Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 1.djvu/27

n s. i. JAN. s, 1916.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

NOTES:—The Baddeley Cake at Drury Lane, 21—'The Tragedy of Mariam,' 22—Did Fielding write 'Shamela'? 24—Col. John Hayes Sr, Leger—Epitaphs of Finmore and Willis at North Hinksey, 26—An Early Circulating Library—"Murray's Railway Reading," 27.

VJW6n I'DOllicis i.vj{*y f xvccuiuoi \Ji xyuiv/Mvm^v*! ^ -

mayne, the French Schoolmaster ' The Meteor, or Monthly Censor' Arthur Hughes, the Pre-Raphaelite- Authors Wanted- Village Pounds-Oil-Pamting Archer : Bowman Parish Registers ' L'Espion Anglois, 29 Regimental Nicknames-Nodding Mandarins Sir George Mouat Keith- John Whitfield, Actor Passage of Funeral through Church Ann Cook Glace Kid Gloves, 30.

REPLIES : The Society for Constitutional Information, 30 Anastatic Printing-Enemies of Books, 82-' Loath to Depart' Letter-Books of Chester-Carol Wanted, 33 Kennett, M.P.-Napoleon's Bequest to Cantillon- Vanish- ing London : Baker's Chop-House The Observant Babe Nelson Memorial Rings, 34 The Meaning of "Trent Nathaniel Lee, the Dramatist, 35 Thunder Family- Duchesses who have married Commoners Comic Arundines Cami ' Undergraduates as Officers of the Reserve Forces, 36 War and Money Elder Folk-Lore M Lyulph " : Christmas Numbers J. S. Brewer and E. C. Brewer Tigers' Whiskers, 37 Dr. Philip Doddndge Song Wanted Water of the Nile Churches used for the Election of Municipal Officers T. Griffin Tarpley Moira Coals Armorial Bearings Sought, 38.

NOTES ON BOOKS : ' A Bibliography of Unfinished Books in the English Language' Reviews and Magazines.

Notices to Correspondents.

THE BADDELEY CAKE AT DRURY LANE. (See ante, p. 1.)

THE Drury Lane Twelfth Night cake- cutting arises under the will of Robert Baddeley. The origin of the custom, which has been kept up for over one hundred years, has been stated to be as follows :

One year Baddeley went into the Green Room on Twelfth Night, and noticed all the company were dull and moping round the fire ; so he immediately sent out for cake and punch, and said, as long as he could prevent it, such a thing should never occur again, meaning, of course, the depression of his brother and sister artists ; for Twelfth Night in those days was always a night of festivity. Robert Baddeley was the last of the actors who availed himself of the privilege of wearing the Royal livery,

which all the company of Drury Lane are entitled to do now if they like, as His Majesty's servants.

Accordingly on Baddeley 's death it was found that he had generously left a fund in trust for a Twelfth Right cake. I was unable to find any authoritative account of Baddeley 's will by which this trust was created. There is no copy at Drury Lane Theatre, the late James Fernandez had none, neither has the present trustee. I have, therefore, obtained the following informa- tion from the official records. The will is a very long one, over sixty folios, occuping upwards of six large folio pages. The fol- lowing is an extract from it :

" Robert Baddeley of New Store Street Bedford Square in the County of Middlesex and of Drury Lane Theatre Comedian. . . I hereby direct that the sum of One hundred pounds Stock in the Three per Cent. Consolidated Bank Annuities may be purchased immediately after my decease if not found there at that time And if there found there to be continued until the said Stock shall or may be paid ofi; And in that instance then to be placed out in some other Stock or Perpetuity or Fund to procure as nearly as possible the Annual Sum of Three Pounds Which Annual Sum of Three Pounds I direct shall be applied and ex- pended in the purchase of a twelfth Cake or Cakes and Wine or Punch or both of them which Cake and Wine or Punch it is my request the Ladies and Gentlemen Performers of Drury Lane Theatre (or wheresoever the performances lately Exhibited at that Theatre may be carried on) will do me the favour to accept on twelfth night in every Year in the Green Room or by whatever other Appellation may be known what is now 1 understood to be the Great Green Room the care of which bequest 1 leave to the Directors of the said last mentioned Theatre for the time being or whoever they shall appoint as Master of the Ceremonies on that Occasion who shall give at least three days' notice thereof to the Com- pany at large." . . Dated April 23, 1792. Proved at London, 18 Dec., 1794, by Catherine Strick- land, spinster, Thomas Brand and Richard Wroughton, Esquires, the Executors named in the Will."

It may be noticed that the wording is in legal style, with no punctuation ; the con- text must be clear without any. The above Consols bequest is a fine piece of drafting ; it clinches everything. There is no loophole as there was in the case of the " Asylum " devise. How could so skilful a lawyer as he who drew the will make such a failure of the devise -of freehold house property at Moulsey (which Baddeley desired should be used as a home for decayed actors) that the devise was declared void under the Statute of Mortmain ? A large portion of the will is occupied by directions as to the carrying out of this trust, which was to be called "The Society for the relief of indigent