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NOTES AND QUERIES. UIS.XL JAN. 23,1915.

' GUIDE TO IRISH FICTION.' (See ante, p. 47.) I ana engaged upon the second edition of nay ' Guide to Irish Fiction,' the, first edition of which appeared in 1910 (Longmans). I have a list of novels of Irish interest about which I have not yet been able to obtain any information. I should be grateful to any readers of ' N. & Q. ' who would send me particulars of these books, or communicate with me direct, so that I might write to them, personally and invite their kind co-operation. I should also be most grateful to any who happen to possess copies of my first edition, if they would point out any mistakes a'nd omissions in it.

Hall (Mrs. H. C.). The Fight of Faith : a Story of Ireland.

Hardy. Essays and Sketches of Irish Life and Character.

Holland (Denis). "Click O'Donnell.

Ingelow (Jean). Off the Skelligs.

Kennedy. Carrigmore ; or, Light and Shade in West Kerry.

Kettle. Rose, Shamrock, and Thistle.

Kickham. The Pig-Driving Peelers.

King. A Geraldine.

Lauderdale. Tivoli : a Story of Cork.

Lefanu. The Purcell Papers.

Letts. The Mighty Army.

Lever. Tales of Trinity College.

Listado. Maurice Bynhart.

Lockhead. Sprigs of Shillelagh.

STEPHEN J. BROWN, S.J.

Milltown Park, Dublin.

(To be continued.)

ONIONS AND DEAFNESS. Can any reader tell me in what way onions were used for the relief or cure of deafness ? Is there any old herbal or other book which mentions the subject ? Onions and some of their me- dicinal properties are mentioned by Cul- peper in his ' English Physician,' but he says nothing about their use for the relief of deafness. However, it is certain that old- fashioned people did use them for this purpose. BARBARA BRAMFITT.

Dunkirk, Church Walk, Worthing.

DEAF AND DUMB ALPHABETS. There is - very full history of the invention of various alphabets for deaf-mutes in Thomas Arnold's ' Education of Deaf-Mutes,' vol. i. (London, 1888), but the following work seems to have escaped his notice :

"Digiti -Lingua: or, The most compendious, copious, and secret Way of silent Converse ever yet

discovered &c. By a Person who has conversed

no otherwise in above nine years. The figures curiously engraved on [two] copperplates." (London,

Two alphabets (both mixed one- and two- handed) are suggested in order to be able

to mislead intruders who are caught taking an interest in the conversation. By a pre- arranged signal the conversation is switched off to the other alphabet, and the listener " can never make head or tayl of it."

In his Preface the author mentions that " there hath of late been published a pretty piece of ingenuity intituled Sermo mirabilis," probably anonymously, as the name of the author is not mentioned. I cannot find this in the British Museum Library, nor identify it with any of the numerous books mentioned by Arnold. Can any reader help me ?

L. L. K,

THOMAS THOROTON. Whom and when did he marry ? The ' D.N.B.,' Ivi. 314, is silent on this point. G. F. B. B.

EDWARD GIBBON WAKEFIELD. When and where in 1816 did he marry Eliza Susan Pattle, the orphan daughter of a Canton merchant ? and what were the names of her parents ? The ' D.N.B.,' Iviii. 449, is silent on these points. G. F. B. B.

CHARLES WESLEY. When and where was Charles Wesley ordained deacon by John Potter, Bishop of Oxford ? When, in October, 1735, was he ordained priest by Edmund Gibson, Bishop of London ? The 'D.N.B.,' Ix. 298, does not give the desired information. G. F. B. B.

STARLINGS TAUGHT TO SPEAK. I shall feel obliged if any of your readers can state from personal experience whether it is possible to teach a starling to speak articu- lately. The power possessed by this bird of imitating various sounds is well known, but I have not seen any first-hand evidence of its being able to speak. There are frequent references to it in Elizabethan literature, as pointed out by Mr. B. P. Cowl in his note on ' 1 Henry IV.,' I. iii., in the Shakespeare,' by the Bev. T. F. Thiselton Dyer, it is stated that " there are numerous instances on record of the clever sentences uttered by this amusing bird." Is the evidence for this well authenticated ?
 * Arden Shakespeare. ' In ' Folk-Lore of

B. NICHOLLS.

14, Chertsey Road, Redland, Bristol.

OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM. Can any one inform me how our National Anthem tune to ' God save the King,' which was com- posed by Dr. John Bull, came to be adopted as the national air of Prussia ? Also, if it is the national air of Hanover ?

GILBERT H. W. HARRISON.