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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. vn. APRIL 27, 1901.

' WHITAKER ' ON ANDORRA. In * An Alma nack for the Year of our Lord 1901,' by <Josep Whitaker, F.S.A., on p. 552, it is said of An dorra that it is

"a miniature Republic in the Pyrenees, with a: area of 175 square miles, and a population of 6,000 it is under the joint suzerainty of France and Spain There is a Council of Twenty-four, elected by certaii of the inhabitants, a judge, and two vicars (priests appointed in turn by France and the Bishop o Urgel."

In 1886 I walked through this toy state, o: state toy, passing one night in the village o Andorra, and another in San Julian, tin largest village. I had some conversatior with the veguer of France, a layman. '. ascertained that the veguer, who is etymolo gically the vicar, is never, as Whitaker states a priest ; that the title of the state is not republic (though this word has been used in Latin and neo-Latin for monarchical govern rnents, merely meaning state, commonweal, or government), but bi-principado, or doubli principality. Official documents there al uescribe it so. One prince is the French republic, as successor of the French kings who held the countship of Foix ; the other is the Bishop of Urgel for the time. These two princes have equal authority in those quiet valleys. There is no judge but the veguer. Ecclesiastically the little state belongs to the diocese of Urgel. Spain, under the conditions of modern life, and nominating the bishop, has considerable influence, but not "suzerainty," in Andorra. The popular tongue there is Catalan, the Provencal of Spain. Most Andorrans, however, speak Castilian also, and many of them French, and the patois of the Ariege as well. Spanish coins and stamps are in use. The name An- dorra seems to be of Bask origin, just as Aran, the name of another little state in the Pyrenees, means valley in Baskish. Andorra would seem to mean alder-tree (sambucus). I saw some specimens of that plant there. There are places in modern Bask-land named from the same tree, i.e., Anduain, where Lar- ramendi and Erro were born. I wrote to the editor of ' Whitaker's Almanack ' some time after my visit to Andorra, pointing out the mistakes in the description of that princi- pality. They have been repeated down to the beginning of the twentieth century. Some information about the country may be seen in the writings of M. P. Vidal, Bibliothe- caire de Perpignan.

Don Juan Oliva, librarian of the Museo Balaguer at Villanueva y Geltni, Catalufia, gives me the following notes for publication in a letter dated 21 February :

" Respecto a Andorra creo que el Veguer (nombre que se dio tambien en Catalunya a los que represent- aban al Rey en las regiones 11am adas veguerlas) siempre es personage civil, nunca eclesiastico. De un tomo manuscrito que aqui guardamos, titulado ' Manual Digest de las Vails neutras de Andorra,'

escrit per lo Dr. en dret Anton Fiter y Resell

en 1748, le copio lo siguiente, por si puede

intersesarle : ' Llibre 2 on Dels Ministres y Oficials de Justicia y denies a ella concernent en las Vails de Andorra. Capitol l er Los Veguers de Andorra son Llochtinents y Viceregents dels Prin- ceps ; sa recepcio, jurament, y Jurisdiccio 6 autoritat. Los Veguers vulgarment nomenats de las Vails de Andorra se han conegut en ella en lo temps antich per los noms de Bajulus, Vicarius 6

Veguer Es tan antigua sa autoritat en las Vails

de Andorra, com en ellas es antich lo Gobern

En la formacio dels pariatges es ahont tingu6 prin- cipi lo Gobern y Justicia, per indivis dels dos de Andorra un n omen at per quiscun dels senyors de ellos, pues en ellas se declara que las ditas Vails fossen gobernadas per indivis per Veguers, dels cuals nomenas y elegis un lo Sr. Bisbe de Urgell y altre lo Sr. Com'te de Foix, lo que encara se observa vuy en dia.' Creo que con este le bastard para salir de dudas."

This note need not be lengthened by a trans- lation of this Castilian with its Catalan quotations. ' N. & Q.' was born to set things right. E. S. DODGSON.

BOOK BY RICHARD BAXTER. Following up my query at 9 th S. vi. 430, I have since then come upon a reference to this book in 'A Journal, or Historical Account of the Life, Travels, Sufferings, Christian Experiences, and Labour of Love, in the Work of the Ministry, of that Ancient, Eminent, and Faithful Servant of Jesus Christ, George Fox,' London, 1765. In a letter dated from 'South-street, the 24 th of the 4 th month, 1685," Fox thus writes (pp. 584-5) :

" I read of a wise moral philosopher who, meeting a- woman with her neck and breast bare, laid his land upon her and said, ' Woman, wilt thou sell his flesh?' and she replying 'No' : 'Then pray,' aid he, ' shut up thy shop ' (meaning her bare reasts and neck). So they were looked upon as arlots that went with their necks, breasts, and )acks bare, and not modest people, even among the noral heathens. Therefore those that profess the knowledge of true Christianity should be ashamed f such things. You may see a book written by the r ery Papists, and another by Richard Baxter the ^resbyterian, against bare breasts and bare backs."

A. S.

SWEEP'S SIGN. I copied the following rom a sign over a sweep's door in Wem in 890:

Thomas Matthews liveth here, Sweeps Chimneys clean and not too dear, Cleans Smoke Jacks at your desire, And puts out Chimneys when on fire.

HERBERT SOUTHAM. Shrewsbury.