Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 1.djvu/398

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NOTES AND QUERIES.

[9 th S. I. MAY 14, '98.

Museum ; it is dated M.CCC.VIII., and, as the inscription thereon sets forth, was made for St. Mary's Abbey in that city. Sometimes mortars bear letters or marks which may be intended to act as charms. " Amor vincit omnia " occurs on two or three examples which I have seen. Probably this and simi- lar legends were not mere poetic fancies, but were used with the serious intention of preserving the virtues of or adding efficacy to the things pounded therein. "Amor vincit omnia " was the motto of Chaucer's prioress. The lady and the mortar-caster alike derived it, directly or indirectly, from Virgil's

Omnia vincit amor ; et nos cedamus amori.

'EcL'x. 69.

It may not be out of place, in conclusion, to remark that mortars have sometimes been borne as heraldic charges. The gilds of the Spicers of St. Bavon, Ghent, and the Barbers or Brussels bore mortars (Felix de Vigne, 'Corporations de Metiers,' pi. 23, 30). The emblem or badge of St. Damien is said to be a mortar. I should like to know the autho- rity for this. " Do it by degrees, as the cat ate the pestle," is a proverbial saying in these parts; it is commonly addressed to impetuous children, but is by no means reserved for their instruction only ; grown-up folk whose pro- gress is hindered by their overweening desire to get on with work are often cautioned thus. What the cat had to do with the pestle how, when, or why she ate it is unknown to me. Probably it refers to some folk-tale now lost.

EDWARD PEACOCK. Dunstan House, Kirton-in-Lindsey.

In Northumberland a " knockin'-trow " or " creein' - trow " that is, a stone trough or mortar was formerly used for "creeing" or hulling barley. The barley was prepared for the pot by steeping it in water in the " knockin'-trow," and then by beating it with the knockin'-mell till the husks came off. The grain was then boiled with milk. Cf. Heslop's ' Northumberland Words,' s.v. Hand mills, or querns, consisting of an upper and under stone of a hard grit, were also used a long time ago. The upper stone had a hole in the middle, through which the grain was fed, and another at the side in which was placed a stick, which, grasped by two women facing each other, was turned rapidly round, thus grinding the corn. I have the upper half of one of these mills. It is rounded on the upper side, and measures sixteen inches in diameter, and five and a half inches in thick- ness at the centre. The under half of these mills is rarely found. During the Border forays it was hidden away, thus rendering

the upper half useless. In Pennant's ' Tour in Scotland,' 1774, vol. i. p. 286. is a plate showing two women grinding with the quern. The Scriptural allusion to two women oeing at the mill, one taken and the other left, is thus explained to those who are unfamiliar with Eastern usages. G. H. THOMPSON. Alnwick.

[Many replies are acknowledged.]

"CHORIASMUS" (9 th S. i. 305). Of course, as MR. ADAMS has kindly pointed out, the word intended was chiasmus. How the other abnormal form managed to intrude is one of those inexplicable things that are constantly offering themselves for the consideration of the psychologist. As to the matter of the note, it may now be said that there was no intention of asserting (as MR. ADAMS im- plies) that " the employment of ' this ' for the nearer, and of ' that ' for the remoter of the objects," was an example of chiasmus. It is when this arrangement is reversed that the construction may be said to fall under the figure. Perhaps I may be permitted, once in a way, to quote from myself. When anno- tating 'Marmion' for the Clarendon Press series of English classics in 1889, 1 considered that the lines 59-62 of Introduction to canto i. offered an example of chiasmus. These lines run thus :

What powerful call shall bid arise The buried warlike and the wise ; The mind that thought for Britain's weal, The hand that grasp'd the victor steel ?

My note on this passage is as follows (Cl. Pr.
 * Marmion,' p. 89) :

" The inversion of reference in these lines is an illustration of the rhetorical figure ' chiasmus.' Cp. the arrangement of the demonstrative pronouns in these sentences from ' Kenilworth ': " Your eyes contradict your tongue. That speaks of a protector, willing and able to watch over you ; but these tell me you are ruined.' "

The passage cited from ' The Heart of Mid- lothian ' is a somewhat exaggerated instance of the same kind, and this was what I in- tended to indicate by calling it as I should have called it " a peculiar chiasmus."

THOMAS BAYNE.

Helensburgh, N.B.

RESTORATION OF HERALDRY (9 th S. i. 245). On my last visit to Westminster Abbey 1 could not help thinking that the tomb (in the south aisle of Henry VII.'s Chapel) of Mar- garet, Countess of Eichmond, who died in 1509, stood in need of cleansing and beautifying. The face of the effigy upon it is wonderfully like her portraits, her hands are upraised in prayer, and her headdress that of a nun. The