206 NOTES AND QUERIES. [9* s. vi. SEPT. is, 1900. A TEACHER OF "PETITES," LITTLE CHILD- REN, A.D. 1553.—MS., Canterbury Cathedral Library, Register N, leaf 145 :— "John Eliot, Prest, late Chauntrie prest within Saincte Leonardos aforesaid, aworne, confesscth vppon his othe, as ensueth : First he confesseth that he was a Carmelite or whit fryer professed in Coventry/ weringe the habile of that Religion, and was made prest in the same/ and ministrid as a prest in all divine Service* and niinistraci'ons/ and, after the surrender of the howse, had a Capacitie, and obteynid a (Jhauntrie in Saincte Leonardes aforesaid, caulid Chauntrie, which he enyoyed till the sup- pression of the same/ And hath an yerely Annul tie paid him of five pounder/ he hath marrid one Joane Baile, a maiden, abowt yeres past/ by whome he hath divers Children/ he is knowen and Reputid for a maried prest, within the said parishe/ he hath sent the said Joane to her frendes, and vseth her no more/ he is not Beneficed, But tejachith petito* their englisahe Prymmers, Catachismes, and suche like englisshe Bookeg/ The premisses been trewe and publike/ sithins his manage, he hath ministrid as a prest/ and donne all thofficei of the same/ he Servith the parisshe as a helper in Divine Service/ and not otherwise." Were Shakspere and his brothers and sisters when petites taught at home by a former friar or priest 1 It is quite possible. ' Love's Labour's Lost' shows that the same man taught girls as well as hoys, and I suppose they were taught together in the schools held in churches, though not in the regular grammar schools. We want all entries re- garding early education in print. Mr. A. Hussey showed me the following entries inone of the volumes of the' Visitations of the Arch- deacon of Canterbury,' which contain most valuable illustrations of the social life of the time, as all improprieties in each parish were " presented " to him. 1578, 'Archdeacon of Canterbury's Visita- tions,' vol. for 1577-1585, parish of St. Law- rence in Thanet, leaf 5 back :— " John Duckett. — Detectum est, that John Duckett doth teach children in our parishe with- owt lycence." Feb., 1578/9, ib., leaf 33, St. Lawrence :— "The scholemaster.—We present that we have a schole-master, who is diligent in teachynge, but not lycensed." 1581, Mynster in Thanett, ib. :— "John Bussher the clerk.—There is one John Bussher, our Clerk, that teachethe children, some to wrytt, some to reade, and some to synge; but whether he be lycensed there-vnto, we knowe not." F. J. FuRNIVALL. P.S.—In the volume of ' Archdeacon's Visitations' for 1577/8-1582 in the Arch-
- Mr. A. Hussey says that Petyt is the name ol
a well-known Kentish family, out he does nol think they are referred to here. deaconry of Charing are the following intries about schoolmasters. Leaf 3 back, Cranbrooke i— " Detection eft that o«r Clark, Lawrence Walden, doth teache, but whether he be lycensed or no, we know not." Leaf 6 back, Bolnynden :— " Detectitm est that one Henry Robinson teacheth openly in our paryshe an englishe schole, & hath no lycense." Leaf 9 back, Tenterden :— " Detection est that Jeames Robynson teacheth englisshe; but whether he be lycensed, we know not." Leaf 12, Byddenden :— "Detection eat, that we can not have a bequeth performed by the executors of master John Maney, exquyer, which is viijrt. a yeare gyven by the same master Manye aforesayd, beinge parcell of the scnole-ruwtfer of the Free schole in Biddenden, is denyed by majrfer Francklyn of Charte, with other thingea. The entry on leaf 7 back, "Sandherst, Detectum est. that we are served by a reader named Robert Twysden, that hath no lycense," probably applies to the church service. Mr. A. Hussey, the author of the capital little book on Wingham, Kent, has more extracts as to schoolmasters. We sadly want more information on the teaching of girls in early days. ENGLISH PARSIMONY AND THE CAT.—On P. 210 of ' Vergara,' a novel by Don Benito erez Gald6s, the Walter Scott of Spain, with a wonderful kinematographic style, occur these words :— " Un gato vino despues, que se paseo con parsi- monia inglesa entre las coles respigadas, buscando ratoncillos campestres; un perro de cuatro pjos. negro y con las patas amarillas, se dirigi<i hacia el pozo, despues hacia la casa, grave y meditabundo, y se tendid al sol junto a la cepa " ; i.e., a tom-cat came next, which took a walk with English parsimony between the stripped cabbages, looking for field-mice ; a dog with four eyes, black and with yellow paws, made his way towards the well, then towards the house, grave and thoughtful, and stretched himself in the sun close to the vine-stalk. "A dog with four eyes" must be a description of some kind of dog that has eyelike mark- ings above its eyes. But what induced the great academician to give the cat-o'-nine-tails to our insular character, and pass so severe a sentence upon the poor greed of puss 1 If he caught no little rats in the cabbage-yard, the parsimony was in the gardener's care. PALAMRDES. " MAZAME."—This word appears in many dictionaries as the name of a certain quad-
