THE HARE AN EASTER EMBLEM (6th S. iv. 388). Perhaps the following notice of a curious custom obtaining at Hallaton, in Leicestershire, mentioned in Lewis's Topographical Dictionary (1840), sub. voc., may interest your correspondent:

"Hallaton is distinguished by a singular annual custom, which is thus described: on every Easter Monday the inhabitants meet on a piece of ground which was bequeathed to the use and benefit of the rector, who then provides two hare pies, a quantity of ale, and two dozen of penny loaves, to be scrambled for. Attempts have been made to put down this custom, and appropriate the bequest to charitable purposes; but so attached are the inhabitants to it, that these efforts have always failed, and on one occasion a riot was the

result."-Vol. ii. 333.

In Blount's Tenures of Land and Customs of Manors, edited by W. C. Hazlitt (1874), is an account of the same custom, under "Hallaton, co. of Leicester "; but it is stated there that the pies are now made of veal and bacon instead of hare, and that a procession is made from the rectory to a place in the parish named Hare-Pie Bank.

JOHN PICKFORD, M.A.

Newbourne Rectory, Woodbridge.

A correspondent in Willis's Current Notes for March, 1856, says :—

"Blount observes, They have an ancient custom at Coleshill, in Warwickshire, that if the young men of the town can catch a hare, and bring it to the parson of the parish before ten of the clock on Easter Monday, the parson is bound to give them a calf's head, and a hundred of eggs for their breakfast, and a groat in money."

He asked for the origin of this singular custom, but no reply was given.

EVERARD HOME COLEMAN.

71, Brecknock Road. In German nurseries it is believed that Eastereggs are laid by hares. ST. SWITHIN.

POPULAR NAMES FOR THE COINAGE (6th S. iv. 327).—The earlier form of teaster or tester is teston, of which Cowel (in his Interpreter of Law Terms) says: "A sort of Money, which, among the French, did bear the value of 18. Denar. But in Henry the Eighth's time being made of Brass, lightly gilt with Silver, it was reduced to 12d., and in the beginning of Edward the Sixth to 9d., and afterwards to 6d." Tester is found in Shakespeare, 2 Hen. IV. III. ii. 295-6: "Well said, i' faith,

Wart; thou 'rt a good scab hold, there's a tester for thee." Shakespeare has testril as well, Tw. N. II. iii. 32-5: "Sir To. Come on; there is sixpence for you: let's have a song. Sir And. There's a testril of me too: if one knight give a—.” Halliwell and Nares have no reference to Shakespeare, s.v. F. C. BIRKBECK TERRY.

Cardiff.

NUMISMATIC: BAWBEE, WILLIAM AND MARY (6th S. iv. 389).-In answer to this query I beg to suggest that the halfpenny without "Fr." must be one of the spurious coinage of this reign with which the kingdoms were deluged. The style upon all the English gold and silver, the Scottish silver and Irish copper, true coinage, before the death of Queen Mary was "Gulielmus et Maria Dei Gratia Mag. Br. Fr. et Hib. Rex et Regina." On the English copper the reverse bears only "Britannia," with the date. After the death of the queen the Roman numerals were added to the king's name in the English gold and silver money, but the copper has " tertius at length, while on the Scotch coins there is no numeral distinction. It is to be kept in mind that he was third of England, second of Scotland, and first of Great Britain and of Ireland. The copper and smaller silver coins of Scotland bore the legend "Nemo me," &c.

In 1698 there were large quantities of copper tokens, in imitation of the current halfpence, imported into Ireland from Scotland and the Continent, far exceeding the whole coinage of Ireland, intended for the withdrawal of the silver coinage in exchange, which caused the Lords Justices to issue, on August 13 of that year, a "proclamation forbidding importation of such false money under pain of being proceeded against according to utmost strictness and severity of the law." The excessive amount of the copper coinage had become so intolerable that on May 12, 1698, further coinage was forbidden for twelve months.

William and Mary, 1691; that of William, 1699; I have examined the five guinea (gold) of the half-crown of William, 1698, having "Mag. Br. Fr. et Hib.," for England; and the following Scotch (gold and silver) of William and Mary, 60s., 1692; 40s., 1694; 20s., 1693; 10s., 1691; 5s., 1694; and of William, 40s., 1695; 20s., 1695; 10s., 1695; 5s., 1695,-all of which bear of the Society of Antiquaries, Scotland. Mag. Brit. Fr. et Hib.," and are in the Museum

SETH WAIT.

"At the Boarded-House in Marybone Fields, to Morrow being Thursday, the 8th Day of August, will be perform'd an extraordinary Match at Boxing, between JOANNA HEYFIELD, of Newgate Market, Basket-Wo Woman, and the CITY CHAMPION ESS, for Ten pounds Note. There has not been such a battle for these 20 Years past, and as these two Heroines are as brave and as bold as the

ancient Amazons, the Spectators may expect abundance of Diversion and Satisfaction, from these Female Combatants. They will mount at the usual Hour, and the Company will be diverted with Cudgel-playing till they mount. Note a scholar of Mr. Figg, that challenged Mr. Stokes last Summer, fights Mr. Stokes's Scholar 6 Bouts at Staff for Three Guineas; the first Blood wins. The Weather stopt the Battle last Wednesday."

I shall be greatly indebted to any of your correspondents who may indicate to me any old views or newspaper cuttings relating to Marylebone Gardens, Cuper's Gardens, or Ranelagh.

Richmond, Surrey.

J. ELIOT HODGKIN.

THE "ADESTE FIDELES" (4th S. xi. 75, 219; 5th S. xi. 265, 298, 331, 372, 418; xii. 173, 357, 457; 6th S. i. 85, 141, 160, 224; ii. 434, 487; iii. 49, 410; iv. 111).-Christmas time emboldens me to ask the favour of a repetition of my two questions, What is the origin (1) of the words, and (2) of the melody, of the Adeste Fideles? Of course it will be unnecessary to repeat what has already been written in "N. & Q." on the subject.

Isleworth.

JAMES BRITTEN.

SIR GEORGE GRIFFITH, KNT., OF WHICHMORE, SUFFOLK, AND BURTON AGNES, YORK (6th S. iv. 348, 452, 541).-A pedigree of the Skeffington family in the Visitation of Leicestershire, 1619, Harleian Society's edition, p. 110, gives 66 George Griffith de Wichmore" as having married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Skeffington and, his wife, daughter of Hasilrigge. This Thomas is stated to bave been the third son of Sir William Skeffington, Knt., by Ann, his second wife, daughter of Sir John Digby, of Kettleby; also, Sir John, of London, Knt., the second son, is said to have married, daughter and heiress of Peck, and died without issue; the first son is not named. How is this? Would not Sir John be the first son and Thomas the second? and which of the two was the father of Elizabeth, the wife of Sir George Griffith, Knt.? I shall be glad to know the full names of the wives and their parents of both Thomas and Sir John Skeffington, Knt.

THOS. W. SKEVINGTON.

Toft Villa, Shipley, Yorks.

SIR RICHARD BINGHAM (6th S. iv. 513).-The portrait of Sir Richard Bingham, which still remains at Binghams' Melcombe, was exhibited at the National Portrait Exhibition in 1868 (see Catalogue of the Third and Concluding Exhibition of National Portraits, p. 131, No. 643). A long account of him will be found in Hutchins's Dorset,

last edition, vol. iv. p. 376; this, as well as the rest of the information there given relative to the Bingham family, was from the pen of the late Rev. C. W. Bingham, whose death, ere the last note from his pen had appeared in the pages of "N. & Q.," we have very recently had to deplore. It is only a few months ago that he told me he had sometimes contemplated writing a memoir of Sir Richard Bingham, adding that he knew more of his history than any one else. I think it is, therefore, pretty certain that no biography is already written. G. W. M.

MORRIS DANCERS (6th S. iv. 349, 524).-Queen Victoria succeeded her uncle William IV. on June 20, 1837. Very soon thereafter a great fair was held in Hyde Park. The exact date of this fair I have no clue to, and there is no mention of it in Haydn's Dictionary of Dates. But I was in the merry throng, and I saw at that fair two companies of morris dancers. They were spoken of at the time as "London roughs," but I am prepared to say at this moment, from my remembrance of their style and demeanour, that they were real country cousins, and surpassed all possible London.roughs in naturalness of movement and true rustic grace. I remember that one company had short staves, that were crossed and clashed at intervals in the dance; and the other company had white handkerchiefs, with which similar movements were made. I was too

young to ask what counties or districts these companies represented, but not too young to take the pretty pictures they made into my heart and my memory, where they still abide.

SHIRLEY HIBBERD.

THE EARLS OF CHESTER AND HUGH DESPENSER (6th S. iv. 428).—The manor of Alkborough, in the north of Lincolnshire, was part of the possessions of Lucy, Countess of Chester, wife of Ivo Taibois, and from her descended to Ralph, Earl of Chester. This Ralph, called "De Blundeville," died in the year 1132. We find in the Hundred Rolls that this earl possessed the whole village of Alkborough, but that during his lifetime he gave half the village to Hugh Despenser. May not Ralph, Earl of Chester, have given to Hugh Despenser possessions in addition to the half of Alkborough? Has W. G. D. F. ever studied the Hundred Rolls? J. GOULTON CONSTABLE.

"SINGLE SPEECH HAMILTON" AND JUNIUS's LETTERS (6th S. iv. 425).- Single Speech Hamilton once confessed to an intimate friend "that he could have written better papers than those of Junius." At another time, when a particular passage was imputed to him, he flew into a passion, and protested that "if he had written such a passage as that, he should have thought he had forfeited all pretensions to good taste or composition for ever" (See Ed. Rev., Oct. 1829, p. 165).

Bury St. Edmunds.

WM. FREELOVE.

the day. We therefore most heartily congratulate Canon Cook, his distinguished band of commentators, and Mr. Murray on having brought this important work to so happy a conclusion.

The Haigs of Bemersyde: a Family History. By John Russell. (Blackwood & Sons.)

The

SCOTTISH literature is rich in family histories. records of the sister kingdom are less ancient than ours, but they have been more thoroughly overhauled, and the charter-rooms of her great nobles have given up their content in a generous fashion, which we long to

MARS DENIQUE.

any nation might be justly proud, others are about the most unmitigated trash that has ever been given to the duty of compiling a chronicle of the lairds of Bemerprinting press. syde has fallen into good hands. Mr. Russell knows the history of Scotland well-far too well, indeed, to encumber his pages with anything beyond the necessary

We cannot be too thankful that the

"Gigantic daughter of the West!" Alfred Tennyson: published in the Examiner, 1852, under the signature" Merlin." C. F. S. WARREN, M.A.

Miscellaneous.

NOTES ON BOOKS, &c.

The Holy Bible. With an Explanatory and Critical Commentary and a Revision of the Translation. By Bishops and Clergy of the Anglican Church. Edited by F. C. Cook, M.A., Canon of Exeter. Vol. X., being Vol. IV. of New Testament. (Murray.) ALL who enjoyed the advantage of being personally acquainted with the late Lord Ossington (better known, perhaps, as Mr. Speaker Denison) must experience a feeling of deep regret that that kindly and accomplished man was not spared to see the successful completion of this great work, which owes its original conception to his intelligent foresight. There now lies before us the tenth and final volume of a commentary, the merits of which have been recognized not by Churchmen only, but by intelligent Christian scholars of all denominations. The idea on which this commentary is founded is an admirable one; and, thanks to the liberality of the publisher and the judicious selection of the band of eminent biblical scholars to whom the carrying out of the suggestion of Lord Ossington was eventually ontrusted, the result is a work which we venture to predict must shortly find a place not only on the library shelves of every professed theologian, but also on those of all welleducated and thoughtful. students of Holy Scripture. The great importance of the suggestion of the proposed commentary was immediately recognized, and much time was devoted to considering the manner in which it might be most effectually carried out. The reader of the preface by which Canon Cook, the general editor, introduces the present volume will see how wisely employed were the eight years which elapsed between the original conception and the publication of the first volume. When that volume did appear, it met with a reception from the religious press of the whole country -not only of the Established Church, but of that of all denominations-which marked the Bible with the Speaker's Commentary as one of the greatest successes of

cessive lairds are made intelligible. How old the race of Haig may be and how long it has been settled at Bemersyde are facts which we shall never be able to settle. The darkness of the early time is upon them, and it is almost impossible that any future discovery of evidence should enable any future inquirer to carry back the genealogy to an earlier date than Mr. Russell has done. This darkness was, however, no hindrance to the antiquarian dreamers of former generations. They boldly asserted a Pictish origin for the house of Haig, and their dreams, or falsehoods, have been servilely followed by those who have been engaged in the manufacture of genealogical books of reference in quite modern times. We trust, now that the pedigree of one of the very oldest houses in Scotland has been put on a thoroughly historical basis, we shall hear no more of these Picts. They have been to the antiquaries of Scotland as great a snare as the Julian line has proved to the pedigree-makers of Italy. It is quite as impossible to trace any existing house up to one as to the other. Scepticism is ever useful in matters genealogical, but in this, as in other sciences, it may be carried too far. It by no means follows because Petrus de Haga, who flourished circa 1150-1200, is the first of the family of whom we have authentic evidence, that he was the founder of the race. In all probability he was not; but who were beyond him is mere conjecture. Mr. Russell is so well armed at all points in the history of the house he has studied that we are sorry to call his conclusions in question on any point whatever. We must do so, however, as to the derivation of the name. It is, as he well knows, a form of haga, hæge, a fence or a fenced enclosure. He would derive the family name from La Hague, in Normandy, as he says, "No place bearing this name is to be found either in Scotland or England." This is clearly an error. There are two places called Haigh in the parish of Darton, in Yorkshire, and a house called Hague Hall in the parish of Kirby, in the same county. A search through the topographical literature of the north of England would furnish us with many more examples. It is much more probable that the first Haig took his name from some one of these English Haighs than that he came from faroff Normandy. Is it, however, needful to entertain either of these almost gratuitous fancies? May not the first Peter, or his unknown ancestor who had the name given to him, have received it from the fenced enclosure of his own dwelling at Bemersyde ?

H. G. Arbuthnot, Esq. Robert B. Blyth, Esq. Wm. T. Brand, Esq. Edward Budd, Esq. Maj. Gen. H. P. Burn. G. W. Campbell, Esq. M. Wilks Collet, Esq. G. B. Dewhurst, Esq.

DIRECTORS.

Robert Gillespie, Esq. | H. J. B. Kendall, Esq. Howard Gilliat, Esq. Charles Lyall, Esq. Henry Goschen, Esq. G. H. Palmer, Esq. Edwin Gower, Esq. Capt. R.W.Pelly.R. N. A. C. Guthrie, Esq. P. F. Robertson, Esq. P. L. Hambro, Esq. Robert Ryrie, Esq. Rob. Henderson, Esq. David P. Sellar, Esq. Louis Huth, Esq. Col. L. Seymour. NOTICE is HEREBY GIVEN, that the Fifteen Days of grace allowed for Renewal of Christmas Policies will expire on 9th January. Losses by lightning, although unaccompanied by fire damage, will be paid.

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