2°'« S. No 64., Mar. 21. '57.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



235 



mistake. Goudimel published his harmonisation 

 of the tunes in the Genevan Psalter in 1565. 

 None of the melodies in that Psalter were framed 

 by him. He merely put harmonies to them. 



To the question, as given by yourself, " Whether 

 the Old Hundredth be a Lutheran, or French, or 

 Flemish melody ?" I venture rather positively to 

 reply. It is none of the three. 



Allow me to add, that the real origin of the 

 tune is fully and most satisfactorily described, as 

 the American critics affirm, in A History of the 

 Old Hundredth Psalm Tune, printed, somewhat 

 accidentally, at New York about three years ago ; 

 and whicb, it is expected, will be published in 

 England by Messrs. Sampson Low, Son, & Co., in 

 the course of a few weeks. To say more of the 

 work at present would be unfair to parties con- 

 cerned. M. Y. L. 



rBEE-MABTIN. 



(2"'» S. lii. 148.) 



I cannot give the inquirer on this subject direct 

 references to the best authorities; but I do not 

 doubt that he will find the matter fully discussed 

 in some original papers of the Transactions of the 

 Royal Society, or perhaps in some of the works of 

 the great human and comparative anatomist John 

 Hunter. 



It is an undoubted fact that the twin-heifer is 

 most frequently barren ; and this barrenness arises 

 from the absence, or the imperfect development, 

 of certain of the internal parts of generation. But 

 this is not always the case ; for a friend and neigh- 

 bour of mine had, two or three years ago, a twin- 

 heifer which proved to be fruitful, her brother 

 growing up at the same time a strong and healthy 

 ox. I believe that when the twin-calves are both 

 of the female sex, it may also happen that one may 

 turn out to be & free-martin. 



Of the origin of the name I am quite ignorant, 

 and hope that the inquiry will not be dropped till 

 that, too, has been traced out and accounted for. 



It is certainly recorded in "folk lore," as Cotii- 

 BERT Bedb says, that the same peculiarity attends 

 the twin condition of the human species. I do not 

 think that this has ever been verified by dissection. 

 But I myself know several instances in which the 

 rule has held good, where both children were of 

 the female sex ; in large families, too, where there 

 seemed to be all the aptitude for a healthy succes- 

 sion. And it is no uncommon thing, when twin 

 sisters are married, for speculations to get abroad 

 as to which of the two would carry the curse so 

 grandly denounced by the indignant father of 

 Regan and Goneril : 



" Hear, Nature, hear ; 

 Dear goddess, hear ! suspend thy purpose, if 

 Thou didst intend to make this creature fruitful ! 



Into her womb convey sterility ! 

 Dry up in her the organs of increase ; 

 And from her derogate body never sprin g 

 A babe to honour her ! " 



M. (2.) 



On this subject there has been much difference 

 of opinion. Often have I heard it stated that 

 twins neither become fathers nor mothers, and I 

 have known such an opinion so strongly to pre- 

 vail, that, in a present case which I am about to 

 record, the husband and parent — having lost his 

 first wife, by whom he had children — when far 

 advanced in life entered upon a second marriage, 

 and at the time he advised with me on the point. 

 He then stated that, as his intended — although 

 much younger than himself — was a twin, there 

 would probably be no children. He married the 

 lady, a twin, and has had four children, the fourth 

 born within the last few days. The brother twin, 

 who married previous to the sister, has no chil- 

 dren. 



In my professional experience, now of forty 

 years' duration, I have known twins of the same 

 sex both to have children ; but I do not know of 

 an instance where the twins of different sexes 

 have each of them families, nor am I aware that 

 it is confined to the sex, — one has, and the other 

 has not. There must be some peculiar develop- 

 ment which, with many other events, is hidden 

 from our knowledge. M. D. 



Kennington. 



Shake-Bag (2°^ S. iii. 209.) — The following 

 anecdote was told me by an old lady, a daughter 

 of Samuel Sidebottom, Rector of Middleton in the 

 county of Lancaster. 



" After morning service some of my father's 

 tenants used to come into the servants' hall to get 

 a horn of ale. My father would go in and talk 

 with them, and sometimes ask them how they 

 liked his sermon (you must know he was rather 

 proud of his preaching), and as the answer was of 

 course in praise of it, he would say, ' Yes, yes, 

 that was my Shake- bag.' " 



Upon my inquiring what " shake-bag " meant, 

 she said, " In those days they used to fight what 

 they called ' a main of cocks,' so many on each 

 side, sometimes as many as thirty ; each cock was 

 brought in in a bag and shaken out into the cockpit. 

 The cock of greatest promise, the best cock, was 

 called by its owner his ' shake-bag.' " This old 

 lady died in 1826. She remembered the Pre- 

 tender's breakfasting at her father's house in 

 1745. J. W. Farrer. 



In the south-eastern part of Lincolnshire, a man 

 of irregular disreputable character is called " a 



