142 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2°* S. IX. Feb. 25. '00. 



read the titles of hundreds of infamous works, 

 made worse by descriptions of the " facetious " 

 plates by which they are illustrated. If there are 

 purchasers to be found for these abominable "fa- 

 eetise," let them have catalogues to themselves ; 

 and, in the name of decency, let not the general 

 public be trapped into reading even the titles of 

 this class of literature, as they now are, under 

 false pretences. James Graves. 



Kilkenny. 



eauertoS. 

 « HIGH LIFE BELOW STAIRS." 



To ask who wrote High Life below Stairs may, 

 perhaps, call to mind Mrs. Kitty's inquiry " who 

 wrote Shikspur ? " It will equally, though more 

 correctly, cause two claimants for the honour to be 

 put forward. "Ben Jonson," says Sir Harry, 

 " Kolly Kibber," suggests my Lord Duke, in re- 

 ply to Mrs. Kitty's query : "Garrick " will answer 

 some, " Townley " will say others, in reply to 

 mine. 



It is strange that any doubt should exist as to 

 the authorship of so popular a farce, but never- 

 theless, as far as I am able to ascertain, the fact is 

 so. The evidence I have in support of either 

 name is as follows : — 



In a note to " A word or two on the late farce 

 called High Life below Stairs" Mr. Cunningham 

 says, " this piece, so often ascribed to Garrick, 

 was written by the Rev. James Townley." (Gold- 

 smith's Works, iii. p. 84.) 



Murphy, who was certainly in a position to be 

 well informed, says : — 



"Early in October (1759) Garrick brought forward 

 that excellent farce called High Life below Stairs. For 

 some private reasons he wished to lie concealed, and with 

 that design, prevailed on his friend Mr. Townly {sic), 

 Master of Merchant Taylors' School, to suffer his name to 

 be circulated in whispers. The truth, however, was not 

 long suppressed." — Life of Garrick, vol. i. p. 343. 



Victor says " Author unknown, but guessed at," 

 (vol. iii. p. 16.) Vague, but indicating I imagine 

 that Garrick was the writer. 



The Biographia Hramatica (1782) says: — 



" This piece has often been ascribed to Mr. Townley, 

 but we are assured he only allowed his name to be used 

 as the "reputed parent of it, the real author being Mr. 

 Garrick." 



The Theatrical Dictionary (1792) says the same, 

 probably on the authority of the foregoing. 

 Lastly, it is stated to be by the Rev. James 

 Townley on the title-page in Cumberland's edi- 

 tion of the pl^y. It is well known that the piece 

 met with great opposition from the Jeameses of 

 that day, and the anticipation of this — supposing 

 Garrick wrote it — may have been the " private 

 reasons" referred to by Murphy for his wishing to 

 remain unknown. This, however, was but a tem- 



porary necessity, and one can hardly imagine that 

 Garrick would not subsequently have asserted his 

 right had he been the author, or that the Rev. Mr. 

 Townley would have continued to pass as the wri- 

 ter when the occasion for which he consented to 

 do so was over. 



The idea of the piece is avowedly from No. 88. 

 of The Spectator ; but may it not be that it was 

 more or less a joint production ? That it was sug- 

 gested or written by Townley, and adapted to the 

 stage by Garrick. 



This seems to me the only way of accounting for 

 the claims set up on each side, but perhaps some 

 one may be able to produce facts that may set the 

 matter at rest. Charles Wylie. 



James Ainslie. — I should be exceedingly grate- 

 ful for any particulars regarding " James Ainslie, 

 merchant burgess of Edinburgh, and superior 

 of the lands of Darnick." He is thus styled in a 

 charter granted by him in 1617. 



Darnick, I believe, before the Reformation be- 

 longed to the Abbey of Melrose, near to which it 

 is situated. I enclose a rough sketch of the seal 

 which is appended to the charter, but which, as I 

 am no herald, I trust the editor will be kind 

 enough to describe *, as it gives some clue to the 

 discovery of its former possessor. W. D. 



Earthquakes in England, etc. — Has there 

 ever been a list published of the various earth- 

 quakes that have been felt in these islands ? Al- 

 though I have made not a few inquiries, I have 

 never heard of any such compilation. Slight 

 shocks of earthquake are not very uncommon now, 

 but they were formerly much more frequent, if 

 we may believe the old chroniclers. I ask the 

 above question, not out of idle curiosity, but with 

 the intention of preparing such a list, if the work 

 has not been done already. 



Dr. Dryasdust, F.S.A. 



Nichols's " Leicestershire" (8 vols, folio). — 

 I have lately purchased four volumes of this work, 

 described as under : Parts I. and II. of Vol. I., 

 Part II. of Vol. II., and Part II. of Vol. III. In- 

 side one of the volumes is written the following : 



" Nichols' Hist, of ye C° of Leicester, 8 vols., bought at 

 M' Hvde's Sale by Auction for £52, duty £2 12s.— 

 £54 12s." 



Can any of your readers answer me the follow- 

 ing Queries, viz. : Who was Mr. Hyde ? When 

 and where did the sale take place ? Who pur- 

 chased the eight volumes ? And what are the 

 best means of ascertaining the present owner of the 

 missing ones ? Vix. 



Robert Seagrave. — Can any correspondent 

 of " N. & Q." give a short account, and date of 



[* A cross potent surmounted by an annulet, between 

 four mullets. — Ed.] 



