266
NOTES AND QUERIES. [ii s. iv. SEPT. so, ion.
- INTERLUDIUM DE CLEBICO ET PUELLA. '
One of the three characters in this frag- mentary dialogue which, notwithstanding its Latin title, is written in English of about the beginning of the fourteenth century is called Home Helwis or Elwis. This name gives trouble to the most recent editor of the text, W. Heuser, Anglia, xxx. (1907), p. 306 ff. " Mome " means " aunt." In- stances of the word in this sense will be found in the ' New English Dictionary,' s.v. ' Mome.' In his efforts to explain the proper name however, Mr. Heuser appears to go un' warrantably far afield. He writes (p. 319) :"
"So ergibt sich eine merkwiirdige spur fiir den ratselhafteu nanien ' (H)elwys,' den die kupplerin in dem interludium triigt, in dem familienuamen Helwys, auch geschrieben Elwes, Elwaies, c., der im 16. jahrhundert ira osten Englands nachweisbar ist. Das ' Dictionary of National Biography ' erwiihnt einen Sir Gervase Helwys, sohn des John Helwys (starb 1581) of Worlaby in Lincolnshire, vielleicht eine zufallige, aber immerhin merk- wiirdige iibereinstimmung mit dem fiir das inter- judium nachgewiesenen ursprungsgebiet."
Is not all this super-subtle in the highest degree ? Common sense would seem to make it clear that Helwys or Elwys is merely a Middle English spelling of the Christian name Eloise (Heloi'se). In the only passage of Chaucer where the name is used, according to Prof. Skeat's index ('Wife of Bath's Prologue,' 1. 677), it appears in the very similar form of Helowys.
C. F. TUCKER BROOKE. New Haven, Conn.
FITZGERALD ANECDOTE : Two VERSIONS, In T. P.'s Magazine for the current month is a paper by Mr. Morley Adams entitled ' Some New FitzGerald Stories.' One of these stories relates how FitzGerald, tra- velling from Woodbridge to London with his " handyman," found it raining hard on arrival, and, not having brought his um- brella with him, sent his man back to Wood- bridge for it, while he himself stayed in the waiting-room until his servant's return. There is a prima facie improbability about this story, as FitzGerald, though enjoying a modest competence, was scarcely the man to travel about with a servant, nor would he, I think, have incurred the expense of a return-fare for such a trifling purpose.
Mr. Adams, while pointing out that few of those who were brought into fairly intimate relations with E. F. G. survive, adds that there are still living many men and women who remember " the striking, if eccentric, form that slouched through the narrow streets " of Woodbridge. One of these is
a friend of mine, who holds a good position
in the banking world, and who between
thirty and forty years ago occupied a post
in the bank at Woodbridge with which
FitzGerald kept his account. This gentle-
man used to be brought into frequent contact
with FitzGerald, whom he knew well, and
he has told me several stories of him.
Amongst them was the anecdote narrated by
Mr. Adams told, however, with a difference.
The hero of it was not Edward, but his elder
brother John, who, the younger always
said, was the maddest of all the FitzGeralds.
John was travelling to London with his
servant, and at an intermediate station
alighted for refreshment, and greatly enjoyed
some excellent sandwiches. Having eaten
as much as he wanted, he handed the re-
mainder to his man, who, thinking his master
no longer required them, ate them all up.
On arriving at the terminus, John Fitz-
Gerald asked for the sandwiches, and was
astounded to hear that they had all dis-
appeared. "Well, James," he said, "I
didn't mean you to eat them, but as you
have done so, and I know I shall never get
such good sandwiches here, take the next
train and bay some more, and I '11 wait
at the station until you come back." Which
was accordingly done.
These two versions of the same story may afford an illustration of the transmutation and transmigration of folk-tales.
W. F. PRIDEAUX.
GEORGE II. AND THE PRINCE or WALES, 1721-51 : BAPTISM OF THEIR CHILDREN. The parish registers of St. Anne, Soho, record the baptisms of three children of George Augustus, Prince of Wales, after- wards King George II. :
1. William Augustus, bap. 15 April, 1721.
2. Mary, bom 22 Feb., 1722/3, bap. 24 March.
3. Louisa, bom 7 Dec., 1724, bap. 23 Dec. The baptisms of five children of his son,
Frederick Lewis, Prince of Wales, who died at Leicester House, 31 March, 1751, also appear in the register :
1. William Henry, born 14 Nov., 1743, bap, 26 Nov.
2. Henry Frederick, born 22 Oct., 1745, bap. 19 Nov.
3. Louisa Anne, born 8 March, 1748/9, bap. 1 April, 1749.
4. Frederick, born 13 May, 1750, bap. 17 June.
5. Carolina Mathilda, born 11 July, 1751, bap. 22 July. DANIEL HIPWELL.
