Minor Queries.
168. Elizabeth, Equestrian Figure of.
—Doubtless many of your readers have seen in the Exhibition a large equestrian figure of Elizabeth; it is in the N.W. gallery, in one of the large plate cases. Now the horse is described as pacing, which the explanation states was a step taught the horses belonging to the ladies of that period. Query, where a description of pacing, or rules for teaching horses to pace, amble, &c., may be found? for what appears so extraordinary in the figure is that the fore and hind legs of the same side of the horse are extended together, or simultaneously. I have in the Graphic Illustrator a picture of Elizabeth hawking (the figure in the Exhibition may have been copied from the original), where the horse is in the same attitude. I feel anxious to know if that unnatural gait is possible, or whether it is a part or the whole of the pacing step.
THOS. LAWRENCE.
Ashby de la Zouch.
169. Indian Ants.
—Is there any foundation for Pliny's account of the Indian ants, which were, according to Herodotus, "not so large as a dog, but bigger than a fox?"
A. C. W.
170. Passage in Geo. Herbert.
—What is the meaning of the following? (Herbert's Poems, "Charms and Knots," ver. 8.):—
"Take one from ten, and what remains?
Ten still: if sermons go for gains."
H. T. G.
171. "The King's-way," Wilts.
—Mention of this road, in the neighbourhood of Malmsbury, occurs in two charters of the Saxon kings Athelstan and Eadwig, Nos. 355. & 460. Cod. Dipl. Aevi. Sax. The road is said to be known in Wiltshire as King Athelstan's Way. Can any of your correspondents oblige me by pointing out its course, and the immediate purpose for which it was constructed? There is a King's-way Field (Cyngwey-ffeld) mentioned in the ancient terriers of Bampton, Oxon, and still known there.
B. W.
172. Marriages within ruined Churches.
—I have heard of marriages solemnized within ruined churches in Ireland within the last twenty years. What is the origin of this custom; was it general, and is it still observed?
R. H.
173. Fees for Inoculation.
—In an old Account Book of a Sussex county gentleman I find the following items:—
"1780. I paid for the inoculation of William and Polly Parker, £5 15s. 6d."
and again in 1784:
"Paid towards R. Stephen's inoculation, £1 11s. 0d."
from which it would appear that the process was a very expensive one in those days. I should feel obliged to any of your correspondents to give me some information on this point.
R. W. B.
174. "Born in the Eighth Climate."
—Can any of your readers explain the allusion contained in the following extract from Sir Thomas Browne?
"I was born in the eighth climate, but seem for to be framed and constellated unto all."—Religio Medici, ii. 1.
Will the notions of astrology throw any light upon it?
N. H.
175. Aubry de Montdidier's Dog.
—Who was the King of France that subjected the Chevalier Macaire to the ordeal by combat with this famous dog? In some of the authorities it is said to be Charles VI., and in others "Le Roi Jean," meaning, I presume, John II.
HENRY H. BREEN.
St. Lucia.
176. Sanford's Descensus.
—Can any of your correspondents say if Sanford's Descensus has ever been published separately? It is spoken of in the 2nd vol. of Gale's Court of the Gentiles, and was published in the works of a bishop who survived him. A copy of that prelate's works is in the Bodleian Library, and contains the Descensus. What is the bishop's name?
ÆGROTUS.
177. Parish Registers—Briefs for Collection.
—What acts of parliament since the reign of George I. affect parish registers?
On what authority were collections made in churches by brief; in what year was that mode of collection decreed; and when did it cease?
J. B. (A Subscriber.)
178. Early Printing Presses, Sticks, and Chases.
—I am a compositor, and have read with great interest the "Notes" on Caxton and Printing in your valuable publication. May I venture to put a Query which has often crossed my mind, especially when I went to see Mr. Maclise's great painting at the Royal Academy. What kind of press did Caxton and his successors use? Also, is anything known of the shape of their "sticks" and "chases?" Mr. Maclise seems to have taken a modern pattern for all of these, especially the two last.
EM QUAD.
179. Bootikins.
—Horace Walpole speaks in many of his letters of the great benefit he had experienced from the use of bootikins in his attacks of gout. In a letter to George Montagu, Esq., dated July 31, 1767, he says:
"Except one day's gout, which I cured with the bootikins, I have been quite well since I saw you."
Eight years afterwards his expectations of cure from them were not so high. In a letter to the Rev. Mr. Cole, dated June 5, 1775, he remarks:
"I am perfectly well, and expect to be so for a year and a half. I desire no more of my bootikins than to curtail my fits."
Dr. E. J. Seymour (Thoughts on the Nature and Treatment of several severe Diseases of the Human Body, i. 107.: London, 1847), says that—
"The bootikins were simply a glove, with a partition for the thumb, but no separate ones for the fingers, like an infant's glove, made of oiled silk."
Can any of your readers shed light on this matter?
R. D.
Philadelphia.
180. Printers' Privilege.
—I have heard it confidently stated that printers have the privilege, if they are disposed to use it, to wear on all occasions a sword dangling at their sides. If it be so, whence does it arise? I have heard two explanations, one, bearing primâ facie evidence of incorrectness, a special grant as a mark of favour; the other, which is the only reasonable way of accounting for such a totally unsuitable privilege, that when the act passed forbidding arms to be commonly worn, all kinds and manner of people were mentioned by the name of their trades, businesses, &c., except printers, who were accidently omitted. How much of truth might there be in all this? What is the act alluded to?
TEE BEE.
181. Death of Pitt.
—What authority is there for the accompanying statement respecting the death of Mr. Pitt?
"Among the anecdotes of statesmen few are more interesting than that which records the death of Pitt. The hand which had so long sustained the sceptre of this country found no hand to clasp it in death. By friends and by servants he was alike deserted; and a stranger wandering on from room to room of a deserted house, came at last by chance to a chamber untended but not unquiet, in which the great minister lay, alone and dead."—See Edinburgh Review for July, 1851, p. 78., on the Poems and Memoir of Hartley Coleridge.
NATHANIEL ELLISON.
182. "A little Bird told me."
—C. W. wishes to know if any of the readers of "NOTES AND QUERIES" can tell him the origin of the proverb, "A little bird told me."
C. W. has an idea that the origin is from the Koran, where is an account of all the birds being summoned before Solomon. The lapwing absents himself. Upon being questioned why he did not immediately obey, he says he has been at the court of the Queen of Sheba, who has resolved upon visiting Solomon. On the hint, Solomon prepares for the queen's reception. The lapwing sets off to Ethiopia, and tells the Queen that Solomon wishes to see her. The meeting, as we know, took place.
Not having the Koran, C. W. cannot refer to it to see if it is right or wrong.
183. Baroner.
—At page 105. of the volume of Bury Wills published by the Camden Society, is the will of William Place, priest, Master of the Hospital of St. John Evangelist without the south gate of Bury St. Edmunds, dated 21st July, 1504, whereby he willed that "Damp" William Carsey (elsewhere in the same will called Karsey), "Baroner" of the Monastery of Bury St. Edmunds, should assign two children to say De profundis at his grave for his soul every day from his burying day till his thirtieth day be past, and they to have each day for their labour one penny betwixt them. Mr. Tymms's notes to the above publication are copious and valuable, but he omits to explain the term "Baroner;" and the object of this Query is to ascertain if he, or any of your numerous correspondents, can do so. I conjecture that the Baroner was the master of the children (or song school), but I am not aware of any other instance of the use of the word as denoting a monastic officer.
C. H. COOPER.
Cambridge, Sept 19. 1851.
184. William the Third at Exeter—History of Hawick.
—1. Mr. Macaulay, in describing the entrance of William of Orange into Exeter, mentions that he was preceded, amongst others, by three hundred gentlemen of English birth. Can any of your correspondents inform me whether the names of these gentlemen are known, and, if so, where the roll may be met with?
2. I remember to have read an extract from a work called the History of Hawick in Teviotdale, but I have never met with any one acquainted with the work. Is the book now extant, and, if so, where can it be seen? If any of your correspondents should have seen this volume, perhaps he can inform me whether it narrates an altercation between the abbot of Melrose and a neighbouring baron, which ended in the death of the former?
H. L.
Maen-twrog, North Wales.
185. Johannes Lychtenberger.
—The "Pronosticatio," or "prophecies," which bear this name, have been often reprinted since what I believe to be the first edition was published in the year 1488. In giving an account of the copies of it in the Lambeth Library, I stated that I knew of no other copy of this edition, except one in the Douce collection in the Bodleian. Eight years have elapsed since that time, and I have not heard of any; and as circumstances have lately led to my being engaged about the book, I shall be glad if you will allow me to ask whether any of your many learned correspondents know of a prior edition, or of any other copies of this one of 1488?
S. R. MAITLAND.
Gloucester.
186. Lestourgeon the Horologist.
—I have in my possession an apparently very old, though very elegant and very excellent, eight-day clock, with the maker's name on its face, Thomas Lestourgeon, London. Some years ago there was found among the apparatus of the Natural Philosophy class, in the University of Edinburgh, what is called in the inventory "an old watch, maker's name Lestourgeon, London." Can any of your readers tell me when that excellent horologist flourished? I know the history of the clock for about a century, but how much older it may be I should like to know.
JAMES LAURIE.
187. Physiological Query.
—Can any of your correspondents mention the work of any physiologist in which the cause is given why all herbivorous animals suck in what they drink, and all carnivorous animals lap it up by the action of the tongue? Also, what naturalists have specified that broad distinction, and whether it has been mentioned in any other work?
ÆGROTUS.
188. De Grammont's Memoirs.
—Is there an earlier edition of De Grammont's Memoirs than that in 12mo. printed at Cologne in 1713?
PETER CUNNINGHAM.
189. "Frightened out of his seven Senses."
—Can this expression be met with in any author; or what is its origin?
Is it simply synonymous to the more usual phrase, "To be frightened out of one's wits?"
Is there any other passage in the language where the possession of more than five senses is implied?
G. T. H.
Acton.
190. Fides Carbonaria.
—What is the origin of a phrase known to readers of a certain Latinity, "Fides Carbonaria?" The French have an expression apparently equivalent, "Foi de Charbonnier;" but what originated either?
A QUERIST.
191. Bourchier Family.
—I would be very much obliged to any correspondent who could tell me either the inscriptions on any monuments to the "Bourchier" family, or in what church they are to be found. I believe there are some in Northamptonshire.
L. M. M.
Dublin.
192. Warnings to Scotland.
—"Warnings to Scotland, of the Eternal Spirit, to the City of Edinburgh, in Scotland, by the mouths of Thomas Dutton, Guy Nutt, John Glover, in their Mission by the Spirit to the said City, as they were delivered in the year 1709, and faithfully taken down in writing as they were spoken. London printed in the year 1710."
The trio also gave "warnings" to the sinful city of Glasgow, &c.
I would be glad if any of your correspondents could give me any information regarding this agitation, and if it produced any sensation at the time?
ELGINENSIS.
193. Herschel anticipated.
—Can one of your correspondents mention the name, and any other particulars, of the man who anticipated Herschel relative to the sun's motion; and was declared to be mad for entertaining such opinions?
ÆGROTUS.
194. Duke of Wellington.
—Where can a copy of the petition, presented by the Lord Mayor and Common Council, setting forth the insufficiency of the Duke of Wellington as a general, and his obvious incapacity, and begging his immediate recall, be obtained, and the date of it? It is a droll historical document, which should not sink into oblivion.
ÆGROTUS.