Jan. 6. 1855.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



11 



phrase, because I have shown that "instant" hath 

 an adjective signification referring to the month 

 itself, and not to the day. I am not ashamed to 

 confess that until very lately I attributed a wrong 

 meaning to these three words, conceiving that 

 each and all of them applied to the day itself 

 whose date stands prefixed, in which case the 

 10th ultimo would mean the 10th of November, 

 and the 10th instant would mean the 10th of De- 

 cember — decimo die instanti, or the tenth day next 

 at hand. It appears, however, that this con- 

 struction is undoubtedly erroneous, and upon 

 consideration it is evident that where days are 

 numbered, they are numbered solely with refer- 

 ence to the months in which they occur. Still, in 

 the use of common terms the mind is seldom ap- 

 plied critically to the consideration of their mean- 

 ing, and therefore it might be desirable that all 

 these words, although two of them be not actually 

 English, should find a place in our English dic- 

 tionaries and books of reference, since perhaps not 

 one person out of a hundred may take the trouble 

 to inform himself of the accurate meaning of 

 words which he is in the daily habit of writing. 



A BOBDEBEB. 



Minor ^wtitS. 



Canons of York. — There is, in Nichols's Literary 

 Anecdotes, an account of Mason the poet in a note 

 in the second vol. p. 241., which ends thus : 



" The appointment of the four canon residentiaries of 

 York cathedral is in the gift of the dean, who is obliged, 

 by statute, to give the vacant canonry to the first man he 

 sees, after the vacancy, capable of taking it. Mr. Mark- 

 ham was his first sight on the death of Mr. Mason." 



I should be glad to know if this statement is 

 correct ; and if so, what is the date of the statute 

 which thus compels the dean so to dispose of the 

 canonry ? C. de D. 



" L'CEil de Bceuf^ — Are the French memoirs 

 published under this title an authentic work? 

 What is known of the author or authors ? 



Uneda. 

 Philadelphia. 



Cummin. — In The whole Art and Trade of 

 Husbandrie, translated from the German by Bar- 

 naby Googe, is this sentence, when speaking of 

 the above herb : 



" It is sowed best (as they thinke) with curses and exe- 

 crations, that it may prosper the better." 



Is there any old superstition respecting this herb ? 

 Some seed was found a few years since, I think, 

 in the coffin of William D'Albini, or in that of his 

 wife, at Wymondham in Norfolk. Was it often 

 placed in coffins ? Why ? The seed thus found 

 germinated, I believe ; but Barnaby Googe does 

 not mention it among those which " are the older 



the better." Has cummin seed ever been found 

 in an Egyptian tomb ? F. C. B. 



Diss. 



The Episcopal Wig — Life of Bishop Porteus. 

 — In the Life of Bishop Porteus, by a Lay Mem- 

 ber of Merton College, Oxford (London, 8vo., 

 1810), is the following passage (p. 90.) : 



" It is a short time since all Oxford was thrown into a 

 ferment by the refusal of their newly appointed bishop, 

 Dr. Randolph, to abandon a comfortable head of hair for 

 an episcopal wig." 



Dr. Randolph was appointed Bishop of Oxford, 

 1799, translated to Bangor, 1806, and to London, 

 1809. I believe he ultimately conformed to the 

 established usage as regards the episcopal wig. 

 Who was the first modern bishop who abandoned 

 the wig ? I should also be glad to know the name 

 of the lay member of Merton College who wrote 

 the above-mentioned Life of Bishop Porteus? 



C. H. Cooper. 

 Cambridge. 



King John's Charter granted to Youghal. — The 

 Report of the Commissioners on the Municipal 

 Corporations of Ireland, 1835, alludes to a charter 

 of incorporation granted to the above town by 

 King John, a copy of which, the commissioners 

 proceed to say, is believed to be in the British 

 Museum. Will any contributor to "N. & Q." 

 kindly set the question at rest by informing me 

 whether such a document is in the Museum or 

 not ? Samuel Hatman, Clk. 



South Abbey, Youghal. 



Le Maine's '■'■ Praises of Modesty " — ^Where can 

 I find (in some accessible work) a copy of the 

 Pere Le Moine's poem, entitled Praises of Modesty, 

 from the seventh book of his Moral Portraits f 

 Pascal alludes to it in his eleventh Provincial 

 Letter. Perhaps some correspondent would kindly 

 supply me with a copy of the verses, if there are 

 not many of them. A. Challsteth. 



Sea Spiders. — I should be much obliged if any 

 of your correspondents conversant with Natural 

 History would inform me whether the insects 

 popularly called " Sea Spiders " are commonly met 

 with in the waters of this country. They belong, 

 I believe, in scientific phrase, to the family of the 

 Pycnogonidce. A friend of mine, who resides 

 in Scotland, found them adhering to the small 

 shells and sea-weeds on his yacht mooring-barrel, 

 in fifteen fathoms of sea-water. P. S. 



Ribands of Recruiting Sergeants.' — Why are 

 they worn ? Russell Golb. 



Skilful Sergeant Corderoy. — Can Mb. Foss or 

 any of your legal antiquarian correspondents in- 

 form me who this gentleman was, mentioned in 

 the note at the foot of p. 133. of Athena Oxo- 



