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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. xn. OCT. 3, 1903.

positions they might afterwards occupy in their own lands ? NORTHERN.

" MERRILY DANCED THE QUAKER'S WIFE."- Can you tell me where to find the words o] " Merrily danced the Quaker's wife "the old song, and not the new words written by Prof. Blackie to the old tune 1 G. A. M.

GOLDEN RULE. Is the origin known of the expression " Golden Rule " as applied to the summary of our duty to our neighbour " to do to all men," &c. 1 A. M. H.

ANGLO-SAXON NAMES AND TITLES. I shall be obliged for a translation of "scir locc' and u muf," if any of your correspondents can kindly supply the same. An Anglo- Saxon entry, beautifully written (in the early part of the eleventh century) and carefully punctuated by the scribe, contains those terms, and hitherto no explanation of them has been suggested.

A manumission ceremony took place, the act being by the lady Jjfthselflsed, wife of " ^Ethselwerd dux." The witnesses are thus described in the record :

presbiter. wine presbiter. dunstan presbiter. goda minister. relfwerd scir locc. aethjel- wme muf. ealdred fratre' ejus. eadsige scriptor. et hii [a second list] prudens presbiter. boia dia- conus. wulfsige diaconus. bryhsige clericus ." The act was afterwards confirmed by " ^Ethsel- waerd dux" himself, before the high altar of a monastic church, in the presence of the following witnesses :

"buruhwold bisceop . germanus abbas . tittherd presbiter . wulfsige diaconus . wurgent films samuel . ylciurthon prepositus . tethion consul fc name cut away] hlius mor ."

The bishop was of St. Germans, the abbot was probably Germanus of Cholsey, and the duke was probably the alderman soon after- wards outlawed by Canute. The punctuation leads one to suppose that the expressions scir locc' and "muf" are descriptive of offices held by vElfwerd and yEthselwine, two laymen.

If not descriptive of offices held by them they may, perhaps, be their surnames : but so, what do these surnames mean 1 ? We know what all the other names and titles signify but the meanings of "scir locc" bherlock ?) and muf ; ' are .not apparent

T, Western Terrace, W ' Un0 -

BASTABLE. I am very anxious for infor- mation on the subject of the Bastable familv formerly of Castle Island, co. Kerry. George Lastablo (temp Queen Anne), of Castle island, was the father of Mary Bastable, who

married Arthur Herbert, of Currens, co. Kerry. Whom did this George Bastable marry ? KATHLEEN WARD.

Castle Ward, Downpatrick.

GAGE. I should be glad to have any par- ticulars of the following Gages who were educated at Westminster School : Henry, admitted 21 June, 1813; H. H., at the school in 1782 ; William, admitted 17 September, 1787 ; W. H., at the school in 1796.

G. F. R. B.

SPURIOUS ANTIQUITIES. Where can par- ticulars be found of a manufactory of spurious antiquities in Rosemary Lane, London 1 Who were the partners, and what are the things they produced in the main 1

T. CANN HUGHES, M.A., F.S.A.

Lancaster.

HAWTHORN. What is the true origin of haw in haivthorn ? I have only Skeat's ' Dictionary ' to refer to, and he gives it as from haw, a hedge. But hedges are a com- paratively late invention. I ask because in a deed of early Henry III., which I have had before me, occurs the phrase "et unam dimidiam acram duarum selionum apud Horethornes inter terrain Roberti in angula," &c. fforethorne^the white thorn, Spina alba, as distinct from the black thorn. Compare horehound and the erroneously termed black horehound. I should be glad to know if the deed quoted, nearly seven hundred years old, reveals a new derivation, or whether such a reading has been already discussed. CHARLES SWYNNERTON.

[The 'N.E.D.' mentions the " hedge" derivation as possible, but says that "the history of its de- velopment is not clear."]

HAMBURG : ITS ETYMON. Hamburg owes its fortune to its haven on the Elbe. The name of this river has probably the same origin as the Scandinavian elv, the common word for river. Haven in Scandinavian is \arnn. Does Hamburg mean the "borough on the haven, haven-burg " 1

E. S. DODGSON.

BRASENOSE ALE VERSES. Can any of your correspondents kindly tell me when the cus- tom commenced of writing ale verses on Shrove Tuesday at Braseriose College, Oxford? WILLIAM ANDREWS.

Koyal Institution, Hull.

' THE SPIRIT OF THE WOODS.' Can any one bhe Woods, illustrated by coloured engrav- ngs. By the author of ' The Moral of Flowers.' London: Printed for Longman, Rees,
 * ell me who was the author of " The Spirit of