Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 1.djvu/181

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NOTES AND QUERIES.

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Hatton, Lord Chancellor, comparing him to St. George, and headed with the humorous motto, " Et conculcabis leonem et draconem "; and verses to the University of Oxford, with motto and opening lines referring to the University arms. The motto is, "Quis est dignus aperire librum et solvere signacula eius ? " and the opening lines are : Moste famouse Vriiuersitie,

and seate of highe renowne. To whome broad open lyes the boke,

adornde with triple crowne. In reference to this poem, the author signs at the_ foot of the page, "Splendoris tui studiosissimus Thomas Palmerus."

PERCY SIMPSON.

THE MANX NAME KERRUISH (9 th S. i. 87). This is said to be one of the three most common names in the Isle of Man, and there is a popular rhyme :

Christian, Callow, and Kerruish, All the rest are refuse.

The recognized authority on the subject is Moore's 'Surnames and Place-names of the Isle of Man ' (Elliot Stock), and according to this clever little book Kerruish has nothing to do with Fergus ; Moore derives it from Feoras or Feorus, the Gaelic equivalent of Pierce. The Irish form of Kerruish would therefore be Mac Feorais, which occurs in Irish history as the patronymic of the Bermingham family. JAS. PLATT, Jun.

A well-written story, 'What came of a Holiday in Manxland,' appeared in the Church Monthly in 1897, and Kerruish was the name of the hero.

EDWARD H. MARSHALL, M.A.

SAMUEL MAVERICK (9 th S. i. 28). H. will find authorities in ' History of East Boston,' by Wm. H. Sumner, published Boston, 1858, by J. E. Tilton & Co.

EDWARD P. PAYSON.

HEBERFIELD AND THE BANK OF ENGLAND (8 th S. xii. 504 ; 9 th S. i. 97). Further informa- tion in reference to Habberfield may be found in Pycroft's 'Oxford Memories, 5 vol. ii. pp. _ 54-69. It appears that he kept a shop, which was much patronized by Westminster boys, for the sale of birds, ferrets, and other miscellaneous, and frequently illicit objects. This may have given rise to the legend that he was a Westminster boy himself. His chief ostensible business consisted in the purchase and boiling down of dead horses and other animals for glue. In this connexion there is a story that he once threw an exciseman into one of his vats and boiled him down. He certainly refused to deny the accusation on the morning of his execution. He was in a

tavern at the moment of his arrest. When the officers came in he at once seized a roll of notes and held them in the flames with one hand while he warded off the law officers with the other. But he held the notes so tight that part were not consumed, and he was convicted on the evidence of these charred fragments. Most determined efforts were made by his friends to procure his release, and he was accorded a respite of a fortnight on condition that he would furnish the name of the man who gave him the notes. This he refused to do, and that though he was aware that this very man had given the in- formation which led to his arrest. It was Tattersall, to whom he once sold a stolen horse, though Tattersall did not know it to be stolen, who most interested himself in the attempt to procure his pardon.

W. K. BARKER.

PERTH (8 th S. xii. 508). M!. will find the following lines as the heading of the first chapter of the ' Fair Maid of Perth' : " Behold the Tiber !" the vain Roman cried, Viewing the ample Tay from Baiglie's side ; But where 's the Scot who would the vaunt repay, And hail the puny Tiber for the Tay ?

Anonymous.

Obviously the lines are Scott's own, and in note A to vol. i. of this novel he alludes to the view from Moncrieff as the one which, it is said, made the Eomans exclaim that they had found another field of Mars on the banks of another Tiber. HERBERT MAXWELL.

It may be worth while to turn to ' N". & Q.,' 7 th S. xii. 229, 279, 359. W. C. B.

ST. PATRICK'S PURGATORY (8 th S. x. 236, 361, 463 ; xi. 229, 431, 493). On p. 27 of "Lectures on Irish Church History : No. 1, St. Patrick. By John Healy, LL.D., Rector of Kells. Dublin : 1897," one reads :

" Among other sites, doubtful as regards St. Patrick himself, but connected with subsequent history, may perhaps be mentioned St. Patrick's Island, in Lough Derg not the Lough Derg of the river Shannon, but a small lake of the same name in co. Donegal. This was a spot which all through the Middle Ages attracted crowds of pilgrims, and even to the present day it is visited by a not incon- siderable number every year. Here was the famous retreat known as St. Patrick's Purgatory, which became at one time renowned all over Europe, and is the subject of one of the medieval romances. Those who visited the place were said to see visions of a remarkable character, and to endure most frightful torments ; but it was said that they came out thoroughly renewed, having received a lesson that would last them a lifetime. The thing was put a stop to at the time of the Reformation, but to bhe present day the influx of pilgrims is a source of considerable revenue to the owner of the island. As far as we can judge, the place had never any