2n'iS. VIII. July 2. '59.3 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



13 



neatly cast, with a projecting rim round the 

 centre, and a stamped pattern on the lower half, 

 with the letters " R. W." or " W. R." They con- 

 tain a loose metal ball about an ounce in weight, 

 and have two circular apertures in the upper part, 

 and a long narrow opening in the lower, and give 

 out a pretty loud sound when shaken ; they are 

 suspended by an iron link 1^ inches, through 

 which runs a- 2-inch iron ring, and weigh about 

 a pound each. Can any of your correspondents 

 throw a light on the use to which they were ap- 

 plied ? Jas. Coombs. 



German Silver. — When and where was the 

 mixed metal, called albata, argentane^ or German 

 silver, first made in Europe ? B. 



iWttt0r ^wtxizi Juttlb ^niiiatxi, 

 ^^ Horw SubsecivcB," by Lord Chandos,, 1620. — 

 I have recently purchased, at a book- stall, a book 

 bearing the above title on the outside, but within 

 the publisher says : — 



" The Author of this Booke I know not, but by chance 

 hearing that a friend of mine had some such papers in 

 hand, and hauing heard them commended, I was curious 

 to see and reade them ouer ; and in my opinion {which 

 is also confirmed by others iudicious and learned) sup- 

 posed if I could get the Copie, they would be welcome 

 abroad. My friends courtesie bestowed it freely upon 

 me, and my endeuour to giue you contentment, caused 

 mee to put it in print." He adds, "If the Book please 

 you, come home to my shop, j^ou shall haue it bound 

 ready to your hand, where in the meane time I expect 

 you, and remaine At your command Ed. Blovkt." 



The title-page runs thus : " Horce Subseciuce ; 

 Observations and Discovrses. London : printed 

 for Edward Blount, and are to be sold at his Shop 

 in Paul's Churchyard, at the signe of the Black 

 Beare, 1620." 



It is difficult to reconcile the assertion in this 

 letter with the endorsement of the book. Can 

 you tell me who this Lord Chandos was ? In the 

 fly-leaf is written, " By Grey Bridges, Lord 

 Chandos, J. P." N. H. R. 



[The author of this work is supposed to have been 

 Grey Brydges Lord Chandos, styled "King of Cots- 

 would," who died August 20, 1620. A full account, 

 and long extracts from this book, will be found in 

 Brydges's Memoirs of King James's Peers, p. 384. et sea,, 

 and in Park's edition of Lord Orford's Royal and Noble 

 Authors, ii. 184., ed. 1815. Mr. Park has the following 

 note respecting its authorship : " The bookseller (Edward 

 Blount) in his address to the reader says, ' He knew not 

 the author of the book : ' but the late Dr. Lort had seen 

 a copy of it ascribed to Lord Chandos, and so had Lord 

 Orford. It must, however, be observed that Wood as- 

 cribes a book with this title to the Rev. Joseph Hen- 

 shaw, printed in 1631 and 1640; and assigns the above, 

 in 1620, to Gilbert Lord Cavendish, who died before his 

 father, the first Earl of Devonshire, in 1625. Mr. Brydges 

 thinks that Wood had little reason for ascribing the 

 book to Gilbert Cavendish, since, by the internal evidence 

 of the publication, it seems more probable to have been 



written by Lord Chandos than Gilbert Cavendish, who 

 died too young to have had the experience which it dis- 

 plays. Mr. Brydges, however, adds, that those learned 

 antiquaries, Mr. Thomas Baker and Dr. White Kennett 

 (of whom the latter, from his connexions with the family, 

 had a particular opportunity of ascertaining the point if 

 well founded), considered it at least to be very doubtful. 

 Lord Orford professes to have introduced Lord Chandos 

 with great diffidence of his authority ; and Mr. Malone, 

 whose copy of Horce Subsecivce was obligingly imparted 

 to the editor [Thomas Park], conceives it likely to have 

 been written by William,the brother of Gilbert, if the pro- 

 duction of any Cavendish. It is probable, he adds, who- 

 ever was the author, that the book was composed about 

 1615, from concurring notices of time in six or seven 

 places."]! 



Woodroof. — Could you kindly inform me whe- 

 ther the plant called in Germany Waldmeister, 

 and used there to perfume and spice, wine grows 

 anywhere in England, and if so, where ? I find 

 the word translated in dictionaries as Wood-roof. 

 I am not myself an Englishman, or perhaps I 

 ought to know this ; yet none of my English 

 friends know it. J. C. C. 



[The German Waldmeister appears to be the same 

 plant as the English Woodroof, according to the descrip- 

 tion as given by Rhind, in his History of the Vegetable 

 Kingdom, p. 592, edit. 1855. He states that the " Wood- 

 roof (^Asperula odorata : natural^family Rubiacece ; tetran- 

 dria, monogynia, of Linnaeus,) is a plant which grows wild 

 in woods and thickets, and has been admitted into the 

 garden from the beauty of its whorled leaves and simple 

 blossom, but chiefly from the fragrant odour of the leaves. 

 This odour is only perceptible when the leaves are 

 crushed by the fingers ; but when dried, they give out 

 their peculiar odour very strongly, and for a long 

 period. They are used to scent clothes, and also to 

 preserve them from the attack of insects. This plant 

 will grow under the drip of trees, or in very shady places, 

 and thus may become a pleasing ornament in situations 

 where other flowers will not thrive. It is also frequently 

 planted in rock works." Gerard adds, that " Wood-roof 

 is reported to be put into wine to make a man merry, and 

 to be good for the heart and liver."] 



Edwards' Palcemon and Arcyte. — Mr. Bohn, in 

 his edition of Lowndes, mentions Edwards' play 

 of " Palsemon and Arcyte " in a way which makes 

 one infer that there is an edition of 1566. Chet- 

 wood asserts " that it was published with ' Songs ' 

 in 1585." Never having had the luck to meet 

 with it, or to meet with any one who had, I should 

 like to know whether my ignorance is the result 

 of my want of diligence, or whether the play re- 

 mains non est. G. H. K. 



[Our dramatic writers do not appear to have ever seen 

 this comedy in print. Warton {History of English Poetry, 

 iii. 238., ed. 1840) says, " I believe it was never printed." 

 It would seem that Chetwood's statements must be re- 

 ceived with caution, as he is styled by George Steevens, 

 " a blockhead, and a measureless and bungling liar." 



Edward Wright. — Sir Joshua Reynolds painted 

 the portrait of Mr. "Wright, who wrote a book 

 of travels in Italy and elsewhere, which he dedi- 

 cated to Lord Parker, and which went through 

 two editions. Can any of your correspondents 



