NOTES AND QUERIES. rn s. v. MAE. IG, 1912.
In a foot-note he adds that Murray was
Resident at Venice, and " was of the Isle of
Man " (' Letters,' Toynbee, v. 163). Casa-
nova calls his wife " milady Murray,"
observing " les Anglaises filles de lords
conservent ce titre " (iii. 156-7). Further
particulars will oblige.
HORACE BLEACKLEY.
NICK-A-MAN DAY. -When does this occur, why is it observed, and how is it celebrated ? The Church Union Gazette, February, 1912, p. 50, mentions an address by the Rev. G. H. Siddans of Walthamstow, ' Some Curious Church Customs, having a Bearing on Church History, Doctrine, and Discipline,' wherein he refers to " Lenten customs, with ' Nick-a-man ' day, ' Mothering ' day, &c."
ST. SWITHIN. [See 1 S. xii. 297.]
FIRST USE OF FINGER-PRINTS FOR IDENTI- FICATION : MAGAZINE ARTICLE WANTED. I have read somewhere recently i.e., within the last two, or at most three, months, probably in a magazine story or other light article a reference to finger-print testimony in which it was mentioned, incidentally, that this was first made use of by here I am uncertain, but believe it was said by a certain Italian ( ? ), in an early decade of the nineteenth century. My sister, Miss F. H., also remembers having seen the reference. As my brother, Sir W. Herschel, is generally admitted to have first introduced the practice of employing finger-prints for the purpose of identification, by proving the indelible character of these marks for an unlimited period, I paid little attention to this adverse claim, if I may so describe a statement made casually, without intention. But as Sir William to whom I mentioned it sees the matter differently, I am anxious to recover the reference, and shall be very grateful for any assistance.
J. HERSCHEL, Col. R.E., retd.
Observatory House, Slough.
DEL VIGNES : VINES. Can any of your readers confirm the following genealogy and give description of coats of arms and motto, &c., or any further particulars concerning the French origin of this family ?
Pietro del Vignes was, -in the thirteenth century, one of the most distinguished of Provencal poets, and left a race of scholars and writers who adopted the doctrines of the Waldenses and other sects opposed to the Papacy, and whose successors, trans- lating their name into " Des Vignes," had, before the sixteenth century, settled in
Vendee. They adhered to their religious;
tenets, and were involved in the persecutions-
directed by Catherine de Medicis and the
house of Guise against the Huguenots.
Des Vignes. By the middle of the seventeenth century the whole family of Des Vignes, excepting Richard des Vignes.,. who escaped to England, had been exter- minated. This Richard des Vignes, having obtained leave to settle as a naturalized subject in Great Britain, was appointed! Chaplain to Charles I. somewhere about 1645, and he then translated his name into English as Vines.
Richard Vines, 1645. Hence dates the English descent of the family of Vines,, properly Delle Vignes.
Richard Vines m. Mary, dau. of W- Eccleston of Gloucestershire, and had issue
Richard Vines, m. Elizabeth, dau. of A. Pemberton of Gloucestershire, and had! issue
William Vines, m. Elizabeth, dau. of E, Bushnell of Wiltshire, and had issue
Richard Vines, m. Jane, dau. of W. Taylor of Berkshire, and had issue
David Vines, b. 1760, d. 1830.. of Brink- worth, Wiltshire, m. 1784 Polly or Sarah Bushnell of Berks, and had issue a large family, as under :
Daniel, b. 1785, m. Miss Hellis 1808, d, 1855 ; David, b. 1788, m. Miss Brown, d. 1845 ; Martha, b. 1790, m. Thomas Walker, d. 1874 ; Jabez, b. 1795, m. Miss Champion, d. 1852 ; Caleb, b. 1793, m. Mrs. Bowen, d, 1866 ; Joshua, b. 17-?, m. Miss Cook, d. 1876 ; Sophia, b. 1797, unm., d. 1870 at Auxerre, France ; Sarah, b. 1798, unm. y d. 1875 at Auxerre; Edward, b. 1800, m. Miss- Mills, or Wills, d. ; Ann, b. 1803, m. Mr.
Ward, d. 1852, America. S. VINES.
LoureiKjo Marques, Delagoa Bay.
FICTITIOUS CHARACTERS, c- 1852. We shall be glad if any reader of ' N. & Q. r can tell us the title and author of a book (probably a novel) published in the year 1852, in which the following fictitious names and appellations occur : Sir Oswald Mosley r the Standard Footman, the Plausible Man, Felix Flutter, and the Link Boy.
HENRY SOTHERAN & Co.
140, Strand, W.C.
MANORIAL LITERATURE. I am passing a second edition of ' The Manor and Manorial Records ' through the press, and should be glad of any additions to the ' Bibliography of Manorial Literature ' in the Appendix to bring it up to date. NATHL. J. HONE.
17, Hartswood Road, Wendell Park, W.
