June 23. 1855.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



495 



'■^ Sic transit gloria mundi" (Vol. vi., pp.100. 

 183.; VoLvii., p. 164.).— 



" The part of the cathedral of Lucca to which the sa- 

 cristan first and chiefly directs j'our attention, would 

 strangely perplex you if he were not at hand to explain its 

 use. It is a cresset, a species of vessel composed of iron 

 bars suspended from the vaulting of the nave. The arch- 

 bishops of Lucca possess numerous antique and honorary 

 privileges derived from Pope and Kaiser. . . . The 

 only privileges still existing are those enjoyed by the 

 archbishop, of wearing the purple of the cardinals of 

 Eome, and of having the ceremony performed before him 

 of burning flax in this cresset ; whilst as the light flames 

 arise and are spent, the choristers chaunt ' Sic transit 

 gloria mundi.' But while this significant ceremony of the 

 transitory nature of worldly power is performed before his 

 holiness only on the day of his coronation, it is repeated 

 before the prelate of Lucca whenever he officiates pon- 

 tifically on solemn festivals." — Murray's Handbook for 

 Northern Italy. 



William Fraser, B.C.L. 



Alton, Staffordshire. 



Eshe, Ushaw, Flass^ (Vol. x:., p. 425.). — The 

 etymology of the above names Is veiled in ob- 

 scurity. None of our local historians have at- 

 tempted to give their etymology. Mr. Surtees, 

 vol. ii. p. 335., says : 



" The manor of Eshe gave name at a very early date to 

 a family of considerable local consequence, who held the 

 estate (with some interruption by heirs general), in one 

 branch or other at least, from the middle of the thirteenth 

 century, till the extinction of male issue in the reign of 

 Henry VIIL The estate arose at first probably by epi- 

 scopal charter, and was augmented by several successive 

 grants from the extensive wastes belonging to the See of 

 Durham. Daniel de Es attests Bishop Hugh's charter, of 

 Bacstanford, about 1190; and Thomas de Es occurs in 

 charters towards the middle of the next century. Before 

 1313 their probable descendant, Eoger de Eshe, died seised 

 of the manors of Eshe and West Herrington." 



The inference to be drawn from the above ex- 

 tract is, that some Norman family of the name of 

 De Es acquired by grant a tract of land from the 

 Bishop of Durham, and gave his name to it. In 

 time it became Eshe or Ash. 



Of Flass, Mr. Surtees merely states it lies " be- 

 low Ash on the Durness. The estate was long in 

 the possession of the family of Brass, afterwards of 

 the Johnsons, and since of the Halls." 



Ushaw is thus noticed by Mr. Surtees : 



" In 1808 a Roman Catholic college, or seminary, was 

 opened on Ushaw Moor, near Ash, by the ecclesiastics of 

 the ancient college of Douay. The buildings form a 

 spacious quadrangle. The ground was, I believe, pur- 

 chased from Sir Edward Smyth." 



Fra. Mewbcrn. 



Darlington. 



« Three Letters on Italy " (Vol. xi., p. 424.). — 

 There are two copies of this work in the library of 

 Trinity College, Dublin, in the title-page of one 

 of which the authorship is attributed to a " Dr. 

 Hutton," in a note in the handwriting of Arch- 

 bishop Palliser, to whom the book once belonged. 



I have sought in vain in several topographical 

 works for an account of Norcia, but have been 

 unable to find anything which would throw any- 

 additional light on the extract given by Eric. 



'AAieuy. 

 Dublin. 



Dramatic Worlis : " Grenville Agonistes " 

 (Vol. xi., p. 444.). — Grenville Agonistes was a 

 satire written by Mr. Hale, I think, a gentlemaa 

 residing in Portugal Street, Grosvenor Square. 

 It was published by Mr. Hatchard in Piccadilly ; 

 I remember its publication, and the author, being 

 then a youth, learning the " craft " at the pub- 

 lisher's. The author, I believe, was a retired 

 diplomat. John Martin, 



Woburn Abbey. 



Pierrepoinfs MSS. (Vol. xi., p. 425.). — The 

 MSS. referred to by Dugdale, and inquired after 

 by OxoNiENSis, were in the collection of William 

 Pierrepoint of Thoresby, Esq., co. Nottingham ; 

 whence Dugdale transcribed a Visitation of the 

 County of Lancaster, which was in that collection 

 in 1665. I had occasion to inquire after that MS. 

 some years since, when I was informed that all 

 the MSS. were unfortunately destroyed with the 

 library at Thoresby, which fell a sacrifice in the 

 great fire which took place there about the year 

 1745. C. G. Y. 



"T^e Coat and the Pillow" (Vol. xi., p. 426.).— 

 P. A. F. will find the poem he refers to in the 

 " Looker-On," in the forty-fourth volume of 

 Chalmers' British Essayists^ No. 75. It was 

 written by the late Mr. William Roberts, a mem- 

 ber of the common law bar of England ; a gentle- 

 man of great ability and attainment in general 

 and legal literature, as his published works prove. 



F. W. J. 



Sign of Stag, Dorsetshire (Vol. xi., p. 349.). — 

 The belief in the longevity of the stag prevails in 

 most countries. Linnseus (Regnum Animale) says 

 of the Cervus Elaphus : " ^tas Bovis tantum ; 

 fabula est longgavitatis cervi." The following for- 

 mula of the length of life of animals and trees, 

 which is current in Callander, Perthshire, shows 

 the Scotch belief on this subject. 



Three old dogs make one old horse ; three old 

 horses make one old man ; three old men, one old 

 red deer ; three old red deer, one old oak ; three 

 old oaks, one brent-fir (fir or pine dug out of 

 bogs). If a dog be supposed to be old at eight 

 years, this will give : horse, 24 ; man, 72 ; deer, 

 216; oak, 648 ; bog fir, or brent fir, 1944 years. 



E. G. R. 



" Earth has no sorrow which heaven cannot heaV* 

 (Vol. xi., p. 105.). — This line occurs in Moore's 

 Sacred Songs. It is the refrain of a song : "Come, 

 ye disconsolate." R. B. 



