Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 10.djvu/417

 n s. x. NOV. 21, i9i4.]. NOTES AND QUERIES.

411

Under " Gromes of the Chambyr,"

" Also the King's chamberlayii to assigne for the ii garclerobes and the King's chambre, for the male and stoole, and other stuffe nedeful, to the some of xii or xvi sompter horses ; whereof the Thesaurere of household berith no charge but for horse mete, shoyng, keepers wages, and clothing." P. 41.

" Ordinances made at Kit hnm in the XVIIth

year of King Henry VIII.

"Cap. 62. ITEM, it is the King's pleasure, that Mr. Norres shall be in the roorne of Sir William Compton, not onely giveing his attendance as groome of the King's stoole, but also in his bed- chamber, and other privy places, as shall stand with his pleasure." P. 156.

On p. 201, in the same ordinances, is a list of " The Number of Hacknies of diverse Officers as hereafter ensueth." The first item is :

" The Groome of the Stoole 2." On the preceding page appear four other officers with the number of horses allowed to each.

There was a Groome of the Stoole in the household of Prince Henry, 1610. The Chamberlain, the Treasurer, the Comp- troller, the Secretary, and the Groome of the Stoole had each a Diett of one Messe of eight dishes (p. 319).

In this household of Prince Henry, third in the list of " The Names of the Prince his Highnes servants belonging to the Chamber, with their wages and board wages," is

" Groome of the Stoole. Sir David Murrey ; wages 221. 6s. 8d.

" Diett or board wages." P. 323.

On p. 335 is allowance (Bouge of Court) to be served to these officers.

In the " Regulations for the Government

of the Queen's Household," 1631, under

"Women Servants to her Majestie," are

> Ladyes of the Bedchamber, Groome of the

Stoole, Mistress of the Robes, Ladyes of

\ the Privy Chamber, Ladyes Keepers of the

' Sweete Coffers, Maydes of Honour, six, &c.

(p. 351.)

" Ordinances made by King Charles II. for the

Government of his household. "For Our Bedchamber and Back-staires Wee recommend the care and government thereof to the Groome of the Stole." P. 304.

In the " Establishment of the household of King William and Queen Mary," 1689, appears the " Diett " allowed to the Groome of the Stoole to the Queen, viz., five dishes ut dinner and four at supper, together with three plates at each meal (p. 381).

On p. 388 is given the amount of fuel allowed to the Queen's Groome of the Stoole.

On p. 390 the Groomes of Stoole of the King and of the Queen have an allowance of four white (wt.) wax lights each.

Concerning the same household, on p. 414, appears " The Number of Carriages to be allowed at our [i.e. King William's] Removes " :

" The Groome of the Stoole 1."

For the Queen's Removes (p. 415) the Groom of the Stool was allowed two car- riages.

On p. 422, i.e., at the end of the ordinances about the household of King William and Queen Mary, is the following :

" Added to this Establishment by Our Special Command, which was omitted when the Book was signed.

" To the Countess of Darby, Groome of the Stoole to the Queen, 547Z. 10. per annum."

Very possibly the above extracts are not all which might be got from the ' Collec- tion of Ordinances.' I have kept the spell- ings " stoole," &c., as they appear in the book quoted.

Halliwell in his Dictionary, among the meanings of " stole," has :

" A kind of packing-chest for robes and clothes. We still have ' groom of the stole.' See ' Privy Purse Expences of Eliz. of York,' p. 45."

The conjunction of " male " and " stoole " in my extract from p. 41 may, perhaps, confirm this interpretation. Nares in his Glossary has "Male, or Mail. A bag or trunk to carry goods in travelling."

ROBERT PIERPOINT.

" SPARROWGRASS " (11 S. x. 227, 278, 291, 353). i s not this a question of pronuncia- tion, rather than of actual or supposed derivation ? Anyhow, Webster and Wor- cester's Dictionary, 1858 edition, s.v. ' Asparagus,' says :

" Formerly this word was, both in England and the United States, very commonly pronounced sparrow-grass, and is still so pronounced by some persons see Cucumber."

On turning to this word, I find (after the definition) :

"Walker says of this word, 'It seems too firmly fixed in its sound of cotccumber to be altered,' but Smart (1836) remarks, ' No well-taught person, except of the old school, now says cowcumber or sparrowgrass, although any other pronunciation of cucumber and asparagus would have been pedantic some thirty years ago."

May I also refer to the pronunciation at one time of the Cow in Cowper as coo as somewhat analogous ? Coles, ^ 1717, gives " Asparagus, vulgo Sparagrass."

W. S. B. H.