Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 2.djvu/460

 452

NOTES AND QUERIES.

[9 th S. II. DEC. 3, '

the Serjeant Porter's connexion with the county, but in Drake's edition, 'History of the Hundred of Blackheath,' there are several references to the Keyes family, and it may now be fairly assumed that his family haa been located at Lewisham and East Greenwich for several generations.

In Wilks's 'Barons of Hythe,' p. 51, the name of Thomas Keyes is mentioned in the return for 1 & 2 Philip and Mary, Novem- ber, 1554 ; and again at p. 52 Mr. Wilks states that "amongst the Records is some interesting correspondence relating to the election of Barons for Hythe in 1571," and he gives copy of a letter dated 25 February, 1570/1, wherein Mr. [serieant] Tho. Keyse is mentioned as a candidate the word serjeant is struck out in the letter. From this we gather that Keyes, who had dated a letter from Sandgate Castle on 7 May, 1570, was a candidate for the neighbouring town of Hythe in February, 1571, and died in Sep- tember following, whether at Sandgate or not I have as yet been unable to discover. The earliest register of Hythe burials is 1586, and Folkestone 1635. I have been unable to discover his will at Somerset House.

Richmond Herald informs me that the arms of the Serjeant Porter were Gu., a chev. erm. between three leopards' faces arg., quartering Arg., a chev. erm. between three quatrefoils slipped azure.

In Drake's ' Hist, of Blackheath Hundred,' p. 240, note, occurs "Ric. Kaye, land in Norbyfeld, late Tho. Kaye his father, for- merly Gilbert Kaye," date 1520 ; and p. 108, 4 Feet of Fines, Greenwich,' " Tho. Keys, Ar., son and heir of Ric. Keys," date 1546.

We thus have a presumed descent of Thomas, son of Richard, son of Thomas, son of Gilbert. Richard Keyes no doubt is iden- tical with the Richard to whom Henry VIII. granted a lease, in 1537, of St. Radegund's Abbey, near Dover, and who, in 1539-40, was associated with Sir Reinold Scott, of Scott's Hall, as a commissioner at the building of Sandgate Castle, some of the materials for the castle being carted from St. Rade- gund's. His son Thomas on several occasions was deputed to conduct inquiries at Dover, as may be seen in the Calendar of State Papers. In 1558, for instance, certain noble- men and gentry of Kent were cited to arm their servants to the number of fifty each for the relief of Calais, to be sent to Dover to be received there by Thomas Keyes, the Serjeant Porter ; and again in 1562 he was appointed to be " deputie to the Lord Robert, Master of the Queens Majesties Horse," as to the trans- port from Dover of horses.

In the 'Arch. Cant.,' vol. xi. p. 388, there is mention of a Reynolde Keyes, "Corporall of the feilde," in the pay list of the forces in Kent, 1588. He may have been a brother or son, and so named after Sir Reynold Scott.

Although I have been unable to answer positively the inquiries made by your corre- spondent, I have, I trust, pointed out possible sources of information yet to be obtained, and shown that the Serjeant Porter was a gentleman of Kent, bearing arms, holding an appointment of trust, and employed in a confidential capacity on several occasions by Queens Mary and Elizabeth.

As he was intimately connected with Sand- gate Castle, I shall welcome any corrections or additions. R. J. FYNMORE.

Sandgate, Kent.

A MISTAKEN RENDERING OP A NOTE OP GRAY'S (9 th S. ii. 365). MRS. TOYNBEE is per- fectly right. I have made a pen-and-ink note precisely to the same effect as hers in my copy of 'Gray and his Friends,' which contains many emendations and additions which will probably never see the light. MRS. TOYNBEE is also, 1 believe, right in her explanation of Mitford's error. I have noted, "Gray must have written Pr:, meaning Prince," and I add that " Mitford certainly writes Pretender." I took the trouble to verify this at the British Museum, after dis- covering the real drift of the passage.

Perhaps I may be allowed to mention another instance in which Mitford has perplexed me. He attributed to the poet a version of a riddle by Menage, which Mrs. Piozzi in ' British Synonymy ' quotes as given her by " Mr. Gray." t was utterly puzzled by this, as will be seen on p. 272 of my book. But I have a pencil note :

" There can be no doubt that the Gray of these verses is not the poet, but Dr. Robert Gray, who was made Bishop of Bristol in 1827, and died in 1834. Mr. L. B. Seeley (in his 'Mrs. Thrale') says he was distinguished by a wide knowledge of general literature. He was the author of ' The Key to the Old Testament and the Apocrypha,' and ' Connection between the Literature of the Jewish and Heathen Authors,' works which Mrs. Piozzi much admired and often referred to in her corre spondence with him."

We all know that Mrs. Piozzi called John- son " Mr." long after other people called him "Dr." She dealt with Dr. Gray after the same fashion ; and accordingly Mitford, to whom, unhappily, chronology was of no im- portance whatever, has made the poet a friend of Mrs. Piozzi towards the close of the eighteenth century.

Again, I have cited a note by Mitford on some very crude verses, probably an early