36 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2»"» S. X. July 14. '60. 



" Cross Daggers " were the emblems of St. Paul, 

 in the same way as the " Cross Keys " belonged 

 to St. Peter. 



" Craven Heifer." I have seen in farmhouse 

 parlours an engraving of a celebrated prize animal 

 of this name bred in the Craven district in York- 

 shire. 



" Soldier Dick " is, I believe, the hero of a po- 

 pular ballad-song. 



" Hundred House " probably refers to the divi- 

 sion into hundreds, ty things, &c. There perhaps 

 the business of this division may have been trans- 

 acted like " Leeters," which your correspondent 

 had, I fancy, rightly explained. 



" Peter's Finger " may have some connexion 

 with "Peter's fanger" or jailer; in German a 

 personage of some traditional prominence, or the 

 Saint himself has been called "the jailer." We 

 find also the sign of the " Widow's Son," and the 

 " Two Spies " of somewhat like character. 



" Mortar and Pestle " is only remarkable'for its 

 inapplicability to a tavern. It may have been a 

 chemist's shop converted into a tavern with the 

 old sign left, or have been the house of call of a 

 fraternity of this description, as above under 

 " Bishop Blaize." 



The " Hand of Providence," " Samson and the 

 Lion," and the " Lion and Adder," are all of reli- 

 gious origin. Many signs of this sort survive to 

 us from Puritan times. The last of these suggests 

 the time of the siege of Newark from its being 

 found in that town, and probably refers to the 

 passage in Psalm xei. 13., "Thou shalt go upon 

 the lion and adder." The "Lion and Lamb" is also 

 found. 



" Mopson Cross " may have been originally the 

 " Lamb and Cross," and the former may have 

 been rudely drawn, and mistaken for a " mops," 

 Germ., and perhaps old English, " a curly-coated 

 dog," or, again, it may be the symbols of the pas- 

 sion ; the former referring to the sponge of vine- 

 gar. 



I cannot explain the " Struggling Man ; " but 

 there is, I believe, at Hampton Court the sign of 

 the " Widow's Struggle," which is extraordinary 

 enough, and has some affinity to it. 



The " Eagle and Serpent " are frequently asso- 

 ciated in allegory and symbolic representation ; 

 they ai'e found together often on Greek coins. 



Local inquiry could ascertain whether the 

 " Mouth of the Nile " has not reference to Lord 

 Nelson's victory, as naval heroes and their victo- 

 ries are very favourite subjects of commemoration 

 on tavern signs. 



I have ventured to subjoin the following list of 

 remarkable signs, most of which are to be found in 

 London and its immediate neighbourhood. I have 

 endeavoured to class together those resembling 

 each other : — 



The " Black Prince." 



"Flower of Kent." 



" Crown and Anvil, " Crown and Two Chair- 

 men." 



" Gentleman and Porter." 



" George and Gate," " George and Guy." 



" George and Thirteen Cantons," " Sun and 

 Thirteen Cantons." 



"Swan and Hoop," "Swan and Horseshoe," 

 " Swan and Sugar-loaf." 



" Green Man and Still," "Green Man and Bell." 



"Fish and Bell." 



" Fox and Knot." 



" Magpie and Horseshoe," " Magpie and Punch- 

 bowl," " Magpie and Stump," "Ram and Magpie." 



" (Old) Centurion." 



" Bladebones." 



"Blue Last." 



" Cock and Neptune." 



" Stave Porters." 



The " Hai-t and Ton." 



The " Kings and Key." 



I have endeavoured only to give in this list 

 signs unnoticed before, as far as 1 can recollect. 

 The explanation of many of these is sufficiently 

 apparent, but many are obscure enough. In many 

 cases the juxtaposition of two things is quite foi'- 

 tuitous ; very many find their way to sign-boards 

 from the coats of arms of former proprietors. 

 Some of these combinations are curiously liko 

 each other : thus, the " Bell and Mackerel," and 

 the " Salmon and Ball ;" and, again the " Salmon 

 and Compasses." Thus too the "Raven and Sun," 

 " Sun and Falcon," and " Sun and Doves." The 

 " Dog and Style " may allude to the turnspit's oc- 

 cupation ; the " Goat in Boots " must refer to some 

 fable ; the " Goat and Star " may be zodiacal, or 

 corrupted from "Jut und Starr," as perhaps the 

 "Still and Star" from " Still und Starr." The 

 " Ram and Teazle " refers to the ram of Abra- 

 ham caught in the thicket ; the " King on 

 Horseback" may be James I. or Charles L, who 

 were fond of representing themselves mounted. 

 Edward VI. also appears thus on his crown pieces. 

 The " Cat and Fiddle " may have some connexion 

 with Catherine Fidele, the faithful saint ; perhaps 

 the inexplicable " Salutation and Cat" may have 

 some solution of the kind. " Whittington and his 

 Cat " are commemorated by three signs in the 

 east end of London ; while " Grave Maurice" must 

 refer to Graf Maurice of the Netherlands during 

 the Thirty Years' War, or perhaps to Maurice, 

 the brother of Prince Rupert. M. L. Fodcee. 



" Filho da Puta." This is a Portuguese vituper- 

 ative, and if not used to commemorate some 

 triumph of the celebrated race-horse so called, 

 may have been adopted by a would-be witty oc- 

 cupant, who altered his sign from a dog of some 

 kind, to what every dog ideally is, viz. " a Son of 

 a Bitch ! " U. O. N. 



