114 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 170. 



has now in his possession Theophilus Gibber's receipt 

 for twenty guineas (Johnson says ten), in conskieration 

 ofwliicli he engaged to 'revise, correct, aiid improve 

 the work, and also to atJix liis name in the title-page.' 

 IVIr. Gibber did accordingly very punctually revise 

 every sheet; he made numerous corrections, and added 

 many improvements : particularly in those lives which 

 came down to his own times, and brought him within 

 the circle of his own and his father's literary acquaint- 

 ance, especially in the dramatic line. To tl>e best of 

 my recollection, he gave some entire lives, besides in- 

 ■sertiiig abundance of paragraphs, of notes, anecdotes, 

 and remarks, in those wliich were compiled by Shiells 

 and other writers. I say athtr, because many of the 

 i>est pieces of biography in that collection were not 

 written by Shiells, but by superior hands. In siiort, 

 the engagement of Gibber, or some other Englishman, 

 to superintend what Shiells in particular should offer, 

 was a measure absolutely necessary, not only to guard 

 against his Scotticisms, and other defects of expression, 

 but his virulent Jacobitism, which incHned him to 

 abuse every Whig character that came in his way. 

 This, indeed, he would have done ; but Gibber (a 

 stanch Williamite) opposed and prevented him, inso- 

 much that a violent quarrel arose on the subject. By 

 the way, it seems to me, that Shiell's Jacobitism has 

 been the only circumstance that has procured him the 

 regard of Mr. Johnson, and the favourable mention 

 that he has made of Shiell's 'virtuous life and pious 

 «nd' — expressions that must draw a smile from every 

 one who knows, as I did, the real character of Robert 

 Shiells. And now, what think you of noticing this 

 matter in regard to truth, and the fair fame of the 

 honest bookseller?" — Memoir of the Life, Writings, and 

 JIfchanical Inventions of Edmund Cartwriyht, D.D., 

 F. R. S. : Saunders & dtley. 



W. L. Nichols. 

 Lansdown Place, Bath. 



ENGLISH COMEDIANS IN THE NETHERLANDS. 



(Vol. ii., pp. 184. 459. ; Vol. iii., p. 21.) 

 ^ From the following extract from the Thes. liek. 

 (Treusiiry Accounts) of Utrecht, it appears that 

 English actors ])erfornied there : 



" Schenkelwyn, 31 July, 1597. Sekere Engelsche 

 Comedianten, voor hore speelen op ten Stadhuyse, 8 q. 

 Fransche wyns." — (Tq certain English Gomedians, for 

 their playing at the town-hall, eight quarts of French 

 %yine.) 



In the Gerechtsdaghoechen (Tllinutes of the 

 Council) of Leyden appear sevei'al requests of 

 English comedians to perform there in 1614; 

 these I hope soon to have in liand. I can now 

 give the decision of tlie Council on the request of 

 the Englishman W. Pedel : 



" Op te Requeste daerby den voorn. Willem Pedol, 

 versochte aen die van de Gerechte der stadt Leyden 

 omme te mogen speelen verscheyde fraeye endc eerlicke 

 spelen mettet lichaem, sonder eenige woorden te ge- 

 bruycken, stent geappostileert : Die van de Gerechte 



deser stadt Leyden hebben voor zoe veel in hswi es, 

 den thoonder toegelaten ende gcconsenteert, latea toe 

 ende consenteren mits desen binaen dezer stede inde 

 Kercke vant BagynhofF te mogen spelen voor de ge- 

 nieente ende syne speelen verthoonen, mits dat hy hem 

 daervan zalt onthouden geduyrende tdoen van de pre- 

 dicatien van Gods woorts, en dat de arme VVeesen 

 alhier zullen genieten de gerechte helfte van de in- 

 comende proffyten, en dat zulcx int geheel zullen werdeii 

 ontfangen en gecollecteert by een persoon daertoe bij 

 M'"" van de Arme Weesen te stellen ende commit- 

 teeren. 



" Aldus gedaen op ten xvlij Nov. 1608." 



( Translation.) 

 On the request by which the aforesaid W. Pedel 

 petitioned the authorities of the city of Leyden to 

 allow him to exhibit various beautiful and chaste per- 

 formances with his body, without using any words, was 

 determined : . The authorities of this city of Leyden 

 have consented and allowed the exhibitor to perform in 

 the church of the Bagynhoff within this city, provided 

 he cease during the preaching of God's word, and that 

 the poor orphans here have half the profits, and that 

 they be received and collected by a person appointed 

 by the masters of the poor orphans. 



Done on the 18th November, 1608. 



In lCo6 English comedians came to Dordrecht, 

 but were soon obliged to withdraw. About 1600 

 some appeared in Germany, who considerably di- 

 minisiied the taste for biblical and moral pieces. 

 See Dr. Schotel, Blik in de Gcsch. v. h. tooneel. ; 

 Gervinus, Neuere Gesckichte der poetischen Na- 

 tioiiallUeratur der Deidschen, vol. iii. pp. 96 — 100. 

 — From the Navorscher. W. D. V. 



LA BHUiERE. 



(Vol. vii., p. 38.) 



I am unable to reply to Ursula's questions ; 

 but I would ask permission to solicit from such 

 of your better-infoi-med correspondents as may 

 become votaries to Ursula, that they would ex- 

 tend tlie range of their genealogical pilgrimage so 

 far as to pay a visit to the ruins of Tor Abbey. I 

 should be glad to learn whether either William 

 Lord Brieicere or William de la Brunre (both of 

 wliom were connected with the foundation of that 

 religious house) were of the same family as Thi- 

 bault de la Bruyerc, tlie Crusader, who is one of 

 the subjects of Ursula's inquiry. Dr. Oliver 

 (Monaftt. Exon., note at p. 179.) thinks that these 

 two William Brewers may have represented fami- 

 lies originally distinct from each other : 



"There is some doubt," he says, "whether the family 

 De Bruerid or Brueru, which was settled in Devon at 

 the time of the Domesday, and then held some of the 

 lands afterwards given by W. Briwcre to Torr Abbey, 

 was the same as that of tlie founder. In this cartulary 

 the two names are spelt dilFereutly, and Biiwere seems 



