Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 4.djvu/261

 ii s. iv. SEPT. 23, MIL] NOTES AND QUERIES.

255

The phrase may perhaps have its origin in a popular jest which ridiculed the in- vocation to St. Martin.

GEORGE WHERRY.

Cambridge.

There is a phonetic resemblance in " Betty Martin " to " Berta e Martino," Berta of the mill and Martino the thrasher, the Italian types of stupidity, alluded to in Dante,
 * Par.' c. xiii. v. 139. B. D. MOSELEY.

I have heard it said that " All my eye and Betty Martin " is used by sailors, and But " It 's all my eye," and " It 's all Tommy rot " are in constant usage. Some say "' All my eye and Peggy Martin." There are many similar phrases meaning the same, as "It's all Dick, Tom, and Harry."
 * ' All my eye and Tommy " by soldiers.

THOS. RATCLIFFE.

[Several other correspondents give " mihi, Beate Martine," as the source.]

FRENCH COINS : REPUBLIC AND EMPIRE (11 S. iv. 149, 211). If MR. PIERPOINT is interested in the coinage of the Republic and the Empire, he will do well to examine c*aref ally the pieces in his collection. Unless he has been singular in his search, he will find on them the distinguishing marks by which the progress of French armies under Napoleon was chronicled. When a country or province possessing its own mint was over- run, French gold and silver five-franc pieces were issued bearing the effigies of the First Consul or Emperor on one side, and of the Republic or Empire on the reverse. This was the case at Milan, Turin, Rome, and Amsterdam, and probably at other places. More than fifty years ago I was staying with a Swiss banker, M. Rodolphe Tissot, who had a very large set of these various issues ; but at this time I can only remember the distinguishing mark of the Rome mint, a wolf suckling two babes, minutely engraved under the bust of Napoleon.

I. may, perhaps, mention in this connexion the interesting collection of Greek, Asian, and Roman coins formed by M. Tissot, part of which was purchased for the British Museum and part for the Louvre. All these coins were found in Switzerland, and for the most part during M. Tissot' s lifetime, extending over ninety years. They are probably arranged in their respective places in the two museums ; but if their source has been noted as it was in the copy of M. Tissot' s catalogue which he gave me a very interesting deduction might be made,

suggesting that even in the most remote periods of commercial intercourse Switzer- land was a highway of the nations.

L. G. R.

During the twenty-two years I have handled French coins daily, a certain number of pieces bearing the Emperor's head on the one side, and " Republique Fran9aise " on the other, have passed through my hands ; but I never understood they were rare enough to be sought for by collectors. My remarks refer to the " louis " (gold twenty- franc piece) and the " ecu " or silver five-franc coin. If any fifty- centime, one-franc, or two-franc pieces were struck, they would be called in by now (1866 is, I believe, the present limit). But all five-franc pieces struck since the decimal system of coinage was introduced at the time of the Revolution are still current. I have never seen a French current gold coin anterior to Napoleon's advent, but this, I fancy, is simply because the First Republic had no gold to strike, and was obliged to content itself with paper money, silver, and copper.

If any of your correspondents wish to complete their collection, I would suggest personal application to the uniformed cashiers at the big Parisian banks (like the Credit Lyonnais, Boulevard des Italiens). These men handle thousands of pounds of change daily, and I am pretty sure could obtain such comparatively common coins as those under discussion within a reason- able time. F. A. W.

The letter after the date is the local mark of the atelier monetaire where the coin comes from. According to Lalanne's ' Diet. hist, de la France ' (which certainly is to be found among the reference books of the British Museum), the letter O denotes Riom. See Lalanne, s.v. ' Monnaies (hotels des).' H. GAIDOZ.

22, Rue Servandoni, Paris (VI e ).

GRINLING GIBBONS AND ROGERS (11 S. iv. 89, 137, 154, 217). It would, I think, be interesting to know more of the Mr. Rogers mentioned at the last reference. Probably a good many carvings loosely attributed to Gibbons were in fact by this artist. I have a copy of the sale catalogue of a " choice and valuable assemblage of exquisite carvings in wood by that un- rivalled artist, Mr. Rogers, displaying in every variety the refined taste and exquisite manipulation for which he is so justly cele- brated." The sale was held at Christie's,