438 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



t2«'d S. }fo 74., May 30. '57. 



Arabic Ttirs, a shield, target, buckler, and ma- 

 kdnal, a place (i. e. a place where the bucklers, 

 &c., i. e. the arms, are kept) ; but inasmuch as it 

 is also found written Tarskhdnah, and Kkdnah 

 (which signifies a house, maison, lieu propre a 

 contenir les choses) is from the Persic Khdnah, a 

 house, receptacle, compartment, department, the 

 root of Tarsdnah and of Arsenal, will be found in 

 the Arabic Tu7's and the Persic Khdnah. The 

 word may have come thus, Turs Khdnah, Tars- 

 khdnah, Tarsdnah, Tarsana, Darsana, Darsena, 

 Arsena, Arserude, Arsenal. K.. S. Chaknock. 



Gray's Inn. 



Derivation of Havensdale, ^c. (2"'' S. iii. 346.) — 

 I read the other day, in Knight's Journey Book of 

 England (Kent), the following, which may serve 

 P. R. as a clue to the derivation of other words 

 beginning with the same syllable : — 



•' The history or tradition of the origin of the Eavens- 

 bourne is thus described by Hone : — ' Wh«n Caesar was 

 encamped here, his troops were in great need of water, 

 and none could be found in the vicinity. Observing, 

 however, that a raven frequently alighted near the camp, 

 and conjecturing that it was for the purpose of quenching 

 its thirst, he ordered the coming of the bird to be watched 

 for, and the spot to be particularly noted. This was done, 

 and the result was as he anticipated. The object of the 

 raven's resort was this little spring ; from thence Caesar 

 derived a supply of water for the Roman legions, and 

 from the circumstance of its discovery, the spring was 

 called the Haven's bourne or brook.' " 



W. T. 



The Blessed Eucharist mingled with Ink (2"'* S. 

 iii. 370.) — The church historian Fleury has the 

 following on this subject, speaking of the sub- 

 scriptions to the acts of the eighth General Coun- 

 cil held at Constantinople in 870 : 



" Nicetas, auteur du tems, dans la vie du patriarche 

 Ignace, parlant de ces souscriptions, dit : Us souscrivirent, 

 non avec de I'encre simple ; mais, ce qui me fait trembler, 

 conime je I'ai oui assurer a ceux qui le S9avoient, trem- 

 pant le roseau dont ils &rivoient dans le sang du Sauveur. 

 Les Actes n'en disent rien, mais la chose n'etoit pas sans 

 exemple; I'historien Theophane dit du pape Theodore, 

 qu'il mela du sang de Jesus Christ a I'encre dont il &rivoit 

 la deposition de Pyrrhus." — Hist. Eccl., Liv. 51. § 46. 



It is also said that the same profane use of the 

 B. Eucharist was made in signing the false peace 

 between Charles the Bald and Bernard, Count of 

 Toulouse, in the ninth century. F. C. H. 



" Veak'' (2"'^ S. iii. 240.) —In connexion with 

 this word, as it is applied in Cornwall to a had 

 whitlow, we may notice in Halliwell the provincial 

 term " veah, a gathering, an ulcer." The proper 

 English word, however, is whelk (a pustule), which, 

 supposing the w to become w by a provincialism, 

 and the I to be mute, as in walk, would give us 

 something very like veak. 



In recording the departure of John Size from Sir 

 William's household, " upon I wot not what veake 

 or unkindnesse," Carew may possibly have used 



the word veake in a secondary sense for soreness, 

 "Veaking," in Devon, says Halliwell, signifies 

 " fretful, peevish." Conf. the Latin vexo. 



I am almost inclined, however, to view the word 

 " veake," as here used by Carew, in connexion with 

 "fege," which in vernacular German signifies 

 blame or reproof. In this sense of the word, the 

 expression would imply that John Size took his 

 departure " upon I know not what rebuke or un- 

 kindness." See also in Halliwell, '•'•feage, to whip 

 or beat;" and conf. w^AacA. Thomas Bots. 



De la Marcke Family (2°'* S. iii. 368.) — Is the 

 family about which A. H. M. inquires, De la 

 Marck, or De la Marche ? If the former, he will 

 find the genealogy traced by Moreri, in his Die- 

 tionnaire Historique, article Marck. If the latter, 

 I should probably be able to give him some little 

 information. Meletes. 



Quotation Wanted (2"^ S. iii. 290. 356.) — 



" A mighty pain to love it is, 

 And 'tis a pain that pain to miss; 

 But of all pains the greatest pain 

 It is to love, and love in vain." 



These lines are by Cowley. They form part of 

 a translation of one of the Odes usually called 

 Anacreon's, though most scholars, I believe, deny 

 that Anacreon was their author. 



Mercator, a. B. 



Females at Vestries (2"* S. iii. 48.)— I have 

 seen females at vestries attending as overseers of 

 the poor ; and for voting, they having a legal vote 

 in all parish matters, if rated to the poor. 



It will probably be found that in recent un- 

 happy church-rate contests, many such have exer- 

 cised their right ; and I know an instance of one 

 attending in her carriage, and no doubt there are 

 many more. H. T. Ellacombe. 



Dreadful Visitation (2°'^ S. iii. 367.) —The com- 

 munication between this island (Guernsey) and 

 the neighbouring port of Cherbourg is far from 

 infrequent, and I cannot but think that if the 

 event your correspondent K. P. D. E. inquires 

 about had really occurred, the fame of It would 

 have reached this place. I am much inclined to 

 suppose that it is merely a new version of an old 

 tradition current in that part of Normandy, and 

 which appears in various forms in other countries 

 also. The Journal de Coutances, in describing the 

 discovery of a tomb containing three skeletons in 

 the parish church of Creances, near Coutances, 

 thus relates the tale : — 



" Trois seigneurs de Creances, les trois freres Dugas, 

 renomm^s dans le pays pour la depravation de leurs 

 moeurs et leur irreligion, chassaient h cheval, un di- 

 manche de Paques, dans cette partie de la lande de 

 Lessay qu'on appelle le Ferrage. Au moment oil le sa- 

 crement de la messe sonnait a I'eglise de Creance, un 

 squelette se dressa miraculeusement devant eux, et apr^s 



