2nd §, No G., Fes, 9.56.) 
NOTES AND QUERIES. 
111 
It is more probable that Narcissus was connected 
with the Devonshire family of that name, than 
with the Irish Luttrells. ae Xe 
The Vessel which brought William ITI. — 
“ Dr. Lushington stated the other day, in the Admiralty 
Court, that forty years ago he was counsel in a cause 
relating to the very ship which brought William III. to 
this country.” 
I noticed this extract in The Examiner of the 
12th instant. Can any of your readers refer me 
to the case in which the learned judge made this 
remark? or, better still, to the one to which he 
alluded? It would be worth a Note. 
G. Brinpitey AcworTu. 
Star Hill, Rochester. 
[We are indebted to a correspondent of the Durham 
County Advertiser for the following interesting memo- 
randa, connected with the fortunes of this “ever-to-be- 
remembered” craft. The Princess Mary, according to 
the most reliable accounts, was built on the Thames in 
the earlier part of the 17th century, and was afterwards 
purchased by the Prince of Orange, or his adherents, as 
an addition to the fleet which was destined to effect the 
glorious Revolution of 1688. The Prince expressly se- 
lected this vessel to convey himself and suite to England, 
and he bestowed upon her the above name, in honour of 
his illustrious consort, the daughter of James II. When 
the Revolution was un fait accompli, the claims of the 
Princess Mary to the royal favour were not overlooked. 
During the whole of William’s reign she held a place of 
honour as one of the royal yachts, having been regularly 
used as the pleasure yacht of Queen Anne. By this time, 
however, her original build was much interfered with 
from the numerous and extensive repairs she had from 
time to time undergone. On the death of the queen, 
she came into the possession of His Majesty King 
George I., by whose order she ceased to form part of 
the royal establishment. About the middle of the last 
century, during a fit of economy, she was sold by the 
Government to the Messrs. Walters, of London, from 
whom she received the name of the Betsy Cairns, in 
honour, we are told, of some West Indian lady of that 
name. Having been long and profitably employed by 
her new owners in the West Indian trade, she was after- 
wards disposed of to the Messrs, Carlins, of London, and, 
alas for the mutability of fortune! the once regal craft 
was converted into a collier, and employed in the convey- 
ance of coals between Newcastle and London. Through 
all her varied vicissitudes of fortune, however, she is still 
said to have retained her ancient reputation, “as a lucky 
ship and fast sailer.’ She was afterwards (circa 1825) 
transferred by purchase to Mr. George Finch Wilson, of 
South Shields, and finally, on the 17th of February, 1827, 
while pursuing her voyage from Shields to Hamburgh, 
with acargo of coals, she struck upon the “ Black Middens,” 
a dangerous reef of rocks north of the mouth of the Tyne, 
and in a few days afterwards became a total wreck. The 
news of her disaster excited a very lively sensation 
throughout the country. She had always been regarded, 
especially by the sailors, with an almost superstitious 
feeling of interest and veneration, and at the time 
of the wreck this feeling was doubtless in no small de- 
gree enhanced by the recollection of a “memorable pro- 
phecy ” said to be associated with her fortunes —viz., “that 
the Catholics would never get the better while the Betsy 
Cairns was afloat!” In length the Betsy Cairns was 
80 feet 3 inches by 23 feet broad. She had two decks, 
the height between which was 6 feet 6 inches. She was 
carvel buiJt, was without galleries, square-sterned, and 
devoid of figurehead. She had two masts, and was 
square-rigged, with a standing bowsprit. The remnant 
.| of her original timbering, though but scanty, was ex- 
tremely fine. There was a profusion of rich and elaborate 
oak carvings, the colour of the wood, from age and ex- 
posure, closely resembling that of ebony. As soon as the 
news of her wreck became known throughout the country, 
the people of Shields were inundated with applications for 
portions of her remains. The applications on the part of 
the Orange Lodges were especially importunate. Snuff- 
boxes and souvenirs of various kinds were made in large 
numbers, and brought exorbitant prices. Each of the 
members of the then Corporation of Newcastle was pre- 
sented with one of these boxes, which exhibit, in a 
marked degree, the durability and inimitable qualities of 
the British oak. A painting of the Betsy Cairns was 
made by Mr. J. Ferguson, of North Shields. Two carved 
figures, part of the nightheads, are, we believe, now in 
the possession of the Brethren of the Trinity House at 
Newcastle, and a beam, with mouldings covered with 
gilding, and forming a part of the principal cabin, is now 
the property of Mr. Rippon, Waterville, North Shields. 
Minor Naics. 
Pascal Paoli. — Enabled as I have been, 
through the medium of your pages, to give an ac~ 
count of the schools or institutions called “ La 
Martiniére,” as founded at Calcutta and Lyons, 
some excuse may be allowed me if I venture to 
record the foundation of a similar establishment 
in Corsica, instituted by an individual of more 
exalted fame, possessing a mind of equal libe- 
rality, although of more limited means. 
The celebrated Gen. Pascal Paoli, the governor 
of a kingdom, after a period of success and sub- 
sequent reverses — not in the least discreditable 
to his fame, but which will hold a place in Euro- 
ean history —sought an asylum in this country, 
and, enabled by the generosity of an English 
government, passed a lengthened life of comfort 
in the society of a large circle of friends. Carry- 
ing out his feeling of liberality and patriotism, he 
left by will a considerable sum of money to esta- 
blish a college at Corte, the capital of the island 
and the seat of his government, more particularly 
for the education of youth, as well as means to 
enlarge the schools of his native village, Rostino. 
That two individuals, foreigners to us, should 
die virtually British subjects, and that their be- 
quests should require the investigation of an 
English court of law, and under the same lord 
chaneellor (Eldon), is not the least remarkable 
part of their history. The dearth of education in 
Corsica, which Paoli must too often have wit- 
nessed, led him, no doubt, to this act of generosity, 
as I cannot think that the knowledge of Col. 
Martin’s bequest to Lyons influenced him; al- 
though it might have been known to him, it must 
