2'><« S. N» 108., Jan. 23. '58.] 



NOTES AND QUEKIES. 



69 



less nail, sticking in the temple, which he drew out 

 secretly, and wrapt it up in the corner of his handkerchief. 

 He then demanded of the grave-digger whether he knew 

 whose skull that was? He said he did very well, declar- 

 ing it was a man's who kept a brandy shop, an honest 

 drunken fellow, who one night taking two quarts of that 

 comfortable creature, was found dead in his bed the next 

 morning. Had he a wife? said the Doctor. Yes, Sir. 

 Is she living? Yes. What character does she bear? 

 A very good one ; only indeed the neighbours reflected 

 on her, because she married the day after her husband 

 was buried ; though, to be sure, she had no great reason 

 to grieve after him. This was enough for the Doctor, 

 who, under pretence of visiting all his parishioners, called 

 on her. He asked her several questions, and amongst 

 others, What sickness her first husband died of? She 

 giving him the same account he had before received, he 

 suddenly opened the handkerchief, and cried, in an au- 

 thoritative voice, 'Woman, do you know this nail?' She 

 was struck with horror at the unexpected demand, and 

 instantly owned the fact. And so, fellow, said Dean 

 Swift, do you know this head? The criminal confessed 

 his fault, and the jury brought him in guilty of hen- 

 slaughter, in his own defence, for he declared he was 

 hungry, and did eat it, having no malice prepense to it, 

 but rather love. On account of his sincerity, and our in- 

 tercession, the Dean pardoned him." 



This anecdote, it must be acknowledged, is 

 highly amusing ; but there is an incident or two 

 in it which makes it to look " very like a whale." 

 Whether we are indebted for its ground-plot to 

 Mrs. Letitia Pilkington, or the author of The 

 Travels of Lemuel GuUiver, must be left a query. 

 From the little that is known of Donne's move- 

 ments between his ordination in January, 1614-15, 

 and his appointment as Lecturer at Lincoln's Inn 

 on October 24, 1616, it does not appear that he 

 held any parochial cure during this period. Wal- 

 ton tells us — 



" Presently after he entered into his holy profession the 

 King sent for him, and made him his Chaplain in Ordi- 

 nary, and promised to take a particular care for his pre- 

 ferment. And though his long familiarity with scholars 

 and persons of greatest quality was such, as might have 

 given some men boldness enough to have preached to 

 any eminent auditory ; yet his modesty in this employ- 

 ment was such, that he could not be persuaded to it, but 

 went usually accompanied with some one friend to preach 

 privately in some village not far from London ; his first 

 sermon being preached ai Paddington. This he did till 

 His Majesty sent and appointed him a day to preach to 

 him at Whitehall." 



The earliest of Donne's printed Sermons, loith 

 a date, was preached at Greenwich, April 30,1615; 

 the next was preached at Whitehall, April 21, 

 1616, and may probably be the one noticed by 

 Walton. A few days after bis ordination, in a 

 letter to " Sir Robert Carr, Gentleman of his 

 Highnesses bedchamber," Donne styles himself 

 "Your poor Chaplain;" and about six weeks 

 afterwards he accompanied King James to Cam- 

 bridge, when he received his diploma of D.D. I 

 need scarcely add, that Donne was not appointed 

 vicar of St. Dunstan's until March or April, 1624. 



J. Yeowell. 



13. Myddelton Place, Sadler's Wells. 



Westminster School : Football : Paul Sandhy. — 

 I lately saw a water-colour, said to be, and with 

 great probability, by Paul Sandby, representing 

 boys in caps and gowns witnessing a game at 

 football in a field which bore, from the buildings 

 in the distance, a suspicious resemblance to St. 

 James's Park. On the drawing was written in 

 faded ink, " Eton College," and such the vendor 

 maintained it to be. That this was erroneous 

 did not admit of a doubt ; but as Sandby painted 

 views of Eton and Windsor, I should be glad to 

 learn if he painted also views of other public 

 schools. Perhaps some old Westminster can re- 

 member a tradition of the boys on their Founda- 

 tion having been allowed to play football in St. 

 James's Park.* J. H. L. 



Registry Act, Ireland. — By 6 Ann. oh. ii. sec. 7. 

 it is provided, that an alphabetical calendar of the 

 names of the parties mentioned in every memorial 

 shall be kept by the registrar. A former part of 

 the section requires the memorial to contain the 

 names and additions of all the parties to any 

 deed registered. Has this provision always been 

 observed by the Registry OflSce in Dublin, since 

 its establishment on March 25, 1708 ? or has it 

 been at any time the practice merely to enter on 

 the alphabetical calendar the names of the gran- 

 tors, neglecting to set down the names of grantees ? 

 Is there any intention ultimately to publish these 

 calendars ? T. C. Mossom Meekins. 



Lincoln's Inn. 



On Language. — What is the imitative process 

 by which children acquire languages more idio- 

 matically and therefore more perfectly than adults, 

 however talented and learned they may be ? 

 Where can I find it explained ? I have heard it 

 said that our greatest writers use only about 

 1500 words in their greatest works, and that many 

 books contain only about 500 ; that educated men 

 use only about 500 in conversation ; uneducated 

 men about 300 or 350, and children much less. 

 Are these figures in approximation to the truth ? 



T. P. Gast. 



Old French Argot. — In an old French novel, 

 Les Aventures de Mirandor, Amst. 1712, is the 

 •following : — 



"La chambre estait assez grande, mais pleine de hour- 

 siers, plumets, fanfredonnairs, tirelaines, mansardins, tire- 

 soyes, macquereaux et autres gens de mauvaise indus- 

 trie." 



I have consulted Le Roux's and other diction- 

 aries without finding the words in italics. Can 

 any of your correspondents assist me ? M. A. 



[* The Westminsters still play football in their ground 

 in Tothill Fields, from which spot the Abbey, &c. would 

 be very clearly seen in Paul Sandby's time. — Ed. " N. & 

 Q."] 



