June 9. 1855.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



443 



Proposed Work on Roman Britain. — Qu'est- 

 il's plan will, I have no doubt, be found service- 

 able to persons livinj^ in the country who possess 

 but little opportunity of hawking about MSS. ; 

 but I think the position he allots to you will be, 

 to say the least, a thankless office. Perhaps I 

 shall be able through this medium to obtain a 

 sponsor for the following little " brat," which I 

 venture to hope has some pretension to " sanity : " 

 — Roman B?-itain, ils Cities, Roads, and People. 

 My aim has been, as far as possible, to convey an 

 accurate picture of Britain during the Roman 

 occupation, — to give the essence of the old an- 

 tiquaries and the results of later researches in a 

 style calculated not to intimidate the general 

 reader. V. A. X. 



Dickens' Names. — In Blackwood's Magazine 

 for April, the author of an article on the works of 

 Charles Dickens asks where he gets his names of 

 characters ? In the Parliamentary inquiry into 

 the conduct of the Duke of York, 1809, I find the 

 names of Wardle, Lowten (a lawyer), and Dowler 

 (a military officer) ; and in another trial in the 

 same volume a suspicious character named Hey- 

 ling is introduced. The readers of Pickwick will 

 at once remember these names; and I suspect 

 that in a detailed account of the proceedings in 

 the Duke of York's case (which is not given in the 

 Annual Register), other similar instances might 

 be found in which the young author availed him- 

 self of names he found there. W. K. R. B. 



caucrtc^. 



WHAT IS LORD DUNDONALd'S PLAN? 



Lord Cochrane's name was first brought pro- 

 minently before the world as the leader of a 

 gallant enterprise described in a letter dated 

 Basque Roads, 1809, and from which the follow- 

 ing extract is taken : 



" Lord Cochrane (Lord Dundonald) first caused about 

 1500 barrels of gunpowder to be started into puncheons, 

 ■which were placed end upwards. Upon the tops of these 

 were placed between 300 and 400 shells, which were 

 charged with fuses; and again, among and upon these 

 were between 2000 and 3000 hand-grejiades. The pun- 

 cheons were fastened to each other by cables wound round 

 them, and jammed together with wedges, and moistened 

 sand was rammed down between these casks, so as to 

 render the whole, from stem to stern, as solid as possible, 

 that the resistance might render the explosion more 

 violent. 



" In this immense instrument of destruction, Lord 

 Cochrane committed himself with one lieutenant and 

 four seamen ; and after the boom was broken, his lord- 

 ship proceeded with his explosion-ship towards the 

 enemy's line." 



His lordship then, after surmounting some diffi- 

 culties, appears to have etFected his purpose ; and 

 the enemy, having taken the alarm, he fired the 



fuse and left the vessel, having fifteen minutes to 

 get clear away. Six minutes earlier than was ex- 

 pected, 



" The most tremendous explosion that human art ever 

 contrived took place, followed by the bursting at once in 

 the air of the shells and grenades." 



This exploit seems to have done more harm to 

 the projectors than to the intended victims. And 

 as it is surmised that the same nobleman is now 

 urging a somewhat similar expedient upon the 

 government, for the purpose of effecting the more 

 speedy destruction of Sebastopol, it may be in- 

 teresting to know that such infernal engines of 

 war have been constructed and employed more 

 than a century back, and apparently without muck 

 practical result. 



The London Chronicle, July 8, 1758, contains 

 the following account : 



"An Account of an Expedition against the Coast of France 

 in the Reign of King William III. 



" On the 13th of Nov., 1693, seven years after the Re- 

 volution, King William sent out a fleet of twelve men- 

 of-war, under the command of Captain Benbow. A new 

 galleon of 300 tons burthen was so contrived as to be 

 itself one great bomb, capable of being discharged wherever 

 she could float. In the hold of this galleon, next the keel, 

 were stowed one hundred barrels of powder, covered with 

 a flooring of thick timber ; and on the top was laid 300 

 carcasses, consisting of grenades, cannon bullets, chain 

 shot, great bars of iron, and an incredible variety of other 

 combustible matter ; which produced a Are, that, accord- 

 ing to the report of the French at that time, and of the 

 author of a late naval history, could not be quenched but 

 by hot water. 



" With this machine, which from its office was called 

 the Infernal, the fleet set sail from Guernsey ; the public 

 being utterly ignorant of its destination. At four o'clock 

 in tiie afternoon of the 16th of November, they anchored 

 before one of the entrances into the port of the city called 

 La Conchal ; upon the front of >vhich was an unfinished 

 fort, called Quince Fort. About eleven o'clock, prepara- 

 tions were made for striking the great blow by playing ofl" 

 the Infernal. An engineer being put on board, carried 

 her under full sail to the foot of the wall where she was 

 to be fixed, notwithstanding all the fire of the place 

 directed against him ; but it happened that the wind, 

 suddenly veering, forced him ofi" before the vessel could 

 be secured ; and drove her upon a rock within pistol shot 

 of the place where she was to have befn moored. AU 

 possible attempts were made to get clear ot tnis rock, but 

 without eftect. And the engineer, finding that the vessel 

 had sustained damage by the shock, and began to open, 

 set fire to her and left her. The sea-water that broke in 

 prevented some of her carcasses from taking fire ; but the 

 vessel soon after blew up, with an explosion that shook 

 the whole city like an earthquake, uncovered above 300 

 houses, threw down the greatest part of the wall towards 

 the sea, and broke all the glass, china, and earthenware, 

 for three leagues round. The consternation of the people 

 was so great, that a small number of troops might have 

 taken possession of the place without resistauce, but there 

 was not a soldier on board the fleet. The sailors, how- 

 ever, demolished Quince Fort, and, having done consider- 

 able damage to the town, the fleet returned to England." 



Charles RE&n. 

 Paternoster Eow. 



