9* s. viii. OCT. 19, 1901.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
317
LONDON, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1901.
CONTENTS. No. 199.
NOTES : -Birthplace of Lord Beaconsfield, 317-A Un'qu Book, 819 Shakespeare's Books Grammatical Di tionary, 321 " Tobacco" : "Pirogue" Mozart's Skull Stealing the Stars Halley Back-formations Joh Ramage, 322.
QUERIES : Arms on Mug E. Marston & Co., 323-Jeha Bytharne^Dickensiana Opera-hearers ' Hie Mulier e hjec Vir ' Cradock : Winter St. Kilda John Braham The Mitre, 324 Crossing Knives and Forks "Lungete John Powke Scott Query ' The Craniad ' Ballantyn and Lockhart "Ben-clerk" Thomas Williamson " Parver alley" Stone Pulpit Museum at St Bernard's 325 Authors Wanted, 326.
REPLIES : St. Clement Danes, 32*5 " Rooi-batje "=Red Coat " Halsh "South African Names, 327-Stl Marcell Children Hanged Artists' Mistakes, 328 Uses o Grindstones Floyd v. Lloyd, 329 Portland Vase Birth place of Goldsmith, 330 Scott Quotation " Toucan " The 'Marseillaise,' 331 Tragedy by Wordsworth Littl Gidding : Stourbridge Fair, 332 Archbishop Howley Parish Register of Broadwood-Widger Greek of the New Testament Phillippo, 333 West-Countrymen's Tails Author of Poem Mistakes of Authors "Ask nothinj more of me, Sweet," 334 Pall Mall -' Pseudodoxia Epi demica 'St. Christopher Family Likeness, 335.
NOTES ON BOOKS : Terry's 'Chevalier de St. George' Gardiner's 'Oliver Cromwell' Wordsworth's 'Cere monies and Processions of the Cathedral Church of Salis bury.'
Notices to Correspondents.
BIRTHPLACE OF LORD BEACONSFIELD.
LONDON is loved of the Londoner by reason
of long acquaintance and familiarity with its
streets and buildings, which have become to
him as old friends, while, should he be of
archaeological bent, he finds the additional
enjoyment of associations pervaded with the
historic past. The greater his knowledge of
the story of the streets, the more intimate
his acquaintance with buildings made
precious by age and history, and houses dis-
tinguished by the births, lives, or deaths of
famous men and women, the keener will be
his zest as he takes his walks in and about
London. The excellent Society of Arts does
good service in marking the houses thus dis-
tinguished, and it is my desire, in once more
reviving an oft-discussed and almostexhausted
subject, to call attention to the yet unmarked
house 22, Theobalds Road (formerly 6, King's
Road, near Bedford Row), where it is certain
that Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield,
passed the first thirteen years of his life, and
where in all probability he was born. That,
however, there should have been hesitation
in accepting the house as the birthplace is
doubtless attributable to the several other
claims that have been brought forward.
Two months after Lord Beaconsfield's death
in 1881 Mr. Joseph Foster, in his 4 Collectanea
Genealogica' (parti.), printed a pedigree of
Disraeli, and notes, memorial inscriptions
reproduced letters, &c., which were most
acceptable. He thought the birthplace a
mystery almost rivalling that of Homer, but
attached much credit to information received
from a lady (Mrs. Tait) in Scotland to the
effect that in April, 1802, Lord Beaconsfield's
father Isaac D'Israeli took her father's house
" 6, John Street," near Bedford Row, and that
her mother had told her that Benjamin Disraeli
(I give the surname as father and son wrote it)
was born in that house. To this Mr. Foster
added that Mrs. Tait was " corroborated by
the directories of the day " ; but there he
made a mistake, for the contemporary-London
directory, * Boyle's Court Guide,' gives other
tenants to 6, John Street at the time in ques-
tion, and shows clearly that the house occu-
pied by Isaac D'Israeli between 1803 and
1817 (by the lease it appears that he took
it in 1802) was 6, King's Road, Bedford Row.
And here I must express surprise that
inquirers about this matter have been so tardy
in consulting Boyle's contemporary directory,
the value of which is equal to that of a living
witness. If they have looked into it, they
have not taken it at its value for really
what more is required? We find Lord
Beaconsfield's parents living at 6, King's
Road from 1803 to 1817, and naturally con-
clude he was born there, 21 December, 1804,
unless, indeed, his mother was from home. In
regard to that possibility there is something
- o say presently, though it does not appear
to me of moment. Mrs. Tait, however, was not far wrong; and indeed it seems that 6, John Street was merely a slip of the pen or memory, 6, King's Road being intended. The
- wo houses are very near to one another. But
- he lady's slip has misled Mr. Foster, and
through him, perhaps, the . * Dictionary of National Biography.' And here it may be asked if Mrs. Tait were not the daughter of tfr. John Sprot, D'Israeli's predecessor at 6, King's Road, according to the directory, from vhom, it is shown by the lease, D'Israeli took he house.
In 1884 the subject was discussed in N. & Q.,' and MR. JOHN A. C. VINCENT ffectively wielded the pen. He then thought Mr. Foster had printed all that could be dis- overed, but afterwards he himself by diligent earch discovered more. Obtaining access pparently to that great depository of Condon house - history, the Middlesex Registry of Leases, he found the register ofc he leases referring not only to King's Road
