Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 12.djvu/316

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [ii s. xii. OCT. M

Jiiberous (i.e., dubious), doubtful, suspicious. The word is a very old one, and still to be heard occasionally.' E.D.D.,' iii. 387.

Me. A somewhat similar sense of the word is still found in the Midlands. I have heard a man inquire, in reference to the possible consequences of signing a document, " If 1 signs it, be you sure as they can't come on me ater I be gone ? " mean- ing " Shall I by signing make my estate liable after my death ? "

Scald : To get a good scald on. Surely this is reminiscent of the days when in the country nearly every household brewed its own beer, and even now it expresses an article of faith among the diminishing few in our villages who prefer the old-fashioned way of washing clothes.

A. C. C.

It may not be irrelevant to say that in Scotland at the present time " bruckit " or " brocked," meaning speckled, is applied to a cow having in her face black spots or streaks mingled with white. Consequently it is qui:e common to give such an animal the name " Bruckie." Jamieson in the ' Scottish Dictionary ' offers this etymology : " Su.-G. brokug, brokig, parti-coloured ; Jr. breach, speckled ; Gael, brucach, speckled in the face."

" Me (n.), my property," is also not un- familiar in the Scottish provinces. Quite recently moles gave trouble in a well-kept garden, and were dislodged at length only with considerable difficulty. While they were still obviously at work, a neighbouring farmer paid the owner of the garden a visit, and made some remarks about the mole- hills. " Ah, yes," said his worthy hostess, " they are very disagreeable " ; and she jocularly added, " I fear they come to me from you." " There 's no chance of that," was the instant and sharp rejoinder ; " there's not a mole on me." The locution, no doubt, is a tradition of the elders.

THOMAS BAYNE. [C. C. B. also thanked for reply.]

PATTERSON FAMILY (11 S. xii. 221, 289). A family of Patterson existed at Alnwick, Northumberland, and of it some generations were parish clerks in the eighteenth century. Thomas Patterson, the last holder of the office, died about 1846. Their seals bore the pelican in its piety, with the motto " Hinc orior."

That of Robert Patterson, who perished in the White Sea, circa 1790, is in my possession. Of the legitimacy of the use of the crest or motto, with its obvious reference, I do not know anything. The family entertained a belief that this Robert Patterson, sea captain, was a relative of the Pattersons of Baltimore, U.S.A.

I had some correspondence with the late- Bishop of Durham relative to the alleged ordinations of the parish clerks of Alnwick in the eighteenth century, apparently to the- sub-diaconate or Minor Orders, by his predecessors. If this is the family to which your correspondent refers, I shall be pleased to communicate to him the rather extensive- information in my possession, if he chooses, to enter into correspondence with me.

J. C. WHITEBROOK, 24, Old Square, Lincoln's Inn.

THE SITE OF THE BEAR GARDEN (11 S.. xii. 238). In the ' Stranger's Guide to the Curiosities of London,' p, 278, which forms one of the divisions of fc Leigh's New Pic- ture of London * my edition is dated 1824-5 the following appears :

"Clink Street, Southwark, was so called from a prison of that name. St. Saviour's Church. Near St. Saviour's dock are vestiges of the palace in- habited by the Bishops of Winchester, as far back as the time of Edward I. Globe Alley, in the vicinity, derived its name from the theatre here, which had a license granted to Shakespeare r Fletcher, and others to perform plays. In this- neighbourhood, likewise, was the Paris or Bear- garden, so celebrated in the time of Elizabeth for the exhibition of bear-baiting, which was then a fashionable amusement/'

In the 'same book, under the heading of ' The Sporting World,' sub-heading ' Cock- Fighting,' bear-baiting is again referred to (p. 433) :

"Cock-fighting, though a barbarous sport, is greatly encouraged. Till within a few years there was a Cock-pit Royal in St. James's Park ; but as- the ground belonged to Christ's Hospital that body would not renew the lease for a building devoted to cruelty. A more commodious Cockpit has since been built in Tuf ton Street, Westminster* where, also, dog-fights take place, and badgers and bears are baited. Visitors are made to pay for entrance, and it is advertised in the newspapers when these fights are to take place."

G. YARROW BALDOCK, Major.

South Hackney, N.E.

BOOKWORMS (US. xii. 138, 185, 208, 268). I remembered correspondence in ' N. & Q.* about these nuisances, and looked out re- ferences to it in such General Indexes as I possess, turning also, ior my own informa- tion, to the pages indicated. In my reply I did not repeat what I had read, because I thought our Editor might not care to print again matters that had already been pub- lished in his paper ; and, as writing is now more of a trouble to me than it used to be, I did not court the disappointment of re- jection. I am very sorry I made two mis- takes in pagination, and overlooked anything I ought to have noted in my reply. I do