14 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[July 7. 1855. 



tank be used, a mound may be raised above one 

 of the piles of rock-work, and planted with ferns ; 

 which have a fairy-like aspect when wavinjr their 

 emerald fronds over the glittering water. The best 

 for this purpose are the oak fern {Polypodium 

 dryopteris), the brittle bladder fern (Cystupteris 

 fragilis), the pretty little Alpine bladder fern 

 (C AlpineB), the true maiden hair {Adiantum 

 capillus), and the Tunbridge filmy fern {Tricho- 

 manes Tunbridgense). The ferns should be planted 

 in a mixture of pounded charcoal, fine sand, leaf- 

 mould, and very old lime rubbish ; and so arranged 

 that the rocky surface on which they grow will 

 prevent their root-stocks penetrating to the water. 

 A fountain, which is easily arranged by the aid of 

 a concealed gutta percha tube, may be made to 

 play above these to the advantage of the ferns 

 and the completeness of the scene. There are 

 other moisture-loving ferns which would thrive in 

 such a situation, but they would attain to too 

 great a size. Those recommended do not any of 

 them attain a greater height than eighteen or 

 twenty inches. 



To obviate the necessity of a frequent change 

 of water, a little system of compensation may be 

 adopted. Furnish the tank with some plants of 

 charce, and also with three or four water-snails. 

 The chara will supply continuous streams of oxy- 

 gen by a decomposition of the water, and thus 

 preserve its freshness for the health of the fish, 

 and the water-snails will devour every particle of 

 scum or result of vegetable decay, and as they 

 multiply under the masses of herbage the fish will 

 regale upon their offspring. 



As to fish, where ornament Is sought rather 

 than means of study, common gold fish are the 

 easiest to obtain and keep ; but these fish ought 

 not to monopolise our indoor lakes, as they do. 

 The little stickleback and the gudgeon should be 

 supplied in goodly numbers. They are very spor- 

 tive, and splash about amongst the floating foliage 

 in a most amusing manner. Carp, barbel, roach, 

 and bream are all suitable, if not too large ; but 

 perch, chub, and tench do not suit well, on account 

 of their voracity, and the large size they attain. 



This form of the aquarium admits of ornament 

 to almost any extent, and is a pleasing addition 

 to the resources of an invalid, or as a hobby for 

 those who love " little things that live and grow." 

 I shall shortly publish an account of my progress 

 in the culture of fresh-water productions indoors, 

 and offer the foregoing hints in advance of what 

 I have to say farther on the subject. 



ShIBLET PIlBBERD. 



As some of your readers appear to be in- 

 teresting themselves about vivaria, possibly, the 

 following notice of their early existence may not 

 be uninteresting : 



" Thence to see my Lady Pen., where mv wife and I 



No. 297.] 



were shown a fine rarity ; of fishes kept in a glass of 

 water, that will live so for ever ; and finely marked they 

 are, being foreign." — Pepys's Dianj, May 28, 1665. 



G. H. KiKGSLEr. 



PBIESTS HIDING-PLACES. 



(Vol. xi., p. 437.) 



There are many of these remaining in the 

 mansions of old Catholic families. Your corre- 

 spondent Henky Tuck alludes to those at Sawston 

 Hall, near Cambridge ; Coldham Hall, Suffolk ; 

 Maple Durham ; and Ufton Court, Berkshire. 

 There Is one very deep at Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk ; 

 and nearly every old Catholic hall was provided 

 with one, from the necessity of the times when 

 the penal laws were rigorously enforced. The 

 most curious hiding-place I have seen is that at 

 Irnham Hall In Lincolnshire. The situation of 

 this ingeniously- contrived place had been for- 

 gotten, though it was well known to exist some- 

 where In the mansion, till It was discovered a few 

 years ago. In going round the chimney stacks it 

 was observed that one of the chimneys of a cluster 

 was without smoke or any blackness, and as clean 

 as when the masonry was new. This led to the 

 conjecture that it was not in reality a chimney, 

 but an open shaft to give light and air to the 

 priests' hiding-place, yet so forming one of a 

 group of chimneys as to obviate all suspicion of its 

 real purpose. It was carefully examined, and the 

 conjecture fully borne out by the discovery of the 

 long lost hiding-place. 



The opening into it was found by removing a 

 beam behind a single step between two servants' 

 bedrooms. You then come to a panel, which has 

 a very small Iron tube let into it, through which 

 any message could be conveyed to the occupant of 

 the hiding-place. This panel being removed, a 

 ladder of four steps leads down into the secret 

 chamber, which, like that at Ingatestone Hall, is 

 exceedingly dry, and free from any unpleasant 

 atmosphere, owing to the excellent ventilation by 

 means of the chimney above described. The floor, 

 when I went down into it a few years a;jo, was of 

 loose sand and a few stones, like the ordinary rub- 

 bish of an unfinished building. There was a thick 

 rush mat rolled up at one end, which had served 

 the priest for a bed, and there was a small prayer- 

 book, which no doubt he had used in his solitary 

 confinement. The hiding-place is eight feet long 

 by five feet broad, and just high enough to allow 

 of standing upright. F. C. H. 



I have read with much interest the remarks 

 (Vol. xi., p. 437.) on the priests' hiding-place 

 at Ingatestone Hall. 



As misprints occur in the names of the localities 

 of two of the examples cited by your correspon- 



