Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 7.djvu/14

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 s. vn. JULY 3, 1920. (Queries. We must request correspondents desiring in- formation on family matters of only private interest to affix their names and addresses to their queries, in order that answers may be sent to them direct. HERALDIC DOGS A. G. C. Liddell, C.B., in his biography, entitled ' Notes from the Life of an Ordinary Mortal,' while describing a holiday he took at Braunfels, on the R. Lahn, Germany, makes the following observations : "Before quitting this subject, I must say a word or two about the dogs at Braunfels. The animals who accompanied us on the ' Jagd ' (i. e., * shikar') were to the English eye referable to the ' genus heraldic' rather than to any other extant class. I say to the English eye, because after a short residence at Braunfels I became aware that many types of the animal which i considered purely decorative had a recognised existence on the Continent." What are the breed and name of the animals referred to in the above extract ? Is there any English book dealing with this class of dogs, giving sketches or photographs of them ? In this country there is a light-coloured long dog called the Afghan hound which bears a resemblance to the " genus heraldic,"

in that it has very thin, attenuated body

and limbs, whereas its ears, tail and legs are " edged " with shaggy hairs which look like the frills given to heraldic dogs bv sign- painters and others. NOLA. Baluchistan. CLOVESHO. Have the claims of Sinodun in Little Wittenham, Berkshire, to be the site of Clovesho been discussed ? The position is suitable ; within the border of "Wessex but on the Mercian boundary ; the Thames giving access to the bishops and thanes of London and Kent, and the Icknield Way to those of East Anglia. Its name, according to Skeat. means the " hill of the synod," and the assemblies at Clovesho are always styled synods. Its double summit may explain the plural ' Cloveshoas which is usual. The oft-quoted sentence from The Abingdon Chronicle would be verified in this spot, five miles . away, quite as well as in Abingdon : " Hither [to the district, if not the town] the .people were accustomed to be summoned when the most weighty and difficult affairs of the kingdom had to be discussed and settled." There is, however, one difficulty to be Cleared away. In some charter it is stated or implied that Clovesho was within a day's journey from Worcester. Unfortunately, the friend who told me this has lost the reference, and I have never come across the charter. Possibly some reader of ' N. & Q.' can supply the reference. Sinodun is 60 miles from Worcester, and though the distance might be covered by a special messenger in a day, it would be excessive for an ordinary traveller in the eighth century. J. J. B. PRICE FAMILY. Capt. Price, a Parlia- mentarian, was killed at Maidstone, June 5, 1648. A letter was read in Parliament (both houses) from Lord Fairfax, wherein Fairfax recommends the case of the widow of a Capt. Price who lost his life at Maid- stone to the notice of Parliament. They ordered the arrears of his pay, with a gratuity of 200?., to be paid to his widow and family. What was this man's Christian name and to what family of Price did he belong ? LEONARD C. PRICE. Essex Lodge, Ewell. SPOONERISMS. Can any of your readers oblige me with examples ? Is there any book or magazine article dealing with the subject ? The ' N.E.D.' says that the word is derived from the name of the Rev. W. A. Spooner, and that it has been in colloquial use at Oxford from about 1885. The dictionary defines the term as " An acci- dental transposition of the initial sounds or other parts of two or more words." CHARLES MENMUIR. 25 Garscube Lane. Glasgow. " NOR DID FLY FOR IT." In County Records in the time of the Commonwealth we meet with entries where persons charged with petty larceny are found not guilty, " nor did fly for it." What did these words mean ? H. HAMPTON COPNALL. MARKS OF FATE. " Methinks he hath no drowning mark upon him ; his com- plexion is perfect gallows " ('The Tempest,' I. i. 26). By this is meant that certain people bear " marks " which indicate the nature of the death they will suffer. When and how did this idea arise ? ALFRED S. E. ACKERMANN. RICHARD , BISHOP OF Ross (SCOT- LAND) was present at the consecration of William Wells as Bishop of Rochester on Mar. 24, 1437 ; at that of Reginald Peacock as Bishop of St..Asaph on June 14, 1444, and at that of William Gray as Bishop of