288 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2n* S. N« 98., Oct. 10. '67. 



books in the true Pepysian style, formerly be- 

 lonjring to the Reverend John Greene, all are lost 

 sight of, and I am most anxious to learn if any- 

 thing is known of them. Some of the Greenes lie 

 buried, I believe, in the minister's vault at St. 

 Olave's, in the Old Jewry. Should any corre- 

 spondent be able to give any farther information, 

 perhaps he will kindly give his authority, &c. 



HxiNBI. 



Sea Pea. — In a manuscript letter, written in 

 1662 by the great naturalist Ray to his friend, 

 Mr. Courthope of Danny, in Sussex, I find the 

 following account of a species of pea which he 

 had seen on the shore, near Alburgh. I shall feel 

 obliged to any of your correspondents who are 

 able to do so, if they will say whether the plant is 

 still to be found there, and what is its botanical 

 name and character ? — 



«' On Saturday last I rode forth to Aid Burgh to see 

 those famous Sea Pease noted by our historians and Her- 

 barisls to grow between Orford and Aid Burgh upon the 

 shingle or bank of Stones by the Sea Side. Some I found 

 not fare from Aid Burgh, growing by patches upon the 

 stones ; but about 6 miles further southward, at the ex- 

 tremity of thati long bank of stones which runs from 

 Aid Borough towards Orford at least 7 miles into the Sea 

 (as yon will easily perceive by viewing the Map of Suf- 

 folke). Near the haven's mouth is the famous and re- 

 marked place where (as all the people hereabout affirm 

 and I believe) they cover the whole shingle for § a mile 

 together. So that I cannot guesse the yearly crop of 

 pease to be lesse than 100 combes or half quarters. For a 

 full and particular description, I refere you to Parkinson, 

 where also you have a figure of them. Only I do not find 

 in them now ripe that bitternesse he mentions. Indeed 

 to me and others they seem not so bitter as our common 

 vetches, though they are smaller than they, which is, I 

 consider, the reason why they are altogether neglected by 

 the country people hereabout. I might add to this de- 

 scription, that when they are ripe and dry, they are of a 

 dark olive colour, but a little shrunk or crumpled like 

 our ordinary gray pease. Some of the stalks and leaves 

 still continue green, but the most were scare and withered, 

 abundance of pease still hanging upon them. I wonder, 

 though men neglect them, that yet pigeons and wild 

 foules should not devour them." 



R. W. B. 



Second Queen of Fred. I. of Prussia. — I should 

 feel much obliged for any particulars (such as 

 Christian name, character, personal appearance, 

 &c.) of the third wife (and second queen) of 

 Frederic I., the first King of Prussia. She was a 

 Princess of Mecklenburg- Grabow, and married 

 King Frederic three years after the death of 

 his second wife, Sophia Charlotte of Hanover. 

 Can you direct me to any book in which I can 

 find any account of the above-mentioned Princess 

 of Mecldenburg ? M. E. P. 



Hanging Criminals at the Borders of Counties. 

 — The bridge, by which the old road from Lon- 

 don to Manchester crosses the river Dove, is 

 called Hanging Bridge : part of the bridge is in 

 Derbyshire and the rest in Staffordshire. In the 



latter oounty, and at no great distance from the 

 bridge, there is a hill, called in the old deeds of 

 the estate Gallowtree Hill. Is not the inference 

 from these facts that criminals were formerly 

 executed on this hill? Are there any instances 

 of criminals having been executed on the bounda- 

 ries of counties, or can any other explanation be 

 offered of these facts ? 



Early in this century a man murdered two of 

 his children in Mayfield, and was executed for the 

 murder. The razor with which he murdered 

 them was buried iq, a bye-lane at the extremity 

 of the parish, within a few feet of the adjoining 

 parish. Are any similar instances known, and 

 what can be the origin of such a proceeding ? 



Instruments with which murders were com- 

 mitted were forfeited to the crown by the common 

 law. C. S. Gbeavbs. 



Felpham Church. — Within the south porch of 

 Felpham Church, Sussex, is a tombstone which 

 excited my curiosity ; it is a grey slab (apparently 

 slate), on which is very slightly cut a cross and 



circle, thus-H^. There is no trace of either in- 

 scription or date ; the slab lies north and south, 

 and is to one's left, on the floor of the porch. Is 

 there any tradition or record as to the person who 

 was interred in a place so unusual ? The absence 

 of all inscription, too, must have been intentional, 

 and why ? E. E. Byng. 



Moliere. — Can any of your readers give me an 

 explanation of the following phrases from Moliere ? 



« Sganarelle. Que d'une serge honnete elle ait son 

 vetement, 

 Et ne porte le noir qu'aux bons jours seulement." 



L'E'cole des Maris, Act I. So. 2. 



Was black the fashionable colour at this time ? 

 if go, how long did it continue to be so ? 



" LSonor. Et je pr^fererais le plus simple entretien 

 A tous les contea bleus de ces diseurs de rien." 



L'E'cole des Maris, Act III. So. 9. 



What are "contes bleus," and what is the 

 origin of the expression ? 



" Lisandre. Vois-tu ce petit trait de feinte que Yoilh, ? 

 Ce fleuret ? ces coupes courant aprfes la belle ? 



Les Facheux, Act I. Sc. 5. 



What is the meaning of the word " fleuret " in 

 this passage ? 



" Arnolphe. Moi, j'irais me charger d'une spirituelle 

 Qui ne parlerait rien que cercle et que ruelle ? " 



I cannot quite make out the meaning of 

 " ruelle " here. Lybia. 



Kugby. 



Degeneracy of the Human Race. — It is a very 

 common remark, by admirers of the "good old 

 times," that the human race is very much degene- 

 rating both in point of size and physical strength. 

 This may possibly be true, as far as regards the 



