150 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[•2nd s. No GO., Feu. 21. 'o7. 



afterwards became the wife of Robert Keyes, the 

 individual who was concerned in tlie plot ; but of 

 bis family or connexions nothing more is known. 



Anon. 



" Miismum Tlwreshjanum'' — Feeling much in- 

 Icrested in all that relates to my ancestors, the 

 Eeestons of Beeston, I should very much like to 

 purchase, at a fair and reasonable price, the fol- 

 lowing MS. and charter thus mentioned in the 

 Ducatus Leodiensis, and I can only hope to do so 

 through the medium of " N. & Q." Perhaps the 

 editor will, with his usual courtesy, allow me to 

 try to catch the eye of the party who has them : 



" Mr. Ealpli Beeston's manuscript relating to the 

 Beestons of Beeston, 1G09, wlien that mannor was sold to 

 Sir John Wood ; with Sermons or Discourses on certain 

 Texts of Scripture. The original given me by his kins- 

 man, Mr. Brvan Dixon." 



" By an original charter, lately presented to me, whereby 

 Will. Painel gives Lands and Tenements to St. John's of 

 Jcriisalom, attested by many of the Gentry in these Parts, 

 it appears there Avas a Ralph Beeston and Robert his son, 

 prior to smy in the printed Pedigree, it being before Dates 

 v.'ere inserted." 



Particulars of whereabouts and price will be 

 thankfully received by Pv. W. Dixon. 



Seaton Carew, co. Durham. 



Sparcolle Family. — Information is desired re- 

 specting the family and name of Sparcolle, Spark- 

 hall, or'Sparshall, of Suffolk or Norfolk. 



In Glover's Roll, the arms are given as " Gules, 

 a lion rampant double queued ermine." The 

 same arms were borne by the Nerford, or Neer- 

 foid family, the crest a glowworm. Were these 

 faniilies connected ? and is there anything allusive 

 in the crest, viz. to '•'■ spurhle"" ? J. S. R. 



Marriage by Proxy. — I find in the History of 

 the Cloister Life of Charles V., that Luis Mendez 

 Quixada Manuel de Figueredo y Mendoza, the 

 cMnperor's majordomo, was married to Dona Mag- 

 dalena de Ulloa at Valladolid by proxy, he not 

 being able to obtain leave of absence from 

 Bruxelles. Are there any other instances of this 

 in history ? And is it allowed now in the Roman 

 or Anglican Churches ? Notsa. 



" Auld Wife Hake." — Christmas and New 

 Year's tea parties and dances are called " Auld 

 wife hakes " in the Furness district of Lancashire. 

 What is the derivation of the word Jiake ? The 

 word is never used in the central part of the 

 county. Fbestoniensis. 



Devirs Scat, Yarmouth. — I read in Hone's 

 Ycar-Book, col. 254., that there is a seat at the 

 gateway of the entrance to Yarmouth churchyard 

 called the " Devil's Seat," which is supposed to 

 render everyone that sits on it particularly liable 

 to misfortune for the rest of their lives. Being a 



native of East Anglia, I should like to know if it 

 is Great Yarmouth. A. S. 



Artesian. — Could any of the readers of " N. & 

 Q." inform me the authority on which the word 

 " artesian," as applied to wells is said to be de- 

 rived from the province of Artois ? I have heard 

 it asserted that such wells were first used in 

 Artois; but, unless supported by direct evidence, 

 it would rather appear that the explanation was 

 invented to account for the derivation of the 

 word, considering that the artesian well was used 

 by the Chinese and Persians many centuries back, 

 and was probably introduced into Europe from 

 the East. Would it not rather be in accordance 

 with reason and etymology to derive the word 

 from Artus, a joijit, in allusion to the mode of 

 boxing with iron rods, each rod being screwed 

 into the one previously sunk, and so on ; in the 

 same way that artillery is derived from Artus, the 

 field-guns in early times being made of several 

 pieces of flat iron bound together by a leather or 

 iron girdle. W. D. H. 



Mason on Short-hand. — I should like to obtain 

 some information respecting a treatise on short- 

 hand, entitled : 



"Arts Advancement or the most exact, lineal, swift, 

 short and easy Method of Short-hand Writing hitherto 

 extant, by Wi'lliam Mason, Author and Teacher ofy^^ said 

 Art. London, printed for Joseph Marshall." ho date 

 [1G82?]. 



Is anything known of the author, and what are 

 the earliest works on short-hand ? * Mason's 

 treatise is a kind of 18mo, and contains 24 pages, 

 apparently printed from plates. From the title, 

 of which I have given an abridgement above, he 

 appears to have been the author of the following 

 works : La Plume Volante ; Collection of Apho- 

 risms ; Aurea Clavis, or a Golden Key ; An Easy 

 Table of Contractions. n. B. 



Rev. Joseph Pilmore. — Methodism was intro- 

 duced into Philadelphia in 1769, by Rev. Joseph 

 Pilmore, who emigrated to America in that year, 

 on a mission from Rev. John Wesley. Mr. Pil- 

 more subsequently obtained orders in the Episco- 

 pal Church, and exhibited great zeal and activity 

 in promoting the interests of Episcopacy. Dr. P. 

 died at Philadelphia about thirty years ago. 



When, and where, and of what parentage was 

 Dr. P. born ? At what time did he enter the 

 Methodist ministry ? J. A. Mc. A. 



Philadelphia. 



" Once in a blue Moon." — A constant reader of 

 the excellent " N. & Q." is very desirous of know- 



r* Some notices of early works on Short Hand will be 

 found in » N. &Q.," 2"* S. i. 152. 263. 303. 40L ; ii. 393. ; 

 iii. 17.] 



