Notes and Queries, Number 68, February 15, 1851 | Page 7

notion of ascribing to him

the story of the frozen words is preposterous. I have not in my library,
but have read, the best edition of Sir John's Travels (I don't mean the
abominable reprint), but I do not remember anything of the kind there.
Indeed Sir John, like Marco Polo, was perfectly honest, though some of
their informants may not have been so.
J. ME.
* * * * *
Minor Queries.
The Witches' Prayer.--Can you inform me where I can find the epigram
alluded to by Addison, in No. 61. of the Spectator, as "The Witches'
Prayer," which falls into verse either way, only that it reads "cursing"
one way, and "blessing" the other? Or is the epigram only a creation of
the pleasing author's fertile imagination?
DOUBTFUL.
St. John's Wood.
Water-buckets given to Sheriffs.--Can any of your readers inform me
the origin of the delivery of water-buckets, glazed and painted with the
city arms, given to the sheriffs of London and Middlesex at the
expiration of the year of their shrievalty?
J. B. K.
Temple.
A Cracow Pike.--Can any of your readers tell me what a Cracow pike is?
I have searched Meyrick's works on Ancient Armour without finding
any notice of such a weapon; but as those works have no indexes one
cannot be certain that there may not be some mention of it. I shall be
obliged by a description of the Cracow pike, or a reference to any
authorities mentioning it, or its use.
I. H. T.

Meaning of Waste Book.--Can you or any of your readers inform me
the origin of the term used in book-keeping, viz., "Waste" book?
I am the book-keeper and cashier in an extensive firm, and I know there
is very little wasted that goes into our books bearing that name.
ONE WHO OFTEN RUNS FOR THE GREAT LEDGER.
Machell's MS. Collections for Westmoreland and Cumberland.--In the
library of the dean and chapter at Carlisle, are preserved six volumes in
folio, which purport to be Collections for the History of Westmoreland
and Cumberland, made in the Reign of Charles II., by the Reverend
Thomas Machell. Have these collections been carefully examined, and
their contents made use of in any topographical publication?
EDWARD F. RIMBAULT.
Decking Churches at Christmas.--Does the custom of dressing the
churches at Christmas with holly, and other evergreens, prevail in any
country besides England?
L.
Coinage of Germany.--I should wish to be referred to the names of the
principal works on the coinage of Germany; not merely the imperial,
but that of sovereign prelates, abbeys, &c., that struck money.
A. N.
Titles of Peers who are Bishops (Vol. iii., p. 23.).--Why is Lord Crewe
always called so, and not Bishop of Durham, considering his spiritual
precedency? Was not Lord Bristol (who was an Earl) always called
Bishop of Derry?
Cx.
At Sixes and Sevens.--Shakspeare uses the well-known adage--"at sixes
and sevens;" Bacon, Hudibras, Arbuthnot, Swift, all use the proverb.
Why should sixes and sevens be more congruous with disorder than

"twos and threes?" and whence comes the saying?
D. C.
Shaking Hands.--What is the origin of the custom of shaking hands in
token of friendship? And were the clasped hands (now the common
symbol of Benefit Clubs) ever used as a signet, prior to their adoption
as such by the early Christians in their wedding rings; or, did these
rings {119} bear any other motto, or posy, than "Fides annulus castus"
(i. e. simplex et sine gemmâ)?
J. SANSOM.
George Steevens.--Can any of your readers inform me whether a
memoir of George Steevens, the Shakspearian commentator, ever was
published? Of course I have seen the biographical sketch in the
Gentleman's Magazine, the paragraph in Nichols' Anecdotes, and many
like incidental notices. Steevens, who died in January, 1800, left the
bulk of his property to his cousin, Miss Elizabeth Steevens, of Poplar;
and as there is no reservation nor special bequest in the will, I presume
she took possession of his books and manuscripts. The books were sold
by auction; but what has become of the manuscripts?
A. Z.
Extradition.--The discussion which was occasioned, some time ago, by
the sudden transference of the word extradition into our diplomatic
phraseology, must be still in the recollection of your readers. Some
were opposed to this change on the ground that extradition is not
English; others justified its adoption, for the very reason that we have
no corresponding term for it; and one gentleman resolved the question
by urging that, "si le mot n'est pas Anglais, il mérite de l'être." I believe
there is no reference in "NOTES AND QUERIES" to this controversy;
nor do I now refer to it with any intention of reviving discussion on a
point which seems to have been set at rest by the acquiescence of
public opinion.