Notes and Queries

The Devil and Church Building (2nd S. iv. 144.) A similar legend to that related by your correspondent, SHOLTO MACDUFF, with respect to the church of St. Brelade in Jersey is also preserved in the sister island of Guernsey, and is given as a reason for the very inconvenient position of the church of Ste Marie du Castel on the very verge of a large and populous parish. The church is said to occupy the site of a castle which, long before the conquest of England by the Normans, was the abode of a piratical chief known by tradition as " le grand Geffroy" or "le grand Sarrazin." A field almost in the centre of the parish, called “les Tuzets,” is pointed out as the spot originally fixed on for the church, and to which the materials for its construction were brought. Whatever was collected there during the day was found next morning to have disappeared, and to have been removed by unseen hands to the hill where the church now stands. The fairies are, in this case, generally accused of being the agents, though some say it was the work of angels. It is worthy of remark that there are other spots in the island bearing the name of "les Tuzets," where there are indications of cromlechs having formerly existed. One of the largest and most perfect cromlechs in the island is called "la pierre du Tus." In Brittany one of the names of the dwarfs who are supposed to haunt the dolmens or cromlechs is "Duz" or "Duzik," and S. Augustin (De Civitate Dei, lib. iv. c. 23.) speaks of certain "Dæmones quos Duscios Galli nuncupant." If the "Deuce "had already possession of the ground, it is easy to conceive that he would not yield it up without a struggle. EDGAR MACCULLOCH.

Guernsey.

Examination by Torture lawful (2nd S. iv. 129.) -The reader will find the following discretionary power given to the jailor to put his prisoner to torture recorded in the Proceedings of the Privy Council of England, vol. vii. p. 83., dated, Windsor, 16 Nov. 32nd Hen. VIII., 1540:

"Thomas Thwayts was sent to the towre of London by c'tain of the garde wt a tre to the Lieutenant declaring his confession and comaundyng him that in cace he woold stande stil in denyal to showe of whom he had herd

the things he confessed, he shuld gyve him a stretche or twoo at his discrecōn upon the brake."

Thwayts appears to have been a servant of one of the king's pages, and was accused by another servant of having spoken traitorous words against his Majesty. We find him, however, subsequently dismissed, "having a good lesson given him to use his tongue with more discretion hereafter."

Cork.

R. C.

Warping (2nd S. iv. 113.)-MR. BUCKTON is probably more familiar with the "silver Trent " at Burton-upon-Trent, than with its muddy

stream at Burton-upon-Stather. From the latter place to Gainsborough, for many miles, both sides of the river have been the means of thousands of acres of land coming under the warping process. Immense crops of wheat and potatoes are raised on this land, which always fetches the highest prices. White clover springs up spontaneously on it. W. H. LAMMIN.

Fulham.

called for generations before" old Jemmy Walsh " Ringsend (2nd S. ii. 315.) — Ringsend was so was born. His derivation, fanciful as it is, I could almost imagine was given to try how far Irish wit could impose on English credulity. Sir John Rogerson, by the way, was Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1693-4. Lascelles, in Liber Minorum, &c., part v. p. 142., writes as follows:

"Ringsend or Rinksen [forsan a northern word signifying a sewer, which the river Dodder is to that part of the county.]"

Y. S. M.

Spiders and Irish Oak (2nd S. iv. 208.) — A writer in the Gentleman's Magazine for June, 1771, vol. xli. p. 251., refutes the following errors; asserting . that the bite of the spider is not venomous, that it is found in Ireland too plentifully, that it has no dislike to fixing its web on Irish oak, and that it has no antipathy to the toad," &c. Brande's Pop. Antiq. (ed. 1842), vol. iii. p. 206. J. EASTWOOD.

The common saying at Winchester is that no spider will hang its web on the roof of Irish oak in the chapel or cloisters: and it holds good. Chesnut is said to possess the same virtue.

MACKENZIE WALCOTT, M.A.

It is a common saying, and I believe a fact, that chesnut wood will not harbour spiders; for that reason the cloisters of New College are roofed with chesnut, and I fancy the roof of Christ Church is said at the present day to be of the same material. M. W. C., B.A. Alnwick.

Spider-eating (2nd S. iii. 206.) - Perhaps D'Israeli had in his mind the following lines by

Peter Pindar:

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souls. They might have supposed that the man was born blind as a punishment for sins which the Almighty foresaw he would commit. This of course would have been as great an error as the other, or greater; but I only wish to point out the possibility of their having been led by such a false notion to put the question. Either way they were seriously in error. F. C. H.

"The Case is Altered" (2nd S. iv. 188. 235.) — Is not this inn-sign connected with the old proverb, "The case is altered, quoth Ployden," of which Ray says (Eng. Prov., 2nd edit., 1678, p. 225.):

"Edmund Plowden was an eminent common lawyer in Queen Elizabeth's time, born at Plowden in Shropshire.. Some make this the occasion of the Proverb: Plowden being asked by a neighbour of his, what remedy there was in Law against his neighbour for some hogs that had trespassed his ground, answered, he might have very good remedy; but the other replying, that they were his hogs, Nay then, neighbour, (quoth he) the case is altered.' Others, more probably, make this the original of it. Plowden being a Roman Catholick, some neighbours of his who bare him no good will, intending to entrap him and bring him under the lash of the Law, had taken care to dress up an Altar in a certain place, and provided a Layman in a Priest's habit, who should do Mass there at such a time. And withall notice thereof was given privately to Mr. Plowden, who thereupon went and was present at the Mass. For this he was presently accused and indicted. He at first stands upon his defence, and would not acknowledge the thing. Witnesses are produced, and among the rest, one who deposed that he himself performed the Mass, and saw Mr. Plowden there. Saith Plowden to him, Art thou a Priest then?' The fellow replied, 'No.' Why then, Gentlemen (quoth he), the case is altered: No Priest, no Mass.' Which came to be a Proverb, and continues still in Shropshire with this addition― The case is altered (quoth Ployden), No Priest, no Mass.'"

АСНЕ.

Signs painted by eminent Artists (2nd S. iii. 8. 359.) — In the Museum, Basle, are two representations of a school painted by Holbein at the age of fourteen, and which were hung up as a sign over a schoolmaster's door in that town.

R. W. HACKWOOD.

Purchase (2nd S. iv. 125.) · An additional example of the use of the word purchase to that given by P. is seen in the metrical version of the Psalms used by the church of Scotland, Psalm lxxxiv. 3.:

"Behold the sparrow findeth out

An house wherein to rest,

The swallow also for herself

Hath purchased a nest:

Even thine own altars, where she safe

Her young ones forth may bring," &c., purchase intended to correspond, as in the prose text, with the meaning "found." The version was authorised by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1650, thus fixing the date when the word was so understood. By the law of Scot

Aneroid (2nd S. iv. 239.) — If H. W. has not helped us much by his conjectural etymology, he has done us good service by mentioning Mr. Dent's name. I have applied to Mr. Dent, but at present he can only give me the conjectural etymology of a friend (which therefore I do not think worth mentioning). I have, however, written to him again, suggesting that he will be able to settle the question for ever, either by consulting the original memoir in which the instrument was first described, or (if necessary) by applying to the inventor, M. Vidi, himself." M. D.

A Regal Crown (2nd S. iv. 189.) — Perhaps the following passage from Paradise Regained contains the line sought for by your correspondent J. C. E.:

"What if with like aversion I reject

Riches and realms? yet not, for that a crown,
Golden in show, is but a wreath of thorns," &c.
MERCATOR, A.B.

Pegnitz-Shepherds (1st S. vii. 16.) —

"Vers 1644 Jean Clay, dit le Jeune, fonda à Nuremberg, de concert avec Philippe Harzdorf, l'Ordre des Bergers et des Fleurs de la Pegnitz, société dont le bût était le perfectionnement de la langue Allemande. Cents ans plus tard, Herdegen, qui en faisait partie, sous le nom d'Amarante, publia sur elle une notice historique, 1744 in 8vo. Au milieu du dix-septième siècle, Philippe de Zesen avait institué, à Hambourg, une Société des Beaux Esprits Allemands." — Lalanne, Curiosités Littéraires, p. 358. Paris, 1857.

M. A.

"Lover" (2nd S. iv. 107. 218.)-To the instances which have been given from the poets, of the use of the word lover in a feminine sense, the following passage from one of our greatest prose writers may be added:

"This exercise [the practice of the presence of God] is apt, also, to enkindle holy desires of the enjoyment of God, because it produces joy, when we do enjoy him; the same desires that a weak man hath for a defender; the sick man, for a physician; the poor, for a patron; the child, for his father; the espoused lover, for her betrothed." - Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living and Dying, ch. i. sect. iii. p. 26., ed. Bohn. F. H. H.

The Devil and Church Building (2nd S. iv. 144.) A similar legend to that related by your correspondent, SHOLTO MACDUFF, with respect to the church of St. Brelade in Jersey is also preserved in the sister island of Guernsey, and is given as a reason for the very inconvenient position of the church of Ste Marie du Castel on the very verge of a large and populous parish. The church is said to occupy the site of a castle which, long before the conquest of England by the Normans, was the abode of a piratical chief known by tradition as "le grand Geffroy" or "le grand Sarrazin." A field almost in the centre of the parish, called "les Tuzets," is pointed out as the spot originally fixed on for the church, and to which the materials for its construction were brought. Whatever was collected there during the day was found next morning to have disappeared, and to have been removed by unseen hands to the hill where the church now stands. The fairies are, in this case, generally accused of being the agents, though some say it was the work of angels. It is worthy of remark that there are other spots in the island bearing the name of "les Tuzets," where there are indications of cromlechs having formerly existed. One of the largest and most perfect cromlechs in the island is called "la pierre du Tus." In Brittany one of the names of the dwarfs who are supposed to haunt the dolmens or cromlechs is "Duz" or “Duzik,” and S. Augustin (De Civitate Dei, lib. iv. c. 23.) speaks of certain "Dæmones quos Duscios Galli nuncupant." If the "Deuce "had already possession of the ground, it is easy to conceive that he would not yield it up without a struggle. EDGAR MACCULLOCH.

Guernsey.

"Thomas Thwayts was sent to the towre of London by c'tain of the garde wt a tre to. the Lieutenant declaring his confession and coaundyng him that in cace he woold stande stil in denyal to showe of whom he had herd the things he confessed, he shuld gyve him a stretche or twoo at his discrecōn upon the brake."

Thwayts appears to have been a servant of one of the king's pages, and was accused by another servant of having spoken traitorous words against his Majesty. We find him, however, subsequently dismissed," having a good lesson given him to use his tongue with more discretion hereafter."

Ringsend (2nd S. ii. 315.) Ringsend was so called for generations before "old Jemmy Walsh" was born. His derivation, fanciful as it is, I could almost imagine was given to try how far Irish wit could impose on English credulity. Sir John Rogerson, by the way, was Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1693-4. Lascelles, in Liber Minorum, &c., part v. p. 142., writes as follows:

"Ringsend or Rinksen [forsan a northern word signifying a sewer, which the river Dodder is to that part of the county.]" Y. S. M.

Spiders and Irish Oak (2nd S. iv. 208.) — A writer in the Gentleman's Magazine for June, 1771, vol. xli. p. 251., refutes the following errors; asserting that the bite of the spider is not venomous, that it is found in Ireland too plentifully, that it has no dislike to fixing its web on Irish oak, and that it has no antipathy to the toad," &c. Brande's Pop. Antiq. (ed. 1842), vol. iii. p. 206. J. EASTWOOD.

The common saying at Winchester is that no spider will hang its web on the roof of Irish oak in the chapel or cloisters: and it holds good. Chesnut is said to possess the same virtue.

MACKENZIE WALCOTT, M.A.

Spider-eating (2nd S. iii. 206.) - Perhaps D'Israeli had in his mind the following lines by

"The Case is Altered" (2nd S. iv. 188. 235.) — Is not this inn-sign connected with the old proverb, “The case is altered, quoth Ployden,” of which Ray says (Eng. Prov., 2nd edit., 1678, p. 225.):

“Edmund Plowden was an eminent common lawyer in Queen Elizabeth's time, born at Plowden in Shropshire ... Some make this the occasion of the Proverb: Plowden being asked by a neighbour of his, what remedy there was in Law against his neighbour for some hogs that had trespassed his ground, answered, he might have very good remedy; but the other replying, that they were his hogs, Nay then, neighbour, (quoth he) the case is altered.' Others, more probably, make this the original of it. Plowden being a Roman Catholick, some neighbours of his who bare him no good will, intending to entrap him and bring him under the lash of the Law, had taken care to dress up an Altar in a certain place, and provided a Layman in a Priest's habit, who should do Mass there at such a time. And withall notice thereof was given privately to Mr. Plowden, who thereupon went and was present at the Mass. For this he was presently accused and indicted. He at first stands upon his defence, and would not acknowledge the thing. Witnesses are produced, and among the rest, one who deposed that he himself performed the Mass, and saw Mr. Plowden there. Saith Plowden to him, Art thou a Priest then? The fellow replied, 'No.' Why then, Gentlemen (quoth he), the case is altered: No Priest, no Mass.' Which came to be a Proverb, and continues still in Shropshire with this addition― The case is altered (quoth Ployden), No Priest, no Mass.'"

АСНЕ.

R. W. HACKWOOD. Purchase (2nd S. iv. 125.) — An additional example of the use of the word purchase to that given by P. is seen in the metrical version of the Psalms used by the church of Scotland, Psalm lxxxiv. 3.:

"Behold the sparrow findeth out

An house wherein to rest,

The swallow also for herself

Hath purchased a nest:

Even thine own altars, where she safe

land, conquest is a name given to those heritable or real rights which one does not succeed to as the heir of another, but acquires in his own lifetime by purchase, donation, or other singular title — legally speaking, therefore, purchase and conquest are synonymous. G. N.

A Regal Crown (2nd S. iv. 189.) — Perhaps the following passage from Paradise Regained contains the line sought for by your correspondent J. C. E.:

"What if with like aversion I reject

Riches and realms? yet not, for that a crown, Golden in show, is but a wreath of thorns," &c. Mercator, A.B. Pegnitz-Shepherds (1st S. vii. 16.) —

"Vers 1644 Jean Clay, dit le Jeune, fonda à Nuremberg, de concert avec Philippe Harzdorf, l'Ordre des Bergers et des Fleurs de la Pegnitz, société dont le bût était le perfectionnement de la langue Allemande. Cents ans plus tard, Herdegen, qui en faisait partie, sous le nom d'Amarante, publia sur elle une notice historique, 1744 in 8vo. Au milieu du dix-septième siècle, Philippe de Zesen avait institué, à Hambourg, une Société des Beaux Esprits Allemands.” — Lalanne, Curiosités Littéraires, p. 358. Paris, 1857.

M. A.

Jamieson's Dictionary (2nd S. iv. 145.) — The Abridgment published in 1818 contained only those names which appeared in the work published in 1808 in two vols. 4to., as the "Supplement" thereto was not published until 1824: consequently the octavo of 1818 must be very defective. T. G. S.

Blennerhassett (2nd S. ii. 87.)-In the pedigree mentioned by C. M. B. the compiler states that Sir John Blennerhassett, Baron of the Irish Exchequer (1619 to 1624), was first cousin to the ancestor of the co. Kerry family. Is there anything known of his ancestors, father, grandfather, &c.? Y. S. M.

Miscellaneous.

NOTES ON BOOKS, ETC.

It is strange how strong a hold a thoroughly hearty, healthy English book takes on the reading public. Here we have Tom Brown's School Days, by an Old Boy, already at a third edition,-an honour which it has attained, not from the interest of the story-for, as to mere story, the writer might answer with Canning's Knifegrinder, Story, God bless you, I have none to tell, Sir," but by the plain, simple, unpretending style in which the writer has described the every-day life of an English public school-boy, a straightforward, honest boy, who naturally looks upon a lie or a meanness as a thing to be hated and despised, and upon whose simple truthful nature higher motives and principles are readily grafted by wise and loving hands. At the present moment, when attempts are making to bring English educational systems into closer resemblance with those of Germany, a book like this, written for boys-and which no boy can read without exquisite delight, and without being the wiser and the better-is indeed doing good service in support of a system which has done so much to make the English character what it is. Judge the two systems by their fruits, and who that is wise would desire a change? But we are running away from the book, of which we can say no more than that it is really a Boy's own Book, and that we can pay the author no higher compliment, than to express a hope that, as he has given us his account of Brown, he will soon give us like biographies of Smith, Jones, and Robinson.

has dedicated the book "to the Memory of his Friend,"
"a record of a life spent in true christian faith, hu-
mility, and usefulness; " and in this respect very touching
and interesting it is in many parts. It has also charms
of another kind, charms which will recommend it to a
large circle of readers: it abounds in notices of Hodgson's
contemporaries; and what will interest that now widely-
spread class, the members of the various archæological
societies scattered over the face of the country, it will
show how and by what means the historian of Northum-

berland became a master of his craft. We look forward
with great anxiety for the completion of this most plea-
sant and well-told story of a life.

Mr. Timbs has in a great measure re-written, so as to
make it in the main a new work, the new edition of his

Things not generally known,—Popular Errors explained and
illustrated. If this book was popular before, and it was
deservedly so, there can be little doubt that it will be still
more popular in its new and improved form.

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