Part 5

_Family Likenesses_ (Vol. v., p. 7.).--Any one who mixed in the society of the Scottish metropolis a few years ago must have met with two very handsome and accomplished brothers, who generally wore the Highland dress, and were known by the name of "The Princes." I do not mean to enter into the question as to whether or not they were the true representatives of "Bonnie Prince Charlie," which most persons consider to have been conclusively settled in the negative by an article which appeared in the _Quarterly Review_: but most assuredly a very strong point of evidence in favour of their having the royal blood of Scotland in their veins, was the remarkable resemblance which they bore--especially the younger brother--to various portraits of the Stuart family, and, among the rest, to those of the "Merry Monarch," as well as of his father Charles I.

E. N.

_Merchant Adventurers to Spain_ (Vol. v., p. 276.).--C.J.P. may possibly be assisted in his inquiries by referring to De Castros' _Jews in Spain_, translated by Kirwan, pp. 190-196. This interesting work was published by G. Bell, 186. Fleet Street, London, 1851.

W. W.

La Valetta, Malta.

_Exeter Controversy_ (Vol. v., p. 126.).--This controversy was one of the many discussions relating to the Trinity which have engaged the theological activity of England during the last two hundred years. It arose in consequence of the imputed Arianism of some Presbyterian ministers of Exeter, the most conspicuous of whom were James Peirce and Joseph Hallet. It began in 1717, and terminated in 1719, when these two ministers were ejected from their pulpits. Your correspondent who put the question will find some account of this controversy in Murch's _History of the Presbyterian Churches in the West of England_,--a work well worth the attention of those who take interest in the antiquities of Non-conformity.

T. H. GILL.

_Corrupted Names of Places_ (Vol. v., p. 375.).--When my father was at one time engaged in collecting the numbers drawn for the Sussex militia, he began by calling out for those men who belonged to the hundred of _Mayfield_; and though he three times repeated his call, not a single man came forward. A person standing by suggested that he should say "the hundred of _Mearvel_," and give it as broad a twang as possible. He did so; when _nineteen_ out of _twenty-three_ present answered to the summons. _Hurstmonceaux_ is commonly pronounced _Harsmouncy_; and I have heard _Sompting_ called _Summut_.

G. BLINK.

_Poison_ (Vol. v., p. 394.).--Junius, Bailey, and Johnson seem all to agree that our word _poison_ comes from the French _poison_. I am inclined to think, with the two first-mentioned lexicographers, that the etymon is πόσις, or _potio_. Junius adds, that "Ita Belgis venenum dicitur _gift_, donum;" and it is curious that in Icelandic _eitr_ means both poison and gift. In the _Antiquitates Celto-Scandicæ_ (p. 13.), I find the following expressions:--"Sva er sagt, at Froda væri gefinn banadryckr." "Mixta portioni veneno sublatum e vivis tradunt Frotonem." Should it not be _potioni_, inasmuch as "bana," in Icelandic, signifies to kill, if I do not err, and "dryckr" is drink? Certainly, in Anglo-Saxon, "bana" (whence our _bane_) and "drycian" have similar significations.

C. I. R.

Is there any possible doubt that _poison_ is _potion_? Menage quotes Suetonius, that Caligula was _potionatus_ by his wife. It is a French word undoubtedly.

C. B.

_Vikingr Skotar_ (Vol. v., p. 394.).--In the _Antiquitates Celto-Scandicæ_ it is stated (p. 5.), that after the death of Guthormr, and subsequently to the departure of Harald (Harfagr) from the Hebrides, "Sidan settug i löndin vikingar margir Danir oc Nordmenn. Posthac sedes ibi occupant piratæ plurimi, Dani æqua ac Normanni." The word _vikingar_, the true Icelandic word for pirate, often occurs in the same saga, but not combined with _skotar_, though this latter term is repeated, signifying "the Scotch," and also in composition with _konungr_, &c.

C. I. R.

_Rhymes on Places_ (Vol. v., pp. 293. 374.).--A complete collection of local rhymes would certainly be both curious and interesting. Those cited by Chambers in his amusing work are exclusively Scotch; for a collection relating to English towns, I would refer your Querist MR. FRASER to Grose's _Provincial Glossary_, where, interspersed among the "Local Proverbs," he will find an extensive gathering of characteristic rhymes. I conclude with appending a few not to be found in either of these works:

"RICHMOND.

"Nomen habes _mundi_, nec erit sine jure, secundi, Namque situs titulum comprobat ipse tuum. From thy rich mound thy appellation came, And thy rich seat proves it a proper name."

_Drunken Barnaby's Journal._

"Anglia, mons, fons, pons, ecclesia, foemina, lana. England amongst all nations is most full, Of hills, wells, bridges, churches, women, wool."

_Ibid._

"Cornwall swab-pie, and Devon white-pot brings, And Leicester beans, and bacon fit for kings."

Dr. King's _Art of Cookery_. See _Spectator_.

In Belgium I am perhaps beyond bounds, but may cite in conclusion:

"Nobilibus Bruxella viris, Antverpia nummis, Gandavum laqueis, formosis Burga puellis, Lovanium doctis, gaudet Mechlinia stultis."

WILLIAM BATES.

You may perhaps think the accompanying, "Rhymes on Places" worthy of insertion, on the districts of the county of Ayr, viz.:

"Carrick for a man, Kyle for a cou, Cunninghame for butter and cheese, And Galloway for woo."

F. J. H.

_"We three"_ (Vol. v., p. 338.).--It may interest your correspondent to learn that a public-house exists in London with the sign he mentions. It is situate in Virginia Row, Bethnal Green, is styled "The Three Loggerheads," and has a signboard ornamented with a couple of busts: one of somewhat Cæsarian aspect, laureated; the other a formidable-looking personage with something on his head, probably intended for the dog-skin helmet of the ancient Greeks,--but as the style of art strongly reminds one of that adopted for the figure-heads of ships, I confess my doubts on the subject. Under each bust appears the distich:

"WE THREE LOGGERHEADS BE."

The sign appears a "notability" in the neighbourhood, as I have more than once in passing seen some apparent new comer set to guess its meaning; and when he confessed his inability, informed, in language more forcible than elegant, that he made the third Loggerhead.

W. E. F.

_Burning Fern brings Rain_ (Vol. v., p. 242.).--In some parts of America, but more particularly in the New England States, there was a popular belief, in former times, that immediately after a large fire in a town, or of wood in a forest, there would be a "fall of rain." Whether this opinion exists among the people at present, or whether it was entertained by John Winthrop, the first governor of the colony of Massachusetts Bay, and the Pilgrim Fathers, on their landing at Plymouth, as they most unfortunately did, their superstitious belief in witchcraft, and some other "strange notions," may be a subject of future inquiry.

W. W.

La Valetta, Malta.

_Plague Stones_ (Vol. v., pp. 226. 374.).--I have often seen the stone which G. J. R. G. mentions as "to be seen close to Gresford, in Denbighshire, about a quarter of a mile from the town, on the road to Wrexham, under a wide-spreading tree, on an open space, where three roads meet." It is, I conjecture, the base of a cross. This stone may be the remnant of the last of a succession of crosses, the first of which may have given its Welsh name, _Croes ffordd_, the way of the cross, to the village. There is no tradition of any visitation of the plague at Gresford; but there is reason to suppose that it once prevailed at Wrexham, which is about three miles distant. Near that town, and on the side of a hill near the footpath leading from Wrexham vechan to Marchwiel Hall, there is a field called _Bryn y cabanau_, the brow of the cabins; the tradition respecting which is, that, during the prevalence of the plague in Wrexham, the inhabitants constructed wooden huts in this place for their temporary residences.

A QUONDAM GRESFORDITE.

I do not think the "Plague Stone" a mile or two out of Hereford has been mentioned in the Notes on that subject. If my memory is correct, there is a good deal of ornament, and it is surrounded by a short flight of stone steps.

F. J. H.

_Sneezing_ (Vol. v., p. 364.).--Having occasion to look at the first edition of the _Golden Legend_, printed by Caxton, I met with the following passage, which may perhaps prove interesting to your correspondent, as showing that the custom of blessing persons when they sneeze "endured" in the fifteenth century. The institution of the "Litany the more and the lasse," we are told, was justified,--

"For a right grete and grevous maladye: for as the Romayns had in the lenton lyued sobrely and in contynence, and after at Ester had receyud theyr Sauyour; after they disordered them in etyng, in drynkyng, in playes, and in lecherye. And therfore our Lord was meuyed ayenst them and sente them a grete pestelence, which was called the Botche of impedymye, and that was cruell and sodayne, and caused peple to dye in goyng by the waye, in pleying, in leeyng atte table, and in spekyng one with another sodeynly they deyed. In this manere somtyme snesyng they deyed; so that whan any persone was herd snesyng, anone they that were by said to hym, God helpe you, or Cryst helpe, _and yet endureth the custome_. And also when he sneseth or gapeth he maketh to fore his face the signe of the crosse and blessith hym. And yet endureth this custome."

_Golden Legende_, edit. 1483, fo. xxi. b.

F. SOMNER MERRYWEATHER.

Kentish Town.

_Abbot of Croyland's Motto_ (Vol. v., p. 395.).--MR. FORBES is quite correct with regard to the motto of Abbot Wells, which should be "Benedicite Fontes Domin_o_." The sentence, "Bless the Wells, O Lord!" which is placed in so awkward a juxtaposition with it, is really a distinct motto for the name of Wells, and, so far from being a translation of the abbot's, is almost an inversion of it; and this should, as MR. FORBES justly remarks, have had "some editorial notice" from me.

M. A. LOWER.

_Derivation of the Word "Azores"_ (Vol. v., p. 439.).--The group of islands called the _Azores_, first discovered in 1439, by Joshua Vanderburg, a merchant of Bruges, and taken possession of by the Portuguese in 1448, were so named by Martin Behem, from the Portuguese word _Açor_, a hawk; Behem observing a great number of hawks there. The three species most frequently seen now are the Kestril, called _Francelho_; the Sparrowhawk, _Furobardo_; and the Buzzard, _Manta_; but whether very numerous or not, I am unable to state. From the geographical position of these islands, correct lists of the birds and fishes would be of great interest, and, as far as I am aware, are yet wanting.

Martin Behem found one of these islands covered with beech-trees, and called it therefore _Fayal_, from the Portuguese word _Faya_, a beech-tree. Another island, abounding in sweet flowers, he called _Flores_, from the Portuguese, _Flor_, a flower. _Terceira_, one of the nine islands forming the group, is said to have been so called, because, in the order of succession, it was the third island discovered (from _Ter_ and _ceira_, a bank). _Graciosa_, as a name, was conferred upon one of peculiar beauty, a sort of paradise. _Pico_ derived its name from its sugar-loaf form. The raven found at Madeira and the Canary Islands is probably also a native of the Azores, and might have suggested the Portuguese name of _Corvo_ for one of the nine. St. Mary, St. Michael, and St. George complete the names of the group, of which St. Michael is the largest and Corvo the smallest.

WM. YARRELL.

Rider Street.

_Scologlandis and Scologi_ (Vol. v., p. 416.).--As these names occur in a Celtic country, we are justified in seeking their explanation in the Celtic language. I therefore write to inform G. J. R. G. that the word _scolog_ is a living word in the Irish language, and that it signifies a _farmer_ or _husbandman_. It is the word used in the Irish Bible at Matt. xxi. 33., "he let it out to _husbandmen_"--tug se do _scologaibh_ ar chios i.

I may also mention that the name _Mac Scoloige_ is very common in the co. Fermanagh in Ireland, where it is very generally anglicised _Farmer_, according to a usual practice of the Irish. Thus it is not uncommon even now to find a man known by the name of John or Thomas _Farmer_, whose father or grandfather is John or Thomas Mac Scoloige, the name Mac Scoloige signifying "son of a farmer."

The _Scologlandis_, in the documents quoted by G. J. R. G., must therefore have taken their name from the _scologs_ or farmers, by whom they were cultivated, unless we suppose that they were anciently the patrimony of some branch of the family of Mac Scoloige, whose remains are now settled in Fermanagh.

In Scotland the word is now usually written _sgalag_, and is explained by Armstrong in his _Gaelic Dictionary_ "a farm servant." And the word does certainly seem to have been used in ancient Irish to denote a _servant_ or menial attendant, although the notion of a _farm_ servant seems to have grown out of its other significations. Thus in a very ancient historical romance (probably as old as the ninth or tenth century), which is preserved in the curious volume called _Leabhar breac_, or _Speckled Book_, in the library of the Royal Irish Academy, the word _scolog_ is used to designate _the servant_ of the Abbot of St. Finbar's, Cork.

J. H. T.

Miscellaneous.

NOTES ON BOOKS, ETC.

If there be any one class of documents from which, more than from any other, we may hope to draw evidence of the accuracy of Byron's assertion, that "Truth is strange, stranger than fiction!" they are surely the records of judicial proceedings both in civil and criminal matters; while, as Mr. Burton well observes in the preface to the two volumes which have called forth this remark, _Narratives from Criminal Trials in Scotland_, "there can be no source of information more fruitful in incidents which have the attraction of picturesqueness, along with the usefulness of truth." In submitting therefore to the public the materials of this nature--some drawn from manuscript authorities, some again from those works which, being printed for Subscription Clubs, may be considered as privately printed, and inaccessible to the majority of readers--which had accumulated on his hands while in the pursuit of other inquiries connected with the history of Scotland, Mr. Burton has produced two volumes which will be read with the deepest interest. The narratives are of the most varied character; and while some give us strange glimpses of the workings of the human heart, and show us how truly the Prophet spoke when he described it as being "deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked;" and some exhibit humiliating pictures of the fallibility of human judgment, others derive their chief interest from revealing collaterally "the social secrets of the day,--from the state mysteries, guarded by the etiquette and policy of courts, down to those characteristics of humble life which are removed from ordinary notice by their native obscurity." Greater dramatic power on the part of Mr. Burton might have given additional attraction to his narratives; but though the want of this power is obvious, they form two volumes which will be perused with great curiosity and interest even by the most passionless of readers.

Speaking of the use of Records reminds us that our valued cotemporary _The Athenæum_ has anticipated us in a purpose we have long entertained, of calling the attention of historical inquirers to the vast amount of new material for illustrating English history to be found in Sir F. Palgrave's _Calendar of the "Baga de Secretis,"_ printed by him in several of his Reports, as Deputy Keeper of the Records. As _The Athenæum_ has however entered upon the subject, we cannot do better than refer our readers to its columns.

_Letter addressed to Lord Viscount Mahon, M.P., President of the Society of Antiquaries, on the Propriety of Reconsidering the Resolutions of that Society which regulate the Payments from the Fellows_: by John Bruce, Esq., Treas. S.A.--is the title of a temperate and well-argued endeavour on the part of the Treasurer, to persuade the Society of Antiquaries to return to that scale of subscription, &c. which prevailed at the moment when unquestionably the Society was at its highest point of reputation and usefulness. Originally addressed to the President, and then communicated to the Council, it has now been submitted to the Fellows, that they may see some of the grounds on which the Council have recommended, and on which they are invited to ballot on Thursday next, in favour of a reversal of the Resolution of 1807. Looking to the general state and prosperity of the Society as exhibited in this pamphlet, and comparing the payments to it with those to the numerous Archæological Societies which have sprung up of late years, the proposal seems to be well-timed, and deserving to be adopted by the Fellows as obviously calculated to extend the usefulness and raise the character of the Society. We hope that when the ballot is taken, some of those old friends of the Society to whose former exertions, in connexion with its financial arrangements, the Society owes so much, and who are understood _now_ to be doubtful as to the measure, will put in their white balls in favour of a step which ought clearly to lead to increased exertions on the part of all persons connected with the Society; and which may well be advocated on the ground, that it must lead to such a result.

The lovers of elaborate and highly finished drawings of antiquarian objects are recommended to inspect some specimens of Mr. Shaw's artistic skill, comprising portraits of Mary Queen of Scots, Mary of England, the Pall of the Fishmongers' Company, which will be on view to-day and Monday at Sotheby and Wilkinson's Rooms, previous to their sale by auction on Tuesday next.

BOOKS AND ODD VOLUMES

WANTED TO PURCHASE.

BIBLIA SACRA, Vulg. Edit., cum Commentar. Menochii. Alost and Ghent, 1826. Vol. I.

BARANTE, DUCS DE BOURGOGNE. Vols. I. and II. 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Edit. Paris Ladvocat, 1825.

BIOGRAPHIA AMERICANA, by a Gentleman of Philadelphia.

POTGIESERI DE CONDITIONE SERVORUM APUD GERMANOS. 8vo. Col. Agrip.

THE BRITISH POETS. Whittingham's edition in 100 Vols., with plates.

REPOSITORY OF PATENTS AND INVENTIONS. Vol. XLV. 2nd Series. 1824.

---- Vol. V. 3rd Series 1827.

NICHOLSON'S PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL. Vols. XIV. XV. 1806.

JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL INSTITUTION OF GREAT BRITAIN. No. XI. 2nd Series.

SOROCOLD'S BOOK OF DEVOTIONS.

WORKS OF ISAAC BARROW, D.D., late Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. London, 1683. Vol. I. Folio.

LINGARD'S HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Vols. VI. VII. VIII. IX. XII. XIII., Cloth.

FABRICII BIBLIOTHECA LATINA. Ed. Ernesti. Leipsig, 1773. Vol. III.

THE ANACALYPSIS. By Godfrey Higgins. 2 Vols. 4to.

CODEX DIPLOMATICUS ÆVI SAXONICI, opera J. M. Kemble. Vols. I. and II. 8vo.

ECKHEL, DOCTRINA NUMORUM. Vol. VIII.

BROUGHAM'S MEN OF LETTERS. 2nd Series, royal 8vo., boards. Original edition.

KNIGHT'S PICTORIAL SHAKSPEARE. Royal 8vo. Parts XLII. XLIII. XLIV. L. and LI.

CONDER'S ANALYTICAL VIEW OF ALL RELIGIONS. 8vo.

HALLIWELL ON THE DIALECTS OF SOMERSETSHIRE.

SCLOPETARIA, or REMARKS ON RIFLES, &c.

[Star symbol] Letters, stating particulars and lowest price, _carriage free_, to be sent to MR. BELL, Publisher of "NOTES AND QUERIES," 186. Fleet Street.

Notices to Correspondents.

REPLIES RECEIVED.--_Eagles' Feathers--Many Children--Longevity--Oasis--Newton, Cicero, and Gravitation--Burial of Suicides--Warwickshire Ballad--Algernon Sydney--Mother Damnable--Passage in Henry IV.--Moon and her Influences--Emaciated Monumental Effigies--Cane Decane--Hoax on Sir Walter Scott--Poison--Whipping Boys--Monument of Mary Queen of Scots--Portrait of Earl of Peterborough--Can Bishops vacate their Sees, &c.--Burials in Fields--The Three Estates of the Realm--Bawdricks for Bells--The Sclaters--St. Christopher--Arms of Thompson--Wyned--Lines on Crawfurd of Kilbirnie--Silent Woman--A Man his own Grandfather--Palæologus--Lines on a Bed--Inveni Portum, &c., and many others, which we will acknowledge in our next Number._

A. B., _who asks the meaning of_ MOSAIC, _is referred to our_ 3rd Vol., pp. 389. 469. 521.

C. C. G., _who asks the origin of "God tempers the wind," is referred to our_ 1st Vol., pp. 211. 236. 325. 357. 418., _where he will find that it is derived from the French proverb quoted by Gruter in 1611, "A brebis pres tondue, Dieu luy mesure le vent"_.

POLYNESIAN LANGUAGES. _If_ EBLANENSIS _will call on the_ Assistant Foreign Secretary _of the Bible Society, he will be assisted in procuring the Samoan text, and such others as have been published. The Feejeean is just about to be reprinted, the first edition being out of print._

KESEPH'S BIBLE. _The Query on this subject from_ "The Editor of the Chronological New Table" _has been accidentally omitted. It shall be inserted in our next Number._

J. M. G. C. _is thanked. His suggestions and communication shall not be lost sight of._

BALLIOLENSIS _is requested to say how a letter may be addressed to him._

SPECIMENS OF TILE PAVEMENTS.

DRAWN FROM EXISTING AUTHORITIES BY HENRY SHAW, F.S.A.

Although some few examples of the original designs, and many separate patterns taken from the scattered remains of these most interesting Pavements, are figured in divers Architectural and Archæological Publications; it is presumed, that if a series of specimens of the many varieties of general arrangement to be found in those still existing, together with a selection of the particular Tiles of each period, the most remarkable for the elegance and beauty of the foliage and other devices impressed upon them, were classed chronologically, and brought within the compass of a single volume, it would prove highly valuable as a work of reference; not only to architects, but to all who are engaged in furnishing designs for any kind of material where symmetrical arrangements or tasteful diaperings are required.

The present work is intended to supply such a desideratum. It will be completed in Ten Monthly Parts. Each Part to contain Five Plates, royal 4to. printed in Colours. Price 5_s._

A Preface and Description of the various Pavements will be given with the last Number.

No. I. was published on the 1st of May, 1852.

Works by Mr. Shaw.

DRESSES AND DECORATIONS OF THE MIDDLE AGES. In 2 vols. coloured, imperial 8vo. price 7_l._ 7_s._; or on imperial 4to. the plates more highly finished and heightened with gold, price 18_l._

ILLUMINATED ORNAMENTS. From the sixth to the seventeenth century. Selected from Manuscripts and early printed books, carefully coloured from the Originals, with descriptions by Sir Frederick Madden, K.H. In 1 vol. 4to. 5_l._ 5_s._; or on large paper, highly finished with opaque colours, and heightened with gold, imperial 4to. 10_l._ 10_s._

ALPHABETS, NUMERALS, and DEVICES of the MIDDLE AGES. Containing 48 Plates, on imperial 8vo. price 2_l._ 2_s._; or on imperial 4to. price 4_l._ 4_s._

SPECIMENS OF ANCIENT FURNITURE. Drawn from existing authorities, with descriptions by Sir Samuel R. Meyrick, K.H. In 1 vol. containing 75 Plates, medium 4to. plain, 2_l._ 2_s._; with numerous coloured Plates, 4_l._ 4_s._; or on imperial 4to. the whole of the Plates coloured, price 10_l._ 10_s._

SPECIMENS OF ORNAMENTAL METAL WORK. With 50 Plates, 4to. price 2_l._ 2_s._

SPECIMENS of the DETAILS of ELIZABETHAN ARCHITECTURE. In 1 vol. 4to. containing 60 Plates, price 3_l._ 3_s._; or imperial 4to. India paper, 6_l._ 6_s._