Feb. 12. 1853.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



155 



baps one may be found in a position to solve the mys- 

 tery in which the authenticity of this oft-quoted letter 

 is at present involved.] 



Medi<Bval Parchment. — In what way did me- 

 diaeval illuminators prepare their parchment ? For 

 our modern parchment is so ill prepared, that it 

 gets crumpled as soon as wet chalk for gilding, or 

 any colour, is laid on it ; whilst the parchment in 

 mediasval MSS. is quite smooth and level, as if it 

 had not been moistened at all. 



Should a full answer to this Query take up too 

 much of your valuable space, I should be satisfied 

 •with the titles of any works on the art of " illumin- 

 ation," in which special mention is made of the 

 way of preparing parchment. F. M. (A Maltese.) 



'■'•Mater ait nata^ — Where can the following 

 lines, thus " Englished by Hakewill," be found? 



" Mater ait natac, die natae, filia, natam. 

 Ut moneat natae piangere filiolam." 



" The aged mother to her daughter spake, 

 Daughter, said she, arise ; 

 Thy daughter to her daughter take, 

 Whose daughter's daughter cries." 



My object in asking the above question is for 

 the purpose of discovering if such a relationship 

 ever existed. W. W. 



Malta. 



Fox of Wliittlehury Forest, — In Mr. Jessie's 

 Life of Beau Brummel, I met with a passage 

 which spoke about the " well-known fox of Whit- 

 tlebury Forest." Can any of your readers kindly 

 inform me in what the celebrity of this animal 

 consists, that Mr. Jessie takes for granted is so 

 well known ? A Fox Hunter. 



Names uvd Numbers of British Regiments 

 (Vol.iv., p.368. ; Vol. vi., p. 37.). — I feel disap- 

 pointed that none of your numerous and well- 

 mformed readers have responded to my inquiries 

 on this subject. Hoping, however, that answers 

 may still be obtained, I venture to repeat the 

 questions for the third time, viz. : 



1. What was the origin of giving British regi- 

 ments the name of a certain officer, instead of 

 numbering them as at present ? 



2. If in honour of an officer commanding the 

 corps, was the name changed when that officer 

 died or removed to another regiment; or what 

 was the rule ? 



3. When did the present mode of numbering 

 regiments begin ; and by whom was it introduced? 



4. What was the rule or principle laid down in 

 giving any regiment a certain number ? AVas it 

 according to the length of time it had been em- 

 bodied? 



5. What is the guide now, in identifying a 

 named with a numbered regiment ? For example, 

 at the battle of Culloden, in 1746, "Wolfe's," 

 "Barren's," and "Howard's Foot" were engaged. 

 Now, what is the rule for ascertaining the numbers 

 of these, and other old regiments, in the Britiah 

 army at the present day ? 



I shall feel greatly obliged by the above inform- 

 ation. Z. 



Glasgow. 



Daughters of St. Marh. — How many were 

 adopted as daughters of the Republic of St. INIark? 

 Catherine Cornaro was one, and, I believe, Bianca 

 Capello another. I think there were but one or 

 two more : but who were they ? Rosa. 



Kentish Fire. — What is the origin of the term 

 " Kentish fire," signifying energetic applause ? 



Rosa. 



Optical Phenomenon. — On the afternoon of the 

 20th January, at one o'clock, as I stood on the 

 beach of Llandudno Bay, North Wales, I observed 

 a rainbow, from the circumference of which passed 

 a number of bright pencils of light, apparently 

 converging to a point near the invisible centre of 

 the rainbow. What is the explanation of this 

 phenomenon ? C. Mansfield Ingleby. 



Birmingham. 



Cardinal Bentivoglid' s Description of England. 

 — A MS. of this interesting work exists among 

 Bishop Tanner's MSS. in the Bodleian Library. 

 Has it ever been printed ? The account is said to 

 have been drawn up with great care and accuracy, 

 and betrays no sinister views. 



Did Cardinal Bentivoglio visit England in 

 person, or how did he collect his information ? 



Edwaed F. Rimbault. 



Remarkable Signs. — Can any of the learned 

 contributors of the " N. & Q." oblige a Constant 

 Reader with the probable meanings or origins of 

 the following signs, all of which are to be found in 

 the London Directories : 



Anti-Gallican (four taverns of this name). 

 Bombay Grab. 

 Essex Serpent. 

 Fortune of War (five). 

 George and Guy (two). 

 Moonrakers (two). 

 Grave Maurice (two). 



Sun and Thirteen Cantons (two). J. E. 



Fleet Street. 



Old Fable. — There is a fable in the Vicar of 

 Wakefield of two brothers, a dwarf and giant, going 

 out to battle, and sharing the victory but not the 

 wounds. 



There is another, perhaps a sequel to it, which 

 relates that the dwarf, " tot bellorum superstitem," 



