Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 3.djvu/328

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NOTES AND QUERIES, [lo* s. in. APRIL s, 19Q&

recollects threshing-flails being commonly used when he was a grown man, "because, you see, there were onlya fewhorse-machines, and steam threshing-machines had not corned up " (i.e., been introduced to the agricultural world of Lincolnshire). M. P.

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 sent to them direct.

INSCRIPTION ON TOMB OP CONSTANTINE THE GREAT. Dr. Walsh, 'Narrative of a Journey from Constantinople,' 1828, gives in Appendix iv., a propos to nothing in the text, an inscription in the Church of the Apostles at Constantinople, which he says Gennadios, first Patriarch under Muhammad II., deci- phered by supplying vowels to Greek letter- ing. It is briefly as follows :

"On 1st Indict the Kingdom of Ishmael he who is called Muhammad shall overturn the race of Palseologi and take the seven-hilled (city) and reign there, subdue many nations, desolate islands as far as Euxine Sea. On 8th Indict he shall subdue Peloponnesus ; on 9th Indict lead forces against countries of North ; on 10th overthrow the Dal- matiee ; again he shall turn back for a time : he stirs up mighty war against Dalmatians, and is somewhat broken, and the peoples and tribes, with assistance of western nations, shall engage in war by sea and land and overthrow Ishmael. His descendants shall reign with less, little, very little (power). But the yellow-haired race together with all their coadjutors shall overthrow Ishmael and shall take the seven-hilled (city). Then shall they kindle a fierce intestine war till 5th hour, and thrice shall a voice shout ' Stand ! Stand ! ' and fear (to proceed) make anxious haste, and on your right hand you will find a man, noble, admirable, courageous, him shall ye have for your Lord, for he is my friend. In accepting him my will* is fulfilled/'

The Marquis of Huntly copies it, accepting this. Manifestly it is a much later fabrica- tion. In all my reading of Byzantine authors I never came across it, and just now neither Dukas nor Phrantzes is within reach, and no life of Constantino refers to it. Is anything known about it 1 Was it on the tomb in 1827 when Walsh was at Constantinople? In the body of his book he mentions such prophecies, and one specially on a column in the Forum, but does not allude to this, which is added in an appendix. The British Museum authori- ties know nothing of it. But some one who has lived in Constantinople may know if it exists, and its probable date of concoction. W. GATTELL, Deputy-Surgeon-Qeneral.


 * Peter the Great ?

SATAN'S AUTOGRAPH. Among the plates published as a supplement to Collin de Plancy's ' Dictionnaire Infernal,' Paris, 1826, there is a facsimile of the pact made by Satan and other evil angels with the notorious Urbain Grandier, who was burned as a sorcerer in 1634. The original is said to have been preserved in the archives of Poitiers. It bears the signature Satanas, in fair and legible script. Can any reader inform me if this is unique ? or are there other specimens extant of Satan's handwriting 1 ?

JAMES PLATT, Jun.

DATE OF THE CREATION.. I am anxious to find the statement that I once read, that the creation of the world took place on Saturday,

the of, B.C. 4004. Can one of your

readers help me with chapter and verse ?

Q. V.

TIGERNACUS. Is there an Irish MS. of the above title? I think it may be spelt erroneously. It is mentioned with the well- known 'Annals of Ulster' in Mant's 'Hist. Ch. of Ireland,' 1840.

CHARLES S. KING, Bt.

St. Leonards-on-Sea.

Du BARRI. Is this the correct method of spelling the name of the mistress of Louis XV.? Thackeray, in 'Vanity Fair,' uses this form, though it seems to be more usually spelt Du Barry. LANCE. H. HUGHES.

[No.]

1 MY COUSIN'S TALE OF A COCK AND A BULL.' Who was the author of a miscella- neous assortment of tales in prose and verse, printed probably in the eighteenth century, of which one was entitled ' My Cousin's Tale of a Cock and a Bull ' ? Is this the origin of the expression " a cock-and-bull story " ?

F. A. EDWARDS.

[The answer to the second question is, No. The 'N.E.D.,' ,svi'. 'Cock-and-bull,' has several seven- teenth-century quotations. See DR. MURRAY'S query on the subject, 7 th S. viii. 447 ; and the replies, ix. 270, 452, 494.]

PRIVILEGE AND SACRILEGE. How is it that these words are used, as they apparently are used, so differently ? Why do we speak of an abuse of privilege and not abuse of sacri- lege ? How is it that sacrilege itself means abuse of something ?

The answer is that though legium in each case is derived ultimately from the same Lat. stem leg-, yet is from two different forms of its use. In privilegium we have the stem of lex, a law, while in sacrileyiwn we have the stem of legere, to ^'c& />._ So Jiat a sacrilege is correctly used to indicate