Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 3.djvu/515

 12 s. m. DEO., 1917.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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A YORK LITANY. In ' Traditions and Customs of Cathedrals,' p. 115, Mackenzie Walcott wrote : " There is a Litany of modern use peculiar to York." Where may this be read or heard ? ST. SWTTHIN.

EXETER CATHEDRAL, AND CHRISTMAS EVE. Mr. Baring-Gould in his ' Devon- shire Characters,' p. 583, speaks of " the performance of the ' Gloria in Excelsis ' by the choir in the Minstrel Gallery at midnight on Christmas Eve," a custom maintained to the early nineteenth century. I should be interested to read a corroboration of this, ^md to learn more about this relic of the Midnight Mass. A. E. P. R. D.

" THERE HAS BEEN DIRTY WORK AT THE CROSS-ROADS." When I was talking to a friend about the unfortunate state of matters in Italy at present, he used the expression : " There has been dirty work at the cross- roads." I had never heard it before. Can any correspondent tell me : (a) if the ex- pression is a local one ; (6) when and in what circumstances it was first used ; (c) what is its origin ? The use of the expression for the employment of unfair means to secure a political end hardly permits one to connect it with the ceremonies associated with the burial of suicides ; and even the stories of highwaymen and of travellers betrayed by dishonest innkeepers hardly seem to cover the ground. D. ALISON FREW.

17 Stanhope Street, Glasgow.

PADDINGTON POLLAKY. In Gilbert and Sullivan's opera ' Patience ' there is a reference to " the keen penetration of Paddington Pollaky," as forming one of the many desirable ingredients in the making of a " Heavy Dragoon." Can any of your readers supply information about Padding- ton Pollaky and his reputed powers of discernment ? HAROLD OSWALD.

Granville Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

DODSON, DODGSON, OR DOBSON FAMILY.

1. In the tower of Ulverston Church is an old inscribed stone to " Wm. Dobson, Usher to Queen Eleanor." At the restoration of the church in the last century, application for a subscription was made to John Dodson of Littledale Hall, Lanes, as a lineal descen- dant. What proof exists that he was such ? Is any pedigree extant ?

2. The Lancashire branch of the Dobson, Dodson, or Dodgson family have used for generations a coat of arms and crest with the motto " Deo fides," though I fancy it was originally granted to a Northumberland

branch. Can any one tell me the date of the original grant, illustrated in Fairbairn ?

3. Where can any pedigree or genealogical tree of the Lancashire Dodsons and Dodgsons be found ? I understand that one was compiled and published in the earlier part of last century. How is Lord Monk Bretton (J. W. Dodson), whose father was Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, connected with the Lancashire branch ?

Any information on these subjects will be welcome. LANCASTRIAN.

REGIMENTAL BADGES : NORTHUMBERLAND FUSILIERS. In ' N. & Q.' for April 27, 1850 (vol. i. p. 415), a correspondent asked : "'When were the regimental badges granted to the first nine infantry corps of the line, and under what circumstances were they so granted ? " I have been unable to trace a reply.

Can any reader give this information as to the badge of the Northumberland Fusi- liers, i.e., George and the dragon ? This badge was recognized by the warrant of July, 1751. A. B s.

Newcastle-on-Tyne.

SIEGE OF OUDENARDE IN 1745. A private letter of Nov. 26, 1745, from an army chaplain describes how the French took Oudenarde after three days' siege. The garrison marched out with all military honours in review before Louis XV. and the Dauphin, were then escorted to. Tournay, and next day reached Lille. At Lille they joined other prisoners taken at Fontenoy (May 1), Ghent, &c., and stayed ten daj-s. Thence " My Lord, one officer, and myself (the rest folio w'd after) " went on to Compiegne, where the whole number of prisoners amounted to nineteen, who were allowed to amuse themselves as they wished. " After two months' stay at Compiegne. .. .My Lord and I came with Count Saxe's pass " eventually " to Williamst adt, where we embarkd for England .... My Lord and I came by ourselves in a forty-gun man-of- war. . . .the convoy-ship." Finally he, " one of the best of men. . . .sett me down at his own door at Somerset-house." The writer of the letter was Philip Alston, Fellow of New College, Oxon. But who was " My Lord " ? I have searched several military histories and an Army List without avail. The Somerset House of that day was, I believe, like Hampton Court Palace in our time, in part the residence of those whom the Crown desired to honour.

A. R. BAYLEY. St. Margaret's, Great Malvcrn.