Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 3.djvu/309

 s. in. APRIL i,i905.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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references : 1 st S. ii. 9, 110, 173 : 2 ml S. ix. 502 ; 6 th S. xii. 164, 236. Brenton (' Xaval History,' ed. 1837, i. 303) says that the tower on Mortella Point was blown up on the evacua- tion of the island in 1795. This would account for my inability to discover any vestiges of the tower when I visited the locality last spring. If the tower, as stated in the extract from The Illustrated London Nev.'s quoted by MR. J. T. PAGE, was " of the form of an obtruncated cone, like that of a wind- mill," it must have differed very considerably from the towers more or less in a dilapi- dated condition which still fringe the shores of Cap Corse. All the towers which came under my observation were similar to the conventional castle or rook on a chessboard. The doors were situated on the first story, and the towers could only be entered by means of a ladder. They were all embattled. W. F. PRIDEAUX.

CHURCH Music (10 th S. iii. 185). The following, from The Northampton Herald of 24 February, records an inscription closely akin to that given by HIPPOCLIDES :

" The restoration of Harpole Church (North- amptonshire) has disclosed the following interesting inscription on a stone let into the wall near the chancel door :

Psalm 2.3. Meeter

(Here follows a notation of the psalm). Erected by his Scholars of

Harpole. Saml. Leek, died Apl. 13, 1729.

Aged 46 yrs. He lamed singing far and near

Full 20 year or more ; But fatal Death hath stopt his breth,

And he can larne no more. His scholars all that are behinde

Singing he did unfold. Exhorting all their God to minde Before they turn to molde. :l

JOHN T. PAGE. West Haddon, Northamptonshire.

SPUR-POST (10 th S. iii. 168). A spur-post is a piece of wood put down beside a gatepost, or other post or structure, to prevent traffic from coming too close to it. Hence it becomes a limit or boundary, beyond which a wheel cannot pass, and may be represented fairly enough in French by borne. "Spur-stone'" has the same use and meaning, and is much more common. Indeed, it would be difficult to find a carriage drive in which the gate- posts are not protected by spur-stones. Cf. ' The English Dialect Dictionary,' s.v. ' Spur.' EICH. WELFORD.

I have heard the short post or brace which is used to strengthen a larger post, the latter being decayed at or near the ground level,

referred to by carpenters as a "spur-post." The word has also, I believe, the same meaning as "spur-beam," which is defined in the Funk & Wagnalls dictionary as "a. projecting spar or timber, as from a pier or wharf to a vessel's side to keep her off."

R. YAUGHAN GOWER.

I am unable to give a quotation for this word, but I find it in the great dictionary of Muret, ' Encyclopadisches Worterbuch dec englischen und der deutschen Sprache' ; and the German equivalent Prellstein, with its meaning "curbstone, guardstone," shows that probably a post is meant, such as one sees on country roads, to prevent drivers from taking a corner too closely or from falling into the ditch, &c.

L. R. M. STRACHAN.

Heidelberg, Germany.

[MR. JOHX RADCLIFFE also thanked for reply.]

WOODEN FONTS (10 th S. iii. 169). In 'Illustrations of Baptismal Fonts,' by F. A. Paley, M.A. (1844), still the best book upon the subject in existence, we read (p. 23) :

"No wooden fonts, we believe, are known to exist, if we except that atChobham, Surrey, which is of lead, surrounded by wooden panels, and the interesting example at Efenechtyd, near Ruthin, where is a plain octagonal block of oak. It is not improbable that such may have been occasionally used in very early times. See Simpson's ' Bap- tismal Fonts,' Preface, p. viii."

At Longdon Church, Worcestershire, a wooden font, once in use there, now does duty as a bookstand, and carries an old Bible and Jewell's 'Apology,' both ancient posses- sions of that church.

An old wooden font, formerly in Badsey Church, Worcestershire, may be seen in the vestibule of Lord Sandys's house at Ombers- ley, where it has been for years.

So much for ancient wood fonts. A fairly handsome modern example was shown in the Colonial Section of the Glasgow Exhibi- tion in 1901. It and its spiral ornamental cover were made of Jarrah wood, the particu- lar timber used in construction for both being; portions of a tree that had been buried, for more than fifty years, beneath the ground in Hay Street Park, Perth, Western Australia. The material takes a good polish, and looks something like rosewood. It did not, how- ever, commend itself to me.

HARRY HEMS.

Fair Park, Exeter.

The font at Chobham, Surrey, is of lead surrounded by wooden panels. With this exception, it is said that no wooden fonts are known to exist (see Simpson's ' Baptismal Fonts,' Preface, p. viii). If the font alluded