394 NOTES AND QUERIES. [i 2 s.ix.Nov.i2,i92i.
AMERICAN HUMORISTS : CAPTAIN G. H.
DERBY (12 S. ix. 353). X. T. R's inquiry
probably has reference to George Horatio
Derby, who was born at Deiham, Mass., in
April, 1823, and died at New York in 1861.
Possibly an edition of one or more of his books
may have been published after his death. He
wrote under the pseudonym of " John
Phoenix." He may well have been a class-
mate of McClellan's, who was born in 1826.
He was an American soldier and humorist,
and a graduate of West Point. He served
in the Mexican War, after which he occupied
various positions in the Topographical
Bureau at Washington, finally becoming a
Captain of Engineers and having charge of
lighthouse construction on the southern
coasts. He was the author of ' Phoenixiana '
(1855) and 'The Squibob Papers' (1859).
He would have been a contemporary of
Artemus Ward though eleven years his senior.
WlLLOUGHBY MAYCOCK.
George Horatio Derby, the American
humorist, who wrote under the pseudonym of
" John Phoenix," was born at Dedham,
Mass , April 3, 1823, and died at New York,
May 15, 1861. He graduated at West Point
in 1846, and served in the Mexican War.
He was on the staff of the General Com-
manding the Department of the Pacific from
1854-1856, and did other engineering service,
in the course of which he suffered the sun-
stroke that caused his death. He has a dis-
tinct place amongst American humorists, for
" Phoenixiana " (1855) and "The Squibob
Papers" (1859), chiefly burlesque sketches
of his official experiences, are important as
introducing the rough but amusing humour
of the Pacific coast into American literature.
Among his best squibs may be mentioned his
' Musical Review Extraordinary ' and his
' New System of English Grammar.'
ARCHIBALD SPARKE.
CARDINAL VAUGHAN AND WALES (12 S.
ix. 354). Assuredly. See Burke's ' Landed
Gentry,' under Vaughan of Courtfield, near
Ross, Co. Hereford, editions 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.
A. R. BAYLEY.
A pedigree of Vaughan of Courtfield,
Go. Hereford, Ruardean, Co. Gloucester,
and Welsh Bicknor, Co. Monmouth, is to
be found in Burke's ' Landed Gentry.'
The first ancestor named is Thomas ap
Gwillim of Perthyr, fourth son of William
ap Jenkin, alias Herbert, Lord of Gwarin-
dee. HARMATOPEGOS.
EPIGRAM ON THE WALCHEREN EXPEDI-
TION (12 S. ix. 355). Your reply to my
query has at last put me on the right track.
I found that the most useful hint was
that given by your correspondent JAYDEE
in 1870, asking " some reader of ' N. & Q.'
who has access to a complete set of The-
Morning Chronicle to try and find the lines
out, and tell us how they actually stand
there." I have just taken this hint and;
found them in the first volume of The Chro-
nicle for 1810, as follows :
The Morning Chronicle.
London. Monday, Feb. 26, 1810.
Page 3. Foot of column 5.
The Mirror of Fashion.
Abstract and Brief Chronicle of the Documents
and Evidence concerning the Expedition to the
Scheldt.
Lord Chatham with his sword undrawn,
Kept waiting for Sir Richard Strachan :
Sir Richard, eager to be at 'em,
Kept waiting too for whom ? Lord Chatham t
So it is evident that Lord Palmerston was
quoting from memory and should have-
written " yesterday " instead of " the other
day," and that all the versions given by
Lord Palmerston and your correspondents,,
myself included, were incorrect. Have I
now given this old controversy its quietus I
EVAN W. H. FYERS, Major.
MEYER MENSON (12 S. ix. 273). No men-
tion is made of this person in the ' Jewish
Encyclopedia.' It is doubtful if there ever
was a Chief Rabbi in Chicago, as the syna-
gogues in American cities are not under such
j discipline. It appears from the data in the
query that Menson was an apostate. It is
possible that his name had been omitted
from the ' J.E.' on this account.
HENRY LEFFMANN.
Philadelphia.
THE SEA-SERPENT (12 S. ix. 210, 274 r
319). Your correspondents may be in-
terested to hear of a recent hypothesis,
according to which the legend concerning
this monster should be connected with t}.os&
about the world- serpent and the " Midgards-
ormen " of the ancient Greeks and Scandi-
navians, as well as to Ibsen's celebrated
Boyg, Peer Gynt's mysterious ubiquitous-
antagonist. It will be found worked out in
a paper, " Boigens oprindelse," in the
Danish periodical Danske Studier (1916,.
pp. 168-188). H. LOGEMAN
University of Ghent, Belgium.