88
NOTES AND QUERIES. [io s. i. JAN. so, im.
on his coasts. I shall be grateful for in-
formation as to the amount thus obtained, and
also for further references as to the history
of the Dutch fisheries generally, as I am
collecting materials for a work on this sub-
ject. In my notes I find that in 1610, as
upwards of 60,000 Dutchmen depended on
the herring fisheries along the coasts of
Great Britain, James I. appears then to have
restored fishing privileges to the Dutch. If
this be true, what amount, if any, was
exacted from the Dutch ?
According to a Dutch account, in 1636 Charles I. compelled the Dutch fishermen to
Siy 20,000 florins as licence money to fish in ritish waters. On the other hand, Charles I. is stated by Sabine to have increased his military navy solely to drive the Dutch fishermen from Britain's " four-narrow-seas " as our coastal waters were then termed and to have compelled the Dutch to pay 150,000 "dollars." How much did these sums represent in our present English money 1 As Lorenzo Sabine's work is a series of historical reports printed for the United States Treasury of the period (1853), I am anxious to learn if this interesting in- structive book is historically trustworthy. Generally, these rich and rare data are much esteemed in official United States circles. However, I have detected several slight errors, which may be only printers' mistakes overlooked in the correction of proofs before publishing.
J. LAWRENCE-HAMILTON, M.R.C.S. 30, Sussex Square, Brighton.
BATROME. In the South Tawton Church- wardens' Accounts for 1586-7 is the item, "P'd John Batrome for the pulpitt xvis." ; and again, " Fd Willy Bourne for Batrome's breakfast and his mens when he came to view the place for the pulpett, ijs." There is, I am told, a local tradition that this pulpit, which is still in situ, and the panels of which are in- laid in wood of ornamental grain with figures of the four Evangelists, was the work of some destitute foreigners who had been ship- wrecked on the shores of Devon. The date forbids the suggestion that they were sur- vivors of the Armada, though there may be some confusion of reminiscence. Can any of your readers tell me of what nationality is the name Batrome, and whether it is known in connexion with any other examples of carved or inlaid woodwork in England or abroad ? ETHEL LEGA-WEEKES.
ADDISON'S DAUGHTER. In the memoirs that I have read of Addison, beyond the bare mention that he left a daughter by the
Countess Dowager of Warwick, nothing is
said of her, which I thought strange for a
lady born in so high a position ; but I find
this in the obituary of the Monthly Magazine,
March, 1797 :
"At her house at Bilton, near Rugby, Miss Char- lotte Addison, only daughter of the celebrated Mr. Addison by the Countess Dowager of Warwick. She had in her possession several portraits of her father and his friends, and his library and manu- scripts."
And in the next number :
"The late Miss Addison, whose death we noticed in our last, inherited her father's memory, but none of the discriminating powers of his intellect. With great retentive faculties of memory, she was in other respects a perfect imbecile ; she could repeat the whole of her fathers works, but was incapable of speaking or writing an intelligible sentence. '
Is this true? and are there now any repre- sentatives of the Addison family ?
G. T. SHERBORN. Twickenham.
MEDALS "AU PIED DE SANGLIER." These curiosities have been lately mentioned in L'IntermJdiaire. They are, if I may so put it, ham-shaped medals, and the projecting limb is said to represent the foot of a wild boar. The heads of Augustus and Agrippa are on the obverse, while the reverse is occupied by a palm-tree and a crocodile. But twelve genuine examples are known, and the British Museum is the fortunate possessor of one of them. M. Goudard of Nimes has written of these medals, but his pamphlets are now out of print, and as the source of information in L'lntermddiaire would seem to be staunched, I hope the correspondents of 'N. & Q.' will, of their charity, communicate any knowledge they may possess concerning the history and object of these strange pro- ductions. I believe there is a folk-tale at Nimes to account for the crocodile and the palm-tree. Can anybody repeat it for our benefit? ST. SWITHIN.
" COMMISSION." Is there any precedent for a member of Parliament convening a " commission " to take evidence upon a public question ? I have always understood that the word " commission " was only used when appointment was made by the Crown. Perhaps some reader of 'N. & Q.' may be able to inform me if it has been used previous to the congress of gentlemen now convened by Mr. Chamberlain. N. S. S.
"P. P., CLERK OF THE PARISH." What is alluded to in 'Sartor Resartus' by "P. P., Clerk of the Parish " (chap. ii. bk. i.) ? There is the same allusion, I fancy, in ' Middle- march.' C A. NEWMAN.
