184 NOTES AND QUERIES. [9* s. iv. skft. a. ■» could be read both as Italian and Hebrew. This, if true, must have been a remarkable feat of skill. William E. A. Axon. 1 H.E.D.'—I hope I may not be deemed im- pertinent in entering my humble protest against this form of title being, as it seems, forced upon the grand work of the ' New English Dictionary,' edited by Dr. Murray and others. It is, of course, no affair of mine ; I am only an obscure member of the vast British public. But I believe that it is an attempt which is distasteful to Dr. Murray, his collaborators, and a large number of the correspondents of ' N. <fe Q.' I hope it is not too late to give it up. I doubt if there is another such attempt on record, in the case of a great work by living men, to alter the title which they have deliberately chosen for their book. Julian Marshall. [Wo have always acted under the impression that the change of initials is due to Dr. Murray and his staff. It was first used, as we understood, in accordance with their wishes. See what is said Slh S. xii. 321.] Initial for Forename in Serious Verse. —In Lydgate's Bochas's 'Falles of Princes,' IV. i. (1554), 100 b, I notice For to guerdon their knightos most famous Mine autour recordes called A. Gullius, &c. The scansion of the line shows that this is not a mere printer's contraction. We all know that J[ohn] P. Robinson, he, Sez they didn't know everythin' down in Judee ; but such a use of an initial occurs very rarely even in comic verse, and Lydgate's use must surely be almost unique in serious verse. Robt. J. Whitwell. C.C.C., Oxford. 'A Great Historic Peerage.' (See ante, p. 18.)—The proverbial two sides here repre- sent the Lords' decision versus private ambition, and the House of Lords is the proper custodian of its own privilege. The Earl of Wiltes died as a nominal traitor, unmarried, so could not leave a legitimate successor ; his surviving father was his legal heir, but could not succeed to the title, and his brothers made no claim. It is therefore quite clear that the dignity lapsed, and the title can only be revived by a new creation ; but a barony might satisfy Mr. Scrope's pretensions. A. H. "Cum talis sis, utinam noster esses."— When the origin of this quotation was dis- cussed in the 5tb Series (ix. 118), it was not traced to a higher source than Plutarch. But there is a much earlier mention of the Spartan king's reply to Pharnabazus, EW, (o A<jSo~TC, trv Totouros liv </h'Aos fjfjLly ytvoio, to be found in Xenophon, from whom pre- sumably Plutarch drew his facts. The refer- ence (' Hellenica,' IV. i. 38) ought perhaps to be registered in ' N. & Q.' Alex. Leeper. Trinity College, Melbourne University. A Foster Pedigree. (See ' Foster Family of Bam borough,' 8th S. xii. 107,192, 237.)—The following pedigree has never been published, and has been compiled by myself from various authorities, which I shall be glad to supply to any one whose object is research. Sir Thomas Foster, of Etherstone, co. Northumberland, married a daughter of Baron Hilton. Their grandson was Edmund Foster, Gentleman Usher to Queens Mary and Elizabeth. His brother was probably the Thomas Foster who married Christian Knyvett; and his nephew was Sir Thomas Foster, of Hunsdon, co. Herts, Judge of Common Pleas, b. 1549, d. 1612, who married Anne Stanley and had the following issue :— Thomas, b. 1578-9, barrister-at-law, married Mary Baskerville, of Wanborough. Sir Kobert, Lord Chief Justice, b. 1589, d. 1663, buried at Egham, co. Surrey, whose son, Sir Thomas, married Aviso Alston, of Odell, cos. Suffolk and Essex. The judge's daughters were :— 1. Susan, married Thomas Brooke, of Whit- church, co. Hants. 2. Mary, married William Pecock, of North- end, Finchley, co. Middlesex. Sir Robert's son had issue Robert, b. 1643-4, and Thomas, b. 1648, barristers- at-law. The crest and coat of arms are the original ones of Foster of Etherstone. Foster of Bamborough seems to have used for crest an arm embowed, probably granted at Mussel- burgh. A. W. J. Foster. Thurnby, Newtown, Sydney, N.S.W. Arabic Numerals dated 1309. (See ante, £. 156.)—At this reference I read Miss Ethel ega-Weekes's statement about the date 1383 on a brick, and she says Mr. Rider Haggard may claim the honour of having placed on record an example of Arabic numerals earlier by half a century than any hitherto known to exist in England, &c. I do not know how far it may interest your readers, but I have an ancient piece of silver plate bearing date 1369, from which I enclose an impression in wax. There is the same short dash or roundish hyphen between the 13 and the 69—thus, 13-69—with extended crow-wing
