jardine, in his report to the Lords of the Exchequer on the finding of the king's tomb, take any notice of them further than to mention their discovery.

Alexander Carte.

Chaucer's Prophetic View of the Crystal Palace (Vol. iii., p. 362.).—

"Chaucer it seems drew continually, through Lydgate and Caxton, from Guido di Colonna, whose Latin Romance of the Trojan War was, in turn, a compilation from Dares, Phrygius, Ovid, and Statius. Then Petrarch, Boccacio, and the ProvenÇal poets, are his benefactors; the Romaunt of the Rose is only judicious translation from William of Lorris and John of Meun; Troilus and Creseide, from Lollius of Urbino; The Cock and the Fox, from the Lais of Marie; The House of Fame, from the French or Italian: and poor Gower he uses as if he were only a brick-kiln or stone quarry, out of which to build his house."—Representative Men; Shakspeare or the Poet, by R. W. Emerson.

From what sources in the French or Italian is "The House of Fame" taken? And ought not an attack on Chaucer's claim to be the original author of that beautiful poetical vision to be grounded, especially by an American, on some better evidence than bare assertion?

An Oxford B. C. L.

Magistrates wearing Hats in Court.—What authority is there for magistrates wearing their hats in a court of justice, and is it an old custom?

Parvus Homo.

West Chillington, Hurst, Sussex.

Derby Municipal Seal.—What is the origin and meaning of the "buck in the park," on the seal now in use at the Town Hall, Derby?*

B. L.

[* Edmondson gives the arms, as painted in the Town Hall, as "Ar. on a mount vert, a stag lodged within park-pales and gate, all proper. The seal, which is very ancient, has not any park-pales; and the stag is there represented as lodged in a wood."—Ed.]

Sir Josias Bodley.—Was Sir Josias Bodley, as stated by Harris in Ware's Writers of Ireland, a younger brother of Sir Thomas Bodley, the founder of the Bodleian Library? Who did Sir Josias Bodley marry; where did he live after his employment in Ireland ceased, and where did he die? Any information relating to him and his descendants will be most gratefully received.

Y. L.

Sir Edwin Sadler.—In the Appendix to the Cambridge University Commission Report, p. 468., we find that nothing is known of Sir E. Sadler, the husband of Dame Mary Sadler, foundress of the "AlgibrÆ" Lectures in that university. Can any of your correspondents throw any light on this?

P. J. F. Gantillon, B.A.

The Cross given by Richard I. to the Patriarch of Antioch.—The "hero of Acre," Sir Sidney Smith, received from the hands of the Archbishop of Cyprus, in the name of a grateful people, a cross of which the tradition was, that it had been given by King Richard Coeur de Lion to the Patriarch of Antioch, when he went to Palestine on the third Croisade. This gift was preserved by Sir Sidney with the care due to a relique so venerable in its associations; and it was bequeathed by him to the Convent of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, at Paris, as successors of the Templars, from whose Order it originally came. He directed that it should be worn by the grand masters in perpetuity. In the biographical memoirs of Sir Sidney Smith, published a few years ago, the cross is stated to be preserved in the house of the Order at Paris. Perhaps some member of the Order residing there would take the trouble to give some description of this interesting relique, and would say whether its style and character are consistent with the tradition of its antiquity? I am not at all acquainted with the evidence on which the tradition rests; but any particulars relating to such a relique must be interesting to the countrymen of the illustrious admiral, and would much oblige his godson,

Wm. Sidney Gibson.

Newcastle-on-Tyne.

P.S.—Apropos of Sir Sydney Smith, may I be allowed to suggest that, in the decoration of The St. Jean d'Acre, recently launched, some personal souvenir might be introduced that would visibly connect his memory with the stately vessel whose name commemorates the scene of his greatest victory.

Lister Family.—In a communication relating to Major-General Lambert (Vol. vii, p. 269.), Lord Braybrooke mentions his marriage with Frances, daughter of Sir William Lister, of Thornton in Craven. I imagine that this lady was sister to Sir Martin Lister, physician to King Charles I., of whose (Sir Martin's) descendants I shall be glad of any information.

Sir Martin Lister married Susanna, daughter of Sir Alexander Temple, widow of Sir Gifford Thornhurst. This lady, by her first husband (Thornhurst), had issue a daughter, who married Mr. Jennings, and became the mother of three celebrated women; of whom one was Sarah, duchess of Marlborough, wife of the great duke.

Had Sir Martin Lister any issue by her? and, if so, can their descendants be traced?

Mr. Lister, of Burwell Park, Lincolnshire, is probably descended from Sir Martin (if he left issue), or is of kin to him, through Dr. Martin Lister, physician to Queen Anne, who, if not a son or grandson, was certainly his nephew.

My mother's great-grandmother was a Lister, a daughter of Dr. Martin Lister.

Any information through the pages of "N. & Q." will be appreciated.

R. B. A.

Walthamstow, Essex.

Family of Abrahall, Eborall, or Ebrall.—I shall be obliged if any of your readers can give me some information relative to this family, or refer me to any work containing an account of it, more particularly as regards the first settlers in England. The arms are—Azure, three hedgehogs or.

QuÆrist.

Eulenspiegel—Murner's Visit to England.—Are any of your correspondents acquainted with the history and literature of the German tales which go under the name of Till Eulenspiegel? I am searching to find out which are the English translations, but have only succeeded to trace two. The oldest is a very curious black-letter volume in small 4to. in the British Museum, C. 21. c/5, formerly in the possession of Mr. Garrick, as appears from Bishop Percy ("Dissertation on the Origin of the British Stage," Reliques, vol. i. p. 134., ed. 1812). It is entitled, "Here begynneth a merye Jest of a man that was called Howleglas, and of many marucylous thinges and Jestes that he dyd in his lyfe, in Eastlande and in many other places." Colophon: "Imprynted at London in Tamestrete at the Vintre on the thre Craned wharfe by Wylliam Copland."

Of the second I have only a reference of the title: The German Rogue, or the Life of Till Eulenspiegel, 1709.

I am also anxious to learn whether there are any more notices about the visit of Thomas Murner, the author of the German Eulenspiegel, in England, besides that in a letter of Thomas More to Cardinal Wolsey in the State Papers, vol. i. p. 125.

α.

Aged 116.—When your correspondents were all in a state of excitement about the old Countess of Desmond, I ventured to ask for proof that some person had, within the age of registers, insurance offices, and legal proof, ever lived to 150, or even to within twenty or thirty years of that age. No answer was given, no such proof offered; all our clever actuaries were silent. The newspapers now report one such mitigated case:

"Singular Longevity.—The Irish papers announce the recent death of Mrs. Mary Power, widow of J. Power, Esq., and aunt of the late Right Hon. R. L. Sheil, at the Ursuline Convent, Cork, at the advanced age of 116 years."

If this story be true, there can be no difficulty in proving it. The lady was not an obscure person, whose antecedents are unknown. Will some one connected with the Ursuline Convent, or Mr. Sheil's family, obligingly tell us where the lady was born, and produce the register of her birth—give us, in brief, legal evidence that she was born in the year 1737.

A. I.

Annuellarius.—Can any of your numerous readers inform me what the meaning of the word annuellarius is? It occurs in a section of the constitutions of one of our cathedral churches:

"Item, quod nullus quicq' sit qui aliqui alii servit nisi tantum Epī servus sit, in Vicarior' Choralium Annuellarior' vel Choristarum numerum in Ecclīa Cath. ... deinceps eligatur."

P. S.

Minor Queries with Answers.

Boyer's "Great Theatre of Honour and Nobility," 4to. London, 1729.—At the end of the preface to this work, a copy of which is in my possession, the following advertisement occurs:

"Although this volume exceeds by one-fourth part the number of sheets proposed for subscription, nevertheless it shall be delivered to the subscribers without enhancing the price; and their coats of arms shall be inserted in the second volume; as well as theirs who shall purchase this, provided thay take care to send them, with their blazon, to any one of the booksellers named in the title-page."

I want to know whether Boyer ever published this second volume; and shall be much obliged to any correspondent of "N. & Q." who will enlighten me on the subject.

S. I. Tucker.

[Only the first volume has been published. According to the original prospectus, now before us, the work was to have made two volumes, divided into six parts. So that the volume of 1729, consisting of three parts, is half of what Boyer originally proposed to publish.]

List of Bishops of Norwich.—Where can I find a list of the bishops of Norwich, with their coats of arms, from an early date?

Caret.

[In Blomefield's History of Norfolk, edit. 1739, fol., vol. ii. pp. 330-430.]

"A Letter to a Convocation Man."—Who, I am desirous of knowing, was the author of A Letter to a Convocation Man, concerning the Rights, Powers, and Privileges of that Body, published about 1697, which occasioned Wake's book of The Authority of Christian Princes over their Ecclesiastical Synods asserted? Atterbury says, in the Preface of his Rights, Powers, and Privileges of an English Convocation:

"If at least I were not prevented by some abler hand, particular by the author of that letter which first gave rise to this debate; and who, it was expected, would have appeared once more upon it, and freed what he had advanced from all exceptions."