Dec. 28. 1850.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



517 



" Cerf-volant. Scarabaeus lucanus. Sorte d'insecte 

 volant qui porte des conies dentelees, comme ccUes du 

 cerf. 



" Cerf-volant. Ludicra scarabei lucani effigies. On 

 donne ce noin a une sorte de joiiet d'enfans qui est 

 compose de quelque^ batons cruises sur lesquels on 

 etend du papier, et exposant cette petite machine a 

 I'air, le moindre vent la fait voler. On la retient et 

 on la tire comme Ton veut, par le moyen dune longue 

 corde qui y est attacliee." — See Dictionnaire de la Langue 

 Frajtfoise, de Pierre llichelet ; a Amsterdam, 1732. 



In Kii'by and Spence's Entomology, vol. ii. 

 p. 224., they mention " the terrific and protended 

 jaws of the stag-beetle of Europe, the Lucanus 

 Cermis of Linnajus." 



The "toolhed horns" alluded to by llichelet are 

 represented by the pieces of stiff paper fastened at 

 intervals, and at right angles, to the string-tail of 

 the toy kite, or dragon, so much delighted in by 

 boys at certain seasons of the year in England 

 and Scotland. G. F. G. 



Edinburgh. 



Epitaph on John Randal. — As a counterpart to 

 Palise's death, I have sent a Warwickshire epitaph, 

 taken from Watford Magna cliurchyard, written 

 about the same perioil : 

 " Here old John Randal lies, who counting by his sale, 



Lived three score years and ten, such virtue was in ale ; 



Ale was his meat, ale was his drink, ale did his heart 

 revive, 



And CDuld he still have drunk his ale, he still had 

 been alive." 



J. R. 



Playing Cards. — As a rider to The Hermit of 

 Holtport's Query respecting his playing cards 

 (Vol. ii., p. 462.), I would throw out a suggestion 

 to all your readers for notices of similar emblem- 

 atic playing cards : whether such were ever used 

 for playing with ? what period so introduced ? 

 and where ? as both France and Spain lay claim 

 to their first introduction. I see that Mr. Caton 

 exhibited at one of the meetings of the Archasolo- 

 gical Institute this season a curious little volume 

 of small county maps, numbered so as to serve as 

 a pack of cards (desci'ibed more fully in the Ar- 

 chwologicaljournal {'or September, 1850, p. 306.), 

 and which I regret I did not see. 



W. Ii. P. 



Wanstead, Dec. l.'i. 18.50. 



DRAGONS : THEIR ORIGIN. 



When passing through the city of Brilnn, in 

 Moravia, rather more than a year ago, my atten- 

 tion was drawn to the Lindivurm or dragon, pre- 

 .served there from a very remote pcM'iod. Tliis 

 inonstei', acconling to tradition, was invulnerable, 

 like his brother of Wantlcy, except in a few well- 



guarded points, and from his particular predilec- 

 tion in favour of veal and young children, was the 

 scourge and terror of the neighbourhood. The 

 broken armour and well-picked bones of many 

 doughty knights, scattered around the entrance to 

 the cave he inhabited, testified to the impunity 

 with which he had long carried on his depreda- 

 tions, in spite of numerous attempts to destroy 

 Iiim. Craftiness, however, at last j)revailed where 

 force had proved of no effect, and the Lindwurm 

 fell a victim to the skill of a knight, whose name 

 I believe has been handed down to posterity. The 

 mode adopted by the warrior to deceive his oppo- 

 nent, was to stuff, as true to nature as possible, 

 with unslaked lime, the skin of a freshly killed 

 calf, which he laid before the dragon's cave. The 

 monster, smelling the skin, is said to have rushed 

 out and instantly to have swallowed the fatal re- 

 past, and feeling afterwards, as may be readily 

 expected, a most insatiable thirst, hurried off to a 

 neighbouring stream, where he drank until the 

 water, acting upon the lime, caused him to burst. 

 The iidiabitants, on learning the joyful news, 

 carried the knight and the Lindwurm In triumph 

 into the city of Briinn, where they have ever since 

 treasured up the memento of their former tyrant. 

 The animal, or reptile, thus preserved, is un- 

 doubtedly of the crocodile or alligator species, 

 altliough I regret it was not in my power to ex- 

 amine it more particularly, evening having set in 

 when I saw it in the arched passage leading to 

 the town-hall of the city where it has been sus- 

 pended. I fear also that any attempt to count 

 the distinguishing bones would be fruitless, the 

 scaly back haying been covered with a too liberal 

 supply of pitch, with the view to protection from 

 the weather. 



Have any of your readers seen this Lindwurm 

 under more favourable circumstances than myself, 

 and can they throw any light on the genus to 

 which it belongs ? 



May not the various legends respecting dragons, 

 &c., have their origin from similar circumstances 

 t(j those of this Briinn Lindwurm, which I take to 

 have strong proof of fact, the body being there ? 

 Perhaps some of your correspondents may have it 

 in their power to give further corroborative evi- 

 dence of the former existence of dragons under 

 the shape of crocodiles. The description of the 

 Wantlcy dragon tallies with that of the crocodile 

 very nearly. K. S., Jun. 



JOAN SANDERSON, OR THE CUSHION DANCE ; AND 

 BAB AT THE BOWSTER. 



Can any of your numerous valuable corre- 

 si)oiidents give me tlie correct date, or any clue 

 to it, of the al)Ove dance. There is little doubt 

 of its great anticpiity. The dance is begun by a 

 single person (either a woman or man), who 



