Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 3.djvu/170

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NOTES AND QUERIES. en s. in. MAR. 4, 1911,

" In addition to the 400 per annum paid to Mr. Shirley since the agreement was made (now upwards of ten years), and which in any event must be continued to be paid during his life, Lord William has expended upwards of 8,000 upon the premises. The reason for so doing and lor granting the annuity of 400 to Mr. Shirley was on the faith of Mr. Shirley's assurances that the Deputy Banger was never moved from his house and office, but which assurances Lord William had lately reason to think would not have iDeen of much avail. Under these circumstances Lord and Lady William Gordon natter them- selves Mr. Pitt will not think them unreasonable when they request him to state their hopes to his Majesty that they may receive a grant of the house and premises for such term of years as his Majesty under all circumstances may think reasonable. '

Lady William had meantime also written about the case on 1 April to Dundas, who was a great friend of her husband's sister-in- law the witty Jane Maxwell, Duchess of Gordon. I may add that a steel engraving of the Lodge appeared in The Lady's Maga- zine of the period. J. M. BULLOCH. 118, Pall Mall, S.W.

BERKSHIRE CHURCHWARDENS' ACCOUNTS, c. 1800. The following particulars are taken from the churchwardens' account- book, 1796-1847, of the parish of South Moreton, Berks. The most noticeable ex- penditure was for the destruction of sparrows and vermin, which in one year came to 31. 19s. Qd. In May, 1798 (e.g.), 429 sparrows, or sparrow-heads, were paid for at the rate of 2d. a dozen ; polecats and hedgehogs brought 4d. each ; weasels, 3d. or 4d. ; stoats, 3d. ; and one " wheratt," 3d. Per- haps the last was a ferret, but the word only occurs once. (The spelling has all the pleasing variety of untrammelled genius.) No rats are mentioned. Probably these payments ceased when compulsory church- rates were abolished.

The Holy Communion was celebrated four times a year, at Easter, Whitsuntide, Michaelmas, and Christmas, for which the bread and wine cost II. 2s. doubtless 4 bottles and 4 loaves. There are entries of '" washing the cloths for the altar," showing that the last word was regarded as usual and proper. Sometimes " up " is written '" op," which is the local pronunciation to this day. W. C. B.

ANNA HOWE AND CHARLOTTE GRANDISON. The similarity between the character of Anna Howe in Richardson's ' Clarissa Har- lowe ' and of Charlotte Grandison in his referred to by his biographers (Austin Dobson, 'Samuel Richardson,' p. 158, and
 * Sir Charles Grandison ' has often been

C. L. Thomson, ' Samuel Richardson,' p. 205). Both Anna Howe and Charlotte Grandison treat their not very manly lovers, Charles Hickman and Lord G, in much the same free and rude way. It has, how- ever, not been pointed but that Richardson himself has called attention in an interesting passage to the close similarity between the two characters ('Sir Charles Grandison,' i. 341, ed. 1902). Harriet Byron writes on this subject to Lucy Selby :

" Lord G appeared to advantage, as Sir Charles managed it, under the awful eye of Miss Grandi- son. Upon my word, Lucy, she makes very free with him. I whispered her, that she did. A very Miss Howe, said I. To a very Mr. Hickman, rewhispered she. But here 's the difference. I am not determined to have Lord G . Miss Howe yielded to her mother's recommendation, and intended to marry Mr. Hickman even when she used him worst."

This is the only passage in the body of his novels in which Richardson refers to his own works. The difference noted by Char- lotte Grandison between Anna Howe and herself does not afterwards exist, as she later on accepts Lord G.

The first one to point out the similarity between Anna Howe and Charlotte Grandi- son was Lady Mary Wortley Montagu in a letter dated 20 October, N.S., 1755. She had read the first two "tomes" of 'Sir Charles Grandison ' before 22 September in the same year. It seems that Lady Mary discovered for herself the similarity between the two characters, and was not thinking of the passage in Richardson quoted above. Anna Howe and Charlotte Grandison are severely condemned by Lady Mary ('Letters,' ii. 290, ed. 1893) :

" His Anna How [sic] and Charlotte Grandison are recommended as patterns of charming pleasantry .... Charlotte acts with an ingratitude that I think too black for human nature, with such coarse jokes and low expressions as are only to be heard among the lowest class of people."

The only expressions used by Charlotte Grandison which Lady Mary could have considered " low " are the following :

" I '11 be hanged if Miss Byron thinks so, re- whispered she." ' Sir Charles Grandison,' i. 285.

"Come, come, get us some breakfast....! don't choose to eat my gloves .... Hang ceremony, said she, sitting down first, let slower souls com- pliment : and taking some muffin, I '11 have breakfasted before these pray, madams, and pray, my dears, are seated." lh., i. 301.

The various bibliographies in the works on Richardson do not mention Lessing's account of his novels, which may be read in Karl Lachmann's edition. Lessing did not object to Charlotte Grandison, for he refers