Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 12.djvu/567

 10 s. XIL DEC. 11, 1909.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

467

occupied by John Christopher for a short time before he eventually sold it.

" Seagreens ^ was a secluded house, there being a high wall in front, and another separating the property from the next house eastward, which was known as Holly Lodge. This last house is stated by the owner of Linden Lodge to have been pulled down at the same time as " Seagreens. ??

W. F. PBIDEAUX.

WOODEN SHIPS : THEIR LONGEVITY. The subjoined cutting from The Timber Trades Journal of 16 October may interest some of the readers of ' N. & Q.' It is taken from an article in The Shipping Gazette of 25 September :

" The Longevity of Wooden Ships. In a shipping contemporary recently the question was raised as to the age of the oldest ship afloat. A correspondent mentioned the Apollon, built in 1837, as an old ship in active service ; but a ship- broker writes that the vessel mentioned is rather young considering the age of some Danish ships, & few of which he instances as follows :

Net Tons. Built.

Constance 27 1723

Marie .. 34 1776

Erik Hansen 49 1786

De Tvende Brodre 74 1786

De Fire Brodre 14 1794

Albertine 68 1794

Marie. . 21 1804

Thora Johanne 34 1807

De To Brodre 25 1809

Ebenezer 20 1810

It will be seen from the above list that the oldest

one mentioned is the Constance, built in 1723,

and she has consequently been in service 186

years. We understand that the smaller ships

in the list are still trading in the Baltic, whilst the

bigger ones regularly cross the North Sea with

jail kinds of cargoes, including granite and other

heavy goods. The names of several of these

Danish ships appear familiar to us, and we are

under the impression that some of them have

brought cargoes from time to time to the Surrey

Commercial Docks."

W. ROBERTS CROW.

[For other venerable ships see 9 S. viii. 485 ; ix. 66.]

" BUSY " = !NTRICATE. In the ' New Eng- lish Dictionary J " busy,"- " of things. In- volving much work or trouble, elaborate, Intricate, curious," is said to be obsolete.

It is still used in some trades, e.g., I was talking not long ago to a paper-hanger about a certain wall-paper, which had a rather aggressive design on it, and was a bad paper against which to hang pictures. He said : "It is what we call too busy. n This was in London.

Afterwards I asked a cabinet-maker in Lancashire (one employing a good many men]

about the word. He knew it quite well, and told me that it would be used by a cabinet xiaker about a too intricate design carved on ^say) the doors of a wardrobe: "It's too

ROBERT PIERPOINT.

busy.

WE must request correspondents desiring in- formation on family matters of only private interest to affix their name's and addresses to their queries, in order that answers may be sent to them direct.

" BCEIJAN " OR " BCEIJANG." In a list of articles or products imported at Cochin, on the west coast of India (then Dutch), in the Dutch records of the place, under date 1781, I find : " From China or Macao bceijans."' Can any one inform me what a bczijan is ? It is elsewhere mentioned that part of the return freight of Maldive ships putting in at Cochin was Chinese boeijangs (so spelt here). The information is wanted for an edition of the records.

A. GALLETTI, I.C.S. Fort St. George, Madras.

CAPT. JOHN MARSHALL OF VIRGINIA. In our family Bible it is stated that John Marshall, captain of cavalry under Charles I. emigrated to Virginia in 1650. He was born in 1596, and it is a tradition in the family that he was connected with the Marshalls whose head in earlier times was Earl of Pembroke. Any information relat- ing to this John Marshall, his parentage, marriage, or pedigree, will be gratefully received by the undersigned. His father's name was William, and his grandfather John is alleged to have been present at the siege of Calais in Queen Mary's reign, and to have claimed the restoration of the title of Earl of Pembroke.

THOMAS MARSHALL SMITH.

225, East German Street, Baltimore, Maryland.

MEDMENHAM ABBEY : HELL-FIRE CLUB. Will some of your readers give me in- formation as to the monks of Medmenham Abbey, or the Monks of the Order of St. Francis, as they called themselves, or the Hell-Fire Club, as they were called by others? The only clear and definite facts that I am able to secure point to the circumstance that the Order was made the subject of absurd calumny. It was founded about 1742 by Sir Francis Dash wood, afterwards Lord Le Despencer, and would seem to have been a club for social intercourse, for drinking bouts and jollification not more extravagant