484 



NOTES AND QUEmES. 



[2«« B, No gl,, Dec. 20. '56. 



knightly deponents who gave evidence in the fol- 

 lowing year (1386) were the following centena- 

 rians : viz. — 



Sir John Sully, Knight of the Garter, and a 

 distinguished soldier of the Cross, a venerable 

 hero, who was then, by bis own account, 105 

 years of age, and had served for eighty years, and 

 been in all the principal battles, down to the cam- 

 paign of Aquitaine. He is supposed to have died 

 in his 108th year. 



Sir John Cliydioke, ancestor of the noble fami- 

 lies of Arundel of Wardour and Stourton of 

 Stourton. 



And (most remarkable of all), John Thirlwall, 

 an esquire of an ancient Northumbrian house, 

 deposes to what he heard from his father, who 

 died forty- four years before, at the age of 145. 



Another example of longevity is derived fi'om 

 a parish not far distant from Thirlwall Castle, and 

 belonging to days less remote. When recently at 

 Irthington (a village on the Cambrian river Ir- 

 thing, near the line of the Romfvn wftll), I saw the 

 register of the burjal qf Rpbert Bowman, one of 

 the most remarkable of the IppgrUved yporaen qf 

 that parish, who died in the year 18.23 §t \]ie age 

 of 118. 



I conclude with a Query : it relates to a gemote 

 but memorable personage of English history, 

 Edgar Atheling. Williani of Malmesbury {Ge^tg. 

 Reg. Angl, lib. ii. s. 228.) speaks of him as living, 

 after his many reverses of fortune, retired in the 

 country, in old age, at the time the good monk 

 was writing bis history ; which he is supposed to 

 have done between the years 1114 and 1124- His 

 words are : 



" Edgaro, qui post occisionem Haroldi a quibusdam in 

 regem electus, et vario lusu fortunse rotatus, pene decrepi- 

 tum diem ignobilis ruri agit." 



It was in 1068, that the illustrious fiigitive, wlio 

 had been elected king by the Witan at London 

 on Harold's death, was received by King Malcolm 

 in Scotland, where he seems to haye remained 

 until 1Q75, when he embarked on his ill-fated 

 voyage to England, and was conducted to Wil- 

 liam in Normandy, by whom he was generously 

 treated. Eleven years afterwards he obtained 

 pern^issipn to go to the Holy Land ; but, in 1091, 

 he paid the penalty of his attachment to Jipbert 

 Duke of Normandy, and, being deprived of his 

 estates in Normandy by William Rufus, was again 

 driven to take asylum in Scotland. Now it has 

 been said tliat he is identical with the Edgar 

 Atheling who occurs on the Great Roll of the 

 Pipe for the year 1158 (4 Hen- II.), as rendering 

 account in Northumberland for twenty marks of 

 silver; and on the same Roll for 1167 (13 Hen. H.), 

 as rendering account for two marks ; and, if so, his 

 age at that time cannot be t;aken at less than 120 

 years. This is assuming that he was only eight 

 years of age when, in 1057, he was brought as a 



child tp the court of Harold. Have any of yow 



readers Notes elucidatory of this point ? 



Wm. Sidney Gibson. 

 Tynetnouth, l^ov. 1856. 



POPCLAIl DEIiUSION. 



" 11 n'est pas raanvais qu'il y ^;t une errettr commune 

 qui fixe I'esprit des hommes ; par exemple de la Lune, a, 

 qui on attribue changemens des temps, le progres des 

 maladies, &c. Car quoi qu'il soit faux que la lune fassa 

 rien a tout cela, oela ne laisse pas de guerir rhomme de 

 la curiosite inquiete des choses qu'il ne peut savoir qu; 

 est une des maladies de I'esprit humain." — Pascal, 

 qi^oted in Menagiann, Amsterdam, edit. 1683, p. 303. 



It is singular that the moon's influence both in 

 respect to changes in the weather and in diseases 

 should have continued so long prevalent in society, 

 even granting it had been only since Pascal's time 

 that the fallacy of the doctrine was understood. 

 How many sensible people at the present day 

 watch the moon's change, mark her new appear? 

 anoe, and from her different phases in the course 

 of the month indicate to themselves the regu- 

 lation of their in-door proceedings and out- door 

 operations. Notwithstanding the discoveries of 

 modern science and the light of a rational philoso- 

 phy, such persons will stiU be found clinging tq 

 their old notions, and pursuing the same course, 

 reminding us of " Richard Saunders " at the auc- 

 tion. " However, I resolved to be the better for 

 the echo of it, and though I had at first determined 

 to buy stuff for a new coat, I went avvay resolved 

 to wear my old one a little longer." To speculate 

 on the various reasons which have been assigned 

 for this state of things would be an endless task. 

 The lessons of the ancient astrology that once 

 ruled mankind so extensively, though not now 

 formally appealed to, have no doubt bequeathed 

 to us liberally of their impressions, and a century 

 or two may yet elapse before these become entirely 

 effaced. Could we all, like the ingenious Pascal, 

 possess the power of converting a superstition into 

 a virtue, we might remain easy in our ignorance, 

 but we may consider it more safe to trust to such 

 a letter as the following which lately passed 

 through the newspapers between a gentleman in 

 Edinburgh and XMe astronomical professor in the 

 University of Glasgow, as our guide : — 



" Observatory, July 5, 1856. Dear Sir, I am in receipt 

 of your letter regarding the supposed influence of the 

 moon on the weather. You are altogether correct. No 

 relation exists between those two classes of phenomena. 

 The question has been tested and decided over and over 

 again by the discussion of long and reliable meteorologi- 

 cal tables, nor do I know any other positive way of testing 

 anj' such point. I confess I cannot account for the origin 

 of the prevalent belief. You are welcome to make any 

 use you please of this note. Yours very faithfully, J. P. 



NiCHOL." 



With regard to the moon's influence in diseases, 



