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DE VERE, EARL OF OXFORD: BATTLE OF RADCOT BRIDGE. The author of the Marriage of Thame and Isis describes the manner in which Robert De Vere, the favourite of Richard II., escaped from the field of battle:

"Hic Verus, notissimus apro,
Dum dare terga negat virtus, et tendere contrà
Non sinit invicta rectrix prudentia mentis;
Undique dum resonat repetitis ictibus umbo,
Tinnituque strepit circum sua tempora cassis,
Se dedit in fluvium; fluvius lætatus et illo
Hospite, suscepit salvum, salvumque remisit."

(Quoted in Camden's Britannia, vol. i. p. 285.) Froissart relates that, when De Vere was informed that the army of the Barons was approaching from London to attack him, he caused all the bridges over the Isis to be broken down, to prevent their crossing; but that, owing to the extreme dryness of the season, a ford was found by which they passed through, horse and foot, and easily defeated him. (Froissart, vol. iii. p. 491, translated by Johnes, of Hafod.)

Is any instance recorded in modern times, of the river having sunk so low? I never ascended it so high as Evesham, but I know that to a considerable distance above Godstow it presents the appearance of a deep stream, not fordable in any part.

De Vere escaped to the Netherlands, whence, after some time, he was invited to the Court of France, where he was received with distinguished honours. He bore a part in the great tournament which was given to celebrate the entry of Isabel of Bavaria into Paris. His race has perished, but I believe that several of our nobility and gentry claim relationship with them. (The Tournament is described by Froissart, vol. iv. p. 85.)

The Marriage of Thame and Isis is supposed to be the production of Camden himself; and it is remarkable that he, who as a Westminster man, probably thought it incumbent on him to have a fling at Eton, should, in the single line which he devotes to that purpose, have committed a false quantity:

"Quæ fuit Orbiliis nimiùm subjecta plagosis."* The first syllable in plagosus is long, as most fourth-form boys at Eton know.

W. D.

JOHN CLOTWORTHY, FIRST VISCOUNT MASSAREENE.-Sir John Clotworthy was, in 1660, created Viscount Massareene, with a special limitation in favour of Sir John Skeffington, who had married his daughter, and who accordingly succeeded to the dignity on the death of his father-in-law, which occurred in Sept. 1665.

Mention is made of the first Viscount Massa

reene in the first and second volumes of Mrs. Green's Calendars of the Domestic State Papers of Charles II., but the index to each volume errone

* Camden, i. 152.

ously ascribes the title to John Skeffington instead of John Clotworthy.

As a general index to the Calendars of State Papers may be expected hereafter, it is desirable that errors which may be discovered in the index to any volume should be pointed out.

We cheerfully embrace this opportunity of renewing our acknowledgment of much information of a valuable and varied character derived from these Calendars. C. H. & THOMPSON COOPER. Cambridge.

ETYMOLOGY AND MEANING OF THE NAME MOSES.Though writers differ respecting the etymology of the name (Moses), yet the remarks of Kalisch on the subject are so satisfactory that I think they deserve a corner in " N. & Q."

"The etymology and meaning of the name Moses (who is called by the Septuagint Maüons, and by the Vulgate Moyses), is naturally much disputed; for the explanation given in the text, because I drew him out of the water' (Exodus, ii. 10), would require not the active form, D, but the passive participle, ". The former would rather imply the notion of a general leading the people of Israel from Egypt, an archageta. Behave given her adopted son a Hebrew name. Antiquaries sides, it is questionable that the Egyptian princess should and historians have, therefore, justly endeavoured to trace the name of Moses to an Egyptian origin: hence, Josephus observes (Antiq. II. ix. 6), 'He received his name had been exposed in the Nile; for the Egyptians call the from the particular circumstance of his infancy, when he water Mo, and one who is rescued from the waves uses.' The Septuagint, then, which renders the word by Mwüσns, has accurately preserved the etymology. Similarly, Josephus, Contra Apion. i. 31; Philo, De Vitâ Mosis, ii. 83; Eusebius, Prep. Evang. ix. 9, 28, and others; whence Moses has sometimes been called doyevs, filius aquæ,' the son of the water. (See Jablonsky, Opus., i. 157; Rossius, Etymolog. Egypt., p. 127, &c.)"

This etymology of the word Moses is the most satisfactory which I have yet seen. The remarks of Dr. Kalisch are taken from a note in his New Translation of the Old Testament, part "Exodus," ii. 10.

J. DALTON,

BUDDHISTS IN BRITAIN. It is not likely that the Buddhists, if ever they reached the British Isles, came from the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, although it is nearly certain that Palistan, literally the country of the Pali or Buddhists, shepherds, who are known in Indian history as was at one period occupied by that great race of Pali-pootras, and spoken of by ancient geographers as Pali-bothri; and who, emigrating from India, traversed many countries of the West, and even conquered Egypt, leaving behind them in and perhaps in Egypt, their cave dwellings or India, Affghanistan, Northern Arabia, Asia Minor, bable that Buddhist missionaries would have temples with painted walls. It is far more proreached Britain from Scandinavia, the earliest inhabitants of which were a Buddhist race, and

votaries of Woden or Budhun, one of whose names was Gotama, whence the German name of God. Some Buddhist sculptured stones I once saw in India are singularly like the ancient upright stones found in Great Britain, both having circles wrought upon them: for example, the centre stone of the Aberlemno groupe in Scotland. The right-hand stone of that groupe resembles a stone found in Cuttak, and the left-hand stone is actually the same thing as the sacred snake stone set up for worship in India. Mr. O'Brien and Mr. Wilson describe ancient stones in Ireland and Scotland, on which occur elephants forming canopies with their trunks, which is a very common accompaniment to statues of Buddha. The snake, rhinoceros, and tiger are found sculptured on Buddhist as well as on ancient British stones.

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The pamphlet from which the above is taken is complimentary notice of Barry's pictures, and a recommendation that they should be engraved on a large scale. I shall be obliged by information as to where the two pictures are. Who was Sanatol? and what is holding the candle to St. Dominick"?

his shield?

66

J. R.

W. H. WHITMORE.

Mr. O'Brien's theory that the round towers of Ireland are Phallic, and of Buddhist origin, is quite untenable, as the Lingam or Phallus has no place whatever in the Buddhist religion. The COOTE, LORD BELLOMONT.-Richard, Earl of lately discovered markings on the rocks of the Bellomont, was Governor of New York and MasCheviot hills and elsewhere in the North, a draw- sachusetts. I have his seal with numerous quaring of which appeared in a late number of the Illus-terings. Can any one say what arms would be on trated London News, may be of Buddhist origin. These markings consist of concentric circles surrounding a half moon. The Jainas, a sect of Buddhists, perform their festivals at changes of The greatest of all their festivals is the feast of the Siddha Circle; the worship is performed before nine sacred names written on the earth in a circle containing nine divisions of different colours. H. C.

the moon.

Queries.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT'S Grant to the SCLAVONIANS. In a MS. dated 1714, in my possession, is the following passage, the original of which is said to be in the Illyrian character, attributed to St. Jerome, in the church at Prague :

"We, Alexander the Great, of Philip, Founder of the Grecian Empire, Conqueror of the Persians, Medes, &c., and of the whole world from east to west, from north to south, Son of the great Jupiter by, &c., so called: to you the noble stock of the Sclavonians, so called, and to your Language, you have been to us a help, true in faith and valiant in war, we confirm all that tract of earth from north to south of Italy from us and our successors, to you and your posterity for ever: and if there be any other nation found there, let them be your slaves. Dated at Alexandria the 12 of the Goddess Minerva. Witness Ethra and the Princes, whom we appoint our Successors." 1. Can any one inform me whether the original of this grant is now in existence at Prague?

2. Is there a copy of the original_to be found in any printed book?

LLALLAWG.

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Boston, U.S.A.

FELLOWSHIPS IN TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN.— I have a copy of (I think) a scarce publication, entitled The Difficulties and Discouragements which attend the Study for a Fellowship in the in the form of "A Letter to a young Gentleman, College of Dublin (12mo, Dublin, 1735). It is who intends to stand Candidate at the next Election"; and appeared anonymously. Who was the author? Авива.

HILL, MIDDLESEX AND WORCESTERSHIRE. — I shall be obliged by references to pedigrees of this family. I have Sims's Index. R. W.

HYMN QUERIES.-I should feel much obliged if you, or any of your readers, would give me the which the first lines are as follow: name of the author, or authors, of the hymns, of

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"My God I love Thee, not because

I hope for heaven thereby,"—

in Hymns, Ancient and Modern. I should be glad
also to know to whom the hymn, "Jesu Redemp-
tor omnium," and that beginning, “O filii et filiæ,"
are attributed. These, together with several other
Latin hymns, your correspondent F. C. H. has
not given us in his list. Is it because their au-
thorship is too uncertain? Can you tell me
whether Faber's Hymns have ever been published
by themselves?
M. J. W.

Are there

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CHARLES LAMB'S ALICE W-. any particulars known concerning this young lady? Who was she? Talfourd, in his "Letters of the poet, hints that Lamb's passion for her was, on his own confession, not very lasting, though the supposition seems hardly consistent with the fond manner in which Alice W- is mentioned even in the later writings of Elia. Talfourd says:

"A youthful passion, which lasted only a few months, and which he afterwards attempted to regard lightly as a folly past, inspired a few sonnets of very delicate feeling and exquisite music."

In the Final Memorials, however, we are told that Lamb's verses were partly inspired —

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"We have observed another inaccuracy, which makes one really doubt whether Mr. Froude has ever read the ecclesiastical history of the Middle Ages, not to say the poets and novelists. He continually speaks of Dominican monks and Augustinian monks. The Dominicans and Augustinians were friars, not monks. Friars were not heard of till many centuries after Europe had been overspread by monks, and there were no more bitter enemies than the monks and friars. As well might the historian of the Jews speak of the Pharisees and Sadducees as if they were convertible terms."

I wish to ask: 1. What was the distinction between monks and friars? 2. Was the difference as great as the reviewer implies? F. H. M.

NEEF.Can any one give me the derivation of neef, the North Yorkshire for a clenched fist?

EBORACUM.

"THE NEMO," ETC.-There was printed about thirty years ago two literary periodicals edited by students of Edinburgh University, having the titles of The Nemo, and The Anti-Nemo. As I have been unable to get a sight of these papers, would any reader who may have copies oblige me with the titles of the articles? I believe there were only two or three numbers printed of each periodical. A son of Professor Wilson (Christopher North) was, I understand, one of the ediIOTA.

tors.

"REVENONS À NOS MOUTONS."-What is the name of the play which gave rise to this saying? what was its date, and who was its author? I. O. S.

Queries with Answers. "ROYAL STRIPES," ETC. -On Wednesday, March 30, died Mr. George Daniel, author of The Modern Dunciad, but perhaps more generally known as the editor of Cumberland's British Theatre. In an obituary notice in The Era of April 3, is a list of his works: he published —

"In 1812, Royal Stripes; or, A Kick from Yarmouth to Wales, for the suppression of which a large sum was ordered to be paid by the Prince Regent. Ten pounds were advertised and paid for a copy."

I wish to know the evidence on which this not very probable statement rests. Mr. Daniel appears in all his works which I have read to have been a Tory and a rather high churchman.

In a list of the works of Peter Pindar, jun. (Thomas Agg*), on sale by Fairburn in 1816, is "The R-1 Sprain; or, A Kick from Yarmouth to Wales, 1s. 6d." I once had one, which, estimating at its literary value, I threw away, when selecting ing. I remember only two lines, which may be from my pamphlets those which were worth bindvaluable if a copy really was sold for 10l. :—

"Blacks in one moment both his princely eyes, While from his nose the blood in torrents flies." The style is not like that of Mr. Daniel. So far as I can recall my impression of the book, it was one of mere stupid ribaldry, and not likely to be bought for suppression while The Twopenny Post Bag was in full sale.

Is there any reason to believe that the Prince Regent ever paid for the suppression of a printed book? H. B. C.

U. U. Club.

[The pamphlet inquired after is now on our table, and as it appears to be somewhat scarce, and no copy of it is to be found in the British Museum, we give the title in full:

"R-y-1 Stripes; or, a Kick from Yar-h to Wa-s; with the Particulars of an Expidition to Oat-ds, and the Sprained Ancle: a Poem. By P▬▬ P——, Poet Laureat.

"Loud roar'd the P-e, but roar'd in vain,
Ld Y-h brandish'd high his cane,

And guided ev'ry r-y-l movement;
Now up, now down, now to and fro,
The R-g-t nimbly mov'd his toe,
The Lady much enjoy'd the show,

And complimented his improvement. "London: Published by E. Wilson, 88, Cornhill, 1812. Price One Shilling."

The title-page of our copy is indorsed "By George Daniel," in the neat handwriting of a gentleman who has been personally known to the author of Merrie England ever since he left Mr. Thomas Hogg's boardingschool on Paddington-Green, or from the time that he * John Agg. Vide Dictionary of Living Authors, 1816, and Catalogue of the British Museum.-ED.]

was mounted on a stool as a clerk in the office of Mr. John Cox, Stock-broker, in Token-House Yard. To set the matter finally at rest, Mr. Daniel himself has laid claim to the authorship of this satirical poem in the "Memoir of D.- - G.," with his own portrait, both of which are prefixed to George Colman's comic piece, The

Blue Devils, in Cumberland's British Theatre, 1838. Mr. Daniel says, "In 1811 he published The Times; or, the Prophecy, a poem. In 1812, a volume of Miscellaneous Poems; Royal Stripes; or, a Kick from Yarmouth to Wales! (for the suppression of which a large sum was given by order of the Prince Regent-ten pounds were advertised and paid for a copy!)—and The Adventures of Dick Distich, a novel in 3 vols., written before he was eighteen."

Allusion is also made by Mr. Daniel to this stifled production in some of his subsequent works, e. g. in the “Suppressed Evidence; or, R―l Intriguing, &c. By PP, Poet Laureat, author of R-1 Stripes (suppressed), 8vo, 1813." Again, at the commencement of Ophelia Keen!! a Dramatic Legendary Tale, 12mo, 1829 (printed but also suppressed), we read :

"Come, listen to my lay: I am

The tuneful Bard

you know me —

That sung the whisker'd bold Geramb;
What lots of fun you owe me!

"I sung The Royal Stripes - Come, listen;
I sing the devil to pay;

Your hearts shall leap, your eyes shall glisten:
Come listen to my lay!"

It must be acknowledged, however, that the statements, that "for the suppression of the Royal Stripes a large sum was given by order of the Prince Regent," and that "ten pounds were advertised and paid for a copy "-have always excited surprise in literary circles.]

"HYMEN'S TRIUMPH."- Can you tell me who was the author of the tragi-comedy, called Hymen's Triumph, written in honour of the nuptials of Lord Roxburghe? I presume this was Habbie Ker, the first Baron and Earl of Roxburghe, who, by the way, was married thrice; and the poem having been published in 1623, it was probably

written on or after the noble lord's second mar

riage, the date of which I, however, don't exactly

know.

W. R. C. [Hymen's Triumph is by Samuel Daniel, the poet and historian, termed by Headley "the Atticus of his day." This pastoral Tragi-Comedy was presented at the Queen's (Anne of Denmark) court in the Strand, at her Majesty's magnificent entertainment of the King's most excellent Majesty, being at the nuptials of the Lord Roxborough, on Feb. 3, 1613-14, and is dedicated by a copy of verses to her Majesty. It is introduced by a pretty prologue, in which Hymen is opposed by Avarice, Envy, and Jealousy, the disturbers of matrimonial happiness. It was entered on the Stationers' Registers on June 13, 1613-14, and is reprinted in Nichols's Progresses of James I. ii. 749. The "magnificent entertainment" was the marriage of Sir

Robert Ker, Lord Roxburghe, to his second wife, Jeane, third daughter of Patrick, third Lord Drummond. She was a lady of distinguished abilities, preferred before all to the office of governess of the children of King James I.] VISCOUNT CHERINGTON published his Memoirs, containing a Genuine Description of the Government and Manners of the present Portuguese. Lond. 2 vols. 12mo, 1782. Who was he? S. Y. R.

[This work is fictitious, and is criticised as a novel in the Monthly Review, lxvii. 389. The author was Capt. R. Muller of the Portuguese service, who, having communicated it to a friend, received from him the following laconic acknowledgement: "Carissimo Amico,

Se non é vero, é ben trovato. Lisbon, 24dl 9bro, 1778."

FRANZINI.

Which, says the author, when paraphrased into English, is as much as to say:

"My dear Friend,—Though all the circumstances you relate may not have actually happened or come to pass, yet they are descriptive of the people you give an account of as if they really had."

Nothing more is known of Lord Viscount Cherington than that he was born in Brazil. His father, Dr. Castleford, is the hero of the tale; and the principal information relating to this gentleman is, that he was physician to the English factory at Lisbon, and was banished from thence to Brazil by the villanous artifices of a Jesuit.]

POTIPHAR. In the Septuagint Version, Potiphar is described as being ὁ εὐνοῦχος Φάραω (Genesis, xxxix. 1). Is this a correct translation of the Hebrew word? MELETES.

[The question is one which the learned have not yet decided. There can be no doubt that the Hebrew word saris, DD, which the Septuagint has here rendered evvouxos, did properly and primarily signify an eunuch, in the strict sense of the word. It has, however, been plausibly maintained that saris often implied simply an officer of the court; and, in accordance with this view, it

is rendered by our translators chamberlain in Esth. i. 10, and officer in the passage now before us, as well as in note "Heb. eunuch. But the word doth signify not only Gen. xxxvii. 36, where they have annexed the marginal eunuchs, but also chamberlains, courtiers, and officers, Esth. i. 10." This, however, has been controverted.

The full discussion of the question is not exactly suited to our pages.]

THE ROBIN.Can any of your readers inform me whether there is any foundation for the popular belief, that the young robin will frequently fight with and destroy its own father? L. G.

[Yarrell (History of British Birds, i. 261) speaks of the robin as one of the most pugnacious among birds, but not as a parricide.]

Replies.

ELEANOR D'OLBREUSE.

(3rd S. v. 11.)

Eléonore d'Esmiers was the only child of Alexandre, Seigneur d'Olbreuse, by his wife Jacobina Poussard de Vaudre (also styled by some writers Jacquette, or Jacqueline, Poussard du Vigean); and was born in March, 163, at the Chateau d'Olbreuse, near Usseau, in the parish of Mauzé (now in the arrondissement of Niort, and department of Deux-Sèvres), province of Poitou. Her father, the lord of the Castle of Olbreuse, from which he derived his title, was a nobleman of an ancient family in Poitou, and one of the numerous French Protestant families exiled by Louis XIV. On his being sent into banishment, and his property confiscated, he sought an asylum in Holland; taking with him his only daughter, the beautiful young "Marquise D'Esmers." She was married, morganatically, in September, 1665, at Breda, in Dutch Brabant, to George William of Brunswick Zelle, Prince of Calemberg, who had just succeeded to the duchy of Zelle by his elder brother's death. The newly-married pair took up their residence at Zell, where the lady was known by the title of Lady of Harbourg, or Von Harburg, which she had been created on marriage by her husband. On September 15, 1666, their first child was born, and christened, with great ceremony, by the name of Sophia Dorothea. It was she who became subsequently the unfortunate, if not guilty, spouse of her cousin-german George Louis, then Prince of Hanover, and eventually King of England; through which alliance she was ancestress of our present royal family.

Within the next few years, Madame von Harburg had three other daughters, all of whom died in infancy. And in 1672, she was further ennobled as Lady Eleanora von Harburg, Countess of Wilhelmsburg, from an island in the Elbe, nearly opposite to Hamburgh, which was settled on her by her husband.

In August, 1676, the nuptial ceremony was solemnly performed at Zelle; on which she became the acknowledged Consort and rightful Duchess of Zelle; to which rank her previous morganatic union did not entitle her. The rank of Princess of the Germanic Empire was, at the same time, conferred upon her by the Emperor Leopold I.; but it was stipulated that any issue of the marriage should not succeed to the Duchy, but be styled Counts and Countesses of Wilhelmsburg-so strict was the code of laws regarding such alliances at that period. However, by treaty of July 13, 1680, the Duchess Eleanora was allowed the title of Duchess of BrunswickLüneburg. Her husband, Duke George William, died August 28, 1705, at the age of eighty-one;

while she survived till Feb., 1722: her death then occurring at her residence in Zelle, in the eighty-third year of her age.

It is unnecessary here to record the well-known events in the career of her daughter, the Princess. Sophia Dorothea of Zelle: it will be sufficient to remark, that her marriage with Prince George of Hanover was dissolved by decree of the Consistorial Court, at Hanover, on Dec. 28, 1694; and she was thereupon imprisoned in the small fortress of Ahlden, with the title of Duchess of Ahlden. Here she was compelled to spend the remaining long years of her sad life in strict confinement, till released by death, after a captivity of nearly thirty-two years, on Nov. 13, 1726. It is recorded that her father never once visited her in the castle of Ahlden; though her aged mother was allowed occasionally to cheer her solitude, and see her at intervals, up to the period of her own death. Her remains were consigned, with proper honours, to the family vaults at Zelle; where her consort, King George I., followed her to the tomb in June following.

The dates of the death of either the Seigneur d'Olbreuse, or of his spouse, have not been ascertained by me from any of the authorities I have consulted in drawing up this reply to MR. WOODWARD's query; but the Lady Jacquette, apparently, died before the period of the family quitting France. And it is certain that the banished noble of Poitou survived for some time the marriage of his daughter Eléonore, which was to make him ancestor of so many royal houses of Europe. A. S. A.

Cawnpore, East Indies.

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"Here=

=30-625. No proof is offered."

I think, but am not sure, that I have seen a

copy of this book in the British Museum. It is, no doubt, great rubbish. EDWARD PEACOCK.

GEOGRAPHICAL GARDEN (3rd S. v. 173, 248.)— The learned divine John Gregorie, in his Description and Use of Maps and Charts, thus speaks of what he calls a "Geographical Garden":

ceited, as a Device nothing besides the Meditation of "It is propounded by a man ingeniously enough conPrince, to have his Kingdoms and Dominions, by the direction of an able Mathematician, Geographically described in a Garden Platform: the Mountains and Hills being raised, like small Hillocks, with turfs of earth; the Vallies somewhat concave within; the Towns, Villages, Castles, and other remarkable Edifices, in small green mossie Banks, or Spring-work, proportional to the Platform; the

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