Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 8.djvu/312

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. vm. OCT. 12, 1901.

fined to members of the great Ferrarian(Farrar, Farrer, Ferrer, Ferrers, &c.) clan, of Norman origin, and to places once connected with them-e.<7., the town of Oakham in Rut- land, where Walcheline (temp. Henry 11.) de Ferrars had Oakham Castle with its horse- shoe tenure ; arms, Azure, one horseshoe or. What is the genesis of the Fountains shield 1

MICHAEL FERRAR. Little Gidding.

MOTTO ON BELL. Can any one shed light on the following, which is inscribed on one of the bells of this church : "Richarys Phil- pots CAR DIANYS ANNO 1680 " ? 1 do not know if the first letter of the third word is a c or a G. The fourth word signifies, I presume, 9 October. It is the car (or gar) which 1 want elucidated. REGINALD H. BIRD.

Thruxton Rectory, Tram Inn, Hereford.

FLEUR DE MARiE.-In 'N. & Q.,' 4 th S. xii. 284, R. N. J. states that there is a beautiful French hymn which, alluding to the daisy, begins "Fleur de Marie." Can any one give the hymn, or say where it may be found ?

MEGAN.

CANN OFFICE. This is a hamlet in Mont- gomeryshire, on the road between Llanfair and Mallwyd, said to have been a single public-house about one hundred years ago ; also called Cannon's Office, because, in the time of Cromwell, cannon were placed before the house. What is the meaning of " Office " 1

H. G. H.

SPIDER - EATING. It is told of the cele- brated Anne Maria Schurmann (who, if all be true that is related of her, far surpassed in accomplishments our own Mrs. Carter) that she was extremely fond of eating spiders. Now did she eat spiders from a depraved appetite or perverted taste merely, or for some other reason, such as that spiders possessed great nutritive value or were a brain food 1 There may be something hidden here upon which some of your correspondents can throw light. Certainly spiders are much less commonly eaten than snails, worms, or frogs. THOMAS AULD.

INSTRUMENTAL CHOIRS. Are there any instrumental choirs left now in Anglican churches ? Thirty-five years ago there was a good one at Kirk by Malham, Yorks, parish church. An old lady's fat butler play- ing on a 'cello I remember best of the set. No doubt they are gone long since; alsoj very likely, the Time and Death frescoes on the west arch. Nowadays, if one wants to hear psalms with strings and pipe, one

must go to the Church of Rome or the Methodists. In the latter the Primitives (Ranters), at any rate, keep them up, but then, as their nickname implies, they like noise. As to this, the other day an elderly woman, who belonged, as she told me, "to the old body" (meaning not the Church, but the Wesleyans antiquity is, after all, merely comparative), declined to go with a relation to the Primitives, " because they 'oilers so." "Yes," said the aunt, "they does 'oiler 'oiler they does but" (with the air of announcing a decision of a general council) " the more 'ollerin' the more grace." Some years since I heard of the Primitives at Spennymoor, Durham, or some pit village near there, having acted a kind of miracle play of Joseph the coat of many colours being represented by an old Durham militia uniform ; and I have often seen " living pic- tures " (sacred) done in a London Methodist chapel. IBAGUE.

[Modern instrumental choirs were discussed at much length 8 th S. i. 195, 336, 498 ; ii. 15 ; vii. 127, 152, 311 ; viii. 272.1

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE BICYCLE. Has any one started upon this? I believe it begins with "The Velocipede, its Past, its Present, and its Future. By J. F. B. How to Ride a Velocipede, ' Straddle a saddle, then paddle and skedaddle.' With twenty-five illustra- tions" (London, Simpkin & Marshall, 1869). It traces the instrument from the celtfrifere of Niepce (c. 1770) to the boneshaker of Michaux (1867). EDWARD HERON- ALLEN.

FRANK FOSTER. Some books obtain a con- siderable popularity whose authors never- theless remain in comparative obscurity. There ought to be a Bio-Biblio-graphical Society for the collection and interchange of such information.

For instance, the following books have recently come under my notice. They must have been well known to a large number of readers for many years, and yet I cannot find a syllable about the writer.

1. ' Number One ; or, the Way of the World.' By Frank Foster. London, 1862. 8vo, ending on p. 460. This is a vague and discursive autobiography. On the last page appears: "End of volume one. Note. Should the author's life be spared, this work will be continued." A second series appeared in the following year.

2. ' The Age We Live In ; or, Doings of the Day.' By Frank Foster, author of 'Number One: or, the Way of the World,' &c. London, 1863. A pamphlet of twenty-four ieaves, with a portrait of the author en-