364 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 155. 



descriptive name. In Wood's History and Anti- 

 quities of Eyam, p. 114., the same word occurs 

 with the addition of a < in the spelling : 



" There was a gravestone, if not some part of a 

 human skeleton, once found in a field which is now 

 called Philip's sitch." 



I have made repeated inquiries in BoUington from, 

 among others, very old people, but have never had 

 any explanation of the word given me. 



St. John's. 



[In Phillips's A^ew World of Words occurs the follow- 

 ing : " Sichetum, or Slkettus, in old Latin records, is 

 a sich or small current of water that used to be dry in 

 the summer; also, a water furrow or gutter."] 



Scheltrum. — Can any of your correspondents 

 explain what was the nature of the order of battle 

 anciently used by the Scotch, termed the schel- 

 trum ? In the reign of Edward II. I find it stated, 

 that on a certain occasion pikemen were placed 

 " in scheltrum, secundum modum Scottorum," but 

 cannot meet with any explanation of the term. 



Karl. 



[Under the word Schilthrum, Jamieson has given a 

 long explanntion of this word. (See 4to edit. 1808.) 

 It means " an host ranged in a round form."] 



Kendall. — Is there such a place as Kendall in 

 Yorkshire, and, if so, whereabouts ? C. J. 



[Langdale, in his Dictionary of ForJishire, notices two 

 places of this name: — " Kendall (E. R.), in the parish 

 of Great Driffield, Bainton- Beacon division of the 

 wapentake of Harthill ; 2 miles from Driffield, 9 

 from Sledmere, IS from Bridlington, 15 from Bever- 

 ley." The other is in the West Riding: — "Kendall 

 • Green, in the parish of Silkston, wapentake of Stain- 

 cross, liberty of the Honour of Pontefract ; 2 miles 

 from Barnsley, 7 from Penistone, 9j from Rother- 

 ham."] 



aacylt'c^. 



WEST INDIA ISLANDS HELD BY THE KNIGHTS OF 

 MALTA. 



(Yol. vi., p. 87.) 



The information sought for by W. W. respect- 

 ing the West India Islands held by the Order of 

 St. John, will be found in Pere Labat's Nouveau 

 Voyage, vol. v. p. 162. et seq. ; but as that work 

 is now very scarce, and is, perhaps, inaccessible to 

 your correspondent, the following brief statement 

 of the principal facts may be acceptable to him. 



1642. The first French West India Company is 

 formed, and put in possession of the islands, com- 

 prising nearly the whole of the Lesser Antilles. 



1648. Becoming dissatisfied with the state of 

 their affairs, the company agree to dispose of the 

 islands by sale. 



De Poincy, the French governor of St. 



Christopher, offers to purchase their share of that 



island and of St. Martin, together with St. Croix 

 and St. Bartholomew; hat the French govern- 

 ment, whose authority he had slighted, refuse to 

 listen to his proposals. He then suggests to the 

 Bailly de Souvre, ambassador at Paris of the 

 Knights of St. John, to purchase those islands for 

 his order, De Poincy undertaking to pay the price 

 of sale on condition of his being continued in the 

 post of governor. 



1651, May 24. The deed of sale is executed, the 

 amount paid for the four islands being 120,000 

 livres tournois, or 4800Z. sterling. 



The Knights of St. John confer on De 



Poincy the title of " Bailly," and send the Che- 

 valier De Montmagny to St. Christopher, to be 

 ready to succeed him in the event of his death. 



1652, Death of the Chevalier De Montmagny, 

 and arrival of the Chevaliers De Sales and De 

 Saint Jure as his successors. The latter returns 

 to France. 



1653, March — . The sale of the islands is con- 

 firmed, by letters patent, to the Order of St. 

 John, on condition that they should hold them 

 from the King of France, and, in acknowledgment 

 of his sovereignty, should present his mnjesty, and 

 each of his successors, with a crown of gold, of the 

 value of 2401. sterling. 



1660, April 11. Death of the Bailly de Poincy. 

 He is succeeded by the Chevalier De Sales. 



1664. Establishment of a new West India Com- 

 pany. The former grants are cancelled, with the 

 exception of that made to the Order of St. John. 



1665. The new company, wishing to have the 

 undivided control of tne islands, enter into ne- 

 gociations with the Order of St. John for the 

 purchase of St. Croix and St. Bartholomew, and 

 their share of St. Christopher and St. Martin. The 

 deed of sale is executed at Paris on the 10th of 

 August, and the islands made over to the company 

 for the sum of 500,000 livres tournois, or 20,000/. 

 sterling. In December of this year the agents of 

 the company take possession of the islands. 



Heney II. Breen. 

 St. Lucia. 



P.S. — The circumstance of the letter, quoted 

 by Ursula (Vol. vi., p. 131.), having been ad- 

 dressed to a Dutch governor of St. Martin, is 

 explained by the fact that, in 1662, that island 

 belonged partly to the Dutch and partly to the 

 Kniffhts of Malta. 



GOVERNMENT OF ST. CHRISTOPHERS. 



(Vol. vi., p. 131.) 



I am much indebted to Ursula for having 

 again called my attention to the government of 

 this island in 1662, and for the extract furnished 

 from an old English letter in his possession, the 

 whole of which I should much like to read. It is 



