Various

“ Without pretending to professional knowledge on the point, I conceive that the use of an inverted cup in the centre of a fruit pie is two-fold. It answers the purpose of supporting the crust, which, being usually thin and light, has but little strength in itself, probably less than that of a meat pie, while, by the shrinking of the fruit in baking it is left unsupported: and it further serves, not indeed as some good ladies seem to suppose, to increase the quantity of juice, but to keep a portion of it in reserve ”

“ One cause for the veneration in which it is held may be the superstition which represents him as the medium through which mankind are warned of approaching death. {165} Before the death of a person, a robin is believed, in many instances, to tap thrice at the window of the room in which he or she may be. The wren is also a bird which superstition protects from injury; but it is by no means treated with such reverence as the robin. The praises of both are sung in the old couplet:—
"The robin and the wren,
Be God A'mighty's cock and hen." ”

“ In what is technically termed "setting a hen," care is taken that the nest be composed of an odd number of eggs. If even, the chickens would not prosper. Each egg is always marked with a little black cross, ostensibly for the purpose of distinguishing them from the others, but also supposed to be instrumental in producing good chickens, and preventing any attack from the weasel or other farm-yard marauders. The last egg the hen lays is carefully preserved, its possession being supposed to operate as a charm upon the well-doing of the poultry. ”

“ Daubeny, of Oxford, that as the mistletoe is now so rarely found in Europe on oaks, it had been exterminated with the other druidical rites on the introduction of Christianity. I am not sufficiently botanist to determine how far it is possible to destroy the natural habitat of a plant propagated by extrinsic means, and should be more inclined to account for the difference then and now by supposing that the Druids may have known the secret of inoculating a desirable oak with the seeds where birds had not done so, and practised it when necessary. ”

“ As the pie cools, the portion of air remaining under the cup, and which, while heated, was sufficient to fill it, contracts; and then the pressure of the external atmosphere, entering through the air-holes of the pie, and acting upon the surface of the juice round about the cup, forces a portion of it into the cup, just on the same principle that water rises into the chamber or cylinder of a pump when a partial vacuum is formed in it. ”

“ The use of gloves must be of very high antiquity. In the Middle Ages the priest who celebrated mass always, I believe, wore them during that ceremony; but it was just the contrary in courts of justice, where the presiding judge, as well as the criminal, was not allowed to cover his hands. It was anciently a popular saying, that three kingdoms must contribute to the formation of a good glove:—Spain to prepare the leather, France to cut them out, and England to sow them. ”

“ A mouse running over a person is considered to be an infallible sign of death, as is also the squeaking of one behind the bed of an invalid, or the appearance or apparition of a white mouse running across the room. To meet with a shrew-mouse, in going a journey, is reckoned ominous of evil. The country people have an idea that the harvest-mouse is unable to cross a path which has been trod by man. ”

“ I have a large, though by no means a perfect collection of legal portraits, and there is not one puisne judge or baron so distinguished. The earliest legal worthy who is represented with this collar is in the reign of Henry VIII., and it adorns not a chief justice, but a chancellor, viz. Sir Thomas More; and he is the only chancellor upon whose shoulders it appears. This collar is formed by continuous Esses, without any ornament between them. It is united in the front by two portcullises, with a rose pendant. The print is from Holbein's picture, and presents him as chancellor, with the purse. ”

“ Robins and Wrens.—The robin is considered a sacred bird: to kill one is little less than sacrilege, and its eggs are free from the destroying hand of the bird-nester. It is asserted that the respect shown to it by man is joined in by the animals of the wood. The weasel and wild cat, it is said, will neither molest it, nor eat it when killed. The high favour in which this bird is held is usually attributed to the ballad of The Babes in the Wood. ”

“ Whilst on the subject of the mistletoe, I cannot forbear to mark the coincidences that run through the popular notions of a country in all ages. Pliny, in his very exact account of the druidical rites, tells us, when the archdruid mounted the oak to cut the sacred parasite with a golden pruning-hook, two other priests stood below to catch it in a white linen cloth, extremely cautious lest it should fall to earth. ”

“ Amongst others, Guy was a term by which, no doubt, the Druids were very early designated, and is cognate, with the Italian Guido and our own Guide, to the Latin cuidare, which would give it great appropriativeness when applied to the offices of teachers and leaders, with which these lordly flamens were invested. Narrowly connected with their rites, the term has descended to the present day, as is decidedly shown in the French name of the mistletoe, le Gui, and as denoting the priesthood. ”

“ So in the Roman Catholic Church at the present day, when a number of clergymen are assembled together, except on a few extraordinary occasions, no person wears the stole but the presiding or principal clergyman, and the person who preaches or officiates. ”

“ Scarf (Vol. ii, p. 126.) .—The custom of the Church for many centuries, which is the authority for the wearing of the scarf, or stole, sanctions the use of it by all orders of the clergy now existing in the Church of England, but with certain distinctions in the manner of wearing it. By deacons it is worn, as in ancient times, over the left shoulder only, hanging down before and behind; by priests, over both shoulders, hanging down in front only, and was formerly crossed on the breast and passed through the girdle at the waist; bishops have always worn it over both shoulders, and not crossed. ”

“ Before the death of a farmer his poultry frequently go to roost at noon-day, instead of at the usual time. When the cock struts up to the door and sounds his clarion on the threshold, the housewife is warned that she may soon expect a stranger. ”

“ When we recollect, however, that this summons was dated on March 22, 1413, the day following the king's accession, we must see that his Majesty could have had little more time than to command a parliament to be summoned; that the officer who made out the writs would naturally direct them to those peers, judges, and others who were summoned to the preceding parliament; and that the proper title of Gascoigne was Chief Justice until he was actually superseded. This evidence, therefore, is anything but conclusive, and in fact gives very little assistance in deciding the point at issue. ”

“ We require better evidence for this than tradition, because, if true, better evidence can be adduced. A noble writer has very recently declared that he can "prove to demonstration that Sir William Gascoigne survived Henry IV. several years, and actually filled the office of Chief Justice of the King's Bench under Henry V." As to the first of these points he implicitly follows Mr. Tyler's history, who proves that Gascoigne died in December 1419, in the seventh year of the fifth Henry's reign ”

“ The first egg laid by a pullet is usually secured by the shepherd, in order to present to his sweetheart,—the luckiest gift, it is believed, he can give her.
Crows.—To see a crow flying alone is a token of bad luck. An odd one, perched in the path of the observer, is a sign of wrath. ”

“ In some cases, though less commonly, the one laid on Good Friday is preserved, from the same reason. When a baby is first taken out to see its friends, it is customary for them to give it an egg: this, if preserved, is held to be a source of good fortune to the future man. ”

“ I think the etymology of the word glove is in far from a satisfactory state. It is a good subject for some of your learned philological correspondents, to whom I beg leave to recommend its elucidation.
S.W. Singer.
Mickleham, July 26. 1850.
Punishment of Death by Burning (Vol. ii., pp. 6, 50, 90.) .—Your correspondent E.S.S.W. gives an account of a woman burnt for the murder of her husband in 1783, and asks whether there is any other instance of the kind in the latter part of the last century. ”

“ Snakes.—There is a very prevalent belief that a snake can never die till the sun is down. Cut or hack it as you will, it will never die till sunset. This idea has evidently its source in the amazing vitality common to the species. ”

“ To be sure, he is rather merciless on some of Sandy's present likings, showing them to be of no standing as to time; and he declares that the kilt resembles the loricated skirts of the Roman tunica, only just as much as Macedon does Monmouth. I will not mention how he laughs at the groups of masquerading Highlanders; but will proceed to lay an extract before you, which may incite inquiry and reply:
"A few enthusiasts have amused themselves with deriving the Highland kilt from one of the dresses of the Romans, to which the resemblance is sufficiently vague. ”

“ What A. entertains, feels, does, &c. to B. in return for the same entertained, felt, done, &c. by B. towards him, is said to be reciprocal. Thus:
1. A., B., (C., &c.) , have a common friend X.
2. A. and B. entertain a mutual esteem for each other.
3. B. has a regard for A., and A. has a reciprocal regard for B.
In the passage quoted by Mr. Gatty (Vol. i., p. 440.) , I think, with deference to the eminent historian whom he cites, that reciprocal should have been written instead of mutual.
B.H.K.
Juice Cups.—Should no more satisfactory Reply to the Query of N.B. (Vol. ii., p. 89.) ”

“ Solingen is still, and has been for centuries, renowned for its sword blades. You cannot ride through the town without meeting a troop or two of girls with a load of sword blades on their heads.
May I suggest to your inquirer JARLTZBERG that the derivation of blackguard is as likely to be blagarode, the Russian for nobleman, as many words are to be descended from their reputed parents.
C.B.M.
P.C.S.S. believes that a little research would have enabled MR. LAWRENCE (Vol. ii., p. 135.) ”

“ Richardson's Dictionary is considered the best {168} source extant of information on English etymology, because I cannot help thinking that it has very many faults and deficiencies. The very word, for instance, on the derivation of which your valuable correspondent MR. FORBES offered a suggestion in No. 38., viz. Martinet, I had in vain sought for in Mr. Richardson's Dictionary, at least in his quarto edition, 1887. ”

“ The utmost, I apprehend, that we should admit is, that they represent the tradition of the time in which he wrote, and even that admission we should modify by the allowance, to which every poet is entitled, of certain changes adopted for dramatic effect, and with the object of enhancing our interest in the character he is delineating. ”

“ And one sweet pledge of love has crowned our vows."
Now I am anxious to know,
1. Whether there be any historical authority for Waltheof being sent as envoy to William? and, if so, on what mission?
2. Is it not the more correct account, that the Conqueror gave his niece Judith in marriage to Waltheof after the surrender of the city, [at the same time that he conferred other honours upon him, out of respect for his brave defence of the city; creating him, first, Earl of Northhampton and Huntingdon, and afterwards Earl of Northumberland, A.D. 1070.] ”

“ Previous to the Reformation, the stole was one of the vestments used in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, and consequently, in preaching also, but not at vespers or the ordinary services. The authorities for these statements are Paley's Gothic Architecture, the Oxford Manual for Brasses, Popular Tracts illustrating the Prayer-book, No. 2., and An Explanation of the Construction, &c., of a Catholic Church.
Arun.
Smoke-money (Vol. ii., p. 120.) ”

“ Having once risen into the cup, the same law of hydrostatic pressure keeps it there until the cup is raised sufficiently to admit air under its edge, when the juice of course escapes.
J.T.S.
Curfew (Vol. ii., p. 103.) .—Your correspondent Naboc will find the information he seeks upon this subject in a valuable communication to the Journal of the British Archæological Association, vol. iv. p. 133, by Mr. Syer Cuming. To Mr. ”

“ But as to their name and origin I apprehend that (as in the case of Charles Martel, whose blows also fell so numberless and effectual on the heads of enemies, Vol. i., p. 86.) the old Frank word martel is much more likely to have originated the name than any locality, town, or tower, in either Spain or Corsica and the following extract from Dr. Robertson's Life of Charles V. (bk. c. p. 452., 8vo. ed.) should not be passed over in their history ”

“ Derivation of Totnes.—From the Anglo-Saxon toten or totten, to project, to rise above, and ness or nes, nose, (French nez, German nase, Latin nasus) . Tooting, Tottenham, &c.
B.H.K.
Dogs in Monuments.—S.S.S. (Vol. i., p. 405.) is informed that a dog, at the feet of monumental effigies of females, is as common as a lion accompanying male figures. It is most probable that the dog was meant to represent affection, fidelity, &c., just as the lion signified courage, generosity, &c. There are, however, some instances (Deerhurst, Gloucestershire, Ingham, Norfolk) where the dog's name is inscribed ”