was put off. Before the second boarding, to make it uneasy for the Colchester, or fright him from boarding them, the Frenchman shod the inner flook of his sheat anchor, and hung it acock-bill over that side on which the Colchester approached them. Upon the Colchester's boarding, this sheat anchor flook ran into the Colchester's bow, and made so great a hole as to sink her, and drown every man and mother's Thus the Colchester was said to have been sunk by a fluke, and it would appear to be the earliest application of the phrase.

son.

J LANDFEAR LUCAS.

Glendora, Hindhead, Surrey.

BUNTINGFORD BELL.-Many at Buntingford will regret "the sound of a voice that is still." According to The Morning Post of 31 May, 1912 :

“It has been decided to discontinue ringing the unique town bell at Buntingford, Herts, which, situated over the gateway of an inn, has for 286 years been rung for divine worship on Sundays, and has been tolled on the occasions of the deaths and funerals of inhabitants during the same period."

Bell-ringing customs are of the most enduring, and one wonders why an observance like that mentioned should be abolished, at the same time as one wonders why it should ever have been begun.

66

ST. SWITHIN.

century. There, on p. 93, the word appears as" visto."

66

Not finding this form in recent dictionaries, I resolved to look for it in those of an earlier date. In Dr. Johnson's sixth edition, printed in 1785, vista "only is given, with quotations from Addison's Italy and Thomson's Spring.' Addison, be it noted, was Burke's favourite author, and Samuel It is therefore strange that he did not follow Johnson one of his most intimate friends. their spelling of the word, which is pure Italian, and frequently employed by Dante. It is also the same in Spanish; but neither in Italian nor Spanish is there a noun "visto," which is a participle in both languages.

N. Bailey, in the sixth edition of his 'New Universal Etymological English Dictionary,' 1776, does not give the word in either form, nor does Thomas Blount in his 'Glossographia Anglicana Nova; or, a Dictionary.' &c., 1707. In Torriano's edition of John Florio's Dictionary. Italian and English,'

revised and corrected by J. D., M.D.," printed in 1688, “vista " appears as a noun in the Italian part, but nowhere is there a hint that it had been adopted into our lan

guage.

66

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the Queen of France, then the Dauphiness, at Versailles: and surely never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision."

A day or two ago I read once more those glowing words quoted in Lord Hugh Cecil's book entitled Conservatism,' which has just appeared. But when I came to this sentence (p. 56), "In the groves of their academy, at the end of every visto, you see nothing but the gallows," I was inclined at first to think that the word italicized was misprinted. On second thoughts, how ever, I resolved to make further inquiry because the author is possessed of great ability, and his book has been edited by four learned gentlemen, whose names are given in the prospectus of the "Home University Library" (Williams & Norgate). Not having a copy of the first edition of Burke's Reflections,' I turned to Dove's beautiful reprint, which bears no date, but was published in the early years of last

66

before a gentleman's house, which stands at the "Vista or Visto (S.), an alley or walk of trees head of it, or a path cut through the trees in a wood, for the advantage of seeing a river, or taking a view of the plains, hills, or country round about." This was printed nine years before Burke's

Reflections'; consequently that great writer was not the first to use the vitiated form of the word "vista," which Addison was one of the first to introduce into our language in the sense defined above. His book, entitled Remarks on Several Parts of Italy,' was published in the year 1701. JOHN T. CURRY.

FATHER CONSTABLE, O.S.B.-Dom David (or Thomas) Benedict Constable is said by Mr. Gillow, in his Bibliographical Dictionary,' to have died in prison at Durham, 11 Dec., 1683; but under date 12 Dec.,

a

ANTONIO DE ULLOA, man of great learning, but specially celebrated for his travels in South America and his unfortunate attempts to take possession of Louisiana for the Spanish Government, spent over a year in England, partly in 1743 and 1744. He arrived as a prisoner, having been captured in Louisburg on board a French ship. His high scientific attainments, his great reputation, and the influence of many prominent persons secured him his freedom and the return of his papers.

Through the friendship of Martin Folkes, the President of the Royal Society, he became a member of that institution, and contributed two papers to its Transactions. I have been unable to discover any references relating to his stay in England. He had so many personal peculiarities that his presence in any assembly passing unnoticed seems extraordinary. He was very small, very inattentive to his personal appearance, and would probably be wearing a costume differing greatly from that of all other persons present. He probably spoke French fluently, but very little English. I should be obliged for any suggestions which would help me to discover some records of his presence in London. WILLIAM BEER.

66

Howard Memorial Library, New Orleans.

JOHN HOUGHTON'S LIST OF PAINTERS.On p. 289 of Edward Edwards's Anecdotes of Painters,' 1808, there is a note relating to Henry Robert Morland which states: This person is probably the same who is mentioned in John Houghton's List of Painters." Can any reader tell me if this list was printed and where a copy can be seen? There does not appear to be one in the British Museum. I should like to have further particulars of John Houghton. JOHN LANE.

The Bodley Head, Vigo Street, W.

WILKES AND THE ACORN.-I have recently seen a statuette of John Wilkes which has not, I believe, been reproduced. He is seated, and holds in his hand an acorn, at which he is squinting. Can any one tell me the significance of the acorn? E. V. LUCAS.

Kingston, Lewes.

BRAND OF POLSTEAD, SUFFOLK.-I should be obliged if I were put in communication, for historical purposes, with the representatives of Mrs. Brand of Polstead, Suffolk, who died in February, 1814 (she was the only sister of Sir Henry Smith, Bart.); and also of Charles Ellice, a kinsman.

DAVID ROSS MCCORD, K.C. Temple Grove, Montreal.

SHAKESPEARE ON THE PAIN OF DEATH.— Will some one or more of your readers help me to an understanding of the logic in the well-known lines from Measure for Measure,' Act III. sc. i. ?— Dar'st thou die? The sense of death is most in apprehension; And the poor beetle, that we tread upon, In corporal sufferance finds a pang as great As when a giant dies.

warm

Shakespeare was probably ignorant of the fact that the physical pain of a blooded animal is infinitely greater than that of an insect, which will take food with a pin through its body; but whatever may have been the state of knowledge of natural history, what bearing has a comparison of the corporal sufferance of a man and an insect on the allegation that death is nearly painless, except mentally?

Junior Carlton Club.

EDWARD CUTLER.

SIR JOSCELINE BLOUNT.-He is said to

have been M.P. for Beeralston in 1597-8 (Parl. Return, confirmed by Browne Willis). This small Devonshire borough was trolled at that period by the Blounts, Lords Mountjoy. In the Parliament preceding

con

that of 1597 one of its members was the

well-known Sir Charles Blount, afterwards Lord Deputy of Ireland and Earl of Devonshire. It is thus reasonable to assume that Sir Josceline was of the same family. But so far I have failed to discover any further trace of his existence. He left no will in P.C.C.; is not mentioned in the State Papers, nor in any Calendar of Knights; and no pedigree of the Blounts that I have seen names him. Is it probable that the Parliamentary Return has erred in his Christian name ? W. D. PINK,

GREAT GLEMHAM, CO. SUFFOLK. - With reference to the sale, recently announced, of the above-named estate, belonging to the Marchioness of Graham, I should be glad to know whether the house on that property, if of ancient date, is the one which was formerly the home of the Glemham family (now extinct), and, among others, of Sir Henry Glemham (tempore Charles I.) who married Anne, eldest daughter of the first Earl of Dorset, and was the father of the distinguished Cavalier general Sir Richard Glemham. Any information about these Glemhams and their property would be very welcome. LAC.

AUTHOR WANTED.-Can any reader inform me of the authorship of the following: Heu quanto minus est cum reliquis versari quam tui meminisse " ? R. C.

66

H.M.S. Ajax at the Battle of the Nile. She was first cousin to Percy Bysshe Shelley the poet, whose mother, Lady Shelley, was the daughter of Charles Pilfold of Effingham, in Surrey.

It is understood that the Pilfolds are related to Richard Penderil, who hid with his Majesty King Charles II. in an oak tree at Boscobel. F. W. R. GARNETT. Wellington Club, S. W.

COPPER MINE IN DEVONSHIRE.-Will some one tell me why a copper mine (now abandoned) in the parish of Buckland Monachorum, near Tavistock, is called "Virtuous Lady Mine"? Answers can be sent to me direct. CONSTANCE RUSSELL. Swallowfield Park, Reading.

DELAFIELD ARMS. What Delafield bore the arms Sable, cross patee or? J. Edmondson, in his 'Complete Body of Heraldry, ascribes them to Delafield of Lancashire; and Burke, in his 'General Armory,' follows him

The Germans in Greek

Are sadly to seek ;

Not five in five score,
But ninety-five more ;
All, save only Hermann,
And Hermann's a German,

seems to be taken from Anth. Pal.,' xi. 235 Καὶ τόδε Δημοδόκου Χῖοι κακόι ουχ ὁ μὲν, ὅς δ' ου. πάντες, πλὴν Προκλέους· καὶ Προκλέης δὲ Χίος. But this Greek epigram I have seen quoted with Φωκυλιδέω for Δημοδόκου, with Λέριοι for Xiou, and with Λέριος for δὲ Χίος.

What is the correct form? What is known of Demodocus and Phocylides ?

JOHN B. WAINEWRIGHT.

[Demodocus of Leros appropriated and adopted the epigram of Phocylides. Phocylides of Miletus -B.C. 560-wrote epic poems, elegies, and also yrŵual, i.e., didactic epigrams. Eighteen fragments of his work remain to us, included in the Greek Anthology. Of Demodocus four epigrams remain; of these a second, directed against the Cilicians, is, like the one quoted above, an adapta: tion from Phocylides-ride Jacobs's edition of Brunck's Analecta,' vol. i. 54, vi. 196; vol. ii. 56, viii. 176.]

PILFOLD OF EFFINGHAM. Can any of the readers of N. & Q. kindly inform me where a copy of the Pilfold pedigree may be inspected? My maternal grandmother, Lady Laurie, was Miss Julia Pilfold, the daughter of Capt. Alexander Pilfold, 67th Hampshire Regiment, and the granddaughter of Capt. Pilfold, R.N., who commanded

couped sa. The spelling of the name as Delafield indicates that the family who used these arms existed as late at least as the seventeenth century, and perhaps also in the eighteenth century; yet a fairly exhaustive study of printed and original records at the College of Arms fails to bring to light the British Museum, the Record Office, and any person or family of the name Delafield living in Lancashire. Τo be sure, there were the De Ellesfields of Lancashire, and sometimes the spelling of their name was corrupted to Dellesfield and even Dellefielde; but they always used the arms so characteristic of their family, either vaire or barry wavy, and generally argent and sable. Papworth's 'Alphabetical Dictionary repeats from Edmondson and Burke.

There were arms borne by an unknown "de la Felde" which person of the name appear in several of the Harleian MSS.; Burke they are Sable, a cross patonce or. ascribes the crest an ox's foot couped sa. to both this ancient De la Felde and to the Delafield of Lancashire. In mysterious this he perhaps follows Alexander Deuchar. But this is another mystery. Where did this crest come from? On what authority do both Deuchar and Burke base their statements ? The search made for me of the Harleian MSS. does not reveal it. Any information anent these matters will be interesting and greatly appreciated.

New York City.

JOHN ROSS DELAFIELD.

THE COOPERS AND Being engaged on an illustrated work dealing with the "incomparable Samuel Cooper (acknowledged to be the greatest English miniature painter), his brother Alexander, and uncle John Hoskins, &c., I should be greatly obliged if owners of originals by these artists would very kindly favour me with particulars of authenticated examples in their possession, or known to them, with a view to the same being in cluded in my lists. A full description with the provenance of the miniature, and, where practicable, a sight of the original, would be especially esteemed by

J. J. FOSTER, Author of 'Miniature Painters, British and Foreign,' &c.

Aldwick, Sutton, Surrey.

MILTON PORTRAIT BY SAMUEL COOPER. In Allan Cunningham's 'Lives of the Most Eminent British Painters' mention is made of an original picture of Milton, which had belonged to Deborah, the poet's daughter, had passed into the family of Sir William Davenant, and was found in the possession of a furniture broker by a dealer in pictures, who sold it to Sir Joshua Reynolds for one hundred guineas. It was painted by Samuel Cooper, the friend and companion of Milton, in 1653. Doubts were raised and suspicion expressed concerning the descent of this portrait. Sir Joshua was satisfied of its authenticity, and defended it successfully in The Gentleman's Magazine. Can any reader of N. & Q.' inform me as to the present whereabouts of this painting? M. L. A.

SIR THOMAS BROWNE: QUOTATION FROM PTOLEMY.-In Browne's Vulgar Errors,' book i. chap. vii., is a reference to a statement by Ptolemy to the effect that the sun is bigger than the earth. I have not been able to find the passage in the geographical or astronomical works of Claudius Ptolemy, and should be glad to be referred to it.

M. LETTS.

GLOUCESTER HOUSE, IN SOUTH LAMBETH. Is there any authentic record of the residence of a Duke of Gloucester near the "Larkhall Tavern " at South Lambeth? There is a house known as Gloucester House in Larkhall Rise. J. A.

"YORKER " AT BRIDGE. Can any one tell me what is the derivation or origin for this word, applied to a hand which does not include a ten of any suit? WALTER GILBEY.

2. WILLIAM STAMPE, D.D., was a distinguished divine, and lived in the seventeenth century. I believe he held the office of domestic chaplain to some royal personage. Where can I obtain any information concerning him ? What was his mother's maiden name, and who were her parents? R. VAUGHAN GOWER.

SILK WEAVERS' COMPANY, DUBLIN.-Do any records of this company exist, and would they give dates of birth and biographical details about the members? I want to trace a citizen of Dublin.

CLARIORES E TENEBRIS.

Replies.

BRODRIBB OF SOMERSET : SIR HENRY IRVING.

(11 S. v. 71, 251, 450.)

HAVING in my former articles completed the inscriptions on the tombstones at Clutton, I now give those from the neighbouring village of High Littleton :

1. In Memory of Robert Brodribb | who died Jan 17th 1736 | Aged 64 years.

Also Sarah his wife who died Jan 6th 1732 | Aged 62 years.

Also Ann Abney, daughter of the said Robert & Sarah Brodribb who died Nov 13th 1770 | Aged 70 years.

Also Joseph, son of Robert & | Sarah Brodribb who died Nov 24th 1732 | Aged 37 years. Also James their son who died Jan 3rd 1729 | Aged 33 years.

Also Richard their son | who died Jan 6th 1759 Aged 55 years.

2. On another stone.-Also Joseph Brodribb, son of the aforesaid Joseph Brodribb | who died May 11th 1789 | Aged 69 years.

Also Sarah his wife | who died Nov 3rd 1784 | Aged 67 years.

Also Joseph, son of the aforesaid | Joseph & Sarah Brodribb | who died Nov 18th 1799. | Aged 50 years.

1781 | Aged 29 years. Also Richard their son who died Dec 10th

Also Thomas their son who died March 18th 1815. Aged 60 years.