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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9* s. v. JUNE 2, im

teenth century) Braikenridge. I have up to the present only found the date of his death (given in the Gentleman's Magazine, 1762, p. 390), 30 July, 1762. From papers given in the Philosophical Transactions and his work entitled " Exercitatio Geometrica de Descrip- tione Linearum Curvarum, 4to., printed for J. Nourse at the Lamb, without Temple Bar, London, 1733," it would appear that he was a very able mathematician. Chasles, in his 'Apergu Historique sur 1'Origine et le Developpement des Method es en Geometric,' mentions Braikenridge six times, and says, p. 151 :

" Braikenridge fut, dans la description des courbes de tous les degr&s, un digne e'mule de Mac-Laurin ; et la th^orie de ces courbes mi est redevable de plusieurs belles propositions fondam en tales, relatives princi- palement k leur description par 1'intersection de aroites qui tournent autour de poles fixes ; proposi- tions qu il exposa dans son traite" intitul^ : ' Exer- citatio geometriae de descriptione linearum cur- varum' (in-4, 1733), et dans un Me"moire qui fait partie des ' Transactions philosophiques,' ann6e

The only other information I have about him is that he was F,R. arid A.S., Rector of St. Michael Bassishaw, London, and Master of Sion College Library. I shall be pleased if any of your readers can give me further information, and if the three entries in Merchant Taylors' School, Archibald Braken- ridge, John Brakenridge, and Wm. Braken- ridge, are connected with the subject of the inquiry. W. STOTT.

ARTICLES ON HAMPSTEAD. I have two of a series of articles on Hampstead, entitled 'Hampstead and the Heath,' by Gold thorn Hill, which originally appeared in a maga- zine, probably about 1860. I wish to find out what periodical it was, and, if possible, to get the whole of the articles in question. Would readers also inform me of other magazine articles on our delightful suburb ? Any books on the subject are readily found in catalogues, but there appears to be no record of magazine articles. E. E. NEWTON.

7, Achilles Road, West Hampstead, N.W.

[See Poole's ' Index to Periodical Literature.']

CHRISTOPHER MERRETT. I should be greatly obliged for any information about Christopher Merrett, who, in a communication to the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society on the Lincolnshire fens, dated 1696, is described as "Surveyor of the Poor of Boston." Was he connected with Christopher Merrett, the author of the 'Pinax Rerum Naturalium Britannicarum,' who himself was a son of a previous Christopher Merrett, and died a year before the date of his Boston

namesake's communication ? To judge from the character of the communication referred to this Christopher Merrett was an excellent observer and no mean naturalist.

THOMAS SOUTHWELL. Norwich.

VAUTROLLIER, PRINTER. Richard Feild, a Stratford man and friend of Shakespeare, learnt his business in the printing office of Thomas Vautrollier, London. There was a Thomas Vautrollier, a printer, in Edinburgh, who printed Balneves's 'Confession of Faith ' in 1584. Was there any connexion between these two printers, evidently foreigners from the name ? J. G. WALLACE- JAMES, M.B.

Haddington.

WEATHER FOLK-LORE. In the North three vernal storms are mentioned, described respectively as the lambing, the gosling, and the peesweep storm. ' I shall be obliged for information as to the third. What is a " peesweep " 1 Is it rightly spelt ?

HIPPOCLIDES.

" BRANCH." What is the origin of the use of this word as signifying a pilot's certificate ? Johnson and Richardson do not know it, and the earliest instance of its employment which the ' H.E.D.' records is dated 1865. RICHARD H. THORNTON.

Portland, Oregon.

FOSTER POWELL, THE YORKSHIRE PEDES- TRIAN. There is an excellent engraving of this celebrated pedestrian, representing him full length in his walking costume. Can any reader of * N. & Q.' kindly give me the title of any biography or account of his remark- able feats about the year 1732 1

HUBERT SMITH.

" BUMMEL." Is this word, used by Mr. Jerome K. Jerome in the title and text of his new book, rootless, or does it derive its being in the ordinary way 1 The author says :

" A bummel I should describe as a journey long or short, without an end ; the only thing regulating it being the necessity of getting back within a given time to the point from which one started."

Perhaps this bummel may be related to the German bummeln, to tinkle, or to the dreadful jBummelzug, slow train. I have not read 'Three Men on the Burnmel,' but the above paragraph caught my eye as I was gloating along my bookseller's counter.

ST. SWITHIN.

ROYAL ARMS, ELIZABETH AND EDWARD VI. How can one distinguish between the royal arms of Elizabeth and of Edward VI. (both having for supporters a lion and a dragon) ?