12 S. IV. FEB., 1918.]
NOTES AND QUERIES.
Physick,' 1596 (ed. 3, p. 369), " Take and
rape it [wood] " ; ibid., " Take one pound of
raped wood " ; and from J. Partridge,
1633, ' Treas. Hid. Secrets ' (cxvii.), " Put
into the pot one pound and halfe of your
Wood small raped." But instances relating
to such minute quantities hardly account
for the existence of a special occupation of
wood-rasping. ETHEL I-EGA-WEEKES.
NAHTJM TATE. On consulting the ' Dic- tionary of National Biography ' and the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopaedia I find it stated that Nahum Tate, the poet laureate, was (1) born in Dublin in 1652, and was (2) son to the Rev. Faithful Teate. I shall be .glad if any of your readers can inform me as to the original authorities for these statements, and will kindly reply direct to me. (Rev.) ST. JOHN D. SEYMOUR.
Donohill Rectory, Cappa white, Tipperary.
BXTRT, MINIATURE PAINTER. I shall be glad of any information regarding a man of tnis name who painted miniatures in the early part of the nineteenth century. I have a nice one of a great-aunt by him ; it is dated 1814. I have been unable to find his name in any of the ordinary books on the subject, and I do not know where the painting took place.
HERBERT SOUTHAM.
ST. MARTIN DE LONDRES. Can any of your readers tell me who was " St. Martin -de Londres " ? A church near Montpellier is dedicated to him, and, I believe, another near Dax. A. B. C.
WATER-COLOUR PICTURES. i am anxious to trace the whereabouts of the following water-colour pictures :
1. ' Sheep, Winter,' and companion, by Verner.
2. ' Troubled Times,' by Hugh Carter.
3. ' The Prairie,' and companion, by Macpherson.
4. ' Convalescent,' by W. Joyce.
E. L.
HORN BOOK IN BRASS : EARLY INFANT SCHOOL. In Messrs. Maggs's Catalogue, April-May, 1913, there was an illustration. ,t p. 44 of a brass "horn" book, 5 by 2J in. On the back it bore the inscription, " St. Paul's Infant School, A.D. 1729." It was stated in the catalogue that brass horn books are extremely uncommon. They were probably stamped, and as the expense of sinking a die would be considerable, they must have been
manufactured in large numbers to enable
the manufacturer to recoup himself for the
original outlay. It is, I think, just possible
that an entry might be found in some
manufacturer's old price list, or perhaps
in some school accounts. It would be
almost impossible to identify " St. Paul's
Infant School," as we are without any
indication of the locality.
The horn book is interesting from another point of view, as infant schools have always been regarded as having been first formed in the early part of last century, or perhaps in the latter part of the eighteenth. It would be very interesting to establish the fact that there was an institution known as the ' ; Infant School " in the year 1729.
R. B. P.
THOMAS WHITEHEAD, RECTOR OF BIRD- BROOK: WESTMINSTER ABBEY PRESEN- TATIONS. Was a boy named Thomas Whitehead (Whithed) at the old West- minster School circa 1483-90 ? He was afterwards for about half a centxiry Rector of Birdbrook, Essex, a living in the gift of Westminster Abbey. Was he presented by the Abbey ? Or was there an exchange for that turn ? I presume the Abbey has a record of all its presentations. Where can these be seen ? The printed books show a gap from about 1490 to 1548 for this and other benefices in the diocese of London. BENJAMIN WHITEHEAD.
Temple.
WELSH RIVERS. I wonder if any of your readers can help me to find a quotation, possibly from Edmund Burke. Three Welsh rivers are compared. Each is said to be marked by some beautiful characteristic. I think the Clwyd is one of the first two ; and the third is the Towy, which is de- scribed as the most suitable for " elegant retirement." JESSIE SPURRELL.
38 King Street, Carmarthen.
PARCY REED OF TROUGHEND (NORTHUM- BERLAND) AND SIR REGINALD READE. I shall be obliged if any of your readers can tell me in what year in the sixteenth century the murder of Parcy Reed of Troughend, in Redesdale, took place, and where I can obtain an account of the murder, also his ghost story and ballad.
I believe there appeared in ' The Gem ' c f 1828, an annual edited by Thomas Hood, a poem entitled ' Death of Keeldar ' (Reed's favourite dog), accompanied by an engraving from the painting of the same title by A. Cooper, R.A. ; but so far I have not managed
