Various

“ Mr. Halliwell is perfectly right in his opinion as to the expression "heretofore the inheritance of William Shakspeare." All that that expression in a deed means is, that Shakspeare was the absolute owner of the estate, so that he could sell, grant, or devise it; and in case he did not do so, it would descend to his heir-at-law. The term has no reference to the mode by which the estate came to Shakspeare, but only to the nature of the estate he had in the property. ”

“ Now these expressions plainly indicate, not that the land has descended to the party as heir, but that it is granted to him so absolutely that it may descend to his heir; in other words, that an estate of inheritance, and not merely for life or for years, is granted by the deed. ”

“ And as a man may become possessed of such an estate in land by gift, purchase, devise, adverse possession, &c., as well as by descent from some one else, the mere fact that a man has such an estate affords no inference whatever as to the mode in which he became possessed of it. ”

“ Under this head A Descendant of Scottish Kings asks: "Can any coin be produced, from the accession of James VI. to the English throne, on which the royal arms are found, with Scotland in the first quarter, and England in the second?"
Will you kindly inform your querist, that in my collection I have several such coins, viz. a shilling of Charles I.; a mark of Charles II., date 1669; a forty-shilling piece of William III., date 1697: on each Scotland is first and third. I shall be most happy to submit these to your inspection, or send them for the satisfaction of your correspondent. ”

“ In order to facilitate the acquisition of the requisite amount of facts, I beg to apprise John o' the Ford, and your other correspondents and readers generally, that a Society was founded about a year ago, and is now in existence, composed of members of the University of Cambridge; the objects of which will be best gleaned from the following extract from the Prospectus:
"The interest and importance of a serious and earnest inquiry into the nature of the phenomena which are vaguely called 'supernatural,' will scarcely be questioned. ”

“ When making the first of these sensitizers, I always in each case let the solution attain a temperature of about 60o before decanting, so as to attain a perfectly equable compound on all occasions.
In the second, or ammonium sensitizer, the solution may be assisted by a moderate heat, and when again cooled, may advantageously be filtered to separate any sediment which may exist; but neither of these liquids should ever be exposed to great cold.
I dissolve in my bath of nitrate of silver as much freshly precipitated bromide of silver as it will take up. ”

“ In very ancient deeds the word is very commonly used where it cannot mean an estate that has descended to an heir, but must mean an estate that may descend to an heir. Thus, in a grant I have (without date, and therefore probably before A.D. 1300) , Robert de Boltone grants land to John, the son of Geoffrey, to be held by the said John and his heirs "in feodo et hæreditate in perpetuum." This plainly shows that hæreditas is here used as equivalent to "fee simple." ”

“ I have not only tried every purchasable collodion, but my experiments have been innumerable, especially in respect to the ammoniated salts, and I may, I think, safely affirm that all preparations containing ammonia ought to be rejected. Often, certainly, great rapidity of action is obtained; but that collodion which acted so well on one day may, on the following, become comparatively useless, from the change which appears so frequently to take place in the ammoniacal compounds. ”

“ My impression is, that it was already current during the great scarcity at the end of the last, and the commencement of this century; but the dictionary makers, those "who toil at the lower employments of life," as old Sam Johnson termed it, are not apt to be alert in seizing on fresh words, and "starvation" has shared in the general neglect. ”

“ The title seems to be erroneously retained in the Peerages, as the gentleman now styled Lord Fairfax cannot, it is apprehended, be a natural-born subject of the British Crown, or capable of inheriting the dignity. It seems, therefore, that the peerage, if not extinct, awaits another claimant. As a direct authority, I may refer to the case of the Scottish earldom of Newburgh, in the succession to which the next heir (the Prince Gustiniani) , being an alien, was passed over as a legal nonentity. (See Riddell on Scottish Peerages, p. 720.) ”

“ A drachm and a half to two drachms, according to the degree of intensity desired, added to the ounce of the above collodion, which should have remained a few days to settle before sensitizing, I find to act most satisfactorily; in fine weather it is instantaneous, being, after a good shake, fit for immediate use. If the sensitive collodion soon assumes a reddish colour, it is improved by the addition of one or two drops of a saturated solution of cyanide of potassium ”

“ Excellent simple collodion is to be procured now at the reasonable price of eight shillings the pint, which will to many be more satisfactory than trusting to their own operations.
To make the sensitizing Fluid.—Put into a clean stoppered bottle, holding more than the quantity required so as to allow of free shaking, six drachms of iodide of potassium and one drachm of bromide of potassium; wet them with one drachm of distilled water first, then pour into the bottle ten ounces of spirits of wine (not alcohol) ; shake frequently until dissolved. ”

“ Among the curiosities of the Tower is a collar of torment, which, say your conductors, used formerly to be put about the women's neck that cuckolded their husbands, or scolded them when they came home late; but that custom is left off now-a-days, to prevent quarrelling for collars, there not being smiths enough to make them, as most married men are sure to want them at one time or another. ”

“ The family of Fairfax never possessed property, or land, in Scotland, and had no connexion with that country beyond their peerage. Many English gentlemen were created peers of Scotland by the Stuart kings, although unconnected with the nation by descent or property. I may cite the following instances:—The old Yorkshire House of Constable of Burton received a peerage in the person of Sir Henry Constable of Burton and Halsham ”

“ To mark their sense of this breach of faith, there was published a little book [3] describing the inauguration of the young profligate, which expressively purports to be "Printed at Edinburgh in the Year of Covenant-breaking." The Scots folk had such a horror of anything of a deistical tendency, that John Goldie had to publish his Essays, or an Attempt to distinguish true from false Religion (popularly called "Goldie's Bible") , at Glasgow, "Printed for the Author, and sold by him at Kilmarnock, 1779;" neither printer nor bookseller would, apparently, be identified with the unclean thing. ”

“ John H. R. Smith, Jun.
Coin of Carausius.—A brass coin has lately come into my possession, bearing on the obverse the head and inscription:
"IMP. CARAVSIUS. P. P. AVG."
And on the reverse, a female figure, with spear and a branch:
"PAX. AUG. S. P. MLXXI."
I believe it to have been struck by Carausius, an usurper of the end of the third century, and my Query is as to the meaning of the letters MLXXI. Some friends assert them to be the Roman numerals, making the year 1071, and conclude it to have been struck at that date. ”

“ The descendants of Sir Matthew Hale still live at Alderley, near Wotton Underedge, in Gloucestershire. I believe a Mr. Blagdon married the heiress of Hale, and took her name. The late Robert Blagdon Hale, Esq., married Lady Theodosia Bourke, daughter of the late Lord Mayo, and had two sons. Robert, the eldest, and present possessor of Alderley, married a Miss Holford. Matthew, a clergyman, also married; who appears by the Clergy List to be Archdeacon of Adelaide, South Australia. Mr. John Hale, of Gloucester, is their uncle, and has a family. ”

“ The oxide of amyle may be detected by taking a portion of the alcohol between the palms of the hands, and rubbing them together, till the alcohol evaporates, after which, should oxide of amyle be present, it will easily be detected by its smell, which is not unlike that exhaled by a diseased potato. Of the liquid prepared, take one part to add to every three parts of collodion. The next, or ammonium sensitizer, is made as follows. Take
Mix, and when dissolved, take one part to three of collodion, as before. ”

“ We can well understand how a gentleman, who labours so assiduously in his scientific investigations, can have little time and feel little anxiety to produce merely pretty pictures. We are glad that the question was asked (we are sure only in a friendly spirit) ; and our photographic readers will be as glad to hear that an enlarged edition of Professor Hunt's Researches on Light may soon be expected. ”

“ If slips of either of these papers be carefully and completely immersed for four hours in a mixture of an equal part (by weight) of strong nitric acid or nitrous acid (the aqua fortis of commerce) and strong sulphuric acid, then perfectly washed, so as to get entirely rid of the acids, the result will be an entirely soluble material. About 100 grains of dry paper to a pint (twenty ounces) of ether will form a collodion of the desired consistence for photographic purposes. If too thick, it may be reduced by pure ether or alcohol. ”

“ It appears to us impossible to produce instruments of the same size possessing a richer and finer tone, more elastic touch, or more equal temperament, while the elegance of their construction renders them a handsome ornament for the library, boudoir, or drawing-room. ”

“ These salts are better than those generally recommended, as they do not form such deliquescent salts when decomposed as the chloride of sodium does, and for this reason I should have even avoided the chloride of ammonium, only that it so much assists the tints; however, in company with the other salts, the nitrate of ammon. formed does not much take up the atmospheric moisture, and I have never found it stain an even unvarnished negative. ”

“ When the liberty of the press was imperfectly understood, the political satirist had to tread warily; consequently we find that class of writers protecting themselves by jocular or patriotic imprints. ”

“ Dundas, in a speech in 1775 on an American debate, and hence applied to him as a nickname, 'Starvation Dundas.' 'I shall not,' said he, 'wait for the advent of starvation from Edinburgh to settle my judgment.'"—Letters of Horace Walpole and Mason, vol. ii. p. 396.
J. R. M., M.A.
Throughout this part of the country, "starved" always refers to cold, never to hunger. To express the latter the word "hungered" is always used: thus, many were "like to have been hungered" in the late severe weather and hard times. This is clearly the scriptural phrase "an hungred." To "starve" is to perish ”

“ Lastly, the bath may of itself get too weak, and then it will be best to place it on one side, and recover the silver by any of the usual methods, and make a new bath. One word about the addition of the bromide of {158}silver to the double iodide, as recommended by Dr. Diamond. I tried this, and feel most confident that it produces no difference; as soon as the bromide of silver comes in contact with the iodide of potassium, double decomposition ensues, and iodide of silver is formed. ”

“ A soldier is tied up to the halberts in order to be flogged; the drummer intercedes: "Col., he behaved well at Culloden." An officer also intercedes: "Pray Col. forgive him, he's a good man." The Col.'s reply is, "Flog the villain, ye rascal." Under the print—"And ten times a day whip the Barrels." I want to know who this flogging Col. was; and anything more about him which gained for him the unenviable title of Old Scourge.
E. H.
Sir Matthew Hale (Vol. ix., p. 77.) .—From Sir Matthew Hale, who was born at Alderley, descends the present family of Hale of Alderley, co. Gloucestershire. ”

“ Many persons believe that all such apparently mysterious occurrences are due, either to purely natural causes, or to delusions of the mind or senses, or to wilful deception. But there are many others who believe it possible that the beings of the unseen world may manifest themselves to us in extraordinary ways ”

“ Of this paper I take 180 grains to one pint of ether, and having placed them together, I add alcohol drop by drop, till the ether begins to dissolve the paper, which will be denoted by the paper becoming quite transparent. I have rather increased the quantity of paper to be added, as the after treatment rather thins the collodion. This, when shaken up and completely dissolved, forms the collodion. To sensitize I use two preparations, one prepared with potassium, the other with ammonium compounds ”

“ However excellent these may be, there is often a great drawback, viz. that one must purchase an author's entire works, and cannot get a favourite poem or treatise separately.
What I would suggest is, that a separate title-page be prefixed to every poem or treatise in an {147}author's works, and that they be sold collectively or separately at the purchaser's option. Thus few would encumber themselves with the entire works of Dryden, but many would gladly purchase some of his poems if they could be had separately. ”

“ Mix, and lay the paper on this solution for not less than five minutes, and if English paper, double that time. The hyposulphite to be used may be a very strong solution of twenty to twenty-five per cent., and this mode of treatment will always be found to produce fine tints. After some time it will be found that the nitrate bath will lose its acidity, and a drachm of acetic acid may be again added, when the prints begin to take a red tone: this will again restore the blacks. ”