[John Le Neve was born in Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, Dec.
27, 1679. In his twelfth year he was sent to Eton School, and at
the age of sixteen became a fellow-commoner of Trinity College,
Cambridge, where he remained three years. He married Frances, the
second daughter of Thomas Boughton, of King's Cliffe, in
Northamptonshire, by whom he had four sons and four daughters. He
died about 1722. Mr. Lysons, in _Environs of London_, says he had
a house at Stratford, Bow. (See Nichols's _Lit. Anecdotes_, vol.
i. p. 128.) In Cole's MSS., vol. i. p. 143., is the following
curious note respecting his _Fasti_:--"I was told by my worthy
friend and benefactor, Browne Willis, Esq., that though Mr. John
Le Neve has the name and credit of the _Fasti Ecclesiae
Anglicanae_, yet the real compiler of that most useful book was
Bishop Kennett." The Bodleian contains a copy of this work, with
MS. additions by Bishop Tanner.]
_Meaning of Crow._--At page 437. of Lloyd's _Statesmen and Favourites of
England_ is a letter from Queen Elizabeth addressed to the mother of Sir
John Norris, written upon the occasion of the death of the said Sir
John, which she commences thus: "My own Crow." This appears to me a very
curious mode of address, particularly from a queen to a subject, and
seems to mark a more than ordinary intimacy between the correspondents,
for it has been suggested to me that it is still used as a term of
endearment, in the same way as "duck," &c. are used: I have, however,
never before met with it myself, and have sent you a Note of it now, not
only because I consider it curious that the queen should thus write, but
because I hope that some of your correspondents may be able to suggest
how this word came to be thus used.