66 66 of Chaucer, printed by Bonham it is the undated edition. But what interests me is some writing on the last page of the book. "Beaumont" and "Coningsby," "My deare sweet frend from henceforth and for ever.' The writing is, I believe, early seventeenth century. Is it possible that this "Beaumont is the Beaumont, the dramatist? Under the much flourished signature on the title-page "R-s Coningesbius, Salopius.' are the following words: Dominimea nomen habet." The blanks represent words I cannot decipher. But the idea has arisen in my mind that possibly this Coningsby might have been about the Court of ⚫ Elizabeth or James I. and become acquainted with the wits of the day and among them Beaumont, and formed a rather sentimental friendship with him of which this old book was a token. It is impossible to say who was the donor. The writing is as of one sitting dreaming of his sweet deare frend," and almost unconsciously tracing his name. MARIA A. HOYER. 66 base of the chest, "A." on the dexter corner ROBERT JENNER, 1671-1723.--Robert Sandgate. In November, 1741, she sold to John Smart, of the same parish, distiller, for the sum of 640l., THE PINNER OF WAKEFIELD, AND BATTELL BRIDGE FIELD.-Josiah Southam, citizen and distiller of London, died in 1737, and 'THE TIMES': BURLESQUE COPY.-Can was buried at Warwick. His widow, Sarah any of your readers give any account of a Southam (who died in 1752), lived in the burlesque copy of The Times that was pro-"Parish of St. Andrew, Holborne." bably issued in the year 1862. It is a huge double sheet, and the folio_page measures 40 inches by 29 inches. The type is an exact but enlarged copy of the ordinary issue of The Times. Every feature of news is represented and burlesqued. In the line at the head of the sheet the number, date and price of the issue are given as follows: 'No. 55,567. London. Everyday. 1962. Price 1s." The printer's paragraph reads as follows: 66 'Printed for the proprietors by Joseph William Last, of No. 3, Savoy Street, Strand. in the city of Westminster, and published by Baynton Rolt, at No. 5, Catherine Street, Strand. Everyday, 1962." GEORGE T. SHAW. Reference Library. William Brown Street, Liverpool. GEARY OR GEERY FAMILY OF HASTINGS, SUSSEX. Any information regarding this family would be much appreciated by the under-signed. A direct ancestor, John Crouch of Hastings married in 1696 Sarah Geary of the same place. I am anxious to know her parentage. She had a brother John Geary, who was a freeman of Hastings, and voted in 1721. Nathaniel, son of above John Crouch, married Ann Geary. How was she related to Sarah Geary? There still remains in the family a linen chest which belonged to Ann Geary and her "all that Messuage or Tenement called or known by the name or sign of the Pinner of Wakefield as the same is now divided into two houses—also that Close of pasture ground commonly called or known Estimation nine acres be the same more or less," &c., by the name of Battell Bridge feild containing by in late occupation of John Gifford, victualler. There were also four cottages on the west side of said messuage, in tenure or occupation of Jarvis Eagleston-stables, orchards, gardens, &c. Was the Pinner of Wakefield an inn? What was the origin of this name and that of Battell Bridge field, and where were the above situated ? HERBERT SOUTHAM. UNANNOTATED MARRIAGES AT WESTMINSTER. The extant registers of Westminster Abbey record only 399 marriages between 1655 (their commencement) and 1875. Probably the finest genealogical work ever published, the late Col. Chester's copy of these registers (Harleian Society, vol. x.), annotates 370 of these 399 marriage entries. The remaining 29 entries appear to have baffled him. Undoubtedly the study of genealogy has made great progress since 1875, when Col. Chester's work appeared. Is it still impossible to com UDNY.-John Udny of Cultercullen and Newtyle, merchant and bailie of Kintore, M.P. for that burgh, 1681-2 and 1685-6, was third son of John Udny of that ilk, formerly of Belhelvie, by Isobel, dau. of Thomas Fraser, 2nd Laird of Strichen (October, 1612March, 1645) and Christian, dau. of William Forbes, 8th Laird of Tolquhoun (1595-1602). John Udny had two daughters, Anne, married to John Sandilands of Countesswells, and Jean, married in 1714 to Charles Gordon of Buthlaw (April, 1712-December, 1751), who bought half of Newtyle from his wife's nephew John Sandilands. John Udny's wife was living when the Poll Book for Aberdeenshire was compiled 1695. Who H. PIRIE-GORDON. was she? 91 Brown Street, Salisbury. THE REV. JOHN STONES, M.A., vicar of Stoak and rector of Coddington (both in Cheshire) is generally spoken of as an antiquary. There is in the church safe at Coddington a history of that parish in his handwriting. William Aldersey of Picton and Chester, merchant and alderman, sheriff of Chester, 1584, and mayor in 1595 and 1614, who died 1616, is described in Bridgeman's Family of Aldersey' as "a celebrated Chester antiquary," and Hugh ago a manuscript giving some account of the mayors of Chester written by the said William Aldersey. But did either of these antiquaries publish any books or papers on Chester antiquities? W. F. JOHN TIMBRELL. Coddington Rectory, Chester. ROBERT TROTMAN: EPITAPH.-Thirtyfive years ago I copied from a tombstone in the churchyard of Kinson, Dorset, the following curious epitaph : To the Memory of Robert Trotman, Late of Rond in the County of Wilts. who was barbarously murdered on the shore near Poole, the 25th March, 1765. A little Tea, one leaf I did not steal, For guiltless bloodshed I to God appeal, Put Tea in one scale, human blood in tother, And think what tis to slay thy harmless brother. I wonder whether any reader of ' N. & Q.' knows anything of the facts of Robert Trotman's death. ERNEST PAGE. 1 King's Bench Walk, Temple, E.C.4. JACOBITE MEMORIAL RING.-I have a gold ring, which, according to a family tradition, was sent to John Campbell of Cawdor and was given by him to his son, my great-grandfather John Hooke Campbell (afterwards John Campbell-Hooke), Lyon King-of-Arms, 1754-95. The ring has an oval bezel, in which under a glass appears on a black ground a white rose with green leaves in enamel. Round the hoop of the ring runs the inscription "Jacobus III., Br. Fr. Hiber. Rex Exul ob. 30 Dec., 1765: ae. 77." whether other rings of this description exist, Can any of your readers inform me and, if so, what was their origin ? S. F. HULTON. 10 King's Bench Walk, Temple. JOHN GRIFFITHS: HIS MARRIAGE.--John Griffiths, clerk of Middlesex, Chiswick, was second son of John Griffiths of Erryd and had issue (1) John, born 1754; (2) Charles, born 1756; (3) William, born 1757; (4) Frederick; (5) a daughter. Wanted further particulars and dates concerning John Griffiths, and also the name of his wife and particulars of the marriage. J. PERCIVAL ROGERS. 4, Leinster Gardens, W.2. POLLARD FAMILY.-Among the various pedigrees of the family of Pollard given by Vivian and others, I note that of the Pollards of Langley, a branch from those of Way. The Visitation ends their line with George, will," Richard "living in 1659 and 1667," and "Ezebias." Pollards from one family or another went out to Barbados in the mid-seventeenth century, and their names occur in records there from that time till recently. I do not know if there are any now left. Among their wills recorded in that colony occur: 1682, Richard Pollard; 1687, John; and 1688, George Pollard. Can any reader kindly tell me whether there is a real connection or are these names only a curious coincidence? E. BINDOW. W. CECIL (LORD BURGHLEY): REFERENCE TO QUEEN ELIZABETH." Here is a great resort of wooers and controversy among lovers. Would to God the Queen had one and the rest honourably satisfied." The words were spoken in the Queen's gallery when she had around her the Imperial Ambassador, the Duke of Finland, and Lord Dudley. The only reference I can find to the quotation is in Bishop Creighton's Life of Queen Elizabeth,' and he gives no clue as to who originally put the words on record. COLENSO. PEWTER SNUFFERS.-Under date Jan. 23, 1667/8, Samuel Pepys writes :— "She (Mrs. Turner) is either a very prodigal woman, or richer than she would be thought, by her buying of the best things, and laying out much money in new-fashioned pewter; and, among other things, a new-fashioned case for a pair of snuffers which is very pretty; but I could never have guessed what it was for, had I not seen the snuffers in it." 66 WILLIAM ALABASTER.-In the late Mr. Robertson's sonnet-anthology entitled 'The Golden Book of English Sonnets,' which was published by Harrap & Co. in 1913, price 3s. 6d., I find at page 32 a sonnet by the so-called "Latin poet," William_Alabaster (1565-1640) of which the title is 'Incarnatio est Maximum Dei Donum.' Can any reader inform me whether Alabaster was favourably regarded as a poet of distinction by his contemporaries, and also whether he wrote many sonnets besides the one above referred to ? He is not mentioned in Mr. Austin Dobson's Handbook of English Literature' (2nd edition, 1880). OXFORD GRADUATE. JOHN PEARCE, AUTHOR AND EDITOR.— Biographical particulars wanted of John Pearce who was editor of House and Home (a paper issued in support of better houses for the people) in 1879. Author of a series of 'Popular Biographies,' &c. Was born about 1843 and died at Sydenham in the early years of the twentieth century. T. W. HAYLER. Croydon. POEMS FOR CHILDREN: TITLES WANTED Can any of your readers tell me the title and name of compiler of a collection of poems Poems and for children, called, I think, Hymns for Children,' published probably in the fifties or sixties. Among its contents were 'Little Dick Snappy,' The Pakenham (or Fakenham) Ghost' and 'Little Drops of Water.' I had it in 1869, when it had no cover. It had little woodcuts, and was a small square book. C. S. FRY. Upton, Didcot, Berks. As far as I can trace pewter snuffers are not referred to in any of the standard books on old pewter, neither is there any reference SLATES AND SLATE PENCILS.-I wonder if to pewter cases for holding snuffers, and any of your correspondents happen to know I have therefore wondered whether Pepys when slates and slate pencils were introduced meant that the case was made of pewter-Papyrus, I am informed, was not used in or whether it was of totally different metal, If the case Pepys saw was of pewter. possibly there are similar ones still in existence, but they are not recognised as receptacles for snuffers. Can any one shed any light on the matter? ERNEST HUNTER. 20 Mount Avenue, Orrell, Bootle, Liverpool. THE HAWKHURST GANG.-Local tradition has it that a mansion called Seacock's Heath, near Robertsbridge, in Sussex, was built by Arthur Gray, out of his ill-gotten gains as a member of the Hawkhurst gang. What was this gang, and when and where did it operate ? J. LANDFEAR LUCAS. Europe after 700 A.D., and presumably CROSS-BEARER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE.-In Cooper's 'Ath. Cantabrigiensies' Hugh Latimer was such. Is there such an officer now, and what is his office? M.A. THORINGTON. Has any pedigree been published of the family of Thorington or is anything known of a family_of_that name? E. J. HARRISON. AUTHORS OF QUOTATIONS WANTED. Replies. "WE FOUR FOOLS." IN further description of this picture I send the following details : In the oil painting, the left figure has, on his right leg, above the knee, a pair of tongs and a poker, crossed; below, a bell: on his left leg, above the knee, two fish; below a pair of bellows. The central figure has cross-gartered pantaloons. The right figure has, on his right leg, above the knee, a gridiron; below, a mug with a lid on his left leg, above the knee, three playing-cards, ace of clubs, five of spades, and three of diamonds. He is holding a fiddle and bow in his right hand, and a glass half-full of liquor in his left hand. In the engraving, the left figure has, on his right leg, above the knee, apparently, two sausages; below, two fish on his left leg, above the knee, two fish, looking right and left; below, apparently, two crossed sausages. The central figure has diagonallined pantaloons. The right figure has, on his right leg, above the knee, a mug. He is holding a metallic cup, and he is wearing heavily-rimmed spectacles. Perhaps these details may interest, and draw observations, from some of your readers, whose attention I would draw particularly to the three cards. 4 Park Street, W.1. LEES KNOWLES, Bt. 1. Can any of your readers tell me the author cf I would suggest, got a the following lines? In the years fled, Lips that are dead Sang me that song. W. GERALD HARDING. 2. When to the flowers so beautiful the Father gave a name, Back came a little blue-eyed one-all timidly it came, And standing at its Father's feet, and gazing in His face, It said in low and trembling tones, which fear made come apace, "Dear God! the name Thou gavest me, alas! I have forgot." And God looked down with kindliness, and said, "Forget me not!" HIC ET UBIQUE. [This question appeared at 12 S. i. 228, but no The correspondent to N. & Q.' who found the old Dutch print referred to as above has, variant of the "Picture of We Three" referred to by Shakespeare in Twelfth Night,' Act II. sc. iii. 17-21 (Furness, Variorum Shaks,' p. 108) as follows: "Henley: An allusion to an old print, sometimes pasted on the wall of a country ale-house, reads: We three are asses.' representing two, but under which the spectator Douce: The original picture seems to have been two fools. Thus in Shirley's The Bird in a Cage,' Morello says: We be three of old, without exception to your wisest fool.' Sometimes, as Henley has stated, it was two asses. Thus, in Beaumont and Fletcher's 'Queen of Corinth,' III. i. :— Malone's note on this was : "I believe Shakespeare had in his thoughts a common sign, in which two wooden heads (or Neanthes. He is another ass, he says; I two fools drinking) are exhibited, with this in believe him. Taylor's Farewell to the Tower-Bottles,' 1622. The marginal note to this is: The picture of two fooles, and the third looking on, I doe fitly compare with the two black bottles and myselfe.' The Clown referred to the picture, of three fools, and Sir Toby retaliated by referring to the picture of three asses.-Ed.)" The conceit which this picture embodies has been used, so I believe, in modern instances, and another phrase of Shakespeare's has been associated with it, namely, the line "When we shall three meet again.' The interesting fact about the Dutch picture referred to in N. & Q.' is that it is a "painting of three grotesque figures," and that the onlooker is supposed to be the fourth fool. Hence the inscription "We Four Fools," and the Latin inscription "Gaudemus, quia te praesente, stulti quaJOSEPH J. MACSWEENEY. tuor." Howth, co. Dublin. scription under it: We three loggerheads be.' The spectator or reader is supposed to make the third." Plaine home-spun stuffe shall now proceed from "The picture of two fooles, and the third looking on, I doe fitly compare with the two blacke bottles and my selfe. Jones, of Colomondie, near the village of Llanverris, now called Loggerheads, a few miles from Mould." The author visited the district and further records of Loggerheads that "This singular appellation owes its origin to the subject of the sign painted by Wilson for the village ale-house, and upon which are exhibited the heads of two very jolly-looking fellows, This painting belongs to a class which at grinning and staring out of the picture towards one time was not uncommon. Sir Andrew. Here comes the fool, i' faith. Enter CLOWN. the spectator; underneath are written, in very legible characters, the words: We three Loggerheads be.' The painting retains its elevated situation to this day, though, perhaps, little of the Clown. How now, my hearts! did you never original colour may remain, it having been more see the picture of We Three'? than once retouched since Wilson's time." Sir Toby. Welcome, ass. MARGARET LAVINGTON. 'Twelfth Night,' Act II., sc. iii. We have a similar reference in Fletcher's The Queen of Corinth' : : SIR LEES KNOWLES's picture seems to be a variant of a very ancient jest. Compare • Twelfth Night,' II. iii. 16: Clown (to Sir Toby Belch and Sir Ague-cheek). How now, my hearts? Andrew Did you "An allusion to a common old sign representing two fools or loggerheads, under which was inscribed: We three Loggerheads be,' the spectator being the third. There is at the present day [1890] a public-house in Upper Red Cross Street, Leicester, which has the same figure and device on its sign-board. Dekker (The Gull's Hornbook,' ch. vi., How a Gallant should Behave Himself in a Playhouse ') says, speaking of the fops whose fancy it was to sit on the stage: the first and principal man in election to begin Assure yourself by continual residence, you are the number of "We three."'" M. H. DODDS Home House, Kell's Lane, Low Fell, Gateshead. |