Feb. 19. 1853.] 



NOTES AND QUEKIES. 



181 



which was paid to the parent stock. Those of your 

 readers who wish to know more of this venerable 

 oak, and of the trees which sprung from it, are 

 referred to Mr. Gilpin's able and interesting work 

 on forest scenery, published, as I believe, in 

 London between sixty and seventy years ago. 



W. W. 

 Malta. 



St. Mary's Church, Beverley. — In the memo- 

 rials of Ray (JRay Society), at p. 138., is a curious 

 account of the church of St. Mary at Beverley. 

 Would some kind antiquary resident at Beverley, 

 or its vicinity, compare the present state of the 

 church with what Ray describes it to have been 

 in his day ; and at the same time state whether 

 " the inhabitants of Beverley " now " pay no toll 

 or custom in any city, town, or port in England ? " 



Enivri. 



Tredagh. 



The Rev. Joshua Marsden. — I should be glad 

 if any of the correspondents of " N. & Q." could 

 furnish any particulars relative to the above gen- 

 tleman. He was the author of a most exquisite 

 morceau of about forty lines, entitled " What is 

 Time ;" in reference to which, a literary periodical 

 of some thirty years ago says : 



" If our readers are half as much struck with the 

 following solemn appeal, as we ourselves have been, 

 they will not wonder at its insertion where poetry so 

 rarely finds room." 



Braemah. 



' Bentleys Examination. — I have found this anec- 

 dote of Bentley in Bishop Sandford's Memoirs. Is 



it authentic ? 



" When the great Bentley, afterwards so distin- 

 guished, was examined for Deacon's Orders, he ex- 

 pected that the Bishop would himself examine him ; 

 and his displeasure at what he considered neglect, he 

 vented in such answers as the following : 



Chaplain. Quid est Fides ? 



Benthtj. Quod non vides. 



Chaplain. Quid est Spes ? 



Bentlei/. Quod non liabes. 



Chaplain. Quid est Charitas ? 



Bentley, Maxima raritas." 



Are not these rhymes older than Bentley ? 

 S^iJi lo'^J' </. 23«?, 256 W. Eraser. 



Derivation of '•'■ Lowhell." — I see Mr. Stern- 

 berg, in his " Dialect and Folk-lore of Northamp- 

 tonshire," gives a new explanation of the puzzling 

 word lowbell, in Beaumont and Fletcher's Woman's 

 Prize, Act I. Sc. 3. It appears that Northamp- 

 tonshire peasants have a way of their own for 

 punishing offenders against good morals : 



" On the first appearance of the culprit in ' strlt,' or 

 on ' grin,' the villagers rise e?f masse, and greet him 

 with a terrible din of tin pots and kettles, &c. ; and, 



amidst the hooting and vociferation of the multitude, 

 he is generally compelled to seek shelter by flight. 

 This is called ' lowbelling,' and the actors are termed 

 ' lowbells,' or « lowbellers,' forming a tolerable ex- 

 planation of the lowbell in Beaumont and Fletcher's 

 Woman s Prize, Act I. Sc. 3., which has so long mysti- 

 fied the commentators : 



' Petru. If you can carry't so, 'tis very well. 

 Bian. No, you shall carry it. Sir. 

 Petru. Peace, gentle Jl,owhelV " 



. Mr. Sternberg derives it from the Anglo- 

 Saxon lowian, past participle of the Anglo-Saxon 

 lovnan, and the verb bellan. This would seem 

 satisfactory ; but I should like to know whether 

 the word is current anywhere else besides North- 

 amptonshire. H. T. W. 



Meaning of Assassin. — Can any reader of the 

 " N. & Q." inform me of the correct meaning of 

 the word " assassin ? " The old story of the nation 

 of the assassins, under their prince the " Old Man 

 of the Mountain," I reject as absurd, although 

 Gibbon adopts it. I have my own idea, which 

 agrees with Mr. Lane in his account of the modern 

 Egyptians, who derives it from the Arabic word 

 " Hushhusheen, one drunk with hemp." M. Volney 

 says it comes from the Arabic " Hass, to kill, or 

 lie in ambush to kill." Which of all these de- 

 rivations is correct ? Muhammed. 



A. and N. Club, St. James's Square. 



Punishment for exercising the Roman Catholic 

 Religion. — In "BuTtoris Narratives from Criminal 

 Trials in Scotland, vol. ii. p. 168., I find the fol- 

 lowing statement : 



" The latest case of punishment under the act is 

 supposed to have occurred in 1759, when Neil M'Fie 

 was banished by the circuit court of Inverness, for 

 being 'held and reputed a Popish priest.' Later in- 

 stances might be adduced of punishment for exercising 

 the Roman Catholic religion in England." 



Can any of your readers inform me of the date 

 of the last instance in England, and where it is 

 stated? S.Y. 



Hogarth's Pictures. — I have a catalogue of the 

 pictures and prints, the property of the late Mrs. 

 Hogarth deceased, which were sold by Mr. Green- 

 wood on April 24th, 1790. Under the head 

 " Pictures by Mr. Hogarth," I see in Lot 44. : 

 "The heads of six servants of Mr. Hogarth's 

 family." Can any of your numerous readers 

 inform me where this picture is placed, or say in 

 what manner the heads are grouped ? 



W. D. Haggard. 



Lines in a Snuff-box. — The following _ lines 

 were recently found in a metal (probably silver) 

 snuff-box, which had lain for many years undis- 

 covered in a plate chest. They are engraved 



