Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 3.djvu/384

 378

NOTES AND QUERIES.

s. in. MAY 13 m

always go mad," and singularly enough the only two of the name I have known have met with sad fates, one dying from the effects of a shock and the other verifying the truth of the saying. MATILDA POLLARD.

Belle Vue, Bengeo.

THE CHESAPEAKE (9 th S. iii. 288). The timbers of the Chesapeake form part of a flour-mill at Wickham, near Fareham, Hants. Wickham is four miles north of Fareham, its nearest station on the L. & S.W. Railway, and is the same place which gave birth to William of Wykeham, the founder of Win- chester and New College.

The Chesapeake was brought to Portsmouth, but never used in the British navy. She was sold by Government to a Mr. Holmes for 500/. He broke up the vessel, took several tons of copper from her, and disposed of the timbers which were quite new and sound, of beautiful pitch pine for building purposes. Much of the wood was used in building houses in Portsmouth ; but a large portion was sold in 1820 to Mr. John Prior, a miller of Wickham, for nearly 200J.

Mr. Prior pulled down his old mill at Wick- ham, and constructed a new one with this timber, which he found admirably adapted for the purpose. The deck timbers were 32 ft. long and 18 inches square, and were placed, unaltered, horizontally in the mill. The pur- lins of the deck were about 12 ft. long, and served without alteration for joists. Many of these timbers still bear the marks of the Shannon's grapeshot, and in some places the shot are to be seen deeply imbedded in the pitchpine. THOMAS A. MARTIN.

Royal U.S. Institution, Whitehall, S.W.

This vessel was not retained long in the British navy, but sold out in 1820 and taken to pieces. Many of the timbers were used in building a mill at Wickham in Hampshire, near Fareham. More particulars are obtain- able in Brighton's life of Capt. Broke (after- wards Rear- Admiral). The name of the town is misprinted Farnham. Models of both the Chesapeake and Shannon are kept at Green- wich College. H. Y. POWELL.

JOHN BULL OF FRENCH ORIGIN (9 th S. iii. 242). Arbuthnot probably borrowed from Horace, ' Satires,' book ii. sat. iii. 1. 314 ; for many educated men of that time knew Horace almost by heart. At all events, the idea of the frog imitating the ox Avas cer- tainly not French, but originated with ^Esop, of whom Lafontaine was only the translator. A biography of Arbuthnot was published a few years ago; this would probably tell

whether Arbuthnot borrowed from yEsor himself, r or from one of ^Esop's other bor rowers, Horace, Phredrus, and Lafontaine

M. N. G.

The writer in the Journal des Debats, aftei quoting a German publication, writes : " Ar buthnot must have borrowed the character' from La Fontaine's fable ' The Frog and the Ox.' Consequently the nickname of John Bui would appear to be derived from our im mortal fabulist." It is clear from this thai the Frenchman, and apparently the Gerrnar also, thought La Fontaine to be the inventoi of the fable. La Fontaine invented none o his fables. The fable of the frog and the o> had been told by Horace, Phsedrus, and other: long before the time of La Fontaine. Arbuth not was at least as familiar with thos< authors as with the French fabulist.

E. YARDLEY.

ALEX ANDRE THE VENTRILOQUIST (9 th S. ii

305, 450). Perhaps the locus classicus on hi; wonderful feats is in the Ettrick Shepherd'.', picturesque narrative 'Scottish Haymakers, contributed to ' The Forget-me-not Annual for 1834, and quoted at length by the Mirny* of 16 Nbv.^ 1833 (No. 633, Supplement). Th<' piece de resistance there is a variant of thr wain-of-hay story told by MR. JONATHAN BOUCHIER at the last reference, but the sup posed victim is a wee bit child, and th< d^noument is painful, as the waggoner is lite rally frightened out of his wits. The scene is laid near Edinburgh, whence a company o; gay spirits, including James Hogg himself M. Alexandre, the two Naesmiths, and per haps Scott, are footing it to enjoy a convivia ; spread at a pleasant little inn in the neigh I bourhood, called " The Hunter's Tryste." Upor ! their destination being reached the fun soor' grew fast and furious, and wonders were mul tiplied, imaginary tipsy men staggering anc swearing at the door, round the house, uj chimneys, under beds and in cupboards, bee.'j buzzing, bottles breaking forth into humai cries, like the imprisoned genius in thij Arabian tale (alas ! the bottle too often holdii genius spellbound) a complete pandemoniun, let loose, in fact. Meanwhile M. Alexandn stood quietly observant, his back slighth turned to the others, and his hand raised to his mouth. Even such concealments wouk not do nowadays, when clever ventriloquist: are expected to face their audience, with ap parently unmoved muscles, while conducting many-voiced conversations between crowd 1 of imaginary men, women, and children on over, and below the stage. Apropos, there was a good story in the papers of an English-