Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 4.djvu/89

 9* s. iv. skpt. 2, '99.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 185 brackets over and beneath the numerals (were these the fashion of that century, like R. Blair's radiated lines ?). The 3 has a peculiar dash on the top. The curves of the 6 and 9 are likewise slanting and spirited. I shall be happy to give further particulars if of interest. The piece of silver was probably of Shropshire or Welsh manufacture. M. B. Wynne. Allington Rectory, Grantham. "Ricks"= "The Scolding Wife."—At some Midland fairs, fifty years ago, a gaping public, gathered from many an out-of-the- way place in Derbyshire, found much to attract and wonder about. Womb well's Menagerie and Holloway's Show (a theatre) were, indeed, the main attractions, and only now and again were there opposition shows of the same character. But the fair grounds were crowded with many minor shows, some of which have entirely disappeared from such spots, but may be found under the canvases of Barnum & Bailey and Lord George Sanger. Among the attractions of fair-day there were in those times none more numerous than the boxing shows—very few called them booths. The musical attractions of the boxing shows consisted of one or more " ricks," which, during the exhibition of skill by men such as " Bendigo " and " The Tipton Slasher" (the public for the most part believed noted bruisers " formed the com- pany), hung outside with several pairs of the gloves. A boxing show was never known unaccompanied by the "ricks," or "the scolding wife" as most people called them. The boxing " rick " was a large and strongly made machine, and consisted of a handle not more than twelve inches long, and round the top revolved the " rick " when the instrument was whirled. The " rick" portion was a strong cog-wheel, with a spring resting on the cogs. When whirled, the spring slipped over the cogs, making a continuous loud "ricking" sound—"a scolding wife" most certainly. The big " ricks" seem to have passed away, but small ones, as a child's noisy toy, can be had, and are still known as "ricks." Thos. Ratcliffe. Worksop. Engraved Portrait of Dean Vincent.— On a recent visit to Oxford I saw, in the Hope collection of engraved portraits at the Bodleian, a very fine proof impression of this portrait, not concealed in a portfolio, but framed, and hanging in a conspicuous place in the room. It was, as I suppose, after the original painting in oils by William Owen, whose portraits preserved in a remarkable degree the individuality of his characters. Where the original picture is preserved I cannot say, as Dean Vincent was a member of Trinity College, Cambridge, and not of Oxford. He died in 1815, and the whole of his long life, excepting the three years at Cambridge, had been spent under the shadow of Westminster Abbey. A simple inscription on a marble tablet marks his grave in St. Benedict's Chapel. An old friend of mine, now deceased some ten years ago, the Rev. Henry Bull, M.A., once second master of Westminster School, who died at the age of ninety, used to quote an epigram which he had recited as a boy at the Westminster election with reference to the portrait:— The tints on Owen's canvas spread Are truth itself, no mockery. 1 thought the living portrait said, " Eloquere," " Eloquere." This was the usual remark of the Dean when the boys recited before him and were rather inaudible from nervousness, bearing out the idea of the artist stamping decided individuality of character on his portraits. There are several fine examples of Owen in the hall of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, as of Lord Tenterden and Lord Stowell, formerly on the foundation, and probably there may be others preserved in Oxford. A friend of mine, one of your valued correspondents, Lord Aldenham, once showed me a very fine specimen by Owen of his uncle, Sir Vicary Gibbs, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas : but the artist had omitted the judicial ermine and large wig. The portrait hung in the dining-room of Aldenham House, Elstree. Sir Vicary died in 1820, and William Owen in 1825. Horace observes, in his 'Ars Poetica,' 9-10:— ■ Pictoribus atque poetis Quidlibet audendi semper fuit requa potestas. John Pickford, M.A. Newbourne Rectory, Woodbridgo. An Old Bellringer.—The following from the Leigh Chronicle of 18 August is worth noting :— "Mr. Thomas Hussey, who was considered ono of the oldest, if not the oldest, of bellringers in the country, died on Saturday, at the age of eighty- seven, at his residence, Welch Hill Street, Leigh. Deceased had had a notable career. He was born on a Glazebury farm on February 1, 1812, and came to reside in Leigh when a boy of nine. He worked as a hand-loom weaver when that industry was in its prime in Leigh. He was also one of the first scholars to attend the first Sunday school in connexion with the Leigh Parish Church. His memory was very retentive, and it was very inter- esting to hear him speak of the ' Leighth Feight,'