92 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2»'»S. N<>67.,Jan. 81. '57. 



torical Notes concerning certain Illnesses, the Death, 

 and Disinterment of the Body of Oliver Cromwell, 

 by W. AVhite Cooper, M.R.C.S., published two or 

 three years a^o ? Medicus. 



[This work is not to be found either in The London 

 Catalogue of Books, or in that of the British Museum, so 

 that we are unable to give the publisher's name. ] 



• Tyburn and Banhni'y. — In Sir Thomas Over- 

 bury's description of'a linker, he says : 



" To conclude, if he 'scape Tyburn and Banbury, he 

 dies a Beggar." 



What is meant by Banbury ? and when was the 

 first gallows erected in England, and where ? 



Quest. 



[The people of Banbury, it will be remembered, from 

 the reign of Elizabeth to that of Charles II., were so 

 reputed for their jjcculiar religious zeal, as to excite the 

 frequent and pointed remarks of wits and humorous 

 writers. Hence the author of this Character of a Tinker, 

 (attributed to a Mr. J. Cocke), in another passage of it, 

 says, " His tongue is very voluble, which with canting 

 proves him a linguist." So that Banbury may be equi- 

 valent to " Puritan," as in Ben Jonson's Bartholomew 

 Fair. An early notice of a gallows in England occurs 

 at the execution of William Fitz-Osbert, mentioned by 

 Roger de Wendover, A.o. 1196 (see p. 90. ante), who was 

 drawn through the city of London by horses to the gal- 

 lows at Tyburn ; but no doubt they were used in England 

 from the earliest period, as stated by Mr. Kemdle in his 

 interesting article on Stonehenge, ante, p. 2. of this vo- 

 lume.] 



Fillibuster. — "What is the derivation and exact 

 meaning of this word ? W. B. 



[The correct spelling of this word is Flibustier, as 

 stated by Mr. Breen in our 1'* S. x. 304. Mr. Thornbury, 

 in his Monarchs of the Main, vol. i. p. 36., says, that " the 

 title of Flibustiers was a mere corruption of the English 

 word freebooters — a German term, imported into England 

 during the Low Country wars of Elizabeth's reign. It 

 has been erroneousb' traced to the Dutch word fly-boat; 

 but the Jesuit traveller, Charlevoix, asserts that, in fact, 

 this species of craft derived its title from being first used 

 by the Flibustiers, and not from its swiftness. This, 

 however, is evidently a mistake, as Drayton and Hakluyt 

 use the word ; and it seems to be of even earlier standing 

 in the French language. The derivation from the En- 

 glish word freebooter is at once seen when the s in Fli- 

 bustier becomes lost in pronunciation."] 



" Vinum Theologicum" — Why was the best 

 wine formerly made in England so called ? 



Abhba. 



[It was so named, says Holinshed, "because it was 

 had ^rom the clergie and religious men, unto whose 

 houses many of the laity would often send for bottles 

 filled with the same, being sure that they would neither 

 drinke nor be served of the worst, or such as was any 

 waies mingled or brued by the vintner ; nay, the mer- 

 chant would have thought that his soul should have gone 

 streightway to the devil, if he should have served them 

 with other than the best." — Description of England, vo). i. 

 p. 167., edit. 1587.] 



"lewis and kotska," by father serkao. 



(P' S. xii. 185.) 



" Ludovicus et Stanislaus, Tragico-Coniiedia, authore 

 Petro da Serra. Eboras. 1730. 4to., pp. 197." 



I cannot find any account of " the famous Father 

 Serrao" beyond that of the title-page, which de- 

 scribes hira as a Jesuit, and late Professor of 

 Rhetoric in the University of Ebora. It also states 

 that the tragi- comedy was performed thrice to 

 royal and noble audiences, and afterwards " Civi- 

 tatis proceribus et frequentissima3 omnium ordi- 

 num multitudini, in CoUegio Spiritus Sancti ab 

 academia Eborensi." 



The hero is Ludovicus, son of the Marquis 

 Gonzaga, who, in imitation of Stanislaus Kotska, 

 a newly declared Jesuit saint, procures admission 

 to the order, and becomes a saint in the fifth act. 

 I am not surprised that it seemed extravagant to 

 the " English Merchant," though it is mild com- 

 pared with the "autos" of Calderon. The plot 

 is : — 



" Ludovicus Actor, et Imitator;' Stanislaus Prototypon 

 et Fautor inducitur. Primus actus erit : votum Ludovici 

 de petenda Societate Jesu emissum ad exemplum Stanis- 

 lai. 2. Actus : obstantium difficultatum cumulus a 

 Patre, Patruo et Da3mone objectus, ne fiat voti compos, 

 sed monitis Stanislai superatus. 3. Actus : solemnis 

 Principatus renuntiatio, et in societatem ingressus, rem 

 conficiente Stanislas divinitus. 4. Actus : vita et mors 

 Ludovi in Societate, Stanislai vitaj, mortique similis. 5. 

 Actus : Gratulatio Ludovici et Stanislai in Ccelo, ubi 

 utrique aras ab Ecclesia Militant! universa olim ponendae 

 decernuntur." 



The play is written in very fair Latin, and the 

 pedantry of avoiding unclassical words is carried 

 so far as to make the chorus appeal to Jupiter. 

 What the " Merchant" calls " nonsense" is in the 

 text at p. 29. Gonzaga is praying to the image of 

 the Virgin, which says : " Gonzaga tua cura, te 

 tua spesvocat;" which corresponds with "Take 

 care of yourself, and follow your luck," closely 

 enough to show that it is the passage referred to. 

 The image shows Stanislaus in a vision. He is in 

 bed, and attacked by the demon " canem indutus." 

 After the invocations, the Virgin orders the dog 

 out ; and he obeys, saying, " Recedo : nimium 

 Mulier et Puer potest. *' Divine justice," however, 

 does not admit the devil's claim, but tells him to 

 go to Erebus ; and the " Angelus Lictor," accord- 

 ing to the stage-direction, " Dcenionemferit gladio 

 quem tenet veris fiummis ardentem" St. Ignatius 

 and St. Stanislaus enter, and the devil begs 

 pardon : — 



" Damon. Parce, parce supplici. 



Stanislaus. Infame bnstum, turpis animarum lues, 



Famelice lupe, quid ululas? quid hie hias? 

 Dcemon. Ignosce qunaso, terribilis Erebo Puer. 

 iS. Ijfnatius. Oh perfide accusator hominum ! Filio 

 An meo inhias .' 



