242 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2'"i S. X. Sept. 29. '60. 



after, he was seized by them, and the body ex- 

 amined. It was then discovered that the stone 

 had made for itself a little sac in the bladder, and 

 was so tightly secured, that it had never caused 

 any inconvenience. 



Government, however (somewhat prematurely), 

 rewarded Mrs. Stephens with a sum of 10,000Z. 

 The cure appeared to have been purely accidental, 

 as the remedy was nothing but potash, which has 

 little or no virtue in such cases.* 



Angerstein. — A gentleman of fortune, named 

 Angerstein, lost a large quantity of valuable plate. 

 His butler was soon on the track of the thieves 

 (who had brought a coach to carry the plate), and 

 inquired at the first turnpike gate whether any 

 vehicle had lately passed. The gate-keeper stated 

 that a hackney-coach had shortly before gone 

 through ; and though he was surprised at its pass- 

 ing by so early in the morning, he had not noticed 

 the " number " on the coach. A servant girl, 

 bearing the conversation, volunteered her state- 

 ment, that she saw the coach pass by, and its 

 number was " 45." As the girl covld not read, 

 they were surprised at her knowing the " num- 

 ber." She stated that she knew it well, as being 

 the same number that she had long seen about 

 the walls everywhere, which she knew was " 45," 

 as every one was speaking of it. This allusion 

 of the girl's was in reference to the " Wilkes " 

 disturbances, when the 45th number of the True 

 Briton was prosecuted, and caused a great deal of 

 public excitement. 



Mr. Angerstein's butler went at once to London 

 and found out the driver of the hackney-coach 

 No. 45., who at once drove him to the place where 

 the plate was deposited, and it was all recovered. 



Sundial. — Some years since, ia the " Temple," 

 was a vertical sundial, with th? motto, " Be gone 

 about your business." 



It is stated that this very appropriate motto 

 was the result of the following blunder : — "When 

 the dial was erected, the benchers were applied 

 to for a motto. They desired the " builder's 

 man " to call at the library at a certain hour on a 

 certain day, when he should receive instructions. 

 But they forgot the whole matter. On the ap- 

 pointed day and hour the " builder's man " called 

 at the library, and found only a lawyer in close 

 study over a law book. 



The man stated the cause of his intrusion, 

 which suited so badly thfe lawyer's time and leisure 

 that he bid the man sharply " Be gone about your 

 business." The lawyer's testy reply was duly 

 painted in big letters upon the dial, and was con- 

 sidered so apposite that it was not only allowed 

 to remain, but was considered to be as appro- 

 priate a motto as could be chosen. 



The Aerolite. — Two men in France took shelter 

 [* See "N. & Q." 1^' S. xii. 366.— Ed.] 



in a barn for the night. In the morning one of 

 them was found dead, with severe injury to the 

 head. The comrade was at once arrested, and 

 told some " cock and bull " story about the ter- 

 rible storm of the night in question, and at- 

 tributed his companion's death to the effect of 

 a thunderbolt. He was not credited; and was 

 in a fair way to be executed for the supposed 

 crime. A scientific gentleman, hearing of the 

 circumstance, examined the place, and found a 

 hole in the roof of the barn, and an aerolite close 

 to the spot where the deceased had slept on the 

 night in question. 



The innocence of the accused was at once con- 

 sidered as established, and he was released. 



Richards. — Mr. Rickards, a Fellow of Oriel 

 College, was at an inn in Derbyshire, and casually 

 met another traveller, who stated that he had 

 just returned from Africa, where he had been for 

 some years residing with his regiment. Rickards 

 remarked that he had a brother in Africa, and 

 asked the stranger as to the place of his residence 

 when there, and whether he had ever met his 

 brother. He soon found out that it was the 

 same identical brother he was all the while speak- 

 ing to in the person of the stranger. Having 

 relatives in Derbyshire, each was on his way to 

 visit them. 



. Now in these cases there is nothing supernatural, 

 or even wwnatural ; i.e. there Is nothing to prevent 

 the occurrence. The improbability is only from 

 the enormous number of chances against each. 

 But when any German theologian, or other, pre- 

 tends to explain a sei'ies of alleged miracles as mere 

 accidents, he should be reminded that the chances 

 are multiplied against each repeated occurrence. 

 If, e. g., the chances against a person's bagging a 

 snipe which died accidentally just as he pointed a 

 stick or a gun at It, be only xo'oo» then, against 

 his thus obtaining two, the chances would be 

 Toof)ooo» ^"-'1 so 0"- ^'^ '^^^t where religion (or 

 irreligion) was not concerned, would believe that 

 a sportsman could bring home a bag full of game, 

 every bird having died accidentally ^xa^t when shot 

 at. P. A. D. 



CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 



In the Doria Tursi Palace in Genoa is a well- 

 executed bust of Christopher Columbus, In the 

 pedestal of which, in a recess, curiously worked 

 out of the solid marble, and secured by an Iron 

 door provided with three locks, are deposited three 

 autograph letters of that great navigator. The 

 Municipality of Genoa now occupy the palace, 

 and the bust Is placed in their Council Chamber, 

 the keys of the recess being kept by one of the 

 officials, without whose permisslbn no person can 

 see the documents contained in it. I recently 

 obtained access to the letters. 



