Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 12.djvu/473

 10 s. XIL NOV. 13, 1909.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

389

ing pause. At other times " literally " seems to be its equivalent, or sometimes one would be inclined to substitute "i.e.," " that is." The following examples will, perhaps, suffice.

From Glasgow records : " Cum terris dominicalibus lie maynes, et pratis nuncu- patis lie Provand meadow."

From Peebles record,s : " Cum molendino granario vocato lie the Rindmylne," &c.

D. G.

DAVIES'S EPIGRAM ON ACTORS. The oft- quoted epigram by John Davies of Here- ford, of the year 1603, presents several difficulties. I will reprint it in full : Players, I love ye and your quality, As ye are men that pastime not abused ; And some 1 love for painting, poesy ; And say fell Fortune cannot be excused That hath tor better uses you refused. Wit, courage, good shape, good parts, and all good (As long as all these goods are no worse used) ; And though the stage doth stain pure gentle blood, Yet generous ye are in mind and mood.

Did the author by the words "for paint- ing " in the third line, refer to Burbage ? Is the period after " refused " in the fifth line correct, or did he mean to say that Fortune gave them the good qualities named, but refused to allow them to use her gifts for better purposes ? What is the exact sense of " all good " with the limitation in parenthesis ? G. KRTJEGER.

Berlin.

BETUBIUM. Thomson, in his ' Autumn,' surveying in thought Caledonia from south to north, from the Tweed, which first heard his Doric reed, passes

To where the north-inflated tempest foams O'er Orca's or Betubium's highest peak.

Of course the collocation suggests Shet- land ; but is there any place in those islands called Betubium, or is it intended to apply to the whole group ? And whence the name ? W. T. LYNN.

be grateful for information relative to Armand Baschet's * Preuves curieuses de 1' Authenticite des Memoires de Jacques Casanova.' I possess the following numbers of Le Livre : January, 1881 ; February, April, May, 1881 ; February, 1884 ; Febru- ary, 1887 ; August, 1887 ; February, 1889 ; March, 1889. These numbers contain articles on Casanova some by Armand Baschet, others by Octave Uzanne. Were there any other articles on Casanova in that periodical ? RICHARD EDGCUMBE.
 * LE LIVRE ' AND CASANOVA. I should

Edgbarrow, Crowthorne. Berks.

POLWHELE'S ' HISTORY or CORNWALL.' Will some one kindly direct me to a full and accurate collation of this perplexing work ? The accounts in Lowndes, vol. ix. of The Western Antiquary, and the ' Bibliotheca Cornubiensis ' are not sufficiently minute. GREGORY GRUSELIER.

THURLBY FAMILY. Some account of the family of Thurlby would be acceptable to J. HAMBLEY HOWE, M.B. 88, Grange Road, Bradford.

JUplus.

GRAY'S 'ELEGY' AND PLOUGHING CUSTOMS.

(10 S. xii. 309.)

MY memory of the South Country in the forties is that the plough teams knocked off at about 2.30. There were no nosebags for the horses ; but the worst sufferer in a long day was the atomy of a ploughboy, often only eight or nine years old, who had to trudge through the thick, long stubble of those days alongside the fore horses of the team, harnessed one behind the other. There was a halt of about a quarter of an hour at 11.30 for " a bit o' nammut," carried in a small canvas bag.*

The present generation knows nothing of those little carter-boys, in sole charge of two or three horses drawing manure from the farm-yard to distant fields, the men being employed at either end. Provided with a light whip of three twisted withies tied at the butt, with a short lash of twisted string, the boy was master of any situation, with his two words "Cum 'ither" and "Wugg." The latter word, meaning to incline to the off, was, to my surprise, not mentioned in the late lengthy discussion on " comet her." It may, perhaps, not unreasonably be con- nected with woges, the genitive of O.E. woh, crooked. \. $&}*&% j

I may add that no farm stable was without ahorse named "Doc-turr," usually one with a bit of character about him. This arose from that functionary invariably affording the comic relief in the shows of the Christmas mummers. H. P. L.

I think it may be taken as certain that

ray made no attempt at meticulous

accuracy, but thought only of harmony and

a tiny keg of " ziderkin," extracted from the mashed apples given away by the farmer after his brew of cider.
 * The " nammut " was accompanied by a swig at