266 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2nd s.N» 66., April 4. '57. 



performed tlie office of interring of Mrs. Elizabeth Forster, 

 granddaughter of John Milton, and the last of his de- 

 scendants. She died at her house, the sign of the Sugar 

 Loafe, opposite to the Thatched House in Islington, of an 

 asthma and dropsy, on Thursday afternoon, May 9th. 

 She was born in Ireland in November, 1688, and was 

 about 15 years of age when she came to England, and 

 married to Mr. Forster in 1719. She was buried in a 

 vault in Tindal's Ground in Bunhill Fields." 



Edward F. Rimbault. 



An Electioneering Breakfast. — As an appendix 

 to the notice from Grafton's Abridgment of his 

 Chronicles, printed in your last Number of "N. 

 & Q.," I enclose an extract from the St. James's 

 Chronicle of April 23 to 25, 1761. It affords an- 

 other specimen, though not so ancient, of the 

 olden time at parliamentary elections. 



" The following Breakfast was given at the House of a 

 late Candidate for a County on the day of Election : 

 31 Pigeon Pies. 

 24 Sirloins of Beef. 

 6 Collars of Beef sliced. 

 10 Hams sliced. 

 244 Chickens to the Hams. 

 G Dozen of Tongues sliced. 

 10 Buttocks of Beef. 

 • 11 Ach-bones of Ditto. 



13 Quarters of Veal. 

 44 Ditto House-lamb. 

 56 Pound of Cheese. 

 8 Pound of Chocolate. 

 5 Pound of Coffee. 

 20 Dozen Bottles of strong Beer. 

 10 Hogsheads of Ditto. 

 3 Ditto of Wine. 

 2 Ditto of Punch." 



What county was referred to is not said, but a 

 paragraph immediately following this enumeration 

 tells the reader that — 



" On Saturday night last the Poll for the County of 

 Westmoreland was as under : 



For Sir James Lowther, 751. 

 John Upton, Esq., 637. 

 Edw. Wilson, Esq., 574." 



H. E. 



Peele and Coleridge : Parallel Passage. — In 

 looking over George Peele's Hunting of Cupid, a 

 few days ago, I was struck with the similarity of 

 the beginning of that piece to one of the verses of 

 Coleridge's Ancient Mariner, and so strong is the 

 resemblance, that I have little doubt that Cole- 

 ridge borrowed his idea from Peele. The follow- 

 ing are the passages I refer to : 



" It ceased ; yet still the sails made on 

 A pleasant noise till noon, 

 A noise like of a hidden brook 

 In the leafy month of June, 

 That to the sleeping woods all night 

 Singeth a quiet tune." 



Coleridge's Poems, 8vo. edition of 1854, 



p. 107. 



" On the snowie browes of Albion, sweet woodes, sweet 



running brookes, y' chide in a pleasant tune and make 



quiet murmur, leaving [laving?] the lilies, mints and 



waterflowers, in ther gentle glfde." — Peele's Dramatic 

 Works, by Dyce, vol. ii, p. 259. 



Coleridge's verse conjures up a very pretty pic- 

 ture ; but I cannot help giving a preference to the 

 above extract from the Hunting of Cupid, which, 

 although prose, I think contains more of the 

 poetic sentiment than does the verse quoted from 

 the Ancient Mariner : and if I am right in my con- 

 jecture, Coleridge has failed to do justice to the 

 original. W. B. C. 



^Mtxiti. 



SIR WILLIAM KEITH — HENRY HUGH FEKGUSON. 



Having a work in preparation for the press, 

 which comprises a biographical notice of Sir Wm. 

 Keith, Bart., one of the Colonial Governors of 

 Pennsylvania (1717), I am desirous of obtaining 

 some information not to be had here. 



Regarding his lineage. I am somewhat in 

 doubt, though, on consulting Guillam, &c., am in- 

 clined to think he was of the Powburn family. 

 At his death, noticed in London Mag., 1749 

 (p. 529.), his title is said to have descended to his 

 son Robert. To be brief : I would like replies to 

 the following queries : — 



1. Who were his immediate ancestors, and are 

 any of his descendants living ? 



2. When did he obtain his baronetcy ? 



3. How long was he in Parliament after 1732 ? 



4. Did he die in "Old Bailey" prison ? or was 

 there a street of that name in which he lived ? 

 (See Gent's Mag., Nov. or Dec. 1749.) 



I would also like to know something of Henry 

 Hugh Ferguson, who married in Pennsylvania in 

 1772 ; went to England in 1775 ; returned here in 

 1777, espousing the British cause ; was commis- 

 sary of prisoners under Gen. Howe, and returned 

 to England in 1779, or thereabout, separating 

 from his wife, who remained here (the celebrated 

 Mrs. Ferguson, who was said to have conveyed an 

 offer of a bribe from Gov. Geo. Johnstone to Gen. 

 Joseph Reed.) 



When last heard from, he (F.) had gone to 

 Flanders in 1793. 



I should like to have a reply, if possible, by re- 

 turn, or early steamer ; and would also suggest 

 that a duplicate be published in " N. & Q." there- 

 after, to prevent misconception. 



Heney C. Wetmore. 



N.B. If addressed by letter, my address is, 

 Care of Great V^stern Insurance Company, 107. 

 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 



SHAKSPEARIAN QUERIES. 



1. Editions of the Sonnets. — Can you inform 

 me how many copies of " Shakespeare's Sonnets, 



