Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 6.djvu/160

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NOTES ANL) QUEKIES. [12 s. vi. Arn, 17, 1920.

LAMARTINE AT BERGUES.- On the Hotel de la Tete d'Or, Place de la Republique, Bergues, is a white marble tablet, with an inscription as follows in gold letters :

Dans cette maison

& 1'enseigne de la Tete d'Or

au soir d'une election malheureuse

LAMARTINE improvisa pour Repliquer aux Attaques

du Poete Barthelemy I'lmmortel Reponse " A Nemesis "

le juillet 1831

" Je pris la plume et j'ecrivis tout d'une haleine"

(Lamartine)

In 1913 a bust of Lamartine was placed on the front of the Hotel de Ville, (close to the Tete d'Or Hotel), with a tablet below bearing this inscription :

Alphonse de Lamartine

Depute de Bergues

1833-1839

Bergues, being only 9 kilometres from Dunkerque, did net escape the German long- range guns. A fair amount of damage was done in the town, but all the historic buildings have escaped unhurt. A house in the Rue du Gouvernement (no. 10-12) bears this chronogrammatic inscription :- -

NOVAS ET EXALTATAS DAT LAPlS LOQ\ 7 ENS E

Vs

In the rue du College I noted houses dated 1621, 1639, 1644, and 1692. This was in August, 1919. F. H. CHEETHAM.

RUSSELL FAMILY. Among the Newcastle MSS. in the British Museum is a stray memorandum relating to a family of Russells which may interest some of your readers. I am forwarding it as it appears to be un- indexed. The paper has been slightly trimmed, perhaps in the binding, and I have indicated the words thereby mutilated by square brackets, thus [ ]. The reference to the MS. is B.M. Add. MSS. 33,054, p. 16 :

" 1. William Russell borne at Chippenham upon Tuesday the fifth da[ ] of Aprill 1644 about a quarter of an hower after three in the morning.

" 2. Elizabeth Russell borne at Chippenham upon Tuesday the 14th of November 1665 betwene ye hower of eight & nine at night She dyed the +0th of July 1733.

" 3. Riche Russell borne at London in little Queene Streete upon Thursdaf ] the 14th of ilebruary 1666 betwne ye hours of 8 & 9 in ye mo[ ].

" 4. Christian Russell borne at London in Drury lane upon Thurs[ ] the 14th of January 1668/9 betwene ye howre of 7 & 8 at night.

" John Russell borne at London in beadford street in Comof ] garding ye 14th Octbr. 1670 between ye hower of 9 <fc 10 in ye mornif ].

" My Deare Child John Rmsell began his voyag[ ] into the East in ye yeare 1693/4 ileb. 8th."

The passages printed in italics are correc- tions made in a handwriting later than that of the original memoranda. In the last entry it is not certain whether the date is- " ffeb 7th " corrected to " ffeb 8th " or vice versa. I incline to the former view.

J. B. WHITMORE.

41 Thurloe Square, S. Kensington, S.W.7.

CUSTOM AS PART OF RENT. In looking, through some old deeds relating to property in Breconshire, I recently came across an. Indenture of Counterpart of Lease for 21 years, dated Sept. 29, 1781, of certain- lands in the county, leased at a rent of. 41. a year paid half yearly at Ladyday and Michaelmas day, " and also a Couple of fat Hens at Christmas yearly in lieu of Custom over and above all Taxes, Tallages and other- Impositions," &c. By another lease,, between the same parties, for the same- term, dated " the same day, other lands in. the same parish were leased at a rental of 3Z," and also a couple of " fat hens at Christmas."

I do not suppose the custom was strictly enforced, but* it would be interesting to know of other instances. The above Counter- part has at its foot two different seals extremely well preserved, the first repre- senting the head of an old and bald man. with a sharp nose ; and the other the head, and bust of a burly coarse-featured man,, with prominent eyes, and plenty of hair falling over the back of his neck (not a wig. or Cavalier's tresses), and some sort of grooved buff coat or cuirass over the- shoulders. Would the latter represent, Oliver Cromwell, though it would seem, improbable to find his image in a staid, attorney's office ?

By a " Recovery suffered 30th March,. 39th George III, Breconshire," wherein a. certain party was " Demandant," another was " Tenant," and two others

"Vouchees who vouched over the Common- Vouchee of the Court of, Twenty messuages- Twenty Barns Twenty Stables Twenty Beasthonses. Twenty Gardens Twenty Orchards One Thousand acres of Land 'Arable Five Hundred acres ot Meadow One Thousand acres of Pasture live hundred acres of Wood and Wood Ground and One Thousand acres of Furze alid heath and Common of Pasture for all manner of Cattle with the appurtenances in the Parish ot (iuttr aha)> Llanngan in the County of Brecon."

W. R. WILLIAMS.

SABBATICAL RIVER SAND. (See 9 S- xi. 508 ; xii. 19, 52,) R. B. (i.e., Robert o Richard Burton) were the initials unde which Nathaniel Crouch (? 1632-? 1725> wrote his ' Memorable Remarks concerning;