448
NOTES AND QUERIES. [11 s.vi. DEC. 7, 1012.
the Angevin Kings,' i. 192). I hope that
other contributors may be able to adduce
evidence bearing on Ermengard's parentage.
G. H. WHITE. St. Cross, Harleston, Norfolk.
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.
THE BITES OF THE CHURCH. On the death
of a Roman Catholic he is usually reported
as having died " fortified by the rites of the
Church." In a short series of Coroners'
Rolls of the fourteenth century, which I
am editing for the Corporation of London,
the deceased is often recorded as having
received jura ecclesiastica. Should this be
translated " rites " or " rights " ? If the latter,
I should be glad to learn what are the
rights of the Church in this connexion.
REGINALD R. SHARPE.
Guildhall, E C.
SHELLEY PORTRAIT. I have a fine India - proof portrait of Shelley, of which I should like to know the history. The portrait is engraved in a sort of rustic woodwork frame wreathed with roses. At the top is a woman (seated) with lyre, a cherub on either hand. The lower left corner is a water scene, while the lower right corner seems to contain a view of Shelley's tomb with three persons standing by. The eyes are soft, and lack the staring look seen in so many portraits of the poet. Any information as to the artist and history of the picture will be appreciated.
C. H.
New York City.
SMUGGLING SONGS : WILL WATCH. I should be glad to be supplied with refer- ences to smuggling songs and ballads. I know of ' The Poor Smuggler's Boy,' ' The Smuggler's Bride,' ' The Attack on Dover Gaol.' ' The Smuggler's Leap ' (' Ingoldsby Legends '), and ' Will Watch the Bold Smuggler.'
Who was the writer of the last-named ? Was Will Watch a real person, and, if so, what is known concerning him ? In ' Be- twixt the Forelands ' Clark Russell refers to " belted swaggering Will Watches." Was it a term usually applied to the runners of contraband goods ? G. H. W.
[' Will Watch ' was written by Dibdfti. For the eponymous hero see 11 S. ii. 353.]
REPETITIOJT. Every student of psycho-
logy probably also every novelist is
familiar with the phenomenon of repetition,
i.e., of the tendency of the mind, having
once invented a combination of words or a
situation, mechanically to recur to this
without in the case of an author definite
artistic justification. I give two examples.
In ' Much Ado about Nothing ' Shakespeare,
not troubling about variety of device to
get his plot forward, but letting his brain
have its way, gives us four times over
listening as the determining factor in the
story ; and in ' The Mayor of Casterbridge '
Mr. Hardy makes Henchard find out the
truth about Elizabeth Jane's parentage by
opening a badly sealed letter left by his
wife ; while later on Jopp in exactly the same
way, by opening a badly sealed package,
finds out the past facts of Lucetta's history.
Has any reader chanced to note down instances of this phenomenon from the works of great authors ? It is, of course, characteristic of writers who are not artists that it abounds in their productions.
PEREGRINUS.
CAPT. PITMAN. Can any of your readers tell me anything of a Capt. Pitman ? I have a large water-colour portrait of a man of that name in hunting attire date pro- bably about 1850. The portrait was recog- nized by a gentleman who remembers that he hunted with the Duke of Beaufort's Hounds fifty years ago. If this affords sufficient clue, I should be glad to know if any _of his relatives are still giving.
J. SPENCER PALMER, M.P.S.
Coronation House, Thornbury, Glos.
GORDON, DEAF AND DUMB INSTRUCTOR. In 1831 a small pamphlet appeared in Dublin entitled " Art of Instructing the Deaf and Dumb, with remarks on existing institutions for their relief, by Mr. Gordon." In a prefatory note he says he had been an instructor at the London Institution, and was invited to go to Dublin in 1826 to found an institution of the same character. What is known of him 2 He may be identical with a Mr. William Gordon who is referred to in a letter written by Lord Kenmure in 1845 as having an institution in North Devon ; "he had given up the Church years ago, and become manager of deaf and dum [sic] asylwm. He " sported the Ken- mure arms," but Lord Kenmure was unable to throw any light on his origin.
J. M. BULLOCH. 123, Pall Mall, S.W.
