2°d S. VIII. Sept. 24. '69.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



253 



Queen Anne, in 1710, signified her intention of 

 giving the regiment of Dragoons, just vacant by 

 the death of Algernon Capel, Earl of Essex, to 

 Colonel Hill, as a reward for his gallant service at 

 the unfortunate battle of Almanza, where he 

 mainly contributed to preserve the broken re- 

 mains of our infantry. The struggle which en- 

 sued between his friends and those of Lieut.-Gen. 

 Meredith, to whom the Duke of Marlborough had 

 promised the same regiment, became the trial of 

 strength between the Whig and the Tory parties. 

 As the queen made no secret of her intention in 

 behalf of the brother of her favourite, the Earl of 

 Sunderland, son-in-law of the duke, undertook to 

 procure a vote of parliament for the removal of 

 Lady Masham from attendance on her majesty. 

 This was averted by Col. Hill's throwing himself 

 at the queen's feet, and begging that he might not 

 be the cause of any uneasiness to her majesty, but 

 that her majesty would be graciously pleased io 

 bestow the favour she intended for him upon some 

 other officer. The queen granted his request, 

 but speedily visited the double affront to her pre- 

 rogative on the ministry who had offered it. The 

 Earl of Sunderland was, first, called on to surrender 

 the seals of Secretary of State. The Lord Trea- 

 surer (Godolphin) was next removed, and the 

 disruption of the whole Whig party followed. 



In 1712, Queen Anne made Brigadier Hill 

 Lieut.-General of the Ordnance. (State Papers, 

 Domestic, 1712, Sept. — Dec.) During the same 

 reign, he was sent in chief command of the expe- 

 dition to Canada, in which he gained no laurels. 

 But, though no rival to the great Marlborough in 

 campaigning, "honest Jack Hill" was, from the 

 testimony of his contemporaries, a general fa- 

 vourite ; and it is rather hard in G. L. S. to make 

 him the author of the Glencoe massacre in 1692, 

 when he was a mere boy. - P. G. H. 



G. L. S. has inaccurately stated that " it is cer- 

 tain that a Robert Duncanson succeeded George 

 Wade as colonel of the 33rd Regiment, February 

 12th, 1705." This was not the case, for Wade 

 succeeded Duncanson on the 9th June, 1705 : the 

 latter (who was appointed to the 33rd, vice Leigh,') 

 having been killed at Valencia de Alcantara on 

 the 8th May, 1705. Major-General John Hill 

 did not die at the period of his removal from the 

 colonelcy of the 11th Foot on the 30th July, 1715 : 

 his decease occurred on the 19th June, 1735. 



Two years after the siege of Mons, in 1709, 

 where Colonel Hill was wounded, an expedition 

 was fitted out against Quebec, the command of 

 the land forces being entrusted to him. He was 

 made a brigadier on the 1st January, 1710, and 

 promoted to the rank of Major-General on the 

 2l8t July, 1712. As the fleet was proceeding up 

 the river now named the St. Lawrence, eight 

 transports crowded with troops were dashed upon 



the rocks, and nearly all the ofiicers and men on 

 board perished. This Brigadier Hill was brother 

 to Mrs. Masham, Queen Anne's favourite, to 

 whose court influence he owed his appointment. 



Thomas Carteb. 

 Horse Guards. 



"THE WEEN SONG." 



(2"'i S. viii. 209.) 



Mb. Geobge Llotd, after quoting a verse of 

 the wren song as it is sung in the West of Ire- 

 land, asks for the remaining lines, and an explan- 

 ation of the origin of the custom. The song is 

 sung on different days in different parts of Ire- 

 land. In Galway Mr. Llotd says the 31st of 

 October is the day selected : why does not appear. 

 In the South of Ireland, the wren-boys hold their 

 festival on St. Stephen's Day, the 26th December, 

 and the words of their carol are thus given in 

 Crofton Croker's Researches, c. xii. p. 233. : — 



« The Wren, the Wren, the King of all birds, 

 St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze ; 

 Although he is little, his family's great, 

 I pray you, good landlady, give us a treat. 



" My box, it would speak, if it had but a tongue, 

 And two or three shillings would do it no wrong, 

 Sing holly, sing ivy — sing ivy, sing holly, 

 A drop just to drink, it would drown melancholy. 



"And if you draw it of the best, 

 I hope in heaven your soul may rest ; 

 But if you draw it of the small, 

 It won't agree with the wren-boys at all." 



I have never seen any satisfactory account as to 

 the origin of the custom. J. Emebson Tennent. 



The words of the Irish wren song are cor- 

 rectly given in Gerald Griffin's story of The Half 

 Sir, chapter i. p. 108. (Duffy's edition, Dublin, 

 1857.) I remember, when a school-boy, to have 

 heard them thus sung on a St. Stephen's Day : — 



" The Wran ! the Wran ! the King of all birds, 

 St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze ; 

 Although he's little, his family's great. 

 Get up fair ladies, and give us a trate ! 

 And if your trate be of the best, 

 In heaven we hope your soul may rest ! " 



Your correspondent will find in Griffin's story 

 (p. 121.) an account of the legend of " the wren," 

 and a characteristic explanation of the ancient 

 custom. 



I think your correspondent will discover, upon 

 further inquiry, he is under a mistake in sup- 

 posing "the wren song" is ever publicly chaunted 

 upon " Hallow e'en ; " and also in stating that 

 there are " incantations to saints " or " angels " on 

 that evening. There can be no doubt that prac- 

 tices are then resorted to which may be justly 

 designated as " superstitious ; " and a very useful 

 chapter might be added to the " Folk Lore " of 



