Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 4.djvu/302

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [ii s. iv. OCT. 7, IQIL

tails were so unlike one being straight, the other zigzag. The fisherman replied that a pair of scissors made them all alike !

R. B B. South Shields.

NOBLE FAMILIES IN SHAKESPEARE (11 S. iv. 248). I imagine that a careful study of such publications as G. E. C.'s ' Complete Peerage,' the works of Mr. J. Horace Round, the 'D.N.B.,' the ' Nobilities of Europe' and the ' Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal ' by the Marquis of Ruvigny and Raineval, the recent edition of Douglas's ' Peerage of Scotland,' and The Ancestor would show that a vast number of living persons are descended from certain histori- cal characters mentioned by Shakespeare. For instance, the principal royal families of Europe will be found, I think, to be de- scended in one branch or another from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (see 'Richard II.). Henry VIII. 's six wives were all descendants of King John ; and the noble families of Seymour and Howard are vigorous to-day not to mention the royal house of Hapsburg and its many branches.

From the first Howard Duke of Norfolk (the " Jockey of Norfolk " in ' Richard III.') are derived the Dukes of Norfolk and Bed- ford, and the Earls of Suffolk and Carlisle. From the first Earl of Northumberland and his son Sir Henry Percy (" Hotspur," ' Henry IV.') come the Dukes of Northum- berland ; from William, Lord Hastings, the Earls of Huntingdon ; and from Queen Elizabeth Wydville (' Henry VI., Part III.,' and ' Richard III.'), as Lady Grey, the Earls of Stamford. The Dukes of Beaufort derive from Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset (' Henry VI., Part II.) ; the Marquess of Abergavenny from Edmund, Duke of York ('Richard II.') ; and the Dukes of Atholl from Thomas Stanley, first Earl of Derby ('Richard III.'), and also, through Mary, Queen of France, from Edward IV. (' Henry VI., Part III.,' and ' Richard III.'). The Dukes of Argyll descend from a sister of King Robert Bruce ; the Dukes of Suther- land from a daughter of the same king ; the Marquesses of Huntley from James I. of Scots ; and the Dukes of Hamilton from James II. of Scots. The above four descents imply a pedigree from Duncan and Mal- colm III. Canmore (see ' Macbeth ').

These are but a few of those who can claim an ancestor immortalized in Shakes- peare. The recent Shakespeare Ball, held at the Albert Hall, included a number of living descendants of the poet's creations.

If an everyday example is permissible, the present writer may be forgiven for men- tioning that in common with very many of his fellow-countrymen, from King George V. downwards, he has a descent from James I. of Scots and his queen, Joan Beaufort (viz., from Duncan, Malcolm III., and John of Gaunt) ; and that a young cousin of his can, in addition, show a descent, similar to that given above to the Dukes of Atholl, from Thomas Stanley, first Earl of Derby, and from Edward IV.

A. R. BAYLEY.

REV. THOMAS AND JOSEPH DELAFIELD (US. iii. 347, 412). W. C. B.'s very inter- esting reply, which gives the titles of 'the five historical manuscripts of the Rev. Thomas Delafield formerly for sale by Mr. T. Hayes of Manchester, does not state whether Joseph Delafield was joint author of these works or how his name came to be connected with them ; see note at 5 S. vi. 165.

The association of the names is puzzling, for the only contemporary Joseph Delafield revealed by an exhaustive inquiry was a Baptist, a citizen of London, and in business a merchant. He was fifth cousin in the male line to the Rev. Thomas Delafield. It would be most interesting to know where these manuscripts now are. Perhaps W. C. B. may be able and willing to add these items of information to the valuable notes he has already published.

JOHN Ross DELAFIELD

Riverdale-on-Hudson, New York City.

ARMY BANDMASTERS AND THE OFFICERS' MESS (11 S. iv. 247). Since 1881 Army bandmasters upon appointment receive what is called a warrant, which is something like a commission, but signed by the Secretary of State for War. There is a big difference between warrant and non - commissioned rank. In the days of Army civilian band- masters, it is very probable that those belong- ing to crack corps, such as the Guards and Royal Artillery e.g., Dan Godfrey and Chevalier Zavertal before being taken on the strength would be dining members of the officers' mess. But I question if Mr. Miller's honorary membership extended so far as that. Probably it would mean the obtain- ing liquid refreshment thereat, instead of in the sergeants' mess, to which warrant officers belong. I remember one instance of an unmarried warrant officer (a Master Gunner) " messing " with officers ; but this occurred with a departmental corps, and