J. B. Rondeau.
Sir George Howard.—Sir N. W. Wraxall (Historical Memoirs, vol. iv. p. 614.) says of Field-Marshal Sir George Howard—
"His legitimate descent from, or alliance by consanguinity with, the Dukes of Norfolk, notwithstanding the apparent evidence of his name, was I believe not established on incontestable grounds."
Now it is well known that the Effingham branch of the house of Howard, to which Sir George Howard is reputed to belong, is a genuine one: so Wraxall must be understood as casting a slight on the legitimacy of Sir George. Are there traces of any scandals confirming this suspicion?
Tewars.
"Love me, love my Dog."—Whence comes this proverb? It is quoted by St. Bernard: "Dicitur certe vulgari quodam proverbio: Qui me amat, amat et canem meum."—In Festo S. Michaelis, Sermo Primus, sect. iii. p. 1026. vol. i. Parisiis, 1719, fol.
Rt.
Warmington.
Mummy Wheat.—In January, 1843, a near relative of mine, related by marriage to Mr. Martin Tupper, gave my father some grains of wheat, which he had the authority of Sir G. Wilkinson, direct or indirect, to believe to have been taken out of a mummy case, and to be in fact ancient Egyptian wheat, perhaps a couple of thousand years old at least. These were planted in a flower-pot, took root, grew, and had attained the height of many inches, when a cow got into the place where the pot was and ate the plants down. From the roots sprouted again a second crop of stems and leaves, and a similar catastrophe befell the second growth, frustrating the hopes of several anxious young amateur agriculturists, so that we never saw more than the leaves of this crop. In making the inquiries necessary to certify myself that these facts are true, I met with a lady who had seen a small quantity of wheat plants, the produce alleged of mummy wheat, and who spoke of it as a beautiful looking plant, with several stems from each root, and several ears on each stem. I could not ascertain whether this was the fruit of mummy wheat in the first or in the second generation. There was no question that it was sprung from grains taken out of a mummy. I believe that in the case of which I speak as having occurred within the range of my own acquaintance, the wheat was some of the same that Mr. M. F. Tupper possessed.
Perez.