2"d S. No 63., Mar. 14. '57.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



207 



time), being very weak, and the listener dull of 

 bearing, he could not distinguish a single sen- 

 tence, though he "bended forward over the side 

 of the pew, and removed his wig from his ear." 

 But the preacher finding the cushion inconvenient 

 he put it aside, after which the writer says he 

 " heard every subsequent sentence and word of 

 the discourse distinct and plain." The very same 

 thing occurred the next time the person preached, 

 and with the like effect. The third time he went 

 to the church, the cushion being used, the 

 preacher's words were all lost to him ! 



Cushions are now getting out of fashion, and if 

 they are such an hindrance to the hearing of the 

 word, the sooner they are got rid of the better. 



One would like to know whether any thing 

 similar to the above has been noticed by others. 



H. T. Ellacombe. 



Kectory, Clyst St. George. 



Early Mention of Tobacco. — Decker, in his 

 English Villanies (as quoted by the elder D'ls- 

 raeli. Usurers of the Seventeenth Century), has the 

 following passage : 



" What apothecarie's shop he resorts to every morning, 

 or in what tobacco-shop in Fleet-Street he takes a pipe of 

 smoke in the afternoon." 



In what book is the earliest mention made of 

 tobacco smoking as a prevalent habit ? exclusive 

 of the story of Sir Walter Raleigh and the tan- 

 kard of ale. The habit of smoking tobacco must 

 have become somewhat general when Shakspeare 

 wrote his later plays ; but not the slightest allusion 

 to it, so far as I remember, can be traced in any of 

 his works. Henry T. Kilet. 



Sir Isaac Newton and the smoking of Tobacco. — 

 In the Tobacco Controversy carried on in the me- 

 dical publication The Lancet, it is stated by two 

 medical men that Sir Isaac Newton was a smoker 

 of tobacco. One says he was " an extravagant 

 smoker," the other that he was " a great smoker." 



What evidence is there for these assertions? I 

 have lately read the Memoirs of the late Sir Isaac 

 Newton by Sir David Brewster, where tobacco is 

 only mentioned once, and that in the 2nd volume, 

 p. 410., where it says, 



" When Sir Isaac was asked to take snuflf or tobacco, he 

 declined, remarking, ' that he would make no necessities to 

 himself.' " 



John Higqin Cotton, F.R.S. 



Nottingham. 



Archbishops Abbot and Sheldon. — I should feel 

 much obliged for any information respecting Arch- 

 bishop Abbot and his descendants, especially his 

 son George, who defended Caldicote House for 

 the Parliament.* 



[* See " N. & Q.," I't s. x. 384., where it is doubted 

 whether George Abbot, who defended Caldicote House, 

 was in any manner related to the archbishop's family.] 



Also for information respecting Archbishop 

 Sheldon, and his nephew. Sir Joseph Sheldon, who 

 is mentioned in the novel of Old St. Paul's. 



If any of your correspondents will kindly notice 

 my request, and forward information to me, I 

 should esteem it a very great favour, as I am de- 

 sirous of learning what I can of these prelates. 



J. Vibtue Wymen. 



Hackney. 



The Ball and Cross of St. PauVs. — I should 

 esteem it a favour if you could furnish me with 

 any particulars relating to the erection and ex- 

 pense of the ball and cross of St. Paul's Cathedral, 

 when and by whom the same were constructed, and 

 how raised to their present position ? * F. S. A. 



The Holt, Tranmere, Cheshire. 



Imitative Ancient Ballad. — Many years ago, 

 in the course of a conversation on modern imita- 

 tions of old ballad poetry, I heard it stated by a 

 person very well read on such subjects, and 

 acquainted with one of those concerned in the 

 imposition, that the late Mr. Surtees, the Northern 

 Topographer, was the author of several modern 

 ballads, as well as the well-known one which he 

 prevailed on Sir Walter Scott to publish as an- 

 cient in the Lay of the Last Minstrel. One in 

 particular was mentioned and recited that had 

 also deceived Scott, and had, I understood, been 

 printed as a genuine antique in one of his works. 

 I have, however, searched them for it in vain, and 

 all collections of ballads I have from time to time 

 had access to, with a like result. The only frag- 

 ment I can remember is the first two lines. The 

 asterisks supply the place of the name, now for- 

 gotten : 



" Pray for the soul of Sir**** *♦**♦♦♦♦ 

 Pray for the soul of the murdered Knight." 



The scene of the poem lies in the north of 

 England, I think in the city of Durham. I am 

 anxious to procure a perfect copy. 



Edward Peacock. 

 Manor Farm, Bottesford, Brigg. 



Chalk Sunday. — In the west of Ireland nine- 

 tenths of the marriages that take place among the 

 peasantry are celebrated the week before Lent, 

 and particularly on Shrove Tuesday, on which 

 day the Roman Catholic priests have hard work to 

 get through all their duties. On the first Sunday 

 in Lent it is usual for the girls slyly to chalk the 

 coats of those young men who have allowed the 

 preceding festival to pass without having made 

 their choice of a partner ; and " illigible " young 

 men strut about with affected unconsciousness of 

 the numerous stripes which decorate their backs. 



[* The ball and cross, it will be remembered, were 

 taken down, re-cast, and gilt, in 1821, when the cathedral 

 was repaired.] 



