Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 12.djvu/84

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. xir. JOLY 25, im


of Gloster]. And the advowson of the church of Pentireth, which is worth 4 marks."

The monastery of Pen-Rhys was not a foundation of the Established Church. The hamlet of Home-Pen-Rhys was one of three (Clydach, Home - Pen - Rhys, and Middle) which formed the parish of Ystradyfodwg ; but the parochial church of St. Tyfodwg was situate at Pentre, in the hamlet of Clydach. AP RHYS.

. Baling, W.

Welsh topography is puzzling; for instance, Penrhys appears as Penrice, an ancient demesne with ruins of a castle attributed to the Earls of Warwick. It will strengthen the claim to include the site of Margam Cistercian Abbey, founded circa 1150 A.D. ; and with numerous Roman and prehistoric associations, such as mynydd Margam, camp on "Pen-dar," &c., and the " Via Julia " road- way. ARTHUR HALL.

Highbury, N.

- SIR CHARLES NAPIER AND FIELD SPORTS (9 th S. xi. 349). The following is from my copy of the 'Life of General Sir Charles Napier, G.C.B.,' by W. N. Bruce (Murray,

1885) :

" ' We are all,' he wrote in 1843 of himself and his brothers, 'a hot violent crew with the milk of human kindness, though. We were all fond of hunting, fishing, and shooting; yet all gave them up when young, because we had no pleasure in killing little animals. It is not principle, therefore, on which we act, it j.s painful feeling. A domestic animal confides in you and is at your mercy ; a wild animal has some fair play, a domestic one none. Cat-hunters and dog-hunters are, therefore, not only cruel, but traitors.' "

"Charles Napier, the victor of Meeanee and Hyderabad, closed his career with the feeling that he was an ill-used man ; but the public good guided him in suffering as in action. He expired like a soldier on a camp bedstead. Easy was the actual dissolution, however, and as the last breath escaped his son-in-law McMurdo, with a sudden inspiration, snatched the old colours of his regiment, the 22nd, the colours that had been borne at Meeanee and Hyderabad, and waved them over the dying hero. Thus Charles Napier passed from this world."

I cannot refrain from remarking how strange it is that questions are continually arising which call to mind one's past ex- perience. The above is a case in point. More than thirty years ago, when I was a captain of Volunteers, I learnt much from Sergeant- Major Roe of my regiment, the London Irish, about the battle of Meeanee and the fighting with the old musket in India. Roe fought in the great battle on 17 February, 1843. His 'regiment, the 22nd, on that occasion was under 500 strong more than half being Irishmen. The Beloochees numbered 30,000 ;


whereas only 2,600 men of all arms were under the command of Sir Charles Napier. HENRY GERALD HOPE. 119, Elms Road, Clapham, S.W.

LUSHINGTON (9 th S. xii. 7). The statement that I made, in giving some account of the famous tavern club called the " City of Lushington," as to the Prince Regent, Sheri- dan, and Kean having been members, seems so thoroughly well established by tradition that I had, and still have, no doubt as to its accuracy. There are, however, two reasons which may or may not be held potent for my riot having given any authority. In the first place the note was made long years ago, when I had no thought of its possible use to readers of 'N. & Q.,' and when it was published I believed its accuracy sufficiently vouched for from the existence of records relating to one of the four " wards " of which the club was formed, called the "Suicide Ward," which, I am assured, with other records still in the possession of Mr. Yockelson, the landlord of the ."Harp" tavern, undoubtedly testify to the association of these distinguished person- ages with the club's history. These u Suicide Ward " records have since been either lost or stolen. The others, I understand, have not been lost, so that it should still be possible to render the point a matter of certainty. May I now suggest that the word "lush " as used by Shakespeare is an abbreviation of " luscious," and that instead of " lush " being an abbreviation of "lushington," "lushing- ton " was, on the contrary, suggested for the name of the "club" by the sense which " lush " had acquired after Shakespeare's time, as a slang term for drink 1 ? While, at present, it seems doubtful whether in modern times there ever was a brewer named Lush- ington, it may be noted that the name is not an uncommon one.

J. HOLDEN MACMlCHAEL.

Aubrey relates that Corbet, Bishop of Norwich (1582-1635), would sometimes take the key of the wine-cellar, and he with his chaplain (Dr. Lushington) would lock them- selves in and be merry. " Then first he layes down his episcopal hat ' There lyes the Doctor.' Then he putts off his gowne * There lyes the Bishop.' Then 'twas, ' Here 's to thee, Corbet,' and 'Here's to thee, Lushington.'" Is it possible that the popular use of ** Lush- ington " for a toper is derived from the jovial chaplain 1 Dr. Jessopp remarks that " Corbet, like all wits, was slandered by the dull for his buffoonery." In my young days in London "the City of Lushington," at the "Harp" tavern, by D rury Lane Theatre, was one of those