2°'i a VIII. Sept. 24, '59.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



249 



in Yorkshire? Many of your readers will re- 

 collect the magnificent prospect afforded of Wens- 

 leydale from that place, perhaps one of the love- 

 liest views in England. Certainly not the least 

 interesting object on the shawl is the Queen's Gap, 

 pointed out by local tradition as the spot where 

 the unfortunate Mary, Queen of Scots, was cap- 

 tured, after her escape from Bolton Castle, in 

 1568. Could anyone also inform me how many 

 prisons she was confined in during her captivity 

 in England, and the duration of her imprisonment 

 in each ? Bolton Castle, Chatsworth, and Fo- 

 theringhay were three of them, and at Fothering- 

 hay the last scene was enacted which closed her 

 sad and eventful history. Oxoniensis. 



The Frog a Symbol. — In the south aisle of the 

 church of Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, is a 

 stone effigy representing a cross-legged knight, of 

 the end of the 13th century, fully armed, with his 

 shield upon his arm, bearing in modern tincturing 

 gules, a lion rampant, argent. His sword rests 

 upon a frog. This creature does not appear to 

 have been placed merely to strengthen the sculp- 

 ture, as an arrangement of the robe over the 

 chain-mail, and of the dog at the feet, would have 

 done this much better. What idea would the 

 sculptor wish to convey bycarving the frog in this 

 instance? T. Nokth. 



Leicester. 



Dt/che's English Dictionary, by Wm. Pardon. — 

 1. Can any reader furnish me with information 

 regarding a " Wm. Pardon, Gent.," editor of more 

 than one edition of Dyche's well-known Diction- 

 ary ? I am aware that there is a living writer of 

 the same name, but whether a descendant or not 

 I cannot say. I have seen two editions of the 

 above Dictionary, both edited by the subject of 

 my Query — one of 1759 (the 10th), and the 

 other of 1777 (the 16th). I subjoin the two 

 titles : — 



(1.) " A New General English Dictionary, peculiarly 

 calculated for the use of such as are unacquainted with 

 the learned languages. Originally begun by the late 

 Rev. Mr. Thos. Dyche, Schoolmaster of Stratford-le-Bow, 

 and now finished by Wm. Pardon, Gent. lOth edition. 

 London : Printed for C. Ware at the Bible and Sun, Lud- 

 gate- hill. 1759." 



(2.) Same title, 16th edition. "And finished by the 

 late Wm. Pardon, Gent. (Printed for all the leading 

 booksellers.) 1777." 



Worcester, in his Universal English Dictionary, 

 says of Dyche's, that it is a " work in one vol. 8vo. 

 which has had an extensive circulation in Eng- 

 land," but only mentions the 7th edition, that of 

 1752 ; but above may be seen there were sixteen 

 editions, if not more. 2. Are there known copies 

 prior to this seventh edition ? * Surely some- 

 thing must be reclaimable about the editor of a 



[* Two prior editions are in the British Museum; the 

 third, 1740, and the sixth, 1750.— Ed.] 



Dictionary which had exhausted seven editions 

 before Dr. Johnson's appeared, in 1755. W. J. O. 



Cranbrook Grammar School. — Who was the 

 master of this school in 1665—1667 ? A. Z. 



Battens. Slips of deal. Query etymology ? M. 



Bell Metal. — As your paper is intended for 

 procuring general information, I hope you will 

 not think the following Query inadmissible. 



Upon reference to a well-known little work, 

 Bingley's Useful Knowledge, vol. i. p. 188., I find 

 that — 



" bell metal is usually composed of three parts of copper 

 and one of tin. Its colour is greyish white, a»d it is very 

 hard, sonorous, and elastic. Bronze and bell metal are 

 not, however, always made of copper and tin only. They 

 frequently have other admixtures, consisting of lead, 

 zinc, or arsenic. Bell makers sometimes abuse the vulgar 

 credulity by pretending that they add a certain quantity 

 of silver to the alloy, for the purpose of rendering the 

 bells more melodious: but they are better acquainted 

 with their business than to employ so valuable a metal in 

 the operation." 



Certainly there is an old prejudice in favour of 

 the melodious sound of silver. We shall all re- 

 collect the line, — 



"And gentle psaltry's silver sound." — Ps. cl. 

 But silver, I apprehend, has nothing to do with 

 the subject of my present inquiry, the celebrated 

 Big Ben, whose doleful sounds can proceed from 

 nothing but lead. We all recollect the story of 

 Archimedes and the crown. Will therefore any 

 of your readers, philosophers or otherwise, under- 

 take to apply a similar process to .the bell, and 

 tell us the quantity of alloy in it? Time un- 

 doubtedly will develope the truth, by its colour; 

 but it would be a satisfaction to learn the com- 

 position at once, in order that future bell-founders 

 may be prohibited from making her Majesty's 

 subjects unhappy by the farther use of it. 



B Natural. 



Norton Family. — Can any of your correspon- 

 dents inform me where I can find a biographical 

 account of Richard Norton, of Norton Conyers, 

 Esq., and his *' right good sonnes," who were con- 

 cerned in " the rising in the Norths" a.d. 1569. 

 The ballad says, — 



" Thee, Norton, wi' thine right good sonnes, 

 Thy doom'd to dye, alas, for ruth ! 

 Thy reverend lockes thee could not save, 

 Nor them their faire and blooming youthe." 



In reality, though doomed to die, the father 

 and seven sons escaped abroad.* 



C. J. D. Ingledew. 



Sovl. — Would you be kind enough to inform 

 me of the derivation of the (Saxon ?) word soul? 

 Has it not a similar origin to the Greek ^fvxnt 



[* For some brief notices of the Norton family, see 

 Collins's Peerage, ix. 254., edit. 1784.— Ed.] 



