414 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 291. 



" Berta Etas Mundi" (Vol. xi., p. 342.). — P. 0. 

 S. S. has been a Utile surprised by the Query of 

 Mr. J. AsHTON, at page 342. of the present Volume. 

 Surely a very slight practice in black-letter lore 

 might have taught him that " Berta ^tas Mundi" 

 was nothing else than " Sexta j9Eias Mundi," 

 the running title of the part of the book which 

 Mr. A. possesses, and which appears to be the 

 not very rare Chronicon Nurembergense of Hart- 

 mann Schedel, printed by Koberger in 1493, of 

 which P. C. S. S. has seen eight or ten copies in 

 various libraries. The story which Me. Ashton 

 quotes from his portion of the work gave rise to 

 Southey's well-known ballad of the " Old Woman 

 of Berkeley," and is originally to be found in 

 William of Malmesbury. P. C. S. S. 



Charles Lamb's Farce (Vol. xi., p. 223.). — I 



remember seeing 31'r. H performed at the 



Chestnut Street Theatre, in this city, when I was 

 a boy, the last scene of which I particularly re- 

 collect as affording amusement to the audience. 

 Another piece, performed about the same period, 

 which I also saw, was George Canning's Quad- 

 rupeds of Quedlemhurg, an amusing burlesque upon 

 the German drama. Uneda. 



Philadelphia. 



'''■ I lived doubtful., not dissolute''' (Vol. x., p. 464.). 

 — I Avould reter W. H. B. to the inscription on 

 the notorious Duke of Buckinjiham's monument 

 in Westminster Abbey: "Dubius sed not Im- 

 probus vixi," &c., given in all guide-books to the 

 Abbey. G. E. Adams. 



Oysters with an r in the Month (Vol. xi., 

 p. 302.). — The season for oysters has I believe 

 been, from ancient times, limited to the months 

 which have an r in them : and this, not as a "gas- 

 tronomic canon," but, by law, in order to protect 

 the fish during the breeding season, and to pre- 

 vent the destruction of the " brood." I have not 

 a copy of the Statutes at hand, or might be able 

 to refer to the precise statute which i-egulates the 

 oyster fishery. I believe there is a modern one 

 (2 Geo. II.) to the point. However this may be, 

 I have before me the office-copy of the oath ad- 

 ministered by the admiral of the sea-ports to his 

 official, temp. Charles I. Among the different 

 inquests which he was sworn regularly to take, 

 and all of which are enumerated in detail, the 

 following is named : 



" Also, be it enquired of thaim that draggen oysters or 

 muskles oute of season ; that is t'undrestaade, from the 

 begynnynge of the monetlie of Maye, unto the day of 

 Thexaltacon of the Hooly Crosse " (i. e. Sept. 14). 



In all probability, this same form of oath had 

 been long in use prior to temp. Charles I. ; and I 

 repeat, we must look to the law rather than our 

 gastronomer as regulating the season. Anon. 



Female Sexton (Vol. x., p. 216.). --The follow- 

 ing is from the Annual Register for 1759 : 



" April 30 (1759). Died, Mary Hall, sexton of Bishop- 

 hill, York city, aged 105 ; she walked about and retained 

 her senses till within three days of her death." 



C. I. D. 



Wild Cabbages (Vol. xi., p. 312.).— The wild 

 cabbages mentioned by Anon, as growing at the 

 Great Orme's Head, are probably plants of the 

 Brassica oleracea (Common Colewort), which 

 are very commonly found on the cliffs of the 

 British coast. They are not usually considered 

 to merit the appellation of cabbages, until they 

 have undergone the process of cultivation. The 

 ancient Celtic name of the colewort, still used in 

 Wales, is Bresych. The Welsh name for cabbage 

 is Bresych bengron. Morgan. 



Notice of Funerals by Town Crier (Vol. xi., 

 p. 325.). — Such a custom existed at the ancient 

 town of Hexham within living memory, but when 

 it had inception I know not, probably at a very 

 early period. The invitation was in this form : 



" ' Blessed be the dead that die in the Lord.' All 

 friends and neighbours are desired to attend the funeral 



of . Their company is requested at o'clock, and 



the corpse will be lifted at ." 



I understand such a custom also existed at Carlisle 

 at a comparatively recent time, but I caimot give 

 the form of the invitation. Thos. Leadbittjer. 



Block Booh : " Schedel Cronik " (Vol. xi., 

 p. 124.) has no printer's name. It is a history 

 of the world sacred and profane. Your corre- 

 spondent F. C. H. is welcome to examine it at 

 No. 7. Staple Inn. T. L. 



Oriel (Vol. ix., p. 400.). — The word oriel 

 having been a matter of discussion in Vol. x., 

 pp. 391. 535., permit me to give you the learned 

 Aubrey's definition, who, in his Introduction to the 

 Survey of Wilts (April 28, 1670), thus alludes to 

 it. If used as an oratory, as he supposes, the 

 derivation is very evident : 



" Oriele is an ear ; but here it signifies a little room at 

 the upper end of the hall, where stands a square or round 

 table, perhaps in the old time was an oratory ; in every 

 old Gothic hall is one, viz. at Dracot, Lekham, Alderton," 

 &c. 



Cl. Hopper. 



Ritual of Holy Confirmation (Vol. xi., p. 342.). 

 — The ceremonial for confirmation among the 

 Greeks is found in their Euchologia. After the 

 final prayer of baptism, the priest anoints the 

 baptized with holy chrism in the form of a cross, 

 on the forehead, eyes, nostrils, mouth, ears, breast, 

 hands, and feet, saying : 'Ztppayls Sojjeos^ weu/xaTos 

 ayiov, aiui>," that is, " The seal of the gift of the 

 Holy Ghost. Amen." This unction, however, is 

 preceded by a prayer, accompanied with the im- 

 position of hands ; and a similar prayer, with the 



