10 s. x, DEC. 5, 1908.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
447
view. The artist's charges varied from five
shillings to half a guinea for coloured profiles,
and eight guineas and upwards for portraits
and groups.
Some years earlier, apparently before he came to Liverpool, when he was rapidly making a reputation, Gerard was seized with a fever which left such a weakness in his arms as to render him unable to handle a brush. He recovered, however, so far that by grasping the wrist of his right hand as firmly as possible with his left, he could still paint ; but he seems to have been unable to maintain his family upon his earnings from painting alone. For some years he had been a contributor to The Kaleidoscope, a Liverpool weekly magazine, founded by Egerton Smith in 1818 ; and in 1825 some of his contributions were brought together and published under the title of " Letters in Rhyme | to and from | E. Gerard, Por- trait Painter, | Liverpool, | with a number of Humourous Embellishments j drawn on stone by the author," Liverpool, 1825,
S'inted by Rushton & Melling, and sold at anchester, Norwich, Bristol, and elsewhere.
The contents of this small volume, by the issue of which it was hoped to provide funds to educate the artist's children, consist mainly of letters of a humorous nature to his friends one J . . . . C . . . . of Bungay and Samuel Taylor of Bristol.
I have not met with any of this artist's work. Some further details about him would be of interest. R. S. B.
Liverpool.
" NON COMPOS MENTIS." The following curious entry is to be found in the marriage register of the parish of Downham, Lanca- shire :
" 1727. John Bevern of Blackburn, carpenter, and Margaret Banks of Downham, spinster, Married February ye 15 th , having been, as they pretended, married ye Day before by Christopher Bulcock, a Man non compos mentis, or riot in his right senses. By James Cowgill, Cur."
FRED. G. ACKERLEY. Grmdleton, Clitheroe.
NANCY PARSONS, LADY MAYNARD. The precise date of the death of this famous lady does not appear to be known. She, of course, was " the Duke of Graf ton's Mrs. Horton, the Duke of Dorset's Mrs. Horton, everybody's Mrs. Horton " ; and in June, 1776, she married Charles, second Viscount Maynard. In G. E. C.'s ' Peerage ' it is stated that " she is said to have died about 1808," and the authority for this statement appears to be Baker's ' History of Northamp-
tonshire,' ii. 190. Helen Maria Williams,
however, in ' A Narrative of Events .... in
France,' pp. 135-6, gives a graphic descrip-
tion of her funeral, which she alleges to have
taken place in the winter of 1814-15. Pro-
bably the latter writer is correct, but I have
not been able to find any obituary notice
in contemporary newspapers.
HORACE BLEACKLEY.
WE must request correspondents desiring in-
formation on family matters of only private interest
to affix their names and addresses to their queries,
in order that answers may be sent to them direct.
- ' PROXIMO." We do not find this expres-
sion, as in "the 10th proximo," before Webster's ' Diet.,' edition of 1864. Can any reader of ' N. & Q.' send us an earlier use ? One would think it might occur as early as ultimo, which we have of 1682. Did it arise in American use ?
Thanks to those who have sent early examples of " Prussian."
J. A. H. MURRAY.
Oxford.
MILTON : ALLEGED PORTRAIT. This por- trait was signed by P. V. Plas, engraved by G. Quinton, published in August, 1797, by W. Stevenson of Norwich, and sold by the Boydells. The original was in the possession of Capel Lofft, Esq.
One would say it is very much unlike Milton. The nose is irregularly aquiline ; there is a " goatee " on the chin ; the expression is not agreeable. Right hand on left breast ; pilgrim's staff and bottle behind right elbow ; plain buttoned coat ; narrow falling collar. Has the portrait been identified ?
RICHARD H. THORNTON.
36, Upper Bedford Place.
[See 'Milton : Engraved Portraits,' ante,p. 445.]
J. R. WILD, ARTIST. Can any of your readers enlighten me respecting the life and works of this painter of portraits and genre subjects in oil ? I have seen an excellent portrait group by him, dated 1801 a candlelight effect, quite worthy of Wright of Derby. His name does not occur in any dictionary. G. H. S.
EGYPT AS A PLACE-NAME. Can any of your readers give some instances of "Egypt" occurring as a field-name or place-name ? It is found on the Ordnance maps near Speen, in the Kennet J Valley, >nd just outside
