Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 11.djvu/508

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [11 s. XL JUNE 26, 1915.

to have been awarded the sum of 200Z. ' per annum. The account of Lady Bridget ( Tlooke's demise and funeral testifies to the high esteem in which she was held :

" The community about this time experienced r> great loss by the death of the lady Abbess, Bridget Rooke, which took place on the feast of "the Epiphany. As soon as her death was made known in the city, it was greatly lamented, and the sentiment of love universally borne towards her caused a great concourse of people of all ranks to attend her burial, at which most of the Co rt of Parliament assisted. She was borne to the grave by the Brothers, and accompanied by the four orders, with their priors, and the Father following near the body. Moreover, a great lady of the city, to testify the love and reverence she had for her, cau ed twelve virgins to be dressed in white, each having a white taper in her hand, and they in this manner encircled the hearse. The reverend Father-in-God, John Lesly, Lord Bishop of Ross, performed the service in his pontifical vestments ; which ended, the theologue of the cathedral church preached a funeral sermon in her commendation."

John Lesly was Secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots ; the place of burial was the Church of St. Louis, before the high altar.

The name Rooke is said to be inscribed on a pavement in Isleworth Church, as follows : " Robert Millington, Esq., 1714. His son-in- law Bru-denell Rooke, aged 85, 1776."

AITCHO.

A RUSSIAN EASTER (US. xi. 277, 44.0). I was wrong in saying, as I find evidence that I did say, that the Roman Church has three Masses on Christmas Eve. I sinned against light, for I had been taught that, whatever colloquial use may suggest, ecclesiastical prac- tice does not justify my words. Seeing that the first of three Masses is not celebrated until m, idnight on the very verge of 25 Decem- ber, it must be manifest to the meanest capacity that it is impossible to offer the subsequent Masses before the Feast of the Nativity has actually begun. That there are, or were, three Masses on Christmas morn in some parts of France it were folly to deny.

Henry Greville is guiltless of the blunder of which I am, convicted. Happily I have been able to consult ' Les Koumiassine,' which had passed from my keeping. Here are the author's very w r ords :

" Le samedi saint arriva. Cette fete do Paques, considered en Russie comme la plus grande fete de 1'annee, remplace notre fete de Noel, pour la messe de minuit comme pour le reVeillon." Vol. ii. p. 10.

Unfortunately, I have never been in Petro- grad, but "Henry Greville' s " father was French Ambassador at Petersburg, and she spent some years with him there, and, pace MR. W. A. FROST, gives one the impression

that she knew what she was writing about. I hope she did not make the strange mistake which is conjectured for her. A little boy, Dmitri, she states.

" assista' tres serieusement aux trois messes, de minuit, de 1'aurore et du jour, un peu fatigu^ a la troisieme, malgr le repos qu'on avait eu soin de lui faire prendre apres le diner. C'e"tait la premiere fois qu'il se rendait a Feglise la nuit de Paques."

It is, perhaps, well to add that th *' messe du jour " must have ended very early. The streets were brilliantly lighted as Dmitri and his elders drove home, and " la nuit etait magnifique, douce et claire comme une nuit demai" (p. 12). ST. SWITHIN.

PICCADILLY TERRACE (11 S. xi. 361, 437). " Piccadilly Terrace " is the name which, within my recollection, was used to describe the four houses, near Apsley House, which stand back from the street behind a railing. They are numbered 142, 143, 144, and 145, Piccadilly. The name is used by Lord Beaconsfield in ' Endymion,' vol. ii. ch. xxviii.

G. W. E. R.

BARSANTI : BULKELEY : NOSSITER. (1) Miss BARSANTI, MRS. RICHARD DALY (11 S. xi. 452). The initial of this lady's Christian name was J, but what the full name was I do not know. She died in Dublin, 13 April, 1795.

(2) MRS. BULKLEY (11 S. xi. 432). The Christian name of this actress whose sur- name was always spelt in the playbills "Bul'dey'' was Mary. She died at Dum- fries, 19 Dec., 1792.

(3) Miss NOSSITER (US. xi. 432). It was not until 10 Oct., 1753, that Miss Nossiter made her first appearance on the stage at Covent Garden Theatre, in the character of Juliet to the Romeo of Barry. In 1750 he was supported by Mrs. Cibber in the part. Some critical remarks upon the acting of Miss Nossiter will be found in The Actor, 1755. She died in 1759.

WM. DOUGLAS. 125, Helix Road, Brixton Hill.

LOPE DE VEGA'S GHOST STORY (US. xi. 417). Prof. Fitzmaurice-Kelly says in his 1 Litterature espagnole ' (1913), p. 301, apropos of Lope de Vega :

" C'est a 1'annee ICO 4 qu'appartient ' El Peregrino en su patria,' qui contient ce que George Borrow estimait etre le meilleur conte de revenants qu'on ait jamais ^crit ; la louange est demesure"e."

This distinguished scholar kindly informs me that Borrow made a translation of the