NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 279. 



I wolde my wyfe sholde rather dye, 

 Than for my death to wepe and cry," 



2. 

 [A leopard, as anciently represented in the arms of Eng- 

 land.i] 

 " And he that reades thys verse ener nowe, 

 May hape to haue a lourynge^ sowe 

 Whose louckes3 are lyked* nothynge so bad 

 As ys hyr tounge to make hym made." 



3. 



[A -white greyhound collared,^ the collar bezant^.] 

 " If that a batcheler thou be, 

 Kepe thee so styll ; be rulede by mee, 

 Lest that repentaunce all to latt 

 Rewarde thee wyth a brocken patte." 

 4. 

 [A red fox.] 

 " I shrowe hys harte that maryed mee ; 

 My wyfe and I canne neuer agree ; 

 A knauyshe quene by Jys ^ I sweare, 

 The goodman's bretche shee thynkes to weare." 



5. 

 [A red squirrel.] 

 " Thys woman may haue husbands fyue. 

 Butt neuer whyll shee ys alyue ; 

 Yett doth shee hoppe ^ "so well to spede ; 

 Geue up thy hopp, yt shall not nede." 

 6. 

 [A red camel.] 

 " Aske thou thy wj'fe yf shee cann tell 

 Whether thou in marj^age hast spede well ; 

 And lett hyr speake as shee doth knowe, 

 For XX pounde she will say no." 



7. 

 [A white elephant] 

 " Thou aret ^ the hapest man alyue, 

 For euery thynge doth make the thryve; 

 Yett maye thy wyfe thy master be, 

 Wherfore tacke thryft and all for mee." 



8. 

 [A white panther spotted.] 

 " If thou be younge then marye not yeat ; 

 If thou be olde thou hast more wj'tte ; 

 For young menes wyues wyll nott be taught. 

 And old menes wyues be good for nought." 

 9. 

 [A white talbot. ] 

 " Take upp thy fortune wythe good happ,!> 

 Wythe ryches thou dost fyll thy lappe, 

 Yett lese weare better for thy store. 

 Thy quietnes y shall be the more." 



10. 

 [A golden leopard, or spotted panther. 3 

 "Eeseue thy hape^o as fortune sendeth, 

 For god yt ys that fortune lendeth ; 

 Wherefor yf thou a shrowe^i hast goett, 

 Thynke with thy selfe yt ys thy lott." 



11. 

 [A white hare.] 

 " Thou mayst be poore, and what for y' ? 

 Hon '2 yf thou hadeste nether cappe'nore hatte? 

 Yett may thy mynde so queyt be, 

 What thou mayst wyn as muche as thre." 



12. 



[A white unicorn.] 



" Thou hast a throwe to thy good man, 



Parhapes anunthryft is to what than ; 



Kepe hym as lounge as he cann lyue, 



And at hys ende hys passpot i* geue." 



These roundles, to which I wish particularly to 

 call the attention of the curious, are said to be of 

 the time of Henry VIII. The letters are similar 

 to those of his day, in half printing, half running 

 hand, the initials at the beginning of each line 

 being in red, and what are termed Lombardic. 

 (Query, Why so called ? *) The tone throughout 

 is ungallant and somewhat libertine, such as might 

 be expected in his day, when he set his own royal 

 will as an example for his loving subjects. (Query, 

 Were these roundles used in some game of chance ? 

 as besides in ISTo. 12., where throwe alludes to the 

 use of dice, a similar allusion appears in other 

 places.) 



I hope to excite the interest of some of the kind 

 correspondents of "N. & Q.," and thereby elicit 

 information on the subject of roundles. 



G. HARESFIEiD. 



P. S. — I think it as well to add, that besides 

 these memoranda respecting Castle Dairy, I have 

 made tracings of glass and of each roundle, to 

 ensure accuracy ; likewise sketches of sundry por- 

 tions I have described above. 



No. 1. The connexion between this design and the ac- 

 companying rhymes is more obvious than many that 

 follow. 



No. 2. 1 A leopard is the correct heraldic term for the 

 English lion, as here drawn, lean, gaunt, and right 

 savage-looking, with tail and tongue well developed ; 

 a very different animal from that degenerate brute de- 

 picted now-a-days, — a fat, smiling, good-tempered beast 

 of the Van Amburgh breed. 



3 Lowering. 3 Looks. 



* Likened, or like to. Tounge, in the fourth line, has 

 reference to that rubicund member of the royal beast as 

 depicted in the original. 



No. 3. 5 This was one of the supporters of Henry VIII. 's 

 arms. 



^ An evasive oath. 



7 Hoppe and hojy), a play of words with reference to 

 the habits of this mercurial little animal. 



8 " Thou art the happiest ; " Query, What, is the precise 

 meaning of thryft here and shrowe in the 4th ? 



^ 10 jjap jji 9^ and Jiape in 10, luck. 

 " " A shrew hast got." 12 How. 



1' " A spendthrift " too in modem phraseology, 

 1* Passport. 



[* Because introduced by the Lombards, in 569. The 

 ancient Lombardick is distinguished by long heads and 

 tails; the more recent is thicker. — Fosbroke's Ency. of 

 Antiq., p. 485.] 



