2'"J S. No 76., JcKE 13. '57.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



467 



from ribaldry, and has some not very lucid ex- 

 planations of meteorology and astronomy, which 

 however are generally confirmed by miracles. 

 The difference of the old and new styles is set out 

 feebly ; but the author adds, that the decree of 

 Pope Gregory was honoured with a miraculous 

 change in the seasons, and the time at which holy 

 wells overflowed and sacred trees put forth their 

 blossoms. The Dutch and English held out a 

 long time, but at last yielded to these manifest 

 prodigies, and altered their kalendars, as is ad- 

 mitted by the Protestant historians. 



I shall be glad to have a reference to the his- 

 torians who mention these facts, which I do not 

 think are merely suggested by the almanack- 

 maker, who, though dull and superstitious, seems 

 to be honest^ G. A. P. 



Etampes, May 21, 1857. 



Cromwell at Pembroke. — In a recent visit to 

 Pembroke the cicerone at the castle told me that 

 when the castle was besieged by Cromwell, he was 

 unable to get in, until one of the garrison showed 

 him a secret passage from the outside. This worthy 

 was most properly hung by Cromwell as soon as 

 he had shown the way in ; and my informant con- 

 tinued, that his descendants (I forget the name 

 she gave them) were always afterwards called 

 " Traitor," and that the last of them, a woman, 

 had married, and was now living at Haverford- 

 west. Is there anything in this story more than 

 the usual cicerone fables ? G. W. C. 



Division of Counties. — What was the origin of 

 portions of certain counties being isolated in other 

 adjoining counties ? Many instances occur in Ox- 

 fordshire, such as the parishes of Lillingstone, 

 Lovell, Caversfield, Shilton, Langford, Alkerton, 

 &c. H. H. 



Bolton Family. — I would feel much obliged for 

 any information respecting the family of Bolton, 

 formerly settled in the North of England, and 

 some members of which followed Cromwell to the 

 South of Ireland in 1649. B. 



D. Wylhe Edwinsford. — Who was " Do Wylke 

 Edwinsford, Esq., of Caermarthenshire," author of 

 A Review of a Work entitled " Remarks on Scep- 

 ticism, " by the Rev. T. Rennell, London, 8vo., 

 1819 ? which latter work is itself an answer to the 

 views of Bichat, Morgan, and Lawrence, on Or- 

 ganization and Life. William Bates. 



The Men of the Mcrse. — In an early number 

 of Chamber^ Journal, the writer of a paragraph in 

 that periodical says he once heard an individual 

 repeat a long poem in praise of the people of the 

 Merse or Berwickshire, every verse of which 

 ended with the words " The Men of the Merse." 

 A few days ago, on mentioning the above to an 

 old shoemaker in this village, he told me that he 



once heard, above thirty years ago, a female who 

 was a servant to the late Rev. Thomas Logan, 

 M.D., Minister of Chirnside, sing the song, but he 

 could only recollect the following lines : 



" They're tall, stout, and stately. 

 They've come from work lately. 

 They're a' dress'd sae neatly, 

 The Men o' the Merse.' 



" From the Caithness to Dover, 

 Seek each county over, 

 You'll nae folk discover, 



Like th' Men o' the Merse. 



" A' its bounds are beloved, 

 Not an inch but's improved, 

 Not a stone left unmoved, 



By the Men o' the Merse." 



I would feel much gratified if any of your con- 

 tributors or correspondents could give a complete 

 copy of this song. It appears never to have been 

 in print. Mentanthes. 



Chirnside. 



Thomas Goddard and his Essays. — Who was 

 Thomas Goddard ? I have a Book of Essays on 

 Moral, Historical, and Theological Subjects, by 

 him, date 1661, and should be glad to know more 

 about him than I find in his book. There is a 

 recommendation by Sir Tho. Vestel, Leicester, 

 and it is dedicated to Robert, Earl of Sunder- 

 land. At the end is the " Character of a True 

 Believer in Paradoxes and Seeming Contradic- 

 tions ; " also " A little Box of Safe Purgative and 

 Restorative Pills for those who wish to keep their 

 Souls healthy." C. B. 



Liverpool. 



Tumkam Green — Pigeons. — I have seen an 

 extract from Gay, but I know not from what part 

 of his works, — 



" That Turnham Green, which dainty Pigeons fed, 

 Now feeds no more, for Solomon is dead." 



We may conclude that " Solomon " has been dead 

 one hundred and thirty or forty years, but perhaps 

 some reader of " N. & Q." can furnish us with an 

 account of him, and what was his method of rear- 

 ing pigeons, thus extolled by the poet. 



Chiswick. 



Fielding and Smollett. — Can any of your 

 readers refer me to any part of Fielding's writings 

 in which he either mentions or alludes to Smol- 

 lett ? SCBUTATOR. 



Arms borne by Henry VI. of Germany. — In 

 the Kaiser Saal at Frankfort-on-Maine, the por- 

 trait of Heinrich VI., who reigned from 1190 to 

 1197, is surmounted by three shields of arms, the 

 centre bearing, or, an eagle displayed, sa. ; that on 

 the right, gules, three lions passant, orj and that 

 on the left, azure, three legs conjoined in the fess 

 point, and embowered, or ; the two latter shields are 

 apparently those of England and the Isle of Man. 



