LONDON, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1863.

CONTENTS.-No. 91.

NOTES:- Sir Francis Drake, 241- Campbells of Calder, Island of Islay, 242 Ring Posies, 243.

68

Anne

MINOR NOTES: - An Ancient Custom - Parody by Gostling — Badges - William Lithgow on the Virtue of Tobacco Verses by Miss Innes of Stow Barringtons Boleyn," a Term of Opprobrium - Coincidence, 244. QUERIES:-. Alexander Seton, the Scottish Alchemist, 255 - Anonymous-Armorial - Baptism of Bells - Bed-gown and Night-dress-The Devil - The Game of Whist - Rev. George Heath John Heywood, the Epigrammatist Holyback - London University-Mayors and Provosts The Phoenix Family - Picart's "Religious Ceremonies" The Postal System-Quotation - Rowlatt of Oakley Hall - Sketching Club or Society StoneJohn Stewart henge Symbolism in Stones -"Thoughts on the Early Ages of the Irish Nation," &c. -Waterford Gentry William, Earl of Gloucester-T. Wyatt, 246.

--

QUERIES WITH ANSWERS:- Inscription on the Foundation Stone of Cardinal Wolsey's College at Ipswich - Eels and Lampreys Guido Fawkes S. George's Middlesex Mitrnatition- Christening Tongs Horse-loaves - Bastard Family-Hafursfirdi-" Memorials de Litteratura Portugueza," 248.

REPLIES:- Baal Worship: St. John's Eve, 251 Serjeants-at-Law, 252 - Incomes of Peers, 253-Prices of Old Books, Ib. —

ton and Scone - Isabel of Gloucester-Parody on Hohenlinden "- Christian Names of Authors- Ralegh Arms and Supporters -"May Maids "- Greek Phrase Sir Ingram Hopton Kastner, or Castner Arms - Coincidence of Birth and Death-Peter's Pence-Court Costume of Louis XIII. of France George Bellas - Regiomontanus Bath Hospital, &c., 254.

-.

Nates.

SIR FRANCIS DRAKE.*

As I chance to have called attention to a marriage-hitherto unnoticed—of Sir Francis Drake, I venture to raise the query whether this was not

the only one. The dates of his voyages are quite

sufficient to prove that he was never, at after 1569, absent or unheard of for a period of seven years; so that the "legend" may be at once dismissed, as on his alleged absence alone does the story, as told in either county, depend. But the popular fable does one thing. It conjures up an unpleasing vision of a neglected wife and a truant husband.

Without professing to have searched all the biographies and notices of Drake, I think I may say that Wotton's English Baronets is the first work that mentions his marriage to "the only daughter of Sir George Sydenham of Somersetshire." Prince, who was not a man likely to overlook any known fact connected with one of the Worthies of Devon, and even less likely in writing of this renowned admiral, states simply, "This great person left no issue of his body tho' he was

once married." Here we have an allusion to a single marriage, and an announcement of all that was known on this domestic matter in the year 1701, more than a century after Drake's death. Or, viewed in another light, the reticence of * 3rd S. iii. 506; iv. 189.

Prince proves that there was nothing "grand" to record on this head: no match with an ancient and knightly family, but an ignoble alliance with a person of mean extraction.

Is there any better proof of the marriage of Sir Francis Drake to the heiress of Sydenham than an assertion, repeated without mention of authority, by every biographer for nearly 150 years, and which has gradually expanded from the not very exact statement of Wotton into the more particular account, that Sir Francis married Elizabeth, sole daughter and heiress of Sir George Sydenham, of Combe-Sydenham, co. Somerset, Knt., who married, secondly, Edward Courtenay, Esq. of Powderham Castle, co. Devon.

That Mary Newman was a person of humble origin is significantly indicated by the entry of her name, not only at her marriage, when she and her bridegroom stood on the same level, but at her burial, when, notwithstanding the knighthood of her husband, she is written down as merely

66

Marye Drake," without any prefix. The fair presumption is that she spent the whole of her married life in the obscurity of this out-of-theway and humble village; and, possibly, played the part of an Amy Robsart of Devonshire, hearing at distance only of the honours which, when gained by her husband, were regarded by his compeers with much disfavour and jealousy.

I shall remind your correspondent that the year 1582 is really 158, so that something must be added to the "ten months," in which he is pleased to say that Mary Drake "participated in the fame and dignities" of Sir Francis; whereas, the single bit of evidence we have shows that not even at her death was she accorded the poor honour of an entry in her proper style, as taking rank from her husband.

The sumptuous magnificence which Sir Francis Drake displayed in his style of living; his wealth, fame, and achievements; and, more than all, the favour of the queen-all show that, after 1583, when he was at the zenith of his fortunes, he had no need to "elope," or to resort to any hole-and-corner wedding. Where, then, is the proof of this (so-called) second marriage? What says the register of Monksilver? - what Drake's will, in which surely the name of his wife, if he had one at the time, would be at least mentioned ? In short, what authority is there for saying that Sir Francis Drake married Mistress Elizabeth Sydenham at all, other than a printed statement which has been copied, one from the other, by a multitude of writers, and handed down to the present moment?

JOHN A. C. VINCENT.

Plymouth.

[We have again submitted our correspondent's communication to the gentleman now engaged on the Memoir of Sir Francis Drake, who has kindly favoured us

with the following interesting remarks:-" MR. CENT is a little too sceptical and hasty in his notices and conclusions of Drake. That the Admiral was married a second time (and to Elizabeth, daughter of Sir George Sydenham of Somersetshire), is a fact placed beyond debate by his last will and testament; which was proved in London, May 17, 1596, by his brother and sole executor, Capt. Thomas Drake, of the High Street, Plymouth. That will was made in the preceding year, on the eve of his departure for the West Indies. After bequeathing 401. to the poor people of the town and parish of Plymouth,' he thus proceeds: Item, I give and bequeath to Dame Elizabeth, my wife, all my furniture, goods, implements, and household stuff whatsoever, standing and being within the doors of my mansion-house of Buckland (my plate and one cup of gold only excepted, to be sold towards the payment of my debts). And again, towards the better advancement of the jointure of the said Dame Elizabeth,' the Admiral also gave her a life-interest in his Withy Mills, and in his Plymouth Mills, and in certain closes of land adjoining them. These mills were erected upon the banks of the Leet, or stream of water, which, chiefly at his own charges, and wholly by his own ingenuity, he had brought from Dartmoor for the convenience of the townspeople of Plymouth, who had previously been obliged to travel several miles for their daily supplies of that necessary. By a post-nuptial settlement, his wife's jointure was secured upon his Buckland estate. As an additional proof (were it needed) that Drake married the heiress of Combe-Sydenham, the best portrait of him was long preserved in the mansion-house there; and, for aught I know to the contrary, may be still in existence. An engraving of it adorns most of the folio collections of Voyages and Travels published in the early part of the last century.

"You are aware that the parentage of Drake is involved in much (probably hopeless) obscurity. I believe him to have been of a very mean origin; and that he was, therefore (as I have stated in his biography), faber suæ fortuna, the architect of his own fortunes as well as of those of his family. While yet unknown to fame, he married Mary Newman-a woman doubtlessly as humble as himself; but that Drake treated her as Leicester did poor Amy Robsart seems to me to be a most gratuitous assumption on the part of your correspondent. Saltash, where Drake and his young wife appear to have lived, or, at all events, married in the year 1569, was far from being an out-of-the-way and humble village.' It constituted, in fact, a portion of Plymouth Harbour, which was inferior to none in the kingdom, excepting perhaps London and Bristol. It was then (namely, in 1569), and long afterwards, the chief port of departure for the royal squadrons.

"Of Drake's domestic life, prior to 1582, nothing whatever is known, and but little of it subsequently to that period. All speculation, therefore, on that point must necessarily be vain. Till he had practically demonstrated the orbicular form of the earth (Magalhaens, fifty years previously, had all but accomplished the same problem), he was unknown to fame-at least, in Europe. As the "Dragon" (half-beast, half-man,) of the Indies, he was better known to the Spaniards serving there than to his own countrymen. When, in 1577, he embarked for the western coast of South America, and, to the amazement of his superstitious contemporaries, shot the terror-inspiring straits of Magalhaens, the circumnavigation of the globe did not form a part of his original scheme. That stupendous feat resulted from purely accidental circumstances. Fearing the pursuit of his enemies, and failing to accomplish the north-west passage homewards, by Bering's Straits, with equal boldness, he

"Respecting the fact of so little having been recorded of Drake's second wife, the Lady Elizabeth, I account for it in this manner:- He must have been married to her a little before 1587; the greater part of, which year, and the two succeeding ones, he spent at sea, defeating the preparations of Philip II. for the invasion of this country. In 1589, in conjunction with Norris, he made an unsuccessful attempt to capture Lisbon. By this miscarriage, 'the child of fortune' not only lost a large sum of money himself, but also heavily involved, among other co-adventurers, the Queen and Lord Keeper Hatton (the former in the sum of 20,0002, the latter in that of 1,000); who, to their perpetual reproach, never afterwards acquitted him of the responsibility, moral or pecuniary. When, in 1595, Elizabeth was moved by the popular cry to send him once more on a filibustering expedition to the Indies, she could not forbear showing her distrust of his 'star by dividing the command of the fleet, and associating with him his worn-out and intemperate relative Hawkins. In his zeal to regain the confidence and smiles of his fickle sovereign, and, above all, to retrieve her former losses with interest, he overtaxed his abilities and died of chagrin. Between the years 1590 and 1595, although the representative of Bosiney, and taking part in the business and debates of the eighth of the queen's Parliaments, he never once dared to show his face at Court. His wife, of course, shared his disgrace, and missed the questionable privilege of exhibiting herself in the royal salons of Theobalds and Greenwich. Hence, I conceive, the reason of so little being known of her."]

CAMPBELLS OF CALDER, ISLAND OF ISLAY.

The Campbells of Calder, or Cawdor, were a younger branch of the Argyll family. They came off from the main stock, fully three hundred and fifty years ago. In a volume designated Cawdor Papers, in the Library of the Faculty of Advocates, there is an old inventory of the title-deeds of the family, the first article of which is, “Instrument of renunciation of Colin, Earl of Argyll, in favour of John Campbell, of Calder, his Uncle, of the Lands of Eichtracham, Sondachan, Kilmuir, Barbia, Tornan, and Ormaig, dated 19 August,

1529."

1615.

They were granted to Sir John Campbell, of Calder, by Crown Charter from James VI.; and were, with other lands, erected into a barony Nov. 21, 1614. Infeftment followed, February 6, The charter and infeftment were confirmed in Parliament, 1617. His descendant, James Campbell of Calder, or Cawdor, sold this valuable barony early last century to Campbell of Shawfield; with whose successors it remained until a few years ago, when the debt upon it was so great that a sale could not be avoided. It was purchased by Mr. Morrison of London. His son

Leicester.

Despise not mee: yt ioyes in thee,
If you deny, then sure I dye.
Wth teares I mourne, as one forlorne.
Lost all content, if not consent.

A friend to one, as like to none.

Your sight, my delight.

Virtue meeting, happy greeting. As trust, bee just.

For a kiss take this.

No better smart shall change my heart.
Hurt not yt heart whose joy thou art.
My heart and I until I dye.

Sweet heart I pray, doe not say nay.
My heart you have and yours I crave.
As you now find so judge me kind.
If you say do'et, I will stand to 'et.
One word for all, I love and shall.
My constant love shall never move.
Like and take, mislike forsake.
The want of thee is griefe to mee.
Be true to mee yt gives it thee.
Desire hath set my heart on fire.
I hope to see you yeeld to mee.
Both or neither, chuse
Heart, this, and mee, if you agree.
you whether.
This accepted, my wish obtained.
This accepted, my wish affected.
Thy friend am I, and so will dye.
O yt I might have my delight.
Within my brest, thy heart doth rest.
Parting is payne when love doth remay.
My corne is growne love reape thy owne.
This thy desert shall crown my heart.
I fancy none but thee alone.

T. NORTH.

Minor Notes.

AN ANCIENT CUSTOM.-The triennial ceremony of "throwing the dart" in Cork harbour was performed on Thursday afternoon by the Mayor of that city. This is one of the very few still extant of those quaint ceremonials by which in olden time municipal boundaries were preserved and corporate rights asserted. A similar civic pageant,

[3rd S. IV. SEPT. 26, '63.

called "riding the fringes" (franchises), was formerly held by the Lord Mayor and Corporation of Dublin, in which, after riding round the inland boundaries of the borough, the cavalcade halted at a point on the shore near Bullock, whence the Lord Mayor hurled a dart into the sea, the spot where it fell marking the limit of his maritime jurisdiction. At 2 P.M. the members of the Cork Town Council embarked on board a steam vessel, attended by all the civic officers and the band of the Cork City Artillery. A number of ladies also accompanied the party. The steamer proceeded out to sea until she reached an imaginary line between Poor Head and Cork Head, which is supposed to be the maritime boundary of the borough. Here the Mayor donned his official robes, and proceeded, attended by the mace and sword bearer, the city treasurer, and the town clerk-all wearing their official costo the prow of the vessel, whence he launched the javelin into the water, thereby asserting his authority as Lord High Admiral of the port. The event was celebrated by a banquet in the evening.-The Leeds Mercury, Sept. 8, 1863. K. P. D. E.

tumes

PARODY BY GOSTLING.-In a copy of the first edition of Gostling's Canterbury, I lately picked up at a bookstall, I found on one of the end leaves the following note. Probably you may think it worth preserving in " N. & Q." I enclose it for that purpose:

"Mr. Gostling, a Clergyman belonging to the Cathedral of Canterbury, is said to be the writer of the following admirable Parody on the noted grammatical line 'Bifrons, atque Custos, Bos, Fur, Sus, atque Sacerdos,' "Bifrons ever when he preaches; Custos of what in his reach is; Bos among his neighbours' wives; Fur in gathering of his tithes; Sus at every parish feast; On Sunday, Sacerdos, a priest."

T. B.

BADGES. Allow me to suggest to the Learned clubs, regiments, schools, and old-established busiand other Societies, and even to such bodies as ness houses, the adoption of appropriate medallions or emblems, wearable as pendants, and issued to their own members exclusively. Medallions would open a new field for the engraver and numismatist, besides displacing much trash now suspended from the button-hole.

S. F. CRESSWELL.

Cathedral School, Durham. WILLIAM LITHGOW ON THE VIRTUE OF TOBACco. of tobacco, by William Lithgow, the earliest Scotish traveller, who presented to the country The following singular testimony of the virtue is, we think, worthy of insertion in "N. & Q.” In that curious dialogue between himself and his a printed record of his wondrous peregrinations.

Dispeopled desarts bred that dear-bought griefe;
No state but change, no sweet without some gall;
Yet in Tobacco I found great relief,

The smoak whereof expelled that pinching thrall; And for that time, I graunt, I drunke the water That through my bodie came, instead of better." J. M. VERSES BY MISS INNES OF STOW.-William Mitchel, cashier of the Royal Bank, married Christian Shairp, daughter of Thomas Shairp of Houston. On this occasion Miss Jane Innes, sister, and eventually heiress of Gilbert Innes, Esq., of Stow, presented Mr. Mitchel with a silver bread-basket, accompanied by the following lines written by herself, July 20, 1810:

"In ancient times, in days of yore,

When blood and kindred kept their place, We blessed the basket and its store,

And sent it round to all our race.
Partial to modes of former years,
The emblematic gift I send;
And tho' nor corn, nor wine appears,
It bears the blessing of a friend."

Besides the landed estates of her brother, this lady, who died at a very advanced age, succeeded to more than one million sterling. At the period of her demise, Miss Innes must have been by far the richest heiress in Scotland. Perhaps it might be said, that she was the richest that ever was born or died in that country: for she added not only to her brother's landed estate, but added, it is understood, several hundred thousand pounds to the personal estate; and this after handsomely providing for individuals who had a claim upon her. It is perhaps unnecessary to add, as this is perhaps sufficiently indicated by the lines, that the lady was like her brother Gilbert-a staunch Tory.

J. M. BARRINGTONS. In the Rev. J. Booth's Epigrams, Ancient and Modern, &c., that "On B Bishop of Durham, and Barrington, the pickpocket," is given thus :

"Two names of late, in a different way,

With spirit and zeal did bestir 'em ; The one was transported to Botany Bay, The other translated to Durham."

It is well known that Barrington, the pickpocket, was transported for abstracting the gold snuff-box of a foreign nobleman, at a court levée; but by Mr. Booth's omitting all notice of that fact, and by his giving an incorrect version of the

first two lines, the epigram lost its chief point. My memory, which dates from about the time of its first delivery, gives the following as the correcter version:

"Two of a name- - both great in their way

At Court lately well did bestir 'em ;
The one was transported to Botany Bay,
And the other translated to Durham."
P. H. F.

"ANNE BOLEYN," A TERM OF OPPROBIUM.-It may interest your readers to know that the expression "Aquella e uma Anna Boleyna," though gradually dying out, is still used in Portugal, in speaking of a woman of doubtful character. A curious saying, showing how intense the feeling must once have been for the much-injured Catharine of Arragon. It is also, I believe, in use in Spain. C. B.

Palmeira, Madeira.

COINCIDENCE.-Among the recent additions to the charming periodicals of France is Le Nain Jaune. It is in the style of the Figaro, but not a servile imitation. I have not yet seen it in England. The writers are so rich in wit that they need not borrow or steal, and I therefore note the following, not as a plagiarism, but a coincidence:

The very little that is known of this extraordinary character has a most tantalising effect, inducing a strong craving to learn more. There can be no doubt that he was a native of Scotland; his variously Latinised names of Sethonius, Sidonius, Suthoneus, Suethonius, Seethonius, Setonius— being almost invariably accompanied by the epithet Scotus. Wolfgang Dienheim, however, in his Medicina Universalis, cap. xxiv. [Argentorati, MDCX.] says that Seton was a native of Molia, in an island of the ocean, "e Molia regnum illud est ac insula Oceani." The great desideratum is, to what Scottish family of the name did Seton belong? His residence, as a gentleman of position and property on the shores of the Frith of Forth,