Chapter II: Front Matter (2)

but breathes throughout every page of his wondrous writings a spirit of philosophy as profound as his imagination is unlimited; yet nowhere, it is believed, can he be traced as making the slight allusion to the great father of modern philosophy. Bacon, on the other hand, whom one can scarcely suppose to have been ignorant of the writings of the dramatist, but who indeed may rather be believed to have known him personally, seems altogether to ignore his existence, or the existence of any of his matchless works. As the solution of this problem could not but throw much light on that most interesting subject,--the history of the minds of Shakespeare and Bacon,--I venture to throw it out as a fit subject for the research of some of your contributors versed in the writings of these great spirits of their own age, no less than of all time.

THETA.

* * * * *

Minor Notes.

_Decomposed Cloth._--In Mr. Wright's valuable work on _The Celt, the Roman, and the Saxon_, p. 308., is mentioned the discovery at York of a Roman coffin, in which were distinctly visible "the colour, a rich purple," as well as texture of the cloth with which the body it had contained had been covered.

I should think that the colour observed was not that of the ancient dye, but rather was caused by phosphate of iron, formed by the combination of iron contained in the soil or water, with phosphoric acid, arising from the decomposition of animal matter. It may often be observed in similar cases, as about animal remains found in bogs, and about ancient leather articles found in {439} excavations, especially when any iron is in contact with them, or in the soles of shoes or sandals studded with nails.

W. C. TREVELYAN.

Wallington.

_First and Last._--There cannot be two words more different in meaning than these, and yet they are both used to express the same sense! Of two authors equally eminent, one shall write that a thing is of the _first_ and the other of the _last_ importance, though each means the _greatest_ or _utmost_. How is this? To me _first_ appears preferable, though _last_ may be justifiable. Being on the subject of words, I am reminded of _obnoxious_, which is applied in the strangest ways by different authors. It is true that the Roman writers used _obnoxius_ in various senses; but it does not seem so pliable or smooth in English. Generally it is held to indicate _disagreeable_ or _inimical_, though our dictionaries do not admit it to have either of those meanings!

A. B. C.

_Cucumber Time._--This term, which the working-tailors of England use to denote that which their masters call "the flat season," has been imported from a country which periodically sends many hundreds of its tailors to seek employment in our metropolis. The German phrase is "Die saure Gurken Zeit," or pickled gherkin time. A misunderstanding of the meaning of the phrase may have given rise to the vulgar witticism, that tailors are vegetarians, who "live on cucumber" while at play, and on "cabbage" while at work.

N. W. S.

_MS. Sermons of the Eighteenth Century._--Having lately become possessed, at the sale of an an old library, of some MS. Sermons by the Rev. J. Harris, Rector of Abbotsbury, Dorset, from the year 1741 to 1763, I shall be happy to place them in the hands of any descendant of that gentleman.

W. EWART.

Pimperne, Dorset.

_Boswell's "Johnson."_--In vol. v. p. 272. of _my_ favourite edition, and p. 784. of the edition in one volume, Johnson, writing to Brocklesby, under date Sept. 2, 1784, calls Windham "inter stellas Luna minores." Boswell, in a note, says, "It is remarkable that so good a Latin scholar as Johnson should have been so inattentive to the metre, as by mistake to have written _stellas_ instead of _ignes_." Now, with all due deference, a Captain of Native Infantry ventures to suggest that both _stellas_ and _ignes_ are wrong, and that Johnson was thinking of the noble opening of Horace's 15th Epode:

"Nox erat, et coelo fulgebat _Luna_ sereno,
_Inter minora_ sidera."

F. C.

Bangalore.

_Stage Coaches._--It occurs to me as highly desirable that, before the recollection of the old stage coach has faded from the memory of all but the oldest inhabitant, an authentic statement should be placed on record of the length of the stages, and the speed that was obtained, by this mode of conveyance, in which England was for so many years without a rival.

The speed of mail coaches is, I believe chronicled in the British Almanac of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge; but their speed, if I mistake not, was surpassed by that of the "Rival," which travelled (from Monmouth, I think) to London after the opening of the Great Western Railway.

Could any of your correspondents favour us with the time-bill of that coach, detailing the length of the several stages, and the time of performance? It would also be interesting to chronicle the period during which this rivalry with the railway was maintained.

GEO. E. FRERE.

_Antecedents._--The word "antecedents," as a plural, and in the sense attached to it by the French, is not to be found in any English dictionary that I have the means of consulting. And yet it seems now to be commonly used as an English expression, even by some of our best writers.

When was this word first imported, and by whom? I have just met with an instance of it in Jerdan's _Autobiography_, vol. i. p. 131.:

"I got him (Hammon), with a full knowledge of his antecedents, into the
employment of a humane and worthy wine merchant of Bordeaux."

HENRY H. BREEN.

St. Lucia.

_The Letter X._--The letter X on brewers' casks is probably thus derived:

_Simplex_ = single x, or X.
_Duplex_ = double x, or XX.
_Triplex_ = treble x, or XXX.

This was suggested by Owen's _Epigram_, lib. xii. 34.:

"Laudatur vinum _simplex_, cervisia _duplex_,
Est bona duplicitas, optima simplicitas."

B. H. C.

_A Crow-bar._--In Johnson's _Dictionary_ the explanation given of this word is "piece of iron used as a lever to force open doors, as the Latins called a hook _corvus_." In Walters' _English and Welsh Dictionary_, the first part of which was published about the year 1770, this word is printed "_Croe_-bar." Is it probable that the word _crow_ has been derived front the Camb.-Brit. word _cro_, a curve? and that the name has been given from the circumstance of one end of a crow-bar being curved for the purpose of making it more efficient as lever?

N. W. S.

* * * * *

{440}

Minor Queries.

_Bishop Grehan._--I want any information obtainable with reference to a Roman Catholic bishop in Ireland named Grehan; his Christian name, family, date of his bishopric, and name of it. Where can I find such particulars?

O. L. R. G.

_Doxology._--In his "Christmas Caroll" to the tune of "King Solomon," old Tusser has the following:

"To God the Son and Holy Ghost,
Let man give thanks, rejoice, and sing,
From world to world, from coast to coast,
For all good gifts so many ways,
That God doth send.
Let us in Christ give God the praise,
Till life shall end!"

Query, Is this the origin of our own doxologies?

L. A. M.

Great Yarmouth.

_Arrow-mark._--On an ancient pump of wood, extracted from the Poltimore mine in North Devon, I perceive a deeply cut arrow-mark. What is the inference as to the age of this relic from the mark referred to? The fragment is that of a large oak tree hollowed out, and now decomposing from exposure after its long burial.

J. R. P.

_Gabriel Poyntz._--There is a portrait here inscribed "Gabriel Poyntz, an. Domini 1568, aetatis suae 36:" and having a coat of arms painted on it, Barry of eight, or and gules, with a crest very indistinct; but apparently a lion's head, and the motto "Clainte refrainte."

Can any of your correspondents inform me of the meaning of this motto, and the language in which it is expressed; and also what the crest is?

G. Poyntz was of South Okendon in Essex, and there is an account of his family in Morant's _Essex_; from which it appears that he was descended from the family of Poyntz of Tockington in _Gloucestershire_, of which there is an account in Atkins' Gloucestershire. He was afterwards knighted.--Any information as to him, in addition to that which is contained in Morant, would be very acceptable.

S. G. C.

Bradley, Ashbourne.

_Queen Elizabeth's and Queen Anne's Motto, "Semper eadem."_--Upon what occasion, and by what authority was the motto "Semper eadem" used as the royal motto in the reign of Elizabeth?

The authority for Queen Anne's motto has been afforded by your correspondent G. (Vol. viii., p. 255.); though he has not fully answered the original Query (Vol. viii., p. 174.), as the motto in question was signified to the public in the _London Gazette_, Dec. 21-24, 1702; was ordered to be _continued_ in 1707, and to be _discontinued_ (by an order in council) on the accession of the House of Hanover in 1714, when the old motto "Dieu et mon droit" was resumed.

Z. Z. Z.

_Bees._--In these parts the increase of the apiary is known by the three following names:--The first migration from the parent hive is (as all your country readers are aware) a _swarm_; the next is called a _cast_; while the third increase, in the same season, goes under the name of a _cote_. Perhaps some one will kindly inform me if these names are common in other parts of England; and if there are any other local designations for the different departures of these insect colonists.

JOHN P. STILWELL.

Dorking.

_Nelly O'Brien and Kitty Fisher._--Perhaps some of the readers of "N. & Q." can tell me where information is to be found respecting these two celebrated women, who have been immortalised by Sir Joshua Reynolds, and whose portraits are sometimes to be met with.

"Cleopatra dissolving the Pearl" is a portrait of Kitty, and he probably introduced them both into some of his fancy pictures.

As I happen to possess a good portrait of one of them, I should like to know something of their history.

CANTAB.

University Club.

_"Homo unius libri."_--To whom does this saying ing originally belong? The _British Critic_ gives it to St. Thomas Aquinas:

"When asked on one occasion who is in the way to become learned, he
answered, 'Whoever will content himself with the reading of a single
book."--_The British Critic_, No. LIX. p. 202.

W. FRASER.

Tor-Mohun.

_"Now the fierce bear," &c._--Can any of your readers inform me who is the author of the following lines?

"Now the fierce bear and leopard keen,
All perished as they ne'er had been;
Oblivion's their best home.
. . . .
There is an oath on high,
That ne'er on brow of mortal birth,
Shall blend again the crowns of earth."

[theta].

_Prejudice against Holy Confirmation._--I have found among my rural parishioners an idea very prevalent, that it is wrong, or at least highly improper, for a married woman to become a candidate for, or to receive holy confirmation; and this quite apart from any sectarian views on the matter. I should like to know if any of my {441} clerical brethren have noticed the same superstition as I must call it. Labourers' wives in some cases have at once stated their being married as a valid objection; and in others their husbands, although Churchmen, have at once entered their _veto_ on their being confirmed. Can it arise from any vague reminiscence of the practical rule of the Church of England on the subject, which has been so long ignored?

W. FRASER.

Tor-Mohun.

_Epigram on MacAdam._--Who was the author of the following epigram?

"My Essay on Roads, quoth MacAdam, lies there,
The result of a life's lucubration;
But does not the title page look rather bare?
I long for a Latin quotation.

"A Delphin edition of Virgil stood nigh,
To second his classic desire;
When the road-maker hit on the shepherd's reply,
'_Miror Magis_,' I rather _add_-mire."

[Old English W. N.]

_Jane Scrimshaw._--Can any of your numerous correspondents inform me if there is any other biographical notice of Jane Scrimshaw, who attained the advanced age of 127, and resided for upwards of eighty years in the Merchant Taylors' Almshouse, near Little Tower Hill, than that recorded in Caulfield's _Memoirs of Remarkable Characters_?

J. T. M.

_The Word "Quadrille."_--May I trouble some kind reader to give me the origin, derivation, full and literal meaning, and the several senses, in their regular succession, of the above word _Quadrille_? There seems to be much uncertainty attached to the word.

VERITATIS AMICUS.

Oxon.

_The Hungarians in Paules._--Perhaps some of the ingenious contributors to "N. & Q." may be able to assist P. C. S. S. to explain the following passage in the dedication of a rare little book _Dekker's Dreame_ (Lond. 4to. 1620). It is inscribed:--

"To the truly accomplished gentleman, and worthy deserver of all men's
loves, Master Endymion Porter. Sir, if you aske why, from the heapes of
men, I picke you out only to be that _Murus ahaeneus_ which must defend
me, lett me tell you (what you knowe allready) that bookes are like the
Hungarians in Paules, who have a priviledge to holde out their Turkish
history for anie one to reade. They beg nothing: the texted past-bord
talkes all--and if nothing be given, nothing is spoken, but God knowes
what they thinke!"

An explanation of the above passage is very earnestly desired by

P. C. S. S.

_Ferns Wanted._--Specimens of the following rare ferns are much wanted to complete a collection:--_Woodsia ilvensis_, _Woodsia alpina_, _Cystopteris montana_, _Lastrea cristata_, _Lastrea recurva_, _Lastrea multiflora_, _Asplenium alterniflorum_, _Trichomanes speciosum_.

The undersigned will feel very much obliged to any charitable person, residing near the _habitat_ of any of the above-mentioned ferns, who would take the trouble to forward to him, if not a root, at least a specimen for drying, he need scarcely say that any expenses will be most cheerfully defrayed.

HENRY COOPER KEY.

Stretton Rectory, near Hereford.

_Craton the Philosopher._--Two of the figures on the brass font in the church of St. Bartholomew at Liege are superscribed Johannes Evangelista et Craton Philosophus.--Can any reader of "N. & Q." say if anything is known about the latter, who is represented as being baptized by the Evangelist?

R. H. C.

_The Solar Annual Eclipse in the Year 1263._--In the Norwegian account of Haco's expedition against Scotland, A.D. 1263, published in the original Islandic from the Flateyan and Frisian MSS., with a literal English version by the Rev. James Johnstone, I read as follows:

"While King Haco lay in Ronaldsvo, a great darkness drew over the sun;
so that only a little ring was bright round the sun, and it continued
so for some hours."--P. 45.

King Haco, according to the account, left Bergen on his expedition "three nights before the 'Selian' vigils ... with all his fleet," and, "having got a gentle breeze, was two nights at sea when he reached that harbour of Shetland called Breydeyiar Sound (Bressay Sound, I presume) with a great part of his navy." Here he remained "near half a month, and from thence sailed to the Orkneys; and continued some time at Elidarwick, which is near Kirkwall.... After St. Olave's wake (July 18, O. S.) King Haco, leaving Elidarwick, sailed south before the Mull of Ronaldsha, with all the navy;" and being joined by Ronald from the Orkneys, with the ships that had followed him, he "led the whole armament into Ronaldsha, which he left upon the vigil of St. Lawrence (July 30, O. S.)."

Now I wish to know, 1. On what day in August this eclipse took place, the day of the week, commencement of the eclipse, &c.

2. Whether any cotemporary, or other writer besides the Icelandic historian, has recorded this eclipse?

S.

Fitzroy Street.

_D'Israeli--how spelt?_--CAUCASUS is so fortunate as to possess all the acknowledged works of D'Israeli the elder, as published by himself. In the title-page of every one of them, the name {442} of the elegant and accomplished author is spelt (as above) _with_ an apostrophe. In the late edition of his collected works, by his no less accomplished son, the name is printed _without_ the apostrophe. Indeed the name so appears in all the works of Mr. D'Israeli the younger; a practice which he seems to have taken up even in the lifetime of his father, who spelt it differently. Can any of your readers inform CAUCASUS of the reason of this difference, and of the authority for it, and which is the correct mode? He has vainly sought for information in the Heralds' Visitation books for Buckinghamshire, preserved in the British Museum.

CAUCASUS.

_Richard Oswald._--Could any of your correspondents give me any information respecting Mr. Richard Oswald, the commissioner who negociated the Treaty of 1782 at Paris, with Franklin, and his other colleagues, representing the United States? Is there any obituary or biographical notice of him in existence?

L.

_Cromwell's Descendants._--Oliver Cromwell's daughter Bridget was baptized August 4, 1624; married to Ireton January 15, 1646-7; a widow Nov. 26, 1651; married to General Fleetwood, Lord President in Ireland, before 1652; died at Stoke, near London, 1681.--Can any of your correspondents furnish the date of this lady's marriage with Fleetwood; also, a list of her children and grandchildren by Fleetwood? It is supposed that Captain Fleetwood's daughter, _i. e._ the General's granddaughter, married a Berry.

ERIN.

_Letter of Archbishop Curwen to Archbishop Parker._--In _The Hunting of the Romish Fox_, collected by Sir James Ware, and edited by Robert Ware (8vo., Dublin, 1683), there is a long account of an image of the Saviour which, to the astonishment of the good people of Dublin, and by the contrivance of one Father Leigh, sweated blood in the year 1559. It is added, at p. 90.:

"The Archbishop of Dublin wrote _this relation and to this effect_, to
his brother, Archbishop of Canterbury Matthew Parker, who was very
joyful at the receipt thereof, by reason," &c.

The whole chapter in which this occurs is stated to be "taken out of the Lord Cecil's _Memorials_." Can any of your readers give me assistance in finding these _Memorials_, or this letter to Archbishop Parker, or a copy of it? I intended to have made it an object of inquiry and search in Dublin, but I have been prevented accomplishing my design of visiting that country. Perhaps some of your Irish readers may be able to help me.

JOHN BRUCE.

* * * * *

Minor Queries with Answers.

_Margaret Patten._--I have just seen a curious old picture, executed at least a century ago, and which was lately found amongst some family papers. It is a half-length of an old woman in homely looking garments; a dark blue stuff gown, the sleeves partially rolled up, and white sleeving protruding from under, not unlike the fashion of to-day; a white and blue checked apron; around her neck a white tippet and a handkerchief, on her head a "mutch," or close linen cap, and a lace or embroidered band across her forehead to hide the absence of hair. She holds something undistinguishable in one hand.

The picture is about 10 x 8 inches, and is done on glass, evidently transferred from an engraving on steel. The colours have been laid on with hand, and then, to preserve and make an opaque back, it has received a coating of plaster of Paris; altogether in its treatment resembling a coloured photograph.

By-the-bye, I am sorry I could not get a copy (photographic) of it, or that would have rendered intelligible what I fear my lame descriptions cannot. Beneath the figure is the following inscription:

"MARGARET PATTEN,

Born in the Parish of Lochnugh, near Pairsley in Scotland, now Liveing
in the Work House of St. Marg^{ts}, Westminsster, aged 138."

There is no date appended.

The word "Lochnugh" in the inscription is evidently spelt from the Scotch pronunciation of Lochwinnoch, near Paisley.

I should be very glad if any of your readers or correspondents in London could ascertain if the name, &c. is to be found in the records of St. Margaret's, Westminster, and also give me some facts as to the history of this poor old Scotch woman, left destitute so far from home and kindred.

If it can be authenticated, it will make another item for your list of longevals.

JAMES B. MURDOCH.

Glasgow.

[In the Board-room of the workhouse of St. Margaret's, Westminster, is
a portrait of Margaret Patten, which corresponds with the picture just
described, and bears the following inscription:

"MARGARET PATTEN, aged 136: the Gift of John Dowsell, William Goff,
Matthew Burnett, Thomas Parker, Robert Wright, John Parquot, Overseers,
anno 1737."

Margaret Patten was buried in the burial-ground of what was then called the Broadway Church, now Christ Church, and there is a stone on the eastern boundary wall inscribed, "Near this place lieth MARGARET PATTEN, who died June 26, 1739, in the Parish Workhouse, aged 136." In Walcott's _Memorials of {443} Westminster_, p. 288., we are told "she was a native of Lochborough, near Paisley. She was brought to England to prepare Scotch broth for King James II., but, owing to the abdication of that monarch, fell into poverty and died in St. Margaret's workhouse, where her portrait is still preserved. Her body was followed to the grave by the parochial authorities and many of the principal inhabitants, while the children sang a hymn before it reached its last resting-place."]

_Etymology of "Coin."_--What is the etymology of our noun and verb _coin_ and _to coin_? I do not know if I have been anticipated, but beg to suggest the following:--_Coin_, a piece of cornered metal; _To coin_, the act of cornering such block of metal.

In Cornwall, the blocks of tin, when first run into moulds from the smelting furnace, are _square_; and when the metal is to be fined or assayed, the miner's phrase is, that it is to be _coined_; for the _corners_ of the moulded block are _cut off_, and subjected to the _assay_; and the decree of fineness proved is stamped on the now cornerless block--thereafter called a _coin of tin_. It is, I conceive, by no means a violent supposition that such _coins of tin_ were current as money very many ages before either silver, gold, copper, bronze, lead, tin, or any other metal moulded, stamped, engraved, or fashioned into such coins as we now know had come into use. We know to what far-back ages the finding of tin carries us, its find being entirely confined to Cornwall; its presence near the surface in an ore readily reduced and easily melted making its reduction into the metallic state possible in the very rudest state of society and of the arts.

C. D. LAMONT.

Greenock.

[See Dr. Richardson for the following derivation:--"Fr. _coigner_, It.
_cuniare_, Sp. _cunar_, _acunar_, to wedge, and also to coin. Menage
and Spelman agree from the Latin _cuneus_. '_Cuneus_; sigillum ferreum,
quo nummus _cuditur_; a forma dictum: atque inde _coin_ quasi _cune_
pro moneta.' An iron seal with which metal is stamped; so called from
the shape. And hence money is called _coin_ (q. _cune_,
wedge).--_Spelman._" The Rev. T. R. Brown, in an unpublished
_Dictionary of Difficult Etymology_[1], suggests the following:--"Fr.
_coign_, a coin, stamp, &c.; Gaelic, _cuin_, a coin. Probably from the
Sanscrit _kan_, to shine, desire, covet; _kanaka_, gold, &c. The Hebrew
_ceseph_, money, coin, is derived in like manner from the verb
_casaph_, to desire, covet. The other meaning attached to the French
word _coign_, viz. a wedge, appears to be derived from quite a
different root."]

[Footnote 1: This useful work makes two volumes 8vo.: but how is it the learned Vicar of Southwick printed only _nine_ copies? Was he thinking of the sacred _Nine_?]

_Inscription at Aylesbury._--In the north transept of St. Mary's Church, Aylesbury, occurs the following curious inscription on a tomb of the date of 1584:

"Yf, passing by this place, thou doe desire
To knowe what corpse here shry'd in marble lie,
The somme of that whiche now thou dost require
This slender verse shall sone to thee descrie.

"Entombed here doth rest a worthie Dame,
Extract and born of noble house and bloud,
Her sire, Lord Paget, hight of worthie fame
Whose virtues cannot sink in Lethe floud.
Two brethern had she, barons of this realme,
A knight her freere, Sir Henry Lee, he hight,
To whom she bare three _impes_, which had to name,
John, Henry, Mary, slayn by fortune spight,
First two being yong, which cavs'd their parents mone,
The third in flower and prime of all her yeares:
All three do rest within this marble stone,
By which the fickleness of worldly joyes appears.
Good Frend sticke not to strew with crimson flowers
This marble stone, wherein her cindres rest,
For sure her ghost lives with the heavenly powers,
And guerdon hathe of virtuous life possest."

Can any of your readers give me any other instances of children being called _imps_? and also tell me wherefore the name was given them? and how long it continued in use?

T. W. D. BROOKS.

Cropredy, Banbury.

[The inscription is given in Lipscomb's _Buckinghamshire_. Horne Tooke
says _imp_ is the past participle of the A.-S. _impan_, to graft, to
plant. Mr. Steevens (Note on _2 Henry IV._, Act V. Sc. 5.) tells us,
"An _imp_ is a shoot in its primitive sense, but means a son in
Shakspeare." In Hollinshed, p. 951., the last words of Lord Cromwell
are preserved, who says, "And after him that his sonne Prince Edward,
that goodlie _impe_, may long reign over you." The word _imp_ is
perpetually used by Ulpian Fulwell, and other ancient writers, for
progeny:

"And were it not thy royal _impe_
Did mitigate our pain."

Again, in the _Battle of Alcazar_, 1594:

"Amurath, mighty emperor of the East,
That shall receive the _imp_ of royal race."

See other examples in Todd's Johnson and Dr. Richardson's Dictionaries.
Shakspeare uses the word only in jocular and burlesque passages, which,
says Nares, is the natural course of a word growing obsolete.]

_"Guardian Angels now protect me," &c._--I remember John Wesley, and also his saying the "Devil should not have the best tunes." There was a pretty love-song, a great favourite when I was a boy:

"Guardian angels, now protect me,
Send to me the youth I love."

the music of which Wesley introduced to his congregation as a hymn tune. The music I have, and I shall be glad if any of your correspondents {444} can oblige me with the first verse of this love-song; I only recollect the above lines.

WILLIAM GARDINER.

Leicester.

[The following is the song referred to by our correspondent:

_The Forsaken Nymph._

"Guardian angels, now protect me,
Send to me the swain I love;
Cupid, with thy bow direct me;
Help me, all ye pow'rs above.
Bear him my sighs, ye gentle breezes,
Tell him I love and I despair,
Tell him for him I grieve, say 'tis for him I live;
O may the shepherd be sincere!

"Through the shady grove I'll wander,
Silent as the bird of night,
Near the brink of yonder fountain,
First Leander bless'd my sight.
Witness ye groves and falls of water,
Echos repeat the vows he swore:
Can he forget me? will he neglect me?
Shall I never see him more?

"Does he love, and yet forsake me,
To admire a nymph more fair?
If 'tis so, I'll wear the willow,
And esteem the happy pair.
Some lonely cave I'll make my dwelling,
Ne'er more the cares of life pursue;
The lark and Philomel only shall hear me tell,
What bids me bid the world adieu."]

_K. C. B.'s._--I observe that in the _London Gazette_ of January 2, 1815, which regulates the existing order of the Bath, it is commanded by the sovereign that "there shall be affixed in the church of St. Peter at Westminster escutcheons and banners of the arms of each K. C. B." Has this command been regularly fulfilled on the creation of each K. C. B.? I believe that on each creation fees are demanded by the Heralds' College, for the professed purpose of exemplifying the knight's arms, and affixing his escutcheon; but I never remember to have seen the escutcheons in Westminster Abbey.

TEWARS.

[The order _never_ was fulfilled. If the knights were entitled to
armorial bearings, no fees whatever were demanded by or paid to the
Heralds' College. The statutes of 1815 were, however, abrogated and
annulled by the statutes of 1847, and the banners are not required to
be suspended in the Abbey. The erection of the banners and plates,
however, rested with the officers of the order, and the Heralds'
College had nothing to do with the matter.]

_Danish and Swedish Ballads._--What are the best and most recent collections of ancient Danish and Swedish ballad poetry?

J. M. B.

[We believe the best and most recent collection of Danish ballads is
the edition of _Udvalgte Danske Viser fra Middelalderen_, by
Abrahamson, Nyerup, Rabbek, &c., in five small 8vo. volumes,
Copenhagen, 1812. The best Swedish collection was _Svenska Folk-Visor
fran Forteden_, collected and edited by Geijer and Afzelius, and
published at Stockholm, 1814; but the more recent collection published
by Arwidson in 1834 is certainly superior. It is in three octavo
volumes, and is entitled _Svenska Fornsaenger. En Samling of Kaemp-visor,
Folk-visor, Lekar och Dansar, samt Barn- och Vall-Saenger_.]

_Etymology of "Conger."_--What is the etymology of the word _Conger_, as applied to the larger kind of deep sea eels by our fishermen (who, be it remarked, never add eel. _Conger-eel_ is entirely used by shore-folk)?

I imagine that it may be traced from the Danish _Kongr_, a king, or kings; for being the greatest of eels, the fishermen, whose nets he tore, and whose take he seriously reduced, might well call him in size, in strength, and voracity--_Kongr_, the king.

C. D. LAMONT.

Greenock.

[Todd and Webster derive it from the Latin _conger_ or _congrus_; Gr.
[Greek: gongros], formed of [Greek: grao], to eat, the fish being very
voracious; It. _gongro_; Fr. _congre_.]

_"Si vis me flere, dolendum est primum tibi."_--This is, I think, the ordinary form of a saying cited somewhere by Goldsmith, who calls it "so trite a quotation that it almost demands an apology to repeat it." Whence comes it originally? I am unable to give the exact reference to the passage in Goldsmith, but in his _Citizen of the World_, letter 53rd, he has a cognate idea:

"As in common conversation the best way to make the audience laugh is
by first laughing yourself, so in writing," &c.

W. T. M.

Hong Kong.

[Horace, _De Arte Poetica_, 102.]

* * * * *

Replies.

MEDAL AND RELIC OF MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS.

(Vol. viii., p. 293.)

I possess a cast of this medal as described by your correspondent W. FRASER, but which is a little indistinct in some of the letters of its inscriptions. The yew-tree represented on it is generally supposed to be that which stood at Cruikston Castle nearly Paisley; and its motto "Vires" may perhaps have been intended to denote its natural strength and durability. The date of the medal being 1566, and Mary's marriage with Lord Darnly having taken place on July 29, 1565, the yew-tree may have been introduced to commemorate some incident of their courtship, and gives likelihood to the common tradition. I once had a small box composed partly of its wood, and of {445} that of the "Torwood Oak" near Stirling, which was presented to me about thirty-five years ago by an aged lady, whose property it had been for a long time previously, and who placed much value on it as a relic. Though visiting Cruikston Castle in early life, I never heard of there being any feeling of "superstition" connected with such little objects as the crosses, &c. which were long made from the wood of the yew-tree. They are all, I think, to be viewed simply as curiosities associated with the historical interest of the place, and similar examples are to be found among our people in the numerous _quaichs_ (drinking-cups) and other articles which have been formed from the "Torwood Oak" that protected the illustrious Sir William Wallace from his enemies; from his oak at Elderslie, said to have been planted by his hand, two miles to the west of Paisley; and lately from such scraps of the old oaken rafters of the Glasgow Cathedral as could be obtained in the course of its modern repairs.

As respects the yew-tree immediately concerned, some notices of its remains may be found in a work entitled _The Severn Delineated_, by Charles Taylor, Glasgow, 1831, at page 82. The author, who was a very curious local antiquary, died in 1837, aged forty-two. As his book is now scarce, I may be excused from subjoining rather a long extract, but which also throws some light on other particulars of this subject:

"Retreating from Househill (a seat in the vicinity) to Cruikston
Castle, the country is rich, and the scenery delightful. The castle
itself might be the subject of volumes, as it has been the theme of
many a poet, and the subject of many a painter's pencil. Its name is
known all over the world, or may be so, from the circumstance of its
once having been the residence of Mary Queen of Scots and Henry Lord
Darnly; and though the famed yew-tree decks not now the 'hallowed
mould,' as the poet expresses himself,

'Is there an eye that tearless could behold
This lov'd retreat of beauty's fairest flower?'

About three years ago a large fragment fell from the south wing of this
ruin, despite of all the attention Sir John Maywell paid to keep it up.
The founder of this castle was one De Croc; hence the name Crockston,
Crocston, or Cruikston. This family (says Crawfurd), failing in ane
heiress, she was married to Sir Alexander Stewart of Torbolton, second
son to Walter, the second of that name, Great Stewart of Scotland, and
of this marriage are descended the families of Darnly and Lorn."

Cruikston is now the property of Sir John Maywell of Nether Pollock. Of the trunk of the once--

" . . . . . green yew,
The first that met the royal Mary's view;
When bright in charms the youthful princess led
The graceful Darnly to her throne and bed."--

Lady Maywell ordered to be made by an ingenious individual, at Pollockshaws, an exact model of the castle, and some table and other utensils, which are still in preservation at Pollock. Before its removal, many are the snuff-boxes, toddy ladles, &c. that have been made of it, and are still in preservation by the curious. The following couplet, composed by the late Mr. W. Craig, surgeon, is inscribed on one of these ladles, which has seen no little service:

"Near Cruikston Castle's stately tower,
For many a year I stood;
My shade was of the hallow'd bower;
Where Scotland's queen was woo'd."

Another medal of Queen Mary's, of considerable size, of which I have seen a cast many years since, contained the following inscriptions:

"O God graunt patience in that I suffer vrang."

The reverse has in the centre:

"Quho can compare with me in grief,
I die and dar nocht seek relief."

With this legend around:

"Hourt not the [heart symbol] quhais [heart whose] joy thou art."

"They all appear [says Mr. Pinkerton] to have been done in France by
Mary's directions, who was fond of devices. Her cruel captivity could
not debar her from intercourse with her friends in France; who must
with pleasure have executed her orders as affording her a little
consolation."

G. N.

MR. FRASER'S supposed medal is a ryal (or possibly a 3/4 ryal) of Mary and Henry, commonly known as a Cruickstown dollar; from the idea that the tree upon them is a representation of the famous yew-tree at Cruickstown Castle. It appears, however, from the ordinance for coining these pieces, that the tree is a "palm-tree crowned with a shell paddock (lizard) creeping up the stem of the same." The motto across the tree is "DAT GLORIA VIRES." (See Lindsay's _Scotch Coinage_, p. 51.)

JOHN EVANS.

* * * * *

EARLY USE OF TIN.--DERIVATION OF THE NAME OF BRITAIN.

(Vol. viii., p. 344.)

The reply of Dr. Hincks appears to require the following. While seeking information upon the first of these matters, I took up one of my old school-books, and at the foot of a page found the following note: "Britannia is from _Barat-anac_, the land of tin." I do not recollect to have seen it elsewhere; but it appeared to me so apt and correct that I adopted it at once.

That the Shirutana of the Egyptian inscriptions, {446} or Shairetana, will be found to be the same people as the Ciratas of the Hindu Puranas, I have little doubt.

Ciratas is there applied as a name to the people who were afterwards known to us as the Phoenicians; but that either the Shirutana or the Ciratas will be found to have discovered Britain, though they may have given it a name, I do not expect. The Ciratas were a people of a later age to that of the first inhabitants of Britain. The first inhabitants of Britain I call the Celtae, as I know no other name for them; but there seems reason for thinking that this island was visited by an earlier tribe, though probably they were of the same race.

The origin of the Ciratas and first inhabitants of Britain is this:--A powerful monarchy appears to have been established at the earliest dawn of history in the country we now call Persia, long before there was any Assyrian government, and under this monarchy that country was the true centre of population, of knowledge, of languages, and of arts. Three distinct races of men appear to have migrated in different directions from this their common country. One of these divides into two parts, one proceeding to the west, the other to the south-east of the place where the division took place. The western party passed through Asia Minor, and also by the north of the Black Sea, carrying with it all that was then known of the different arts and sciences, until we find the descendants at this day in the British Isles. The south-eastern party, also, continued its progress to the part now known to us as India, where its descendants may be found at this day. Long after the settlement in India, various tribes, all proceeding from it, migrated from that country to the parts now known to us as Egypt and Syria; and one of these tribes was the Ciratas.

That the Ciratas, Shirutana, or Phoenicians, call them as you may, were the first who passed the Pillar of Hercules in ships on their way to obtain tin here at first-hand, is almost certain; and that the western party, as described above, had broken ground to supply it long before their customers came for it, is scarcely less so. They all had a common origin, and used nearly the same language, religion, and laws.

My Query has brought out a highly satisfactory elucidation of the origin of the term _Britain_; and this, looking at the position in which that term stood on the day the last Number of "N. & Q." was published is by no means a slight acquisition. I now leave it.

G. W.

Stansted, Montfichet.

* * * * *

PICTORIAL EDITIONS OF THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER.

(Vol. vii., pp. 18. 91. 321.; Vol. viii., p. 318.)

The following list may prove an acceptable addition to those already printed in your pages. Some of your correspondents perhaps will make it more complete:

1707. Oxford. 8vo. Plates by John Sturt.
1710. London. 8vo. Forty-four plates, with no engraver's name.
1712. Oxford. 8vo. Plates by Sturt.
1717. London. 8vo. Ruled with double red lines. Plates by Sturt.

Lowndes speaks of a large paper impression in quarto of this same edition: "The volume consists of one hundred and sixty-six plates, besides twenty-two containing dedication, table, &c. Prefixed is a bust of King George I.; and facing it, those of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Sturt likewise published a set of fifty-five historical cuts for Common Prayer in small 8vo."

1738. London. 8vo. With Old Version of the Psalms; and forty-four
curious plates, including Gunpowder Treason, the Martyrdom of Charles
I., and Restoration of Charles II. (Booksellers' Catal.)

1794. London. Published by J. Good and E. Harding, with plates after
Stothard by Bartolozzi and others (Lowndes).

Lowndes also mentions "Illustrations to the Book of Common Prayer by Richard Westall, London, 1813, 8 vo. (proofs) 4to.," and "Twelve illustrations to ditto, engraved by John Scott, from designs by Burney and Thurston, royal 8vo."

I have reserved for more particular description two editions in my own possession:--One is a small 8vo., ruled with red lines: "In the Savoy, printed by the assignees of John Bill and Christopher Barker, Printers to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, 1667." It contains fifty-nine plates: these are identical with those in the _Antiquitates Christianae_, or Bishop Taylor's _Life of Christ_, and Cave's _Lives of the Apostles_ (folio editions), which, if I mistake not, were engraved by William Faithorn. The Act of Uniformity is given in black-letter. The Ordinal is wanting. The three State Services are not enumerated in the Table of Contents, but are added at the end of the book. The Old Version of the Psalms (with its usual quaint title), a tract of 104 pp., is appended: "London: printed by Thos. Newcomb for the Company of Stationers, 1671." The other edition is a 12mo.: "London, printed by Charles Bill and the Executrix of Thomas Newcomb deceased, Printers to the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, 1708" (ruled with red lines). In the frontispiece is represented a female figure kneeling with a prayer book open before her: an angel {447} in the air holds a scroll, on which is inscribed, "The Liturgy of the Church of England, adorned with fifty-five historical cuts, P. La Vergne del., M. Van der Gucht sc." Beneath the picture, "Sold by Robt. Whitledge at the Bible in Ave Maria Lane, near Stationers' Hall."

Some of the cuts are very curious, as No. 16., which represents the Devil (adorned with a crown, sceptre, and tail) standing on the top of a high conical rock, and our Blessed Lord at a little distance from him. The appearance and attitude of the Apostles are somewhat grotesque. One of the best is St. Philip (No. 39.), who is represented as a wrinkled, bearded old man, contemplating a crucifix in his hand.

No. 51. is a picture of Guy Fawkes approaching the Parliament House, with a lantern in his hand. A large eye is depicted in the clouds above, which sheds a stream of light on the hand of the conspirator. No. 52. is "The Martyrdom of King Charles I." No. 53. "The Restoration of Monarchy and King Charles II." A number of cavaliers on horseback, with their conical hats and long tresses, occupy the foreground of this picture; the army appears in the background. This is the last, though the scroll advertises fifty-five cuts.

The Prefaces and Calendar are printed in very small bad type. The four State Services are enumerated in the Table of Contents. After the State Services follow, "At the Healing;" the Thirty-nine Articles, and a Table of Kindred and Affinity. This edition neither contains the Ordinal nor a metrical version of the Psalms. Notwithstanding the date on the title-page, _King George_ is prayed for throughout the book, except in the service "For the Eighth Day of March," when Queen Anne's name occurs.

Of the modern pictorial editions of the Book of Common Prayer may be mentioned that of Charles Knight "illustrated by nearly seven hundred beautiful woodcuts by Jackson, from drawings by Harvey, and six illuminated titles; with Explanatory Notes by the Rev. H. Stebbing," royal 8vo., London, 1838; reprinted in 1846. That of Murray, "illuminated by Owen Jones, and illustrated with engravings from the works of the great masters," royal 8vo., London, 1845; reprinted in 1850 in med. 8vo. That of Whittaker in 12mo. and 8vo., "with notes and illuminations." The last, and by far the best, pictorial edition is that of J. H. Parker of Oxford, "with fifty illustrations; selected from the finest examples of the early Italian and modern German schools, by the Rev. H. J. Rose and Rev. J. W. Burgon."

JARLTZBERG.

* * * * *

YEW-TREES IN CHURCHYARDS.

(Vol. viii., p. 346.)

This has long been to me a vexed question, and I fear that none of your correspondents have given a satisfactory answer.

I have seen in London sprigs of yew and palm willow offered for sale before Palm Sunday. At this period they may, I think, be always found in Covent Garden Market. I saw them last year also in the greengrocers' shops at Brighton. To me these are evident traces of an old custom of using the yew as well as the willow. The origin is to be found in the Jewish custom of carrying "branches of palm-trees, and boughs of _thick trees_, and willows from the brook" (Leviticus xxiii. 39, 40.).

Wordsworth alludes to this in his sonnet on seeing a procession at Chamouny:

"The Hebrews thus carrying in joyful state
Thick boughs of palm and willows from the brook,
March'd round the altar--to commemorate
How, when their course they from the desert took,
Guided by signs which ne'er the sky forsook,
They lodged in leafy tents and cabins low,
Green boughs were borne."

In _A Voyage from Leith to Lapland_, 1851, vol. i. p. 132., there is an account of the funeral of the poet Oehlenschlaeger. The author states,--

"The entire avenue was strewn, according to the old Scandinavian
custom, with evergreen boughs of fir, and bunches of fir and box,
mingled in some instances with artificial flowers. It is customary at
all funerals to strew evergreens before the door of the house where the
body lies, but it is only for some very distinguished person indeed
they are strewn all the way to the burial place."

Forby, in his _East Anglican Vocabulary_, says it is a superstitious notion that--

"If you bring yew into the house at Christmas amongst the evergreens
used to dress it, you will have a death in the family before the end of
the year."

I believe the yew will be found generally on the south side of the church, but always near the principal entrance, easy of access for the procession on Palm Sunday, and perhaps for funerals, and that it was used as a substitute for the palm, and coupled with "the willow from the brook," hence called the palm willow.

A HOLT WHITE.

P. S.--I cannot agree with your correspondent J. G. CUMMING, that the yew is one of "our few evergreens." I doubt our having in England any native evergreen but the holly.

The etymology of the name of the yew-tree clearly shows that it was not planted in churchyards as an emblem of evil, but one of immortality. The name of the tree in Celtic is _jubar_, pronounced _yewar_, _i. e._ "the evergreen head." The town of {448} Newry in Ireland took its name from two yew-trees which St. Patrick planted: _A-Niubaride_, pronounced _A-Newery_, _i. e._ "the yew-trees," which stood until Cromwell's time, when some soldiers ruthlessly cut them down.

In the Note by MR. J. G. CUMMING, a derivation is evidently required for the English word _yeoman_, which he suggests is taken from "yokeman." Yeoman is from _e[=o]_, pronounced _yo_, _i. e._ free, worthy, respectable, as opposed to the terms _villein_, serf, &c.; so that yeoman means a freeman, a respectable person.

FRAS. CROSSLEY.

* * * * *

OSBORN FAMILY.

(Vol. viii., p. 270.)

Mr. H. T. Griffith asks where may any pedigree of the _Osborne_ family, previous to Edward Osborne, the ancestor of the Dukes of Leeds, be seen. In reply, I am in possession of large collections relating to the Norman Osbornes, from whom I have reasons to believe him to have been descended. Those Osbornes can be proved to have been settled in certain of the midland counties of England from the time of the attainder and downfall of the son of William Fitzosborne, Earl of Hereford and premier peer, down to a comparatively late period. A branch of them was possessed of the manor of Kelmarsh in Northamptonshire; and their pedigree, beginning in 1461, may be seen in Whalley's _Northamptonshire_: but this is necessarily very imperfect, on account of the author's want of access to documents which have subsequently been opened to the public.

I may here notice that an inexcusable error has been committed and repeated in several of the collections of records published by the Parliamentary Commission, who have, in numerous instances, and without any warrant, interpreted _Osb._ of the MSS. as "Osbert." Thus they have deprived _Fitzosborne_, Bishop of Exeter (A.D. 1102), of some of his manors, and within his own diocese, and conferred them on _Osbert the Bishop_, although there never was a bishop of that name in England. I took the liberty of pointing out this error to one of the chief editors concerned in these works; but as he has taken no notice of my observations, I must infer that he thinks it most prudent to excite no farther inquiry.

The _Osborns_, now so numerous in London, appear to have come from the Danish stem from which the Norman branch was originally derived. Their number, which has increased even beyond the ordinary ratio of the population, may perhaps be dated from the wife of one of them who (temp. Jac. I.) had twenty-four sons, and was interred in old St. Paul's.

I shall be very happy to afford any assistance in my power to the gentleman who has occasioned these remarks.

OMICRON.

* * * * *

INSCRIPTIONS ON BELLS.

(Vol. vi., p. 554.; Vol. vii., pp. 454. 603.; Vol. viii., pp. 108. 248.)

Many thanks are due to your correspondent CUTHBERT BEDE, B.A., for his interesting series of inscriptions on bells. The following are, I think, sufficiently curious to be added to your collection:--

Rouen Cathedral:

"In the steeple of the great church, in the citie of Roane in Normandy,
is one great bell with the like inscription." [Like, that is, to the
inscription at St. Stephen's, Westminster: see "N. & Q." Vol. viii., p.
108.]

"Je suis George de Ambois,
Qui trente-cinque mille pois;
Mes luis qui me pesera,
Trente-six mille me trouvera."

"I am _George of Ambois_,
Thirtie-five thousand in pois;
But he that shall weigh me,
Thirty-six thousand shall find me."--Weever, _Fun. Mon_., edit. fol.
1631, p. 492.

St. Matthew, Great Milton, Oxfordshire:

1. "I as treble begin.
3. "I was third ring.
8. (Great bell) "I to church the living call, and to the grave do
summons."

Inscription suggested as being suitable for six bells, in the _Ecclesiologist_ (New Series), vol. i. p. 209.:

1. "Ave Pater, Rex, Creator:
2. Ave Fili, Lux, Salvator:
3. Ave Pax et Charitas.
4. Ave Simplex, Ave Trine;
5. Ave Regnans sine fine,
6. Ave Sancta Trinitas."

Inscriptions are often to be found in Lombardic characters, and on bells of great antiquity. Can any of your ecclesiological correspondents furnish me with the date of the earliest known example?

W. SPARROW SIMPSON.

On bells in Southrepps Church, Norfolk:

"Tuba ad Juditium. Campana ad Ecclesiam, 1641."

"Miserere mei Jhesus Nazarenus Rex Judaeorum."

J. L. SISSON.

* * * * *

LADIES' ARMS BORNE IN A LOZENGE.

(Vol. viii., pp. 37. 83. 277. 329.)

I broached a theory with a concluding remark that it would give me great pleasure to see one more reasonable take its place. I fear that, if all your readers anxious to clear up an obscure point in an interesting science take no more trouble than P. P., we shall find ourselves no {449} nearer our object in the middle of your eightieth volume than we are now in your eighth.

What P. P. is pleased to term the "routine" reason is after all but one among many, and is not better substantiated than some of the others quoted by me; for though the lozenge has a "supposed" resemblance to the distaff or fusil, heraldically it is but a supposed one, and by most writers the difference is very distinctly indicated.

Boyer says:

"A fusil is a bearing in heraldry made in the form of a spindle, with
its yarn or thread wound about it. _Fusils are longer than lozenges_,
and taper or pointed at both ends."

The same author thus describes a lozenge:

"A Rhimbus, in geometry, is a figure of four equal and parallel sides,
but not rectangular."

Robson says:

"Fusil, a kind of spindle used in spinning. Its formation should be
particularly attended to, _as few painters or engravers make a
sufficient distinction between the fusil and lozenge_."

Nisbet describes a lozenge to be--

"A figure that has equal sides and unequal angles, as the quarry of a
glass window placed erect pointways."

He adds:

"The Latins say, 'Lozengae factae sunt ad modum lozangiorum in vitreis.'
Heralds tell us that their use in armories came from the pavement of
marble stones of churches, fine palaces and houses, cut after the form
of lozenges, which pavings the French and Italians call loze and the
Spaniards _loza_."