Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 2.djvu/423

 io" s. ii. OCT. 29, KIM.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

347

been told me years ago, the hero of it, however being Dean Buckland, when his mind was going but that I did not know whether it was true." And again, under date 6 November, 1893 :

" I talked with Lecky about the story of Buck land swallowing the heart of Louis XIV. * It is, he said, * I suspect, quite true : at least Sir Henry Howorth told me he had looked into it, and was of that opinion. It is stated to have happened al Nuneham, Mr. Harcourt's place near Oxford.'"

As the above is somewhat ambiguous, I ain desirous to know who is reputed to have swallowed the monarch's heart, and how Only 'N. &Q. 'can reply.

J. B. McGovERN.

St. Stephen's Rectory, C.-on-M., Manchester.

GENERAL KUROKI. In an issue of the Daily Chronicle some time ago it was asserted that Kuroki was of Polish origin, as his coat of arms was the same as that still borne by the Kurowski family. What ground is there for this assertion ? What are the arms referred to?

In Rietstap's ' Armorial General ' the arms of four families of Kurowski are given. Three of these are described as Polish, and are said to bear the same arms respectively as the families of Lubicz, Sreniawa, and Zadora. The fourth family is described as of Posnania, and as bearing the same arms as those of Nalencz II. CHR. WATSON.

264, Worple Road, Wimbledon.

EDWARD GORDON, SERGEANT- AT -ARMS. Where can I find a notice of this official? He was the son of Edward Gordon, of Bromley, and I think the father of Mrs. Gordon Smithies, the novelist.

J. M. BULLOCH. 118, Mall Pall, S.W.

MONMOUTH CIPHER I should be deeply grateful to any of your correspondents who have had any experience in reading ciphers, or of puzzling them out, if they would kindly communicate with me. There is a cipher by the ill-fated Duke of Monmouth which I should like help in solving. The solution would be a matter of great historical interest. (Rev.) JOHN WILLCOCK.

Lerwick, N.B.

COVENTRY WORSTED WEAVERS. The late Mr. W. G. Fretton, F.S.A., of Coventry, in an article that appeared in the Old Cross, a quarterly magazine for Warwickshire (of which I believe only four numbers, 1878 and 1879, were issued), part i. pp. 80-84, gives some extracts from the books of the Company of Silk and Worsted Weavers of Coventry dated 1650 and following years. Where is

this book? It does not appear to be in the custody of the clerk. Any information on this subject will be welcomed. SILO.

CORKS. ''There was an English fruiterer at dinner, travelling with a Belgian fruiterer; in the evening at the cafe we watched our compatriot drop a good deal of money at corks ; and I don't know why, but this pleased us" (R. L. Stevenson, 'An Inland Voyage,' section headed ' At Landrecies '). No dictionary accessible here explains the word corks in this passage. Murray, Webster, the best English-German dictionaries, and the 4 Slang Dictionary ' of Barrere and Leland, have been consulted in vain. Is it a card game, a game played on a billiard-table, or what? L. R. M. STRACHAN.

Heidelberg, Germany.

' TRACTS FOR THE TIMES; Can any one direct me to a complete list of the authors of the 'Tracts for the Times,' stating their respective contributions? Some one asked this question in ' N. & Q.' of 1859, but got no answer. I am aware that the * D.NJB.' article on Newman specifies the tracts of his authorship. W. G. H.

"I LIGHTED AT THE FOOT," &C. Who is

the author of the following lines, and where

do they occur?

1 lighted at the foot Of Holy Helicon, and drank my fill At that clear spout of Aganippe's stream. I've rolled my limbs in ecstasy along The selfsame turf on which old Homer lay That night he dreamed of Helen and of Troy.

SNYFE.

AMERICAN MILITARY ORDER OF THE DRAGON. I shall be much obliged if any one can give me information as to the origin, "listory, and constitution of the above order.

W. J.

MICHAELMAS CUSTOM. It was the custom n some parts of Ireland twenty years ago, tfter killing the Michaelmas goose, to sprinkle a few drops of the blood on the floor of all the rooms in the house. I have asked old nhabitants, priests, and others for an ex- planation of this curious old custom, but mve never been able to elicit any infor- mation about it. Perhaps some reader of N. & Q.' can give an idea as to its origin, nd also tell me whether it prevails any- where in England. It is still, I am told, to )0 met with in Ireland.

FREDERICK T. HIBGAME.

" BONNETS OF BLUE." Will a reader kindly nform me where to find the words and music