398 



NOTES AND QUERIES 



[No. 235. 



poetical contributor to its pages for many years. 

 He held a situation in the Excise Office in London, 

 and died there I believe in July, 1852. 



What manner of man was he ; young or old, 

 married or single ? Any information respecting 

 such a child of genius and of song must be in- 

 teresting to those who have ever read a line of his 

 wondrous poems. To what other periodicals did 

 he contribute ? Ith. 



Green Stockings. — Is the custom of sending a 

 pair of green stockings to the eldest unmarried 

 daughter of a family, upon the occasion of the 

 marriage of a younger sister, of English, Irish, or 

 Scottish origin ? L. A. 



Nicholas Kieten. — In the thirteenth century, 

 " there was a giant in Holland named Nicholas 

 Kieten, whose size was so prodigious, that he 

 carried men under his arms like little children. 

 His shoe was so large, that four men together 

 could put their feet in it. Children were too ter- 

 rified to look him in the face, and fled from his 

 presence." So says our author; but he does not 

 give the dimensions of Kieten. May not such a 

 real giant, in the thirteenth century, have laid the 

 foundation of the fabulous stories of giants that 

 have for so many years been the favourite ro- 

 mances of the nursery? Kieten appears to be 

 the type of the giants of our modern panto- 

 mimes. Will he serve as a key, to disclose the 

 origin of these marvellous stories and captivating 

 absurdities ? Timon. 



Warwickshire Badge. — Will you permit me to 

 ask, through your journal, if any of your readers 

 can inform me whether the proper Warwickshire 

 badge is " the antelope" or " the bear and ragged 

 staff?" The former is borne by the 6th regiment 

 of the line, they being the Royal First Warwick- 

 shire. The latter is borne by the 36th regiment 

 of militia, they being the First Warwickshire. 

 This latter badge is also borne by the retainers of 

 the Earls of Warwick and Leicester ; which latter 

 county would seem to lay as much claim to the 

 bear and ragged staff as Warwick does. 



The county cannot well have both, or either ; 

 and this makes me think that the bear and ragged 

 staff is not a county badge, but pertains more pro- 

 perly to the Earl of Warwick. Antiquary. 



Armorial. — Will any correspondent oblige me 

 with the names to the following coats : 1. Arg., 

 three hares (or conies) gu. 2. Arg., on a bend 

 engrailed vert, between two bucks' heads cabossed 

 sable, attired or, three besants ; a canton erminois. 

 3. Quarterly, per fesse indented sable and or. 4. 

 Per pale sable and or, a cheveron between three 

 escallop shells, all counterchanged. 5. Gu., a 

 lion rampant arg. Glover's Ordinary of Arms 

 would, I think, answer the above Query ; and if 



any of your numerous readers, who possess that 

 valuable work, would refer to it in this case, they 

 would be conferring a favour on your constant 

 subscriber, Cid. 



_ Would any correspondent help me to the solu- 

 tion of the following case ? — A. was the last and 

 only representative of an ancient family : he left 

 at his decease, some years ago, a daughter and 

 heiress who married B. Can the issue of B. 

 (having no arms of their own) legally use the 

 arms, quarterings, crest, and motto of A., without 

 a license from the Heralds' College ? Cid. 



Lord Brougham and Home Tooke. — In Lord 

 Brougham's Statesmen of the Time of George III., 

 he says of Mr. Home Tooke : 



" Thus he (H. T.) would hold that the law of libel 

 was unjust and absurd, because libel means a little 

 book." 



Can any of the readers of " N. & Q." say on 

 what occasion Tooke maintained this strange doc- 

 trine, or where his Lordship obtained his inform- 

 ation that Tooke did maintain it ? Q. 



Bloomsbury. 



Rileys of Forest Hill. — Can any of your cor- 

 respondents inform me relative to the arms and 

 motto of the Rileys of (Forest Hill) Windsor, 

 Berks, their descent, &c. ? J. M. R. 



Fish " Lavidian." — In some ancient acts of 

 parliament mention is made of a fish called "la- 

 vidian," and from the regulations made concerning 

 it, it appears to have been of such small size as to 

 be capable of being caught in the meshes of an 

 ordinary net. But I cannot find that this name is 

 contained in any of the books of natural history, 

 written by such authors as Gesner or Rondeletius. 

 Is it at this time a common name anywhere ? Or 

 can any of your readers assist in determining the 

 species ? J. C. 



" Poeta nascitur, non ft." — Can any of your 

 correspondents inform me who is the author of 

 the well-known saying — 



" Poeta nascitur, non fit " ? 



I have more than once seen it quoted as from 

 Horace, but I have never been able to find it in 

 any classical author whose works I have examined. 

 Cicero expresses a similar sentiment in his oration 

 for the poet Archias, cap. viii. : 



" Atqui sic a summis hominibus eruditissimisque 

 accepimus, ceterarum rerum studia, et doctrina, et pra- 

 ceptis, et arte constare : poetam natura ipsa valere, et 

 mentis viribus excitari, et quasi divino quodam spiritu 

 inflari." 



J. P. 



Boston, U. S, A. 



