(Vol. ix., pp. 138. 255.)

In reply to H. R. NÉE F., I beg to state that the writer of the remarks alluded to, on Brydone's Tour in Sicily and Malta, was the Rev. Robert Finch, M.A., formerly of Balliol College in this University, and who died about the year 1830. When I met with Mr. Finch's honest and somewhat blunt expression of opinion, recorded in a copy which once belonged to him, of Brydone's Tour, I was quite ignorant of the hostile criticisms that had appeared at different times on that once popular work; but knowing Mr. Finch's high character for scholarship, and a knowledge of Italy, I thought his remark worth sending to a publication intended, like "N. & Q.," as "A Medium of Intercommunication for Literary Men, Antiquaries," &c., who are well able to examine a Note of the kind; and either to accept it as valid, or to reject it as untenable. On referring now to some standard works, in order to discover the opinions of learned men respecting Mr. Brydone's Tour, the first work I looked into was the Biographie Universelle (in eighty-three volumes, and not yet completed, Paris, 1811-1853), in vol. lix. of which the following observations occur, under the name of Brydone (Patrice):

"On lui a reprochÉ d'avoir sacrifiÉ la vÉritÉ au plaisir de raconter des choses piquantes. On l'avait accusÉ aussi d'avoir, par son indiscretion, suscitÉ À l'AbbÉ Recupero, Chanoine de Catane, une persÉcution de la part de son ÉvÊque. Cette indiscretion n'eut pas heureusement un rÉsultat aussi facheux; mais ses erreurs sur plusieurs points sont Évidentes; il donne 4000 toises de hauteur À l'Etna qui n'en a que 1662; il commet d'autres fautes qui ont ÉtÉ relevÉes par les voyageurs venus aprÈs lui. Bartels (Briefe Über Kalabrien und Sicilien, 2te Auflage, 3 Bd., 8vo., GÖtting. 1791-92) est mÊme persuadÉ que le voyage au sommet de l'Etna, chef-d'oeuvre de narration, n'est qu'un roman, et cet avis est partagÉ par d'autres."

GÖthe says (Werke, Band xxviii. pp. 189, 190.: Stuttgart, 1830) that when he inquired at Catania respecting the best method of ascending Mount Etna, Chevalier Gioeni, the professor of natural history there, gave him the following advice and information:

"Als wir den Ritter um die Mittel befragten wie man sich benehmen mÜsse um den Aetna zu besteigen, wollte er von einer Wagniss nach dem Gipfel, besonders in der gegenwÄrtigen Jahreszeit gar nichts hÖren. Ueberhaupt, sagte er, nachdem er uns um Verzeihung gebeten, die hier ankommenden Fremden sehen die Sache fÜr allzuleicht an; wir andern Nachbarn des Berges sind schon zufrieden, wenn wir ein paarmal in unserm Leben die beste Gelegenheit abgepasst und den Gipfel erreicht haben. Brydone, der zuerst durch seine Beschreibung die Lust nach diesem Feuergipfel entzÜndet, ist gar nicht hinauf gekommen."

From these quotations it is evident, that Mr. Finch was not singular in the belief he entertained; and certainly the scepticism of men so eminent as Professor Gioeni, Dr. Barthels, and Messrs. EyriÈs and Parisot (the French writers whose names are attached to the Memoir in the Biog. Univ.), must be grounded on reasons deserving of attention. An ordinary reader of Brydone would accept the account of his ascent with implicit confidence; but when veteran professors, scientific men, and experienced travellers and scholars refuse to believe that he reached the summit of Etna, the most probable mode of accounting for their incredulity is, perhaps to suppose, that in their opinion he had mistaken some other part of the mountain for the real summit. Not having met with any detail of their reasons for disbelief, I am only able to state their bare assertion. In my opinion, the beautifully glowing and poetical description of the magic scene beheld by Brydone from the mountain—a description, the perusal of which, in youth, remains for ever after imprinted on the memory, like a passage from Addison or Gibbon, could only have been written by an actual spectator.

John Macray.

Oxford.

"THE RED COW"—CROMWELL'S CARRIAGES, ETC.

(Vol. ix., p. 87.)

I have known "The Red Cow," at the top of Granham Hill, near Marlborough, for fifty years, but do not recollect ever to have heard of any particular origin for the sign.

The old carriages at Manton were built about a century and a half ago, perhaps not so much, for one of the Baskerville family, on the occasion of his being sheriff of the county to which he belonged, probably Wilts or Hereford. There are two of them: one a square coach, and the other a very high phaeton. The Baskerville arms—Ar. a chevron gu. between three hurts, impaling, quarterly, one and four, or, a cross moline az, two and three, gu. a chevron ar. between three mallets or—are painted on the panels. As I have no ordinary of arms at hand, I cannot ascribe this impalement; but will trust to some more learned herald among your correspondents to determine who the lady was? When her name, perhaps Moleyns or Molyneaux, is ascertained, reference to a Baskerville pedigree would probably determine the husband, and the precise date of the carriages, which could not have belonged to the Protector.

O. Cromwell's arms were, Sable, a lion rampant ar. There were also two families styled Williams alias Cromwell: one of which bore, Gu. three cheverons ar. between as many lions rampant or; the other, Sa. a lion rampant ar., the same as Oliver's coat, and probably derived by him from the Williams family.

I have wandered from "The Red Cow," but I will not omit to hazard an idea for the consideration of Glywysydd. Marlborough has changed its armorial bearings several times; but the present coat, containing a white bull, was granted by Harvey, Clarenceux in A.D. 1565. Cromwell was attached to Cowbridge and its cow by family descent; so he was to Marlborough by congeniality of sentiment with the burghers. Query, Whether, in affection to the latter, he granted to the town a new coat, some such as the following: Gules, a bull passant argent, armed or, impaling a cow passant regardant gules: and so might originate "The Red Cow" upon Granham Hill. History is entirely silent upon this point; but if such a combination were ever given to Marlborough, it is quite certain that Harvey's grant was resumed at the Restoration. I have quite forgotten to remark, that there is a suburb at Marlborough called Cowbridge—a fact which seems to strengthen my hypothesis.

A cow may be borne by some name, but at present I only recollect that of Vach: to which is accorded, Ar. three cows' heads erased sable. Bulls and oxen occur frequently; as in Fitz-Geffrey, Cowley, Bull, Oxley, Oxcliffe, Oxendon, &c. Bulls' heads belong to the families of Bullock, Hillesdon, Fleming, Barbor, Frend, Gornay, Bullman, and Williams, a baronet, &c.

Patonce.

FOX-HUNTING.

(Vol. viii., p. 172.)

As no answer to the Query on "Fox-hunting" has yet appeared in "N. & Q.," I venture to send the following extracts from an article in the Quarterly Review, March 1832, on "The Management of Hounds and Horses," by Nimrod. It appears that "the first public notice of fox-hunting" occurs in the reign of Richard II., who gave permission to the Abbot of Peterborough to hunt the fox:

"In Twice's Treatise on the Craft of Hunting, Reynard is thus classed:

'And for to sette young hunterys in the way

To venery, I cast me fyrst to go;

Of which four bestes be, that is to say,

The Hare, the Herte, the Wulf, and the wild Boar:

But there ben other bestes, five of the chase,

The Buck the first, the seconde is the Do;

The Fox the third, which hath hard grace,

The ferthe the Martyn, and the last the Roe.'

"It is indeed quite apparent, that until at most a hundred and fifty years ago, the fox was considered as an inferior animal of the chase; the stag, buck, and even hare, ranking before him. Previously to that period, he was generally taken in nets or hays, set on the outside of his earth: when he was hunted, it was among rocks and crags, or woods inaccessible to horseman: such a scene in short, or nearly so, as we have drawn to the life in Dandie Dinmont's primitive chasse in Guy Mannering. It is difficult to determine when the first regularly appointed pack of hounds appeared among us. Dan Chaucer gives the thing in embryo:

'Aha, the fox! and after him they ran;

And eke with staves many another man.

Ran Coll our dogge, and Talbot, and Gerlond,

And Malkin with her distaff in her hond.

Ran cow and calf, and eke the very hogges,

So fered were for the barking of the dogges,

And shouting of the men and women eke,

They ronnen so, hem thought her hertes brake.'

"At the next stage, no doubt, neighbouring farmers kept one or two hounds each; and, on stated days, met for the purpose of destroying a fox that had been doing damage to their poultry yards. By and bye, a few couple of strong hounds seem to have been kept by the small country esquires or yeomen who could afford the expense, and they joined packs. Such were called trencher hounds, implying that they ran loose about the house, and were not confined in kennel."

These are but short extracts, but they comprise the whole of what is said on the first origin of fox-hunting. The rest of the article treats of the quality and breed of horses and hounds.

Frederick M. Middleton.

WEATHER RULES.

(Vol. viii., pp. 50. 535.)

St. Vincent's Day, Jan. 22.—In Brand's Popular Antiquities, Bohn's edition, vol. i. p. 38., is to be found the following notice of this day:

"Mr. Douce's manuscript notes say: 'Vincenti festo si Sol radiet, memor esto;' thus Englished by Abraham Fleming:

'Remember on St Vincent's Day,

If that the Sun his beams display.'

"[Dr. Foster is at a loss to account for the origin of this command, &c.]"

It is probable that the concluding part of the precept has been lost; but a curious old manuscript, which fell into my hands some years since, seems to supply the deficiency. The manuscript in question is a sort of household book, kept by a family of small landed proprietors in the island of Guernsey between the years 1505 and 1569. It contains memoranda, copies of wills, settlements of accounts, recipes, scraps of songs and parts of hymns and prayers; some Romanist, some Anglican, some of the Reformed Church in France. Among the scraps of poetry I find the following rhymes on St. Vincent's Day; the first three lines of which are evidently a translation of the Latin verse above quoted, the last containing the to be remembered:

"Prens garde au jour St. Vincent,

Car sy ce jour tu vois et sent

Que le soleil soiet cler et biau,

Nous Érons du vin plus que d'eau."