Mar. 12. 1853.] 



NOTES AND QUERmS. 



271 



Besides, we now know the plant which furnishes the 

 Chinese tobacco ; it is even said to grow wild in the East 

 Indies. It is certain that the tobacco plant of Eastern 

 Asia is quite different from the American $pecies." 



This is the opinion of a botanist at once distin- 

 guished for extensiveness of research and accuracy 

 of detail ; although Mr. J. Crawford, in a paper 

 read before the Statistical Society, on the 15th of 

 November, 1852, seems to incline to a contrary 

 notion. It is, however, necessary to remark that 

 his facts tend rather to elucidate the statistics of 

 the plant than its natural character, so that 

 Meyen's opinion must, I think, stand good until it 

 be disproved. Seleucds. 



Oldham, Bishop of Exeter (Vol. vii., p. 189.). — 

 Perhaps it may help J. D. in his difficulty touch- 

 ing the difference between the coat of arras borne 

 by Oldham, Bishop of Exeter, and that borne by 

 the Oldham family at Hatherleigh, to be informed 

 of what I believe he will find, upon inquiry, to be 

 the fact, viz. that Laing was the original name of 

 the present family of Oldham at Hatherleigh ; and 

 that, consequently, the arms of Laing may pos- 

 sibly still be borne by them. * * 



Oxford. 



Bishop Hugh Oldham, B.C.L., was one of the 

 family of Oldenham, of Oldenham, co. Lancaster, 

 which gave for arms, Sable, between three owls 

 arg., a chevron or : in chief, of the third, three roses, 

 gules. Richard Oldham, Bishop of Sodor, was 

 Abbot of Chester in 1452. 



Hugh was born in Goulburn Street, Oldham, 

 and educated at Exeter College, Oxford, and at 

 Queen's College, Cambridge : he was Rector of 

 St. Mildred's, Bread Street, Sept. 19, 1485 ; 

 Swineshead, February 3, M93 ; Wareboys, March 

 31, 1499 ; Shitlington, August 17, 1500; Vicar of 

 Cheshunt, July 27, 1494 ; Overton, April 2, 1501 ; 

 Canon of St. Stephen's, Westminster, 1493 ; Pre- 

 bendary of South Aulton in Sarum, September, 

 1495; of Newington in St. Paul's, March 11, 

 1496 ; of South Cave in York, August 26, 1499 ; 

 Archdeacon of Exeter, February 16, 1503 ; Chap- 

 lain to Margaret, Countess of Richmond, and 

 Master of St. John's, Lichfield, 1495 ; and St. Leo- 

 nard's Hospital, Bedford, January 12, 1499. 



He was the founder of Manchester High School, 

 and was consecrated between December 29 and 

 January 6, 1504. He was a great benefactor to 

 Corpus Chrlsti College in Oxford ; and the intimate 

 friend of Bishop Smyth, co-founder of Brasenose 

 College, with whom he had been brought up in 

 the household of Thomas, Earl of Derby. He 

 died June 25, 1519, and was buried in St. Sa- 

 viour's Chapel in Exeter Cathedral. 



These notes are taken from a MS. History of 

 the English Episcopate, which it is my hope to 

 give to the public. Mackenzie Waicott, M.A. 



Tortoiseshell Tom Cat. — I am pretty certain 

 that I once saw in " N. & Q." an inquiry whether 

 there ever was a well-authenticated instance of a 

 tortoiseshell torn cat. The inclosed advertisement, 

 which I have cut from The Times of the 19th 

 January, 1853, will perhaps give some of your 

 readers an opportunity of testing the fact : 



« To be sold, a real Tortoiseshell Tom Cat. This 

 natural rarity is fifteen months old and eight lbs. 

 weight. Apply to John Sayer, Mr. Bennison's, book- 

 seller, Market- Dray ton, Salop." 



L. L. L. 

 [The inquiry will be found in our 5th Vol., p. 465.J 



Irish Rhymes (Vol. vi., and Vol. vii., p. 52;).— 

 CuTHBERT Bede, in his notice of the Irish rhymes 

 in Swift's poetry, quoted one couplet in which put 

 rhymes to cut. Is this pronunciation of theword 

 put an Irishism ? 



A late distinguished divine, who, although he 

 occupied an Irish see, was certainly no Irishman, 

 and who was remarkably particular and, I believe, 

 correct in his diction, always pronounced this 

 word in this manner (as indeed every other word 

 with the same termination is pronounced : as ruty 

 cut, shut, nut, but, &c.). 



The bishop to whom I allude pronounced the 

 word thus, long before he ever had any communi- 

 cation with Ireland : and it is strange that, although 

 I have been in Ireland myself, I never heard put 

 pronounced so as to rhyme with ctit by any native 

 of that island. Rxibi. 



The following extract is a note by Lord Mahon, 

 in vol. i. p. 374. of his edition of Lord Chester- 

 field's Letters to his Son (Bentley, 1847). I can- 

 not see how the quotation from Boswell bears upon 

 either accent or cadence ; it appears to relate en- 

 tirely to different modes of pronunciation : 



" It may be observed, however, that the questions of 

 what are 'false accents and cadences' in our language 

 appear to have been far less settled in Lord Chester- 

 field's time than at present. Dr. Johnson says : ' When 

 I published the plan for my dictionary, Lord Chester- 

 field told me that the word great should be pronounced 

 so as to rhyme with state ; and Sir William Yonge sent 

 me word, that it should be pronounced so as to rhyme 

 to seat, and that none but an Irishman would pronounce 

 it grait. Now, here were two men of the highest rank, 

 — the one the best speaker in the House of Lords, the 

 other the best speaker in the House of Commons — 

 differing entirely."^ — Boswell's Li/e, Notes of March 27, 

 1772. 



C. FOHBES. 



Temple. 



Consecrated Rings (Vol. vii., p. 88.). — The 

 inquiry opened by Sir W. C. T. is shown to 

 be one of much interest by the able communi- 

 cation of your correspondent Cetrbp. I trust he 

 will excuse me in expressing strong doubts as to 



