x. D EO . is, 1902.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
477
Court of Crown Cases Reserved, on 28 July
1894. The head-note (so far as it is applic-
able) reads as follows :
" * n order to render the evidence of a witness admissible on the ground that he is skilled in the matter upon which he is called to give evidence it is not necessary that such person should be skilled in such matter by reason of his profession or trade it is sufficient if the Court is satisfied that he has in some way or other gained such experience in the matter as to entitle his evidence to credit." In this case the solicitor for the prosecution gave evidence as to certain documents being in the prisoner's handwriting. Counsel for the prisoner objected that the solicitor was not an expert ; he based his view on the case of Reg. v. Harvey (11 Cox's ' Reports,' 546), where Justice Blackburn decided that a policeman was not an expert.
T. CANN HUGHES, M.A., F.S.A. Lancaster.
I joined them as a partner. It was the first
novel with which I had anything to do, and
it was a source of much trouble for years
Ine story of it is an interesting one, but too
long for the columns of ' N. & Q.' Briefly I
may say that the owner of the manuscript,
M.Cabany.a Frenchman, lived and died in
the full and sincere belief that 'Moredun-
a Tale of Twelve Hundred and Ten,' was
written by Sir Walter Scott, and there was
an enormous amount of evidence put forward
in its favour, in spite of which, however, it
was universally condemned by the press and
it was fairly proved from internal evidence
that Sir Walter Scott had no hand in
Moredun. As a publication in the orthodox
three- volume form it was a failure.
E. MARSTON.' bt. Dunstan s House, Fetter Lane, E.G.
IZAAK WALTON (9 th S. x. 409). In reply to
G. F. R. B., who refers to me, I may be
allowed to say that I have no other authority
for the statement in my ' Days in Dove Dale,'
1884, that " Walton used to take up his
abode at 'The Izaak Walton,'" than that
of "the old donkey -woman"; it was the
merest gossip, and not to be taken seriously,
.f my memory does not deceive me, I think
old Mrs. Prince, who then kept the hotel, had
faith in the same tradition. "The Izaak
Walton " was originally a farmhouse ; the
back part of it is very old, and being the
only house near the river it is not improbable
that if Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton,
Piscator and Venator, ever did fish down the
dales from Beresford Hall to Thorpe Cloud,
a distance of about ten miles, they may have
walked up to the old farm to "refresh them-
selves with a cup of drink and a little rest";
but it is not in the least likely that they ever
lodged there. The old farmhouse had pro-
bably no special name until it became an inn
early in the nineteenth century. The dairy
farm is still kept on by Mr. Evans, the
present landlord of "The Izaak Walton."
I know of no evidence to show that Izaak Walton ever held property nearer to the Dove than the cottage in the pleasant little village of Shawford (or Shallowford), about five minutes' walk from Norton Bridge station, Stafford, of which there is an interesting description in Mr. R. B. Marston's Lea and Dove edition of 'The Compleat Angler.' THE AMATEUE ANGLER.
NOVEL ATTRIBUTED TO SCOTT (9 tb S. X.
448). In answer to your correspondent I may say that this work was published by Sampson Low & Son in 1855, the year before
PIDDINGHOE CHURCH, SUSSEX (9 th S. x. 347).
In reply to MR. L. M. GIBE'S request for
information about the rectangular opening in
the wall between the chancel and the first
bay of the south *aisle, I think there is no
doubt that it 'is a comparatively modern
feature in this old (originally) Norman church.
It appears from a drawing which I have (a
copy of one made about 1780) that the
ancient Early English south aisle, as well as
the south chapel or chancel aisle, had been
disestablished at some unknown period (ap-
parently the Perpendicular), the arcade be-
tween the nave and the aisle being filled up.
Either at that time or later, as lam inclined
to believe this rectangular opening was
made in order to give light to the reading
desk. It is seen in the aforesaid drawing,
together with the blocked bays, the line of
junction of the aisle roof to the nave, a three-
light Perpendicular window, and a quatre-
foil circular window in the clerestory. I
should be pleased to send your querist an
outline drawing (elevation) of this aspect of
the church in olden times if he would care to
see it. W. HENEAGE LEGGE.
Ringmer, Sussex.
If the altar is visible through it the aper- ture in question is a squint, or hagioscope, examples of which (now frequently blocked up) are to be found in various churches e.g., near Ten by. The object of the squint was to facilitate a view of the elevation of the Host. J. DORMER.
MR. GIBB will find an explanation of the enigmatical nature of this square opening in vol. xlii. of the ' Sussex Archaeological Collec- tions,' pp. 248-9. G. F. R. B.
Was it for a permanent light over some tomb or shrine 1 E. E. COPE.
