That both Vallans and Lamb used the expression "pleasant Hertfordshire" does not prove that the one copied from the other. The word " Hertfordshire" was necessary to Lamb's meaning, and he need not have gone to an almost forgotten poet for the word "pleasant." EDWARD M. LAYTON. "NECK AND HEELS." (See 9th S. v. 369.)-An early mention of this punishment is to be found in 'L'Histoire de la Guerre d'Ecosse pendant les Campagnes 1548 et 1549,' by Jean de Beaugué, Paris, 1556, Book III. chap. iii. "Puis luy lierent les pieds, les mains, & la teste ensemble." The whole passage is thus given at p. 95 of the translation of 'L'Histoire' published by Dr. Patrick Abercromby in 1707 : "I remember they purchased one of the prisoners from myself for a horse: they tied him Neck and Heels, laid him down in a plain field, run upon him with their lances, armed as they were, and on horseback killed him, cut his body to pieces, and carried the divided parcels on the sharp ends of their spears......The truth is, the English had tyrannised over that part of Scotland in the most barbarous manner, and I do not find that it was an injustice to repay them, as the saying is, in their own coin. James Miller, in his 'Lamp of Lothian,' quotes from the above passage (p. 51 in the new edition, Haddington, 1900). The Maitland Club reprinted 'L'Histoire' in 1830. W. S. "POLITENESS" LITERARY ELEGANCE.-The dictionaries do not seem to recognize the significance given to "politeness" in the following sentence of Young's preface to his 'Satires': "A writer in polite letters should be content with reputation; the private amusement he finds in his compositions; the good influence they have on his severer studies; that admission they give to his superiors; and the possible good effect they may have on the public; or else he should join to his politeness some more lucrative qualification." The ideal thus presented is appropriately attractive and romantic; its defect is that harassing difficulty of attainment which is so prone to beset the aspirant after Utopian conditions. THOMAS BAYNE. MULES: THEIR CRYING.-An Englishman having asked me what word is used in English to express the song of mules, whether braying or neighing, I found my brain in a state of utter dumbness on the question. Perhaps Lewis Carroll might have rolled the two into one to express something that would partake of both of these kinds of ejaculation. If no technical term is known to the learned, perhaps muling might fill up the void. As Shakespere used muling or mewling of the voice of human babies, it is worth noting that in Gipuskoan Baskish the word arrantza (which seems to come from arran=cattle-bell, clarine) means not only the voice of mules and donkeys, but the crying of young children. E. S. DODGSON. LINCOLNSHIRE DEATH FOLK-LORE.-A stray pigeon settling on a house, or coming into it, is a sign of death. In a farmhouse in the wapentake of Yarborough an old servant had full belief that some one connected with the family would die when such a bird once appeared. To confirm her in her faith there soon came news of the death of a near kinsman. The pigeon stayed on, and soon another relative died. After that the bird entered one of the upper rooms of the house, and was found dead in a wardrobe; but, contrary to the servant's expectation, no one under the roof departed this life. At the house of a friend not far off a pigeon appeared before the death of a child. 66 JANET LUCY PEACOCK. COWPER AND VOLTAIRE. Cowper's dis paraging allusion to "the brilliant Frenchman in contrast to the simple but pious cottager" is well known (see the poem on 'Truth'). But was not Cowper himself slightly indebted to Voltaire for the idea of one of his shorter and lighter poems-'Report of an Adjudged Case'? In Voltaire's 'Candide,' chap. i., Master Pangloss says: "As all things have been created for some end, they must necessarily be created for the best end. Observe, for instance, the nose is formed for spectacles; therefore we wear spectacles." Compare with this the sixth verse of the above jeu d'esprit : On the whole it appears, and my argument shows, With a reasoning the court will never condemn, That the spectacles plainly were made for the nose, And the nose was as plainly intended for them. The subject of wooden water-pipes was discussed very fully lately in The Essex Naturalist by Mr. T. V. Holmes and others, and in the course of that discussion I expressed the opinion, based on negative evidence, that wooden pipes were not used in the London district before the time of the New River. A New River main ran under Kingsgate Street until that thoroughfare was obliterated a few years ago by the London County Council; and a few months ago I saw typical New River wooden pipes dug up at the north end of Kingsgate Street. I suggest that probably those in Theobalds Road are the continuation of the same line, but shall be glad if any reader of 'N. & Q' can furnish any evidence pro or con. As to Lamb's Conduit, I do not know its course; but it does not seem very likely that it should have taken an east-and-west line along Theobalds Road. A. MORLEY DAVIES. "POLTROON." Fanciful derivations die hard, and I am surprised to see that of "poltroon" from pollice truncus, i.e., the practice of some Romans in the days of the later empire to mutilate their thumbs in order to escape military service (which, by the by, I heard recently referred to as the true one in a sermon), given the first place in Worcester's 'Dictionary.' It is properly not mentioned [See 9th S. iii. 186, 445; iv. 14, 94; x. 421; xi. 73, in Webster or the 'Century Dictionary.' The 112, 189.] 'Encyclopædic' also ignores it. Prof. Skeat AFFERY FLINTWINCH IN LITTLE DORRIT.'-it with those which do not rest on any evicalls it an astounding derivation, and ranks Inasmuch as Dickens wrote the main part of dence. It may be of interest to quote what Little Dorrit' while staying at Folkestone, Littré says on the point:it is most probable that he got the above Christian name from an old tombstone on the edge of the pathway to the porch of the parish church of that town. The inscription ran (and runs): "To the memory of Affery Jeffery (a female).” H. P. L. "COURT OF RECEPTION."-The use of the term "Court of Reception" in the official Court Circular, dated 17 October, deserves note. The passage is as follows: "His Majesty the King held a Court of Reception at Buckingham Palace this morning, at which His Majesty received the President, Vice-Presidents, Past Presidents, and Members of the Municipal Council of Paris, together with the Chairman, Vice and Deputy Chairmen, Past Chairmen, and Members of the London County Council." ALFRED F. ROBBINS. แ "HAAKON VII."-In the year 1380, more than five hundred years ago, the King of Norway, Haakon VI., slept with his forefathers. On 18 November Prince Charles of Denmark was elected King of Norway, and will assume the royal title of Haakon VII. No title could have been selected which will appeal so strongly to the imagination of every son of Norway. The name of Haakon is associated with the memories of a glorious past. It has been the favourite name of the *Vol. xiii. pp. 60-75 (July, 1903), 117-20 and 135-6 (October, 1903), 229-40 (April, 1904), 272-4 (July, 1904). "Mais le mot français. qui ne commence à The word is really derived from a provincial BERLIN.-A further attempt at explaining historically the original meaning of the name of Berlin, which has escaped the notice of the revised edition of Isaac Taylor's Handbook of Local Names' (1898), may perhaps deserve to be recorded. The older name by which Berlin was at first known (for instance, in the Chronicle of Magdeburg,' A.D. 1411) is not merely Berlin, but "der Berlin," แ to dem Berlin" ("zu dem Berlin "). Several other smaller places were, or are still, called by the same name; for instance, "der Berlin " at Frankfurt an der Oder, "der Berlin," a place on the Elbe opposite Magdeburg, “der grosse und kleine Berlin" at Halle an der "der Berlin" Saale, at Augsburg on the river Lech, &c. All these places situated on rivers have their appellation "der Berlin" = from an old Lusatian word barlén or berlén Cech brlen, i.e., a water-rake built across a river to stop floated. wood. Accordingly, Berlin would owe its origin and name to a station on the river Spree where floated wood was landed (see an article, 'Ueber den slavischen Namen Berlin,' by Dr. G. Hey, in Herrig's Archiv, vol. Ixix. pp. 201-6, 1883). H. KREBS. JOHN LEDERER.-"The Discoveries of John Lederer, in three several Marches from Virginia, to the West of Carolina, and other parts of the Continent: begun in March, 1669, and ended in September, 1670," were "collected and translated out of Latine from his Discourse and Writings by Sir William Talbot, Baronet." The book was licensed 1 November, 1671, by Roger L'Estrange, and "Printed by J. C. for Samuel Heyrick, at Grays Inne-gate in Holborn. 1672." The author is treating of "the Manners and Customs of the Indians inhabiting the Western parts of Carolina and Virginia," who, he explains (p. 3), "are none of those which the English removed from Virginia, but a people driven by an Enemy from the Northwest, and invited to sit down here by an Oracle above four hundred years since, as they pretend." On p. 4 he tells us that "they worship one God, Creator of all things, whom some call Okae, others annith: to him alone the High-priest, or Periku. offers Sacrifice; and yet they believe he has no regard to sublunary affairs, but commits the Government of Mankinde to lesser Deities, as Quiacosough aid Tagkanysough, that is, good and evil Spirits." I have been unable to find any trace of the publication of Lederer's Discourses' in Latin.. ROBT.J. WHITWELL. GENEALOGIES IN PREPARA'ION. Many of your readers who are studying family history will probably be interested so learn that the Librarian of the New Englard Historic Genealogical Society, 18, Somerst Street, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., has à a special file a collection of more than fiv hundred reports from the compilers of gaealogies not yet published. From this st information is courteously supplied by im, in response to any reasonable inquiry It serves as an excellent means of openig intercommunication, and is a good illucration of a method that might be generallyapplied to all bibliographical investigation See Scottish Notes and Queries, second eries, vol. vii. p. 53 (October, 1905). Chicago, U.S. EUGEN FAIRFIELD MCPIKE. Queries. WE must request correspondents desiring in. formation on family matters of only private interest in order that answers may be sent to them direct. to affix their names and addresses to their queries, MELTON CLOTH: MELTON JACKET. — Is anything known with regard to the origin of "Melton cloth (or simply "Melton") as a name for a kind of broadcloth? The earliest instance I have is in Simmonds's 'Dict. of Trade' (1858); earlier quotations would be welcome. The recent dictionaries say that Melton was the name of the original maker; but I have found no evidence for this, and it would be more natural to guess that the fabric was named from Melton Mowbray. What does Byron mean by "the Melton jacket" ("Don Juan,' xiii. st. 78)? Was it the current name of some particular pattern or style of jacket worn by hunters? or does it refer merely to the costume actually worn HENRY BRADLEY. at Melton? Clarendon Press, Oxford. collection of the repartee of modern soveREPARTEE OF ROYALTY.-I am making a authentic data and the circumstance which reigns. Will any readers help me with brought forth the bon mot? As the subject may not be of general interest, perhaps they would be kind enough to address me direct. RUDOLPH DE CORDOVA. 2, Pump Court, Middle Temple, E.C. JAMES BUTLER, DUKE OF ORMOND.-Is anything known of James Butler, the last Duke of Ormond, after he was attainted for high treason in the reign of George I. for a plot to restore the Stuart dynasty? Was he married at the time? He was supposed to have fled to Spain. Was his wife then [See life in 'D.N.B.' and authorities at end.] It seems probable that the spoon was intended to remove any impurities that might accidentally get into the chalice at the celebration of the Holy Communion; and I feel convinced that I have somewhere read or heard that, if a fly or other insect should happen to get into the cup, it was the duty of the officiating priest, after removing it, to kill it, lest it should recover and fly off adhering to it; and that the spike was prowith any trace of the consecrated wine still vided for that purpose. for this notion, but I cannot believe that it is CASSELL'S WORKS OF EMINENT MASTERS.' -In 1854 John Cassell, of Ludgate Hill, pub. lished vol. i. of The Works of Eminent Masters, in Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, and Decorative Art.' This volume, which is extensively illustrated, is so admirably compiled and so full of interest that I should be glad to know something of its a writers or editor, and if more than one volume of it ever appeared. Many of the engravings were again used in John Cassell's Art Treasures Exhibition' (which the great exhibition at Manchester in 1857 called into existence), published by W. Kent & Co., of Paternoster Row, in 1858. The latter was published serially, and probably the former also. I have copies of both. W. ROBERTS. 47, Lansdowne Gardens, Clapham, S. W. AUTHORS OF QUOTATIONS WANted.— Yet all these were, when no man did them know, Yet have from wisest ages hidden beene; And later times thinges more unknowne shall show. Why then should witlesse man so much mis weene That nothing is, but that which he hath seene? 2, Via Bossi, Milano. "A peacock on every wall." E. H. M. JOHN J. SMYTH. CHURCH SPOONS.-It is not uncommon to find among church plate spoons with perforated bowls and handles terminating in a sharp point or spike. A fine example may be seen in the very interesting collection belonging to the church of St. James, Garlickhithe, in the City of London; and, as it seems that opinions differ as to the purpose of the spiked end, an authoritative statement by an expert would be satisfactory. In his 'Old English Plate' (eighth edition, p. 389) Mr. Cripps states that in private life such spoons were used "for straining tea and clearing the spout of the teapot before the introduction of the fixed strainer at the inner end, or insertion, of the spout." But I have been unable to find any information as to the use of the spike in church ritual. 7, New Square, Lincoln's Inn. POCOCK'S PAINTINGS OF THE BATTLE OF THE NILE.-Can any reader tell me where the above pictures by Nicholas Pocock, the celebrated marine painter, are to be seen? The following letter (the original of which is in my possession, from Admiral Sir Robert Stopford (Governor of Greenwich Hospital) to Sir Edward Paget (Governor of Chelsea Hospital) refers to the battle-pieces in question:Royal Hospital, Greenwich, MY DEAR SIR EDWARD, 12th April, '43. Mr. Newagate has communicated your proposal respecting Pocock's paintings of the battle of the Nile and I think they ought to appear in our Painted Hall. The principle upon which this Hall has been hithert furnished with paintings has been by donation, and as we both find that numerous families are rather expensive, a donation of these paintings from ether of us would be inexpedient. Any order for a extra disbursement of money issues from the Almiralty. I have written to Sir Geo. Seymour staing all the circumstances of these paintings, which remember to have seen at your Brother's house, nd think them well worthy of our reception. Idoubt, however, whether the purchase will be anctioned, but of this I will apprize you when eceiving the answer.......This is the anniversary of Lord Rodney's action, quorum pars parva fui in 172.-Believe me, &c., ROBERT STOPFORD. There are fou paintings by Nicholas Pocock in the Panted Hall, Greenwich, but none by him of thebattle of the Nile. CHARLES Dalton. 32, West Cromwell oad, S.W. PAUL WHITEHEAD-I have in my possession a print of Paul Whitehead, and should be glad of any information concerning him, his wife, and his family. Who were his parents? When was e born? He married (when and where?) Anna, only daughter of Sir Swinnerton Dyer, Bart. What was the date of her death, and where was she buried? Paul Whitehead died (date and month wanted) in 1774, and bequeathed his heart to Lord Despenser. It was buried at West Wycombe. Where was his body buried? Did he leave any issue? E. H. M. [You have, of course, seen the life in D.N.B.' by the Master of Peterhouse.] STAINES BRIDGE.-Staines Bridge, built by Rennie 1832, has three principal arches. The piers are said to be only nine feet in thickness, and to be smaller in proportion to the span of the arches sustained than those of any other bridge in England. I should like to know if this is correct. FREDERIC TURNER. SCOTCH, IRISH, AND WELSH MAYPOLES.When did the maypole disappear in the Lowlands of Scotland? and what were the local customs connected with it? Were maypoles formerly known to the Scotch Highlanders, the Irish, Welsh, and Bretons? If so, are they still used? G. W. TAILOR IN DRESDEN CHINA.-I have often seen a figure of a tailor, made of Dresden china, wearing a pair of spectacles, and mounted on a goat. On the goat's horns are a thimble and iron; his rider wears a pair of shears in lieu of a sword, and carries a tapemeasure, pattern-book, &c. Does this figure represent the tailor of Augustus the Strong, or the maker of some of Count Brühl's three hundred and sixty-five Court saints? If so, why has he been immortalized in this manner? R. L. MORETON. Greenford, Middlesex. visitations (ecclesiastical) of the same place? I have a pretty good idea as to where they ought to be, but what I want to know is where they actually are. Have any lists of them been printed? or do any such lists exist in any public building in London in MS.? I may remark that I am aware of the fact that a few visitation documents are contained in the British Museum (MS. Dept.) and in St. Paul's Cathedral Library. I also know that a thirteenth-century record was published some years ago in Archæologia. W. McM. "HELPER."-This word appears to mean a person in some definite feudal or tenurial relation to a lord in the precept of seisin from which an extract is given below. What was that relation? Is the word used elsewhere in the same sense? "Alexander Innes of that Ilk to......my bailli es in that pairt coniunctlie and seuerallie speciallie constitute greting....[Know ye me] to have sett and to maill lattin to the said James Innes of Rothmakenze his subtennentis helperis and cottorris all and haill my landis of the Kirktoun foroster sete and Dunkympty with their pertinence liand within the shirefdome of Elgin and fores." Q. V. song CHERRY RIPE.'-Where does the Cherry Ripe' occur for the first time? In Pugin's 'Gothic Furniture' I find on the plate of an horizontal grand pianoforte a piece of music lying open on the piano bearing the words Cherry Ripe.' The plate bears the date 1 July, 1826. LUDWIG ROSENTHAL. Hildegardstrasse, 16, Munich. (Horn's Cherry Ripe' belongs supposedly to 1825, in which year Madame Vestris sang it at Vauxhall.] like to know the approximate date of chapJ. PITTS, PRINTER.-I should very much books printed by J. Pitts, Printer, and Wholesale Toy Warehouse, 6, Great St. Andrew F. JESSEL. Street, 7 Dials." THOMAS GERY was admitted on the foundation at Westminster School in 1704. I should be glad to obtain particulars of his parentage and career. G. F. R. B. REV. ROBERT GORDON LATHAM.-Was he in any way connected with the Rev. Charles Latham, Melton Mowbray, who had General Thomas Gordon, of Greek liberation fame, as his pupil from 1804 to 1806? 118, Pall Mall. J. M. BULLOCH. MELCHIOR GUY DICKENS.-Can any of your readers inform me who was Melchior Guy |