9* s.x. NOV. 15,
NOTES AND QUERIES.
387
" Purcell of Westminster : Barry wavy of six
argent and azure, on a bend sable three
boars' heads erased or." Has one of these
authorities misread the arms 1 In any case,
which is right ? Musicus.
"To THE NINES." There are so few English idioms that have not been brought into the crucible of ' N. & Q.' that I shall be amazed if " to the nines " has escaped the melting - pot. In vol. i. of the celebrated ' Noctes ' Christopher uses this idiom in most felicitous circumstances, yet his son-in-law, Prof. Ferrier, frankly admits that he is ignorant of the real meaning of the phrase, which he takes to be synonymous with " to the purpose." I should say it most properly means "to perfection," and that the nines refer to the muses, who are admittedly the sum-total, and in its all-comprehensive sense the summation of perfection and the abso- lute ideality of the knowable. If -not, then why not ? M. L. K BRESLAR.
[A query on " dressed to the nines " appeared 8 th S. xii. 469, but elicited no reply. We have always heard the phrase used as=dressed to perfection.]
PORTRAITS OF JOHN NASH. I shall be pleased to hear if any engraved portraits of the architect of Regent Street, &c., were published. ALECK ABRAHAMS.
REFERENCE WANTED. In the poem by Giacomo Leopardi addressed to Cardinal Mai, Librarian of the Vatican, the following passage occurs, and I should like to know in what ancient author the idea is found of the hissing noise in the ocean when the sun is setting. " Ligure," v. 77, alludes to Columbus, who was born at Genoa :
Ma tua vita era allor con gli astri e il mare, Ligure ardita prole,
8uand' oltre alle colonne, ed oltre ai liti ui strider 1' onde all' attuffar del sole Parve udir su la sera, agl' infiniti Flutti commesso, ritrovasti il raggio Del Sol caduto, e il giorno Che nasce allor ch' ai nostri e giunto al fondo.
Vv. 76-83.
JOHN PICKFORD, M.A. Newbourne Rectory, Woodbridge.
SIR JOHN DE ODDYNGESLES. In Jusserand's 'English Wayfaring Life in the Middle Ages,' in describing the insecure state of the roads in the fourteenth century, the author quotes from the Archaeological Journal, vol. iv. p. 69, an incident which took place in 1342, when
" some Lichfield merchants state to their lord, the Earl of Arundel, that on a certain Friday they sent two servants and two horses, laden ' with spicery and mercery' worth forty pounds, to Stafford for the
next market day. When their men ' came beneath
Cannock Wood they met Sir Robert de Rideware,
who was waiting for them, together with two of
his squires, who seized on the domestics, horses, and
booty, and took them to the Priory of Lappeley
At the Priory the band found Sir John de Oddyngesles and several others, knights as well as others they shared ' among them all the afore- said mercery and spicery, each one a portion according to his degree.'"
Can any of your'correspondents inform me whether the last-named knight is the Sir John de Odyngseles who, as stated in the ' Dictionary of National Biography,' in 1359 conveyed by fine the manor of Overhall and Cavendish to John. Cavendish, the future Lord Chief Justice, and Alice his wife, from whom are descended the Duke of Devonshire and several of the great families in the Dukery 1 ? JOSEPH RODGERS.
St. Hilda's, Whitby.
ADMIRAL EDWARDS. I have a snuff-box of the approximate date of 1760, which bears the following inscription :
"To Admiral Edwards, who by a jus Decree restored and with great expense to himself gene- rously supported The Rights of Two Orphans to an Estate in Newfoundland, this is gratefully inscribed."
Who was the admiral, and did he bear office in Newfoundland ? His name is not in the ' Dictionary of National Biography.'
MARCUS B. HTJISH.
New University Club.
SHAW FAMILY IN ESSEX. Can any one tell me whether in or about 1790 there was a person of the name of Shaw living in the parish of Coopersall, Essex ? I think he was a landowner there, but of this I am not certain ; he may have been a tenant-farmer. Are there any Shaw memorials in the church or churchyard 1 EDWARD PEACOCK.
Kirton-in-Lindsey.
GOSSOLT. Can any reader tell me where I
an find information about Gossolt, Dux
Anglise, who flourished about 1470 ? I do not
see any mention of him in Anderson's ' Royal
enealogies.' EX-LIBRARIAN.
SOLOMON FRANCO : IMANUEL PERADA. In vol. iii. p. 60 of the ' Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay, New England, U.S.A.,' is the following :
"1649, 9 May. In fama pauperis. Gift to Solo- mon Franco, ye Jew. In answer to the petition of Solomon Franco, the Jew, who requested ffactorage or salarie out of ye cargo of Imanuall Perada con- signed to the major genn'll Edward Gibbons, Esq., jeing by him entrusted and employed therein, on viewing and hearing what he could say, the Court could not find any clear ground upo. (wherefore) such ffactorage should be dew or allowed him by ye
