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NOTES AND QUERIES. m s. iv. SEPT. 23, 1911.

Northumberland,' but it might have been in some other book. If any reader of ' N. & Q.' has knowledge of the fact that Sir John Fenwick at his death left an ille- gitimate son, and would inform me where such fact is recorded, I should be very much obliged. R. C. BOSTOCK.

BESZANT FAMILY OF WILTSHIRE. I should be grateful if any reader could kindly say if anything is known of the history of the Beszant family of Wiltshire. The name is spelt in a variety of ways. Fifty years ago the Rector of Devizes brought to see my mother an antiquarian friend, who told her that he had been for years working up the history of the family, that the charge on her arms was a fish (I have since been told it is a dolphin), and that some mem- bers of the family were Counts of Flanders, one of them being a contemporary of Simon de Montfort. I have also been informed that there is an interesting account of the family in some old French records, any reference to which would be most gratefully appreciated. H. BEAZANT.

Round way, Friern Barnet, N.

ETHERINGTON FAMILY. I wish to find out all I can about the history of the Ether- ington family, at one time governors of Pickering Castle, Yorkshire, latterly of Driffield ; also concerning the parentage of Joseph Ktherington, born 1782, died 1839, at Preston. Is there such a thing as a history of Pickering Castle and neighbour- hood ? ji].

" SCOTCH SCIENCE." What is the origin of this term, meaning main force and stu- pidity combined ?

The expression is well understood by mariners, particularly those of the deep sea, as distinguished from coasting men W. W. HALLAM.

CYMMAU, FLINTSHIRE. I shall be very grateful if any one can give me information concerning the owners or occupiers of a property known as the " Cymmau " in Flintshire during the period from 1700 to 1780, or, failing that, will tell me where such information could be obtained

'E. D.

WEST-COUNTRY CHARM. Can any one tell me the words of an old West-Country charm which was uttered by lovers with their hands clasped over running water, as a pledge of eternal fidelity ?

p ... A. MONTAGUE.

Crediton.

DATES IN ROMAN NUMERALS. Will some reader explain the following method of writing dates ?

1. CIOICXCVI.

2. CIOIOGXCVII.

3. CIODLXXIX. F. R. F.

[cio = M = 1000;io=D = 500;thus the second date is 1697, and the third 1579. The first instance is more difficult. Will our correspondent give the authority where he met with it ? At 9 S. xi. 368 a peculiar example of a date in Roman numerals was cited by our late Editor over the signature he some- times used, H. T., the last letters of his Christian name and surname. See also the discussion of Roman numerals as dates at 9 S. iii. 90, 214, 423 iv. 57, 151,233,428; v. 366.]

TREES GROWING FROM GRAVES. Is it possible to ascertain how the belief arose that trees springing forth from a tomb the seed having lodged in a crevice and germinated are a sign that the person commemorated was a sceptic, refusing to believe in the resurrection of the body, and that this was a judgment on impiety ?

We have in Hertfordshire no fewer than three examples of this remarkable super- stition at Aldenham, Tewin, and Watford and in none of these instances can be traced any ground for the statement.

Does the belief prevail in other counties ? Can it be traced to Puritanic influence, or is it merely a desire to offer an explanation for these phenomena of nature ?

W. B. GERISH.

Bishop's Stortford.

" BEAT AS BATTY " : " BUSY AS BATTY." The former phrase is quoted in the Devon- shire Association Transactions of 1910 as a local saying implying that the user of it, be it domestic or workman, is quite tired out with the work in hand, this having proved almost too much.

The latter form was often heard by the present writer in his youth, as signifying that the one who had been " as busy as Batty " had indeed had his time fully and entirely occupied in the duties performed. Is the second a generally used equivalent of the former local expression ? And who was Batty ? W. S. B. H.

JUDGE M'CLELLAND. In what year was Judge M'Clelland born, and in what year did he die ? He acted as civil judge (pro- bably in Ulster) during the latter part of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth. Whose son was he ? Did he leave any issue ? and if so, where does that branch of the M'Clelland family reside ?

Z.