Aug. 13. 1853.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



151 



hundred years, tell of a correspondence which 

 took place between the said Sir John and the 

 widow of one of the brothers, in relation to her 

 returning to England. 



The writer of this (a descendant of one of these 

 gentlemen) is anxious to learn the names of the 

 hrothcrs and near relatives of this Sir John ; and 

 whether any evidence exists of their leaving Eng- 

 land for America, &c., &c. ; and would feel much 

 indebted to any one who would supply the inform- 

 ation through your paper. :K,. W. L. 



Philadelphia. 



A Coh-icall. — Why do the inhabitants of Devon- 

 ■shire call a wall made of tempered earth, straw, 

 and small pebbles mixed together, a cob-wall ? 

 Walls so constructed require a foundation of stone 

 or bricks, which is commonly continued to the 

 height of about two feet from the surface of the 

 ground. Has the term coh reference to the fact 

 that such a wall is a superstructure on the found- 

 ation of stone or brick ? . A. B. C. 



Inscription near Chalcedon. — In 1675, when 

 Sir Geo. Wheler and his travelling companion 

 visited Chalcedon (as recorded in his Voyage from 

 Venice to Constantinople, foL, Lond. 1682, p. 209.), 

 it was famous only for the memory of the great 

 council held there in a.d. 327, the twentieth of the 

 reign of Constantine the Great : 



" The first thing we did (he saj's) was to visit the 

 ■metropolitan church, where they say it was kept ; but 

 M. Nanteuil assured us that it was a mile from 

 thence, and tliat he liad there read an inscription that 

 mentioiieth it. Besides, it is a small obscure building, 

 incapable to contain such an assembly." 



Has the inscription here spoken of been noticed 

 by any traveller, and can any of your readers refer 

 to a copy of it; and say whether it is cotem- 

 porarv, and whether it has been more recently 

 noticed ? W. S. G. 



Newcastle-on-Tyne. 



Domesday Book. — What does the 'abbreviation 

 old", or geld, applied to terra, signify ? Also, in 

 the description of places, there is frequently a 

 capital letter, B., or M., or S. before it, as in one 

 <5ase, e.g. " B. terr. gld wasta." Can any one in- 

 form me what it signifies ? 



In tlie case of many parishes, it is stated that 

 there was a church there : is it considered con- 

 elusive autliority that there was not one, if it is 

 not mentioned in Domesday Book ? A. W. H. 



Dotinchem. — What modern town in Holland, 

 or elsewhere, bore or bears the name of Dotinchem, 

 at which is dated a MS. missal I have inspected, 

 written in the fifteenth century ? The reason for 

 believing the place to be Dutch is, that the Calen- 

 dar marks the days of the principal saints of 

 • Holland with red letters. There are other indi- 



cations in the Calendar of the missal having been 

 written in and for the use of a community situated 

 where the influence of Cologne, Liege, Maestricht, 

 and Daventer would have been felt. 



Perhaps, should the above Query not be an- 

 swered in England, some correspondent of your 

 Dutch cotemporary the Navorscher may have (he 

 goodness to reply to it. G. J. E,. Gordon. 



Sid mouth. 



" Mirrour to all" ^c. — Can you refer me to any 

 possessor of the poetical work entitled a Mirrour 

 to all who love to follow the Wais (or Waves), 4to. : 

 London, printed by John Wolfe, 1589 ? A copy 

 was sold by Mr. Rodd for six guineas. (See his 

 Catalogue for 1846.) H. Delta. 



Oxford. 



Title wanted. — I have a copy of the Pugna 

 Porcorum, the margin of which is covered with 

 illustrative and parallel passages, among which is 

 the following : 



*' Heros 

 Ad magnum se accinglt opus ferrumque bifurcum 

 Cote acuit, pinguique perunglt aciimina lardo ; 

 Delude suis, vasto consurgens corporc, rostrum 

 Perforat et furcam capulo tenus urget, at ilia 

 Prominuit rostro summisque in naribus hassit." 



Xoipoxoipoy. 182. 



I shall be much obliged to any one who will 

 give me the full title to the book from which this 

 is quoted, and any account of it. G. H. W. 



Portrait of Charles I. — Countess Du Barry. — 

 In Baehaumont's Memoires Secrets, ^-c, I read 

 the following passage under date of March 25, 

 1771: 



" L'imperatrice des Hussies a fait cnlever tout le 

 cabinet de tableaux de M. le Comte de Thiers, amateur 

 distingut'-, qui avail une tres-belle collection en ce 

 genre. M. de Marigny a eu la douleur de voir passer 

 ces richesses chez I'etranger, faute de fonds pour les 

 acquerir pour le compte du roi. 



" On distinguait parmi ces tableaux nn portrait en 

 pied de Charles I., roi d'Angleterre, original de Van- 

 dyk. C'est le seul qui soit reste en France. Madame 

 la Comtesse Dubarri, qui deploie de plus en plus son 

 gout pour les arts, a ordonne de I'acheter : elle I'a paye 

 24,000 livres. Et sur le reproche qu'oii lui faisait de 

 choisir un pareil morceau entre tant d'autres qui auraient 

 du lui mieux convenir, elle a repondu que c'etait ua 

 portrait de famille qu'elle retirait. En efFet, les Du- 

 barri se pretendent parents de la Maison des Stuards." 



Can you give me any account of this portrait of 

 King Charles by Vandyk, for which the Countess 

 Du Barry paid the sum of 1000^. sterling ? 



What grounds are there for the allegation, that 

 the Countess was related to the royal House of 

 Stuart? Henky H. Bbeex. 



St. Lucia. 



