2°'! S. VII. May 21. '69.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



425 



ble of Veromandui, Wortigern, Veragri, Vergobius, 

 Vergasillaunus, Vercivgetorix, indicates greatness, 

 intensity, perhaps solidity and truth. Co, Go, or 

 Guerg, an old Keltic expletive, perhaps analogous 

 in sense and origin to the German gem, gives an 

 idea of efficacity, reality. The Fer-guerg hreith 

 would be the '■'• High-real-judge." — Cassioelaunus 

 may be reduced to Cassi-beolach, the " soldier of 

 the gods Cassii," old Gallic deities of unceTtain 

 authority and origin (see Orell. 1979, Hefner, 

 119.) Such are the few and very vague lights 

 thrown by the persevering efforts of Mone, Davies, 

 Pictet, Zeuss, and others, on the almost unscruta- 

 ble darkness of Druidic and Keltic times. 



Philarete Chasles, Mazarinseus. 

 May 6, Palace of the Institute, Paris. 



Commencement of the Year in April (2"'^ S. vii. 

 375.) — Mr. Scoble, the learned editor of Philip j 

 de Commines, being abroad, I venture to refer N. i 

 to Sir Harris Nicolas's Chronology of History, j 

 where, at p. 41. (edit. 1833), it is "stated that in { 

 France — 



" From the end of the 11th century to the year 1563, 

 the usage has been nearly universal for the monarchs in 

 their public instruments, to begin the year at Easier," &c. 



In a table (at p. 63.) showing the day of the 

 month of Easter Day from the year 1000 to the 

 year 2000, it will be found that Easter Day, 1482, 

 fell on April 7. J. C. W. 



Temple. 



The ''Five Great Poioers" (2"'^ S. vii. 356.) — 

 By a reference to Lenfant's History of the Council 

 of Constance (vol. i. p. 112.), we learn that, with 

 the view of " voting by nations^' so as to nullify 

 the preponderance of Italian votes, four Powers 

 were recognised, viz. those of Italy, Germany, 

 France, and England (1st Session). The Spanish 

 nation had not, as yet (a.d. 1415), withdrawn, 

 from the obedience of Benedict XIII., and there- 

 fore had not joined the Council. . At a subse- 

 quent Session of the Council (a.d. 1417), when 

 the Spaniards had relinquished their allegiance to 

 the deposed and obstinate Benedict and had joined 

 the Council (28th Session), they challenged the 

 right of voting, and disputed it with the JSnglish. 

 The Italians opposed any augmentation of the 

 " Nations,'^ so as to reduce the number of votes, 

 and the French supported the claim of the 

 Spaniards against the English, prompted thereto 

 by the angry feelings " engendered by the war, 

 which at that time flamed out more than ever 

 betwixt France and England, and by their recent 

 defeat at Agincourt." (Vol. ii. p. 41.) The " Me- 

 morial " of the French against the claims of the 

 English to be recognised as a " Nation," and the 

 *' Reply " of the latter, may be read with interest 

 at the present day by every member of the Church 

 of England. The result was, that'by an Act of 

 the 31st Session, the " English were maintained 



in the possession of their right, and made a ^fth 

 nation, as they had formed the fourth before the 

 union of the Spaniards." (Vol. ii. p. 53.) 



E. C. Habington. 

 The Close. Exeter.' 



In modern times Austria, France, Great Britain, 

 Prussia, and Russia have been so considered, as 

 the following statement will show, — their armies 

 being reckoned on the peace establishment : — 



Army. Naval Guns. 



Austria . - - - 405,000 600 



France- ... - 265,463 8,000 



Great Britain - - - 129,000 . 18,000 



Prussia ... - 121,000* 114 



Russia .... 700,000 7,000 

 The secondary wowers are : 



Spain 160,000 721 



The Netherlands - - - 60,000 2,500 



Belgium - - - - 90,000 36 



Portugal - - - . 38,000 700 



Sardinia - - - - 38,000 900 



Naples .... 48,000 484 



Bavaria .... 57,000 ' — 



Turkey .... 220,000 f ^00 



The other forty-two European states have aggre- 

 gate armies of 368,185 men, and 4,250 naval guns, 

 including Denmark (20,000 men, 1120 guns), and 

 Sweden (34,000 men, 2,400 guns). Of the fifty- 

 five independent European states, five only are 

 accounted "Great Powers." This statement is 

 founded on an extract from the Kolner Zeitiing 

 in the Companion to the British Almanac for 1852. 



T. J. BUCKTON. 



Lichfield. 



Bordyhe (2°'^ S. vii. 359.) — Although raised at 

 Tunbridge School (floreat !) and well acquainted 

 with the town and all its localities as it was in the 

 early part of the present century ( 1 801-8), I have not 

 the slightest recollection of any such spot or name 

 as Bordyhe. Tunbridge Castle, however, accord- 

 ing to Hasted, had formerly three moats ; and the 

 two exterior ones enclosed the then town of Tun- 

 bridge. One of these moats, probably the outer- 

 most, I well remember tracing as a schoolboy, 

 having antiquarian blood. Westward the moat 

 was distinctly traceable through a willow-bed with 

 shelving sides ; then, to the N. W. of the town, 

 through a hollow garden or orchard, till it crossed 

 the road at the top of the main street. Then, to 

 the N. E., it was marked first by a bank in a gar- 

 den, running by the side of the cross-road to 

 Hadlow, and next by a long pond, at the back of 

 the church and churchyard ; and so it passed down 

 eastward through private grounds towards the 

 river. 



This moat, I would submit, was the original 

 Bordyke, or Bord-dyke. " Bord " was in old Eng- 

 lish a border, as " the bord of a shield." " Bord " 



* Her war footing is 492,000 men. 

 t Turkey has held aloof from the great European con- 

 federation^ and has suffered accordingly. 



