Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 12.djvu/353

 us. XIL OCT. so, mo.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

345

For some time Buckingham had been carrying on an intrigue with Lady Shrews- bury (Anna Maria, daughter of Robert, Lord Brudenell, afterwards second Earl of Cardigan, and second wife of Francis, eleventh Earl of Shrewsbury), and the Earl, at last discovering it, sent him a challenge. They fought at Barn Elms on 16 Jan., 1668, three a side, Buckingham's seconds being Sir Robert Holmes and Mr. William Jenkins. Shrewsbury was badly wounded, and died two months later, but not until the king had pardoned all the actors in the duel (24 Feb., 1668). "Wanton Shrewsbury" continued for some time to live openly with Buckingham, but afterwards married George Rodney Bridges, and survived until 1702. Portraits of her are in the National Portrait Gallery and at Goodwood ; a third, as Minerva (sic), was bought by Sir Robert Peel at the Stowe sale.

See ' Memoirs of Sir John Reresby,' ed. Cartwright, 1875, p. 67 ; Pepys, ed. Wheatley, vii. 283, 284, 305 ; Grammont, p. 299 ; Evelyn, ' Diary,' ed. Wheatley, ii. 271.

In Brayley and Britton's ' The Beauties of England and Wales' (1801) it is stated that

" Cliefden became celebrated from its magnificent mansion, erected by ' Buckingham ' ; but this edifice, which had been greatly improved by

Frederic, Prince of Wales was almost wholly

destroyed by fire on the 20th of May, 1795. The conflagration spread with such rapidity through- the building that scarcely a remnant of its superb furniture or splendid paintings could be preserved.

The wings were the only parts that escaped the

flames. The terrace occupies the brow of the very lofty eminence on which the house was situated, and is reported to be higher than that at Windsor."

A. R. BAYLEY.

ROBERT NELSON THE NONJUROR (11 S. xii. 301). In the ' Memoirs of the Pious Robert Nelson,' by the Rev. C. F. Secretan (Murray, 1860), the date of his birth is given as 22 June, 1656. His epitaph, written by Bishop Smallridge, concludes : " Ob. 16 Jan. Ao. Dom. 1714 ; setat. suse 59."

1665 in ' D.N.B.' as year of birth is, no doubt, an error. S. R. C.

Canterbury.

The twenty-second edition of ' A Com- panion for the Festivals and Fasts of the Church of England,' published 1762, contains the following :

"Robert Nelson, Esq., the pious Author of this excellent Book, was born the 22* of June, 1656, being the son of M r John Nelson, a considerable Turkey Merchant of London."

R. J. FYNMORE.

WAS ST. THOMAS OF CANTERBURY A BENEDICTINE MONK ? (11 S. xii. 86.) J'a eu la curiosite de consulter 1'admirable serie- des " Chronicles and Memorials of Great Britain." De nombreuses references (in- diqueesci-dessous)permettent d'affirmer que St. Thomas avait adopte la regie benedictine,. et qu'il portait le costume de 1'ordre sous ses vetements sacerdotaux ; ce fait fut constate apres sa mort par les moines qu devetirent son corps pour le laver, suivant 1' usage monastique. 11 avait d'ailleurs sur la peau un epais cilice, fait de crin (et, les textes m'obligent a le dire, peuple d'une vermine cruelle) ; seule, sa haute taille empechait cette accumulation de vetements de deform er sa stature et de le rend re ridicule- Quant a la couleur du vetement benedictin- a cette epoque, il etait, si je ne me trompe,. sinon absolument noir, au mo ins d'un& couleur foncee et fort voisine du noir.

On peut ajouter aux references ci-dessous que St. Thomas etait couramment appe!6 moine au moyen age : " martyr, prsesul et monachus."

William of Canterbury, i. 10.

Benedict of Peterborough, iii. 17.

Alan of Tewkesbury* iii. 345.

Edward Grim, ii. 368, 442.

William Fitz-Stephen, iii. 37, 149.

Herbert de Boseham, iii. 200, 521.

Auctore anonymo (vita), iv. 21, 79.

Quadrilogus, iv. 281, 346, 406.

Gervase, monk of Canterbury, i. 229.

PIERRE TTTRPIN.. 29, The Bayle, Folkestone.

MEDIJEVAL FUR NAMES (11 S. xii. 183, 244).. For " miniver " and " calaber " see the- ' N.E.D.' where full particulars can be found as regards the former, and many quotations for both words. According to a trade pub- lication (Richard Davey, * Fur and Fur Garments,' 1895), miniver is really made from ermine spotted with astrachan.

With regard to " calaber," Bailey must be mistaken in stating that it was the fur of a little creature in Germany of the seme name, as the word cannot be found in Grimm's great ' Dictionary.' The same remarks apply also to the statements in the " calaber " was " the fur of a small animal about the size of the squirrel, bred for the most part in High Germany," and, according to another version, " the fur which was exported from Calabria [in Southern Italy], hence the name." The latter dictionary gives " calabar skin " as the name in commerce for the skin of the Siberian squirrel used for muffs, tippets, &c. Then we haver
 * Century Dictionary,' according to which