NOTES AND QUERIES.

Evening Star, Issue 7754, 27 October 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

NOTES AND QUERIES.

Ambush. —This word is derived from the French en (in) and bois (a wood, or bashes). Calves Head Clib was so named because a number of noblemen and gentlemen, who had formed themselves into a club, exposed raw calves' heads at the windows of a tavern, 30th January, 1735, the anniversary of the execution of Charles I. An incensed mob was dispersed by soldiers, and the clnb was suppressed.—Haydn. Counterpane is a mispronunciation of tue French contrepoint, the name applied to producing patterns by the process of needlework, called " quilting." Dwt., a pennyweight". In this symbol d is the initial letter of denarius, a penny, and wl are the first and final letters of the word weight. Epitaph.—This word signifies an inscription upon a tomb. Both the ancient Greeks and Romans used epitaphs. The tombs of the latter were placed near the highways, and the inscription usually commenced with Sta viator (Stop traveller). The Greeks distinguished by epitaphs only illustrious men. Among the Romans they became & f&mily institution, and their practice has generally prevailed iu Christian countries. Oxenstiern considers the epitaph as the last of human vanities. Marmontel recommended that every man should write his epitaph early in life, that he should make it as flattering as possible, and that he should spend his life in trying to deserve it. Feeey-boat.—The earliest known mention of a ferry-boat is in 2 Samuel, six., 18: "And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him (David), and Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen Bons and his twenty servants with him, and they went over Jordan before the king. And there went over a ferryboat to carry over the king's household, and to do what he thought good." Symbolism. The clamshell or great scallop (one of the oyster family) was borne in the Middle Ages by pilgrims en their hats, as a sign that they had visited the Holy Land. Parnell thus remarks of the pilgrims:— He quits bis cell, the pilgrim staff he bore, And fixed the scallop in bis hat before. Stkange Foods.—A recent writer has recorded the dietetic fancies of different nations. For instance, some Brazilians rave over boa constrictor steaks, and count monkeys and parrots a very good meal. In the West Indies, baked snake is a common dish. On the Pacific Coast, the Digger Indians eat dried locusts, and in the Argentine Republic skunk flesh is a dainty. The oyster is very disgusting to a Turk, while the devil-fish, eaten in Corsica, is equally m to Occidentals. The inhabitants of the West Indies and the Pacific Coast eat lizards' eggs with a relish; and the eggs of the turtle and alligator are a favorite article of diet with them. A curry of ants' eggs is a great delicacy in Siam, and the Cingalese eat the bees whose honey they have stolen. The Chinese, who seem to have stomachs like the ostrich, eat the chrysalis of the silkworm after unwinding the cocoon. Spiders are used in New Caledonia as a kind of dessert, while caterpillars are also relished by the African bushmen. The Deity's Name.—lt is singular that the name of God Bhould be spelled in four letters in almost every known language. It is in Latin, Deus; in Greek, Zeus; Hebrew, Adon; Syrias, Adad; Arabian, Alia; Persian, Syrs; Tartarian, Tgan; Egyptian, Aumn or Zeut; East Indian, Esgi or Zoul • Japanese, Zain; Turkish, Addi; Scandinavian, Odin; Wallachian, Sene; Margian Eese; Swedish, Oodd; Irish, Dich; German, Gott; French, Dieu; Spanish, Dios • and Peruvian, Llan. '