[6] [We are glad to supply our correspondent with another instance of hypertautology, and from a work in great demand during this part of the year. On the cover of Bradshaw's Railway Guide we read, "Eighth Month (August) 1st, 1851.">[
94. Unlucky for pregnant Women to take an Oath.
—In a police case, reported in The Times of the 28th of May, a woman was called as a witness who, however, upon the book being tendered to her, positively refused to be sworn, with the remark, that it must be evident to the magistrate that she could not take an oath. The usher of the court said that the woman was pregnant, and that low women who were in that situation, entertained an absurd belief that it was unlucky to take an oath. What is the origin of this superstition? Is it common amongst the uneducated classes of society?
COWGILL.
95. Cockroach (Vol. i., p. 194.).
—Having seen in "NOTES AND QUERIES" some interesting particulars on the subject of beetle mythology, I am induced to put a Query as to the derivation of the word "cockroach." The common appellation for this insect in the French islands is ravet, but the more correct one is kakerlaque. Does the affinity in sound between this latter term and "cockroach," slight though it be, warrant the supposition that the one may be derived from the other?
HENRY H. BREEN.
St. Lucia, May, 1851.
96. Felton.
—What has become of the letter said to have been found in Felton's hat when he stabbed the Duke of Buckingham? Upcott once had it, but it did not appear in the sale catalogue of his collection.