Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 10.djvu/194

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NOTES AND QUERIES.

[9 th S. X. SEPT. 6, 1902.

worthy, suspended from their necks by a bright scarlet ribbon being indefatigable in looking after the general comfort, acting under the instructions of Mr. E. H. Fedarb, the super- intendent, and his daughter. At half-past eleven the Dean of Westminster entered the board- room, accompanied by the Rev. H. G. Daniell- Bainbridge, of Westminster Abbey, Messrs. Herbert Stewart, the chairman of the trustees, William Davis, Abel Simner, and Trollope, the clerk and solicitor. The short religious service consisting of the ante-Communion service, the collect, epistle, and gospel for St. James's Day, and some other prayers was proceeded with, and the devout attention of our old friends was very marked. Mr. Trollope, the clerk, read a few extracts from the scheme of the foundation, and the rules and regulations for its government. He also stated the number of almspeople and out- pensioners enjoying the benefits of the endow- ment to be about thirty and fifty-six respectively, when Mr. Stewart addressed some few observations, especially calling attention to the ending of the South African war, the illness and recovery of the King, and the death of the Rev. George Napier, whose loss is a very great one, as he always took a very lively interest in the work of the almshpuses as now carried on. He wound up by expressing a hope that every one might be spared to meet in the same place to celebrate the recurrence of St. James's Day, 1903, in which all the almspeople and out-pensioners devoutly joined, and then all present slowly dispersed. We were informed that a large number has enjoyed the privileges for many years, one old lady, who has just entered her eighty- ninth year, having resided there for twenty-seven years."

I may add that I have made inquiries, and find that the last sentence is true and that the name of the old lady to whom reference is made is Jackson, and, further, that there are two other old ladies in the institution, Mrs. Cutler and Mrs. Cullen, whose ages are respectively eighty-six and eighty-three. There are several widowers on the founda- tion, but I find that their ages are not quite so advanced, neither is it so with the seven old married couples there. This notice is also of interest, as it appears to have some bearing upon the articles contributed by ME. HARLAND-OXLEY upon 'St. Margaret's Church and Westminster Benefactors,' 9 th S. ix. 181, 242, 303, 382, 463.

CHRISTY P. SCHUYLER. St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada.

HARRISON AINSWORTH 's HOUSE AT KENSAL GREEN. The following interesting note on one of the residences of this still popular writer is from the Daily Chronicle of 4 July :

" The Manor House, Kensal Green, for some years the residence of Harrison Ainsworth, is in the market to let, possibly to be sold In spite of the steady popularity of the author's works and the constant demand for new editions, the house remains undistinguished in any way. Ainsworth removed to it from the Elms, at Kilburn, the exact

situation of which, like that of the house Gold- smith inhabited in the same locality, is uncertain. There is no doubt, however, about the Manor House. While living there Ainsworth was visited by Dickens, Leigh Hunt, and Forster. Dickens, in a letter dated April, 1841, says: 'With all imaginable pleasure, I quite look forward to the day. It is an age since we met, and it ought not to be I will bring it, together with the 'Pick- wick,' to your house-warming.' The house is built in the early nineteenth-century fashion, with a flat - faced front and blind windows, introduced to avoid the window tax while preserving the symmetry of the aspect. In appearance it is rather uninviting, but the interior is large and roomy. On the left hand is the carriage entrance and courtyard, and on the other side a long garden. At the time Ainsworth lived in it there were very few houses within sight.

His descriptions of the surrounding country

in ' Rookwood ' and others of his novels are taken direct from nature. At the present time the line of houses and shops is almost continuous from London to Wembley."

CHARLES HIATT.

A WALNUT Loo. The Timber Trades Journal for 12 July gives the following trans- lation of the history of a walnut log just received at Liverpool from Italy :

" Referring to the log of walnut you have [sic] pur- chased from my brother Antony last year, he got it from my deceased father, John Baptist, on 24 April, 1892. My father got it on 20 February, 1863, from Charles Dellanegra, who got it hereditarily from his mother, Ketty Cana, on 28 September, 1840. Ketty Cana got it hereditarily from her father on 6 April, 1788. The said John Baptist Cana was in possession of it before it was established in the Rent Roll of this Department, which was in 1768. From an old legend existing in this Department it seems the said John Baptist Cana, who built up the wine press in 1747, and taking[took?]the walnut tree from one of his properties once possessed by Count Louis Salomone in the place called Isola in the territory of this Department. It is also said that there were not sufficient oxen in the region to carry the tree, which was yet green, to the place where the house was subsequently placed after having built the press. It was necessary to provide half a cow, with much bread and wine, to compensate the men who helped for the carrying of the famous log, which was considered as a rarity in the country of Serre- villa. This is all I have been able to get by search- ing in the archives of the Department and by speaking with the oldest men of the country."

The account is accompanied by a litho- photo illustration of the log in question, the dimensions of which are quoted as about 26 ft. long and 3 ft. to 3 ft. 4 in. square.

HARRY HEMS.

Fair Park, Exeter.

PRINCE RUPERT AFTER THE RESTORATION. The figure of Prince Rupert, that brilliant but most unfortunate cavalry leader, has always been, and perhaps always will be, an attractive one in many respects. He is one of the outstanding figures of the great