Various

“ Hamel, "the more we are astonished that it was possible for these Gardeners (for such, we see, is the modest denomination the younger Tredescant assumes in his will) to get together so many and such various objects of curiosity, and to become the founders of the first collection of curiosities of Nature and Art in England." ”

“ We know of no volume of the same extent calculated to give a more graphic or faithful picture of the heartlessness and depravity of the age of profligacy in which his heroine lived, an age which furnishes a striking proof how true it is that individuals, communities, and even whole nations, will after a time seek compensation for a state of gloomy and unchristian fanaticism in one of unbridled licentiousness. ”

“ May not this custom, which prevailed in Greenland in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, have been derived from the Scandinavian north, and there have been applied to the suicide buried in the cross road? Was the idea of burying these outcasts in such a place, the hopeful one of placing them at least under the shadow as it were of the cross, though they were denied a resting-place in consecrated ground. That the old Northerns regarded suicide with horror, we know from the "Eyrbiggia Saga," p. 530. of Mr. Blackwell's edition of Mallet's Northern Antiquities. ”

“ As to rank, in his lordship's person were united the honours of Livingston, Kilmarnock, and Erroll. As hereditary High Constable of Scotland, Lord Erroll is by birth the first subject in Great Britain, after the blood royal, and, as such, had a right to take place of every hereditary honour. The Lord Chancellor, and the Lord High Constable of England, do indeed take precedence of him, but these are only temporary honours which no man can lay claim to by birth ”

“ Much has been written in "N. & Q." respecting the "Old Countess of Desmond," who is said to have died at the age of 140; but there is a still more remarkable instance of longevity recorded in the pedigree of the Vernon family, and which seems to be too well authenticated to admit of doubt. Sir Ralph Vernon, of Shipbrooke (Lysonsi [390] styles him Baron of Shipbrooke, a barony founded by Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester) , who was born some time in the thirteenth century, died at the great age of 150! and is said to have been succeeded by his descendant in the sixth generation. ”

“ It is so that there is a subtile mean found now of late, by reason of a Fullyng Mille, whereby more cappes may be fulled and thickked in one day than by the might and strength of four score men by hand and foot may be fulled and thickked in the same day: the which huers, bonnets, and cappes, so fulled and thickked by such mill, are bruised, broken, and deceivably wrought, and cannot by the mean of any mill be truly made. ”

“ For it is no Christian way as here is practised, since the universal faith was brought to Greenland, to lay a corpse in unblessed earth, and to sing but little over it. It had been the custom in Greenland, after Christianity was brought in, that the dead should be buried on the lands where they died, in unhallowed earth, and that a stake should be set up over the breast of the dead (skyldi setja staur upp af brjosti hinum dauda) ”

“ Will you permit me to ask the reason of the absurd, and sometimes inconvenient, custom of substituting I for J in MS. spelling of the names John, James, Jane, &c.? If it be correct in MS., why is it not equally correct in print? Let us, then, just see how the names would read in print with such [392] spelling: Iohn, Iames, Iane, &c.! Besides, if it be correct to put I for J in John, it must, of course, be equally correct to put J for I in Isaac, and to turn it into Jsaac. ”

“ That relating to the Witch of Endor is one of the most successful we ever read. We cannot enter into particulars in this brief notice; but we would strongly recommend the pamphlet even to those who care nothing about Mesmerism, or angry (for it has come to this at last) with the subject."—Dublin Evening Post.
"We recommend its general perusal as being really an endeavour, by one whose position gives him the best facilities, to ascertain the genuine character of Mesmerism, which is so much disputed."—Woolmer's Exeter Gazette. ”

“ In a street adjoining Hungerford Market, there is now living, 'to fortune and to fame unknown,' the great-grandson of the author of Robinson Crusoe. His trade is that of a carpenter, and he is much respected in the neighbourhood. ”

“ It is, in fact, nothing more than a guess, the less probable as the word represents only an indirect result—not the clouds themselves, but a peculiar effect produced upon the clouds by the action of the winds. ”

“ Epist. were Newton's, and that the informant had seen the matter which was substituted for the Scholium, in Newton's handwriting, among the proof-sheets preserved by Pemberton. If Wilson were the informant, which may have been, for Montucla's first edition was published in 1758, Montucla must have confounded the two editions of the Comm. Epist. If not, it must have been some one who did not draw his account from the dissertation, in which there is nothing about the proof-sheets. ”

“ One is gratified to find that the merits of these humble and unpretending lovers of science is at length appreciated, and that, while some of the inhabitants of Lambeth, where they dwelt, are taking effective measures to restore the monument erected to their memory by the unfortunate Hester, a just tribute to their merits has been paid by Dr. Hamel at St. Petersburg! On Ashmole's tombstone in Lambeth Church is inscribed: "Mortem obiit 18 Maii, 1692, sed durante Musæo Ashmoleano Oxonii nunquam moriturus." ”

“ In short, archæologists seem to show that there is not only nothing new under the sun, but that there is also nothing true under the sun. To assume "a questionable shape," may I request some of your correspondents to add to the list?
C. T.
ON THE DERIVATION OF "THE RACK."
Some time ago I ventured to call the attention of your readers to what I regarded as an oversight of the commentators on Shakspeare, in reference to a certain passage of the Tempest in which the word "rack" occurs. ”

“ The petitioners conclude by praying Parliament to impose heavy penalties upon all who use the fulling mill, or who sell huers, hats, or bonnets that have been "fulled or thickked" by means of any such mill. So early did the antagonism between hand-labour and machinery prevail. ”

“ Steevens, in reference to the last quotation, says, "I should explain the word rack somewhat differently, by calling it 'the last fleeting vestige of the highest clouds, scarce perceptible on account of their distance and tenuity.' What was anciently called 'the rack' is now termed by sailors the scud." It is sufficiently obvious from the above what is meant by the word; but I now come to put the question, What authority had Horne Tooke for deriving it from Recan? ”

“ Lenthall's strenuous exertions in favour of the gallant Earl of Derby, that Mrs. Cromwell, in one of her letters to the Protector, urges him to endeavour to effect a reconciliation with the Speaker," &c. &c.
As no authority is cited, I should be glad to learn where the letters of Mrs. Cromwell thus referred to are to be found. Are they in print or MS.? If any of your readers should be able to enlighten me in respect of all or any of the above Queries, and would kindly do so either through the medium of the Notes, or to my address as below, I should be greatly obliged. ”

“ Dartford: the bridewell of the district was formerly in this parish, in Lowfield Street.
Αλφρεδ.
Burial, Law respecting (Vol. v., p. 320.) .
—Though not a lawyer, I venture to express the opinion that, if preferred, burial may take place in unconsecrated ground. The law exacts the registering of the death, and inhibits a clergyman from officiating except within the consecrated boundary. Indeed the burying-ground of dissenters is not consecrated according to law, although it may have to be licensed. ”

“ National Proverbs.
—Will any of your correspondents refer me to any collections of proverbs of different nations, or to writers who may have given lists of those of any particular people, either ancient or modern? ”

“ In a subsequent part of the process of currying the workman uses, in like manner, a slicker or sleeker made of steel, and finishes his work with a glass sleeker.
J. L. C.
Tenor Bell of Margate (Vol. i., p. 92.; Vol. v., p. 319.) .
—The weight of this "ponderous tenor bell" is not mentioned; but there does not seem to be any particular "obscurity," whatever there may be of strangeness in the alleged mode of its transit by water. By the terms "mill-cog" of the poetaster is doubtless to be understood the cog-wheel of the miller, viz. ”

“ Indeed, the action of the winds is one and the same, whether upon clouds on the face of heaven, or upon bodies at sea; and the wrack of one and the other, broken into fragments, for a fleeting space remains behind to tell the tale.
SAMUEL HICKSON.
Minor Notes. Book-keepers.
—There is a class of persons who fall under this denomination, and to whom the following lines may give a useful hint. Doubtless some of your correspondents, who are furnished with valuable libraries and works of reference, have suffered materially from a neglect of the rules herein laid down. ”

“ Town-halls (Vol. v., p. 295.) .
—MR. J. H. PARKER, in his Query respecting old town-halls, mentions the Town-hall of Weobly, in Herefordshire, as an early example of timber-work. Similar examples exist at Hereford, Ross, Ledbury, and Leominster, in the same country. These buildings are all constructed upon the same plan, viz. a large oblong room supported on wooden pillars; so that there is an open covered space beneath, which is used for the purposes of a market. With respect to the age of these buildings I can give no information ”

“ Vikingr Skotar.
—Mr. W. F. Skene, in his Highlanders, quotes Ari Froda or Arius Multiscius for the assertion, that the Hebrides were occupied, on the departure of Harold Harfagr, "by Vikingr Skotar, a term which is an exact translation of the appellation Gallgael" (vol. ii. p. 27.) . That is true, on the assumption that Vikingr is [395] not Icelandic for pirate, but only for Scandinavian pirate; which assumption I should doubt.
But I wish to be informed in what edition of Ari Froda, and at what page thereof, the words Vikingr Skotar may be found. ”

“ Bolingbroke (Vol. v., p. 326.) .
—During a visit to Bolingbroke, a village in Lincolnshire, the birth-place of Henry IV., the rapidity of the little stream, so unusual in a county remarkable for the sluggishness of its waters, suggested to me the probable origin of the name, bowling brook; "bowling along," and "running at a bowling pace," being not uncommon expressions. ”

“ Accordingly, the following assertions, made by Wilson, are not to be lightly passed over: first (which also Robins assumes again and again) , that Newton wrote the anonymous account of the Commercium Epistolicum (Phil. Trans., No. 342.) usually attributed to Keill, which, in Latin, forms the Preface to the second edition of that work. Secondly, that Newton wrote the criticism on John Bernoulli's letter at the end of the second edition. Thirdly, that Newton himself, and not Pemberton, omitted the celebrated Scholium from the third edition of the Principia. ”

“ B. B. may see, in the British Museum library, a tract of four leaves only, the title of which I will transcribe:
"London's Wonder. Being a most true and positive relation of the taking and killing of a great Whale neer to Greenwich; the said Whale being fifty-eight foot in length, twelve foot high, fourteen foot broad, and two foot between the eyes. ”

“ The rules for carrying to a successful result great enterprises are profound and dignified, and the enterprises extraordinary and interesting, though only given in outline. This part ends with the capture of Bagdat (d?) . I wish to know if there exists an accredited translation from the original by Timour in the Turkish, and of what more this extraordinary work consists ”

“ Many dying figures are introduced into the painting, and [398] among them the children in question are seen locked in each other's arms, precisely as in the sculpture at Lichfield. The story proceeds to relate, that the commander declared he would never surrender the city; and added, that whether his fellow-citizens chose to hang him, or throw him into the dyke, he was determined never to open the gates to such a monster as the Duke of Alva. ”

“ Greenhill—Gospel Trees—King of the Beggars—Absalom's Hair—Moke—Ground Ice—Ve dal am daro—Whiting's Watch—Paget Family—The Word "Pignon"—Movable Pulpits—Dutch Pottery—Cynthia's Dragon Yoke—St. Christopher—Surnames or Sirenames—Moravian Hymns—We three—London Street Folks—Cromwell's Skull—Wyned—Family of Bullen—Article "An"—Coleridge's Christabel—Meaning of Lode—The Ring Finger—Can a Clergyman marry himself—Death of Pitt—Pedigree of the De Clares—Exeter Controversy—and many others, which we are prevented from acknowledging until next week. ”

“ Charlton, of Hesleyside in Northumberland, had the verses printed again at Newcastle, about twenty-five years ago. I have no doubt that I could procure a copy for AN ENGLISH MOTHER.
EDWARD CHARLTON.
Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Suicides buried in Cross Roads (Vol. iv., pp. 116. 212. 329.) .
—In the fifth chapter of the most remarkable Saga of Thorfinn Karlsefne, we find some curious customs to have been prevalent in Greenland relative to the burial of the dead in unconsecrated ground. Thorstein Erikson, the second husband of Gudrida, died of a sore sickness. ”