Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 3.djvu/95

 9 th S. III. FEB. 4, '99. ]

NOTES AND QUERIES.

89

Che arms and motto, engraved on the prin- cipal gate, were adopted as a trade-mark by ihe mustard merchants, and got shortened into "Moult - tarde" (to burn much). So far Dr. Brewer ; but what is the foundation for the story? And has Dijon to-day the motto " Moult me tarde " ? If so, does it mean "I ardently desire"? What, too, are the armorial bearings of Dijon?

JAMES HOOPER.

RUBENS'S 'DESCENT FROM THE CROSS.' In consequence of a recent pilgrimage to the high church of Our Lady, commonly called the cathedral, of Antwerp, I request to be permitted to inquire in ' N. & Q.' if the fol- lowing account of the origin of Rubens's splendid work, the great triptych of St. Christopher, is really only a romance, or has the statement any foundation in fact ?

" Rubens was very desirous to enlarge his garden by adding to it a patch of ground adjoining. It chanced, unfortunately, that this piece of land did not belong to an individual who could be tempted by a large price, but to a society or club called the ' Arquebussiers,' one of those old Flemish guilds which date their origin several centuries back. In- sensible to every temptation of money, they resisted all the painter's offers, and at length only consented to relinquish the land on condition that he would paint a picture for them representing their patron saint, St. Christopher.

"To this Rubens readily acceded, his only diffi- culty being to find put some incident in the good saint's life which might serve as a subject. What St. Christopher had to do with crossbows or sharp- shooters no one could tell him. At last, in despair, the etymology of the word suggested a plan ; and Christopheros, or cross-bearer, afforded the hint on which he began his great picture of ' The Descent.' For inonths long he worked industriously at the painting, taking an interest in its details such as he confesses never to have felt in any of his previous works. He knew it to be his chef-d'oeuvre, and looked forward to the moment when he should dis- play it before its future possessors. The day came ; the 'Arquebuss' men assembled and repaired in a body to Rubens's house, and the triumph of the painter's genius was displayed before them. But not a word was spoken ; no exclamation of admira- tion or wonder broke from the assembled throng, not a murmur of pleasure or even surprise was there. On the contrary, the artist beheld nothing but faces expressive of disappointment and dissatisfaction ; and at length, after a considerable pause, one ques- tion burst from every lip, ' Where is St. Christo- pher?' It was to no purpose that he explained the object of his work. They stood obdurate and motionless. It was St. Christopher they wished for ; it was for him they bargained, and him they would have. Matters remained for some months thus, when the Burgomaster happened to hear of the entire transaction, and, waiting on the painter, 'Why not,' said he, ' make a St. Christopher on the outside of the shutter ? ' The artist caught at the proposal, seized his chalk, and in a few minutes sketched out a gigantic saint, which the Burgo- master at once pronounced suited to the occasion.

"The 'Arquebuss' men were again introduced, and, immediately on beholding their patron, pro- fessed themselves perfectly satisfied. The bargain was concluded, the land ceded, and the picture hung up in the great cathedral of Antwerp, where, with the exception of the short period that the French spoliation carried it to the Louvre, it has remained ever since, a monument of the artist's genius, the greatest and most finished of his works." Vide Lever's ' Adventures of Arthur O'Leary.'

HENRY GERALD HOPE.

Clapham, S.W.

ST. GLAIRS OP HERDMANSTOUN. Can any of your readers tell me where I can find the best and fullest account and pedigree of the family of St. Clair of Herdmanstoun from the beginning of the seventeenth century ?

O. M.

" RODFALL." Can any of your readers tell me what a "rodfall" means, and what are the causes of its having been made ? I have a place in Essex which at the distance of half a mile all round the house is surrounded by a broad steep bank. This in local phraseology is called the "rodfall." There are certain privileges in connexion with this "rodfall" which I need not trouble you with. It looks in places like a fortification, it is so broad and substantial. OLD SUBSCRIBER.

ABHAM, DEVONSHIRE. I venture to inquire if any of your readers can tell me anything about Abham in Devonshire, an estate for- merly in the possession of the Gaunter family. I cannot find it mentioned in the county his- tories I have seen. CONDOR.

1, Clarendon Place, Leamington.

STAPLETON'S * FORTRESS OF THE FAITH.' When did Stapleton's ' Fortress of the Faith ' first appear ? I refer to the translation from the Latin of the ' Propugnaculum Fid. Prim.' by Thomas Stapleton, the Roman controver- sialist of the age of Elizabeth. Stapleton was the author of 'The Three Thomases.' He is often quoted in Whitaker's 'Disputation on Scripture ' (Parker Soc.). S. ARNOTT.

Baling.

[1565. See ' Diet. Nat. Biog.']

PORTRAIT OF HUGH O'NEILL, EARL OF TYRONE. Atkinson in his 'Ireland exhibited to England ' (1823), at p. 309, says that in " a portrait of the famous Earl of Tyrone, drawn after his banishment, now in possession of an English nobleman, one of his galloglasses is represented as attending on him." As no portrait of Hugh O'Neill is known to exist, it would be a matter of some interest if this portrait could be discovered. The fact that the earl is represented as being attended by