I think it is fair to assume her age to have been at least fifty; this would make the date of her birth circa 1084, which would give circa 1058 to 1063 as the date of birth of Remelin. If Remelin was a de Bolbec, he or she must have been a child of Hugo de Bolbec, of Domesday Book, and born in Normandy. Dugdale's Baronage, I believe, only mentions two sons of Hugo-Hugo and Walterhence my supposition that Remelin may have been a daughter. Remelin may, however, have been a child of William, Earl of Hereford, and if so, must have been a daughter. Is it known who was the Saxon owner of Walton, as it is possible that Remelin may be a Saxon name? Isanything known of Eustace de Sellea, called sometimes de Stellea, and also de Scyellea? Is it possible that this name may be a corruption of St. Liz? Simon de St. Liz, Earl of Northampton, married Matilda, daughter of Earl Waltheof and Judith, niece of William the Conqueror, and by this marriage acquired lands in Huntingdonshire, on which his son, Simon the second, founded the abbey of Saltrey, in 1146, the lands of which joined up to those of Ramsey abbey on the manor of Walton. A William de Selfleia gave a charter to the monks of Saltrey, and some land in Walton manor; he was the son of Simon son of William, whose wife was Emma, probably daughter and sole heiress of Eustace de Walton, which marriage would give Simon and William some rights over the lands of Walton. Who was William the father of Simon? I conjecture Selfleia to be the same name as St. Liz. A Simon Seynlige was a witness to a deed about 1219: Is not this also St. Liz? I shall be very glad to have these points elucidated by some antiquary conversant with this part of Hunts. JAMES HIGGIN. Sunny Hill, Cheetham Hill, Manchester. "ABSALOM AND ACHITOPHEL AND "MACFLECKNOE."-Considering that it was in the year 1681 that, at the express desire of the king, Dryden wrote his memorable satire of Absalom (Duke of Monmouth) and Achitophel (Earl of Shaftesbury), it is a fact of sufficient biographical interest for N. & Q. that the same names are employed to represent the same contemporary characters in the MS. volume of poems which I have attributed to Dr. Donne; for instance, from "Satyr Unmuzzell'd:" "Thou weak Achitophell, to undertake By thy wise councell a fals king to make; But thou and Absalom, thy weaker freind Your damn'd ambition now is att an end." Also that Dryden's Mac-Flecknoe and my author's Mack Fleckno are alike vigorous satires directed against the same rival poet, Shadwell. [* Dr. John Donne, divine and poet, died March 31, 1631.-ED.] Having previously supplied evidence from The Sham Prophecy that the MS. referred to was written before 1678, may we not fairly conclude that Dryden was assisted to poetical pre-eminence by one of his poetical contemporaries? That the author of my volume lived on terms of friendship with Dryden may reasonably be inferred from his admiration of him, and from the harmony of their aims. (See "N. & Q." 4th S. ix. 531; x. 14, 47.) Of the evidences in which the volume abounds that its author was a constant courtier, the following is a fair specimen : "To us that know these things 'tis no such wonder, The Court and devill n'ere live far a sunder." And of the passages which afford strong presumptive evidence that the author could scarcely be other than the king's chaplain are these: : CHAUCER EDITION.-Who was the editor of an edition of Chaucer in my possession, and when was it published? The title is Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and other Poems, published by "John Cumberland, 2, Cumberland Terrace, Camden New Town," " 2 volumes small 12mo, containing 926 pages of print, portrait, and vignette_title pages, and 'twenty-one cuts by J. Mills. Pages 157 to 168 in vol. i. in my copy are in a smaller type than the rest of the book. Besides the poems there is a sketch of English poetry, a life, extensive foot-notes, and a glossary. I can find no notice of this edition in Lowndes or elsewhere. LAUR. B. THOMAS. Baltimore. [* The publisher of the British Theatre (acting plays) edited by George Daniel, 39 vols. 1823-31, 12mo; also of the Minor Theatre, by the same editor, 14 vols., 1831-2, 18mo.-ED.] "FILIA MUNDI: ""FILIA POPULI."-What is the difference between the expressions "Filia mundi" and "Filia populi" occurring in the same parish register about the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the seventeenth century? A. M. R. FROGNALL PRIORY, HAMPSTEAD. About a stone's throw from Hampstead old church there stands what is apparently an Elizabethan mansion in an advanced state of dilapidation and decay. Mr. Howitt, in his Northern Heights of London, 1869, gives a short account of it, commencing at p. 154, in which he states that it is of modern date, having been built by a Mr. Thompson, who died about 1836. The house, especially in its exterior, has every appearance of antiquity; and the quantity of carving which covers the front, and also the porch, which is a very large and singular one, would surely cost an enormous sum, even if it could have been produced at all in this century. In one of the upper windows there is a small quantity of stained glass, with the date 1632. Mr. Howitt says it descended to a niece of Thompson's, who married Bernard Gregory—an individual whose name, if I mistake not, was impaled in your columns a short time back, and who, having neglected to pay the fine to the lord of the manor, the said lord (Sir Thomas Wilson) recovered possession by injunction; but fearing that some heir of Thompson's might appear after he had repaired it, allowed it to go to ruin. It is, however, extremely picturesque in its decay; and I shall be much obliged to any of your correspondents who can give any further account of it, or a reference to any work which mentions it. At the commencement of the drive which leads to it there is a small lodge, over the window of which, almost hidden by the clustering ivy, is a curious carving in stone of a monk playing upon bagpipes. Was this lodge built at the same time as the house, or is it of an earlier date? A. H. BATES. Edgbaston. [An interesting notice of Memory-Corner Thompson will be found in Hone's Every-day Book, i. 80.] HECLA IN ICELAND.-What is the meaning of this name in the old Norwegian language? M. [In Icelandic hekla or hökull denotes a hooded frock or mantle. Hence Heklu-fjall or Hecla-fell, the native name for Mount Hecla, which thus signifies the hooded mountain in allusion to its hood or mantle of snow.-See Cleasby's Icelandic Dictionary, edited by Vigfusson.] JONGLEURS.-Who were the jongleurs? I met with this name in reading, and cannot find it in any dictionary? J. N. ATKINSON. Seven Oaks. [The jongleurs, or players on the jongleur (a sort of guitar or hurdy-gurdy), a class of minstrels who accompanied those troubadours who chose to employ them. During the cruel wars against the Albigenses these knightly bards disappeared, but the hireling jongleurs remained behind. Some of them had visited the East, and learned the art of conjuring; some had no poetry in them, and tried to earn a living by antics and feats of prowess; others introduced whatever they thought would amuse and bring the best harvest: so that eventually the player on the jongleur became the common juggler, or person skilled in sleight of hand. Some information relative to the jongleurs may be collected from Petrarch's curious, but angry description of them, in the Memoirs of his Life, by M. l'Abbé de Sade, iii. 655. Consult also Bp. Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, ed. 1775, vol. i. pp. lxiv. lxxvi.] MEDALLIC.-Where can I find any mention of the medal presented to Captain Ewing, of the Royal Marines, who fought at Bunker's Hill, and on which is inscribed "By order of the King with 300 Pound for the Wound Capt. Ewing Recvd the 17 June 1775," ? And where can I see an engraving, or drawing, of the gold medals and clasps given by Sultan Mahmoud II. to William Spry and William Richardson, of the Royal Sappers and Miners, for services in Turkey during 1836? 3 St. Michael's Place, Brighton. J. W. FLEMING. MESMERISING A COCK.-As a boy I kept fowls, and was taught the following experiment by a schoolfellow :-One boy holding a cock's (or hen's) head down on a board laid on the ground, another slowly drew a line with chalk from the point of the beak along the board, when the bird appeared fascinated, and lay for a short time as if dead. This we called "mesmerising a cock," mesmeric experiments and lectures being then very much in vogue. Will any physiologist kindly explain FILMA. the cause of the effect produced? ARMS OF POVAH, co. Westmoreland and North Lancashire, till 1745.-(?) Two lions passant guardant. (?) What are the proper tinctures? Address X. Y. Z., Post Office, Limerick. RUSWARP OLD HALL, NEAR WHITBY.-Was this hall ever occupied as a private harem, and by whom? Did King Charles II. ever visit it? J. C. TERENCE BELLEW MAC MANUS.-Has any biographical account ever been published of the late Terence Bellew Mac Manus, one of the principal members of the Young Ireland party, and who may, therefore, be considered, as political sentiments influence, either a patriot or a rebel? I am informed he was a Fermanagh man, and resided for some time in Liverpool; also, that he died an exile in the United States, and that his body was brought back to Ireland, and carried through the streets of Dublin with great solemnity to the grave. SOUTHERNWOOD. TROPHY.-An annual assessment of one penny in the pound is made in the City of London for the militia, but it is levied as a "trophy tax." What does this mean? It appears to be founded on an Act (13 & 14 Car. II. cap. 3) dating from Christmas 1661; which I find was for "ordering the forces," and applies to the City in respect of "militia, train-bands, and auxiliaries"; but I do not see that it in any way explains the meaning of the word trophy as used in this sense. A. H. [The word trophy as applied to a tax is from Tpoon, 5,-food, maintenance, board, pay, &c., and as applied to the City of London militia, includes the cost of headquarters, permanent staff, band, arms, and all other incidental expenses. The tax is levied and disbursed by the Court of Lieutenancy for the City, under the authority of various Acts of Parliament; and accounts of the expenditure, we believe, are occasionally printed.] VAIR IN HERALDRY.-When the word vair is used simply, I believe that it is understood that the points of the azure cups are downwards, and the points of the argent cups upwards. How should the five be blazoned when the points of the azure cups are upwards, and those of the argent ones downwards? RESUPINUS. [In vair the points of the argent cups are opposed to each other, whilst the azure are placed base to base. In counter-vair the points of the two colours meet.] "VANITY FAIR."-Can any one tell me the meaning of the signature "Ape" which is found on Mr. Carlo Pellegrini's caricature portraits in Vanity Fair? C. W. S. VIRGINIA. In an account book now before me I find, under the year 1616:"pd to a breefe yt came for the buildinge of a church in Virginia V." Can any of your readers give me the name of the place where the church was to be built? A CHURCHWARDEN. DEATH-WARRANT OF CHARLES I.: THOMAS WAYTE.-Apropos of this subject, might I ask what is known of the family of the Thomas Wayte whose name is attached to this document? I find the name frequently occurring in family deeds; and one of them appears to have been a solicitor of Aston, near Birmingham. The deeds and documents in question, I see, would bring his family in contact with that of Devereux, who sold property in this parish to my ancestors. The name Thomas Wayte first occurs in a deed of January 16, 1547 (1 Edw. VI.); and afterwards in several other deeds of this reign, Philip and Mary, and Elizabeth. To a deed of January 20, 1594, I find the name of Edward Waghte of this parish (doubtless of the same family) attached as a witness. From the phraseology he makes use of in these documents, and other circumstances, I think it is very probable that he might, as the old genealogists would say, "have had issue Edward, who had C. CHATTOCK. issue Thomas." Castle Bromwich. Replies. SCUTARIUS. (4th S. ix. 446.) Ducange, under the word "Scuta," gives as the meaning "Vestis ecclesiastica species"-a kind of ecclesiastical vestment; upon the strength of which I hazard the conjecture, that Scutarius may be synonymous with, or tantamount to, vestiarius, the officer who had charge of the church furniture and vestments. Of scutelle, which may perhaps be a diminutive or derivative of the former, he says: "Cibi ac potus portiones diurnæ quæ presbyteris aliisque clericis erogantur ex ecclesiæ facultatibus"-daily rations of food, which are served out to the priests and other of the clergy from the stores of the church; and its cognate, scutellarius, he defines as "officium in coquina regia, cui scutellarum cura incumbit"—an office in the royal kitchen, having for its duties the care of the provisions: hence the person having charge of this office would be the chief cook, butler, or governor of the commissariat. may But if monasteries held lands by "knight-service," as they certainly did by "knight-fee," we logical sense, as armiger, spatharius, stipendiarius, then take the word in its more strict etymo&c.; since, by this tenure, the monastery would be bound to supply, whenever called upon, a certain complement of men fully equipped for military service: nor need your worthy correspondent ESPEDARE hesitate to accept this view, if he will bear in mind that these persons were not "officers of the monastery "; but simply tenants of, or labourers on, the lands pertaining to it. But in treating of a subject like this, we must not lose sight either of the character of the times, or the rank in the social scale, which monastic establishments held during the middle ages. The times were eminently rude and lawless: the rights of persons or property but little respected; might made right; and "the strong man armed" was ever ready to make prey of the weak and the de fenceless. Hence, to keep either themselves or "their goods in peace," it became a matter of necessity with those who had possessions, to protect them by a stronger arm than that which the law of the land afforded. This only could be secured by means of a force similar to that against which they had to guard, and hence their need of armed retainers, and these in numbers proportionate to the extent of their estates. To these they may have granted tenures of a kind like to those under which they themselves held, and I strongly suspect that this "Andree Ros, alias Paynter," is an individual instance of such a tenure. He, I am inclined to think, held the particular tenement lying in the then newly erected burgh of Paisley by military service, and so might very properly be spoken of as "prædilecto familiari scutario nostro." the Eighth," says Burn (Eccles. Law, iii. 459); and Canon 70 (1603) was only a reinforcement of Lord Cromwell's injunction of 1538, and directed that a book of parchment should be provided in each parish, wherein should be written the day and year of every christening, wedding and burial, and that minister and churchwardens should each have a separate key to the coffer wherein such book should be kept. But the modern church registers, with their printed forms and separate books for baptisms, marriages, and burials, date, I believe, from the important Act of 52 George III. c. 146, "for the better regulating and preserving parish and other registers," which Act, still in the main in force, recites in the preamble that an amendment in the manner of keeping registers "would greatly facilitate the proofs of pedigrees," and be otherwise of great public benefit, and But again it must be remembered, that many enacts that books should be kept "of parchment of the monasteries-the larger ones especially- or durable paper," according to the forms now held in those days very high rank in the social well known; that entries of baptisms and burials scale; and their abbots, a number of whom were should be made by the officiating minister within mitred, had their place amongst the highest dig- seven days; and the said books should be kept by nitaries of the land. And as churchmen have the minister in charge of the parish, safely and never been remarkable for remitting anything securely, in an iron chest, either at his residence which pertained to their dignity or interest, we or in the parish church or chapel. Although a may feel pretty sure that these abbots would take later Act (6 & 7 Will. IV. c. 86) provides that good care to gather about them all those appur- nothing therein should affect the registration of tenances and appointments which were considered baptisms or burials as previously by law estabnecessary, in those days, to the due maintenance lished, the civil registration which that Act of the exalted position which they filled. Among brought into being has, in some respects, superthese a band of military retainers was neither last seded the ecclesiastical. The forms provided are nor least, and such, in consequence, we may be fuller, entries being made of the date of birth of sure they had. Besides all this, as Lords of Par- child, the maiden name of mother, and for deliament, and in the discharge of other duties in-funct persons, of the cause and date of death; cumbent upon them, they had frequently to make long and tedious journeys; and as, from the number of lawless persons infesting the high-roads, travelling in those times was highly dangerous, they could not with any degree of safety have travelled without a competent guard, especially as in their baggage they carried with them much that was calculated to tempt the cupidity of the marauder. From all which considerations I incline to the opinion that there was attached to all the greater monasteries a staff of armed retainers, and that to such is to be assigned the general term Scutarii. That dignified ecclesiastics were accustomed to have such persons about them is patent, from the cases of Thomas à Becket, and Cardinal Wolsey at a later date. EDMUND TEW, M.A., F.R.H.S. Patching Rectory, near Arundel. PARISH REGISTERS GOSSIP. (4th S. ix. passim; x. 13.) "The keeping of a church book for the age of those that should be born and christened in the parish began in the thirtieth year of King Henry and although in many parish registers it is, and long has been, customary to enter the date of birth of a child in the register of the christening, such entry is not of itself held to be sufficient evidence of the age; whereas the Act 3 & 4 Vict. c. 92 enables courts of justice to admit nonparochial registers as evidence of births, baptisms, deaths, burials, and marriages. In the older parochial registers, several of which date almost from the time of their institution (30 Henry VIII.) the entries are often very difficult to decipher, being written with and baptisms and burials are, if my memory does numerous abbreviations, and usually in Latin; not deceive me, usually jumbled together, and occasionally there are memoranda either of matters pertinent to the ceremony performed, or of events of local interest at the time: the breaking out or departure of plague, even of cattleplague. J. Lewis, in his History of Tenet (2nd edit., 1736, p. 149) records that a minister of St. John's, Margate, "left this character" of his predecessor, G. Stevens, "in the parish register,optimus et doctissimus Scotus." And in the register books of friends of my own I have seen notices in the margin, either of the birth, death or marriage rate having been unusually small or great for some years, or in a certain year of persons dying at a more advanced age than usual; or even matters specially noteworthy of individuals, as that such a man had been a Peninsular veteran. And entries of date of birth, not being required by law, must be considered as purely voluntary; and all such marginal memoranda, if sparingly and judiciously made, might hereafter be of great interest and utility, not only to the families concerned, but to the public generally. In the old parchment register of Awre, Gloucestershire, is an entry (of baptism, I think) relating to Sternhold, one of the composers of the original version of the Psalms, which might have escaped notice but for a memorandum by a much later hand. And through some registers may be traced, for many generations, families which, though now reduced and it may be poor, were once wealthy and powerful, and even gave their names to the parish or township in which their representatives still live. Instances of this have come under my own observation, but it would be an impertinence to particularise. The connection, however, where clear and undoubted, might be, with the approval of the families themselves, recorded in the margin of the register in which any entry was made relating to such family, and thus help be given in obtaining proofs of pedigrees. Might not some of the older registers, which have sometimes ceased to have any merely local interest, be advantageously transferred, at least pro tem., to the British Museum, or custody of the Society of Antiquaries, that their contents might be examined and interesting entries published? FRANCIS J. LEACHMAN, M.A. 20, Compton Terrace, Highbury. FERREY'S RECOLLECTIONS OF WELBY PUGIN: ISABEY. (4th S. x. 8.) It strikes me that MR. FERREY is somewhat too harsh in his "Recollections" as regards the late J. B. Isabey, to whom, in half-a-dozen lines, he can apply such terms as the following, little suited to so distinguished an artist, so amiable and truly worthy a man as he was. "This man boasted," says MR. FERREY-" he was at all events a very presuming person Isabey one day bragging of his great intimacy "-"boastingly laid a wager -"the Consul resented the gross liberty by ever afterwards excluding Isabey from his presence." Surely this is gross exaggeration, for, even admitting that this "extraordinary incident was an ill-timed and ill-placed "practical joke," we must likewise in fairness bear in mind the revolutionary period when it happened, and the great intimacy which then really obtained between the Beauharnais family and Isabey. Moreover, Bonaparte himself had the good taste not to resent the offence long, as we shall presently see. If I mistake not, this anecdote is related in J. B. Isabey's own Reminiscences, as also in the Duchess d'Abrantes' Memoirs, and in the Souvenirs of Queen Hortense, by Mme. Bochsa (Mdlle. Georgette Ducrest); but here is a free translation of what Mr. E. J. Delécluze, a copupil of Isabey's at David's, and later a writer in the Débats, says of it, and of his goodness of heart and endearing sociable qualities. In 1796 Isabey, who had already been able to lay some money by, hearing that his friend Gerard (the historical painter), less fortunate, was on the point of parting, after the Exhibition, with his picture-Belisarius-for the paltry sum of 600 francs, offered him at once 3000 francs, and, not content with this first act of generosity, having sold the picture for double that price to Mr. Mayer, the Dutch Envoy, Isabey, with a joyful heart, went and gave his friend the surplus of what he had paid him. "One good turn deserves another," says the old adage; so Gerard, grateful for so much disinterestedness, painted for his benefactor and friend the admirable full-length portrait of Isabey with his little girl (the future Madame Ciceri), which his son, M. Eugène Isabey, the clever marine painter, has given to the State, and which is now in the Louvre. Much about that time, Mme. Campan's large establishment for young ladies was founded at Ecouen; there Mme. de Beauharnais (the future Empress Josephine) hastened to place her daughter Hortense. The drawing department was entrusted to Isabey, and such was the confidence that he had inspired, that several times he had charge of young Eugène Beauharnais and his sister, to accompany them to juvenile parties. In those days General Bonaparte occupied the small hotel in the Rue Chantereine (now Rue de la Victoire), where, in later years, resided the mother of Count Walewski. Every one knows that the acquaintance of General Bonaparte with the séduisante créole Josephine originated in her sending her son Eugène to ask the General to cause the sword of his father (the ill-fated General Beauharnais) to be restored to him. On her expressing her heartfelt thanks for such a boon, Bonaparte "came, saw her and was conquered." Wishing to purchase La Malmaison, belonging to Mdme. Lecoulteux-Molé, it was Isabey whom B. chose as negotiator, which he did to the General's entire satisfaction, and it was shortly after that he painted the admirable portrait of the First Consul with La Malmaison in the background, the engraving of which is now so difficult to be had. Isabey was not only naturally gay, good humoured |