176 



1729. Compare « N. & Q.," Vol. vi., p. 537., 

 Vol. viii., p. 564.] 



Obs and Sols. — Burton, in his Anatomy of 

 Melancholy (" Democritus to the Header"), 6th 

 edition, has the following passage : 



" Bale, Erasmus, Hospinian, Vives, Kemnisius, ex- 

 plode, as a vast ocean of obs and sols, school divinity." 

 "What is the meaning of the terms obs and sols ? 



Henry H. Breen. 



St. Lucia. 



[This is a quaint abbreviation of the words objec- 

 tiones et solutiones, being frequently so contracted in 

 the margins of books of controversial divinity to mark 

 the transitions from the one to the other. Hence 

 Butler ( Hudibras, in. ii. 1237.) has coined the name 

 of ob and sollers for scholastic disputants : 



" But first, o' th' first : the Isle of Wight 

 Will rise up, if you should deny't ; 

 Where Henderson, and the other masses, 

 Were sent to cap texts and put cases : 

 To pass for deep and learned scholars, 

 Although but paltry ob and sollers : 

 As if th' unseasonable fools, 

 Had been a coursing in the schools."] 



Fystens or Fifteenths. — Can you inform me 

 ■what is the meaning of the word " fystens." In 

 looking over an old corporation chamber book 

 some years ago I found the following entries, of 

 which I made extracts : 



" 1587. Paid to Mr. Mayor for fystenes, iiij. [sic], 

 1589. Paid Mr. Dyston for the fystens, xxxs. 



More for the fystens, xxvjs. 

 1592. Paid for the fystenes, xixs. iijri. 



More for fystenes, xxxis. vije?. q. 



1594. Paid to make up the fystenes, xxxijs. iijJ. 



1595. Paid for the fistenies, xxxs." 



In a recent publication this last entry is extracted 

 thus : 



" 1595. Paid for the fifteenths, 30s." 



Patonce. 



[This was the tribute or imposition of money called 

 fifteenths, formerly laid upon cities - , boroughs, &c, so 

 called because it amounted to a fifteenth part of that 

 which each city or town was valued at, or a fifteenth 

 of every man's personal estate, according to a reason- 

 able valuation. In 1588, on occasion of the Spanish 

 invasion, the Parliament gave Queen Elizabeth two 

 subsidies and four fifteenths.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 226. 



with 



hard:jan's account op Waterloo. 



(Vol. viii., p. 199.) 



The book for which G-. D. inquires is, A De- 

 scriptive Poem of the Battle of Waterloo, and Two 

 previous Days, dedicated to the Earl of Carlisle, 

 by Captain ilardman, London, 1827, 8vo., pp. 28. 



It appears from the dedication that he was adju- 

 tant to the 10th Royal Hussars, of which the Hon. 

 F. Howard was major. He says : 



" We breakfasted together in the hovel on the 18th, 

 in the morning, as stated in the poem; and during that 

 dreadful bloody day, he and I were frequently dis- 

 coursing about our situation ; the good position occu- 

 pied by us ; the humane feeling of our brave Duke for 

 choosing that situation to save men's lives ; and on<?e 

 during the day our regiment was completely sheltered; 

 all the balls from the enemy flying over our heads, 

 except one that dropped about six yards from the 

 major and me. We were at that time dismounted 

 about twenty minutes, to rest the horses. I took the 

 ball up ; we looked at it, and had a good hearty laugh 

 over it." 



Here is the description referred to : 



" At three in the morning I went to Major Howard, — 

 ' This morning, Major, is enough to make us all 



cowards ; 

 Such a night of heavy rain I never before saw, 

 It has fell hard on my shoulders and made them raw; 

 But still I am hearty, can I do anything for you? 

 For on the face of this province I never will rue.' 

 1 No, thank you, Hardman, not now, come by-and- 



by; 

 I have lain in this place till my neck 's all awry. 

 My servant is getting a light, then a letter I write; 

 But I am so excessively cold I cannot one indite. 

 He shall then make a fire, and set water over, 

 Come in an hour and live with me in clover; 

 We will have some coffee and some fat fowl too, 

 Then we can face the French well at Waterloo !' 

 'Thank you, Major, I will do myself the honour, 

 That will be better than being sat on by the coroner." 



P. 12. 



The prose description of the charge is clear and 

 vivid: 



" When we advanced to decide the destiny of the 

 day, our right squadron was in front, led on by the 

 brave Major-General Sir II. Vivian, commanding our 

 brigade ; Lord Robert Manners commanding our regi- 

 ment ; Major Howard commanding the right squadron; 

 and I, the adjutant, in front with those officers. Just 

 as we began to advance, I said, ' Major, what a grand 

 sight we have before us !' ' Yes, it is,' said the major. 

 These were the last words he spoke, for in half a 

 minute afterwards we were right amongst them, slash- 

 ing away; then there was no time to talk. We quickly 

 made them turn their backs towards us ; but there was 

 one square of infantry that stood firm. That square 

 made sad havoc among us. The major was killed by 

 that square. He was not six yards from the muzzles 

 of the French firelocks when he was shot. He fell off 

 his horse, and, I believe, never moved a finger; but I 

 had not a moment's time to stop, for we had not then 

 cleared the field. This, my lord, is a true account of 

 the last moments of your lordship's late son, and one of 

 the best friends I ever had." — P. iv. 



" We then drove their cavalry past a solid square mass; 

 This mass stood firm against us, like solid brass. 



