Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 5.djvu/166

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 s. V.JUNE, 1919.

written between 1793 and 1809 by a female hand :

" George Wright of South Kirkby married a bastard daughter of James Stuart, Duke of York. He and his wife Anne, who was bom May, 1666, were buried at South Kirkby in 1729. James Wright of South Elmsall and Thurnscoe Grange. George Wright of Thurnscoe Grange : hield, Or, fesse componed az. and arg. betw. 'three erased eagles' heads ; crest, a unicorn pass. reg. Sarah Wright, the wife of Sampson George of Middleton Tyas."

On another MS. (undated, but appar- ently much older) of this family (seen by the writer) " George Wright and his wife Anne, daughter of Othia Hutton," are recorded as parents of a son James and a daughter Othia. VALEAT QUANTUM.

' THREE BLACK CROWS ' (12 S. v. 123). The piece will be found in the ' Miscellaneous Poems ' of John Byrom, " a name well known in literary history for his versatile genius, and varied accomplishments," as Bishop Monk wrote of him in his Life of Richard Bentley.

Though Byrom describes his tale as "a London story," it is taken, " with very beseeming alterations," as Swan remarks in a note to his English version, from the 'Gesta Romanorum,' 125 (117). In the mediaeval version the number of the crows rises to sixty.

J. G. T. Grosse in his German translation of the ' Gesta,' and Oesterley in his edition of the Latin text, refer to Byrom' s verses, and Oesterley gives a long list of literary references in his note on this story.

EDWARD BENSLY. -

John Byrom of Manchester, whose Christ- inas hymn, ' Christians, awake ! salute the liappy morn,' is so well known, was the author of 'Three Black Crows,' which he wrote to be recited at one of the breakings - up of the Manchester Grammar School. There is an interesting article on this piece in the 'Palatine Note Book' (vol. i. p. 21). The writer observes that

a stock piece wherever there was a demand for sly satire couched in facile verse. It still has admirers, although it must be confessed that younger rivals have arisen and somewhat pushed it backwards into the shade."
 * ' it immediately hit the public fancy, and became

The article investigates the literary sources of the story, and refers to Lafontaine's 'Fables' (livre viii. fab. vi.), Lodovico Guicciardini's ' Detti e fatti pacevoli ' (which first appeared about 1569), the ' Fables of Abstemius ' (of which a French translation Appeared in 1572), ' The Book of the Knight

of La Tour-Landry ' (written about 1371) the ' Promptuarium Exemplorum ' (com- piled early in the fifteenth century) and the
 * Gesta Romanorum.'

WM. SELF WEEKS. Westwood, Clitheroe.

GRIM OR GRIME : ETYMOLOGY OF THE NAME (12 S. v. 95, 137). See also P. A. Munch' s ' Samlede Afhandlinger,' vol. iv. p. 89 (Christiania, 1876), and O. Rygh's ' Gamle Personnavne ' (Christiania, 1961), p. 94.

Grim enters into many Scandinavian names : Arngrim, Asgrim, Steingrim, Thor- grim, &c. ; Grimketill, Grimulf, &c. Grimr is one of Odin's titles.

ALEX. G. MOFFAT.

Swansea.

The personal and regional names Grimm, Grimes, Grimsby, Grimston, Grimshaw, Grinketel and Crinkle (see U.S. iv. 187, 233, 434, s.v. cytel) all spring from the Old Ncr.se grime ; as do the Celtic Graeme and Scotch Graham. See H. A. Long's ' Personal and Family Names.'

N. W. HILL.

BIRD-SCARING SONGS (12 S. v. 98, 132). I append some Worcestershire versions of similar lines.

From Tredington by James - Barnet, aged 72, Oct. 17, 1912 :

Sho ! all away, you birds that are so black, Come here to steal my master's crop While I lies down to have a nap. From Wenbold-on-Stour, by Tho. Baldwin, aged 70, Oct. 17, 1912 :

Sho ! all away ! Sho ! all away ! You birds that are so black', Come here to steal my master's crop. If he was to come with his lonu gun, You would fly, and I would run. From Wimpstone, by George Bailey, aged 74, Oct. 27, 1912 :-

Ye pigeons and crows* away ! away !

Why do you steal my master's tay ?

If he should come with his long gun,

You must fly, and I must run. This is corroborated as the correct Warwick- shire version by the late F. Scarlett Potter, well known as an accurate folk-lorist. This version was current in Ilmington in his boyhood. J. ' HARVEY BLOOM.

HEDGEHOGS (12 S. iv. 76, 140; v. 105). Will MR. CLAUDE MORLEY be good enough to quote some more (even second-hand) in- stances of the alleged sucking of cows' teats by hedgehogs ? The information he gives at the last reference is not very satisfactory.