Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 2.djvu/176

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. n. AUG. 27, '

The person then to be executed kisseth her, then doth she close her arras together with such violence, that she crusheth out the breath of the party, breaketh his bulk, and so he dieth ; but being dead she openeth her arms again, and letteth the party fall into the mill, where he is stamped into small morsels, which the water carrieth away, so that no part is found again."

Is there any historical basis for this grue- some story ? JAMES HOOPER.

Norwich.

[Such " virgins " are common. See under ' Nurem- berg Virgin,' 4 th S. v. 35, 151, 255 ; 5 th S. ii. 209, 274 ; 8 th S. ii. 147, 210, 311, 353; and Archceologia, xxvii. 229-50. Is Bressau correct ? We know of no such place.]

FOOT-LIFT. In October, 1623, an order appears in the Salisbury Corporation ledger that a "foot-lifte" be provided forthe Mayor to ride to church with the judges ('An Account of Old and New Sarum,' 1839, p. 145). What is a foot-lift 1 JOHN HEBB.

Canonbury Mansions, N.

BANAUSIC. I read in 'Essays in Liberalism ' (Cassell & Co., 1897) the following passage :

" It is the refinement of cynicism to limit your view of Education to the sacrifices it may demand at the hands of the ratepayers. It is a great mis- fortune that this banausic view should be held by men who enjoy a more commanding influence than the country squire."

The italics are mine. I turn to my Liddell and Scott, and find "re^t/?/ /^ayavcriKjj, a mechanical trade." Has this word ever been seen before 1 ED. PHILIP BELBEN.

Branksome Chine, Bournemouth.

[The 'H.E.D.' gives a quotation dated 1876 from Grote. Our contributors generally would do well to consult more frequently this admirable work for the earlier letters of the alphabet.]

CECIL. How do you pronounce the above as a Christian name 1 Is it pronounced " Sissle," short, i. e., as the word " thistle "; or is it pronounced as though written " Sessill " or " Sessle " ? How does Lord Salisbury pro- nounce his family name 1 BARBAROS.

W. EWING. Can any of your readers give me information about W. Ewing ? I should imagine he was located in Dublin. An ivory relief (head in profile) of Major H. C. Sirr is inscribed " W. Ewing sc., 1818." It is well executed, and the sight measure in the wooden frame is 2^ in. by 2| in.

HARRY SIRR.

[W. Ewing, then residing in London, exhibited in 1822 at the Royal Academy four ivory carvings. See Algernon Groves's 'Dictionary of Artists.']

S. ANDREA DELLE FRATTE, HOME. In Sir M. E. Grant Duff's ' Recollections ' reference is several times made to an extraordinary

occurrence in the church of S. Andrea delle Fratte, which led to the conversion to the Roman Church of Alphonse Ratisbonne, and which is annually commemorated by a special service. What was the occurrence, and where can an account of it be found 1 B. W. S.

THE SURNAME AND FAMILY or READ AND READE. I shall be grateful if any reader can give me (through these columns) the origin of these surnames. What part of England do they belong to ; and is anything known of any ancient families bearing these names 1 When in Dorset some years ago, I observed that the names were very common in that county. Perhaps they are Dorset names.

B. W. D.

ECCLESIASTICAL HAT TRIMMINGS. Can any one declare the origin of the cords and rosettes which adorn the hats of ecclesias- tical dignitaries, and give a clue by which an observer may pick out the head-gear of arch- bishop, bishop, dean, and archdeacon respec- tively from a collection of " toppers " dis- played on pegs 1 ST. SWITHIN.

[See under ' The Clerical Rosette,' 6 th S. iii. 266. The query remains unanswered.]

POLLARD MONEY. What was the "pol- lard money," called in the margin "JSTumisma Pollardorum," mentioned in the 'Annals of Ireland,' printed at the end of " Camden's Britannia | publish'd by Edmund Gibson, of

Queen's College in Oxford London 1695"? The passage in which mention is made of this money is as follows : " MCCC. The Pollard money was prohibited in England and Ire- land." JOHNSON BAILY.

Ryton Rectory.

[Pollard money=clipped coins. The term was specially applied to counterfeits of the English silver penny imported into England temp. Ed. I. by foreign merchants.]

SIR WILLIAM GORDON, BRITISH MINISTER AT BRUSSELS. Who was the father of this diplomat, who in 1775 accidentally blinded the Prince d'Aremberg at a "shoot" near Ipris ? The incident is described in Mrs. Atholl Forbes's 'Curiosities of a Scots Charta Chest.' J. M. BULLOCH.

198, Strand.

PETER THE GERMAN. Who were the parents of this king of Hungary 1 Anderson ('Royal Genealogies,' 1736) and the 'Uni- versal History ' (1784) make him nephew of St. Stephen, the son of his sister Gisela. So does Mr. Baring-Gould (' Saints,' Sept. 2) ; but Anderson gives a William of Burgundy as his father ; Baring-Gould gives " the Doge