As proofs of the belief in the influence of the number three in incantation, I may refer to Virg. Ecl. viii. 73—78.; to a passage in Apuleius, which describes the resuscitation of a corpse by Zachlas, the Egyptian sorcerer;
"Propheta, sic propitiatus, herbulam quampiam ter ob os corporis, et aliam pectori ejus imponit."—Apul. Metamorph., lib. ii. sect. 39. (Regent's Classics);
and to the rhyming spell that raised the White Lady of Avenel at the Corrie nan Shian. (See The Monastery, chaps. xi. and xvii.)
C. Forbes.
Sir Josias Bodley (Vol. vii., p. 357.).—Your correspondent Y. L. will find some account of the family of Bodley in Prince's Worthies of Devon, edit. 1810, pp. 92-105., and in Moore's History of Devon, vol. ii. pp. 220-227. See also "N. & Q.," Vol. iv., pp. 59. 117. 240.
J. D. S.
Claret (Vol. vii., p. 237.).—The word claret is evidently derived directly from the French word clairet; which is used, even at the present day, as a generic name for the "vins ordinaires," of a light and thin quality, grown in the south of France. The name is never applied but to red wines; and it is very doubtful whether it takes its appellation from any place, being always used adjectively—"vin clairet," not vin de clairet. I am perhaps not quite correct in stating, that the word is always used as an adjective; for we sometimes find clairet used alone as a substantive; but I conceive that in this case the word vin is to be understood, as we say "du Bordeaux," "du Champagne," meaning "du vin de Bordeaux," "du vin de Champagne." Eau clairette is the name given to a sort of cherry-brandy; and lapidaries apply the name clairette to a precious stone, the colour of which is not so deep as it ought to be. This latter fact may lead one to suppose that the wine derived its name from being clearer and lighter in colour than the more full-bodied vines of the south. The word is constantly occurring in old drinking-songs. A song of Olivier Basselin, the minstrel of Vire, begins with these words:
"Beau nez, dont les rubis out coûté mainte pipe
De vin blanc et clairet."
By the way, this song is the original of one in the musical drama of Jack Sheppard, which many of the readers of "N. & Q." may remember, as it became rather popular at the time. It began thus: