434 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2°<» S. VII. May 28. 'oir. 



for the rest of the counties, thou mayest deal with 

 them as thou art pleased. Lord, enable the 

 Bank to answer all their bills, and make all my 

 debtors good men. Give a prosperous voyage 

 and return to the Mermaid sloop, which I have 

 ensured : and, Lord, thou hast said, ' That the 

 days of the wicked are short,' and I trust thou 

 wilt not forget thy promises, having purchased an 

 estate in reversion of Sir J. P., a profligate young 

 man. Lord, keep our funds from sinking ; and, 

 if it be thy will, let there by no sinking fund. 

 Keep my son C^leb out of evil company, and from 

 gaming-houses. And sanctify, O Lord, this night 

 to rae, by preserving me from thieves and fire, and 

 make my servant honest and careful, whilst I, 

 thy servant, lie down in thee, Lord. Amen." 



J. Y. 



^tn0r ^utviti. 



Peg Tankard. — Can any of your readers give 

 me the probable date of a peg tankard which I 

 now describe ? 



The tankai'd is of a dark wood, resembling oak, 

 polished outside and half way down the inside, but 

 the other half rough as cut. It stands about eight 

 inches high, on four carved lions couchant, each 

 holding a ball between its fore feet. The handle is 

 of the same wood, massive and chased, is fastened 

 to the tankard with two wooden pegs inside, and 

 with a hinge of the same wood. On the top of the 

 handle is a lion couchant and crowned, holding a 

 ball between its fore feet. On the lid, encircled 

 by a wreath, is a Hon rampant, ^vith one of its 

 fore and hind feet resting on a halberd, curved 

 nearly to a semicircle. On its head is a fleur-de- 

 lis or crown. The tankard hag seven pegs inside, 

 and holds about two quarts. On the und^ side of 

 the tankard is carved the date, 1763, with the 

 letter P. _ 



I cannot think that is the proper date of it, but 

 perhaps some of the readers of " N. & Q." will 

 give their opinion. T. B. W. 



Vowtes, or Vows, over Altars. — In 1549 the 

 churchwardens of S. Martin's, Leicester, credit 

 their account with sums received " for the vowte 

 ov' Sent Kathern's alf," and for " the vowte ov'' 

 sent George aulter." Were these votive offerings 

 made at the altar of the saint for some supposed 

 benefit received ? if not, what were they ? 



Thos. North. 



Leicester. 



The Precious Ointment. — Will any of your 

 readers kindly inform me if "the very precious 

 ointment" with which our Saviour was twice 

 anointed — see St. Matthew, xxvi. 60., St. Mark, 

 xiv. 30., and St. John, xii. 30., and again in St. 

 Luke, vii. 37. — is the " holy ointment, " the 

 compounding of which is so minutely detailed in 



Exod. XXX. 22., and following verses ? The odour, 

 in both cases, is noticed as being very powerful. 

 The prohibition that it should be poured on man's 

 flesh — see v. 32., "Upon man's flesh shall it not 

 be poured" — is no answer to my question, as it 

 was expressly compounded for the anointing of 

 the priests. M. C. H. 



Book Note. — On an old black-letter copy of 

 the 39 Articles, in the library of the Dean and 

 Canons at Windsor, is the following note : — 



"These articles were distinctly read in \« Parish 

 Church of Odstock in y<^ County of Wilts, uppon y" thir- 

 teenth day of August, Anno Dni. 1G37, by Christofer 

 Yonge, y Rector and Parson of y® s"! Parish of Odstock. 

 where;into he gave his full assent and consent in the Au- 

 dience and psence of us, vizt. 

 " Simon Barker, Curate. 



Stephen Bankks (his mark). Churchwarden. 



Wm. Hooker. 



John Presse, Clarke of the Parish att that time." 



Was it usual to read the Articles on institution 

 to a benefice, or on any other occasion, at the 

 above date ? 11. C. W. 



Baptism for the Dead. — A story has been com- 

 municated to me, so strange, that, had not its 

 source been unimpeachable, it should never have 

 been repeated. It is this. Some time ago it was 

 a custom among the poorer and more ignorant of 

 the Jews, when any of them were dangerously ill, 

 to send for a rabbi, and to have the sick man's 

 name changed. The object being, that in case the 

 evil one should come and claim the patient — 

 Moses Abrahams we will call him — the bye- 

 standers might answer with truth : " Ah ! this is 

 not Moses, it is Michael Abrahams." And so, after 

 apologising for calling at the wrong house, " auld 

 Clootie" might go somewhere else in quest of his- 

 man. Is there any truth that this strange super- 

 stition ever existed? and does it, or any relic of 

 it, prevail at the present day ? F. S. A. 



On buying a Bible. — 



" 'Tis but a folly to rejoice or boast 

 How small a price thy well-bought purchase cost, 

 Until thy Death thou shallt not fully know 

 Whether it was a Pennyworth or no. 

 And at that time, believe me, 'twill appear 

 Extremely Cheap or else extremely Dear." 



Copied from a MS. in an old Pocket Book. 

 Is it known that these lines are in print, and by 

 whom composed ? The reference to any authority 

 must go back fully seventy-five years. G. N. 



" The Wonderful Discovery of Witches in the 

 Countie of Lancaster. ^^ — Since the publication of 

 Harrison Ainsworth's Lancashire Witches, the- 

 noted trials and executions at Lancaster and 

 York in a.d. 1612, have been well known to most 

 readers ; but the more minute details are familiar 

 to those only who have had access to ]\Ir. Potts's- 

 Wonderful Discovery, republished some years ago 



