THEREV. MR. GAY.

"Gaet en vatt een Sterr in 't vallen,Maeckteen' Wortel-mensch[1]met kind,Seght waer men al den tijd die nu verby is vindt,En wie des Duyvels voet geklooft heeft in twee ballen:Leert my Meereminnen hooren,Leert my hoe ick 't boose booren,Van den Nijd ontkommen moet,En wat Wind voor-wind is voor een oprecht gemoed."

"Gaet en vatt een Sterr in 't vallen,

Maeckteen' Wortel-mensch[1]met kind,

Seght waer men al den tijd die nu verby is vindt,

En wie des Duyvels voet geklooft heeft in twee ballen:

Leert my Meereminnen hooren,

Leert my hoe ick 't boose booren,

Van den Nijd ontkommen moet,

En wat Wind voor-wind is voor een oprecht gemoed."

[1]Mandrake.

One more example of his translation, from the epigram on Sir Albertus Morton, may be allowed, as it is short:

"She first deceased; he for a little triedTo live without her; liked it not, and died.""Sy stierf voor uyt: hy pooghd' haer een' wijl tijds te derven,Maer had geen' sin daer in, en ging oock liggen sterven."

"She first deceased; he for a little tried

To live without her; liked it not, and died."

"Sy stierf voor uyt: hy pooghd' haer een' wijl tijds te derven,

Maer had geen' sin daer in, en ging oock liggen sterven."

Considering the affinity of the languages, and the frequent and constant intercourse with Holland, itis singular that we should have to reproach ourselves with such almost total ignorance respecting the literature of that country. With the exception of the slight sketch given by Dr. Bowring of its poetical literature, an Englishman has no work to which he can turn in his own language for information; and Dutch books may be sought for in vain in London. The late Mr. Heber when in Holland did not neglect its literature, and at the dispersion of his library I procured a few valuable Dutch books; among others, the very handsome volume which has given rise to this note. It contains much interesting matter, and affords a most amiable picture of the mind of its distinguished author, who lived to the very advanced age of ninety-one. There is a speaking and living portrait of him prefixed, from the beautiful graver of Blotelingk, and a view of his chateau of Hofwyck, with detailed plans of his garden, &c. He was secretary to three successive princes of Nassau, accountant to the Prince of Orange, and Lord of Zuylichem; and lived in habits of friendly intercourse with almost all the distinguished men who flourished during his long and prosperous life. His son is well known to the world of science as the inventor of the pendulum.

Translations of three or four of Constantine Huyghens' poems are given by Dr. Bowring in hisBatavian Anthology. And the great Vondel pronounces his volume to be—

"A garden mild of savours sweet,Where Art and Skill and Wisdom meet;Rich in its vast varietyOf forms and hues of ev'ry dye."

"A garden mild of savours sweet,

Where Art and Skill and Wisdom meet;

Rich in its vast variety

Of forms and hues of ev'ry dye."

S. W. SINGER.

The very interesting notices which you have often given us of the truly great and inestimable Locke, induce me to trouble you with an inquiry relative to a philosophical writer, who followed in his school, I mean the Rev. Mr. Gay, the author of the Dissertation prefixed to Bishop Law's translation of King'sOrigin of Evil. It is sufficient evidence of the importance of that Dissertation, that it put Hartley upon considering and developing the principle of association, into which principle he conceived, and endeavoured to prove, that all the phenomena of reasoning and affection might be resolved, and of which Laplace observes, that it constitutes the whole of what has yet been done in the philosophy of the human mind; "la partie réelle de la métaphysique" (Essai Philosophique sur les Probabilités, p. 224. ed. 1825).

Of this Mr. Gay, I have not yet been able to learn more than that he was a clergyman in the West of England; but of what place, of what family, where educated, of what manner of life, or what habits of study, biographical or topographical reading has hitherto furnished me with any information. I should feel greatly indebted to any of your readers who would give the clue to what is known or can be known about him. It is probably within easy reach, though I have missed it. The ordinary biographical dictionaries make no mention of him.

EDWARDTAGART.North End, Hampstead, May 19. 1851.

Carved Ceiling in Dorsetshire.—In the south of Dorsetshire there is a house (its name I do not remember) which has a beautifully carved ceiling in the hall. This is said to have been sent from Spain by a King of Castile, who, being wrecked on this coast, and hospitably entertained by the owners of the mansion, took this method of showing his gratitude. Can any of your readers inform me what king this was, or refer me to any work in which I may find it?

JERNE.

Publicans' Signs.—Will any of your readers inform me whether thesigns of publicanswere allowed to be retained by the same edict which condemned those of all other trades?

ROVERT.

To a T.—What is the origin of the phrase; and of that "To fit to a T.?" (Query, a "T square" = ad amussim.)

A. A. D.

Skeletons at Egyptian Banquet.—Where did Jer. Taylor find this interpretation of the object of placing a skeleton at the banqueting table:—

"The Egyptians used to serve up a skeleton to their feasts, that the vapours of wine might be restrained with that bunch of myrrh, and the vanities of their eyes chastened by that sad object."

Certainly not in Herodotus, 2. 78.; which savours rather of theSardanapalianspirit: "Eat, drink, and love—the rest's not worth a fillip!" Comp. Is. xxii. 13., 1 Cor. xv. 32.

A. A. D.

Gloves(Vol. i., pp. 72.405.;Vol. ii., p. 4.;Vol. iii., p. 220.).—Blount, in hisLaw Dictionary, fo. 1670, under the title "Capias Utlagatum," observes:

"At present, in the King's Bench, theoutlawrycannot be reversed, unless the defendant appear in person, and, by a present of gloves to the judges, implore and obtains their favour to reverse it."

Perhaps some of your correspondents may be able to state when the practice of presenting gloves to the judges on moving to reverse an outlawry in the King's Bench was discontinued. The statute 4 & 5 Will. and Mar. c. 18., rendered unnecessary apersonalappearance in that court to reverse an outlawry (except for treason or felony, or where special bail was ordered).

C. H. COOPER.Cambridge, March 24. 1851.

Knapp Family in Norfolk and Suffolk.—I should be much obliged to any Norfolk or Suffolk antiquary whowould give me information as to the family of Knapp formerly settled in those counties, especially at Ipswich, Tuddenham, and Needham Market in the latter county. My inquiries have not discovered any person of the name at present residing in any of these places; and my wish is to learn how the name was lost in the locality; whether by migration—and if so, when, and to what other part of the county; or if in the female line, into what family the last heiress of Knapp married; and, as nearly as may be, when either of these events occurred?

G. E. F.

To learn by "Heart."—Can you give any account of the origin of a very common expression both in French and English,i. e."Apprendrepar cœur, to learnby heart?" To learnby memorywould be intelligible.

A SUBSCRIBER TO YOURJOURNAL.

Knights.—At some periods of our history the reigning monarch bestowed the honour of knighthood, 1306, Edward I.; at other times, those in possession of a certain amount of property were compelled to assume the order, 1254. Query, Was there any difference in rank between the two sorts of knights?

B. DE. M.

Supposed Inscription in St. Peter's Church, Rome.—When at school in France, some twenty years ago, I was informed that the following inscription was to be found in some part of St. Peter's Church in Rome:

"Nunquam amplius super hanc cathedram cantabit Gallus."

It appears that the active part taken by the French in fomenting the great schism of the Church during the fourteenth century, when they set up and maintained at Avignon a Pope of their own choosing, had generated an abhorrence of French interference in the Italian mind; and that, when the dissensions were abated by the suspension of the rival Popes, theultramontanecardinals had posted up this inscription to testify their desire for the exclusion of French ecclesiastics from the Papal chair. In one respect the prediction remains in force to this day; for I believe I am correct in saying that no Frenchman has worn the triple crown for the last 450 years. But that portion of it which is implied in the second meaning of "Gallus," has been woefully belied in our time by the forcible occupation of Rome by a French army, on which occasion the Gallic cock had all the "crowing" to himself.

I have never had an opportunity of ascertaining the existence of this inscription, and shall be obliged to any correspondent of "NOTES ANDQUERIES" who will afford information on the subject.

HENRYH. BREEN.St. Lucia, April, 1851.

Rag Sunday in Sussex.—Allow me to ask the explanation of "Rag Sunday" in Sussex. I lately saw some young gentlemen going to school at Brighton, who had been provided with some fine white handkerchiefs, when one observed they would not stand much chance of escape on "Rag Sunday." He then told me that each boy, on the Sunday but one preceding the holidays, always tore a piece of his shirt or handkerchief off and wore it in the button-hole of his jacket as his "rag." When a boy, I remember being compelled to do the same when at school at Hailsham in Sussex, and all boys objecting had their hats knocked off and trod on.

H. W. D.

Northege Family.—Can any one tell me the county and parish in which the family of Northege were located in the sixteenth century?

E. H. Y.

A Kemble Pipe of Tobacco.—In the county of Herefordshire, the people call the last or concluding pipe that any one means to smoke at a sitting, aKemble pipe.This is said to have originated in a man of the name of Kemble, who in the cruel persecution under Queen Mary, being condemned for heresy, in his walk of some miles from the prison to the stake, amidst a crowd of weeping friends and neighbours, with the tranquillity and fortitude of a primitive martyr,smoked a pipe of tobacco! Is anything known of this Kemble? and where can I find any corroboration of the story here told?

EDWARDF. RIMBAULT.

Durham Sword that killed the Dragon.—In the Harleian MS. No. 3783., letter 107., Cosin, in describing to Sancroft some of the ceremonies of his reception at Durham, mentions "the sword that killed the dragon," as a relic of antiquity introduced on the occasion. I should feel obliged, if you, or any of your antiquarian readers, could kindly refer me to some tolerably full account of the ceremony alluded to, or throw any light upon the meaning of the custom in question, the origin and history of the sword, and the tradition connected with it.

J. SANSOM.

"At Sixes and Sevens"(Vol. iii., p. 118.).—May not this expression bear reference to thepointsin the card-game of piquet?

G. F. G.

May not this expression have arisen from the passage in Eliphaz's discourse to Job?

"He shall deliver thee issixtroubles; yea, inseventhere shall no evil touch thee."—Job. v. 19.

A. M.

Mr. Halliwell, in hisDictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, vol. ii. p. 724., thus explains this phrase:

"The Deity is mentioned in theTowneley Mysteries, pp. 97. 118., as He that 'sett alle on seven,'i. e., set or appointed everything in seven days. A similar phrase at p. 85. is not so evident. It is explained in the Glossary, 'toset things in, to put them in order;' but it evidently implies, in some cases, an exactly opposite meaning, to set in confusion, to rush to battle, as in the following examples. 'To set the steven, to agree upon the time and place of meeting previous to some expedition,'—West and Cumb. Dial.p. 390. These phrases may be connected with each other. Be this as it may, hence is certainly derived the phraseto be at sixes and sevens, to be in great confusion. Herod, in his anger at the wise men, says:

"'Bot be they past me by, by Mahowne in heven,I shalle, and that in hy,set alle on sex and seven;Trow ye a kyng as I wyll suffre thaym to nevenAny to have mastry bot myself fulle even.'Towneley Mysteries, p. 143.

"'Bot be they past me by, by Mahowne in heven,

I shalle, and that in hy,set alle on sex and seven;

Trow ye a kyng as I wyll suffre thaym to neven

Any to have mastry bot myself fulle even.'

Towneley Mysteries, p. 143.

"'Thus hesettez on sevenewith his sekyre knyghttez.'Morte Arthure, MS. Lincoln, f. 76.

"'Thus hesettez on sevenewith his sekyre knyghttez.'

Morte Arthure, MS. Lincoln, f. 76.

"'The duk swore by gret God of hevene,Wold my hors so evene,Zet wold Iset all one sevenFfor Myldor the swet!'Degrevant, 1279.

"'The duk swore by gret God of hevene,

Wold my hors so evene,

Zet wold Iset all one seven

Ffor Myldor the swet!'

Degrevant, 1279.

"'Old Odcombs odnesse makes not thee uneven,Nor carelesly set allat six and seven.'Taylor'sWorkes, 1630, ii. 71."

"'Old Odcombs odnesse makes not thee uneven,

Nor carelesly set allat six and seven.'

Taylor'sWorkes, 1630, ii. 71."

J. K. R. W.

[Six and seven make the proverbially unlucky numberthirteen, and we are inclined to believe that the allusion in this popular phrase is to this combination.]

Swobbers.—There is a known story of a clergyman who was recommended for a preferment by some great men at court to an archbishop. His Grace said, "He had heard that the clergyman used to play at whist andswobbers; that as to playing now and then a sober game at whist for pastime, it might be pardoned; but he could not digest those wicked swobbers;" and it was with some pains that my Lord Somers could undeceive him. So says Swift, in hisEssay on the Fates of Clergymen; and a note in Sir W. Scott's edition (1824, vol. viii. p 231.) informs us that the primate was "Tenison, who, by all contemporary accounts, was a very dull man." At the risk of being thought as dull as the archbishop, I venture to ask for an explanation of the joke.

J. C. R.

[Johnson, under "Swobber" or "Swabber," gives, "1. A sweeper of the deck;" and "2. Four privileged cards that are only incidentally used in betting at the game of whist." He then quotes this passage from Swift, with the difference that he says "clergymen." Were not the cards so called because they "swept the deck" by a sort of "sweep-stakes?"]

Handel's Occasional Oratorio.—Will DR. RIMBAULT, or some other musical correspondent of your journal, enlighten us as to the true meaning of the nameOccasional Oratorio, prefixed to one of Handel's compositions, of which no one that I have ever met with has heard more than the overture? This composition has become almost universally known from the foolish practice which used to prevail of performing it as an introduction toIsrael in Egypt, or any other work to which its composer had purposely denied the preliminary of an overture; a practice now happily exploded, which seems to have had its origin in a misinterpretation of the name; as though Handel had written the overture to suit anyoccasionwhen one might be needed, instead of, as I am rather disposed to believe, having some particular occasion in view for which the oratorio was composed.

E. V.

[Surely, if there is noOccasionalOratorio to be found, theOverturemust mean that it was to be used onoccasion. Our correspondent does not seem to know the word as it is used by writers of a century ago, for "Occasional Sermons" or services, &c. The question is simply one of fact.Isthere an Oratorio? Everybody knows the overture. The writer of this note remembers being horrified, when a freshman, at hearing the fugue break forth in the College Chapel, was pondering in his mind whether it was Drops of Brandy, or the Rondo in the Turnpike-Gate, both then popular tunes.]

Archbishop Waldeby's Epitaph.—W. W. KINGwould be obliged by a perfect copy of the inscription on the monumental brass of Archbishop Waldeby in Westminster Abbey.

[The brass is engraved in Harding'sAntiquities of Westminster Abbey; but it appears that one half of the following inscription, which was formerly round the verge of the brass, has now been torn away:—

"Hic fuit expertus in quovis jure Robertus,De Waldeby dictus nunc est sub marmore strictus;Sacre Scripture Doctor fuit, et genitureIngenuus Medicus et plebis semper amicusPresul Adurensis posthoc Archas DublinensisHinc Cicestrensis, tandem Primas EborensisQuarto kalend. Junii migravit cursibus anniSepultus milleni ter C. septem Nonies quoque deni.Vos precor, Orate quod sint sibi dona beateCum sanctis vite requiescat et hic sine lite."

"Hic fuit expertus in quovis jure Robertus,

De Waldeby dictus nunc est sub marmore strictus;

Sacre Scripture Doctor fuit, et geniture

Ingenuus Medicus et plebis semper amicus

Presul Adurensis posthoc Archas Dublinensis

Hinc Cicestrensis, tandem Primas Eborensis

Quarto kalend. Junii migravit cursibus anni

Sepultus milleni ter C. septem Nonies quoque deni.

Vos precor, Orate quod sint sibi dona beate

Cum sanctis vite requiescat et hic sine lite."

Weever, in hisFuneral Monuments, quotes the following description of him from a MS. account of the Archbishops of York, in the Cottonian Collection:—

"Tunc Robertus ordinis fratris AugustiniAscendit in cathedram primatis Paulini,Lingua scientificus sermonis latiniAnno primo proximat vite sue fini,De carnis ergastulo presul evocaturGleba sui corporis Westminstre humatur."]

"Tunc Robertus ordinis fratris Augustini

Ascendit in cathedram primatis Paulini,

Lingua scientificus sermonis latini

Anno primo proximat vite sue fini,

De carnis ergastulo presul evocatur

Gleba sui corporis Westminstre humatur."]

Verstegan.—Will any of the contributors to your valuable miscellany be kind enough to inform me if there are any engraved portraits of the quaint old antiquary Richard Verstegan, the author of a curious work, entitledA Restitution of Decayed Intelligence? The portraits may be common, but living in the country, and at distance from town, I have no friend from whom I can glean the required information. Can my informant at the sametime acquaint me with the best edition of his work? There was one printed at Antwerp in 1605.

J. S. P. (a Subscriber.)

[Our correspondent will find a notice of Verstegan's work in page 85. of this volume. The first edition was printed at Antwerp in 1605, and was reprinted at London in 4to. in 1634, and in 8vo. in 1655 and 1673. The first edition is deservedly reckoned the best, as well on account of containing one or more engravings, afterwards omitted, as also for the superiority of the plates, those in the subsequent editions being very indifferent copies. No portrait of the author is noticed either by Granger or Bromley.]

Royal Library.—In the new edition of Boswell'sLife of Johnson(published by the proprietors of theIllustrated London News), in theNational Illustrated Library, the editor, in reference to the library of King George III. (which is generally understood to have been presented to the nation by George IV., and which is recorded to have been given, in an inscription placed in that magnificent hall), has appended the following note:—

"It has recently transpired that the government of the day bought the library of George IV., just as he was on the eve of concluding a sale of it to the Emperor of Russia."

Can any of your readers inform me if this is correct, and whether the nation have really paid for what has always been considered a most worthy and munificent present from a monarch to his subjects? I trust to hear that the editor has been misinformed.

J. S. L.

[The nation certainly never paid one farthing for this munificent present. The Russian Government offered, we believe, to purchase the library; and this is probably the origin of the statement in the note quoted by our correspondent.]

An accidental circumstance having led me to re-peruse the article entitledHugh Holland and his works(Vol. ii., p. 265.), I feel myself called on, as a lover of facts, to notice some of the statements which it contains.

1. "He was born at Denbigh in 1558." He was born at Denbigh, but not in 1558. In 1625 he thus expressed himself:

"Why was the fatall spinster so vnthrifty?To draw my third four yeares to tell and fifty!"

"Why was the fatall spinster so vnthrifty?

To draw my third four yeares to tell and fifty!"

2. "In 1582 he matriculated at Baliol College, Oxford." He did not quit Westminster School till 1589. If he ever pursued his studies at Baliol College, it was some ten years afterwards.

3. "About 1590 he succeeded to a fellowship at Trinity College, Cambridge." In 1589 he was elected from Westminster to ascholarshipin Trinity College, Cambridge—not to afellowship. At a later period of life, he may have succeeded to a fellowship.

4. "Holland published two works: 1.Monumenta sepulchralia Sancti Pauli, London, 1613, 4to. 2.A cypress garlandetc., London, 1625, 4to." Hugh Holland was not the compiler of the first-named work: the initials H. H admit of another interpretation. This, however, is a very pardonable oversight. I could give about twenty authorities for ascribing the work to Hugh Holland.

5. The dates assigned to theMonumenta Sancti Pauliare "1613, 1616, 1618, and 1633." Here are three errors in as many lines. Thefirstedition is dated in 1614. The edition of 1633, which is entitledEcclesia Sancti Pavli illvstrata, is thesecond. No other editions exist.

6. "Holland also printed a copy of Latin verses before Alexander'sRoxana, 1632." No such work exists. He may have printed verses before theRoxanaof W. Alabaster, who was his brother-collegian.

The authorities which I have consulted are Fuller, Anthony à Wood, Henry Holland, son of the celebrated Philemon Holland, Hugh Holland, and Joseph Welch; and in submitting the result of my researches to critical examination, I must commend the writer of the article in question for his continued efforts to produce new facts, and to explode current errors.

Insensible as modern critics may be to the poetical merits of Hugh Holland, we find him described by Camden as one of themost pregnant witsof those times; and he certainly gave a notable proof of his wit—for fame is that whichall hunt after—in contributing some lines toMr. William Shakespeares comedies, histories, and tragedies.

On that account, if on no other, the particulars of his life should be inquired into and recorded. HisCypress garland, a copy of which I possess, is rich in autobiographical anecdote; and I have collected some of his fugitive verses, a specimen of which may amuse. As one of the shortest, I transcribe the lines which he addressed to Giles Farnaby, a musical composer of some eminence, on the publication of hisCanzonets to fowre voyces, A. D. 1598.

"M. Hu. Holland to the author.I would both sing thy praise, and praise thy singing,That in the winter nowe are both a-springing;But my muse must be stronger,And the daies must be longer.When the sunne's in his hight with yebright Barnaby,Thenshould we sing thy praises, gentle Farnaby."

"M. Hu. Holland to the author.

I would both sing thy praise, and praise thy singing,

That in the winter nowe are both a-springing;

But my muse must be stronger,

And the daies must be longer.

When the sunne's in his hight with yebright Barnaby,

Thenshould we sing thy praises, gentle Farnaby."

BOLTONCORNEY.

(Vol. iii., p. 353.)

In reply to W. R. M., who asks for information respecting the round towers of Ireland, I beg to refer him to Dr. Petrie's essay on theEcclesiastical Architecture of Ireland, in which he will find a full discussion of the origin, uses, and history of the round towers.

In reference to the Milesians and other early colonists of Ireland, he will find the most authentic ancient traditions in the Irish version of theHistoria Britonum of Nennius, lately published by the Irish Archæological Society of Dublin, with a translation and notes, by the Rev. J. H. Todd, D.D. The same volume contains also some very curious and valuable notes by the Hon. A. Herbert.

What W. R. M. says about the pronunciation of certain names of towns in Ireland, as confirming the tradition of a Milesian colony from Spain, is a complete mistake. The pronunciation ofghto which he alludes, exists only amongst the English (or Anglicised natives) who are unable to pronounce the gutturalchorghof the Celtic Irish, and have substituted for it the sound ofh, or the sound of the Spanishj, to which W. R. M. refers. Besides this, every philologist knows that the present language of Spain had no existence at the period to which the Milesian invasion of Ireland must be referred. It is true that on the west coast of Ireland some families among the peasantry retain many of the characteristic features of modern Spaniards; but this circumstance is due to an intercourse with Spain of a much more recent date than the Milesian invasion, and is therefore no evidence of that event. It is well known that considerable trade with Spain was carried on at Galway and other ports of western Connaught, two centuries ago, and that many Spanish families settled in Ireland, or intermarried with the natives during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

To remove W. R. M.'s mistaken impression that Drogheda, Aghada, &c., are names of Spanish origin, it may be well to inform him, first, that theghin such names is not sounded like the Spanishj, except, as I have said, by—(I was on the point of writingforeigners), but I mean by those who are unable to pronounce our Celtic guttural aspirates. Secondly, that Drogheda, Aghada, &c., are names significant in the Irish language and perfectly well understood, and that as now written they are not seen in their correct orthography, but in an Anglicised spelling intended to represent to English ears the native pronunciation. In the last century Drogheda was usually writtenTredaghin English; but the word in its proper spelling isDroichet-atha, the bridge of the ford,trajectum vadi. There are many places in Ireland named from this wordDroichet, which is no doubt the Latintrajectum, the same which forms a part of the name ofUtrecht(Ultrajectum), and other towns on the continent.

The wordAgha, properlyAchadh, signifies afield, and enters into the composition of hundreds of topographical names in Ireland. But in every case thegh(orch, as it properly is) is pronounced gutturally by the peasantry; thehor Spanishjsound is a modern Anglicised corruption.

On the subject of Irish proper names of places and persons a vast body of curious and valuable information will be found in the publications of the Irish Archæological Society, and also in O'Donovan's splendid edition of theAnnals of the Four Masters.

HIBERNICUS.

Wemere Irishassume to be descended from a Phœnician colony; the wordMilesianis not Irish, the families so designated being known in the Irish language only as "Clonna Gäel" (I spare the English reader themuteconsonants, whichwould rather bother himto get his tongue round).

Our tradition is, that the leader of the said colony saw Ireland from a tower, still said to exist near Corunna; he bore the style ofMileadle Spaniogle, for which no better translation is offered than "the soldier of Spain." His brothers and sons, the chief himself having deceased, are said to have conducted the expedition to Ireland; and if your correspondent wishes for a full account of their adventures, he should consult Keating'sHistory of Ireland, which will, at all events, afford him some amusement.

As to the round towers, Mr. Petrie's book onThe Ecclesiastical Antiquities or Architecture of Irelandhas set that question at rest. He has shown that they are undoubtedly Christian buildings intended asBell-houses, which their name in Irish signifies; and further, probably, for the safe keeping of the sacred vessels, &c., in time of war or tumult. It is unfortunately too certain that agitation was always rife in Ireland. On all points connected with Irish antiquities, the safest and best reference is to the Secretary of the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. If this answer attract any of your correspondents to visit the museum of that establishment, I venture to prophecy that they will account themselves well repaid for their trouble, even though they should miss visiting the Great Exhibition thereby.

KERRIENSIS.

(Vol. iii., pp. 105.229.308.)

I remember hearing a worthy citizen of Norwich remark, that it was very odd there should be three churches in the city called after saints whose names began with the letter T. Having been myself resident in that city many years, withoutbeing aware of this fact, I took the liberty of inquiring to which three he alluded; when I was unhesitatingly told, "Why, Sain Tandrew's, Sain Taustin's, and Sain Tedmund's, to be sure!" Let me then be allowed to repeat ARUN'Squestion, and to ask, "Why not Tanthony for Saint Anthony?"

The same worthy citizen was once sheriff of Norwich, and, as is, or haply was, the custom,—for I know not how these matters are managed now-a-days,—went forth in civic state to meet the judges of assize. When their lordships were seated in the sheriff's carriage, one of them charitably observed, "Yours, I believe, is a very ancient city, Mr. Sheriff!" to which the latter, a little flurried, no doubt, at being thus so pointedly addressed, but in decided accents, replied, "ItwasONCE, my Lord!" And without stopping to consider what was passing in his mind when he gave utterance to these somewhat ambiguous words, may we not take them up, and ask whether it be not even so, not only as regards Norwich, but most of her venerable sister towns as well? Where are their quondam glories—their arts and rare inventions—their "thoughts in antique words conveyed"—their "boast of heraldry"—their pageantries and shows? Where their high-peaked gables—their curiously wrought eaves and overhanging galleries—their quaint doorways, so elaborately carved, and all their other cunning devices?—"Modern Taste," with finger pointed to the newest creation of her plaster genius, triumphantly echoes the monosyllable, and answers, "Where?" Well, we are perforce content; only with this proviso:—if, fatigued with the tinselled superficialities and glossy refinements of the present, we are fain to "cast one longing lingering look behind," and chance to light upon some worthy illustrative memorial of the literature, the manners, or domestic life of the past,—that the spirit of Captain Cuttle's sage advice be made our own, and that we forthwith transfer our prize for the critical examination of "diving antiquaries" to the conservative pages of "NOTES ANDQUERIES".

COWGILL.

The Tanthony.—Will your correspondent ARUNpermit one to refer him to an authority for the use of the word "Tanton" for St. Anthony? An hospital in York, dedicated to St. Anthony, after the dissolution came into the possession of a gild or fraternity of a master and eight keepers, who were commonly called "Tanton Pigs." Vide Drake'sEboracum, p. 315.

Δ.

Tanthony Bell at Kimbolton.—"Tanthony" is from St. Anthony. In Hampshire the small pig of the litter (in Essex called "the cad") is, or once was, called "the Tanthony pig." Pigs were especially under this saint's care. The ensign of the order of St. Anthony of Hainault was a collar of gold made like a hermit's girdle; at the centre thereof hung a crutch and a small bell of gold. St. Anthony is styled, among his numerous titles, "Membrorum restitutor," and "Dæmonis fugator:" hence the bell.

"The Egyptians have none but wooden bells, except one brought by the Franks into the monastery of St. Anthony."—Rees'Cyclopædia, art. Bell.

I hope ARUNwill be satisfied with this connexion of St. Anthony with the pig, the crutch, and the bell.

"The staff" in the figure of the saint at Merthyr is, I should think, a crutch.

"The custom of making particular saints tutelars and protectors of one or another species of cattle is still kept up in Spain and other places. They pray to the tutelar when the beast is sick. Thus St. Anthony is for hogs, and we call a poor starved creature aTantonypig."—Salmon'sHistory of Hertfordshire, 1728.

A. HOLTWHITE.

May I venture to observe, in confirmation of ARUN'Ssuggestion as to the origin of this term, that the bell appears to have been a constant attribute of St. Anthony, although I have tried in vain to discover any allusion to it in his legend?

Frederick von Schlegel, in describing a famous picture by Bramante d'Urbino (Æsthetic and Miscellaneous Works, p. 78.), mentions St. Anthony as "carrying the hermit's little bell;" and Lord Lindsay, in the Introduction to hisLetters on Christian Art(vol. i. p. 192.), says that St. Anthony is known by "the bell and staff, denoting mendicancy." If this be the case, the bell at Kimbolton was doubtless intended originally to announce the presence of some wayfarer or mendicant. Tanthony is a common contraction for St. Anthony, as in the term "a Tanthony pig;" and a similar system of contraction was in use amongst the troubadours, who putNaforDonna; asNalombardaforDonna Lombarda.

The bell carried by St. Anthony is sometimes thought to have reference to his Temptations; bells being, in the words of Durandus, "the trumpets of the eternal king," on hearing which the devils "flee away, as through fear." I think, however, that these words apply rather to church bells.

E. J. M.

(Vol. ii., pp. 199.237.269.316.)

I think those of your readers who are interested in this Query will feel that the replies it has received are not quite satisfactory, and I therefore trust you will find some room for the following remarks.

I would beg to ask, can there be any doubt that from Southwark to Dartford, and from Rochester to their destination, Chaucer and his fellow pilgrims journeyed along the old Roman way, then for many centuries the great thoroughfare fromLondon to the south-eastern coast, and which for these portions of the route is nearly identical with the present turnpike-road? TheTalesthemselves make it certain that the pilgrims started on this ancient way; for when the Host interrupts the sermonising of the Reeve, he mentions Deptford and Greenwich as being in their route:

"Say forth thy tale, and tarry not the time,Lo Depeford, and it is half way prime;Lo Greenewich, there many a shrew is in,It were all time thy tale to begin."

"Say forth thy tale, and tarry not the time,

Lo Depeford, and it is half way prime;

Lo Greenewich, there many a shrew is in,

It were all time thy tale to begin."

Shortly after leaving Dartford the turnpike-road bends to the left, reaching Rochester by Gravesend and Gadshill; whilst the Roman way, parts of which are still used, was carried to that city by Southfleet, and through Cobham Park; and it seems to me that the only question we have to solve is, whether Chaucer followed the Roman way throughout, or whether between Dartford and Rochester he took the course of what is now the turnpike-road. For I cannot but think it very unlikely that, with a celebrated road leading almost straight as a line to Canterbury, the pilgrims should either go many miles out of their way to seek another, as they must have done, or run the risk of losing themselves in a "horse-track."

In attempting to determine this point, your readers will remember the injunction of Poins:

"But, my lads, my lads, to-morrow morning by four o'clock early at Gadshill; there are pilgrims going to Canterbury with rich offerings, and traders riding to London with fat purses."—Henry IV., Pt. I. Act I. Sc. 2.

And Gadshill the robber tells his fellows:

"There's money of the king's coming down the hill; 'tis going to the king's exchequer."—Act II. Sc. 2.

Here we learn, not only that in Shakspeare's time the road between London and Canterbury was by Gadshill, but also that the tradition was that the pilgrims had been accustomed to travel that road. We cannot, I think, be far out of the way in concluding this to have been the road that Chaucer selected, and thus have the satisfaction of connecting with it in an immediate and especial manner the two greatest names in our literature; for, if he meant the only other road that seems at all likely, he would, near Cobham, pass within two miles of this famed hill. Nor can there be much doubt that so loyal a company, following a pious custom, would tarry at Rochester, to make their offerings on the shrine of St. William; if so, among the many thousands who have trodden the steps, now well-nigh worn away, leading to its site, is there one individual whose presence here we can recall with more pleasure than that of the father of English poetry?

It is evident that the road mentioned by S. H. (Vol. ii., p. 237.) is not Chaucer's road; but I can well understand why it should be called the "Pilgrims' Road;" nor should I be surprised to learn that other roads in Kent are known by the same name, for Chaucer tells us in the "Prologue" to theTalesthat

"From every shire's endOf Engle-land to Canterbury they wend:"

"From every shire's end

Of Engle-land to Canterbury they wend:"

and I need scarcely say that these widely scattered pilgrims would not all traverse the country by one and the same road, but that they would select various routes, according to the different localities from which they came. Hence, several roads might be called "Pilgrims' Roads."

From a paper which appeared in theAthenæumin 1842, and has since been reprinted in a separate form, the writer of which I take to be identical with the reviewer of Buckler's work referred to by MR. JACKSON, I think we may gather that what he speaks of as the "Old Pilgrims' Road" is the Otford Road noticed by S. H. and M. (2.) Messrs. Buckler's tract mentions no wayside chapels in Kent.

It may not be uninteresting to add, that the author ofCabinet Pictures of English Life—Chaucerhas expressed his firm belief, the grounds for which must be sought in his work, that the "Pilgrims' Room" of the Tabard, now the Talbot, in Southwark, whence these memorable pilgrims set forth, must be at least as old as Chaucer, and that the very gallery exists along which Chaucer and the pilgrims walked.

ARUN.

Shakspeare's Use of "Captious"(Vol. ii., p. 354.;Vol. iii., p. 229.).—As W. F. S. does me the favour to ask my opinion of his notion respecting the passage inAll's Well that Ends Well, I beg to say that I am very glad to find he agrees with me in regard to thesignificationof the word "captious;" but that I cannot suppose, with him, that Shakspeare wrotecapatiousin a passage in which the metre is regular; for what sort of verse would be—

"Yet in thiscapatiousand intenible sieve?"

Surely W. F. S. has too good an ear to allow him to fix such a line in Shakspeare's text.

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