68 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2nd s. No 30., July 26. '56. 



Ancient British Saints. — In Sismondi's Fall of 

 the Roman Umpire (vol. i. ch. vli., English trans.), 

 he says : 



" So long as tlie British heroes, such as Hoel, Alain, 

 Judicael (to whom several churches were dedicated), re- 

 tained the vigour of youth or manhood, they knew no 

 other passion than that for war .... but when their 

 ferocity was tamed by age, and began to give place to the 

 terrors of a future judgment, they shut themselves up in 

 convents, and lived a life of the severest penance." 



This chapter is from a.d. 412 to 453. Do any 

 of these churches still exist ? or what traditions 

 are there of churches dedicated to these ancient 

 saints of Britain ? E. E. Byng. 



Masters of Arts ranking as Esquires. — Can any 

 of your readers inform me of any authority for 

 Masters of Arts of the Universities of Oxford and 

 Cambridge being entitled to rank as esquires ? 



M.A. (Oxon). 



Archibald Steele. — Can you give me any in- 

 formation regarding Archibald Steele, author of 

 The Shepherd's Weddings a pastoral comedy, pub- 

 lished in Scotland in 1789 ? R. J. 



" The Vine" a Parable. — A copy of the beauti- 

 ful parable called " The Vine," and commencing 

 thus, " On the day of their creation, the trees 

 boasted one to another," &c., is much desired. 



It was published in an old number of The 

 Talisman. Is this monthly periodical still con- 

 tinued ? Anitrebor. 



Edinburgh. 



David Morrison, — There was a volume of 

 poetry, published at Montrose in 1790, by David 

 Morrison. Is anything known regarding the 

 author ? R. J. 



Boxing-Day. — The term boxing-day is used 

 both in the theatres and in courts of law. What 

 is the meaning of it in each case ? S. 



Sir John Cope. — Wanted, particulars of the 

 family descent, marriage, life, professional ser- 

 vices, death, burial-place, and descendants of Sir 

 John Cope, who commanded the royal troops in 

 1745 at Preston Pans. Any references to pub- 

 lished or accessible unpublished information will 

 be acceptable. James Knowles. 



" Hey, Johnnie Cope" Sfc. — Who was the 

 author of " Hey, Johnnie Cope are ye wakin yet ? " 

 And whose music is that quaint stirring air ? Dr. 

 RiMBAULT could, uo doubt, oblige me with an 

 answer to the latter Query. James Knowles. 



Human Leather., &fc. — I have somewhere heard 

 or read of two or three human skins having been 

 prepared and tanned like leather, and of a pair of 

 shoes or boots having been made of such leather. 

 I think also there was mention made of another 



dressed as parchment. No doubt they form part 

 of the contents of some museum. 



Can any of your readers give me any informa- 

 tion respecting them ? R. W. Hackwood. 



" The Dissenters Dissected." — Some twenty 

 years ago, a poem of eighteen stanzas was sent to 

 me by a friend, since deceased, called The Dis- 

 senters Dissected, by a Lay Dissector, to which 

 ten other stanzas were added. Has it ever been 

 printed ? 



The first stanza is — 



" The noblest tree of forest growth, 

 And meanest shrub, engender both 



Within their vital juices. 

 The germs of that, which soon or late 

 Their own decay accelerate. 



Or earlier abuses." 



One of the added stanzas (the 26th) is — 



" No church rate — that must never be, 

 For all religion shall be free ; 



And surely it is hard 

 That we, who know the letter way 

 To Heaven, for their church path should pay, 



But give us their church yard ! ! " 



Wm. Collyns, M.R.C.S. 

 Chudleigh, Devon. 



Dismissal of Non- Communicants, — In Cleaver's 

 edition of Bishop Wilson On the Lord's Supper 

 (London, 1851), there is a note on the subject of 

 the dismissal of non-communicants. It is there 

 stated that the benefits arising from the opposite 

 practice have not escaped the notice of some of 

 our most eminent divines ; and it is added, " See 

 Bp. Jebb's Practical Theology." 



Can any of your correspondents supply the 

 passage alluded to in Bishop Jebb's book ? 



This edition of Bishop Wilson's woi'k was, I 

 believe, prepared by the late Rev. W. Wright, 

 A.M., of Trinity College, Dublin; the "Notes, 

 historical and explanatory," which accompany it 

 are full of curious research, but they occupy a 

 somewhat disproportionate space in a devotional 

 work. 



The note which suggests my Query occurs at 

 p. 169, There ai'e some more remarks on the 

 same subject at p. 255, A. A. D. 



P.S. What is supposed to be the proper posture 

 for the people during the comfortable words, the 

 Sursum corda and the Sanctus ? I have heard 

 very contradictory opinions on the subject, and 

 indeed it is one by no means free from difficulty, 

 owing to the transpositions which have been made 

 in the Liturgy. 



Prologues and Epilogues to the Westminster 

 Plays. — Has there ever been published a Collec- 

 tion of the Prologues and Epilogues to the West- 

 minster Plays ? If so, where ? C. J. Douglas. 



