ii s. v. JUNE 22, 1912.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
497
Lectures, published by the Society of Arts
in 1905 (2*. Qd.). Special reference is made
to a pen in existence prior to 1723, an illus-
tration of which is shown on p. 69. I have
not ascertained the exact date of this pen
my information being obtained from an
English translation of a French work on
mathematical instruments, in which the
"plume sans fin" is described. I have
since then seen one of these pens (made in
metal, with a quill nib).
British patents were obtained for fountain pens in 1809, one being granted to Joseph Bramah, whose name is familiar in connexion with locks ; and another to F. B. Folsch, for a stylographic pen as well as a fountain pen.
I haye a large collection of fountain and stylographic pens, dating back to about 1878, when a serious and successful attempt began to make the fountain pen a popular writing implement. JAMES P. MAGINNIS.
These pens are alluded to in E. S. Bates's book, ' Touring in 1600,' published last autumn. They were used by travellers as early as the seventeenth century. Reference to the book itself will probably lead to further information, since Mr. Bates is careful to give authorities for all his statements.
S. C. JULYAN.
Trenance, Penxance.
It has already been noted in this journal that Matthew Henry, in his ' Commentary ' in 1710, refers to them as being then in existence (9 S. ii. 228). In M. Bion's work on Mathematical Instruments, written in French, the instrument is called " Plume sans fin." It is, however, in Edmund Stone's English translation, 1723, that it is called a fountain pen. Charles Hutton includes it in his ' Mathematical and Philo- sophical Dictionary,' 1796. Sir J. P. Ma- ginnis delivered a lecture before the Society of Arts (Cantor Lectures), 6 Feb., 1905, on
- Fountain Pens.' The earliest patents
noticed are for " Several Improvements calculated to promote Facility in Writing," obtained by F. Bartholomew Folsch in 1809. See also Joseph Bramah, " A New Method of Making. . . .Fountain pens," 1809 ; John Scheffer, " The Penegraphic, or Writing Instrument," 1819 ; J. H. Lewis, " Cali- o-raphie Fountain Pens," 1819; and G. Poul- ton, " A Self-Supplying Pen,"1827. A neat little fountain pen has been made for the modest price of 3d., and a serviceable one has been even retailed at the price of Id.
TOM JONES.
Miss Buss AND Miss BEALE (11 S. v. 291,
392). While thanking your contributors
for their kind replies and for the epigram,
I regret to say it is not what I am looking
for. I have heard a dialogue, running at
least to two or three stanzas, of which I can
only remember :
Said Miss Beale to Miss Buss,
' fuss."
Said Miss Buss to Miss Beale, " That is just what I feel."
HYLLARA.
I'ANSON (11 S. v. 330, 416). I cannot venture an opinion on the origin of the apostrophe, unless it be to make the name clearly trisyllabic, which it is when so spelt. It may, however, help the expert to pass judgment, to know that in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when the ancestors of at least three extant families of I'Anson were settled in North Yorkshire, variant spellings were lanson, I'Anson, Janson, Yanson, Hyanson, and Eyneson. The second and third forms alone have persisted, and. curiously, are borne by different branches of the same family. The well-known City family of Janson has a common (Quaker) ancestry with one of the North-Country I'Anson families, an interesting example of the sur- vival (after continuous use) of variant sur- names in two families of proved relationship. PERCEVAL LUCAS.
ROMAN INSCRIPTION AT HYERES (11 S. v. 407). The reading Q.L. instead of Q.F., established in the second line of this inscrip- tion by COL. PRIDEAUX'S careful examina- tion, represents QVINTI LIBERTVS. It is a regular practice to give the prsenomen of a freedman's patron. The name Prepon, it is true, is not a pure Roman cognomen, but there is epigraphical evidence for the exist- ence of Tlpeiruv as an Athenian proper name (see Benseler's edition of W. Pape's ' Worter- buch der griechischen Eigennamen,' 1875), and, owing to the vast number of freedmen of Greek origin, the combination of a Roman prsenomen and gentile name with a Greek cognomen is very common. I have not access to the ' Corpus Inscriptionum Lat.' at this moment, but here are two examples from the ' Ephemeris Epigraphica,' vol. vii.
pp. 4501 :
ex PACONIVS
A L DIONYSIVS
= GnBU3 Paconius Auli libertus Dionysius, and
Q . ARELLIVS . 31 . L . XSKKO
= Quintus Arellius Marci libertus Xeno.
The Xseho of this last man's name represents
the Greek 3cva>v. EDWARD BENSLY.
