Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 4.djvu/332

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 s. iv.D EC .,i9i8.

" MACAKONI " : ORIGIN OF THE WORD. Some years ago the following curious account of the origin of the word " maca- roni " was given to me by an Italian, a native of Malta who had lived much of his life at Naples :

Once upon a time Jove dispatched Mercury on a mission to Naples to find out what the Neapolitans were doing and how they lived. Feeling very hungry one day, Mercury entered the house of a poor fisherman and asked for something to eat. A dish of macaroni was placed before him, which he declared to be finer than anything he had ever eaten either on earth or in heaven. Before departing, in response to the fisher- man's request for payment, he handed him some gold and asked what the name of the marvellous dish was. The fisherman, mis- understanding the question, and thinking he was grumbling over the price, replied, " Non son cari ma caroni " (i.e., " They are not dear, but very dear "), whence the name " macaroni."

Possibly readers of ' N. & Q.' will be able to say whether this story is of Neapolitan origin or not. When I was at Naples some two years ago I questioned various inhabi- tants, but none of them had ever heard it. The man who told it to me was uneducated, and would hardly have been able to invent it himself. Moreover, it may be remarked that in modern Italian the word is " mac- cheroni," and not " maccaroni," which is an old form now entirely obsolete (cf Fanfani, ' Vocabolario,' Firenze, 1884, s.v. Maccarone ; ' Vocabolario degli Acca- demici della Crusca,' ed. Firenze, 1905, s.v. Maccherone ; ' New English Dictionary,' s.v. Macaroni). Philologists are not agreed as to the ulterior etymology of the word.

M. ESPOSITO.

WE must request correspondents desiring in- formation on family matters of only private interest to affix their names and addresses to their queries, in order that answers may be sent to them direct.

COL. COLQTJHOTJN GRANT. Can any of your readers give information concerning this officer, who was Intelligence Officer to the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsular War ? I know what Napier says about him, but shall be glad of references to any other works in which he is mentioned.

C. McG.

KALEIGH ON A " POETICAL SCRIBE."- Ralegh in his letter of March 29, 1586, to the Earl of Lester (Harleian MS. 6994, f. 2) says :

" I humble beseich .yow lett no poeticall scrib- worke your lordshipe'by ony devise to doubt that I am a hollo or could sarvant to the action or a mean wellwiller and follower of yoxir own."

Can any of your correspondents give the name of the poetical scribe to whom he refers ? C. E. NEWBON.

Inner Temple.

ALEXANDER LINDSAY, MURDERED c. 1660, In a letter written on Aug. 22, 1663, by Sir Alexander Fraser, physician to Charles II. r and sold in London many years ago, the writer asks for the punishment of a " gentil- man of the name of Gordon who hath killed most inhumanly my uncle Alexander Lindsay who married my aunt, the Lady Barras. . .^ an old gentleman of 72 years, withoxit arms."" Macfarlane's ' Genealogical Collections ' give an account of Eraser's family (that of Durris, Kincardineshire), but make no mention of any such relations. Where can I find art account of the affair, and who were Lindsaj- and Gordon ? * J. M - BTJLLOCH.

37 Bedford Square, W.C. "

BILSTON, ARTIST. I am desirous of obtaining information about an artist named Bilston, probably a resident in the North of England Durham or Newcastle. He painted a number of views of ancient parks of Newcastle and Durham in 1843. A large album containing thirty of these views in water colours is in my possession. They are highly thought of by our local antiquaries, but we are unable to discover where the artist resided. The paintings are signed with his monogram, but the initial of his Christian name is difficult to decipher.

LEONARD MACARTHY.

Ben well Park, Newcastle-on-Tyne.

BELL AND SHOULDER INN. Could any of your readers tell me the origin of the name of this inn at Marlborough, Wilts ?

W ALTER WlNANS. Carlton Hotel. Pall Mall. S.W.I.

ROSE OF DENMARK INN. I noticed recently an inn in Bristol with this name, and should be very glad of information regarding the source from which it was derived. P- GIBBONS.

Wombourne, Wolverhampton.

[Does the name refer to Queen Alexandra, and date from her marriage to the Prince of Wales in 1863?]