Wright 1906

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452 NOTES AND QUERIES.' po s. VL DM. 8, woa.

through the reading of unpublished letters to the truth. After referring to the author'
About a year before the ballad was composed, Mr. difficulties with the curious and shrewi
James Bland Burges ('Jamie') —afterwards Sir critics of her own circle, the writer of he
James Burges-Lamb—fell in love with Lady Mar-
garet Lindsay, daughter of thefifthEarl of Craw- biography in this work continues thus :—

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ford and Baloarres. Difficulties oonneoted with "Lady Anne's ultimate explanation of her reti
money combined with the youth of the parties to cenoe was, that she dreaded to be known as <
prevent their union ; and Lady Margaret married, writer, because those who did not write wouk
soon afterwards, Mr. Alexander Fordyoe, a very beoome shy of her. It was an innate feeling ol
wealthy, but somewhat elderly gentleman ('Auld Lady Anne's that she had rather confer pleasure
Robin Gray'). Lady Anne Lindsay, the author of than inspire awe. When the outer world took uj
the poem (who married subsequently Mr. Andrew the song and made much of it, a reward of twenty
Barnard)—missing the sister from whom she had guineas was offered for information as to its source,
hardly ever been separated, and who had oonfided and the period to which it belonged; the Society
to her the story of her girlishflirtation—wasmoved of Antiquaries thinking the subject worth investi-
to oompose a poem whioh had for its theme the gation. Lady Anne, more from hauteur and a spirit
separation of a young girl from the lover of her of merry mischief than from any other feeling, held
heart, and her union with a man old enough to be curiosity at arm's length, and baffled all investiga-
her father; the parties being represented a* persons tion. Her best reward was seeing a oompany of
iu humble oircumstanoea, so as to mask their iden- dancing dogs aot the little drama below her
tity. ' Jamie' did not return to trouble Ledy Mar- windows."
garet's peace of mind. He too sought oonaolation THOMAS B A Y N B .
in matrimony, and married first a daughter of Lord
Wentworth, and seoondly Anne Montoline, daugh- RIGHT HON. WILLIAM CONOIXY (10 S. vL
ter of Baron de St. Hippolite. All these marriages 268, 354, 412).—Being unable to refer to the
were happy and prosperous; so that the tragio information cited by M B . ELBEJOTON BALL,
elements of the poem were merely thrown in,
together with the wrack' and the stealing of the I should feel much obliged if he or any other
cow, to serve a dramatio purpose. Sir James Bland of your correspondents could give me the
Burges having lost both his wives, and Lady Mar- date of the birth, and the parentage, of the-
garet Fordyce oeing also a widow, they were married Right Hon. William Conolly of Castletown,
on the 1st of September, 1812. Both were then old who married Lady Anne Wentworth, and
people, and Lady Margaret only survived her
sesond marriage two years." died in January, 1764. H.
WILLIAM H. CUMMDTGS. SANTA Fft (10 S. vi. 310, 353, 394).—MB.
Lady Anne Lindsay had the literary im- HILL says the place-name Saugerties is pro-
pulse and energy, but she seems to have been nounced " an in French." This must surely
careless of the fame associated with success- be wrong. T have always heard it sounded
ful authorship. She wrote in response to her like the two English words saw Gerties. Its
strong bias, and because the practice amused origin is disputed, but it is certainly not
her and helped to fill her time; but she looked French. One authority states that it is
no further than this for satisfaction of her an Indian word, meaning " at the outlet,"
desires, and disregarded popular applause. like Saugatuck; but it is more probably
Besides her famous song her only literary from the Dutch " Zagertjes Kill," meaning
product of importance was the contribution "Sawyer's Creek." See H. Gannett" a
she made to the history of her house, and this ' Origin of Certain Plaee-Names in the United
(embodied in the authoritative and classio States,' 1905. JAS. PLATT, Jun.
' Lives of the Lindsays ') had for the writer NICOLAAB VAN RUIVEN (10 S. vi. 388).—
distinct subjective and personal value, My information with regard to the identity
altogether apart from such ulterior service of this man is not complete, but it may be
as it might possibly render. Her indiffer- sufficient'to put M B . E. H. BBOSTBY in the
ence to the fortunes of her ballad led to the way of obtaining more detailed knowledge.
usual speculations regarding an anonymous During the eighty years, from about tha
masterpiece, and to the assumption of author- middle of the sixteenth century to the early
ship by at least one daring adventurer. Speak- part of the seventeenth, that the Dutch
on the subject to Capt. Basil Hall, Sir fought for their independence against the
Walter Scott said :— Spaniards, the latter besieged the town_ of
"It was long unknown who the author was: and, Naarden. Among other atrocities which
indeed, there was a olergyraan on the ooast whose the Spaniards committed after the surrender
conscience was so large that he took the burden of of the town was the murder of Van Ruiven.
this matter upon himself, and pleaded guiltyto the
authorship."—Lookhart's ' Life of 8ootV v. 397, ed. He was, I believe, the burgomaster ; if n o t
1837. that, at any rate a prominent citizen. Th&
The explanation of Lady Anne's attitude Spaniards cut his body in pieces, which they
given in Tytler and Watson's ' Songstresses forwarded to his widow, with the following
of Scotland ' comes probably pretty close cruel doggerel couplet:—
io a VL DEC. 8,1906.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 453
O vrouwke van Ruiven ! years later ; the third'appeared in 1872 ; and
Aan dees' boutko zal dij kluiven. the fourth (the last edition published in
O, dame van Rniven ! FitzGerald's lifetime) in 1879. Each of these
Yon shall munch this dainty moreeL displays repolishing. For the difference
I regret that I have not fuller particulars

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between the original and FitzGerald's adapta-
about the man ; I am even uncertain whether tion consult Mr. Thomas Wright's ' Life^of
the above is or is not the Nicolaas van Ruiven Edward FitzGerald,' vol. ii. p. 12.
inquired about by MB. BBOMBY. R. L. MOBETON.
WAXTEB J. WBIOHT.
Faversham. MIDDLETON FAMILY (10 S. vi. 329).—The
correspondent who inquires concerning de-
" S T E E L Y A B D " (10 S. vi. 282, 331, 369,
scendants of this family may like to have the
412).—As the name of the weighing instru- following items, on record in the local lite-
ment, stelliar seems more likely to have rature of Nottingham : Sir Hugh Middleton,
arisen out of *hastellaria, as I argue in my fourth baronet, baptized at Croyden 6 April,
little book ' The Folk and their Word-Lore ' 1653, was buried at St. Mary's Church,
(Routledge), p. 95. Nottingham, on 2 February, 1700/1. H i s
A. SilYTHB PALMER. widow wa3 buried at St. Peter's, Nottingham,
S. Woodford. on 7 March, 1732/3. Her will was dated
DATED STONES IN BUTXDINOS (10 S. vi. 30 April, 1731, and proved 8 January, 1735/6-
349, 412).—Under this heading I should like (Godfrey's ' Notes on St. Mary's Registers ').
to refer to the very common practice of Mrs. Margaret Middleton, who died at her
removing headstones from one place to house in Bridlesmith Gate, Nottingham,
another during demolition or reconstruction. and was buried in St. Mary's Church 10 July,
The following will serve as an example. 1778, was the youngest daughter of Sir Hugh
In 1889 T made a note of an inscribed stone Middleton, fourth baronet. She had lived
over the door of a verv old house in this in Nottingham for about eighty years, dying,
parish (Rochdale): " R". B.(?) 1618 C. M." according to a local antiquary, Stretton, on
On visiting this place again last year T dis- 6 July, 1778, and being buried "near the
covered that the house had been entirely remains of Lady Mary Brabazon, who was
pulled down, but a few hundred yards from once her friend and companion, and who
the site I found that the stone had been died 1737-8." It is recorded that this Mar-
carefully built into the wall over a roadside garet Middleton was supported by an annuity
well, and will form a puzzle for some future from the New River Company. Mr. Godfrey
antiquary. HENHY FISHWICK. says that her gravestone, now in the south-
aisle of St. Mary's, is thus inscribed : —
'ECHO'S LAMENT OF NABCISSUS ' (10 S. " M.B. 1737-8- In memory of Mrs. Margaret
vi. 408).—" Slow, slow, freah fount," will Middleton, who died (ith Julv. 1778, Aged 100
be found in a comio satire by Ben Jonson, Years. Anthony Brabazon diod March 15th, 1839,
called ' Cynthia's Revels ; or, the Fountain Ayed 65 Years."
of Self-love.' It waa acted by the children A. STAPLETON.
of the Chapel Royal in 1600. 158, Noel Street, Xottingham.
WTT.T.TA-U H. CUMMIXGS.
POST BOXES (10 S. vi. 389).—Post boxes
Echo delivers herself of her " prodigious —that is, pillar letter-boxes : the wall box,
grief" for Narcissus in the first scene of I think, came rather later—were put u p
Act I. of Ben Jonson's ' Cynthia's Revels.' first in London in 1852 or 1853, and were,
J. DOBMBB. from the beginning, painted scarlet or
" Slow, slow, fresh fount," is one of Henry scarlet and black, apparently because scarlet
Youll's ' Canzonets to Three Voyces,' 1608. was the colour distinguishing " His Majesty's
Whether or not Youll wrote the words does Mails," as seen in uniforms, mail-carts, &c.,
not appear. Lyrical poems of Shakespeare's and in .the gorgeous mail-coaches of yore,
time may very frequently be identified by a long before the advent here of the street-
reference to Rimbault's Bibliotheca Madri- post box. In France small street letter-
galiana,' 1847. H. DAVEY. boxes attached to a building were first set-
[T. M. W. also refers to 'Cynthia's Revels."] up in the reign of Louis XIV. ; and my
father, Rowland Hill, when visiting Pans-
FTTZGEBALD'S ' OMAB KHAYYAM ' (10 S. iri 1839 to study the working of the French.
vi. 388).—The first edition of the quatrains Post Office—then in many ways far ahead
of Omar Khayyam was published by of our own—noticed how highly they were-
Quaritch in 1859 ; the second followed seven appreciated by the Parisians, and on his

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