208 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2°d S. No 89., Bbpt. 12. '57. 



here among the "people" to say, "he was my 

 fore'elder" " I will not disgrace my fore-elders" 

 " I wish to be buried among my fore-elders" and 

 so on. I know not if Richardson has the word in 

 his Dictionary* ; but if not, I would cordially re- 

 commend its adoption by the Philological Society 

 through " N. & Q." 



I believe it is not a scriptural word, but it has 

 to me a smack of scriptural quaintness which is 

 very delightful. R. W. Dixon. 



Seaton Carew, co. Durham. 



Schubert and his "Ahasuerus." — In notices of 

 the Minor German Poets and Novelists, Cam- 

 bridge, U. S., 1835, Schubert is described as a 

 wild man of genius, and an article in Frasers 

 Magazine, Sept. 1831, is referred to. The author 

 says : 



" Gothe in a letter to Wieland quotes the Ahashuer, and 

 dwells especially on these lines : 



" ' Zu der Schlacht, zu der Schlacht ! Es entflammt auf s 

 Neu' 

 Mich Kampf und des Wahns geisttodtender Schlag, 

 Und es sticht der Muth eiskaltes Geschoss, 

 Und es hammert das Herz in der Brust angstvoU ; 

 Wild rollen im Kreis mir die Augen umher, 

 Und iiber die Bahn tragt rasenden Sturms 

 Tollheit mich hinaus und die Zunge verstarrt ! 

 Fruchtlos schlagt mein dumpftonender Laut 

 In die zornigeu Wogen des Unheils.' " 



These lines are not in the edition of 1802. Can 

 any of your readers refer me to that in which they 

 are, and also to the letter of Gothe ? Any other 

 references as to Schubert will be thankfully re- 

 ceived by P. G. A. 



Byrom's Short Hand. — What is the meaning 

 of the Vignette Monogram prefixed to the first 

 edition of Byrom's Short Hand, Manchester, 1767. 

 Motto " Frustra Per Plura." Ebok. 



Quotation wanted. — 



" For when a reason's aptly chosen, 

 One (?) is as valid as a dozen." 



Who is the writer of these lines, and where may 

 they be found ? P. H. F. 



Teens. — I shall be obliged by your answering 

 the following question, When does a person enter 

 her teens ? Miss in her Teens. 



Billia7'ds. — In playing at billiards, if a player 

 makes a hazard, &c. which he did not play for, it 

 is often said that he made a crow. It may be de- 

 rived from the expression of "Shot at & pigeon 

 and killed a crow .'" Another term is, " He made 

 Sifiook (or fluke)" It seems to me that, as there 

 are two flooks to the anchor of a ship, and as 

 when the anchor shall be dropped either flooh may 

 take hold of the ground (as both do not, so that 

 it is accidental which takes hold), the flooh, at 



[* The word is not in Richardson,] 



playing at billiards, may have reference to the 

 same cause (accident). The favour of an answer 

 will oblige A Billiard Player. 



Oriental Club. 



The '■'■Thirty Pieces of Silver." — I have lately 

 read in one of the morning journals a statement 

 (copied, I think, from an American paper) that 

 there has been discovered at Rome a specimen of 

 the coinage in which Judas received the thirty 

 pieces of silver for his betrayal of our Blessed 

 Saviour, and that a facsimile of the coin has 

 been successfully produced. My Query is. What 

 amount of reliance can be placed on this state- 

 ment ? and possibly some one of your correspon- 

 d^ts can inform me whether it would be possible 

 to obtain such a facsimile as I have referred to, 

 supposing it to be a genuine production. 



Edward Y. Lownb. 



The Petting Stone at a Northumberland Wed' 

 ding. — On coming out of a country church the 

 other day, after a wedding, I found a sort of 

 barrier erected at the churchyard gate, consisting 

 of a large paving-stone placed on its edge, and 

 supported by two smaller stones, and on either 

 side a rustic, who made the happy couple and 

 everyone else jump over it. 



On inquiry I was told it was the "petting 

 stone," which the bride had to jump, in case she 

 should repent and refuse to follow her husband. 

 Does this strange custom exist anywhere else, and 

 can anyone give any explanation of its origin ? 



I have heard of a custom of a football being 

 placed before the bride on leaving the church, 

 which the husband ordered her to kick, and so 

 makes her immediately commence her obedience to 

 him. 



Perhaps the petting stone and the football may 

 be for the same purpose. M. W. C. 



Alnwick. 



Human Ear Wax. — In Lucknow it is collected, 

 and is the chief ingredient in use for intoxicating 

 elephants previous to their furious contests. 

 Where can any scientific investigations into its 

 nature be found ? J. P. 



" Australia." — Who is the author of a work 

 entitled The Rise and Progress of Australia, Tas- 

 mania, and New Zealand. By an Englishman. 

 Published in 1856 ? X, 



Spiders and Irish Oak. — In Pointer's Oxoni- 

 ensis Academia (1749) is the following, in his ac- 

 count of the curiosities of Christ Church College : 



" The Roof of the aforesaid Hall is remarkable on this 

 Account, that, tho' it be made of Irish Oak, yet it har- 

 bours Spiders, in Contradiction to the vulgar Saying. 

 Tho' I am apt to think that there may be some Pieces of 

 English Oak amongst the Irish ; or else probably that 

 particular Smell that proceeds from that Sort of Oak, and 

 is perhaps so distasteful to that Sort of Vermin, may be 



