Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 5.djvu/597

 V.JUNE 23, 1906.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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of such as shall have such Warrant as aforesaid, to take Post-horses, the said John Manley shall be and is hereby, obliged to cause every Post-Master deputed by him, to keep usually and constantly at every Stage, the number of four good Horses or Mares at the least for the said Post-service." Pp. 15, 16.

In ' A New View of London,' 1708, p. 712 8.v. 'Post Office,' is the following :

"None shall carry or employ others to carry Letters and Packets but the Post-master Genera" in London, his Deputies or Agents, or their Ser vants (nor provide Horses for Thorough Posts) and Persons riding Post in Post Roads.

"Under the Direction of the Post-master Genera are 182 Country Post-masters in England and Scot land, who have their Under Post-masters, and each their Distance assigned in the several Roads, and Letter-carriers or Foot-posts for By-Roads.

"Also for Ireland 45 Deputy-masters

"Such as ride Post pay for their Horses 3d. per Mile, and <id. for every Stage Conduct money, and are to have Horses provided for them in half an Hour under the Penalty of 51. forfeiture."

ROBERT PIERPOINT.

TUILERIES GARDEN IN 1796 (10 th S. v. 429). Early in the reign of Louis XVI. the author of a book entitled * Le Parterre geographique et historique ' suggested that these gardens should be laid out to represent the provinces of France. On 4 Sept., 1793, a deputation came to the National Conven- tion, and the spokesman (Anaxagoras Chaumette) said that "the eyes of Repub- licans would rest with more pleasure on that former domain of the Crown when it pro- duced objects of prime necessity. Would it not be better to grow plants which were needed for the hospitals than to leave there statues, fleurs-de-lis, box-trees, and other objects which ministered to the luxury and pride of kings ? "

Neither recommendation was ever carried into effect, so far as I know. N. M. & A. will find a well-" documented " history of the gardens in a lecture delivered by M. Albert Babeau, printed in vol. xxviii. of the Transactions of the Societe de 1'Histoire de Paris. ROBERT B. DOUGLAS.

64, Rue des Martyrs, Paris.

"CAST NOT A CLOUT TILL MAY BE OUT"

(10 th S. v. 388, 433, 474). One or two other forms of this, as I knew them fifty years ago, may be given :

Nivver change your clout

Till yor be sure that May be out.

And I have heard the old people add, " Fer May howds Juin back offen enow." We were frequently told not to " bade i' May," as the couplet was :

If you bade i' May

You '11 soon lig i' clay.

"Badin"' in the country brooks, "becks, and sicks " was in the hot months a pleasure not to be foregone, and the lads and often lasses made for the brooksides as soon as out of school, stripped, and went in " holus- bolus," and, after a good splash, ran along the banks to dry before dressing.

An old woodman I know, wno has spent more than fifty years amongst the growing and felling timber, has observed that when there is winter in spring, and running into May, the ash and the may begin to come out together, the ash leaf being the "tenderest" leaf he knows. The ash leaf is also the first to fall when autumn frosts begin to nip.

As regards the old idea that bad luck follows the bringing of may-blossom into a house, because the flowers throw out "a death smell," few take any notice of it nowadays, and children for the most part bring in the may with other wild flowers. THOS. RATCLIFFE.

Worksop.

"PEARL": ITS ETYMON (10 th S. v. 409).^ Garcia da Orta, the thirty-fifth of his


 * Coloquios ' (1563), says : " .perla [Span.]

and perola [Port.] are evidently from prefero, preferes, because it has eminence, and is preferred to all others of its kind " a deriva- tion that is on a par with most of the etymons scattered throughout the old Portu- guese physician's delightful and valuable work. DONALD FERGUSON.

BANNER OR FLAG (10 th S. v. 450). I am under the impression that these are called " Venetian masts." SHERBORNE.

In an illustrated catalogue of flags which I have before me those shown as triangular in outline at the bottom when hung sus- pended are termed bannerettes.

HARRY HEMS.

Fair Park, Exeter.

If the triangle be "voided" i.e., if the banner be swallow-tailed it is a pendant or pennant. If it merely end in a point, it is an innominate device. ST. SWITHIN.

OLVARIUS'S HISTORY (10 th S. v. 429V The first edition of John Davies of Kiawelly's translation of Olearius was published in 1662, and on referring to my copy of that work I find that the mention of Col. Car- michael is referable to the reign of the Tsar Alexis Mikhailovitch, and not to that of the yrant Ivan Vassilievitch, the date ap- parently being 1649. In this particular, }herefore, Douglas would appear to be in error. The passage in question will be found on p. 115, and is as follows :