158 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 40. 



to his Contentian of A/ax and Ulysses for the 

 Armour of Achilles, Loml. 1659, 8vo. See Percy's 

 Relif/ues of English Poetry, vol.i. p. 284. 



-^ J.M. G. 



Worcester, July 22. 



Lord Delamere (Vol. ii., p. 104.). — In Mr. 

 Thomas Lyte's Ancient Ballads and Songs, 12mo. 

 1827, is a ballad, taken down from tradition, entitled 

 Lord Delamere. It begins as follows, and though 

 different from the opening lines given by IMr. Pea- 

 cock, I am inclined to think that it is another ver- 

 sion of the same ballad : — 



" 111 the parliament bouse, 



A great rout has been there, 

 Betwixt our good king 



And the lyord Delamere ; 

 Savs Lord Delamere 



To his Majesty full soon, 

 Will it please you, my liege, 

 To grant me a boon ? " 



After nine more stanzas, the editor remarks, — 

 " We have not, as yet, been able to trace out the 

 historical incident upon which the ballad appears to 

 have been founded, yet those curious in such matters 

 may consult, if" they list. Proceedings and Debates in the 

 House of Commons for 1621 and 1622, where they will 

 find that some stormy debatings in these several years 

 have been agitated in Parliament regarding the corn 

 laws, which bear pretty close upon the leading features 

 of the above." 



Edwakd F. Rimbault. 



Execution of Charles I. (Vol. ii., p. 72.). — 

 P. S.W.E. is referred to An exact and most im- 

 partial Accompt of the Indictment, Arraignment, 

 Trial, and Judgment (according to laic), of twenty- 

 nine Regicides, Sfc, 1660. 



Therein he will fiml minutes of the trial and 

 conviction of one " William Ilulett, alias Hewlett," 

 on the charge of having struck " the fatal blow." 

 How far the verdict was consistent with the evi- 

 dence (or, indeed, the whole proceedings of that 

 court with the modern sense of justice), abler 

 judges than I have long since determined. 



On behalf of the prisoner Hulett, witnesses 

 (" not to be admitted upon oath against the king ") 

 deposed that the common hangman, Richard 

 Brandon, had frequently confessed (though he had 

 also denied) that he had beheaded the king. One 

 of these depositions, that of William Cox, is so re- 

 markable that I am induced to transcribe it. If it 

 be true, " Matfelonensis " is certainly justified 

 in saying, " We need hardly question that Richard 

 Brandon was the executioner." 



" William Cox examined. 



" When my Lord Capell, Duke Hamilton, and the 

 Earl of Holland, were beheaded in the Palace-yard, 

 in Westminster, my Lord Capell asked the common 

 hangman, said he, ' Did you cut off my master's head ? ' 

 ' Yes,' salth he. ' Where is the instrument that did 



it ? ' He then brought the ax. ' Is this the same ax ; 

 are you sure?' said my Lord. ' Yes, my Lord,' saith 

 the hangman, ' I am very sure it is the same.' My 

 Lord Capell took the ax and kissed it, and gave him 

 five pieces of gold. I heard him say, ' Sirrah, wert 

 thou not affVaid ? ' Saith the Iiangman, ' They made 

 me cut it off, and I had thirty pound for my pains.'" 



Wllliam Franks Mathews. 



Charade (Vol. ii., p. 120.). — I think I can 

 answer Mr. Gatty's Query as to the authorship 

 of the charade in question. A schoolfellow of mine 

 at Charterhouse wrote the following : — 



" What's that which all love more than life. 

 Fear more than death or mortal strife ; 

 That which contented men desire, 

 The poor possess, the rich require, 

 The miser spends, the spendthrift saves. 

 And all men carry to their graves?" 



This was taken from the original copy, and it 

 was certainly his own invention while at school, 

 and was written about five years ago. I have not 

 seen him since, and do not like therefore to give 

 his name. 



While on the subject of charades, can any of 

 your correspondents inform me of either the 

 authorship or the answer of the following : 



" Sir Hilary charged at Agincourt — 

 Sooth ! 'twas a fearful day ! 

 The Rufflers of the camp and court 

 Had little time to pray. 



'Tis said Sir Hilary utter'd there 



Two syllables, by way of prayer — 

 The first to all the young and proud 



Who'll see to-morrow's sun ; 

 The next, witli its cold and quiet cloud, 

 To those who'll meet a dewy shroud 



Before to-doy's is gone : 

 And both together to all bright eyes, 

 That weep when a warrior nobly dies." 



I quote from recollection, so perhaps have 

 omitted part, but believe it to be pretty correct. 

 I heard it at the same time as the one quoted in 

 No. 31., and believe both to be hoaxes, as no 

 answer I have heard (including that given in 

 No. 35.) can be considered satisfactory. The 

 former charade was attributed at the time to the 

 late Archbishop of Canterbury, and it was reported 

 that a reward of lOOZ. was promised for the cor- 

 rect answer, and I know that a clergyman sent 

 him an answer with that belief. Among the an- 

 swers suggested was "Tapir," taken in its various 

 significations, which I think was as near the mark 

 as " Church," as given in No. 35. 



I have never heard any answer suggested to Sir 

 Hilary's dissyllabic prayer. B. H. C. 



Discursus Modestus (Vol.i., pp. 142.205.). — ■ 

 Such of your readers as have been making inquiries 

 and suggestions respecting Discursus Modestus will 



