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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. n. AUG. 13, m

of whom, a girl, died in infancy in 1655, while all the rest of his children by that marriage died childless. But in 1703 Sir Stephen, being then seventy-six years old, and being, more- over, as is quaintly recorded of him, "of a vegete and hale constitution," was, naturally enough, unwilling that his abundant estate should pass out or his family for want of heirs of his body ; and accordingly this vegete old gentleman then married his second wife, who is stated to have been "the daughter of a Grantham clergyman." By this lady he had, among other progeny, a son Henry, who, in 1744, married Lady Caroline Lennox, the eldest daughter of Charles, second Duke of Kichmond, and the said Henry's second son by her was Charles James Fox. Now the Duke of Richmond's youngest daughter, Lady Sarah Napier, who, of course, was an aunt of Charles James Fox, survived till 1826, while the infant daughter of Sir Stephen Fox, his other aunt, died, as above stated, in 1655, and thus there was an interval of 171 years between the deaths of these two aunts of our hero.

The widow of Charles James Fox survived till 1842, or nearly 200 years after the death of her aunt by marriage.

PATRICK MAXWELL.

Bath.

REMARKS ON SIR WALTER SCOTT. The best part of ' Redgauntlet ' is the story in it en- titled 'Wandering Willie's Tale.' In this story a visit is made to the place where the dead are by Steenie, who is, warned not to eat or drink anything whilst he is there. It may be remembered that when Proserpine was carried to Hades, she lost her chance of returning through eating a pomegranate. In an old Jewish legend a man who is visiting the Mazikeen has a similar warning. Sir Walter Scott may have met with this legend, which now can be found in Keightley's ' Fairy Mythology.' An amusing introduction to a feeble novel is that which precedes ' The Betrothed'; and one incident in it has been imitated ; for in the comic papers of modern days the story has been told at least once concerning the reporter who concealed him- self under the table, was discovered, and finally kicked out. But Scott himself was remembering old jokes. Monkbarns drops his snuff-box and spills the snuff. The un- fortunate reporter cannot hinder himself from sneezing, and is in consequence detected. This probably was suggested by the discovery of the concealed lover in Apuleius and Boc- caccio. Charles Dickens, in one of the in- ferior stories with which he began his literary

career, mentions the case of a concealed lover who was discovered because he could not prevent himself from coughing when tobacco was smoked. And probably there are in literature other instances of persons similarly situated. E. YARDLEY.

ENTRANCE INTO CHURCHYARDS. The following extracts furnish an interesting example of parallelism of custom between distant European countries.

Mrs. S. H. Dunn, a writer in the June number of the Month, speaking of the Basque churchyards, says :

" The old burial-ground lies around the feet of the mother church. The gathered dust of the dead of many centuries has raised its level above that of the outside ground, and low walls retain it within their bounds. The entrances are merely openings in the wall without bar or gate; but at the threshold of each a small pit, dug in the soil and covered with an open grating, guards against the intrusion of errant cattle or enquiring dogs." P. 635.

The following occurs in Andrew Hamilton's ' Sixteen Months in the Danish Isles,' 1852 :

"Before entering the churchyard [of Baago] my attention was called to an arrangement at the gate, viz., a grating below the gate itself, over which it was needful to pass. Below the grating was a pit or hole in the ground about two feet in depth. The bars were thin pieces of iron, strong enough to bear the weight of a man, if he stepped upon them of a Sunday. The spaces between were about three inches each way. One design of the entire appara- tus was to prevent animals from desecrating the churchyard with their unhallowed feet. If a sheep or a pig or such like took it into its head to explore the graves, he would be effectually hindered at the outset by finding his legs literally taken from him, for they would sink through the grating, and re- main there till some Christian set him free ; or if the animal should struggle, he ran a great chance of getting off and leaving his legs behind." Vol. i. p. 315.

I have not heard of a contrivance of this sort having been in use in the British Isles. EDWARD PEACOCK. Dunstan House, Kirton-in-Lindsey.

LONG - LIVED FAMILIES. The following should be recorded in 'N. & Q.'asan instance of three lives covering a very long space of time. Sir C. Matthew Goring, the grand- father of the Rev. J. Goring, of Wiston, Sussex, now alive and vigorous, was born in 1703, the reign of Anne. He had a son Charles born in 1744, and his son, the Rev. John as above, was born in 1824.

A short time ago, i. e., till 1886, we had among us the Hon. Capt. Francis Maude, whose grandfather, Sir Robert Maude, was born in 1673, the reign of Charles II. Q.

GASPAR DE GUZMAN. In an article on Endymion Porter in the current number