520 



NOTES AND QUERIES. [2»-i s. v. m. Juke 26. m 



the mace was then filled with punch, and the 

 crown placed on it, and it was so given to the 

 Mayor, who said, " Prosperity to the Borough 

 and Corporation of Berkeley." His right-hand 

 neighbour took up the crown, saying, " God save 

 the King," and the Mayor drank the contents of 

 the mace-head, and so it passed down the table, 

 each person vis-d-vis performing the " God save 

 the king " to him. About fifty years ago a medical 

 member of the corporation, not liking so much 

 punch at so late an hour, refused the toast, and 

 he was at once decreed by the Mayor to drink 

 the toast in salt and water; and some salt and 

 water being put into the mace-head, he drank, or 

 rather pretended to drink, some of it, amidst the 

 cheers and laughter of the company. Your 

 readers will recollect one of the late Mr. Mathews's 

 songs, the " Country Club," in which one of the 

 rules of the club was, that " every member shall 

 sing a song or drink a glass of salt and water." 



At Berkeley there were ale- tasters (gustatores 

 cerevisii), and formerly inspectors of meat in the 

 olden court rolls called cadaveratnres. These con- 

 tinue to the present time at the neighbouring 

 town of Dursley, where they are called Cardmals, 

 probably a corruption of carnals. Aboul^ thirty 

 years ago the Dursley Cardinah were examined as 

 witnesses on a trial before Mr. Justice Allan Park 

 at Gloucester respecting the seizure of some 

 meat. 



The cap of maintenance is worn by the sword- 

 bearers of London and Gloucester, but the sword- 

 bearer of Hereford wears a low -crowned broad- 

 brimmed hat slightly turned up at the sides. The 

 hat is red, with narrow gold binding. 



F. A. Cakbington. 



Ogbourne St. George. 



SPANIEL (2""^ S. iv. 289. ; v. 227.) : pointer dog 

 (2"^ S. v. 234. 305.) 



Some of our favourite old names of shooting- 

 dogs, such as Sancho, Ponto, Pero, and Tray, 

 3eem clearly to indicate a Spanish origin. Sancho 

 is Spanish, we all know. Ponto is apparently 

 from the Spanish punta (point, " the act of a dog 

 in marking out the game "). Pero is the Spanish 

 perro, a dog. Tray is the Spanish true, fetch, or 

 bring. Yet on examination, though the opinion 

 has long prevailed, it is difficult to find direct or 

 positive proof that we are indebted to Spain for 

 our Spaniels, however we may be for our pointers. 



Dr. Caius, classifying the British dogs in his 

 short treatise Z)e Canihus Britannicis, under the 

 Aucupatorii includes three individuals, the " His- 

 paniolus {Spainel)" the "Index (Setter)," and 

 the " Aquations seu Inquisitor (VVaterspainel or 

 Fynder)." All these three, says the Doctor, 

 "Vulgus nostrum communi nomine Hispaniolos 

 nominat, quasi ex Hispania productum istud genus 



primo esset" (4. b.) : and, speaking afterwards of 

 the " Spainel " in particular, he adds " quern ab 

 Hispania voce nomen accepisse prius diximus. 

 Nostri omissa aspiratione et prima vocali, Spainel 

 et Spaniel expediti sermonis causa proferunt" 

 (11. b.) 



It will be observed that Dr. Caius merely states 

 the derivation of the name, without committing 

 himself personally to the opinion, which doubtless 

 prevailed when he wrote, that the spaniel was 

 really of Spanish origin. And mentioning, shortly 

 after, the Spainel gentle or Melitaeus, he states its 

 supposed origin to be Malta. Pennant appears 

 to think that for some spaniels we may be indebted 

 to Spain, but that others are properly British 

 (Br. ZooL). The name of spaniel has also been 

 derived from Hispaniola, " where the best breed 

 of this kind of dog was " (Wilkes' Encyc). The 

 French lexicographers, however, display no hesi- 

 tation in tracing the Spaniel to Spain. " Epag- 

 ipeul. Race de chiens a longs polls, et a oreilles 

 pendantes, originaire d'JEspagne." 



During a residence, at intervals, of three years 

 and upwards in the Peninsula, the only indigen- 

 ous dog I ever met with, that had the least appear- 

 ance of a sporting dog, was, if anything, a pointer, 

 certainly not a spaniel, or at least according to 

 our present acceptation of the term. He was 

 a showy powerful animal, all bone and muscle. 

 His coat was short and smooth, of a fine black all 

 over, glossy ; his tail a crescent, limbs large, ac- 

 tion free, pace dashing, nose bijid. We contracted 

 a warm attachment. He slept on the parlour-rug, 

 sued at the dinner-table, was under no sort of 

 management, and had never received tuition. But 

 the love of the sport was in him ; and he went 

 mad for joy whenever the gun was taken down 

 from over the mantel for a stroll amongst the hills. 

 Perhaps from his progenitors, at no very remote 

 period, one class of our English pointers may have 

 derived its origin. 



It may be doubted if there is now anything in 

 Spanish customs, which very closely resembles our 

 English training of a sporting dog. But Spain is 

 a large country, and what has not been seen by 

 one may have been seen by another. Possibly 

 some of your correspondents may be able to en- 

 lighten us on this subject. In Blackwood's Maga- 

 zine for January, 1856, p. 36. &c., I have described 

 how the country people in Spain went out a-shoot- 

 ing at the period of the Peninsular War, and with 

 what kind of dogs. 



Prior is cited by Richardson, and Gay by John- 

 son, but no earlier writer by either, as mentioning 

 the pointer. Thomas Boys. 



2Replie)S tfl iPliuflr ^ntxiti. 



Letters q/ Brother Lawrence. — In 2°'^ S. ii. 

 489., a Query appeared with regard to this work, 



