496 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2"* S, VII. June 18. '59. 



have stamps on them somewhat similar to those 

 on silver, but differing so far that Mr. Morgan's 

 assay office table, and the articles on plate marks 

 in the Art Journal, give no help in interpreting 

 them. 



I possess among others pieces marked thus : — 



1st piece. X crowned. A circle enclosing a 

 unicorn's head, beneath which, on a scroll in Ro- 

 man capitals, is inscribed, superfine London. On 

 another part of the vessel, four marks similar to 

 hall marks. A lion rampant. A leopard's head 

 crowned. Bri*-annia. H, black-letter. 



2nd piece. Two circles : 1st, enclosing what 

 seems to be an archer, shooting to the left of the 

 spectator ; 2nd, an heraldic rose in a wreath. In 

 another part, four apparent hall marks. R, I, 

 Roman capitals. An anchor. A spread-eagle. 

 Obliterated. Edwaed Fbacock. 



Bottesford Manor, Brigg. 



Sir William Weston. — In the vaults of St. 

 James's church, Clerkenwell, against the north 

 wall, in an upright posture, is a once recumbent 

 effigy of Sir William Weston, the last grand prior 

 of St. John's : he is represented by an emaciated 

 figure, swathed in a sheet. This figure is griev- 

 ously mutilated, and the features of the face are 

 almost obliterated. It was taken from the lower 

 part of his splendid monument, which, at the de- 

 molition of the old church of St. James's in 1788, 

 was purchased by the Rev. Sir George Booth, and 

 conveyed to Burghley, co. Lincoln. [?] Does it 

 still remain there ? W. J. Pinks. 



Military Funerals. — Will anyone kindly give 

 me information, or tell me where it is to be ob- 

 tained, respecting the origin of the procession, 

 firing over the grave, &c., at military funerals ? 



A. C. LoMAX. 



Lichfield. 



Childe Childers. — " Childe Waters " and 

 " Childe Childers " are the two instances of em- 

 ployment of the epithet given by Byron in his 

 preface to Childe Harold. " Childe Waters " is 

 in every Collection of Old Ballads ; but where 

 will one find " Childe Childers ? " Ignoko. 



Fraternisation : JBillingsgate : Simious, Sec — 

 Sydney Smith, in his "Essay on the Catholic 

 Question," in the Edinburgh Review (1827), uses 

 the expression : " England has fully as much to 

 fear from Irish /ratemisation with America as with 

 France." Is not this an early instance of the use 

 of this word ? And was it not first introduced at 

 the French Revolution ? 



In his " Essay on Counsel for Prisoners " (Ed. 

 Rev., 1826), he writes : " If battles with the Judge, 

 and battles among the Counsel, are the best me- 

 thod, as they certainly are, of getting at the truth, 

 better tolerate this philosophical Billingsgate, than 

 persevere, because the life of a man is at stake in 



solemn and polished injustice." How far back 

 does this phrase go ? Dryden uses it in his Pre- 

 face to the Religio Laid, 1682 : " To their ignor- 

 ance all things are wit which are abusive ; but if 

 Church and State were made the theme, then the 

 doctoral degree of wit was to be taken at Billings- 

 gate." Can you refer me to any earlier instances ? 



Sydney Smith uses, in these Essays from Edin. 

 Rev., the contemptuous expressions, "anserous" 

 and " simious." Are not these of his own coinage ? 

 And does he follow any authority when he says 

 of a writer : " He is never nimious ; there is no- 

 thing in excess ? " 



I am unable to refer to either Richardson or 

 Johnson. Ache. 



" The Contrast " (2"'^ S. vii. 258.) — Can any- 

 one refer me to a library where I can see this 

 book ? It is not in the British Museum. 



N. H. R. 



The Tracts for the Times. — Will you or any 

 of your readers oblige me -with the exact dates of 

 the issue of the above publications, as well as with 

 the names of the respective authors of the same? 



MOSCHELLEH BaKG£SSHON. 



•Broadchalke, near Salisbury. 



The Sign of the Crow and Horseshoe. — What 

 is the meaning of this sign ? Does it rest upon 

 some legend, or is it a corruption of some old 

 sign, which in its original form had an obvious 

 meaning ? Is it common in England ? F. P. Q. 



Vallancey's " Military Survey of Ireland." — 

 Where is the original MS. of General Vallancey's 

 Military Survey of Ireland deposited? and has it 

 appeared in print, in whole or in part ? I am 

 aware that it has not appeared in a separate form ; 

 but it may have been printed in some one or other 

 of our many periodicals or public papers. 



Abhba. 



The Minstrels' Gallery, Exeter Cathedral. — In 

 Exeter Cathedral, on the north side of the nave, 

 in the central bay, and immediately below the 

 clerestory, is a projecting gallery, in the front of 

 which are twelve niches, each containing the 

 figure of an angel with a musical instrument. It 

 is known as " The Minstrels' Gallery," and no 

 doubt served for the accommodation of musicians 

 on the higher festivals. 



No other example occurs in England. I wish 

 to ask whether any similar galleries are known to 

 exist on the Continent ; and if so, in what churches 

 or cathedrals ? R. J. K. 



Chamberlain Family. — Edmond Wyndhara (son 

 of Sir John Wyndham of Melton Constable, and 

 father of Sir Hugh, of Pillesden Court, Bart.), 

 is said by Burke to have married, circa 1600, 

 Mary, daughter and coheir of Richard Chamber- 

 tein of London. Collinson {Hist, of Somerset) 



