[According to Junius, the Anglo-Saxon fleotan is the frequentative from flow-an, fluere. Hence the noun is applied to an estuary, drain, ditch, or sewer. Fleet Ditch is a tautology. The Fleet prison was so called because situated upon the side of the water that floated in from the river.

"They have a very good way in Essex of draining of lands that have land-floods or fleets running through them, which make a kind of a small creek."-Mortimer, Husbandry.]

RABELAIS.-Can you explain how the phrase "le quart d'heure de Rabelais" acquired its meaning of waiting for one's bill? The story about Rabelais finding himself at an inn with no money to continue his journey, which is given as the origin of it, does not seem to explain its conventional meaning. HYDASPES.

[The story about Rabelais, to which our correspondent alludes, is told in various ways. It would appear that Rabelais found himself at a loss, not only for money to continue his journey, but for the means of paying his reckoning at the Lyons hôtellerie. Hence it is that the "Quart d'heure de Rabelais" signifies the sometimes critical and anxious moment when we are expecting our

bill—for instance, after dining at an hotel. And accordingly, the phrase "Le quart d'heure de Rabelais" is explained by Bescherelle, "Le moment où il faut payer son écot"; i. e. the moment when one must pay one's bill.] THE BATTLE OF THE FORTY-In the picturegallery at Hampton Court Palace is a piece by P. Snayers, entitled the "Battle of the Forty." What was the battle of the forty, and when did it take place?

LYDIARD.

[The Battle of the Forty, we believe, is only mentioned in some old romances. The picture belonged to William III., and represents, says Mr. Edward Jesse, a battle fought between twenty French and twenty Italian cavaliers with their leaders. Mrs. Jameson (Handbook to the Public Galleries of Art, ed. 1842, p. 312), however, informs us, that "this contest between two rival commanders in the Spanish Netherlands was decided before the walls of Bois-le-duc:

forty chosen men, mounted and properly equipped, on each side, entered the lists, and the desperate encounter lasted till only one combatant remained on the field."]

TEST FOR WELLS.-There was a simple test for impure wells published recently by some authority. Can you refer me to the paper in which it appeared? CLERICUS RUSTICUS.

[Though this is rather a scientific query than such as "N. & Q." was intended to solve, we have so many subscribers in the country to whom the information may be of value, that we have taken some pains to procure it. We presume our correspondent refers to the following "Easy Test for Sewage in Wells," by Professor Attfield, in The Times of January 18 last:

"Polluted water does not generally betray its condition till possessed of a strong odour; earlier intimation may however be obtained by the following means:—Half fill a common water-bottle, cover its mouth with the hand, violently shake for a minute, and quickly apply the nose. If nothing unpleasant is detected, lightly cork the bottle; set it aside in a warm place, at about the temperature of one's body, for a couple or three days, and repeat the shaking, &c. Water of very bad quality may thus be recognised, without the trouble and expense of analysis."}

PICKERING'S CUP.-Dean, Stanley says, in his Memorials of Westminster Abbey (p. 363, line 1, &c.):

"In the year of the Armada, Pickering [the Keeper of the Gatehouse at Westminster] presented to the Burgesses of Westminster a fine silver-gilt 'standing cup,' which is still used at their feasts, the cover being held over the heads of those who drink, with the quaint inscription:

The Giver to his Brother wisheth peace,

With Peace he wisheth Brother's love on Earth, Which Love to seal, I as a pledge am given, A standing Bowle to be used in Mirthe. The gift of Maurice Pickering and Joan his wife, 1588.'

I wish to know who is the keeper of this interesting relic, and where it is kept, as with many inquiries I have been unable to ascertain either W. E. HARLAND-OXLEY.

of the above.

8, King Street, Whitehall, S.W.

[Our correspondent has been unfortunate in the direc tion of his inquiries. The cup, which is always used at the dinners of the Court of Burgesses of Westminster, is in the custody of their officers; and we can have no doubt

that if he applies either to the Deputy-Steward, S. T. Miller, Esq., or the Town Clerk of Westminster, W. M. Trollope, Esq., he will experience no difficulty in seeing this interesting relic of the old Keeper of the Gatehouse.

"EFFICACITY."-Is there such a word? It is used by Sir Henry Bulwer in the first volume of Historical Characters, p. 227, line 13.

H. A. ST. J. M.

["The power of whiche sacramentes is of suche effycacite, that cannot be expressed."-A Boke made by John Fryth, p. 10.]

Replies.

EMENDATIONS OF SHELLEY.
(3rd S. xii. 467.)

I shall try to relieve the difficulty felt by C. A. W., and in doing so I fancy I shall be able air "" to fix the reading of 99 for "earth in the fifth line of the stanza in question as the correct one. Buds are of the air; roots are of the earth; wherefore, if Shelley so meant it to be understood, its finds its antecedent in the word air. Now Shelley uses nearly the same language in "Queen Mab," vi.,—

It must be noticed here that the fragment is, so to speak, complete, and the parallel perfect. But "the lady" is alone-there is no object to which she bears relation-no space she occupies—no eye to scan her-while "the moon," if the present reading stands, has relation to the earth, and thus a new element is introduced which disturbs the correspondence. In our emendation, however, the "murky East" corresponds with the " gauzy veil" of the similitude, and accounts, for the indistinct appearance of the moon-" a white and

tree.

The one delight is the common rapture of all nature in the opening spring and noontide hour of Southern Europe, but quiet rapture "soft"in harmony with the poet's subdued feelings. All their voices blend into one soft sound—a softness probably due in part to the indistinctness arising from their combination, and the "slightness" of "the air" which carries them. So slight is it that the hum of the city, heard from the sea shore, scarcely exceeds the almost silent ripple of the wave on the lonely beach.

The nouns in the penultimate line are evidently in the possessive case (a note for Mr. Moxon), and should be printed thus as, in fact, I have never yet seen them

"The wind's, the bird's, the ocean-flood's, the only doubt being whether the first two nouns are not plurals, and to be varied accordingly.

The modern ear, which is so exacting, demands perfect symphony of sound in rhyming couplets, but ought to be indulgent to triplets or quadruplets.

I may add that I am little qualified to be a critic of Shelley, as the perusal of his poems is my rare pastime, yet when I do read them I try to do so with my eyes open. Of the facts of his history I only know enough to have enabled me to furnish an essay for the Eclectic Review a few years ago.

In third line of second stanza of "The Question," Shelley wrote "pearled Arcturi," printed "pied Arcturi."

Allow me to suggest a correction, at least plausible, of a text of Shelley, in his fragment on "The Waning Moon": —

"And, like a dying lady, lean and pale,
Who totters forth, wrapt in a gauzy veil,
Out of her chamber, led by the insane
And feeble wanderings of her fading brain,
The moon arose upon the murky earth
A white and shapeless mass."

But no analysis would make this reading acceptable to any one who does not see its congruity at a glance. I find in Benbow's edition the reading up in the earth," which conveys no sense, but at the same time establishes the solution of upon into up in. A friend has obliged me with this little volume since I wrote my first note on Shelley.

I proceed to note a defect or two in Milner's very cheap edition of the poet's works. The notes to "Queen Mab" are omitted, to the great detriment of the poem; for though in themselves not commendable, they are exegetical of the poet's meaning, and present a study of the poet's mind at a critical period of his history.

The well-known verses called "Love's Philosophy" are quoted in full in the preface with the eulogy of being "one of the purest sweetest gems that ever flowed from mind or heart of poet," and are said to be addressed to Mary Wollstonecraft; but the editor, it is presumed, intended by the name her daughter, M. W. Godwin, the wife of Shelley.

Two lines are printed in halting fashion in the

verses:

"I fear thy kisses gentle maiden,

Thou needst not fear mine,
My spirit is too deeply laden
Ever to burthen thine.

"I fear thy mien, thy tones, thy motion,
Thou needst not fear mine,
Innocent is the heart's devotion
With which I worship thine."

In the second line of each verse, Milner should have read needest, as the dullest ear will detect the lack of a syllable. Moxon is here correct. Again :

"Swifter far than summer's flight,
Swifter far than youth's delight,
Swifter far than happy night,

Art thou come and gone:

As the earth, when leaves are dead,
As the night when sleep is sped,
As the heart when joy is fled,

I am left lone, alone."

probability of anyone living to be eighty-one, or even eighty-three years of age. As, therefore, the subject of the present communication died Oct. 8, 1841, her exact age can be readily computed. There followed her to her grave, on Oct. 15, 1841, her eldest and only surviving son, then in his seventy-fifth year; her two sons-inlaw, the late Sir Colman Rashleigh, Bart., and the Rev. J. W. Cunningham, late Vicar of Harrow; numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and other relatives and friends. I will only add, that she was no less remarkable for her age and vigour than eminent for the childlike simplicity of her earnest piety.

Woolland House, Blandford.

MONTAGUE WILLIAMS.

The notice in Household Words of August, 1852, is in many respects erroneous, and even absurd. I pointed out its numerous mistakes in two articles which appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine for May and June, 1853. I suspect that the statement on Taylor's tombstone is slightly beyond the truth, but only to the extent of six years at most. I have often wished to consult the register of the parish of Alston, or Alston Moor, in Cumberland, where Taylor was born, for the exact date of his birth, but have never been able to accomplish it. Perhaps some reader of " N. & Q." resident in the neighbourhood may be able to make this inquiry, to facilitate which I quote the commencement of the first document above referred to:

"John Taylor, son of Bernard or Barnabas Taylor (he calls him Barny) by his wife Agnes Watson, was born in Garry Gill, in the parish of Alston, in Cumberland. John had two sisters older, and a brother Thomas younger, than himself. One of the sisters married William Hoggard or Haggard, a miller at Penrith, whose children were alive there not many years ago," (say about 1760.)

GEORGE VERE IRVING.

Another Genuine Centenarian, Elizabeth Buckle.I hope MR. THOMS will accept the annexed, and have all his doubts dispelled. In the hamlet of High Wyck resides a widow of the name of Elizabeth Buckle, reputed to be one hundred and three years of age. She is plump, rosy, and lively; full of chat about old times. As she was in her youth the nursemaid of my grandfather, I have for many years felt interested in her circumstances and her soi-disant great age, about which I was

incredulous, knowing well the tendency of uneducated old people to talk themselves into old age. I was, therefore, induced to send to Eastwick yesterday, the 4th inst., for a copy of the register of her baptism, which I enclose. She seems remarkably healthy, and likely to live for some years. The tradition is, that she was not baptised till two or three years old; in fact, that she "walked to church to be christened." 1868, February 4th.

Copy from the Baptismal Register of Eastwick, Herts,

near Harlow. "Smith, Elizabeth, Daughter of John Smith & -Susannah his Wife, was Baptized Septr ye 20th, 1767." THOS. RIVERS.

Bonks Hill, Sawbridgeworth.

THE LAW OF ARMS.

(3rd S. xi. 327, 508; xii. 15.)

At the above references is carried on a discussion as to the legal effect respectively of grants and confirmations of arms. There is, however, another and deeper question lying behind, namely, have either of them any legal effect at all? and if so, what, and why? Unluckily, lawyers have troubled themselves little with the law of arms, and the heralds little with the law: the latter naturally feel themselves bound by the practice and precedents of their office, and possibly know but little more. Now, as the law of arms is parcel of the common law, it is from the known sources and authorities thereof that we must

gather its principles, and not from the practice of the Heralds' College.

The difficulty lies on the surface. The right to coat armour is either an honour or a simple right of property. If the former, it cannot be conferred by the Earl Marshal and the Kings-at-Arms, on the well-known principle that the king is the fountain of honour (which means, as we all know, that the power to confer honours cannot be delegated, unless when the sovereignty itself is delegated). If the latter, its creation is not within the prerogative of the crown: it is of the nature of a monopoly, and would require an Act of Parliament. In Scotland a statute for the purpose exists. In England, that particular incorporeal hereditament-the right to a given coat of armsmust be based, like all other hereditaments of the kind, upon user time out of mind, that is, from the 1st of Richard I. The presumption thereof must be established by evidence of reasonably long user: just as, not long ago, in a case of ancient surplice fees, a usage of sixty years would have established a presumption in favour of the rector's claim; and he was only defeated on account of the unreasonableness of their amount, by which the presumption was rebutted.

In pre

cisely similar manner, in the leading case of Scrope v. Grosvenor, did the plaintiff proceed to prove his case.

Of course, questions will still lie behind as to the limitations and conditions under which a legal owner may assign his coat, or parcel thereof, and as to the effect that may be given to the patents of the Kings-at-Arms, as adding to their commonlaw powers; but as your correspondents seem to assume broadly the principle that a new right may be created (I presume by royal prerogative), I must challenge them in all courtesy to break a lance upon the point; and invite them to favour us with the rationale of their belief, and to show that the law they lay down does not belong to what Lord Denman called "that extensive branch of the law-law taken for granted." L. P. Middle Temple.

THE INTRODUCTION OF FRUITS AND CULINARY VEGETABLES INTO ENGLAND. (4th S. i. 53.)

The Apple (Saxon appel, from the root of ball), introduced by the Romans, was the chief fruit of the Anglo-Saxons; but the only varieties mentioned, according to Wright, are the surmelst apulder, or souring apple-tree, and the swite-apulder, or sweeting apple-tree. They had orchards containing only apple-trees, called the apulder-tun, or apple-tree garden. France gave to us in the days of Queen Mary the nonpareil, and pippins came to us from the Continent in the reign of Henry VIII. The Pear (Saxon pera) was introduced by the Romans, and was in great reputation in England among the Saxons. In the time of John and of Henry III., Rochelle was celebrated for its pears, and the sheriffs of London purchased one hundred for Henry in 1223. Several kinds of pears are enumerated in the accounts of the Earl of Lincoln's garden in Holborn (London), in 1296. Worcester was celebrated in early times for the growth of this fruit-tree: three pears are delineated on its coat of arms. The only kinds of fruits named in the roll of the household expenses of Eleanor, Countess of Leicester (third daughter of King John, and wife of the celebrated Simon de Montfort who fell at Evesham), are apples and pears. Of the latter, three hundred were purchased at Canterbury, probably (says Mr. Timbs) of the monks. Matthew Paris, describing the bad season of 1257, observes that apples were scarce and pears scarcer, while quinces, vegetables, cherries, plums, and all shell-fruits, were entirely destroyed. In the wardrobe-book of 14 Edward I. we find the bill of Nicholas, the royal fruiterer; in which the only fruits mentioned are pears, apples, quinces, medlars, and nuts. The supply of these, from Whitsuntide to November, cost 217. 14s. 1d.

Alexander Neckham, writing in the latter half of the twelfth century, says:

"A noble garden will give you medlars, quinces, the pearmain (volema), pears of St. Regle, pomegranates, citrons, oranges, almonds, and figs. Let there also be beds (area), enriched with onions, leeks, garlic, melons, and scallions (hinnullis).”

The Quince (French coing, from Cydonia, a town in Crete,) was known to the Romans, who introduced it into this country. The Saxons called it cod-aple, or bag-apple.

The Cherry (Greek réparos, from Cerasus, a city in Pontus,) came originally from Asia, and the Romans brought it into England. In the Sylvan Sketches (384) the wild or black cherry is called a native of England. The Anglo-Saxons are said to have lost it, and Richard Harris, fruiterer to King Henry VIII., to have reimported it; but Warton has proved by a quotation from Lydgate, who wrote circa 1415, that the hawkers of London were wont to expose cherries for sale early in the season. One kind-the Kentish-was brought to us by the Knights Templars on their return from the Crusades, and was first planted near Sittingbourne, in Kent.

The Plum (Saxon plume) is said to have been derived from the common wild sloe. It was known

to the Anglo-Saxons. Gough says that Lord Cromwell introduced the Perdrigan plum temp. Henry VII. The greengage was first cultivated in England by a family of the name of Gage. It was brought from France, where it was called "La Reine Claude," from the wife of King Francis, with whom it was a great favourite. The orleans came to us from Orleans, in France; and the damson, or damascene, from Damascus.

The Peach (Latin persicum, from Persicus, belonging to Persia) was introduced into England by the Romans, called by the Saxons persoc-treow. In 1276 we find slips of peach-trees mentioned in an official record as planted in the king's garden at Westminster.

The Nectarine is only a variety of the peach, with a smooth skin, introduced about 1562. (Faulkner).

The Apricot (Latin præcocia, from præcor, early ripe), in Persia, is called "the fruit of the sun. The first apricot-tree was brought to England in 1524 by Henry VIII.'s head gardener; but Stow says it was not introduced till 1578. called, in old English, abricots or apricocks.

It was

The Orange (Italian arancia, Hindostanee marunj, akin to nar, fire, from its colour) is considered by many to have been brought to England by Sir Walter Raleigh, and the first trees planted by Sir Francis Carew, who married his niece, at Beddington in Surrey; but Timbs, in his Nooks and Corners of English Life, proves that, though Le Grand d'Aussy could not trace the fruit in France to an earlier date than 1333, we find it