448 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2'"i S. X Dec. 8. '60. 



theory akin to the " Origin of Species by means of 

 Natural Selection," was the subject of debate in 

 the kingdom of Bungo in the sixteenth century, 

 between a Bonze for its defender and a Jesuit 

 priest for its assailant. It would be interesting if 

 some of your readers, from the Portuguese narra- 

 tor of this circumstance, or from other sources, 

 could ascertain how far this doctrine of the 

 Japanese resembles the theories of Lamarck and 

 Darwin. Archibald Weir. 



Enfield. 



Anecdote of Dr. Johnson. — The Rev. Dr. 



James Abercrombie of this city, who died about 

 twenty years ago at a very advanced age, spent 

 some time in London when a young man, and be- 

 came acquainted with Dr. Johnson. After Dr. 

 Abercrombie's return to America, a correspon- 

 dence was maintained between them upon literary 

 and religious topics, which is mentioned in Bos- 

 well's Life of Johnson. 



Dr. Abercrombie related the following anec- 

 dote of Johnson, which I have never seen in 

 print : — 



As Dr. Johnson was riding in a carriage through 

 London on a rainy day, he overtook a poor woman 

 carrying a baby, without any protection from the 

 weather. Making the driver stop the coach, he 

 invited the poor woman to get in with her child, 

 which she did. After she had seated herself, the 

 Doctor said to her : " My good woman, I think it 

 most likely that the motion of the coach will wake 

 your child in a little while, and I wish you to 

 understand that if you talk any baby-talk to it, 

 you will have to get out of the coach." 



As the Doctor had anticipated, the child soon 

 awoke, and the forgetful mother exclaimed to it : 

 " Oh ! the little dear, is he going to open his 

 eyesy-pysy ? " " Stop the coach, driver ! " shouted 

 Johnson ; and the woman had to get out and 

 finish her journey on foot. Uneda. 



Philadelphia. 



Zinke and the Prince of Wales. — The fol- 

 lowing Note of Zinke is by one of his contem- 

 poraries : — 



" Mr. Zinke, enameller, who is employed at Court to 

 paint three Princes of the Royal Family, as he happened 

 when there on Monday, March 25, 1730-1, the Prince of 

 Wales came in and asked Zinke, have you heard the 

 news?— What news, and please your Highness? — The 

 Prince replied. Won't you get drunk to-night ? There is 

 a peace made between Germany, Spain, and England and 

 Holland, &c. 



" Mr. Zinke's answer was, that he usually drank port 

 wine, but upon this occasion he would regale himself and 

 drink his highness's health in French wine." 



The writer of the anecdote adds : — 



" This is not to be taken for a customary practice of 

 Mr. Zinke, for of 20 years almost that I have been ac- 

 quainted with him, I never saw him in that condition, 

 though I often have seen him take his bottle as others, 

 and mostly he retired before others ; and from his early 



and assiduous labours, has gathered a pretty good for- 

 tune, especiallj' from the [year] 1720, when he began 

 to save money by his works." 



Abracadabra. 



"Fire awav Flanagan." — In a little work, 

 called Ireland Sixty Years Ago, published in 

 Dublin about 1848, the origin of the above is thus 

 stated : — 



" Cromwell, having marched his army southwards, 

 came to a castle, garrisoned by some rebels under the 

 command of a Flanagan, who sent Cromwell a violent 

 philippic ending with an order to quit the place, or he 

 would open his cannon on the English forces. Cromwell 

 returned the note with his reply written in a corner of 

 the missive — ' Fire away Flanagan.' " 



The laconic reply so frightened the redoubtable 

 Flanagan, that he fled without firing a shot. 



George Lloyd. 



eauerie^. 



The Jacobites. — In Dr. Wolfs Autobiogra- 

 phy, vol. i. 318., he says that the above sect refrain 

 from eating pork, grounding their practice on 

 Acts XV. 29., where they translate iropveias as 

 " pork." Can such a translation be in any way 

 supported? And in a note he adds that "some 

 for iropveta read iripvn." What authority is there 

 for the latter reading ? • a5. 



ScLATER Bacon's Diary. — Thomas Hearne 

 remarks in his Diary, under June 11, 1718 (JReliq. 

 Hearn. vol. i. 406.), that Mr. Bacon alias Scla- 

 ter "is a very curious man, and that he puts 

 down things in the same manner that I do." The 

 person whom Hearne meant was Thomas Sclater 

 Bacon, some time Member of Parliament for 

 Cambridge. He died in 1736, leaving a large 

 and very valuable library, which was sold by auc- 

 tion in London, on March 24, 1736-7, and follow- 

 ing days. Does this Diary exist ? If it could be 

 found it would probably be of great interest. 



K. P. D. E. 



Newnham Family. — N athaniel Newnham, Esq., 

 Lord Mayor of London in 1783, was "the son of 

 George Lewis Newnham, Esq., M.P. for Arundel, 

 who even exceeded Elwes in Penury." * Was his 

 father related to Lewis Newnham, '■'■Esq. of London 

 and of Northaw, co. Herts," whose arms (arg. a 

 cross sa., over all a bendlet vert) are in Warburton's 

 Map of London and Middlesex, 1749 ? H. S. G. 



Commissioners for the Propagation of the 

 Gospel in Wales. — I should be much obliged 

 if any of your correspondents could furnish me 

 with the names of the commissioners entrusted 



* City Biography, containing Anecdotes and Memoirs 

 of the Rise, Progress, &c., of the Aldermen, &c., of Lon- 

 don, 1800, pp. 195., 2nd edition, — a work which professes 

 on its title-page to " call a cat, a cat." Querj', Who was 

 its author ? 



