Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 12.djvu/369

 10 s. xii. OCT. 16, im] NOTES AND QUERIES.

301

LONDON, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1909.

CONTENTS. No. 303.

NOTES : Richardson and Christ's Hospital, 301 Inscrip- tions at Naples, 303 George Stubbes, 304 Date of Lord Mayor's Show "Shack," a Wooden Hut Dublin Club in 1703, 306 -Shakespeare Allusions The Site of the Globe Theatre, 307.

QUERIES : " Tackle-house " : " Tackle-porter," 307 Ire- land : Hearth Money Roll Army List of the Battle of the Boyne Vacuum Cleaning: H. C. Booth Wolfe's Death Spurgeon on Monte Carlo English Navy during the Civil War Portrait of the Black Prince Bell-ringing at Weddings Crozier, Manchester Artist, 308 Arrow- smith, Devonshire Artist-High Constable : Lincoln- John Smith, 1679-80 Alvary, Christian Name Lorraine or Touraine Gray's ' Elegy ' and Ploughing Customs, 309 Authors Wanted Miss Crawford, Canadian Poet- Glass and Drowning Sailor Dr. Wollaston in Scotland " Mar " in Mardyke H. S. Marks and ' The Poor Blind Worm 'Robert Holmes, 310.

REPLIES :-St Bartholomew and the Benedictines, 310 William Gush Magna Charta Barons" Correct to a T " Count Findlater at Karlsbad, 313 Henry Rosewarne Sacred Place- Names " All right "Newspapers in 1680, 314 Gotham and the Gothamites Last Prior of Twynham Turnspit Dogs Pellican Family Marriage Relationships, 315 Cumberland Hearth Tax Lists " Betheral "James IV. of Scotland, 316 Zirophoeniza, Woman's Name The Eel-Pie Shop First Elephant Ex- hibited, 317 "Dark as black pigs "Nelson's Death- Gravestones at Jordans Etymology of "Coffee" Inverness Bibliography Richard Thompson, Surgeon- Miss Vanneck ' Short Whist' Sloan Surname Twelve Surname, 318.

NOTES ON BOOKS :-' Memorials of Old Lancashire ' ' The Cornhill ' ' The National Review.'

Booksellers' Catalogues.

OBITUARY : E. M. Borrajo.

Notices to Correspondents.

SAMUEL RICHARDSON AND CHRIST'S HOSPITAL.

THE story that Samuel Richardson re- ceived at least a portion of his education at Christ's Hospital has, in spite of the doubting attitude of various biographers, held its ground with such comparative success for at least a century and a quarter that it seems worth while to make a rigid inquiry into the evidence on the subject. Nichols, a benefactor to literary history whom we can well forgive if he sometimes leads us astray, godfathered the story ; and Leigh Hunt and others have done their best to give it the stability of fact. Christ's Hospital seems to feel justified in claiming Richardson as almost undoubtedly an " Old Blue " ; but I hope, in the interests of historical accuracy, to be able to show how worthless is the evidence in favour of the story and how crushing is the evidence with which it can be assailed.

It is to Nichols (' Literary Anecdotes,'

vol. iv., 1812, pp. 579-80) that we are usually referred for justification of the story : " Mr. Richardson, it is generally admitted, had no acquaintance with the learned languages but what an education in the grammar-school of Christ's Hospital afforded ; his mind, like that of Shakspeare, being much more enriched by nature and observation."

Mr. Austin Dobson, Richardson's latest and most competent biographer, whose mastery of the literary and biographical detail of the eighteenth century is no less thorough for being so little obtruded, con- siders " the question carefully (' Samuel Richardson,' " English Men of Letters Series," 1902, pp. 3-4) :

" However this may be and the point is not of essential importance to this biography the Richardson family apparently returned to London at some time after the Revolution, for, according to Nichols's ' Literary Anecdotes,' the youthful Samuel is said to have been educated ' in the grammar school of Christ's Hospital.' But his name is not to be traced in the school registers ; and the statement has moreover been held to be inconsistent with the ' common school-learning ' which he admits to have been his limited equip- ment. Of this difficulty, Leigh Hunt, who had himself worn the blue gown and yellow stockings, offers what may possibly be regarded as a reasonable solution. ' It is a fact not generally known,' he says, in The London Journal (Supp.

No. 2, 1834), 'that Richardson received

what education he had (which was very little, and did not go beyond English) at Christ's Hospital. It may be wondered how he could come no better taught from a school which had sent forth so many good scholars ; but in his time, and indeed till very lately, that foundation was divided into several schools, none of which par- took of the lessons of the others ; and Richard- son, agreeably to his father's intention of bringing him up to trade, was most probably confined to the writing-school, where all that was taught was writing and arithmetic.' Leigh Hunt has the reputation of being an extremely conscientious investigator. He is not likely to have spoken without warranty ; and, in any case, his state- ments serve to show that it was possible to be educated at Christ's Hospital with very modest results."

Mr. Dobson adds the following qualifying foot-note :

" The matter is still very doubtful ; for against Leigh Hunt must be placed the statement of Mr. Bridgen* that ' it is certain that he [Richardson]

married Richardson's daughter Martha in 1762. Mr. Austin Dobson tells me that he got this reference from the account of the novelist con- tributed by Mr. Bridgen to The Universal Maga- zine for January and February, 1786 (p. 17). I may add that the article has simply the initial " L " ; but The Gentleman's Magazine for 1792, part ii. p. 784, refers its readers to an " article by Mr. Bridgen in The Universal Magazine for January and February, 1786."
 * Edward Bridgen, F.R.S., F.S.A., who