Saunders wife of the above | who died June 6th 1839 | aged 69 years. 52. John Salter who died March 31 1797 | in the 70th Year of his age. 53. An upright stone, top broken off, and nothing legible. 54. Mrs. Mary Ann Little | of Great Russell Strt. London who died | January 30th 1833 in the 31st year of her age | Also of Love Saunders | Aunt of the above M. A. Little who died May 28th 1853 | aged 87 years. 55. Mr. Cooper Dawson who departed this Life | the 6 of June 1820 | aged 54. 56. This stone is of a very perishable kind, and most of the inscription has peeled off; below is the remaining portion : A DAILY TELEGRAPH' JUBILEE: MR. JOHN MERRY LE SAGE.-On the 29th of June, 1855, the Newspaper Stamp Act having been passed on the 15th of the month, the first number of The Daily Telegraph and Courier appeared. It was published at twopence, and, consisting of only four pages, it promised to be shortlived; but in September of the same year it passed into the possession of the Lawson family, and on the 17th of the same month they, by a bold stroke, reduced the price to one penny. Thus it has the honour to be the first daily paper to be issued in London at that price. The duty on paper was then 11d. each pound, and so continued until its repeal on the 1st of October, 1861. The second portion of the title, and Courier, was dropped on October 28th, 1856. The object of this note is to record the completion of Mr. John Merry Le Sage's fifty years' service on the editorial staff of The Daily Telegraph, a fact which, we think, may be regarded as unique in the history of the daily press, though instances have been known of such jubilees in connexion with the weekly press-a notable one being that of William Chambers, who for fifty years both edited and published the journal he founded. The Hon. Harry Lawson, M.P., in the absence of his father, Lord Burnham, presided at the banquet given to Mr. Le Sage on Saturday, the 21st of June-at which the entire editorial staff was present-and referred with just pride to the history of the great journal, which he evidently regards with a personal affection. He said he "believes in a newspaper having a soul and a mind which was something higher than, and different from, the aggregate of all the intelligencesand all the feelings of those who composed them." We join with Mr. Le Sage's friendsand he is the friend of all who know him -in hearty congratulations. Although he indicated that he should not remain with his comrades much longer, we trust he has many happy years before him. In his speech of thanks he at once revealed the secret of his success. Being asked by a young member of the staff to tell him something about the "dark and dull days when he commenced work on The Daily Telegraph, he replied that there never were any dark and dull days on The Daily Telegraph.” JOHN COLLINS FRANCIS. AN AMBIGUOUS POSSESSIVE CASE.-For some time I have been watching the growing use of a possessive case which conveys a meaning very different from what is in the mind of the speaker or writer. As I cannot find that this matter has been noticed in recent books such as 'The King's English" (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1906), I should be pleased to see it submitted to the judgment of the readers of N. & Q.' 66 If I say, for instance, "Peter is Alfred's friend," or Peter is the friend of Alfred," every one will understand that the two are united in the bonds of amity. But if I were to say "Peter is a friend of Alfred's," the hearer, with little consideration, would detect an ambiguity in the phrase. "Alfred's" what? he would ask. "Friend"? If so, it might be that Peter, being the friend of Alfred's friend, was Alfred's bitter enemy, which is a state of things that had never entered my mind. I think that this misleading possessive is almost unknown amongst our old writers, who were saved from it by their acquaintance patentee's son. Charles I. revived it in the person with ancient and modern languages, in of a brother of the first baronet's.' which such a form of speech has no place. This queer possessive suggests a number of Coming to modern times, I find that Charles questions which I leave to the consideration Lamb is one of the earliest offenders. In of the reader, not one of which would have his short story entitled 'Cupid's Revenge' arisen if the simple statement had been he says:made that the baronetcy was revived" in the person of the first baronet's brother." "This foible of the duke's, so long as no evil resulted from it, was passed over by his courtiers as a piece of harmless frenzy." A little further on we read : "If he would, however, sacrifice a woman's character to please an unjust humour of the duke's," &c. If Lamb had remembered his Latin grammar, he would not have written such "Boeotian nonsense as "this foible of the duke's [foible], or an unjust humour of the duke's [unjust humour]." I am pleased that this charming author does not speak of this son of the duke's," for, in that case, he would have been speaking, not of the duke's son, but of the duke's grandson. This possessive case has been much used in conversation, but it is now appearing in One cannot the works of notable writers. say it is grammatically wrong, like the word italicized in the following sentence : "As a philosopher he [Macaulay] had only two thoughts; and neither of them are correct."-Mr. G. K. Chesterton's The Victorian Age in Literature,' p. 32. If Mr. Chesterton had written "Both of them are untrue," his readers would not have found fault with his English, however much they might have dissented from his estimate of Macaulay's philosophy. On pp. 112-13 of the volume just mentioned there is a striking example of the misleading possessive which I am discussing : "It can be most clearly seen in that sister of Charlotte Brontë's, who has achieved the real feat of remaining as a great woman rather than a great writer." The words "that sister of Charlotte Brontë's are equivalent to "that sister of the sister of Charlotte Brontë." Charlotte had two sisters, Ann and Emily, and as we read on, we gather that the reference is to the latter. How much more lucid the author would have been had he said: "It can be most clearly seen in Charlotte Brontë's sister Emily." Another popular writer, Mr. Maurice Hewlett, in his romance entitled Open Country' (Macmillan & Co., 1912), supplies this strange information on p. 10, where he says: "There had been a Mauleverer creation by that Sovereign [James I.]; but it expired with the Wigan. [For many old names of apples see the General Index to the Tenth Series.] OLIVER GOLDSMITH'S 'DESERTED VILLAGE.'-Few lines are better known than the couplet, The chest contriv'd a double debt to pay, A bed by night, a chest of drawers by day. It may be suggestive of an origin, and is certainly worth noting as a coincidence, that in The Satires of Juvenal Paraphrastically Imitated, and adapted to the Times. With a Preface. London. Printed for J. Ridley, St. James's Street, MDCCLXIII.," whereof a large portion is directed against the Earl of Bute and his countrymen, the following occurs on p. 32:What if in Scotland's wilds we veil'd our head, Where tempests whistle round the sordid bed; Where the Rug's two-fold use we might display, By night a blanket, and a plaid by day. This imitation of Juvenal is attributed in the British Museum Catalogue to Edward Burnaby Greene, apparently because of the initials "E. B. G." at the end of the Preface in the Library copy, which is catalogued as dated 1764. The 1763 edition from which I quote has no initials appended to the Preface; and the notice of Greene in the D.N.B.' omits Juvenal' from its list of his writings, which, however, does not 66 claim to be complete. The probability seems in favour of Greene, as he also paraphrastically" imitated Persius. Goldsmith, according to the authority quoted by the late John Forster in his Life,' was engaged exactly two years from May, 1768, until its publication in May, 1770-in writing The Deserted Village,' and may well have been acquainted with lines which go near to anticipating the "bed by night,' &c., and which he perhaps unconsciously utilized for his own oft-quoted poem. W. B. H. INTER "CASTALIA INTERDICTUS AQUA, DICTUS ET IGNE PIERIO."-The author of this was wanted" by S. W. at 10 S. vi. 149. It was entered on a long list of quotations, part, at least, of which I hoped to run down in the course of some miscel laneous reading. The personal construction of "interdictus" pointed to a post-classical or modern writer, while thought and rhythm suggested that the source was a satirical poem. This proves to be the case. The words ("igne should be igni) are by Menage, and come from 146,147 of Gargilii, Macronis Parasito-sophiste Metamorphosis.' See his Poemata,' ed. 8, Amsterdam, 1687, p. 7, and Epulum Parasiticum,' by Menage, Nicolas Rigault, J. L. Balzac, and others, p. 117, in the Nürnberg edition of 1665. 6 This quotation and another in S. W.'s same query have escaped the Index of volume and series. EDWARD BENSLY. : "SATIRE" PRONUNCIATION OF WORD. -With reference to the remarks in the 'N.E.D.,' the following may not be without interest : Leonard had candour, honesty, good nature M.I., Heston Churchyard, co. Middx. Leonard Crafts, d. 1752, July 10, aged 23. M. CATHEDRAL BELL STOLEN.-The following curious reprint in Berrow's Worcester Journal of 24 May last, from the issue of 30 May, 1863, shows the remarkably lax method of safeguarding cathedral property fifty years ago. Whatever one may think of cathedrals being restored," such an event as the theft of a bell of 5 cwt. can hardly be now anticipated. 66 "The depredations at the Cathedral continue, and the thieves' coolness seems to be on the increase. Last week they stole one of the silver maces used by the vergers, and this week it has been discovered that they have stolen one of the bells. The exact time it was effected is not known, but it must have been between the 10th bells were rung) and the 24th inst., when the loss of March (the Prince's wedding-day, when the was discovered. The missing bell was the second bell of the peal, and weighed about 5 cwt. It is probable that the thieves broke the bell up in the loft, and removed it piecemeal, and a crowbar, with which the heavy work was done, has been found in the belfry." W. H. QUARRELL. PETER PETT, 1610-70 (?).-The 'D.N.B.' in a brief notice of this commissary of the Navy (1647-67) says he is lost sight of after being deprived of his office. Some additional information is afforded by two long letters written by him from "London, June 11, 1669 (Old Style),” and “London, October 11, [16]69." Evidently he still held some office at the Admiralty, as they relate to a claim by the King against the Assurance Chamber at Amsterdam for property lost in the ship The Abraham's Sacrifice. The name of the person addressed is not given, but a reference to your Uncle Povah (not Povey) may help the identification. It is proposed to give him 501. for his zeal and services in the matter. letter commences :— The second "To yours from ye Hague of ye 20th of September, S.N. [? unsigned]. I had sooner writ my thanks for ye favour of it [and] returned an answer, but that I have been ever since my receit ther 'of indispos'd with ye griping of ye Gutts, ye present universal disease of this towne, which I never knew any one to have been perfectly free from." He then asks his correspondent to buy for him certain books on maritime law, sending them by some gentlemen coming to London. My lodging may be heard of at Mr. Benton's, a Taylors next doore to ye Golden Key in Bow Street, Covent Garden." The last of several postscripts reads :— "I had almost forgott to tell you that Captaine Antony Basso (a kinde of Genoese Jew), ye Captaine of ye Abraham's Sacrifice and one Employd by ye Genoese and Dutch to looke after theire claims of ye Cargo of that ship, is lately dead, and so I suppose [the] money ye Dutch have give for his sollicitacion is throwne away.' ALECK ABRAHAMS. "PARABOUES. ."-This word, which I do not find in the dictionaries, occurs in Cornelius Webbe's Glances at Life in City and Suburb,' 1836: 66 Give me my paraboues, my cloak, my umbrella, and let me go, for go I will " (p. 4). The word, of course, means leggings for protection against the mud. It seems to have perished at its birth, though it deserved a better fate. RICHARD H. THORNTON. Queries. "SARCISTECTIS."-In a confirmation of certain pensions to Ramsey Abbey, which is given in the Chartulary (Rolls Series, No. 79, vol. ii. p. 180), occurs the follow WE must request correspondents desiring information on family matters of only private interesting:to affix their names and addresses to their queries, in order that answers may be sent to them direct. DU THISAC OF LORRAINE.-I am anxious to find out something about the family of Du Thisac of Lorraine, whose arms, I have been told, are still to be seen in a stainedglass window in the old château of the Dukes of Lorraine. If any reader who knows this part of Germany can give me a sketch or description of such arms, I shall be very much indebted to him as also to any student of French genealogy or heraldry having access to the British Museum Library who would be kind enough to advise me as to any printed genealogy of the family prior to about 1600. I may say that some members of the family came over to England at the time of the persecution of the Protestants, when the name became anglicized into Tyzack. I know Mr. Grazebrook's book on 'The Henzey, Tyttery, and Tyzack Families.' 66 Statuentes, ut ex his pensionibus, prædicto monasterio Sancti Benedicti in sarcistectis, et luminaribus, et aliis necessariis, sufficienter provideatur." What is the meaning of "sarcistectis " ? F. PURYER WHITE. JEREMY BENTHAM.-Many years ago I bought from a Russian or German bookseller Lencquist's treatise 'De Superstitione Veterum Fennorum Theoretica et Practica,' published at Åbo, in Finland, in the year 1782. Within its pages was a screwed-up piece of paper which had been used as a bookmark, and when I happened one day to unroll this book-mark, I discovered that it was written upon on one side as follows: "Jeremy Bentham, Esq. 10 per cent 2s. 6d. rect. stamp. 5, Jeffries Square." £ s. d. 211 6 0 21 2 7 £190 3 5 Any information will be most gratefully On the other side of the paper was written : received. CHARLES DRURY. 12, Ranmoor Cliffe Road, Sheffield. ANCESTRY WANTED.-Elisha Cox, ensign, an officer of the Revolution, of Weston, Mass., U.S.A. Born about 1721; married, 1741, Anna Warren, dau. of Jonathan Warren of Waterton, Mass., U.S.A.; died 25 June, 1776, of smallpox at Isle aux Noix, on the expedition against Canada, 1776. He was in Col. Gardner's regiment (37th, afterwards the 25th, Regt. of Regular Continental Army). His son, Jonathan, removed to Hatley, Province of Quebec, Canada. I should be glad of information as to his ancestry. W. REAR-ADMIRALS DURELL AND CHARLES HOLMES, 1759.—I should be much obliged if I could be put into communication, for historical purposes, with the representatives of Rear-Admirals Durell and Charles Holmes, who commanded under Admiral Saunders at Quebec in 1759. A clue might be found in the case of the latter from the fact that his monument was erected by his nieces, Mary Stanwix and Lucretia Sowle. DAVID ROSS MCCORD, M.A., K.C. Temple Grove, Montreal. "Enghelmi" (?) “Palladini Avocat AUTOGRAPH LETTERS OF CHARLES I. From the Taylor Papers' I extract the following: "After the death of Queen Charlotte on the 23rd of December, 1818, General Taylor, the executor, sends to the Prince Regent a collection of autograph letters of Charles the First and his Queen and others, which were found in an old box deposited in one of the lower passages of the Queen's palace, into which they appear to have been thrown with some useless lumber." What became of these letters, and where are they now? H. D. ELLIS. "DUBBING": "ILING."-In a manuscript survey of the manor of Penwortham, Lancashire, dated 1570, these words occur several times, as in the following examples: "One firehowse of iij baies and one dubbinge, one barne of iiij baies and one dubbinge. "One firehowse of one bay and too dubbings. "One backehowse whereof the moitie standeth upon the Waste with one ilinge. "One incrochement with a barne of two bayes and two ilings." A "firehouse" is a house with a fireplace, but what is a "dubbing," and what an "iling" ? An experienced land agent thinks that a dubbing" is a pent-house SIR FRANCIS GALTON IN THE SUDAN.— In the notice of the late Sir Francis Galton in the D.N.B.,' Second Supplement, ii. 71 (1912), it is stated that "in 1844 his father died, and he found himself with ELLIS WALKER, TRANSLATOR OF EPICTETUS. Is there any biographical reference to Ellis Walker, M.A., author of The Morals of Epictetus made English in a Poetical Paraphrase,' published in 1716? The effort is dedicated to his "uncle, Mr. Samuel or lean-to structure, the word "down-dub Walker of York," and after the Dedication being still used in parts of Lancashire to are appreciations in verse by Joshua Barnes, express the same thing, and the general Emmanuel College, Cambridge; M. Brian, sense of the word "dub" seems to be "add LL.D. Oxoniensis; Ezekiel Bristed, A.M.; to." He points out that William Clark, of Katherine Hall, in Camiling," or rather "hoiling," (hoil=hole) is Lancashire for bridge; and Will. Pierse, Emmanuel Col"making holes," and he conjectures that the lege. Are these names of notable persons ? word probably means "cellar." I fancy there must be some other meaning. C. W. SUTTON. THOS. RATCLIFFE. [For Joshua Barnes vide' D.N.B.'] Reference Library, Manchester. BELL FAMILY.-Wanted for literary purposes some account of the lives of George ROBERT BURNS'S MATERNAL GREAT- Grey Bell and Thomas Charles Bell, who GRANDFATHER.-Burns told his friend, Ram- wrote papers in the early volumes of Archesay of Ochtertyre, that his maternal great-ologia Eliana. Thos. Chas. Bell's paper is grandfather was 'shot at Aird's Moss " when Richard Cameron was killed. Can any of your readers give the name of this great-grandfather? I am not aware of any printed pedigree of the forbears of Burns's mother, Agnes Broun. F. A. J. 66 on the Roman station of Rutupiæ, near Sandwich, and is dated 1830; Geo. Grey Bell's is on a cave near North Sunderland, and is dated 1845. Each paper is illustrated by a plan. RICHD. WELFORD. Newcastle-upon-Tyne. |