12 S. IX. OCT. 8, 1921.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 297 THE GREAT RAIN (12 S. ix. 127, 173). Toone's ' Chronological Historian," dealing with the year 1763, says : June 15. ... A storm of thunder and lightning happened at Leicester, which did considerable damage, and greatlj injured the spire of St. Mary's steeple. July 15. A violent storm of thunder and i lightning happened at Minety in Gloucestershire, j by which Mr. Browne, a respectable farmer, and t one of his servants were struck dead, after taking shelter under a hawthorn tree. Aug. 19. The metropolis was at twelve at noon overcast with a darkness resembling that which preceded the great earthquake at Lisbon, it rose ; in th'3 N.W. attended with hail, rain, wind, and ; lightning, and driving with great velocity over I London, devastated the county of Kent, oc- casioning a loss of upwards of 50,OOOZ. It was particularly severe at Wateringbury, Hadlow, and other neighbouring Parishes. Oct. 2. A violent storm of wind and rain ! visited the three Kingdoms, but more particularly j Ireland, 17 bridges in Wicklow and 7 in Kilkenny were swept away by the floods, one of the bridges fell while crowded with people, and 70 persons perished. Dec. 1. The Hanover packet from Lisbon, with 17,OOOL in specie on board, was lost in the Xorth Channel, off Padstow, and the captain, crew, and passengers, amounting to 60 persons, perished. A violent storm of wind and rain, general over Great Britain and Ireland, did immense damage to the buildings and shipping. JOHN B. WAINEWRIGHT. WILLIAMS, EXECUTED 1618-1619 (12 S. ix. 12, 93). My authority for the year 1618 is Toone's ' Chronological Historian,' vol. i., p. 204 ; but PROFESSOR BENSLY is undoubtedly right in saying that the year should be 1619. k Balaam's Asse ' was found in the Court at Whitehall, April 28, 1613, and John Cotton, brother of Richard Cotton, of Warblington (not Warbleton), Hants, was suspected of having written it (see 10 S. xi. 382). JOHN B. WAINEWRIGHT. THE MARGATE GROTTO (12 S. ix. 210). The following is a copy of the paragraph announcing the discovery of the above extracted from The Kentish Gazette, May 22, 1838 : EXTRAORDINARY DISCOVERY. The Dane, at Margate, has for many centuries been celebrated for a decisive battle between the Danes and Saxons : entire skeletons, bodies partly decomposed, armour and warlike weapons of the most ancient calibre, have been from time to time discovered, exciting the inquiry of thf antiquary and the astonishment of the natives, and many a spear that glittered in the sunbeam lies deeply buried there. A more recent circumstance is now the all-engrossing topic and the good folks of Margate are again wondering. Belle Vue cottage, a detached residence, has been lately purchased by a gentle- man, who, having occasion for some alterations, directed the workmen to excavate some few feet, during which operation the work was impeded by a large stone. The gentleman being imme- diately called to the spot, directed a minute examination, which led to the discovery of an extensive grotto, completely studded with shells in curious devices, most elaborately worked up, extending an immense distance in serpentine walks, alcoves, and lanes, the whole forming one of the most curious and interesting sights that can possibly be conceived, and must have been executed by torch-light. We understand the proprietor intends shortly to open the whole for exhibition, at a small charge for admission. The Kent Archaeological Association held their annual meeting in Thanet in the years 1877 and 1900, but a visit to the Grotto I was not in their programme on either i occasion. See ' N". & Q.' 2 S. vi. 527 ; 8 S. iii. 7 | and 96 ; 8 S. vi. 347 and 471 ; Temple Bar, July, 1885; Pearson's Magazine, March,. 1897. W. J. M. THE DANCE OF SALOME (12 S. ix. 150,
197, 235). A good start may be made in
' Le peintre Johannes Gallicus a Brunswick (1246) et la danse de Salome ' (F. de Mely), Revue Archeologique, 1914, 4 S. xxviii. 349- ! 378, with sundry, dated, examples depicted. ! The two hundred illustrations in ' Salome.
- ihre Gestalt in Geschichte und Kunst ' (H.
! Daffner, Munich, 1912) might prove suffi- | cient for querist's present needs. A wider view of the subject is given in ' Salome et la i decollation de saint Jean-Baptiste ' ( J. | Psichari) in Revue de VHistoire des Religions,
1915, Ixxii. 131-158. A striking contrast
- between the modern ' La Salome d' Oscar
Wilde et d' Aubrey Beardsley ' and the fifteenth -century ' La Dansarelle ' (pro- vincial for The Little Dancing Girl) statue j pictured with text by Forot appears in the i lamented Aesculape, 1914, iv., pp. 16 and i 16-17. That the last two instances show ! Salome with head of John has light thrown ! upon it by the discussion, * The Head of John Baptist,' in Classical Journal, 1916, xxx. 216-219, and 1917, xxxi. 1-4 and 63-64, i Why Flaubert and Regnault, Wilde and I Beardsley, and certain dancers and singers ! took so much interest in the story of Salome is explained by ' Salome the Necrophile ' (C. H. Hughes), Alienist and Neurologist (St. Louis), 1911, xxxii. 241-243. The whole matter should be considered in connexion with the head of St. John the Baptist (see p. 298). ROCKINGHAM. Boston, Mass.
