260 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 101. 



The arcoinpanying extract is from the History 

 of the borough of Stafford, in White's Directory 

 and Gazetteer of Staffordshire^ which is just pub- 

 lished : — 



" The ancient custom of Borough- English formerly 

 prevailed here, by which the youngest son succeeded to 

 property, as heir-at-law, in preference to the elder 

 children. The origin of this part of our common law 

 is not very well ascertained, but it is generally su])- 

 posed to have arisen from the ancient system of vus- 

 saluffe, which gave the lord of the manor certain rights 

 over Ids vassul's bride, and thus rendered the legitimacy 

 of the eldest born uncertain ; or perhaps it may have 

 originated in the natural presumption, that the young- 

 est child was least capable of providing for itself" 



F. J. M. 



PASSAGE IN VIKGIL. 



(Vol. iv., pp. 24. 88.) 



Permit me to make a few remarks on the 

 passage of Virgil, " Viridesque secant," &c., and its 

 attempted elucidation, Vol. iv., pp. 88, 89. 



It is stated that the translation is not correct, 

 and also that Servius was a very illiterate, igno- 

 rant, and narrow-minded man, &c. 



In the short notice of Servius and his works in 

 the Fenny Cyclopccdiii, we have a very dilferent 

 character of him. Which is to be believed, for 

 both cannot be right ? 



Ilarles, in his Litrod. in Notitiam Lit. Rom., 

 speaks thus of the Commentai-ies of Services : 



" Quae in libris Virgilii sub nomine Servii eircum- 

 feruntur Scholia, eorum minima pars pertinet ad ilium; 

 sed farrago est ex antiquloribus eommentariis Cornuti, 

 Donati, &c.,et aliorum ; immo vero ex recentioris a'tatis 

 interpretibus multa adjecta sunt et interpolata." 



Thus condemning the interpolations, but leaving 

 intact the matter really belonging to Servius. 



For a refutation of the impertinent comparison 

 with a Yorkshire hedge schoolmaster, and the 

 erroneous appreciation of the Comineutaries, I 

 must refer to the above-mentioned notice in the 

 Penny Cj/dopcedia. 



In the ne.xt place, with respect to the meaning 

 of the passage ; — the word seco, when applied 

 to the movements of ships, is usually rendered by 

 " sulco;" e.g.: 



" Jaraque fretura Minya; Pegasa^a puppe secabant." 



Ovid, Met. vii. 1. 



See also lib. xi. 479. " Travel along" would be 

 insufficient to express the meaning in these in- 

 stances ; and sulco agrees with the modern phrase, 

 " ploughing the deep," &c. 



iMoreovcr, I submit that the interpretation of 

 seco is governed by the context, inasmuch as its 

 application to both hind and water travelling de- 

 numds a dillereut construction in the two cases. 

 If this be allov?ed, then comparison cannot be made 



between the line in question and " viam secat ad 

 naves ; " for this refers to .33neas's leaving the in- 

 ternals, after his visit there ; or " secuit sub nu- 

 bibus arcum," which refers to cleaving the air. 

 Heyne's note is " secuit . . . arcum ; secando aerem 

 fecit arcum ; incessit per arcimi." 



The clearness or muddiness of the river has no 

 connexion with the translation ; for the words 

 " placido a?quore " clearly and definitely express 

 the state of the surface of the river, and it is such 

 as is requii-ed to favour the reflection of the trees, 

 through whose images the ships ploughed their 

 way ; and, to make the sense perfect, the words 

 " variis tegxtntiir arboribus" are all that is required 

 as showing the position of the trees with respect 

 to the river. t^.H. 



P.S. I have not alluded to the special meaning 

 of active verbs with accusative (Qy. objective) 

 cases after them, &c. 



The Query of your correspondent Eryx has 

 elicited two conflicting opinions as to the meaning 

 of the words "Viridesque secant placido icquore 

 silvas." Perhaps the following suggestion may 

 help to set the matter at rest. 



If by these words is meant the cleaving of the 

 shadows on the water, how could they, with any 

 propriety, be applied to a voyage that was prose- 

 cuted during the darkness of the night as well as 

 by the light of day ':" 



" Olli remigio noctemque dlemque fatigant." 



W. B. R. 



Ell-rake (Vol. iv., p. 192.). — Vashti in([uires 

 the derivation of cll-rake or liell-rahe. In this 

 district (the Cotswolds) we generally suppose the 

 derivation to be from the rake being an ell in 

 width. In the vale, however (i. e. about Tewkes- 

 bury), they are called lieel-i'uhes, from their being 

 drawn at the heel of the person tising them, instead 

 of being used in front, as rakes ordinarily are. 



C. H. N. 



Cirencester. 



Heel-raJie, Ell-t-nlie, or Hell-rahe, is a large 

 rake, which upon being drawn along the ground 

 the teeth run close to the heels of the jierson draw- 

 ing it. This has given it the name of heel-rake, 

 its right name. In Shropshire (and probably in 

 other counties also) this has become contracted 

 into ell-rukc. Salopian. 



Freedom from Serpents (Vol. iii., p.^490.). — ■ 

 Ireland is not the only country supposed to be 

 inimical to reptiles. I may perhaps be allowed to 

 add to the "Note" of your correspondent as to 

 Ireland, that the Maltese declare that St. Paul 

 after his shipwreck cursed all the venomous rep- 



