Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 3.djvu/57

 n s. IIL JAN. 21, ion.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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Margaret Keith, daughter of Robert, Lord Altrie, and John Erskine, son and apparent heir of John Erskine of Logie, her future spouse.

Their marriage contract is dated at Dun 25 August, 1588. After the death of her husband, Margaret Keith married secondly Sir John Lindsay of Ballinscho, third son of David, tenth Earl of Crawford. Their marriage contract was dated 26 May, 1599. She died in January, 1602. J. B. P.

I am not primarily concerned as to the marriage of Barbara de Bierle to John Erskine in 1543, for I supposed it to be a well - known fact. I do not know whether any attempt has been made to demonstrate it in detail, but the following excerpts from the ' Reg. Mag. Sig. Scotire ' seem to be fairly conclusive :

" 8th October, 1543. Confirmation of Charter of Sir Thomas Erskine of the lands of Kirkbuddo to his nephew John Erskine of Dun and Barbara de Bierle his wife."

" 12tlr*? January, 1571/2. Confirmation of Charter of John Erskine of Dun, who with the consent of Barbara de Bierle his wife, part owner of the lands, granted; to John Erskine, son of the said John and Barbara, the lands of Kirkbuddo."

" 18th August, 1585. Confirmation of Charter to John Erskine junior, ' filio Johannis Erskine de Dun inter eum et quondam Barbaram de Beirlie ejus uxorem genito.' "

Barbara died 15 November, 1572.

As regards the former marriage of John Erskine, the following excerpt from the ' R.M.S. Scotise ' is under date 20 October, 1535 :

"Precept of Saisine in favour of John Erskine of Dun and Lady Elizabeth Lindsay his wife by David, Earl of Crawford." Who was her brother ? She died 29 July 1638.

In the records known as Registrum de Panmure appears :

" Patrick Maule married 1562 withe Margaret Erskine, daughter to Sir Jhone Erskine of Dune Superintendant of Angus, and Barbara de Bierle ane Frenchwoman borne in Picardie, dauchter of the Lord of Gamnecourt quha came in Scotland withe Marie de Lorraine, Queene Regent. His wife died 1599. He wes, as his father and for bears, mikil gewine to haukine and hountaine and newir did want for that effect haukes anc dogges. He died 1605."

I am moreover informed that the chartei chest of the descendants in the male line of the second marriage referred to abov contains at least a dozen writs specifying Barbara as the spouse of John Erskine, anc carrying in some cases her signature anc seal. W. C. J.

" LOVE ME, LOVE MY DOG " (11 S. ii. >22). It is pleasant indeed to read the cholarly and humane contribution of MB. 3uBBY on the subject of " Love me, love iy dog " ; his heait must be as that of the Indian who

Thinks, admitted to an equal sky,

His faithful dog shall bear him company,

and will maintain with scrupulous sincerity
 * hat man's greatest companion is unques-

ionably the dog. Often have I pondered why Sterne should have used such beautiful English over a donkey rather than a dog. 3ut I wish to add to MB. CUBBY'S notes the fact that the proverbs in Camden's ' Re- maines ' are not the earliest in our litera- ture, because I have in mind John Hey- wood's ' Proverbes,' first printed in 1546, and in that collection appears

[s that ye haue bene so veraie a hog

To my freendis. What man, loue me, loue my dog.

Earlier again than Camden is the use made of the proverb by George Chapman (1612) in his comedy ' The Widdowes Teares.' Sir Thomas More reminds us " Whosoever loveth me, loveth my hound." By the way, what a peculiar play on the proverb is the French rendering " Who loves Jack loves his dog " (" Qui aime Jean aime son chien ") !

S. W. MAY. Liverpool.

MB. CUBBY is perfectly correct regarding the unrelieved aversion and disgust of the early Hebrews for dogs, despite their humani- tarian consideration for the animal kingdom in general. To the Hebrews, as to the Greeks, man alone was worthy of the highest admiration ; so that such a dictum as " Love me, love my dog," was hardly compatible with their philosophy. Still, the dog must have won some measure of good treatment, even from that primitive people, when one of its leading men was named Caleb = dog. A passage in Theocritus, where the ferocity of dogs is held in quite as much abhorrence as it is in the Scriptures, is noteworthy. The poet enjoins Polyphemus " to keep a sharp eye on his dog lest he leap up and rend Galatea's fair flesh " :

rj ras TratSos ri Kva/xatertv opovcnj Kara 8f oa KO.\OV d

This may be paralleled by a story told in Tractate Sabbath 63. The good citizens and others used to breed a species of mastiff, called by the Rabbins "a caleb rong" or "bad dog," to warn off vagrants and intruders. They were the terror of the neighbourhood ; and on one occasion, say the doctors of the