10 s. vm. NOV. 23, loo:.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
407
discounted by the appearance of the hall and the
tables. The latter were of plain stained deal,
innocent of covering. They were laid out severely,
but in a manner which was, to say the least,
striking and quaint. Multitudes of candles in old
brass candelabra took the place of present-day
illuminants. Pewter tankards and tappit hens
lined the boards ; punch, nut-brown ale, London
stout, and other beverages were there in plenty ;
and, lastly, the food was described in old Scots,
and served in unostentatious manner by a staff of
quaintly attired young women. The atmosphere of
the gathering was quite as old-fashioned as the
surroundings. Through the reek sent up by
churchwarden pipes snatches of history, more or
less connected, were flung across the table, and
formed the basis of many of the speeches. Scottish
flickering lights of the old four-hours' candles. Two
stalwart waiters in knee-breeches, coloured coats,
and white wigs paraded the floor to assist in the
waiting, and the custodian of Provand's Lordship,
stationed on the platform, announced the toast in
truly dignified and impressive style."
J. A.
Edinburgh.
LAND OK AND MENAGE. I do not know whether attention has been drawn to the fact that the beginning of W. S. Lander's epitaph on George IV.,
Heic . jacet
Qui . ubique . et . semper . jacebat (' Poemata et Inscriptiones,' ed. 1847, p. 259) bears a close resemblance to Epigram clxiii.,
- Hermogenis, hominis nihili, Epitaphium '
Qui semper jacuit, hie jacet Hermogenes, in Menage's ' Poemata ' (p. 158, 8th ed., 1687).
Landor's opinion, by the way, of the Frenchman's ' Poemata ' is recorded in his ' Quaestio quamobrem poetse Latini recentiores minus legantur,' about one- twelfth through, p. 271, at the end of the ' Poemata et Inscriptiones,' ed. cit., where he has written : " Menagius, omni (praeter poeticam) laude cumulatus."
EDWARD BENSLY. University College, Aberystwith.
JOHN PRICE. To the list of his works in 'D.N.B.,' xlvi. 330, should be added " Commentarii in Varios Novi Testament! Libros ; his accesserunt Adnotationes in Psalmorum Librum Londinii, 1660," fol. JOHN B. WAINEWRIGHT.
LlTTLECOTE HOUSE, WILTSHIRE. The
tragic story connected with this mansion was retold in the Daily Mail of 17 Sep- tember. It was tacked on to the recent announcement that the late proprietor,
Mr. Francis William Leybourne-Popham,
had left estate valued at 100,0002. The
story duly appears in ' The Haunted
Homes and Family Traditions of Great
Britain,' by John H. Ingram (3rd ed., 1886,
pp. 134-8). An article on Littlecote, re-
printed from The St. James's Gazette, was
published in The Genealogical Magazine for
December, 1897. See also 7 S. xi. 449, 517 ;
8 S. x. 234, 306, 342, 446.
JOHN T. PAGE. Long Itchington, Warwickshire.
(gmma.
WE must request correspondents desiring in- formation on family matters of only private interest to affix their names and addresses to their queries, in order that answers may be sent to them direct.
CHARLES II. AND CATHERINE OF BRA-
GANZA : AN OIL PAINTING. In my posses-
sion is an oil painting which represents
unmistakably the " Merry Monarch " seated
on the left side of a table, upon which rests
his crown, with that of his queen behind.
On the right side, equally unmistakable, to
judge from her portraits in the National
Portrait Gallery, is Catherine of Braganza,
whose right hand rests in her lap, supported
by her left fore-arm. The King's left arm
rests gracefully upon the table, and the
beautifully tapering fingers of both remind
one of Lely, as do also the graceful and easy
attitudes of both. The canvas has been cut
down for some reason, and framed in a later
style. It belonged to a relative, from whom,
however, before his death, I heard nothing
concerning its history. Mr. Cust, to whom
I showed a photograph of it which I had
had taken, could give me no information ;
neither could Mr. Donoghue, of the Print
Department, British Museum, recall any
engraving after it. It appears to be a con-
temporary painting of the King and Queen,
and, to my inexpert judgment, possibly a
Lely. Can any of your readers throw some
light upon it, as to who is the artist, &c. ?
Is it unique ?
J. HOLDEN MACMlCHAEL. Deene, Streatham.
SUFFOLK BISHOPRIC. I notice that some critics (notably in The Church Times) raise the objection of tradition to a new bishopric taking its name from a county, asserting that the city of the " bishop's stool " has always given the name to a diocese. J. Thorpe's ' Registrum Roffense ' (1769 : at p. 441)
