Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 10.djvu/345

 10 s. x. OCT. 10,

NOTES AND QUERIES.

281

LONDON, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 1908.

CONTENTS. No. 250.

NOTES: Milton's Father-in-Law Proverbs and Popular Phrases, 281 'D.N.B. Epitome,' 282 Arabic-English, 284 Arabic Vowels : their Transliteration Bees and Lucky Days, 285 Thornhill Bridge "Hansed"= Admitted to a Hans "Every mickle makes a muckle "Shakespearian Memoranda, 286.

QUERIES : Theatre at Hampstead" Stumpy & Rowdy" Stoke, Wirral, Parish Registers Sergeant Valentine Blake Saint-Hilaire, Poitiers, 287 -Inquisition and Jews John Eyre Coventry Mr. Lauder, Scottish Vocalist " Antonio Nati, Romano" Red-tail Knights Church of Llantwit Major Kniphofla, 288 Amphilis, Female Name Amphillis Hyde Sir Alexander Brett Abraham Whittaker French Peerage Duke of Brunswick- Badges on Book-Plates Lady Chapels Thelma: its Derivation General Wheeler Cleveland Capital Punish- ment in the Eighteenth Century John Mapletoft, 1631- 1720 Claugh Family, 289 Alderman's Walk John Butler of Mullaghowny Arachne House, Strand-on-the-Green, 290.

KEPLIES: London Statues and Memorials, 290 Addison's Maternal Ancestry, 292 Duke of Westminster's Elope- ment with Miss Child Jacob Philadelphia Jean Paul in English, 293 Dickens on "Half- Baptized "The Lion and the Unicorn Tintagel Hoppner and Sir Thomas Frankland's Daughters, 294 Authors of Quotations Wanted Lizzie Doten's Poem Pickthall James Preston Zoffany W. H. Riehl in English French Coat of Arms, 295 Roman Inscription at Baveno Parliamentary Applause Hampstead in Song " Star and Garter Tavern," Pall Mall, 296 Salford : Saltersford " Officer of the Pipe " " Sinews of war," 297 Children at Execu- tionsHannah Maria Jones William Bruce, Physician- Date of Plate Garioch "House of warantyse" Mor- timer Collins.

NOTES ON BOOKS: Allan Fea's 'James II. and his Wives ' Reviews and Magazines.

Notices to Correspondents.

MILTON'S FATHER-IN-LAW.

DR. JOHNSON, copying from Phillips, tells us that Milton married for his second wife Catherine, the daughter of one Capt. Woodcock of Hackney. He adds that she was doubtless educated in opinions like his own a remark which is apparently the only foundation for Matthew Arnold's statement that she was the daughter of a sectarian. Johnson unjustly, or carelessly, says that this second marriage took place shortly after the death of the first wife. As a fact, there was an interval of about four years between "the two events. Mark Pattison observes that we know nothing more of Catherine Woodcock than may be gathered from Milton's sonnet upon her. Prof. Masson says that her father may have been the Capt. John Woodcock who gave a receipt for 13Z. 8s., on the disbandment of his troop, on 6 Oct., 1653, " as no other Capt. Woodcock of the time has been discovered."

It seems possible, however, that her father was the Capt. Nicholas Woodcock who is mentioned in Pietro Delia Valle's travels. This Capt. Woodcock commanded the Whale,

Eastindiaman, in which Delia Valle sailed from Gombroon to Surat in January, 1623. Delia Valle speaks highly of him, and says that he was in Greenland in 1611. Unfor- tunately, Capt. Woodcock lost his ship in March, 1623, between Surat and Daman, when he was on his way to Mocha. Many of the crew were drowned, and among them was Woodcock's son Richard. Woodcock was accused of having contributed to the disaster by overloading his ship and taking out ballast. The Court (of directors) prose- cuted him in the Admiralty, and also refused to pay him his wages. However, the same Court admitted that they could not charge Woodcock with wilful error, as by the wreck he had lost his own son and all his estate. Eventually, as we find in Sainsbury's ' Calen- dar of State Papers ' under date 17 Nov., 1626, a general release was presented under the hand of Nicholas Woodcock, and at his request the Court acquitted and discharged him from all demands for casting away the Whale, or otherwise.

The entries show that Capt. Woodcock was in England in 1624 and 1626, and that he was, or had been, a married man. Cathe- rine Woodcock was married in November, 1656, and died early in 1658. It is therefore possible that Capt. Nicholas Woodcock was her father. The difficulty would be cleared up if we knew the father's Christian name ; but unfortunately the marriage certificate, published in The Gentleman's Magazine for 1840, does not show this.

H. BEVEBZDGE.

PROVERBS AND POPULAR PHRASES.

AT 10 S. ii. 22 I inquired :

history of proverbs by a systematic study of the stores of what may be termed colloquial literature, which are constantly in these times being increased by such publications as the reports of the Historical Manuscripts Commission?"
 * < Has any attempt been made to illustrate the

There were given several instances of such proverbs from the Cecil MSS. published up to the time of writing ; and I should like now to supplement these with a number of examples of proverbs and popular phrases from the second volume of the Calendar of the MSS. of the Marquis of Bath preserved at Longleat.

"To be torne withe wylde horsez " is to be found (p. 10) in an account of the exa- mination of Queen Katherine (Howard) before Cranmer and others at Hampton on 12 Nov., 1541.