Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 8.djvu/502

 NOTES AND QUERIES. [io s. vm. NOV. 23, 1907.

from Archbishop Blackburn to the Earl of Carlisle, including two which have reference to proceedings against Roman Catholics, dated Tunbridge, 9 July, 1729, and Downing Street, 3 Nov., 1733. WM. NORMAN.

Plumstead.

REINDEER: ITS SPELLING (10 S. viii. 170, 258, 358). While anxious, on the one hand, to oblige CURIOUS, and also to furnish any information that may possibly be of interest to a section of readers of ' N. & Q.,' I am loath, on the other hand, to revive an incident in which one of the chief par- ticipants has long since passed to his last resting-place. Therefore, without mention- ing either of their names, I must confine myself to a very brief summary. The controversy raged for weeks in the columns of The Times, Morning Post, Globe, Bell's Life, and other organs of the press, in the course of which the conflict of evidence as to facts was so remarkable that the actual rights and wrongs of the case were never clearly established, and never will be. However, stated shortly, the outlines of the story are as follows.

A party, of some eighteen people were guests of Sir Sydston Newman's at Mamhead for the Exeter races in the autumn of 1862. Among them were two officers, whom I will refer to as A and B. One of them owned a horse called Palm Oil, and, driving to the races, he intimated that he should change the name to Reindeer, and some discussion arose as to the spelling of the name. This discussion was resumed the same evening, after dinner, among the guests at Mamhead. A, the owner of the horse, bet B 51. that the proper spelling was Raindeer, B betting that it should be spelt Reindeer. This led to a number of other bets, one well-known American racing man laying B 100Z. to 1Z. on Reindeer being the proper spelling. B afterwards maintained that he took this to hedge his bet with A. Now it was alleged in certain quarters that the original bet between A and B was not a bona fide wager that, in short, it was a bogus bet, made after reference to a dictionary, to leac

others into making larger bets. Admira Rous, who was always precipitate anc remarkably headstrong, made some strong comments on the whole proceeding, as a result of which both A and B called upon him to apologize. The Admiral based hi charges on a letter he received from Mr Robert Lawley, in which he stated that B had admitted to him that the bet he mad with A of 51. was only a " bubble " bet

Mr. Lawley afterwards withdrew this state- ment in toto, asserting emphatically that he- was satisfied that the bet was a genuine one. As a result Admiral Rous, finding himself in a quandary, made a sort of half-hearted apology to A and B ; but a week later he forwarded three letters to The Morning Post in support of his original allegations, and there the matter ended.

One of the vital points on which there was much conflicting evidence was whether A and B had or had not made a condition, that the wagers should be decided by Johnson's dictionary, which, at that time at any rate, spelt the word with the a. A writer in The Field quoted no fewer than twenty-one dictionaries which adopted that spelling. I believe, as a matter of fact, no- money actually passed in the end in respect of any of these wagers. I trust these scant outlines will satisfy CURIOUS, whom I must refer to the correspondence which was published at the time if he wishes to- delve further into the details of this painful incident. WILLOUGHBY MAYCOCK.

C. F. DE BREDA, PORTRAIT PAINTER (10* S. viii. 309). The Christian name of Woods, of the Edinburgh Theatre, was William. 3!e appeared at the Haymarket in 1771, and died at Edinburgh in 1802.

WM. DOUGLAS.

125, Helix Road, Brixton Hill.

GREENSTED CHURCH, ONGAR : OAK v~ CHESTNUT (10 S. viii. 26, 154, 196, 275).

N. & Q.' has had a good deal of correspond- ence on this subject, but the point to me seems to be, Is it oak or Spanish chestnut a different wood from the English or horse chestnut), of which a great deal appears- bo have been grown in this neighbourhood 200 or 300 years ago ? Even now in Green- wich Park you have avenues of Spanish chestnut, and some large trunks said to be 400 or 500 years old. In Evelyn's time it is said to have been much used for building purposes, and I fancy it will be found to- have been so. I would call attention to the magnificent gates and panelled entrance to Morden College, Blackheath, and to the-

beautiful chapel, carved by Grinding Gibbons,, as I believe the whole of the wood in the College is Spanish chestnut.


 * ^G. C. WARDEN.

MR. HEMS has written an extremely interesting reply, and he may be right in thinking that oak was used for the walls of Greensted Church. I may perhaps say that I am not unacquainted with some of the-