Notes and Queries, Number 34, June 22, 1850 | Page 7

to the great Duke of Mantua; and some of the old Greek marble bases, columns, and altars were brought from the ruins of Apollo's temple at Delos, by that noble and absolutely complete gentleman, Sir Kenelm Digby, Kn^t. In the garden of St. James, there are also half a dozen brass statues, rare ones, cast by Hubert le Sueur, his Majesty's servant, now dwelling in St. Bartholomew's, London; the most industrious and excellent statuary, in all materials, that ever this country enjoyed. The best of them is the Gladiator, moulded from that in Cardinal Borghesi's Villa, by the procurement and industry of ingenious Master Gage. And at this present, the said Master Sueur hath divers other admirable moulds to cast in brass for his Majesty, and among the rest, that famous Diana of Ephesus. But the great Horse with his Majesty upon it, twice as great as the life, and now well nigh finished, will compare with that of the New Bridge at Paris, or those others at Florence and Madrid, though made by Sueur, his master John de Bologna, that rare workman, who not long since lived at Florence."
The bronze statue of the Gladiator originally stood (according to Ned Ward's London Spy) in the Parade facing the Horse Guards. Dodsley (Environs, iii. 741.) says it was removed by Queen Anne to Hampton Court, and from thence, by George the Fourth, to the private grounds of Windsor Castle, where it now is. Query, What has become of the other five "famous statues in brass?"
EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.
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BISHOP JEWELL'S LIBRARY.
What became of Bishop Jewell's library? Cassan mentions (Lives of Bishops of Salisbury, vol. ii. p. 55.) that
"He had collected an excellent library of books of all sorts, not excepting the most impertinent of the Popish authors, and here it was that he spent the greatest and the best part of his time," &c.
Bishop Jewell died Sept. 22. 1571.
In the Account Books of Magdalen College, Oxford, I find the following items:--
"A. D. 1572. Solut. D^{no} Pr?sidi equitanti Sarisbur. pro libris per billam, iij^{li} xvi^s.
"Solut. pro libris D^{ni}, episcopi Sar., c^{li}.
"A. D. 1574. Solut per Dom. Pr?sidem pro libris M^{ri} Jewell, xx^{li}."
Whether these books were a portion only, or the whole of the library of Bishop Jewell, I am unable to discover; nor am I aware at present whether Bishop Jewell's autograph is in any of the books of Magdalen College Library. The president was Lawrence Humphrey, author of a Life of Jewell.
MAGDALENENSIS.
{55}
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THE LOW WINDOW.
The low windows in the chancel of so many of our ancient churches have proved a fruitful source of discussion among arch?ologists, and numerous theories have been advanced respecting their use. Perhaps the words of the chameleon in the fable might be addressed to many who have attempted to account for their existence, "You all are right and all are wrong"--right in your supposition that they were thus used; but wrong in maintaining that this was the exclusive purpose. Some example, in fact, may be adduced irreconcileable with any particular conjecture, and sufficient to overturn every theory which may be set up. One object assigned is, the distribution of alms; and it is surely reasonable to imagine that money collected at the offertory should have been given to paupers from the chancel through this convenient aperture. The following passage from the Ecclesiologist, quoted in page 441. of "NOTES AND QUERIES," has induced me to bring this subject forward:--
"In them (churchyards) prayers are not now commonly poured forth to God, nor are doles distributed to his poor."
Now it must be admitted that relief could scarcely be given to a crowd of importunate claimants without the interposition of some barrier; and where could a more appropriate place be found than the low window? Can any of your readers, therefore, oblige me with some information upon these points? Where were the alms bestowed, if not here? An almonry is described in some recent works as "a building near the church." What authority is there for such an assertion, and do any examples of such structures remain? What evidence is there that this business was transacted in the churchyard, in the porch, or in any particular part of the edifice?
Although these mysterious openings are probably, with one or two exceptions in Normandy, peculiar to this country, it is desirable to ascertain where the poor on the Continent usually receive such charitable donations. In an interior of a Flemish cathedral, by an artist of the sixteenth century, a man is represented in the act of delivering bread to a number of eager beggars, from a sort of pew; showing, at least, as above remarked, that some such protection was requisite.
There is another Query connected with this subject, which I beg to submit. Some ancient frescoes were lately