Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 12.djvu/257

 10 s. XIL SEPT. 11, 1909.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

209

Canterbury,' 1727, plate iii. of the " Sub scribers to this Work."

What was the " Green Rod," and wha was the office of the Gentleman-Ushe thereof ?

In Edw. Chamberlayne's ' Present State o England,' 15th ed., 1684, first part, p. 166 is the following :

" In the Presence-chamber, Gentlemen- Ushers daily Waiters in Ordinary, are Four, whereof th first, hath that considerable Office of Black Rod."

Again, second part, p. 48 :

"Without the Bar of the Lords House, sits th King's first Gentleman-Usher, called the Black Roc from a black Staff he carries in his hand."

His office and his "black staff" are, o course, well known. Perhaps each of th other Gentlemen-Ushers had a rod of a distinct colour, indicating his office.

ROBERT PIERPOINT.

ROWAN TREE WITCH DAY : ST. HELEN'S DAY. -In certain remote districts the former day is still observed, says a writer in Modern Society. He adds that it is also St. Helen's Day, and that the custom is to hang branches of the tree over every door of the homesteac and to carry a twig upon the person, as pre- servative against witches, the evil eye, &c. Where is this day so called ? and is il 3 May, the day of the finding of the Holy Cross, when the rowan is in flower, or the saint's feast in August ? The Keltic asso- ciation of the rowan or care tree with the wood of the Cross is well known, and makes the connexion with St. Helen point to Wales, Ireland, or Scotland as probable.

O'DUNLANG.

MOSES AMYRAUT was elected on the foundation of Westminster School in 1698. Where can I obtain any further information about him ? G. F. R. B.

JOHN FULFORD was elected on the founda- tion of Westminster School in 1680. Any information concerning his parentage and career would be acceptable. G. F. R. B.

J. M. W. TURNER : PORTRAIT. A half- length portrait in oils of J. M. W. Turner is still in the possession of relatives of the late artist, but I am unable to say by whom it was painted. It represents Turner looking towards the spectator, and wearing a cravat, above which the ends of the collar appear. The coat is buttoned over the chest. I should be glad of any information concerning the picture. H. S. LOCK.

106, Algernon Road, Lewisham.

ARMS ON A BRASS. Can any reader of following arms belong ? They are engraved on a brass plate which I lately picked up in an old curiosity shop, and which is said to have come from a church in Bristol :
 * N. & Q.' tell me the families to whom the

Party per pale baron and femme : Baron, 1, three trees, roots eragulated ; 2, a fesse gules between six garbs ; 3, two fesses gules, in chief three fleurs-de-lis ; 4, Azure, three stags trippant. Femme, Gules, three fleurs-de-lis, on a chief indented a lion passant. Esquire's helmet and mantling. Crest, out of a coronet a dragon's head.

R. G. BARTELOT. St. George's, Dorchester.

TERTULLIAN : JEROME : JEREMY TAYLOR : AUGUSTINE. 1. A phrase of Tertullian's is quoted by Archbishop Leighton : " Precantes veluti stipato agmine Deum obsidere." Where does Tertullian use these words ?

2. A passage in Jerome is reflected in Chaucer's ' Personne's Tale' :

" Quo ties diem ilium considero, to to corppre contremiscp, sive enim comedo, sive bibo, sive aliquid aliud facio, semper videtur ilia tuba terribilis sonare in auribus meis, Surgite, mortui, venite ad judicum." Where is this in St. Jerome's writings ?

3. In his sermon on ' The Flesh and the Spirit ' Jeremy Taylor quotes, and then proceeds to translate the following passage :

" Fides est velut quoddam seternitatis exem- plar : prseterita simul et praesentia et f utura sinu quodam vastissimo comprehendit, ut nihil ei prsetereat, nil pereat, praeat nihil."

iVhat is the source of this quotation ?

4. St. Augustine's comment on Exodus xxxiii. 20, " Moriar ut Te videam ! " Where

s this ? HENRY BETT.

York.

FAIR ROSAMOND. Perhaps some one can the date of the earliest chapbook dealing with the history of Fair Rosamond. One have entitled 'The Life and Death of ?air Rosamond,' in prose and verse, em- bellished with ten engravings, printed by r'aul & Co., Monmouth Court, Seven Dials. The engravings are older than the letterpress. ?he verse account begins :

When as King Henry rul'd this land,

The second of that name, Beside the Queen he loved dear, A fair and comely dame.

'he Chapbook from which I first read of Fair Rosamond " was a Derby production,

with pictures coloured by hand. In the one

'. now have the pictures are plain.

THOS. RATCLIFFE. Worksop