Chapter M: N. so shall thine, in the Name," &c

{259}

(_c._) _For stopping Blood._

"Our Blessed Saviour was born in Bethlehem and baptized in the river
Jordan.

'The Waters were wild and rude.
The child Jesus was meek, mild, and good.'

He put His foot into the waters, and the waters stopped, and so shall
thy blood, in the Name," &c.

(d.) _For the Tooth-ache._

"All glory! all glory! all glory! be to the Father, and to the Son, and
to the Holy Ghost.

"As our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was walking in the garden of
Gethsamene, He saw Peter weeping. He called him unto Him, and said,
Peter why, weepest thou? Peter answered and said, Lord, I am grievously
tormented with pain, the pain of my tooth. Our Lord answered and said,
If thou wilt believe in Me, and My words abide with thee, thou shalt
never feel any more pain in thy tooth. Peter said, Lord, I believe,
help Thou my unbelief. In the Name, &c.

"God grant M. N. ease from the pain in his teeth."

(_e._) _For Fits._--Go into a church at midnight and walk three times round the communion table. This was done in this parish a few years since.

(_f._) An inhabitant of this parish told me that his father went into Lydford Church, at twelve o'clock at night, and cut off some lead from every diamond pane in the windows with which he made a heart, to be worn by his wife afflicted with "_breastills_," i.e. _sore breasts_.

(_g._) The skin cast by a snake is very useful in extracting thorns, &c. from the body, but, unlike I other remedies, it is repellent, not attractive; hence it must always be applied on the opposite side to that on which the thorn entered. In some cases where the skin has been applied on the same side, it has forced the thorn completely through the hand.

_Lent Lilies.--Oak Webs, &c._--In this part of Cornwall, the native yellow narcissus, known in most counties, and in the books, as _daffodils_ (the "Daffy Down Dilly" of your correspondent, Vol. iii. p. 220.), are called only by the name of _Lent lilies_, or simply _Lents_, and are commonly sold by the poor children, frequently in exchange for _pins_. The pleasing name reminds one of Michaelmas Daisy (_Chrysanthemum_), Christmas rose (_Helleborus niger_), and the beautiful pasque flower (_Anemone pulsatilla_).

The common beetle called cockchafer is here known only as the _oak-web_, and a smaller beetle as _fern-web_. It seems hard to guess why they should be named _web_ (which in Anglo-Saxon means _weaver_), as they do not, I think, form any cocoon.

H. G. T.

Launceston.

* * * * *

THE THRENODIA CAROLINA OF SIR THO. HERBERT.

The _Threnodia Carolina_ of sir Thomas Herbert is a jewel of historical composition, and I am persuaded that a new edition of it, if formed on a collation of the best manuscripts, and illustrated by extracts from the principal historians of the same period, would not only be received by the public with thanks, but with expressions of surprise that so rare a treasure should have been suffered to remain in such comparative obscurity.

There are four manuscripts of the work in public libraries, two of which I am enabled to describe.

1. The Harleian Ms. in the British Museum, No. 7396.

This Ms. is in folio. The preliminary leaves have the notes marked 1, 2, 3--the second being in the handwriting of sir William Dugdale. The narrative occupies thirty-six pages, with interlinear corrections and additions. This Ms. does not contain the words _This brief narrative_, &c. nor the letter dated the 3d Nov. 1681.

"THRENODIA CAROLINA."

(1) "This book contains S^r Tho. Herberts memoirs being the original in
his own hand sent to S^r W^m Dugdale in 1678."

(2) "A true and perfect narrative of the most remarkable passages
relating to king Charles the first of blessed memory, written by the
proper land of S^r Thomas Herbert baronet, who attended upon his
ma^{tie} from Newcastle upon Tine, when he was sold by the Scotts,
during the whole time of his greatest afflictions, till his death and
buriall; w^{ch} was sent to me S^r Will^m Dugdale knight, garter
principall king of armes, in Michaellmasse Terme a^o. 1678, by the said
S^r Thomas Herbert, from Yorke, where he resideth."

"VERITAS ODIUM PARIT."

(3) "Court passages in the two last yeares of the raigne of king
Charles the first, during y^e time of his affliction."

2. The Harleian Ms. in the British Museum, No. 4705.

This Ms. is in small folio. It was formerly in the possession of Peter
le Neve, norroy. A preliminary leaf has the subjoined attestation by
sir William Dugdale. The narrative is much more ample and
circumstantial than in the former Ms., but it is not all in the
handwriting of sir Thomas Herbert. The letter dated 3 November 1681,
and the relations of Huntington, Cooke, and Firebrace, are added in the
handwriting of Dugdale; also, the names of persons who corresponded
with Charles I. while he was a prisoner in the Isle of Wight. The
passages transcribed by the REV. ALFRED GATTY appear in this Ms.--also
in the edition of 1702. The edition of 1813 is a _verbatim_ reprint of
the first and second articles of that of 1702. It was edited by Mr.
George Nicol.

"CAROLINA THRENODIA."

"This booke containeth a large answer to a short letter sent by S^r
Will^m Dugdale kn^t (garter; principall king of armes) unto S^r Thomas
Herbert baronet, {260} residing in the citty of Yorke. By w^{ch} letter
he did desire the sayd S^r Thomas Herbert to informe him of such
materiall passages, as he had observed touching the late king Charles
the first (of blessed memory) during the time that he the sayd S^r
Thomas did attend him in person; B^t for the two last yeares of his
afflicted life."

The other Mss. alluded to are preserved in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. The most important is No. 1141., which is minutely described in the admirable catalogue compiled by Mr. Black. A transcript of the _Threnodia Carolina_ by Ant. a Wood, also in the Ashmolean Museum, is recorded by Huddesford.

As there were two _recensions_ of the narrative, I have added a specimen of each of the Harleian Mss., which may serve as a clue to the nature of other copies, whether in public libraries, or in private hands.

"The Lords ordered a girdle or circumscription of Capitall Letters to
be cutt in Lead and putt about the Coffin. being onely these wordes

KING CHARLES
1648.

The kings body was then brought from the chamber to Saint Georges hall.
whence after a Little pause, it was w^{th} a slow pase & much sorrow
carrye'd by those gentlemen that were in mourninge: the Lords in blacks
following the royall Corpes & many gentlemen after them, and their
attendants."--THRENODIA CAROLINA, p. 36. Harleian MS. 7396.

"The girdle or circumscription of Capitall Letters in Lead putt about
the Coffin had onely these words.

KING-CHARLES.
1648.

The Kings body was then brought from his Bed-chamber, downe into S^t
Georges-hall; whence after a little stay, itt was with a slow and
solemn pace (much sorrow in most faces discernable) carryed by
gentlemen that were of some quallity and in mourning. the Lords in like
habitts followed the Royall Corps. the Governor, and severall
gentlemen, and officers, and attendants came after."--CAROLINA
THRENODIA, p. 80. Harleian MS. 4705.

BOLTON CORNEY.

_Sir Thomas Herbert's Memoirs of Charles I._--The question suggested by MR. GATTY'S first note upon this subject was one of some importance, viz., whether the original MS. in the possession of his friend contained anything of Sir Thomas Herbert's not hitherto published? There is no doubt that the "Memoir of the two last years of King Charles I." was written by Sir Thomas Herbert, after his retirement to his native city of York, at the request of the author of the _Athenae Oxonienses_, who made use of nearly the whole of it in compiling that great work, adapting different portions to his biographical notices of the persons to whom they principally related. The notices of Colonel Joyce and Colonel Cobbet are chiefly composed of extracts from Herbert's Memoir; whilst under the name of Herbert himself not more than about one-third of his own communication will be found.

The first edition of the _Athenae_ was not published until 1691, several years after Sir Thomas Herbert's death; and the memoir in a complete form, with the title of _Threnodia Carolina_, did not appear until the year 1702, when it was published by Dr. Charles Goodall, physician to the Charter House, together with other tracts relating to Charles I. This is doubtless the volume described by MR. BOLTON CORNEY (vol. iii., p. 157.), who will, I hope, favour your readers with the information requested by MR. GATTY (p. 222.).

The Memoir, as published in 1813 by G. and W. Nicol, Booksellers, Pall Mall, professes to be a faithful reprint of the former edition of 1702. The commencing and concluding paragraphs in this reprint are precisely the same as those transcribed by MR. GATTY'S friend from the MS. in his possession. His idea, that an incorrect copy of his MS. was improperly obtained, and published in 1813, seems to be without foundation.

[Delta].

* * * * *

Minor Notes.

_Shakspeare's Venus and Adonis._--The following extract from an advertisement in the _St. James's Chronicle_, April 15, 1779, is worth a note as illustrative of the altered value of the book referred to:--

"If any person is possessed of an impression of Shakspeare's _Venus and
Adonis_, 4to. Printed by Richard Field for John Harrison, 1593, and
will bring it to Mr. Thomas Longman, bookseller, in Paternoster Row, he
will receive one guinea for it."

Malone gave 25l. for the copy in his collection in the Bodleian.

J. F. M.

_Moorfields in Charles II.'s Time._--I copy this from _The New Help to Discourse_, published about 1670:

"Two gentlemen of Stepney going homewards over Moor-fields, about
twelve of the clock at night, were staid by an impertinent constable
with many frivolous questions, more by half to show his office than his
wit; one whereof was, If they were not afraid to go home at that time
of the night? They answered, 'No.' 'Well,' said he, 'I shall let you
pass at this time; but if you should be knockt on the lead before you
get home, you cannot but report that there was a good watch kept in
Moor-fields."

BLOWEN.

_Yankee, Derivation of._--The word _Yankee_ is nothing more than the word _English_ so transformed by the imperfect pronunciation of the natives of Massachusets--_Yenghis_, _Yanghis_, _Yankies_. The orthography of this much-used epithet, which is not given, we believe, in any English or American work, was communicated to M. Philarete {261} Charles by one of the best-informed men of that province.

"Le mot Yankee, applique aujourd'hui comme sobriquet aux populations
agricoles et commercantes du nord, n'est autre que le mot _English_
transforme par la prononciation defectueuse des indigenes du
Massachusets: _Yenghis_, _Yanghis_, _Yankies_. Nous tenons de l'un des
hommes les plus instruit de la province cette curieuse etymologie, que
ne donne aucun ouvrage americain ou anglais. Les Anglais, quand ils se
moquent des _Yankies_, se moquent d'eux-memes."--Philarete Charles,
"Les Americains," in _Revue des Deux Mondes_, May 15, 1850.

J. M.

_A Word to Literary Men_ (Vol. iii., p. 161.).--Perhaps MR. KENNETH R. H. MACKENZIE will allow me to add the following as a _rider_ to his suggestion:--

"Even after all the labours of the Prussian scholars," says Dr. Arnold,
"much remains to be done towards obtaining a complete knowledge of the
number, and still more of the value, of the Greek MSS. now existing in
Europe. It is not easy to know how many MSS. of any given writer are
extant, where they are to be found, and, above all, whether from their
age and character they are worth the trouble of an exact collation. A
labour of this kind cannot be accomplished by individuals; but the
present spirit of liberal co-operation, which seems to influence
literary as well as scientific men throughout Europe, renders its
accomplishment by the combined exertions of the scholars of different
countries by no meals impracticable. It would be exceedingly convenient
to possess an alphabetical list of all the extant Greek and Latin
writers, with a _catalogue raisonnee_ of the MSS. of each; and if such
a work were attempted, there is little doubt, I imagine, that in point
of number a very large addition would be made to the stock of MSS.
already known. What the result might be in point of value is another
question; still it is desirable to know what we have to trust to; and
when we have obtained a right estimate of our existing resources in
manuscripts, we shall then be better able to judge what modern
criticism will have to do from its own means towards bringing the text
of the ancient writers to the greatest possible state of
perfection."--Preface to _Thucydides_, vol. iii. page iv. 2d edit.

M. N.

* * * * *

Queries.

POEMS OF JOHN SEGUARD OF NORWICH.

In the _Letters on the British Museum_, 1767 (referred to Vol. iii., p. 208.), at p. 33. is given a short Latin poem, which the writer states he "found among the manuscripts;" and adds, "It was written by John Seward in the time of Henry V., who conquered Charles VI. of France." The poem is as follows:

"Ite per extremam Tanaim, pigrosque Triones,
Ite per arentem Lybiam, superate calores
Solis, et arcanos Nili deprendite fontes,
Herculeumque sinum, Bacchi transcurrite metas,
Angli juris erit quicquid complectitur orbis.
Anglis rubra dabunt pretiosas aequora conchas,
Indus ebur, ramos Panchaia, vellera Seres,
Dum viget Henricus, dum noster vivit Achilles;
Est etenim laudes longe transgressus avitas."

If these lines are compared with the contemporary Leonine verses in praise of Henry V., preserved in MS. Cott. Cleop. B. i. f. 173. beginning:

"Ad Salvatoris laudes, titulos et honores."

their great superiority, in point of Latinity, will be perceived, and this Query forthwith arises: Who was John Seward?

In reply to this, the following information has been collected. The name of the author was not _Seward_, but _Seguard_. He is not mentioned by Leland, but Bale calls him "insignis sui temporis rhetor ac poeta;" and states further, that in the city of Norwich, "non sine magno auditorum fructu, bonas artes ingenue profitebatur." He then gives a list of his writings, among which is a work on Prosody, entitled _Metristenchiridion_, addressed to Richard Courtney, Bishop of Norwich, who held the see only from Sept. 1413 to Sept. 1415, and therefore composed during that interval. He notices also a tract _De miseria hominis_, together with _Carmina diversi generis_ and _Epistolae ad diversos_; all of which, he says, he himself saw in manuscripts in Merton College, Oxford, and in the Royal Library of Edward VI. Pits, the next authority in point of date, chiefly follows Bale in his account of John Seguard; but adds, "Equestris ordinis in Anglia patre natus," and among his writings inserts one not specified by Bale, _De laudibus Regis Henrici Quinti, versu_. Tanner copies the first of these statements, yet, singular enough, omits all notice of the poem on Henry V., the very one, apparently, cited in the _Letters on the British Museum_. But there are further difficulties. It was natural to suppose, that the MS. seen by Bale in the Royal Library would be there still; and Tanner unhesitatingly refers to the volume marked 15 A. xxii. art. 5., as the one which contained the poem _De miseria hominis_, noted by Bale. On looking, however, at this manuscript, it became apparent that both Bale and Tanner are in error in ascribing this poem to Seguard. The handwriting is of the early part of the thirteenth century, and consequently full a century and a half before the Norwich poet was born! At the conclusion is this note, by the same hand:

"Hos versus, sicut nobis quidam veridicus retulit, Segardus junior de
Sancto Audomaro composuit."

The writer here named is not mentioned in Fabricius, nor in the _Histoire Litteraire de la France_. Besides the MS. in Merton College, Oxford, referred to by Bale, which still exists there under the signature Q. 3. 1., I find another in Bernard's _Catt._ {262} _MSS. Angliae_, 1697, vol. ii. p. 216., among the manuscripts of Sir Henry Langley of Shropshire, "No. 22. Jo. Segnard [_read_ Seguard] Poemata." I would therefore close these remarks by requesting attention to the following Queries:--

1. As Blomefield is silent on the subject, is anything more known respecting the biography of John Seguard?

2. Can a list be obtained of the contents of the Merton manuscript?

3. What became of the Langley MS., and where is it at present?

4. In what manuscript of the British Museum is the poem on Henry V. contained?

F. MADDEN.

P.S. Since I wrote the above, I have found in the Sale Catalogue of the Towneley library, 1814, pt. i. lot 396.:

"_Seguardi Opuscula._ Manuscript on vellum. This volume contains
several treatises not mentioned by Bale or Pits."

It was purchased by Mr. Laing for 1l. 1s. May I, therefore, add one more Query?

5. Can the present owner of this MS. (which is probably the same as the Langley copy) furnish a note of its contents?

F. M.

* * * * *

EPITAPH ON THE COUNTESS OF PEMBROKE.

Who was the writer of the oft-quoted lines,

"Underneath this marble (sable) hearse," &c.

intended, as all know, for an epitaph on Mary Sidney, afterwards Countess of Pembroke, but not inscribed upon any monumental stone? They are almost universally attributed to Ben Jonson, and are included amongst his poems. But this is not conclusive evidence, as we also there find the epitaph on Drayton, which was written by Quarles. In Aubrey's MS. _Memoires of Naturall Remarques in Wilts_, these verses are said to have been "made by Mr. Willi[=a]. Browne, who wrote the Pastoralls, and they are inserted there." Mr. Britton, in his _Life of Aubrey_ (p. 96.), adds:

"It is essential to observe, that Aubrey is not alone in stating them
to be by Browne; for, in his note upon the subject, he left a blank for
the latter's Christian name, 'William,' which was filled up by Evelyn
when he perused the manuscript. Indeed, Evelyn added as a further note,
'_William_, Governor to the now Earl of Oxford.'"

But these lines are not to be found in Browne's _Pastorals_. In book ii., song 4., there is an epitaph, but which bears little resemblance to the one in question. It concludes with the following conceit:

"If to the grave there ever was assign'd
One like this nymph in body and in minde,
We wish here in balme, not vainely spent,
To fit this maiden with a monument,
For brass, and marble, were they seated here,
Would fret, or melt in tears, to lye so near."

Addison, in _The Spectator_, No. 323., speaks of this epitaph as "written by an uncertain author." This was not more than seventy-five or eighty years after Jonson's death. In the lives of the Sidneys, and in Ballard's _Memoirs of Celebrated Ladies_ (1752), no author is mentioned; but the latter speaks of the epitaph as likely to be more lasting than marble or brass. To the six lines which generally stand alone, the following are added in the two last-mentioned works:

"Marble pyles let no man raise,
To her name, for after daies,
Some kind woman, born as she,
Reading this like Niobe,
Shall turn marble, and become,
Both her mourner and her tomb."

These are also given by Brydges in his _Peers Of James II._, but they are not in Jonson's works. Did they originally form part of the epitaph, or are they the production of another and later author?

That this epitaph should be attributed to Jonson, may possibly have arisen from the following lines being confounded with it. Jacob, in his _English Poets_, says--

"To show that Ben was famous at _epigram_, I need only transcribe the
epitaph he wrote on the Lady Elizabeth L. H.:

"Underneath this stone doth lie
As much virtue as could die,
Which when alive did harbour give
To as much beauty as could live.

J. H. M.

Bath.

* * * * *

Minor Queries.

_The Vellum-bound Junius._--Mr. Cramp, in his late publication, _Junius and his Works_, conjectures that the printer having bound a copy of _Junius_ for and under the direction of the writer of the letters, followed the pattern in the binding of other copies; and this, he says, "will account for similar copies having been found in the libraries of so many persons, which from time to time has occasioned so much speculation." With Mr. Cramp's conjecture I do not concern myself; but I should be much obliged if he would inform me, through your Journal, in what libraries, and where, these many vellum-bound copies have been found, and where I can find the speculations to which they have given rise.

V. B.

_The Vellum-bound Junius._--Some years ago, on reading the private letters of Junius, addressed to H. S. Woodfall, and printed by G. Woodfall, 1812, I was particularly struck by those of No. 58. and 59., wherein he states a desire to have one set of his letters (which were published 3d March, 1772, by Woodfall) _bound in vellum_.

Constantly bearing in mind the fact of the vellum copy, I invariably examined all the book {263} catalogues that came in my way for it. At last the long-wished-for object appeared in the Stowe sale, and I immediately gave my agent instruction to purchase the book for me, and he might offer as much as 10l.: he bid 8l., and then it was intimated that it was no use to go on; that fifty guineas would not purchase it, or any other sum.

Query, Has this volume been in any other sale? if not, it certainly connects the Buckingham family with Junius, though it does not prove the author.

W. D. HAGGARD.

[The Stowe copy of Junius, it appears, was bought by Mr. Rodd for 9l.,
no doubt upon commission.]

_What is a "Tye?"_--In Essex, many parishes have a place called "the tye," which I believe is always an out-lying place where three roads meet. In an old map I have seen one place now called "Tye" written "Dei." Is it where a cross once stood, and Tye a corruption of Dei? Forby, in his _East Anglian Vocabulary_, mentions it, but cannot make it out.

A. HOLT WHITE.

_"Marriage is such a Rabble Rout."_--In D'Israeli's _Curiosities of Literature_, Moxon's edition, in 1 vol. p. 118., or ed. edited by his son, vol. i. p. 363., under the head "A Literary Wife," are the lines--

"Marriage is such a rabble rout,
That those that are out, would fain get in;
And those that are in, would fain get out:"

quoted from Chaucer. I have heard these lines quoted as being from _Hudibras_: as I cannot trace them in my editions of Chaucer of Butler, perhaps some of your readers can tell me where I can find them?

S. WMSON.

_Arms of Robert Nelson._--Can any of the numerous readers and correspondents of "NOTES AND QUERIES" describe the _armorial bearings_ of _Robert Nelson, Esq._, the author of the _Companion for the Festivals and Fasts of the Church of England_? He was buried in the burying-ground in Lamb's Conduit Fields, January, 1714.

G. F.

_Knebsend or Nebsend, co. York._--Query, whereabouts in the county of York is this place? I believe that one of the above is the way of spelling, but at any rate they have the same sound.

J. N. C.

_Moore's Almanack._--Can any of your correspondents inform me as to the history of _Moore's Almanack_?

What is the date of its first appearance? Was Francis Moore a real personage, or merely a myth?

H. P. W.

Temple.

_Archbishop Loftus._--I shall be deeply obliged to any of your correspondents who will inform me whether, and _where_, any diary or private memoranda are known to exist of Adam Loftus, who was Archbishop of Dublin nearly forty years, from 1567 to 1605, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and the first Provost of Trinity College, Dublin. He was an ancestor of the Viscount Loftus, and of the Marquess of Ely.

HENRY COTTON.

Thurles, Ireland, March 20.

_Matrix of Monastic Seal._--A brass matrix has fallen into my hands of a period certainly not much anterior to the Revolution. Device, the Virgin and Child, their heads surrounded with nimbi; the former holds in her right hand three lilies, the latter a globe and cross. The legend is:

"* SIG[=IL] . MON . [=B] . [=M] . DE . PRATO . ALIAS . DE . BONO . NVNCIO."

In the field, a shield charged with three lions passant. Can any correspondent aid me in assigning it rightly? There was an Abbey of St. Mary de Pratis at Leicester (Vide _Gent. Mag._, vol. xciii. p. 9.); and there is a church dedicated to "St. Mary in the Marsh at Norwich." In a recent advertisement I find a notice of Scipio Ricci, Bishop of Pistoia and Prato, so that the appellation is not very uncommon.

E. S. TAYLOR.

_Syriac Scriptures and Lexicon._--What edition of the Peschito-Syriac version of the Old and New Testaments, respectively, is considered the best? Also, what Syriac Lexicon stands highest for value and accuracy?

T. TN.

_Villiers Duke of Buckingham._--There is a tradition in Portsmouth, that in the evening preceding his assassination, Villiers Duke of Buckingham killed a sailor. Is there any authority for this?

E. D.

_Porci solidi-pedes._--Can any of your readers inform me if any pigs with single hoofs are in existence in any county in England? They are mentioned in a letter from Sir Thomas Browne to Dugdale the antiquary.

J. S. P. (a Subscriber).

_The Heywood Family._--I am anxious to know if Thomas Heywood, the dramatist, was in any way related to Nathaniel Heywood or Oliver Heywood, the celebrated Nonconformist ministers in the seventeenth century? Could any of your correspondents give me information on this point?

H. A. B.

Trin. Coll. Camb.

_Was Charles II. ever in Wales?_--There is a tradition amongst the inhabitants of Glamorganshire, that, after his defeat at the battle of Worcester, Charles come to Wales and staid a night at a place called Llancaiach Vawr, in the parish of Gelligaer. The place then belonged to a Colonel Pritchard, an officer in the Parliamentary army; and the story relates that he made himself known to his host, and threw himself upon his generosity for safety. The colonel assented to his staying for {264} _one_ night only, but went away himself, afraid, as the story goes, that the Parliament should come to know he had succoured Charles. I know that Llancaiach was a place of considerable note long after that, and that an old farmer used to say he had heard tile story from his father. The historians, I believe, are all silent as to his having fled to Wales between the time of his defeat at Worcester and the time he left the country.

DAVYDD GAM.

[Some accounts state that Charles I. was entertained by Colonel
Prichard, when that monarch, travelling through Wales, lost his way
between Tredegar and Brecknock. (See Lewis's _Topographical Dictionary
of Wales_, art. "Gellygaer.")]

_Dog's Head in the Pot._--"Thomas Johnson, Citizen and Haberdasher of London, by will, dated 3d Sept. 1563, gave 13s. 4d. annually to the highways between Barkway and Dogshed-in-the-Pot, otherwise called Horemayd."

The Dogshed-in-the-Pot here mentioned was, as I infer, a public-house in the parish of Great or Little Hormead in Hertfordshire, by the side of the road from Barkway to London. In Akerman's _Tradesmen's Tokens current in London_ I find one (numbered 1442) of the "Dogg's-Head-in-the-Potte" in Old Street, having the device of a dog eating out of a pot; and the token of Oliver Wallis, in Red Cross Street (No. 1610., A.D. 1667), has the device of a dog eating out of a three-legged pot. In April, 1850, Hayward Brothers (late R. Henly and Co.), wholesale and manufacturing builders ironmongers, 196. Blackfriars Road, and 117. and 118. Union Street, Borough, London (who state their business to have been established 1783), put forth an advertisement headed with a woodcut of a dog eating out of a three-legged pot.

Can any of your readers elucidate this sign of the "Dog's-head-in-the Pot?"