2»'J S. YII. May 21, '59.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



415 



merit's quickened sufTering would secure to him 

 (so these simple women imagined) a painless eter- 

 nity. Can anybody tell me the origin of this 

 superstition, which brings to one's mind the more 

 gentle influence of Christmas Tide, as described in 

 Hamlet ? Juverna. 



Hearth-Money in Dublin, 1664-5. —The follow- 

 ing particulars from an old MS. in my possession 

 will, I think, prove interesting to many readers 

 of " N. & Q.," and ought to be placed on record. 

 I give the number of chimneys in each parish in 

 the year 1664-5, with the amount of tax : — 



Chimneys. Tax. 



£ s. d. 



« St Nicholas' parish within the Walls 446 44 12 



St. Michaell's parish - - - 397 39 14 



St. Waibourough's parish - - 1,042 104 4 



St. Audoen's parish - . - 633 63 6 



St. Bride's parish - - - "12,448 244 16 

 St. Andrew s parish - - -J ' 



Ringsend and out-Liberties - - 165 16 10 



St. Kathrine's parish - - - 1,002 100 4 



St. Michaen's parish - - - 890 89 

 St. Nicholas' parish without the 



Walls 627 62 14 



St. John's parish - .- - - 812 81 4 



- 8,462 £846 4 0" 



Total 



Abhba. 



caucriCiS. 



STEEL PENS. 



In the Navorsclier for 1856 (vol. vi. p. 267.), 

 the following Query still waits for a reply : — 



" In one of his Essays the renowned English humourist 

 Leigh Hunt wittily maintains the hypothesis, that the 

 literature of ever)' centurj' harmonises with the imple- 

 ments made use of in writing. We already find the same 

 idea enounced, but not elaborated, in Dr. Martin Lu- 

 ther's Tisc/ireden. I do not think myself qualified to in- 

 quire philosophically into the connexion just mentioned, 

 but for years I have been engaged in an inquiry about 

 earlier and more recent writing materials, and intend, if 

 God spare my life, to publish the fruits of my lucubra- 

 tions. In the projected pamphlet I hope the reader will 

 find many facts hitherto unknown to him. Thus, for 

 instance, it will be shown that steel pens, far from being, 

 as some assert, an English or a German invention, are 

 rather of Berber origin, and were about the year 1780 

 imported by our [the Dutch] consuls at Tunis and 

 Tripoli. 



" In the collection of steel pens upon which my in- 

 quiries are founded, I still want one kind, M-hich I saw 

 mentioned with particular praise in a London news- 

 piiper of 1837. It is Mr. Queber's Metallic Encaustigon 

 [Qy. Encausticonfl Pen. The factory, formerly settled 

 at West Reading, has, I am informed, ceased to exist for 

 many years. 



" As a curiosity concerning this sort of pens, I may as 

 well mention that, from the report of the commissioner 

 entrusted with the examination of the mysterious chim- 

 ney-sweeper who so steadily pursued Queen Victoria, \t 

 appears that a set of such Queber's pens was found in 

 the prisoner's bundle. 



" Now, has any contributor to the Navorscher a pen 

 of the kind in his possession? And does any of my 

 readers also foster such a hobby as mine? Impossible it 

 is not. But if so, and if he has both the will and the 

 opportunity to communicate a list of his collection, he 

 would greatly oblige one who in turn is willing to oblige, 

 and who signs himself 



" Indagator." 



To the special object of this Query, as I have 

 already mentioned, no reply was given. Another 

 of the Navorscher s correspondents, however (I. I. 

 vol. viii. p. 297.), in his quaint, seamanlike, off- 

 hand manner, wrote as follows : — 



" Perhaps ' Indagator' would see his wish fulfilled by his 

 trusting Dixi's"assertion, that not only in 1815, -16, -17, 

 -18 and -19, but also from 1824^1838, Dixi saw the 

 Jewish population of Morocco, Tangier, Algiers, Bona, 

 Tunis, Tripoli, Bengaza, Alexandria, Smyrna, Caet, and 

 the Jews of the further-in parts of Northern Africa to 

 boot, always using steel pens, whilst the Turkish, Moorish, 

 and Arab inhabitants availed themselves of wooden .ones. 

 In 1827 the writer was at liberty to rummage the archives 

 of the Dutch Consulate-General at Tripoli ; these exist 

 since 1702 ; and he found there a little box, which cer- 

 tainly had not been opened for filt)' years, containing 

 some" steel, or another kind of metallic, pens. Then al- 

 ready they greatly arrested his attention, as being of a 

 quite different form from those we write with in Europe. 

 Whether now the implements Dixi mentions were of 

 Arab or of Moorish invention and fabric, he was unable 

 to decide, as was every one who attentively inspected 

 them. 



'• If, however, ' Indagator' thought it worth the pains 

 and small expenses, he, I dare say, could very easih' pro- 

 cure the little Moorish box — for the make characterises 

 it as such — from our present Consul residing at Tripoli. 



" Dial" 



I need not say 1 consider it hardly possible 

 that any one should give a complete list of all the 

 kinds of steel pens existing : nor would I dare to 

 beg for so much space in " N. & Q." as its inser- 

 tion would take — but still I hope some reader of 

 " N. & Q." will kindly help Indagator forward in 

 his inquiries, and that, perhaps, some happy pos- 

 sessor of a Queber's pen may enrich the old gen- 

 tleman's collection with the specimen wanted. 

 In both cases the kind communications could 

 reach the Querist through Mr. Frederik Muller, 

 the publisher of the Navorscher, whose London 

 correspondent, we believe, is Mr. Nutt. 



J. H. VAN Lennbp. 



Hymns for the Holy Communion. — At the end 

 of our Book of Common Prayer, among others, are 

 four hymns for the Holy Communion ; and in al- 

 most all our Hymnists, of all shades of opinion in 

 the Church, hymns specially for that oflSce are 

 appointed, as also for Baptism, and other special 

 services. In the American Church a hymn is 

 ordered to be sung immediately before the re- 

 ception of the Holy Communion. Can any of 

 your readers inform me in what part of the n^r^ 



