220 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 174. 



" The Birch : a Poem" (Vol.vii., p. 158.).— The 

 poem entitled "The Birch," which you have printed 

 at length in a recent Number, has long been familiar 

 to me, though I believe it has never before been 

 printed ; and was written by the late Rev. Thomas 

 Wilson, B.D., head master of the Free Grammar 

 School of Clitheroe, Lancashire. He was author 

 of An Archceological Dictionary, or Classical An- 

 tiquities of the Jews, Greeks, and Romans, dedicated 

 to Dr. Johnson ; which was highly esteemed, and 

 passed through two editions: the first in 1782, 

 the second, " with considerable additions," in 1 793. 



Mr. Wilson was a most amiable man, of great 

 learning, taste, and humour ; and universally 

 respected and beloved by all his scholars, by all 

 his townsmen, and by all the first families through- 

 out the north of Lancashire. During his time, 

 the school of Clitheroe was in the highest repute ; 

 and the annual return of the speech-day was the 

 great local festival of the year — the occasion of 

 general conviviality and good neighbourhood 

 among the gentry of the district. On these occa- 

 sions Mr. Wilson generally wrote a copy of verses, 

 to be recited by some of the scholars : and I have 

 no doubt that the statement in your correspon- 

 dent's copy ought to be " recited by a boy of 

 thirteen," for it was certainly written by Mr. Wil- 

 son, the bead master. J. T. A. 



Curtseys and Bows (Vol.vii., p. 156.). — E. S. 

 will find his Query partly, if not altogether 

 answered in a former note on salutations and 

 salutes (Vol. v., p. 157.). As to the date of the 

 word curtsey (a contraction for courtesy^, it is at 

 least as early as Shakspeare. Rosalind concludes 

 the epilogue to As You Like It by making her 

 curtsy. It occurs also in a dozen other places. C. 



Deodorising Peat (Vol. vi., p. 509.). — A. A. D. 

 Inquires if this is found to be a failure : to this I 

 can answer safely, that it is not. As to the second 

 part of his Query, I would say, if he means (as I 

 am sure he does) the " Peat Charcoal," he should 

 apply to Jasper W. Rogers, Esq., C. E., Seville 

 Place, Dublin, who is the patentee, and who will, 

 I am sure, give him every information. Before 

 doing so, I would, however, suggest an application 

 to Professor Davy, Royal Dublin Society, who has 

 strongly maintained that finely pulverised peat is 

 fully equal to the peat charcoal as a deodorising 

 agent. He has published a small pamphlet on the 

 subject : to the best of my recollection it may be 

 had through Messrs. Hodges and Smith, Dublin. 



Enivri. 



Jacobite Toasts (Vol.vii., p. 105.). — What Is 

 here called " Lord Duff's toast " formed some of 

 the toasts current among the Jacobites about the 

 period of the Rebellion of 1745. Lord Mahon 

 alludes to the deep bumpers which were drunk by 



the country gentlemen to the health of the younn^ 

 prince, and probably by the country ladies also^ 

 " who were proud to sing ditties to his praise."" 

 Lord Mar died in 1732, consequently the fourth 

 toast, " Keep Lord Mar," could not be drunk in 

 1745. The following list, given to me by a Lan- 

 cashire gentleman some years ago, varies a little 

 from your con-espondent's, and may be acceptable 

 both to him and to others of your readers. As 

 Lord Mar and the Duke of Ormond, who died in 

 1745, are both omitted in this list of toasts, it may 

 have been used subsequently to the other. 



- A Blessed Change. 



- D — Every Foreigner. 



- Get Home Jemmy. 



- Keep Loyal Ministers. 



- No Oppressive Parliaments. 



- Quickly Return, Stuart; and 

 Quell Rebellious Subjects. 



- Tuck Up Whelps (Guelfs). 



- Exert Your Zeal. 



Your correspondents, myself among the number^ 

 In the case of Shenstone (Vol. vi., pp. 414. 465.), 

 ought well to consider the narrow limits which can 

 be afforded weekly in your pages, and not desire 

 to insert in them what may be easily found else- 

 where. Bishop Pursglove's epitaph, which fills an 

 entire column at p. 135., has been given, 1. In the 

 Gentleman's Magazine for December 1794, p. 1 101. ; 

 2. in Lysons's Derbyshire ; and 3. In the beautiful 

 volume of monumental brasses published by the 

 Cambridge Camden Society, where it Is accom- 

 panied by a most interesting memoir. When some 

 of your correspondents look with anxiety for the 

 appearance of a Note and Query of three lines, and 

 do not find it, this occupation of space is rather 

 unreasonable, as well as needless. J. H. M. 



Consecrators of .English Bishops (Vol. vii., 

 p. 132). — I believe that the following Is, as far as 

 It goes, a correct answer to the Query of A. S. A, 

 The bishops assisting the Primate were : 



Feb. 27, 1842, Lincoln and Llandaff; April 28, 

 1844, London, Bangor, Worcester; May 4, 1845, 

 London, Lincoln, Lichfield, Rochester, Hereford, 

 and Bishop Coleridge late of Barbadoes ; July 5, 

 1846, London, Lichfield, Calcutta. 



The consecration of December 3, 1843, like all 

 those before mentioned, took place in the arch- 

 bishop's private chapel in Lambeth Palace. 



S. R. Maitland. 



ChatharrCs Language (Vol. vii., p. 127.). — 

 I suppose you will receive many answers to 

 H. G. D.'s question, as to the authorship of the 

 lines quoted by Lord Lansdovvne ; but " what Is 

 everybody's business is nobody's ;" and, therefore, 

 I venture to say that, with a slight difference, 

 they are from Cowper's Task, b. ii. 235. I think 



