Various

“ Andrew at Antwerp. The history, or rather story of the decapitated head having been borne away by these ladies, and buried at the foot of the pillar on which the monument is placed, which is alluded to by your correspondent, is too apocryphal for belief. There is no reason to suppose that any head of the queen was carried away by these devoted women into exile, excepting in the shape of her portrait painted on copper; which, instead of being interred beneath the monument, is still to be seen placed above the dedicatory inscription. ”

“ Will O' Wisp.—Notwithstanding the steam-engine may be said to have done almost as much towards destroying the gaseous exhalations of our bog-lands by the means of drainage, as it has done towards the amelioration of the stagnant moors and intellectual morasses of society, it can hardly have dispelled every Ignis Fatuus from every quagmire, any more than it has even yet chased the ignorance from every dull head. ”

“ I do not think, therefore, that the distinction contended for by E. H. Y. is either necessary or desirable: indeed I consider sirename as a mere play upon a mis-spelt word. In saying this, I would by no means disparage your excellent correspondent, whose communications I always read with pleasure I might add, that the distinction of "nomen patris additum proprio," sirename, and "nomen supra nomen additum," surname, is by no means new. ”

“ Stilts used by the Irish.—We have all heard of the use of stilts by the shepherds of the Landes; but I have met with only one passage which speaks of their use in Ireland. I have crossed rivers, both in Scotland and in Ireland, on stilts, when the water was not deep, and have seen them kept instead of a ferryboat, when there was no bridge, but do not think they are in common use at the present day. ”

“ To those who wish to possess a critical knowledge of their own native English, some acquaintance with Anglo-Saxon is indispensable; and we have never seen an introduction better calculated than the present to supply the wants of a beginner in a short space of time. The declensions and conjugations are well stated, and illustrated by references to the Greek, Latin, French, and other languages. A philosophical spirit pervades every part. The Delectus consists of short pieces on various subjects, with extracts from Anglo-Saxon History and the Saxon Chronicle. ”

“ In reply to J. G. F.'s inquiry, these hymns, or a portion of them, were claimed for Andrew Marvell by Captain Edward Thompson, the editor of Marvell's works; but a writer in Kippis's edition of the Biographia Britannica remarks:
"We shall content ourselves with observing, that any man who can suppose that the ease, eloquence, and harmony of the ode, 'The Spacious Firmament,' &c., could flow from Marvell's pen, must be very deficient in taste and judgment." ”

“ E. H. Y. will find the question, surname or sirname, slightly touched upon in my English Surnames (3rd edit., vol. i. p. 13.) , and argued at length in the Literary Gazette for Nov. 1842, in a correspondence originating out of a notice of the first edition of my book. I think the balance of evidence is in favour of surname; that is, a name superadded to the personal or baptismal appellation, which applies with equal propriety to the sobriquets given to monarchs and distinguished men, and to the hereditary designations of people of humble rank. ”

“ MONUMENT TO THE MEMORY OF MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS AT ANTWERP. (Vol. v., p. 415.)
Having visited the interesting city of Antwerp in the autumn of 1846, I can answer the Query of your correspondent C. E. D. from personal inspection. The monument to Mary Queen of Scots is still in existence; and consists of a richly ornamented slab, placed at a considerable height from the pavement, against a pillar in (I think) the southern transept of the church of St. Andrew. ”

“ Patrick. It is an undoubted fact, that this saint is not mentioned in any author, or in any work of veracity, in the fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth centuries. His name is in Bede's Martyrology; but it is more than probable that that martyrology is not Bede's: nor can it be conceived that Bede, in his other works, should never notice the signal service rendered by Patrick to the Roman church, and the signal miracles wrought by him in its behalf, if he had ever heard of them ”

“ Considering, therefore, not only the profoundly philosophical character of his political works, but also the elevated tone of political morality which is displayed in the writings of Edmund Burke—a wisdom and a morality rendered still more attractive by the unrivalled eloquence with which they are enunciated—the present handsome and cheap collection of {525}those writings is alike creditable to the enterprise of the publishers, and well calculated to exercise a beneficial influence upon the political condition of the country. ”

“ What makes a man illustrious? Birth, commanding position, intellect, learning, literary genius? Sydney had them all. But C. thinks {517}he ought not to be called a patriot. What, do his wisdom and moderation in the civil war; his opposition to the extreme measures of Cromwell; his long solitary exile; his glorious death, count for nothing? There is, however, the charge of taking money from the King of France. No doubt this is a very "curious case," and I too shall be anxious to see "what light Mr. Dixon may be able to throw on it." ”

“ Pelham, who had been Lord Justice of Ireland, led into the Low Countries in 1586 fourteen hundred wild Irish, clad only below the navel, and mounted on stilts, which they used in passing rivers: they were armed with bows and arrows. Having never met with this use of stilts among any other people, it seemed a matter of curiosity to notice it here."
Eirionnach.
Queries. ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD "DEVIL."
What is the etymology of the word devil? This may appear an unnecessary question, since we have a regular chain of etyma, διάβολος, diabolus, diavolo, devil. ”

“ As it is a matter of considerable historical interest to ascertain accurately when the last execution for witchcraft took place in England, I should be glad if any of your correspondents would refer me to the authority on which the statements of the trials circ. 1710 and in 1716 are founded. Mr. Wright, I observe, does not notice them, and his words are—
"The case of Jane Wenham is the last instance of a witch being condemned by the verdict of an English jury."—Narratives of Sorcery and Magic, vol. ”

“ The Amber Witch.—I am anxious to learn whether this be a pure fiction or a genuine document dressed up. Its strongest appearance of authenticity arises from the tedious pedantry of the ancient Lutheran pastor, its supposed author, which not only renders the perusal heavy, but also lets in various things unsuited to the decorum of modern manners. If a pure forgery, my inquiry extends to the motives of a fabrication, tedious to both reader and writer. ”

“ The Holy Bible, according to the Established Version: with the Exception of the Substitution of the Original Hebrew Names, in place of the English Words, Lord and God, and of a few corrections thereby rendered necessary. With Notes. London: Westley and Davis, 4to. It contains a Preface of four pages, and a list of the Meaning or Signification of the Sacred Names substituted in this edition, of nine pages. A copy of it is in the British Museum, the press mark 1276 h. ”

“ The following Notes are very much at the service of your correspondent Balliolensis. It is true that they do not afford a precise answer to his immediate Query, but they comprise particulars which may very probably lead to it, and will at least be interesting in compliance with his request for any notices respecting the family of Sclater. ”

“ Hepworth Dixon's Query about Algernon Sydney either very hastily or very carelessly. Yet it seems to me plain enough. There is not one word in it about Barillon or Dalrymple; no inquiry about the home life of Sydney. As every one knows a great part of his time was spent abroad, it is probable Mr. Dixon thinks that anecdotes and allusions to so conspicuous a person may occur in the cotemporary letters and memoirs of France, Germany, Italy, &c., and he asks for references to any such anecdotes or allusions as may have fallen in the way of readers of "N. & Q." Surely this is explicit. ”

“ The others, certainly introduced at a later time, mean different things in different countries. May it not have been that the variety of usage which De Caus notes, may have arisen from different writers, ignorant of each other, choosing each his own mode of deriving other symbols from the crossed semicircle, obtained as suggested by me? I am fully aware of the risk of such suggestions—but they have often led to something better. ”

“ BOSWORTH'S (REV. DR.) COMPENDIOUS ANGLO-SAXON AND ENGLISH DICTIONARY. 8vo. closely printed in treble columns, cloth, 12s.
"This is not a mere abridgment of the large Dictionary but almost an entirely new work. In this compendious one will be found, at a very moderate price, all that is most practical and valuable in the former expensive edition, with a great accession of new words and matter."—Author's Preface.
ANALECTA ANGLO-SAXONICA. Selections in Prose and Verse from Anglo-Saxon Literature, with an Introductory Ethnological Essay, and Notes, critical and explanatory. ”

“ In three other folio MSS. he has registered with great exactness the names of the lords of manors in the county in the year 1608, the number of men in each parish able to bear arms, with their names, age, stature, professions, armour, and weapons. The sums each landholder paid to subsidies granted in a certain year are set down in another MS. He likewise committed to writing a very particular account of the customs of the several manors in the hundred of Berkeley, and the pedigrees of their respective lords. ”

“ An old seal was discovered some years ago by accident in the ruins of an abbey in the south of Ireland, of which the followings is a description. The workmanship is rude, the material a species of bronze. ”

“ Rivington, four volumes of their new and complete edition of The Works and Correspondence of The Right Honourable Edmund Burke, and we do not know that a more valuable contribution could be made to our stores of historical and political literature, than this handsome collection of the writings of one whom Sir Robert Peel pronounced "the most profound of the philosophic statesmen of modern times." ”

“ Widows' and Family Mourning is always kept made up, and a note, descriptive of the Mourning required, will insure its being sent forthwith either in Town or into the Country, and on the most Reasonable Terms. ”

“ Some persons, I know, consider it doubtful whether the printer did have a copy bound in vellum as Junius directed, and they strengthen their doubts by, as they assert, no such copy having ever been met with. Mr. Cramp, on the contrary, maintains that such copies are so common that the printer must have taken the Junius copy as a pattern. As Mr. Cramp, I observe, is become a correspondent of "N. & Q.," I will take leave to direct his attention to the question asked by V. B. (Vol. iii., p. 262.) ”

“ BIRTHPLACE OF ST. PATRICK. (Vol. v., p. 344.) .
From the following extracts I send in answer to your correspondent Ceyrep, there seems to be very great doubt if St. Patrick ever existed in reality, but that we ought rather to place him in the same category with St. Amphibalus, St. Denis, &c. Dr. Ledwich relates that—
"In Usuard's, and the Roman Martyrology, Bishop Patrick, of Auvergne, is placed at the 16th day of March, and on the same day the office of the Lateran canons, approved by Pius V., celebrates the festival of a Patrick, the apostle of Ireland. ”

“ Kersley's quotation from a book printed in 1655 (p. 139., Vol. v.) , proves its usage in this sense at least seven years before Burnet's derivation of the word from the initials of the five chief ministers of Charles II. I do not think that Pepys could use the word Cabal, as applicable to the "king's confidential advisers," several years before Burnet derived it from their initials; the ministers in question having been appointed circa 1670. Burnet's definition was published in 1672, and Pepys was appointed Secretary to the Admiralty in 1673. ”

“ And do the words of the rubric in the Order for "the Burial of the Dead," "When they come to the grave, while the corpse is made ready to be laid INTO the earth," render it probable that such a custom was generally prevalent in the Anglican church since the Reformation?
I have met with one corroborative circumstance, in which numbers of bodies were disinterred in a piece of ground supposed to have been consecrated, and not a vestige of a coffin was found.
Incognitus.
The Surname Bywater.—Can any of your correspondents furnish me with particulars relating to the surname "Bywater?" ”