K. N.

The Rosicrucians.—I should be extremely glad of a little information respecting "the Brethren of the Rosy Cross." Was there ever a regular fraternity of philosophers bearing this appellation; or was it given merely as a title to all students in alchemy?

I should wish to obtain a list of works which might contain a record of their studies and discoveries. I subjoin the few in my own library, which I imagine to belong to this class.

Albertus Magnus de Animalibus, libr. xxvi. fol. Venet. 1495.

Albertus Magnus de Secretis Mulierum, de Virtutibus Herbarum, Lapidum at Animalium.

Albertus Magnus de Miribilibus Mundi, item.

Michael Scotus de Secretis Naturæ, 12mo., Lugd. 1584.

Henr. Corn. Agrippa on the Vanitie of Sciences, 4to., London, 1575.

Joann. Baptist. Van Helmont, Opera Omnina, 4to., Francofurti, 1682.

Dr. Charleton, Ternary of Paradoxes, London, 1650.

Perhaps some of your correspondents will kindly furnish me with notices of other works by these writers, and by others who have written on similar subjects, as Paracelsus, &c.

E. S. Taylor.

Passage in Schiller.—In the Memoirs of a Stomach, lately published, the editor asks a question of you: "Is it Schiller who says, 'The metaphysical part of love commences with the first sigh, and terminates with the first kiss'?" I pray you look to the merry and witty and learned little book, and respond to his Query.

Amicus.

Sir John Vanbrugh.—This eminent architect and poet of the last century is stated by his biographers to have been "born in Cheshire." Can anybody furnish me with the place and date of his birth?

T. Hughes.

Chester.

Historical Engraving.—I have an ancient engraving, size 14¾ in. wide and 11¾ in. high, without title or engraver's name, which I should be glad to authenticate. It appears to represent Charles II. at the Hague in 1660.

The foreground is occupied by groups of figures in the costume of the period. In the distance is seen a street in perspective, down which the royal carriage is proceeding, drawn by six horses. On one side is a row of horses, on the other an avenue of trees. To the right of this is a canal, on the bank of which a battery of seven guns is firing a salute. The opposite bank is occupied by public buildings.

In the air a figure of Fame holds a shield charged with the royal arms of England, surrounded by a garter, without the motto. Five cherubs in various positions are dispersed around, holding respectively a globe, a laurel crown, palm branches, &c., and a crowned shield bearing a lion rampant, and a second with a stork, whose beak holds a serpent.

A portion of the zodiacal circle, containing Libra, Scorpio, and Sagittarius, marks, I suppose, the month in which the event took place.

E. S. Taylor.

Hall-close, Silverstone, Northamptonshire.—Adjoining the church-yard is a greensward field called "Hall-close," which is more likely to be the site of the mansion visited by the early kings of England, when hunting in Whittlebury Forest, than the one mentioned by Bridles in his History of the county. About 1798, whilst digging here, a fire-place containing ashes was discovered; also many large wrought freestones.

The well, close by, still retains the name of Hall-well; and there are other things in the immediate vicinity which favour the supposition; but can an extract from an old MS., as a will, deed, indenture, &c., be supplied to confirm it?

H. T. Wake.

Stepney.

Junius's Letters to Wilkes.—Where are the original letters addressed by Junius to Mr. Wilkes? The editor of the Grenville Papers says, "It is uncertain in whose custody the letters now remain, many unsuccessful attempts having been recently made to ascertain the place of their deposit."

D. G.

The Reformer's Elm.—What was the origin of the name of "The Reformer's Elm?" Where and what was it?

C. M. T.

Oare.

How to take Paint off old Oak.—Can any of your correspondents inform me of some way to take paint off old oak?

F. M. Middleton.

Minor Queries with Answers.

Cadenus and Vanessa.—What author is referred to in the lines in Swift's "Cadenus and Vanessa,"—

W. Fraser.

Tor-Mohun.

Boom.—Is there an English verb active to boom, and what is the precise meaning of it? Sir Walter Scott uses the participle:

Vogel.

"A Letter to a Member of Parliament."—Who was the author of A Letter to a Member of Parliament, occasioned by A Letter to a Convocation Man: W. Rogers, London, 1697?

W. Fraser.

Tor-Mohun.

Ancient Chessmen.—I should be glad to learn, through the medium of "N. & Q.," some particulars relative to the sixty-four chessmen and fourteen draughtsmen, made of walrus tusk, found in the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, and now in case 94. Mediæval Collection of the British Museum?

Hornoway.

Guthryisms.—In a work entitled Select Trials at the Old Bailey is an account of the trial and execution of Robert Hallam, for murder, in the year 1731. Narrating the execution of the criminal, and mentioning some papers which he had prepared, the writer says: "We will not tire the reader's patience with transcribing these prayers, in which we can see nothing more than commonplace phrases and unmeaning Guthryisms." What is the meaning of this last word, and to whom does it refer?

S. S. S.

Replies.

CORRESPONDENCE OF CRANMER AND CALVIN.

(Vol. vii., p. 501.)

The question put by C. D., respecting the existence of letters said to have passed between Archbishop Cranmer and Calvin, and to exist in print at Geneva, upon the seeming sanction given by our liturgy to the belief that baptism confers regeneration, is a revival of an inquiry made by several persons about ten years ago. It then induced M. Merle d'Aubigné to make the search of which C. D. has heard; and the result of that search was given in a communication from the Protestant historian to the editor of the Record, bearing date April 22, 1843.

I have that communication before me, as a cutting from the Record; but have not preserved the date of the number in which it appeared^[2], though likely to be soon after its receipt by the editor. Merle d'Aubigné says, in his letter, that both the printed and manuscript correspondence of Calvin, in the public library of Geneva, had been examined in vain by himself, and by Professor Diodati the librarian, for any such topic; but he declares himself disposed to believe that the assertion, respecting which C. D. inquires, arose from the following passage in a letter from Calvin to the English primate:

"Sic correctæ sunt externæ superstitiones, ut residui maneant innumeri surculi, qui assidue pullulent. Imo ex corruptelis papatus audio relictum esse congeriem, quæ non obscuret modo, sed propemodum obruat purum et genuinum Dei cultum."

Part of this letter, but with important omissions, had been published by Dean Jenkyns in 1833. (Cranmer's Remains, vol. i. p. 347.) M. d'Aubigné's communication gave the whole of it; and it ought to have appeared in the Parker Society volume of original letters relative to the English Reformation. That volume contains one of Calvin's letters to the Protector Somerset; but omits another, of which Merle d'Aubigné's communication supplied a portion, containing this important sentence:

"Quod ad formulam precum et rituum ecclesiasticorum, valde probo ut certa illa extet, a qua pastoribus discedere in functione sua non liceat, tam ut consulatur quorumdam simplicitati et imperitiæ, quam ut certius ita constet omnium inter se ecclesiarum consensus."

Another portion of a letter from Calvin, communicated by D'Aubigné, is headed in the Record "Cnoxo et gregalibus, S. D.;" but seems to be the one cited in the Parker Society, vol. ii. of Letters, pp. 755-6, notes 941, as a letter to Richard Cox and others; so that Cnoxo should have been Coxo.

The same valuable communication farther contained the letter of Cranmer inviting Calvin to unite with Melancthon and Bullinger in forming arrangements for holding a Protestant synod in some safe place; meaning in England, as he states more expressly to Melancthon. This letter, however, had been printed entire by Dean Jenkyns, vol. i. p. 346.; and it is given, with an English translation, in the Parker Society edition of Cranmer's Works as Letter ccxcvii., p. 431. It is important, as proving that Heylyn stated what was untrue, Eccles. Restaur., p. 65.; where he has said, "Calvin had offered his assistance to Archbishop Cranmer. But the archbishop knew the man, and refused his offer." Instead of such an offer, Calvin replied courteously and affectionately to Cranmer's invitation; but says, "Tenuitatem meam facturam spero, ut mihi parcatur ... Mihi utinam par studii ardori suppeteret facultas." This reply, the longest letter in their correspondence, is printed in the note attached to Cranmer's letter (Park. Soc., as above, p. 432.; and a translation of it in Park. Soc. Original Letters, vol. ii. p. 711.: and there are extracts from it in Jenkyns, p. 346., n.p.). D'Aubigné gave it entire; but has placed both Calvin's letters to the archbishop before the latter's epistle to him, to which they both refer.

Henry Walter.

"POPULUS VULT DECIPI."

(Vol. vii., p. 572.)

If Mr. Temple will turn to p. 141. of Mathias Prideaux's Easy and Compendious Introduction for reading all Sorts of Histories, 6th edit., Oxford, 1682, small 4to., he will find his Query thus answered:

"It was this Pope's [Paul IV.] Legate, Cardinal Carafa, that gave this blessing to the devout Parisians, Quandoquidem populus decipi vult, decipiatur. Inasmuch as this people will be deceived, let them be deceived."

This book of Prideaux's is full of mottoes, of which I shall give a few instances. Of Frederick Barbarosa "his saying was, Qui nescit dissimulare, nescit imperare:" of Justinian "His word was, Summum jus, summa injuria—The rigour of the law may prove injurious to conscience:" of Theodosius II. "His motto was, Tempori parendum—We must fit us (as far as it may be done with a good conscience) to the time wherein we live, with Christian prudence:" of Nerva "His motto sums up his excellencies, Mens bona regnum possidet—My mind to me a kingdom is:" of Richard Cœur de Lion, "The motto of Dieu et mon droit is attributed to him; ascribing the victory he had at Gisors against the French, not to himself, but to God and His might."

Eirionnach.

Cardinal Carafa seems to have been the author of the above memorable dictum. Dr. John Prideaux thus alludes to the circumstance:

"Cardinalis (ut ferunt) quidam μετὰ πολλῆς φαντασίας Lutetiam aliquando ingrediens, cum instant importunius turbæ ut benedictionem impertiret: Quandoquidem (inquit) hic populus vult decipi, decipiatur in nomine Diaboli."—Lectiones Novem, p. 54.: Oxoniæ, 1625, 4to.

I must also quote from Dr. Jackson:

"Do all the learned of that religion in heart approve that commonly reported saying of Leo X., 'Quantum profuit nobis fabula Christi,' and yet resolve (as Cardinal Carafa did, Quoniam populus iste vult decipi, decipiatur) to puzzle the people in their credulity?"—Works, vol. i. p. 585.: Lond. 1673, fol.

The margin directs me to the following passage in Thuanus:

"Inde Carafa Lutetiam regni metropolim tanquam Pontificis legatus solita pompa ingreditur, ubi cum signum crucis, ut fit, ederet, verborum, quæ proferri mos est, loco, ferunt eum, ut erat securo de numine animo et summus religionis derisor, occursante passim populo et in genua ad ipsius conspectum procumbente, sæpius secreta murmuratione hæc verba ingeminasse: Quandoquidem populus iste vult decipi, decipiatur."—Histor., lib. xvii., ad ann. 1556, vol. i. p. 521.: Genevæ, 1626, fol.

Robert Gibbings.

LATIN—LATINER.

(Vol. vii., p. 423.)

Latin was likewise used for the language or song of birds:

Chaucer, it will be observed, uses the Anglo-Saxon form of the word. Leden was employed by the Anglo-Saxons in the sense of language generally, as well as to express the Latin tongue.

In the German version of Sir Tristram, Latin is also used for the song of birds, and is so explained by Ziemann:

"Latin, Latein; für jede fremde eigenthümliche Sprache, selbst für den Vogelgesang. Tristan und Isolt, 17365."—Ziemann, Mittelhochdeutsches Wörterbuch.

Spenser, who was a great imitator of Chaucer, probably derives the word leden or ledden from him:

In the last passage, perhaps, meaning, knowledge, best expresses the sense. Ledden may have been one of the words which led Ben Jonson to charge Spenser with "affecting the ancients." However, I find it employed by one of his cotemporaries, Fairfax:

The expression lede, in lede, which so often occurs in Sir Tristram, may also have arisen from the Anglo-Saxon form of the word Latin. Sir W. Scott, in his Glossary, explains it: "Lede, in lede. In language, an expletive, synonymous to I tell you." The following are a few of the passages in which it is found:

It is not necessary to descant on thieves' Latin, dog-Latin, Latin de Cuisine, &c.; but I should be glad to learn when dog-Latin first appeared in our language.

E. M. B.

Lincoln.

JACK.

(Vol. vii., p. 326.)

The list of Jacks supplied by your correspondent John Jackson is amusing and curious. A few additions towards a complete collection may not be altogether unacceptable or unworthy of notice.

Supple (usually pronounced souple) Jack, a flexible cane; Jack by the hedge, a plant (Erysimum cordifolium); the jacks of a harpsichord; jack, an engine to raise ponderous bodies (Bailey); Jack, the male of birds of sport (Ditto); Jack of Dover, a joint twice dressed (Ditto, from Chaucer); jack pan, used by barbers (Ditto); jack, a frame used by sawyers. I have also noted Jack-Latin, Jack-a-nod, but cannot give their authority or meaning.

The term was very familiar to our older writers. The following to Dodsley's Collection of old Plays (1st edition, 1744) may assist in explaining its use:

Your correspondent is perhaps aware that Dr. Johnson is disposed to consider the derivation from John to be an error, and rather refers the word to the common usage of the French word Jacques (James). His conjecture seems probable, from many of its applications in this language. Jacques, a jacket, is decidedly French; Jacques de mailles equally so; and the word Jacquerie embraces all the catalogue of virtues and vices which we connect with our Jack.

On the other hand, John, in his integrity, occurs familiarly in John Bull, John-a-Nokes, John Doe, John apple, John Doree, Blue John, John Trot, John's Wort, John-a-dreams, &c.; and Poor John is found in Dodsley, vol. viii. pp. 197. 356.

C. H. P.

Brighton.

PASSAGE IN ST. JAMES.

(Vol. vii., p. 549)

On referring to the passage cited by S. S. S. in Bishop Taylor's Holy Dying, vol. iv. p. 345. (Heber's edit.), I find I had marked two passages in St. James's Epistle as being those to which, in all probability, the bishop alluded; one in the first chapter, and one in the third. In the commencement of his Epistle St. James exhorts his hearers to exercise patience in all the worldly accidents that might befal them; to resign themselves into God's hands, and accept in faith whatever might happen. He then proceeds:

"If any of you lack wisdom" (prudentia ad dijudicandum quid in singulis circumstantiis agendum sit—Grotius), "let him ask of God" (postulet ab eo, qui dat, nempe Deo: ut intelligas non aliunde petendum sapientiam.—Erasmus).

Again, in chap. iii. 13., he asks:

"Who is a wise man, and endued with knowledge among you" (ἐπιστήμων, i. e. sciens, sive scientià præditus, quod recentiores vocant scientificus.—Erasmus).

He bids him prove his wisdom by submission to the truth; for that cunning craftiness which manifests itself only in generating heresies and contentions, is—

"Not from above," ἀλλ' ἐπίγειος, Ψυχικὴ (animalis,—ista sapientia a natura est, non a Deo) δαιμονιώδης.—Vid. Eph. ii. 2., and 2 Cor. iv. 4.

These passages would naturally afford ample scope for the exuberant fancy of ancient commentators; and it is not unreasonable to suppose that Bishop Taylor may have had the remarks of one of these writers running in his mind, when he quoted St. James as reprobating, with such minuteness of detail, the folly of consulting oracles, spirits, sorcerers, and the like.

I have not, at present, access to any of the commentators to whom I allude; so I am unable to confirm this suggestion.

H. C. K.

—— Rectory, Hereford.

There is no uncanonical epistle attributed to this apostle, although the one received by the English from the Greek and Latin churches was pronounced uncanonical by Luther. The passage to which Jeremy Taylor refers, is iv. 13, 14., which he interpreted as referring to an unlawful inquiry into the future:

"Go to now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow: for what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."

Hug (Wait's Trans., vol. ii. p. 579.) considers the apostle as reproving the Jews for attempting to evade the national punishment threatened them, by removing out of their own country of Judæa. Probably, however, neither Taylor nor Hug are correct in departing from the more obvious signification, which refers to the mercantile character of the twelve tribes (i. 1.), arising mainly out of the fact of their captivities and dispersions (διασπορᾷ). The practice is still common in the East for merchants on a large and small scale to spend a whole season or year in trafficking in one city, and passing thence to another with the varied products suitable respectively to each city; and such products were interchanged without that extreme division of labour or despatch which the magnitude of modern commerce requires. The whole passage, from James iv. 13. to v. 6. inclusive, must be taken as specially applicable to the sins of mercantile men whose works of righteousness St. James (iii. 17-20.) declared to be wanting, in proof of their holding the faith necessary, according, to St. Paul (Rom. iii. 27.), for their salvation.

T. J. Buckton.

Birmingham.

FAITHFULL TEATE.

(Vol. vii., p. 529.)

The Ter Tria^[3], about which your correspondent J. S. inquires, is neither a rare nor a very valuable book; and if his copy has cost him more than some three and sixpence, it is a poor investment of capital. Mine, which is of the second edition, 1669, has the following book-note:

"The worthy Faithfull Teate indulges himself in the then prevailing bad taste of anagramising his name: see the result after the title. A better play upon his name is that of Jo. Chishull, who, in lashing the prophane wits of the day, and eulogising the author, has the following comical allusion thereto:

'Let all wise-hearted sav'ring things divine

Come suck this Teat that yields both milk and wine,

Loe depths where elephants may swim, yet here

The weakest lamb of Christ wades without fear.'"

The Ter Tria was originally published in 1658; its author, F. T., was the father of the better known Nahum Tate, the co-translator of the last authorised version of the Psalms,—a Teat which, following the metaphor of Mr. Chishull, has nourished not a few generations of the godly, but now, like a sucked orange, thrown aside for the more juicy productions of our modern Psalmists. Old Teate (or Tate, as the junior would have it) is styled in this book, "preacher at Sudbury." He seems subsequently to have removed to Ireland, where his son Nahum, the laureat, was born.

J. O.

PARVISE.

(Vol. viii., p. 528.)

Parvise seems to have been a porch, used as a school or place for disputation. The parvise mentioned in the Oxford "Little-Go" (Responsions) Testamur is alluded to in Bishop Cooper's book against Private Mass (published by the Parker Society). He ridicules his opponent's arguments as worthy of "a sophister in the parvyse schools." The Serjeant-at-law, in Chaucer's Canterbury Pilgrims, had been often at the paruise. In some notes on this character in a number of the Penny Magazine for 1840 or 1841, it is farther remarked that the choristers of Norwich Cathedral were formerly taught in the parvise, i. e. porch. The chamber over a porch in some churches may have been the school meant. Instances of this arrangement were to be found at Doncaster Church (where it was used as a library), and at Sherborne Abbey Church. The porch here was Norman, and the chamber Third Pointed; and at the restoration lately effected the pitch of the roof was raised, and the chamber removed.

B. A. Oxon.

Oxford University.

I believe that the parvisus, or paradisus of the Responsions Testamur, is the pro-scholium of the divinity school, otherwise called the "pig-market," from its site having been so occupied up to the year 1554. This is said to be the locality in which the Responsions were formerly held.

It is ordered by the statutes, tit. vi.,—

"Quod priusquam quis ad Gradum Baccalaurei in Artibus admittatur, in Parviso semel Quæstionibus Magistrorum Scholarum respondeat."

However, they go on to direct, "Locus hisce Responsionibus assignetur Schola Metaphysices;" and there they are at present held. (See the Glossary to Tyrwhitt's Chaucer; and also Parker's Glossary of Architecture, ad voc. "Parvise.")

Cheverells.

The term parvise, though used in somewhat different senses by old writers, appears to mean strictly a porch or antechamber. Your correspondent Oxoniensis will find in Parker's Glossary ample information respecting this word, with references to various writers, showing the different meanings which have been attached to it. "Responsions," or the preliminary examinations at Oxford, are said to be held in parviso; that is, in the porch, as it were, or antechamber before the schools, which are the scene of the greater examinations for the degree.

H. C. K.

If your correspondent will refer to the word Parvisium, in the Glossary at the end of Watt's edition of Matthew Paris, he will find a good deal of information. To this I will add that the word is now in use in Belgium in another sense. I saw some years since, and again last summer, in a street leading out of the Grande Place, by one side of the Halle at Bruges, on a house, this notice,—

D. P.

Begbrook.

THE CŒNACULUM OF LIONARDO DA VINCI.

(Vol. vii., pp. 524, 525.)

Mr. Smirke's paper, questioning the received opinion as to the points of time and circumstance expressed in this celebrated fresco, contains the following sentence:

"The work in question is now so generally accessible, through the medium of accurate engravings, that any one may easily exercise his own judgment on the matter."

Having within no very distant period spent an hour or two in examining the original, with copies lying close at hand for the purposes of comparison, allow me to offer you a few impressions of which, while fresh, I "made a note" in an interleaved copy of Bishop Burnet's curious Tour in Italy, which served me as a journal while abroad. Burnet mentions the Dominican Convent at Milan as in his day "very rich." My note is as follows:

"The Dominican convent is now suppressed. It is a cavalry barracks: dragoons have displaced Dominicans. There is a fine cupola to the church, the work of Bramante: in the salle or refectory of this convent was discovered, since Burnet's time, under a coat of wash or plaster, the celebrated fresco of Lionardo da Vinci, now so well known to the world by plates and copies, better finished than the original ever was, in all probability; certainly better than it is now, after abuse, neglect, damp, and, worst of all, restoring, have done their joint work upon it. A visit to this fresco disenchants one wonderfully. It is better to be satisfied with the fine engravings, and let the original live in its ideal excellence. The copyists have taken some liberties, of which these strike me as the chief:

"First, The Saviour's head is put more on one side, in what I would call a more languishing position than its actual one.

"Second, the expression of the figure seated at his left hand is quite changed. In the copies it is a grave, serious, fine face: in the original, though now indistinct, it evidently expressed 'open-mouthed horror' at the declaration, 'One of you shall betray me.'

"Third, Judas in all copies is identified not only by the held bag of money, but by the overturned saltcellar at his elbow. This last is not in the original.

"The whole fresco, though now as well kept as may be, seems spoiling fast. There is a Crucifixion at the other end of the same hall, in much better preservation, though of the same date; and the doorway which the tasteful Dominicans cut in the wall, through the bottom of the painting, is, though blocked up, still quite visible. It is but too probable that the monks valued the absurd and hideous frescoes in the cloisters outside, representing Saint Dominic's miracles! and the Virgin fishing souls out of purgatory with a rosary, beyond Lionardo's great work."

So far my original note, written without supposing that the received idea, as to the subject of the picture, had ever been questioned. In reference to the question raised, however, I will briefly say, that, as recollection serves me, it would require a well-sustained criticism to convince me that the two disciples at the Saviour's right hand were not designed to express the point of action described in the 23rd and 24th verses of chapter xiii. of St. John's Gospel. Possibly Mr. Smirke might favour us with the argument of his MSS. on the group.

A. B. R.

Belmont.

FONT INSCRIPTIONS.

(Vol. vii., p. 408.)

I have in my note-book the following entries:—

Kiddington, Oxon.:

Newark, round the base in black letter:

On a pillar adjoining the font is a brass tablet with this inscription:

"This Font was demolished by the Rebels, May 9, 1646, and rebuilt by the charity of Nicholas Ridley in 1660."

Kirton, Lincoln:

"Orate pro aia Alauni Burton qui fontem istum fieri fec. a.d. mccccv."

Clee, Lincoln:

"The Font is formed of two cylindrical parts, one placed upon the other, over which, in the shaft of the circular column, is inlaid a small piece of marble, with a Latin inscription in Saxon characters, referring to the time of King Richard, and stating it was dedicated to the Holy Trinity and St. Mary, by Hugh Bishop of Lincoln, a.d. 1192."

The above are extracts from books, not copied by me from the fonts.

F. B. Relton.

At Threckingham, Lincolnshire, round the base of the font—

At Little Billing, Northamptonshire,—

"Wilberthus artifex atq; cementarius hunc fabricavit, quisquis suum venit mergere corpus procul dubio capit."

J. P., Jun.

To the list of these should be added the early English font at Keysoe, Beds., noticed in the Ecclesiologist, vol. i. p. 124., and figured in Van Voorst's Baptismal Fonts. It bears the legend in Norman French:

Or, in modern French:

Cheverells.

BURN AT CROYDON.

(Vol. vii., pp. 238. 393.)

The bourne at Croydon is one of the most remarkable of those intermitting springs which issue from the upper part of the chalk strata after long-continued rains.

All porous earth-beds are reservoirs of water, and give out their supplies more or less copiously according to their states of engorgement; and at higher or lower levels, as they are more or less replenished by rain. Rain percolates through the chalk rapidly at all times, it being greatly fissured and cavernous, and finds vent at the bottom of the hills, in ordinary seasons, in the perennial springs which issue there, at the top of the chalk marl, or of the galt (the clay so called) which underlies the chalk. But when long-continued rains have filled the fissures and caverns, and the chinks and crannies of the ordinary vents below are unequal to the drainage, the reservoir as it were overflows, and the superfluity exudes from the valleys and gullies of the upper surface; and these occasional sources continue to flow till the equilibrium is restored, and the perennial vents suffice to carry off the annual supply. Some approach to the full engorgement here spoken of takes place annually in many parts of the chalk districts, where springs break out after the autumnal and winter rains, and run themselves dry again in the course of a few months, or maybe have intermissions of a year or two, when the average falls are short. Thence it is we have so many "Winterbournes" in the counties of Wilts, Hants, and Dorset; as Winterbourne-basset, Winterbourne-gunner, Winterbourne-stoke, &c. (Vide Lewis's Topog. Dict.) The highest sources of the Test, Itchen, and some other of our southern rivers which take their rise in the chalk, are often dry for months, and their channels void of water for miles; failing altogether when the rains do not fill the neighbouring strata to repletion.

In the case of long intermissions, such as occur to the Croydon bourne, it is not wonderful that the sudden appearance of waters in considerable force, where none are usually seen to flow, should give rise to superstitious dread of coming evils. Indeed, the coincidence of the running of the bourne, a wet summer, a worse sowing-season, and a wet cold spring, may well inspire evil forebodings, and give a colourable pretext for such apprehensions as are often entertained on the occurrence of any unusual natural phenomenon. These intermittent rivulets have no affinity, as your correspondent E. G. R. supposes, to subterraneous rivers. The nearest approach to this kind of stream is to be found in the Mole, which sometimes sinks away, and leaves its channel dry between Dorking and Leatherhead, being absorbed into fissures in the chalk, and again discharged; these fissures being insufficient to receive its waters in times of more copious supply. The subterraneous rivers of more mountainous countries are also not to be included in the same category. They have a history of their own, to enlarge on which is not the business of this Note: but it may not be irrelevant to turn the attention for a moment to the use of the word bourne or burn. The former mode of spelling and pronouncing it appears to prevail in the south, and the latter in the north of England and in Scotland; both alike from the same source as the brun or brunen of Germany. The perennial bourne so often affords a convenient natural geographical boundary, and a convenient line of territorial division, that by an easy metonymy it has established itself in our language in either sense, signifying streamlet or boundary-line,—as witness the well-known lines: