Ditto Pembrokeshire Ditto ... Henry, 2nd Earl of Cumberland 1570 ( brasses, recently restored. Two brass plates, bearing inscriptions (Whit- Porch ... Sir Hugh Myddleton, Kt., 1631 Small brass plate ... ... Bart. ... } Sub-Treasurer of Eng. Sometime citizen and draper of London. Original brasses lost. Constructor of the New River. Altar tomb of Purbeck marble, inlaid with Removed from Grey brasses. ... ... Friars, Caermarthen, after dissolution. (25) Item furth of ye land of ye land of Robert Drone and Marioun Patersoune his spouse lyand nixt adjacent to ye said andro gibsouns land to ye choristaris zeirlie fyve ss iiiid (26) Item furth of ye land of ye said James Reid Lyand as said is haffand on ye west the land of vmqle Thomas Duncane mariner To zeirlie on ye east and ye land of on ye west threttene ss üiid pairtis to the choristaris zeirlie fiftie thre ss iiiid (43 Item furth of ye land of Patrik Durhame lyand on ye (27) Item furth of ye land of David Robertsoun Minister north syid of Ergyllis gaitt Betuix ye land of Johne mersLyand on ye north syid of the fluker gaitt Betwix ye land of chell and James bower on ye south The land of James Goldye said Thomas Duncane on ye east and ye land of ye airis man on ye east and the land of Johne Striuiling of Brakie on of vmqle Thomas Symesoun on ye west pairts zeirlie to ye ye west pairtis to the gray freiris zeirlie Tuentie syve ss Sūma huius pag: ix lib xiiii ss vid (28) Item furth of ye said Thomas Sympsonis airis Land (44) Item furth of James Boweris land foirsaid lyand at ye Lyand as Said is and havand on ye west ye vast land of front of ye said Patrik Durham's land to the choristaris Hospitall aucht ss David Cokburne or James Rollok callit ye Ketch peill to ye zeirlie sex ss and zeirlie Tuentie ss Sex ss viiid (45) Item furth of findlo Duncanis land and zeardis lyand furth of ye samy land to Sanct Thomas Chaiplanrie in Ketins fourtie ss Threttie thrie ss fyvetene ss (31) Item furth of ye land of William Palmeris airis Lyand Chaiplanrie of Sanct Johne of ye Sklethewchis zeirlie without the nether gaitt port betuix ye land of ye said James Smythis airis ye east and ye Land of ye airis of vmqle gle (48) Item furth of ye said Dauid Darma nowis land foirWilliam Maissoun on ye west pairts to ye gray freiris said haiffand on ye east William Duncansonis land to the Sex ss viiid (49) Item furth of ye said william duncansonis land foirsaid (33) Item furth of ye land of Robert Spink Lyand adjacent to ye Port of Ergyllis gaitt havand on ye west the land of ye said Thomas Robertsoun to the Choristaris zeirlie aucht ss vid (34) Item furth of ye Land of David Baxter alias Ronnald Lyand on ye South syid of Ergyllis gaitt Betuix ye land of Dauid fleming on ye east and the land of ye Said Robert threttene fs iiiid Spink on ye west pairtis to the hospitall zeirlie fyvetene ss (53) Item furth of Cristian Burnis land lyand on ye north (35) Item furth of ye Said David flemings land Lyand as syid of Argyllis gaitt Betuix ye land of George bellis airis on Said is and havand on ye East Maister Edward Henrysonis ye east and ye land of Robert Myln on ye west pairtis to Land To the Gray freiris zeirlie (36) Item furth of ye Said Mr Eduard Henrysonis land (54) Item furth of ye land of James Johnestoun Lyand on Lyand as said is and haiffand On ye east George Andersonis ye south syid of Argyllis gaitt Betuix ye land of ye airis of land to the Gray freiris zeirlie Sewine ss vid vmqle Alex Alansoune on ye east and ye land of James (37) Item furth of ye Said George Andersonis Land Lyand Carmichaell on ye west pairtis To the Chaiplanrie of Sanct as Said is and havand On ye east Alex fyffis Land to ye choristeris zeirlie ten ss the Choristaris zeirlie Androw zeirlie Twentie sex fs viiid Twentie for fs auchtene ss (55) Item furth of ye land foirsaid of ye airis of vmqle (38) Item furth of ye said Alex fyffis land Lyand as Said Alex Alansoun havand on ye east the Kirkstyill and ye is haffand on ye east Johne feirnis land to ye Hospitall land of Petir Wedderburu To the Gray freires yeirlie zeirlle Tuentie tua ss viiid (39) Item furth of ye land of Johune ferrier sumtyme per Thrie lib sex fs viiid Suma huius pagine xvii lib x f viiid I WAS so fortunate as to witness at Boston this marvellous display of meteors, now proved beyond all doubt, both by previous calculation and subsequent observation of astronomers, to have been due to Biela's comet passing very near the earth's orbit, and almost her place in the orbit at the above date; the comet's substance being, as Professor Herschel said, "distributed into the form of a meteoric stream " (Times, November 29). Within a few minutes I counted hundreds of " falling stars," and they appeared to "fall" from and to every point of the compass. They were seen all over Europe at the same time, and their distance from the earth, The child that is born on a Sabbath-day Saturday's bairn must work hard for its living. A Southron friend tells me that the following is the Essex version of the natural history of the cuckoo while in Britain. It differs but little from that given by Dr. Chambers : QUEER BLUNDER. -The smart but (in my opinion) wellearned flogging of Dickens by the Bookseller, as given in the Antiquary (vol. iii. 3, 4), calls to my mind an odd literary according to the best observers, not being very great at the mistake made by him, of which, so far as I know, no public moment of their visibility, suggests the question whether notice has ever been taken. Admirers of Dombey and Son the opinion once most prevalent as to their nature, cause of will doubtless remember the scene at Blimber's school, luminosity, or the extent of the earth's atmosphere be not when the unlucky Johnson, making an effort to keep his erroneous. Are these cometary fragments in any sense solid face straight during a pompous harangue by the learned bodies, which, although they have their origin far beyond principal, got choked nearly. What was the punishment the earth's atmosphere, are only visible through incan- for so heinous an offence ?" Johnson will repeat to me to descence by friction with it ? And if so, may not aerolites, or falling stones-of which the ancients have recorded examples -and fire-balls also have a cometary origin? The periodicity of all has been found remarkably identical. May not some of the shooting stars of November 27 have mingled with our atmosphere, and had something to do with the abnormal atmospheric phenomena of the last three months ? The astronomers who recorded the appearances of the meteoric shower also noted variations of the barometer before, during, and after that event; and during the recent gale, bright meteors were observed at Dover. May not comets, in fact, have some influence on our atmospheric changes? I trust this question will not be considered unsuitable for discussion in the Antiquary. F. J. L., M.A. POPULAR RHYMES. - The following bit of local weatherwisdom has been a household word in Upper Clydesdale for time out of mind. Those who care for such metrical snatches will find a few more of a like kind, varied to suit the peculiar place-names of different districts, in the late Dr. Chambers's entertaining book, "Popular Rhymes of Scotland." Tintock, from its height-2306 feet-and singularly isolated position, is the weather beacon for not fewer than twenty parishes perhaps, some of which must scan the ominous misty clouds from distances of thirty miles and upwards. The kirktown of Wiston lies close by the base of the hill : When Tintock tap puts on its cap, morrow morning, before breakfast, without book, and from the Greek Testament, the first epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians." A sharp-witted friend, to whom I pointed out the passage, some twenty years ago, suggested that possibly the author meant to show up a lack of biblical knowledge on the part of the pedantic old goose of a dominie. This was subtle, certainly, but not quite consistent with the fact that the blunder will be looked for in vain, save in the first edition of the novel. Portsmouth. CROWQUILL. [If we may judge from his disposition to patronize certain bits of Christian ethics, Dickens could hardly have been so little acquainted with the list of the contents of his New Testament as not to know that Paul wrote but one epistle to the Ephesians. Probably in the hurry of composition he omitted to insert the word "chapter."-ED.] CURIOUS MEANS OF LOVE CORRESPONDENCE.-A lady friend told me the other day that, when she was many years younger, she used to carry on her correspondence with the gentleman to whom she was engaged by means of ivy leaves. Her lover, residing in France, would send her a newspaper, and inside a fold was placed an ivy leaf, with the message written on the back of it. This effectually preserved secrecy, from the fact that no one suspected the correspondence by this means. The leaf used was a fresh one, and its stalk was inserted in the newspaper. My informant could not say what was the origin of this custom, but she had known several friends in her younger days who corresponded in the same way. I should be glad to know whether the custom of using leaves in correspondence is to be found abroad, and whether it is of older date than the present century. J. JEREMIAH, Jun. RIVER "TUMMEL."-Allow me to point at what appears The following rhythms were jotted down a few years ago, to me a misconception in regard to the origin of the Scotch while they were being crooned (not sung) for the amusement river named Tummel. A writer in the New Statistical of a little child, by an elderly woman who had been born in Account derives this from the Gaelic Teth-thuel, which he Dumbartonshire. I was told by her that many a "fashious explains, "The hot or boiling flood or river." I hardly wean had they lulled into sleep in Straith-Endrick. New know that the waters of the Tummel contain any specific to myself, so will they be, I dare say, to a good many readers difference of temperature. Might not the explanation be of the Antiquary:found in the ordinary Scotch word tummle, to tumble; " Danish, Tummel, a din, Tumlen, a tumbling or violent many years ago by Mr. Muir, to whom it is addressed. It motion, cognate with the Dutch Tuymelen, to tumble; has occurred to me that it might by possibility interest German, Taumel = tumult? The Northmen, it is well your readers. known, imposed names on rivers from the sound of their waters, and other accidental peculiarities. E. D. ARMS OF PRESTON OF CRAIGMILLAR.-I send you a drawing of the armorial bearings of the Prestons of Craig. millar, taken from one of the doorways of the old castle of that name, near Edinburgh. Should you deem this of sufficient interest for reproduction, I have much pleasure in placing it at your disposal. made this sketch with considerable care some ten years ago. It is not the sculpture referred to by Nisbet, who mentions only that "on the Inner-Gate,' "within a Shield Couchee, three Unicorns' Heads couped supported by two Lions; and for Crest, An Unicorn's Head, issuing out of a Coronet, in Place of a Wreath; Motto, Presto, ut Præstem." "Below" this, " "on the Stone," Nisbet says, "is the Year of God, 1427." The sculpture represented in the sketch, as will be seen, is without exterior ornaments. Underneath the shield is a Rebus consisting of the figures of a press and a tun, in allusion to the bearer's name Rebuses, it may be remarked, were anciently assumed by persons who were not privileged to bear arms, as well as by many who were. On the upper portion of the sculpture is a date which I take to be 1570, although the third figure seems doubtful. The figures 15-0 are raised. What I suppose to be the figure 7 appeared to have scaled off and to have been subsequently incised. J. C. ROGER. LETTER OF JAMES HOGG.-The annexed is copy of an inedited letter of James Hogg, which was given to me "Dear Peter with me. "Altrieve Lake Septr 2nd 1833. You are a bummeling thrummeling fumbling rascal and have fairly lost your character as a first rate tradesman The bow that you made for Dr Gray in lieu of my prize bow broke through the middle at the second or third trial as how could she miss being loosely dovetailed and leeshed in the middle. I must however have another instantly for I am destitute and the prize bow is to shoot for this month. I am told you have a bow in Mr Boyd's hand at Inverleithen pray may I have her? or at least the loan of her till you can make me another. Please drop me a single line with Ebenezer Hogg our carrier who leaves Watson's every Saturday about one so if you write by post direct by Selkirk Yours ever "JAMES HOGG." The letter is addressed outside to "Mr Peter Muir, Bowmaker Archers Hall," Edinburgh, with whom "The Shepherd" as may be supposed, was on very familiar terms. J. CK. R. BOOK-INSCRIPTIONS.-Book ownership is laid before the world in many ways. Every Scottish schoolboy, out of pothooks and hangers, deems it necessary to inform the community at large of this important fact, viz. :— [John Knox] is my name, [Edinburgh] is my dwelling place, A pleasant habitation. The following rhyme, I imagine, can never have been a general favourite with the scribbling race. I found it, while making some little bibliographical inquiry, in a copy of The London Writing Master, or The Schollars Guid Inventen and Engraven, by Edward Cocker, 1672. "This littel Book my Name shall have, When greedy worems my body eat, Then hear you read my name compleat. Perth, N.B. [There is another version of this latter:- And all my bones are rotten, F. E. I. S. TIDE-WELLS AT MARGATE.-Margate used to stand almost at the head of English watering-places for salubrity, but now is almost the lowest in the list, according to the Registrar-General's return for 1871; and her neighbour, Ramsgate, once far below her, is now vastly superior: the mortality of the former being just double that of the latter, viz., 22 per thousand as against II. What are the causes of this change? May it not be attributed to the fact of Ramsgate having secured a thorough system of drainage, and good supply of water, while Margate has still no regular drainage, at least in the old town, and at many houses the water being from wells, and those wells in close proximity to cesspools, is necessarily impure? Some at least of those wells are, as J. Lewis mentioned in his "History of Tenet" (1736), tide-wells, the water rising and falling in them with the tide. Lewis attributes this circumstance to the soft and porous nature of the chalk, especially on the west, or London side of Margate, from the Nayland rock to Cliffend; and it shows itself at a considerable distance from shore, as in wells at Garlinge, and in consequence of this, and the enormous increase of late years in the number of visitors, and greater amount of sewage, wells once held in repute for good water have had to be closed altogether, as, e.g., one in Trinity-square, near the church. But tide-wells RECUMBENT TOMBSTONES. YOUR correspondent, Mr. J. Blake, desires to know in what parts of England and Scotland may be found those recumbent tombstones with interlaced knotwork, and in what works they are figured. The stone at Inchcolm, which is that particularly mentioned by your correspondent, so far as I am aware, was first represented by Sibbald, who calls it, rightly as I think, Danish. This stone was not many years since noticed in a communication to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, by the late Sir J. Y. Simpson (who takes a different view), and is figured in the Proceedings of the society; but not being within reach of books I am unable to be more exact. Sir J. Y. Simpson's Archæological Essays were lately edited by Dr. John Stuart, and Inchcolm being mentioned in the list of contents, it is probable this sculpture may be noticed again. I have not, however, seen the book. I made a very accurate drawing of this some years ago, which is still in my possession. The recum bent tombstones of England and Scotland, speaking from memory, are at Penrith, where there are several; these are figured (not at all accurately) by Pennant (I think). There is one or more at Abercorn, which I have not seen, and a number at Govan, some of which are represented in the Spalding Club volumes by Dr. Stuart, and of some of these I made drawings myself. There was one found at Meigle, which is published by Dr. Stuart, and of which also I made an original sketch. There is another at Luss, sculptured with the interlaced Norman arch of the 12th century. This tell-tale sculpture is not included with the other stones. These sculptures are all of the same character and evidently belong to the same period. Some of those at Govan have [Our correspondent is hypercritical. There can be no kind of doubt as to what our other correspondent intends to say, although the expression may be a little loose.-ED.] SCAMELS (Vol iii. 4.)-With all due deference to Mr. A. Hall's suggestion as to the probable meaning of the above word, I cannot help thinking that Z. Jackson's * remarks in favour of the reading "sew-mews" should be quoted. This latter rendering, viewed with the material from which deduced, appears a very feasible conjecture, and one thoroughly in harmony with the whole passage. Jackson says: "The researches of my predecessors have been great to establish the existence of sea-mells, or sea-malls; but I profess myself unacquainted with either; and I believe our great poet was equally so; for, though many words are now obsolete which took a lead in literature two centuries ago; yet substantives have no more varied than proper names. Therefore, if sea-mells were known in Shakespeare's time, they must be equally so at present. But they are unknown; nor have our commentators been able to ascertain that any naturalists, from the time of Pliny to Buffon, ever mentioned such a bird. From these considerations, I am confident the original read : 'I'll get thee Young sea-mews from the rock.' The sea-mews make their nests in rocks close to the sea. The manner in which the error took place is obvious. The transcriber formed the win mews larger than the other letters connected with the word, and which was taken by the compositor for ll." Of course, this latter part is purely conjectural; but it may be urged, have not our learned commentators in the same path filled whole pages with arguments in support of their several conjectures? It is evident to the most careless reader that much conjectural matter urged in elucidation of Shakespeare's texts is without foundation, or lacks contemporary evidence and support. Waltham Abbey. J. PERRY. GAVELKIND (Vol. ii. 266, 278, 290; iii. 9).-In matters etymological, Wedgwood is an authority always well worth being listened to. T. J. "Gavel-kind. The custom of Kent, by which all the sons of a family divided the inheritance equally. Apparently from a British source, although the word is of Gaelic rather than Welsh form. Gaelic, gabh, take; gabhail, taking tenure, a taking of land, lease, farm; cine, kin, family, clan. Thus gavel-kind would mean family tenure, as opposed to the ordinary tenure under which the whole of the land descends to the eldest son. Welsh, gafael, a hold or grasp; gafael o dir, a tenure of land; gafael cenedl, tenure of a family. -Jones." - Dictionary of English Ety mology. CORONATION STONE (Vol. ii. 267, 279).-Your correspondent P. D. T. inquires for the best account of the Coronation Stone. It may be difficult to say which is the best account, but here is the one given by Mr. J. R. Planché, a gentleman very unlikely not to be accurately informed on such a subject. The Coronation Stone is also * Author of Shakespeare's Genius Justified, &c. (London: J. Major. 1819. |