borough, circa 1812. Can any one inform me of the parentage and family of Robertson, or of that of his wife, a Miss Brierly, or of friends who patronized him in his early career as an artist in Lincolnshire?—with the object of tracing the picture, which is a missing family portrait. M. F. Rolleston.
The Arabic Catena.—Can any reader give me a description of this interesting series of Arabic traditions, especially with regard to a translation of any portion? W. D. Parish.
“Like station.”—What is the origin of this phrase, which is common in the Midland counties? A Leicestershire woman, in a description of some village festivities the other day, told me that the church bells were “ringing like station.” C. C. B.
Coins.—In William Jerdan’s ‘Autobiography,’ vol. ii, p. 26, occurs a poem entitled ‘Everywhere Happy,’ founded on the motto “Ubicumque Felix,” which we are there informed was impressed on the imperial coins during the short rule of Napoleon I. in the Isle of Elba. Were any coins with this inscription really issued; and do specimens exist in the cabinets of collectors; or are they, like the pennies of Richard I. and the brass currency of the Emperor Otho, among coins that might have been but are not? N. M. & A.
Bells.—Can any of your readers learned in campanology tell me if the name of Marc le Ser is known as a bell-founder? My friend and neighbour Col. Trotter, of Dyrham Park, near Barnet, has in his possession a bell weighing 41 lbs., height 12 in., greatest width 11¾ in., the inscription on which runs as follows: “Marc Le Ser heft mei ghegoten MVCLXXIIII.”[1] There are three medallions on the sides of the bell; the largest a coin or medal of Philip II. of Spain, the legend on which is almost obliterated, but I think I can distinguish the words “Hispan Rex Archid. Austria.” Another appears to be Abraham kneeling before the three angels. A third represents St. John writing his Gospel, one leg apparently resting on his eagle. The fourth is a pagan altar decked with a garland, a female figure standing on either side, and a small nude figure, of a god I suppose, standing on the altar, and holding in the right hand (and apparently in both like Fame in the Guards Memorial), a wreath over the head of the figure beneath. Henry H. Gibbs.
Aldenham.
Stalled: Stalled Ox.—Can your readers supply me with an explanation of the term stalled, which is of every day use in the West Riding of Yorkshire?—e.g., “I am stalled of walking, talking, or eating” is used as an equivalent for the expression “I am tired of walking, talking, or eating.” Is this phrase connected with the phrase “a stalled ox,” used in the Old Testament; and if so, does it, as originally used, refer to a surfeit? F. W. M.
White, Founder of the Chocolate House.—Can any reader give me information about, or a reference to White, the first proprietor of the famous chocolate house? Cunningham gives the date of the establishment as circa 1698, but no notice of the owner. The records quoted by him relate only to the club still existing. W. B.
Men Writing under Women’s Names.—A few women have obtained distinction writing under men’s names. Have any men, worth remembering, ever written under women’s names? W. C. B.
Bell Inscription.—The late Mr. Richard Jefferies tells his readers in ‘Field and Hedgerow,’ p. 24, that at Dandelion Castle, in Kent, there is a bell inscribed:—
Brought over this bell in a mill cog.
Such a legend on a bell is passing strange. Is there not some mistake? If the bell exists, can any one tell its date? Astarte.
Degrees of Falsehood.—Who was it who said, “There are three degrees of falsehood: the first is a fib, the second is a lie, and then come statistics”? St. Swithin.
Rain of Blood.—In the Dublin Review for April it is stated, without any authority being given, that there has recently fallen at Missignadi, near Oppido Mamertina, in Italy, a shower of blood, which on “minute chemical analysis has proved……to be bonâ fide blood, [or] at least to exhibit its characteristics” (p. 446). Can any of your readers throw light on this strange assertion? Anon.
Sutton.—How many places called Sutton are there in the vicinity of Liverpool? J. H. F.
De Totenais: De Todenai.—Was the town of Totness, in Devon, named after the Seigneur De Todenai or Toesney in Normandy, alias De Belvoir or Beauvoir, of the castle of that name in England? Judbäel de Mayenne, Earl of Brittany, was lord of Totness temp. William the Conqueror. He built Barnstaple Castle. T. W. Carey.
Thornton Family.—I am deeply interested in tracing the ancestry of the Thornton family, who came to the Virginia colony from Yorkshire about 1672–9, What I want specially to know is the lineage of one Lieut.-General Sir Charles Wade Thornton, who was Lieutenant-Governor of Hull
- ↑ Mark le Ser has cast me 1574.
