Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 10.djvu/220

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [iis.x. SEPT. 12,191-.

Hay, Hoel, and Walter. To them he adds David the Bishop and Nesta's two daughters, Angharad (mater mea) and Gwladys, the wives respectively of the barons of Pem- broke and Ros. To Ireland, he says, had gone to its conquest Robert and Maurice, and with them went their nephews, Reymond and Meiler. In a later work ('Liber de In- vectionibus,' book v. chap. xiv. ) he tells us that Meiler, being then Justiciar of Ireland, had offered him, his cousin consobrino ejusdem the bishopric of Waterford.

AP THOMAS.

PATAGONIAN THEATRE, EXETER CHANGE, STRAND (11 S. x. 107). This subject was dealt with in ' N. & Q.' under another head- ing a few months ago, but, not having the volume handy, I cannot give the reference.

I am, however, now able to supplement what I then wrote, having discovered that I possess an odd number of a periodical called The Tatler, a Daily Journal of Lite- rature and the Stage, dated 28 May, 1831, which contains an article entitled ' Historical Sketch of the Rise and Progress of Scene- Painting in England [From the Library of Fine Arts, No. IV. for May].'

The following extract from the article throws some light on the nature of the per- formances at the Patagonian Theatre :

" The late Charles Dibdin, the lyric bard of our ' wooden walls,' in conjunction with Dighton, a favourite performer at Sadler's Wells, about half a century ago, furnished the scenery for a fantoccini, entitled the Patagonian Theatre, which was erected in the great room over Exeter 'Change. There the regular drama was played by puppets of about fourteen inches in height ; and Dibdin and Dighton, with other actors, spoke and sung the parts for the automatons, to the great delight of the town."

WM. DOUGLAS.

125, Helix Eoad, Brixton Hill.

SOPHIE ANDERSON (11 S. x. 168). In reply to MR. E. R. DIBDIN of the Walker Gallery, Liverpool, I believe that Mrs. Anderson, an American artist, was my contemporary in the island of Capri 1873 and 1875. I fail to recall her baptismal name Sophie, but she was a highly accom- plished painter ; her husband less so. I am under the impression that one of her most notable works was a group of girls dressed and apparelled in the costume of the Foundling Hospital. Her age was about as your correspondent says (born 1823). Mrs. Anderson lived for several years in Capri, and was very popular there.

White, brother-in-law of Signor Villari,the author, and Walter Maclaren, the painter

schoolfellow of William Black, novelist, and sub-editor of Daily News and others, including myself, used weekly to play bowls or skittles in her garden shaded by a choice row of pretty hollyhocks to her delight. Her house was a rendezvous in those halcyon days, and the bright eyes and white hair of our hostess were pleasing to us all. Many of us English, now I fear all gone except myself, would- recognize that there could only be one Mrs. Anderson. Wreford,our chief and Times correspondent, often joined our company.

WILLIAM MERCER.

FIELDING'S LETTERS (11 S. x. 91). M. DIGEON of Havre seeks assistance in obtam- ing further information relative to a boot seller's catalogue entry of 1767, whic-J seemed to point to a former publication, in three volumes, of Henry Fielding's corre- spondence.

The matter being of first importance tc students of Fielding, I put myself in com-1 munication with M. DIGEON, who was so good as to send me the press-marks at the British Museum Reading-Room (where he obtained his information), which has enabled ' me to verify his statements.

The conclusion I arrive at (probably in f common with others interested in the matter) is that the book about which M. DIGEON seeks information is no other than Sarah Fielding's ' .Familiar Letters between the Principal Characters in "David Simple,'' published anonymously (by Andrew Millar, Henry Fielding's publisher), to which Henry Fielding, her brother, contributed the Pre- face and five of the constituent letters. When the ' Letters ' were published in 1747, they appeared in two octavo volumes. It is quite possible that they were repub- lished later in three duodecimo volumes, in accordance with the catalogue entry, but at the moment of writing I have no oppor- tunity of verifying this suggestion.

I have recently obtained fresh additional evidence that Fielding's manuscripts and correspondence were destroyed in the Gordon Riots (whilst the property of his half-brother Sir John), so that we are forced to the con- clusion that few letters of his, unfortunately for English literature, are ever likely to come to light. As a fact, the last letter from his pen, written from Lisbon, which has STirvived was found about a month ago. It was written after the famous Lisbon letter pub- lished in The National Review of 1911, but, unfortunately, its contents are of no im- ' portance.