354 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2nd S. No 70., May 2. '67. 



least has belonged to a royal chapel. Unless 

 J. B.'s copy be more imperfect than he states, he 

 will find the printer's name and the date on the 

 last leaf. W. N. D. 



MUSICAIi BACHELORS AND MUSICAL DOCTORS. 



(2°" S. iii. 48. 73. 115.275.) 



I have been not a little amused by perusing a 

 long, long, letter from a gentleman who appears 

 to enjoy the privilege of appending to his name 

 the imposing sign of eminence in his profession — 

 "Mus. Doc. Cantaur." — the costume of which, 

 however, seems to be as untangible as the shadow 

 of Frankenstein. I have searched through the 

 length and breadth of this very long letter, but 

 all in vain, for an answer to the plain inquiry of 

 M. A. OxoN. as to the habit or costume in which 

 Mus. Doc. Cantuar. received this degree. It is 

 no doubt a troublesome job to look for a single 

 grain of wheat in a bushel of chaff, and M. A. 

 OxoN., I suppose, has given up the search in 

 despair. I find a great deal said of what the 

 appropriate dress of this degree might be or may 

 be ; but not one word throughout this very long 

 letter as to what costume Mus. Doc. Cantuar. 

 actually wore when the distinction was conferred 

 on him, or any description of what is supposed 

 to be worn on such occasions. Mus. Doc. has 

 actually lost sight of the question in the labyrinth 

 of his reply ; and as I am disposed to take a con- 

 siderable interest in the matter, although M. A. 

 OxoN. seems to think it hopeless to pursue the 

 inquiry further, I beg to repeat his question, in 

 the hope that Mus. Doc. Cantuar. will perform 

 the promise made in his letter, (ante, p. 73.) and 

 kindly confine his reply to a bare description of 

 the costume which he is entitled to wear, and a 

 brief explanation of the " mess " to which he 

 refers. Qu^rbns. 



Bqswellian Personages (2""^ S. iii. 330.) — The 

 statement in the Illustrated News that " Lady 

 Keith was the last survivor of all mentioned in 

 Boswell," is, I believe, true, and not at variance 

 with the statement that she had had two sisters, — 

 for they are certainly not mentioned in Boswell ; 

 and when A. L. seems to wonder that Lady 

 Keith had contributed nothing to Mr. Croker's 

 edition oi Boswell, he forgets that she herself was 

 hardly a "Boswellian personage," for I do not 

 remember that she is so much as mentioned in the 

 work. Her father and her mother having been 

 " Boswellian personages," no more makes her one 

 than thousands of other people ; and if neither 

 Mr. Boswell nor Mr. Croker, who were probably 

 both acquainted with l^ady Keith, gathered any 



anecdotes from her, it must be recollected that 

 nothing could be more disagreeable to Lady Keith 

 herself, nor more indelicate in her acquaintance, 

 than any reminiscences connected with Mrs. 

 Piozzi. I believe the last really " Boswellian per- 

 sonage" was Miss Jane Langton, who died the 

 12th August, 1854. C. 



Dukedom of Alcala (2°'' S. iii. 247.) — I am not 

 aware of any Earl of Elgin and Kincardin having 

 also been " Duke of Alcala in Spain," including 

 of course the eleventh Earl of Kincardin and seventh 

 Earl of Elgin (only) in your Baliol correspon- 

 dent's Query, and should be disposed to doubt it. 

 Horace Walpole states, however, that on his 

 " father's resignation (in 1742), the new Ministers 

 did prevail (on the King) to have dukedoms offered 

 to Lord Northampton aud Lord Aileshury; but 

 both declined, having no sons." ( Walpole s Letters 

 to Sir Horace Mann, vol. iii. p. 174.) This Lord 

 Ailesbury was clearly Charles Bruce, third Earl 

 of Ailesbury, and fourth Earl of Elgin, a well- 

 known Scotch dignity, and the last who held these 

 conjoined honours, after whom the earldom of 

 Elgin devolved on his collateral heirs male, an- 

 cestor of the present Earl of Elgin and Kincardin, 

 son and heir of the eleventh holder of these 

 latter earldoms. Hence a British dukedom more 

 than a century ago was quite at the option of the 

 noble house of Elgin, as well as that of Northamp- 

 ton, now marquisses, but declined for the reasons 

 stated. Still such refusal, on an actual offer, in 

 any event, of a dukedom generally so ardently 

 courted, and rarely conferred — almost never in 

 the reign of George II., and even later — is most 

 remarkable, and bespeaks rare abstinence or in- 

 dependence in the above. 



As to the foreign title of Duke of Alcala (the 

 subject of your correspondent's Query) I can only 

 add, as proved by old Spanish authorities, that 

 it was granted by Philip II. of Spain to Ferdi- 

 nand Perafan de Ribera, whose line continued at 

 least till after 1618, and whose representative, 

 upon the same evidence, was in 1629 entitled 

 " Dux Alcaics de los Ganzules, Marchio Tariffse, 

 Comes de Molares," and " Princeps hujus familice " 

 (de Ribera), having the yearly revenue of 80,000 

 ducats. But I am ignorant at present of any con- 

 nexion between these de Riberas and the Elgin 

 Bruces, or how in any shape their ducal dignity 

 was given to the last. J. K. 



Edinburgh. 



Dante and Lord John Russell (2"^ S. iii. 330.) — 

 If M. N. will refer to the Literary Souvenir for 

 1844, he will find Lord John Russell's translation 

 of the Francesco da Rimini from the Inferno of 

 Dante, canto v. 73 — 142. It was ably reviewed 

 at the time in the first number of the English 

 Review. A few copies of this particular article 

 were struck oflf for private distribution ; and one 



