124 



notp:s and queries. 



[No. 94. 



Inscription on a Claymore (Vol.iv., p. 59.). — 

 Is your cvorrespoiideut " T. M, W., Liverpool," 

 who inquires the translation of an " inscription on 

 a claymore," certain that his quotation is correct? 

 To me it appears that it should run thus : 

 X GOTT BEWAR DE 

 X GERECHTE SCHOTTEN. 

 or, " God preserve the ri.o;hteous (or just) Scots;" 

 referring, no doubt, to the undertaking in which 

 they were then engaged. 



I believe that formerly, and probably at the 

 present time, many of the finest sword blades 

 were made abroad, and sent to England to be 

 mounted, or even entirely finished on the Con- 

 tinent. I have in my possession a heavy trooper's 

 sword, bearing the name of a celebrated Gorman 

 maker, although tlie ornaments and devices are 

 unquestionably English. Another way of account- 

 ing for the hiscription is, that it belonged to some 

 of those fijreign adventurers who are known to 

 have joined Charles Edward. W. SmBLEr. 



Burton Family (A^ol. iv., p. 22.).— In Hunter's 

 History of Hallainfihire, p. 236., is a pedigree of 

 Burton of Iloyds Mill, near Sheffiekl, in which 

 are the following remarks : — 



" Richard Burton of Tutbury. Staffordshire, died 

 May 9th, 8 Ili^nry V. Married Maud, sister of Robert 

 Gibson of Tutbui y ; and had a son, Sir William Bur- 

 ton of Falde and Tutbury, Knight ; slain at Towton- 

 field, 1461, from whom descended the Burtons of 

 Lindley." 



" Thomas Burton of Fanshawgate, who died in 

 lfi43, left three sons; Michael, Thomas, and Francis. 

 Michael was of Mo^borough, and had a numerous 

 issue ; the names of his children appear on Ins monu- 

 mental brass in the chancel of the church at Eckington. 

 Thomas, the second son, was of London and Putney, 

 married, and had issue. Francis, the youngest, was 

 lord of the I\Ianor of Dronfield, and served the office 

 of High Sheriff of Derby in 1669. Was buried at 

 Dronfield in 1687." 



I find no account of any Roger Burton ; but if 

 your correspondent E. II. A. is not in possession 

 of the above pedigree, and should wish for a copy, 

 I shall be glad to send him it. John Algok. 



Eldon Street, Sheffield. 



Notation by Coulwhippers (Vol.iv., p. 21.). — 

 The notation used by coahvhippers, &c., men- 

 tioned by I. J. C, is, after all, I expect, but a part 

 of a system which was probably the origin of the 

 Roman notation. Tiie first four strokes or units 

 were cut diagonally by the fifth, and taking the 

 first and last of these strokes we readily obtain 

 V, or the Roman five; but as the natural systems of 

 arithmetic are decimal, from the number of fingers, 

 it is most probable that the tens were tlius marked 

 off, or by a stroke drawn across the last unit thus 

 X, whence we obtain the Roman ten : these tens 

 were repeated up to a hundred, or the second 

 class of tens, which were probably connected by 



two parallel lines top and bottom C, which would 

 be the sign of the second class of tens, or hundreds; 

 this became afterwards rounded into C : the 

 third class of tens, or thousands, was represented 

 by four strokes M, and these symbols served by 

 abbreviation for some intermediate numbers; thus 

 X divided became V, or 5, the half of 10; then 

 L, half of L, represented 50, half of 100; and 

 M becoming rounded thus (TO was frequently ex- 

 pressed in this manner C 1 3 ! and this became ab- 

 breviated into D, 500, half of CI 3, or 1000: and 

 thus, by variously combining these six symbols 

 (though all derived from the one straight stroke), 

 numbers to a very high amount could be ex- 

 pressed. Thos. Lawrence. 

 Ashby de la Zouch. 



Statue of Charles II. (Vol. iv., p, 40.).— The 

 following passage is from Ilughson's History of 

 London, vol. ii. p. 521. : 



" Among the adlierents and sufferei'S in the cause of 

 Charles 11. was Sir Robert Viner, alderman of London. 

 After the Restoration the worthy alderman, willing to 

 show his loyalty and prudence, raised in this place 

 [?'. e. the Stock's Market] the statue above mentioned. 

 The figure had been carved originally for John Sobieski, 

 king of Poland, but by some accident was left upon the 

 workman's hands. Finding the work ready carved to 

 his hands. Sir Robert thought that, with some altera- 

 tion, what was intended for a king of Poland might 

 suit the monarch of Great Britain ; he therefore con- 

 verted the Polander inlo an Englishman, and the Turk 

 underneath his horse into Oliver Cromwell; the turban 

 on the last figure being an undeniable proof of the 

 truth attached to the story. The compliment was so 

 ridicidous and absurd, that no one who beheld it could 

 avoid reflecting on the taste of those who had set it up; 

 but as its history developed the farce improved, and 

 what was before esteemed contemptible, proved in the 

 end entertaining. The poor mutilated figure stood 

 neglected some years since among the rubbish in the 

 purlieus of Guildhall ; and in 1779, it was bestowed 

 by the common council on Robert Viner, Esq., who 

 removed it to grace his country seat." 



The earliest engraving of " the King at the 

 Stock's RLu'ket" may be seen in Thomas l)elaune's 

 Present State of London, 12 mo. 1681. 



Edwaed F. Rimbault. 



Serins, where situated f (Vol. iii., p. 494.). — The 

 Serins, now Serio, rises in the chain of mountains 

 in the south of the Valtelino, between the lakes 

 Como and Ixo : it flows through a valley called 

 the Val Seria, passes near Bergamo and Cremona, 

 .md falls into the Adda a little before that river 

 joins the Po. J. M. (4) 



Corpse passing makes a Right of Way (Vol. iii., 

 pp. 477. 507. 519.). — Some time ago, I buried in 

 our churchyard a person fi-om an adjoining parish ; 

 but, instead of taking a pathway which led di- 

 rectly from the house of the deceased to the 

 church, they kept to the high-road, — so going 



