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residing in the parish of St. Giles, near Great Torrington, Devon. The farmer in question did a good deal of business in that line, but on this occasion the bacon was sent back when only half done, because, as the farmer said, the cow was after her time, and she could not calve so long as there was any bacon up the chimney. W. G.

EAST ANGLIAN FOLK-LORE.-1. A servant was standing in a kitchen with the windows open when in flew a humble-bee. "O see!" she said, "a stranger is coming! Has it a red tail or a white? Red for a man and white for a woman."

2. A stalk of the tea-leaf in your cup, if long, foreshows a tall stranger; if short, a little one. 3. "Take a cup o' tea in winter," quoth Goody Washall, "to make hot; and take a cup o' tea in summer time, 'twill make you cule."

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4. A coat was sent home from the tailor's, out of which he had not taken the basting-stitches. "Ah!" some one exclaimed, "that coat is not paid for; for here is some of the basting. And here's a pin left in, and that means the same." 5. "Will you be so good as to put some salt on my plate?" "No! not I; help yourself. Help to salt, help you to sorrow.

6. 66 My dear, what did you say ?" "I dare say you'd like it again; but I'm not a parson to preach my sermon twice." W. H. S. Yaxley.

ARMENIAN FOLK-LORE.-That ancient chronicler of the Armenian nation, Moses of Khorene, has some samples of old folk-lore. In his first book, chap. xx., speaking of Ara, he says Ara was called Sos, or Plane, because he was devoted to priestly functions in the forests of plane trees of Aramaniag, near the city of Armavir. "The trembling of the plane leaves, according to the slight or strong breath of the wind, was an object of magic study in Armenia for a long time."

I offer another quotation as old folk-lore from Moses of Khorene. In his second book, ch. lxi., he says, speaking of King Ardavasht, that the old women relate he is incarcerated in some cavern, laden with iron chains. Two dogs are ever gnawing the chains of Ardavasht, who endeavours to escape, so as to bring about the end of the world, but under the sounding strokes of the smith and his strikers, the irons of the captive get stronger. That, says the writer, is why, even in our time, many smiths, following the teachings of the fable, strike the anvil three or four times on the first day of the week, to strengthen, say they, the chains of Ardavasht. HYDE CLARKE.

32, St. George's Square, S.W.

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'Quarta quinta qualis, Tota luna talis.'

English paraphrase,

As is the fourth and fifth days' weather,
So's that lunation altogether.'

"This observation is certain upon the Continent, and according to my experience here for the most part." W. C. B.

ST. SWITHIN.-Apropos of the season, I send the following extract from Robertus de Graystanes, one of the three Durham historians published by the Surtees Society, together with Dr. Raine's allusion to it in the preface:

"Plagam hanc insequuta est alia in translatione Sancti Suithuni proximo sequente, scilicet idus Julii: tanta videlicet aquarum inundantia, quod fluvii terminos solitos mirabiliter excesserunt, fruges et herbas proximas demerserunt, molendina et stagna asportarunt, et domus vicinas noctanter ingredientes diruerunt, et viros et tionem nullus tunc superstes recoluit, nec tantam carismulieres cum parvulis submerserunt. Tantam inundatiam quanta sit eam insequuta, nec tantam pestilenciam boum."-Cap. xxxvi. 96.

"The fearful deluge of rain on the day of St. Swithin, as it was general throughout the kingdom, and led to a dreadful famine, may, for anything at present known to the contrary, have given to that saint his watery name. It is exceedingly probable," he adds in a note, "that we have here the real origin of the popular belief on this subject. There is nothing in the life of Swithin to connect him with rainy weather, but there seems to be enough in the above inundation and its widely-extending consequences to make a general and lasting impression upon the nation."

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Gaspar Main, a student of Christ-church Oxford, where he lived for many years in much credit and reputation for his florid wit, and ingenious vein in poetry, which produced two witty and well-approved comedies,

WEATHER PROPHECIES. Written in an old the City match and the Amorous war; nor did he, since copy of Virgil:

"Georgic first, line 432: Sin ortu quarto,' &c. A monkish rhyme has an explanation or improvement of the above sentiment:

his application to theology, of which he was Dr., and his ecclesiastical preferment, totally relinquish those politer studies to which he was before addicted, having lately published Lucian's works, of his own translating into English [N. 1604; Ob. 1672]."

I believe the above outline will be new to many readers, as the name is misspelt and the article misplaced, i. e. under G instead of J.-the initial of the baptismal name being adopted as the ordinal word. BOLTON CORNEY.

FAIRFORD WINDOWS.-Some time past (3rd S. x. 321) I called the attention of the readers of "N. & Q." to the incomparable excellence of the Fairford windows, and am not surprised at the notice they received from the Archæological Congress assembled at Cirencester, especially when fresh evidence is produced in the able statement of Mr. Holt that they are probably the work of Albert Dürer. Whether they are so, I leave to the decision of others more conversant in artistic drawing than myself. The peculiar character of the architecture of Fairford church, differing in some respects from buildings of that date, seems to point out that it was specially erected for the purpose of receiving these works of art.

Are there any glass paintings in existence, in Germany or elsewhere, known or presumed to be the work of this great master, as those quoted by your correspondent from Lenoir are destroyed? Lysons, in his Gloucestershire Antiquities, has given elaborate coloured engravings of windows at Bristol, Gloucester, Tewkesbury, &c., but has omitted any mention of Fairford, though Rendcombe church, built by the Tame family, is represented. Perhaps he found it difficult to bring out the exquisite colouring of these windows in any engraving. So brilliant is it, that the old clerk informed me some bits had been surreptitiously cut out for the purpose of imitating precious stones. A. Dürer, if he was the painter, must have been a master in that art of colouring glass modern imitators have yet in vain endeavoured to effect.

THOMAS E. WINNINGTON.

THE SIGNATURE OF COLUMBUS.-His ordinary signature was in this form :

S.

S. A. S.

X. M. Y.

XPO FERENS.

His official or titular signature was:

S.

8. A. S.

X. M. Y.

EL ALMIRANTE.

And he requires by his last will and testament that all his successors shall sign in this latter form only. They may, however, add any other titles granted to them.

The meaning of these letters not being yet quite cleared up by Washington Irving (Columbus, Ap. xxxvi.) and the authorities he quotes, I suggest that the letter S occurring three times, represents the trisagion-Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus-Holy, Holy, Holy; and the A is alleluiah,

for so Hallelujah is written in the Greek as well as Latin church service, without the aspirate. All The Y agree that X is Christ, and M Maria. is thought by Spotorno to stand for Yosephus, by Irving for Yesus; but neither in Latin nor Spanish do these names commence with Y, but with J. I conclude, however, that r, the Greek letter, is the initial of riós, son-meaning, Jesus son of Mary. All are agreed as to XPO, the Greek contraction for Christ, and ferens in Latin, to represent the Greek name Christopher Christ-bearing. St. Christopher is represented with a lamb (the type of Christ) over his shoulders, the legs of the lamb hanging over his breast. The term EL ALMIRANTE, "The Admiral," speaks for itself. The words in his will are:__

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"Don Diego my son, or any other who may inherit this estate, on coming into possession of the inheritance, shall sign with the signature which I now make use of, which is an X with an S over it, and an M with a Roman A over it, and over that an S, and then a Greek r, with an S over it, with its lines and points as is my custom, as may be seen by my signatures, of which there are many, He shall only and it shall be seen by the present one. write 'The Admiral,' whatever other titles the king may have conferred on him. This is to be understood as re

spects his signature, but not the enumeration of his titles, which he can make at full length if agreeable, only the signature is to be 'The Admiral.""

T. J. BUCKTON.

A YEAR AND A DAY.-Perhaps several of your readers, like myself, have felt inclined to smile at the expression, "a year and a day," occurring so The words "and a frequently in old ballads. day seem so unnecessary. But I now feel inclined to smile at my own want of perception; there is very good reason for the phrase.

If, in a passage of a melody, we wish to rise from one C to the C above, we ascend by the seven notes of the scale, C to B, and by one more, i. e. we arrive at the octave. In the same way, Low Sunday is not said to be seven days after Easter, but is called the octave. The phrase "in a week's time" is felt to be vague; and therefore people say "this day week." But this is sometimes expressed in old books by "in eight days," and a fortnight is sometimes denoted by "in fifteen days"; cf. Fr. quinzaine. But the period of the octave might also be fairly called a week and a day," as well as a period of eight days; and in the same way, a year and a day must mean on the 366th day from the present, i. e. on the same day of the month as the present, in next year. The intention of it is to show that not only has a year elapsed, but that the day now spoken of is the same day of the month as the day before mentioned. Cf. Exod. xii. 41.

Again, the present 25th of August being a

In his will he calls it a Greek Y: the third line will then read-Xpiorós, Mapías Tiós.

Tuesday, the 25th next year will be Wednesday; and by that time we shall have advanced not only by a year (reckoned by years), but by a day (reckoned by days of the week). Here is another reason for choosing the phrase. WALTER W. SKEAT.

1, Cintra Terrace, Cambridge.

CHRISTMAS WAITS. In Edinburgh many years ago, about Christmas time, the citizens after twelve o'clock were usually serenaded by the waits slowly perambulating the streets, and performing with considerable taste such airs as "The Yellowhaired Laddy," "The Flowers of the Forest," "The Bush aboon Traquair," and similar plaintive ditties. The effect was pleasant. The instruments were, so far as we can remember, clarionets, flutes, oboes, and sometimes a bassoon. Now-a-days a change has come over the dream, and the waits are less in number, and their musical performances inferior to what they were of old. There was no regular appointment by the magistrates of any particular persons, or any authority to levy money from the citizens: about New Year's time the performers usually came, and received a trifle from those who were disposed to patronise them.

In Westminster, so far back as December 1822, it appears from the following cutting from an old magazine, that the appointment of waits rested with the Court of Burgesses for the city and liberty of Westminster:

"CHRISTMAS WAITS.-Charles Clapp, Benjamin Jackson, Denis Jelks, and Robert Prinset, were brought to Bow-street Office, by O. Bond the constable, charged with performing on several musical instruments in St. Martin's-lane, at half-past twelve o'clock this morning, by Mr. Munroe, the authorized principal Wait, appointed by the Court of Burgesses for the City and Liberty of Westminster, who alone considers himself entitled, by his appointment, to apply for Christmas-boxes. He also urged that the prisoners, acting as minstrels, came under the meaning of the Vagrant Act, alluded to in the 17th Geo. II.; however, on reference to the last Vagrant Act of the present King, the word 'minstrels' is omitted; consequently they are no longer cognizable under that Act of Parliament; and in addition to that, Mr. Charles Clapp, one of the prisoners, produced his indenture of having served seven years as an apprentice to the profession of a musician to Mr. Clay, who held the same appointment as Mr. Munroe does under the Court of Burgesses. The prisoners were discharged, after receiving an admonition from Mr. Halls, the sitting magistrate, not to collect Christmas-boxes."

J. M.

What is the origin of the word wait? [The term waits, or wayghtes, was used to signify a wind instrument, a kind of hautboy. Butler, in his Principles of Music, 1636, mentions the "waits or hoboys." Mr. Todd shows from the Prompt. Parvulorum, that wait anciently meant a watchman; and it has been conjectured that the word came to us from the old German wacht, a vigil or watching. — Vide "N. & Q." 2nd S. vii. 480, &c. -ED.]

SONG, COM HIDDER."-The following old song is printed in the appendix to an essay on the

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He furthermore says that he thinks it is one of the songs mentioned by Gawin Douglass in his "Prologue to the XII Booke of Eneados," and promises to give an account of it in a publication to be issued on the following year-namely, 1820, to be entitled a Gowpenfou of guidlie Conceitis, or Ragment of Rosie Rondellis and Plesant Meteris. Was this book ever published? Can any of your readers give information concerning this song? "Here followis ane litill Sang clepit 'Com hidder, com hidder, and let us woo: '

"Twa gentil birdis sat on ane tre,

Twa bonnie burdis as e'er culd be,
And as thay sat for ay thay sang,
Quhyl wuddis and rochis wi echois rang.

Com hidder, com hidder, mi bonnie dow,
Wi honeyit halse and dew dabbit mou,
And ay the ane sang to the uthir
Com hidder, bot nae delay com hither,
Com hidder, com hidder, and let us woo.
"The sun rase hie in the purpour east,
And flichterit doun in the glumie west,
And nicht cam on befoir thair dune,
In singand of this gentil crune.

Com hidder, com hidder, &c.
"Syne gaed thir birdis sua traist and free,
Be nichtfal to thair herbourie,
In suth to say, thair hertis wer licht,
Sithens thay sang thorow the nicht.
Com hidder, com hidder," &c.

Paisley.

D. MACPHAIL.

DESCENDANTS OF OLIVER CROMWELL.-If the following notices of the Cromwell family have not been published, I think they are worthy of a place in N. & Q.":-Spinney Priory, in the parish of Wicken, a little to the east of the Cambridge and Ely Road, was occupied by some of the immediate descendants of the Protector, and in the parish church within the altar rails are two slabs, one of dark marble, with this inscription:

Martii, Anno Christi MDCLXXIII. Annoq ætatis XLVII. "Henricus Cromwell de Spinney, obijt xxiii Die "Elizabetha, uxor Henrici Cromwell, obijt 7th Die Aprilis, Ano 1687, annoq' ætatis suæ 52.

"Henricus filius Hen Crom Juñ obijt 4o Juñ anno 1692, ano ætatis suæ 12."

On the slab by the side of this there are only some remains of an inscription:

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The parish registers, which commence 1667, fâché de se corriger. Il avoit le génie fécond en expéricontain

"Buried Mr Elizabeth Cromwell, Sep 18, 1672." "Buried Henry Cromwell, Esq., March 25, 1674." "Buried Olivar Cromwell, Esq., Apr. 10, 1685." "Buried the good lady Cromwell, Elizabeth Cromwell, Apr. 11th, 1687."

The lost slab and the first of these entries refer apparently to the wife of the Protector. None of the bones rest there now. The graves were rifled about 1830 by a neighbouring farmer, who was churchwarden. He appropriated the graves for himself and family, and the last of his race was buried there a few years ago. W. M. F.

Cambridge.

WALDENSIAN COLONY NEAR MONTE-VIDEO.-In Zimmermann's Theologisches Literaturblatt (No. 65, 1868, p. 389), I find a review of a little tract which, from the place of its publication, might easily escape notice in England, and yet supplies interesting information respecting that martyrchurch which, from the day of Milton, has been regarded amongst us with very friendly feelings. The title is :

"The Waldenses in the West; or, the Italian Colony near Monte-Video, South America. Narrative of Facts, F. H. v. [sic. Qu. v(on) F. H.] Pendleton. Florence: Printed by G. Barbèra, 1868," pp. 24, 8vo.

In 1857 the overflowing hive of the valleys sent out a hundred and fifty, followed in 1858 by one hundred more, of its inhabitants. They founded a colony at Florida, about six miles from Monte-Video, but were forced by persecution to remove to Rosario Oriental, more than double the distance. The advocacy of the English chaplain, Mr. Pendleton, and the banishment of the Jesuits in 1859, procured for them freedom of worship. Their numbers, by birth and immigration, have increased to a thousand, and their industry has made them a prosperous community. Mr. Pendleton, now chaplain at Florence, crossed the Atlantic to visit them in 1867, and has raised funds and procured leave from the government for the building of a church and school. In 1857 Mr. Pendleton received from the French government a gold medal for his exertions amongst the yellowfever patients. JOHN E. B. MAYOR.

St. John's College, Cambridge. PRINCE RUPERT, DUKE OF CUMBERLAND, K.G. The museum of the Louvre possesses two splendid portraits, in one frame, by Van Dyk, entitled in the catalogue "Prince Rupert and his Brother." These heads, however, are so bland, not to say effeminate, notwithstanding their rich armour, that it is impossible to recognise in either the habitually harsh expression of this young Hotspur, as described in A. Hamilton's admirable Mémoirs de Grammont:

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"Il étoit brave et vaillant jusqu'à la témérité. Son esprit étoit sujet à quelques travers, dont il eut été bien

ences de mathématiques et quelque talens pour la chymie. Poli jusqu'à l'excès quand l'occasion ne le demandoit pas, fier et même brutal quand il étoit question de s'humaniser. Il étoit grand, et n'avoit que trop mauvais air. Son visage étoit sec et dur, lorsmême qu'il vouloit le radoucir : mais dans ses mauvoises humeurs, c'étoit une vraie physionomie de reprouvé."

An engraving by Moncornet, now before me, with evidently the same head as the one in fullface (in the above-mentioned picture) bears the name, it is true, of "Robert de Bavieres, Prince et Conte Palatin, Chev' de l'Ordre de S. George,” but in another-an English engraving—where he is styled "The most Illustrious Prince Rupert, Elector Palatine of the Rhine," he has a bad expression of the mouth, which coincides with the "vraie physionomie de reprouvé" Grammont speaks of.

The Queen of Bohemia-Princess Elizabeth Stuart, sister of Charles I.—had three sons, of whom Rupert was the youngest. In January, 1644, he was honoured with the Garter. Was Prince Maurice (who likewise entered his uncle's service), knighted as well? If so, might not the two portraits in the Louvre-one of which has the order of St. George-be those of the King of Bohemia's two eldest sons? P. A. L.

Queries.

ANONYMOUS.-Who are authors of-1. Twelve

Dialogues between Timothy, Titus, and Archippus, 1801; 2. History of the Patriarchal Age and R. INGLIS. Jewish Nation, in dialogues, 1812?

Who is the author of the following work? "The Classical Collector's Vade Mecum: being an Introduction to the Knowledge of the best Editions of the Greek and Roman Classics." London, 1822, 18mo, pp. xiv. 163.

It is, "with his kind permission," dedicated to
Archdeacon Wrangham.
WILLIAM E. A. AXON.

Joynson Street, Strangeways.

SEAL OF R. LE ARCHER, NORFOLK, circa 1366. Should not the arms on this seal be described as "semée of oak leaves" instead of ermine? The former would be allusive to the privilege which pertained to this family of carrying the royal bow once a year through the forests of England.

SP.

RECTORS OF BEACONSFIELD, BUCKS. - Robert Stebbing, D.D., instituted in 1768; died Dec. 22, 1800. George Hirst, D.D., instituted in 1801; died 1802. William Lord, D.D., instituted in 1803; died 1819. I should be glad to ascertain, through your columns, whether any lineal descendants or near relatives of any of the above rectors are still living. RECTOR. Beaconsfield.

EDMOND BRYDGES AND WILLIAM GREGORY, SERJEANTS-AT-LAW.-Can MR. WOOLRYCH or any other correspondent favour me with information as to these gentlemen, who were connected by marriage, and attained the same eminence in the legal profession?

Edmond Brydges was of Lincoln's Inn, and was fourth son of William Brydges of Tiberton, Herefordshire, and born about 1640. His great-niece married William Gregory, great-grandson of Sir William Gregory, puisne judge in the reign of William III.; and another great-niece was wife of William Wynne, Serjeant-at-Law, son of Owen Wynne, LL.D., Warden of the Mint, &c.*

CHARLES J. ROBINSON.

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CORONERS' INQUESTS. I have been reminded by the mention made by your correspondent DANIEL WILSON (4th S. ii. 156) of the coroner's inquest on the poet Chatterton of a question which I have long wished to ask. What becomes of the records of coroners' inquests? When an inquest is held the coroner writes down in the spaces left in a printed form the verdict of the

BUDDHIST COINAGES OF INDIA. "Tamerlan attaqua ses voisins, sans rien lui pût résis-jury, and this document is signed by the coroner ter, et en peu de temps il soumit les Parthes, força les murailles de la Chine, subjugua diverses provinces des Indes, avec la Mésopotamie et l'Egypte, et se vanta enfin d'avoir sous sa puissance les trois parties du monde ;, et pour cette raison il porta pour armoire trois 000."— Dictionnaire Historique, Moreri, La Haye, 1702.

Which of the Buddhist coinages belong to Jangis Khan, the great Mogul conqueror of the thirteenth, and which of them to Timur Lariq the lame, his successor, of the fifteenth century? R. R. W. ELLIS.

Starcross, near Exeter.

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and the jurors. I always imagined that these records were given up to the clerk of the peace however, that in some places this is not the case. and filed among the records of the county. I find, As the records of coroners' inquests are valuable for many reasons, it is to be wished that there might be some means taken for their permanent preservation.

A. O. V. P.

COURT OF FRANCE.-I have recently met with two octavo volumes, published by Saunders and Otley in 1832, entitled Memoirs of Louis the EighCAROLINE MATILDA, QUEEN OF DENMARK.- teenth, written by Himself, and read them through Any authentic information of the "Apologie with much interest. I am desirous to know the (Defence) of her conduct, written by this unfor- history of the work-whether more than these tunate queen whilst imprisoned at Kronberg, and two volumes were published, how far they are addressed either to her brother George the Third genuine, and by whom really written. There is or to the Earl of Suffolk, then in fact Minister for much piquancy and quiet humour in the narForeign Affairs, would be very gratefully re-rative, but, in fact, very little in point of style or ceived. It is said to have been translated into French, German, and Dutch; but the English original is wanting.

W.

"CHRONICLE OF THE ABBEY OF CIRENCESTER." In The Standard of August 18 there is an excellent account of the British Archæological Association's meeting at Cirencester, and at the end of the article is the following note showing that a manuscript chronicle of the abbey was in existence during the last century, but at present its whereabouts cannot be ascertained:

"We now only desire to make the following note-that there is or was existing at the end of the last century a MS. chronicle of the Abbey of Cirencester. Leland says"Ther was afore the Conquest a fair and riche college of Prebendaries in this Toune, but of what Saxon's foundation, no man knoweth.' But Collinson, in his History of Somersetshire, vol. ii. 191, mentioning Rembaldus, Dean of the Prebendal College at Cirencester, says that the college was founded by Alwyn, a Saxon, in the time of King Egbert, and in a note gives as his authority Chronicon Abbat, Cirencest. Penes. Edit. It would be very

desirable to know whether this valuable document is still [Edmond Brydges was inquired after in our 2nd S. v. 514.-ED.]

feeling that one would naturally associate with the character of Louis XVIII. The editor's preface conveys no name, and gives no account of the MS. from which the translation was made. What was the motive of the publication at that period? G. S.

CROOM CASTLE, Croom, co. of Limerick, a quo Crom-a-boo. Can any of your readers supply references which would show the architectural details of this celebrated stronghold at any period down to its occupancy by the Duke and Duchess of Richmond, A.D. 1695-1705? It is thus described by the Marquis of Kildare, and in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary:

"The keep of the castle, surrounded by a high wall, and flanked by four round towers, still remains, now in ruins."

An exquisitely situated and most picturesque but perfectly comfortable modern residence is now in occupation on the site, with one venerable tower, and some not well-defined ruins. Any information will be accepted with thanks by the R. D. LYONS.

present owners.

8, Merrion Square West, Dublin.

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