128 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2n<J S. No 85., Aug. 15. '57. 



milar now-a-days ? Has anyone, whose attention 

 has been called to this subject, believed that the 

 " set glass " was at all useful ? The ballad makes 

 Sii- Edward Howard to be pleased with the result, 

 i.e. the seeing the pirate's ship in the glass : 



"Now, by my faith, Lord Howard says 

 This is a gallant sight to see." 



G. R. L. 



''Flash:" ''Argot." — In Dr. Aiken's De- 

 scription of the Country round Manchester^ I lately 

 met with the following passages, which I think 

 would be appropriate to your columns, as illus- 

 trating the otherwise obscure etymology of a 

 popular word : 



" In the wild country between Broxton Leek and Mac- 

 clesfield, called ' The Flash' from a chapel of that name, 

 lived a set of pedestrian Chapmen, who hawked about 

 buttons, together with ribbons and ferreting, made at 

 Leek, and handkerchiefs with small wares from Man- 

 chester; these pedlars were known on the roads thej' 

 travelled by the appellation of Flashmen, and frequented 

 farm-houses and fairs, using a sort of slang or cant 

 dialect," &c. 



The account, which is lengthy, goes on to de- 

 scribe their dishonest practices, showing that they 

 were, to use an appropriate vulgar phrase, " as 

 flash as the knocker of Newgate," originating the 

 thimble-rig, or, if not originating it, largely prac- 

 tising it. A Query arises out of this, how came 

 the district to obtain the singular name of " The 

 Flash ? " What does flash primarily and uncon- 

 ventionally signify as the name of a place ? 



Argot in French answers to our modern ac- 

 ceptation of Flash in English, as applied to a cant 

 dialect. What is the etymology of Argot ? The 

 Dictionary of the French Academy has, " Argot, 

 s. m. certain langage des gueux et des filoux, qui 

 n'est intelligible qu'entre eux." And "Argot, 

 terme de jardinage. II se dit Du bois qui est au- 

 dessus de I'oeil." ' There can be little doubt that 

 the cant term has some figurative relation to the 

 latter legitimate term (the etymology of which, 

 however, is not, to me, attainable, although I 

 think I can see a Celtic root in it) : 



" Alfana vient d'equus sans doute ; 

 Mais il faut avouer aussi, 

 Qu'en venant de 1&; jusq'ici 

 II a fait bien de route." 



Will some of the many readers of " N. & Q." 

 versed in etymology cast a flash of light on Flash 

 and Argot f James Knowles. 



The Surname Deadman. — It was long before I 

 could assign any origin to this family name. A 

 friend suggests that it may be a provincial word 

 for sexton. Can any reader of " N. & Q." con- 

 firm this supposition ? Mark Antony Loweb. 



Lewes. 



Styrings Family. — Some account of the gene- 

 alogy, arms (if any), or other general information 



relative to the family of " Styrings," will be gladly 

 received. The name is supposed to have ori- 

 ginated at Rotherham or Sheffield, in Yorkshire. 



J. S. 

 Blue Coat Boys at Aldermen's Funei'als. — In 

 D'Urfey's Comical History of Don Quixote, 

 Part I, Act II. Sc. I., the following passage 

 occurs (I quote from the original quarto edition 

 of 1694). The scene is laid at the inn, which the 

 heated imagination of the Don has converted into 

 a castle : 



" Sancho. Odsbodikins ! if ever 3'ou'll see a line sight 

 as long as you live, come away quicklv to the \m\ door. 

 * * * * ' * « 



" Don Q. What sight is this thou hast seen at the 

 Castle Gate ? 



" Sancho. Why at the Castle Gate then, since you will 

 have it so, there's a dead man walked by in more state 

 and with greater noise after liim than a London Alder- 

 man, whose soul is gone to Hell for usury, than he has, I 

 say, when his son and heir hites a whole troop of Blue 

 Coat Boys to sing Psalms, and try if they can sing it out 

 again." 



Was it ever a custom for the Blue Coat Boys 

 to attend the funerals of aldermen in the capacity 

 of choristers, or is the allusion to any, and if so 

 what, particular funeral ? The mention of usury 

 might lead one to suppose the latter, but on the 

 other hand it must be remembered that the alder- 

 men are ex-officio Governors of Christ's Hospital. 

 Any information on the aubject will be acceptable. 

 ^<ju/j:M6 W. H. Husk. 



" Time is precious" SfC. — Who is the author of 

 the piece commencing 



"Time is precious, time is greater 



Than the wealth of kings can give?" 



George Massib. 



Claudius Gilbert, D.D. — Some information re- 

 specting Dr. Gilbert, who was Vice-Provost of 

 Trinity College, Dublin, 1716-.35, and a very 

 liberal benefactor to its noble library, is desired. 

 He died in October, 1743, having been appointed 

 to the parish of Ardstraw in ] 735 ; and his exe- 

 cutors were the Rev. Dr. Hodson, of Omagh ; 

 Richard Warburton, Esq., of Donnecarney, near 

 Dublin ; and Dr. Thomas Kingsbury, of Anglesea 

 Street, in that city. Abhba. 



Jeremiah JoVs Deflnition of a Bishop. — In A 

 Letter to the Rev. Dr. Tatham on Academical 

 Studies, London, 1795, is the following : 



" Many who laugh at Jeremiah Job's definition of A 

 BISHOP are unable to appreciate a higher." 



Who was Jeremiah Job, and what was his de- 

 finition ? S. H. J. 



Ashow. 



Arms of Cortes. — Can you, or any of your 

 readers, oblige me with the proper blazoning of 

 the armorial bearings of Hernando Cortes, the 



