■^nd S. No 61., Feb. 28. '57.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



167 



ileprive them of liberty and independence, he left friendly, 

 united, and contented." 



From the epitaph on the monument erected to 

 the memory of Colonel NicoUs in Ampthill Church, 

 Bedfordshire, it appears that he had been a groom 

 of the bedchamber to the Duke of York, and had 

 commanded a troop of horse in the rebellion ; and 

 that he fell fighting bravely against the Dutch in 

 a naval engagement in the year 1672, being 

 pierced by a cannon ball while on board the ad- 

 miral's ship. 



In two letters written by Sir Edward Hyde to 

 Sir Richard Brown, and which will be found in 

 the fourth volume of Evelyn's Diary and Corre- 

 spondence., pp. 233. 235., he desires his services to 

 Mr. Nicolls. The editor is at a loss to know who 

 this Mr. Nicolls was : may he not have been the 

 subsequent Governor of New York ? 



It would be exceedingly gratifying to obtain 

 some farther particulars of this staunch royalist, 

 and of his family and descendants. Perhaps some 

 of the correspondents or readers of " N. & Q." 

 may be able to furnish the information desired. 



Henkx Nicoll. 



New York. 



NUMISMATIC QUERY. 



Looking over a quantity of foreign silver to- 

 day, I found two coins which I had not be- 

 fore met with, and have never seen mentioned. 

 They are both of the dollar size, slightly wider 

 as to spread, and a shade thinner. The ob- 

 verse of one has four small quadrilateral in- 

 dented cantons, with raised characters : those at 

 the top of the field reading 5 p ', to the left ter, 

 to the right vir, and at the bottom 1809 ; the 

 whole surrounded by a wreath. The reverse has 

 only a shield charged with bars ; the arms of Ar- 

 ragon, surmounted by a coronet, and resting on a 

 Uower, without any inscription. The 5 p ' evi- 

 dently stand for five pesetas, equivalent to the 

 duro, or dollar ; and the piece has every appear- 

 ance of a re-struck coin^ probably issued by the 

 Arragonese Junta whilst the intrusive Joseph 

 occupied the throne of Spain. Had I met with 

 this only, I should have rested satisfied with my 

 own explanation ; but as regards the other piece, 

 although bearing a strong general resemblance, I 

 am completely at fault. The obverse reads at 

 top 1821, to the left pb", to the right vi, and at 

 the bottom 30 sous. The reverse has a lozenge- 

 shaped shield charged in the 1st and 4th quarters, 

 the arms of Arragon in the 2nd and 3rd, with the 

 castle of Castile : the flower has taken the place 

 of the coronet, and the shield itself rests on a 

 tablet or canton, inscribed salus populi. Sup- 

 posing FB° to stand for Ferdinando, the sixth 

 Ferdinand had been dead for more than sixty 

 years in 1821. The sou forms no part of the 



Spanish coinage, and 30 sous are not one-third 

 the value of a dollar. If some one among your 

 many well-informed correspondents can throw any 

 light on these very curious pieces, I shall feel 

 much obliged. John J. A. Boase. 



Alverton Yean, Penzance, Feb. 13, 1857. 



Apolonia and Fravgipani. — What is that ex- 

 traordinary story of a certain Apolonia, wife of 

 Count Frangipani ? He was imprisoned in some 

 castle in the Netherlands, and she effected his es- 

 cape in a very remarkable manner about the year 

 151 1. I have but a shadowy rem^nbrance of this 

 glorious romance in real life, and should be so 

 glad to find it in print somewhere. A. S. 



On following the Mass. — The late Rev. J. A. 

 Mason, in his review of Dr. Hook's sermon, 

 Hear the Church,, says : 



"It is not necessary that the language of the Mass 

 should be in English for public edification. The priest is 

 not addressing the people, but God ; he is not performing 

 an office that directly regards them, but Him to whom 

 the sacrifice is ofiiered; and if they join in the intention 

 for which the sacrifice is offered, this is sufficient, and for 

 this purpose any English prayer-book adapted to the 

 sacrifice is even better than the Mass service translated : 

 in fine, the language used in offering this sacrifice is pe- 

 culiarly that of the officiator, and no one's else : yet the 

 Catholic church furnishes a translation of the Missal to all 

 who desire it, and English Missals are in use in all our 

 chapels. But I know many priests who, when they are 

 not the celebrants, prefer any Catholic prayer-book to the 

 Missal, as more consistent, and even more conducive to 

 private devotion." 



Will F. C. H. or some other of your Roman Ca- 

 tholic contributors, oblige me by answering the 

 following questions : 1. When was the Missal first 

 translated into English for the use of the laity ? 

 2. What is the date of the first English Prayer- 

 Book containing devotions adapted to the sacri- 

 fice ? 3. How was the Mass followed by the 

 laity before the Missal was translated for their 

 use, or before Prayer-Books containing Devotions 

 for Mass were written or compiled ? W. C. 



HoweWs " EpistolcB Ho-JEUants." — An eminent 

 antiquary, still living, once told me that he had 

 made large collections towards a new edition of 

 this most interesting and valuable appendage to 

 the history of the reigns of James I. and Charles I. ; 

 but that he had made them over to a descendant 

 of Howell for that purpose. 



Is that person living, and is the design still 

 cherished ? If not, where are the papers ? 



I have heard it broadly asserted that this work 

 is factitious, and was composed by the author 

 when in prison. 



Can any reader of " N. & Q." point out the 



