Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 3.djvu/478

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472


NOTES AND QUERIES. [ii s. IIL JUNE 17, mi.


ROBERT HOLLO GILLESPIE AT VELLORE (11 S. iii. 348, 397, 437). The REV. E. L. H. TEW will find an account of this dashing incident in the ' Memoir of Major-General Gillespie' (by Major William Thorne), 8vo, London, 1816, pp. 98-107, and in a bio- graphical sketch of Gillespie, from the pen of the present Writer, which appeared in The Northern Whig, 18 April, 1906. The latter corrects some misstatements in the above 'Memoir,' and is founded on Gillespie' s dis- patch to Sir John Cradock, dated " Vellore, llth July, 1806," now in the Additional MSS. in the British Museum. Several letters appeared in The Monthly Review, 1907, from eyewitnesses and companions in arms. Finally, Henry Newbolt in his stirring poem ' Gillespie' s Ride ' in ' The Island Race ' pays due poetic praise to the hero.

MB. TEW is correct in his assumption that the K.C.B. was gazetted before the news of his death reached England.

EDITOR ' IRISH BOOK LOVER.'

Kensal Lodge, N.W.

[MB. J. C. RINGHAM thanked for a long account of Gillespie's exploits, which has been forwarded to the REV. E. L. H. TEW.]

SIR JOHN BUDD PHEAR (11 S. iii. 249) was Chief Justice of Ceylon, and an oil painting of him is on the walls of the Law Library, Colombo. F. H. DE Vos.

Galle, Ceylon.

GOWER FAMILY OF WORCESTERSHIRE (11 S. ii. 249, 417, 452). I am greatly obliged to MR. SALT BRASSINGTON for calling my attention to the altar-tomb of Humphrey Littleton and his wife in King's Norton Church. He is in error, however, in saying that the Gower coat on the tomb " is the same as that now borne by the Leveson- Gowers, viz., Barry of six argent and gules, a cross patonce sable." The arms of the Leveson-Gowers are Barry of eight or and gules, over all a cToss-ftory sable. Glaze- brook in his ' Heraldry of Worcestershire ' made a similar error. The wife of Humphrey Littleton (Martha, daughter of Robert Gower of Colemers) was undoubtedly a member of the Worcestershire family : this is clear from the pedigree in my possession. The Colemers branch, so far as I have been able to discover, always used the correct family arms, i.e., Azure, a chevron between three wolves' heads erased or ; and why the other coat appears on Humphrey Littleton's tomb I am unable to say.

My researches have satisfied me that, although the Yorkshire and Worcestershire


families probably had a common origin, there can be little doubt that they have been separate and distinct since temp. Henry V., and consequently Nichols was wrong in his statement that the first Earl Gower and Wm. Gower, M.P. for Ludlow, were first cousins. MR. BRASSINGTON points out that on the Littleton tomb the arms of Grindall are quartered with those of Gower. I have up to the present been unable to trace the connexion between the family of Grindall and that of Gower of Worcestershire. Can any correspondent help me ?

R. VAUGHAN GOWER.

'EDWIN DROOD' (11 S. iii. 307). With- out in any Way endeavouring to enter into a discussion of the points raised in MR. ANDERSON'S query, I may perhaps be allowed to call his attention to an article in The Bookman for March, 1908, pp. 229-37. It was entitled, ' The Mystery of Edwin Drood : Dickens' s Half -told Tale ' ; and the author was Mr. B. W. Matz, editor of The Dicken- sian. The article was presented in a three- fold form: I. The Book: II. Attempts to complete it and solve the Mystery ; III. Its Topography. W. SCOTT.

'BRITONS, STRIKE HOME!' (11 S. iii. 367, 412.) It is well to note that there are at least two distinct songs with this name.

The first is Purcell's, as mentioned by DR. CUMMINGS in his reply. It is printed in Chappell's ' National English Airs.' vol. i. p. 157, and is annotated at vol. ii. p. 100.

The second is an old sea song, included in Chappell's ' Popular Music of the Olden Time,' vol. ii. p. 729. Of this Chappell says :

" It is one I well remember in the playground at Fulham 40 years ago [i.e., circ. 1820]. Some half a dozen boys would chant it in unison, using most emphatic action at the words * strike homo.' "

The single stanza printed commences, "Our ship carried over nine hundred men." Chappell does not give the authorship of the words. J. H. K.

GLASS AND PORCELAIN MANUFACTURED AT BELFAST (US. iii. 408). Beautiful cut table glass Was manufactured in Ireland in 1750 or earlier, especially at Waterford, of which I have a large collection. I should be happy to show specimens or send photo- graphs to ANTRIM, or to any one else interested who will communicate with me. The Waterford glass is extraordinarily massive, and has a peculiar inky colour,