Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 8.djvu/452

370 NOTES AND QUERIES. [i2S.viii.MAY7,io2i.- WEATHERALL. I shall be much obliged if anyone can give me particulars of the family of this name showing the connexion therewith of Grace Lady Smith, who died in 1832, and who was the wife of General Sir John Smith, G.C.H., Colonel Comman- dant, Royal Horse Artillery ; he died in 1837. CHRISTOPHER W. BAYNES, BT. 27, Lowndes Square, S.W.I. ALIENS IN NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, SIX- TEENTH CENTURY. Can anyone tell me ! if there Were any settlements of aliens, | Huguenots or other, in Northamptonshire i during the first half of the sixteenth century, also if such aliens would be likely, in the ! absence of any chapels of their own, to be- ! come members of the Church. R. MERIVALE. CULVER HOLE, GOWER, GLAMORGAN- | SHIRE. Perhaps some South Wales reader i could tell me, or put me in the way of finding j out, about the Culver Hole in Gower, Glamorganshire. The cliff has been built up several hundred feet and inside there is a network of passages. This wild coast was famous, or infamous, for smuggling and wrecking, but I have not been able to find out any records or detailed account. H. E. JAMES. Magdalene College, Cambridge. SIMEON MUSGRAVE. Can any correspon- dent of ' N. & Q.' give me particulars of the parentage of Simeon Musgrave, or the maiden name of his wife Hester, by whom ha had ? inter olios a son Simeon, baptized in St. George's Chapel, Mayfair, London, March 30, 1742 ? Was he the son of Simon Musgrave who died in the East Indies in 1756 ? WM. JACKSON PIGOTT. Manor House, Dundrum, Co. Down. MARY BENSON, alias MARIA THERESA PHIPOE. Maria Theresa Phipoe, of Hans Square, Brompton, was on April 15, 1795, brought to Bow Street, charged by John Courtois, of Oxenden Street, with having obtained from him a note for 2,000 under a threat and attempt to cut his throat. She was committed for further examination, and on May 23 was found guilty of felony. On February 23, 1796, however, at the Old Bailey sessions, Mr. Justice (William Henry) Ashurst found that her case did not come within Stat. 2 Geo. II., cap. 25, and that the judgment against her must be rescinded. On. April 9 following she was tried for the assault on Courtois, found guilty, and on April 11, 1796, sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment. On December 8, 1797, Mary Benson, alias Maria Theresa Phipoe, was tried for the murder of Mary Cox, her intimate friend, and .found guilty. She was executed on Monday the llth. Has any account of this interesting criminal been written ? JOHN B. WAINEWRIGHT. FIRE PICTURES. I have in my collection of Fire Pictures one representing the burning of H.M.S. Bombay, which I am informed took place at Monte Video. I should be so much obliged if any reader could give me any information as to the date and circumstances of the fire and also if there were any other of H.M. ships in the harbour at the time, and, if so, their names. In my picture there are two other ships, apparently men-of-war. The burning ship appears to be a frigate, but as only one mast, is standing I cannot be sure. C. F. Fox, Lieut. -Colonel. REFORMATIONS OF THE CALENDAR -At the time of the reformation of the Julian Calendar, in 1582, ten days those between October 4 and October 15 were omitted for the purpose of rectification. Similarly in 1752 eleven days were omitted. The reason commonly assigned is that error had arisen by accounting as Leap Years those terminal years of the centuries ending in 00, of Which the significant digit, or digits, Were not multiples of four. If this explanation had been entirely sufficient, eleven days should have been omitted in 1582 and twelve in 1752 ; for the century years that could have caused error were 100, 200, 300, 500, 600, 700 r 900, 1000, 1100, 1300, 1400, 1500. What is the true explanation ? Does any English manual give the various forms of the Cisiojanus, with explanation of their uses ? J. C. WHITEBROOK. 24, Old Square, Lincoln's Inn, W.C. FARNDON COMMUNION CUP. At Farndon,. near Chester, is a plain oviform cup, dated 1840, bearing the following inscription : Received in exchange for a Cup the Gift of John Speed to the Church of Farndon. As it seems probable that the cup given by Speed bears an inscription to that effect, we should like to know where it is, even if it cannot be restored to the church for which it was originally bought.* W. F. JOHN TIMBRELL. Coddington Rectory, Chester.