2»d s. NO 88., Sept. 20. '56.] 



NOTES AND QUEBIES. 



229 



tliat all tliis water was nothing but the water of 

 affliction ; but the sentence is so positive, and the 

 reference so limited — -for the water of affliction 

 would have been seen round his table and bed as 

 well as round his horse — that a fair doubt exists. 

 The fenny counties were very wet in those days ; 

 could a man have done the three hundred miles 

 literally in water ? M. 



Sa7-acens. — What may be the derivation of 

 this name ? Abhba. 



Armorial. — To what name do the following 

 arms appertain ? Gu. on a chevron or, between 

 three ro.ses ar. slipped, barbed, and seeded ppr., 

 three tortea-uxes. The tincture of the torte^uxes 

 is uncert9,in. Chevebells. 



Continuation of " Candide.'" — I wish to ascer- 

 tain when the continuation of Candide was pub- 

 lished ? It is not in my edition of Voltaire, and I 

 have seen it stated that it was completed after his 

 deatli from an unfinished MS., which from its 

 inferiority appears likely. I have heard also that 

 there is an English translation, with some valuable 

 matter in the preface, but J have never seen it. 

 Can you assist me on these points ? J. 



Edward Birch, Serjeant-at-Law. — Wanted the 

 parentage of Serjeant Edward Birch, who was 

 living towards the close of the seventeenth, or the 

 commencement of the eighteenth, century. 



J. B. 



" A Peep at the Wiltshi7'e Assizes " — A Peep at 

 the Wiltshire Assizes, a Serio-Ludicrous Poem, by 

 One who is but an Attorney. Can any of your 

 readers inform me who is author of the above, a 

 12mo. publication of ninety-two pages, pj-Inted by 

 Brodie and Dowdney, Salisbury ; no date, but 

 Circa 1820? R. H. B. 



Bath. 



" Parliamentary Debate on a Resolution for the 

 Admission of Ladies to the Gallery of the House of 

 Commons, 1840." — Who is the author of this jeu 

 d'espi-it? It was written for school recitation jjt 

 Christmas. Also of the following work, Prome- 

 theus Britannicus, or John and the Rural Police ; 

 by a Rugbsean, 1840 ? R. J. 



" Stanzas in Continuation of Don Juan." — Who 

 is the author of this poem, contained in a volume 

 entitled Rodolph, a Dramatic Fragment, &-c., by a 

 Minor, 1832? R. J. 



Bennet, Sfc, Families.— Have any of your num-^ 

 berless readers any documents, heraldic paintings, 

 pedigrees, or notes, in their possession, relating fo 

 any of the following families ? Rennet of Somer- 

 set and Wilts ; Bower of Yorkshire ; Hallam of 

 fjs^e^ ; Strode of Somerset ; or Chapman of 



Somerset. If they have, and would kindly allow 

 me a copy of them, they would confer a very 

 great favour Indeed upon me. J. G. H. S. 



The Battle of Brunnanbwh. — In Sharon Tur- 

 ner's History of th^ Anglo-Saxons, it Is stated that 

 " Anlaf commenced the warfare by entering the 

 Humber with a fleet of 615 ships." (See pp. 177, 

 178., edit. 1823.) Probably some of the more 

 favoured readers of " N. & Q." will oblige me 

 with the authorities who have said that Anlaf 

 sailed up the Humber ? T. T. W. 



Coventry God-cakes. — Can any of your readers 

 give me information respecting the ancient cus- 

 tom in the city of Coventry of sending God-cakes 

 on the first day of the year. They are used by 

 all classes, and vary In price from a half-penny to 

 one pound. They are invariably made in a tri- 

 angular shape, an inch thick, and filled with a 

 kind of mince-meat. I believe tlie custom is pe- 

 culiar to that city, and should be glad to know 

 more about Its origin. So general is the use of 

 them on January I, that the clieaper sorts are 

 hawked about the streets, as hot-cross-buns are 

 on Good Friday in London. J. W. S. 



Hoxton. 



Order of St. Michael in France. — Is there any 

 particular history of this order of knighthood ? 

 01' any list of the early knights to be consulted ? 

 The order was founded in 1469, and the knights 

 originally limited to thirty-six. It was confcired 

 on King Edward VI. In 1551 ; and on the Duke 

 of Norfolk and Earl of Leicester in 1566. Query, 

 Whether on any other Englishman ? J. G. N. 



Troia. — Is there any published account of the 

 remains of a town called by the Portuguese Troia? 

 The ruins extend for upwards of a Portuguese 

 league on the strip of sand which forms the sea 

 boundary of the harbour of Setubal. R. M. 



Villa Nova, Sept. 20, 1856. 



Physiology. — How is the effect that the pre- 

 sence of a cat In a room has upon certain people, 

 although they have no means of knowing of its 

 presence bv any of the five senses, to be accounted 

 for ? ' J. E. 



Portrait of Merrick. — Is there any known and 

 authenticated portrait of James Merrick, the poet, 

 and where it can be found ? The latter part of 

 his life was spent at Reading. Ovns. 



The Indefinite Article " an." -r- Lately perusing 

 the Rev. R. Chenevix Trench's Lessons in Pro- 

 verbs, I was struck with the frequent use, or as It 

 seemed to me misuse,. of the Indefinite article an 

 before words beginning with an aspirate ; as, for 

 instance, an house, an happier title, an higher 

 meaning, 8ic, In the course of a hasty perusal I 



