14
NOTES AND QUERIES. [id* s. i. JAN-. 2, 190*.'
Island) is one of the Bahamas, and was
granted 1 November, 1C70, to the Duke of
Albemarle, Lord Ashley, and others.
When the late W. N. Sainsbury edited (in 1860) the above-mentioned volume of State Papers, he confused the two islands, and spoke of " the Bahamas, or the plantation of Providence, as the principal island was called" (p. xxv), when in reality the Providence Island off the Mosquito Coast was meant. Later, at the request of General Lefroy, Governor of the Bermudas, Mr. Sainsbury examined into the matter closely, detected his mistake, and in the Athenceum of 27 May, 1876, pp. 729-30, the two islands are carefully differentiated. ALFRED MATTHEWS.
Boston, U.S.
CELTIC TITLES (9 th S. xii. 367). The eldest -sons of the following Scotch peers are bearers of the courtesy title of Master, in addition to their prefix of Honourable :
Viscount Falkland, Master of Falkland.
Lord Balfour of Burleigh, Master of Bur- leigh.
Lord Belhaven and Stenton, Master of Bel- haven.
Lord Colville of Culross, Master of Colville.
Lord Elibank, Master of Elibank.
Lord Kinnaird, Master of Kinnaird.
Lord Napier, Master of Napier.
Lord Pol war th, Master of Polwarth.
Lord Hollo, Master of Hollo.
Lord Ruthven, Master of Ruthven.
Lord Saltoun, Master of Saltoun.
Lord Sempill, Master of Sempill.
Lord Sinclair, Master of Sinclair.
Lord Torphichen, Master of Torphichen.
Baroness Kinloss, Master of Kinloss.
There is Sir Maurice Fitzgerald, Bart., known as the " Knight of Kerry."
THORNE GEORGE.
MADAME DU DEFFAND'S LETTERS (9 th S. xii. 366, 438). I was glad to read the letters concerning the Begum of Bhopal. I remem- ber seeing her Highness as far as she could be seen perched in a howdah on top of an elephant at Delhi in 1862, when two regi- ments had the honour of marching past the Begum whether the present princess or her successor I cannot say ; but I never imagined for a moment that this noble woman had anything to do with the Begum Sumroo, adoptive mother of Mr. Dyce Sombre.
GEORGE ANGUS.
St. Andrews, N.B.
To my reply on this subject it may be as well to add a postscript to the effect that in strict accuracy Mr. Dyce Sombre was not the adopted son of the Begum Sumroo, but was
in fact her step-grandson, and was by her
constituted her co-heir, along with certain
other members of his family.
PATRICK MAXWELL. Bath.
I am obliged to the two correspondents who have been good enough to correct my mistake as to the Begum of Bhopal, and apologize for having made it. The mistake is, after all, a trilling one, and I cannot agree that in confounding the Begum of Bhopal with the Begum of Sard ha na I have been
guilty of profanity, nor can I agree in the epreciatory estimate, of the character of the latter indulged in by one correspondent.
Zeibool-nissa, Begum of Sardhtina, what- ever her origin, was a very remarkable woman, who commanded an army after the death of her husband, the Belgian soldier of fortune Reinhardt, and governed her exten- sive territory for many years with moderation and ability. Sir William Bentinck, the Governor-General of India, on resigning his post in 1835, addressed to the Begum the following letter, which attests the esteem in which she was held by the British Govern- ment :
MY ESTEEMED FRIEND, I cannot leave India without expressing the sincere esteem I entertain for your Highness's character. The benevolence of disposition and extensive charity which have en- deared you to thousands have excited in my mind sentiments of the warmest admiration ; and 1 trust you may yet be preserved for many years, the solace of the orphan and widow, and the sure resource of your numerous dependants. To-morrow morning I embark for England, and my prayers and best wishes attend you, and all others who, like you, exert them- selves for the benefit of the people of India. I remain, with much consideration, Your sincere friend,
M. YV. 15ENTIXCK.
Calcutta, March 17, !S;i3.
The person to whom this letter was ad- dressed must have been no ordinary woman. I may add that the Begum Sombre was a Catholic, and that on the second anniversary of her death a solemn requiem was performed at Rome, and Mr. (afterwards Cardinal) Wiseman preached a sermon in which he extolled the deceased Begum for her charities and toleration. JOHN HEBB.
The history of Begum Sumroo and Dyce Sombre may be read at some length in 8 th S. vii. 269, 309, 375, 479; x. 83. I may add references to the Illustrated London News, 6 Nov., 1847, p. 291 j 12 July, 1831, p. 42 ; and 'Diet. Nat. Biog.,' xvi. 281. W. C. B.
GEORGE ELIOT AND BLANK VERSE (9 th S. xii. 441). Monotony in decasyllabic lines may be avoided, not only by " variety in
