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had become Christian, " by way of degrada- tion," and several examples are supplied. Has further research confirmed this surmise ?

N. M. & A.

ATTOBNEY-GENERAL TO THE QUEEN. Laurence Hyde, an uncle of the Earl of Clarendon's, is said to have been Attorney- General to the Queen of James I. What is meant by this ? What duties were con- nected with this office ? When was it abolished ? J. WILLCOCK.

Lerwick.

FLEET PRISON. Is there any book con- taining a history of this in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries ? The documents at the Record Office do not seem to go so far back. R. S. B.

DON SALTERO'S TAVERN, CHELSEA (10 S. x. 67.)

RECENT research has shown that the place of the original coffee-house of " Don " Saltero was as indicated in the ' Book of the Chelsea Historical Pageant,' though the later tavern, of which the curiosities were sold in 1799, stood in Cheyne Walk, as MB. TAVENOB-PEBBY says. Mr. Randall Davies, F.S.A., has gone thoroughly into the matter ; but as he is in America at present, I am unable to give the authorities. The greatest care was taken with the presentation of local history in the Pageant, the general effect being borne in mind, and this gives the * Pageant Book ' a more than passing value. J. HENBY QUINN,

Hon. Sec. Historical Committee, Chelsea Pageant.

Chelsea, S.W.

This certainly must be " pageant history," and one may hope that the occasion presented for the use of such an expression will prove an exception to the rule in future pageants. Danvers Street extends from 78, Cheyne Walk, to 26, Paulton's Square, whereas No. 18, Cheyne Walk, the site of Don Sal- tero' s, was on the eastern side of that historic " Walk " It was rebuilt in 1867, and be- came the residence of the Hon. Victoria Grosvenor. There is a photographic illus- tration of the picturesque spot, as it was when a tavern, in Reginald Blunt's * Illus- trated Handbook of Chelsea,' 1900, p. 109. It was, however, maintained as a public- house so late as 1870, becoming a private dwelling later.

Felix Calvert, the eminent brewer, shot himself in Don Saltero's Coffee-House, 15 April, 1802. Benjamin Franklin was among its distinguished visitors, and he relates in his * Autobiography ' his long swim from Chelsea to Blackfriars. Both " The White Horse " in Church Street (still standing, although robbed of its village aspect in rebuilding), and Don Saltero's were frequented by Sir Richard Steele. A * Catalogue of the Rarities at Don Sal- tero's Coffee-House in Chelsea ' was pub- lished in 1740, and is now very scarce.

An address in rime by Don Saltero, dated from the " Chelsea Knackatory," appeared in The Weekly Journal of 23 June, 1723. The version given in ' Old and New London ' will be found, if compared with the original, to contain no fewer than sixty-two typo- graphical errors, including punctuation. No reference is assigned to it, but it is obviously copied from the ensuing :

We cannot refuse the following whimsical Epistle concerning the Rarities at Salter's Coffee- house at Chelsea, but as we have not yet seen them, we shall defer giving any other Account to our Readers, but refer them to the Letter ; however we order Don Saltero to attend us in his Knackatory next Wednesday, at One in the Afternoon, for our better Information.

SIR, Fifty Years since to Chelsea great,

From Bodman on the Irish Main, I strol'd, with Maggots in my Pate,

Where, much improv'd they still remain. Through various Employ I 've past ;

A Scraper, Vertuos'-Projector, Tooth-Drawer, Trimmer, and, a(t)last,

I 'm now a Gimcrack Whim Collector. Monsters of all Sorts, here are seen,

Strange Things in Nature as they grew so, Some Relicks of the Sheba Queen,

And Fragments of the fam'd Bob Cruso. Knick-knacks too dangle round the Wall,

Some in Glass-Cases, some on Shelf ; But what 's the rarest Sight of all,

Your humble Servant shews himself. On this my chiefest Hope depends,

Now, if you will the Cause espouse, In Journals pray direct your Friends

To my Museum Coffee-House.

And in requital for the timely Favour,

I '11 gratis, Bleed, draw Teeth, and be your Shaver ;

Nay, that your Pate may with my Noddle tally,

And you shine bright as I do, marry shall ye,

Freely consult my Revelation Molly ;

Nor shall one jealous Thought create a Huff,

For she has taught me Manners long enough.

DON SALTERO. Chelsea Knackatory.

To be "maggot-headed" or to have "mag- gots in the pate," as in the first verse, expressed whimsicality to have a " bee in the bonnet " or "a spider in the ceiling."