404 



ffOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 291. 



dicated, and now leave it to the consideration of 

 others. T". W..P. Rowunson. 



Birmingham. 



Epigram quoted by Mr. Bernal Osborne. — Mr. 

 Bernal Osborne, in his recent speech on our 

 military system, is reported to have made these 

 remarks ; 



" I grant that the secession of the noble lord has de- 

 stroyed the government; but what the position of any 

 future government is to be, it is extremelj' diificult to 

 eay. They must be very much in tlie position of the 

 distracted Eoman, who said to his fascinating and capri- 

 cious partner ' non possum vivere tecum, nee sine te.' " 



There must be some mistake here with regard 

 to the "fascinating partner," inasmuch as the 

 words quoted, being part of the following epigram 

 Tjy Martial, are supposed to be addressed by one 

 friend to another : 



" Difficilis, facilis, jucundus, acerbus es idemj 

 2Jec tecum possum vivere, nee sine te." 



This epigram is also cited by Addison, In Spec- 

 tator, No. 68., on the subject of " Friendship," to 

 illustrate the "different changes and vicissitudes 

 of humour," to which we are sometimes subject in 

 our intercourse with each other, 



Henry H. Bbeen. 



St. Lucia. 



Curious Placard. — The following placard, pre- 

 served in the Museum at Derby, is surely worthy 

 of wider notoriety as a curious record of by-gone 

 times : 



■" Rules to be observed in the Ladies^ Assembly in Derby. 



" 1. No attorney's clerk shall be admitted. 

 "2. No shopkeeper, or any of his or her family shall be 

 admitted, except Mr. Franceys. 



" 3. No lady shall be allowed to dance in a long white 

 .apron. 



" 4. All young ladies in mantuas shall pay 2s. &d. 

 " 5. No TVIiss in a coat shall dance without leave of the 

 Lady of the Assembly. 



" 6. Whoever shall transgress any of these rules shall 

 be turned out of the Assembly Room. 



"Several of the above-mentioned rules having of late 

 been broken through, they are now printed by our order, 

 and signed by us, the present Ladies and Governors of 

 the Assembly : 



Anne Bai^nes. 

 Dorothy Every. 

 Elizabeth Eyre. 

 Bridget Baily. 

 E. PiTZ Herbert. 

 Hester Mundy." 



Was there ever suet a peg to hang notes of in- 

 terrogation upon ; or such a field for variorum 

 commentaries ? One longs to know why good 

 " Mr. Franceys" was excepted from the stern 

 proscription of these high-born and high-heeled 

 dames : and why poor little " Miss in a coat" was 



forbidden to enjoy herself without their special 

 license ; and why the wearing of a mantua was 

 mulcted in so large a sum? But I forbear. Per- 

 haps some local antiquary will furnish us with 

 a corrected edition of the document, if I have 

 ma'le any errors in the copying, with notes genea- 

 logical, archaeological, topographical, &c. 



C. W. Bingham. 

 A new Mode of treating Works of Art. — I wish 

 to draw the attention of antiquaries and all lovers 

 of art to the following story. A gentleman re- 

 sided about twenty years ago at a cottage, Engle- 

 field Green, Egham. He was a lover of art, and 

 had in his house a Roman vase, an alabaster 

 sphinx, an old monumental stone and other works, 

 said to have been brought from Pom{)eli. This 

 gentleman left England ibr the Continent with his 

 wife, leaving the house in charge of a married 

 woman, who was desired to let it. The house- 

 keeper has not heard for a long time anything 

 about the proprietor, and does not know if he is 

 living or dead, or whether an heir will turn up 

 and claim possession. The house Is frequently 

 let, but the old housekeeper has found the vase 

 and sphinx, &c., cumbersome, and they have been 

 banished to the garden. The latter is, as she 

 says, " melting In the sun," and the former " like 

 an owl In an ivy bush," is certainly not improved 

 by exposure to the weather. I am told that there 

 is also a head or bust, of whom, as I have not seen 

 it, I cannot say, decorating with other relics the 

 carriage drive. The only way to discover the un- 

 rknown owner of the house in question is by giving 

 this matter publicity. Might not the housekeeper 

 be prevailed upon to shelter these works of art, 

 which she allows are really of some value, but 

 they take up room ? E. W. J. 



•Crawley, Winchester. 



A remarkable Man, and a remarkable Family. 

 — There Is now in Toledo a man measuring in 

 height 7 feet 4 Inches, and weighing 314 pounds. 

 His family In Switzerland consist of his parents, 

 three brothers, and three sisters, whose average 

 height is nearly .7 feet : 



Years. Ft. in. 



Father . - .- 53 5 10 in height. 



Mother •- - - '49 6 2 „ 



-Oldest brother - - 36 7 8 „ 



Second brother - - 20 6 ?J „ 



Third brotner - - 18 7 2 „ 



Oldest sister - - 28 6 8 „ 



Secondsister - - 18 7 5^ „ 



Third sister - - 16 6 4 „ 



Himself - . - .30 7 4 



Toledo Lancet. 



w.w. 



Malta. 



Sea-sand and Sea-wetter for building Purposes — 

 Free-stone. — In the Pipe Roll of the Irish Exche- 

 quer, anno 46 Henry III., are contained the 



