34 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 167. 



letter was written at Rouen, Margaret of Anjou 

 was meditating the descent into England which 

 proved so fatal to herself and son, whose life was 

 taken away with such barbarity on the field at 

 Tewksbury, in the month of May following. The 

 letter is addressed, apparently, to the magistrates 

 of Rouen or Dieppe, to request the liberation of a 

 native of Wales (imprisoned for the crime of having 

 slain a man), and his delivery to the officers of the 

 Archbishop of Rouen, on the plea of his being a 

 clerk. The prince adds, that he was authorised by 

 the King of France (Louis XI.) to grant grace in 

 similar cases. As the signature of this unfortunate 

 prince is at present quite unknown in the series of 

 English royal autographs, it would be very desirable 

 that an accurate fac-simile should be made of it 

 by some competent artist ; and perhaps the art of 

 photography might in this instance be most advan- 

 tageously and successfully used to obtain a perfect 

 copy of the entire document. F. Madden. 



ROBEET BLOOMFIBLD. 



Presuming that some of the many readers of 

 *'N. & Q." may feel an interest in the author 

 of The Farmer's Boy, whom I knew intimately 

 (a sickly-looking, retiring, and meditative man), 

 and have often seen trimming his bright little 

 flower-garden fronting his neat cottage in the 

 City Road — a pastry-cook's shop, an apple and 

 oyster stall, and part of the Eagle Tavern (" To 

 what base uses," &c.) now occupy its, to me, hal- 

 lowed site, — I send you a few extracts from his 

 sale catalogue, an interesting and a rare document, 

 as a mournful record of a genius as original and 

 ■picturesque, as it was beautiful and holy. His 

 books, prints, drawings (215 lots), and furniture 

 (105 lots) were sold in the humble house in which 

 he died, at Shefford, Beds, on the 28th and 29th 

 May, 1824. The far greater number of his books 

 had been presented to him by his friends, viz. 

 the Duke of Grafton (a very liberal contributor). 

 Dr. Drake, James Montgomery, Samuel Rogers, 

 Iklrs. Barbauld, Richard Cumberland, Sir James 

 Bland Surges, Capel Lofft, &c. His autograph 

 manuscript of The Farmer's Boy, elegantly bound, 

 was sold for 14Z. ; of Rural Tales, boards, for 

 41. ; of Wild Flowers, for SI. 10s. ; of Banks of 

 the Wye, for 31. ; of May-day with the Muses 

 (imperfect), for ten shillings; and Description 

 of the JEolian Harp (he was a maker of -Solian 

 harps), for 15s. His few well-executed draw- 

 ings hj himself (views of his City Road cottage 

 and garden, &c.) produced from 5s. to 18s. each. 

 Among his furniture were " A handsome ink- 

 stand, presented to him by the celebrated Dr. 

 Jenner " (in return for his sweet poem of " Good 

 Tidings "), and the " celebrated oak table, which 

 Mr. Bloomfield may be said to have rendered 



immortal by the beautiful and pathetic poem in- 

 scribed to it in his Wild Flowers. The first 

 was sold for 6^. 10s., the second for 14Z. I am 

 happy in the possession of the original miniature 

 (an admirable likeness, and finely painted) of 

 Robert Bloomfield, by Edridge. It is the first and 

 most authentic portrait of him that was engraved, 

 and prefixed to his poems : 



" And long as Nature in her simplest guise, 

 And virtuous sensibility we prize. 

 Of well-earn'd fame no poet shall enjoy 

 A fairer tribute than The Farmer's Boy." 



George Danisl. 



NOTE FOR LONDON TOPOGRAPHERS. 



I send you a note for London topographers. 

 The charter is dateless, but, inasmuch as Walter 

 de Langeton was appointed to the bishopric of 

 Coventry and Lichfield in 1295, and Sir John le 

 Bretun was " custos " of London 22 to 25 Edw. I., 

 i. e. 1294 to 1297, we may fairly assign it to the 

 years 1296 or 1297 : — 



"Omnibus Christi fidelibus ad quos presentes 

 litere pervenerint, Johannes de Notice salutem 

 in domino. Noveritis me remisisse, et pmnino 

 quietum clamasse pro me et heredibus meis, Do- 

 mino Waltero de Langeton, Coventrensi et Lich- 

 feldensi episcopo, heredibus, vel assignatis suis, 

 totum jus et clameum quod habui, vel aliquo mode 

 habere potui, in quadam placea terre cum per- 

 tinenciis in vice Westmonasterio sine ullo retene- 

 mento, illam videlicet quejacet inter exitum curie 

 et porte domini Walteri episcopi supradicti, ex 

 una parte, et tenementum Henrici Coci ex altera, 

 et inter altum stratam que ducit de Charryngg 

 versus curiam Westmonasterii, ex parte una et 

 tenementum domini Walteri episcopi supradicti, 

 ex altera ; Ita quod ego predictus Johannes, aut 

 heredes mel, sive aliquis nomine nostro nuncquam 

 durante seculo in predicta placea terre cum om- 

 nibus suis pertinenciis, aliquod jus vel clameum 

 habere, exigere, vel vendicare poterimus quoquo 

 modo in perpetuum. In cujus rei testimonium, 

 sigillum meum apposui huic scripto. His testibus, 

 Dominis Johanne le Bretun tunc custode civitatis 

 Londonii ; Roberto deBasingg, militibus; Johanne 

 de Bankwelle ; Radulpho le Vynneter ; Adam de 

 Kynggesheued ; Henrico Coco ; Reginaldo le Por- 

 ter ; Henrico du Paleys ; Hugone le Mareschal, et 

 filiis," Lambert B. Larking. 



SERMONS BY PARMAMENTART CHAPLAINS. 



Perhaps there is nothing in ecclesiastical writ- 

 inn's more ludicrously and rabidly solemn than the 

 sermons preached before " The Honourable House 

 of Commons " during the Protectorate, by that war- 

 like race of saints who figure so extensively in the 



