Queries.

PRINTS.

I will be much obliged if any of your readers can tell me the name of the engraver of a favourite old print in my collection, it being a proof before letters, without, consequently, the names of the engraver and painter, which latter I should also wish to know. Nor am I certain what to call the subject, though I think it is probably Sterne's Maria. The print is an upright about sixteen inches by ten, consisting of a single figure in the foreground, reaching nearly the whole height of the plate, of a pensive young maid in simple attire, standing on the ground in sandals, a sort of mantle covering the back of her head, and falling around her, forming a train at her feet; the right arms and part of the breast and neck exposed, the left arm round the neck of a kid or lamb lying down on a flowing bank by her side at the root of a tree. The background consists of a pretty little distant landscape with a uniform roofed cot, a shepherd and flock of sheep. The work seems a good deal like Sir Robt. Strange's the St. Agnes, for instance; but I do not see anything answering this description in any of Strange's catalogues in my possession.

I have another print I should also be glad to be informed about, a much older one than the above, probably a Roman Catholic altar-piece. It consists of groups of figures in the clouds, the Madonna in the centre of the upper compartment, surmounted with a number of little angels; a female in the centre of the lower compartment, kneeling before a child and angel; and on both sides, below and above, a number of large figures, angels, monks, and friars, a pope, and a bishop, &c. What appears curious, one of the ecclesiastics, in the lower compartment, left-hand side, holds a carbine or large pistol, having a crucifix on the end of the barrel, instead of the usual sight; above his left shoulder is an angel with a bunch of keys, and a monk on the opposite side holds a cross in a wreath of flowers. The print is a good deal mutilated, and no margin left to show the exact dimensions, or the names of engraver or painter. It is upright, about twenty-five inches by seventeen. The execution is something like that of Caracci, but rather a coarse line engraving.

I would ascertain the subject of another fine old print, which I will describe. It is an upright, twenty-one inches by sixteen and a half, dated 1566 in the right low corner, and in the left is the name "Titianus;" but I cannot say whether he is the engraver, as the paper is blotted where the fecit should be looked for. Near the middle at the bottom are two letters like M. R. or H. R., and also at a distance "Cum privilegio." In the upper part of this print, in the centre, is a bird with expanded wings surmounted with rays or a

glory; and a little lower on each side a bearded figure with a glory round the head, seated in the clouds, each holding a globe (apparently) in the left hand, and a pencil or little ferule in the right, pointing upwards. On each side of these, in the background, a host of little heads and faces are seen; and the lower compartment is filled up with large figures, chiefly of men, also seated in the clouds; the one in the centre holds up with both hands, towards the figures at the top, a kind of close vessel, perhaps the ark, and a woman is standing by him with outstretched arms, pointing upwards with the right; others in the lower group hold different things, and one in the right corner seems to rest his arm, with a scroll in his hand, on the back of an eagle. There is a slight sketch of a landscape at the bottom, with two little arched buildings among trees.

On turning up Bryan's Dictionary, new edition, for Titian's etchings, all he says is that Bartsch has described eight prints attributed to him. CN. CL.

KING MAGNUS' BURIAL-PLACE AT DOWNPATRICK.

-

In the course of last December I was induced, at the request of the committee of our mechanics' institute here, to deliver before the members a lecture on the " History and Antiquities of the Town and its Neighbourhood." It is a subject which, from the former importance of the place as an episcopal see, and being one of the strongholds of the English pale, required considerable research, much more, indeed, than I had then either opportunity or time to afford for its proper illustration. Not least amongst the interesting series of events in its history was its frequent invasions by the Danes or Northmen, and the death and burial of Magnus, king of Norway, early in the twelfth century, either beside the cathedral church or in its immediate vicinity. To ascertain the place of that king's sepulture formed a subject of constant investigation; but, as there was no tradition pointing it out, nor any place now called Slat-Manus, or any similar designation, I was obliged to abandon the inquiry without any certain conclusion, the authorities bearing on the subject being so much at variance both in the description of the scene of the battle and place of burial.

I had, indeed, heard that M. WORSAAE, the author of several works on Danish antiquities, had some years past been in this neighbourhood, and had pointed out a spot adjacent to the town, remote from the cathedral, as the place of burial, and which report I introduced into the lecture.

As I perceive M. WORSAAE is a correspondent of "N. & Q.," the object of this letter is to ascertain whether he could afford any information as to this matter, or the other visits of the Northmen to the county of Down, and whether he is aware

of any other information than that contained in the Chronicle of Man, Torfæus, Snorro, in Johnson's Scandinavian Antiquities, Giraldus' Cambrensis, and Dr. Hanmer. If he had any ancient Danish maps of this neighbourhood, doubtless they would be of vast importance on this subject. I should say that a very hurried and imperfect report of the lecture appeared in the columns of our local paper, extending through four successive numbers. I should feel much gratification in forwarding you or M. WORSAAE such portions thereof as I can now lay my hands on, particularly that relating to King Magnus, should any desire to that effect be expressed. JOHN W. HANNA. Saul Street, Downpatrick, Ireland.

CURFEW.

(Vol. iv., p. 240.)

In Noake's Worcester in Olden Times, London, 1849, p. 121., under the head of "Bells," I find the following passage:

"The popular notion of the curfew having originated in the odious tyranny of the Conqueror has been negatived by modern research. Du Cange says that the ringing of the couvre-feu prevailed generally in Europe during the middle ages as a precaution against fire. Voltaire also takes the same view of the custom. Henry I. abolished his father's enactment, but the custom has survived to the present day, probably as one of general convenience. So late as about 150 years ago a fire-bell was rung every evening at Vienna, as a signal to the inhabitants to extinguish their fires, and to hang up lanterns in front of their houses. A few specimens of the couvre-feu are still in existence, some of them bearing marks of having covered the fire." Upon this passage I would ask permission to put two Queries:

1. What historical notices are there of a curfew prior to the Conquest?

2. At what places on the continent of Europe, besides Vienna, has the custom been ascertained

to prevail? Your correspondent H. H. B. (Vol. iv., p. 240.) produces an instance of the curfewbell being rung at Charlestown, South Carolina, where, however, it is manifestly a custom introduced from the "mother-country." J. SANSOM. Oxford.

"There were three ladies," &c. - My paternal grandmother, who was a native of county Kerry in Ireland, was in the habit of singing a song set to a sweet and plaintive air, which thus commenced:

"There were three ladies playing at ball,

Farin-dan-dan and farin-dan-dee;

There came a white knight, and he wooed them all,
With adieu, sweet honey, wherever you be.

He courted the eldest with golden rings,
Farin, &c. &c.

And the others with many fine things,
And adieu," &c. &c.

The Chase Family. Having observed in "N. & Q." various requests concerning families, I would like to ask some information respecting the "Chase" family, three brothers of which emigrated to America about the year 1630, and settled in the vicinity of Newbury port, in Massachusetts; their names were Aquila, Thomas, and William. Tradition says they came from Cornwall, and also that the name was originally spelled "La Chasse," and that they were of Norman extraction, having settled in England about the time of the Conquest. As their descendants in the United States now number about 30,000 individuals, if those who remained in England have been equally prolific, there must be many of the same name who perhaps can give their trans-Atlantic cousins some knowledge of their ancestry. QUASCACUNQuen.

Philadelphia, June 14.

Mummies of Ecclesiastics in Germany. - I remember having some conversation with a friend a few years ago respecting some bodies which he had seen preserved in the church of some town,

of which I forget the name, on (I think) the Rhine. They consisted of about twenty bodies of monks ranged side by side, in a vault which was open to the air; and it was alleged that the peculiar character of the atmosphere had alone preserved them in their then state, namely, as soft to the touch as in life, the only peculiarity being the brownish hue of the face, which caused my friend to suspect that they had been baked. Can any of your correspondents refer me to any on the subject?

Abridge, Essex.

information

A. A.

The Merry-thought, or Wish-bone. Whence comes the custom of breaking the wish-bone or merry-thought, with the attendant ceremony? A. A. D. Bells on Horses' Necks. Does this custom exist in any county but Kent or Sussex? A. C. Dissertation on a Salt Box. Where can I find a "Dissertation on a Salt Box," or "The Logical Salt Box?" I remember seeing it in a magazine some thirty-five years ago; and,although I have made many inquires, I have not been enabled to obtain a reference to it. J. WN.

Meaning of Alcohol.-Can you enlighten me as to the derivation of the word "alcohol;" or rather, I should say, as the first syllable almost of itself proclaims it to be Arabic, what is the meaning of the word or words whence it is derived?

A. E. S. Hip, hip, hurrah!" - What was the origin of this bacchanalian exclamation, and what does it mean? I make the inquiry, although I annex an attempt to define it, which was cut from the columns of the Edinburgh Scotsman newspaper

some years ago:

"It is said that Hip, hip, hurrah!' originated in

the Crusades, it being a corruption of H. E. P., the initials of Hierosolyma est perdita" (Jerusalem is lost!), the motto on the banner of Peter the Hermit, whose followers hunted the Jews down with the cry of Hip, hip, hurrah !'"

I never read elsewhere of such a motto being upon the standards of the first Crusaders. Had they any other motto than Dieu le volt? R. S. F.

Perth.

Armorial Bearings of Cities and Towns. It will doubtless be in the memory of most of your correspondents that a meeting of the mayors of every town in England was held in London about the time of the Exhibition, and that at such meeting were displayed flags with the armorial bearings of each town represented by their mayor; and I shall be glad if any of your correspondents can i form me whether there was published an account of such meeting, with the engraving of each town's armorial bearings; and, if so, where

Hands in the Pockets. -On looking over some transcripts I found the following, but without a reference as to what book it had been copied from. Can you, or any of your correspondents, give me information where it can be found, or whether you ever heard of such an observation?

"Whoever has passed through Braintree and Bocking in Essex, must have observed that the inhabitants have a custom of standing with their hands in their pockets. Not only men and boys, but even women This seems to be are generally seen in that attitude. an old subject of observation, for I remember forty years ago, when walking with my hands in my pockets, I was asked by a friend whether I had been staying at Bocking." C. DE D.

John de Huderesfield.-Does the fame of John de Huderesfield, a civil engineer or architect of the time of Richard II., enable any correspondent to point to any great work of his, or account of him? G. R. L.

Lyme Regis.

John, King of France, at Somerton (Vol. v., p. 505.). In an interesting article, "A Journal of the Expenses of John, King of France, in England, 1359-60," the following places of confinement of the monarch are mentioned: 1. Hertford Castle; 2. Somerton Castle, in Lincolnshire; and, lastly, the Tower of London.

I have a view of Somerton, in Somersetshire, which I put with other antiquities, as it contains a view of the Bear Inn, built, as Somerset history has it, upon the site of Somerton Castle, where King John of France was confined, and from which he was removed owing to the supposed connexion of some landings of the French upon the south-western coast. Am I to understand that King John never was confined at Somerton in Somersetshire? G. R. L.

Lyme Regis

Tapestry from Richmond Palace.-In an inventory of the goods at Richmond Palace belonging to Charles I., in the custody of Mr. Theobald Pierce, which were viewed and appraised on the 5th October, 1649, and sold by order of the Council of State, there is marked No. 1.:

"Ten pieces of Arras hangings of the Old and New Law, containing 727 ells at 21. 10s. per ell.-18177. 10s."

These were sold, on Thursday, October 23, 1651, to Mr. Grinder, according to the appraisement. I believe they were of the manufacture of Sir Francis Klein, at Mortlake; and I beg to be informed, through the medium of the "N. & Q.," where the above tapestry is at the present time.

AMICUS,

Minor Queries Answered.

"To lie at the Catch."-In the discourse between Faithful and Talkative, in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Talkative says, "You lie at the catch, I perceive;" to which Faithful replies, "No, not I: I am only for setting things right." And again, in the same conversation, Faithful says, "You lie at the catch again. This is not for edification." Can any of your readers kindly tell me what is the meaning of the expression, to lie at the catch?

M. D.

[In the Jerusalem Sinner Saved, Bunyan explains the meaning of the phrase, where he refers to those who are living in sin, and yet expect to be saved by grace. "Of this sort are they that build up Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity; that judge for reward, and teach for hire, and divine for money, and lean upon the Lord. This is doing things with a high hand against the Lord our God, and a taking Him as it were at the catch! This is, as we say among men, to seek to put a trick upon God, as if He had not sufficiently fortified His proposals of grace by His Holy Word against all such kind of fools as these."]

Words printed in Italics in the Bible. -I may be only showing my ignorance if I ask, Why are numerous words printed in Italics in the Bible?

R. H. ["With regard to the words in the Bible printed in Italic characters, Dr. Myles Smyth, one of the two appointed Revisers of the authorized version, in the Preface to the first edition, published in 1611, gives the following reason for their use:

Courtier and learned Writer.-In an old devotional work, entitled The Christian's Duty, published originally in 1730, and lately republished at Rivingtons, I find the following passage at page 68. of the older edition, and page 72. of the more recent

one:

"Ah, my friends! while we laugh all things are serious round about us. God is serious, who exerciseth patience towards us; Christ is serious, who shed His blood for us; the Holy Ghost is serious, who striveth against the obstinacy of our hearts; the Holy Scriptures bring to our ears the most serious things in the world; the Holy Sacraments represent the most serious and awful matters; the whole creation is serious in serving God and us; all that are in heaven or hell are serious; how then can we be gay?"

The author, or, I should rather say, compiler of the work which I first mentioned then proceeds in the following terms:

"To give these excellent words their full force (as a learned writer says of them) it should be known that they came not from the priesthood, but the court, and from a courtier as eminent as England ever boasted."

Perhaps some of your numerous correspondents can inform you, and, through you, myself and some friends who are interested in the success of the work, 1. Who "the courtier mentioned as the author" was? 2. Who the "learned writer" who makes the remark was? T. BD.

[The "learned writer" is Dr. Edward Young, author of the Night Thoughts, who has quoted the passage in his Sermon on "A True Estimate of Human Life," Works, vol. v. p. 19., edit. 1774. The name of the courtier is not given.]

Replies.

Bays's Troops. In a curious collection of essays entitled Something New, London, 1772, occurs the following passage. The essayist is describing a case of reanimation:

"For dead men, as it seems, may rise again, like Bays's troops, or the savages in the Fantocini." Who was Bays, and what was the incident alluded to? T. STERNBERG.

[The allusion is to a scene in the Fifth Act of The Rehearsal, by G. Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, a. d. 1672, where "a battle is fought between foot and great hobby-horses. At last Drawcansir comes in, and kills 'em all on both sides." Smith then gravely asks,— "But, Mr. Bayes, how shall all these dead men go off? for I see none alive to help them.

"Bayes. Go off! why, as they came on; upon their legs: how should they go off? Why, do you think ile people do not know they are not dead?"]

YANKEE AND YANKEE DOODLE.

392.; Vol. v., pp. 86. 258.)

There never was any difference of opinion in the United States, among those who have paid any attention to the subject, concerning the origin of the word Yankee. It is believed to have been derived from the manner in which the Indians endeavoured to pronounce the word English, which they rendered Yenghees, whence the word Yankee. The statement in Irving's Knickerbocker's History of New York, concerning the tribe of Yankoos, is a mere joke and the suggestion of your corresponfrom the New York Gazetteer, that the Yankoos dent R. H., in the present volume of “N. & Q.,” were so indomitable that the Puritans of New England, after subduing them, adopted their name, according to an Indian custom which gave the name of the conquered to the conquerors, is not to be relied upon, as no history of New England makes any mention of that redoubtable tribe; nor