Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 4.djvu/295

 10-8. IV. SEPT. 23.1905.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 241 LONDON, SATUHDAT, SEPTBMBRR M, I90S. CONTBNTS.-No. 91. HOTBS :—TSte-a-Tete Portraits In 'The Town and Country M»uazlne,' 241-Jubilee of 'The Dally Telegraph.' 243- Maii.1nl.-n College School and the ' D.N.B.,1 244—" Ka1>a- futoed"—"Test Match "—Frost and Doncimter Races— Genealogical Research. 24«—Farm helrt for Three and a Half Centuries—" Christ's Hospital," 247. OUBRIKS :—Portrait of the Younger Rich —Rev. John Diir«nt - Corlsande — Puzzle Pictures- Earthquake In C»tahrla-Dowrtes for Ugly Women—Kit's Coty House, 247—•• Caterplllers of the Commonwealth — Rawrton— Virgil or Vergil ?— Carey or Cary—Minnltlnks—Mereday, Christian Name—Almania—John Vaus, Grammarian, 248 —Authors of Quotations Wanted —Omar Khayyam — Ceremony at Klpon — First National Anthem—Fume— •The Cloister and the Hearth'—Italy "a geographical expression"—Denny Family, 249. BBPLIRS —Wheel BS a Symbol In Religion, 250-Glbbets, 251—French Revolutionary Pottery —J. H. Christie — » The Screaming Skull," 8Sa—Yorkshire 8p»llliig»-Qullllii or Qulllan— The Greyfrtars Burial-Ground, 253—Pliilip- plna- PhliopiL-na — 8t. Paulinus and the Swale. 254— 41 Piccaninny " — Parish Records Neglected — ChesH be- tween Man and his Maker-Dickens or Wilkle Collins ?— An Barlv Latln-Ennlilh-Ba«que Dictionary, 255 — King John poisoned by a Toad—"Knglaud," "Kngllsb," 26S- Yorksblre Dialect, 257. HOTBS ON BOOKS:—Lucas's 'Life of Charles Lamb'— The Oxford Shelley — Views on the Missouri Pacific Railway. Obituary:— Dr. G. W. Marshall. Booksellers' Catalogues. Notices to Correspondents. TETE-A-TETE PORTRAITS IN 'THE TOWN AND COUNTRY MAGAZINE.' <S*e 2"d S. vi. 190, 137: 3"1 S. iv. 476, 528; x. 187: 7<h S. ii. 287, 419 ; v. 488 ; vi. 10, 136, 175 ; vii. 55 ; 9th S. ii). 77.) HITHERTO the correspondence on this sub- ject has been more perfunctory than one would expect. Almost the sole information of value, given on the authority of Dr. Busby's book on the 'Letters of Junius" and Sir R. Phillips's ' London Anecdotes: Popular Authors,' is to the effect that the Italian Count Carraccioli was the author of the 'Bon Ton' articles, and that while he was a contributor the circulation of the magazine exceeded 14,000 copies per month (2n(I S. vi. 337; 7th S. vi. 136). The criticism which these famous tete-a-tetes have received has been conflicting. While MR. S. T. WHITE- FORD declares stoutly, on 18 August, 1888, that " the supposed portraits and memoirs »re quite spurious." MR. F. G. STEPHENS, writing a fortnight later, suggests, with more discretion, that " there is much truth in these cAroniques scandaleuset." On three occasions a /•<•// has been requested, and the editor of the day has declared his willingness to print it; but although two correspondents have stated that such a key was in their pos- session, it has never been published. The identity of many of these tete-a-t£te personages is obvious at first sight. Jemmy Twitcher and Baron Otranto (vol. i. pp. 561, 617) are betrayed by their sobriquets ; and the features of Maria, Lady W, ana Qer- manicus (vol. i. p. 13; vol. ii. p. 9) cannot be mistaken. It must be confessed, however, that the letterpress is more true to life than the illustrations. The most learned print collector—even Mr. Joseph Grego himself— would be puzzled to trace the likeness of each figure in contemporary portraits. Many familiar nicknames are sprinkled through the pages. Sir Bullface Doublefee, Mungo, Tom Tilbury, Bloomsbury Dick, Lord Crop, Mala- grida, The Bird of Paradise, The White Urow, are all chronicled. In some cases the people are very obscure. Without the recollection of an appalling trial it would be impossible to discover the personalities of' The Favourite Captain and the Modern Chaste Lucretia' (vol. xvii. p. 345). At other times the maga- zine gives the clue, as in the memoirs of ' The Amorous Gauger and Penelope Pigtail' (vol. xxii. pp. 531-3). In every instance it would appear that the key lies hidden in the volumes of ' N. «fc Q.' itself. A case in point is ' The Premier Cit,' depicted in vol. xxii. p. 147. Only one possible clue is given : " IJe meditated the destruction of Temple Bar." Turning to 'N. & Q..' we find the information required on p. 492, vol. vii. of the Fifth Series. The enemy of the ancient landmark was Mr. Alderman Pickett, who was Lord Mayor, and thus "Premier Cit," in April, 1790, when this tete-a-tete appeared. Unfortunately time will not allow the appli- cation of such methods to every obscure personage. The amazing accuracy of these brief memoirs will be evident, should one endea- vour to fit in a name indicated by the blank lettering, but not intended by the biographer. Occasionally the history is a little vague and ambiguous, and thus might apply to more than one contemporary character. In such cases I have inserted a note of interrogation. On the whole, however, the author is precise and communicative, and it should be possible to reveal every one of his subjects. It must be noted that often he admits the facts have been contributed by a correspondent. In the case of ' The Eloped Clara and the Combustible Lover' (vol. viii. p. 9), since all the details point to Peter Andrews as the hero, I presume the lady to be Anne Brown, afterwards Mrs. Cargil), on the assumption