412 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2»* S. VI. 151, Nov. 20, '68, 



Rabbinical Query. — In the Travels of Benjamin 

 of Ttulela (p. 82., Bobn's edit.) the author says, — 



" The Samaritans do not possess the three letters He, 

 Chetb, and Ain ; the He of the name of our father Abra- 

 ham; and they have no glory, the Cheth of the name. of 

 our father Isaac, in consequence of which they are devoid 

 of piety ; the Ain of the name of Jacob, for they want 

 humility'. Instead of these letters they alwavs put an 

 Aleph," &c. 



In a note the editor says, — 



" iloderu critics and travellers appear to confirm this 

 statement relating to the peculiar pronunciation of the 

 three letters by the Samaritans." 



I conjecture that Benjamin here refers to David 

 Kimchi's note on Haggai i. 8., where the Chetibh 

 has omitted the letter He in the word m33X, '' I 

 will be glorified." As He is the Hebrew numeral 

 letter for five, Kimchi says that this omission was 

 to show that the second Temple would want five 

 glorious things which were in the first, viz. : 1. 

 the ark with the mercy seat ; 2. the Shechinah ; 

 .3, Urim and Thummim ; 4. Fire from Heaven ; 

 5. The Spirit of Prophecy. 



Can any similar Rabbinical notion explain Ben- 

 jamin's statement of the dire consequences to the 

 Samaritans of their want of the letters Cheth and 

 Ain ? I am aware that they are the initial letters 

 of IDn (piety), and ni3y (humility) ; but there is 

 no He in n2D (glory). E. G. R, 



Pope and Dennis. — Sir. Carruthers in his last 

 edition of Pope's Works (ii. 289.), prints a letter 

 of Dennis to Pope, of April 29, 1721, which Mr, 

 Carruthers tells us " Pope printed in the editions 

 of the Duiiciad of 1729." Query, in what edition, 

 and at what page ? P. D. 



3fiss Ranfang. — 



" There could be no deception in Miss Ranfang, who, 

 being possessed of a devil, answered questions in Greek 

 and other languages which she did not understand, and, 

 being commanded to do an obeissance in a sentence half 

 Latin and half Italian, obeyed the exorcists exactly. This 

 too was done in the presence of Bishops, Lords, and Doc- 

 tors of the University." 



The above is from the preface to An Account 

 of Ghosts, Apparitions, and Possession of Devils, 

 Edinburgh, 1756. A very ordinary collection, 

 but I do not know the case of Miss Ranfang. 

 Can any of your correspondents supply it ? 



A. W. 



Pig-iron. — When was pig-iron first produced 

 in England ? Malleable iron alone was produced 

 in all the old bloomeries, the remains of waich 

 are scattered over various parts of England. Pig, 

 or cast iron, is a comparatively modern invention ; 

 and yet its history is involved in considerable ob- 

 scurity. It is not unlikely that some of the readers 

 of " N. & Q." may be able and willing to supply 

 valuable information which would go far towards 

 solving the question. J. Py. 



Parliament Joane. — "31 Aug. 1654." In the 

 Council's order-book under this date occurs the 

 following entry : — 



" That the sum of 101. be given and paid out of the 

 Counsell's contingences unto Elizabeth Atkins, coiSonly 

 called Parlement Joane, for her relief and better main- 

 tenance." 



Who was Mrs, Atkins, and why did she receive 

 this sobriquet? Cl. Hopper. 



Sir J. Reynolds' Portrait of Fox. — It Is said 

 by the ordinary authorities, that the last painting 

 which Sir Josh. Reynolds executed was a portrait 

 of Charles J. Pox. I want to know what has 

 become of this, and what were its dimensions ? 

 and also whether Sir Joshua is known to have 

 painted any quite small portraits ? J. C, J. 



The Battle of Birmingham in the Civil War. — 

 Having lately met with three tracts relative to 

 the above transaction, describing minutely the 

 particulars which took place, one written by a 

 Royalist, and the others by Parliamentarians, I 

 am anxious to obtain farther information upon 

 the subject, both antecedent to and after the trans- 

 action. I find it very slightly alluded to by the 

 eminent historians of the day, Hume does not 

 even mention it. The most detailed account is in 

 Vicars's Jehovah- Jireth, or Parliamentary e Chro- 

 nicle, 1644. As I am preparing a paper upon the 

 subject for an Archasological Society, I should feel 

 obliged by any references, John Mat, Gctch. 



Worcester. 



Swaine of Leverington. — On the walls and floor 

 of the parish church of Leverington, near Wis- 

 beach, are many monuments and inscriptions to 

 the Swaine family, which for some centuries flour- 

 ished in that village : I am ver'y desirous of having 

 a verbatim copy of these inscriptions. And if a 

 Wisbeach reader of "N. & Q." will take the 

 trouble to send me one, I will gladly return the 

 favour in kind, in any London or suburban church, 

 or in any manner he may desire. E. J. Sage. 



16. Spenser Koad, Newington Green, N. 



Meaning of " Likeiamme." — In Recorde's Path- 

 7vay to Knowledge, edit. 1551, and also 1602, is to 

 be seen the word likeiamme, applied to two sur- 

 faces equal to each other. What can be the de- 

 rivation of the word ? Some of the other geome- 

 trical terms being evidently derived from the 

 French, I presume this one is also from the same, 

 but fail in finding a satisfactory solution. W. P. 



Peerage of Commerce. — In a memoir of Cap- 

 tain Harrison in the Illustrated London News of 

 this day (Nov. 6.), a passage is quoted from a 

 recent work entitled Peerage of Commerce. Can 

 you tell me in what year this book was published, 

 and by whom it was written ? Vespektilio, 



