432 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[a-* S. TI. 15-2., NoA'. 27. '58. 



Brass of Thomas Cooper. — The following is a 

 transcript of a mutilated brass inscription in pri- 

 vate possersion : — 



"Here Thomas Cooper sutym baly of this towne in- 



clos[ed is in clave] 

 ■which is the restviige place of fleash imtill the la[tter 



daye] 

 of one Sonne and daughters syx the lord hym par[ent 



made] 

 Ere cruell death did worke his spight or fickle [lyff 



did fade] 

 who deceassed y«xvii of Maye in y" yere of curl " .... 



I have added, in brackets, from a very similar 

 inscription at Paston in this county, the words 

 required to make rhyme and reason. Can any of 

 the correspondents of " N. & Q." inform me from 

 what church this insci'iption came, and supply the 

 date ? J. L. 



I^orwich. 



Swallowing the Tongue. — 



" The phj-sician told me that some [of the negroes] 

 died b}' a singular mode of suicide, in their desperation to 

 which tliey ^vere driven, turning their tongues back in their 

 throat, and producing suffocation." — Globe, Xov. 10, 

 1858, p. 3. col. 5. 



This is in a letter from St. Helena. 



One occasionally finds mention in books of a 

 similar practice. A slave had successively poisoned 

 six of his fellow-slaves, was detected, convicted, 

 and ordered to be whipped every three days as 

 long as he could bear it. But he chose death in a 

 different form. " After the third flogfjin'r, he was 

 found dead in his cell, havmg suffocated himself 

 ivith his tongue." (Mansfield's Paraguay, 1856, 

 p. 94.) This was in Brazil. 



In -another instance, to which I cannot at the 

 moment refer, a lady rated her slave for miscon- 

 duct. He changed countenance, was convulsed, 

 and fell dead at her feet. He had swallowed his 

 tongue. Is there any more detailed account of 

 this extraordinary practice? It is well known 

 that the physical structure of a negro differs in 

 some respects from that of a white. Otherwise 

 one would be tempted to ask, How is such a mode 

 of self-destruction possible ? T. B. 



The Smelt Family. — What is known of the 

 family of Mr. Smelt, whom Madame d'Arblay 

 mentions so often in her Diary ? Did it not be- 

 long to the North Riding of Yorkshire ? Also, 

 what is known of the family and descendants of 

 Richard Smelt, who was Head-Master of Durham 

 School from 1C33 to 1640? Any particular-i re- 

 lating to the Smelt family would oblige A. M. W. 



Punishment atid Torture in the Middle Ages. — 

 In what author shall I find the best account of 

 the different kinds of punishment and torture of 

 the middle ages, with the dates of the decline or 

 suppression of the most severe modes of punish- 

 nient ? Herbert. 



TT'7;(e Cellars. — What ought to be the temper- 

 ature of a wine cellar ? In Italy I have seen 

 cellars only partly subterraneous, and lighted by 

 a small aperture or unglazed window. On ex- 

 pressing my surprise, and saying that a cellar in 

 England has no window, I have been told that in 

 Italy they have no frost to dread. But is not heat 

 equally prejudicial, at least to some wines? Ma- 

 deira is said to be improved by it. 



I can find nothing on the subject in the forth- 

 coming edition of the Encyclopcedia Britannica, 

 which explains " cellar" only as a dictionary would. 

 Nor in Henderson on Wines can I find anything 

 relative, except that he complains of there being 

 few subterraneous cellars in Spain and Greece, in 

 consequence of which, he adds, the wines are not 

 kept long. Stylites. 



Communion Tokens : Communion Halfpence. 

 — Can any of your readers explain the use of 

 these tokens? In the parish books of St. Sa- 

 viour's, Southwark, are the following entries : — 



" The names of the Communicants, and number of 

 Tokens delivered in the Clinke Libertie of St. Savio" 

 P'ishe of Southwark e, Anno D"' 1627 & Z°'R. Caroli. 



« 1627. Gravellye Lane. 

 W™ Sherlock - - - - - iij 



WiddTell jj 



&c. 



" Mr. Austyns Rents. 

 M'' Will°> Austvn, Esquyer ... viij 



&c. 



" Neere the playehouse. 

 M' Alexander Welsh 4 . - - iij." 



(At the back is, " Mr. Swettman knows whoe p'l noe 

 token.") 



" The first of Julv 1627. Tokens Reeeved at the Corn- 

 union tabl, 122." 



" 1593. E. y« 4"' of June 159G of John Wrenche, 

 Church warden for 2200 tokens - £18 . 6 . 8." 



These tokens, thei'efore, were valued at 2d. 

 each. 



Among the churchwardens' accounts for Hen- 

 ley-on-Thames is the following : — 



" 1639. Rec. for Communion half pence last j-ear 

 £02 . 06s. . OOd." 



Were the tokens " delivered " at St. Saviour's 

 given to those who were deemed admissible to 

 the Communion Table, or sold to them by the 

 churchwardens ? Is it possible that there is a 

 connexion of these tokens with the leaden tokens 

 or medals which have been the subject of legal 

 proceedings this year ? John S. Burn. 



The Grove, Henlej'. 



Irish Yarn. — In an extract now before me, 

 purporting to be taken from an old publication, 

 but without the author's name or the title of the 

 book, are the following words : — 



" In the town of Manchester they buy yarn of the 

 Irish in great quantity, and weaving it there, return 

 the same again into Ireland to sell. Neither doth their 



