Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 5.djvu/422

 414

NOTES AND QUERIES.

. v. MAY 20, 1900.

Perhaps the standard literary use of soweni is in the closing stanza of Burns's 'Hallow e'en ':

Till butter'd sow'ns, wi' fragrant lunt, Set a' their gabs a-steerin.

That is, the buttered sowens, with their fra grant steam, set all mouths astir. Burns's note to the passage is, " Sowens, with butter instead of milk to them, is always the Hal- loween supper."

Here, then, we have the sowens themselves the " sowen-kit," which is also known as the "sowen-boat" and the " so wen-tub," and the special festive dish called "buttered sowens." "Sowens" is a preparation from the husks taken from oats in the making of pat- meal. Known as " seeds," they are put into a sowen-tub or sowen-kit witn double their weight of warm water, then, after being well stirred are left several days till they sour. More water is then added, and the mixture is stirred and strained, the " seeds " being care- full v separated. The liquid is allowed to settle, when the starch forms a white, con- sistent sediment. The water is poured off, and fresh water added to purify, after which by a process of boiling the food is prepared. In the glossary^ to Herd's * Scottish Songs ' the definition given of " sowens " is, " Flum- mery, or oatmeal soured amongst water for some time, then boiled to a consistency, and eaten with milk or butter." In the People's Journal of 5 May there is an account of " sowens," apparently from the pen of an ex- pert, from wnich the following may be quoted :

" Thin or raw sowens was used as a drink in Aberdeen and other northern towns of Scotland in those days [Burns's time] on New Year's Day morn- ing. Raw sowens were also used as a substitute for milk in former times. Sowens as a supper dish used to be presented at the best tables in the north of Scotland, also in Ireland and Wales under the

name of flummery It may be made and not

allowed to stand or get sour. This is an advantage to some people who do not like the sour flavour. It is then known as 'oatmeal jelly,' and than this tonic a better could not be found for any one suffering from stomach troubles and indigestion."

THOMAS BAYNE.

THE FLAG. Mafeking Day showed a pleasant return in London to the national flag. The badges worn, however, continued to be those of Frenchmen, Russians, and Dutch rather than the English red. This modern folly, which began in the seven ties, ignores the heraldic and true colour of England gules. One house (9, Lowndes Square) showed nothing but the royal flag of Scotland, of which four fine examples graced it. Even if the owner were a Jacobite he would not be committed by the royal standard to

support of the Parliamentary succession, or of the present line of kings. The rural districts continue to adorn themselves with the flags of the Netherlands, of Russia, or of France, right way up or upside down as the case may be. D.

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 maybe addressed to them direct.

COWPER'S LETTERS. For a long time I have been engaged in collecting, annotating, and arranging in chronological order the corre- spondence of the poet Cowper, and the work will shortly be published. Ten years ago I asked, by means of your columns, all persons who possessed original letters of Cowper to be kind enough either to send me copies, or to compare the originals with the letters as printed in Southey and send the excised portions. The appeal was successful. Manv copies of unpublished letters came to hand, and in numerous cases the originals were sent. I have been steadily collecting ever since. Before going to press, however, I should like to make one more appeal. I want every person who possesses original letters of Cowper, and who has not already helped, to be good enough to communicate with me. The letters as given by Southey and Grimshawe are not only not in chronological order, but many are mere fragments. Moreover, many letters have never been published. I should be glad to obtain a copy of the earliest known letter, which was written from Durham, and, curiously enough, to a Mr. Wright ; and I have wondered whether any of the lost letters to Clotworthy Rowley will ever be found. The publication in chronological order of as complete a collection as possible of the cor- respondence of the prince of English letter- writers is a great desideratum.

THOMAS WRIGHT. Cowper School, Olney.

"As BUSY AS THROP'S WIFE." This is a saying current in the dales of North Derby- shire and West Yorkshire. I should be very much interested to know if any light could 36 thrown upon the personality of Throp. Be must have been a man of mark that his wife's industry should have passed into a

roverb. A. B. C.

[See l at S. i. 485, under "As throng as Throp's wife." ' Throng " or " thrang " is a Yorkshire equivalent of 1 busy."]