48'8 



NOTES AND QUERIES. cs-* s. vi. m., Uec. u. '58. 



chant, Bcistol, published by Effingham Wilson, 

 1834. It has k chapter expressly " On the Tem- 

 perature of the Cellar " (p. 36.), in which the 

 temperature for various wines, and the construc- 

 tion and management of cellars, are clearly pointed 

 out. From the author's observations, it appears 

 that Madeira wines are the greatest lovers of heat, 

 and that Spanish and Portuguese wines require a 

 warmer temperature than those of France and 

 Germany. F. C. H. 



" Rep" on Denier of Richard I. (•2°'» S. vi. 431.) 

 — The "rep" on these coins is simply hex: the 

 final X being formed in a peculiar manner closely 

 resemblino- a p, but usually having the curved 

 part continued across the perpendicular stroke, 

 and again curved back like an s reversed. The 

 Lombardic x is not unfrequently of a form analo- 

 gous to the Hebrew N, of which the p-shappd 

 character is a variety. J. E. 



Strode Family (2°* S. vi. 189.) — I have before 

 me a deed, without date {circa 1300), from Ri- 

 chard de la Strode of lieraenham, Berks, giving to 

 Robert de Remenham a house in Henley. It has 

 a good seal, " S. Ilicardi de la Strode." 



J. S. Burn. 

 Henley. 



The Fasten Letters (2"'» S. vi. 289.)— The fol- 

 lowing extract from the recently published Cata- 

 logue of Mr. Kerslake, the well-known bookseller 

 of Bristol, will go far to prove, what I never 

 doubted until the present moment, the genuine- 

 ness of the Paston Letters : — 



" 4001. Original Letters written during the Reigns of 

 Henry VI., Edward TV., and Richard III., with Notes, 

 &c , by Jo. Fenn, 2nd Edit, 1787-89, plates, 4to., 4 vols, 

 half calf, 5/. 15s. 



" This copy has an autograph letter from Jo. Fenn to 

 Geo. Steevens. It contains also pen and ink tracings of 

 some of the original letters. Where Fenn had left out 

 passages, they have been inserte4 ^^ interleaves, from 

 the original letters, by the very neat handwriting of the 

 late Thomas Eagles, Esq. In some instances these addi- 

 tions are very considerable. Mr. Eagles has also made 

 some Corrections of, and notes upon, the text, and evi- 

 dently had access to the original papers." 



I may add that many years ago I was informed 

 that the original MSS. were sent to the Prince 

 Regent for his inspection, and were by some acci- 

 dent lost or destroyed at that time. W. J. Thoms. 



Dreamland Literature (2°* S. v. 455.) —In ad- 

 dition to the Query about a ballad, I would like 

 to ask, who may be the several authors of a series 

 of Ballads that appeared in Dublin in 1849, imi- 

 tating, or controverting, the "Dreamland" issued 

 by Burns, Portman Street, London, shortly be- 

 fore. The series consisted of — 1. "Nodland;" 

 2. "Truthland;" 3. " Popeland;" 4. "Ireland;" 

 5. "Gloryland;" and I believe there were others: 

 but these Jive are now before me, all published in 

 Dublin. M. N. 



Falms of the Hands, §~c. (2"^ S. vi. 397.)— The 

 antipathy, if such it be called, is not confined to 

 dogs. Tigers and panthers (feline), lions, jackals, 

 wolves (canine), together with most birds of prey, 

 exhibit the same peculiarity. Cuvier and Buffon 

 make no mention of it. 



I have seen instances in India, and imagine it 

 to be merely an instinct, and therefore unaccounta- 

 hle. All carnivora attack the most vital parts 

 first, to appease hunger and thirst, in preference 

 to the extremities. 



I would suggest that animals have no real an- 

 tipathy to eat anything, when impelled by hunger. 

 Pariah dogs in India (probably the same species 

 that devoured Jezebel, Second Book of Kings, 

 leaving only the palms of her hands, &c.) may oc- 

 casionally be seen skulking near the funeral pile 

 of Hindoos, and are by no means fastidious what 

 comes uppermost, — running off with a foot, a 

 hand, or a skull. J. W. B. 



"Passing" (2"'* S. vi. 343.) — Instances of the 

 Biblical use of this word, in the sense of «<rpass- 

 ing, ai-e, I believe, very rare. I remember but 

 three in which it bears the above interpretation. 

 David, in his impassioned tribute of affection to 

 the fallen Jonathan, says, " Thy love to me was 

 wonderful, /jasswg- the love of women." St. Paul 

 speaks to the Ephesians of " the love of Christ 

 which ;jasse<A knowledge." The last in which it 

 occurs is the one already quoted by your corre- 

 spondent, the apostolic benediction in the Com- 

 munion Service, " The peace of God which 

 passeth all understanding," taken from Philip- 

 pians, iv. 7. F. Phillott. 



Fire-eating (2""* S. vi. 289.) — The art of fire- 

 eating appears to have been known in England 

 sooner than your correspondent imagines. In a 

 letter from Sir Henry Wotton to Sir Edmund 

 Bacon, dated London, 3 June, 1633, he says: — 



" Let me add to these a strange thing to be seen in 

 London, for a couple of pence, which 1 know not whether 

 I should call a piece of Art, or Nature. It is an English- 

 man like some Swabber of a Ship come from the Indies, 

 where he hath learned to eat Fii-e as familiarly as ever 1 

 saw any eat cakes, even whole glowing Brands, which he 

 will crash with his teeth, and swallow. I believe he hath 

 been hard famished in the Terra de Fuego, on the South of 

 the Magellan strait." — ReUquice WottoniancE, ed. 1685. 



W. (Bombay.) 



Old Itomney and Brooldand (2""* S. vi. 435f) — 

 The Rev. J. Defray, of Old Romney, has left a 

 MS. Diary, extending over several years. I have 

 looked through it. It is of local rather than of 

 general interest. It shows that the writer was a 

 good, industrious, and studious man, and speaks 

 of a considerable degree of intellectual activity, 

 and of intercourse for mutual improvement among 

 the clergy of the Marsh. It is in the possession 

 of the Rev. Dr. Lamb, rector of Iden, near Rye, 



