Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 2.djvu/39

. ii. JULY 9,i9w.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

all writers on folk-lore. It is, however, sur- prising to find in the present day how preva- lent are the old ideas, at least in rural parts. A particularly well-educated woman in Hamp- shire, residing not far from Winchester, tells me that she has absolute belief in the necessity of informing the bees should their master die, and the good lady (she is certainly not forty-five years of age, and the wife of a village grocer) quotes an instance of a next- door neighbour who, neglecting to carry out the usual formula, was rewarded by the death of all her bees.

Another belief is that no swarm of bees over which there has been any contention can possibly benefit either party. It is also considered fatal to successful bee-keeping for the wife of the owner to experience any fear of or dislike for, the bees. My informant, speaking from personal experience, states that when first married (about eighteen years ago) she openly expressed her antipathy for the busy occupants of the hive, and until she endeavoured to cultivate a more friendly disposition, she assures me, her husband had several years of bad honey and poor results.

P. C. D. M.

VACCINATION AND INOCULATION. (See 8 th S. vii. 377.) In referring to this note by E. S. A. I find it contains a query which apparently has not yet been answered. The 44 inoculating substance used before the dis- covery of vaccine matter" was smallpox matter. This method of preventing (by anticipation) smallpox, which Dr. Johnson declared saved more lives than war destroyed, was made illegal in 1840. E. G. B.

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

WOLFE AND GRAY'S * ELEGY.' May I appeal to you for fresh light on the subject of Wolfe and Gray's ' Elegy ' ? Several papers are accusing me of being a wilful iconoclast in my book, ' The Fight for Canada '; whilst, as a matter of fact, I am doing my best to authenticate the story. Mr. A. G. Doughty the new Archivist of Canada, has already begun special research, and writes to me that he is hopeful of clearing up the whole ques- tion. Probably there are many of your readers who are more conversant with the subject than I am. It was only an incidenta touch in my book ; but I was very loth to

eave out anything that was so picturesque, nd that seems so probable. References : (1) The letter from Scott to Sou they, as given by Mr. Birrell in the Times of 27 May.

(2) 'Horace Walpole's Memoirs/ i. 21.

(3) 'The Siege of Quebec,' &c., A. G. Doughty, iii. 31, foot-note. What is the Sketch of Wolfe's Life ' referred to here ?

(4) ' A Pamphlet of 1761 ' mentioning the
 * act. What is this pamphlet ?

(5) Prof. E. E. Morris in the English His- orical Jteview for January, 1900.

(6) ' The Fight for Canada,' note on p. 320. I hope to see this famous story brought

back to history in an unchallengeable form.

WILLIAM WOOD, Major, 8th Royal Rifles, Canadian Militia. 59, Grande Alle"e, Quebec.

ROBERTO VALENTINE. I am anxious to ascertain whether a copy of the following work by this little-known English composer exists in any library : " Violone o Arceleuto Basso per 1' Organo | Da Roberto Valentine, [nglese | Opera Priraa | Roma, 1707." There is no copy at the British Museum, nor is it bo be found in any of the public libraries at Rome. I wish to rescue from oblivion this English composition, but of the copy I possess one of the parts is missing. A. F. HILL. 140, New Bond Street, W.
 * Senate a Tre | doi Violini, o' Arceleuto, col

A ROYAL CARVER. On a tombstone in Sandon Churchyard, at the end of a long inscription, appears the following :

"And Likewise will Lye here interr'd the Remains of James Richards Citizen of London & Carver to his Majesty King George the l bt & his Majesty King George the 2 11 Likewise to his Royal highness Fredrick Prince of Wales September 23 <l 1758 And Carver in Generall The said James Richards Died Dec 11 th 1759 Aged 88 Years." The old man must have been very proud of his position at Court, for he evidently had the inscription added to the rest on the tomb during his lifetime, the date of his death being added afterwards. Can any one tell me anything about this carvership what emoluments were attached to it, &c. ]

BENJAMIN WRIGHT.

Sandon Rectory, Chelmsford.

LORD BOTHWELL. In the 'Lincoln's Inn Records,' ii. 469, there appears an agreement, dated 19 June, 1657, relating to the laying out of Lincoln's Inn Fields and the preven- tion of any future building thereon, except as thereby authorized ; and a plan of the locality, which was attached to the agree- ment, has been reproduced as a frontispiece