Oct. 22. 1853.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



3«7 



Can you refer me to some authentic proof of 

 the fact that Napoleon was unable to spell cor- 

 rectly ? It is well known that he affected to put 

 his thoughts upon paper with great rapidity ; and 

 the consequence of this practice was, that in almost 

 every word some letters were dropped, or their 

 places indicated by dashes. But this was only 

 one of those numerous contrivances, to which he 

 was in the habit of resorting, in order to impress 

 those around him with an idea of his greatness. 



Henry H. Bkeen. 



St. Lucia. 



Ti-ench on Proverbs. — Mr. Trench, in this ex- 

 cellent little work, states that the usual translation 

 of Psalm cxxvii. 2. is incorrect : 



" Let me remind you of such [proverbs] also as the 

 following, often quoted or alluded to by Greek and 

 Latin authors : The net of the sleeping (^fisherman) 

 takes*; a proverb the more interesting, that we have 

 in the words of the Psalmist (Ps. cxxvii. 2.), were they 

 accurately translated, a beautiful and perfect parallel ; 

 * He giveth his beloved' (not 'sleep,' but) ' in their 

 sleep ;' his gifts gliding into their bosoms, they know- 

 ing not how, and as little expecting as having laboured 

 for them." 



The Hebrew is K^t^ H^T^ \r\\, the literal trans- 

 lation of which, " He giveth (oi', He will give) to 

 his beloved sleep," seems to me to be correct. 



As Mr. Trench is a reader of " N. & Q.," per- 

 haps he would have the kindness to mention in its 

 pages the grounds he has for his proposed trans- 

 lation. E. M. B. 



Rings formerly worn by Ecclesiastics. — In de- 

 scribing the finger-ring found in the grave of the 

 Venerable Bede, the writer of A brief Account of 

 Durham Cathedral adds, — 



" No priest, during the reign of Catholicity, was 

 buried or enshrined without his ring." — P. 81. 



I have seen a similar statement elsewhere, and 

 wish to ask, 1st, Were priests formerly buried 

 with the ring ? 2ndly, If so, was it a mere cus- 

 tom, or was it ordered or authorised by any rubric 

 or canon of our old English Church ? 



I am very strongly of opinion that such never 

 was the custom, and that the statement above 

 quoted has its origin in the confounding priests 

 with bishops. Martene says, when speaking of 

 the manner of burying bishops, — 



" Episcopus debet habere annulum, quia sponsus 

 est. Cwteri saeerdotes non, quia sponsi nou sunt, sed 

 amici sponsi vel vicarii." — De Antiquis EcclesicB Riti- 

 bus, lib. III. cap. xii. n. 1 1. 



Ceteep. 



Butlers '■'■Lives of the Saints." — Can any of your 

 correspondents supply a correct list of the various 



* " EuSovTi KvpTos a'ipel. — Dormientl rete trahit." 



editions of this popular work ? The notices In 

 ^Vatt and Lowndes are very unsatisfactory. 



J. Yeowell. 



Marriage of Cousins. — It was asserted to me 

 the other day that marriage with ^a second cousin 

 is, by the laws of England, Illegal, and that suc- 

 cession to property has been lately barred to the 

 issue of such marriage, though the union oi first 

 cousins entails no such consequences. Is there 

 any foundation for this statement ? J. P. 



Castle Thorpe *, Bucks. — A traditional rhyme 

 is current at this place which says that — 



« If it hadn't been for Cobb-bush Hill, 

 Thorpe Castle would have stood tliere still." 



or the last line, according to another version, — 



" There would have been a castle at Thorpe still." 



Now It appears from Lipscomb's History of the 

 county, that the castle was demolished by Fulke 

 de Brent about 1215 ; how then can this tradition 

 be explained ? 



Cobb-bush Hill, I am told, is more than half a 

 mile from the village. H. Thos. Wake. 



Where was Edward II. MEedf — Hume and 

 LIngard state that this monarch was murdered at 

 Berkeley Castle. Echard and Rapin are silent, 

 both as to the event and as to the locality. But 

 au earlier authority, viz. Martyn, In his Historic 

 and Lives of Twentie Kings, 1615, says : 



" He was committed to the Castle of Killingworth, 

 and Prince Edward was crowned king. And not long 

 after, the king being removed to the Castle of Corflf, 

 was wickedly assayled by his keepers, who, through a 

 home which they put in his," &c. 



What authority had Martyn for these statements ? 

 C. Mansfield Inglebt. 

 Birmingham. 



Encore. — Perhaps some correspondent of " N. 

 & Q." can assign a reason why we use this French 

 word in our theatres and concert rooms, to express 

 our desire for the repetition of favourite songs, 

 &c. I should also like to know at what period it 

 was Introduced. A. A. 



Amcotts" Pedigree. — Can any of your corre- 

 spondents supply me with a full pedigree of Am- 

 cotts of Astrop, CO. Lincolnshire ? I do not refer 

 to the Visitations, but to the later descents of the 

 family. The last heir male was, I believe, Vincent 

 Amcotts, Esq., great-grandfather to the present 

 Sir William Amcotts IngUby, Bart. Elizabeth 

 Amcotts, who married, 19th July, 1684, John 

 Toller, Esq., of Blllingborough Hall In Lincoln- 

 shire, was one of this family, and I suppose aunt 

 to Vincent Amcotts. I may mention, the calendars 



* Pronounced Thrup. 



