Notes and Queries, Number 50, October 12, 1850 | Page 8

tent
for a while on the hospitable soil of Old England. Prince William V.
residing in 1795 at Hampton Court, he resolved to stay there; but,
possessing no income at all, and, like the sage of antiquity, having
saved nothing from the shipwreck but his genius, he shifted his
dwelling-place to London, where he gave lessons in drawing, languages,
and various, even medical, sciences. He was married in England to
Katharine Wilhelmina Schweickhardt, on the 18th of May, 1797. His

residence in the birthplace of "NOTES AND QUERIES" makes me ask,
if there be still persons living, who remember him as teacher, friend, or
poet? A presentation-copy of Mrs. Bilderdijk's translation of _Rodrick,
the Last of the Goths_, was offered to Southey, accompanied by a Latin
letter from her spouse. The poet-laureate visiting Leyden in the summer
of 1825, Bilderdijk would not suffer him to remain lodged in the inn,
where an injury to his leg urged him to favour the landlord with a
protracted stay. Southey was transported accordingly to the Dutch
poet's house; and did not leave it before he was cured, several weeks
having elapsed in the meanwhile. Mention of this fact is made in a
poem the British bard addresses to Cuninghame. I do not know whether
it is alluded to in Southey's Life.
Bilderdijk's foot was crushed accidentally, in the sixth year of his age,
by one of his play-fellows; and thus he, who, by his natural disposition
seemed to be destined to a military career, was obliged to enlist in the
militia togata. He fought the good fight in verse. It is remarkable that
Byron and Sir Walter Scott, his cotemporaries, were also lame or
limping.
JANUS DOUSA.
_Egyptian MSS._--What is the age of the oldest MS. found in Egypt?
Are there any earlier than the age of Alexander?
J.A. GILES.
_Scandinavian Priesthood._--Will one of your correspondents do me
the favour to let me know the best authority I can refer to for
information as to the priesthood of the Scandinavians; the mode of their
election, the rank from which they were generally chosen, whether they
were allowed to marry, &c.?
MAX BRANDESON.
_Thomas Volusemus (or Wilson?)._--Is anything known of Thomas
Volusemus (Wilson?) who edited the works of his father-in-law,
Patrick Adamson, titular Archbishop of St. Andrew's, which were

published in London A.D. 1619?
H.A.E.
* * * * *
REPLIES.
CURFEW.
We have received the following Replies to NABOC'S inquiry (Vol. ii.,
p. 103.) as to where the custom of ringing the curfew still remains.
_Bingley in Yorkshire._--In the town of Bingley, {312} in Yorkshire,
the custom of ringing the curfew existed in the year 1824. It may have
been discontinued since that year, but I do not know that it has.
It is also the custom at Blackburn, in Lancashire; and it was, if it is not
now, at Bakewell in Derbyshire.
H.J.
_Bromyard, Herefordshire._--The curfew is still rung at Bromyard,
Herefordshire, at nine P.M., from the 5th of November, until Christmas
Day; and the bell is afterwards tolled the number of the day of the
month. Why it is merely confined to within the above days, I could
never ascertain.
G.F.C.
_Waltham-on-the-Wolds._--The curfew is still rung at
Waltham-on-the-Wolds, Leicestershire, at five A.M., eight P.M. in
summer, and at six A.M., seven P.M. in winter; the bell also tolling the
day of the month.
R.J.S.
_Oxfordshire._--I see that NABOC's inquiry about the curfew is
answered at p. 175. by a reference to the _Journal of the British

Archæological Association_. The list there is probably complete: but
lest it should omit any, I may as well mention, from my own
knowledge, Woodstock, Oxon, where it rings from eight to half-past
eight in the evening, from October to March; Bampton and Witney,
Oxon, and Stow, in Gloucester; at some of which places it is also rung
at four in the morning.
C.
_Chertsey, Surrey._--In the town of Chertsey in Surrey, the curfew is
regularly tolled for a certain time at eight every evening, but only
through the winter months. There is also a curious, if not an uncommon,
custom kept up with regard to it. After the conclusion of the curfew,
and a pause of half a minute, the day of the month is tolled out: one
stroke for the 1st, two for the 2nd, and so on.
H.C. DE ST. CROIX.
_Penrith._--The curfew bell continues to be rung at Penrith, in
Cumberland, at eight o'clock in the evening, and is the signal for
closing shops, &c.
_Newcastle-upon-Tyne._--The curfew is still rung by all the churches
of Newcastle-upon-Tyne at eight in the evening; and its original use
may be said to be preserved to a considerable extent, for the greater
bulk of the shops make it a signal for closing.
G. BOUCHIER RICHARDSON.
_Morpeth._--The curfew bell is