250
NOTES AND QUERIES. [ii s. XL MA*. 27. wis.
SHEBREN : SHERWYN. I noticed ante,
p. 172, some interesting genealogical items
on the Angell family of Oborne or Woburne,
co. Dorset. There is a connexion between
the Angell and Sherren families, as may be
seen in the name of Mr. J. Angell Sherren,
J.P., of Parkstone, late of Weymouth, a
near connexion of Mr. Wilkinson Sherren,
the novelist, of London.
What I wish to know is, first, if Sherren and Sherwyn, or Sherwen, are identical ; secondly, whether they are of Saxon or French origin ; and thirdly, what is the literal meaning of the name or names. I have met with the following variants of Sherren : Scherrene, Surin, Shering, Sher- ringge, and Shearin. Scherrene dates from 1393, and Sherringge from 1348. I should be grateful for the opinions of readers conversant with such matters.
CROSS FLEURY. IStanwix, Carlisle.
HUMILITY SUNDAY (QUINQUAGESIMA), OX- FORD. It is stated in several newspapers that the preacher has twelve passages from which he may select his text. Which passages are these ? Can any of your readers give them? They might be useful to M.A.OxoN.
JOHN ROBERTS. When and whom did he marry ? The ' Diet. Nat. Biog..' xlviii. 384, is silent on this point, though it men- tions his son. G. F. R. B.
RICHARD ROBINSON, first Baron Rokeby, Archbishop of Armagh. When was he sworn a member of the Irish Privy Council ?
G. F. R. B.
TUBULAR BELLS IN CHURCH STEEPLES. Can any reader of ' N. & Q.' tell me how long these substitutes for church bells have been invented, and at what date the first set of them were placed in a church tower ? I recollect seeing a set at a New York theatre some thirty years ago, where they were used to represent the chimes in the piece, but I cannot recall a set in any church tower longer than about twenty years ago.
FREDERICK T. HIBGAME.
10, Essex Street, Norwich.
PORTRAITS OF THOREAU. Has any reader chanced to observe the remarkable difference, or so it seems to me, between the portraits of Thoreau as seen in books and journals ? There are two faces, as may be seen in
Houghton & Mifflin's edition of his works
one a Greek, a Platonic face, with full beard
and meditative expression ; the other a
bucolic face without the full beard. This
is rugged, and, except perhaps for the eyes
and mouth, might be taken for that of an
ordinary farmer. The former is what one
f^ould look for in Thoreau an intellectual,
a spiritual face ; ay, the face of the very
soul of America, as I take this man to be.
How is it ? Can any reader " strike a
light " ? T. P.
AUTHOR OF QUOTATION WANTED. I want to find the author of the following lines :
If I stoop
Into a dark tremendous sea of cloud, It is but for a time ; I press God's lamp Close to my heart ; its splendour, soon or late, Shall pierce the gloom, &c.
I believe it is in a poem called ' Gate of Dawn,' and attributed to Robert Browning, but I cannot find either in the works of Browning. A. P. BAINES.
Adel, near Leeds.
COURTESY TITLES. I should much like to obtain information on the following points with regard to courtesy titles in use in Great Britain :
1. At what date did the present titles for the eldest sons of dukes, marquesses, and earls who, officially, take rank as of the degree just below that enjoyed by their fathers come into use ?
2. Why have the eldest sons of viscounts no right to the courtesy title of Baron ? Naturally, barons' eldest sons could not also be styled barons.
3. When were the titles of Lady, Lord, and Honourable first used respectively for the daughters and younger sons of dukes, marquesses, and earls ?
4. Why should the younger sons of earls be only " Hons.," though their sisters have the style of " Lady " ?
5. Why do not the daughters of viscounts bear the title of " Lady " ?
6. When did the fashion arise of shorten- ing the titles of all peers below the rank of dukes by the style of " Lord " ?
W. A. B. COOLIDGE. Grindelwald.
SOPHIA MARIAN HARP. In the beautiful churchyard of Capel Garmon, on the heights above Bettws-y-Coed, under a stone altar- tomb, surrounded by iron railings and almost hidden from sight by the low branches of an old yew tree, lies buried, among the genera- tions of the purely Welsh old inhabitants of the parish, an English lady. The simple inscription on the tomb is : " Sophia Marian
