86 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 92- 



fencing, while unwillingly subjected to an examin- 

 ation ; and the true authorship would oblige 



Nevus. 



48. " The Worm in the Bud of Youth" ^-c— With 

 whom did the following idea origiaate, and where 

 are the words to be found ? 



" The worm is in the bud of youth, and in the root 

 of age." 



Can any similar expression be adduced from 

 the ancient classics ? 11. Vincent 



49. Queen Brunekaut.—l read in a French book 

 of travels that the abbey of Saiut Martin's, at Au- 

 tun, contained the tomb of Queen Bruneliaut, upon 

 which was engraved the following inscription : 



" Ci-git la Reine Brunehaut, 

 A qui le Saint Pape Gregoire 

 Donna des eloges de gloire, 

 Qui mettent sa vertu bien haul. 

 Sa piete pour les saints mysteres 

 Lui fit fonder trols monasteres, 

 Sous la regie de Saint Benoit : 

 Saint Martin, Saint Jean, Saint Andoche, 

 Sont trols saints lieux oii I'ou connoit 

 Qu'elle est exempte de reproche." 



1. Who was the Saint Gregory mentioned in this 

 inscription ? I believe there can be little doubt 

 that it was Pope Gregory I., commonly known as 

 Gregory the Great, and the cotemporary of Queen 

 Brunehaut. The only other Pope of that name, 

 that has been canonized, is Gregory VIL, the 

 fiimous riildebrand ; but as his canonization did 

 not take place till the close of the last century 

 (700 years after his death), an inscription, which, 

 from its obsolete rhymes of " Benoit" and " con- 

 noit," bears internal evidence of having been 

 made in the sixteenth or seventeenth century, 

 could not have applied to him the epithet Saint. 



2. Brunehaut having been one of the most 

 profligate queens that ever sat upon a throne, 

 and Gregory the Great one of the most virtuous 

 Popes that have shed lustre on the tiara, a second 

 Query presents itself : — Is it possible that such a 

 Pope could have degraded himself and his office 

 by eulogising such a queen ? The bare idea is 

 at variance with the known character of that 

 Pope ; and the imputation, if substantiated, would 

 materially detract from his established reputation 

 for piety and wisdom. 



3. Is there any passage in the writing? of 

 Gregory the Great that can be cited in support of 

 the allegations of this inscription ? 



Henry H. Breen. 



St. Lucia, June, 1851. 



50. Sculptured Stones in the North of Scotland. — 

 Some time ago Patrick Chalmers, Esq., of Auldbar, 

 in the county of Forfar, obtained drawings of all 

 the sculptured stone obelisks in Angus, and got 

 them lithographed for the members of the Banna- 



tyne Club. The work has excited considerable 

 attention among historical students in this country 

 as well as abroad, and certainly has laid a founda- 

 tion for correct comparison of these with other 

 similar remains of a symbolical nature in other 

 parts of the country. In Aberdeenshire there is 

 a considerable number of these obelisks, which, 

 cither from the more primitive state of the people, 

 or the hardness of the granite, are much less elabo- 

 rate than those in Angus. None, however, can 

 exceed the obelisks in Easter Koss for beauty of 

 execution. It is singular that no monument of 

 this class has been found south of the Forth. The 

 Spalding Club (Aberdeen) proposes to obtain 

 drawings of all the stones of this description in the 

 North of Scotland ; and the artist who depicted 

 the Angus stones so accurately and well for Mr. 

 Chalmers has commenced his labours. Circulars 

 have been sent to the clergy of about 240 parishes 

 in the North, asking for information as to the 

 locality of any sculptured stones in their districts, 

 but as yet answers have been obtained from only 

 about 150. It is probable that where no return 

 has been made, there is no stone of the description 

 alluded to ; but it would be desirable to know 

 that the Spalding Club had exhausted the matter. 



Abeedoniensis. 



51. Prophecies of Nostradamus. — In a little 

 work I am meditating on the subject of English 

 Popular Prophecies, I shall have occasion to intro- 

 duce a notice of this celebrated astrologer, whose 

 successful prediction of the Great Rebellion, and 

 consequent English popularity, almost entitle him 

 to a place among our native vaticinating worthies. 



Tiie curious prefiguration of the fate of Chai-les I. 

 stands thus in the original edition of the Pro- 

 pheties : Lyons, 1572, under the head, " A mes 

 Imprimeurs de Hongrie :" 



" Senat de Londres mettront a mal leur Roy." 



In the only other edition to which I have the 

 opportunity of referring, London, 1672, "Trans- 

 lated and commented upon by Theophilus de 

 Gareucieres," it is much amplified : 



" XLIX. 



" Gand et Bruxelles marcheront contre Anvers. 

 Senat de Londres mettront « mort leur Roy. 

 Le sel et vin luy seront a I'envers 

 Pour eux avoir le Regne or desseroy." 



The more literal accuracy of this version, and 

 the number of the quatrain (interpreted by the 

 commentator to refer to the year of Charles's 

 death), induce doubts as to its authenticity. Col- 

 lections of early editions of Nostradamus are not 

 of frequent occurrence in England : but I am told 

 that a fine series exists in the " Bibliotheque du 

 Eoi;" and as the subject is interesting, some one, 

 perhaps, out of the many readers of " Notes and 

 Queries" who will visit Paris this holiday time 

 may be induced to examine them, and make a note 



