380
NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 s. in. A., 1917.
actor of great merits who, after performing
in London and Dublin, went in the decline
of his life to York, where, having joined the
established company of comedians belonging
to that city, he died Feb. 10, 1731. The
date given is obviously wrong, being that
of the death of his father, known as " Jubilee
Dicky " (see ' D.N.B.' sub now. Henry
Norris).
Mrs. Brereton's maiden name was Hughes ; she was born 1685, and died 1740, and wrote under the name of Melissa (Dyce's ' Speci- mens of British Poetesses,' 1827). The volume of her ' Poems,' published post- humously in 1744, throws no light upon, nor has any reference to, the lines ' On Mr. Nash's Picture ' beyond their inclusion in the table of contents and the body of the work.
Norris's version is noticeable for two things : " Mr. Nash's " not being printed in full, but " Mr. N h's " ; and the allusion to " Wiltshire's Room at Bath " ; the latter being literally correct, as appears from former series of ' N. & Q.' at references given. In a preface signed " Henry Norris " the writer speaks of the contents of his very small volume as " his productions," and says he will " submit myself and all my Faults to the Censure of the (I hope) candid Readers . . . ." It seems hardly probable that what, if it were such at all, was a glaring and deliberate plagiarism would be foisted upon the public in such a manner, even though the public to whom Norris appealed was both a limited one, and (as appears by his dedication " To the Ladies of Hull "") local.
Though the Earl of Chesterfield seems by- later opinion to be ruled out as a claimant to the lines on Nash's ' Picture,' and the true ascription to lie between Norris and Brereton, it may not be out of place to note that the Earl is given as the author in ' Elegant Extracts,' large Svo, 1824 ; ' A Guide to all the Watering and Sea Bathing Places' (1825); and "The English Spy, by Bernard Blackmantle," 1825-6, where Nash's statue appears in a plate by Robert Cruik- shank, ' Well-known characters in the Pump Room, Bath, taking a sip with King Bladud.' The statue is also shown in ' A Peep at the Pump Room,' published by Fores in 1818, and reproduced in 'English Carica- turists,' by Graham Everitt, 1885 (second edition, 1893).
In previous correspondence in ' N. & Q.' the statue of Nash and the busts of Newton and Pope are stated to have been long ago accidentallv burnt. W. B. H.
STATUES AND MEMORIALS IN THE
BRITISH ISLES.
(See 10 S. xi., xii. ; 11 S. i.-xii., passim ; 12 S. i. 65, 243, 406 ; ii. 45, 168, 263, 345 ; iii. 125.)
HEBOES AND HEROINES. LIFEBOAT MEMORIALS.
Southport. The Lifeboat Memorial in the cemetery, designed by Mr. T. Robinson, consists of an oblong structure of grey granite on a stone plinth. It is surmounted by a sculptured representation of a broken mast in a rough sea, and at the sides and ends are white marble panels, containing sculpture in relief and inscriptions : (S. side.)
" In grateful memory of | Charles Hodge [Coxswain], Ralph Peters, Harry Bigby, Henry Hodge, | Richard Robinson, John Robinson. Timothy Rigby, Thomas Jackson, | Peter Wright, Peter Jackson, Thomas Rigby, Thomas Spencer, | Benjamin Peters and John Ball, | Fourteen of the heroic crew of the Southport lifeboat | ' Eliza Fernley,' | who, together with the crew of the St. Anne's lifeboat, perished in | a gallant effort to rescue the crew of the German barque ' Mexico ' | wrecked on this coast, on the night of the 9th December, 1886. | ' Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.' " (E. end.)
" While erecting here | at St. Anne's and at Lytham | memorials of the courageous | bravery of those who perished | in this terrible disaster | their fellow countrymen | adequately provided for | the support of their | widows and orphans."
(N. side.)
Sculptured panel representing a lifeboat at sea. (W. end.)
Sculptured panel representing a life-belt and anchor, the former inscribed " Eliza Fernley."
On the Promenade, opposite the end of Scarisbrick Avenue, an obelisk was unveiled by the Mayor, E. J. Rimmer, Esq., on June 28, 1888. It is the work of Mr. T. Robinson, and is constructed of grey granite on a stone plinth. On each of the four sides is inserted a bronze tablet, three of which are inscribed as follows, the fourth being at present blank : (E. side.)
" This | Monument was erected | June 28th 1888 | when a large lifeboat of | new and improved principle | (presented by the | Misses Macrae) | and named ' Edith & Annie,' | was placed upon this station. | This day was observed as a | Public Holiday, in celebration | of the majority of the Corporation of the Borough | and the Jubilee of the | Coronation of Her Majesty | Queen Victoria.'"
