316 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2nd s. Y. 120,, April 17. '58. 



by the name of " Old Mother Fyson," and lived 

 in a cottage close by the highroad leading from 

 Dereham to Lynn. She was very celebrated in 

 her day, and was consulted by all grades of so- 

 ciety from the highest to the lowest, and on all 

 subjects, from the loss of a lover to a silver spoon, 

 independent of her predictions as to the future. 

 Her fame I have always understood extended 

 beyond the county of Norfolk, even into the ad- 

 joining counties ; and carriages were frequently 

 seen at the door of her cottage, having brought 

 parties from very long distances to consult her. 

 Is there any history of Norfolk in which she is 

 mentioned P Seltm. 



Kildare Landowners. — Where shall I see an 

 account of the families possessing property in the 

 county of Kildare ? " E. D. 



Lord Bacon : Elizabeth : Queen of the Fortunate 

 Islands. — To what romance does Lord Bacon al- 

 lude in the following passage ? It occurs near the 

 end of his tract Infelicem Memoriam Elizabethce, 

 with reference to her fondness of being addressed 

 in the language of love : — 



" Cum talia sint fere qualia in fabulosis narrationibus 

 inveniantur, de regina quadam in insulis beatis, ejusdem- 

 que aula atque institutis, quae amoris administrationera 



{another copy has amorum admirationem'] recipiat, sed 

 asciviam prohibeat." 



The passage is thus translated by Dr. Rawley : — 



" Being much like unto that which we find in fabulous 



narrations, of a certain Queen in the Fortunate Islands, 



and of her court and fashions, where fair purpose and 



love-making was allowed, but lasciviousness banished." 



J. s. 



Gormagons, Oregorians, Antigallics, Bucks, Sfc. 

 — Information relative to the principles and prac- 

 tices of all, or any, of these societies would be of 

 great value to those who are, like the Querist, in- 

 terested in the manners of the last century. To 

 save trouble, the writer knows what has been said 

 of them in the Gent. Mag., Stevens's Hogarth, 

 The Dunciad, Freemasons' Magazine, &c. M. C. 



Tupping of Melons, — Some English writer has 

 described an eastern practice, by which a pleasant 

 drink for warm weather is obtained from the 

 melon. A hole is made to a certain depth in the 

 side of a melon that is advancing towards ma- 

 turity ; the wound in the rind is plugged, and the 

 melon is left to grow. It then, instead of ripen- 

 ing in the usual way, becomes full of a coolipg 

 and delicious juice or liquor. Having neglected 

 Captain Cuttle's excellent advice, I shall be thank- 

 ful if any of your correspondents will furnish a 

 reference to the passage in question. T. B. 



Tomh of David : — 



♦' The mysteries of the Tomb of David are at last re- 

 vealed to the Christian world by an ingenious ruse of Miss 

 Barclay, for some years a resident of Jerusalem. This I 



adventurous lady, after having visited the harem enclo- 

 sure at the risk of her life, determined to explore, in the 

 disguise of a Turkish lady, the very tomb of the ' Prophet 

 David ' for more than six centuries' in the jealous custody 

 of the Turks. 



" The blind Dervish who kept the entrance to this sacred 

 spot was deceived by the familiar use of the Arabic lan- 

 guage as well as the assurance of her friend, in the per- 

 son of a liberal-minded and very beautiful Turkish girl, 

 who initiated her as a pilgrim from Constantinople, come 

 to perform her devotions at the shrines of their lords and 

 prophets, David and Solomon. Her devotional feelings 

 were put to a strong test on observing this devotee of 

 Islam take the saturated wick from an oil lamp, and de- 

 liberately devour it as an act of religious devotion. After 

 her form of prayer had ended, she raised the splendid 

 silken canopy overhanging the tumulus, containing the 

 body of David, and there, in royal state, was the verita- 

 ble sarcophagus of David, having its marble cover adorned 

 with the most beautiful festoons of grapes, the emblem 

 of the Jewish architecture, and other ancient devices, 

 which she carefully transferred to paper, yet to be pre- 

 sented to the public in the pages of the ' City of the Great 

 King,' soon to make its appearance." 



Having been favoured with a sight of Miss 

 Barclay's beautiful sketches of Jerusalem and its 

 neighbourhood, when this lady was at this island, 

 on her return from the Holy Land, where she had 

 long resided, might I ask if the work above re- 

 ferred to has yet made its appearance, or is soon to 

 be published ? W. W. 



Malta. 



Petitions of the Regicides. — In what department 

 of public records, and where, are the petitions of 

 the regicides which were presented after their re- 

 spective trials to be found ? R. G. S. 



Surnames in "Son." — In Noble's Hist, of the 

 Coll. of Arms, p. 180., we read, — 



" Mr. Thoresby had his (Robert Glover's) collection of 

 the county of York taken in 1584, as also his Catalogue 

 of the Northern Gentry whose Surnames end in -son." 



Is this list extant, and, if so, where ? 



M. A. LowEE. 

 Lewes. 



Stone of Scone. — In what printed book shall I 

 meet with the account of the expenses, &c. inci- 

 dent on the conveyance of the Stone of Scone from 

 Scotland to Westminster, "quhare," quoth Hector 

 Boece, " it remaines to our dayis." The removal 

 of the stone took place in the month of August or 

 September, a.d. 1296. Akch^us. 



" The Reformed Monastery, or the Love of 

 Jesus," 1677, 3rd Edit, 1688.— Who is the author 

 of this work ? W. H. Bliss. 



The Garrett Oath. — Where can I find a perfect 

 copy of this mock oath ? It is given by Hone in 

 his Every-Day Booh (vol. ii. p. 844.) in an incom- 

 plete form. Libya. 



