Jan. 12. 1850.] 
NOTES AND QUERIES. 
173 
ell” being there the more common form. The 
initial letter to St. Luke represents Jacob’s dream ; 
on the first page of fol. vi.of St. Luke the trans- 
lator’s preface ends, “ Geven at London the last day 
of Septembre, in the yere of our Lorde m.p.x1v.” 
On fol. xiii. of the same, Erasmus’ own preface 
ends, “ Geven at Basill the xxii. dai of August y° 
yere of our Lord, m.p.” (the rest effaced). On the 
first page of fol. viii. of St. John’s Gospel the pre- 
- face ends, “‘ Geven at Basile the yere of our Lord, 
M.D.xxur. the v daye of Januarye.” If these notes 
are sufficient to identify my copy with any particular 
edition, it will afford a real pleasure to 
A YorxKsHIRE SUBSCRIBER. 
land Chest. —In some wills of Bristol mer- 
chants of the latter part of the 16th century, I 
have met with the bequest of a chattel called an 
“ Tland Chest:” thus, ex. g. “Item: to Edmond 
Poyley I give the Iland chest in the great chamber 
wherein his linen was.” Mention is made of the 
like article in two or three other instances. An 
explanation of the word and an account of the 
kind of chest will much oblige. TS Vay Gre 
DIsraeli on the Court of Wards.— D'Israeli, in 
his article upon “ Usurers of the Seventeenth 
Century” (Curios. of Lit. iii. 89. old ed.), which is 
chiefly upon Hugh Audley, a master of the Court 
of Wards and Liveries, speaks of that court as “a 
remarkable institution, on which I purpose to 
make some researches.” Can any of your readers 
inform me if D’Israeli acted upon this resolve, and, 
if so, where the results of his labours are to be 
found ? J.B. 
Ancient Tiles. — Two birds, back to back, with 
heads turned to each other, were common on an- 
cient tiles. What are they intended to represent 
or to emblemise ? B. 
Pilgrimage of Kings, §&c. — Blind Man's Buff 
— Muffin — Hundred Weight, §c.—1. Can your 
readers oblige me with the name of the author 
and the date of a work entitled The Pilgrimage of 
Kings and Princes, of which I possess an imperfect 
copy — a small quarto ? 
2. What is the etymology of the game Blind 
Man’s Buff? Iam led to doubt whether that was 
the old spelling of it, for in a catalogue now before 
me I find a quarto work by Martin Parker, enti- 
tled The Poet's Blind Man's Bough, or Have among 
you my Blind Harpers, 1641. 
3. What is the origin of the word muffin? It 
is not in Johnson’s Dictionary. Perhaps this sort 
of tea-cake was not known in his day. 
4. By what logie do we call one hundred and 
twelve pounds merely a hundred weight ? 
5. I shall feel still more obliged if your readers 
ean inform me of any works on natural history, 
particularly adapted for a literary man to refer to 
at times when poetical, mythological, scriptural, 
and historical associations connected with animals 
and plants are in question. I am constantly feel- 
ing the want of a work of the kind to comprehend 
zoological similes and allusions, and also notices of 
customs and superstitions connected with animals, 
when reading our old poets and chroniclers. Even 
the most celebrated zoological works are of no use 
to me in such inquiries. SrepHEN BeaucHAmp, 
Anthony Bek, Bishop of Durham.— Having em- 
ployed my leisure for many years in collecting 
materials for the biography of the famous Anthony 
Bek, Bishop of Durham, I am baffled by the con- 
flicting and contradictory accounts of, — (1.) The 
title by which he became possessed of the Vesci 
estates; (2). When and by what authority he took 
upon him the title of “ King of the Isle of Man;” 
and (3.) How he became dispossessed of that title, 
which it is well known that Edward II. bestowed 
upon Gaveston; and whether that circumstance 
did not induce him to take part with the con- 
federate barons who eventually destroyed that 
favourite. 
Other incongruities occur in my researches, but 
the above are the most difficult of solution. 
I am, dear Sir, 
ONE THAT INTENDS TO BE A REGULAR SuB- 
SCRIBER TO THE “ NoTES AND QUERIES.” 
Curious Welsh Custom. — A custom prevails in 
Wales of carrying about at Christmas time a 
horse’s skull dressed up with ribbons, and sup- 
ported on a pole by a man who is concealed under 
a large white cloth. There is a contrivance for 
opening and shutting the jaws, and the figure 
pursues and bites every body it can lay hold of, 
and does not release them except on payment of a 
fine. It is generally accompanied by some men 
dressed up in a grotesque manner, who, on reach- 
ing a house, sing some extempore verses requesting 
admittance, and are in turn answered by those 
within, until one party or the other is at a loss for 
a reply. The Welsh are undoubtedly a poetical 
people, and these verses often display a good deal 
of cleverness. ‘This horse’s head is called Mari 
LIwyd, which J have heard translated “ grey mare.” 
Llwyd certainly is grey, but Mari is not a mare, in 
Welsh. I think I have heard that there is some 
connection between it and the camel which often 
appears in old pictures of the Magi offering their 
gifts. Can any of your readers inform me of the 
real meaning of the name, and the origin of the 
custom, and also whether a similar custom does 
not prevail in some parts of Oxfordshire ? 
Pweca. 
Fall of Rain in England.— Can you give me 
any information respecting the fall of rain in 
England? I mean the quantity of rain that has 
fallen in various parts of the island, from month 
