Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 3.djvu/392

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[9* 8. III. MAY 20, '99.

to Onias the high priest," which asserts that "it is found in writing that the Lacede- monians and the Jews are brethren, and thai they are of the stock of Abraham " (1 Mace xii. 20, 21). Areus I. and Onias were un doubtedly contemporaries in B.C. 306, bul this was ancient history and the alleged letter may have been legendary. But what is not legendary is that Jonathan the high priest, the brother and successor of Judas Macca- bseus, in citing the letter about a century and a half afterwards, says to the Lacedemonians that, because of this kinship, " we at all times, without ceasing, both in our feasts and other convenient days, do remember you in the sacrifices which we offer, and in our prayers, as reason is, and as it becometh us to think upon our brethren" (1 Mace. xii. 11). Gentiles and heathens prayed for as brethren in the Temple at Jerusalem ! What an inter- esting fact ! How little could there have been in those days of the Jewish bigotry which has been the traditional reproach of the nation, though well (if not over) matched by Christian bigotry since !

K. M. SPENCE, D.D. Manse of Arbuthnott, N.B.

SKELTON'S CIPHER. This witty and inter- esting writer, in his 'Ware the Hauke,' challenges his readers after this fashion :

Loke on this tabull,

Whether thou art abull

To rede or to spell

What these verses tell. Sicculo lutueris est colo buraara (?) * Nixphedras uisarum caniuter tauntantes Raterplas Natanbrianurn sudus itnugenus 18. 10. 2. 11. 19. 4. 13. 3. 3. 1. tenualet. Chartula stet precor haec vello temeranda petulco : Hos rapiet numeros non homo, sed mala bos, Ex parte. Rem chartae adverte aperte, pone musam Arethusam hanc.

The words are probably nonsense, though one can trace eyes, vulture, dove, and phoenix at the commencement. The cipher is easy. The consonants follow the alphabetical order, and the vowels are a 1, e 2, i 3, o 4, u 5. This brings out Skeltonica. Similarly, in the ' Gar- land of Laurell,'

17. 4. 7. 2. 17. 5. 18.

18. 19. 1. 19. 8. 5. 12.

stands for Rogeru* Stathum. I wonder how many readers in this busy age have looked at Skelton. His ' Speke Parrot ' and ' Phyllyp Sparowe' are among the gems of our early literature. KICHARD H. THORNTON.

Portland, Oregon.

"ADROP," ALCHEMICAL TERM. I have al- ready given in these columns the etymologies

T* " Bunraard," ed. 1736.]

of some occult words, such as alembroth (8 th g ii. 391), arbatel (8 th S. iii. \\l\keautarit (8 th S. x 234). I now propose to explain the term adrop which will be found in all our best diction aries, but without etymology, even Dr. Murray knowing nothing of its origin. The 'Stanforc Dictionary,' published by the Cambridge University Press, says that it was "coined' by alchemists ; but this is a mere guess. In reality, like others of the same class, it haih from the Orient. It is the Persian usrup. Arabic usrub or usruf, " lead." A transition stage between this and the English spelling exists in the French form (al-) astrop, quoted in the supplement to Littre.

JAMES PLATT, Jun.

A PARISH OF NO IMPORTANCE. The follow- ing seems worthy of preservation in 'N. & Q.' presuming, of course, the correctness of the statement :

" The Northamptonshire County Council has been procuring returns from the various parishes in the county regarding parish documents, &c. The parish of Sulby makes the following remarkable return : ' No award, no church, no parson, no tithe, no public, no property, no documents.' " Globe, 15 June, 1898.

A. C. W.

WE must request correspondents desiring infor- mation on family matters of only private interest to affix their names and addresses to their queries, in order that the answers may be addressed to them direct.

" Gow." Jamieson gives this as an Angus word. It is defined thus : " A halo, a cloudy, colourless circle surrounding the disk of the sun or moon, supposed to portend stormy weather." Apart from this notice in Jamie- son I can find no evidence for the existence of this word. So far as I know there is no instance of its use in literature. Is the word n living use in Scotland ? A. L. MAYHEW. Oxford.

"HEELS O'ER GOWDIE." This appears to 3e a pretty common expression in Scottish poetry. Every one knows Burns's line :

Soon heels o'er gowdie ! in he gangs.

an any Scotchman tell me the exact original

meaning of "gowdie" in this phrase? Of

course its usual meaning is "goldy" or

'golden." I have never met with any

cientific attempt to solve this mystery.

A. L. MAYHEW. Oxford.

'THE MERRY TALES OF THE MEN OF GOTHAM.' Having recently made inquiries at the Bodleian Library, I was disappointed