NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 31. 



ill 4to., an omnium gatherum, in five books, from 

 A'arious sources, in wliicli tliere is much taken 

 from Erasmus, and yet the title is Apoftemmi di 

 Plutarco. In this book, tlie whole of the twenty- 

 three apophthegms of Erasmus which relate to 

 Demosthenes are given, and two more added at 

 the end. It appears that Philelphus, and after 

 liim llapliael llegius, had printed, in the fifteenth 

 century, Latin collections under the title of Plu- 

 tarcKs Apophthegms, and, according to Erasmus, 

 had both taken liberties with their original. I 

 have not seen either of these Latin versions, of 

 which there were several editions. As far as 

 regards Demosthenes, I think we may fairly con- 

 clude that the story is apocryphal. The Greek 

 proverbial verse was no doubt a popular saying, 

 which Aulus Gellius thought might give a lively 

 turn to his story, of whicli an Italian would say, 

 " Se non vero e ben trovato." S. W. Singer. 



Feb. 9. 18 50. 



CUSTOM OF PRESENTING GLOVES. 



Tiie following extracts from a MS. " Day-book" 

 of the celebrated Anne Countess of Pembroke, 

 recording the daily events of the last few months of 

 her life passed at Brougham Castle in 1675, afford 

 a further illustration of the custom of presenting 

 gloves (Vol. i. pp. 72. 405.) as a matter of cour- 

 tesy and kindness ; and show, also, that it was 

 not unusual to make presents of small sums of 

 money in exhibition of the same feelings on the 

 part of the donor : — ■ 



" J.inuaiv, as the year begins on New Year's Day. 



" lOlh day, And to-day there dhied here witli my 

 folks my cousin Thomas Sandford's wife, of Askham, 

 and her second son ; so after dinner I had them into my 

 cbambur and kissed her, and took him by the hand, 

 and I gave her a pair of buckskin gloves, and him 5s., 

 and then they went away. 



" 12th day, There dined here in the Painted Chamber 

 with my folks Mrs. Jane Carleton, the widow, sister to 

 Sir \V'". Carleton, deceased. So after dinner I had 

 her into my chamber, and kissed her and talked with 

 her awhile, and I gave Iier 5s., and she went avvay. 



" 17th day. To-day there dined with my fulks my 

 cousin, ]\Ir. Thomas 15nrbeck, of Hornby, and his wife 

 and their little daughter, and his father-in law, Mr. 

 Cotterick, and his wife and his mother; and there also 

 dined here Mr. Robert Carleton, only son to the 

 widow, Lady Carleton. So after dinner I had them 

 all into my chamber, and kissed the women, and took 

 the men by the hand, and I gave to my cousin, I\Ir. 

 Burbeck, and bis wife, eaeli 10s., and bis mother 10s , 

 and his father-in-law, .Mr. Cotterick, and his wife, each 

 of them 10s., and Cs. to the child, and I gave Mr. 

 Carleton a pair of buckskin gloves, and then they all 

 went away." - 



In another entry the Countess records the gift 

 to a Mrs. Winch of Settra Park of "four pair of 

 buckskin gloves that came from Kendall." 



It does not appear that any present was made 

 to the Countess in return. As in the case of 

 Archbishop Laud and Master Prynne (Vol. i. 

 p. 405.), these gifts were evidently expressions 

 of condescension and good will by one in a high 

 position to another in j, somewhat lower station. 

 It is, I take it, evident that the money-gifts, from 

 the rank in life of the parties, and their connec- 

 tion with the Countess, coidd have been made with 

 no other meaning or intention. 



Jas. Crosbt. 



Streatham, April 22. 1850. 



FOLK LORE. 



Exhumation of a Body ominous to Family of the 

 Deceased. — In the counties of Leicester and 

 Northampton, and I doubt not in other parts of 

 England, there is a superstitious idea that the 

 removal or exhumation of a body after interment 

 bodes death or some terrible calamity to the sur- 

 viving members of the deceased's family. Turner, 

 in his History of Hemarhahle Providences, Lond. 

 1677, p. 77., thus alludes to this superstition : — 



" Thomas Fludd of Kent, Esq., told me that it is an 

 old observation which was pressed earnestly to King 

 James I., that he should not remove the Queen of 

 Scots' body from Northamptonshire, where she was be- 

 headed and interred. For that it always bodes ill to 

 the family when bodies are removed from their graves. 

 For some of the family will die shortly after, as did 

 Prince Henry, and, 1 think. Queen Anne." 



In the above-named counties, jiine roasted mice, 

 three taken e.ach third morning, constitutes the 

 common charm for the hooping-cough. T. S. 



Suffolk Folk Lore. — I send you a few articles 

 on " Folk Lore," now, or not long ago, current in 

 the county of Suffolk, iu addition to what is to be 

 found in the latter part of the second volume of 

 Forby's Vocabulary of East Anglia. 



1. To ascertain whether her pretended lovers 

 really love her or not, the maiden takes an apple- 

 pip, and naming one of her followers, puts the pip 

 in the fire. If it makes a noise in bursting from 

 the heat, it is a proof of love; but if it is con- 

 sumed without a crack, she is fully satisfied that 

 there is no real regard towards her in the person 

 named. 



2. " I remember the wooing of a peascod instead 

 of her." (Skakesp.) — The efficacy of peascods in 

 the concerns of sweethearts is not yet forgotten 

 among our rustic vulgar. [The kitchen-maid, 

 when she shells green peas, never omits, when she 

 finds one having iiine peas, to lay it on the lintel 

 of the kitchen door; and the first clown who 

 enters it is infallibly to be her husband, or at least 

 her sweetheart. 



3. If you have your clothes mended upon your 

 back, you will be ill spoken of. 



