Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 2.djvu/196

 190

NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 s. n. SEPT. 2, wie.

statement leads one to believe, and that the young men of the island are " doing their bit " in like manner to those on the main- land. Surely the Conscription law applies to them as well ? I should be glad to be informed.

G. MlLNER-GlBSON-CULLUM, F.S.A. Hardwick House, Bury St. Edmunds.

BLUEBEARD. Who is originally respon- sible in illustration at least for represent- ing Bluebeard as an Oriental ? There is not a word to imply this, either in Perrault's original ' Conte ' or in any English version of the tale. He is there simply " un gentil- homme," presumably of France or Brittany. Also why should Bluebeard's wife be styled " Fatima " ? In the story as we first have it she is nameless, though her sister goes by the popular Breton name of Anne.

The tradition may be due to the fancy of some artist, who first illustrated the story. I have found, however, one version of the tale, given by M. F. M. Luzel in his ' Contes de la Basse Bretagne,' hardly differing at all from Perrault's ' Barbe Bleue,' except that the truculent hero is styled " Le Prince Turc, Frimulgus, fils de I'Empereur de Turquie," while his wife is called Marguerite.

The adventures of Marguerite, by the way, in her subsequent marriage, form the second part of the story above quoted, and present several points of great interest to students of folk-lore.

MAUDE A. BIGGS.

3 Alexandra Road, N.W.

LADIES' SPURS. In the collection of spurs at the Guildhall Museum there are several labelled " lady's." Are there any references (except in the modern hunting novel) in literature to show that a spur formed part of the ordinary equipment of a woman when riding on a side-saddle ? I do not, of course, allude to Chaucer, as the " merry wife " rode astride. EPERON.

BIRD FOLK-LORE. 1. Nightingales and yellowhammers are by some said to sing with their breasts impaled upon thorns What is the origin of this idea ?

2. What is the origin of the idea that peacocks' feathers are unlucky ?

ALFRED S. E. ACKERMANN.

[2. For peacocks' feathers see 8 S. iv., v., ix. x., xi. ; 10 S. v.]

MOTHER AND CHILD. It is frequently

asserted that a mother can voluntarily affect

intellectually her unborn child. Is there

any definite evidence in support of this ?

ALFRED S. E. ACKERMANN.

" TOOTHDRAWER " AS A XAME. Joll.

Fothedrawer was among those who received heir first tonsure from the Bishop of Exeter on Dec. 18, 1373 (Brantyngham's ' Register,' ). 781). Is the name otherwise known ? My vouthful recollection of the word is in the mpersonal sense in which it was accustomed o be used at Launceston, " He looked at me ike a toothdrawer," implying a specially dour and disagreeable expression of counten- ance. DUNHEVED.

STEYNING : STENING. I have heard from Stening or Stenning is Dutch, and second, Dutch colony. Is there any truth in these statements, and can any connexion be proved jetween the family name arid the place- name ? JESSIE H. HAYLLAR.
 * wo different sources that, first, the surname
 * he village of Steyning was originally a

GEORGE HARRIS, CIVILIAN. According to the ' D.N.B.' xxv. 2, he was the son of John Harris, Bishop of Llandaff, and was born in Westminster in 1722. I am desirous of obtaining particulars of his mother, and the full date of his birth. Was he ever married ? G. F. R. B.

THOMAS WATTS, M.P. Of what family was Thomas Watts, M.P. St. Michaels, 1734- 1741 ; Tregony, 1741, till he died, Jan. 18, 1742, when Deputy Ranger of Enfield Chase ? I take it that he was the same person as Thomas Watts, appointed lieu- tenant of the Grenadier Company of the 38th Regiment of Foot,- Dec. 30, 1710; captain ditto Dec. 11, 1712 ; placed on half- pay soon afterwards, so in 1714, but was again captain of the same Grenadier Com- pany of that regiment, Jan. 29, 1718, to Feb. 12, 1723 (Dalton's 'Army Lists, 1660- 1727'). Was it his widow who died at Enfield, Feb. 17, 1786 ? Possibly Robert Watts, captain in the King's Horse in 1740, from May 19, 1736, and previously lieutenant therein (ante, p. 44), was his son.

W. R. W.

NICHOLAS WOOD, M.P. Is anything known of Nicholas Wood, M.P. Exeter, 1708-10, and an Alderman of that city ?

W. R. W.

J. RENNIE ON THE FLYING POWERS OF BniDS. In 1839 a book was published in Leipzig in German on ' The Capabilities and Forces of Birds ' which, according to the title-page, was translated from the English of J. Rennie. I have not yet been able to discover a copy of the English original. Did it ever exist ? If so, where can a copy be seen ? L. L. K.