468 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2"" S. VI. 153., Dec. 4. '58. 



1621, and wliose history is too well known to 

 need farther remark. Fess. 



Meresberie. 



Br. John Bull (2"'' S. vi. 131. 158.)— Mr. 

 Staunton is mistaken about the late Dr. John 

 Sull. Though Canon of Ch. Ch., he was never 

 Eeg. Prof, of Hebrew. Fit/e Oxford Cal. J.A.H. 



Fish mentioned in Haveloh the Dane, 8fc. (2'"^ S. 

 vi. 2.32. 317.) —The word schulle belongs to the 

 Lower Saxon dialect of the great Teutonic stock, 

 and is found in the Versuch eines Bremiscli- 

 Niedersdclisisclien WUrterbuchs, Bremen, 1767. 



" Schulle, schoUe, plateis " (flat or flounder). 

 The peasants in the neighbourhood of Bremen 

 still say, van schullen dromen, to dream of floun- 

 ders, to express a dream that is in accordance 

 with the wishes of the dreamer. 



The same language will ofier a very probable 

 explanation of the name Riley, of which W. ^V^ 

 inquires the meaning. Rie, in Lower Saxon, 

 means a small watercourse in a meadow. JRiolle 

 and Rille are other forms of the same word. Rie 

 is, however, a contraction of ride, and is con- 

 nected with 9'ideH (E. ride), which means in 

 Lower Saxon to rush along. Rie-ley, or Riley, 

 will mean therefore the meadow of the water- 

 course or rill. 



_ Whilst I am writing, I will add the explana- 

 tion of some words of which the meaning was in- 

 quired for in some numbers of " N. & Q." which 

 fell into my hands a few days ago. Probably 

 they have not yet been explained. 



Arvel. — This word, peculiar, I think, to the 

 north of England, is used in connexion with fu- 

 neral ceremonies. The arvel cake is the cake 

 still handed round on such occasions in the north 

 of Lancashire, and probably in other parts. It is 

 the W. aricyl, a funeral, properly the funeral wake. 

 Boxhornius has the word in his Origines Gallica, 

 with the correct meaning, cxsequice. 



Maund.—T\\h is the W. nianed, a hand-basket, 

 a maund. The root is man, which in all the 

 Celtic languages means hand (Lat. manus'), and 

 is a proof, among many other similar instances, 

 that where the Latin language differs from the 

 Greek, it has a decided Celtic leaning. 



Tydd, the name of a few places in this neigh- 

 bourhood, all near the sea-coast, is probably the 

 Celtic ttiedd (the Celtic u is pronounced as the 

 Teutonic 0, a coast, a shore. 



" Goyt." — This word means a drain or water- 

 course. It also signified of old a channel, or nar- 

 row passage of the sea. It is found in almost all 

 the Teutonic languages, but is most probably of 

 Celtic origin. Welsh, gtvyth {w^=.o or o6), a drain 

 or channel ; Gaelic, guitear, a sink or drain ; Eng. 

 gutter. The root is gwy, or ivy, water, stream. 

 The Welsh word gwyth is also the Celtic name of 

 the Isle of Wight, the derivation of which has so 



much perplexed our antiquaries. It means the 

 Isle of the Channel, referring to the Solent. 



John Davies. 

 Walsoken Rectory, Norfolk. 



Treacle (P' S. xii. 283.) — In a black-letter 

 Bible of the time of Queen Elizabeth, I find that 

 the Balm of Giliad is called Treacle of Giliad in 

 the following passages : — 



" Is there no triacle at Giliad ? Is there no Phisitioa 

 there? Why then is not the health of mj' people re- 

 covered ? " — Jer. viii. 22. 



" Goe up unto Giliad, .and bring triacle, virgin thou 

 daughter of Egypt: but in vavue shalt thou goe to sur- 

 gerie, for thj' wounde shal not be stopped." — xlvi. 11. 



Parkhurst, in his Heb. Lex., gives the following 

 explanation of the word rendered balm in the 

 above passages : — 



" 'llf, balm, balsam, a natural expression or 

 exudation from certain plants or trees." Of the 

 Balm of Giliad, mentioned by Jeremiah, De 

 Quincy speaks thus : — 



" Tbio is the finest bnlsam we know, of the consistence 

 of a' syrup, but of exceeding fine and subtile parts; it is 

 very fragrant, of the turpentine kind. It is so greatly 

 esteemed even where it is produced, that it is accounted 

 a rich present from the chief prince of Arabia Felix to 

 the Grand Signior. When genuine it is a most noble 

 medicine,' says he, and proceeds to enumerate its vir- 

 tues." — Parkhurst's Le.r. Heb. 



Querj'. In what esteem is this Balm of Giliad 

 held at the present day ? And, is the Theriaque 

 de Venise, which we are informed was a confec- 

 tion of vipers' flesh, the modern Venice Treacle ? 



H. OZMOND. 



Seal found at Old Ford (2"« S. vi. 348.)— If W. 

 L. B. will send me an impression from the Old 

 Ford seal addressed to the Post Office as under, 

 I will endeavour to procure some information 

 concerning the seal. S. Pomican. 



Grimsby. 



Spynie Palace (2"'^ S. vi. 411.) — I rather think 

 that your correspondent Ai.byn will, upon a re- 

 ference to the following books, find some notices 

 as to a few of the particulars he is in search of, 

 viz. — 



1. Shaw's " Historj- of liloray," 1775, or the nciv edition 

 of the same continued down to 18-2G. 4to. 



2. Leslie's " Survev of Morav," 1798. 8vo. 



3. Ritson's " Annals of Murray," &c., 1828. 8vo. 



4. Lauder's "Moravshire Floods," ls-30. 8vo. 

 5 " Chartularv of Morav," 1837. 4to. 



G. Ehind's " Sketches ofMora.v," 1839. 8vo. 

 7. " The New Historical Account of Elgin or Morav," 

 1844, 8vo. 



T. G. S. 

 Edinburgh. 



Aletn (Edinburgh) will find much information 

 respecting Spynie Palace, and the bishops its oc- 

 cupants, in Mr. Drummond's privately-printed 

 work (in the hands of all the resident gentry around 1 





