Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 8.djvu/129

 10 s. VIIL AUG. 10, 1907.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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the successful career which it has since maintained, asserted in his ' Critical Essays of an Octogenarian,' 1851, ii. 142, that Theobald was a brother of Arthur, and therefore a son of the eleventh Viscount ; and in correcting an error of Lord Cloncurry in his ' Memoirs ' to the effect that Theobald was " le beau " Dillon, he said that while this filiation is omitted in the English peer- ages, it is distinctly stated in the French genealogies of the family. This view was adopted by a correspondent of ' N. & Q.' (2 S. vii. 154), who probably based his opinion on Mr. Roche's article. Notwith- standing the high authority that necessarily attaches to Mr. Roche's statement, I am inclined to think that Theobald more pro- bably belonged to the Kilcornan branch of the family, and that he may have been a son of Thomas Dillon of Dublin, a younger brother of Robert Dillon, the grandfather of Madame de Boigne.

" Le beau " Dillon is sufficiently familiar to us from his frequent appearances in the ' Memoirs.' Edouard Dillon seems to have been the favourite uncle of Madame de Boigne. He emigrated in 1791, and on 1 Feb., 1795, was appointed colonel of Dillon's regiment in the English service. He li ved well into the reign of Louis Philippe, and died in 1839. The story of his supper with Madame Grand (not " Grant," as printed in the 'Memoirs,' p. 325) throws a feeble ray of light upon the obscure period in that lady's history which lasted from her departure from India in 1780 or 1781 to her marriage with Talleyrand on 10 Sept., 1802. Her remarkable story may be read in Dr.

The Daily Chronicle of" 10th of April, 1897, gave

Busteed's fascinating ' Echoes from Calcutta,' 3rd ed., 1897, pp. 192-275.

I trust that these few notes may be of assistance to those who are interested in the personnel of the most attractive book that I have read for some time. It may be added in conclusion that while the male line of the Osmonds is extinct, the family is represented in the female branch by Artus de La Tour Landry, fourth Due de Maille, the son of Jeanne d' Osmond, daughter of Rainulphe Eustache, Marquis d'Osmond and brother of Madame de Boigne.

W. F. PRIDEATTX.

JUBILEE OF 'THE CITY PRESS.' (See ante, p. 81.)

AMONG links with the past now swept away are many of the old City churches long emptied of worshippers, owing to the

few residents. Saturday, the

the total numbers present *on the previous Sunday at fourteen then existing churches 366 attending morning service, and 394 in the evening. At one of these only 4 were present in the morning, and 6 in the evening. This living was worth 925Z. per annum, and the total of the fourteen was 10,4532. per annum. Other changes have included the disappearance of the Old Bailey and Sessions House, and of the three schools : St. Paul's, founded in 1512 by Dr. Colet ; Christ's Hospital, founded on the 23rd of November, 1552 ; and the City School, which was erected on the site of Honey- Lane Market, the first stone being laid by Lord Brougham on the 21st of October,. 1835. Of notable old City hotels but few are left. The building of the General Post Office on the west side of St. Martin's \& Grand obliterated the famous hotels that formerly stood there ; and an additional block is now in course of erection on the site of Christ's Hospital to accommodate the increasing business.

When The City Press first saw the light,, lolborn Hill, with all its perils to horses, still remained. At 94, opposite Shoe Lane,, was Fear on' s well-known wine-shop (this >ranch is now at 39, Holborn Viaduct), ilood, writing to his wife from Rotterdam,, sings :

The flavour now of Fearon's, That mingles in my dram, Reminds me you 're in England, And I 'm in Rotterdam.

The Holborn Valley Viaduct, of which the Old foundation stone was laid on the 3rd of June, 1867, by F. H. Fry, William Hay wood being the chief engineer, was opened for foot passengers on the 14th of October, 1869, and inaugurated by Queen Victoria on the 6th of November in the same year, the new Blackfriars Bridge being opened by the Queen on the same day.

The following year another great improve- ment was completed, the Thames Embank- ment being opened on the 13th of July, 1870, by the Prince of Wales. This had indeed been long waited for, having been recommended by Wren in 1666, and by Paterson, who founded the Bank of England in 1694. In 1767 the Corporation embanked a mile ; but it was not until the 7th of August,. 1862, that an Act for embanking the north side of the Thames was passed. Londoners now enjoy a walk by the side of the Thames, but previous to its purification it was a place to be avoided. Tom Hood had in 1826