Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 4.djvu/592

 490 NOTES AND QUERIES. [io» s. iv. DEC. ie. 1*5 the gold medal of the Highgate Institute in 1841 ; it was published as a pamphlet in 1842. For some years I have been gathering materials for a history of Hornsey, which is finished, so I claim to speak with some authority when I state that Prickett made no mistake when he wrote :— " The Countess of Huntingdon resided at High- gate in UK',, as appears by an extract from the register at Hornsey Church, as follows : ' A young man that died at the Countess of Huntingdon's at Highgate buried April. 1663.' "—Prickett's ' History of Highgate,' 1842, p. 107. I know of no other edition. Not another word does Prickett say about the Countes8 of Huntingdon. Howit.t, therefore, could not have been " misled " by Prickett. There was more than one person who bore the title of Countess of Huntingdon, and the lady to whom Prickett refers (correct in the cita- tion), I should submit from the register, lived there, as she certainly possessed property. Whilst on the subject of Hornsey I should like to draw attention to two items which will point out how much is knouii of its history. The Mayor wears a chain and badge of the Hornsey Borough Council. In j the centre of the former is a pretty little hare enclosed, which we are told represents Har-in-gaie—a hare in an enclosure being the derivation of Hornsey's ancient name. Can simplicity go further? On the shield attached to the chain is the borough motto, "Fortior quo paratior"; but the official papers, envelopes, &c., ignore the spelling, and substitute the impossible Latin word "Fortitor." A gentleman (the late editor of the " Index Library ") who drew attention in a local journal to the inaccuracies was pooh- poohed for his pains. JOSEPH COLYEE MARRIOTT. 36, Claremont Road, Highgate. Will ME. JOHNSON obligingly supply an exact reference in support of the "glaring instance" which he gives of Prickett's "carelessness"? I have searched through the whole of his ' History and Antiquities of Highgate,' and cannot find that Prickett anywhere mentions that the Countess of Huntingdon of 1663 was "the celebrated countess who so zealously supported Wes- ley and Whitefield." Howitt (' Northern Heights,' p. 309) says something of the sort, but Howitt is not to be commended for accuracy, whereas Prickett, though, like all topographers, lie is to be read with caution, is generally to be depended on. The idea that Prickett's ' History' was written as a prize essay, though very possible, rests only on a guess of Mr. J. H. Lloyd's, I believe. W. F. PEIDEAUX. MELTON CLOTH : MELTON JACKET (10th S. iv. 467).—The guess that the place was the original source of the name is probably well founded. "Meltons" are now a class of fabrics. But this use of the term in England and France is modern, and the place has so long been the most fashionable hunting centre that it has naturally given its name to fashionable jackets, cuts of breeches, and so forth. A curious example is the common phrase "Melton pad" for a rupture truss. Most riders who jump have slight rupture at one time or another, and the truss then wort for riding, though unnecessary at other timei, is called a " Melton pad." M. T. G. 'THE DEATH OF NELSON'(10th S. iv. 36), 412. 450).—The Morninfi Post of 11 Novembe*, 1805, announces the production, for the fint time, on the evening of that day, at Drurjr Lane, of "The Victory and Death of Lon Viscount Nelson. The Overture and Music composed by M. P. King and Mr. Brahanv1 The next day there is in The Mommy Pat a short notice of the piece. The writer states that in it "Brahain sings a pathetc air with the most happy effect.' The Courier of the same date also contaiis a notice, in which Brahara's song is referred to as " most enthusiastically encored, and likely to become the most popular of all his compositions." The song itself was " printed and sold at No. 28, Hay Market." The poem commences thus :— In Death's dark house the Hero lies, Cold his heart and clos'd his Eyes. The song is quiet and pathetic. As the above lines show, the mood of the music is mournful, and the same may be said of the recitative of 'The Death of Nelson,' sung in 'The Americans' in 1811. Apart from that, there is no resemblance whatever between the two songs. J- S. S. [The playbill announced for that day, according to Genest, 'Prior Claim,' with (first time) a "Mek Dramatic piece to commemorate the Victory and Death of Lord Viscount Nelson." The performers were Elliston, Braham, Bartley, Mrs. Powell, and Mrs. Bland. According to Oulton, the historian « the theatre, this trifle was by Cumberland.] " PHOTOGEAPHY " (lO* S. iv. 367, 435, 450^ —A series of articles entitled ' Fathers of Photography,' by W. Jerome Harrison, which ran through the 1885 volume of The Amaiff Photographer, 4to, will probably indicate to DE. MTJEEAY where to look for the origin ot