444 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2nd s. V. 126., May 29. '58. 



their belief, I beg to mention that I have in my 

 library a copy presented to me by Professor 

 Young, with the inscription in his own hand : "To 

 James Smith, Esq., from the editor." To those 

 who have not read this work, it may be necessary 

 to explain that the author assumes the guise of 

 editor to a criticism written on the wrapper of a 

 parcel of books from Ireland. J. S. 



Honour of a Peer (2»" S. v. 317. 380.) —Your 

 correspondent, 0., commences a very interesting 

 article (p. 380.) with these words : — 



" The origin of ' protesting on his honour,' must be 

 sought in our 'National Constitution temp, the Norman- 

 French kings. ' " 



The origin of the custom is of somewhat older 

 date, as may be seen by the annexed extract from 

 a work published some years since in France. 

 The author, M. Manet, in giving an account of 

 the various officers appointed under the old Roman 

 emperors, observes : — 



" Ces Dues, clans les c^r^monies, portaient, ainsi que les 

 Vicaires entr'autres distinctifs, la robe de pourpre en- 

 richie de clous d'or, que les Romains appelaient pour cet 

 efFet clavata purpurea, ou chlamys clavata ; le collier, 

 et la ceinture." 



Upon the word collier is given a note, from 

 which I take the annexed extract : — 



" Ce collier et cette ceinture pouvaient s'accorder, 

 comme prix de la vaillahce, depuis le rang de Dragon- 

 naire ou porte-enseigne h figure de Dragon inclusivement, 

 jusqu'aux dignit^s militaires les plus hautes. — La «ia- 

 tifere, la forme et la couleur de ces ornemens rariaient 

 suivant les grades : mais en g^n^ral le collier consistait 

 en troi.s cordons d'or ou d'argent entrelaces. On donnait 

 commu^ment h ces deux decorations le nom g^nerique 

 d'Honneurs (^Honores, ou Insignia) : d'oii s'introduisit la 

 coutume de jurer sur son honneur, c'est-sl-dire, par tout ce 

 qu'un brave doit cherir le plus; et celle d'engager sa 

 parole d'honneur, c'est-k-dire, la parole la plus sacrde que 

 connaisse un honnete homme." — M. Manet, Histoire de 

 la Petite-Bretagne, vol. i. p. 331., note 210., Saint-Malo, 

 1834. 



W. B. Mac Cabe. 



Dinan, Cotes du Nord. 



Marchmont Peerage (2""^ S. v. 377.) Your 

 correspondent A. M. W. will, I rather think, find 

 an answer to his inquiry on his examining the 

 various papers which were printed in 1838 — 43 on 

 the claims made to the House of Lords by the 

 various parties who disputed the succession to the 

 earldom. No doubt the complete collections will 

 be found in the Library of the British Museum, 

 or that of Lincoln's Inn, London. T. G. S. 



Altar-rail Decorations (2"^ S. v. 858.) — Permit 

 me to inform R. L. that, in the parish church of 

 Leamington Priors, during the celebration of 

 Holy Communion, which is administered on every 

 Sunday throughout the year, clean white napkins 

 are placed along the whole length of the altar 

 rails, although I confess to not having elsewhere 

 witnessed the practice of this custom. Whilst on 



I this subject I would venture to ask why, in total 

 defiance of the Rubric, which says that the ex- 

 hortation, or warning for the celebration of the 

 Holy Communion shall be read " after the sermon 

 or homily ended," the same is everywhere given 

 out previously., immediately following the Nicene 

 Creed? and I would farther ask, on what au- 

 thority it is in most places restricted, to the first 

 sentence, instead of being fully read ? N. L. T. 



Some few years since, happening, to be present 

 in the parish church of St. Germans, Cornwall, on 

 a Communion Sunday, I observed a portion of the 

 altar-rails to be covered with white hangings. On 

 inquiry I found that it had been done, time out of 

 mind, with the object of preventing the dresses of 

 the squires' ladies from being soiled. May not 

 the custom have had a nobler origin, and the par- 

 tial hangings been a relic of an older and more 

 dignified practice ? When I say older, I may as 

 well state that I believe the introduction of altar- 

 rails, which are now beginning to fall into disuse, 

 is not of above two centuries' standing. S. X. 



CrijptograpJiy (2°^ S. v. 397.) — In addition to 

 the works mentioned may be added the following, 

 which, however, I have never seen : — 



" A Natural History of Nevis, and the rest of the Eng- 

 lish Leeward Charibee Islands in America, with an 

 Introduction to the Art of Decyphering in Eleven Letters, 

 from the Rev. M. Smith." Cambridge, 8vo. 1745. 



The best English treatise upon the subject which 

 I have seen is the article " Cipher " in Rees's Cy- 

 clopadia. It was written by William Blair, the 

 well-known surgeon. In 1809 a pamphlet was 

 published by Michael Gage (see " N. & Q.," 1" 

 S. xii. 384.), in which the secret of Mr. Blair's 

 method is disclosed. 



If Mr. Haddon will send me his address*, I shall 

 be glad to furnish him with several minor particu- 

 lars relating to the art, together with the titles of 

 some foreign books upon the subject. 



Thompson Coopeb. 



Cambridge. 



Ledbury Tomh (2''<^ S. v. 367.)— Your corre- 

 spondent, Mr, G. Masejfield is I think right in 

 his conjecture that the arms described as royal in 

 the Query respecting the Ledbury tomb, are more 

 probably belonging to some border family de- 

 scended from the Welsh princes, as I have since 

 had it pointed out to me that the lions are passant, 

 but not regardant. His conjecture that the monu- 

 ment itself may have been brought from an ad- 

 joining monastery has additional weight with me 

 from the opinion I have always held that the 

 date of the figure itself is anterior to that of the 

 tomb. M. E. Miles. 



Dogs driven mad by Cold (2"'^ S. v. 88.)— This 

 is probably from the same cause by which many 



[* See ante, p. 388.] 



