Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 11.djvu/615

 10 S. XL JUKE 26, 1909. NOTES AND QUERIES.

507

THE BORROWING DAYS. (See 9 S. xii. 23, 351.) The Arabs give to the seven days at the end of winter the name of " the days of the old woman." See ' Letters of Abu'l- 'Ala Al-Ma'arri,' ed. by Margoliouth, p. 133. ALEX. RUSSELL.

Stromness.

WB must request correspondents desiring in- formation on family matters of only private interest to affix their names and addresses to their queries, ii order that answers may be sent to them direct.

MALHERBE'S ' STANCES A Du PERRIER.' In The Spectator of 20 March appeared a letter to the editor over the signature " J. R. Athawes," in which the writer quotes two verses ascribed to Malherbe and offers a translation in English. The former is Le pauvre, en sa cabane, ou le chaume le couvre,

Est sujet a ses lois, &c.,

which is, of course, well known ; but the

second

De murmurer centre elle et perdre patience

II est mal a propos ; Vouloir ce que Dieu veut est la seule science

Qui nous met en repos,

is surely a new discovery. It does not occur in any versions of the poem I have seen. I should be glad to know if there is any authority for Mr. Athawes's quotation.

G. M. H. P. Foochow.

PEWTER PLATE. I am engaged in correct- ing my book on ' Pewter Plate ' for a forth- coming reissue, and I should be glad to receive, even on loan, any rubbings of pew- terers' marks that your readers may possess.

H. J. L. J. MASSE. 37, Mount Park Crescent, Baling, W.

" HACKBUT BENT." What is the precise meaning of the words " Hackbut bent," and where are they to be found 1 I should be obliged if an answer were sent to me direct. RICHARD EDGCUMBE.

Edgbarrow, Crowthorne, Berks.

BLACK DAVTES. I shall be grateful for any information about an individual who rejoiced in the sobriquet of Black Davies or Davis, and who was a well-known character on the turf circa 1790. There is an account of him in Charles Pigott's ' Jockey Club.' HORACE BLEACKLEY.

THOMAS BULLOCK, SPORTSMAN. This person was also a well-known racing man towards the end of the eighteenth century,

and was the owner of several famous race- horses. He was the son of a wealthy brewer, and died on 17 Feb., 1802, in his fiftieth year (Gent. Mag., Ixxii. pt. i. 276). A bio- graphy and portrait of him appeared in The Town and Country Magazine, xxii. 243, and he is satirized also in ' The Jockey Club ' and The Rambler's Magazine, vol. vii. Some of his horses are mentioned in J. C. Whyte's ' History of the Turf.' Is anything known of the firm of brewers to which he belonged ? HORACE BLEACKLEY.

RICHARD WHYTE, c. 1744. Solomon Whyte of Banbridge, co. Down, Ireland, by will made in 1744, bequeathed 500?. "to brother Richard of the Tower, who is well off." I am anxious to know the position Richard Whyte held in the Tower of London, and any other particulars avail- able. RICHARD LINN.

Worcester Street, Christ/church, New Zealand.

HEALEN PENNY. (See 9 S. ii. 388 ; xii. 89.) It has been suggested to me that the " healen penny " appearing as a church- warden's receipt in the seventeenth-century Churchwardens' Accounts of Camborne (Corn- wall) represents the money given by the King when touching for the evil, and by the recipients handed over to the parish. Are there any instances of this having been done? The amount is generally about 20s. Would not this be a large sum to reach a distant country parish from such a source ? As I am shortly printing extracts from the accounts in the Journal of Royal Institution of Cornwall, I shall welcome any information on the subject. THURSTON PETER.

Red ruth.

BRILLAT-SAVARIN IN NEW YORK. I am interested in the life of this eminent gastro- nomist, and am anxious to gather particulars of his sojourn in New York between July, 1793, and September, 1796. It is known that he taught French, and played the violin in a theatre orchestra ; but details are lacking as to whom he taught, and where he played. The remainder of his life is known by the various biographies, but the three years in New York remain a blank. Perhaps some American readers may be able to help me. FRANK SCHLOESSER.

Gumley Cottage, Kew Green.

' AN EXCURSION TO JERSEY.' Could any of your readers inform me who was the author of a humorous illustrated book entitled " An Excursion to Jersey by Pro- fessors Grubdust and Buffelskopf " ? It was, I believe, sold for the benefit of the St.