word humour :

This may be truly said to be a Humour.

But that a rooke by wearing a pyed feather,
The cable hat-band, or the three-pild ruffe,
A yard of shoo-tye, or the Switzers knot
On his French garters, should affect a Humour!
O, it is more than most ridiculous.

3. So in I. i. Cordatus speaks of Sagliardo as "a tame Rooke, you'l take him presently," and he is so little of a sharper that he is ready to be gulled by any one-one who throughout the play would be a gentleman, but is a horny-handed country chuff and in town an ignorant simpleton.

4. The sentence in II. ii. of the same explains itself. Here Macilente-Jonson says of the foolish Inns of Court man that would be in the Court fashion, but always finds himself in the last but

one:

I fain would know of heaven now, why yond fool Should wear a suit of satin? he? that rook? That painted jay, with such a deal of outside? 5. Dekker, in his 'Satiromastix,' near its commencement, makes Horace-Jonson, when callers knock, say, "Peace! tread softly; hide my papers: Who's this so early? Some of my rooks, some of my gulls?" Even if the one phrase did not explain the other, and show rook and gull to be the same, no sharper would have thought it worth while to seek out Jonson, and Tucca elsowhere calls him a gull-groper.

6. So afterwards the same Horace-Jonson says to his richer toady Asinius, whose name is fitted to his nature :—

"Foh! come, your great bellied wit must long for every thing too; why, you Rook [i. e., you ninni-hammer, I have a set of letters ready starch'd to my hands, which to any fresh suited gallant that but newly enters his name into my roll, I send the next morning......that my novice shall start......when he Bees the sudden flash of my writing."

7. Before 5 also Asinius says, .when Musco the gull cried mew at it." And Horace-Jonson replies, "A pox on him, poor brainless rook! And you remember, I told him, his wit lay at pawn

with his new satin suit, and both would be lost, for not fetching home by a day."

As the rook is accounted a bird of peculiar sagacity and sympathy I confess that I do not understand this second use of the name, and would willingly learn. Can it be taken from this fact, stated in a note to Goldsmith's 'Animated Nature,' published by Blackie & Son, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and London, vol. ii. p. 94?—

"During a hard frost......he is......a moping, melancholy bird, appearing to avoid his old companions, and often remaining in one position for a considerable length to be without sufficient energy even to seek for food, of time."

Or was it for a similar reason to that which

makes the Italian give to cornacchia the double sense of crow and chatterer, or idle talker? BR. NICHOLSON.

PALE PRINTING INK.-Any one accustomed to much reading must be familiar with the paleness of the ink used in English books during the latter part of the last century and the beginning of the present. Baskerville's books, indeed, form an exception, and are conspicuous by the blackness of their ink. I had always attributed this paleness of ink to want of good material; but, from a passage in Franklin's letters, it appears that the paleness was intentionally produced. Franklin (himin 1789, speaks of a "fancy that grey printing is self a working printer), writing to Noah Webster books are printed in so dim a character as to be more beautiful than black; hence the English new read with difficulty by old eyes." He quotes a remark of Lord Chesterfield's to a Dublin newspaper printer, who was praising his own paper. "Mr. Faulkiner," said my lord, "don't you think it might be still farther improved by using paper and ink not quite so near of a colour?" (Life of Benjamin Franklin,' edited by Bigelow, 1881, iii. 445.) J. DIXON.

BOUCHIER asks me (by private letter) to suppleITALIAN AND FRENCH CATHEDRALS. MR. ment in 'N. & Q.' what I have said in reply to his query about Tours Cathedral, by saying which I Italy, "other than Milan, St. Peter's, and St. consider the (architecturally) finest churches in

Mark's at Venice," and which the finest French cathedrals.

MR. BOUCHIER's letter is dated, I am sorry to for some weeks absent from home, and have only observe, so long ago as April 13. But I have been just returned. It is very difficult to assign superior merit to one of two such buildings as St. Peter's and Milan Cathedral. It is almost as bad as being called upon to state whether a month or a mile is the longer! Leaving this difficulty, I may say, however, that the Duomo at Florence may fairly claim to rank with (not next after) the churches MR. BOUCHIER mentions. Giotto's campanile, if that may be considered as an appendage to it, is

'IN PRAISE OF ALE.'-In a well-worn volume of old songs, apparently of the time of Queen Anne, I found the following, which seems worthy of insertion as a pendant to the lines on Belgian and other beers in 'N. & Q.,' 7th S. vi. 284, 396. It does not appear in the interesting and comprehensive volume 'In Praise of Ale,' by W. J. Marchant, published last year:

A Song in Praise of Burton Ale, set by Mr. John Barrett. Give us noble Ale, of the right Burton pale, And let it be sparkling and clear,

We'll never repine at the God of the Vine,

If the Red or the White he preferr.

In glasses full crowned let the Queen's health go round, Let the English as ever be bold,

Let France and Spain's power both fade like a flower,
And Britain and Britons the balance still hold.

If Bacchus refuse to joyn with our muse,
This glorious liquor to praise,

We'll soon change our note from the grape to the malt,
And Ceres adorn with our bays.

Then around let it chime till our faces do shine,
And our chearfullness make the world know
That the Barley supplies what the vintage denys,
Spite of France and her Duke of Anjow.

J. MASKELL.

SUPERSTITION IN RHODE ISLAND.-There is apparently a large survival of folk-lore in some of the New England states. A correspondent, writing from Gloucester, Rhode Island, to the New York Tribune, April 7, gives this interesting account of a district where the belief in witches and wizards still flourishes :

"This wild, wooded, and rock-ribbed region, less than a day's journey from Gen. Putnam's historic wolf den, in North-Eastern Connecticut, is full of superstition. It is one of the queerest of localities. In the centre of Gloucester lies Ponagansett Lake, and all about the shores of this lake are the dwellings of a hale and hearty people, who make this country, far from the busy haunts of men, a veritable wonderland of legend and reminiscence. The old men delight in telling ghost stories, and the young people like to listen. Gloucester lies on the crooked old Indian trail which ran between Connecticut

and the Providence Plantations.

"For generations back the Gloucester farmers have believed in wizardry. They will do much of their work only during the full of the moon. Otherwise they would expect to die or to have very bad luck. Planting must not be done until the signs of the zodiac are propitious,

In Provençal ado seems commonly to be a feminine termination =Ítal, ata, French ade.

and gardens must never be ploughed on Fridays. Even a tooth must not be pulled unless the stars are right; if it is, it will come hard and cause great suffering. "Pork, if killed during the small of the moon, will shrink to nothing in cooking, while that butchered at the full of the moon will continue white and firm. To ensure luck in the management of domestic animals the sign of the zodiac must be in the leg. The wishbones of all fowls are preserved on sticks. Some families keep hundreds on hand all the time. When the zodiacal sign is in the head, then the Gloucester people believe one can do the most at catching pickerel and can hook the biggest fish. Hence the almanac hung by the kitchen fireplace in all Gloucester houses is a thing the settlers could not live without. Its study, if one would reap good harvests, catch good clamming tides, and avoid misfortune, is imperative.

black snake and bite it your teeth will never decay; "These people also believe that if you take up a that if the nails are pared on Friday toothache will be prevented, and that a child born in the heat of the day can see into the future, and will be exempt from influences of witchcraft. A ship that has such a one on board they say will never sink.

"Perhaps the most curious belief still haunting these hearthstones of interior Rhode Island is that relating to the character of the little fish in Ponagansett reservoir. This pond is the source of the Pawtuxet river, which flows easterly into Narragansett Bay, and years before the building of the dam across the outlet of the lake, herring from the salt sea used to swim up the stream to the shoal waters of the lake to spawn. The old settlers who have lived about the lake all their lives aver that the shiners which now glisten in its crystal waters are naught else but the degenerate descendants of the herring race, and show the same characteristics. One of 'the Bowen boys' at the lake frequently says that my father used to say there was no shiners before any d -d dams was built to fence out the herrin's.'"

There are here some curious parallels to Old World beliefs. The superstition does not appear to be of native growth. It was an imported article in bygone generations, but it seems to have a congenial soil. WILLIAM E. A. AXON.

Manchester.

THE WIND OF a Cannon BalL.—I have lately seen it stated that military authorities say that no one is ever hurt by the wind of a cannon ball, for the very sufficient reason that a cannon ball has no wind that strikes out sideways, as is commonly supposed. The late Duke of Wellington must not be classed with such authorities. Lord Stanhope, in his interesting Notes of Conversations with the Duke of Wellington,' says:—

"I mentioned with much praise Lady De Lancy's narrative of her husband's lingering death and of her own trials and sufferings after Waterloo. The Duke

told me that he had seen it, Lord Bathurst having lent it him many years ago. He was next De Lancy when he was struck; it was not by an actual wound, but by the wind of a cannon ball. This it was afterwards found had separated the ribs from the backbone. Col. De Lancy fell from his horse to the ground, and then bounded up again into the air like a struck pheasant. He was thought to be dead, and reported as such in the first bulletin of the battle. However, the Duke had him carefully conveyed from the field in a blanket, and was afterwards told not only that he was alive, but that he would certainly recover...... However, he expired at last JOHN CHURCHILL SIKES. 50, Agate Road, The Grove, Hammersmith, W.

from the inward hurt."

Queries.

We must request correspondents desiring information on family matters of only private interest, to affix their names and addresses to their queries, in order that the

answers may be addressed to them direct.

CITY. Everybody must be glad of Prof. Freeman's discussion of the use of city in England in Macmillan for May. But he does not therein touch on Ireland. Which Irish towns rank as cities; and what is the criterion of a "city" in that country? Also, how is "city" applied in Australia? What Australian towns rank as cities? Canadian and U.S. usage appear to differ from each other and from British. And what constitutes a "city" as distinct from a "town India? We want information as to the current meaning of city in all English-speaking lands. J. A. H. MURRAY.

Oxford.

in

MUMPING.-What is the derivation of this word? It is applied to the practice which the old women hereabouts have of going round to receive presents -usually the gift of sixpence-on St. Thomas's Day. Is it connected with some old tradition? I have in vain tried to find out why that particular day was selected. St. Thomas's Day is the only festival many of them know anything about; but they never forget that. E. L. H. TEW, M.A.

Hornsea Vicarage, East Yorks.

DR. MEAD AND DR. FREIND.-Can any of your readers tell me the earliest authority for the well-known ancedote about Mead's handing over to Freind the sum of five thousand guineas, said to have been received from his (Freind's) patients during his imprisonment? The sum is so large that there is clearly some mistake, which I wish to rectify. W. A. G.

Hastings.

SIR NICHOLAS WENTWORTH, KNT., of Lillingstone Lovell, co. Oxford, by his will dated Feb. 7, 1551, leaves certain moneys-in case of failure of heirs-"to be spent and distributed to the marriage of poore Maydens mendynge of high

เ

informed on trustworthy authority that there is LIDDELL AND SCOTT'S 'LEXICON.'-I have been to be found in the large edition of Liddell and Scott's Greek Lexicon' a second unintentional pun of a nature similar to the following. Under from UKOV, a fig, is given, but this, the editor the heading συκοφαντες, the suggested derivation remarks, in all seriousness," is probably a figment." Inquiries have failed to elicit from numerous classecond pun is to be found. sical correspondents the word under which the Perhaps you can help me. The subject is of some interest, I think. E. A. R. BALL.

Through our obliging correspondent DR. GREENHILL, the Dean of Christchurch informs us that he is aware of no second pun, and that the first no longer appears, "figment" having been altered into invention.]

CHURCH BELLS.-May I again ask help from the readers of ' N. & Q.' in the collections I have been making for some years past towards a complete account of the church bells of the West Riding of Yorkshire? I shall be most grateful for quotations or references from or to wills or records relating to the church bells of West Yorkshire. J. EYRE POPPLETON.

Spring Vale Road, Sheffield,

did the marriage take place, and what was the Christian name of the husband? URBAN.

SAYING OF LORD BEACONSFIELD. In the "Ethics of the Turf,' Contemporary Review, April, it is mentioned that "Lord Beaconsfield, in one of his most wicked sentences, said that the jockey is our western substitute for the eunuch." What did the great statesman mean? NE QUID NIMIS. ITALIAN LITERATURE.-Can any one recommend me a trustworthy handbook of Italian literature, including the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, somewhat similar to Mr. Saintsbury's 'Primer of French Literature,' or Mr. Stopford Brooke's 'Primer of English Literature'? Is there such a work, either in Italian, French, or English? Italian will do, but I should prefer one written in English or French. JONATHAN BOUCHIER.

[MR. BOUCHIER probably knows the volumes dedicated to Italian literature of the important Storia Universale della Letteratura' of Signor Angelo de Gubernatis, Milano, Ulrico Hoepli.]

BENTHAM VICARAGE, IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE.Can any one explain the following announcement, which is printed in the True Briton for Wednesday, January 16, 1751, No. 3, p. 71, under the head 66 Preferments"? "Jan. 5. The Reverend Mr. Creed, of Brazen-Nose-College, Oxford, was presented by that College to the Vicarage of Bentham, in Gloucestershire." No such place is to be found in the list of Brasenose livings, or in the 'Clergy List,' the only Bentham being a rectory in Yorkshire. Although Foster, in his 'Alumni Oxonienses,' mentions three persons in the earlier part of the eighteenth century of the name of Creed of other colleges, some one of whom might have been elected to a fellowship at Brasenose, yet no evidence of such election occurs in the college records. Some other announcements, which seem correct, are on the same page. Verification or explanation sent at once, and direct, will much oblige. W. E. BUCKLEY.

Middleton Cheney, Banbury.

.

“Mater Dei.”—When was the epithet "Mater Dei" first applied to the Virgin Mary? G.

VICTUALLER.-Can any of your readers inform me what was the exact calling, or trade, of one described as a victualler the middle of last century? A. G.

BISHOP BERKELEY.-Southey writes ('Omniana,' vol. i. p. 251):—

"A journal of his [Bishop Berkeley's] travels in Italy and many of his papers remain unpublished. His grandson, George Monck Berkeley, had he lived, would have given them to the public. I know not what is become of them since the family has been extinct. But of such

a man not a relick should be lost."

Can any reader of ' N. & Q' suggest any probable clue to the discovery of these MSS. ?

Budleigh Salterton.

T. ADOLPHUS TROLLOPE.

LORD TRURO.-Where was this great lawyer born? How long was he Member of Parliament for Newark and Worcester respectively? Where was he buried? T. CANN HUGHES.

"PROUD PRESTON," IN LANCASHIRE.-In Bishop Richard Pococke's Travels through England in 1734 to 1757,' published by the Camden Society, it is said of "Proud Preston" that it by many families of middling fortunes who live in it; "subsists chiefly by its being a great thoroughfare, and and it is remarkable for Old Maids, because these fami lies will not ally with tradesmen, and have not sufficient fortunes for gentlemen."

This is quoted in the Athenæum of April 13.

I should like to be informed whether these distinguishing characteristics have, in the lapse of more than a century and in presence of the social changes consequent on the development of manufacturing industry, disappeared or diminished. Perhaps the letters "P. P.," borne on a banner in the arms of the city, may have had something to do with its nickname of "Proud Preston"; but as I do not think that this is their meaning, I should feel obliged to any Lancashire antiquary who would say what interpretations have been given of them. He would, perhaps, also kindly correct any mistake there may be in an old nursery rhyme that I quote from recollection of long ago:

Proud Preston, Poor people, Little church, And low steeple.

GRAIENSIS.

DEVIZES.-A friend wishes to know whether town of Devizes has ever been attempted; and, if any etymology or explanation of the name of the so, where. L. L. K.

Rise Park, Hull.

children? The game consists in throwing a knife from certain positions in the hand so that the blade may stick into the ground, the final throw