12 s. ix. JULY 30. i92i.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 93
Williams, Executed 1618 (12 S. ix. 12).—The county to which Williams belonged is mentioned in the notice of his case given on pp. 88-90 of 'Un Continuation des Reports de Henry Rolle Serjeant del' Ley, De Divers Cases En le Court del' Banke le Roy. En le Temps del' Reign de Roy Jaques,' London, 1676. The defendant is described as "Williams de Essex" and said to be "a Papist, and a Barrester del' Middle-Temple, mes expelled 7 ans passed pur Religion." Is not the date of his death 1619? A letter of May 4, 1619, from Mr. Lorkin to Sir Thomas Puckering, Bart., printed in 'The Court and Times of James the First,' London, 1848, has these words: "Yesterday being Monday, Williams the Author of Balaam's Ass, was arraigned at Westminster, and there condemned to be hanged, drawn, and quartered." On May 5, the same correspondent writes. "I thought fit to add this word more, to let you understand, how that this day Williams was executed at Charing Cross, according to the sentence in my last specified." James Howell in a letter dated Aug. 9,1648 ('Familiar Letters' iii. 22) has a reference to Williams and his 'Vision of Balaam's Ass,' and quotes some "prophetic verses of Whitehall" upon this book, "which were made above twenty years ago to my knowledge." Edward Bensly.
VERSES WANTED : CONJUGAL SQUABBLES
( 12 S. ix. 53). These verses appeared in No. 2
of The Toiler, April 14, 1709, with the title
" The Medecin : A Tale for the Ladies."
The author was William Harrison (1685-
1713), remembered chiefly as* the friend of
Swift, who mentions him frequently and
with affection in the ' Journal to Stella.' His
life is in the ' D.X.B.' Steele in his editorial
introduction to the poem asserts that the
Foundation is from a real Accident which
happen'd among my Acquaintance." But
the story is told in Burton's ' Anatom^ of
Melancholy,' 3, 3, 4, 2. Harrison's poem
- reprinted in ' A Select Collection of
Poems,' printed and published by John
Xichols, 1780-82, vol. vii., p. 234.
EDWARD BENSLY.
Your correspondent will find the verses in
Humourist's Miscellany,' 2nd edn,
1804 (anon.), under title, at p. 17, of "A
-M' deciiie for the Ladies." Recently I came
he same verses in a weekly publica-
i 'ii< >}>;iper) of the first half of the 18th
tury, and the contribution was signed
by (I think) Daniel Turner, the medical
writer. GEORGE C. PEAC, ; EY.
Ridge. Bariiet, Hert-.
SIR BENJAMIN HAMMETT (12 S. ix. .12,
58). He was a banker, partner in the firm
of Sir James Esdaile and Co. Esdailes
made a speciality of acting as agents for
country bankers. When one of these, Wm.
Clarke and Sons of Liverpool, got into
difficulties, in 1799, Sir Benjamin came
to Liverpool to investigate. The attorney
for the bankers was a William Roscoe, just
about to retire from the practice of the law
on a comfortable competency. Hammett
perceived his ability and made it a condi-
tion of not throwing the estate into bank-
ruptcy that Wm. Roscoe should join
the firm. Roscoe repeatedly refused, but
out of friendship for the Clarkes reluctantly
consented. Sixteen years later this com-
bination again came to grief, and the latter
days of Wm. Roscoe were embittered.
Esdailes themselves were wound up under a
deed of inspection in 1837. They were
then agents for 72 country banks, and their
profit on agency account was estimated at
25,000 yearly. I have the following note,
taken from some philatelic paper whose
name I have failed to record : "In the
bad old days of franking, many mercantile
houses paid members of Parliament for
sending their letters under the member's
autograph. Sir B. Hammett was accused
of having made over 2,400 a year in
this way." The author of the article
! was H. I. Maguire. J. H. K.
JAMES MACBUKNEY (12 S. viii. 431, 474,
516). I see that Madame D'Arblay says
he was steward to the Earl of Ashburnham.
Tn 1716 and 1717 he was one of the trustees
of the marriage settlement of Lord (not
then Earl) Ashburnham, who married in
1714 Lady Anglesey, one of the daughters
and coteries of the ninth Earl of Derby.
I There were two sets of trustees, one for each
party, and as " James Mackbumie " he
joined in several deeds by which -some of
his wife's properties in Lancashire were
sold to defray her husband's debts. Con-
siderable sums were raised in this way.
The Earl seems to have been extravagant,
and in 1730 sold Ashburnham House, in
Westminster, to the Crown. This had been
built by Inigo Jones and was where some
of the Cotton MSS. were destroyed by fire
in 1731. R. S. B.
