Page:Notes and Queries - Series 2 - Volume 1.djvu/82

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NOTES AND QUERIES.


 * S. N 4., JAN. 26. '56.

Paul Jones s Sword. That noted flibustier and pirate, after landing at the Earl of Selkirk's sent in Scotland, and carrying off the plate, during the American war, &c., visited Paris ; and la Cour prevailed on Louis XVI. to present him with a sword, which Jone?, in his usual bombast style, describes as follows :

" M. le Comte de Maurepas m'informa, que sa Majeste avait resolu de me conferer quelques marques particu- liiires de sa bonte royale, et de son estime personellc; c'e'tait une e'pee d'or, sur laquelle dtaient grave'cs ces paroles extremement flatteuses: Vindicati maris Ludovicns XVI. re.munerator strenno vindici, avec les armes de sa Majeste, les attributs de la guerre, et les emblemes de 1'alliance entre la France et I'Ame'rique, etc." Memoires de Paul Jones, ecrits en Anglais par lui-meme, et traduits sous ses yeux par le Citoyen Andre, Paris, Van VI. (MDCCXCVIII.)

Can any reader of " N. & Q." inform me whether this sword be now in existence, and in whose possession it is ?

Derivation of" -reth," " Shepreth," tj-c. What are the derivation and meaning of the names of the two following places, Shepreth and Meldrcth ? They are two road-side stations, between Cam- bridge and Royston. What does the termination -reth signify ? I do not at this moment remem- ber its occurrence in any other local name ; it occurs in the family name, Brandre/A. W. F. M.

Justicia of Aragon. Perhaps one of the readers of " N. & Q." can supply some informa- tion with regard to one of the most interesting and peculiar officers in any country of Europe the Justiza of Aragon.

I am unable to form an exact notion of "the ex- tent of his powers, as the accounts given in many well-known books that treat of the subject are in almost every case very discrepant. For instance, the large powers attributed to the Justiza by Robertson are denied by Dunham, in his " Com- pendium of the History of Spain" (Lardners Cabinet Cyclopccdia) . The opinion of Hallam again appears opposed, in some measure, to Robertson ; but not in so great a degree as that of Dunham.

It is difficult to obtain from Zurita and Blancas a clear insight into this very anomalous institution ; and although Prescott, in his Ferdinand and Isa- bella, has thrown some light on the matter, the question will, I think, admit of farther elucida- tion.* M. R. W.

The Wliite Cornet.

" And the good Lord of Rosny has ta'en the cornet white ; Our own true Maxiraillian the cornet white hath ta'en ; The cornet white, with crosses black, the flag of false Lorraine."

So sings Macaulay, in his stirring ballad of the battle of Ivry, but let us see what the " good

[* A concise but interesting notice of the Justicia is given in. the Penny Cyclopedia, art. ARAGON, ED.]

Lord of Rosny " himself says concerning his ad- venture. Bleeding from seven wounds, his armour shattered, and mounted upon " a little paltry nag," he encounters a party of the enemy :

" I saw seven of the enemy coming straight towards me, one of whom carried the white standard belonging to the Duke of Mai'enne's company. I thought it impossible to escape this new danger ; and upon their crying Qui vive ? I told my name, as being ready to surrender myself prisoner. What was my surprise, when, instead of attack- ing me, I found four of these persons intreating me to re- ceive themselves for prisoners, and to save their lives ! . . . . . . Sigogiie, in token of surrender, presented me with the white standard . The white standard em- broidered with black flowers-de-luce was known by every one to be that of the Guises, which they bore in memory, and through horror of, the assassination of Blois, and attracted all, as to a prey equally rich and honourable." Memoirs of Sully, book in.

W. J. BERNHARD SMITH.

Temple.

Beeston (formerly De Beston and De Beistoii), of Beeston : Dixon, of Beeston : Genealogical

Queries My ancestor, Ralph Dixon, married

Dorothy Brown, niece to Dorothy Beeston (who married Sheffield Savile, Esq., of the family of S. Earls of Sussex), and cousin to the first Earl of Stratford by the marriage of Kertherine Bees- ton with William Wentworth, of West Wood- house, Esq. She was lineally descended from A.-S. progenitors, through alliances with daughters of the families of Pilkinton of Lancashire, Langton of Farnley, Bosvile of Chevet, Green of Newby, Nevile of Leversedge, and Calbcck of .... My Queries are, Can I legitimately quarter the arms of these alliances ? and, if so, what are the arms of Pilkinton, Green, and Calbeck ? '

K. W. DIXON.

Seaton-Carew, co. Durham.

W. S. Holmes. Can you give me any account of the late William Sancroft Holmes, who selected the words for Mr. II. H. Pier?on's Oratorio of Jerusalem, performed for the first time at the Norwich Festival, 1852. . R. J.

American Dramatic Authors. Can any of your American readers give me any information regarding the following American dramatic au- thors ? 1. Gardner R. Lillibridge, author of Tancred, or the Rightful Heir of Rochdale Castle, printed in Rhode Island, 1824. 2. J. B. Duraont, author of The Invisible Witness, a play acted in 1824. 3. Strong, author of The Fall of Itur- bide, a tragedy. 4. John Ingham, author of The Times, a dramatic piece. 5. Jane Wilson, author of Percy, a. play, no date. 6. Mrs. Dearing, au- thor of Carabasset, a tragedy acted in Portland in 1831. 7. L. Beach, author of Jonathan Post- free, no date. 8. Mrs. Brown, author of The Pirate, a play, no date. These authors are all mentioned in " The Catalogue of American Plays