332
NOTES AND QUERIES. [9* s. i. APRIL 23, m
accomplished editor, contributing no fewer
than five articles. From this source MR.
ANDREWS may obtain all the information
which at this distance of time is probably
available. See 5 th S. vii., viii., x., xi.
EVERARD HOME COLEMAN. 71 1 Brecknock Road.
[Very many replies are acknowledged.]
NICHOLSON FAMILY (9 th S. i. 108). In Burke's ' Landed Gentry,' 1868, under Nichol- son of Waverley Abbey, co. Surrey, is a short pedigree of the Cumberland portion of the family. The Nicholsons of Ballow, co. Down, came from that county.
JOHN RADCLIFFE.
SAMUEL WILDERSPIN (8 th S. xii. 387 ; 9 th S. i. 270). The first infant school was established by Robert Owen in connexion with his cotton mill at New Lanark. I state this on the authority of Lord Brougham, who, on the occasion of a petition being presented to the House of Lords on behalf of Samuel Wilder- spin, on the ground of his being the founder of infant schools, made the statement here repeated. The contradiction, having been given nearly forty years ago, is now, it seems, forgotten. THOMAS FROST.
Littleover, Derby.
I believe the Wilderspins came from Hol- land and were engaged in draining the Fens ; they are said to be related to the De Witts. Mr. J. W. Young still enjoys good health at Belgrave Road, Rathmines, Duplin. He owns a fine oil painting of Wilderspin by Herbert that ought to be in the National Portrait Gallery. This was engraved by Agnew, but for some unknown reason prints were not published. I obtained an unsigned proof, and was able to discover the likeness from Herbert's painting. Some years since a lady visiting Dublin, seeing it by accident and recognizing it, was enabled to find Mr. Young and his family, to whom she was related. W. FRAZER, F.R.C.S.I.
Dublin.
NOVELS WITH THE SAME NAME (9 th S. i. 269). The late Mr. James Payn says on this sub- ject, 'Some Private Views,' pp. 114 and 115:
"When the story-teller has finished his task and surmounted every obstacle to his own satisfaction, he has still a difficulty to face in the choice of a title. He may invent, indeed, an eminently appro- priate one, but it is by no means certain he will be allowed to keep it. Of course, he has done his best to steer clear of that borne by any other novel ; but among the thousands that have been brought out during the last forty years, and which have been forgotten even if they were ever known, how can he know whether the same name has not been hit
upon? He goes to Stationers' Hall to make in-
quiries ; but mark the usefulness of that institu-
tionhe finds that books are only entered there
under their authors' names. His search is therefore
necessarily futile, and he has to publish his story
under the apprehension (only too well founded as I
have good cause to know) that the High Court of
Chancery will prohibit its sale upon the ground of
infringement of title."
The same or a similar title has been often used two or three times for different books in France, and it is just possible that the same thing exists here. ARTHUR MAYALL.
J. H. R.-C.'s disappointment must have been shared by many. The question he puts is a difficult one to answer satisfactorily. Although a tacit rule no doubt exists for the avoidance of identical names, there is no absolute prohibition in the matter. I have ventured, on more than one occasion, to advocate the feasibility of registering a title against infringement when a novel is in MS. and even uncompleted. Surely it is as much the outcome of the writer's invention as his book, and often no insignificant weight in the scales of success or failure. Why then should an author be debarred from so valu- able a protection 1 Were this plan adopted it would go far to scotch any such irritating experiences as that recorded by your corre- spondent. It would be pleasant to know that my views met with the approval of others. CECIL CLARKE.
Authors' Club, S.W.
This is primarily a question of copyright, and it has oeen decided that there is no copy- right in a title ; beyond that it is a matter of courtesy and self-interest. The title is a mere fragment of the book, and if the title does not happen to involve the prescriptive cha- racter or purpose of the book, the mere word- ing is non-contentious. Any one may write a ' Treatise on Surgery ' or an ' Essay on the Sublime,' provided another writer's matter is not reproduced. A.S to novels, the repeti- tion is very inconvenient and generally acci- dental ; but if, in giving an order, the author's or publisher's name be added, all ambiguity ceases. A. HALL.
SOURCE OF QUOTATION WANTED (9 th S. i. 169, 271). As this query seems not to 1 answerable in a positive manner, conjecture is perhaps allowable. I suggest that the scrap of verse to which it relates is of Keats s
mi i ^_ *i_ "-^."U-i- T
and have since learned that this tragedy was
first performed in 1819. Keats's friend Leigh
Hunt published in 1816 'The Story
