Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 4.djvu/33

 ii s. iv. JULY s, i9ii.] NOTES AND Q U ERIES.

(gttmis*

WE must request correspondents desiring in- formation on family matters of only private interest to affix their names and addresses to their queries, in order that answers may be sent to them direct.

MITRES AT CORONATIONS. For several Coronations now I think from that of George II. no bishops have worn the mitre. Even on that occasion the mitres were carried in the hand, not worn on the head. I am anxious to know whether any of these mitres are still in existence. A very old clergyman told me that his father recollected being shown a " Coronation mitre," as he called it, at Norwich Cathedral some time in the fifties. I do not think, however, that it is still there. Dr. Pusey is said to have possessed a mitre worn by one of the Nonjuring bishops ; and at an exhibition of ecclesiastical ornaments in New York some years ago I saw a mitre of black velvet with a gilt embroidered cross on it, said to have been worn by an archbishop of Canter- bury at the Coronation of some king whose name I cannot for the moment remember. One would imagine that at least one out of all the mitres worn at Coronations previous to that of George II. would have survived, if not in a cathedral, perhaps in the family of the bishop wearing it.

FREDERICK T. HIBGAME.

,' LA CARMAGNOLE.' On Wednesday, 21 June, the day preceding the Coronation, I listened to the band of a regiment marching to its encampment in Regent's Park, and noticed that it played ' La Carmagnole,' the celebrated fierce revolutionary hymn, of which the opening words are :

Madam' Veto avait prom is De faire egorger tout Paris A son coup elle a manque", Grace & nos canonniers.

Dansoiis la Carmagnole, &c.

I have heard these words sung many years ago by aged Frenchmen, witnesses of the Revolution, to the air which I heard the other day played before loyal ' ' Tommies. ' ' Can any one inform me whether the air has been set to English words, or whether the British Army adopted it in 1793 as a reminiscence of the campaign ? On that occasion the enemy, however, added a verse beginning

Le Due de York avait promis Que Dunkerque lui serait remis.

I Another version, alluding to the Duke's love of pleasure and entertainment when in occupation of the Belgian towns, ran

Le Due de York vouhit danser. Bon ! Nous 1'avons fait sauter !

Darisons la Carmagnole !

Vivent les sans-culottes !

We must remember that the first bars of ' The Death of Nelson ' are the same as those of the 'Chant du Depart' (" 'Twas in Trafalgar Bay, The French at anchor lay " " La victoire en chant ant, nous ouvre la barriere "), and I have heard Englishmen in France say that the ' Chant ' must be an adaptation ; but it was composed for the 1792 volunteers, long before Trafalgar. At 2 S. ii. 269, 335, 394, I find some interest- ing information about the ' Carmagnole ' ; but there is no allusion to the air being adopted for words in other than the French language, or being played by British or other foreign military bands.

ALBAN DORAN.

THE LOTUS AND INDIA.- I see that in the embroidery on the Queen's robe the lotus is taken as representing India. On what ground is this flower associated with that country ? Is it even to be found there ? Before the Mutiny brass lotahs were passed from hand to hand as a signal for revolt. This gave rise to a belief on the part of some who were unacquainted with the word that lotus-flowers were so used. Is it pos- sible that this explains the emblem on the royal robe ? J. WILLCOCK.

Lerwick.

QUEEN ELIZABETH AT BISHOP'S STORT- FORD. Monsignor Benson in his novel ' By what Authority ? ' describes a play, a parody upon the Romish Church, which was performed by some students from Cam- bridge before Queen Elizabeth at Bishop's Stortford, while she was resting there on her way back to London. Is there any evidence for this ? W. B. GERISH.

Bishop's Stortford.

DIDEROT'S 'PARADOXE SUR LE COMEDIEN' : GARRICK. In my book recently published by MM. Hachette, ' David Garrick et ses amis francais,' I mention (pp. 193, 196) the communication by Suard to the English actor of a manuscript of Diderot's ' Paradoxe sur le Comedien ' in 1773. Garrick does not seem to have sent this back to his French correspondent. Can any reader tell me if it, or any trace of it, exists in England ? An examination of it might help to clear up an interesting and obscure point in