June 12. 1852.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



565 



of Desmond," and plainly declares that she was 

 married in the time of Edward IV., it is most pro- 

 bable that he received this account from herself ; 

 at all events, when he so strongly appeals to the 

 witness of " all the noblemen and gentlemen of 

 Munster" for the truth of his statement, it is most 

 unlikely he would have written thus merely on 

 common or casual report. The Knight of Kerry 

 says, " There are statements in existence of 1464 

 being the year of her birth." This is most pro- 

 bably the correct date, which is perfectly consistent 

 with Raleigh's account of her marriage in the 

 reign of Edward IV. It is likely she married very 

 young. There is every probability that Raleigh 

 was well acquainted with the " old Countess " 

 when he was in Ireland, and acted so gallant a 

 part against the rebels in that country. Early in 

 the spring of 1581, upon the Earl of Ormond 

 leaving Ireland, Captain Raleigh (for he was then 

 only such), with Sir William Morgan and another 

 gentleman, received a commission to succeed the 

 Earl for a time in his government in Munster (the 

 old lady's county), and he spent the summer there 

 of that year. It may be further remarked, that 

 the then Earl of Desmond and Sir John Desmond 

 are among the rebels, and that therefore the House 

 of Desmond did suffer by attainder in the reign of 

 Elizabeth ; * and more likely was it that the aged 

 Countess should sue at the Court of Elizabeth 

 for relief, than twenty years after at that of Jas. I. 



If she came to England in 1589, Sir Walter 

 Raleigh might have seen her in her pilgrimage to 

 his royal mistress in that year, as in that year (the 

 next after the defeat of the Spanish Armada, in 

 which glorious service he bore a distinguished 

 part), among other honours conferred upon him, 

 was that of being appointed one of the gentlemen 

 of her Majesty's Privy Chamber. In 1614 Ra- 

 leigh was a prisoner in the Tower ; and very im- 

 probable is it that, even had she been living at 

 that date and in England, the old Countess would 

 there have paid him a visit, to thank him for his 

 mention of her in his History of the World. And, 

 finally, had she really been alive when he wrote it, 

 he might have referred to the lady herself, as a 

 proof of what he said about her being true, instead 

 of referring to " all the noblemen and gentlemen 

 in Munster." 



As the Knight of Kerry has expressed a wish 

 to receive the opinions of your readers who take 

 an interest in the subject, I venture to offer the 

 foregoing remarks, in consequence of having the 

 very valuable copy of Raleigh's great work in our 

 possession, and shall be happy if the few observa- 

 tions I have made may be in any respect accept- 

 able to him or to your readers. 



Anna Eliza Bray. 



The Vicarage, Tavistock, Devon. 



See Stow's Annates of England, p. 1217. 



In a "Life of Old Parr," Harl. Misc., vol.vii. 

 p. 79., are the following lines about the old Coun- 

 tess, which may perhaps interest some of your 

 readers : 



" Sir Walter Raleigh, a most learned knight, 

 Doth of an Irish Countess (Desmond) write. 

 Of sevenscore years of age ; he with her spake ; 

 The Lord St. Albans doth more mention make, 

 That she was married in fourth Edward's reign ; 

 Thrice shed her teeth, which three times came again," 



At the bottom of the page is a note by Oldys, 

 but it probably contains nothing new to your cor- 

 respondents who have so diligently Investigated 

 this matter. He quotes however some remarks of 

 Archbishop Usher on this subject, which I do not 

 remember to have seen noticed in your pages. 



Erica. 



The Knight op Kerry, In his very Interesting 

 letter, infers that if the old Countess of Desmond 

 was only eight or nine years old at the death of 

 Edward IV., she therefore could not have been 

 married during the reign of that monarch. Was 

 it not, however, a not uncommon custom, at that 

 period, for royal and noble infants to be given lu 

 marriage at quite as early an age as eight or nine, 

 whenever it suited the views, political or other- 

 wise, of their parents or guardians ? C. E. D. 



A FEW THINGS ABOUT RICHARD BAXTER. 

 (Vol. v., p. 481.) 



Your correspondent Me. Bealby mentions 

 that In his visit to Kidderminster in 1836, he was 

 shown the house In the High Street in which 

 Richard Baxter is said to have resided : a few more 

 particulars on the subject may prove interesting. 



It was a three storied, high gabled house, with 

 low ceillnged rooms, lighted by long ranges of 

 casement. The exterior of the house displayed a 

 goodly proportion of wood-work, and appeared to 

 be much in its original condition. No garden or 

 extra-ground was attached to it, another street 

 (Swan Street) running Immediately at Its back. 

 Three or four years since the house fell before the 

 march of modern improvements, and none of Its 

 old features can now be recognised. At the time 

 of these alterations, the house was tenanted by a 

 shoemaker. An ascent of four or five steps led 

 Into the shop, the long low window of which, pro- 

 jecting somewhat over the pavement, was tiled 

 above, and supported underneath by wooden pillars. 

 These also served to mark the boundary allotted 

 to the display of the handiwork of the basketmaker 

 who plied his trade in the capacious cellar under- 

 neath the shop. 



Of course Mr. Bealby, while prosecuting in 

 Kidderminster his inquiries about Baxter, visited 

 Caldwall Castle (close to the town), once the resi- 



