Flaws of Wind
The parish church of Dun-Nechtan, now Dunnichen, was dedicated to St. Causlan, whose festival was held in March. Snow showers in March are locally called "St. Causlan's flaws."
SCOTUS.
QUERIES ANSWERED.
DORNE THE BOOKSELLER AND HENNO RUSTICUS.
Sir,—Circumstances imperatively oblige me to do that from which I should willingly be excused—reply to the observations of J.I., inserted in page 75. of the last Saturday's Number of the "NOTES AND QUERIES."
The subject of these are three questions proposed by me in your first number to the following effect:—1. Whether any thing was known, especially from the writings of Erasmus, of a bookseller and publisher of the Low Countries named Dorne, who lived at the beginning of the sixteenth century? Or, 2ndly, of a little work of early date callled Henno Rusticus? Or, 3dly, of another, called Of the Sige (Signe) of the End?
To these no answer has yet been given, although the promised researches of a gentleman of this University, to whom literary inquirers in Oxford have ever reason to be grateful, would seem to promise one soon, if it can be made. But, in the mean time, the knot is cut in a simpler way: neither Dorne, nor Henno Rusticus, his book, it is said, ever existed. Permit me one word of expostulation upon this.
It is perfectly true that the writing of the MS. which has given rise to these queries and remarks is small, full of contradictions, and sometimes difficult to be read; but the contractions are tolerably uniform and consistent, which, to those who have to do with such matters, is proved to be no inconsiderable encouragement and assistance. A more serious difficulty arises from the circumstance, that the bookselller used more than one language, and none always correctly. Still it may be presumed he was not so ignorant as to make a blunder in spelling his own name. And the first words of the manuscript are these: "+In nomine domini amen ego Johannes dorne, &c. &c." (In noie domi ame ego Johanes dorne, &c.) From the inspection of a close copy now lying before me, in which all the abbreviations are retained, and from my own clear recollection, I am enabled to state that, to my full belief, the name of "dorne" is written by the man himself in letters at length, without any contraction whatever; and that the altered form of it, "Domr," as applied to that particular person, exists nowhere whatever, except in page 75. of No. 5 of the "NOTES AND QUERIES."