was evidently regarded as “learning," not by any means as presumptuous ignorance. "The word goblin has been derived from God Belin, who is the same as Bel or Belus," p. 249. Certainly God Belin is excellent French. "Pales, the tutelary deity of husbandry and grazing, whose name bears a great affinity to Baal, Belus, the sun," p. 249. All our old antiquaries had "Baal" on the brain; it was a blessed name to them. "Hills in England which have been the site of heliacal idolatry [how is this ascertained?] are commonly called Toot Hills, from the Egyptian Thoth, Taut, Teut, Tet, or Taautres, who is the same as Mercury, or Buddha, Osiris, and Maha Deva. He was known to the Irish as Tuth, and gave rise to the English letter Te, the Greek Tau, and the Hebrew Thau and Teth," p. 254. This is all a revelry of delight. It follows that the Hebrew" Thau and Teth" are the same letter, and that Egyptian was freely spoken all over England. "I suspect that we owe the word aroynt to the rowan-tree......quasi, a roant thee, or a roan to thee, witch," p. 272. "La-ith-mas, the day of the obligation of grain, is pronounced La-ee-mas, a word readily corrupted to Lammas; ith signifies all kinds of grain, particularly wheat; and mas signifies all kinds of fruit, especially the acorn, whence the word mast," p. 334. La-ith-mas is meant to be Irish. It follows that Candle-mas is "candle-mast." WALTER W. SKEAT. does not venture to hazard a guess as to the num- 66 HUME'S TOMB.-A brief note on a singular distinction accorded to Hume's tomb may interest those STEWART D'AUBIGNY: COCKBURN MENIPENY. whose attention is directed to the historian. On -Many references to MS. pedigrees, &c., of the the occasion of a recent visit to Edinburgh I French branches of these Scotch families are given observed that among the urns, obelisks, altars, and in the 'Chroniques de Louis XII.,' par Jean other erections which abound in the Calton buryd'Auton, published by the Société de l'Histoire de ing-ground the only Christian symbol, with the France, vol. i. pp. 47, 73, 98, 105, 122, 157, and exception of an Iona cross, is on the tomb of David probably elsewhere; but there is no index yet pub- Hume. The tomb is a circular tower, within lished. L. L. K. which the bodies of the historian and his nephew, Over the entrance stands a Latin cross on a stone Baron Hume of the Exechequer, were buried. memorial tablet within. Any one who remembers bracket, and this emblem appears again on a how Hume's philosophical writings gave employ ment to the pens of Dr. George Campbell and Archdeacon Paley will not unnaturally remark even so small a matter as that a cross has been placed on this tomb. EYE-WITNESSES AND CONFLICTING ACCOUNTS OF EVENTS WHICH THEY CHRONICLE.-It is a common experience of readers of historical works to find the writers expressing the difficulties that they have encountered in bringing into agreement the varying accounts of contemporary chroniclers, often professing to be eye-witnesses of the event which they record. In this connexion it may be of sufficient interest to the readers of N. & Q' if short reference is made to the statements of the various reporters of the London daily newspapers with regard to the number of people who took part in the demonstration in Hyde Park against the House of Lords on Sunday, Aug. 26. On the day following the Times stated that "the plain and undoubted fact of the matter is that there were not more than 5,000 or 6,000 bona fide demonstrators" in the park. The Morning Post F. JARRATT. CROMARTIE EARLDOM. (See 'Mackenzie,' 6th S. ix. 48.)—This is in reply to a query that appeared so long ago as 1884; but I have only recently discovered the facts, which I believe to be unknown to any save myself. Certainly they are partially omitted from Sir W. Fraser's valuable book upon the subject. The Hon. Roderick Mackenzie, (second) son of John, second Earl of Cromartie, by his second wife Mary, eldest daughter of Patrick, second November 16, 1731, George Harrison, of St. Lord Elibank, was born in or about 1707, and, Ethelburga, London, bachelor, and, second, a Mr. having served in the fleet at Gibraltar, entered the Gregory; and Jane, born circa 1716, executrix to army in 1727 as a cornet of Dragoons. On April her brother, from whom she inherited his Essex 28, 1735, he is described as of the parish of Green-estates; resided at Croom Hill, Greenwich, and wich, bachelor, aged twenty-eight, when he had died there, unmarried, March 18, 1807, aged ninetylicence (V.G.) to marry with Sarah Allen, of one; buried in Greenwich Church, M.I. Blackheath in Lewisham, spinster, aged twenty, by consent of her father, Bennet Allen, of the The ceremony was solemnized two days later (May 1) in the chapel of Dulwich College. Roderick and Sarah Mackenzie had issue three sons and three daughters as follows: same. 1. George, baptism not found, a legatee in the will of his uncle Robert Allen, drowned on a voyage to India some time before 1789. 3. Sarah, baptized at Greenwich, September 16, 1739, married Col. Matthew Smith, Major of the Tower of London, who died at the Governor's House, February 18, 1812, aged seventy-three, leaving issue. His widow died at Croom Hill, in Greenwich, August 22, 1813,"aged seventy-five," and was buried in that church, M.I. I should like to discover the name of Bennet [See also Cromartie Earldom,' 8th S. iv. 461.] PUZZLING FRENCH WORDS.-I here give a few which are apt to be pronounced incorrectly by French words, chiefly names of places and persons, sion are: Broglie, Claretie, enfouir, été, était, &c., English people. The words I select on this occaeu, eut, &c., Guinée, Guise, Guizot, Le Mans, Montaigne, ouate, St.-Ouen, ouest, Rheims, Sens (the town), St.-Saëns. I will now go through them one by one. 2. Kenneth, baptism not found, married firstly Mary Anne by whom she had issue an only child, Mary Anne Mackenzie, surviving unmarried in 1796. Married secondly, at St. George's, Hanover Square, May 29, 1792, Jane, daughter of Charles Petley, of Riverhead, in Sevenoaks, Kent, Esquire, by whom, who survived (and married (1) Broglie. This name, of Italian origin (the secondly a Mr. Macleod) he had no issue. Ken-variant Broglio is still preserved in Italy), is comneth Mackenzie having succeeded his cousin in the Italian sound, and the ie is pronounced like the e monly pronounced Brogl-e, i. e., the gl preserves its Cromartie estates in 1789, died at his lodgings in Tie at the end of a word in Orchard Street, November 4, 1796, and was buried French is often sie as in ineptie, suprématie ; of de. (2) Claretie. in Greenwich Church November 10. but in Claretie the t has its ordinary sound, probably in consequence of the preceding r. (3) Enfouir. See what I say further on (9) about the words beginning with ou, for the ou in enfouir is pronounced similarly. (4) Eté. When this means but when it is the participle of être this é is more "summer" the first é is distinctly fermé (close); open, and reminds one of the et in Etty, and this is &c. The eu in these words is by exception proalso the case with the é of était, &c. (5) Eu, eut, Paris and, perhaps, elsewhere), but very vulgarly, in nounced like the French u. And so it is also (in The Gui in these three words is generally proEugène and Eugénie. (6) Guinée, Guise, Guizot. nounced like the Ital. ghi; but I formerly used also to hear the last two pronounced with the ui as in I believe that this pronunciation is still occasionlui (the u having more or less of a w sound), and ally to be heard. As for Guinée, a French lady tells me that she once heard it similarly pronounced, and that by a lieutenant in the French navy. In these three cases the w is much less guttural than in (9), as the u which it replaces is pronounced near the teeth. (7) Le Mans. The s is not sounded.* 4. Bennet Allen, baptized at Greenwich November 24, 1740; buried there January 21 following. 5. Maria Margareta, baptized at Greenwich January 17, 1741/2, died unmarried on a return voyage from India (? circa 1788). 6. Jane, baptized at Greenwich November 26, 1744; married by licence (Bishop of London) March 3, 1768, at St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, Major William Blair, H.E.I.Co., who died at Stratford Place, April 27, 1814. She died January 22, 1808, and was buried in Greenwich Church. I have not discovered when or where Roderick and Sarah Mackenzie died, and there do not seem to be wills for either of them at the P.C.C. Sarah's father Bennet Allen was some time captain R.N. After the marriage of his daughter to Roderick Mackenzie he went to reside at Greenwich, in which church he was buried September 10, 1750that is, eight days before his death is recorded in the Gent. Mag.! He had issue, besides Sarah, Robert, of Greenwich, esquire, seized of lands in Clavering and Barton, Essex, died unmarried, buried at Greenwich March 8, 1752/3 (will P.C.C. 56 Bettesworth). Frances, born circa 1713, married first by licence (Bishop of London) dated (8) Montaigne. The ai is pronounced as usual, and the pronunciation Montagne is not here pronounced as in oui, i. e., a good deal like correct. (9) Ouate, St.-Ouen, Ouest. The ou is our w, but more guttural, for, as this French w is nothing more than the ou consonantized, and the ou is pronounced rather far back in the mouth, it the following entries: Item, paid to Henry the king's is natural that this gutturalness should be im- baker, for money which he lent the king to play Cross parted to the w.* As for St.-Ouen, the w is not the king's chamber money which he lent the king, and and Pile, five shillings. Item, paid to Barnard usher of quite so strong as in the other two cases, seeing that which he lost at Cross and Pile: to Monsieur Robert the t of the "Saint" is carried on to it. The en is Watteville eight pence.'-' Antiq. Repert.' vol. ii. p. 58." pronounced ain, whilst in Rouen the ou ou (our The origin of the word pile in the phrase "jouer 00) and the en=an. (10) Rheims. This used to à croix et pile, jouer à pile ou face," is uncertain. be a great stumbling-block to English travellers, A pile was an iron tool used in stamping money. but I think it is now pretty generally recognized With this, Du Cange says, a sanctuary or a church that the pronunciation is as if the word were spelt-pila-was frequently impressed, and hence the Rainss. (11) Sens. This is pronounced Sanss, as term pile was given to the reverse side of the coin. the subst. sens (=sense, &c.) ordinarily is, though The Germans say "Münz oder Flach?" and Littré says this latter ought to be pronounced san. "Kopf oder Schrift?" In Dutch the cross re(12) St.-Saëns. This is commonly pronounced Saint appears, "Kruis of Munt?" and also in Spanish, Sanss, though the diaresis (tréma) might readilyCara ó Cruz?" When was the cross first prolead one to suppose that the en has the sound of minent upon Christian coins? ain. Vapereau, however, writes it Saens. F. CHANCE. Sydenham Hill. 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. "HEAD OR TAIL?" So universal is the gambling spirit that a phrase similar to our "Head or tail?" must, one would think, exist wherever coins that lend themselves to "tossing" (i. e., which have an obverse and a reverse of different design) are in use. It would, I think, be worth while to obtain and record a list of such phrases; and I would be allowed to ask contributions to such a list from readers of 'N. & Q.' With the Romans "Head or tail?" was "Capita aut navim?" The most common form of the as had the two-faced head of Janus on one side (hence the plural capita), and the prow of a ship on the other. In our "Head or tail?" only the obverse side of the coin is described, "tail" simply indicating the opposite or other side. But there is a vulgar substitute for "tail," familiar, so far as I can learn, in and about London (or, perhaps, in the South) only, in which the Britannia of the reverse of bronze coins becomes "woman". Head or woman?" a Strutt's 'Sports and Pastimes' speaks of "" cross and pile,' or, with us, 'head and tail,'” as silly pastime known among the most vulgar classes of the community, and to whom it is, at present, very properly confined." "Formerly, however," the writer continues, "it held higher rank, and was introduced at the Court. Edward II. was partial to this and such like frivolous diversions...... In one of his wardrobe rolls we meet with * One generally hears la ouate, though, according to Littré, l'ouate may also be used. But it is always l'ouest, and not le ouest, though I do not know that there is any difference in the pronunciation of the ou in the two cases. The interest of the list would be enhanced if the literal meanings of the words equivalent to head and tail were explained where (as, e. g., in the Slavonic languages) they are not likely to be familiar to the general reader. HENRY ATTWELL. Barnes. ["Man or woman?" is more common than "Head or woman?" In Ireland " Head or harp ?" was, and perhaps is, general.] MRS. ELIZABETH INCHBALD.-Information is wanted as to the whereabouts of a certain commonplace book and sundry letters belonging to Mrs. Elizabeth Inchbald, afterwards in the possession of Mrs. Frances Phillips, wife of John Phillips, of Pall Mall. I should like to put myself into communication with the heirs of the said Mrs. Frances Phillips and those of James Boaden. ARTIST. ASTRONOMICAL.-Can any of your readers give me information as to where I can learn (1) the time of sunrise on or about December 21 and January 21 at Melbourne; (2) the (approximate) number of hours of moonlight there on the first and fifteenth days of a lunation, or the time of the moon's rising on those days; (3) the (approximate) duration of twilight there? T. NICKLIN. SERIAL ISSUE OF NOVELS.-Mr. Henry Herman's new story entitled 'Sword of Fate' is now appearing serially in the Southern Weekly News. Two chapters appear each week, and to each subsequent instalment of two chapters is prefixed a synopsis of the previous chapters. This arrangement is certainly convenient for those readers who may not have commenced reading the story from the beginning, as it enables them to see the drift of the story so far as it has appeared in print. Is not this a new departure in the serial issue of novels? I do not remember to have come across it before. The synopsis, too, has its further use, as forming an analytical table of contents to the novel when pubA. C. W. lished in book form. [The custom, which is not new, has, we believe, been introduced from America.] CROSSES FOR KISSES.-When my little grandchildren write to me they fill up the space under their names with as many crosses as it will contain. These mean kisses, and I calmly took them as such, and never thought they might have an antiquarian value until, rereading Robinson Crusoe,' I found that after Crusoe's return to Europe he received a letter from his partner in Brazil in which he described their property, "how many slaves there were upon it, and, making twenty-two crosses for blessings, he told me he said so many Ave Marias to thank the Blessed Virgin that I was alive." Defoe represents this as having been written about the end of the seventeenth century; and I think it most likely that he represented a custom amongst Roman Catholics of that time which may have had a long past origin, and that even the "kisses" my grandchildren send me may have had their origin in pre-Reformation times. Can of your correspondents throw light upon the subject? H. B. HYDE. 5, Eaton Rise, Ealing, W. any SARAH BRAMSTONE. In the churchyard of Upton, near Slough, there is a tombstone with the following curious inscription: "Here lieth the body of Sarah Bramstone, of Eton, spinster, a person who dared to be just in the reign of King George II. Obijt January 30, 1765, aged 77." There is surely a history attached to a woman whose temerity could have led her into being just at such a period. Her tombstone has apparently had a bad time of it since it was first placed over her body, for it is much broken and battered. 86, Grosvenor Road, S.W. W. ROBERTS. "We marched to Algiberota, one league beyond Alcabaça. The convent of Alcabaça exceeded anything I ever saw as a work of destruction. They [the French army] had burnt what they could, and destroyed the remainder with an immense deal of trouble. The embalmed kings and queens were taken out of their tombs, and I saw them lying in as good preservation as the day they were interred......An orderly book found near the place showed that regular parties had been ordered for the purpose. A foot-note runs: "Pedro el Cruel and Innes de Castra [sic] were, I believe, the two I saw." I have never seen this chronicled elsewhere, to the best of my recollection. Can any reader give me references? Was the convent restored in any way; and were the bodies replaced in the tombs ? Was Alcabaça the ancient royal mausoleum of Spain? W. H. QUARRELL. HERALDIC.-Will some one with books at hand be good enough to give the arms borne by the following ? 1. Sir Thomas Ashton, of Ashton-under-Lyne, Knt., circa 1450. 2. Sir John Savage, of Clifton, co. Chesh., Knt., cir. 1500. 3. Lord Edmund Howard, father of Queen Catherine Howard. 4. Sir Ralph Leicester, of Toft, co. Chesh., cir. 1500. 5. Sir Humphrey Davenport, of Sutton, co. Chesh., Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, cir. 1600. 6. Richard Ashton, of Croston, cir. 1650. 7. John Dalton, of Thirnham, co. Lanc., cir. 1700. 8. George Meynell, of Dalton, co. York. I should be glad to learn also the tinctures of the arms of Culcheth of Culcheth, and the history of the singular charge. Is it in any way connected with the crest of the senior branch of the Lathoms ? H. N. Tamworth. of a banquet, with some ten or twelve figures, male PAINTING.-I have an old oil painting on panel and female, sitting round a table, and in the background a servant bringing in a peacock on a dish. In the top left-hand corner, in the fold of a curtain, are the letters P. E. V. L. and date 1634. The colours are wonderfully fresh and well preserved, and the faces of the banqueters, in most cases turned towards the spectator, give the impression of their being probably portraits. I shall be much obliged if any of your readers can give me an idea as to who was the painter. J. W. G. WOLLEN. d. 1642? He painted subjects of this kind.] [Can it be by Pieter van Laar, known as Bambiccio, LINES WANTED.-Can you give me the few lines bringing out the varied meanings of the word "body"? It is a sort of doggerel rhyme, but I have quite forgotten how it begins. C. T. S. SIR WILLIAM BUTTS.-This eminent physician died Nov. 22, 1545, if we may believe the two inquisitions taken at his death; but his epitaph at Fulham Church, as restored by Leonard Butts in 1627, says Nov. 17, 1545. Can this discrepancy be reconciled? It seems feasible to suppose that a descendant, eighty-two years after the death of his relative, would have been in possession of correct information. From which of the three sons of Sir William was this Leonard Butts TUSCULUM UNIVERSITY, U.S.-Can any reader Paris. "KIN" IN ENGLISH SURNAMES.-In Dr. Barber's recent book on 'British Family Names' I find no mention of one which, for its formation, possesses for me, at least, a peculiar interest. Í refer to the name Clarkin. Some students of surnames fancy-they adduce no evidence-that it originally signified “kin of the Clares.” this seem probable? It seems to me that "kin," so frequently the final syllable in British surnames, deserves special attention. C. H. CROSS. Does Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. "BLANDYKES."-This is a Stonyhurst word, which is said to mean indulgences in the matter of dietary. In one of the numerous paragraphs on the college centenary which have found their way into print I find it stated that "blandykes" is the connecting link between the old school at St. Omer and the present school. I take it, then, that the term is a corruption of the French blandices, in this sense=treats for good boys. No doubt some Stonyhurst man will be good enough to confirm, or to correct, this view. W. F. WALLER. RIVERS FAMILY.-Two brothers named Rivers entered at Christ's College, Cambridge, in 1628. They were the sons of Sir John Rivers, a Kentish baronet. Can any one tell me whether this Kentish family of Rivers was connected with the family of the Earl of Rivers? A. WILSON VERITY. DUKE OF ORLEANS.-Who was this duke, stated, in Murray's Guide to Sussex,' to have been captured at Agincourt by Richard Waller, of Groombridge, and detained prisoner at Groombridge Place for twenty-five years? And why was he kept there so long? THORNFIELD. HADLEIGH CASTLE, ESSEX.-Can any reader of "N. & Q.' inform me if there is in existence a ound plan of Hadleigh Castle, Essex, or if a theoretical elevation has ever been constructed? MORRIS PAYNE. WOOD FAMILY.-Information will be esteemed as to this family, which came from the vicinity of Halifax Yorks, many of whom are buried in Elland. The father of Michael Wood had several Aaron was the eldest and Moses the second. sons "SHOTERS HYLL" AND "STANGAT HOLE." (8th S. vi. 68.) The former of these names will perhaps be familiar to your Transatlantic correspondent in This lofty the modern spelling Shooter's Hill. eminence, made famous by Byron (Don Juan,' xi. viii.) as the scene of his hero's encounter with the footpad, is situated eight miles and a quarter from London on the Dover road, at the intersection of the cross road from Woolwich to Eltham. It is said to have been the place where Chief Justice Popham in his youth eased travellers of their purses; and there is a story in the first chapter of 'Harman's Caveat' (printed in 1567, and reprinted in the E.E.T.S. Extra Series, No. 9) of an old man who had been up to London to sell his wares, "and as he was comminge homewarde on blacke heathe next to shotars hyl, he ouer tooke two rufflars," and chatted with them for company as he rode slowly along. They did not, however, set about their work of plunder "vntyll they weare one the toppe of the hyll, where these rufflares might well beholde the coaste about them cleare." See more about Shooter's Hill in Walford's 'Old and New London' (vi. 233). As to the other place (variously written Stanegate, Stonegate, Standgate) I have very scanty information. It was about sixty-four miles from London on the Great North Road, near Alconbury Hill, in Huntingdonshire. The only book in which I have seen a notice of it says that it was "formerly a great place for highwaymen, on the North road." F. ADAMS. "Shoters byll is doubtless Shooter's Hill, which is seven miles and a half from London on the road to Dover. It was in times past notorious as a resort for highwaymen. Dickens, in 'A of Two Cities' (chap. ii.), says :— |