174
NOTES AND QUERIES. [ii s. x. AUG. , wu.
With reference to M. de Renty, I might
refer to that excellent book by Maurice
Souriau, ' Deux Mystiques Normands au
XVIIe Siecle : M. de Renty et Jean de
Bernieres ' (Paris, Perrin, 1913).
WM. A. MCLAUGHLIN.
Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
FOLK- LORE QUERIES : SWALLOWS : ROBINS (11 S. x. 29, 78). The superstition about swallows mentioned by PEREGRINUS seems to coincide with a similar one regarding the robin in Yorkshire. A correspondent of
- N. & Q.' related the following (I forget
which number of 'N. & Q.' it was in, as I have only a written copy of it) :
" A young woman, who had been living in service at a farm-house, one day told her relatives how the cow belonging to her late master had given bloody milk after one of the family had Jdlled a robin. A cousin of hers, disbelieving the tale, went out and shot a robin purposely. Next morning her uncle's best cow, a healthy one of thirteen years, that had borne nine calves without
- uishap, gave half a canful of this ' bloody ' milk,
And did so for three days in succession, morning And evening . . . .The young man who shot the robin milked the cow himself on the second morning, still incredulous. The farrier was sent for, and the matter furnished talk to the village."
The above was written at least thirty years ago. A. S. WHITFIELD.
Walsall.
[The incident, which is said to have occurred in the neighbourhood of Boro'bridge, is related in
- N. & Q.' for 29 Feb., 1868 (4 S. i. 193). The belief
in the connexion between robins and " bloody " milk exists in the Alps (4 S. i. 329). See also 4S. viii.505; ix.24.]
SLOE FAIR (11 S. x. 90, 152). In Stephen Whatley's ' England's Gazetteer,' 1751, men- tion is made of a fair at Chichester at Michaelmas, which " holds 9 days, and is called Slow Fair."' The other three fairs appear to have been of only one day's duration each.
Might not a fair which covered nine days be called reasonably a " Slow Fair " ?
Can this be the explanation of the term " Sloe " or " Slow " Fair ?
The sloe is such a poor fruit that it would appear impossible that it should give its name to a nine days' fair.
ROBERT PIERPOLNT.
ST. ANGUS (11 S. x. 88). It would be interesting to know more about the saint buried at Balquhidder. His name, in this form at least, does not appear in the verv full ' Table hagiographique ' published by Monsignor Paul Guerin in vol. xvii. of ' Les Petits Bollandistes ' (Paris, 1882).
L. L. K.
THE SEVENTH CHILD OF A SEVENTH
CHILD (11 S. x. 88, 135). I had an intimate
knowledge of a seventh child, a relative,
who was said to possess the power of healing
by touch, and also the gift of clairvoyance,
because she was born at midnight on All-
Hallows so her Derbyshire friends asserted.
She certainly had clairvoyance to some
degree, and had a curious way with young
girls, after a quiet look at their fa r ;es
telling them things concerning their future
lives, some of which came about after \vards.
Her touch was singularly soothing, and gave
relief to pain. THOS. RATCLIFFE.
Southfield, Worksop.
The seventh child of a seventh child is supposed by Devonians to possess the power of curing King's Evil. Within recollection one answering this descriptk was sought from a long distance.
WEST COUNTREE.
A LONDON BUSHEL OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY (11 S. x. 90). There never wi any real difference between the London ar the Winchester bushels : they were twc slightly variant measures of the same ancient standard. The bushel contained the same weight of heavy wheat as a cubic foot con- tained of water i.e., 1,000 averdepois ounces=62 lb., and was divided into 8 gallons, each of 270 cubic inches. The gallon of the London bushel was 268 '8 cub. in., that of the Winchester bushel was 272 cub. in., corresponding to 2,150 cub. in. and 2,178 cub. in. for the bushel, the differ- ence being apparently due to the difficulty in casting shallow bronze bowls of absolutely the same capacity.
The ancient standard bushel attributed to King Edgar, existing at Winchester accord- ing to comparatively modern accounts of the city antiquities, seems to have dis- appeared : it is not in the Westgate collec- tion of weights and measures, and I could find no trace of it. On a recent visit to Dorchester, I found in the museum one of Queen Elizabeth's standard bushels, and I discovered within it the figures 2 157 '3 in faded white paint, only just legible. This number, evidently the capacity in cubic inches, is very close to the 2,160 of a bushel of 8X270 cub. in. When and by whom it was gauged I could not find out ; probably by an inspector of weights and measures.
The unity of the standard bushel is shown by its being called alternately " London " and " Winchester " in four statutes of the reigns of Charles II., William III., Anne, and George III.
