Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 1.djvu/373

 9* h S. I. MAY 7, '98.

NOTES AND QUERIES.

365

( ventually on the head of Henry of Richmond, but j >r the sudden increase of the waters of the same i iver [the Severn], which prevented the junction of 1 he Welsh troops with the rest of the forces of jhickingham."

^VTiatever ambitious designs the latter may have at one time entertained (fickle and ioolish as he undoubtedly was), it was evident that his cousin Henry of .Richmond (afterwards Henry VII.) had a prior claim to the crown, as the Lancastrian representative, and it Avas on his behalf that the rising of 1483 was organized, which ended so fatally for Buckingham. His mother was Margaret, daughter of Edmund Beaufort, second Duke of Somerset, who was the younger brother of John, the first Duke of Somerset, whereas the Earl of Richmond's mother (also named Margaret) was the daughter and heiress of John, the said first Duke of Somerset and grandson of John of Gaunt. Had Bucking- ham's rebellion, then, ended successfully, the result would have been that Henry of Rich- mond would have ascended the throne two years earlier than he actually did. The scheme for his marriage with Elizabeth of York and union of the Roses had been already formed, though it was not carried out till after his accession. W. T. LYNN.

Blackheath.

Sm GEORGE ETHEREDGE. At p. 16 of the introduction to Mr. Verity's edition of the 'Works of Etheredge' it is said, in reference to the dramatist's appointment to be Resident at Ratisbon in 1685, that "there seems some reason to believe that he had previously held diplomatic posts, and a contem porary pasquil, quoted by Oldys, contains the couplet

Ovid to Pontus sent for too much wit, Etheredge to Turkey for the want of it; from which we might conclude that he had once represented the English Court at Constantinople."

Mr. Verity has evidently overlooked the following entry from the ' Diary of Thomas Rugge,' from which extracts were printed by the late Mr. Peter Cunningham in the Gentle- man's Magazine:

"1668. In the month of August the Right Worshipful S r Daniel Harvy went Ambassador Extraordinary for his Majesty into Turkey (in the room of the Right Hon bl the Earl of Winchelsey), and took along with him for his Secretary Mr. George Ether idg." Gent. Mag., vol. xxviii. N.S. July, 1852, p. 52.

As Sir Daniel Harvey died at his post, his secretary probably did represent the English Crown for a time at Constantinople, while his absence from England accounts for his apparent inactivity during the years 1668- 1676, which Mr. Verity attributes partly to

labitual laziness. But before he left England

e had already produced his two plays of

The Comical Revenge' and 'She Would if

She Could,' neither of which can be charged

with want of wit, and the pasquil therefore

seems to be as pointless as these productions

usually are.

Referring to 'The Comical Revenge,' which s perhaps better known by its secondary itle of ' Love in a Tub,' Mr. Verity says of the first, or 1664 edition, that "of this scarce dition the Bodleian possesses two copies, the British Museum not one." There is a copy in the library of Mr. Edmund Gosse, and an appended note in the catalogue of tnat gen- tleman's books says that only three other copies are known to exist. I find I have a copy, in excellent condition, among my own books, and this leads me to think that perhaps the edition is not quite so rare as it is sup- posed to be. I should be glad to have a note of any other copy which may be known to the correspondents of ' N. & O.'

W. F. PRIDEAUX. 45, Pall Mall, S.W.

" FOND." The older meaning of this word was, as is well known, equivalent to foolish ; now it has the meaning of affectionate. The following instance of the use of the word in both senses on the same page of the same work marks the period of transition, when the old sense still lingered while the new sense was coming into use. In Dr. Watts on 'The Improvement of the Mind,' first edition, 1751, in chap. xv. s. 5, on p. 119, I find :

"Some are so fond to know a great deal at once, and love to talk of things with freedom and boldness before they truly understand them, that they scarcely ever allow themselves attention enough to search the matter through and through."

And lower down on the page, in s. 7, is :

"A soul inspired with the fondest love of truth, and the warmest aspirations after sincere felicity and celestial beatitude, will keep all its powers attentive to the incessant pursuit of them."

Also, in Coles's 'English -Latin Dictionary,' fifteenth edition, 1749, both meanings are given as follows : " Fond, indulgent" and lower down, " Fond [foolish], stultus"

W. R. TATE. Walpole Vicarage, Halesworth.

WILD GEESE EMBLEMS OF CONSTANCY. " Among the numerous symbols which grace the marriage ceremonial in some parts of China are a pair of wild geese, which are sent by the bridegroom to the parents of the bride-elect to typify mutual constancy, as it is supposed that these birds, having selected one another in youth, continue faithful throughout life, and that should either die, the survivor mourns inconsolable until his life's end.