NOTES AND QUERIES.

Evening Star, Issue 7355, 29 October 1887, Page 1 (Supplement)

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Bilungsoate is the fish market a little below London Bridge. The present handsome stone building was finished in 1874. Fish of every kind, fresh or cured, is admitted free of duty, if taken by British subjects and imported in British vessels. All fish are sold by tale, except salmon and eels, which are sold by weight. The market opens daily at 5 a.m. amongst a scene of hubbub and noise. No fish is sold on Sunday, except mackerel. An officer has the general superintendence of the market, and the quality of all fish offered for sale is tested by inspectors. The fishermen consign their cargoes to the salesmen, who occupy stalls in the market, and these supply the retail dealers all over London. In autumn, v/hen the salmon fisheries are opened, over 1,000 boxes per day are generally offered for sale; The unpolished and not over-polite phraseology of language aud abuse peculiar to this quarter of London has given rise to the proverbial use of the term Billingsgate. Boscobel House is interesting _ because of the escape of Charles 11. after his defeat at 'Worcester. After the battle, Boscobel House being proposed as a secure retreat, thitherwards the King turned his steps. White Ladies, A seat of the Giffard family, was reached early in the morning. Here he had his long hair cut off, his hands and face smeared with soot, and for his royal dress he substituted the greasy suit of a countryman, with leathern doublet. Thus disguised ho passed through a secret door into a neighboring wood, in which he remained shivering in the rain until dusk along with a guide. They made for Wales, where it was now thought he would be safer than at BoScobel. They reached a Royalist’s house, on the banks of the Severn, at midnight, and it was then found they could not escape to Wales on account of the vigilance of the Roundheads. After a day’s rest, hidden in a stable-loft, the King again started for Bosnobel Wood, and arrived early in the morning. He immediately ascehded a thick pollard oak, along with Major Carlis (who karl lael fit a fnrlnrn hrmn .at. WnrrfiatprV from

which they could watch the Roundheads in search of them, passing by unaware of their near presence. In the evening they descended from their hiding-place and made their way to the Manor House, where the King remained hidden for two days. After other adventures, Charles contrived to escape from England. Brian Boroimhe, or Boru, as pronounced, was a famous King of Ireland and supreme ruler in 978. The surname “ Boroimhe,” signifying tax, was given him in consequence of the tribute in kind he levied from the various provinces. King Brian supported a rude but princely _ state at his chief castle at Kincora, a place in the neighborhood of the modern town of Killaloc, and he had also seats at Tara and Cashel. Tne vigor of his reign brought prosperity to the country. He defeated the Danes in upwards of twenty pitched battles, restricting their influence to the four cities of Dublin, Waterford, Wexford, and Limerick alone. In the battle of Clontarf, in which he was killed, his army gained a signal victory over a united army of revolted natives and Danes, the power of the latter receiving a shock from which it never recovered. Larboard is now an obsolete naval term for the left side of a vessel, looking forwards. From its liability to be confused by the steersman with the not very different sound ‘ starboard,’ the word was a few years ago officially abolished, and the expression 4 port ’ arbitrarily substituted. Malstrom, or Moskoestrom (whirling stream)— The most famous whirlpool in the world. It is situated on the Norwegian coast. The tremendous current that rushes between the Great Fjord and the outer ocean, through the channels between the Loffoclen Isles, creates many other dangerous currents, but these are not to be compared with the famous Malstrom. The current runs for six hours from north to

south, and then six hours from south to north, producing immense whirls; the. depth of the water has been ascertained to bo about twenty fathoms, while immediately to the west of the Straits the soundings are from 100 to 200 fathoms. The whirlpool is greatest at high or low water; and when the wind blows directly against the current it becomes extremely dangerous, the whole sea for several miles around being so violently agitated chat no boat can live in it for a moment. The stories of ships, whales, etc., being swallowed in the vortex, are simply fables; at the same time there can be no doubt that a ship once fairly under the influence of the current would certainly either founder or be dashed upon the rocks, and whales have often been found stranded on the Flagstadt coast from the same cause. Ordinary. —An ordinary in English law is a Judge in his own right, and not by delegation from others. It is confined in practice to the ecclesiastical law, A bishop is an ordinary in his diocese, and archbishop in his province. The following passage from Hamilton shows some of the various meanings attached to this word “ Two persona rose very early, as was their ordinary habit. Their means were only ordinary. They were much shocked at the spectacle of an execution which they were compelled to pass just as the ordinary of the gaol wa« bidding farewell to the prisoner. The next scene was more pleasant, for they saw a review precisely as the regiments were marching past the general in ordinary time. They finished their walk at an excellent ordinary, where there was a very sumptuous entertainment.” Ostracism was a right exercised by the people of Athens of banishing for a time any person whose services, rank, or wealth appeared to be dangerous to the liberty of his follow-citizens or inconsistent with their political equality. Property and civil rights or honors, however, remained unaffected by it. Orpheus.— This name is commonly but erroneously pronounced or-phe-us ; it should be pronounced as if written or-fuce. All Greek proper names ending ia eus follow the same rule; but if eus is only a Latinised form of the Greek eos, as in Timotheus (Timotheos), Rom. xvi., 21, eus is a dissyllable, the name being pronounced Ti-mo-the-us.

Qdi Tam Actions are actions by which informers sue for penalties. The plaintiff describes himself as suing for himself as well as for the Crown, the penalty being divided between him and the Crown. Kappabee—A name which has been given to a class of wild Irish plunderers. They were so called from their being generally armed with a rapary or half-pike. Suttee—An English corruption of the Sanscrit “sati ”(a virtuous wife). It means the practice which prevailed in India of a wife burning herself on the funeral pile, either with or without the body of her husband. “Te Deum Laodamus A well-known hymn of the Roman Catholic Church, sung on all occasions of triumph and thanks-, giving, and a theme upon which the most celebrated composers have from time immemorial exercised their musical genius. The hymn is one of the most simple, and at the same time the most solemn and majestic in the whole range of hymnology. Its authorship is uncertain. Besides its general use on occasions of joyous celebrations, the “ Te Deum ” forms part of the daily matins of the Roman Breviary, and is recited at the end of matins on all festivals, and on all Sundays except those of Advent and Lent. Its use is very ancient; and it is universally admired by Protestants as well as Roman Catholics, and exhibits none of the peculiarities of Roman Catholic theology. Vegetable Parchment.—This remarkable substance has not long been made known. It resembles animal parchment so clearly that it is not easy to distinguish the difference. It is made from unsized paper —blotting paper, for instance—by immersing it only for a few seconds in a bath of oil of vitriol, diluted with one-half its volume of water. The exactness of this dilution is of the greatest importance to the success of the results. The diluted acid must not be used immediately after mixing, but must be suffered to cool to the ordinary temperature. Without attention to these apparently trifling points the operator will not succeed. Vegetable parchment is in some respects preferable to the animal parchment, for insects attack it less, and it can be made so thin as to be used for tracing paper, and bears wet without injury. It is now much used as covers for preserves.