Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 2.djvu/149

 9s.iLAr.5W,'88.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

141

LONDON, SATVBDAY, AUGUST iO, 1898.

CONTENTS. -No. 34.

NOTES: 'The Basset Table,' 141 Scott's Heroines, 142 The Swallow's Song. 143 East Barsbam Manor House Shropshire Names "Big an' bug," 144 Mayfair Union Sir K. Digby Sisters of Same Name "Angels on horse- back "'Little Billee' A Felicitous Misprint Anthony Clerke, 145 Lion Epitaph Dr. Iron- Beard The Leek "Queen's English" Tennyson and Scott, 146 Hair- powder, 147.

QUERIES : " Chloris, farewell ! " " Dutfm " - Gilbert Cooper Custis Licence to Crenellate Dean Swift : Mrs. Whiteway, 147 Portrait by Lely Richmond Park Brent- ford Ilev. W. Carter " Holophusikon" English Agents in Poland H. Ireland " He's got the bullet" Quotation " Chian "The Kennet " Ordo " Sheffield " Per- form'd" Boots, 148 Vesey " Huckler " Morris's Coffee- House H. Qrys Maddalena Doui Rev. R. Carter "High Commissioner of the Church" De Lamballe Reference " Horseman's Beds" Palmistry, 149.

RKPLIES :-Chintz Gowns Church Tradition, 150 Anne Bronte- Gloves at Fairs, 151 Dental Colleges Continental Notes and Queries 'Bicycles in Thunderstorms "To Chi-ike" "Fret" Curious Christian Name Rev. G. Lewis African Names Moon through Coloured Glass- Morning, Io2 Church of Scotland Eyre Family Gale Through-stoneHeraldry" Hamish,' 1 153' The Bridal of Triermain ' A scetic Battle-axes " Neither " St. Mary Matfelon " Fond " "The Hem psheres" "Broach- ing the admiral" Kingston-on-Thames, 154 Junius " A crow to pluck " St. Paul Field-Names Tobacco Bridget Cheynell. 155 Ploughing Chelsea Low Latin Claret, 156 SirW. B. Rush Puddledock Devil's Dam Sweating- pits French Cardinal Count St. Germain X Rays, 157 Church at Silchester Patches Bertolini's Hotel Loch- winnoch " Anigosanthus " Soleby, 158 " Tit-tat-to " Regent Square Author Wanted, 159.

NOTES ON BOOKS : Baring-Gould's ' Lives of the Saints' ' Dublin- Printed Books ' ' Ivauhoe ' ' Mediaeval Ser- vices in England.'

goto.

1 THE BASSET TABLE.'

THE authorship of this " eclogue " is ques- tionable, and having been corrected for ascribing it to Lady Mary Wortley Montagu rather than to Pope,* I desire after a careful investigation to offer the result.

First taking the evidences which point to Lady Mary as the author. The lines quoted by me were taken from an illustration in 'Nares's Glossary,' and there attributed to Lady Mary, both in the original edition of 1822 and in that of 1888 by Halliwell and Wright, who, therefore, may be thought to endorse that authorship.

'The Basset Table' was first printed in 1716 by J. Roberts, in a little volume called 'Court Poems' (Brit. Mus. 164 m. 43). It contains three of the ultimately six 'Town Eclogues,' viz., 'The Basset Table,' 'The Drawing-Room,' and ' The Toilet.' The bio- grapher of Lady Mary in ' Diet. Nat. Biog.' says that it was a piratical publication, and although the reason for this brand is not given, Roberts's account of his possession of the poems has much the appearance of in-

See ante, p. 50, ' Gentleman Porter.'

vention. He professes them " Published faith- fully as they were found in a pocket-book taken up in Westminster Hall the last day of the Lord Winton's trial."* In his "Advertise- ment" he amusingly, if not convincingly, relates his inquiry as to the author. At the St. James's Coffee-House the poems "were attributed by the general voice to a lady of quality" (Lady Mary). At Button's "the poetical jury" returned a verdict that Gay was the author. Then he, Roberts, chose as umpire "a gentleman of distinguished merit who lives not far from Chelsea " (who would this be?), and his reply was, "Sir, depend upon it these lines could come from no other hand than the judicious translator of Homer " (i, e., Pope). Here may be said to commence the question of authorship of at least ' The Basset Table,' which yet remains open.

In 1747 were published "Six Town Eclogues, with some other Poems, By the R k Hon. L M. W. M."t The eclogues are : (1) 'Roxana ; or, theDrawing-Room,'(2) 'St. James's Coffee- House,' (3) ' The Tete-a-Tete,' (4) ' The Bassette Table,' (5) 'The Toilette,' (6) 'The Small Pox.' They are assigned to six consecutive days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, &c.), thus leaving the impression of a series by one author, viz., Lady Mary. The editor's name does not appear, but he is said to have been no one less than Horace Wai pole, J and if so, his position as a contemporary man of fashion and of letters, well acquainted with Lady Mary, and endowed with peculiar inquisitive- ness, gives considerable weight to his scarcely disguised ascription of the six eclogues to Lady Mary.

In 1803 James Dallaway published "by permission from her genuine papers " ' The Works of the Rt. Hon. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu,' professing that in the edition no letter, essay, or poem finds place, the original manuscript of which was not at that time in the possession of her grandson the Marquis of Bute. ' The Basset Table ' is one of the six 'Town Eclogues,' which he repeats are printed from Lady Mary's original MSS.

In 1837 Lord Wharncliffe, Lady Mary's great-grandson, edited her works, he being

condemned for high treason, but escaped from the Tower.
 * Lord Wintoun, a Scotch Jacobite, who was

t Brit. Mus. 11,631 g. 10.

J W. Moy Thomas, in his editions (1861 and 1893) of Lord Wharncliffe's collection of Lady Mary's ' Works,' has a note (vol. ii. p. 432) to the effect that the book of 1747 was published by Horace Walpole, " apparently without any authority." And Walpole in his ' Letters ' (Cunningham ed. ii. 99) writes, 24 November, 1747, " I have lately had Lady Mary Wortley's 'Eclogues' published."