Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 2.djvu/195

 128. II. SEPT. 2, 1916.]

NOTES AND QUERIES.

189

THE REMOVAL OF MEMORIALS IN WEST- MINSTER ABBEY. When recently in the Abbey I was unable to trace the present whereabouts of a memorial window to Robert Stephenson, and of a bust of Major James Rennell, Surveyor-General of Bengal (died 1830). I am under the impression that the former looked down from the north wall of the nave upon the old-style brass to Stephen- son in the floor of the nave (depicting him in modern trousers); and that the latter was in the north-west corner of the nave, in the position now occupied by the newly acquired bust of Joseph Chamberlain.

I may be mistaken, but where are they now, and (if removed altogether) is it usual to displace memorials in the Abbey to make way for others ?

The permanent loss of the window (with a representation of a railway train) would be no matter for regret, but R'ennell's bust was of interest to Anglo-Indians, and if not wanted for the Abbey might well be offered to St. John's Church or to the Victoria Memo- rial Hall, both in Calcutta.

My object in writing, however, is to inquire whether it is possible for disappearances of the kind indicated to occur, no record of them being made available for general information

WlLMOT CORFIELD. 27 Longton Grove, Sydenham, S.E.

THE ACTOR-MARTYR. Can any one give particulars and name of the actor martyred in the early days of the Church ? He declared his faith from the stage. Is his name in the Greek Kalendar ?

F. M. A. MACKINNON.

i/This story is related of St. Genesius, martyred in the persecution of Diocletian 286 or 303. It was a common practice to parody Christian rites upon the stage, and Genesius, leader of a troupe of actors, was performing before the Emperor at Rome in a farce in which he had to go through a mock-bap- tism. After the water had been poured over him he suddenly proclaimed himself a Christian. Dio- cletian at first applauded this as a bit of realistic acting, but when convinced of Genesius's being in earnest had him tortured and beheaded. His day it Aug. 25. The historical evidence for the incident is hardly conclusive, but at any rate Genesius was venerated at Rome as early as the fourth century. The story has been made the subject of at least two oratorios.]

CAPT. ARTHUR CONOLLY. Dr. Wolf gives somewhere particulars of this man, who was with Dr. Stoddart at Bokhara, and died for his faith. Can any one tell me any book where Capt. Conolly's story can be read ? he a Roman Catholic ?

F. M. A. MACKINNON.

WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY ON BIRD LIFE IN THE FENS. In a work on British ornitho- logy which has always been accepted as accurate, William of Malmesbury is quoted as saying that in his day (the twelfth cen- tury) the fens of Lincolnshire were so covered with coots and ducks, and the flashes with fowl, that in moulting time, when they could not fly. the natives were able to take from two to three thousand at a draught with their nets.

I should be very grateful for a reference to this passage, which two or three antiquarian friends are quite unable to discover, and which certainlv is not in the ' De Gestis Regum ' (1125). J. H. GURNEY.

Keswick Hall, Norwich.

AUTHORS WANTED. 1. In a recent corre- spondence in The Times the lines,

The waves became his winding sheet,

The waters were his tomb ; But for his fame the ocean sea

Was not sufficient room,

were variously attributed to Prince (of ' The Worthies of Devon ' ) and Baraefield as authors, and to Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins in their application, and a variant reading of the third line was sug- gested. Can the verse be authoritatively given, and its authorship and appropriation determined ? It was asked about at 7 S. iv. 367. W. B. H.

2. Who originated or first prominently used the phrase, " Men cannot be made sober by Act of Parliament" ? J. C.

3. Where can I find " Small sweet world of wave-encompassed wonder" ?

MADELINE ARNISON. Fellside, Penrith, Cumberland.

BARDSEY ISLAND : CONSCRIPTION. In an article published in the August number of The Treasury Magazine, signed by the Rev. Cecil Robinson, and illustrated by photo- graphs, this island on the coast of Carnarvon- shire is called " perhaps the most self- t is said that " every year the inhabitants of Bardsey elect their "' king.' " The crown was presented by the late Lord Newborough, who is buried on the island. The article a most interesting one, by the way states that the inhabitants pay no rates and no taxes, and have recently announced that their position in the present great European war is that of a " benevolent neutrality towards the Allies " !
 * overning portion of the British Empire."

I hope that all fellow-countrymen of Mr. Lloyd George are more patriotic than this