Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 3.djvu/151

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s. m. FEB. 25, m] NOTES AND QUERIES.

145

Letter from an agent of Fastolfe's, circa ] 156 :

yff a lettre were devysed yn my maister

i ame or youres to Thomas Hygham, one of the j istices of pease in Suffolk "

Montaigne's knowledge of his English ncestry would naturally have been obtained from his father, who, as he knew the "'English form of the name and the family ihat bore it in England, would probably know also the part of the country (Suffolk in !3ast Anglia) where the family was located. And if he told these things^ to his son, he may, like other people with genealogical tastes, have been in the habit of speaking of them to friends and acquaintances, and among these (according to my hypothesis) to his friend Rabelais.

And hence Rabelais, when introducing his friend into his book, and casting about for an appropriate designation for him, may have been led to describe his " gentleman " as being "of the country of East Anglia." That the elder Montaigne was emphatically a "curious" gentleman may be concluded from the curious (one is tempted to say the Pantagruelian) system that he devised for the education of his son. C. J. I.

"SiR" AS A PREFIX. The prefix of "Sir" was formerly given to graduates of Oxford or Cambridge who had taken the degree of B.A., while that of "Mr." (Magister) was applied to those of higher degree a fact which, though somewhat startling, is never- theless fairly well known. It is, however, so well illustrated by the following extracts from the parish register of St. Mary the Less, Cambridge, that I venture to submit them for insertion.

Baptism.

ia34, 7 Feb. Margaret, d. M r D r Cozantz. Burials.

1585, 25 Sep. M r Thomas Dixie, B.D.

1590/1, 14 March. M r Hobbes, Fellow Commoner of Pembroke Hall.

1595, 20 May. S r Graye, B.A., Scholar of Pem- broke Hall.

1595, 14 Aug. M r Wattes, M.A. & Scholar of Pembroke Hall.

1617, 18 Oct. M r Thomas Turner, D.D.

1618, 17 July. M rs Lynne, ux. M r D r Lynne. 1627, 23 May. S r Cutherne, Scholar of Trinity

College.

1642. 9 Dec. S'Milse, B.A. ; South side of chancel.

G. E. C.

HAYWARD. (See ante, p. 72.) That Hay- ward, a hedge warden, should be such a common name is accounted for by the fact that formerly hedges were not, as" now, per- manent or quick-set, but were temporary, renewed every two years, protecting from the

cattle that part of the common field which was in tillage. When the field was restored to fal- low, the hedge, composed of loose-cut thorns like a zareba, was removed, or rather the thorns were shifted to protect the next arable land. These hedges were not private pro- perty, but belonged to the community, and the Hay ward was, therefore, a village official, usually remunerated by an allotment in the common field, or by a garth called the Hay- ward's Hamm. ISAAC TAYLOR.

PRICES IN 1734 : DUROY.

' ' This is to give Notice to all Gentlemen and others, That they may have good Druggets, Sagathie, and Duroy Suits made well and fashionable, for the first size Men at, 3^. 10s. a suit, and the larger size at 4:1. Cloth Serge, commonly called by the Name of German Serge, suits for 4:1. and 4.1. 10s. Livery suits for 4.1. and 4.1. 10s. Coloured and black Cloth suits for 51. and 51. 10s. At the Two Golden-balls in great Hart-street, the tipper end of Bow-street, Covent-Garden. Also Horsemen's great Coats to be sold ready made at 20s. each, Morning Gowns, Callimanco both sides, at 30s. a piece, blue Cloak-bags ready made at 16s. each, blue Rocklers ready made. Superfine black Cloth at 15s. per Yard." Fog's Weekly Journal, 21 Sep-

per tember, 1734.

H. H. S.

AN OLD PROVERB CONCERNING DOGS. In the 'Sacred History of Animals,' by Wolf- gang Franzius of Wittenberg, 1612, I find the following passage :

"[CanisJ quidem longe fidelius [animal] est servis, excubat prse foribus, custodit lares, noctu dieque est sedituus hominis, & yel furem, yel bestiam, vel peregrinum adesse vociferatione indesinente tes- tatur, unde factum est proverbium, quod habeat novem animas."

Presumably this means that the dog, like the harmless, necessary cat, has nine lives.

RICHARD H. THORNTON. Portland, Oregon.

"PARLEY'S PENNY LIBRARY." When a boy, circa 1842, 1 well remember the issue of this publication, which appeared in 12mo., either from the shop of John Cleave, 1, Shoe Lane, or that of W. M. Clark, Warwick Lane, well-known vendors of cheap publications. It ran a career of several years, and gave abridged issues of ' Master Humphrey's Clock,' 'Ten Thousand a Year,' 'Valentine Vox,' and other popular works of fiction. It was profusely illustrated by very indifferent woodcuts. The price in monthly parts was fourpence, and three parts formed a volume. The type was exceedingly small, and even to young eyes very trying. I can remember that it was often supposed that an injunction against the "Penny Library" would be issued by the Court of