Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 9.djvu/430

 352 NOTES AND QUERIES. [i2S.ix.ocT.20 f i02i. I also have a self-made list of the signs referred to in Cobbett and Howell's ' Com- plete Collection of State Trials,' in 33 vols., published 1809-28. The majority of these references fall within the period 1640 to 1760. Mr. J. Holden MacMichael, formerly a prolific contributor to ' N. & Q.,' commenced an exhaustive account of ' The London Signs and their Associations,' in alphabetical arrangement, in The Antiquary in 1904. So fitfully did the instalments make their appearance, however, that when the maga- zine ceased publication at the end of 1915 no further than midway through the letter ' C ' had been attained to. As- suming that Mr. MacMichael had brought his labours to a conclusion for the re- mainder of the alphabet, it would be in- teresting to know the whereabouts of the MS., and if there is any prospect of its publication in another form. WM. McMuRRAY. 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. WATT STATUE.- I am anxious to find the present location of the statue of James Watt, the engineer, by William Scoular, exhibited at the Royal Academy Exhibition in 1840. The fact that the statue was in marble indi- cates that the artist had been given ^ definite commission. H. W. DICKINSON. TUDOR COAST DEFENCES. Will any reader put me on the track of references in the Record Office to the construction and equip- ment of the block-houses or forts on sea- coasts or estuaries- built in Tudor times. We know that at Colchester several were built, and at least two on the estuary of the Exe. Kindly reply direct. H. WILSON HOLMAN, F.S.A. " t Furlong," Topsham, Devon. OLD HUNTING PICTURES.- Who was the painter of certain large pictures of hunting, &c., in the seventeenth century, and what (packs of foxhounds did he paint ? SPORTSMAN. FENNY COMPTON TERRAR: EXPLANATION OF WORDS SOUGHT. In a terrar or catalogue of lands and leys of Fenny Compton, War- wickshire, dated 1662, 1 find the following : " 2 lands by the pike Colidge Petifer on the west not to be baited for when they are heech." Can any reader explain the words in italics. G. C. GRAVES. NICKNAME OF WILLIAM PITT (THE YOUNGER). I have in my possession a letter written in 1786 describing a debate in the House of Commons and expressing the greatest admiration of the part borne therein by a prominent personage whom the writer calls " the Cornette " (or " the Comette"). Though no name is mentioned the context and other circumstances make it practically certain that the allusion is to Mr. Pitt. Can any reader tell me what was this nickname by which Mr. Pitt was apparently known, what it meant, &c., &c. ? I should add that the writer of the letter was himself a member of the House of Commons at the time and held a subordinate office in Pitt's administration of that day. S. W. THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS. What, ac- cording to the modern doctrine, constitutes the right to bear arms ? Is it sufficient to prove legitimate descent in the male line from the original grantee ? Sir William Dugdale, writing in 1681, insisted that it is not so ; but he was admittedly arguing from their ancient use as a means of distinguishing leaders in the field. This purpose they have long ceased to serve and are not likely to be required to serve again for centuries to come ; if they serve no other, they are merely a curious survival, of no piactical utility. But, if they can be regarded as the mark of a family, distin- guishing that family from others, indicating kinship and promoting esprit de corps among those of the same stock, there seems to be no reason why there should not be a great and serviceable future before them as long as civilization endures. It may seem, at first sight, particularly out of place to appeal to utility in heraldic matters, which have so long been at the mercy of " authority " ; but is it really so out of place as it seems ? Arms had their origin in a true, practical need of society ; they were useful, therefore they flourished. When they ceased to be useful, they fell into disrepute. If the present revival of interest in the subject is to endure, they must be shown to serve