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NOTES AND QUERIES. [ii s. x. SEPT. 19, 191*.

vault of the Macleods of Assynt and Ard- vreck Castle in a perishing condition. It is n large vaulted chamber with walls four feet thick. I could read, and that only par- tially, but one inscription on a tombstone, broken in pieces, of 1713. No door to the vault exists. The graveyard is full of Macleod inscriptions of a much later period. I was told that no Macleod of the old family can be found to keep the ancient mausoleum from total ruin. Nearer to Lochinver the ruins of Ardvreck Castle, associated with the name of the great Montrose, and of the later Mackenzie mansion of Eddrachalda, exist. A trifling expenditure, say by a Northern antiquarian society, would preserve the old Macleod burial-place from wreck.

W. H. QtJARRELL.

" POPTJLAR." This word, in the sense of " generally liked," is found in Thomas Lodge's 'Wits Miserie,' 1596, p. 71. The earliest ' N.E.D.' example is from Chapn an in 1608. The passage is this:

' ' Nihil est tam populare (saith Tully) quam pax,' &c. Nothing is so popular as peace, for not onlie they to whom nature hath giuen sence, but euen y* houses & fields seem to me to reuiue therat."

I may add that the person who undertook to read Lodge's book one of the most valu- able treasures of the Elizabethan era did his work negligently ; and that I hope to show in these columns before long.

RICHARD H. THORNTON.

" CANAIL." In the subjoined copy from the court records occurs the interesting word canail. It is given under canaille, in the sense of " fine feed " or " finished middlings," in the ' Century ' and ' Standard ' diction- aries, and in Webster (1893). It is not in the 'Oxford Dictionary,' 'E.D.D.,' or the American ' Dialect Notes.' Webster says it is Canadian. I have heard it here in central New York State pronounced canell'.

" On the third of May 1777 Lieut. Thomas Catlin of Litchfield, Conn., made deposition before Andrew Adams, Esq., J(ustice) of the P(eace), as follows : that he was taken prisoner by the British troops on New York Island Sept. 15/1776, and confined with a great number in a close jail . . . .after which they were informed they should have two thirds allowance, which consisted of very Irish pork, bread hard, mouldy, and wormy, made of canail & dregs of flaxseed.

H. C. G. BRANDT. Hamilton College, Clinton, N.Y.

VANISHING LONDON : PROPRIETARY CHAPELS. (See US. ii. 202, 254, 293, 334 ; iii. 149, 193, 258 ; iv. 434 ; vi. 33 ; vii. 96, 205, 286.) The Church of the Annunciation

that fine edifice erected upon the site of old Quebec Chapel is now open for public worship. It affords a remarkable contrast to the former plain building, which, as some of us remember, was originally a riding-school. The entrance to the new church is in Bryanston Street, Marble Arch. Its interior is not quite completed, and some of the decorations are of a highly ornate character. Fixed chairs take the place of pews. The church is well worthy of a visit. CECIL CLARKE.

A FUNERAL AS A GOOD OMEN. I learn from Rene Bazin's ' Terre d'Espagne ' that his guide at the Alhambra expected to meet a stranger, and to have a good day, because he encountered three corpses as he left his home :

" II n'y a pas de meilleur signe, monsieur. Quand nous rencontrons un aveugle, un borgne, nous pouvons bien renoncer a courir les h6tels et dorinir toute 1'apres-midi : pas un voyageur ne louera nos services. Mais un niort, trois mort surtout, voila un annonce de bonheur. Moi, jo suis rentr6 bien vite a la rnaison, et j'ai crie & ma famille, ' Rejouissez-vous, je vais travailler aujourd'hui ! ' Vous voyez bien." Pp. 227-8.

Later in the day this guide raised his arms and exclaimed " Quel bonheur ! " at the sight of another funeral procession ; and when yet another followed, and he gratefully acknowledged " C'est trop de chance ! >r M. Bazin bade him hold his tongue (pp. 233, 234). ST. S WITHIN.

" FFRANCIS " : RECTORS OF HIGH RODING, ESSEX. " ffrench," " ffoulkes," and " ffar- ington " are still to be met with even in these days of degenerate nomenclature, but " ffrancis " as an example of this eccentricity with regard to the initial letter of a name is new to me. The following instances from the parish registers of All Saints', High Roding, Essex, are perhaps worthy of record in ' N. & Q.' They all relate to- Francis Hill, Rector from 1649 to 1694, and supply an interesting item of family history.

Maria, the daughter of Ffrancis Hill and Eliz: his wiffe was baptiz: July the 12, 1649.

Ffrances, the daughter of Ffrancis Hill Hector and Eliz: his wiffe was baptiz: Nov. 6, 1653.

Richard the son of Francis Hill Rector and Elizabeth his wife was baptized March 21st, 1657.

John the sonne of ffrancis Hill minisf and Elizabeth his wife was baptized Jan. 3, 1663.

Mary the daughter of ffrancis Hill Rector and Elizabeth his wife was baptiz: Jan. 30, 1664.

Sarah the daughter of ffrancis Hill Rector of H. Rooding and of Elizabeth his wife was bapt Sept, 25. 1666.

Joseph the sonne of ffrancis Hill Rector of High Rooding and Elizabeth his wife was bap- tized Jul 10 th 1668.