April 19. 1851.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



301 



ancient mansion, but I believe had been brought 

 from an old house in the neighbourhood. 



E. H. Y. 



«aucr iciS. 



PORTKAITS OF SPENSER. 



The engraved portraits of Spenser differ so much 

 fruiu each other as to throw doubts on their re- 

 semblance to the poet. 



1 have now before me the following : 



1. That prefixed to Bell's edition, 1777, engraved 

 by Cook from " an original in Lord Chesterfield's 

 collection." 



2. Prefixed to an edition in one volume pub- 

 lished by Spiers, 1840. 



3. Prefixed to Moxon's edition, 1845. 



We are not told from what paintings Nos. 2. and 

 3. are engraved, but they resemble each other, and 

 are somewhat like that in Bell's edition ; so I shall 

 set these three down as forming one class of por- 

 traits. No. 2. has, however, a curious inscription, 

 Edmund Spenser, obiit 1559, which would lead us 

 to reject it altogether, and look on it as an ima- 

 ginary likeness. 



4. The portrait in Pickering's Aldine edition, 

 1839; this bears no resemblance, either in cos- 

 tume or features, to those already mentioned ; but, 

 if I mistake not, is like that in Todd's edition, 

 published in 1805, — we may call these a second 

 class. 



An original portrait of Spenser is said to be in 

 Lord Chesterfield's collection ; another in Duplin 

 Castle, the seat of Lord Kinnoul (of this there is 

 a copy at Althorpe by Sir Henry liaeburn). Mr. 

 Wright, in his Memorials of Cambridge, mentions 

 a portrait at Pembroke College, " a copy by 

 Wilson," but he does not say from what original : 

 Mr. Craik, in Spenser and his Writings, speaks of 

 two as being: in this college. 



The writer thinks he recollects a law-suit rela- 

 tive to a portrait of the poet, which had been sold 

 to the late Sir Robert Peel, and which was stated 

 to have come from Ireland. Perhaps some of 

 your readers could give information respecting 

 this picture. 



It is clear, if the first three are all from the 

 Chesterfield original, that this painting, and the 

 one from which Mr. Pickering's is taken, cannot 

 both be portraits of Spenser. The object of this 

 Query is to ascertain, if possible, which engraving, 

 or class of engravings, resembles the poet. 



E. M. B. 



THE VENDACE. 



The very remarkable fish called the Vendace is 

 to be found but in one place in the three king- 

 doms, — the Custle Locii of LocLmaben, a parish 



to the south of Dumfriesshire in Scotland. The 

 Vendace, it is said, derives its name from Vendois 

 in France, and was brought to this_ country by 

 one of the James's. This, however,^ is mere con- 

 jecture, and, from its habits, highly improbable — 

 because they die the moment they are either touched 

 or exposed to the air. 



According to Mr. Stewart {Elements of Natural 

 Hist.), the Vendace belongs to a species which he 

 calls Salmo albula, or the " Juvangis." 



" This species," he adds, " is found in Lochmaben in 

 Scotland, and nowhere else: it is said to have been 

 carried thither from England in the time of Robert the 

 Bruce." 



Mr. Stewart describes the fish, but frorn his de- 

 scription it is evident he has never seen it. The 

 following one is exact : — 



" This beautiful fish measures from four to six inches 

 in length, and tapers gradually to the tail. When 

 taken out of the water, it has a bright silvery white ap- 

 pearance, with a slight tendency to a light blue along 

 the back and part of the sides. In size it resembles a 

 small herring or par, but particularly the former, not 

 only in the mouth and external appearance, but also in 

 the anatomical structure. Upon the top of the head 

 there is a very distinct shape of a heart, covered with 

 a transparent substance of a brownish colour, resem- 

 bling a thin lamina of mica slate, through which the brain 

 is visible. This peculiar mark proves it to be as yet a 

 distinct and undescribed species. Nothing is ever found 

 visible to the naked eye in the stomach of the Vendace. 

 They are extremely delicate, and are allowed to be the 

 most pleasing to the taste of all fish. The general mode 

 of catching them is with a net, as there is no instance 

 known of their having been caught either with bait 

 or the artificial fly. the pike, with which this lake 

 abounds, is their greatest enemy. It has been fre- 

 quently stated that no fewer than fifteen distnict 

 species of fish, fit for the table, have been found in the 

 Castle Loch." 



Dr. Knox, sometime Lecturer upon Anatomy 

 in Edinburgh, states : 



" That he has not only discovered the food of the 

 Vendace, but actually exhibited it before the Members 

 of the Royal Society, and offers suggestions for the 

 stocking of the various lakes in Britain with this ex- 

 quisite fish ; pointing out first the necessity of locating 

 its natural food, without which it cannot live." 



Allowing, however, that some neighbouring lake 

 could be covered with some of these invisible and 

 "incredibly minute entomostraceous animals," 

 which the learned lecturer says constitute their 

 food, we should still find a difficulty in transfer- 

 ring the fish ; as every attempt to do so, though 

 conllucted with the greatest possible care and 

 nicety, has failed. 



In the precedmg account, I have followed the 

 Rev. John Gardiner of Lochmaben, who, in 1835, 

 drew up an admirable account of his parish, which 

 is inserted in the statistical survey of the county. 



The gentlemen of the county have formed it 



