234 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 74. 



baronet in our day having inherited an ohl house 

 lull of pictures, which were one and all described, 

 in laconic and most unsatisfactory terms, as '■'■Por- 

 traits of Ladies and Gentlemen Unhnoivn." The 

 losses of works of art and interest by the lament- 

 able fires that have occurred so frequentlv within 

 the memory of man, may furnish a further motive 

 for using every endeavour to preserve those pic- 

 tiu'es that remain to us; but probably a far greater 

 number have perished from damp or neglect, and 

 a strange combination of mischief and ignorance. 

 Let us hope that in this respect the times are 

 improving. For one, I cannot consent to the 

 wanton ilestruction of a single portrait, though 

 Horace Walpole assures us — 



" That it is almost as necessary that tlie representa- 

 tions of men should perish and quit the scene to their 

 successors, as it is that the human race should give 

 place to rising generations; anil, indeed, the moitality 

 is almost as rapid. Portraits that cost twenty, thirtv, 

 sixty guineas, and that proudly take possession of the 

 drawing-room, give way in the next generation to the 

 new married couple, descending into the parlour, where 

 tliey are slightly mentioned as my father and mother's 

 pictures. Wheu they become my granilfather and 

 grandmother, they mount to the two pair of stairs, and 

 then, unless dispatched to the mansion-house in tlie 

 country, or crowded into the housekeeper's room, they 

 perish among the lumber of garrets, or flutter into rags 

 before a broker's shop at the Seven Dials." — Lives 

 of the Painters, vol. iv. pp. 14, 15. 



I am tempted to add, that many years af^o I 

 saw a large roll of canvass produced from under a 

 bed at a furniture shop in " Hockley in the Hole," 

 which, wheu unfolded, displayed a variety of old 

 portraits, that had been torn out of their frames, 

 and stowed away like worn-out sail-cloth ; the 

 place was so filthy that I was glad to make my 

 escape without further investigation, but I noticed 

 a whole-length of a judge in scarlet robes, and i 

 could not help reflecting how much surprised the 

 painter and the son of the law whom he deline- 

 ated would have been, could they have anticipated 

 the fate of the picture. 



Having made these remarks, I am not unaware 

 how much easier it is to point out a grievance 

 than to provide a remedy; but perhaps some of 

 your readers more conversant with such nmtters, 

 may form an opinion whether it would answer to 

 any one to undertake to compile such a catah)gue 

 as I have described. Though much would renfain 

 to be done, a great deal of information is to i 

 be gleaned from printed works, and doubtless | 

 lists of portraits might be in many instances pro- I 

 cured from the persons who are fortunate enouf^h ! 

 to possess them. It should also be remembered 

 that amongst the MSS. of Sir William Musgrave 

 in the British Museum, there are many inventories 

 of English portraits, atFording a strong presump- 

 tion that he may once have meditated such a 

 publication as I have pointed out. 



But, whether we are ever to have a catalogue 

 or not, some advantnge may arise from the dis- 

 cussion of the subject in "Notes and Qukries;" 

 and if it should lead to the rescue of a single por- 

 trait from destruction, we shall have advanced one 

 step in the right direction. Braybrooke. 



Audley End, March 18. 



STORY or A REUC. 



P. C. S. S. found, some days ago, the following 

 curious story in a rare little Portuguese book in 

 his possession, and he now ventures to send a 

 translation of it to the " Notes and Queries." 

 The work was printed at Vienna in 1717, and is 

 an account of the embassy of Fernando Telles da 

 Sylva, Conde de Villa JNlayor, from the court of 

 Lisbon to that of Vienna, to demand in marriage, 

 for the eldest sou of King Pedro II. of Portugal, the 

 hand of the Ai-cliduchess Maria Anna of Austria. 

 It was written by Father Francisco da Fonseca, 

 a Jesuit priest, who accompanied the ambassador 

 in quality of almoner and confessor, and is full of 

 amusing matter, particularly in reference to the 

 strange opinions concerning our laws, government, 

 and religion, which the worthy padre appears to 

 have picked up during his short stay in England. 



The original of the annexed translation is to be 

 found at pp. 318, 319, 320. § 208. of Fonseca's 

 Narrative. 



" As we are now upon the subject of miracles 

 wrought by Relics in Vienna, I shall proceed to re- 

 Lite another prodigy which happened in the said city, 

 and which will greatly serve to confirm in us those 

 feelings of piety with which v/e are wont to venerate 

 such sacred objects. Tlie Count Hanach, who was 

 greatly favoured by the Duke of Saxony, begged of 

 him, as a present, a few of the many relics which the 

 duke preserved ui liis treasury, assuredly less out of 

 devotion than for the sake of their rarity and value. 

 The duke, with his usual benignity, acceded to this 

 request, and gave orders that sundry vials should be 

 dispatched to the count, fdled with most indubitable 

 relics of Our Lord, of the Blessed Virgin, of the 

 Apostles, of the Innocents, and of other holy persons. 

 He directed two Lutheran ministers to pack these 

 vials securely in a precious casket, which the duke 

 himself sealed up with his own signet, and sent off to 

 Vienna. On its arrival there, it was deposited in the 

 chapel of the count, which is situated in the street 

 called Preiner. The count immediately informed the 

 bishop of the arrival of this treasure, and invited iiini 

 to witness the opening of the casket, and to attend for 

 the purpose of verifying its contents. Accordingly the 

 bishop came, and on opening the casket, there pro- 

 ceeded from it such an abominable stench, that no man 

 could endure it, infecting, as it did, the whole of the 

 chapel. The bisliop thereupon ordered all the vials 

 to be taken out, and carefully examined one by one, 

 hoping to ascertain the cause of this strange incident, 

 which did not long remain .a mystery, for they soon 



