Various

Monumental Brass at Wanlip, Co. Leicester, and Sepulchral Inscriptions in English.—In the church of Wanlip, near this town, is a fine brass of a knight and his lady, and round the margin the following inscription, divided at the corners of the slab by the Evangelistic symbols:

"Here lyes Thomas Walssh, Knyght, lorde of Anlep, and dame Kat'ine his Wyfe, whiche in yer tyme made the Kirke of Anlep, and halud the Kirkyerd first, in Wirchip of God, and of oure lady, and seynt Nicholas, that God haue yer soules and mercy, Anno Dni millmo CCC^mo nonagesimo tercio."

Mr. Bloom states, in his Mon. Arch. of Great Britain, p. 210., that—

"There are, perhaps, no sepulchral inscriptions in that tongue (English) prior to the fifteenth century; yet at almost the beginning of it, some are to be met with, and they became more common as the century drew to a close."

Is there any monumental inscription in English, earlier than the above curious one, known to any of your correspondents?

William Kelly.

Leicester.

Influence of Politics on Fashion.—Can any one of the numerous readers of "N. & Q." explain the meaning of the following passage of the note of p. 305. of Alison's History of Europe, 7th edition?—

"A very curious work might be written on the influence of political events and ideas on the prevailing fashions both for men and women; there is always a certain analogy between them. Witness the shepherd-plaid trousers for gentlemen, and coarse shawls and muslins worn by ladies in Great Britain during the Reform fervour of 1832-4."

Henri van Laun.

King William's College, Isle of Man.

Rev. W. Rondall.—Can any of your correspondents give information respecting the Rev. William Rondall, Vicar of Blackhampton, Devonshire (1548), who translated into English a portion of the writings of the learned Erasmus?

Historicus.

Henry, third Earl of Northumberland.—The above nobleman fell on the battle field of Towton (Yorkshire), 29th March, 1461, and was interred in the church of St. Denys, or Dionisius, in York, where his tomb, denuded of its brass, is still pointed out. Pray does an account exist, in any of our old historians, as to the removal of the body of the above nobleman from that dread field of slaughter to his mansion in Walmgate in the above city, and of his interment, which doubtless was a strictly private one? Again, does any record exist of the latter event in any book of early registers belonging to the above church? Doubtless many readers of "N. & Q." will be able to answer these three Queries.

M. Aislabie Denham.

Piersebridge, Darlington.

"When we survey," &c.—Where are the following lines to be found?

"When we survey yon circling orbs on high,

Say, do they only grace the spangled sky?

Have they no influence, no function given

To execute the awful will of Heaven?

Is there no sympathy pervading all

Between the planets and this earthly ball?

No tactile intercourse from pole to pole,

Between the ambient and the human soul?

No link extended through the vast profound,

Combining all above, below, around?"

Alledius.

Turnbull's Continuation of Robertson.—Some years ago, a continuation of Robertson's work on Scottish Peerages was announced by Mr. Turnbull, Advocate of Edinburgh.—I shall be glad to be informed whether it as published; and by whom or where.

Fecialis.

An Heraldic Query.—Will any one of your contributors from Lancashire or Cheshire, who may have access to ancient ordinaries of arms, whether in print or in manuscript, favour me by saying whether he has ever met with the following coat: Per pale, argent and sable, a fess embattled, between three falcons counterchanged, belled or? It has been attributed to the family of Thompson of Lancashire, by Captain Booth of Stockport, and an heraldic writer named Saunders; but what authority attaches to either I am not aware. Is it mentioned in Corry's Lancashire?

Heraldicus.

Osborn filius Herfasti.—Were Osborn, son of Herfast, abbot of S. Evroult, and Osborn de Crepon (filius Herfasti patris Gunnoris comitissÆ), brothers? or were there two Herfasts?

J. Sansom.

Jews in China.—A colony of Jews is known to exist in the centre of China, who worship God according to the belief of their forefathers; and the aborigines of the northern portion of Australia exercise the rite of circumcision. Can these colonists and aborigines be traced to any of the nations of the lost tribes?

Historicus.

Derivation of "Mammet."—The Rev. B. Chenevix Trench, in his book on the Study of Words, 4th edition, p. 79., gives the derivation of the old English word mammet from "Mammetry or Mahometry," and cites, in proof of this, Capulet calling his daughter "a whining mammet." Now Johnson, in his Dictionary, the folio edition, derives mammet from the word maman, and also from the word man; and mentions Shakspeare's

"This is no world to play with mammets, or to tilt with lips."—Henry IV. (First Part), Act II. Sc. 3.

As both Dr. Johnson, the Rev. Ch. Trench, and many others, agree that mammet means "puppet," why not derive this word from the French marmot, which means a puppet.—Can any of the readers of the "N. & Q." give me a few examples to strengthen my supposition?

Henri van Laun.

King William's College, Isle of Man.

Non-recurring Diseases.—Among the many diseases to which humanity is subject, there are some which we are all supposed to have once, and but once, in our lifetime. Is this an unquestioned fact? and if so, has anything like a satisfactory explanation of it been offered?

?.

Warville.—There being no w in the French language, whence did Brissot de Warville derive the latter word of his name?

Uneda.

Philadelphia.

Dr. Doddridge.—A poem entitled "To my Wife's Bosom," and beginning

occasionally appears with the name of the Rev. Dr. Doddridge as the author. Is it his?

M. E.

Philadelphia.

Pelasgi.—In an article which appeared some time ago in Hogg's Instructor, Thomas de Quincey, speaking of the Pelasgi, characterises them as a race sorrowful beyond conception.—What is known of their history to lead to this inference?

T. D. Ridley.

West Hartlepool.

Huc's Travels.—I was lately told, I think on the authority of a writer in the Gardener's Chronicle, that the travels of Messrs. Huc and Gabet in Thibet, Tartary, &c., was a pure fabrication, concocted by some Parisian littÉrateur. Can any of your readers confirm or refute this statement?

C. W. B.

The Mousehunt.—I should feel much obliged to any reader of "N. & Q." who would refer me to any mention of in print, or give me any information from his own personal experience, respecting a small animal of the weasel tribe called the mousehunt, an animal apparently but little known; it is scarcely half the size of the common weasel, and of a pale mouse-colour. It is said to be well known in Suffolk, whence, however, after some trouble, I have been unsuccessful in obtaining a specimen; young stoats or weasels having been sent me instead of it. I could not find a specimen in the British Museum. Some years ago I saw two in Glamorganshire; one escaped me; the other had been killed by a ferret, but unfortunately I neglected to preserve it. Near the same spot last year a pair of them began making their nest, but being disturbed by some workmen employed in clearing out the drain in which they had ensconced themselves, were lost sight of and escaped.

Mr. Colquhoun, in The Moor and the Loch, ed. 1851, says:

"The English peasantry assert that there are two kinds of weasel, one very small, called a 'cane,' or 'the mousekiller.' This idea, I have no doubt, is erroneous, and the 'mousekillers' are only the young ones of the year, numbers of these half-grown weasels appearing in summer and autumn."

The only description I have met with in print is in Bell's Life of Dec. 7, 1851, where "Scrutator," in No. 15. of his Letters "On the Management of Horses, Hounds, &c.," writes:

"I know only of one species of stoat, but I have certainly seen more than one species of weasel.... There is one species of weasel so small that it can easily follow mice into their holes; and one of these, not a month ago, I watched go into a mouse's hole in an open grass field. Seeing something hopping along in the grass, which I took for a large long-tailed field mouse, I stood still as it was approaching my position, and when within a foot or two of the spot on which I was standing, so that I could have a full view of the animal, a very small weasel appeared, and quickly disappeared again in a tuft of grass. On searching the spot I discovered a mousehole, in which Mr. Weasel had made his exit."

W. R. D. Salmon.

Lockwood, the Court Jester.—In some MS. accounts temp. Edw. VI., Mary, and Elizabeth, now before me, payments to "Lockwood, the king's jester," or "the queen's jester, whose name is Lockwood," are of almost annual occurrence. He appears to have travelled about the country like the companies of itinerant players.

Are any particulars known respecting him, and where shall I find the best account of the ancient court jesters? I am aware of Douce's work, and the memoirs of Will. Somers, the fool of Henry VIII.

William Kelly.

Leicester.

Right of redeeming Property.—In some country or district which I have formerly visited, there exists, or did recently exist, a right of redeeming property which had passed from its owner's hands, somewhat similar to that prescribed to the Jews in Leviticus xxvi. 25. &c., and analogous to the custom in Brittany, with which Sterne's beautiful story has made us familiar. Can you help me to remember where it is?

C. W. B.