524 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2-4 S. VI. 156., Dec. 25. »68, 



and in yat moneth are 7 plyo3 dayes, ye 1. 2. 4. 5. 6. 15. 

 19., and if thoner be hard in y' moneth, it betokens grete 

 Tvynde, mykel fruyte & batel. Aquarius es bote & 

 raoyste, sanguyne, and of ye ayre it es gode to byg cas- 

 tellis or house and to wed, &c. 



" Pisces is a syne in ye wbilk ye son es in Feveryere 

 for yen ar gaderyd togyder niykul rayne and many tem- 

 pestis &c. The son es sayde in ye Fj'sches, for Jonas 

 ye pft was in ye se in the wombe of a whal 3 days & 3 

 nyghtys, & whoso es born in yat syne he schal have gode 

 grace, &c. 



" Aries es a syne in ye whylk ye son es in Marche and 

 it es sayd in ariete, for Abraham made offering of a ram 

 for his son Isaac, &c. 



" Taurus es a syne of rayne, in ye whilk ye son es in 

 Apl, & it es sayde in Taurus for Jacob worstelyd in 

 Bethlam with an angel as a bul. 



" Geminis es a syne in ye whylk ye son es in May for 

 yen it dowbuls ye heght of ye moneth before. The son 

 es sayd in Geminis, for Adam and Eve war made of on 

 l^ody, &c. 



" Cancer es a sj'ne in ye whilk j'e son es in June, for a 

 crab es an aisword best, and so ye son es in ye first part 

 of the moneth als mych as he may he abydys, and in ye 

 end of ye moneth es goying aisword he turneth hymself. 

 The son es sayd i ye cankyr for Job was full of cankres, 

 &c. 



" Len es a syne in 5'e whilk ye son es in July, for as ye 

 Ij'on es most fervent best of all bestys in nature, so ye son 

 in yat moneth es most fervent in his hete. Ye son es 

 saj'ed in ye lyon for Danyel ye phet was put in a lake of 

 Ij'ons, &c. 



" "Virgo esa syne in ye whilk ye son es in August, for as 

 a Mayden es baryn, so es ye son in yat parte of Zodiak, 

 for he bryngs forth no fruyte but makys yam rype. The 

 son es sayde in ye Virgyn, for mari in hyr childyg was 

 borne a virgyn, &c. 



" Libra es a syne in ye whylk j'e son es in Septeber 

 for j'en ye dayes & ye nyghtys ar equvalett. Ye son es 

 sayde in Libra for Judas Scarioth pposyd his counsel to 

 betray Criste God Son of Heven, &c. 



" Scorpio es a syne in ye whilk 3'e son es in Octobr: 

 For as ye Scorpion es a serpent sodanly smyted w' his 

 taj'le, so does tempestys arise, and i yat moneth. Ye 

 son es saved in Scorpyon for ye chylder of Isreel passed 

 tburgh ye rede See, &c. 



" Sagittari es a syne in ye whylk ye son es in Noveber, 

 for as a schotar schotys sodanly his arowys so dos ye 

 son in yis moneth grete tempestys. Ye son es sayd in 

 Sagitari for David foght w' Goli. 



" Capcorn es a syno in ye whylk ye son es i decSber, 

 as ye gaj-te es a stynkand best, so yis lyme stynkand. 

 Ye son es i Capricorn, for Esau by venac3-on lost hys 

 fadr benyson, &c." 



Then comes a list of events, among them : — 



"And in ye yere of oure Lorde 1210 war Jues expulsed 

 & put oute of Ingland, & ye same yere was entyrdyte 

 Ingland & VValys & duryd 6 yere. 



" And in ye yere 1.B19 was Seynt Thos of Lancast 

 martyrd. 



" And in ye yere 1381 rose ye com"' of Ir gland 

 agayn ye grete men and slew y& archbj'shop of Cant- 

 bury and ye pror of Clerkenwelle and other men. 



" Ther are in England 46 m. & c parysh kyrkys & 

 townys 52 mcc & 20 knychtys feys 48 m cc 15, of ye 

 whylk religios men have 18 m 40. Countys 35. 

 Byschoprykys 17. Cityes 30." 



There are evidently mistakes either in the MS. 

 itself, or more likely in the reprint. J. C. J. 



Minax Hdtetf. 



Historical Pastime. — It is possible that an ac- 

 ceptable Note for the approaching season of social 

 intercourse and fireside circles, may be supplied 

 by the suggestion of an Historical Pastime, which 

 has proved interesting in various families. It con- 

 sists in composing and proposing sentences or 

 couplets, each embodying some circumstance con- 

 nected with an historical event. Each member of 

 the party may in turn supply such to be " guessed " 

 by the others, or some better qualified amongst 

 them may furnish subjects for the pastime of all. 

 A few specimens may illustrate the idea, and 

 " start the plan ; " the peculiar interest of which, 

 it will be seen, is that it may be carried on to an 

 inexhaustible extent, and also supply material for 

 curious or interesting discussion. 



" A sapphire ring travels from Richmond-on-Thames to J 

 Scotland." 1 



"The monarch of the wood shelters the monarch of the 

 land." 



" Men and beasts walk from Asia to Europe." 

 "Chests of Tea 

 Cast into the sea." 



"Sucking poison saves life." 



" The king that gloried in the name of Briton, and 

 would rather lose his crown than break his oath." 

 " The sea ! the sea ! the wanderers cry. 

 And onward press, believing home is nigh." 



"Foolish birds save a great city." 



" Drops of water cause flames of anger." 



"Bonks multiplied by a bonfire of them." 



"Two ladies quarrel, and the country's politics are 

 changed." 



" The monk that shook the world." 

 " A silken cloak laid o'er a marshy place, 



Forms a firm stepping-stone to reach the sovereign's 

 grace." 



S. M. S: 



A Nine Days'' Fight toith a Sen-Monster. — The 

 Amsterdamsche Courant of October 6, 1858, in- 

 serts the following letter from Captain L. Byl, of 

 the Dutch bark Hendrik Ido Ambacht, to the 

 Jam- Bode : — 



« Sailing in the South-Atlantic, on 27° 27' N. lat. and 

 14° 51' E. long., we perceived on July the 9th, between 

 twelve and one o'clock in the afternoon, a dangerous sea- 

 monster, which, during nine days, constantly kept along- 

 side of us to 37° 65' S. Lat. and 4i!° 9' E. Long. This 

 animal was about 90 feet long and 25 to 30 feet broad, 

 and, most of the time, it struck the ship with such a 

 force as to make it vibrate. The monster blew much 

 water, which spread an unpleasant stench over the deck. 



" The captain, fearing lest the animal might disable 

 the rudder, did his utmost to get rid of his fearful an- 

 tagonist, but without success. After it had received 

 more than a hundred musket-balls, a harpoon, and a long 

 iron bar, blood was seen to flow from various wounds, so 

 that at last, from loss of strength, the monster could 

 swim behind our vessel no longer, and we were delivered 

 of it. By its violent blows against the copper the 

 animal's skin had been endamaged in several places." 



The Leviathan ? J. H. van Lennep, 



Zeyst, 



