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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9* s. IIL JUNK 10, m
Leist, of Moscow, has discovered a local magnetic
pole at Kochetovka, in the government of
Kursk, Russia. We believe this is the first and only case of the kind on record."
In Inman's 'Navigation' it is said (p. 153) : " The needle, when it has been touched by the
magnet, does not in general point to the true north,
but to east or west of the true north."
In Sir Leopold McClintock's 'Fate of Frank- lin and his Discoveries ' mention is made of the magnetic pole in two or three places, e.y. (p. 229) :-
" We coasted along a granitic land, deeply in- dented and fringed with islands, and found it to be the general characteristic of the Boothian shore from Bellot Strait, until we had accomplished half the distance to the magnetic pole."
And (p. 230) :
" On the 1st March [1859] we halted to encamp at about the position of the magnetic pole for no cairn remains to mark the spot."
Atlases and dictionaries do not always make mention of it, but Black's ' Atlas ' (1862) gives its position as lat. 70 6' N., long. 96 50' W. ; and Nuttall's ' Dictionary,' under ' Pole,' says :
"Magnetic pole, one of the points in a magnet corresponding to the poles of the earth, the one pointing north and the other south ; the place on the surface of the earth where the needle points vertically."
My own impression is that it was dis- covered more than fifty years ago, by either Sir John or Sir James Ross, and that a scientific investigation of the spot was made about twenty-five years since, but I may be mistaken. Also, Dr. Nansen's expedition was in search of the North Pole, i.e., the earth's axis, not the magnetic pole towards which the compass points. As I have often met with people as hazy as myself on this subject, and equally puzzled to know where to look for information regarding it, I cannot but feel that it would be a great convenience to many to have a concise and reliable account of it, for reference, in ' N. & Q.,' if the Editor will permit, and if some one who knows all about it will be good enough to give it.
G. K. P.
RELIGIOUS FOUNDATION AT SHERE. I should be greatly obliged to any reader who could give me particulars of a religious house which flourished at Shere in the fifteenth century. It was dedicated to St. John of Bethlehem. I have referred in vain to Man- ning and Bray and Dugdale. A. T. M.
M.P. CLAIMING PAYMENT OF EXPENSES. In a newspaper paragraph lately I came across a statement to the effect that, after the union of the Parliaments, a Scotch member of Par-
liament raised an action against his constitul
ents for payment of his travelling anc
hostelry expenses, and that the Court o]
Session awarded him half-a-crown. Who \v a
the member ; what was the constituency
what was the date of the action ; where ma} I
the decision be found ? P. !
THE GENDER OF " CHURCH." In the Book 1 of Common Prayer the word "church" is] now neuter, now feminine, to judge by the pronouns which replace it. The same ambi- guity is found in Dean Kitchin's article on 'The Church' in the 'Encyclopaedia.' Has any rule been laid down by grammarians of authority for the pronomination or pro- nounization of this word ? PALAMEDES.
BUTTS. The place-name of Butts occurs in many parts of the country, reminding of the time when archery was a popular pastime among our countrymen ; but few of the hills which gave rise to the title are left. A pair of butts are still standing in a field near the Priory Church of Bridlington, East Yorkshire. I shall be pleased to learn if any others remain where archery was practised in Great Britain and Ireland. WILLIAM ANDREWS.
The Hull Press.
" DESEMEA." Is this name for a female known by any of your readers ? What is its derivation 1 If comparatively recent, what is the date of its origin ?
FRED. G. ACKERLEY.
12, Mayfield Road, Eccles.
FLEETWOOD FAMILY. I should like par- ticulars of the connexion by marriage which existed in the middle of the seventeenth century between the Fleetwoods of Pen- wortham (or Ellaston?) and the Westbys
of in Lancashire ; and should be glad of
references to any printed or MS. pedigrees or other authorities bearing on the point.
BERNARD P. SCATTERGOOD.
19, Grove Road, Harrogate.
"HoMO ADDITUS NATURE." Ou F. Bacon a-t-il dit que 1'homme ajoute a la nature, " Homo additus naturae " 1 ISSANCHOU.
3, Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, Paris.
' THE HISTORY OF A NOBLE CONVERT.' Can any of your readers tell me where I could procure a book, 'The History of a Noble Con- vert,' privately printed, and circulated in the early days of the Tractarian movement, pro- bably in the forties 1 I should be very grate- ful to any one possessing it who would allow me a sight of it.
THE AUTHOR OF 'CHARLES LOWDER.'
Lisaniskea, Blackrock, Dublin.
