64
NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. ix. JAN. 25, 1902.
Although "by trade" a wood-draughtsman
and engraver, he was at his best as a modeller
for sculpture. He was also, however, a
capable black-and-white artist; and although
his figure drawing was imperfect, he had an
almost thorough knowledge of the anatomy
of the horse. After the " break up at Gore
House he went back to wood-drawing. In
1848 he contributed sketches to the Illus-
trated London Neivs in the (almost) record
" French Revolution " number. In the same
year, I think, he sketched a two-page
block for the Pictorial Times (a speculation
of the Spottiswoodes and Henry Vizetelly)
l Going to the Derby 'beginning with the
"swell" in his drag, and finishing with the
coster whipping up his " moke ' - -" Kim up !
D'ye think I stole yerf For a few months
in 1850 he supplied the place of John Gilbert
on the London Journal. About 1856 he was
"leading artist" on Cassell's Illustrated family
Paper, but after 1860 he was superseded by
F. J. Skill, Morten, dear old Charles Green,
and other "more up-to-date" artists, whose
names are legion. I have always been given
to understand that Nicholson, as manager of
the studio at Gore House, was, after D'Orsay
removed to France, made responsible for the
hundred or so of debts owing to artist-
colourmen. But for this I cannot vouch. I
conclude with a few words from " Redgrave":
" Of a shy and retiring disposition, he did not
enjoy the credit which his works deserved.
He died at Portland, Hants, 1870."
If T. H. Nicholson had drawn in a more "attractive" style, as he undoubtedly pos- sessed " genius," he might have been another Sir John Gilbert.
HERBERT B. CLAYTON.
39, Renfrew Road, Kennington, S.E.
THE DONIBRISTLE MINERS. Sir George Douglas, Bart., of Springwood Park, Kelso, alluding, in a letter to the Scotsman of 25 De- cember, 1901, to the touching extracts printed in that journal from the time-book of the Donibristle miners, calls attention to a curious literary reminiscence. '"Oh, wonderful is Death, Death and her brother Sleep,' writes one of the doomed men. These are prac- tically," Sir George remarks, " the first two lines of Shelley's 'Queen Mab.' But the idea^ is far older, being, in fact, the VTTVOS Kaariyvq-ros Qa.va.roio of Homer's ' Iliad.'"
JOHN GRIGOR.
" ENDORSEMENT ": " DORSO-VENTRALITY." The dividend warrants of a commercial undertaking having its registered office in the north of England bear on their face, below the space for the receipt stamp and the
indication for the place of the signature,
the singular statement " This cheque requires
endorsement." In other words, the share-
holders are asked to back the instrument on
the front, which is clearly wrong. The point
would be scarcely worth mentioning if there
were not a word in the language, "dorso-
ventrality," which seems to justify the
peculiar usage, in that it would appear to
mean " back-frontness." But this scientific
term is not really self-contradictory. The
two parts of the compound are not mutually
self-destructive. The idea is that both back
and front have to be considered. See 4 H.E.D.,'
s.v. 'Dorso-.' ARTHUR, MAYALL.
"BAR SINISTER." This heraldic impossi- bility still flourishes, and that, too, among those for whom there is no excuse. Speaking of King James II., the Daily Chronicle of 18 September, 1901, said :
" Macaulay's History may be unduly severe on James's character, but Hallam's is little more favourable, and one of the mildest of his critics has written ' through the greater part of his life he was the slave of the immorality then universal in his rank, in which he contrived to caricature the excesses of his brother.' At any rate, he con- tributed a good many bars sinister to the arms of the Members of the House of Lords."
Not long ago the same journal had a head- line to a speech by John Morley, "A Bar Sinister on the Empire." AYEAHR.
MADAME DE SEVIGNE. In a review of 'The Marquis d'Argeuson and Richard II.,' by Mr. R. Rankin, which recently appeared in 'N. & Q.' (9 th S. viii. 534), it said of D'Argenson, " One of the most humane of men, he wrote to Voltaire after the battle of Fontenoy, the close of which he witnessed, a letter such as, said Voltaire, Madame de Sevigne might have written had she found herself similarly situated." This is question- able, for, whatever Voltaire may have said, a certain want of humanity was a flaw in the character of that admirable woman, and it is doubtful if she was ever really touched by the sufferings of any one outside the imme- diate circle of her family and friends. Sainte- Beuve, who is cited in the review, notices this failing in the essay on Madame de Sevigne, which was originally published in the Revue de Paris in 1829, and was after- wards prefixed to the ' Lettres Choisfes.' He says :
"II est une seule circonstance on Ton ne peut s'empecher de regretter que madanie de Se"vign6 se soit abandonne a ses habitudes moqueuseset le"geres ; ou Ton se refuse absolument a entrer dans son badi- nage, et ou, apres en avoir recherche" toutes les raisons attenuantes, on a peine encore a le lui par-
