Aug. 21. 1852.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



173 



then, is this : AVas the " strange fowle," seen by- 

 Sir Hamon L'Estrange in London "about 1638," 

 a Dodo ? 



With respect to its name, Sir Hamon merely 

 states that " the keeper called it a Dodo :" I need 

 not waste a word on the vagueness of such nomen- 

 clature ; we all know the value of a showman's 

 nuncupation. Besides, it must be recollected that 

 the apterous birds of Bourbon and Rodriguez were 

 at that period termed Dodos. Now for Sir Ha- 

 mon's description : 



" It was somewhat bigger than the largest turky- 

 cock, and so legged and footed, but stouter and thicker, 

 and of a more erect shape, coloured before like the 

 breast of a young cock-fesan, and on the back of a 

 duwne or deare colour." 



I humbly submit that any person who had seen 

 a Dodo, would naturally, when describing it, pro- 

 pose the swan (the Dutch and Cauche did) as an 

 estimate or standard of comparison rather than 

 the turkey ; the contour of the Dodo resembling 

 the former much more than the latter. The ex- 

 pression, " a more erect shape " (than the turkey), 

 most decidedly could not be applicable to the 

 figure of the Dodo; and though the worthy 

 knight's "young cock-fesan" of uncertain age is 

 ambiguous enough, the colour as well as the form 

 does not indicate the Dodo, but both point most 

 significantly to the Solitaire (Didus solitarius). 

 Let us see how Leguat's independent evidence, in 

 his description of the Solitaire, accords with Sir 

 Hamon's account of the " strange fowle : " 



" The feathers of the male are of a brown grey 

 colour ; the feet and beak are like a turkey's, but a 

 little more crooked. They are taller than turkeys ; 

 the neck is straight, and a little longer in proportion 

 than a turkey's when it lifts up his head." 



This remarkable concordance between L'Estrange 

 and Leguat requires no comment. Before pro- 

 ceeding farther, however, it may perhaps be ne- 

 cessary, for the purpose of avoiding vain con- 

 jectures, to inquire whether the " strange fowle " 

 really were one of the Dididce. Most indisputably 

 it was. Its size and stone-swallowing habit con- 

 fined it to that family and the Struthiones, but 

 being " turkey-footed," its hind toe kicked it out 

 of the pale of the latter, and consequently the only 

 question now is, Avhich of the Dididce it was. Ac- 

 cording to Sir Hamon's description, I deferentially 

 submit it was not a Dodo *, nor was it one of those 

 brevi-pennate birds of Bourbon that, Bontekoe 

 quaintly said, '■'■ Als sie liepen sleepte haer neers 

 langhs de aerde ; " nor that other brevi-pennate of 

 the same island, which the Sleur Dubois tells us 

 had a bill like a woodcock's ; in short, the only 

 bird whose description at all tallies with it, was 



the Solitaire of Rodriguez. Here, I must ac- 

 knowledge, I am confronted by the paradoxical 

 assertion of Leguat, that — 



" Though these birds would sometimes familiarly 

 come up to one, when we did not run after them, yet 

 they would never grow tame ; as soon as caught they 

 shed tears, and refused sustenance until they died." 



It is evident that Leguat and his companions knew 

 nothing about taming animals : if they had had the 

 slightest knowledge of that art, the Solitaires, in a 

 week's time, would most probably have followed, 

 them like lapdogs. 



After such distinguished naturalists as Mr. 

 Strickland, Dr. Haniel, and Mr. Broderip have 

 recognised the " strange fowle " as a Dodo, it Is 

 with the utmost deference that I call attention to 

 my conviction of its identity with the Solitaire ; 

 and for this reason, instead of making the as- 

 sertion, I still ask the question. Was the " strange 

 fowle," seen by Sir Hamcn L'Estrange in London 

 about ] 638, a Dodo ? W. Pinkertox. 



Ham. 



* If a Dodo, how could L'Estrange avoid observing, 

 or omit to notice, its remarkable head. 



Etymology of " Quarrel." — What is the etymo- 

 logy of the word quarrel, meaning a dispute ? Is 

 it from the Latin querela ? If so, how does it 

 come to be spelt with a double r f Has it any 

 connexion with quarel, the lozenge-shaped head of 

 a cross-bow bolt, and which has given name to 

 panes of glass of that form ? I write the word, in 

 the latter sense, with one r, conceiving it to be a 

 modification of some of the derivatives of qvMtuor : 

 but why should it have two r's in the former sense? 



Balliolensis. 



Relics of Charles I. — In Hone's Every Day 

 Book, vol. i. col. 187., we read the following ex- 

 tract from the Brighton Herald: 



" The sheet which received the head of Charles I. 

 after its decapitation, is carefully preserved along with 

 the Communion plate, in the church of Ashburnham 

 in this county : the blood, with which it has been 

 almost entirely covered, now appears nearly black. 

 The watch of the unfortunate monarch is also deposited 

 with the linen, the movements of which are still perfect. 

 These relics came into the possession of Lord Ash- 

 burnham immediately after the death of the king." 



The object of ray Query is to ascertain whether 

 these relics are still in existence, and preserved In 

 the church at Ashburnham. 



W. Spabrow Simpson, B.A. 



Lady Gerrard's second Marriage. — Elizabeth 

 Woodford of Burnham, Buckinghamshire, relic of 

 the Lord Gerrard of Bromley, President of Wales, 

 became a widow In the year 1618; and married, 

 secondly, Patrick Ruthven, last surviving son and 

 representative of William, first Earl of Gowrle. 



