:2=»* S. VIII. Dec. 17. '59.] 



NOTES AND QUEKIES. 



489 



minister, to let him know how the time was passing. 

 But this did not always suffice to put a stop to their elo- 

 quence. There is a story told of an earnest preacher, 

 who, on getting the customary signal, thus parenthetic- 

 ally addressed his hearers — " My brethren, the precentor 

 reminds me that the time is up; but I have still some- 

 what to add, so if you please, we shall have one glass 

 more, and then — " I found our glass among some lumber, 

 along with the tent which was used at the tent preach- 

 ings, or " Holy Fairs," and got it restored to its ancient 

 position as a curiosity. The stand is rather tastefully 

 made of thin iron plates, and I thought it a pity it 

 should be allowed to fall aside.' " — Scotsman, Nov. 7th, 

 1869. 



J. A. P. 



Local Superstitions : Cornwall. — A lady who 

 was staying lately near Penzance, attended a 

 funeral, and noticed that whilst the clergyman 

 was reading the burial service, a. woman forced 

 her way through the pall-bearers to the edge of 

 the grave. When he came to the passage, " Earth 

 to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust," she dropped, 

 a white cloth upon the coiEn, closed her eyes, and 

 apparently said a prayer. On making inquiries 

 as to the cause of this proceeding, this lady found 

 that a superstition exists among the peasants in 

 that part, that If a person with a sore be taken 

 secretly to a corpse, the dead hand passed over 

 the sore place, and the bandage afterwards drop- 

 ped upon the coffin during the reading of the 

 burial service, a perfect cure will be the result. 

 This woman had a child who had a bad leg, and 

 she had followed this superstition, with a firm 

 belief in its efficacy. The peasants also to the 

 present day wear charms, believing they will pro- 

 tect them from sickness and other evils. 



The wife of the clergyman of the parish was 

 very charitable in attending the sick, and dispen- 

 sing medicines, and one day a woman brought her 

 child having sore eyes, to have them charmed, 

 having more faith in that remedy than in medi- 

 cines. She was greatly surprised to find that 

 medicines only were given to her. E. R. 



MEALS OF MEBSE FABM SERVANTS. 



In the county of Berwick, and I believe in 

 other counties of Scotland, it was the universal 

 practice some fifty or sixty years ago, and is con- 

 tinued much the same at the present day, for 

 farm-hinds or labourers to have six meals during 

 the day. 1. Before commencing labour in the 

 early morning they had their IDupiece or Dexo- 

 piece *, which consisted of a piece of bread and 

 butter, or bread and cheese, or most usually of 

 bread and milk. The Dewpiece is now gene- 

 rally discontinued. 2, B?-eakfast, which invaria- 

 bly consists of oatmeal porridge with milk, or, in 



* Dupiece is evidently from Dew, or perhaps Daw, the 

 dawn, corresponding, says Jamieson, to *' 0. Teut. Dagh- 

 woes, jentaculum." 



defect of the latter article, a piece of butter or 

 treacle, or treacle-drink, — a weak sort of beer made 

 with treacle dissolved in hot water, and fermented 

 with barm or r/east. This meal is usually taken 

 i about seven o'clock. 3. On returning from their 

 ! yoking about ten o'clock, during the spring and 

 summer months, they have their Nockit*, which 

 consists generally of bread and butter or bread 

 and cheese. 4. Dinner, taken usually about twelve 

 o'clock. This meal is generally made up of pork- 

 broth, and sometimes of mutton — a rich stew of 

 pickled-pork, cabbage, greens, barley, minced car- 

 rot, turnips, peas, &c. The second course of pork ad 

 libitum, with potatoes, bread, &c. This is what our 

 labourers call " a kail and flesh dinner," and such 

 a dinner bulks large in their imagination ; and 

 where this is the staple commodity, it is called " a 

 good meat house." In some houses, where mistresses 

 are inclined to be niggardly, salted herrings and 

 potatoes alone are frequently given as a substi- 

 tute; but such a repast the ploughmen hold in 

 contempt and detestation. 5. The Fourhours. 

 This is only given at certain times and occasions, 

 as in haytime or harvest: a piece of bread and 

 cheese usually constituted this repast. In winter, 

 when the ploughmen come in about five o'clock, 

 they usually have a meal of bread and milk, or 

 bread and butter, or cheese ; and, 6. The day is 

 concluded by supper about eight o'clock, after the 

 ploughmen return from cleaning and suppering 

 their horses. The supper generally consists of 

 herrings and potatoes, or of the broth left from 

 dinner heated up, and taken with as much of the 

 " staff of life " as they could eat. 



It will thus appear that our agricultural la- 

 bourers are most abundantly supplied with " the 

 good things of this life." The above remarks, 

 however, apply chiefly to such unmarried plough- " 

 men as are boarded in the farmer's house : the 

 hinds or married ploughmen, who live in the cot- 

 tages attached to all large farms, are perhaps 

 scarcely so well " meated " as their single com- 

 peers ; but from frequent observation I think 

 their meals seem to be as frequent and as substan- 

 tial. Menyanthes. 

 Chirnside. 



motet : TENOR. 



It has long been a disputed point as to what is 

 the proper etymology of the word motet. I think 

 I can now settle it. The usual derivation is from 

 motus, movement, but from a MS. which has lately 

 come into my hands it would appear that long 

 before the regular motet caiiie into fashion there 

 was a species of church music in Biscant which 

 was called mutetus. Each mutetus has its accom- 



* Nockit, a slight repast or luncheon taken between 

 breakfast and dinner. Perhaps, as Sibbald suggests, it is 

 from nooncate or cake. 



