Jan. 21. 1854.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



65 



agree with those who date it as far back as the 

 Romans. 



In the History of York, vol. i. p. 306., respecting 

 the author of which a Query has appeared in 

 " N. & Q.," Vol. viii., p. 125., the traditional ac- 

 count of its origin is given : 



" That in times of Popery, a priest celebrating mass at 

 the festival in some church in York, unfortunately 

 dropped the pix after consecration, which was snatched 

 up suddenly and swallowed by a dog that lay under 

 the table. The profanation of this high mystery occa- 

 sioned the death of the dog ; and a persecution began, 

 and has since continued on this day (St. Luke's), to be 

 severely carried on against all the species in the city." 



A very curious whipping custom prevails at 

 Leicester, known by the name of "Whipping 

 Toms," on the afternoon of Shrove Tuesday. It is 

 thus described in Hone's Year Book, p. 539. : 



" In this space (the Newark) several (I think three) 

 men called ' Whipping Toms,' each being armed with 

 a large waggon whip, and attended by another man 

 carrying a bell, claim the right of flogging every per- 

 son whom they can catch while their attendant bell- 

 man can keep ringing his bell." 



Perhaps some one of your correspondents will 

 be able to afford an origin for this odd usage. 



R. W. Elliot. 

 Clifton. 



A Spanish lady now resident in England, a mem- 

 ber of the Latin Church, mentioned to me, some 

 months since, a custom prevailing in her native land 

 similar to that in Hull described by Mr. Richard- 

 son. It arose on this wise : Once upon a time, on 

 a high festival of the Church, when there was an 

 exposition of the blessed Sacrament, a dog rushed 

 into the church when the altar was unguarded, and 

 carried off the Host. This deed of the sacrilegious 

 animal filled the Spaniards with such horror, that 

 ever after, on the anniversary of that day, all 

 dogs were beaten and stoned that showed them- 

 selves in the streets. Edward Peacock. 



Bottesford Moors. 



Mousehunt (Vol. viii., pp. 516. 606.). — I think 

 the inquiry relative to this animal may be satis- 

 factorily answered by the following quotation from 

 a very excellent and learned work, entitled A 

 Natural History of British and Foreign Quadru- 

 peds, containing many Original Observations and 

 Anecdotes, by James H. Fennell, 8vo., London, 

 1841 : 



" The Beech Marten is the Martes foina of modern 

 zoologists, the Martes Fagorum of Ray, the Martes 

 Saxorum of Klein, the Mustela Martes of Linnaeus, and 

 the Mustela foina of Gmelin. Its English synonymes 

 are not less numerous; for, besides Beech Marten, it 

 is called Stone Marten, Martern, Marteron, Martlett, 

 and Mousehunt. The last name I insert on the authority 

 of Henley, the dramatic commentator, who says it is 



the animal to which ' charming Willie Shakspeare ' thus 

 alludes in Romeo and Juliet : 



' Capulet. I have watch'd ere now 



All night 



Lady Capulet. Ay, you have been a mouse-hunt in 

 your time.' — Act IV. Sc. 4. 



" In Knight's Pictorial Edition of Romeo and Juliet 

 (1839), this and many other terms equally requiring 

 explanation are left quite unelucidated ; though one 

 picture of the said mouse-hunt would doubtless have 

 been more assistant to the professed object of the work 

 than the two unnecessary pictures it contains of certain 

 winged monstrosities called Cupids." — P. 106. 



Mr. Fennell goes on to state, that the Beech- 

 Marten (alias Mousehunt) inhabits the woods and 

 forests of most parts of Europe, seldom quitting 

 them except in its nocturnal excursions ; and he 

 adds that — 



" The Beech Marten does sometimes, in the Highlands 

 of Scotland, where it is common, and called Tugyin, 

 take to killing lambs, and makes sad havoc. Luckily, 

 however, it is nearly exterminated in the south of that 

 country. In Selkirkshire, it has been observed to de- 

 scend to the shore at night time to feed upon mollusks, 

 particularly upon the large Basket Mussel (Mytilus 

 modiolus). But the ordinary prey of both this and the 

 Pine Marten appears to be hares, rabbits, squirrels, 

 moles, rats, mice ; game birds ; turkeys, pigeons, and 

 other domestic poultry, and also the wild singing 

 birds." — P. 109. 



In the above work Mr. Fennell has given many 

 other interesting zoological elucidations of Shak- 

 speare, and of various other ancient poets. 



G-. Tennyson. 



llickmansworth. 



St. PauTs School Library (Vol. viii., p. 641.). — 

 A catalogue of the library was privately printed 

 in 1836, 8vo. It is nominally under the care of 

 the captain of the school, who, having his own 

 duties to attend to, cannot be expected to pay 

 much attention to it : this readily accounts for the 

 disorder said to prevail. 



It is believed to contain the copy of Vegetius 

 de re militari, the perusal of which by Marl- 

 borough, when a pupil at the school, imbued him 

 with that love for military science he in after-life 

 so successfully cultivated. 



It would be a good deed on the part of the 

 wealthy company, the trustees of Colet's noble 

 foundation, to enlarge the library and pay a salary 

 to a librarian ; it might thus become a useful 

 appendage to the school, and under certain regu- 

 lations be made accessible to the vicinity. W. A. 



German Tree (Vol. viii., p. 619.). — In answer 

 to the inquiry of Zeus, who wishes to be informed 

 whether this custom was known in England pre- 

 vious to 1836, I beg to refer him to Coleridge's 

 Friend, second landing-place, essay iii. (vol. ii. 



