262
NOTES AND QUERIES. t n s. i. A PE . 2, 1910.
Professors of Comparative Literature may
find in these two cases matter for demonstra-
tion of the manner in which great literary
artists fashion the substance they obtain
from others. PAUL T. LAFLEUB.
McGill University, Montreal.
SIR PHILIP PERCEVAL, M.P.
SIB PHILIP PEBCEVAL was elected for New- port, Cornwall, on 19 May, 1647 ; and on 1 March, 1648, a writ was issued in his place, he being deceased. According to Mr. W. D. Pink, he had died on 10 Nov., 1647, after a few days' illness, " overborne by the increas- ing malice of the Independent party" (Western Antiquary, vol. vii. p. 186); and there are some very interesting references to him and his services to the Royalist cause in the recently published second volume of the Historical Manuscripts Commission's Report on the MSS. of the Earl of Egmont (pp. 5, 8, 11, WetaL).
In a claim for ' ' Arrears of Pay due to Sir Philip Perceval," apparently drawn up by his eldest son, Sir John Perceval, Bt., it is specifically stated that he was " Com- missary-General of Provisions in his late Majesty's army in Ireland " and "provider for the Horse " from 28 March, 1641, to 28 July, 1647 ; and " captain of a company of firelocks in the same army ? ' from 15 June, 1642, to the later date named (p. 8).
There seems to have been some haziness as to Sir Philip's origin and early days. His grandson Sir John Perceval, third baronet, charged one John Tisdall on 13 May, 1682,
" to make particular inquiry of the time and place of my father's birth, and when and where his father Sir Philip was born, when he died, and where buried. I think he died in 1647 at London, and was buried in St. Martin's, but whether in the church or any tombstone I know not, nor
how old he was 1 know that Sir Philip was
clerk of the Crown, clerk of the House of Lords, Commissary to the army, and sent over from Ireland to his Majesty at Oxford with other com- missioners to represent the state of Ireland. I have also heard he was in the Long Parliament of England, but for what place he served, and how he came to be elected, I know not, nor what other employments he had, nor the times which he was employed in them. I should be very glad to have some short narrative of what was most memorable in his life, and herein I desire you to consult my friends." Pp. 109-10.
Tisdall replied on 17 June, from Dublin : " I -lately waited upon Mr. James Grace, a gentleman of great age, and one that was deputy registrar of the Court of Wards in the year 1624, at which time your grandfather came into that office as clerk to one Mr. Webb, and soon after-
wards by his own ingenuity came to be registrar
thereof. He cannot give any account where he
was born ;. he believes he came a little before
that time out of England ; and as to your great-
grandfather, he believes he was never hi this
kingdom. He says your grandfather was a
parliament man in England, but what place he
served he knows not." Pp. 116-17.
Sir John wrote from Cork with positive - ness on the following 24 August to his kins- man Sir Robert Southwell, Clerk of the Privy Council : "I can inform you my grandfather died in [16]48, and my father in [16J65" (p. 118); but the former date seems to have been incorrect, and it was not accepted by Sir Robert. He had written to Sir John on 16 May, 1682: "Your grandfather, by his endowments and skill in all worldly affairs, laid the foundations [of your large fortune] n (p. Ill); and on 10 March, 1683, he added information he had gathered to the effect that Sir Philip
- ' was buried in St. Martin's Church, and
Bishop Usher preached the funeral sermon "; and he suggested that that prelate's daughter, Lady Tyrrell, might be able to say "in particular if in 1646 or 1647 Sir Philip Perceval died, and the month and day, as also where born, how old, &c. n (p. 128).
But the desired information does not seem to be forthcoming, and there remains much that is puzzling about the public career of an evidently remarkable man. How so pronounced a Royalist came to be elected for a Cornish borough so soon after Fairfax and Cromwell had conquered the county for the Parliament is a mystery on which I should like light to be thrown ; and it is of interest still to remember that his successor in the representation of Newport-by-Launces- ton was no less noteworthy a personage than William Prynne. ALFBED F. ROBBINS.
"THE PETER BOAT AND DOUBLET."
IN the first week in March there were several references in 'The Office Window ? of The Daily Chronicle to old London firms which still exist. Among them is a shop on London Bridge which rejoices in the sign of "The Peter Boat and Doublet, 5 ' exhibiting in the window what may be a metal facsimile of the original sign. It represents a short boat, and aloft a short-sleeved coat. The editor asked for an explanation of the doublet portion of the sign, but got only one answer, which was a suggestion that the reference might be to St. John xxi. 7 : " That disciple therefore whom Jesus loved said to Peter : It is the Lord. Simon Peter, when he heard that it was the Lord, girt his coat about him
