54
NOTES AND QUERIES.
[2a S. NO 3., JAN. 19. '56.
In this latter instance we find the local designa-
tion converted into a surname, corresponding with
that of our English family ; and further researches
will, no doubt, multiply such instances.
But, if a coincidence of name authorises," jn some measure, the supposition of a French de- scent, it cannot perhaps be deduced with the same probability from a consideration of the arms which this family has so long borne ; for, though the fleur-de-lis, so far as we are concerned, is unquestionably of French derivation, it has been (though never considered an ordinary charge) of frequent use in many periods of our history. It has been so, not only in immediate and legitimate connexion with royal alliances, and as an honour- able augmentation conceded by the sovereign for services rendered in the wars against, or some- times with France ; but, as appears at first sight, from an almost indiscriminate assumption by many hundred families, whose right and title to such a distinction may occasionally admit of a question.
During a residence of many months in Paris, I have availed myself of the courteous permission of the conservateurs of the Bibliotheque Imperiale and of the Musee des Estampes, to consult many volumes, which might elucidate this subject of the Hillier family, particularly in reference to their armorial bearings. But, while personally much interested in this immediate inquiry, the wider and more general subject of the charge, commonly distinguished as the fleur-de-lis, has unavoidably forced itself upon my attention. Many notes, relating to its origin and adoption, have been made from Montfaucon, Pere Anselme, and others, which may perhaps be deemed worthy of preservation in your pages.
To these notes a much greater extension has been given since my return to England ; and a list has been made from all available sources of the English names royal, noble, and gentle which now make pretensions to the fleur-de-lis. This list is long ; but, as I perceive from a late number, that, in subjects of some interest, length is not a ground for exclusion, I may hereafter forward for your approval (?) the catalogue which has hitherto been prepared solely for my own reference. C. H. P.
Brighton.
INTERMENT AT GLASGOW CATHEDRAL.
Several months since, in the process of reno- vating the interior of the cathedral of Glasgow, the workmen, in lifting the pavement in that part of the choir near the pulpit, where it is supposed the high altar formerly stood, came upon a grave which was found immediately below the pavement, built with stone, and of small
depth, and covered on the top with a leaden plate
or slab. The crypt (or ancient burial-place)
being under this part of the choir, and the space
or division from the roof of the former to the
pavement of the latter being but little, seemed to
preclude giving more depth to the grave. On
further investigation, the grave was seen to con-
tain only the dry bones of an individual who
had been interred without a coffin, but wrapped
up in cloths of silk (apparently of French manu-
facture), which, from fragments of the texture, had
been of a rich quality, interspersed with threads
of gold, and fringes of a like quality. No orna-
ments were discovered, nor inscriptions, nor any
thing in the least from which to conjecture the
name and rank of the person. The bones, from
their dimensions, show him to have been a man
of more than ordinary stature, of great strength,
with a very large head, denoting, as phrenologists
would argue, from its particular formation, much
of the animal propensity ; not a tooth in the jaws
are wanting, and all of the most beautiful white
enamel, from which the inference is drawn, that
he had died in the prime of life. It is a matter of
considerable curiosity who he was that was thus
honoured with a grave in such an important site
of the cathedral, and perhaps some of the corre-
spondents of " N. & Q." acquainted with old ec-
clesiastical usages, may assist towards a solution
of the problem. No written nor traditional in-
formation exists to afford any clue. The^proba-
bility is, that he may have been one of the dignified
clergy connected with the cathedral before the
Reformation -from popery, dr. 1560, or one of the
subsequent Episcopalian archbishops who held
sway, though with occasional disturbance in their
seats, till the Revolution of 1688. The crypt was
discontinued as a place of interment in 1595, and
from that date to 1801, was occupied as a Pres-
byterian church for the barony parish of Glasgow.
3 G. N.
Public Baptisms in Private Howes. With
reference to the quotation from Pepys (" N. &
Q.," 1" S. ix. 399.), let me ask, Whence arose the
custom of the clergy going to private houses to
perform the ceremony of public baptism (not
merely private baptism) ? This was done, about
the year 1792 or 1793, by a Dr. Ashe. Of what
London parish was he Incumbent? Marylebone?
or St. George's, Hanover Square ? I. R. R-
Ode. on Sir John Moore. Can you inform n>e in which of the London newspapers (with the date) appeared a letter from the Rev. Dr. Mjjler, author of Modern History Philosophically Illus- trated, wherein he clearly establishes the claim of
