182 [9* S. IV. Sept. 2, '99. NOTES AND QUERIES. I have no doubt that the origin of the word dings is to be sought in the Old Norse dyngja, ana it is a significant fact that the only places in England, so far as I know, where this word has occurred ate in a part of the kingdom which was extensively colonized by Scandi- navian settlers. J. R. Boyle. Town Hall, Hull. The Story of St. Helen, Queen of England.—Among the manuscripts exposed to the view of the public in the Bibliotheque Royale at Brussels there is one which formed part of the ancient library of the Dukes of Burgundy, and is numbered 9967. It is en- titled 'Histoire d'Helene, mere de S. Martin de Tours, mise en prose par Jean Wauque- lin,' and is said to have been taken by him from a work of Alexandre de Paris, and written out by his own hand in the year 1448. When I saw it a few weeks ago it lay open at an illuminated heading, of which the label on it says, "La miniature represente la comparution de la Reine Mere dAngleterre devant le Conseil Royal." At p. 73 there is an illumination representing "Comment la mere du Roy fut arse en sendres," at the head of "le lxve chappitre." The librarian in charge of that portion of the collection was good enough to refer me to the following printed books in that library for further information about this precious manuscript, which certainly ought to be published with facsimiles of the illustrations. As they con- cern a legendary chapter of English history it may be worth mentioning them in ' N. & Q.,' and asking at the same time what manuscripts exist in England containing copies or versions of the same legend, or if there are any printed notices of it in English. They are as follows :— 1. Chronique des Dues de Brabant, par Edmond de Dynter, en six livres publies d'apres le MS. de Corsendonck, avec des notes et l'ancienne traduction francaise de Jehan Wauquelin, par P. F. X. de Ram. Tome 1. Premiere Partie (Bruxelles, 1854-60), pp. xcix-cxvi de l'lntroduction. 2. Paleographie. La Belle Helene de Constanti- nople, ou examen et analyse d'une epopee romane du XII" sieele. Par Florian Froeheur.—Messager des Sciences Historiques et Archives des Arts de Belgique, Annee 1846 (Gand), pp. 169-208. 3. Notice sur le Roman de la belle Helene de Constantinople, redig6 en vers au XIIe sieele par Alexandre de Paris, et mis en prose, en 1448, par Jean Wauquelin. Par M. Florian Froeheur.— Bulletins de l'Academie Royale des Sciences et Belles-Lettres de Bruxelles, Tome XII. Premiere Partie, 1845 (Bruxelles), pp. 273-85. It appears that the legend comes down from Alexandre de Paris, who flourished at the end of the twelfth century, and is thought to have invented the alexandrine verses of twelve syllables. He was also the author of ' Alexandre le Grand.' His metrical' Ystoire d'Helayne' is conserved in the Municipal Library at Lyons. The story passed into Flemish, and one may see in the library of the City of Antwerp a book of thirty-three pages, entitled ' De vrouwe peerle ofte Dry- voudige Historie van Helena de Verduldige'— that is to say,' The Pearl Lady ; or, Threefold History of Helen the Patient.' It bears the press-mark 13069, and was printed "T'Ant- werpen, by H. Verdussen, Boek-drukker ende Boek-verkooper op de groote Merkt in S. Augustinus." In this Helen is described as "dogter van Antonius Koning van Schy- tien," and she ends her days with her husband, Henry of England, in Naples. The best of the Souletin pastorals in the Basque lan- guage is that called 'La Tragerie [sic] de Sainte Helaine de Constantinople,' of which copies may be seen in the municipal libraries at Bordeaux and Bayonne. It evidently comes from Wauquelin. It is proposed to publish an edition of this with French and English versions. For this purpose any information from English sources, concerning the origin and development of so strange a network of historical impossibilities, would be acceptable. The Basques have also the pastoral of ' Alexander the Great.' It was performed at Pagola, 23 April, 1899. Perhaps that also descends from Alexandre de Pans. Palamedes. A Missing Gipsy " Puince."— The gipsies in the course of their Western wanderings have reached America, and some at least of them have found there both pleasure and profit. But in the midst of republican institu- tions they have found it convenient—more, it may be surmised, for the amusement or deception of the Gentiles than for any other cause—to maintain the monarchical customs of the Old World. The Xenia (Ohio) Gazette of 16 June contains this paragraph of news : " Prince Henry Jaffrey, heir apparent to the kingship of the gypsy tribe of Jattrey, is mysteri- ously missing, and his grief-stricken relatives are hunting for him all over this part of the state. It seems that there is to be a king of the gypsies elected at a national convention at Chicago the latter part of this month, and Prince Henry's re- latives had intended to urge him for the honour, but just as they were preparing to go to Chicago, Prince Henry disappeared while in camp near Washington C. H., one day last week, and took with him a fine horse and buggy belonging to his father. He was heard of several days later in the company of a gang of horse-traders over in Highland county, and his relatives have been greatly shocked at his taste in allowing himself to associate with such a class of gentiles. Members of the family were sent out in
