Dec. 11. 1852.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



556 



<^ittviti. 



ANCIENT IRISH TITLES. 



As the dignity of chief of a sept was, accord- 

 ing to the old Irish laws, elective and not here- 

 ditary, perhaps you would be able to inform me, 

 through your numerous correspondents, upon 

 what ground certain Irish gentlemen have of late 

 assumed this title, as indicated by their prefix- 

 ing the article "The" before their names. Allow- 

 ing that many of these gentlemen may be the lineal 

 descendants of the last legitimate chiefs (though 

 some of them are not), still such descent gives 

 them no claim whatever, even in courtesy, to this 

 honourable and ancient title, which, with the true 

 possessors, was, as I said before, elective and not 

 hereditary. 



The most frivolous pretexts are made use of to 

 sanction these assumptions. I may instance the 

 case of one gentleman, a late M.P., who has in- 

 stalled himself into the chieftainship of two old 

 septs, one on his" father's account, and the other on 

 his mother's ! she having been the only child of the 

 last soi-disant chief: and again, a late morning paper 

 informs us of an interesting event in the career of 

 another of these gentlemen, who, it is to be feared, 

 has not even an hereditary right to his assumed 

 title, as Dr. O'Donovan, in his notes to The Annals 

 of Ireland, strongly suspects him of being of 

 English descent, although flourishing of late years 

 the " O" before his name. 



Surely it is time to put a stop to this desecration 

 of titles once so honoured in this country ; and I 

 know of no better way than by calling attention 

 to it through the pages of " N. & Q.," unless, in- 

 deed, that Parliament might be induced to take up 

 the matter, and favour us with an " Ancient Irish 

 Titles Assumption Bill." T. O'G. 



Dublin. 



Niagara or Niagara. — How is it that the name 

 of " the Falls " has been so completely changed ? 

 The Huron pronunciation, and unquestionably the 

 more musical, was Niagara. Again : 



" Where wild Osnego spreads her swamps around, 

 And Niagara stuns with thundering sound." 



The Traveller. 



Have the Yankees thrown back the accent to the 

 antepenult, or who ? W. Feaser. 



Is there an earlier description of the Falls of 

 Niagara than that contained in Father Hennepin's 

 book, the first edition of which appeared in 1683 ? 



American us. 



Philadelphia. 



Lady Arabella Stewart. — ^Who performed the mar- 

 riage ceremony between Lady "Arabella Stuart " 



and Lord William Seymour ? It is said to have 

 been celebrated in " the ladye's chamber," in the 

 palace at Greenwich, some time between February 

 and July, 1610. I wish to ascertain, if possible, 

 the exact date of this marriage, and who was the 

 celebrating clergyman, if such can be discovered 

 now. A. S. A. 



Punjaub. 



William {titular) Earl of Gowrie. — Where and 

 when died William Ruthven, fourth Earl of 

 Gowrie, and was he ever married ? Wood's Dou' 

 glas (vol. i. p. 663.) states, that " he went abroad, 

 and became famous for chymistry " (query, in 

 what country ?) ; and Bishop Burnet {History of 

 his Own Times) says, " it was given out that he 

 had the Philosopher's Stone." If Colonel Stepney 

 Co well's researches regarding the Ruthven family 

 have been successful, he would confer a benefit on 

 antiquaries by publishing them in a Note, stating 

 particulars concerning the above titular Earl of 

 Gowrie, and also respecting Dr. Patrick Ruthven, 

 his death, marriage, issue, &c. Chambers, in vol. v. 

 of Papers for the People, gives an interesting story 

 about the " Last of the Ruthvens," making Patrick 

 marry a daughter of David Calderwood, &c., but 

 all evidently romance. A. S. A. 



Punjaub. 



Drake, an Artist. — I shall be glad of any in- 

 formation respecting N. Drake, an artist, who 

 lived, and was successful in portrait painting, 

 about the year 1766 or 1770. G. 



Electrical Phenomena. — I should wish to in- 

 quire of your correspondents whether they have 

 observed any similar phenomena to the under- 

 stated. In the spring of this year, after a few 

 days of dry weather, I was about to spend an 

 evening at a friend's house, and for the purpose ot" 

 making myself presentable, went into my bedroom 

 to brush my hair. While doing so, I heard a 

 slight crackling noise as I thought, exactly similar 

 to that heard when stroking a cat. I put out the 

 light and looked in the glass, when I was rather 

 astonished to observe, whenever I brushed or 

 combed my hair, a shower of electric sparks fol- 

 lowing the course of the brush. I continued to 

 observe this for about three weeks, when it gra- 

 dually ceased. At the time I was in perfect 

 health, though a short time previously I had 

 suffered from a slight cold. No sensation of any 

 kind attended the evolution of the electricity. I 

 do not distinctly remember any similar cases re- 

 corded, but should feel obliged if any one could 

 give me informatiom on the subject. Adsum. 



Arnold Family. — Wanted particulars of the 

 family of Arnold, who was on the jury when the 

 seven bishops were tried in the reign of James II., 

 and was the only one who was for a verdict of 



