Replies to Minor Queries.
Inscription on an old Board (Vol. iii., p. 240.).
—I would suggest that the 31st chapter of Genesis may solve this riddle. We have in the latter part of that chapter the account of a covenant entered into between Jacob and Laban, and we are there told that a pillar was erected as a witness between them of this covenant; Jacob calling it Galeed, also Mizpah. May not the inscription on the board be a token of some covenant of the same kind; and may it not have been placed on a pillar, or on some conspicuous place on the exterior of the house, or over the mantel in some room of the house (this latter being suggested in the article describing the board)? If I am correct, the name of the person who did "indite" the inscription should be one which, if not spelt exactly like Galeed or Mizpah, would in sound resemble the one or the other.
H. H. B.
Monte Cavallo, South Carolina.
Churches decorated at Christmas (Vol. iii., p. 118.).
—In the Episcopal churches of our country this custom is religiously observed; the foliage of the holly, cedar, and pine being chiefly used for this purpose at the south, together with artificial flowers. At Easter also most of the same churches are decorated, though some are not; and at that season natural flowers are also used for the purpose, mingled with the evergreen foliage of the trees mentioned above.
H. H. B.
Monte Cavallo, South Carolina.
Royal Library (Vol. iv., p. 69.).
—The letter addressed by King George IV. to the Earl of Liverpool, referred to in the above page, will be found in the Gentleman's Magazine for February, 1823, page 161. It is dated from the Pavilion, Brighton, on the 15th of the preceding month.
The Committee, in their Parliamentary Report, state that the king had accompanied his munificent donation of this library to the public, "with the gift of a valuable selection of coins and medals;" and they close their Report in the following words:
"The Committee would not do justice to the sentiments with which they are affected, if they failed to express in the strongest terms the gratitude they feel, in common with the nation, for the act of munificent liberality which has brought this subject under their consideration, and for the disposition which is so strongly evinced by that act, on the part of his Majesty, of promoting, by the best means, the science and literature of the country."
Would all this have been said, if the value of the library, in "pounds sterling" was, as has been alleged, to be made good by the country to its late owner?
When urging that this library, containing about 65,000 volumes, might have been preserved at Whitehall, or in some other part of Westminster, as a distinct collection, it may be stated, that on its removal to the Museum, 21,000 duplicates were found in the united libraries, but that "it was not considered advisable to part with more than 12,000; which should be taken from books in the Museum." Why should not the Museum have retained its duplicates, leaving those in the royal library for the benefit of readers in another part of the metropolis? Was the expense of a separate establishment the great obstacle?
J. H. M.
Proof of a Sword (vol. iv., p. 39.).
—ENSIS asks, "What is the usual test of a good blade?" The proof by striking on the surface of smooth water, is not uncommon in India; though, in my opinion, it is a very inefficient one, and there is no doubt that "the Toledo blades in the Crystal Palace" would stand it as well as any others of moderate goodness. "The Toledo blades that roll up in a circle" can be as easily made in England as in Spain, but they are useless toys: there is an English one in the Exhibition, Class viii., Case 200., which fits into the circular Toledo scabbard placed above it; but they are only curious to the uninitiated. What, then, is an efficient proof? I reply, first strike the flat side of the blade on an iron table (by means of a machine) with a force of 300 to 400 lbs., and then on the edge and back over a round piece of hard wood with a force of 400 to 500 lbs.: after which thrust the point as hard as possible against a thick iron plate and through a cuirass, without turning or breaking it, and bend so as to reduce the length in the proportion of about one inch and a half to a foot. When thus proved, a sword may be relied on, and the operation may be seen every day at 27. Pall Mall.
HENRY WILKINSON.
Dr. Young's "Narcissa" (Vol. iv., p. 22.).
—In reply to W. F. S. of Surbiton it appears, from the most authentic biographical accounts of Dr. Young, that he had not any daughters, and only one son; and that the Narcissa of the Night Thoughts was a daughter of his wife (Lady Elizabeth Lee), by her former husband, Colonel Lee. The writer in the Evangelical Magazine must therefore have written in ignorance of these facts when he termed Narcissa Dr. Young's daughter: or he may have spoken, in a loose way, of the daughter-in-law as the daughter.
J. M.
Circulation of the Blood (Vol. ii., p. 475.).
—Having recently had occasion to look into the works of Bede, I have found, in lib. iv., De Elementis Philosophiæ, the passage which was the subject of my Query. Though not strictly in accordance with the established fact of the circulation of the blood, it will yet be allowed to be a near approximation to it. It is as follows:—
"Sanguine in epate generato, per venas ad omnia transit membra, calore quorum digestus, in eorum similitudinem transit: superfluitas, vero, partim per sudorem exit, alia vero pars ad epar revertitur, ibi decocta cum urina exit descendens, sedimenque vocatur; sed si in fundo sit urinæ dicitur hypostasis; si in medio, eneortim: si in summo nephile."—Bedæ Opera, vol. ii. p. 339., ed. Basiliæ, MDLXIII.
J. MN.
Dr. Elrington's Edition of Ussher (Vol. iii., p. 496.; Vol. iv., p. 10.).
—There is still some obscurity about the publication of the remaining volumes of this important work, notwithstanding DR. TODD'S prompt communication on the subject. He speaks of the 14th volume half printed off, and asks for information which may assist him in completing it; and then announces that highly desirable addition, viz. an Index, which is to form the 17th volume; but of the projected contents of vols. xv. and xvi., he says nothing.[5]
[5] Vols. xv. and xvi., consisting of Letters to and from Archbishop Ussher, were published early in 1849.
In spite of Dr. Elrington's rejection of the Body of Divinity (which is doubtless what DR. TODD refers to under the name of the System of Theology), I would still venture to plead for at least an uniform edition of it; for there is surely much force in the testimony of Dr. N. Bernard (as quoted by Mr. Goode), that, whilst the Archbishop was "indeed displeased at the publishing of it, without his knowledge, but hearing of some good fruit which hath been reaped by it, he hath permitted it."
"Several other editions, therefore," (Mr. Goode adds) "were published in his lifetime; and being thus published with his permission, must of course be considered as in all important points of doctrine representing his views."—Effects of Infant Baptism, pp. 312, 313.
Possibly some of your correspondents might be able to throw light on this point.
It will scarcely be travelling out of the record to entreat that the Index may be printed on anything but the dazzling milled paper, which everybody I should think must detest.
C. W. B.
Was Stella Swift's Sister? (Vol. iii., p. 450.).
—J. H. S. will find this question raised in the The closing Years of Dean Swift's Life, by W. R. Wilde, M.R.I.A.:—
"That Stella was the daughter of Sir Wm. Temple appears more than probable; but that Swift was his son, and consequently her half brother, remains to be proved. It has, it is true, been often surmised, from the date of Orrery's book to the present time, but we cannot discover in the supposition anything but vague conjecture."
Mr. Wilde, however, proceeds to quote in favour of the opinion from an article in The Gentleman's and London Magazine, pp. 555. to 560., Dublin. Printed for John Exshaw, Nov. 1757.
It is signed C. M. P. G. N. S. T. N. S.
†
The Mistletoe (Vol. ii., pp. 163. 214.).
—The mistletoe is common on almost every tree of our Southern forests; it is abundant on all the varieties of the oak, and grows most luxuriously on the trees near our watercourses. I have seen some of our deciduous trees looking almost as green in winter as when clothed in their own foliage in summer, in consequence of the quantity of mistletoe growing upon them.
H. H. B.
Monte Cavallo, South Carolina.
Family of Kyme (Vol. iv., p. 23.).
—The match of Kyme with Cicely, second daughter of Edward the Fourth, and widow of John, Lord Welles, is mentioned by Anderson, Yorke, Brooke, and Vincent; but these writers agree that she had no issue by this marriage.
BOLD is probably aware that there are a few descents of the family of Kyme of Stickford, coming down to the latter end of the sixteenth century, to be found in a "Visitation of Lincolnshire," Harl. MS. No. 1550., fo. 60. b.
The following notice of some supposed descendants of the ancient family of Kyme, is given in Thompson's History of Boston, 4to. Lond. 1820, pp. 173. to 176.:
"Richmond Rochford, or Kyme Tower.
"At what time this estate passed from the Kyme family has not been ascertained: it fell into the hands of the crown by sequestration, in consequence of some political transgression of its owner, and is now the property of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster. The descendants of the ancient owners, however, continued to occupy the estate as tenants, until 1816.[6]
"The tower is situated about two miles east of Boston.... An old house adjoining the Tower was taken down a few years since: in this house were several old portraits, said to be of the Kyme family: there were also three coats of arms, with different bearings, but with this same motto: 'In cruce nostra salus.'"
[6] Adlard Kyme was tenant 1709.
If BOLD will communicate his address to the editor of "NOTES AND QUERIES," I will with much pleasure forward to him some further information respecting the descendants of the Kymes of Kyme Tower.
LLEWELLYN.
The Leman Baronetcy (Vol. iv., p. 58.).
—In answer to your correspondent H. M., I beg to state that Sir Edward Leman, Baronet, resides at Nottingham. He tried his right as to the baronetcy at the Canongate Court in Edinburgh, in the year 1842, and was gazetted as the legal baronet and rightful descendant of Sir Tanfeild Leman, who succeeded Sir William Lenten of Northaw. I have the original gazette and a certified court copy of the proceedings on the occasion, which I shall be happy to show your correspondent, with all other information and papers relative to the Leman family, if he will favour me with his address.
J. R.
39. Windmill Street, Haymarket.
Cure for Ague (Vol. iv., p. 53.).
—The benefit derived by your correspondent E. S. TAYLOR from the snuff of a candle, was owing to the minute quantity of creosote contained in each dose. Dr. Elliotson tried the same nauseous remedy with partial success at St. Thomas's Hospital, some years since.
J. N. T.