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NOTES AND QUERIES. [io* s. i. JUNE 4, im

dispatched, and, if so, whether originals or transcripts exist ? CHARLES L. LINDSAY. 97, Cadogan Gardens, S.W.

MARY SHAKESPERE. I find among some family documents that a certain Anne Prat- tenton or Prattington, daughter of Joseph Prattenton, of Clear-land, near Hartlebury, Worcester, married John Chattock, of Castle Bromwich, Warwickshire. Her mother was Mary Shakespere. Can any of your readers inform me who this Mary Shakespere was, and what relationship she bore to the great poet? She was born, I should think, some time in the middle of the seventeenth cen- tury. A. J. C. GUIMARAENS.

REV. DR. G. D'OYLY. This learned eccle- siastic was many years rector of Lambeth, a founder of King's College, London, &c. Is there a lineal descendant of his now living ?

W. W. J.

" THE BETTER THE DAY THE BETTER THE

DEED." It has been suggested that this old adage ought to read, " The better the day the better the deed should be." Is there any warrant for this version ?

J. L. HEELIS. Penzance.

LINES ATTRIBUTED TO WORDS WORTH. I

should be glad to know the author and source of the following lines, descriptive of an artist, which are given in a book of quo- tations as by Wordsworth, but which cannot be traced in any of his known works : He is a being of deep reflection one That studies Nature with intensest eye ; Watching the works of air, earth, sea, and sun Their motion, altitude, their form, their dye, Cause and effect.

BlRKENHEAD.

STORMING OF FORT MORO. I shall be ex- tremely obliged if any one can give me details of the storming of Fort Moro during the siege of Havana in August, 1762. A tra- dition, handed down for many years in my family, states that an ancestor of mine, named Wiggins (or O'Higgins ?), was the first, or one of the first, through the breach (one of the forlorn hope), and was presented on the field with a pair of colours. Another runs that Wiggins, or O'Higgins, secured the enemy's colours, was made a present of them, and given a captaincy on the field. I have for some time tried to get trustworthy information, and have perused the Gentleman's Magazine and ' Annual Register,' but though they give general information, they do not give details. I should be very glad to learn where 1 could obtain particulars. W. L. HEWARD.

DANIEL ARCHER. Could SARUM, who answers MR. PINK'S query as to the Right Hon. John Smith, Speaker (ante, p. 412), tell me anything about the youngest brother of Lord Archer Daniel Archer, born 1703] He was related to the Speaker through his sister Lady Dashwood, whose daughter married Andrew Archer, father of Lord Archer, Henry, and Daniel.

LAUNCELOT ARCHER.

INSCRIPTIONS ON PUBLIC BUILDINGS. Can you refer me to some book on inscriptions carved on public buildings'? I am wanting to put some passage from English or Latin authors on a village club and institute, and cannot find anything which I consider suitable. A. S. McCARA.

Warley House, Halifax.

GUNCASTER. A vicar of Upton, near Windsor, then in the diocese of Lincoln, in the thirteenth century came from Guncaster. Can some one kindly identify this place ? Afr present the nearest guess is Gumcester (Godmanchester), but the word Doncaster, by a flourish of the quill, can also resemble Guncaster, especially if the original record ia worn and faint. R. B.

Upton.

LATIN FOR " ROPING " A HORSE. la the Roman circus the art of " roping " a horse was well known arid frequently prac- tised. There is a Latin phrase for this something like " Equo signum dare," or words to that effect. What is the exact phrase? RESERVE OF OFFICERS.

THE ENGLISH CHANNEL. How old is the French name of the English Channel, i.e., La Manche? Does it antedate the English term? J. DORMER.

HERTFORD BOROUGH SEAL. The inscrip- tion upon the old seal of the borough reads thus :

+ R ' D ' G ' THE SEALE ' OF ' THE ' BOROVGHE ' TOWNE * OF ' HART ' FORDE

Can any one explain the meaning of the letters R. D. G. ? In the centre of the seal is a hart standing in water in front of a castle. This form of seal was in use before the time of Elizabeth. MATILDA POLLARD. Belle Vue, Bengeo.

FRANCE AND CIVILIZATION. A young writer in the Academy, 1 May, p. 527, calls France " the most highly civilized country in. the world." Will somebody with years on his shoulders, who knows his planet, express an opinion on the subject ? ST. SWITHIN. .