88
NOTES AND QUERIES. [ii s. iv. JULY 29, 1911.
Occasionally, too, one or other of the Irish
songs is given in the MSS. as " to the air of
- The Tweed.' ' All the evidence (into
which I need not further enter here) goes to show that this three- foot anapaestic metre was brought into Irish from English, its introduction in the first instance being due, apparently, to the popularity of some Anglo- Scotch song in praise of the Tweed. There is furthermore a strong presumption that the air to which such Irish songs are still sung, and of which some half a dozen settings have been published, was similarly imported. The Scotch Gaels appear to have borrowed the metre in the same manner. Thus Alexander MacDonald (flor. 1725-50) wrote in this metre a song on winter ( ' Oran a' Gheamhraidh'), which in the printed collec- tion of his poems is given as to the air of ' Tweedside ' (' Eiseirigh na Seann Chanain Albannaich,' 1874, p. 24).
^ I should be glad to get further informa- tion as to the words and the music of this old song called ' Tweedside.' I should also be glad to knoM* whether, apart from the four- line stanzas of Tusser (cf. Guest, ' History of English Rhythms,' 1882, p. 538), and the doubtful instance in Harl. MS. 2253 mentioned by Prof. Saintsbury (' History of English Prosody,' ii. 114), there exists any example in English of this ' Tweedside metre earlier than 1700.
THOMAS F. O'RAHILLY. 66, Botanic Road, Dublin.
BELGIAN COIN WITH FLEMISH INSCRIP- TIONS. I possess a Belgian two-franc piece having on the obverse the head of Leopold II. with the inscription " Leopold II. Koning der Belgen," on the reverse, within a wreath of (?) ivy and oak leaves, " 2 frank 1904." These inscriptions are, I suppose, the Flemish for the usual French inscriptions. Under the head is the name of the engraver, "Th. Vingotte." The motto " L'Union fait la force ' ' and the royal arms are omitted.
I do not suggest that the coin is very rare. It came to me in the ordinary way, among small change in France, this year.
What was the occasion of the issue of such coins ? Were any similar ones minted under Leopold I. ? ROBERT PIERPOINT.
CROSS-LEGGED EFFIGIES. Who was it who first assailed the theory that these appertained to Crusaders, and when, and where, did he record his arguments ? Not yet has his teaching reached all those who profess and call themselves archaeologists although as far back as 1868 there were
interesting papers in ' N. & Q.' (4 S. ii. 392,
446, 535, 588) discrediting the long-cherished
belief, which MR. GEORGE VERB IRVING
referred to in 1865 (3 S. viii. 312) as being
erroneous. In 1894 MR. J. LATIMER (8 S. v.
167) wrote :
" For the last forty years, to say the least, no one claiming to possess even an inkling of antiquarian knowledge has believed in the old fancy that a cross-legged effigy in a church denotes the burial- place of a Crusader."
My experience of life shows me that ignorance- on such a point may co-exist with much information on other archaic questions, in one and the same cranium. It would be interesting to know who started the- Crusader romance, as well as who first attempted its destruction.
ST. SWITHIN.
AUTHORS OF QUOTATIONS WANTED.
1. In smoke thou'rt wisdom, and in snuff thon 'rt
wit.
2. Multi ad sapientiam pervenire potuissent, nisi
se jam pervenisse putassent.
3. We all in one pinnace are rowing,
The haven we seek is the grave ; The Stygian waters are flowing Alike for the monarch and slave.
R. L. MORETON.
Quoniam non cognovi litteraturam introibo in potentias Domini.
LAWRENCE PHILLIPS. Theological College, Lichfield.
' THE LETTER,' POEM. I shall be obliged for information regarding the name of the author of the poem of which I append some lines, and the name of the volume in which the poem is included. I believe the poem w r as reviewed in the latter part of 1901.
The Letter.
They lit the fire, and fairies came To dance in flying cloaks of flame. They drew the curtains, and the day Entered the room divine and gay ; Still in her rainbow dawn disguise, With robe of rose and amethyst, And silver hood of morning mist Drawn down to hide her golden eyes.
WILLIAM H. DAVIES.
CHESS AND DUTY. Who made the fol- lowing comparison ?
"In a dilemma such as this, take a chess-table, and make your moves thus : King my duty ; queen my passion ; bishop my social obligations ; knight my what-you-will and my round-the-eorner- wishes. Then, if you find that queen may be grati- fied without endangering king and so forth, why, you may follow your inclinations ; and if not not."
J. B. B. J. L.
West Ealing.
