Oct. 13. 1850.] 



NOTES AND QUEEIES. 



311 



paper by the water-niaik. I think I have read of 

 some work on that subject, but have no precise 

 recollection about it. I have now before ine 

 several undated MSS. written on paper of which 

 it would be very desirable to fix the exact date. 

 They evidently belonged to Pope, Swift, and Lady 

 M. W. Montague, as they contain their autographs. 

 They are all of that size called Pro Patria, and 

 two of them have as water-mark a figure of Bri- 

 tannia with a lion brandishing a sword within a pa- 

 ling, and the motto Pro Patria over the sword. Of 

 one of these the opposite page has the initials GR, 

 and the other has IX ; but the paper has been cut 

 off in the qiiddle of the water-mark and only ex- 

 hibits half the figure IV. Anotlier sheet has the 

 royal arms (1. Enghind and Scotland impaled, 2. 

 France, 3. Ireland, 4. the white horse of Hanover,) 

 within the garter, and surmounted by the crown, 

 and on the opposite page GK. within a crowned 

 wreath. There is no doubt that they were all 

 manufactured between 1715 and 1740 ; but is 

 there any means of ai-riviug at a more precise 

 date ? C. 



Puzzling Epitaph. — The following curious epi- 

 taph was found in a foreign cathedral : — 



EPiTArmuM. 



" O quid tuae 

 lie est \nx ; 

 ra ra ra 

 es et i;i 

 ram ram ram 

 ii." 



The following is plainly the solution of the last 

 four lines : — 



ra., ra, ra, is thrice ra, i. e. ter-ra=terra. 



ram, ram, ram, is thrice ravt, i. e. t€r-ram==terrain. 



a is i twice, i. e. i-Iii.s=iiis. 



Thus the last four lines are, — 



*' Terra es et in terram ibis." 



Can any one furnish a solution of the two first 

 lines ? J. Bdn. 



[We would suggest that the first two lines are to he 

 lead " O super be, quid super eft, tuje sitper blip," and 

 the epitaph will then be — 



-" O superbe quid superest tuie superbiae 

 'J'erra es, et in terram ibis." — Ed.] 



MSS. of Cornish Lanfruage. — Are there any 

 ancient MSS. of the Ciu'uish language, or are 

 tliere any works remaining in tiiat language, be- 

 flides the Calvary and Christmas Carol ])ublished 

 by the late Davies Gilbert ? J. A. Giles. 



Bildardljh the Poet. — Banished from his native 

 country, disowned by his own countrymen, the 

 Dutch |)oet Wiilem Jiildrrdijk pitched liis lent for 

 a wiiile on tiie hospitable soil of Old England. 



Prince William V. residing in 1795 at Hampton 

 Court, he resolved to stay there ; but, possessing 

 no income at all, and, like the sage of antiquity, 

 having saved nothing from the shipwreck but his 

 genius, he shifted his dwelling-place to London, 

 where he gave lessons in drawing, languages, and 

 various, even medical, sciences. He was married 

 in England to Katharine \yilhelmina Schweick- 

 hardt, on the 18th of May, 1797. His residence 

 in the birthplace of "Notks and Queries" makes 

 me ask, if there be still persons living, who remem- 

 ber him as teacher, friend, or poet ? A presenta- 

 tion-copy of Mrs. Bilderdijk's translation of Rod- 

 rick, the Last of the Goths, was ofifered to Southey, 

 accompanied by a Latin letter from lier spouse. 

 The poet-laureate visiting Leyden in the summer 

 of 1825, Bilderdijk would not suflTer him to remain 

 lodged in the iini, where an injury to his leg urged 

 him to favour the landlord with a protracted stay. 

 Southey was transported accordingly to the Dutch 

 poet's house ; and did not leave it before he was 

 cured, several weeks having elapsed in the mean- 

 while. Mention of this fact is made in a poem 

 the British bard addresses to Cuninghame. I do 

 not know whether it is alluded to in Southey's Life. 

 Bilderdijk's foot was crushed accidentally, in the 

 sixth year of his age, by one of his play-fellows ; 

 and thus he, who, by his natural disposition seemed 

 to be destined to a military career, was obliged to 

 enlist in the militia togata. He fought tlie good 

 fight in verse. It is remarkable that Byron and 

 Sir Walter Scott, his cotemporaries, were also 

 lame or limping. Jamus Dqusa. 



Egyptian MSS. — AVhat is the age of the oldest 

 MS. found in Egypt ? Are there any earlier than 

 the age of Alexander ? J. A. Giles. 



Scandinavian Priesthood. — Will one of your 

 correspondents do me the favour to let me know 

 the best authority I can refer to for information 

 as to the priesthood of the Scandinavians; the 

 mode of their election, the rank from which they 

 were generally chosen, ■vwhether they were allowed 

 to marry, &c. ? Max Brandsson. 



Thomas Vobisemus (or Wilson f). — fis anything 

 known of Thomas Volusemus (Wilson ?) who 

 edited the works of his fatlier-in-law, Patrick 

 Adamson, titular Archbishop of St. Andrew's, 

 which were published in London a. v. 1619 ? 



H.A.E. 



i^cpItcS, 



CURFEW. 



We have received the following Replies to 

 Nakoc's inquiry (Vol. ii., p. 103.) as to where 

 the custoin of ringing the curfew still remains. 



Bingley in Yorkshire. — In the town of Binglcy, 



