2°<J S. VIII. Oct. 29, '69.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



351 



No. 211. p. 233.), Medmenham Abbey is men- 

 tioned as " the place where Wilkes, Sterne, and 

 the other roystering wits of their time met until 

 they made the neighbourhood too hot to hold 

 them." Of the sayings and doings — the impious 

 orgies and rites — of the "Monks of Medmenham," 

 it is quite needless here to speak ; but this pro- 

 bably is the first time that Sterne has been num- 

 bered, and as I believe erroneously, amongst that 

 fraternity. 



In the "New Foundling Hospital for Wit," 

 four members of the club are named : Wilkes 

 without disguise ; the other three are partly veiled. 

 Sir W. Scott, in his notes to Chi-ysal, also men- 

 tions some of the members ; but as their descend- 

 ants may have been pained by the exposure of 

 the names, they need not be here repeated. 

 Nowhere is Sterne mentioned, and it is not 

 likely that a clergyman and an author of so 

 much celebrity would have passed unnoticed. 

 We know that Sterne mixed in Paris with excep- 

 tionable associates, and that sacred language was 

 occasionally used by him with disgraceful levity; 

 still we are anxious to redeem his character from 

 the serious charge that he formed one of a society, 

 twelve in number, which a baronet of that day 

 was able to collect around him, and which could 

 only have been formed at a time (1760) when 

 libertinism and impiety were carried to lengths 

 happily now unknown, and of which the excesses 

 of the French Revolution were the fitting con- 

 summation. J. H. M. 



Note on Chaucer : Sire Thopas. — The " Rime of 

 Sire Thopas " ends with these lines : — 

 " Himself drank water of the well. 

 As did the Knight Sire Percivell 

 So worthy under wede." 



To which Tyrwhitt appends this note T — 



" The Romance of Perceval le Galois . . . consisted of 

 60,000 verses, so it would be some trouble to find the fact 

 which is probably here alluded to." 



One does not much wonder at Tyrwhitt's not 

 thinking it worth while to undertake the search, 

 but one is rather surprised to find in Wright's 

 edition the above note repeated verbatim, espe- 

 cially as the Thornton Romances have now been 

 published fifteen years, and the passage alluded to 

 occurs in the VQvyJirst stanza : — 



" His righte name was Percyvelle, 

 He was fosterde in the felle, 

 He dranke water of the welle 



And 3ilt was he wyghte !" 



J. Eastwooi). 

 Oracles in Opposition. — It seems worth while, 

 and not a little amusing, to note the following 

 direct contradiction between two oracles. Dr. 

 Johnson says : " What is coihmonly thought I 

 should take to be true" (see Boswell's Tour, 

 2nd edition, p. 24) : " General opinion is no 

 2»'iS. VIII. >io. 200.] 



proof of truth, for the generality of men are ig- 

 norant." (Dodsley's Economy of Human Life, 

 Part II. sec. 3.) G. 



Edinburgh. 



A Regiment all of one Name. — Amongst the 

 deaths recorded in the London Magazine for May, 

 1735, p. 279., I find the following extraordinary 

 entry : — 



" At her Seat, at Campbell, North Britain, the Dutchess 

 dowager of Argyll, Relict of Archibald Campbell Duke of 

 Argyll, who was deputed by the Nobillity of Scotland to 

 offer that Crown to their Majesties K. William and Q. 

 Mary; and afterwards for their Service carried over a 

 Regiment to Flanders, the officers of which were all of 

 one Family, and the private men all named Campbell. Her 

 grace was Mother to the present Duke of Argyll, the Earl 

 of ILA and the Countess of Bute." 



The above is a literal copy, italics and ortho- 

 graphy, capital letters, &c. How many " private 

 men " were in this celebrated regiment ? and what 

 became of the body ? Can the Smiths produce 

 anything like the above ? S. Redmond. 



Liverpool. 



^wtxiti. 



SIR THOMAS ROE. 



(2"'»S. vii. 477.518.) 



In the year 1636, the papers and correspon- 

 dence of this eminent diplomatist were the pro- 

 perty of Samuel Richardson, the publisher (Addl. 

 MSS., 6185, 111.), by whom they were oflfercd 

 to the " Society for the Encouragement of Learn- 

 ing" for publication; Richardson himself volun- 

 teering to bear such portion of the expense as the 

 Society might consider proper (Addl. MSS., 

 6190.). The papers were placed in the hands of 

 Carte, the historian, for inspection. He carefully 

 examined them, and, in an interesting letter ad- 

 dressed to the secretary, and dated 20th March, 

 1636-7, gave an account of the collection (Addl. 

 MSS., 6190, 21.). He mentioned that he believed 

 that the correspondence relating to Roe's embassy 

 to the court of the Great Mogul had been already 

 published, and he stated that, from the time of his 

 being sent to Constantinople in 1621, there was a 

 continued series of his letters and negotiations till 

 the end of his life. He expressed an opinion as to 

 which portion of the papers it was desirable to 

 publish, and the manner of such publication, and 

 estimated that by retrenching letters containing 

 the same accounts (for Roe was in the habit of 

 writing several letters to different persons by the 

 same post or courier, slightly varying in details), 

 and by excluding those of mere compliment, the 

 work might be embraced in three volumes folio ; un- 

 less it were determined to print, also, translations of 

 such letters as were written in German or Italian, 

 of which there were a great number, in which 



