Replies.

"STABIT QVOCVNQVE IECERIS."

What does this precisely mean; or why and when was it adopted?

J. M. A.

"Shob," or "Shub," a Kentish Word.—Your correspondent on the Kentish wordsheets(Vol. vi., p. 338.) may possibly be able to give some account of another Kentish word, which I have met with in the country about Horton-Kirby, Dartford, Crayford, &c., and the which I cannot find in Halliwell, or any other dictionary in my possession,—viz. toshoborshub. It is applied to the trimming up elm-trees in the hedge-rows, by cutting away all the branches except at the head: "to shob the trees" is the expression. Now, in German we haveschaben, v. r. to shave; but in the Anglo-Saxon I find nothing nearer thanscaf, part.scof, to shave.

A. C. M.

Exeter.

Bishop Pursglove (Suffragan) of Hull.—This prelate is buried in Tideswell Church, Devonshire, and a copy of his monumental brass is given inIllustrations of Monumental Brasses, published in 1842 by the Cambridge Camden Society. Perhaps some reader of "N. & Q." who has access to that work will send the inscription for insertion in your columns. Any information also asto his consecration, character, and period of decease, would be acceptable. What is the best work on English Suffragan bishops? I believe Wharton'sSuffragans(which, however, I do not possess to refer to) is far from being complete or correct. It would be interesting to have a complete list of such bishops, with the names of their sees, and dates of consecration and demise. I find no Suffragan bishop after Bishop John Sterne, consecrated for Colchester 12th November, 1592, and this from the valuable list in Percival'sApol. for Ap. Suc.

A. S. A.

Punjaub.

Stewarts of Holland.—In the year 1739 there lived in Holland a Lieutenant Dougal Stewart, of the Dutch service, who was married to Susan, daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Fairfowl, of Bracindam. He was descended from the ancient Scottish family of Stewarts of Appin, in Argyleshire; and this Query is to inquire whether anything is known regarding him or his descendants, if he had such? This might find a reply inDe Navorscherperhaps.

A. S. A.

Punjaub.

Robert Wauchope, Archbishop of Armagh, 1543.—Is there any detailed account of this prelate extant? The few particulars I have been able to glean respecting him are merely that he was a native of Scotland, and Doctor in Divinity of the University of Paris, where he probably studied theology, as was common with Scottish ecclesiastics of that day. He arrived in Ireland about the year 1541, and is memorable for the glory, or shame, of being the first who introduced the Jesuit order into that country. Pope Paul III. nominated him to the primatial see of Armagh, after the death of Archbishop Cromer in 1543, and during the lifetime of Archbishop Dowdal, who was a Catholic also, but being appointed Archbishop of Armagh in November 1543, by King Henry VIII., was not acknowledged at Rome as such.Waucup, as his name is also spelt, and Latinized "Venantius," never appears, however, to have been able to obtain regular possession of the see of Armagh and primacy of Ireland, being merely titular archbishop. Some accounts state that he was blind from his childhood, but others say, and probably more correctly, that he was only short-sighted. He was present at the Council of Trent in 1545-47, being one of the four Irish prelates who attended there; and, inHist. del Concil. Trid., l. ii. p. 144., he is alluded to as having been esteemed thebest at riding post in the world!—"Huomo di brevissima vista era commendato di questa, di correr alla posta meglio d'huomo del mondo." I should like much to ascertain the date and place of his birth, consecration, and death.

A. S. A.

Plum-pudding.—Can any of your readers inform me of the origin of the following custom, and whether the ceremony is still continued? I can find no mention of it in any topographical dictionary or history of Devon, but it was copied from an old newspaper, bearing date June 7, 1809:

"At Paignton Fair, near Exeter, the ancient custom of drawing through the town a plum-pudding of an immense size, and afterwards distributing it to the populace,was revivedon Tuesday last. The ingredients which composed this enormous pudding were as follows: 400 lbs. of flour, 170 lbs. of beef suet, 140 lbs. of raisins, and 240 eggs. It was kept constantly boiling in a brewer's copper from Saturday morning to the Tuesday following, when it was placed on a car decorated with ribbons, evergreens, &c., and drawn along the street by eight oxen."

Everard Horne Coleman.

"Whene'er I asked."—I shall be very glad to know the author and the exact whereabouts of the following lines, which I find quoted in a MS. letter written from London to America, and dated 22nd October, 1767:

"Whene'er I ask'd for blessings on your head,Nothing was cold or formal that I said;My warmest vows to Heaven were made for thee,And love still mingled with my piety."

"Whene'er I ask'd for blessings on your head,

Nothing was cold or formal that I said;

My warmest vows to Heaven were made for thee,

And love still mingled with my piety."

W. B. R.

Philadelphia, U. S.

Immoral Works.—What ought to be done with works of this class? It is easy to answer, "destroy them:" but you and I know, and Mr. Macaulay has acknowledged, that it is often necessary to rake into the filthiest channels for historical and biographical evidence. I, personally, doubt whether we are justified in destroyinganyevidence, however loathsome and offensive it may be. What, then, are we to do with it? It is impossible to keep such works in a private library, even under lock and key, for death opens locks more certainly than Mr. Hobbs himself. I think such ought to be preserved in the British Museum, entered in its catalogue, but only permitted to be seen on good reasons formally assigned in writing, and not then allowed to pass into the reading-room. What is the rule at the Museum?

I ask these questions because I have, by accident, become possessed of a poem (about 1500 lines) which professes to be written by Lord Byron, is addressed to Thomas Moore, and was printed abroad many years since. It begins,—

"Thou ermin'd judge, pull off that sable cap."

More specific reference will not be necessary for those who have seen the work. Is the writer known? I am somewhat surprised that not one of Byron's friends has, so far as I know, hinted a denial of the authorship; for, scarce asthe work may be, I suppose some of them must have seen it; and, under existing circumstances, it is possible that a copy might get into the hands of a desperate creature who would hope to make a profit, by republishing it with Byron's and Moore's names in the title-page.

I. W.

Arms at Bristol.—In a window now repairing in Bristol Cathedral is this coat:—Arg. on a chevron or (false heraldry), three stags' heads caboshed. Whose coat is this? It is engraved in Lysons'Gloucestershire Antiquitieswithout name.

E. D.

Passage in Thomson.—In Thomson's "Hymn to the Seasons," line 28, occurs the following passage:

"But wandering oft, with brute, unconscious gaze,Man marks not Thee; marks not the mighty handThat, ever busy, wheels the silent spheres;Works in the secret deep; shoots,steaming, thenceThe fair profusion that o'erspreads the spring," &c.

"But wandering oft, with brute, unconscious gaze,

Man marks not Thee; marks not the mighty hand

That, ever busy, wheels the silent spheres;

Works in the secret deep; shoots,steaming, thence

The fair profusion that o'erspreads the spring," &c.

Can any of your readers oblige by saying whether the wordsteaming, in the fourth line of the quotation, is the correct reading? If so, in what sense it can be understood? if not, whetherteemingis not probably the correct word?

W. M. P.

"For God will be your King to-day."—

"For God will be your King to-day,And I'll be general under."

"For God will be your King to-day,

And I'll be general under."

My grandmother, who was a native of Somersetshire, and born in 1750, used to recite a ballad to my mother, when a child, of which the above lines are the only ones remembered.

Do they refer to the rising under the Duke of Monmouth? And where can the whole of the ballad be found?

M. A. S.

35. Dover Road.

"See where the startled wild fowl."—Where are the following lines to be found? I copy them from the print of Landseer's, called "The Sanctuary."

"See where the startled wild fowl screaming rise,And seek in martial flight those golden skies.Yon wearied swimmer scarce can win the land,His limbs yet falter on the wat'ry strand.Poor hunted hart! the painful struggle o'er,How blest the shelter of that island shore!There, while he sobs his panting heart to rest,Nor hound nor hunter shall his lair molest."

"See where the startled wild fowl screaming rise,

And seek in martial flight those golden skies.

Yon wearied swimmer scarce can win the land,

His limbs yet falter on the wat'ry strand.

Poor hunted hart! the painful struggle o'er,

How blest the shelter of that island shore!

There, while he sobs his panting heart to rest,

Nor hound nor hunter shall his lair molest."

G. B. W.

Ascension-day.—Was "Ascension-day" ever kept a close holiday the same as Good Friday and Christmas-day? And, if so, when was such custom disused?

H. A. Hammond.

The Grogog of a Castle.—It appears by a record of the Irish Exchequer of 3 Edw. II., that one Walter Haket, constable of Maginnegan's Castle in the co. of Dublin, confined one of the King's officers in theGrogogthereof. Will you permit me to inquire, whether this term has been applied to the prison of castles in England?

J. F. F.

Dublin.

(Vol. v., p. 320.)

I had hoped that the inquiry of R. S. F. would have drawn out some of your Edinburgh correspondents; but, as they are silent upon a subject they might have invested with interest, allow me to say a word upon these Canongate marriages. I need not, I think, tell R. S. F. how loosely our countrymen, at the period alluded to, and long subsequent thereto, looked upon the marriage tie; as almost every one who has had occasion to touch upon ourdomesticmanners and customs has pointed at, what appeared to them, and what really was, an anomaly in the character of a nation somewhat boastful of their better order and greater sense of propriety and decorum.

Besides the incidental notices of travellers, the legal records of Scotland are rife with examples of litigation arising out of these irregular marriages; and upon a review of the whole history of such in the north, it cannot be denied that, among our staid forefathers, "matrimony was more a matter of merriment"[2]than a solemn and religious engagement.

The Courts in Scotland usuallyfrownedupon cases submitted to them where there was a strong presumption that either party had been victimised by the other; but, unfortunately, the requirements were so simple, and the facility of procuring witnesses so great, that many a poor frolicksome fellow paid dearly for his joke by finding himself suddenly transformed, from a bachelor, to a spick and span Benedict; and that too upon evidences which would not in these days have sent a fortune-telling impostor to the tread-mill: the lords of the justiciary being content that some one had heard him use the endearing term of wife to the pursuer, or had witnessed a mock form at an obscure public-house, or that the parties were by habit and repute man and wife. How truly then may it have been said, that a man in the Northern Capital, so open to imposition, scarcely knew whether he was married or not.

In cases where the ceremony was performed, itdid not follow that the priest of Hymen should be of the clerical profession:

"To tie the knot," says John Hope, "there needed none;He'd find a clown, in brown, or gray,Booted and spurr'd, should preach and pray;And, without stir, grimace, or docket,Lug out a pray'r-book from his pocket;And tho' he blest in wond'rous haste,Should tie them most securely fast."Thoughts, 1780.

"To tie the knot," says John Hope, "there needed none;

He'd find a clown, in brown, or gray,

Booted and spurr'd, should preach and pray;

And, without stir, grimace, or docket,

Lug out a pray'r-book from his pocket;

And tho' he blest in wond'rous haste,

Should tie them most securely fast."

Thoughts, 1780.

In Chambers'sTraditions of Edinburgh, there is a slight allusion to these Canongate marriages:

"The White Horse Inn," says he, "in a close in the Canongate, is an exceedingly interesting old house of entertainment. It was also remarkable for the runaway couples from England, who were married in its large room."

The White Hart, in the Grass-market, appears to have been another of these Gretna Green houses.

A curious fellow, well known in Edinburgh at the period referred to, was the high priest of the Canongate hymeneal altar. I need hardly say this was the famous "Claudero, the son of Nimrod the Mighty Hunter," as he grandiloquently styled himself: otherwise James Wilson, a disgraced schoolmaster, and poet-laureate to the Edinburghcanaille. In the large rooms of the above inns, this comical fellow usually presided, and administered relief to gallant swains and love-sick damsels, and a most lucrative trade he is said to have made of it:—

"Claudero's skull is ever dull,Without the sterling shilling:"

"Claudero's skull is ever dull,

Without the sterling shilling:"

in allusion to their being called half-merk or shilling marriages.

Chambers gives an illustrative anecdote of our subjects' matrimonial practices in that of a soldier and a countryman seeking from Wilson a cast of his office: from the first Claudero took his shilling, but demanded from the last a fee of five, observing—

"I'll hae this sodger ance a week a' the times he's in Edinburgh, and you (the countryman) I winna see again."

The Scottish poetical antiquary is familiar with this eccentric character; but it may not be uninteresting to your general readers to add, that when public excitement in Edinburgh ran high against the Kirk, the lawyers, meal-mongers, or otherroguesingrain, Claudero was the vehicle through which the democratic voice found vent in squibs and broadsides fired at the offending party or obnoxious measure from his lair in the Canongate.

In hisMiscellanies, Edin. 1766, now before me, Claudero's cotemporary, Geordie Boick, in a poetical welcome to London, thus compliments Wilson, and bewails the condition of the modern Athens under its bereavement of the poet:

"The ballad-singers and the printers,Must surely now have starving winters;Their press they may break a' in splinters,I'm told they swear,Claudero's Muse, alas! we've tint herFor ever mair."

"The ballad-singers and the printers,

Must surely now have starving winters;

Their press they may break a' in splinters,

I'm told they swear,

Claudero's Muse, alas! we've tint her

For ever mair."

For want of Claudero'slash, his eulogist goes on to say:

"Now Vice may rear her hydra head,And strike defenceless Virtue dead;Religion's heart may melt and bleed,With grief and sorrow,Since Satire from your streets is fled,Poor Edenburrow!"

"Now Vice may rear her hydra head,

And strike defenceless Virtue dead;

Religion's heart may melt and bleed,

With grief and sorrow,

Since Satire from your streets is fled,

Poor Edenburrow!"

Claudero was, notwithstanding, a sorry poet, a lax moralist, and a sordid parson; but peace to the manes of the man, or his successor in the latter office, who gave me in that same long room of the White Horse in the Canongate of Edinburgh the best parents son was ever blest with!

J. O.

Footnote 2:(return)Letters from Edinburgh, London, 1776. See also,Letters from a Gentleman in Scotland to his Friend in England(commonly calledBurt's Letters): London, 1754.

Letters from Edinburgh, London, 1776. See also,Letters from a Gentleman in Scotland to his Friend in England(commonly calledBurt's Letters): London, 1754.

(Vol. vi., p. 578.)

There appears to be some doubt if the alleged marriage ever did take place, for I find, in Baker'sChronicles, p. 334., that in 1563 "divers great persons were questioned and condemned, but had their lives spared," and among them—

"Lady Katherine Grey, daughter to Henry Grey Duke of Suffolk, by the eldest daughter of Charles Brandon, having formerly been married to the Earl of Pembroke's eldest son, and from him soon after lawfully divorced, was some years after found to be with child by Edward Seymour Earl of Hartford, who, being at that time in France, was presently sent for: and being examined before the Archbishop of Canterbury, and affirming they were lawfully married, but not being able within a limited time to produce witnesses of their marriage, they were both committed to the Tower."

After some further particulars of the birth of a second child in the Tower, the discharge of the Lieutenant, Sir Edward Warner, and the fining of the Earl by the Star Chamber, to the extent of 5000l., the narrative proceeds:

"Though in pleading of his case, one John Hales argued they were lawful man and wifeby virtue of their own bare consent, without any ecclesiastical ceremony."

Collins, in hisPeerage(1735), states:

"The validity of this marriage being afterwards tried at Common Law, the minister who married them being present, and other circumstances agreeing, the jury (whereof John Digby, Esq., was foreman) found it a good marriage."

Sharpe, in hisPeerage(1833), under the title "Stamford," says:

"'The manner of her departing'in the Tower, which Mr. Ellis has printed from a MS. so entitled in the Harleian Collection, although less terrible, is scarcely less affecting than that of her heroic sister," &c.

Perhaps your correspondent A. S. A. may be enabled to consult this work, and so ascertain further particulars.

Broctuna.

Bury, Lancashire.

(Vol. i., p. 321.)

In your first Volume, an inquiry is made for information respecting the above person. As I find on referring to the subsequent volumes of "N. & Q." that the Query never received any reply, I beg to forward a cutting from the Obituary of theNew Monthly Magazinefor June, 1828, referring to Howlett; concerning whom, however, I cannot give any further information.

"MR. BARTHOLOMEW HOWLETT."Lately in Newington, Surrey, aged sixty, Mr. Bartholomew Howlett, antiquarian, draughtsman, and engraver. This artist was a pupil of Mr. Heath, and for many years devoted his talents to the embellishment of works on topography and antiquities. His principal publication, and which will carry his name down to posterity with respect as an artist, wasA Selection of Views in the County of Lincoln; comprising the Principal Towns and Churches, the Remains of Castles and Religious Houses, and Seats of the Nobility and Gentry; with Topographical and Historical Accounts of each View. This handsome work was completed in 4to. in 1805. The drawings are chiefly by T. Girtin, Nattes, Nash, Corbould, &c., and the engravings are highly creditable to the burin of Mr. Howlett. Mr. Howlett was much employed by the late Mr. Wilkinson on hisLondina Illustrata; by Mr. Stevenson in his second edition of Bentham'sEly; by Mr. Frost, in his recentNotices of Hull; and in numerous other topographical works. He executed six plans and views for Major Anderson'sAccount of the Abbey of St. Denis; and occasionally contributed to theGentleman's Magazine, and engraved several plates for it. In 1817, Mr. Howlett issued proposals forA Topographical Account of Clapham, in the County of Surrey, illustrated by Engravings. These were to have been executed from drawings by himself, of which he made several, and also formed considerable collections; but we believe he only published one number, consisting of three plates and no letter-press. We hope the manuscripts he has left may form a groundwork for a future topographer. They form part of the large collections for Surrey, in the hands of Mr. Tytam. In 1826, whilst the Royal Hospital and Collegiate Church of St. Katharine, near the Tower, was pulling down, he made a series of drawings on the spot, which it was his intention to have engraved and published. But the greatest effort of his pencil was in the service of his kind patron and friend, John Caley, Esq., F.R.S., F.S.A., keeper of the records in the Augmentation Office. For this gentleman Mr. Howlett made finished drawings from upwards of a thousand original seals of the monastic and religious houses of this kingdom."

"MR. BARTHOLOMEW HOWLETT.

"Lately in Newington, Surrey, aged sixty, Mr. Bartholomew Howlett, antiquarian, draughtsman, and engraver. This artist was a pupil of Mr. Heath, and for many years devoted his talents to the embellishment of works on topography and antiquities. His principal publication, and which will carry his name down to posterity with respect as an artist, wasA Selection of Views in the County of Lincoln; comprising the Principal Towns and Churches, the Remains of Castles and Religious Houses, and Seats of the Nobility and Gentry; with Topographical and Historical Accounts of each View. This handsome work was completed in 4to. in 1805. The drawings are chiefly by T. Girtin, Nattes, Nash, Corbould, &c., and the engravings are highly creditable to the burin of Mr. Howlett. Mr. Howlett was much employed by the late Mr. Wilkinson on hisLondina Illustrata; by Mr. Stevenson in his second edition of Bentham'sEly; by Mr. Frost, in his recentNotices of Hull; and in numerous other topographical works. He executed six plans and views for Major Anderson'sAccount of the Abbey of St. Denis; and occasionally contributed to theGentleman's Magazine, and engraved several plates for it. In 1817, Mr. Howlett issued proposals forA Topographical Account of Clapham, in the County of Surrey, illustrated by Engravings. These were to have been executed from drawings by himself, of which he made several, and also formed considerable collections; but we believe he only published one number, consisting of three plates and no letter-press. We hope the manuscripts he has left may form a groundwork for a future topographer. They form part of the large collections for Surrey, in the hands of Mr. Tytam. In 1826, whilst the Royal Hospital and Collegiate Church of St. Katharine, near the Tower, was pulling down, he made a series of drawings on the spot, which it was his intention to have engraved and published. But the greatest effort of his pencil was in the service of his kind patron and friend, John Caley, Esq., F.R.S., F.S.A., keeper of the records in the Augmentation Office. For this gentleman Mr. Howlett made finished drawings from upwards of a thousand original seals of the monastic and religious houses of this kingdom."

B. Hudson.

Congleton, Cheshire.

(Vol. vi., p. 603.)

In reference to the question raised by J. N. B., what authority there is for asserting that Chaucer pursued the study of the law at the Temple, I send you the following extract from a sketch of his life by one of his latest biographers, Sir Harris Nicolas:

"It has been said that Chaucer was originally intended for the law, and that, from some cause which has not reached us, and on which it would be idle to speculate, the design was abandoned. The acquaintance he possessed with the classics, with divinity, with astronomy, with so much as was then known of chemistry, and indeed with every other branch of the scholastic learning of the age, proves that his education had been particularly attended to; and his attainments render it impossible to believe that he quitted college at the early period at which persons destined for a military life usually began their career. It was not then the custom for men to pursue learning for its own sake; and the most rational manner of accounting for the extent of Chaucer's acquirements, is to suppose that he was educated for a learned profession. The knowledge he displays of divinity would make it more likely that he was intended for the church than for the bar, were it not that the writings of the Fathers were generally read by all classes of students. One writer says that Chaucer was a member of the Inner Temple, and that while there he was fined two shillings for beating a Franciscan friar in Fleet Street[3]; and another (Leland) observes, that after he had travelled in France, 'collegia leguleiorum frequentavit.' Nothing, however, is positively known of Chaucer until the autumn of 1359, when he himself says he was in the army with which Edward III. invaded France, and that he served for the first time on that occasion."

The following remarks are from theLife of Chaucer, by William Godwin, Lond. 1803, vol. i. p. 357.:

"The authority which of late has been principally relied upon with respect to Chaucer's legal education is that of Mr. Speght, who, in hisLife of Chaucer, says, 'Not many yeeres since, Master Buckley did see a record in the same house [the Inner Temple], where Geoffrey Chaucer was fined two shillings for beating a Franciscane fryar in Fleet-streete.' This certainlywould be excellent evidence, were it not for the dark and ambiguous manner in which it is produced. I should have been glad that Mr. Speght had himself seen the record, instead of Master Buckley, of whom I suppose no one knows who he is: why did he not? I should have been better satisfied if the authority had not been introduced with so hesitating and questionable a phrase as 'not many yeeres since;' and I also think that it would have been better if Master Buckley had given us the date annexed to the record; as we should then at least have had the satisfaction of knowing whether it did not belong to some period before our author was born, or after he had been committed to the grave. Much stress, therefore, cannot be laid upon the supposition of Chaucer having belonged to the Society of the Inner Temple."

Tyro.

Dublin.

Footnote 3:(return)"Speght, who states that a Mr. Buckley had seen a record of the Inner Temple to that effect."—Note by Sir H. N.

"Speght, who states that a Mr. Buckley had seen a record of the Inner Temple to that effect."—Note by Sir H. N.

Pyrogallic Acid(Vol. vi., p. 612.).—In answer to the Query of your correspondent E. S., I beg to give the following method of preparing pyrogallic acid (first published by Dr. Stenhouse), which I have tried and found perfectly successful.

Make a strong aqueous infusion of powdered galls; pour it off from the undissolved residue, and carefully evaporate to dryness by a gentle heat: towards the conclusion of the process the extract is very liable to burn; this is best prevented by continued stirring with a glass or porcelain spatula. Next, procure a flat-bottomed iron pan, about ten inches diameter and five inches deep. Make a hat of cartridge paper pasted together, about seven inches high, to slip over and accurately fit the top of the iron pan. Strew the bottom of the pan with the gall extract to the depth of three-quarters of an inch; over the top stretch and tie a piece of bibulous paper pierced with numerous pin-holes; over this place the hat, and tie it also tightly round the top of the pan.

The whole apparatus is now to be placed in a sand-bath, and heat cautiously applied. It is convenient to place a glass thermometer in the sand-bath as near the iron pan as possible. The heat is to be continued about an hour, and to be kept as near 420° Fah. as possible; on no account is it to exceed 450°. The vapour of the acid condenses in the hat, and the crystals are prevented from falling back into the pan by the bibulous paper diaphragm. When it is supposed that the whole of the acid is sublimed, the strings are to be untied, and the hat and diaphragm cautiously taken off together; the crystals will be found in considerable quantity, and should be removed into a stoppered bottle; they should be very brilliant and perfectly white; if there is any yellow tinge, the heat has been too great.

I believe that close attention to the above details will ensure success to any one who chooses to try the process, but at the same time I must remind your correspondents that scarcely any operation in chemistry is perfectly successful the first time of trial.

J. G. H.

Clapham.

Stereoscopic Pictures with One Camera(Vol. vi., p. 587.).—In reply to the inquiry ofRamus, allow me to say the matter is not difficult. My plan is as follows:—Suppose a piece of still-life to be the subject. Set up the camera at such a distance as will give a picture of the size intended, suppose it sixteen feet from the principal and central object; by means of a measuring tape or a piece of string, measure the exact distance from the principal object to the front of the camera. Take and complete the first picture; if it prove successful, remove the camera about two feet either to the right or left of its first station (i.e.according to the judgment formed as to which will afford the most artistic view of the subject), taking care by help of the tape or string to preserve the same distance between the principal object and the camera, and that the adjustment of focus is not disturbed. In other words, the camera must be moved to another part of the arc of a circle, of which the principal object is the centre, and the measured distance the radius. If the arc through which the camera is moved to its second station be too large, the stereoscopic picture will be unnaturally and unpleasingly distorted. The second picture is now to be taken.

If the subject be a sitter, it is of the utmost importance to proceed as quickly as possible, as the identical position must be retained movelessly till both pictures are completed. This (in my experience) is scarcely practicable with collodion pictures, unless by the aid of an assistant and two levelled developing-stands in the dark closet; for the time occupied by starting the first picture on its development, and preparing the second glass plate (scarcely less than three or four minutes), will be a heavy tax on the quiescent powers of the sitter. This difficulty is avoided by adopting the Daguerreotype process, as the plates can be prepared beforehand, and need not be developed before both pictures are taken. In this case the only delay between the pictures is in the shifting the position of the camera. This is readily done by providing a table of suitable height (instead of the ordinary tripod), on which an arc of a circle is painted, having for its centre the place of the sitter. If the sitter be at the distance of eleven or twelve feet (my usual distance with a 3¼ inch Voightlander), the camera need not be moved more than ten or twelve inches; and even this distance produces some visible distortion to an accurate observer.

The second levelling stand is required when using the collodion process, because the secondpicture will be ready for development before the developing and fixing of the first has set its stand at liberty.

Cokely.

Mr. Crookes' Wax-paper Process(Vol. vi., p. 613.).—R. E. wishes to know the exact meaning of the sentence, "With the addition of asmuch free iodineas will give it a sherry colour." After adding the iodide of potassium to the water, a small quantity of iodine (this can be proctored at any operative chemist's) is to be dissolved in the mixture until it be of the proper colour.

The paper is decidedly more sensitive if exposed wet, but it should not be washed; and I think it is advisable to have a double quantity of nitrate of silver in the exciting bath. I have not yet tried any other salt than iodide of potassium for the first bath; but I hope before the summer to lay before your readers a simpler, and I think superior wax-paper process, upon which I am at present experimenting.

William Crookes.

Hammersmith.

P.S.—I see that in the tables R. E. has given, he has nearly doubled the strength of my iodine bath. It should be twenty-four grains to the ounce, instead of forty-four; and he has entirely left out the iodine.

India Rubber a Substitute for Yellow Glass.—I think that I have made a discovery which may be useful to photographers. It is known that some kinds of yellow glass effectually obstruct the passage of the chemical rays, and that other kinds do not, according to the manner in which the glass is prepared.

I have never heard or read of India rubber being used for this purpose; but I believe it will be found perfectly efficient, and will therefore state how I arrived at this conclusion.

Having occasion to remove a slate from the side of my roof, to make an opening for my camera, I thought of a sheet of India rubber to supply the place of the slate, and thus obtain a flexible waterproof covering to exclude the wet, and to open and shut at pleasure. This succeeded admirably, but I found that I had also obtained a deep rich yellow window, which perfectly lighted a large closet, previously quite dark, and in which for the last ten days I have excited and developed the most sensitive iodized collodion on glass. I therefore simply announce the fact, as it may be of some importance, if verified by others and by further experiment. I have not yet tested it with a lens and the solution of sulphite of quinine, as I wished the sun to shine on the sheet of India rubber at the time, which would decide the question. However, sheet India rubber can be obtained of any size and thickness required: mine is about one-sixteenth of an inch thick, and one foot square; and the advantages over glass would be great in some cases, especially for a dark tent in the open air, as any amount of light might be obtained by stitching a sheet of India rubber into the side, which would fold up without injury. It is possible that gutta percha windows would answer the same purpose.

H. Y. W. N.

Brompton.

Dr. Diamond's Paper Processes.—We have been requested to call attention to, and to correct several errors of the press overlooked by us inDr. Diamond'sarticle, in the hurry of preparing our enlarged Number (No. 166.). The most important is in the account of theexcitingfluid,—the omission, at p. 21. col. 1. l. 47. (after directions to take one drachm of aceto-nitrate of silver), of the words "one drachm of saturated solution of gallic acid." The passage should run thus: "Of this solution take one drachm, and one drachm of saturated solution of gallic acid, and add to it two ounces and a half of distilled water."

In the same page, col. 2. l. 13., "solvent" should be "saturated;" and in the same article,passim, "hyposulphate" should be "hyposulphite," and "solarise" should be "solarize."

Ancient Timber Town-halls.—Since my account of ancient town-halls (Vol. v., p. 470.) was written, one of these fabrics of the olden time noticed therein has ceased to exist, that of Kington, co. Hereford, it having been taken down early in November last, but for what reason I have not learned. Another, formerly standing in the small town of Church Stretton, in the co. of Salop, which was erected upon wooden pillars, and constructed entirely of timber, must have been a truly picturesque building, was taken down in September, 1840. A woodcut of the latter is now before me. Of the old market-house at Leominster I possess a very beautiful original drawing, done by Mr. Carter upwards of half a century ago.

J. B. Whitborne.

Magnetic Intensity(Vol. vi., p. 578.).—The magnetic intensity is greatest at the poles; the ratio may roughly be said to be 1.3, but more accurately 1 to 2.906. This is found by observation of the oscillations of a vertical or horizontal needle. A needle which made 245 oscillations in ten minutes at Paris, made only 211 at 7°1′south lat. in Peru. The intensity and variations to which it is subject is strictly noted at all the magnetic observatories, and I believe the disturbances of intensity which sometimes occur have been found to be simultaneous by a comparison of observations at different latitudes.

For the fullest information on magnetic intensity,Adsumis referred to Sabine'sReport onMagnetic Intensity, also Sabine'sContributions to Terrestrial Magnetism, 1843, No. V.

T. B.

Monument at Wadstena(Vol. vi., pp. 388. 518.).—I have received the following (which I translate) from my friend in Denmark, whom I mentioned in my last communication on this monument:

"It is only about a month since I saw Queen Philippa's tombstone in the church of Vadstena Monastery. It is a very large stone, on which the device and inscription are cut in outline, but there is nobrassabout it. King Erik Menved's and Queen Ingeberg's monument in Ringsted Church is the finest brass I ever saw, and I have seen many."

There is a good engraving of the brass alluded to, which is a very rich one, inAntiquariske Annaler, vol. iii.: Copenhagen, 1820. The inscriptions are curious, and the date 1319.

W. C. Trevelyan.

Wallington.

David Routh, R. C. Bishop of Ossory(Vol. iii., p. 169.).—In the article on a Cardinal's Monument, byMr. J. Graves, of Kilkenny, allusion is made to the monument of the above Catholic Bishop Routh or Rothe, as being in the Cathedral of St. Canice, Kilkenny, with his arms "surmounted by acardinal's hat," and that he died some years after 1643. IfMr. Graveswould give the date of this prelate's decease, or rather a copy of the full inscription on his monument, with a notice of the sculptured armorial bearings thereupon, he would be conferring a favour on a distant inquirer; and asMr. Gravesis, apparently, a resident at Kilkenny, no obstacle exists to prevent his complying with this request.

Any notices procurable regarding Bishop Routh are well deserving of insertion in "N. & Q.," for he was a man of deep learning and research, and is well known to have assisted the celebrated Archbishop Ussher of Armagh in the compilation of hisPrimordia, for which he had high compliments paid him by that eminent prelate, notwithstanding their being of different religions.

Bishop Routh was also himself the author of a work onIrish Ecclesiastical History, now very rare, and seldom procurable complete. He published it anonymously, in two volumes 8vo., in the year 1617, at "Coloniæ, apud Steph. Rolinum," with the following rather long title:

"Analecta Sacra, Nova, et Mira, de Rebus Catholicorum in Hibernia: Divisa in tres partes, quarum I, Continet semestrem gravaminam relationem, secundâ hac editione novis adauctam additamentis, et Notis illustratam. II. Parænesin ad Martyres designatos. III. Processum Martyrialem quorundam Fidei Pugilium; Collectore et Relatore, T. N. Philadelpho."

I fear this has degenerated from a Note into a Query; however, I may state in conclusion, thatMr. Gravesis in error in styling the hat on Bishop Routh's monument a cardinal's, for all Catholic prelates, and abbots also, have their armorial bearings surmounted by a hat, exactly similar to a cardinal's hat, with this difference only, that the number of tassels depending from it varies according to the rank of the prelate, from thecardinal'swith fifteen tassels in five rows, down to that of apriorwith three only on each side in two rows.

A. S. A.

Punjaub.

Cardinal Erskine(Vol. ii., p. 406.; Vol. iii., p. 13.).—Several notices of this ecclesiastic have appeared in "N. & Q.," but as none of them give the exact information required, I now do so, though perhaps tardily. He was born 13th February, 1753, at Rome, where his father, Colin Erskine, a Jacobite, and exiled scion of the noble Scottish house of Erskine, Earls of Kellie, had taken up his residence. "Monsignor Charles Erskine," having embraced the ecclesiastical life at an early age, and passed through several gradations in the Church of Rome, was, in 1785, "Promotore della Fede," an office of the Congregation of Rites; in 1794 auditor to Pope Pius VI., and raised to the purple by Pope Pius VII., who created him aCardinal-Deaconof the Holy Roman Church, 25th February, 1801. Cardinal Erskine accompanied the latter pontiff in his exile from Rome in the year 1809, and died at Paris, 19th March, 1811, in the fifty-eighth year of his age, and eleventh of his cardinalate.

A. S. A.

Punjaub.

"Ne'er to these chambers," &c.(Vol. vii., p. 14.).—In reply toAram'sQuery: "Where do these lines come from?" they come from Tickell's sublime and pathetic "Elegy on the Death of Addison."Aram("Wits have short memories," &c.) hasmisquotedthem. In a poem of so high a mood, todisplacea word is to destroy a beauty.Aramhasinterpolatedseveral words. The following is thetrueversion:

"Ne'er to these chambers, where the mighty rest,Since their foundation, came a nobler guest,Nor e'er was to the bowers of bliss convey'dA fairer spirit, or more welcome shade."

"Ne'er to these chambers, where the mighty rest,

Since their foundation, came a nobler guest,

Nor e'er was to the bowers of bliss convey'd

A fairer spirit, or more welcome shade."

George Daniel.

Canonbury.

These lines are taken from the "Elegy on the Death of Addison," written by Tickell. They are, if I remember rightly, inscribed on the gravestone recently placed over his remains by the Earl of Ellesmere, in the north aisle of Henry VII.'s Chapel. The last two lines which your correspondent quotes should be as follows:

"Nore'er was to the bowers of bliss convey'dAfairerspirit, or more welcome shade."

"Nore'er was to the bowers of bliss convey'd

Afairerspirit, or more welcome shade."

J. K. R. W.

The Budget(Vol. vi., p. 604.).—It may be useful to informPrestoniensis, that, in a recent work on political economy, M. Ch. Coquelin says, that the wordbudget, in its present signification, has passed into France from England: the latter country having first borrowed it from the old French language—bougettesignifying (and particularly in old Norman) a leather purse. It was the custom in England to put into a leather bag the estimates of receipts and expenditure presented to parliament: and hence, as Coquelin observes, the term passed from the containant to the contained, and, with this new signification, returned from this country into France; where it was first used in an official manner in thearrêtésof the Consul's 4th Themidor, year X, and 17th Germinal, year XI.

F. H.

"Catching a Tartar" (Vol. vi., p. 317.).—This common and expressive saying is thus explained in Arvine'sCyclopædia:

"In some battle between the Russians and the Tartars, who are a wild sort of people in the north of Asia, a private soldier called out, 'Captain, halloo there! I've caught a Tartar!' 'Fetch him along then,' said the Captain. 'Ay, but he won't let me,' said the man. And the fact was the Tartar had caught him. So when a man thinks to take another in, and gets himself bit, they say he's caught a Tartar."

Grose says that this saying originated with an Irish soldier who was in the "Imperial," that is, I suppose he means the Austrian service. This is hardly probable; the Irish are made to father many sayings which do not rightly belong to them, and this I think may be safely written as one among the number.

Eirionnachhas now two references before him, Grose'sGlossaryand Arvine'sCyclopædia, in which his Query is partly explained, if he can but find the dates of their publication. In this search I regret I cannot assist him, as neither of these works are to be found in the libraries of this island; at least thus far I have not been able to meet with them.

W. W.

Malta.

The Termination "-itis"(Vol. vii., p. 13.).—Adsumasks: "What is the derivation of the term-itis, used principally in medical words, and these signifying, inflammation?" If "N. & Q." were a medical journal, the question might be answered at length, to the great advantage of the profession; for, of late years, this termination has been tacked on by medical writers, especially foreigners, to words of all kinds, in utter defiance of the rules of language: as if a Greek affix were quite a natural ending to a Latin or French noun.-itiscan with propriety be appended only to those Greek nouns whose adjectives end in-ιτης:e.g.πλευρα, πλευριτης;κερας, κερατιτης, &c.Πλευριτιςis used by Hippocrates.Πλευραmeans the membrane lining the side of the chest:πλευριτις(νοδοςunderstood) is morbus lateralis, the side-disease, or pleurisy. In the same mannerkeratitisis a very legitimate synonym for disease of the horny coat (cornea) of the eye. But medical writers, disregarding the rules of language, have, for some years past, revelled in the use of their favourite-itisto a most ludicrous extent. Thus, fromcornea, they make "corneitis," and describe an inflammation of the crystalline lens aslentitis. Nay, some French and German writers on diseases of the eyes have coined the monstrous word "Descemetitis," on the ground that one Monsieur Descemet discovered a structure in the eye, which, out of compliment to him, was called "the membrane of Descemet."

Jaydee.

WANTED TO PURCHASE.

Defence of Usury, byBentham. (A Tract.)

Treatise on Law, byMackinloch.

Two Discourses of Purgatory and Prayers for the Dead, byWm. Wake. 1687.

What the Chartists are.A Letter to English Working Men, by a Fellow-Labourer. 12mo. London, 1848.

Letter of Church Rates, byRalph Barnes. 8vo. London, 1837.

Colman's Translation of Horace De Arte Poetica.4to. 1783.

Casaubon's Treatise on Greek and Roman Satire.

Boscawen's Treatise on Satire.London, 1797.

Johnson's Lives(Walker's Classics). Vol. I.

Titmarsh's Paris Sketch-book.Post 8vo. Vol. I. Macrone, 1840.

Archbishop Leighton's Works.Vol. IV. 8vo Edition. 1819.

Fielding's Works.Vol. XI. (being second of "Amelia.") 12mo. 1808.

Holcroft's Lavater.Vol. I. 8vo. 1789.

Otway.Vols. I. and II. 8vo. 1768.

Edmondson's Heraldry.Vol. II. Folio, 1780.

Sermons and Tracts, byW. Adams, D.D.

The Gentleman's Magazinefor January 1851.

Ben Jonson's Works.(London, 1716. 6 Vols.) Vol. II. wanted.

The Pursuit of Knowledge.(Original Edition.) Vol. I.

Rapin's History of England, 8vo. Vols. I., III. and V. of theContinuationbyTindal. 1744.

Sharpe's Prose Writers.Vol. IV. 21 Vols. 1819. Piccadilly.

Inchbald's British Theatre.Vol. XXIV. 25 Vols. Longman.

Meyrick's Ancient Armour, bySkelton. Part XVI.

***Correspondents sending Lists of Books Wanted are requested to send their names.

***Letters, stating particulars and lowest price,carriage free, to be sent toMr. Bell, Publisher of "NOTES AND QUERIES," 186. Fleet street.

Owing to the necessity of infringing on the present Number for the Title-page of our Sixth Volume, we are compelled to omit many interesting communications, and also our usualNotes on Books,&c.

B. H. C.'s communication on the subject of "Proclamations" has been forwarded toMr. Bruce.

A. S. T.The line is from Prior:

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