known in England in 1290; for in that year a Spanish ship came to Portsmouth bringing figs, raisins, dates, pomegranates, and seven oranges. Some of the trees at Hampton Court are said to be three hundred years old.

The Lemon (Turkish limun) and Citron were much used in the Middle Ages, but it is very uncertain when they were first introduced into England (Du Cange v. "Citronus.")

The Melon (the abattachim of the Bible, meaning to cling close), according to Gough, was very common in England during the reign of Edw. III., together with cucumbers, &c.; but soon after entirely unknown till the reign of Henry VIII., being unattended to during the wars of York and Lancaster.

The Medlar (Saxon med) was a favourite fruit of the Saxons. Chaucer mentions the tree:

"I was ware of the fairest medlar tree."

The Fig (Saxon fic, Latin ficus,) was known to the Greeks, for we find by the laws of Lycurgus they formed a part of the ordinary food of the Spartans. They were introduced here by the Romans, but the first trees planted in England are said to have been brought from Italy in 1548 by Cardinal Pole, and planted by him in the garden of the archiepiscopal palace at Lambeth (Loudon's Arbor. et Frutic. Britann.)

The Gooseberry (corrupted from German kraus, or krauselbeere, the rough berry,) was known to the Saxons under the name thefe-thorn.

The Currant (from Corinth) is a native of Great Britain. Evelyn says it was formerly considered to be a species of gooseberry, and had no other name till the fruit was called corinths, from their resemblance to the small Zante grapes.

The Raspberry (from the rasping roughness of the plant) formerly grew wild in England. Called by the Anglo-Saxons hynd-berige.

The Strawberry (Saxon streow-berie, from the spreading nature of its runners,) was common in the time of Lydgate (fifteenth century). The alpine was first cultivated in the king's garden in 1760.

The Mulberry (Saxon muulbere; Celtic mor, black,) is considered by Whitaker (Manchester, ii. 49) to have been introduced into Britain by the Romans. Gough says that the first known were at Sion House, now standing. The white mulberry was introduced from China before 1596, and the paper-mulberry from Japan before 1751.

Grape (Welsh grab, a cluster; Italian grappo,) Vines are said to have been first brought into England by command of the Emperor Probus about 280, the year its culture was introduced into Gaul; and Venerable Bede speaks of vineyards as common in this country in 731. The vine was called by the Saxons win-treow, or wine-tree; and its fruit win-berige, or wine-berries. Some years ago grape

vines brought from Syria were planted at Welbeck Abbey, the residence of the Duke of Portland, in Nottinghamshire. They thrived, and produced fine fruit-one bunch, sent as a present to the Marquis of Rockingham, weighed 19 lbs.

The Chestnut (derived from Anglo-Saxon cystehnutu, the nut of the cyste-tree) was introduced by the Romans; that is, the Spanish or sweet kind. There is a tree of this kind at Tortworth, Gloucestershire, which was in its prime in the reign of Stephen in 1135, and calculated to have been a sapling in the time of Egbert about the year 800. Loudon says this may even have been planted in the time of the Romans. The oldest chestnut-tree in the neighbourhood of London is that at Cobham, Kent. In 1256 the Sheriffs of London were ordered to buy 2000 chestnuts for the king's use. The horse-chestnut was brought to us from the northern parts of Asia about 1550; but the scarlet variety, from Brazil, was not cultivated till 1712.

The Walnut (Saxon wal-hnut, walh-hnutu, a foreign nut,) is a native of Persia. Loudon says, in all probability it was introduced by the Romans. Evelyn informs us that "there were considerable plantations of this tree, particularly in the chalk hills of Surrey." Collinson, in his History of Somersetshire, says that at Glastonbury there grew in the abbey churchyard, on the north side of St. Joseph's chapel, a miraculous walnuttree, which never budded forth before the Feast of St. Barnabas (June 11). He adds that "Queen Anne, King James, and many of the nobility of the realm, even when the times of monkish superstition had ceased, gave large sums of money for small cuttings of the original."

Anglo-Saxons: its importance was considered so much above that of any other vegetable, that leac-tun (the leek-garden) became the common name for the kitchen-garden; and leac-weard (a leek-keeper) was used to designate the gardener. Varieties of the leek-enne-leac, or onion; and gar-leac, or garlic-were also known under these names to the Saxons.

Bean is an Anglo-Saxon word; and the same people were acquainted with cresses, parsley (Anglo-Saxon peterselige), mint, sage, rue, and JOHN PIGGOT, JUN.

other herbs.

Sea-cale, cir. 1775.-In answer to X. Y., I can give him the history of the introduction of seacale, as I happen to know all the details. Seacale grows wild on Slapton beach on the south coast of Devon. It was noticed there by a person named John Morgan, a native of Uplowman, Devon; then gardener in the employ of J. H. Southcote, Esq., of Stoke Fleming. Morgan noticed that the sea-cale was bleached by the sand of the beach; and brought some roots from thence, and cultivated them in Mr. Southcote's garden. They were served up to his table, and being approved of, several roots were sent as a present to Mr. Southcote's friends at Bath: which place was at that time, about 1775, a great resort of fashion. When once known and talked of in Bath, it soon became famed throughout all England. I have understood that it was first sold to the public at Exeter market, where its price was half-a-crown a root.

The son of this John Morgan, Mr. Joseph Morgan, is the owner of a well-known nurserygarden at Torquay. W. G.

St. Marychurch, Torquay.

SIR ANTHONY ASHLEY'S MONUMENT: THE CABBAGE.

(3rd S. xii. 287, 533.)

I have lately made a pilgrimage to the shrinenay, to the fine old monument of Sir A. Ashley and his wife in the church of Winborne St. Giles, Dorset, to refresh my memory as to a certain part of its details which is said to be commemorative of the introduction of the cabbage from Holland into England. The result has confirmed my anticipation, and convinced me that the proof of the worthy knight's claim on the gratitude of posterity must rest on a more substantial foundation than what is afforded by his monument, to be of any value. What this is I will endeavour to describe. Near the head of the recumbent effigies stands a low pedestal supporting a casque plumed, and at the feet a similar pedestal surmounted with a pair of gauntlets and a ball, some six or eight inches in diameter, having its surface ornamented with hexangular reticulations incuse. Now it seems to me

that if the artist had intended to represent by this object the head of a cabbage, he would have preferred the natural foliation of the vegetable, and that the gauntlets would be very incongruous accessories. In short, his device would be a wretched failure. But viewing it in another light, as a cannon-shot or shell, whose hard grim outline he has toned down to harmonise with his general design, then the device becomes an appropriate military symbol allusive to the siege of Cadiz which is recorded in the inscription on the monu

ment.

How or when the tradition was first associated with this particular symbol I have not yet discovered. Hutchins (Hist. Dorset, first edition, 1774) does not give it; but I find it distinctly stated in Christie's Memoirs, Letters, and Speeches of the first Lord Shaftesbury, 1859, vol. i. p. 3, note*, also noticed in "N. & Q." 3rd S. xii. 287. Nevertheless I am persuaded that this statement should be consigned to the category of fancies that are accepted and pass as historical facts simply because no one takes the trouble to scrutinise their pretensions. W. W. S.

THE WORD "FENIAN" OCCURRING IN ANCIENT IRISH LITERATURE.

(3rd S. xii. 530.)

A. A. of Poets' Corner, who by this time, I hope and wish, will have left his dull retreat and be restored to health and activity, inquires whether there is " any other mention of the word (Fenian) in Ossian or any other published work?"

The most interesting and obvious account and explanation of it I have met with is in Dr. W. H. Drummond's Ancient Irish Minstrelsy, Dublin, 1852. This interesting volume owes its origin, the author tells us, to a proposal of Dr. MacDonnell, Provost of Trinity College, Dublin—

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"To investigate the authenticity of the Poems of Ossian, both as given in Macpherson's Translation, and as published in Gaelic (London, 1807), under the sanction of the Highland Society."-Minstrelsy, p. vi.

assuredly the means of stimulating inquiry," In consequence of this proposal, which was Dr. Drummond collected and translated these old Irish lays-thirty-two in number-and edited them with most interesting notes. The word in the second line of his "Preface," the author Fenian occurs very often in this volume; directly

says:

"Of the Irish poems usually known by the name of Ossianic or Fenian, there are still extant many of great poetical beauty and interest, amply deserving of being introduced, in an English dress, to the general reader." —Minstrelsy, p. ix.

And again :

"After the lapse of ages, the fame of Macpherson's Ossian excited the wonder of our Irish bards and sena

chies. They heard with astonishment indescribable, that their own long well-known countryman, Fin Mac Cumhal, who held his chief place of residence at Almhuin (the Hill of Allen in Leinster), the general of the Fenians-renowned for his martial achievements-the glory of their green isle-was no longer theirs, but discovered by the new revelations of a wonderful magician, to be no son of Erin, but a Caledonian king named Fingal-the King of woody Morven-a kingdom of which they had never before heard even the name. Strong feelings of indignation succeeded the first emotions of surprise. They claimed Finn and his son Ossian as their own, and in no

measured terms expressed their resentment at the piratical attempt to rob them of their martial and minstrel fame. Those who were acquainted with Irish history, though but partially, soon saw through the imposture."-Minstrelsy, pp. x. xi.

Dr. Drummond's argument relating to Finn is as follows: He thinks it highly probable that, long before any decided or formidable invasion by the Danes, the latter had now and then visited Ireland, for the sake of commerce or plunder, and had even formed settlements, most probably in some of the principal maritime cities. To prevent these invasions, the princes of the country raised a kind of militia, known by the name of Fiona Erionn, a well-armed and disciplined force under tried and valiant leaders. Of these military men there were two principal septs, or clans, between whom there prevailed strong rivalship. Finn, the son of Cumhal, commonly known by the name of Fin Mac Cool, a strong and valiant chief, was the commander of one of these septs, it being called Clanna Boisgne. Of this Finn much has been said and written that is altogether fabulous and incredible. Dr. Drummond says:

"Finn is the beau-ideal of an Irish hero and prince, unconquered in the field, magnanimous, courteous, hos

pitable, ever ready to espouse the cause of the weak, to avenge and redress the wrongs of the injured, to reward the songs of the bards. He is also gifted with a knowledge of futurity, and is skilled in oneiromancy and in the virtues of medicine. He is gentle and forbearing-to females, tender and polite-to his relatives and friends kind and affectionate."-Minstrelsy, p. xvi.

He became, he elsewhere (Minstrelsy, p. 82) observes, "to the Irish what King Arthur was to the ancient Britons," and was of course made the British hero. subject and hero of innumerable legends, like the

"By some he has been described as a giant-by some, in the rank of historians, as a Dane-by others as a Caledonian-by Macpherson as the monarch of woody Morven, a kingdom in terra incognita-whereas those who are best acquainted with the genuine and authentic annals of Irish history, prove incontestibly that he was a true-born Irishman; ... that the Hill of Allen (Kildare) was his principal place of residence- that he was the son of a noble chief named Cumhal (pronounced Cool), -and that he was the father of the celebrated bard Ossian, who was the father of Osgar, who fell in the battle of Gavra, and with whom, it is presumed, this genealogical line terminated.”—Minstrelsy, p. 82.

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'In this Cormuc's time, flourished the famous champion Fionn, the son of Cumhall, a wise and warlike man. He was general of the Irish militia, consisting of seven battalions, that is 21,000 men... This Fionn was neither giant, nor Dane, nor other foreigner, as no more were He any of his commanders, captains, or soldiers. allowed that Fionn and his army were the best warriors was an Irishman both by birth and descent. It is in Irland (sic) in their time, and were kept in constant pay by the monarchs, princes, and other nobility of the kingdom."— See Brief Discourse, pp. 113, 114.

Thus Fionn, Finn, or Fin is the leader of the Fenians, and the originator of the word Fenian itself in its nobler adaptation. It seems, too, that after the death of their great leader, the Fenians abused their privileges, and became the oppressors of the country of which they were the appointed guardians. It now only remains to quote some of the verses in which the word Fenian occurs, which is very often applied, sometimes also under the appellation of "Fians," as for instance:

"Let not the Fians hear the tale, Lest idle fears their hearts assail."

In the same poem (" The Lay of the Death of Oscar," "—see Minstrelsy, pp. 105-114), there are these verses: —

pone (the Italian for an old for an artful designing man). The person next to him, with spurred top-boots, has also a bill sticking out of his pocket with these words: "£1400 fined for, etc."

W. Pitt's tempestuous blast carries with it the formidable names of Duncan, Curtis, Howe, Gardiner, Thompson, Trollope, Colpoys, St. Vincent, Seymour, Parker, and Onslow.

It was from Brest, not Boulogne, as I stated, the supposed flotilla was launched. P. A. L.

"CASTRUM ROTHOMAGI" (4th S. i. 53.)-There was a castle near Shrewsbury, now, I believe, no longer in existence, but of which an interesting print is shown in the recently published book, The Garrisons of Shropshire, called after the country of its Norman possessors Caus, from pays de Caux. We must bear in mind the important conquests in that part of the kingdom by the Norman followers of William the Conqueror, whereby the name of Montgomery has retained its place until the present day; and it might be possible some other castle on the Welsh border may have, like Caus, borne a Norman name; for if Rymer be correct, it would be at any rate in those days impossible for the king to travel in one day from Shrewsbury to Rouen.

THOS. E. WINNINGTON. Rothomagus, Rotomagus, or Rhotomagus, is certainly Rouen, the metropolis of Normandy. See Hadrianus Junius, Nomenclator, 8vo, Francf., 1596, p. 537; Laur. Beyerlinck, Magnum Theatrum, fol., Lugd. 1678, tom. iii. p. 250; Rob. Ainsworth, Thesaurus Lingua Latina, ed. Tho. Morell, 4to, 1783; Alex. Keith Johnson, Dict. of Geography, 8vo, 1864.

K. P. D. E.

COSTLY ENTERTAINMENTS (4th S. i. 73.)-I beg respectfully to direct MR. TRENCH's attention to The Princely Pleasures of Kenilworth, which describes the famous entertainment accorded in 1575 to Queen Elizabeth, by Dudley Earl of Leicester; it is reported to have lasted for seventeen days, at a cost to the earl of one thousand pounds per diem, and I find the total computed at about sixty thousand pounds of our present currency. These figures are far in excess of his quotations. A. H.

GERMAN-ENGLISH DICTIONARY (3rd S. xii. 524; 4th S. i. 63.)- Without at all disparaging Ludwig's Dictionary, which our learned friend F. C. H. recommends, I would record my testimony in favour of Hilpert's (2 vols. 4to, 1828-46). I know of nothing equal to it for fulness and accuracy.

JAYDEE.

"THE ALLITERATIVE ROMANCE OF ALEXANDER" (4th S. i. 47.)-Several editions of The Alliterative Romance of Alexander have appeared on the Continent of late years. In 1846 the Literary Society of Stuttgart published a handsome edition in 8vo,

under the editorship of Heinrich Michelant, who has followed the MS., No. 7190, of the Royal (now Imperial) Collection at Paris, and added at the foot of the page a number of various readings from another MS. in the library of the Arsenal. A brief glossary is also appended of the most difficult words, and for the rest the reader is referred to Roquefort's Glossaire de la langue Romane, and Ducange's Thesaurus Media et Infima Latinitatis. Readers who may be chiefly intent on the literary interest awakened by the poem will be somewhat annoyed by the frequent repetitions which impede the current of the story and produce weariness; but on the whole, the editor has rendered a service to the lovers of old French romance by this edition. The next in order of date was published at Frankfort-on-theMain, in 1850, by Dr. Heinrich Weismann, in 2 vols. 12mo. This edition presents the German version of the poem, composed in the second half of the twelfth century by Lamprecht the priest, who declares that he has faithfully adhered to the recital of a French poet, Albert de Besançon ; together with a modern translation in German, historical and linguistic explanations, a complete translation of the pseudo-Callisthenes, and extracts from the Latin, French, English, Persian, and Turkish versions of the romance. Gervinus places Lamprecht's poem in the same rank with the Parzival of Wolfram of Eschenbach. heroic deeds of Alexander the Great became the common property of all nations, and were strangely mixed up in the Middle Ages with home-born great feats and prowess so as to form a whole bearing the distinctive character of each people.

The

Another and later edition which I have seen was printed at Dinan in 1861, and edited by F. Le Court de la Villethassetz and Eugène Talbot, who have chiefly followed the edition of Michelant, but have abridged it in some parts that were tediously lengthened out, and added portions from other sources calculated to render the poem more attractive and interesting. Copious notes are placed at the foot of every page, and a glossary of difficult words and a table of proper names are appended. All these editions are in the library of the Taylor Institution. J. MACRAY.