306 Bougier-Bouche au Court. was partly pulled down about fifty years ago, and the present house, erected on its site, was built by the late John Challen, Esq. It is enclosed in a small deer park, which gives it the present name of Shermanbury Park. Mr. URBAN, IN your last Supplement, p. 608, inquiry is made regarding the meaning and derivation of Bougier, the name formerly given to twelve officers or privileged practitioners in the Court of Chancery. It was found by your Correspondent P. R. in a "Discourse on the office of Master of the Rolls," ascribed to the great Lord Hardwicke; and I conceive that some light will be thrown on the term by the following extract from an old manuscript, quoted in a late Treatise by Mr. Bennet on the office of Master in Chancery: "They (the Masters) had diett at the King's charge, as may appear by the accompts of the Hanaper from tyme to tyme remayning in the Pipe Office, and they had Baidge in Court, as may appear by Otholon's Legative Constitution." A query is added "whether 'Baidge' means Badges of Honour?" but it may be safely replied, that the word (if not merely misread) has been miswritten for Budge or Bouge. It is therefore probable that the Bougiers derived their name from Bouge. This word (sometimes under its correct orthography, Bouche,) appears in the several Law Dictionaries. Its derivation is from the French bouche; whence also has come our modern butcher. The old English name for that trade was flesher, which is still not unknown as a surname. Cotgrave gives, Avoir bouche à court, to eat and drink scot-free, to have budge-a-court, to be in ordinary at court:" and Puttenham, in his Art of English Poesie," speaks of "a good allowance of dyet, a bouche in court as we use to call it. The phrase was employed not only at the King's palace, but at the residences of all those powerful lords who, in the days of feudalism, exercised an authority, and lived with a state, little inferior to that of the Sovereign. Of this we have an instance so early as 1318, when the Earl of Lancaster "retained Sir John de Ewre, Knight, to serve him with ten men-at-arms in time of war, whereof three to be [April, Knights, allowing them bouch of court, with livery of hay, oats, horse-shoes and nails, as other Bannerets usually had. And in time of peace attending him to Parliament, or other assemblies, with all his knights in livery, to have bouch of court, as also hay, oats, horse-shoes and nails, for eight and twenty horse, and wages for as many grooms, with livery of wine, and candles for his chamber. And when he should come himself, with one Knight, then to have bouch of court, with hay and oats for seven horses, wages for so many grooms, and livery of wine, and candles for his chamber." In Cowel's Law Dictionary, under Bouche, we find a similar document of the 6 Richard II. (1383), printed at length in the original French. It is an indenture by which Sir John Russel of Strensham, covenanted to live during life with Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick; to receive in time of peace an annual fee of 201. from the Earl's manor of Chedworth in Gloucestershire, and whenever he was summoned to attend the Earl, bouche au cour, for himself, a "chamberlein" or valet, and a "garson" or groom, and hay, provender, and farriery (ferrure) for three horses; and in war 401. bouche au cour or livery for himself, chamberlain, and three grooms, or wages in proportion, and hay, provender, and farriery, for five horses, in the same manner as others of his rank with the said Earl. And in case he were taken prisoner, that it should be with him as with the other bachelors who were of the Earl's retinue for term of life. In the book of Household regulations of Edward the Fourth, called Liber Niger Domus Regis,† the term continually occurs in its English form; the number of retainers which peers of each rank, and the several Officers of Kennett's Parochial Antiquities, p. 378. -In the Glossary the Bishop gives, in addition to the derivation "from the French bouche a mouth," various other far-fetched derivations for budge; but, as we find the word bouche in these early documents, and the perversion is so obvious, any further etymological inquiries are surely gratuitous and needless. Archdeacon Nares has not thought it necessary to notice them in his very judicious Glossary. Included in the Royal Household Ordinances, published by the Society of Antiquaries, 4to, 1790. 1831.] The Privilege of Bouche at Court. the Household, were permitted to have **eating in the hall," being expressly stipulated. I will select the paragraphs which relate to this important part of their privileges: "A Duke shall have etyng in the hall one knyghte, a chapleyn, iii esquyers, iii yoemen.' "A Marques shall have etyng in the King's hall one knyght, a chapleyn, iii esquiers, ii yomen besides hym that kepith still his chambre." "A Counte to have in the King's hall etyng, a chapleyn, or a knyght, ii esquiers, ii yomen." "A Bisshop Confessour shall have etyng in the hall, a chapleyn, one esquier, one yoman." “A Viscount shall have in the hall etyng one chapleyn, one esquier, one yoman.' "A Baron shall have. etyng in the hall a gentilman and a yoman." "A Chamberlayn for the King in Household may have etynge in the hall ii esquiers, ii yomen." "The Knyghtes of Chaumbre," who were four Banneretts or Bachelor Knights that acted as Carvers and Cupbearers, "everych of them shall have a gentilman and yoman eatyng in the hall." "Knyghts of Household, xii, whereof iii to be continually abydyng and attending on the King's person in Courte, everyche of them shall have etyng in the hall" [i. e. for themselves], and their " iii yomen to ete dayly in the hall with the Chamberlaynes [yomen.]" "A Secretary shall have eting in the hall one gentilman." 66 Chapleyns, iiii, or more as it pleasith the Kinge; whereof ii alwayes in the chambre be sitting at meales, such as say the day matyns masse before the King for graces; that other ii in the hall with persones of like servyse. Item, eche of them hath eting in the hall a yoman at the Chaumberlaynes bourde." "A Surveyour for the Kyng eateth in the hall." "Gentylmen Usshers of Chaumbre, iiii, whereof one or ii contynually sittith at metes and sopers in the King's chaumbre, to see every thing don in dew order, and to kepe silence; that other to be etyng in the hall with a person of like servyse, so that one be walking at the recorde of the King's chaumbre." "Yeomen of Crowne, xxiiii. In the King's chaumbre be dayly sitting iiii messes of yeomen, and all the remanent etyng in the hall, sitting togeder above joyning to the Yeomen of Household." Of the ten Grooms of the Chamber some were to "dyne and soupe in the hall with Yomen of Houshold." 307 Henxmen, vi enfauntes, or more as it shall pleese the Kinge; all these etyng in the halle, and sitting at bourde togyder, and to be served two or three to a messe.' "Squyers of Houshold, xl, or more if it shall please the Kinge; they ete in the hall, sitting togyder at any of the bothe meles as they serve, some the furst mele, some the latter, by assent; this hathe bene alway the manner amongs them, for honour and proffitte to the Kinge, and ease to themselves." 66 Kinges of Armes, Heraulds, and Pursevants, commyng into the royal courte to the wurshipp of the five festes of in the yere, sitting at mete and souper in the hall." "Sergeauntes of Armes, iiii, ete in the halle togeder, or with Squires of Houshold." Mynstrelles, xiii, all sitting in the hall togyder." "A Wayte, that nightly pipeth the watch, eateth in the hall with the Minstrelles." "Messengers, iiii, sitt togeder in the halle at theyre meles." "DEANE OF CHAPELLE, having in the courte a chapleyn under hym, whyche he may assigne to be by hys power Confessour of the Houshold, also one gentylman, both etyng in the halle." "Chapleynes and Clerkes of the Chapell, xxvi, all these sitting togyder in the hall at the Deane's bourde." "Yomen of Chapell, ii, called pistellers [Epistle readers], etyu in the hall at the Chapell bourd." "Children of Chapell, viii, etyn in the hall dayly at the chapell bourde, next the Yomen of Vestyary.' "Clerke of Closette, eteth in the hall with the Sergeaunt of the Vestyary, by the chappell gentylmen." Maistyr of Gramer, taking his mete in the hall, sitting with the Sergeaunt of Vestyary and Clerk of Closett." "STYWARD OF HOUSHOLDE hath dayly in the hall etyng one chapleyn, two esquiers, four yomen." "Thesaurere of Householde hath dayly, whyles he present in courte, one chapleyn, two esquires, two yomen, etyng in the halle." "Countroller of this Houshold Royall, whyles he is present in courte, hathe etyng in the halle, one gentylman, one yoman.' "Cofferer of the King's Houshold, hath etyng in the halle, one under Clerke contynually to wryte his resceytes and payments, &c." "Clerkys of Grene-clothe, tweyne; they etyn in the hall with a person of like servyce, or elles with some straunger of wurship to sitte with them." Clerke of Controulment: his Under 308 The Privilege of Bouche at Court. Clerk ete in the hall, not served with trenchers, but as squyers." "Offyce of Countyng-House; one yoman called Messager of the Countynghouse, etyng in the hall." [With regard to this last named officer, we find the term "bouche oute of courte;" his wages when in the court were iiid., and "for bouch out of courte, in message, iid. more dayly." In the "Office of Aletakers" also, the Yeoman and Groom, when absent on purveyance, had " out of courte 1d. ob."] [April, We here see the daily use made in the reign of Edward the Fourth of the magnificent Hall at Westminster; and can readily conceive that, at the time of Parliament, or when for other reasons the Sovereign summoned his peers around him, there might even in that spacious area be no unoccupied space. ways dayly for bouche "Office of Bakehouse; the Sergeaunt etith in the hall:" and the "Clerk etyth in the halle with yomen; one yoman in this office for the King's mouthe,* other three Yeomen Purveyours, and one Yoman Furnour, had also the same privilege; as had also the Groome for the Mouthe, and Groome Garnetour, who were served with the Groomes of the Towell. Other vii groomes, called laborers, not etyng in the King's hall." "Office of Panetry: the Sergeaunt etythe in the hall;" the Grooms were the servants employed as waiters at table. "Office of Waferes, hathe one Yoman making wafyrs; this yoman etithe in the hall;' as did the Groom. "Office of Purveyours of Wine, fower yomen; this [sic] yoman etynge in the halle with yomen. "Office of Sellar, a Yoman and Groom eating in the hall." By the time of Henry the Eighth, however, some change in manners had taken place. The hall" was not alkept;" and when it was, it was found that many persons preferred privacy. In the ordinances made Monarch, 1526, it is noticed "that at Eltham in the 17th year of that sundry noblemen, gentlemen, and others, doe much delight and use to dyne in corners and secret places, not repairing to the King's chamber nor hall, nor to the head officers of the household when the hall is not kept, by reason whereof the good order of the chamber and household is greatly impaired, and the said officers oftentimes destitute of company at their boords, and such viand as is allowed to be spent in the King's house, appeareth not to be employed and dispensed to the King's honour;" fresh regulations were in consequence made for a better attendance in future.* At the end of the same Ordinancest is "A declaration of Bouche of Courte," being a description of the several provisions and proportions "to be served to everie person being of the ordinary of the King's honourable house, accordinge to their degrees.' The rank of the individual did not make much difference; and as a specimen of the whole, may be quoted the allowance to "The Queen's Maides. "Among them for their Bouch in the morning, one chet lofe [a loaf of inferior bread], one manchet [fine bread], one gallon of ale; for afternoones one manchett, one gallon of ale; for after supper, one chet lofe, one manchet, two gallons of ale, dim' pitcher of wyne; and from the last day of October unto the first day of Aprill three lynckes by the weeke, by the day six sises, one pound white lights, six talshides, six faggots, and ...............; amounting by the yeare to the sume of xxiiiil. xixs, xd.' This Bouche appears to have been in addition to the more substantial meals of dinner and supper. * See "Royal Household Ordinances," p. 153. + Pp. 162-164. 1831.] Royal Hospitality in England.-The Celts. When King James the First made some reductions in his Household expenses in 1604, among the alterations were, that the Serjeant Porter, in lieu of his allowance of five dishes of meat at a meal, and bouch at court, should have 1601. per annum; that the King's physician "Doctor Cragge, shall have for his diett continuance the sume of 1607. per annum ;" that "Dr Marbecke, Phisition to our Household, shall have for his diett 5 dishes at a meale, his bouge of court being notwithstanding served unto him, and receive the summe of 1341. 1s. 8d. per annum;" and "George Sheares, our Apothecary for the Household, 601. per annum, beside allowance of bouge of court. A declaration of bouge of court" follows, being a general allowance for every person, very similar to that already quoted; and then, the allowances of meat, instead of "eating in the hall;" for the palace of Westminster was now deserted for Whitehall, where there was no apartment like the noble hall of Rufus. On the establishment of the Household of Henry Prince of Wales in 1610, the "diett " for himself and his severall officers was arranged; § for the latter only dinner and supper; but "for the Prince's Highnes' Breakfast: "Manchet 2, cheate fine 2, cheate 4, beere 3 gallons, wine 1 picher, beefe 1 service, mutton 1 service, chickennes 2. "For collation after supper, manchet 1, beere 2 gallons, wine 1 picher." This answered to the Bouge of Court" of his dependants; the allowance of which, delivered " per diem," apparently only once a day, is subsequently described. This term, if not the hospitality of ancient days, now disappears; and in the Household Ordinances of Charles the Second there is no mention of Bouge, nor any service of provisions, except at the stated meals. T 309 It may be mentioned, before we leave the subject, that one of Skelton's satires is "The Bouge of Court," which is there a name given to a ship; and that in one of Ben Jonson's Court Masques is introduced as a character, a Groom of the Revels, whose business is described as "to fetch bouge of court-a parcel of invisible bread and beer for the players (for they never see it), or to mis-take six torches from the Chandry, and give them one."-Masque of Augurs. To revert to the "Bougiers" of the Court of Chancery, which first gave rise to the present investigation, it may be remarked that neither they, nor the Masters in Chancery, have occurred in the records we have been examining, as having received diet at the King's palace; they were possibly entertained by the Lord Chancellor, in some degree at the King's expense. In Edward the Fourth's "Liber Niger" it is mentioned that the Chancellor was allowed, "for his own householde use, for everey of the kalender of the yere, a dolium of wyne, bothe for to shewe of wynes the more largesse unto the Maisters of Chancery, as to sewtors, straungers, and resorters to his householde." J. G. N. Mr. URBAN, Mere, March 4. IN your Feb. number (p. 117), you inserted a few reflections of mine elicited by the letter of your Correspondent W. S. B. on the Celts; and Ì now beg the favour of a place for some further observations connected with the same subject. Your Correspondent thinks that the ancient inhabitants of Gaul, Spain, and the British islands, were all families of the same nation (the Celts); and that the dialects now used by the Welsh, Irish, Highlanders, Bretons, Basques, &c. are all derived from the original Celtic language. This, as I stated in my last letter, may be questioned, from objections which cannot be easily put aside. Cæsar, in the beginning of his Commentaries, says positively that Gaul ple, the Belge, the Aquitani, and the was inhabited by three kinds of peo Celta or Galli; and he adds, "Hi omnes linguâ, institutis, legibus inter se differunt.' Without doubt they did differ from each other, because I suppose the Belge were a Gothic tribe, 310 Observations on the Belga, Aquitani, and Celtæ. and spoke a language like high or low Dutch; the Aquitani were a race of the Vascones, on the other side of the Pyrenees, and spoke Vascuence, or Basque; and the Celta were of one nation with the Britons, and spoke the language now used in Basse Bretagne and Wales. W. S. B. remarks (very properly in a general sense,) that the variation of patois may have been very marked without a decided difference of language; but the difference between Dutch, Bas-breton, and Basque, is not merely a variation of patois, it is a decided difference of language. That Dutch and Bas-breton are altogether different, may be stated without fear of contradiction; and that Bas-breton and Basque are not fellow dialects may be said with almost equal confidence. M. Depping, quoted in my last letter, says, that "les mots qui se ressemblent dans les deux idiomes sont en bien petit nombre ;" and adds, that one needs only to compare M. Pezron's Vocabulary of Bas-breton, with Larramendi's Biscayen Dictionary, to be convinced of it. Now the likeness of a "bien petit nombre" of words is a very weak proof that two languages, differing from each other in construction and body, are sister dialects; for I have now before me about 60 Russian words, like their equals in Latin; but the Russian and Latin are altogether different languages; and the singular construction of the Basque verbs, &c. make it quite distinct from other dialects called Celtish. It is idle to object that the languages were once alike, but that they have been corrupted by time. If the derivative or compound words of a language are formed from simples of its own, it is an original language; whether spoken by an original nation, or by a race descended from them. Now, with regard to Basque and High Dutch, (from which Low Dutch or Belgic is a little corrupted) this is the case; and, however corrupted Basbreton may be, yet, if it cannot trace its compound words to simples in Basque or Dutch, it follows that Basque, Dutch, and Bas-breton, are wholly and originally different languages, belonging to wholly different nations. But Cæsar says that the Belgæ, Aquitani, and Celta, differed from each other not only in language, but in [April, manners and laws. Now, if they were one nation, they could not have gone off into different manners from living without intercourse with each other through distance, or from the influence of climate, because they were close together; and if a difference of language, manners, and laws, be not a proof of a difference of nation, it cannot be easily shown that the Germans, Tartars, or Romans, were not Celts. Having put down some reasons for thinking that the Belgæ, Aquitani, and Celta, were decidedly different nations, I will go back to my first propositions. And first, the Belga were a Gothic tribe, and spoke a language like High or Low Dutch. The modern Flemings, &c. are either the descendants of the Belgæ, or they are not. If they are, the Belgae were undeniably a Gothic race; and if they are not, a Gothic nation must have come into the Netherlands, since the time of Cæsar, and so completely possessed the country, that there is not a trace of the Celtic language left in it: a thing that is not very likely, for the Goths that invaded Italy, France, and Normandy, did not plant their language there; nor did the Saxons wholly expel the Welsh and Gaelic from the British Islands." Secondly, The Aquitani were a race of the Vascones the other side of the Pyrenees, and spoke Vascuence or Basque. Part of Aquitania is now called Gascoigne, which, according to the French pronunciation of the word Gasconya, is evidently a corruption of Vasconia; the V being changed into G, as the French say le Prince des Galles, for the Prince of Wales; and the language of Gascogne is known to be a dialect of Vascuence or Basque. In addition to which, it is observed by Strabo, that the inhabitants of Aquitania were much more like the Spaniards than like the other Gauls; a proof, by the way, that the Vascones (Celts) of Spain were so unlike the Gauls, that there was room for an intermediate character between theirs, not strictly like that of either. Thirdly, The Celta or Galli were of one nation with the Britons, and spoke the language now used in Basse Bretagne and Wales: a proposition that I need not labour to prove, as it |