264 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2 n * S. IX. April 7. '60. 



of " Nelsonics," and does that now exist ? I have 

 a number of works on Freemasonry, but can find 

 no account of such a Lodge. John Pearson. 



18. Holywell Street, Westminster, S.W. 



Hon. Charles Boyd. — The Hon. Charles Boyd, 

 second son of AVilliam, 4th Earl of Kilmarnock, 

 died at Edinburgh 3rd Aug. 1782. This gentle- 

 man is noticed in Boswell's Tour to the Hebrides. 

 In Douglas's Scottish Peerage it is said regarding 

 him : — 



" He received a literary education, possessed a familiar 

 acquaintance with the best British and French writers, 

 was master of no inconsiderable portion of humour, and 

 had a turn for making verse." 



Is anything farther known regarding Mr. Boyd's 

 literary compositions ? R. Inglis. 



John Gisborne, published in 4to., London, 

 1797, The i Vales of IVever, a local descriptive 

 poem. A second edition in 1851. Can you give 

 ine any account of the author ? Is he author of 

 other poetical works published or MS.? 



R. Inglis. 



[John Gisborne, the youngest son of John Gisborne of 

 St. Helen's, Derby, and Yoxall Lodge, was born 26th 

 Aug. 1770. In 1784 he became a scholar at Harrow, and 

 entered St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1788. On the 

 13th Oct. 1792, he married Miss Millicent Pole, daughter 

 of Col. Pole of Radborne. During his residence at Woot- 

 ton Hall, he published his Vales of ffever, 4to. 1797 ; and 

 on his removal to Darley Dale in 1819, a poem entitled 

 Reflections. Mr. Gisborne died on the 17th June, 1851, 

 and was buried at Breadsall near Derby. In 1852, his 

 daughter, Mrs. Emma Nixon, published A Brief Memoir 

 of the Life of John Gisborne, Esq., with Extracts from his 

 Diary. ] 



Fleet Street. — Can any of your numerous 

 contributors oblige me with an account of the 

 early history of Fleet Street — its churches, ta- 

 verns, and its wonders of by-gone times ? By so 

 doing they will oblige one who was born in the 

 street. T. C. N. 



[There is no separate work on the History of Fleet 

 Street ; but the information required must be collected 

 from such books as Cunningham's London; Timbs's 

 Curiosities of London ; Knight's London ; Beaufoy's Lon- 

 don Tokens ; and The Streets of London, by J. T. Smith. ] 



Searcher. — When and how did this office 

 originate; when was it abolished, what were the 

 duties, fees, and emoluments of its incumbent ? 



F. R. S. S. A. 



[These officers seem to have been first appointed dur- 

 ing the ravages of the plague in the reign of James I. 

 They are also recognised in the " Directions of Physicians 

 for the Plague set forth by His Majesty's Command, 

 1665," in which instructions are given them for the dis- 

 covery of that disease. In the Preface to the Collection 

 of Bills of Mortality from 1657 to 1759, it is said that 

 every parish appoints a Searcher ; and in John Graunt's 



Natural and Political Observations made upon the Bills of 

 Mortality, 4to. 1662, p. 11., We are informed that "when 

 any one dies, then, either by tolling or ringing a bell, or 

 by bespeaking of "a grave of the sexton, the same is 

 known- to the Searchers, corresponding with the said 

 sexton. The Searchers hereupon (who are ancient ma- 

 trons sworn to their office) repair to the place where the 

 dead corpse lies, and by view of the same, and by other 

 enquiries, they examine by what disease or casualty the 

 corpse died. Hereupon they made their report to the 

 parish clerk, and he, every Tuesday night, carries in an 

 account of all the burials and christenings happening 

 that week to the Clerk of the Hall. On Wednesday the 

 general account is made up and printed, and on Thurs- 

 days published at the rate of 4s. per annum for them." 

 The appointment of searcher usually fell upon old women, 

 and sometimes on those who were notorious for their 

 habits of drinking. The fee which these official charac- 

 ters demanded was one shilling ; but in some cases two 

 proceeded to the inspection, when the family was de- 

 frauded of an additional shilling. The office was abolished 

 by the Registration Act, 6 & 7 Will. IV. c. 86., which 

 came into operation July 1, 1837.] 



"Sing old Rose and burn the Bellows" (2 na 

 S. ix. 72.) — This saying may have its origin in 

 the title of a song, " The History of old Rose and 

 Bonny Bella," if such could be found. But I 

 think the most probable solution is, that it arose 

 from some forgotten anecdote of a blacksmith, 

 who, in some fit of joyous excitement, singed old 

 Rose (the cart-horse) and set fire to the bellows ; 

 or old Rose might have been the master black- 

 smith. That the blacksmith's bellows do some- 

 times catch fire I know from a laughable incident 

 which occurred some years ago in " our village." 

 The old blacksmith was enjoying his nap after 

 dinner, leaving his apprentice to take care of the 

 forge ; instead of which the lad commenced a little 

 flirtation with his master's daughter. Soon they 

 discovered that the bellows had ignited ; the dam- 

 sel ran into the kitchen exclaiming, "Come, father, 

 come ! here's the bellows afire ! " " Bella Sophia," 

 grunted the sleepy blacksmith ; " I shan't stir for 

 no Bella Sophias ; and don't you bring none of 

 your fine folk in my way, or I'll start 'em." 



Magog. 



[Walton says, "Now let's go to an honest ale-house, 

 where we may have a cup of 'good barley-wine, and sing 

 ' Old Rose,' and all of us rejoice together." The song al- 

 luded to by the worthy angler is the following, and occurs 

 in Dr. Harington's Collection from a publication temp. 

 Charles I. : — 



" Now we're met like jovial fellows, 

 Let us do as wise men tell us, 

 Sing Old Rose and burn the bellows ; 

 Let us do as wise men tell us, 



Sing, &c. 



" When the jowl with claret glows, 



And wisdom shines upon the nose, 

 O then is the time to sing Old Rose, 



And burn, burn, the bellows, 

 The bellows, and burn, burn, the bellows, the bellows." 



The phrase, " Sing Old Rose and burn the bellows," ap- 

 pears as a Note and a Query, more than a century and a 

 half since, in that delectable periodical The British Apollo, 



