Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 9.djvu/355

 9" s. ix. MAY 3, 1902.) NOTES AND QUERIES.

347

above letter, as, of course, it made a great sensation in this country about two months before the letter was written.

Before closing my note it occurred to me to consult Mr. El win's edition of Pope's works. There I find (vol. vii. p. 10) the same letter from Swift, with a foot-note by the editor taking the view which I have just expressed, that the second "eclipse" is not meant for an astronomical event, but for the queen's death. W. T. LYNN.

Black heath.

twits,

WE must request correspondents desiring infor- mation on family matters of only private interest to affix their names and addresses to their queries, in order that the answers may be addressed to them direct.

STRIPES ON SAILORS' COLLARS. Is there authority for the statement that the three stripes on the collars of sailors in the Royal Navy are so placed in honour of the three victories Nile, Copenhagen, and Trafalgar, and that the black tie is in perpetual memory of Nelson? Has the collar its origin in the idea of protection against the friction of the pigtail? ALBERT HARTSHORNE.

NAPOLEON'S FIRST MARRIAGE. What is the most trustworthy account of the romance of Napoleon's first marriage ? L. PAGE.

Turret House, Felpham, Sussex.

DlCKENSIANA : ' DAVID COPPERFIELD.' -

" Long Ned Bead wood." In chap. xxii. Miss Mowcher says, "It won't do to be like long Ned Bead wood, when they took him to church 'to marry him to somebody,' as he says, and left the bride behind." Who was Ned Bead wood ? The allusion is probably to some old ballad.

' Little Tafflin ' (chap, xxviii.) This is the title of one of Mrs. Micawber's favourite songs. I should be glad to know the name of com- poser, &c., and date. F. G. KITTON.

St. Albans.

KING AND PEYTON DUEL. Where shall I find accounts of the duel in 1698 between Thomas King, Esq., of Thurlow, co. Suffolk (who married Elizabeth Cord ell, the daughter of Sir John Cordell, Bart.), and Sir Sewster Peyton. Bart., of Peyton Hall, Boxford, in which the former was killed ? Where was he buried ? C. MASON.

29, Emperor's Gate, S.W.

ST. OMER CONVENT, EIGHTEENTH CEN- TURY. Would it be possible to get a list of the English and Scotch girls who were in a

convent at St. Omer for their education in the first years of the eighteenth century ? Perhaps the fnterme'diaire might help.

CONSTANCE RUSSELL. Swallowheld, Reading.

STROHLING, A SINGER. Can any one give me particulars of a Madame Stroehling, or Strohling, who appeared in London as a singer about 1830 or a little later? Her husband was a portrait painter, a Russian or a Pole, I think. E. ECKERSLEY.

'THE CARRION CROW.' Can you kindly tell me where I can find 'The Carrion Crow'? I think it is a nonsense verse, but am not sure. DENVIL.

ROBERT DAVIS'S DIVING ENGINE. In the fifth volume of the Report of the Historical Manuscripts Commission on the papers be- longing to the Duke of Portland at Welbeck Abbey, p. 350, there is a letter from Robert Davis, dated Leith, 20 October, 1713, to the Earl of Oxford, stating that the writer had invented a diving engine. The earl was at that time the holder of a patent for recover- ing plate lost in ships wrecked on the coast of America, and the inventor thinks that his machine may be useful. The letter is accom- panied by a certificate dated 20 September, 1704, signed by "inhabitants of the Lizzard parish," Cornwall, setting forth that they saw Davis go several times under the water in his engine. Is anything known of Robert Davis or of the construction of his engine ?

R. B. P.

RICHARD SMITH AND HIS LIBRARY. Dibdin, in his 'Bibliomania,' mentions a copy of Richard Smith's catalogue, 1682, with prices and purchasers' names added He refers to it as sold in the Lort sale. I should be glad to know where this or any other copies with the purchasers' names may be found. I should also like to know the present where- abouts of Richard Smith's own manuscript catalogue, with notes and observations, which was in Thomas Thorpe's ' Catalogue of Manu- scripts,' 1836, No. 104. E. GORDON DUFF.

Prince's Park, Liverpool.

INGLIS MSS. AT OXFORD. Will some Oxford correspondent kindly give me some notes as to Esther Inglis's MSS. in the Bodleian ; and also as to her copy of the Psalms in the library of Christ Church ?

J. G. WALLACE-JAMES.

Haddington.

CURIOUS WORD-COINAGES. (1) Retired Is this a word recognized by Dr. Murray and the * F.1S.D.' 1 I made a note of it aa having