Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 7.djvu/64

 48 NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 s. VH. JUL* IT, 1920 Somerset, 1880, where he says most em- phatically that " William cle Ow has been most erroneously identified with the Comes de Ow." These two authorities have not, as far as I am aware, been refuted or confirmed in any printed work, though I am given to under- stand that Mr. Waters modified somewhat his views before his death. Would it be possible for some of our living authorities as, for instance, Dr. Horace Round, to give us the last word on this subject in the light of more recent research ? EDW. ALEX. FRY. THWAITES. Sir George Pierrepont, of Holme Pierrepont, co. Notts, knighted 1547, cl. Mar. 2L 1564, grandfather of Robert, first Earl of Kingston (or. July 25, 1628), and Viscount Newark (cr. June 29, 1627), m. Winfred, dau. of William Thwaites of Oulton, co. Suffolk, sometimes described as Sir William T. of Mallowtree, co. Essex. She m. secondly, Sir Gervaise Clifton of Clifton, who d. Jan. 20, 1587. What was the parentage of William Thwaites, and what was the name and parentage of his wife ? H. P.-G. MANDERSTOUN AND ST. ANDREWS. Mr. William Manderstoun, doctor of medicine, makes his testament on May 21, 1548, his two nephews, John Torres and George Manderstoun, binding themselves to execute his will. He died before June 17, 1549. Apparently his desire was to found some- thing in St. Andrew's University, and Bar- tholomew Manderstoun takes instrument later in presence of Mr. John Manderstoun, Vicar of Gogar (' Records of Dysart '). Is there any recorded foundation by him at St. Andrew's ? J. R. MANDERSON. TEGGS (THOMAS AND WILLIAM). The publishing house of Tegg was in great repute with its literary output. When was the business founded and ceased ? ANEURIN WILLIAMS. Menai View, Carnarvon. [Short biographies of Thomas and William Tegg will be found in the ' D.N.B.'] BLACK MASS. The ' N.E.D.' ignores this piece of profanity, though it gives " Black Sanctus," which was an offence against music, rather than religion. That it fs not an invention of M. Huysmans seems clear from a reference in Hastings' ' Encyclo- paedia of Religion and Ethics.' It was one of the few crimes of which Gilles d seems to have been innocent, though he was accused of it. In Ben Jonson's ' Catiline,' the conspirator's oath sanctioned by drink- ing a slave's blood is described as " this' bloody and black sacrament." 'But that is clearly no fixed phrase. It would be worth while to record at least the first occurrence in English of " black mass." G. G. L. SAILORS' CHANTIES. Can any one give- me any information concerning the chanties (or shanties) that were sung by the sailors while performing their various duties, in the days of the sailing ship ? These songs must surely take their place as the nautical equivalent of that treasure-house of national song to which Mr. Cecil Sharp and his colleagues have devoted so much time to rescue for us from failing memories. S. C. SIR WILLIAM HOWARD RUSSELL : LIST OF WORKS WANTED. Can any one furnish me. with a complete list of all the books written by the late Sir W. H. Russell ? And are they still procurable ? IGNORAMUS. ['"Who's Who' for 1906 the year preceding, ^ir W. H. Russell's death gives the following: Letters from the Crimea : British Expedition to the Crimea ; Diary in India ; Diary North and South ; Diary in the Last Great War ; Hesperothen ; Adventures of Dr. Brady ; a Retrospect of the- Crimea ; Todleben's Sebastopol, <fcc.] " MESS-MASTER." Would someone kindly explain this term as used in the early part of the nineteenth century. Was the mess- raaster an officer ? If so, what rank did he- hold ? E. JOHN. " STAGNUM " AND " OFFOLDFALL." In arx old document relating to the possessions of Spalding Priory is the following : " Gilbert, the carpenter holds one stagnuin of offold- fall of arable land in the town of Multon." I shall be glad to know the meaning of the: words " stagnum " and " offoldfall." ASHLEY K. MAPLES:. Spalding. ' TEACHINGS FROM THE CHURCH'S YEAR," by J. A. (Stoke Damarel, 1870). May I ask if any of your readers are acquainted with the name of the author of this book to which there seems to be no further clue in its pages, than the initials and place of origin appended to the preface. It may be said to be modelled on the plan of Keble's ' Christian Year,' but is confined to prose instead of verse. W. S. B. H.