Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 11.djvu/512

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502


NOTES AND QUERIES. [ii s. XL JUNE 20, 1915.


in 1727 at Inver, near Dunkeld, and died there in 1807. His portrait was painted several times by Raeburn.

THOMAS BAYNE.

Nathaniel Gow excelled in the composition of melodies, and his sets of the older tunes, and various of his own airs, Were prepared for publication by his son Nathaniel. Four portraits of " the man that play'd the fiddle weel " were pain ted by Sir Henry Raeburn one for the County Hall at Perth, the others for the Duke of Athol. Lord Gray, and Lord Panmure. His portrait was also introduced into the picture ' A Highland Wedding,' by Sir William Allan, along with that of Donald Grow, his brother, who usually accompanied him on the violoncello.

WILLIAM MACABTHUR.

THE SEVEN SEAS (11 S. xi. 434). -Ac- cording to T. P.'s Weekly for 21 Nov., 1914, Mr. Kipling himself stated that the Seven Seas are : " North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, Arctic Ocean, Antarctic Ocean, Indian Ocean. Which Seven Seas include all the lesser ones." J. G. THACKEB.

159, Burton Road, Lincoln.

SIB JOHN MOOBE AND THE GOBDON HIGH- LANDEBS : BLACK STBIPE IN OFFICEBS' LACE (11 S. xi. 300, 390). According to ' The Records and Badges of Every Regiment and Corps of the British Army,' bv Chichester and Burges-Short (Clowes,~ 1895), I find that the lace worn by the officers of the Gordons is of gold thistle pattern, with a black stripe introduced top and bottom. The Gordon Highlanders is the only Scottish territorial regiment having the latter dis- tinction. The 1st Battalion was previously the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot : and the 2nd Battalion, late 92nd, previously 100th (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot.

The same authority says of the Norfolk Regiment formerly the 9th (East Norfolk) Regiment of Foot that

" the Norfolk Regiment is one of seven English Territorial Regiments in which the gold lace of the ordinary English rose pattern is distinguished by a black stripe, introduced at top and bottom." No reason, however, is given for the dis- tinction. The other six regiments bearing it I find to be :

(1) The Prince Albert's Somersetshire Light Infantry, late 13th (1st Somersetshire) (Prince Albert's Light Infantry) Regiment, previously 13th (1st Somersetshire) Regi- ment of Foot ; (2) The East Yorkshire Regiment, late 15th (York., East Riding)


Regiment of Foot (3) The Leicestershire Regiment, late 17th (Leicestershire) Regi- ment of Foot; (4) The East Surrey Regi- ment, 1st Battalion, late 31st (Huntingdon- shire) Regiment of Foot ; 2nd Battalion, late 70th (Surrey) Regiment of Foot; (5) The Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, 1st Battalion, late 47th (Lancashire) Regi- ment of Foot, originally ranked as the 58th (48th) Regiment of Foot; 2nd Battalion, late 81st (Loyal Lincoln Volunteers) Regi- ment of Foot; (6) The York and Lancaster Regiment, 1st Battalion, late 65th (2nd Yorkshire, North Riding) Regiment of Foot ? originally a 2nd Battalion, 12th Foot.

I have further discovered that the Con- naught Rangers wear gold lace of shamrock pattern, with a black stripe top and bottom, and that they are the only Irish regiment so distinguished.

In so far as I have been able to consult the historical records of these regiments by Cannon, I have found no reason assigned for the distinctions in the officers' lace ; but from, the number of the regiments mentioned above I rather agree with MAJOB CLABKE'S correspondent (antz, p. 390) that the reason was ornamental in its origin, silver and black generally going together, as in Rifle Brigade uniforms at the present time, although in the above cases silver has given place to the now orthodox patterns of gold lace.

In that very interesting book ' The Life of a Regiment : the History of the Gordon Highlanders from its Formation in 1794 to 1816,' by Lieut.-Col. C. Greenhill Gardyne (Edinburgh, David Douglas, 1901) a second volume of which appeared in 1903, bringing the history down to 1898. and including an account of the 75th Regiment from 1787 to 1881 we learn that the 75th was unkiltzd in 1809, but on the adoption of territorial titles for regiments it again became a Highland regiment as the senior battalion of the Gordons. There is a very good coloured plate representing the officers wear- ing trousers during the unkilted period ; the stripe is a triple one, the outsides being of a light colour, apparently silver, and the centre of black. In most of the cases of the seven English regiments, the wearing of the black distinction appears to be associated in nearly every instance with the effective showing- up of some silver badge or ornament, even when I cannot trace the presence of silver lace, e.gr., the Norfolk Regiment wear on their helmet -plates the figure of Britannia in silver on a black velvet ground. The Somersetshire have a bugle with strings and a mural crown over, surmounted by a scroll inscribed " Jellalabad," the Sphinx over