The result justified my presentiment; for not only had the original text of Sir Edward Goschen's assurance disappeared, but no positive confirmation of it could be supplied, by the generous exertions of officials and diplomatists conversant with the incident. The details of these semi-official and private communications obviously cannot and need not be published here.* It is enough to suggest that they seem to support the assumption that French historians were authoritatively informed in April, 1915, that a Scrap of Paper" was the actual phrase used by the German Chancellor himself. At the same time this opinion was qualified in some quarters by the important reservation that the conversation between the two diplomatists might have been carried on now and then in German. 66 with a few further particulars. In the first place, attention may be called to a discussion of the problem which will be of special interest to correspondents of N. and Q. The inquiry instituted by French historians in January, 1915, gave rise to an illuminating correspondence in L'Intermédiaire des Chercheurs et Curieux between February and November, 1915. In the course of this discussion the authority of the late Sir Edward Goschen was again invoked by a French correspondent in October, 1915, and the substance of the reply received was published in the Intermédiaire of Nov. 10, 1915. It was to the effect that during the memorable interview of August 4, 1914, the German Ambassador spoke in English; and although on other occasions the diplomatic conversations at Berlin were carried on wholly or partly in French, German or English, on that occasion English was spoken exclusively. It may be assumed that Sir Edward Gos his French correspondent; but in any case the French version of it is printed in a work of reference which will be found on the shelves of the British Museum Reading Room. Evidence was also forthcoming from various quarters which suggested a German original for the phrase in question, for which, it was alleged, Sirchen's original letter is in the possession of Edward Goschen had supplied an English version. The most important evidence in support of this theory will be found in a letter from Mr. Valentine Williams, printed in The Times of May 29, 1924, and by a curious coincidence, dated (abroad) a day earlier than my own letter on the same subject. Mr. Valentine Williams describes an interesting interview with Sir Edward Goschen, to whom he was well known, soon after the latter's return from Berlin. From this we learn that the conversation in question was in German, and that the actual phrase used by the German Chancellor was ein Stückchen Papier, which in his official dispatch the British Ambassador rendered as a Scrap of Paper." This felicitous phrase, we are told, might have been inspired by his subconscious recollection of Sardou's play, produced in England under that title; in a private performance of which he had once taken part. In a further letter to The Times (June 10, 1924), Mr. Valentine Williams insisted that his recollection of the above conversation was perfectly clear, and he pointedly referred to the lapse of time between his own conversation with Sir Edward Goschen and the latter's statement communicated to French historians in January, 1915. I am now able to supplement the correspondence in The Times of May-July, 1924, The purport of some of them is given in my letter in The Times of 10 June, 1924. You need Further supplementary evidence can now be produced. A distinguished official (now unhappily deceased), having observed to Sir Edward Goschen that he was puzzled as to the exact German equivalent of "a Scrap of Paper," the latter replied, not trouble about that, as our conversation was in English." Again an ex-Ambassador was informed, on the same authority, that the actual words used by the German Chancellor were a piece of paper." Nevertheless, as late as 1922, the late Sir Edward Goschen seems to have preserved a lively recollection of the accepted phrase, which he wrote as a Scrap of Paper " for the information of a friend. Finally we have the recent official statement in a footnote to the chapter on the Outbreak of the War,' ir vol. x. of British Documents on the Origins of the War' (1898-1914), that a question having arisen as to the language used by the German Chancellor on this occasion, the point had been referred to a member of the British Embassy staff, then in Berlin, who replied that he had been informed by the Ambassador that the Chancellor spoke in English. The position seems to be that the late Sir Edward Goschen's written statements on the subject have now been tried The out and consistently imply the actual use of the English version of the famous phrase, though they do not definitely say so. verbal statements are obviously privileged, while in any case statements made for the purpose of satisfying a personal curiosity must always be treated with some reserve. Doubtless, however, the linguistic aspect of the problem could be explored still further on the German side. Two years ago I received interesting suggestions on this point from Mr. Austin Harrison and other correspondents regarding the significance of the respective national equivalents of the spoken phrase. SER ERVICE OF HOLDING HIS MAJESTY'S HEAD.-The following will be found at P.R.O., C.O. 53/2, Mar. 10, 1831: Among the Records in the Tower of London is one to the following, effect:-"King John gave several lands at Kipperton and Atterton, in Kent, to Solomon Atlefield, to be held by this service, that as often as the King should please to cross the sea, the said Solomon, or his heirs, should be obliged to go with him, to hold his Majesty's head, if there be occasion for it." That is, should his Majesty be sea-sick. And it appeared by the record, that this same office of head-holding was accordingly performed afterwards in the reign of Edward I. Solomon alias Salamon De Chanus alias de Chanuz, Kent. Inq. made at La Feld in Tanet 13 Feb. 31 Edw. I. Coperland and Atterton. suage, &c. A capital mes 132a. arable and 3d. assised rent, held of the King in Chief by service of holding the King's head whenever he shall cross to parts beyond the Sea.-Chan. Inq. P.M. Edw. I. File 108 (4). Readers' Queries CUT MILL.-There is a place Cutt Mill in Oxfordshire which, according to the MS. Catalogue of Merton College Deeds, appears in 1420 as Cuttydmylle and in 1451 as Cuttydemyll. There is also a lost Cutmill in St. Johns in Bedwardine, in Worcestershire, for which we have forms Cuttemulle in 1408, Cuttemylle in 1535 and Cottes or Cutt Myll in 1544, and a Cutmill in Lindridge for which no early forms have been found. It would seem from these that there of mill, of which the first element was the was a common name for a particular type past participle of the verb “ to cut." Could any of your readers suggest what the interpretation of such a name might be? A. MAWER. PYE MILL. There is in Worcestershire a Pye Mill for which the only form is a fourteenth century Peomulne. The meaning is quite obscure. There is an Old English word peo, pie meaning an insect or parasite, but it is difficult to see how much an element could be found in a mill-name unless it is a name of the nick-name variety. Any parallels or explanation of this name would be welcome. A. MAWER. PORTRAITS OF JAMES BOSWELL. — any of the following queries concerning porI shall be very grateful for answers to traits of James Boswell: 1. Portrait,James Boswell, 1763,' by Nathaniel Hone, R.A., exhibited as No. 1020 of the New Gallery (Guelph) Exhibiition, 1891, Jeffrey Whitehead owner (A. Graves, A Century of Loan Exhibitions,' ii. 553). So far as I know, this has never been reproduced. Where is it now? Can any one put me in touch with Mr. Whitehead or his family? South Kensington Museum, London (n. d.), vol. v., plate 5, and in R. Ingpen's edition of the Life of Johnson,' ii. 667. There is also a woodcut from it, much idealized, in the National Illustrated Library edition of the Life' (1851), iii. 50. When exhibited at South Kensington it belonged to Lewis Pocock, Esq. His collection of Johnsoniana was sold by Sotheby in 1875, when the picture fetched ten guineas. In 1884 it was again exhibited in the Edinburgh Loan Exhibition of Scottish National Portraits, this time as the property of Ralph Dundas, Esq. (Graves, op. cit. iii. 1227). Where is it now? Can any one put me in touch with Mr. Dundas or his family? 4. Bozzy,' caricature by Sir Thomas Lawrence, reproduced by lithography as the frontispiece to the fourth volume of Croker's first edition of the Life of Johnson,' 1831. An engraving of the same by F. Holl appears on the extra-engraved title-page of Croker's third edition (one vol.), 1848 and later. (See C. B. Tinker's Young Boswell,' p. 110.) Where is the original sketch? Was it anywhere reproduced before 1831? 66 a 5. Full-length, profile, clasping a stick with both hands behind the back. Apparently first reproduced as the frontispiece to vol. x. of Croker's second edition of the 'Life of Johnson,' 1835, where it is described as engraved by E. Finden from sketch by the late George Langton, Esq." (This may be conveniently found in Ingpen's edition of the Life,' i. 247, while another engraving of the same by W. T. Green appears in the front of Croker's one volume edition and in Tinker's Young Boswell,' | p. 126.) Where is the original sketch? Had it been reproduced before 1835? I can find no mention of a professional artist named George Langton, and suspect that he was the eldest son of Bennet Langton, Johnson's friend. Can anyone bring evidence to confirm this attribution? If it is correct, the original sketch may still be at Langton Hall, Spilsby, Lincolnshire, the ancestral home of the Langtons. 6. Portrait by Raeburn, "" after Reynolds," exhibited 1883 as No. 25 of an exhibition at Huddersfield, R. Rawlinson, owner (Graves, op. cit., v. 2281). Where is it now? Has it ever been reproduced? Yale University. FREDERICK A. POTTLE. MOUNTAIN ASH BERRIES.-In his Flora Suecica,' when writing on the Mountain Ash, Linnaeus makes the following remark: Baccæ inserviant pro laquearibus [sic] aucupum. And Ascherson and Graebner also write that it is well known that the fruits are used for catching birds. No details are given in either case. Can any reader inform me of the system employed? It hardly seems to imply that the berries were used merely for bait, but rather such possibly as the making of bird-lime. that they subserved some other purpose, Cambridge. COETHE'S F. H. H. GUILLEMARD. 'FAUST': MARGARET'S FATE.-The First Part of Goethe's 6 Faust shows at the end Margaret in She prison refusing to fly with her lover. Heaven to rescue her. Mephistopheles hursees a vision of the executioner and calls on ries Faust away, and the last words are : — Meph. She is judged!, Voice (from above). She is saved! Voice (from within, dying away). Henry! Is. there any generally accepted conclusion as to the meaning of these few words? Mephistopheles and Faust escape; Margaret is left, but is it for the executioner? The voice dying away might hint (1) that she is left in a swoon with her fate undecided as being outside the play; (2) that she dies on the spot and so is saved, or even utters words faintly as she is carried off to Heaven; (3) that the voice is faint because the door is closed or closing as the others go out. Does the word "judged condemned". gerichtet "imply the triumph of Mephistopheles in her execution, and the voice from above only refer to the saving of her soul? I know that she appears in Part II. as one of the sanctified choir, but I am much more interested in Part I. The latest commentator (Prof. W. H. van der Smissen) says, She perishes on earth as a victim of the permitted experiment of Mephistopheles." This is vague, though he points out that in the Ur-Faust,' the original draft discovered after Goethe's death. the words "She is saved" do not occur. Is there any explanation by Goethe himself on the point, or any traditional view held in acting the scene? I have not seen either the play or the opera. V. R. w THE ODOUR OF FEAR. Why have animals a tendency to attack those who are afraid of them? Linda Thorne, the nature-loving student, who is the heroine of Gene Stratton Porter's book, Her Father's Daughter,' makes the following statement: If you are afraid your system throws off formic acid, and the animals need only the suspicion of a scent of it to make them ready to fight. Any animal you encounter, even bee, recognises it. A man is perfectly safe in going to the forest, or the desert, or anywhere he chooses, among any kind of animals, if he has sufficient self-control so that no odour of fear emanates from him. а Formic acid exists in perspiration and in several other secretions of the human body. But I should be glad to know whether it really is the case that the undoubted tendency of an animal to attack one who is afraid of it is due to the formic acid thrown off by the system at such a time. JAS. M. J. FLETCHER. ARMS OF GLASTONBURY ABBEY.— The following coats are recorded: a. Vert, a cross botonnée argent, on a canton of the last the Virgin Mary and Child proper. (Burke, General Armoury.') b. Vert, a cross botonnée argent, in the dexter chief quarter the Virgin Mary holding the Infant in her dexter arm and in the sinister a sceptre all or, in each of the other quarters a ducal crown of the last. (Burke, General Armoury.') C. Vert, a cross treflée (or flory) argent between four open crowns or, in a canton of the second the Blessed Virgin holding the Holy Child proper. (Woodward, 'Ecclesiastical Heraldry.") Which coat is considered to be of general acceptance? G. KENNETH STRUGNELL. ST. THOMAS APOSTLE.-Were any arms assigned to this Saint by the medieval Heralds? G. KENNETH STRUGNELL. GEN YENERAL SLESSOR, GOVERNOR OF OPORTO c. 1780. He married Harriet, 7th dau. of John Bristow, of Quidenham Hall, Norfolk. (Burke's Landed Gentry,' 5th edn., s.n. Bristow, of Broxmore Park, Wilts.) Was he John Slessor, father of William, who was b. in Portugal on Oct. 29, 1778? One John Slessor, Ensign h.p. 123rd Foot (disbanded in 1763), appears in the Army List for 1801. Any particulars regarding this officer will be welcome. V. H. THE CUTTER.'-Published by J. Carpenter, Bond Street, 1808, this is a humorous little work" in five lectures upon the Art and Practice of cutting Friends, Acquaintances and Relations." It has illustrations (coloured aquatints) by J. A. Atkinson and the frontispiece consists of a picture of a buck " of the Regency period in a blue coat' and cocked hat. Can any readers say whether this is an actual portrait of one of the dandies of the period? Also who was the author of the book, and is it a skit upon the manners and customs of any known persons or merely a jeu d'esprit. A. P. C. JOHN MCNABB.The City Biography, 1800, has the names and origin of 164 prominent city men. Is John McNabb, shipowner, amongst them? If so, may I have the gist of the note upon him? A copy of the book is said to be in the London Library. One may be in the Guildhall Library. BOURNEMOUTH. TRAMPLEASURE.-Can any one give me the original form, or suggest the derivation, of the family-name Trampleasure, found in Devonshire and/or Cornwall, and traditionally Norman ? PEREGRINE HAWK. HA ARDD: DOLBEN.-Can any reader inform me of the traditional male descent of the brothers Nefydd and Gryffdd Hardd, one of whom founded the sixth Noble Tribe of Wales? Were they of Brythonic descent, as seems most likely or of Goidelic, as is the case of those families claiming descent from Gwrthyrn Gurthenau, Vortigern of the Adverse Lips"? Also, what is the male descent of the ancient Welsh family of Dolben, and is its origin Brythonic or Goidelic? only for some guide as to race in both these I do not seek for lengthy pedigrees, but cases; it is the racial question in which I am interested, and if anyone can help me to this information-which I am very desirous of obtaining-I shall be truly grateful. M. M. B. AUTHOR WANTED.-Could anyone tell me the name of the author of a book called Travels in England,' from which the following passage is taken: " The art of lordliness, ling palace, is mainly an affair of trees. It as expressed in one's dwelling place or dwelmatters little whether your house be large or small, beautiful or ugly, so long as you surround it with lofty vestibules of green leaves." GEORGINA MASE. Replies. PETER DRELINCOURT, DEAN OF ARMAGH: MARY DRELINCOURT As Mrs. (cli. 261). Drelincourt was numbered amongst Swift's friends her maiden name is a subject of some literary interest. It may be well, therefore, to place on record such facts in connection with the question as are known to me. According to Archdeacon Thomas (Diocese of St. Asaph,' ed. 1911, iii. 234), Mrs. Drelincourt was the daughter or niece of John Vesey, Archbishop of Tuam, and from the disposition of her property made by the Drelincourts' only child, Lady Primrose, Mrs. Drelincourt would appear to have been a daughter of that prelate, Archbishop Vesey was twice married, and according to Burke ( Peerage under De Vesci '), he had by his first wife a son Thomas and a daughter Mary, who married in 1682 Sir Robert, Staples of Lisson, and by his second wife five sons, Agmondisham, John, William, George, and Muschamp, and five daughters, Elizabeth, Leonora, Elizabeth, Catherine and Anne. But this list cannot be relied on as to either the number or order of his children, for from other sources it appears that he had seven sons, Thomas b. 1673, Agmondisham, Denny b 1677, William b. 1678, Muschamp b. 1678, John b. 1681, and George b. 1682. That Mrs. Drelincourt could have been the widow of Sir Robert Staples seems impossible, from the fact that Sir Robert did not die until 1714 and that Lady Primrose was able to discuss the conduct of a non-juror with Swift in 1727 (Swift's Correspondence iii. 408), and if Mrs. Drelincourt was daughter of Archbishop Vesey, the only supposition seems to be that the Archbishop had a second daughter called Mary. It is right to add, however, that Drelincourt was in 1701 a visitor to Lisson (Brit. Mus., Add. MISS. 28886 f. 392), and that in 1717 two sons of Sir Robert Staples witnessed Drelincourt's will. According to Mr. Leslie (Armagh Clergy,' p. 219). Sir Robert had only one surviving daughter, who married another of Swift's friends, Archdeacon Theodore Morris. F. ELRINGTON BALL. a THE OLDEST SCHOOLS IN ENGLAND (clii. 47). SIR WILLIAM BULL, in compiling his list of schools, must make up his mind whether he does or does not assume the continuous identity of schools refounded in the sixteenth century. If he does, the number will be enormously increased; for cathedrals and religious houses had their schools as a matter of course, and the Tudors merely gave back with one hand a part of the spoil seized by the other. Thus Westminster, though extolling Elizabeth as foundress, is presumably as much entitled to go back to the Confessor for its origin as Hereford Cathedral School to 1381. If, on the other hand, he is dealing with the existing constitutions of schools, how comes Boston to be dated 1327 instead of 1554 ? Wykehamist, I delighted to maintain the pre-eminence of Winchester as the oldest public school, but my brothers, who went to Westminster, naturally adopted the other Your correspondent seems to reckoning. hesitate between the two. As a |