Dec. 1. 1855.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



427 



insbesondere, das Reine (sic in orig.) was in diesem Worte 

 ausgesprochen ist, unter alien Nationen, allein als unser 

 Eigenthum," &c. 



Now, is this the old " Minne " ? I will not 

 quote the I^iebelungen Lied, as those who have 

 read it are the only ones who are able to answer 

 the question ; but the caution given to Segfried 

 by his friend, when the former is about to attempt 

 the conquest of the latter's double-fisted wife, and 

 the subsequent recrimination of the two ladies, 

 seems to show that in those times at least, the 

 word " minne " had anything but a " reine " 

 meaning. 



I am afraid that this is a long question, but It is 

 one which I would fain see settled ; and not 

 having the glorious Bdnische Worterhuch by me, 

 I am obli<red to trouble you. It is a fair question 

 for " N. & Q.," and one Avhich would, if followed 

 up, open a great deal of real matter about those 

 old Minnesangers ; who, with tlieir first-cousins 

 the Trouveres, I suspect to have been very 

 naughty varlets. E. H. K. 



Arundel, 



THE BOOK-'WOEM AND ITS RAVAGES. 



I do not know if this destructive worm has yet 

 .made havock amid the pages of the "N. & Q.," con- 

 suming some of the knotty points savants have 

 been unable to digest. I dare say that it has ; and, 

 in all probability, is at this moment meandering 

 through some early volume, enjoying and rumin- 

 ating upon the contents. If the " N. & Q." can 

 do anything to avert the ravages of the book- 

 worm, it will do much for the preservation of 

 literature. The insidious traces of the insect are 

 well known, whilst the animal itself is almost a 

 myth ; many who have passed a life amid the 

 fustiest and dustiest of dry literature, never re- 

 member to have seen one. I have heard of an 

 old bibliopole offering a reward for a book-worm, 

 without effect : perhaps he did not make the prize 

 large enough or widely known, there being no 

 " N. & Q." in those days. I remember once to 

 have seen a hard-cased insect with, I think, wings, 

 taken from the board of an old volume; but 

 whether it was what the Romans called blatln, and 

 the moderns denominate a book-v/orm, 1 know 

 not. The treasure was wrapped in paper for pre- 

 servation, got flattened, went to dust, and was 

 lost. Russia leather (the orthodox preventive), I 

 have seen pierced through and through ; and 

 volumes so eaten, that upon opening, tiie sheets 

 fell to pieces like portions of a child's " dissected 

 map." Can any of your readers inform me of 

 this "worm;" its structure and transformations; 

 whether It be a wood insect or indigenous to 

 paper ; whether there are any papers it has an 

 aversion to ? Corrosive sublimate has been, in 



Vol. XII. — No. 318. 



some oases, mixed with the paste of covers to 

 poison the pest ; and colocynth, or bitter apple, to 

 prevent the cover being eaten ; but. Query the 

 result : — I. What Is the book-worm ? 2. Its 

 transformations and scientific history ? 3. Is it 

 Indigenous to books? 4. What paper does it 

 most relish ? 5. Is russia leather less eaten than 

 others? 6. What antidotes have been tried — 

 their effects ?* Luke Limner, F.S.A. 



Paris. 



King John of France. — Who were the English 

 gentlemen who followed King John of France, 

 when he returned to his country after having 

 been ransomed ? H. Basciiet. 



Waterford. 



^^ Horse and Horse. '^ — Can any of the readers 

 of " jN". &. Q." Inform me of the origin of this ex- 

 pression which is so commonly used in English 

 games when one party wins a game, and his an- 

 tagonist also wins a game? F. J. Gr. 



" Rowley and Chatterton in the Shade." — Can 

 you inform me who wrote the following piece ? 

 Rowley and Chatterton in the Shades ; or, Nugce 

 Antiques et Novce, a new Elysian Interlude, in 

 prose and verse, 8vo., 1782. R. J. 



" Cheshire Huntress," SfC. — Can any of your 

 readers give me the name of the author of the 

 following curious drama ? The Cheshire Huntress,' 

 and The Old Fox caught at last, a dramatic tale, 

 8vo., 1740. R.J. 



Welsh Custom. — It was lately (see Times, 

 November 3) stated in evidence at a bankruptcy 

 case relating to New Quay, Cardiganshire, that 

 the sixty-four shares into which a vessel, the 

 ownership of which was connected with the case, 

 was divided, were considered equal to 1 lb. avoir- 

 dupois, the owner of four shares being called the 

 owner of an ounce, of two shares of half an ounce, 

 and so on. This resembles the uncial division in 

 use among the Romans. (See inter alia, Cic. Pro 

 Ccecina, vi. § 17.) 



" Facit heredem ex deurtce et semuncid (|.| + ^-^=^) Cae- 

 cinam, ex duahus sextuHs (t of •^'2 = 7'^) ^1- Fulciuium; 

 iEbutio sextulam (^) adspergit." 



Are there any traces of this custom elsewhere ? 

 P. J. F. Gantili.on. 



Allen Family. — Can any of your Cheshire cor- 

 respondents give me any particulars of the de- 

 scendants of William Allen of Brindley, who, 



[* Some antidotes for the destruction of tlie book-worm 

 are given in "N. & Q ," Vol. viii., pp. 412. 526. ; Vol, ix., 

 p. 527.; Vol. xi., p. 167.] 



