486 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 160. 



earliest ages to the present time. Will some of 

 your correspondents kindly render me their as- 

 sistance, and give me their references ? I begin 

 with the following list : — 



Boiling, burning, decapitating, drowning, flog- 

 ging, hanging, poisoning, shooting, starving, 

 throwing from precipices, throwing into dungeons 

 with wild animals and venomous serpents, torture 

 in various ways, tearing limb from limb, wager of 

 battle. 



Tradition says that to the above list there might 

 be added the punishment of death by crucifixion 

 and burying alive, but as yet I have found no in- 

 stances, and trust I shall not, to justify the belief 

 that such atrocious cruelties were ever sanctioned 

 by law. 



In Stowe's Chronicles mention is made of two 

 persons who suffered death by boiling. Are any 

 other instances known of a similar punishment ? 



1532. On the 5th of April one Richard Rose 

 was boiled in Smithfield for poisoning sixteen 

 persons. 



1543, 17th of March, Margaret Davy, a maid, 

 was boiled in Smithfield for poisoning three house- 

 holds that she had dwelled in.* W. W. 



La Valetta, Malta. 



Raising the Wind. — Can any of the readers of 

 " N. & Q." explain the origin of this term either 

 when applied by seamen who whistle at sea to 

 raise the wind, or by " fast men," who seek the 

 assistance of money lenders or pawnbrokers for a 

 similar purpose ? W. W. 



Malta. 



Thomas Bajocencis. — Thomas Bajocensis, Arch- 

 bishop of York, A.D. 1109, is mentioned by Tanner 

 (after Godwin, Possevinus, and others) as having 

 written, in usum Ecclesice JEbor., Cantus Ecclesi- 

 asticos, lib. i,, Officiarium ejusdem Ecclesice, lib. i. : 

 vide Tanner's Biblioth. de Scriptoribus, Lond. 

 1748, p. 709. Are the above-mentioned books, or 

 any portion of them, known still to exist, either in 

 print or in manuscript ? Or are they known to 

 have formed the basis of any ritual or service-book, 

 afterwards in use in the Church of York ? 



I do not find the remotest clue to them in Bot- 

 field's account of MSS. in possession of the dean 

 and chapter ; though it is possible some notice of 

 them may have escaped my search, owing to 

 Botfield not having favoured us with an index to 

 his useful work. J. Saksom. 



Oxford. 



Richard III. — On looking over the fourth 

 volume of the Patrician, I find, at page 68., 

 mention made of a curious tradition respecting 



[* For cases of boiling to death as a punishment, see 

 "N.& Q.," Vol. ii.,p. 519. ; Vol. v., pp. 32. 112. 184. 

 355 Ed.] 



one " Richard Plantagenet" (who died in the year 

 1550), It is there stated, that this individual was 

 a son of the king, who acknowledged him as such 

 privately, but delayed doing so publicly until the 

 result of the battle of Bosworth Field (at which 

 time he was between fifteen and sixteen years of 

 age) was known ; but, in consequence of the turn 

 of the battle against Richard III., the son left the 

 field and died, as above mentioned, in comparative 

 obscurity ; but it is not stated whether he was 

 married, or died sine prole. However, my Query 

 is to ascertain whether It was the fact, that 

 Richard had a son, as history does not record 

 anything respecting him that I am aware of; for 

 it would doubtless be a curious historical fact 

 concerning a person so little known, although tra- 

 ditionally connected with the then reigning power. 

 John N. Chadwick. 

 King's Lynn. 



Watch Oaks. — In the neighbourhood of Leam- 

 ington is an old oak, or rather the remains of one, 

 which goes by the name of " the watch oak." Can 

 any of your correspondents explain the origin of 

 such an appellation, and inform me whether it is 

 a common one ? Erica. 



Another Bums' Relic. — I have in my possession 

 a quarto copy (the first edition, I think) of Blair's 

 Lectures on Rhetoric and Belles Lettres, which was 

 given by the poet's wife, Jean Armour, to my 

 father. I have been informed that it was pre- 

 sented by the author to Robert Burns, and would 

 like to learn whether the Ayrshire poet ever ob- 

 tained such a present from Dr. Blair? About 

 one-third of the blank leaf facing the title-page 

 has been cut away by some sharp instrument, and 

 on the inside of the board there is a blotted im- 

 pression of a name which has been written on the 

 missing portion of the leaf. 



Can any of the readers of " N. & Q." favour me 

 with any particulars which could guide to the truth 

 In this matter ? Querist. 



South Shields. 



Charles I. and the Oxford Colleges. — Is it true 

 that King Charles I. granted to any particular col- 

 leges in Oxford the privilege of wearing a silver 

 tassel, as a reward for their loyalty ? and if so, 

 what were the colleges ? I have heard the names 

 of Exeter, St. John's, Jesus, and Pembroke men- 

 tioned. An Oxford Undergraduate. 



Mary Queen of Scots Gold Cross. — I find, in 

 a late Number of the Morning Chronicle, the 

 following paragraph, copied from the Glasgow 

 Mail : 



" Mr. IVince of Glasgow has left in the office of 

 Messrs. Maclure and Macdonald, for the inspection of 

 the curious, a fine gold cross and crown, set with eme- 

 ralds, rubies, and Scotch pearls, supposed by eminent 



