6
NOTES AND QUERIES. [9* s. m. JAN. 7, m
fondement. A ce moment, l'abb Geroche aurait dit:
Reste en terre ...... prends racine ...... et tu fleuriras
chaque annee a Noel, pour la deuxieme fois. Et tu ne rapporteras pas de fruits. Un buste de 1 abb6 Geroche existe k 1'eglise de Dagny. Le pretre a 6t6 canonise, et la commune a choisi pour sa fete patronale la Saint-Geroehe, qui est celebree le 2 juillet de chaque annee."
ST. SWTTHIN.
" STITHERUM." In the Midlands this is a common useful word in the dialects. " Stithe- rum" = bother, worry, confusion, commotion, and is used in other ways. Some one relating a simple event, going a long way round to the finish, makes " a long stitherum." A serious event creates a great " stitherum "; and if a boy pokes a stick into a wasps' nest, the re- sult is a " stitherum " among the wasps. The banging of a big drum makes a " stitherum " of noise. A woman (never man) in a worry is making " a stitherum," if she exhibits her trouble in any exceptional fashion.
THOS. RATCLIFFE.
Worksop. _
WE must request correspondents desiring infor-
mation on family matters of only private interest
to affix their names and addresses to their queries,
in order that the answers may be addressed to
them direct.
GLYNDYFRDWY. In Mr. Bradley's recently published ' Highways and Byways in North Wales ' I find the following on the origin and meaning of this name :
"Glyndyfrdwy or, as usually written in former days, Glyndwfrdwy merely signifies the Glen of the Dee, dwfrdwy being the Welsh name for the sacred rivers, the termination, in fact, being a cor- ruption of ddu, divine, while dwfr is the Kymric for water." P. 75.
This derivation of dyfrdwy is quite new to me, as is also the spelling dwfrdwy (Cainden has " Dovvr Dwy "). How is it that dwy, which usually means water, is here a corrup- tion of ddu, and that ddu itself, which usually means black (cf. Afon ddu, Allt ddu), here means divine ? And is not dyfr related to dyji, slowly moving, the Welsh name of the Dovey? C. C. B.
BEAMISH FAMILY. I seek for informa- tion regarding the family of Beamish, formerly Bearais, Beaumis, or Beaumetz, from Beaumetz, near Abbeville. I find in 'His- tory of the Norman People ' (H. S. King & Co., 1874) that Richard de Belmiz, Viscount of Salop, witnessed (1087) the charter of Salop Abbey (' Mon.,' i. 376) ; also that Hugh de Belmiz was lord of Donnington, Salop, 1316. From this it would appear that this family
was connected for a considerable period with
the county of Salop, while the writer also states
that Richard de Belmiz was Bishop of London
in 1107. Then the name appears amongst
the list of settlers from England in Ireland
(co. Cork) during Queen Elizabeth's reign,
and though the direct links connecting with
the earlier ancestry have been, it is feared,
lost, yet sufficient evidence exists to prove
that the family is of Norman descent. Can
any of your readers supply information
from the records of Salop or from any other
source which would fill the apparent gap
between the year 1316 and the year 1642,
when the name first appears in Cork records
in connexion with this family 1 The crest
of this family is a demi-lion rampant (the
lion rampant is borne on the first and fourth
quarters of the coat of arms), and the motto
is " Virtus insignit audentes."
DAVID G. BEAMISH.
ARMORIAL. Can any one tell me if the following arms belong to one of the Dutch towns? Shield gutte (tincture unknown), a lion rampant, standing on the pommels of two swords crossed in sal tire. On an escutcheon of pretence ar. a sal tire gu., pierced of the first. Crest, a stork drinking from a tall vase-shaped cup. F. E.
AN INDIAN NOBLEMAN. Can any one give further information about, and explain the titles of, the personage whose death is announced in the following extract from the Echo of 19 November, 1898 ?
" Yesterday was buried, at Abney Park, Cornelius Mogienie, the last of his race, aged 77. His great- grandfather was Omrah Nessur, of the Mogul Empire, Prince of Didpn and Indus, Lord Cham- berlain and Generalissimo (1749). In consequence of Omrah Nessur's high pedigree, he was permitted to marry the Mogul's sister. He also found favour by his successful generalship in the battles fought against the Persians and Afghans."
WILLIAM CROOKE.
DUNBAR FAMILY. Ninian Dunbar, of Grangehill, is said by Douglas to have married a daughter of Lord Banff. Is it known of which Lord Banff she was the daughter 1 ? And whose daughter was Mary Sutherland, of Duffus, the second wife of George Ogilvy, first Lord Banff?
A. CALDER.
GULLS. I should like to know of what species are the gulls that frequent the parks (St. James's Park especially) in the winter. On consulting Yarrell they seem to be either the kitty wake or the black-headed gull in its winter plumage. The heads of these are not black in the winter ; what they may be in the
