Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 9.djvu/7

 us. ix. to. 3, i9i4.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

LONDON, SATURDAY, JANUARY 3, 191,',.

CONTENTS. No. 210.


 * NOTES : Robert Baron, Author of ' Mirza,' 1 First

Edition of Browne's ' Britannia's Pastorals 'Records of the Livery Companies, 3 County Maps "Carent" Newton Ferrers Roman Bath in the Strand, 5 Changes at Aldgate Pump Shept)ey Tree Cut Down Sir T. Dingley, 6" Tallest one-piece flagstaff," 7.

(QUERIES: "Traverse the cart "Personal Names in India Lists of Bishops in Cathedrals, 7 Badge of the 6th Foot Gods in Egypt Fynmore : Mason: Linke Joshua Webster Pocock the Orientalist, 8 Cranch Family Swinburne Hall Dickens in London 'Old London' "Sijceblong": a Dutch Word Hawkins, 9 Earl of Tankerville Heraldic Jeffreys Family Musical Congresses ' Tales of Devon' " Racker . Way " Napoleon III.'s Portrait ' Queen of my Heart' Glegg Palseographic Contractions W. H. Dally, Chartist, 10 Thornley, Painter Partition of Poland Ancient Views of Insanity, 11.

HEPLIES -.Shakespeare Second Folio, 11-Throp's Wife. 12 Guild of Knights Sir G. Wright, 13-" Marriage " Surname English spoken in Dublin Crossed-legged Effigies Fire and New-Birth, 14 Dunstable Larks J Morgan Phrases in 'Lorna Doone' Wild Huntsman- Polyglot 'Rubaiydt,' 15-Khoja Hussein Punctuation Signs Sir Thomas Hopson Sir John Langham, IB- Richard of Bury's Library Walter de Mundy, Knt., 17 Sir Ross Donnelly Mrs. Wells T. Burbidge and Other Poets" Balloni," 18.

1NOTES ON BOOKS : ' Life and Trial of Eugene Aram ' 1 Burke's Peerage and Baronetage.'

Notices to Correspondents.

ROBERT BARON, AUTHOR OF k MIRZA, A TRAGEDIE.'

THE following notes partly supplement and partly correct the account of Robert Baron civen in the ' D.N.B.' over the initials of Mr. Joseph Knight, late Editor of ' N. & Q.' The ' D.N.B.' knows nothing of Baron before 1647, the date of his first book, merely saying : " According to Langbaine, who, on this occasion, seems no more trust- worthy than usual, he was born in 1630." 'This is a deduction from what Langbaine does say, viz., that Baron composed his first work at the age of 17, and this Lang- baine found in Baron's own books, which Mr. Knight seems not to have sufficiently consulted. An engraved portrait of the author, " ^Etat. sure 17." by W. Marshall, appeared as frontispiece to ' The Cyprian Academy,' 1647, and Baron's friend John Quarles in his commendatory verses speaks of him as " scarce seventeen." Baron's next work, ' An Apologie for Paris,' 1649, is stated

on its title-page to have been " Occasioned by a Private Discourse, wherein the Trojans Judgment was .... defended by R : B. Gent. Ann. ^Etatis suae 18." The British Museum copy of Baron's third publication, ' Pocula Castalia' (1650), contains Marshall's portrait of him, with the year of his age " 17 " altered (probably before publication) to " 19." There can be no doubt, then, that Baron was born in or about 1630.

The fact thus proved is of great import- ance, as it leads at once to an identification of the young author who writes on 1 April, 1647, " From my Chamber at Grayes Inne," with a Robert Baron who had been admitted to Caius College, Cambridge, two years before. The entry of his admission to Caius is thus given in Dr. Venn's ' Biographical History of Caius College ' :

" 22 July, 1645. Robert Baron, son of Robert Baron, alderman (sheriff and mayor) of Norwich. Born there. At school under Mr. Gushing [a private school] four years, and under Mr. Lovering [Nor- wich Grammar School] three years. Age 15. Ad- mitted to the scholars' table, July 22, 1645. Surety, Mr. Phillips. (Readmitted to the bachelors' table, Sep. 30.)" Dr. Venn adds :

" His father was one of the first benefactors to the Girls' Hospital, Norwich."

Of this, more anon.

Robert Baron the younger was duly matriculated at Cambridge in the Michael- mas Term of 1645, but nothing further is known of him there. The reason is clear when we find in the Admissions to Gray's Inn : " 1646, Oct. 23. Robert Baron,* son and heir of Robert B. of the city of Norwich, Esq."

On 1 April following Baron signed the Dedication to James Howell of his ' Eporo- Traiyviov or The Cyprian Academy.' In that Dedication he implies that his work had been inspired by Howell's * Dodona's Grove,' and that he had expressed to Howell (then in the Fleet) his desire of seeing him : to which Howell had acceded, and had since written to him on divers occasions. A later letter from Howell, dated from the Fleet on 20 June, 1647, in which he acknow- ledges the gift of Baron's book, will be found among the ' Epistolse Ho-elian?e,' III. xvii. (ed. Jacobs, p. 541). He writes to Baron, who was then in Paris :

" 1 much thank you for the punctual Narration you pleas'd to send me of those Commotions in Paris.

name " Baron " appears as " Bacon " The Under- Treasurer of the Inn kindly informs me that this is an error.
 * In Foster's ' Admissions to Gray's Inn ' the