with the transaction, for had it been generally known, the Doctor would have lost his fellowship and his other high pretensions.

"In due time the Princess presented Dr. Wilmot with a daughter. Some family and political matters separated the parties for a while. He doated upon his lovely child, who, we believe, was placed under the care of Mrs. Payne, the sister of the Doctor and the wife of Captain Payne.

"All the time the Doctor could spare from his studies and different occupations he devoted to his beloved and interesting child, who grew up the beautiful image of her Royal mother, with a mind as superior as her person, and at the age of eighteen the Duke of Cumberland and the Earl of Warwick became her admirers; at length the Earl gave way to the Duke, and on March 4, 1767, they

were married by Dr. Wilmot at the house of his friend,

Lord Archer, in the presence of Lord Brook (afterwards Lord Warwick) and Mr. Addez, which was only known to a few persons about the Court.

"The apparently happy Duke and his lovely bride lived in hopes that they should soon be allowed to make their marriage public; but in the year 1771 a transaction took place which proved a cruel death blow to the young Duchess, for she never recovered the

effect.

!!!

"The unfortunate Duchess was conveyed to France in a state scarcely to be described, where she afterwards died in a convent of a broken heart."- Gent's Mag., July 1822, vol. xcii. Part 11. pp. 35-6 (quoted from The British Luminary of Dec. 16th, 1821).

But the mystery is at length cleared up. We are now told that Lord Warwick did not reveal the whole story of her birth and connection in 1815, but delivered to her a sealed packet, which was not to be opened until after the death of the King; but which, with strange disregard to so solemn an injunction, was opened in 1819, though the King did not die till 1820; and that packet for the most part related to the marriage of Dr. Wilmot with the Princess Poniatowski.

However, as Mrs. Serres' grandmother, the Princess Poniatowski, gave birth to a daughter on June 17, 1750, we are very glad to find for the lady's sake that she was married. We presume this event took place in 1749; but unfortunately Dr. Wilmot, fond as he seems to have been of writing down all the great secrets with which he was entrusted, seems never to have taken sufficient care of the Polish interest of his descendants, and has not certified where, when, or whom he married. In the Appeal for Royalty it is said (p. 7) Dr. Wilmot "contracted a private but legal marriage with the Princess of Poland, DAUGHTER of Stanislaus, last king of that country." As the author of the Appeal had access to all the documents, how comes it that, while Mrs. Serres in 1821 declared the lady to have been a SISTER of Stanislaus, the

Appeal, published in 1858 and republished in 1866, declares her to have been his DAUGHTER ? Dr. Smith, Mrs. Ryves's counsel, who ought to know, having doubtless studied the case very closely, returns to the original version, and says the lady was the Princess Poniatowski, SISTER of the King of Poland.

On the 2nd June Dr. Smith produced to the Court an article in the Biographie Universelle, for the purpose of proving the biography of Dominic Serres. Had the learned Doctor, in turning over the leaves of that useful book, glanced his eye at the Life of Stanislaus, and been startled by

the

announcement? —

"Ce prince n'avait pas été marié!"

There the statement is at any rate; and the fact is so. Stanislaus never was married. But this is not all. The favourite of Catherine was, no doubt, a remarkable man; but he would have been a very remarkable man indeed if, born in 1732, he was the father of a marriageable daughter in 1749. So much for Dr. Wilmot's marriage with a DAUGHTER of Stanislaus.

Let us now see whether the story which Dr. Smith adopted, namely, that this supposititious Princess was the SISTER and not the DAUGHTER Of Poniatowski, is a bit more consistent than the one which he rejected.

If the reader will refer to Niesiecki's Herbarz Polski (article "Poniatowski," vol. vii. pp. 376— 378, ed. 1839-46), the best authority we believe on the subject, he will find that Čount Poniatowski, afterwards King of Poland, had four brothers and only two sisters. Of these the eldest, Louisa, born in 1728, married one of the Zamoyski family, and left a daughter married to a Count Mniszech. The younger, Isabella, born in 1730, married Clement Branicki, and died without issue. So much for the assertion that Dr. Wilmot married a SISTER of the King of Poland.

We have thus shown that the whole story of this pretended marriage is clearly a pure invention, by proving that, in 1813, Mrs. Serres knew nothing of it; that in 1815, according to The Appeal, she was informed of "all the particulars of her birth and connections;" that in spite of this, in 1817, she declared that "Dr. Wilmot was never married;" that in 1821 she announced his marriage to a SISTER of Poniatowski; that in, 1858 and 1866, this sister was in The Appeal transformed into a DAUGHTER; who in the Ryves case was again retransformed into a SISTER; that Poniatowski was never married, and consequently had no DAUGHTER; that neither of his sisters could have been married to Dr. Wilmot. It would therefore be waste of time and space to touch upon the absurdity of converting this mythic. daughter or sister of Count Poniatowski-who was not elected King of Poland till 1764-into

P.S. Whilst hurriedly penning these lines, our attention was attracted to the date mentioned above as that of the birth of the Princess Olive"Tuesday, April 3, 1772." It is very seldom in connection with this case, that one gets anything quite so precise and definite. The importance of a royal birth of course justifies and accounts for the minute and unwonted particularity. Happening to have at hand Mr. Bond's excellent Perpetual Calendar, we thought we would test this Tuesday, the third of April. No sooner said than done. For 1772, Mr. Bond's contrivance at once informed us that D was the Dominical Letter, and that the 1st April was on a Wednesday; the 3rd was therefore a Friday, and not a Tuesday. Could it be Tuesday, the 13th? No, the 13th was on a Monday. Or Tuesday the 23rd? No, the 23rd was on a Friday. How was it to be accounted for? We soon discovered. The person who endeavoured to ascertain the day of the week, not having Mr. Bond's little chronological machine at hand, and not being a very profound chronologer, calculated the date according to the old style, under which the 3rd of April, 1772, would have been a Tuesday, but unfortunately for him or her, the style was changed in 1752, twenty years before the date assigned to this illustrious birth.

ERSKINE'S "PETITION OF PETER," ETC. The following verses, which tell their own story, for the authenticity of which I can vouch, and which have never, I believe, been in print, may prove interesting, both from their intrinsic merit, and on account of the subsequent fame of their author. His allusions herein to the English Courts of Law, and Lord Coke, some years before there was any likelihood of his quitting the military profession, and being called to the bar, are

curious:

"To the Right Hon. Lady Cecilia Johnstone (Wife of the Governor of Minorca). The Address of her Ladyship's Monkey, doomed by her to banishment, praying that England might be the place of his exile. "Written in Minorca, July, 1774, by Ensign the Honble Thomas Erskine, afterwards Lord Erskine.

"The humble Petition of sorrowful Peter,
With submission is set forth, as follows, in Metre.
"I think, if I'm rightly informed of the crime
For which I am banished, it runs thus in rhyme-
For tearing of books, for mischief, and stealing,
And tricks of all kinds, from the floor to the ceiling.
As mankind pretend to be govern'd by Laws,
I claim the just right to be heard in my cause,
Which I found upon reason, and wrap up in rhyme,
Although not the practice of Courts in our time;
For in Law, I must say, though perhaps not in season,
Proceedings are mostly without rhyme or reason.'
All Culprits are punished, if Lord Coke says true,
Not from love of revenge, but for th' harm that they do.
On this common maxim my pleadings I found,
And the crime of the books will soon fall to the ground.
There was never book yet, I'll be bound to engage→
Above all in our days-but may well spare a page,
And the Public as well as most Authors might look
With smiles on a monkey devouring their book.
"Tis as well for a volume, I'll venture an oath,
To be eat by an Ape, as by Critic, or Moth.
And then, as to reading, all wits have confest it,
You never can profit unless you digest it.
And monkeys and men, from the north to the south,
Can only digest what they put in their mouth.
Much more might be said, if I chose to enlarge,
But I now shall proceed to the rest of my Charge.
"To blame me for mischief, and tax me with stealing,
Is surely a want of good sense and fine feeling,
For Nature, who ripens the figs and the grapes,
Is no nearer relation to men than to Apes.
"Tis because you are stronger you seize upon all,
And the weakest, alas! must e'en go to the wall.
But the fair teeming earth, our bountiful mother,
Loves Peter as dearly as Adam, his Brother.
As to tricks of all kinds, for which I'm accused,
I deny they are tricks, and protest I'm abused.
Equipt as I am in my shabby old grey,

I dare not adventure what finer fools may.
Each pitiful, ignorant, gingerbread varlet-
Each fop of eighteen in gold lace and scarlet-
Has a right, to be sure, on all subjects to chatter,
Though Peter, perhaps, may know more of the matter;
Could Peter-I speak with respect and submission-
By some lucky chance get an Ensign's commission-
I see you all laughing; well, titter away,
I'm not the first Monkey, I'll venture to say.
"Tis no such great matter to play well at cards,

And I think I should soon be the Ton' in the Guards.
I'm fit for all duties, except a Court Martial;
There my likeness to men might make me too partial.
As to height, to be sure, I confess I'm not tall,
But Andrew and I might parade through the Mall;
And a Bag from Miss Bruce, with a good handsome
wig,

Would, I think, pretty soon set on foot an intrigue.
What might not be done with my air and my shape,
When the fashion at Court is to look like an Ape!
What challenges, duels, what quarrels and slaughters!
What tears would be shed over Spouses and Daugh-
ters!

What groups in the anguish of cutting a horn
Would wish in despair I had never been born,
Though (faith!) I'm afraid, to my shame, I should see
Some hundreds much more like to Monkeys than me.
And when, for some fair, I might steal forth to meet
her,

I should find her eloping with some other Peter!

* A fictitious name for a very short man well known at the time

Yet in spite of these rubs, I should have the renown To be one of the finest young fellows in town. "Then if exile's my fate, I implore with a tear

To be shipped off for England-for there is my sphere! "If to this last request you shall start no objection, My Cousin, Tom Erskine, has pledged his protection (I suppose, like the Scotch, on account of connection). Strict orders are sent to his servants at home To receive me with honours whenever I come. As soon as for England he spreads forth his sail, Dear Peter, he vows, shall partake of the gale."

NOBLESSE OBLIGE.

T. A. H.

At a meeting of the Société de l'histoire de France, held on the 4 April 1865, it was suggested by M. le comte de Laborde, who presided on that occasion, that in addition to the ordinary business of the meetings it might be desirable that QUERIES on points of history and literature should sometimes be stated and discussed. The suggestion was received with favor; and the learned archæologist could do no less than give effect to it. He therefore made an appeal to the members then present as to the period which gave birth to the popular saying Noblesse oblige. No one asserted its antiquity; and, as evidence of their sagacity, the subjoined note was added to the minutes of the meeting:

"Je lisais dernièrement, dans un ouvrage sérieux écrit récemment par un érudit qui a fait quelque étude du moyen âge, dans les Recherches sur la vie du père Menes

trier de M. A. Allut, NOBLESSE OBLIGE, ce vieux dicton de nos pères,' et j'admirais comment un esprit fin et précis avait pu donner à sa pensée une tournure assez saisissante pour la rendre aussi rapidement populaire et tromper les plus diserts.

"Je désirerais vivement que les plus consommés dans la connaissance des textes du moyen âge me montrassent une charte, un manuscrit, voire même un livre imprimé

où se trouve ce vieux dicton de nos pères, je voudrais qu'un philologue, rompu à toutes les habitudes de notre vieille langue, me dit à quelle époque du moyen âge noblesse et oblige ont été pris dans cette acception. Je crois les entendre d'avance me dire, Nous n'avons jamais lu ce dicton dans aucun de nos anciens textes, ni rien qui y ressemble; il n'est ni dans les idées du moyen âge, ni dans les habitudes de la langue; et je leur répondrais: Vous avez d'autant plus raison qu'il n'a été imaginé qu'au commencement de ce siècle.

"Voici comment je l'entendis pour la première fois. Chaque semaine le vieux duc de Levis venait chez ma mère et se faisait un plaisir d'éprouver, au contact de son intelligence supérieure, les pensées que, dans l'intervalle d'une visite à l'autre, il avait trouvées avec beaucoup d'esprit, forgées avec trop d'art, limées avec des soins infinis, sans préjudice d'autres pensées plus anciennes qu'il ramenait dans la conversation, toujours accompagnées de cette remarque: Cela n'a pas encore été dit. Un jour, lors de la reconstitution de la noblesse de l'ancien régime, il rappela une pensée qu'il avait publiée en 1808, lors de l'établissement de la noblesse de l'empire: Tenez, à propos de noblesse, cela n'a jamais été dit: Noblesse oblige,' et c'est peut-être ce qu'on a de mieux à dire à nos nobles de l'ancien et du nouveau regime. Tout petit, je ne fus guère frappé de la portée de cette pensée, mais sa forme se fixa vivement dans ma mémoire, seulement par suite de je ne

sais plus quelle contrariété, je me mis en colère, on m'emporta et je vois encore la tête et la figure poudrées du vieux duc se pencher vers moi, et j'entends ces mots: Petit, l'humeur porte sa peine; puis, se tournant vers ma mère: Comtesse, cela non plus n'a pas encore été dit.

"Telle est l'origine de ce mot, de ce vieux dicton de nos pères; gardons-le, usons-en, il est profond, il est pratique; mais laissons-en l'honneur à l'homme distingué qui, en concevant cette belle pensée, a su la comprimer dans un moule original.

"Le comte DE LABORDE."

I transcribed the above note as a philological curiosity, but the maxim that nobility has its duties is of far superior importance when viewed under its moral aspect-and I cannot resist the opportunity of recording my humble opinion that it was never more seriously felt, or more worthily exemplified, than at the present time. BOLTON CORNEY. Barnes, S.W., 30 June.

ANCIENT HERALDRY.

My attention has lately been attracted to the devices displayed upon the shields of warriors and certain other personages, who are represented upon antique Italo-Greek and Etruscan vases; and I have found these ancient heraldic shields so curious and interesting that I venture to hope a brief notice of a few of the more remarkable of their charges may be considered not altogether unworthy of the regard of such students of medieval heraldry as may not hitherto have extended their inquiries into the heraldry of antiquity.

In form, the great majority of these shields are circular, and, with very rare exceptions, they have borders-many of these borders are charged with small roundles or discs, precisely as many mediæval bordures are bezantée: occasionally these shields appear in perspective or in profile, in which case a central boss, perhaps a grotesque head, is represented in bold relief. Others of these shields, which have been distinguished as Boeotian, are oval, with singular "flanches," that sometimes are pierced and cut away: and again, Amazonian warriors have their own crescentshaped pelta.

The most remarkable charge, which has its well-known counterpart in medieval heraldry in the armorial ensign of the Isle of Man, is the device formed of three human legs conjoined. In the ancient example, the limbs are nude, couped at the hip, and flexed in triangle. In the British Museum collection, I found five fine and perfect examples of this device, painted white on a black field. I did not observe any special association with the island of Sicily indicated in any other respect by these vases. In the same collection are no less than nine examples of another device, scarcely less remarkable than the last. This is a single human leg, couped at the hip, nude, and

of accessories, cut out where requisite, and painted on tale or some other suitable medium, and which, never covering the countenance, represented the king at various important periods of his life. A holiday with his family-his equipment for battle -his escape prevented at Carisbrooke-his appearance on his trial-and his execution, were elaborate and most interesting exhibitions of these scenes, and the skill of the artist in delineating them. Mr. Smith has long been dead, and I know not what has become of this precious relic. Having recently read an account of a work of art of a similar kind has recalled this remarkable production (which might have been mine by gift) to my memory. BUSHEY HEATH.

TOMBSTONE INSCRIPTION.. The following epitaph is on a tombstone in the parish churchyard of Kemnay, in Aberdeenshire:

"Here lies

:

Adam,

Sometime gardener in Paradise,"

and

Paradise being the name of what was once, still is, though now neglected, a beautiful spot laid out as a pleasure-ground near the village of Monymusk. PALLAS.

MANTEL-PIECE. The etymology of this word has already received considerable attention and elucidation in the 1st S. of "N. & Q.," ix. 302, 385, 576; x. 153, 334. The following flight of fancy is from a paper by the Rev. Prebendary Jackson in The Churchman's Family Magazine for June. He is describing old houses in Yorkshire:

acquire the reputation of having slid down the pulpit banisters to show the ease of a fall from, and of having slowly ascended the steps to show the difficulty of a return to, holiness. The Gentleman's Magazine, lxxxv. 573, in an account of Dr. Priestley's brother Timothy, says that the

latter

"was the preacher (though others have borne the credit of the circumstance) who pulled out of his pocket half-acrown, and laid it down upon the pulpit cushion, offering to bet with St. Paul that the passage where he says he could do all things was not true: but reading on by faith,' put up his money, and said, 'Nay, nay, Paul, if that's the case, I'll not bet with thee.""

Now, in the preface to Artemus Ward, His Book, this story is told of an American divine, Lorenzo Dow. CYRIL.

THE OLDEST HOUSE IN ENGLAND.-The following paragraph from The Builder may be worth preservation in " N. & Q. : "

"The statement made in our last number respecting the destruction of the old house at Sholing, near Southampton, formerly the residence of King John, does not appear to be quite correct. The house has not been wholly destroyed by the recent gales, only, a portion of the walls being injured. The palace consisted of two structures, and the portion blown down belonged to the

eastern wall of the larger house, and contained but few architectural features to regret. Mr. J. Dutton Smith, a

judicious local antiquary, states that the two structures were erected early in the twelfth century, and are acknowledged to be the earliest specimens of domestic architecture existing in England. The building to the right (entering the postern) is 50ft. long and 40ft. broad; it has in the north wall the remains of a fine Norman fireplace, and to the west a doorway, with three windows, with a window and door on the north. There are three

ancient fire-places in Southampton-one in this palace (1130), one in the fine vaulted building in Simnel Street (1200), and one at Netley Abbey, a little later in date (1233), equalling anything of the same kind remaining in England, and are worthy of careful investigation. They are all rapidly falling to pieces, and Mr. Smith sees no chance of their proper restoration. The other build

in breadth, with a Norman doorway on the south, and a

window and door of the same date on this side. The

lane (10ft. wide) separating the houses is steep in its descent, and leads direct to a flight of steps at the water's