6 NOTES AND QUERIES. 
[No. 1. 
their father became more and more desperate. 
When Nicholas heard of this, he thought it shame 
that such a thing should happen in a Christian 
land; therefore one night, when the maidens were 
asleep, and their father alone sat watching and 
weeping, he took a handful of gold, and, tying it 
up in a handkerchief, he repaired to the dwelling 
of the poor man. He considered how he might 
bestow it without making himself known; and, 
while he stood irresolute, the moon coming from 
behind a cloud showed him a window open; so he 
threw it in, and it fell at the feet of the father, 
who, when he found it, returned thanks, and with 
it he portioned his eldest daughter. A second 
time Nicholas provided a similar sum, and again 
he threw it in by night ; and with it the nobleman 
married his second daughter. But he greatly de- 
sired to know who it was that came to his aid; 
therefore he determined to watch: and when the 
good Saint came for the third time, and prepared 
to throw in the third portion, he was discovered, 
for the nobleman seized him by the skirt of his 
robe, and flung himself at his feet, saying, “‘ O 
Nicholas! servant of God! why seek to hide thy- 
self?” and he kissed his feet and his hands. But 
Nicholas made him promise that he would tell no 
man. And many other charitable works did 
Nicholas perform in his native city.’ 
“« These three purses of gold, or, as they are more 
customarily figured, these three golden balls, dis- 
posed in exact pawnbroker fashion, are to this day 
the recognised special emblem of the charitable 
St. Nicholas.” 
And now for the more immediate object of 
the present Note, which is to show—what, 
when once pointed out, will, I think, readily 
be admitted, namely, that in the grotto 
formed of oyster shells, and lighted with a 
votive candle, to which, on old St. James’s 
day (5th August) the passer-by is earnestly 
entreated to contribute by cries of, “ Pray 
remember the Grotto!” we have a memorial 
of the world-renowned shrine of St. James at 
Compostella. 
The popularity which St. James formerly 
enjoyed in England, and the zeal with which 
his shrine was visited by natives of this coun- 
try, have recently been so clearly shown by 
Mr. J. G. Nichols, in his interesting little 
volume, Pilgrimages to St. Mary of Wal- 
singham and St. Thomas of Canterbury, that 
I need not here insist upon these points. 
What the original object of making these 
grottoes may have been [ can only suggest: 
but I shall not be surprised if it should turn 
out that they were formerly erected on the 
anniversary of St. James by poor persons, as 
an invitation to the pious who could not visit 
Compostella, to show their reverence for the 
Saint by almsgiving to their needy brethren. 
Oysters are only allowed to be sold in Lon- 
don (which city, by the by, levied a tax of 
two pence on every person going and return- 
ing by the river Thames on pilgrimage to the 
shrine of St. James), after St. James’s day. 
Why is this? I wish Mr. Wansey, who is an 
able antiquary, and one authorised to look into 
the records of the Fishmongers’ Company, 
would give us the information upon this point 
which those documents may be expected to 
furnish. 
Witiium J. THoms. 
P.S.—I should be glad if any of the 
readers of “ Notes AND QueRtEs” could ex- 
plain to what Erasmus alludes, when he 
says, “culmeis ornatus torquibus, brachium 
habet ova serpentum,” which L’Estrange trans- 
lates, “Straw-works, snakes, eggs for brace- 
lets ;” and Mr. Nichols, who honestly states 
that he is unable to explain the allusion, as 
he does not find such emblems elsewhere 
mentioned, —“ adorned with straw necklaces 
and bracelets of serpents’ eggs.” 
NOTE OF A MS. VOLUME OF CHRONICLES AT 
REIGATE. 
Amongst the objects of the useful medium 
of literary communication afforded by the 
publication of “ Nores AND QUERIES,” one 
appears to be a record of the casual notice of 
“some book or some edition, hitherto unknown 
or imperfectly described.” I am . induced 
therefore to inquire, whether the existence 
of an ancient MS. volume of Chronicles, which 
I have recently noticed in the little library 
adjoining Reigate Church, is already known 
to those who investigate our monastic annals ? 
This volume may probably not have escaped 
their research, especially since the republica- 
tion and extension of Wharton’s Collections 
have been recently proposed. A chronological 
series of chronicles relating to the see of 
Canterbury was announced amongst the pro- 
jected publications of the “ Anglia Christiana 
Society.” 
The Reigate library, of which brief mention 
