2-"»S. VI. 149., Xov. G. '58.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



373 



Wesley's Hymns set to Music hy Handel. — Tn 

 the Life of Handel, by Schoelcher (p. 51.), men- 

 tion is made of three of the Rev. Charles AVesley's 

 Hymns having been set to music by Handel at 

 the request of the wife of the comedian Rich. 

 Can you or any of your correspondents inform me 

 where I can meet with the music? and was it 

 ever published ? Bowdon. 



Popiana. — Who wrote Memoirs of the Life and 

 Writings of Alexander Pope, Esq., &,'c., in two 

 volumes, by William Ayre, Esq. : London, printed 

 by his Majesty's Authority for the Author, and 

 sold by the Booksellers, 1745? and what is the 

 authority of the work ? What were the dates of 

 Pope's visits to Bath, particularly the first and 

 last ? F. K. 



Nursery Literature. — A SuBSCRir.ER will feel 

 obliged by the communication of the titles of 

 works in any of the languages of Europe, similar 

 to Halliwell's Nursery Rhymes of England, and 

 Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales. 



3Iilborne, Milhourn, or Milbourne Family of 

 Milhorne Port, co. Somerset. — A genealogist, en- 

 gaged in compiling a history and pedigree of this 

 family will feel obliged by any information re- 

 specting the same, viz. pedigree, possessions, arms, 

 crest, motto, where buried, &c. T. M. 



10. Basinghall Street. 



Standard Silver. — What was the precise period 

 at which the standard of silver was fixed at its 

 present proportions of 925 ]iarts fine to 75 of 

 alloy ; or 11 oz. 2 dwts. fine to 18 dwts. of alloy ? 

 And was there any special reason for that precise 

 mixture being selected, beyond the apparent one 

 of its being most desirable and generally useful ? 

 Of course I have consulted Spelinan, Blackstone, 

 Camden, and other ordinary books of reference. 



J. Eastwood. 



7'he Fiddlers Turret at York. — Where am I 

 likely to find any more complete account of the 

 " Fiddler's Turret" over the south entrance of 

 York Minster than the two following extracts ? 

 Is there any legend connected with it? 



" From hence proceeding to the South, we perceive 

 nothing of imagery (except a musician with hi.s in.-itru- 

 nient over the South Door)." — Gent's Jlistori/ of York, 

 1730. 



" A little spiral turret, called the Fiddler's Turret, from 

 nn image of a fiddler on llic top of it, was taken .some few 

 years Hiiice from another part of the building and placed 

 on tlie summit of this (the South) end."— Drake's 

 Kboracmn, 17JC. 



G. J. S. 



Musical Philosophy . — Information is desired 

 rc-<pecting the auilior of the work An Account of 

 a New System of Music set forth by M. Fctis. in 

 his Lectures on Musical Phdosophy, 8vo., London, 

 1834. II. J. Gaunti,i;it. 



Surnames Wanted. — The name of the author 

 or publisher of a book entitled Etymological 

 Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. An 

 interesting extract, professedly from this work, 

 appeared in a provincial newspaper, but I cannot 

 find out the book. I should also like to have a 

 list of works on surnames, if there be any besides 

 the well-known volume of M. A. Lower. 



Pkesbtter M. 



Silkworm Gut. — Can any of your numerous 

 correspondents refer me to a full and reliable ac- 

 cotuit of the origin and process of manufacture of, 

 and trade in, the article known as " silkworm gut," 

 and termed by anglers briefly "gut"? 



In spite of a good deal of search, I have never 

 been able to meet with this information. 



PiSCATOR SCOTICDS. 



Edinburgh. 



English Flag. — What were the flags of England 

 and Scotland previous to the union of the two 

 nations under King James (1603)? When did 

 the custom arise of the British navy using three 

 distinct flags (the red, white, and blue) ? Does 

 the navy of any other nation make use of more 

 than one flag? Several nations, such as Denmark, 

 Pru^a, &c., have a separate flag for the merchant 

 serviTO ; but I know of no other in which more 

 than one flag is used by the navy. 



T. W. R. Vtchan. 



New York. 



Riley Family. — Will some of the learned readers 

 of "N. & Q." inform mc what is the meaning of 

 the Lancashire surname of Ryley ? The name 

 is now generally spelt Riley, but I find that pre- 

 vious to 1650, it was universally written with tlic 

 y in place of the ;. (See Harleian MSS. Nos. 1468, 

 1080, 1549, 6159). Likewise, as to where I can 

 find a fuller pedigree of the said family than that 

 contained in the Heraldic Visitations, now among 

 the Harleian MSS. at the British Museum. The 

 Visitation of Wiltshire, in 1565, contains the 

 clearest pedigree of the family that I have been 

 able to find, but it is by no means a satisfltctory 

 one. 



Is anything known of the ancestry, or of the 

 descendants, of William Ryley, who was made 

 Lancaster Herald by Charles I. ? He died in 1667 : 

 his wife was Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Anthony 

 Chester, Bart., of Chichley, Bucks. " One of his 

 .sons was William Ryley, described by Prynne as 

 of the Inner Temple in 1662." (See Diary of 

 Samuel Pepys, F.R.S., 1854, vol. i. p. 240.; vol. ii. 

 p. 126.) Also of John Riley, the painter. He 

 was born in the parish of Bishopsgate, in London, 

 in 1C46. He painted the portraits of Charles II. 

 and James II. ; and " at the Revolution was ap- 

 pointed state painter to William and Mary, whose 

 portraits he also ])ainted. He died of the gout in 

 1691, and was buried in Bishopsgate church." 



