PSALMANAZAR.

Payd the halffe mark at Saham.1512. Delyvyrd to same ij buschells of otts, viijd; in sylvr, ijd.1513. The same payment as in 1512.1514. No entry of any payment.1515. Payd forwootsto Saham, vjd, and ijdof mony.1516. Payd to yehallemarke, jd(not said if to Saham or not).This entry "to yehallemark" may be an error of the scribe for "yehalffe mark," as in the first entry under 1511.1517. Payd to yehalffe mark, jd(no doubt to Saham).1518. No entry of payment to Saham.1519. Payd to same for ij barssels of owte, vjd; to same, ijd... viijd1520. Payd for ij busschellys of otte to same, viijd; and a henne, ijd... xd1521. Payd to same for ij buschells of ots, xjd, and ijdin sylver ... xiijd1522. Payd for yehalf marke, jd; payd for oots to same, vijd... viijd1523. Payd for yehalff mark (no doubt to Saham) ... jd1524. Payd for otts to sam and wodlod ... viijd1525. Similar entry to the last.1526. Payd for otts to same, viijd; payd for wod led to same, jd... ixd1527. Payd the halffe mark, jd; paid to theComon, to (two) bussells otts, ixd, anda jdin lieu of a henne ... xjd1539. Payd to same for the task ... xd[3]1541. Payd to Thomas Lubard, for ij bs. of otts to Saham ... viijdPayd to yeseyd Thomas for j heyn (hen) to Saham ... ijd

Payd the halffe mark at Saham.

1512. Delyvyrd to same ij buschells of otts, viijd; in sylvr, ijd.

1513. The same payment as in 1512.

1514. No entry of any payment.

1515. Payd forwootsto Saham, vjd, and ijdof mony.

1516. Payd to yehallemarke, jd(not said if to Saham or not).

This entry "to yehallemark" may be an error of the scribe for "yehalffe mark," as in the first entry under 1511.

1517. Payd to yehalffe mark, jd(no doubt to Saham).

1518. No entry of payment to Saham.

1519. Payd to same for ij barssels of owte, vjd; to same, ijd... viijd

1520. Payd for ij busschellys of otte to same, viijd; and a henne, ijd... xd

1521. Payd to same for ij buschells of ots, xjd, and ijdin sylver ... xiijd

1522. Payd for yehalf marke, jd; payd for oots to same, vijd... viijd

1523. Payd for yehalff mark (no doubt to Saham) ... jd

1524. Payd for otts to sam and wodlod ... viijd

1525. Similar entry to the last.

1526. Payd for otts to same, viijd; payd for wod led to same, jd... ixd

1527. Payd the halffe mark, jd; paid to theComon, to (two) bussells otts, ixd, and

a jdin lieu of a henne ... xjd

1539. Payd to same for the task ... xd[3]

1541. Payd to Thomas Lubard, for ij bs. of otts to Saham ... viijd

Payd to yeseyd Thomas for j heyn (hen) to Saham ... ijd

On looking through the town accounts of Shipdham, I find entries of—

Payd to the half mark to Saham jdIj bushells oates, and in lieu of a hen ijd

Payd to the half mark to Saham jd

Ij bushells oates, and in lieu of a hen ijd

The only entry in which I find anything at all apparently relative to the common is that under 1527. Whether the court books of Saham would throw any light on the subject, I know not. Should an opportunity offer for my searching them, I will do so.

G. H. I.

P.S.—Although I have given several entries of the customary payments to Saham, they are merely given to show the different modes of making those entries, and not in expectation of your giving all of them, unless you think any further light can be given on the subject. As before, perhaps the court books of the manor of Saham would assist.

It was an annual custom for Shipdham people to "Drive the common" (as it was called) once a year, in a night of an uncertain time, when all the cattle, &c. found within the limits or boundary of Shipdham were impounded in a farm-yard adjoining. Upon the common, all those belonging to owners residing in Shipdham and claimed were set at liberty, while those belonging to Saham had to be replevied by a small payment, which custom continued up to the period of the commons being inclosed. Perhaps this custom was by way of retaliation, by which means the charge of payment of oats and a hen was recovered by the money paid for replevying their cattle, &c. so impounded.

Footnote 3:(return)No payment entered in the accounts between 1527 and 1539. The average tenpence annually.

No payment entered in the accounts between 1527 and 1539. The average tenpence annually.

(Vol. vii., p. 206.)

Your correspondent inquires as to the real name of this most penitent of impostors. I fear thatthere is now no likelihood of its being discovered. His most intimate friends appear to have been kept in the dark on this subject. With respect to his country, the most probable conclusion seems to be, that he was born in the south of Europe, in a city of Languedoc. A very near approximation seems to be made to the exact locality by a careful collation of the circumstances mentioned in his autobiography, in the excellent summary of his life in theGentleman's Magazine, vols. xxxiv. and xxxv., which is much better worth consulting than the articles in Aikin or Chalmers; which are poor and superficial, and neither of which gives any list of his works, or notices theEssay on Miracles, by a Layman(London, 1753, 8vo.), which is one of them, though published anonymously. There is a very amusing account of conversations with him at Oxford, in theGentleman's Magazine, vol. xxxv. p. 78., in which, before a large company of ladies and gentlemen who were curious as to the customs of Formosa, he gravely defended the practice which he said existed in that country, of cutting off the heads of their wives and eating them, in case of misconduct. "I think it is no sin," continued he, "to eat human flesh, but I must own it is a little unmannerly." He admitted that he once ate part of a black; but they being always kept to hard work, their flesh was tough and unsavoury. His grandfather, he said, lived to 117, and was as vigorous as a young man, in consequence of sucking the blood of a viper warm every morning; but they had been forced to kill him, he being attacked with a violent fit of the colic, and desiring them to stab him, which, in obedience to another "custom of the country," they had done.Splendidè mendax!was certainly, in his younger days, this much venerated friend of our great moralist. I should, however, feel inclined to forgive much of his extraordinary romancing for the admirable manner in which he settled that chattering twaddler, Bishop Burnet:

"He was one day with Dr. Burnet, Bishop of Sarum, who, after his warm manner, cried, 'Ay, you say so; but what proof can you give that you are not of China, Japan, or any other country?' 'The manner of my flight,' replied he, 'did not allow me to bring credentials: but suppose your lordship were in Formosa, and should say you are an Englishman, might not the Formosan as justly reply, You say you are an Englishman; but what proof can you give that you are not of any other country? for you look as like a Dutchman as any that ever traded to Formosa.' This silenced his lordship."

James Crossley.

(Vol. vii., p. 365.)

I was surprised to find it stated as "a fact" byMr. Ingleby, "that grafts, after some fifteen years, wear themselves out." A visit to one of the great orchard counties would assure him of the existence of tens of thousands of grafted apple and pear trees, still in a healthy state, and from forty to fifty years old, and more. There are grafted trees of various kinds in this country, which to my own knowledge are upwards of sixty years old; and I have little doubt but that there are some a good deal older.

The ancient Ribstone pippin, which stood in Ribstone Park, till it died in 1835, was believed to have been grafted. Such was the opinion of one of the gardeners there; and a writer in theGardeners' Chronicle, 1845, p. 21., states that in 1830 he fell in with the Ribstone pippin in great abundance in Switzerland, in the valley of Sarnen; and he remarks that it is more probable this apple was introduced into England from that country, than the reverse. The question has not been conclusively settled.

Notwithstanding "the belief that the graft perishes when the parent tree decays" is pronounced byMr. Inglebyto be a fond superstition, yet there are certain facts, well known to orchard growers, which give some warrant for it. Without committing myself altogether to this doctrine, I will state a few of them.

It is well known that no cider or perry fruit is so good, on first being introduced, as it is after fifteen or twenty years of cultivation. A certain period seems to be required to mature the new sort, and bring it to its full vigour (long after it is in full bearing) before it is at its best. The tree, with all its grafted progeny, will last, perhaps fifty, perhaps more than one hundred years, in a flourishing state, and then they will begin everywhere to decay; nor has any device yet been successful in arresting that general decay.

Witness the rise, progress, and fall of theForest Stireof Gloucestershire, theFoxwhelpandRedstreakof Herefordshire, theGolden Pippin, and, more lately, theRibstone Pippin, of which there is an increasing complaint, not to mention many others in the same condition. The first-named apple is very nearly extinct, and the small quantity of the fruit that is still to be had fetches enormous prices.

Whether this decay be owing tografting, is a question which can be decided only by the future behaviour of the suckers from the original tree, several of which from the tree at Ribstone Park are now growing at Chiswick and elsewhere.

I am aware that Dr. Lindley combats very eagerly the doctrine that varieties of the apple and pear, or indeed of any tree, die naturally of old age; but the only incontrovertible fact which he adduces in support of his argument, is the existence of the FrenchWhite Beurrépear, which has flourished from time immemorial. His denial of the decay of theGolden Pippin, theGoldenHarvey, and theNonpareil, will not, I think, be allowed to be just by the experience of your readers; the existence of the last-named apple for three centuries, supposing it to be true, has not secured it exemption from the general fate.

H. C. K.

—— Rectory, Hereford.

Glass Baths.—Several of your correspondents finding a difficulty in making glass baths, I beg to communicate the way in which they may be very easily manufactured. Having obtained two pieces of patent plate glass, grind the edges, which may readily be done by a scythe sand-stone, where other contrivances are not handy. Cut for the bottom of the bath a slip of the same glass three-quarters of an inch in breadth; and for the sides, from ordinary window-glass, four wedges, being about three-fifths of an inch at one end, tapering down to the thickness of the piece of plate glass at the bottom. If several pieces are cut off promiscuously, four may be selected which have exactly the same angle, so as to form an even support to the sides. The glass being perfectly clean, dry, and as warm as can be conveniently held by the hand, fix the bottom and then the sides by means of thevery bestsealing-wax, which will perfectly adhere to the glass. If the commoner sorts of wax are used, some marine glue must be added to it to temper it. The side slips should be fixed a quarter of an inch apart, so as to form a cavity, which must be entirely filled up with wax. The wax may be used as in sealing a letter in the first instance; but, in order to give the whole bath solidity, and expel every particle of air from between the glass, I use a heated pointed iron, as a plumber does in the act of soldering. This, passed over the external parts of the wax, also gives it a hardness and smooth finish.

These details may appeal trifling, and others may have more ingenious modes of accomplishing the object; but having used baths so constructed upwards of twelve months without leakage, I believe they will be found to be most economical, and far more to be relied on than gutta percha. A good bath so made should require about six ounces of solution of nitrate of silver to take a picture eight inches square. Your observations in a former Number, respecting the uncertainty of gutta percha, I have found to be perfectly true. Samples of gutta percha constantly vary; and one may contain impurities acted upon by the chemicals, which another does not. A small rim formed by sealing-wax dissolved in spirits of wine, and applied twice or thrice along the upper edge of the bath, is sufficient to protect the prepared glass from adhering to the front of the bath when in use.

H. W. D.

Securing Calotype Negatives.—Will any of your correspondents be good enough to say what they consider the best method of securing a calotype paper negative for a few days or a week, in cases where it may be difficult, from lack of conveniences during that time, to use hyposulph., with its consequent washings, &c.? Some, I believe, recommend bromide of potassium; some, the iodide; others, common salt: but I should like to know which is considered thebest; what strength, and how applied. Also, whether any subsequent treatment is necessary previous to the final application of the hypo.

W. T.

Wood of the Cross(Vol. vii., pp. 177. 334.).—I find, in your 179th Number, p. 334., a communication on "The Wood of the Cross." Mention is made of the several kinds of wood of which the cross is said to have been made—elder, olive, &c. It is a somewhat curious coincidence, that yesterday I was with a farmer in his garden, and observing on several apple-trees some luxuriant mistletoe, I remarked that it was principally found on that tree, sometimes on the oak, but rarely on other trees. The farmer, after inquiring whether it could be propagated by cuttings, &c., asked if I had ever understood that our Saviour's cross was made of mistletoe? On replying in the negative, and remarking that it was altogether unsuitable for such a purpose, he rejoined, that, previously to that event, it was a large strong tree, but subsequently had been doomed to have only a parasitical (not that he used the term) existence.

AsCeyrepsaid "I never heard of our Lord's cross having been made of elder wood," so I would also add, I never heard before of its being made of mistletoe. Did any one else ever hear of this tradition?

S. S. S.

Bishops' Lawn Sleeves(Vol. vi., p. 271.).—J. G. T. has inquired concerning the date and origin of the present robes of Anglican bishops. Mr. Trevor thus describes the bishop's dress in Convocation, which is the proper dress of the episcopate:

"The chimere is the Convocation habit of a doctor of divinity in Oxford, made of silk instead of cloth, as the rochet is an alb of lawn in place of linen,honoris causâ: the detaching the sleeves from the rochet, and sewing them to the upper garment instead, is obviously a contrivance of the robe-makers. Dr. Hody says that the scarlet robe worn by the bishops in the House of Lords is the doctor's gown at Cambridge; the first archbishops after the Reformation being of that university. (Hody, 140.) At Parker's consecration he appeared first in a scarlet gown and hood; then at the Holy Communion he and two of the consecrating bishopswore white surplices, while the senior had a cope: and after his consecration he and the two diocesan bishops endued themselves in the now customary dress of a bishop, the archbishop having about his neck a collar of sables (Cardw. Doc. Ann., i. 243.). Before the Reformation, it was remarked as peculiar to the English bishops, that they always wore their white rochets, 'except when hunting.' (Hody, 141.)"—The Two Convocations, Note on, p. 195.

W. Fraser.

Tor-Mohun.

Inscriptions in Books(Vol. vii., pp. 127. 337.).—The two accompanying inscriptions in books were given to me the other day. The second is, I believe, much in vogue at Rugby.

"Si quis errantemVideat libellumReddat, aut colloDabitur capistrumCarnufex ejusTunicas habebitTerra cadaver.""Small is the wren,Black is the rook,Great is the sinnerThat steals this book."

"Si quis errantemVideat libellumReddat, aut colloDabitur capistrumCarnufex ejusTunicas habebitTerra cadaver."

"Si quis errantem

Videat libellum

Reddat, aut collo

Dabitur capistrum

Carnufex ejus

Tunicas habebit

Terra cadaver."

"Small is the wren,Black is the rook,Great is the sinnerThat steals this book."

"Small is the wren,

Black is the rook,

Great is the sinner

That steals this book."

W. W.

As your correspondentBalliolensisinquires regarding inscriptions in books, perhaps the following may add to his proposed collection, being an old ditty much in use among schoolboys, &c.:

"Hic liber est meus,And that I will show;Si aliquis capit,I'll give him a blow."

"Hic liber est meus,

And that I will show;

Si aliquis capit,

I'll give him a blow."

N. N.

Lines quoted by Charles Lamb(Vol. vii., p. 286.).—The author of the lines quoted—

"Bind me, ye woodbines, in your twines;Curl me about, ye gadding vines," &c.—

"Bind me, ye woodbines, in your twines;

Curl me about, ye gadding vines," &c.—

is Andrew Marvell. They are taken from his fine poem on Nun-Appleton, Lord Fairfax's seat in Yorkshire; and will be found in vol. iii. p. 198. of Marvell'sWorks, edit. 1776, 4to.

Jas. Crossley.

Parochial Libraries(Vol. vi., p. 432.; Vol. vii., pp. 193. 369.).—Upon visiting Cartmel in Lancashire ten years ago, I found a library in the vestry, and in my diary made the following entry:

"There is a small library in the vestry, of a very miscellaneous description, left by a former incumbent, two hundred years ago, to the vicar for the time being, to be kept in the vestry. There is a fine copy, in small quarto, of Spenser'sFaery Queenein the collection, of the date 1560."

How I ascertained the date of the gift, or whether there were any other particulars worth recording, I do not remember. Since taking "N. & Q." I have learnt the benefit, I might say the necessity, of being more particular.

Brick.

To your list of parochial libraries may be added one in Swaffham Church, Norfolk, bequeathed to the parish by one of the Spelman family. It contains several hundred volumes, and among them some of the Elzevir classics. About seven years ago I visited Swaffham, and found this collection of books in a most disgraceful state, covered with dust and the dung of mice and bats, and many of the books torn from their bindings. It would afford me great pleasure to hear that more care is taken of such a valuable collection of books. There is also a smaller library, in somewhat better preservation, in the vestry of St. Peter's, Mancroft Church, in the city of Norwich.

E. G. R.

There are parochial libraries at Milden, Brent Eleigh, and at All Saints, Sudbury, Suffolk. See Rev. C. Badham'sHist. and Antiq. of All Saints, Sudbury, 8vo. London, 1852, pp. 105-109.

W. Sparrow Simpson, B.A.

Huet's Navigations of Solomon(Vol. vii., p. 381.).—In reply toEdina'sQuery, Huet's treatiseDe Navigationibus Salomoniswas published in 1698, 12mo., at Amsterdam, and before his work on the Commerce of the Ancients was printed.Edinawill find a short extract of its contents in vol. ii. p. 479. of Dr. Aikin'sTranslation of Huet's Autobiography, published in 1810 in two volumes 8vo. The subject is a curious and interesting one; but, from my perusal of the tract, I should scarcely say that Huet has treated it very successfully, or that the book is at all worthy of his learning or acuteness.

Jas. Crossley.

Derby Municipal Seal(Vol. vii., p. 357.).—The "buck in the park," on the town seal of Derby, is probably a punning allusion to the name of that place, ancientlyDeora-byorDeor-by, i. e. the abode of the deer.

C. W. G.

Annueller(Vol. vii., pp. 358. 391.).—Bishop Ergham founded St. Anne's College in Wells, for the maintenance of Societas (xiv.) Presbyterorum annuellarum Novæ Aulæ Wellensis. Theannuellarwas a secular conduct, receiving a yearly stipend. These priests, probably, served his chantry at Wells.

Mackenzie Walcott, M.A.

Reverend Richard Midgley, Vicar of Rochdale(Vol. vii., p. 380).—The collection of the lives of pious persons to which Dr. Whitaker refers, as containing a very interesting account of Midgley, will undoubtedly be Samuel Clarke'sLives of Thirty-two English Divines. The passage, which will scarcely be new to your correspondent, is at p. 68. of the life of "Master Richard Rothwell" (Clarkes'sLives, edit. 1677, fol.), and a very pleasing passage it is, and one that I might almostbe justified in extracting. Dr. Whitaker and Brook (Lives of the Puritans, vol. ii. p. 163.) seem to be at variance with regard to the Midgleys, the former mentioning only one, and the latter two, vicars of the family.

Jas. Crossley.

Nose of Wax(Vol. vii., p. 158.).—Allow me to refer to a passage in "Ram Alley, or Merry Tricks," by Lodowick Barry (which is reprinted in the fifth volume of Dodsley'sOld Plays), illustrative of this term. In Act I. Sc. 1.,Dashdescribes the law as

"The kingdom's eye, by which she seesThe acts and thoughts of men."

"The kingdom's eye, by which she sees

The acts and thoughts of men."

WhereuponThroateobserves:

"The kingdom's eye!I tell thee, fool, it is the kingdom's nose,By which she smells out all these rich transgressors;Nor is't of flesh, but merely made ofwax,And 'tis within the power of us lawyers,To wrest thisnose of waxwhich way we please."

"The kingdom's eye!

I tell thee, fool, it is the kingdom's nose,

By which she smells out all these rich transgressors;

Nor is't of flesh, but merely made ofwax,

And 'tis within the power of us lawyers,

To wrest thisnose of waxwhich way we please."

This illustration was overlooked by Nares, to whoseGlossaryyou refer.

C. H. Cooper.

Cambridge.

Canongate Marriages(Vol. v., p. 320.; Vol. vii., p. 67.).—The correspondent who expressed his surprise some time ago at his Query on this subject not having called forth any remark from your Scotch friends, will perhaps find the explanation of this result in the fact, that in Scotland we are guided by the civil or Roman law on the subject of marriage; and consequently, with us marriage is altogether a civil contract; and we need the intervention neither of clergyman, Gretna blacksmith, or the equally disreputable Canongate coupler. The services of the last two individuals are only sought for by you deluded southerns. All we require here is the agreement or consent of the parties ("consensus nonconcubitus facit matrimonium"); and the legal questions which arise have reference chiefly to the evidence of this consent. The agreement may be made verbally, or in writing, before witnesses or not, as the parties choose. Or a marriage may be constituted and proved merely by habit and repute,i. e.by the parties living together as man and wife, and the man allowing the woman to be addressed as his wife. A promise of marriage, followed bycopula, also constitutes a marriage. But it would be out of place here to enter into all the arcana of the Scotch law of marriage: suffice it to say, that it prevails equally at John o' Groat's House and Aberdeen, as in the Canongate or at Gretna Green. Aregularmarriage requires certain formalities, such as the publication of banns, &c. Anirregularone is equally good in law, and may be contracted in various ways, as above explained.

This law, thoughat first sightlikely to lead to great abuses, really works well in practice; and prevents the occurrence of those distressing cases, which not unfrequently happen in England, of seduction under promise of marriage, and subsequent desertion.

Scotus.

Smock Marriages(Vol. vii., p. 191.).—According to Scotch law, the marriage of the father and mother legitimises all childrenpreviouslyborn, however old they may be. This is called legitimisationper subsequens matrimonium, and is not unfrequently taken advantage of by elderly gentlemen, who, after having passed the heyday of youth, wish to give their children a position, and a legal right to inherit their property. Like the rule as to marriage above explained, it is derived from the Roman or civil law. There are very few, I should rather sayno, legal fictions in the Scotch law of the nature alluded to by your correspondent.

Scotus.

Sculptured Emaciated Figures(Vol. v., p 497.; Vol. vi.passim).—In Dickinson'sAntiquities of Nottinghamshire, vol. i. p. 171., is a notice with an engraving of a tomb in Holme Church, near Southwell, bearing a sculptured emaciated figure of a youth evidently in the last stage of consumption, round which is this inscription: "Miseremini mei, miseremini mei, saltem vos amici mei, quia manus Domini tetigit me."

J. P., Jun.

Do the Sun's Rays put out the Fire(Vol. vii., p. 285.).—It is known that solar light contains three distinct kinds of rays, which, when decomposed by a prism, form as many spectra, varying in properties as well as in position, viz. luminous, heating or calorific, and chemical or actinic rays.

The greater part of the rays of heat are even less refrangible than the least refrangible rays of light, while the chemical rays are more refrangible than either. The latter are so called from their power of inducing many chemical changes, such as the decomposition of water by chlorine, and the reactions upon which photographic processes depend.

The relative quantities of these several kinds of rays in sun-light varies with the time of day, the season, and the latitude of any spot. In general, where the luminous and heating rays are most abundant, the proportion of chemical rays is least; and, in fact, the two seem antagonistic to each other. Thus, near the equator, the luminous and calorific rays being most powerful, the chemical are feeble, as is shown by the length of time required for the production of photographic pictures. Hence, also, June and July are the worst months for the practice of photography, and better results are obtained before noon than after.

It is precisely for a similar reason that the combustion of an ordinary fire, being strictly a chemical change, is retarded whenever the sun's heating and luminous rays are most powerful, as during brightsunshine, and that observe our fires to burn more briskly in summer than winter; in fact, that apparently "the sun's rays put out the fire."

A. W. W.

Univ. Coll., London.

Spontaneous Combustion(Vol. vii., p. 286.).—A most interesting discussion of this question is to be found in Liebig'sFamiliar Letters upon Chemistry.

That chemist proves conclusively:—1. That of the cases adduced none is well authenticated, while in most it is admitted that the victims were drunkards, and that generally a candle or lamp was in the room, and after the alleged combustion was found turned over. 2. That spontaneous combustion is absolutely impossible, the human frame containing 75 or 80 per cent. of water; and since flesh, when saturated with alcohol, is not consumed upon the application of a light, the alcohol burning off first, the causes assigned to account for the spontaneous ignition areà prioriextremely improbable.

A. W. Wills.

Univ. Coll., London.

Ecclesia Anglicana(Vol. vii., p. 12.).—This has always been the appellation of the Church of England, just as much before the Reformation as after. I copy for G. R. M. one rather forcible sentence from the articles of a provincial synod, holdenA.D.1257:

"Et super istis articulis prænotatis fecit Bonifacius, Cant. Arch. suorum suffraganeorum sibi subditorum universorum, prælatorum pariter et cleri procuratorum, convocationem isto anno apud Londonias semel et secundo, propter gravamina et oppressiones, de die in diem per summum pontificem et D. Henricum RegemEcclesiæ Anglicanæirrogatas."—Wilkin'sConcilia Mag. Brit. et Hib., vol. i. p. 726.

For other examples of the ante-reformational use ofEcclesia Anglicana, I can give him so large a reference as to Wilkins' book,passim; to the Writs for Parliament and Mandates for Convocation contained in the Appendix to Wake'sState of the Church and Clergy; and to the extracts fromThe Annals of Waverley, and other old chronicles, quoted in Hody'sHistory of English Councils and Convocations.

W. Fraser.

Tor-Mohun.

Wyle Cop(Vol. iv., pp. 116. 243. 509.; Vol. v., p. 44.; Vol. vi., p. 65.).—The summit of a steep hill in the town of Shrewsbury bears the name ofThe Wyle Cop. I think that these are two Welsh words,Gwyl Cop, meaning watch mound, slightly altered.Gop, near Newmarket in Flintshire, has a longer Welsh name, which is written by English peopleCoperleni. This, when correctly written, means, the mound of the light or fire-beacon.Mole Cop, the name of a lofty hill near Congleton, appears to be a slight corruption of the Welsh wordsMoel y Cop, the mountain of the mound. There is another lofty hill in Staffordshire calledStiles Cop. It seems probable that on both of these hills mounds may have been made in ancient times for the erection of fire-beacons. It would appear that Dr. Plot did not understand the Welsh language, as he has stated that he thought, in these instances, the wordCopmeant a mountain.

N. W. S. (2.)

Chaucer(Vol. vii., p. 356).—No foreign original has ever been found for Chaucer's "House of Fame." Warton fancied that it had been translated or paraphrased from the Provençal, but could adduce no proof that it had. Old Geoffrey may have found the groundwork somewhere, in the course of his multifarious reading; but the main portion of the structure is evidently the work of his own hands, as the number of personal details and circumstances would tend to indicate. The forty lines comprising the "Lai of Marie," which Chaucer has worked up into the "Nonnes Preestes Tale" of some seven hundred lines, are printed in Tyrwhitt's Introductory Discourse to theCanterbury Tales, and will be sufficient to show what use he made of the raw material at his disposal. We may fairly presume that Emerson never took the trouble to investigate the matter, but contented himself with snatching up his materials from the nearest quarry, and then tumbling them out to the public.

J. M. B.

Tunbridge Wells.

Campvere, Privileges of(Vol. vii., p. 262.).—J. D. S. asks, "What were these privileges, and whence was the term Campvere derived?"

In Scotland there exists an ancient institution called "The Convention of Royal Burghs," which still meets annually in Edinburgh, under the fixed presidency of the Lord Provost of that city. It is a representative body, consisting of delegates elected by the town councils of the royal burghs (notboroughs) of Scotland; and their business is to attend to such public measures as may affect the general interests of their constituents. In former times, however their powers and duties were of far more importance than they are now. The Convention seems to have exercised a general superintendence of the foreign trade of the kingdom. With a view to the promotion of that trade, they used to enter into commercial treaties, orstaple contractsas they were called, with the commercial cities of the Continent; and I have now before me one of these staple contracts, made with the city of Antwerp in 1540; and another with the city of Middleburg, in Zeeland, in 1541; but latterly they seem to have confined themselves to the town ofCampvere, in Zeeland (island of Walcheren). In all these contracts it was stipulatedthat the Scottish traders should enjoy certain privileges, which were considered of such importance that the crown appointed aconservatorof them. The last of these staple contracts was made with Campvere in the year 1747; but soon afterwards the increasing prosperity of Scotland, and the participation of its burgesses in the foreign trade of England, rendered such partial arrangements useless, and the contracts and the privileges have long since been reckoned among the things that were. The office of conservator degenerated into a sinecure. It was held for some time by theRev.John Home, author of the tragedy ofDouglas, who died in 1808; and afterwards by a Sir Alex. Lenier, whose name is found in theEdinburgh Almanackas "Conservator at Campvere" till 1847, when the office and the officer seem to have expired together.

J. L.

Sir Gilbert Gerard(Vol. v., pp. 511. 571.).—In addition to the information I formerly sent you in answer toMr. Spedding'sinquiry, I am now enabled to state two facts, which greatly reduce the period within which the date of Sir Gilbert Gerard's death may be fixed. Among the records in Carlton Ride, is an enrolment of his account asCustos Domûs Conversorumfrom January 29, 34 Eliz. (1592) to January 29, 35 Eliz. (1593). And a search in Doctors' Commons has resulted in the discovery, that Sir Gilbert's will was proved, not, as Dugdale states, in April, 1592, but on April 6, 1593. He died therefore between January 29 and April 6, 1593.

Dugdale mentions that there is no epitaph on his monument.

Edward Foss.

Mistletoe(Vol. vii., p. 270.).—I wish to mention that the mistletoe has been tried at the Botanic Gardens belonging to Trinity College, Dublin; and, after flourishing for some years, it died away. Indeed, I think it has been repeatedly tried there, but without eventual success.

Y. S. M.

Dublin.

Wild Plants and their Names(Vol. vii., p. 233.).—Cowslip, "Palsy Wort." Culpepper says:

"Because they strengthen the brain and nerves, and remedy palsies, the Greeks gave them the nameparalysis." "The flowers preserved, or conserved, and the quantity of a nutmeg taken every morning, is a sufficient dose for inward disorders."

For the ointment he gives the following receipt:

"Bruise theflowers; and to two handfuls of these, add a pound of hog's grease dried. Put it in a stone pot, covered with paper, and set it in the sun or a warm place three or four days to melt. Take it out and boil it a little; strain it out when hot; pressing it out very hard in a press. To this grease add as many herbs as before, and repeat the whole process, if you wish the ointment strong.—Yet this I tell you, the fuller of juice the herbs are, the sooner will your ointment be strong; the last time you boil it, boil it so long till your herbs be crisp, and the juice consumed; then strain it, pressing it hard in a press; and to every pound of ointment, add two ounces of turpentine, and as much wax."

Ceridwen.

Coninger or Coningry, Coneygar or Conygre(Vol. vii., pp. 182. 241. 368.).—There are many fields in the midland counties which bear the name ofconigree. In some instances they are in the vicinity of manor-houses. The British name of a rabbit iscwningen, pluralcwning. That of a rabbit warren iscwning-gaer, that is, literally, rabbits' camp. The termconeygaris so like this, that it may be supposed to have been derived from it.

N. W. S. (2)

It would be difficult to find a book better calculated to prove the good service which the Camden Society is rendering to historical literature, than the one which has just been circulated among its members. The work, which is entitledLetters and Papers of the Verney Family down to the end of the year 1639. Printed from the original MSS. in the possession of Sir Harry Verney, Bart., edited byJohn Bruce, Esq., Treas. S. A., is of direct historical value, although at the first glance it would seem rather to illustrate the fortunes of the Verneys than the history of the country. For, as the editor well observes—

"The most valuable materials, even for general history, are to be found among the records of private and personal experience. More true knowledge of the spirit of an age, more real acquaintance with the feelings and actual circumstances of a people, may be gleaned from a delineation of the affairs of a single family, than from studied historical composition. The one is the expression of cotemporary and spontaneous feeling, and, although limited, is unquestionably genuine; the other is a deduction from knowledge, imperfect even when most extensive, and too frequently coloured by the feelings and prejudices of a subsequent and altered period."

But, valuable as are the materials which the liberality of Sir Harry Verney has placed at the disposal of the Society, it is obvious that they are of a nature which a publisher might hesitate to produce, even if their owner, which is very doubtful, had thought fit to place them in the hands of one for that purpose. Hence the utility of a society which has influence to draw from the muniment rooms of our old families, such materials as those found in the present volume, and which, strung together with the agreeable and instructive narrative with which Mr. Bruce has accompanied them, will secure for theVerney Papersthe character of being one of the very best, as well as of the most amusing books, which the Camden Society has given to the world.

Having had an opportunity of being present at the private view of Messrs. De la Motte and Cundall'sPhotographic Institution, in New Bond Street, we were highly pleased with the interesting specimens of the art there collected, which in our opinion far exceed any similar productions which have come before the public. We strongly advise our readers to visit this exhibition, that they may see the rapid progress which the art is making, and how applicable it is to their archæological pursuits.

Books Received.—The Vale Royal of England, or the County Palatine of Chester Illustrated. Abridged and revised, &c., by Thomas Hughes. The title-page of this little volume puts forth its claim to the attention of Cheshire antiquaries.—The Family Shakspeare, by Thomas Bowdler, Vol. VI. This volume completes this handsome reprint of an edition of Shakspeare, which fathers and brothers, who may scruple at bringing before their daughters and sisters the blemishes which the character of the age has left in Shakspeare's writings, may safely present to them; as in it nothing is added to the original text, from which only those words and expressions are omitted which cannot with propriety be read in a family.

Tillotson. Vols. I., II., IV., V., XI. 12mo. Tonson, London, 1748.Livy. Vol I. 12mo. Maittaire, London, 1722.Annals and Magazine of Natural History. Vols. I., II., III., IV., V., XIX., XX. 5s.each. The above in Parts or Monthly Numbers will do.The Aviary, or Magazine of British Melody.A Collection of Diverting Songs, Airs, &c.: Both published about the middle of last century.Churchman's Sheet Almanac: all the Years.Gretton's Introduction To Translation, &c. Part II.Views of Arundel House in the Strand, 1646. London, published by T. Thane, Rupert Street, Haymarket. 1792.Parker's Glossary of Architecture. 2nd Edition.Pickering's Statutes at Large. 8vo. Edit. Camb. From 46 Geo. III. cap. 144. (Vol. XLVI. Part I.) to 1 Wm. IV.European Magazine. Nos. for May, 1817; January, February, May, June, 1818; April, June, July, October, and December, 1819.Stanhope's Paraphrase of Epistles and Gospels. London, 1732. Vols. III. and IV.The Lawyer and Magistrate's Magazine, complete, or single Volumes,circa1805-1810.Todd's Cyclopædia of Anatomy and Physiology.Phelps' History and Antiquities of Somersetshire. Part 4., and Parts 9. to end.Bayle's Dictionary. English Version, byDe Maizeaux. London, 1738. Vols. I. and II.Swift's (Dean) Works. Dublin: G. Faulkner. 19 volumes 1768. Vol. I.Transactions of the Microscopical Society of London. Vol. I. and II.Archæologia. Vols. III., IV., V., VII. Boards.Martyn's Plantæ Cantabrigienses. 12mo. London, 1763.

Tillotson. Vols. I., II., IV., V., XI. 12mo. Tonson, London, 1748.

Livy. Vol I. 12mo. Maittaire, London, 1722.

Annals and Magazine of Natural History. Vols. I., II., III., IV., V., XIX., XX. 5s.each. The above in Parts or Monthly Numbers will do.

The Aviary, or Magazine of British Melody.

A Collection of Diverting Songs, Airs, &c.: Both published about the middle of last century.

Churchman's Sheet Almanac: all the Years.

Gretton's Introduction To Translation, &c. Part II.

Views of Arundel House in the Strand, 1646. London, published by T. Thane, Rupert Street, Haymarket. 1792.

Parker's Glossary of Architecture. 2nd Edition.

Pickering's Statutes at Large. 8vo. Edit. Camb. From 46 Geo. III. cap. 144. (Vol. XLVI. Part I.) to 1 Wm. IV.

European Magazine. Nos. for May, 1817; January, February, May, June, 1818; April, June, July, October, and December, 1819.

Stanhope's Paraphrase of Epistles and Gospels. London, 1732. Vols. III. and IV.

The Lawyer and Magistrate's Magazine, complete, or single Volumes,circa1805-1810.

Todd's Cyclopædia of Anatomy and Physiology.

Phelps' History and Antiquities of Somersetshire. Part 4., and Parts 9. to end.

Bayle's Dictionary. English Version, byDe Maizeaux. London, 1738. Vols. I. and II.

Swift's (Dean) Works. Dublin: G. Faulkner. 19 volumes 1768. Vol. I.

Transactions of the Microscopical Society of London. Vol. I. and II.

Archæologia. Vols. III., IV., V., VII. Boards.

Martyn's Plantæ Cantabrigienses. 12mo. London, 1763.

***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 a necessity for going to press this week at an unusually early period, that the present Number might be included in the Monthly Part, we are compelled to omit replies to many Correspondents.

L. A. M. (Great Yarmouth)will find several Notes respecting the means of discovering the bodies of the drowned in our4th Vol., pp. 148. 251. 297.

H. O. N. (Brighton).In our own practice we have never obtained pictures with the agreeable colour which is produced by the iodide of silver, when iodide of ammonium has been used. The flaking of the collodion would indicate an excess of iodide, and is often cured by the addition of about twenty drops of alcohol to an ounce of collodion. The feathery appearance is difficult to comprehend, without seeing a specimen. If you are using glass which has been previously used, the most minute remains of iron would cause a discoloration. Muriatic acid is the most effectual remedy for cleaning glass so used. It may be procured at2½d.per lb., and should be diluted with three parts of water.

An Amateur(Oxford).We are not of opinion that Mr. Talbot could restrain any one from taking collodion portraits, as patentee of the Talbotype process. It is done in many parts of London daily without any permission.—SeeTimes'Advertisements, &c.

C. E. F.We think you use too strong a solution of the ammonio-nitrate of silver: thirty grains to the ounce of water, and then redissolved with the strong liq. ammon., give to us most satisfactory result,—the paper being prepared before with chloride of barium, chloride of sodium, and chloride of ammonia, of each half a drachm to the quart of water, in which half an ounce of mannite, or sugar of milk, has been previously dissolved. When sufficiently printed, put it into the hypo. sulph. solution, without previous immersion.

H. L. L.We shall be happy to render you the best assistance we can, if you will communicate with us again. For iodized paper we may safely refer you to our advertising columns.

A few complete sets of"Notes and Queries," Vols. i.tovi.,price Three Guineas, may now be had; for which early application is desirable.

"Notes and Queries"is published at noon on Friday, so that the Country Booksellers may receive Copies in that night's parcels, and deliver them to their Subscribers on the Saturday.

NEW ACHROMATIC MICROSCOPES on MR. PRITCHARD'S construction, Micrometers, Polarizing Apparatus, Object glasses, and Eye-pieces. S. STRAKER supplies any of the above of the first quality, and will forward by post free a new priced List of Microscopes and Apparatus.

162. FLEET STREET, LONDON.

PURE NERVOUS or MIND COMPLAINTS.—if the readers ofNotes and Queries, who suffer from depression of spirits, confusion, headache, blushing, groundless fears, unfitness for business or society, blood to the head, failure of memory, delusions, suicidal thoughts, fear of insanity, &c., will call on, or correspond with, REV. DR. WILLIS MOSELEY, who, out of above 22,000 applicants, knows not fifty uncured who have followed his advice, he will instruct them how to get well, without a fee, and will render the same service to the friends of the insane.—At home from 11 to 3.

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SPECTACLES.—WM. ACKLAND applies his medical knowledge as a Licentiate of the Apothecaries' Company, London, his theory as a Mathematician, and his practice as a Working Optician, aided by Smee's Optometer, in the selection of Spectacles suitable to every derangement of vision, so as to preserve the sight to extreme old age.

ACHROMATIC TELESCOPES, with the New Vetzlar Eye-pieces, as exhibited at the Academy of Sciences in Paris. The Lenses of these Eye-pieces are so constructed that the rays of light fall nearly perpendicular to the surface of the various lenses, by which the aberration is completely removed; and a telescope so fitted give one-third more magnifying power and light than could be obtained by the old Eye-pieces. Prices of the various sizes on application to

WM. ACKLAND, Optician, 93. Hatton Garden, London.

STEEL PENS.—PARTRIDGE & COZEN'S STEEL PENS are the best; made of the purest steel, all selected and warranted. Fine or medium points, 1s.3d.per box of twelve dozen; broad ditto, 1s.6d.; extra broad, 1s.6d., a very easy pen—will write with comfort on brown paper; correspondence pen, 1s.3d.per box—this pen adapts itself to any hand. P. & C. are the original makers, and although there are many imitations, it is still unequalled. Best magnum bonums, 3s.6d.per gross; silver pens, 1s., and gold ditto, 2s.each, warranted; patent holders, fit any pen, 6d.dozen, or 5s.gross. A liberal allowance to shippers and the trade. Samples per post, on receipt of six stamps.

PARTRIDGE & COZEN'S Cheap Stationery Warehouses, 127. and 128. Chancery Lane.

JUST PUBLISHED.—A CATALOGUE OF CURIOUS BOOKS, by J. CROZIER, 5. New Turnstile, near Lincoln's Inn Fields, Holborn. Catalogues sent on receipt of One Postage Stamp.

PREPARING FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION.

PHOTOGRAPHIC NOTES:

Comprising Plain Directions for the Practice of Photography, including the Collodion Process on Glass; the Paper and Wax-Paper Processes; Printing from Glass and Paper Negatives, &c.

By DR. DIAMOND, F.S.A.

With Notes on the Application of Photography to Archæology, &c.,

By WILLIAM J. THOMS, F.S.A.

London: GEORGE BELL, 186, Fleet Street.

PHOTOGRAPHIC SCHOOL.—ROYAL POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTION.

The spacious Plate Glass House, 30 feet by 15, with the Class Rooms and Ladies' Apartment, being nearly completed. Classes or Private Lessons, embracing all branches of Photography, will commence May 2nd, 1853, for Gentlemen, and May 3rd, for Ladies.

A perfect Apparatus with Ross's finest Lenses has been procured, and every new improvement will be added.

The School will be under the joint direction of T. A. MALONE, Esq., who has been long connected with Photography, and J. H. PEPPER, Esq., the Chemist to the Institution.

A Prospectus, with terms, may be had at the Institution.

Just published, price 1s., free by Post 1s.4d.,

THE WAXED-PAPER PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESS of GUSTAVE LE GRAY'S NEW EDITION. Translated from the French.

Sole Agents in the United Kingdom for VOIGHTLANDER & SON'S celebrated Lenses for Portraits and Views.

General Depôt for Turner's, Whatman's, Canson Frères', La Croix, and other Talbotype Papers.

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Instructions and Specimens in every Branch of the Art.

GEORGE KNIGHT & SONS, Foster Lane, London.

PHOTOGRAPHY.—HORNE & CO.'S Iodized Collodion, for obtaining Instantaneous Views, and Portraits in from three to thirty seconds, according to light.

Portraits obtained by the above, for delicacy of detail rival the choicest Daguerreotypes, specimens of which may be seen at their Establishment.

Also every description of Apparatus, Chemicals, &c. &c. used in this beautiful Art.—123. and 121. Newgate Street.

PHOTOGRAPHIC PAPER.—Negative and Positive Papers of Whatman's, Turner's, Sanford's, and Canson Frères' make. Waxed-Paper for Le Gray's Process. Iodized and Sensitive Paper for every kind of Photography.

Sold by JOHN SANFORD, Photographic Stationer, Aldine Chambers, 13. Paternoster Row, London.

PHOTOGRAPHY.—Collodion (Iodized with the Ammonio-Iodide of Silver)—J. B. HOCKIN & CO., Chemists, 289. Strand, were the first in England who published the application of this agent (seeAthenæum, Aug. 14th). Their Collodion (price 9d.per oz.) retains its extraordinary sensitiveness, tenacity, and colour unimpaired for months: it may be exported to any climate, and the Iodizing Compound mixed as required. J. B. HOCKIN & CO. manufacture PURE CHEMICALS and all APPARATUS with the latest Improvements adapted for all the Photographic and Daguerreotype processes. Cameras for Developing in the open Country. GLASS BATHS adapted to any Camera. Lenses from the best Makers. Waxed and Iodized Papers, &c.

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FIVE BONUSES have been declared; at the last in January, 1852, the sum of 131,125l.was added to the Policies, producing a Bonus varying with the different ages from 24½ to 55 per cent. on the Premiums paid during the five years, or from 5l.to 12l.10s.per cent. on the Sum Assured.

The small share of Profit divisible in future among the Shareholders being now provided for, the ASSURED will hereafter derive all the benefits obtainable from a Mutual Office, WITHOUT ANY LIABILITY OR RISK OF PARTNERSHIP.

POLICIES effected before the 30th June next, will be entitled, at the next Division, to one year's additional share of Profits over later Assurers.

On Assurances for the whole of Life only one half of the Premiums need to be paid for the first five years.

INVALID LIVES may be Assured at rates proportioned to the risk.

Claims paidthirtydays after proof of death, and all Policies areIndisputableexcept in cases of fraud.

Tables of Rates and forms of Proposal can be obtained of any of the Society's Agents, or of

GEORGE H. PINCKARD, Resident Secretary.

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Founded A.D. 1842.

Directors.

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