The life of Merian is given by Sandrart, in his Academia Artis Pictoriæ. Strutt, in his Dictionary of Engravers, neglects to mention that Matthæus Merianus Basileensis was employed at Nancy, together with Brentel, A.D. 1608, in designing Pompæ (funebres) Caroli III. Lotharingiæ Ducis. They are etched in a slight style, but with great spirit. The procession consists of a great many plates: these, bound up together with the description, make a large folio volume. I bought a copy six years ago. Can any of your readers inform me whether there is another in England?
BIBLIOTHECAR. CHETHAM.
Thistle of Scotland (Vol. i., pp. 24. 90. 166.).
—I have just accidentally stumbled upon my promised note on this subject; and as it appears to be entirely different from any yet offered to you, I gladly send it for the information of your correspondents. I copied it from an old scrap-book:
"The Scotch Thistle.—The origin of the national badge is thus handed down by tradition:—When the Danes invaded Scotland it was deemed unwarlike to attack an enemy in the darkness of night, instead of a pitched battle by day: but, on one occasion the invaders resolved to avail themselves of stratagem; and in order to prevent their tramp from being heard, they marched barefooted. They had thus neared the Scottish force unobserved, when a Dane unluckily stepped with his foot upon a superbly prickled thistle, and uttered a cry of pain, which discovered the assailants to the Scots, who ran to their arms, and defeated the foe with great slaughter. The thistle was immediately adopted as the insignia of Scotland."
R. H.
Bull the Barrel (Vol. v., p. 200.).
—The practice of "bulling the barrel" or "cask," as mentioned by C. FORBES, is an every-day occurrence in the Navy. As soon as a rum cask is emptied, a few gallons of water are put into the cask (and it is struck down again into the spirit-room); this is done to keep the wood moist, and prevent it from shrinking, so as to keep the cask water-tight: this is called "bulling the cask;" and from the water receiving after some time a strong impregnation, which makes it really strong grog, salt water is used, though even the "salt-water bull," as it is called, when again poured out, has often proved too attractive for seamen to resist. Again, it is common to talk in the same way of "bulling a tea-pot," coffee-pot, &c.; that is, after the first "brew" has been exhausted, by adding fresh water, and boiling over again, to make a "second brew" from the old materials. This probably was derived from "bulling the cask;" but whether the "bulling" originally applied to the preserving the water-tight qualities of the cask, or to the making the "second brew," I cannot pretend to say, though I should define the present acceptation of the term "bulling" to be "the obtaining an impregnation from that which had been already used."
G. M. T. R. N.