Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 9.djvu/457

 12 s. ix. NOV. s, 1921.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 375 them into their camp. The ends and sides are much worn in places, showing distinct traces of where the Roman soldiers used it for sharpening their* knives and other weapons. It is cracked through the centre, and no wonder, as doubtless it has lain in this exposed position for many, many centuries. A. A. FLASHBOURNE. "ABTEMUS WARD" (12 S. ix. 310). W. B. H. asks, "Is ' Artemas,' or ' Arte- mus,' or are both spellings, correct ? " Whatever present usage may determine, there can be no doubt that historically " Artemas " is the right form. 'Apre/ias occurs in Greek inscriptions and was the name of a friend of St. Paul (Epist. to Titus iii. 12). In its Latin dress Artemas or Artema is found in Varro and in many in- scriptions. It would seem that " Artemus " is a modern (? American) form, due to the its final syllable, and, perhaps, in part to the analogy of proper names ending in -us. EDWARD BENSLY. 4 ' BUTTER GOES MAD TWICE A YEAR" (12 S. ix. 330).- It is always pleasant to have occasion to turn to Swift's 4 Polite Conver- sation.' We get this in Dialogue I. : Neverout : Miss, the Weather is so hot, that my Butter melts on my Bread. Lady Answerall : Why, Butter, I've heard 'em say, is mad twice a Year. In Vincent Stuckey Lean's 4 Collectanea,' i., p. 435, the saying is quoted from Ray's 4 Collection of English Proverbs,' 1678 : Butter is mad twice a year, Once in summer heat, when it is too thin and fluid ; and once in the cold of winter, when it is too hard to spread. Ray has a curious saying among ' Pro- verbial Observations Concerning Hus- bandry, &c.' : Butter's once a year in the cow's horn. EDWARD BENSLY. VIDA'S * GAME OF CHESS ' (12 S. ix. 332). These further English translations are taken from the British Museum Catalogue of Printed Books : ' Scacchia ludus : chesse play, translated into English verse by G. B..' 1597. Transl. by Mr. [W.I Ersldne, 1636. Transl. by S. Pullein, Dublin, 1750. Translation, Eton, 1769. Transl. [by A. Murphy], Amsterdam, 1876. Translation, Oxford, 1778. EDWARD BENSLY. MAKING BRICKS WITHOUT STRAW (12 S. ix. 331). The straw, like many more at first sight seemingly useless ingredients such as are frequently to be found in medieval recipes and secrets, is probably capable of scientific explanation. The addition of straw would, in the case of sun- dried bricks, contribute towards even drying and prevent warping. If the bricks were burnt the straw would tend to prevent "blowing." Theophilus; in his 'Diversarum Artium Schedula ' (twelfth century), instructs that the clay for making the arched roof of a glass -painter's kiln should be mixed with horse -dung and dry hay in the pro- portion of three to one. This would make the mixture porous and* prevent cracking. Fletcher, Russell and Co., the well-known gas engineers, recommend that the roofs of kilns and furnaces, when in need of repair, should be mended with a mixture of fire- clay, silicate of soda (water-glass) and saw- dust. The sawdust carbonizes in the heat of the kiln and leaves the fireclay full of cells like a sponge, which is less likely to crack than ,a perfectly homogeneous sub- stance. JOHN A. KNOWLES. That very helpful compilation, Dr. William Smith's ' Concise Dictionary of the Bible,' notes, sub ' Brick ' : The Israelites, in common with other captives, were employed by the Egyptian monarchs in making bricks and in building. . . . Egyptian bricks were not generally dried in kilns but in the sun, and even without straw are as firm as when first put up. ... When made of the Nile mud they required straw to prevent cracking, and rude brick walls had frequently the additional security of a layer of reeds and sticks placed at intervals to act as binders. Another commentator asserts that the straw was chopped up and mixed with the clay. Its silicious quality would increase the durability of the bricks. ST. SWITHIN. SCHOLARS (12 S. ix. 309, 356). These are not uncommon ; they often figure in con- tinental booksellers' sale and auction cata- logues of MSS., &c. Some years ago I handled a few in the British Museum, where, I was told at the time, they had about 150 of them. The poetic effusions are in most cases worthless, but the names, dates, and places of stay of the scholars and their friends often give valuable clues to bio- graphers. L. L. K.
 * ' neutral " pronunciation of the vowel in
 * ALBUM AMICORUM ' OF WANDERING