36 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2»<» S. VIII. July 9. '59. 



ings of the meeting of the Archaeological Institute, 

 ■which was held at Lincoln in July, 1848. 



PisHEY Thompson. 

 Stoke Newington. 



British Anthropophagi (2""^ S. vii. 497.)— With- 

 out going back to the remote days of St. Jerome 

 to seek proof for his assertion, " che gli Scozzesi 

 vsauano in cibola carne dell' huomo nel suo 

 tempo," or in other words, that the Scots ate 

 human flesh either at home or "in Gallia" as they 

 could get it, reference may be made to the follow- 

 ing instance ; which, if the garrulous chronicler, 

 Lindsay of Pitscottie, can be believed, seems to 

 corroborate the fact that there existed in the na- 

 tion at least one reprobate character who indulged 

 in the practice, a thousand years after the saint 

 was sleeping in the dust. 



" About 1440 (says he) thair was ane briggant tane 

 with his hail familie, quho hauntet ane place in Angus. 

 This mischievous man had an execrable faschion to tak 

 all young men, and children aither, he could steal away 

 quietlie, or tak away without knawledge, and eat thame, 

 and the younger thcj' war, esteemed them more tender 

 and delicious. For the quhilk caus and dampnable abuse, 

 he, with his wayff and bairnis, were all burnt, except ane 

 young wench of ane yeir old, wha was saifed and brought 

 to Dundie, quhair shoe was broucht up and fostered, and 

 quhan shoe cam to ane vomanes yeires, shoe was con- 

 demned and brunt quick for that cryme. It is said, that 

 when shoe was coming to the place of execution, thair 

 gathered ane hudge multitud of people and speciallie 

 of vomen cursing her, that shoe was so unhappie to com- 

 mitt so damnable deides. To whom she turned about 

 with an ireful countenance, saying, ' Quhairfoir chyd yea 

 me, so as if I had committed an vnworthie act. Give 

 me credence and trow me, if yea had experience of eating 

 men and vomenis flesch, yea would think it so delitious 

 that yea would nevir forbeare it agane.' So bot onj' 

 signe of repentance this vnhappie traitous died in the 

 sight of the people {Chronicles, i. 164., 8vo. Mlit. 1814). 

 This execution is said to have taken placeiifcfore the 

 old Town-house in the Seagate" {History of Dundee, by 

 James Thomson, p. 3G., 8vo., 1847.) 



Are there any examples in ancient lore of John 

 Bull being classed among the Anthropophagi? 



G.N. 



[Anthropophagy is also noticed in the Historical Triads 

 of the Isle of Britain, xlix. and I. ; and, strange to add, 

 in connexion with a Northern British chieftain named 

 Aeddau, who traitorously allied himself with the ma- 

 rauding Saxons, and was defeated and slain by Rhyd- 

 derch in the battle of Arder3'dd in Scotland, circa a.d. 

 577. The name of Aeddau, the cannibal, also figures in 

 the Godolin. — Ed.] 



The Rev. Meredith Townsend (2"'* S. vii. 375.) — 

 The Rev. Meredith Townsend, of Stoke Newing- 

 ton, near London, married May 10th, 1748, Mary 

 the 4th and youngest daughter of John Basnett, 

 Esq., of Matthew Green House at Oakingham, 

 Berks, and likewise of Dye House and Wellands, 

 in that parish. By this marriage there was one 

 son, the Rev. Josiah Townsend, and one daughter, 

 Mary, who married her cousin Sir William Bas- 

 nett, who lived at Bath. The Rev. M. Townsend 



was born at Poole, in Dorsetshire, Aug. 16th, 1715 ; 

 and from 1742 to 1746 was an assistant at Bury 

 Street chapel in the city to the celebrated Dr. 

 Isaac Watts, and where he was highly esteemed 

 for his talents and piety (see Wilson's Dmewitn^g' 

 Church). He afterwards resided at Hull, but 

 finally settled at Stoke Newington early in the 

 spring of 1751, at which time he became pastor of 

 the Independent chapel there, and so continued 

 till the middle of 1789, when he quitted the 

 ministry, and went to preside with his son, the 

 Rev. Josiah Townsend, at Fairford in Gloucester- 

 shire ; but subsequently removed to Bath, to be 

 near his daughter, and there died, Dec. 13th, 1801, 

 beloved and respected by all who knew Lim. 



He was buried in Weston churchyard, near 

 Bath, with this inscription : — 



" The Rev. Meredith Townsend, late of Stoke New- 

 ington, Middlesex, died at Bath, the 13tb Dec. 1801. 

 Aged 86." 



With respect to letters and documents left by 

 the deceased gentleman, I would advise S. W. 

 Rix to apply to Charles Basnett, Esq., 3. Brock 

 Street, Bath, who I have no doubt would give 

 every information respecting his relative. 



Julia R. Bockett. 



Bradnej', near Burghfield Bridge, Reading. 



Catch-cope Bells (2°<> S. vii. 4G6.) — I am 

 obliged by the suggestion offered by the Rev. 

 J. Eastwood. The following extracts from the 

 churchwardens' accounts of S. Martin's, Leices- 

 ter, showing the number and size of these bells 

 belonging to that church, will, however, tend, I 

 think, to show that his supposition as to the 

 meaning of the word is not a correct one : — 

 "1549 and 1550. Itm. rec. of Willm. Tayllor .... in 

 ernest of the iij. catche coppe bells, 

 after xxv» a hundryth . . xij* 

 1550 and 1551. Itm. rec. of M' Lamb't (?) and M-- Herek 

 for the leyst Catche cope bell 



xxvij' xj<'. 

 „ Itm. rec. of Willm. Tayllor and Willm. 



Syngylton for tow of the same bells 



iij" xj' viijd." 



It thus appears there were three catch-cope 

 bells. The least bell, which produced 27s. llrf., 

 would, at the price mentioned in the first ex- 

 tract, weigh rather more than one hundredweight. 

 Would not this weight be far too little for a bell 

 used for the purpose suggested by Mb. East- 

 wood ? Thos. North. 



Leicester. 



Winterly Thunder (2'"^ S. vii. 450.)— The Dutch 

 have a somewhat similar proverb to the one 

 quoted by R. E. B. They say, " Vroege donder, 

 late honger ;" which means, "Early thunder, late 

 hunger." The English proverb, however, is more 

 full, and still promises "rich man's food." Per- 

 haps, because the winter-thunderstorms, though 

 prejudicial to the most necessary things of life, 



