238 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2'"» S. VI. 142., Sept. 18. '58. 



into Wales, I find in p. 127. of Anderson's Histo- 

 rical Account of the Family of Fraser. I have 

 often heard it affirmed that his descendants are 

 still existing there. 



In return I offer to Cedo Illud the following 

 curious prophecy, which a gentleman of the name 

 of Fraser has just put into my hands in connexion 

 ■with his communication to " N. & Q." Perhaps 

 some Highland reader can give me some particu- 

 lars respecting Kennette the Little. 



"FaidheadaireachdChoiunichldhir mu dheibhiunOigh- 

 reacbd agus Oighreacbau Mhic Shimi. 



" Tlieid oighreacbau Mhic Shimi as, gw'ire aou mhea- 

 cau, agus bethidh au oigbreacbd aiieamb do bbliadhua- 

 chau for riagbladh au Dubh-Ghall, Mac na Baiu- 

 Leslich. Na dbeidh Sin thig au t-oigbre dligheacb as 

 au Airde-Deas, mar cun a preas-folaicb ; sgaoilidh e m.ir 

 au dos, agus beothaicheai- dba temi air gach ard a's ros." 

 (Taken from the recital of a mau upwards of eighty years 

 of age.) 



"A prophecy by Kenneth the diminutive, a noted 

 Highland See-er, who flourished in the sixteenth century, 

 concerning the heirs and estates of Lovat. 



" Translated from the Gaelic. 



"The heirs of Lovat Will fail, except one root, and tho 

 Estate for a while Will be under the rule of a Lowlander, 

 whose mother Will bear the name of Leslie. — After this 

 the true heir Will come from the High South, like a bird 

 from its covert. He Will multiply as a thicket with 

 branches, and a fire Will be lighted on every high hill and 

 promontory." 



I believe a claimant to the title of Lovat came 

 from America in the person of the Rev. J. G. 

 Fraser, who asserted himself to be descended 

 from John, the younger brother of Simon Lord 

 Lovat. What became of his papers and docu- 

 ments ? Are they in America ? 



AViLLIAM FUASER, B.C.L. 



Alton Vicarage, Staffordshire. 



Richard Blechijnden (2"'' S. v. 234.) — See Wil- 

 son's Hist, of Merchant Taylorn School. A note 

 to the present Head Master (Dr. Hessey) would 

 no doubt obtain from him the extract from the 

 school register referring to R. B.'s parents. 



R. C. W. 



"Salutation and Cat" (2"-^ S. vi. 33. 137. 200.)— 

 I was quite disposed to acquiesce in the explana- 

 tion of this inn-sign oflered by your correspon- 

 dent Alexander Andrews at p. 137., and did 

 not think of looking any farther. Your corre- 

 spondent, H. D'AvENET, however (p. 200.), is not 

 satisfied, and wishes for some more significant de- 

 rivation. Is it not possible that the sign, " Salu- 

 tation and Cat," belonged in the first instance to 

 some more rustic hostelry ; and, like many other 

 signs which are evidently of rural origin, was 

 transferred to London from the country or the 

 suburbs ? 



" Cat" was in old English the game of Trap and 

 Ball. The trap was called the cat, but "cat" was 

 also the designation of the game itself (" at nine- 



holes, cardes, or cat," Peacham, cited by Halliwell). 

 In this view of the subject, "The Salutation and Cat" 

 would be a sign of the same logical Form as " The 

 Cow and Skittles ;" i. e. "The Cow {and Skittles)" 

 — a cow being the sign proper, and skittles being 

 provided by mine host for the amusement of his 

 customers. In like manner, " The Salutation and 

 Cat" would become " The Salutation (a7id Cat)," 

 " The Salutation" being the sign of the house, and 

 "Cat," or "Trap and Ball," the amusement pro- 

 vided. "The Salutation" (sign of the inn) might 

 in this case mean either, 1. the landlord's saluta- 

 tion on the entry of the guest, the cup of welcome 

 presented at the door, &c. ; or, 2. in an ecclesias- 

 tical and mediffival sense, " The Salutation" ("Hail, 

 Mary!" Salutazione Angelica, Salutation Aii- 

 gelique), not an unlikely sign in times gone by. 



Thomas Boys. 



Surely the explanation of the sign, " Salutation 

 and Cat," given by Mr. Andrews, is, to say the 

 least, unsatisfactory. How does it " appear " that 

 the top of a snuff-box was ever called " a cat?" I 

 fancied that the sign of " The Salutation " had 

 always been taken to represent either the A7inun- 

 ciation, or the meeting of the Blessed Virgin and 

 Elizabeth, but most probably the former. As for 

 the addition of " Cat," that may rather be under- 

 stood as a distinction than an addition, — "The 

 Salutation" being by no means an uncommon 

 sign. And to this day we are in the habit of 

 distinguishing paintings of "The Holy Family," 

 one from another, by some animal or object intro- 

 duced by the painter. One well-known picture is 

 called, if I mistake not, "The Madonna of the 

 Goldfinch," another that of the Grapes. May not 

 then the painting of the "Annunciation," from 

 which the sign in question was originally copied, 

 have contained a cat, and so have been called, for 

 distinction's sake, "The Salutation and Cat?" 

 Just as such a picture might now be called " The 

 Madonna of the Cat," to distinguish it from other 

 " Holy Families." It is not very strange that the 

 tavern has been overlooked by London topogra- 

 phers, seeing that there is nothing whatsoever to at- 

 tract attention to it. There are two or three other 

 taverns, bearing the name of " Salutation," in 

 different parts of London, — one I think in Cheap- 

 side. I went in quest of " The Salutation and 

 Cat " some eight or nine years ago, after reading 

 Talfourd's final memorials of Charles Lamb, and 

 found it bearing the prosaic appellation of " Salu- 

 tation and Commercial ;" it seemed in no respect 

 to differ from the common style of city public- 

 houses. The explanatory lithograph mentioned 

 by your correspondent was not then to be seen. 



S. H. M. 



Chapel Scala Cell (2"* S. vi. 111. 179.) —The 

 guild of Our Lady in St. Botolph's church in 

 Boston was granted sundry high privileges by 



