196
NOTES AND QUERIES. [io< s. v. MAKCH 10,
vii. 359-78. As no special reason is men-
tioned why Thomas Archer was raised to the
peerage, one may assume that the honour
was given to him for the reasons that he was
the heir of an ancient and important family,
that his great-grandfather, grandfather, and
father had been members of Parliament, and
that he himself had been a member for some
thirteen years. Collins says that he was
chosen member for the town of Warwick in
the Parliament which was summoned to meet
on 13 June, 1734. Apparently that Parlia-
ment sat first on business on 23 Jauuary,
1734/5. The coat of arms, &c., follow the
letterpress. There are references to the
Archers in other volumes of Collins.
The account of the family is reduced to very small proportions in Collins's * Peerage ' continued by Sir Egerton Brydges, 1812. The title was extinct in 1778.
EGBERT PIERPOINT.
The reasons for creating a peer are fre- quently to be found in the patent of creation on the Patent Eoll. GERALD FOTHERGILL.
11, Brussels Road, New Wandsworth, S.W.
FONSECA'S DEVOUT CONTEMPLATIONS/ 1629
(10 th S. v. 101). In putting my notes to
gether I find that I omitted to mention that
Cervantes, in his preface to ' Don Quixote,'
makes reference to Fonseca's treatise of ' The
Love of God.' Here are his words (Lock
hart's ed., 1822) :
"But if you would keep nearer home, it is but examining Fonseca of divine love, which you have here in your study, and you need go no farther for all that can be said on that copious subject."
I find also among my notes that there was an edition of * The Love of God ' published in Salamanca in 1592, and a second part, in 2 vols. 8yo, in Valencia in 1608. The English translation of 1652 can scarcely represent, 1 think, the whole of the work. It is in 12mo, and told in with much
from which we may infer that Sir George Strode, the translator, adapted it to suit
character, not to speak of occasional flashes
of grim humour, are notable features in the
'Contemplations' of this grand old Spanish
friar. I shall copy here a few extracts which
were overlooked in my former note :
" It was much, that such a freshwater Souldier \ should on the sudden attaine to the highest of that knowledge." P. 37.
"From Idlenesse come Cowards, wliiteliuerd Souldiers, Faint-hearted, Soule-lesse, and Lazie- people." P. 75.
"If the tempted will but cast his eyes towards them, it is a thousand to one that he is not taken with them." P. 81.
But I feare I haue b[ee]n too long, and there- fore I will here make an end." P. 92.
We are like Martha's Chickens, we desire meat & they giue vs water." P. 125.
"But our thoughts are euermore hammering of wickednesse, like the Smith, that giues a hundred blowes vpon his Anuill, and two vpon his yron ; or like the Barbar, that makes more snips in the ayre, than on the haire." P. 205.
"Gods chastisements are like Lightning, which kill one, but fright many." P. 216. [This may be matched by the following couplet from the anony- mous play of 'Swetnam the Woman -Hater Arraign'd by Women,' 1620, and quoted by Collier in his 'Hist, of Eng. Dr. Poetry' (ed. 1879, vol.iii, p. 133):-
Justice, like lightning, ever should appear To few men's ruin, but to all men's fear.] A Foole is readie to burst till he haue vnfolded a secret ; it is a crooked pin in his throat, he must out with it before euer hee can be at quiet." P. 343.
If God doe not relieue them, they care not a pin for him. P. 430.
"" It goes against the haire with them, to spend so much as one poore Royall in Gods Seruice."
A.S.
MAIDLOW (10 th S. iv. 508 ; v. 154). Surely
the A.-S. meed is the modern English mead;
so that it would only give a modern form
Meadloiv. It is undesirable to ignore vowel-
sounds.
We were asked if Maidlow was ever heard
question, which not yet know is, we may as
well remember that low means a burial-
of
,~ w . U o. W t, *v. FtC vi LV iv on, mound; and that in many instances
himself. The knight dedicates the book to names in -low, the former part represents the
his "Dear Children," and if he intended it genitive case of the name of the person there
seriously for youthful reading, then all I can buried.
say is that the little people might well be Maid is sounded as made ; and if one is to pardoned if they soon wearied of it. The | guess, one might suppose that Maidlow ought
rather to be Madelow, i.e., "the burial-mound of Mada."
In Duignan's * Place-names of Stafford- shire' we are told that Madeley ought to mean "Mada's lea," but that the name Mada is not known. This is a mistake ; for Kem- ble's index gives the very form Madan-leah,
if they soon wearied of it.
- Devout Contemplations' is one of the very
best books of its kind I have ever read. How much of its sparkle and raciness it owes to the translator I cannot tell ; but this I can say, that there is not a page but will afford some passage of interest. Sound common sense and a profound insight into human
