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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. in. JUNE 24, m

remarks in a consolatory way as regards himself, "Hey put nowt up to mean nowt," by which he means that though he was defeated in the argument, his opponent's remarks were not of much value. At first sight the phrase is not easily understood, yet those who use it most the worst educated, with no learning at all except that which is natural to them understand it perfectly. I have heard the remark used as a criticism on a sermon and on remarks made from the platform. Some vary it by using the word "owt" at the end, which really means anything, as "Oh, hey '11 say owt." Of one who speaks "as gospel" and has been "found out" the comment would be, " It 's nowt. Hey puts nowt up ter mean nowt." THOS. RATCLIFFE.

Worksop.

HUMPBACKS TOUCHED FOE LUCK. Mr. Joseph Hatton, in his ' Cigarette Paper ' in the People of 11 June, had a note on the decline of deformity in England, and, apropos of the increasing rarity of hunch- backs, added the following :

" To touch the hump of a deformed person for luck was common, and is to this day. Recently an interesting passenger with a prominent hump arrived at New York by a Liverpool liner. A superstitious Irish- American Custom House officer touched the protuberance for luck. It contained a thousand pounds' worth of jewellery."

JAMES HOOPER. Norwich.

ROSE AND CASTI. In the 'Dictionary of National Biography,' under Rose (William

Stewart), we are told : "In 1819 he brought out a free rendering of the * Animali Parian ti ' of Casti, each canto of which was introduced by an address to one of his friends." This free rendering I have never seen, but I understood it to be much shorter than Casti's work. Casti's * Gli Animali Parlanti ' consists of twenty-six cantos, which comprise 18,574 verses. If to these the arguments be added (there is a six-verse argument to each canto) we have a total of nearly 19,000 verses. But even this is not all. There are the ' Origine dell' Opera,' which comprises 618 verses, and four apologues which comprise 1,782 verses. Thus it will be seen that the ' Animali Parlanti ' is a very long poem. Casti seems to have been a most prolific writer. He is worthy of remembrance as the poet who composed two hundred sonnets to celebrate the persecutions which he suffered from a creditor, in whose debt he was to the amount of eighteenpence or thereabout. The details of Casti's life and work as given in any of the popular manuals of

literature are most meagre. Rose is worthy of all praise for having attempted a transla- tion of Casti, even though it were not much of a success. THOMAS AULD.

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.

" NORMAN GIZER." This is said to be a name for the missel-thrush in the neighbour- hood of Banbury, Oxfordshire. This bird is said to be known also in Salop as the " Norman thrush." Can any of your readers corroborate these statements from personal experience 1 ? The word gizer is probably a derivative of O.Fr. guis, the same word as Lat. viscum, mistletoe. A. L. MAYHEW.

Oxford.

AMULET. The Queen of Sheba said unto Solomon, " Give to me, I pray thee, an amulet for my signet ring, which would be applicable for joy and sorrow " ; and he answered, " And this also shall pass away." Where have I read this ? I should be glad of the reference. RICHARD HEMMING.

11, East Grove, C.-on-M., Manchester.

GOETHE. I seek a passage from Goethe of which I have only the English. I have no clue as to whether the original is in the prose works or poems :

" People fancy that we must become old to become wise, but in truth, as years advance it is hard to keep ourselves as wise as we were."

W. I.

TENURE OF UNIVERSITY OFFICE. The recent celebration of Sir George Stokes's professorial jubilee suggests the query, What is the longest known tenure of university office? Lord Kelvin was appointed to his chair at Glasgow in 1846 ; Prof. Thomas Marty n held office at Cambridge for sixty- four years, 1761-1825 ; and Prof. Roderick Macleod at Aberdeen for sixty-seven years, 1748-1815. P. J. ANDERSON.

University Library, Aberdeen.

GREEN RIBBONS USED AT A FUNERAL.- Whitelock, in his 'Memorials,' under the date of 30 April, 1649, says :

" Mr. Lockier a trooper, who was shot to death by sentence of a court martial, was buried in this manner. About one thousand went before the corpse, and five or six in a file, the corpse was then brought with six trumpets sounding a soldier's knell, then the trooper s horse came clothed all