-266
NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 S.I.APRIL 1,1916.
~was arrested in London, and appeared at the
Old Bailey in April, 1782, charged with
returning from transportation. From New-
gate he was removed to the Savoy, where his
. biographer leaves him.
If only for its descriptions of the state of Newgate between the years 1770-80 the little book is interesting, and it is evidently based upon facts. The fair sister, Mary Madan, is said to have been a celebrated courtesan,
whose cher ami, Lord S , successfully
interceded for the disreputable brother on several occasions. Patrick Madan must have been a notorious criminal in his day. What -was the end of him ?
HORACE BLEACKLEY.
"LEUICIANA." On p. 177 of the ' Life of St. Declan of Ardmore ' and the ' Life of St. Mochuda of Lismore,' edited by the Rev. P. Power, and published in October, 1915, by the Irish Texts Society, of London, the final note on the former ' Life ' runs :
" [96] TOMB. The word in the Latin text is ' Leuiciana,' the meaning of which was unknown to the Bollandists, and apparently also to Du Cange. From other Irish ' Lives ' (cf . St. Mochuda's) it is quite clear that leviciana is a tomb or cemetery."
Is it not a mediaeval variety of levitica, in the sense of the burial-place of the levites, or " clerics," the " ordained " portion of the -community ? In the cemetery at Bayonne there is a special sepulchre for the clergy of that diocese. Or is it a Latinization from 'Gaelic leoie = " ashes," cineres ?
E. S. DODCSON.
GOSSIPS AND LIES. In some parts of Derbyshire, when two or three women are seen standing at a door, they are said to be " hearin' one lig an' tellin' tow." To tell , " lig "=tell a lie. THOS. RATCLIFFE.
MAJOR JOHN FAIRFAX. (See 8 S. vi. 448; vii. 15, 58, 217.) Some years ago I submitted a query respecting the above, and /now, after a considerable lapse of time, I have found amongst some of my grand- father's papers the original commission of John Fairfax as a lieutenant of infantry. I give a copy of this in extenso, as it may possibly be of interest to some readers of 4 N. & Q.,' and is also an addition to the notes which have appeared at the above references. As to whether John Fairfax transferred, at a later date, to a cavalry regiment I have no other evidence than the particulars on the back of the miniature as previously given.
" The Honble John Cartier Esq r Governor of
- Fort William &c. Commander in C hief of all the
Forces Employed in the Service of the United
Company of Merchants of England Trading to the
East Indies in the Kingdom of Bengal and Pro-
vinces of Bahar and Orixa President of the Council
of Fort William To John Fairfax Gentleman,
Greeting
[SEAL]
EdW 1 Baber Secy
Beposing especial Trust and Confidence in your Loyalty Courage and Good Conduct I do by these Presents Constitute and Appoint you John Fair- fax Gentleman to be a Lieutenant of Infantry in the Service of the said United East India Company on the Bengal Establishment You are therefore duly to exercise as well the Officers as Soldiers in Arms under you and to Use your best Endeavours to keep them in good Order and Discipline and I do hereby Command them to Obey you as their Lieutenant. And you are to take Bank as such from the Twenty Fifth day of April One thousand seven Hundred and Sixty Nine. And you are to Observe and follow all such Orders and Directions from time to time as you shall receive from the Governor for the time being [illegible] Your Superior Officers according to the Bules and Discipline of War in Pursuance of the Trust hereby reposed in You.
" Given under My hand and the Seal of the said United East India Company in Fort William this Second day of July in the Tenth Year of the Beign of Our Sovereign Lord George the third by the Grace of God of Great Britain France and Ireland King Defender of the faith and so forth and in the Year of Our Lord One thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy.
[signed] JOHN CARTIER Begister'd in the Secretary's Office
By Order of the Honble the President & Council [signed] EDW* BABER Sec?.
CHARLES DRURY.
A QUESTION IN PROBABILITIES. Several years ago there appeared in one of the reviews an able article. It aimed at proving, and I think did prove, that, while the ordinary gambler is a victim of his folly, he has a more even chance of winning at the tables of Monte Carlo than otherwise and elsewhere. But the writer advanced this proposition : that, while the chances of a coin, being tossed up, falling head or tail are equal, this equality of chances is undisturbed although the coin should fall heads up fifty times running. This I am much inclined to doubt. My reason is that, in calculating chances, all relevant facts should be taken into account ; and the long recurrence of " heads up " is a relevant fact. I leave the inquiry to mathematicians.
It may be worth while to add that some coins, like the current penny of George V., are biased by the prominence of the head and the slight corresponding depression of the tail. A smooth Victoria shilling will produce even results.
RICHARD H. THORNTON.
