SAMBEL (SUMBEL): WELLS (11 S. viii. 408).--The maiden name of Mrs. Wells was Mary Davies. She was a native of Birmingham, and the daughter of a carver and gilder. Upon the death of her father she adopted a theatrical life, and while engaged at Shrewsbury married an actor in the company named Wells, who afterwards left her. After a few years of the usual provincial drudgery she was engaged at the Haymarket Theatre, where she appeared 1 June, 1781, as Madge in 'Love in a Village,' and Mrs. Cadwallader (Becky) in Foote's farce of 'The Author.' In the latter character she at once became the rage, so completely identifying herself with the part as to acquire the nickname of “Becky" Wells.

she embraced the Jewish faith, and adopted Leah as her first name in the place of Mary. According to a statement contained in a brief account of her in Gilliland's Dramatic Mirror, Mr. Sumbe! publicly denied the marriage.

In April, 1799, she played Portia at the Haymarket for a benefit, and was announced as "Mrs. Sumbel (late Mrs. Wells)," and after the play she gave imitations of popular performers, for which she had previously shown considerable ability.

As Mrs. Leah Sumbel she, in 1811, published her 'Memoirs' in three volumes, but by this time her stage career was over.

Bernard, mentioning her in his 'Retrospections of the Stage,' says :—

Her friendship with Capt. Topham, who in conjunction with the Rev. Charles Este started a brightly written newspaper called The World-which was chiefly devoted to theatrical intelligence--was of material assistance in keeping her name before the public.

Her vagaries were many, and the irreproachable Miss Pope of Drury Lane Theatre, once expostulating with her, asked what the world would say of such conduct. “O,” replied Mrs. Wells, "The World never speaks ill of me."

One of her best parts was that of Cowslip in O'Keeffe's excellent farce The Agreeable Surprise. There is a very good print of her in that character, with Edwin as Lingo. On the occasion of her playing the part at the Richmond Theatre in 1792, after Edwin's death, The World contained the following lines :

:

While Lingos from country, and Lingos from town,
All strive for one sprig from poor Edwin's renown,
In one point at least all true critics agree,
That Wells, in her Cowslip, unrivalled must be,
As far above praise in that innocent part
As nature, pure nature, prevails over art.

Among her other parts were: Capt. Macheath, Widow Brady (Irish Widow), Maud (Peeping Tom '), Kitty Pry (Lying Valet), Jacintha (Suspicious Husband '), Julia (Midnight Hour '), Marianne ( Dramatist), Constance (Animal Magnetism), Rose (Recruiting Officer'), and Jane ('Wild Oats ').

On her marriage with her second husband, whose name was Sumbel, not Sambel,

"The last time I encountered this lady was about a year after my return from America [1821] old and faded, she was still buoyant and loquacious -a young rough-looking companion was with her, whom she instantly quitted to welcome me home. After about five minutes' conversation with her about past and present times, I begged not to keep replied, 'he's no friend-he's my husband.' her from her friend any longer-Friend!' she

anywhere recorded, but she was dead when I am not aware that her death has been O'Keeffe wrote his 'Recollections,' published in 1826, for he mentions her among past favourites thus:

CHARLES LAMB'S "MRS. S-" (11 S. viii. 262, 318, 375, 414).-To all who reverence the name of Charles Lamb every item of fresh intelligence concerning either the man or his writings is of worth, and readers of 'N. & Q.' cannot but feel indebted to SIR HARRY B. POLAND for his communication at the last. reference, and to MR. CECIL CLARKE for having called forth such a valuable addition to our store of Eliana.

In reply to SIR HARRY'S question, the list of Lamb's friends and acquaintances

is a MS., which, bears no indication of Sources: it has been compiled evidently from various authorities. But confirmation of the accuracy of its Spinks entry is obtainable by reference to the list of subscribers in a little volume, 'Poems, by a Sister,' published in 1812 by J. Walsh, law stationer, Inner Temple Lane, in which the first name under S is that of Mr. Spinks, Temple." Thanks to SIR HARRY'S communication, we see that this Spinks was not the official superior of Randal Norris in 1794. The suggestion accordingly presents itself that he was his

son.

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TO SIR HARRY'S statement that Spinks is not spelt Spinkes,' ," I would add, as a rider, "except by Charles Lamb." I have just taken from among my Lamb autographs the original document in which Lamb, in 1823, set down his reply to his friend Pitman's inquiry as to the identity of the Mrs. S named on p. 87 of the Elia' volume just then published, and I find it to be "Mrs. Spinkes "-quite clearly written, and bearing no trace of the hesitation apparent in some of the other entries in the same document.

TO SIR HARRY's quotation from 'The Old Benchers of the Inner Temple '—" Henceforth let no one receive the narratives of Elia for true records "-I would make this addition from The South-Sea House' :"Reader, what if I have been playing with thee all this while-peradventure the very names, which I have summoned up before thee, are fantasticinsubstantial-like Henry Pimpernel, and old John Naps of Greece:-Be satisfied that something answering to them has had a being."

66

Remembering this, and that Mrs. John Spinks was not "Fanny," but, as SIR HARRY shows, Mary," I would fain hazard the statement that Lamb's Weatheral is as far removed as even "Weatherhead" from the actual maiden name of her whose rendering of Water parted from the Sea' had so charmed the lad of Bluecoat days. If it should be found that the Mr. Wall (or Walls) of Paper Buildings, to whom Randal Norris was articled, had a daughter Mary, it would be fairly reasonable, I think, to entertain the probability of Lamb's “ Fanny Weatheral" (Mrs. Spinks) having been Mary Wall. J. ROGERS REES.

Salisbury.

In the passage quoted by MR. ROGERS REES at the first reference Lamb says that the songs of Mrs. S-"had power to thrill the soul of Elia, small imp as he was, even in his long coats." MR. REES takes the "long

66

coats" as referring to the long coat worn by the Bluecoat boys, and no doubt he may be right; but may not coats be used here in the earlier meaning of petticoats? There is a well-known instance of this in The Winter's Tale,' I. ii. :—

And saw myself unbreech'd,
In my green velvet coat.

For an instance of the plural see the amusing account of the breeching of a small boy of six quoted in Miss Godfrey's English Children in the Olden Time,' p. 182 :

Was this meaning of "coats" still current in Lamb's time? It was recognized officially so late as 1827, as in the twenty-ninth edition of Walker's Dictionary,' published in that year, the definitions of coat include petticoat, the habit of a boy in his infancy, the lower part of a woman's dress." I believe that when Lamb was a child boys still wore long petticoats until they were six years old, the age at which he saw Artaxerxes.'

But even if 66 coats be used here in the sense of petticoats, the passage might still refer to Lamb's schooldays, for in winter the Bluecoat boys used to wear a long yellow petticoat under the blue coat. Further, from a passage in the Autobiography' of Leigh Hunt it would seem that the long skirts of the coat itself were sometimes unkindly called "petticoats" :—

"What she thought of my blue skirts and yellow stockings is not so clear. She did not, however, taunt me with my petticoats,' as the girls in the streets of London would do."-New Edition, 1860, p. 87.

Only last year a little boy told me that a schoolfellow of his was called Petticoats--a nickname now usually reserved for boys in kilts-because his tunic was so long that it came down over his knees and hid his knickerbockers.

On the whole, I would suggest that there may be some doubt as to what Lamb meant by "long coats." G. H. WHITE.

St. Cross, Harleston, Norfolk.

PIERRE LOTI: EASTER ISLAND (11 S. v. 469; vi. 53).-I am now in a position to answer my own query. The description of Easter Island appeared in L'Illustration of Paris in three August numbers in 1872, the final instalment being signed Julien Viaud, aspirant de première classe." The articles themselves are described as Journal d'un sous-officier de l'état-major de La Flore." L. L. K.

66

66

6. May not clorantibus and clorours be for colorantibus and colourers? The earliest instance of “ colourer in the H.E.D. is from the year 1612.

10. If "theca duratea is englished by "a wodden case,' one does not see where the difficulty comes in. The translation fits the original like a blister, as Mark Twain observed of Mr. L.. W. Garnham's version of a line in the Lorelei.' It would seem as though the writer of this entry in 1574 had been recollecting the passage in Lucretius, i. 476, 477, where the Trojan horse is called durateus equus. The adjective durateus (=δουράτεος) is hardly a common word. There were plenty of opportunities of becoming familiar with Lucretius by 1574. Lambinus's third edition of his Commentary was published in 1570, and Gifanius's had appeared in 1566.

14. Is more meant than that this was the closet used by the King on holidays?

15. For huptylez see the 'H.E.D.,' vol. v. p. 295, col. 3, where a hip-tile is defined as 66 a tile of special shape used at the hip of a roof." The earliest quotation is dated 1703. The passage supplied by J. T. F. takes the word back three centuries.

19. By malettis are "hammers" meant? 26. Traversnail.-Is the first part of this "traverse" (=a curtain, screen, closet, pew)? See Trauas " in the Promptorium Parvulorum,' and "Traverse," ii. 1, in 'The Century Dictionary.'

EDWARD BENSLY.

"knee timber," adapted for some special purpose in the construction of the kitchen, such as supporting a bracket. JOHN T. KEMP.

Notes on Books.

The First Editions of the Writings of Charles (Chapman &

Dickens. By John C. Eckel.
Hall.)

ALL Dickens collectors should possess themselves
of this carefully prepared Bibliography. In order
to attain as nearly as possible to perfection, almost
every book in its original state has been person-
ally examined by the compiler; and when this
was impossible, the requisite information was
obtained by correspondence with men who are
authorities. Nothing has been left to chance, and
"under these arrange-
the author hopes that
ments the percentage of errors has been
minimized." For the first time, illustrations
have been used in a Dickens Bibliography,
and the facsimiles of covers are given in the
original colours. These include the rare wrapper
London firm offered 1001.
of Part III. of the 'Pickwick Papers,' for which a
Another fresh feature
is the separate treatment of presentation copies.
Mr. Eckel prints in full the letter that Dickens
wrote to his friend Kolle, asking him
beg Mrs. K.'s criticism of a little paper of
that had appeared in The Monthly Maga-
zine. This was his first published writing,
Dinner at Poplar Walk'; he was very modest
about it, and was so dreadfully nervous that
my hand shakes to such an extent as to prevent
my writing a word legibly." Two years after this
he was the most popular author in England.

mine

66

"to

A

Among the important novels one naturally turns to Pickwick,' which has run the gamut of prices-until a two-volume edition sold for a thousand dollars per volume. This was known as The Saint Dunstan Edition," printed entirely for America, and seven for Europe. on vellum, and limited to fifteen copies-eight Pickwick

66

was printed seventy-five years ago, and "there are hardly ten copies in existence which would meet the requirements of the tests to make a perfect copy of the first edition." This is owing to a variety of reasons, among them being that there were not more than 400 printed of the parts which antedated the introduction of Sam Weller.

With The Christmas Carol' Dickens, for the first and only time, introduced colour in his illustrations. We agree with Mr. Eckel that "it is the greatest Christmas book ever written in any language." Unfortunately for the author, the cost of its production was too extravagant, and the actual profits only amounted to 7261. Dickens believed that his second Christmas book, The Chimes,' would "make a great

uproar and knock the Carol' out of the field." It proved to be at least a greater commercial success; the profits on the sale of the first 25,000 were nearly 1,500l.

The third part of the volume treats of books These include "The Library of Fiction," 'Memoirs in which Dickens had only a limited interest. of Grimaldi,'' Pic Nic Papers,' and Adelaide Anne