214 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 281. 



it^ Large Family (Vol. x., p. 94.). — In the church 

 ^ of St. Nicholas, at Ghent, is a monument in memory 

 of Olivier Minjan and his wife. They had thirty- 

 one children, twenty-one sons and ten daughters. 

 These all died in 1526, in the space of one month. 

 The family attracted the attention of the emperor, 

 who settled a pension upon the father. The fol- 

 lowing is from the London Magazine of January, 

 1735: 



" A womaa at Eheims having had nine husbands, and 

 bred up twenty-six children, died there lately at the age 

 of 102. She was attended to the grave by 153 sons, 

 grandsons, and great-grandsons, many of the former going 

 upon crutches, or led along blind, and borne down with 

 the weight of old age. She had herself eight brothers and 

 thirteen sisters, all of whom made such good use of their 

 time, that the old woman was aunt and great aunt to 

 upwards of 1000 people." 



B. H. C. 



Bishops' Arms (Vol. xi., p. 124.). — I find 

 among my collections the following coats of arms, 

 which form part of those inquired for by your 

 correspondent Mr. Walcott. 



Underhill, Oxford, 1589. Argent, on a che- 

 vron vert, between three trefoils of the second, 

 three bezants. 



Harris, Llandaff, 1729. Vert, a cross patee 

 fitchee or. 



Lavington, Exeter, 1747. Argent, a sal tire 

 gules, on a chief of the second three boars' heads 

 or. 



Malthj, Durham. Argent, on a bend gules, 

 between a lion rampant and a cross patee of the 

 second, three garbs or. 



Lipsconibe, Jamaica. Azure, on a pale argent, 

 between two doves, wings expanded, proper, 

 three crosses patee gules ; on a chief of the 

 second two roses gules, barbed and seeded or. 



In the remarks printed at Vol. xi., p. 145., the 

 date 1799 is a misprint for 1719. F. M. 



Goldsmith on the Dutch (Vol. xi., p. 44.). — 



"Goldsmith is reported to have said, 'A Dutchman's 

 house reminded him of a temple dedicated to an ox.' 

 Where ? " 



This passage is found in a letter quoted in W. 

 Irving's Life of Goldsmith, p. .33. of the shilling 

 edition. He also says : 



" The downright Hollander is one of the oddest figures 

 in nature. Upon a lank head of hair he wears a half- 

 cocked narrow hat, laced with black ribbon ; no coat, but 

 seven waistcoats and nine pairs of breeches, so that his 

 hips reach almost to his armpits. This well-clothed ve- 

 getable is now fit to see company and make love," &c. 



Anon. 



Leverets with white Stars (Vol. x., p. 523.). — I 

 have had mamj and mamj a young leveret in my 

 hands, and I never remember one without the three 

 or four white hairs (for I have often counted 

 them) which you call a star. Of course I will not 

 say there are no leverets without them; but if I 



were walking with you, Mr. Editor, and we met a 

 person with a small leveret, I would bet a guinea 

 to a penny stamp that you found the white hairs. 

 I know not when they disappear, but the leverets ~ 

 I am speaking of are such little helpless things as 

 are easily caught by boys. J?. P. 



Original Records (Vol. xl., p. 97.). — The 

 article of Mr. Ferguson on " Ancient Chattel 

 Property in Ireland " will, I trust, lead other of 

 your contributors to furnish original and unpub- 

 lished records of prices. Few books would be more 

 useful for reference on all matters connected with 

 the social state of this country than a " Chronlcon 

 preciosum," based on the well-known but meagre 

 work of Bishop Fleetwood. The Camden, Sur- 

 tees, and Chetham Societies have published some 

 very valuable materials for such a chronicle ; and 

 if those of your contributors who possess house- 

 hold books or ancient accounts, not of sufficient 

 importance for separate publication, would send 

 them to " N. & Q.," you would, I trust, not refuse 

 to devote a column occasionally to data of such 

 value. 



There are other materials of great use in esti- 

 mating the social state of the country, and in 

 determining points of history yet involved in ob- 

 scurity, which, unless through the medium of your 

 pages, have little chance of being published. In 

 the books of most corporations, the accounts of 

 churchwardens, parish registers, and such like 

 records, entries are occasionally met with which 

 possess more than a local interest. If these could 

 in like manner be sent to you, and arrangements 

 made of such scraps and fragments, " N. & Q." 

 would greatly assist the student of history ,_ more 

 especially of that most important portion of it, the 

 history of the people. W. Denton. 



Proverbs (Vol. x., pp. 210. 355. ; Vol. xi., 

 p. 114.). — I am not sufficiently versed in pro- 

 verbial lore to know whether any of the following 

 proverbs are unrecorded or not. The first in order 

 requires some explanation which perhaps some 

 of your readers can give : 



"As just as Germain's lips, which came not together by 

 nine mile." — Latimer's Remains (Park. Soc. ed.), p. 425. 



" Well, I have fished and caught a frog, brought little 

 to pass with much ado." — lb. p. 419. 



" Pride, as the proverb is, must needs have a shame." — 

 Sir Thos. Move's English Works, p. 256. 



" He should as he list be able to prove the moon made 

 of green cheese." — lb. 

 What is the origin of this last ? W. Denton. 



[The Query respecting " Germain's lips " has already 

 appeared in " N. & Q.," Vol. i., p. 157., and Vol. v., p. 151., 

 and has not received any reply.] 



Anonymous Books : '■^ Delicice Literarice, 1840" 

 (Vol. xi., p. 100.). — This was edited by Joseph 

 Robertson, now of the Register Office, Edinburgh. 



T. G. S. 



