(11) Ensign, July 1, 1731; Captain-Lieutenant, March 28, 1751. Still serving in 1755. (12) Misprint for " Trapaud." The following additions in writing are entered on the interleaf :— (1) Younger brother of George, 3rd Earl of Cholmondeley. Had previously served in the 3rd Troop of Life Guards. Colonel of the 59th Foot (which later became the 48th) on its formation in January, 1741. Colonel of the 12th Light Dragoons for a short time in 1749. Colonel of the 6th (or Inniskilling) Dragoons, Jan. 16, 1750. General, April 30, 1770. Died Oct. 13, 1775. (2) Captain, April 12, 1741. Still serving in 1755. (8) Lieutenant, April 22, 1745. (4) Lieutenant, May 1, 1745. Still serving in 1755. J. H. LESLIE, Major, R.A. (Retired List). (To be continued.) 'ZORIADA' (A.D. 1786) AND THE WORDBOOKS. Nonsensical, iii. 107. Mamma, you see, is not so stiff and nonsensical, and so queer as you are. D. not 1815-1704.) Notability, i. 17...., that half her sex had either her notability, or her talents for being trusty; D. not before 1788.) Nurse-child, iii. 87. His wife..., had a nurse child, the son of a sea captain,." that, if the murs echild did expire, (D. not 1815-1769.) Over-knowledge, i. 4....; better be poor and literate, than rich, and brought to an untimely grave by over-knowledge; (Not D.) Over-learning, i. 1...., only a little touched in her brain by over learning; iii. 6... as I once believed, over-learning had killed her, (Not D.) Over-rate, iii. 10...., for a man to arrogate to himself the power of over-rating my choice, and cutting off an individual, only for being favoured (D. not in this sense. It seems to mean override.) Over-spread, i. 3...., her face over spread with an alarming paleness, (D. not 1863-1748.) Overture, i. 169.. ; upon the reception of your overture every thing depends. i. 179...., has refused me, refused my honorable overture, (D. not after 1655, in this sense of "offer of marriage.") P's and Q's, i. 158. and who so proper to bring him to his p's and q's as the waiting woman of her he loves ? (D. not before 1779, or possibly 1820.) Pains-taking, ii. 132...., I cannot deny that you have been very pains taking, and deserve to be well rewarded; (D. not 1888-1737.) Peacock-strut, ii. 90.. ; and a certain peacock strut bespoke the pride and pleasure of her heart, (Not D.) Pendulum, i. 9...... permit me to consult your pulse, that little pendulum of life, as an English writer very prettily calls it, (D. not before 1820, as a metaphor. Cf. Sapskull,' 2, 213.) Pensiveness, iii. 62...., his countenance contracted an unusual pensiveness. (D. not 18271752.) Pick out, i. 21.. this is all I could pick out concerning her. (D. not 1882-1678.) Plough tail, i. 123...., and whether it is a great lord, or a fellow from the plow-tail that wants to ruinate me, ii. 27....; nay, our very youths from the plough tail, (D. not 1831-1712.) Post, ii. 40. Lord Drew having rode post, with a beating heart, ii. 145,...., and riding post, was soon in view of the village. (D. not 1802-1711.) Pour in, i. 193...., it might be improper to have a croud pour in upon him. (D. not before 1860.) Presented, i. 139. He then politely asked if the young lady meant to be presented, (at the British Court.) (D. not 1844-1716 in this sense.) Presentment, ii. 41...., I had no presentment of Swinborne's disobedient machinations. ii. 106 what will become of me if my alarming presentment is verified,...? (If it is not a misprint of" presentiment," D. 7 has no instance 18171613.) Proclaimed, ii. 97...., until you are lost to me, by a proclaimed preference, (D. not 1826-1881.) Queer, iii. 107. Mamma, you see, is not so stiff and nonsensical, and so queer as you are. (D. not of persons 1840-1712.) Rattling, i. 56....all the glare and rattling of birth-night balls, and glittering beaux and belles. (D. not in this sense perhaps after 1677.) Recommendatory, ii. 43. Your conduct is ingenuous, your family recommendatory, (D. not 1818-1741.) Reconfirm, i. 178. She extended her hand to him, in token of reconfirmed amity, (D. not 18211679.) Reconsult, i. 184. This pair of worthy friends consulted and reconsulted, (D. neither 1806-1652, nor after 1806.) Refused, ii. 26.. .; I am a refused man; (D. not 1790-1606.) Rife, i. 20.. .when it comes to be rife about that I have got a nameless gentlewoman for a lodger; EDWARD S. DODGSON. (To be concluded.) THE DIABOLIAD.'-The following extract from a Diary kept in the year 1808 mentions the learned Porson's conviction that · The Diaboliad was written by a man who at Preone time served as a private soldier. vious volumes of N. & Q.' contain various references to William Combe, generally supposed to be the author of that curious work.. Is it known whether he ever served in the ranks of the army?— "Went in the evening to Dobree's chambers in the Temple, where I met Mr. Porson. His person seems to have been rather good, but is now much worn and debilitated; his address was obliging, and perfectly free from that repulsive austerity with which scholars by profession are so generally charged. We talked a great deal of the Stage, which he condemned as totally destituteof a single actor, and was particularly severe on Kemble and Mrs. Siddons. In the course of the evening he recited great part of the Heroic Epistle to Sir William Chambers, and quoted largely from Junius and the Bath Guide.' The two following lines from Beattie's 'Minstrel' he told us when at Eton he thus translated : All that the genial ray of morning gilds, And all that echoes to the voice of even. Omne quod Aurorae radius genialis inaurat Vesperis omne refert quod vocis imagine... "I remember no pleasantry to have escaped him, except in some allusion to country squires he observed that the word polish comes from TOMs as that of rust is derived from rus. He assured me the person who was reduced to the situation of a private soldier was really the circumstance of his being entertained by a party author of The Diaboliad,' and mentioned the of Gentlemen who invited him for the purpose of being diverted by his eccentricities. After he had remained some time and was taking leave of his. hosts with the awkward gait of a clown, he was suddenly stopped by one of the company who told him his real situation was known to all! present and that they had secured an extension of his absence from the commanding officer. this he stepped back, assumed the Gentleman, and fascinated them as much with the elegance of his carriage, as he had before contributed to their amusement in an opposite capacity. On "DECELERATE."-A word which is new to me, and is not given in any dictionary to which I have access, appears in the first section of the bill recently issued by the Railway Executive Committee. The sentence runs as follows: "1. The passenger train service will be considerably curtailed and decelerated." This last word has appar→ ently received official sanction, and it seems. to me desirable to record its use for the first, time. STEPHEN J. BARNS. Frating, Woodside Road, Woodford Wells. A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE VICTORIA CROSS. The book dealing adequately with the splendid story of the V.C. has yet to be written. In expressing this opinion it is not intended by any means to detract from the substantial merits of several of the books which are already in existence on the subject. For such a book as one could to wish to see written about the Cross and its roll of heroes there is indeed abundance of subjectmatter ready at hand, and the framework of the narrative is easily accessible in the pages of The London Gazette, which contains the official records of each individual V.C. winner from the beginning onwards. The following list of books includes practically all that has so far been published on this theme : 6 1. The Victoria Cross.' Edited by R. W. O'Byrne. (Allen & Co.) 1880. 2. For Valour: the V.C. By J. E. Muddock. (Hutchinson & Co.) 1895. 3. History of the V.C.' By Philip A. Wilkins. (Constable & Co.) 1904. 4. The Book of the V.C.' By A. L. Haydon. (Andrew Melrose.) 1906. 5. Our Soldiers and the Victoria Cross.' By S. O. Beeton. 6. Heroes of the Victoria Cross.' By T. Toomey. (Newnes, Limited.) 7. The Victoria Cross in the Crimea.' Knollys. (Dean & Son.) E. By Col. 8. The Victoria Cross in India.' By Col. Knollys. (Dean & Son.) 9. The Victoria Cross in the Colonies.' Col. Knollys. (Dean & Son.) By 10. Gallant Deeds of Heroes of the Victoria Cross.' (Dean & Son.) 11. The Book of the Victoria Cross.' By Major Rupert Stuart. (Rees.) 1916. There are also two articles in The United Service Magazine dealing with the V.C. The first of these, entitled 'The Victoria Cross for Officers,' was written by L. Oppenheim, and appeared in The United Service Magazine, xix. 180; and the second, 'The Decline of the V.C.,' was printed in xxvii. 428. (These figures of reference are taken from Poole's Index of Periodical Literature.') Of the books just mentioned it may be sufficient to add that Wilkins's 'History of the V.C.' stands out as facile princeps. It is the most comprehensive, and it gives a readable account of the five hundred and twenty acts of valour for which the decoration had been awarded up to the date of its issue. In addition the value of the book is greatly enhanced by the portraits of no fewer than three hundred and ninety-two of the recipients. This feature alone makes the work of inestimable value to students. As the years rolled on, it would have become increasingly difficult, if not altogether impossible, to get together such an extensive collection of portraits. CHARLES MENMUIR, M.A. 25 Garscube Lane, Glasgow. Queries. WE must request correspondents desiring information on family matters of only private interest to affix their names and addresses to their queries, in order that answers may be sent to them direct. 66 JILL, GILLIAN.-I have been looking up this feminine abbreviation, familiar in association with Jack. It is apparently short for Gillian, which represents Juliana as well as Julian, and the spelling Gill is preserved in the First Folio of Shakespeare. In 'Love's Labour's Lost,' Act V. sc. ii., 1. 883 begins Jacke hath not Gill." Here Steevens quotes from Heywood's Epihave Gill." In 'The Taming of the Shrew,' grammes upon Proverbes,' 1567," Jack shall Act IV. SC. i. 1. 52, is a joke about jacks, leathern jugs, andg ills, pint vessels. Can Gill or Jill as a proper name be be put back earlier than Heywood, and is it at all frequent among later heroines in life or in letters? Dame Gillian is Eveline Berenger's tirewoman in Scott's story of The Betrothed.' I do not remember com ing across the name otherwise in books of the nineteenth century or the eighteenth, and the abbreviation is now quite strange. HIPPOCLIDES. .... be ARMORIAL SEAL: IDENTIFICATION SOUGHT. the following arms? Arg., a fesse... -Whose may a seal have been which bore tween three birds, mallards or swans, two in chief facing each other, beak to beak, and one in base (tinctures indiscernible); the base bird within a chevronel.... ; an annulet on centre point of fesse for cadency. There is a spray of leaves, possibly laurel, each side, without the shield. This seal is attached to a letter dated " Aprill 26, 1610," written by John Reynolds on landing in England, returning from Rome and Paris. The annulet, if used as a cadency mark, is evidence against the seal bearing J. R.'s correct personal arms. Seals even on important documents were, I am told, frequently used by others than the owners, but anyway it would be interesting to know what family boasted so curious a coat. Four Flanders pictures were, except one Quission painted," the only works of 66 art considered worth mentioning in the in- One, that of the Hon. Caroline Dawson ventory in 1592 of the goods of John's father (afterwards Lady Congleton), Maid of Honour Richard, and this possibly suggests a Flemish to Queen Victoria, is reproduced in the just origin. Other items such as one Tow- published Twenty Years at Court-from hand swoorde," one Battell exe,' one the Correspondence of the Hon. Eleanor welshehoke," a Bow and Arros, with 2 Stanley,' edited by Mrs. Steuart Erskine; Quiffers," "a herniper," a litell longe and the other, in my possession, is one of pike," a staff with a pike in the end, and Susanna Arethusa, wife of the Right Hon. one muskitt with his furniture"-indicate Thomas Milner-Gibson. I should be very that the family, though peaceably inclined, glad to hear of any others. were not unprepared for war. 66 ANNULET. JULIUS CAESAR'S REFORM OF THE CALENDAR. -What ancient authority is there for the statements, made in the Calendar' articles in The Encyclopædia Britannica' and in Chambers's Encyclopædia,' that Julius Cæsar in reforming the calendar gave 29 days to February (30 in leap years), 30 each to August, October, and December, and 31 each to September and November, and that the existing distribution of days among the various months is due to Augustus ? All other works of reference which I have consulted assign to Julius Cæsar the present arrangement of the days of the months, and are silent as to any redistribution by Augustus. R. J. B. JOHN GILBERT, ARCHBISHOP OF YORK (16931761). What were the name and parentage of his mother? She is said to have been a Brisco of Crofton, but I should be glad of confirmation of this. The 'D.N.B.' is silent on the point. His father would seem to have been John Gilbert of the East India Company (Foster, Alum. Oxon.,' and a pedigree in The Connoisseur, 1911). The Rev. John Gilbert, Fellow of Wadham and Prebendary of Exeter, was his grandfather, and not his father as stated in the 'D.N.B.' LAWRENCE E. TANNER. 2 Little Dean's Yard, Westminster. JOHN LEAKE, M.D.-According to the 'Dict. Nat. Biog.,' xxxii. 321, he was the son of William Leake, a clergyman, and was born at Ainstable, Cumberland, June 8, 1729. Can any correspondent of N. & Q.' give me particulars of his mother? was he "educated as a surgeon ever marry? Where "" ? Did he G. F. R. B. GAMBARDELLA, ITALIAN PORTRAITPAINTER.-I should be grateful to any reader of N. & Q.' who could give any biographical details of the above Mid-Victorian portraitpainter. He was, I believe, a refugee, and a friend of Giuseppe Mazzini. The two portraits by him that I know are charming, GERY MILNER-GIBSON-CULLUM, F.S.A. The Athenæum, Pall Mall, S.W. VENETIAN ACCOUNT OF ENGLAND.-I shall be grateful if any reader can tell me where may be found the original of what is referred to by Bishop Creighton in his Romanes Lecture, 1896, as the earliest account of England from outside, by a Venetian ambassador in 1497. The lecture was reprinted in Historical Lectures and Addresses,' published by Longmans, Green & Co., 1903. A. P. A. "TEREBUS Y TEREODIN." (See 12 S. ii. 507.) -In 6 S. ii. 446, of 1880, to which I was kindly referred, there is a cutting from The Newcastle Journal of some few years before, which states that these words are only the corrupted spelling of the A.-S. "Tyr hoeble us, ye Tyr ye Odin," meaning "May Tyr uphold us, both Tyr and Odin." No such verb as 'hœble appears in the A.-S. Dictionary, nor any of which it might be a misspelling, and my expert friend says he doubts Tyr representing a chief deity, as stated. Can any one throw more scientific light on this refrain ? ALFRED WELBY. 66 ENGLISH COLLOQUIAL SIMILES. (Continued from p. 28.)— 21. To lie like a Cretan.-Cretan lying well known, but is the simile commonly used in present English? 22. As false as Waghorn (Scotch, in Jamieson, planation given not The ex &c.).-Who or what was Waghorn ? satisfactory. Is it still current in any part of Scotland ? 23. As big a liar as Tom Payne.-Any information as to the origin and currency of the simile would be welcome. 24. To lie like a friar.-Is any such phrase known? 25. To lie like a lawyer.-Any eighteenthcentury instances? 26. To lie like a trooper.-Known before 1854 ? 27. To lie like a gas-meter.-Is it commonly used? 28. To lie like a lapwing.-Used in modern English? Common? 29. As slick as molasses (Lowell, 1848).What does it refer to ? 30. As sane as Satan.-Instances of 1896. Known earlier? Is there any other simile containing "" sane ? 66 31. As wise as a constable (Taylor, the Water Poet). Which of the constables does it refer to? 32. As wise as t'ullot (Yorkshire).-Does it mean As stupid as an owl"? 33. As clever as the devil's disciple (Vachell).-mended me to write to N. & Q.' Used by other writers ? too vague to enable a search to be made in the Commonwealth Exchequer Army Records-the most likely place and recom 34. As cunning as Capt. Drake (Ray).-Any other instances known? 35. As deep as Garrick (6 S. iv. &c.). Does any character called Carrick occur in Elizabethan or other plays, and if so, what does he stand for? 36. As cunning as a crowder, as Crowder.-Is anything known about the simile beside what is told in Gentleman's Magazine, 1754 ? 37. As sharp as bottled porridge (7 S. iv. 48).— Commonly used? 38. As subtle as a dead pig (1672); As cunning as a dead pig (Swift).-How can a dead pig be taken as a type of cleverness or shrewdness? 39. As sharp as a thistle (Towneley Myst).— Meaning? 40. As deep as the North Star.-Explanation? T. HILDING SVARTENGREN. Västerås, Sweden. PHERENICE AND THE OLYMPIAN GAMES.— Can any reader give another (Greek) reference besides Elian, V. H.,' x. 1, for the story of Pherenice, who, being warned off the course by the stewards of the Olympian games, justified her intrusion by the facts that her father and three brothers had already been Olympic victors, and she had just entered .a son. I think one of the victors was Diagoras of Ialysus (Pind. Ol.,' vii.). H. K. ST. J. S. Is there any institution now in existence which either is or could be called the "King's manently kept there, or are the records kept Exchequer," and, if so, are any books perelsewhere? The person on whose behalf I am inquiring is specially anxious to have this latter point made clear. J. DE C. LAFFAN (Major). FOLK-LORE: THE ANGELICA.-In Longfellow's Tales of a Wayside Inn' (far too little known, as I think) there occurs (in The Musician's Tale') an episode concerning wherein it is written of King Olaf :— Queen Thyri and the Angelica-Stalks,' Even the smile of Olaf Could not cheer her gloom; As their own perfume. But she cast them from her On the floor she threw them With a look of scorn. Is there any significance in the offering of angelicas ? The stalks of Angelica archangelica are much used as sweetmeats, and a sweet, green stick of it is often used in ice-puddings; but why did King Olaf offer uprooted angelicas to the queen? JAMES HOOPER. [The following authors have references to the incident: (Æschines) Epist.,' iv. 5; Philostratus, De Arte Gymnastica, 17; Valerius Maximus, viii. 15, 12; Pliny, Nat. Hist.,' vii. 133. There are also the Scholiast on Pindar, Olymp.,' vii., and Pausanias, v. 6. Pausanias tells the story somewhat differently from Elian or the Scholiast or perhaps may be said to make it intelligible. Pherenice, he relates (she is also called Aristopatira and probably by a mistake Callipatira), her husband being dead, trained her boy Pisirodus and brought him to the games, disguising herself as a trainer and watching the contest with the 92 Queen's Road, Norwich. other trainers. The boy was victorious, whereupon she sprang over the barrier into the lists, OLD FAMILY PORTRAITS IN CARVED WOOD. and thereby discovered her sex-whether acciden--I should be glad to know of any old family tally or intentionally he does not make clear. It was then that as daughter of Diagoras of Rhodes, and sister of three other victors, she was allowed to go free. Particulars about her family will be found in Pausanias, vi. 7. Sir J. G. Frazer's notes to his translation of Pausanias (Macmillan, 6 vols.) might be consulted with advantage.] COL. HON. JOHN SCOTT, TEMP. CHARLES I. -I am seeking particulars with regard to "Colonel Hon. John Scott, killed fighting for King Charles I., place not stated. There is said to be a book in the King's Exchequer' [sic] that gives the information required." I consulted Mr. Hubert Hall of the Record portraits in carved wood in churches and a great soldier and traveller of so undaunted resolution, that for the honour and liberty of a royal lady, in a castle besieged by the infidels, he fought a combat with a Saracen for bulk and bigness an unequal match (as the representation of him cut in the wainscot in Fulford Hall doth plainly show), whom yet he vanquished and rescued the lady.' At Higher Peover Church, Cheshire, is the interesting chair, made circa 1545, which |