Notes and Queries, Number 74, March 29, 1851 | Page 9

and other earthen vessels,
against the doors of dwelling-houses, on the eve of the Conversion of
St. Paul, thence locally called "Paul pitcher night?" On that evening
parties of young people perambulate the parishes in which the custom
is retained, exclaiming as they throw the sherds,--
"Paul's eve, And here's a heave!"

According to the received notions, the first "heave" cannot be objected
to; but, upon its being repeated, the inhabitants of the house whose
{240} door is thus attacked may, if they can, seize the offenders, and
inflict summary justice upon them; but, as they usually effect their
escape before the door can be opened, this is not easily managed.
Query, Can this apparently unintelligible custom have any reference to
the 21st verse of the IXth chap. of St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans:
"Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one
vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?"--the earthen
fragments thus turned to dishonour being called "Paul's pitchers."
Any more probable conjecture as to the origin or meaning of this
custom, or any account of its occurring elsewhere, will greatly oblige
F. M. (a Subscriber).
Disinterment for Heresy.--A remarkable instance of disinterment on
account of heresy is stated to have occurred a little before the
Reformation, in the case of one Tracy, who was publicly accused in
convocation of having expressed heretical tenets in his will; and,
having been found guilty, a commission was issued to dig up his body,
which was accordingly done. I shall be much obliged to any of your
readers who will favour me with the date and particulars of this case.
ARUN.
"Just Notions," &c.--At the end of the Introduction of The Christian
Instructed in the Principles of Religion, by W. Reading, Lond. 1717,
occur the following lines: (Query, whether original, or, if not, from
whence quoted?)--
"Just notions will into good actions grow, And to our reason we our
virtues owe; False judgments are the unhappy source of ill, And
blinded error draws the passive will. To know our God, and know
ourselves, is all We can true happiness or wisdom call."
U. Q.

Pursuits of Literature.--How came the author of the Pursuits of
Literature to be known? I have before me the 11th edition (1801); and
in the Preface to the fourth and last dialogue, the author declares that
"neither my name nor situation in life will ever be revealed." He does
not pretend to be the sole depository of his own secret; but he says
again:
"My secret will be for ever preserved, I know, under every change of
fortune or of political tenets, while honour, and virtue, and religion, and
friendly affection, and erudition, and the principles of a gentleman have
binding force and authority upon minds so cultivated and dignified.
When they fall, I am contented to fall with them."
Nevertheless, the author of the Pursuits of Literature is known. How is
this?
S. T. D.
Satirical Medal.--I possess a medal whose history I should be glad to
know. It is apparently of silver, though not ringing as such, and about
an inch and a quarter in diameter. On the obverse are two figures in the
long-waisted, full-skirted coats, cavalier hats, and full-bottomed wigs
of, I presume, Louis XIV.'s time. Both wear swords; one, exhibiting the
most developed wig of the two, offers a snuff-box, from which the
other has accepted a pinch, and fillips it into his companion's eyes. The
legend is "Faites-vous cela pour m'affronter?"
The mitigated heroism of this query seems to be noted on the reverse,
which presents a man digging in the ground, an operation in which he
must be somewhat hampered by a lantern in his left hand; superfluous
one would deem (but for the authority of Diogenes), as the sun is
shining above his head in full splendour. The digger's opinion, that the
two combined are not more than the case requires, is conveyed in the
legend,--
"Je cherche du courage pour mon maistre."
The finding was curious. On cutting down an ash-tree in the

neighbourhood of Linton, Cambridgeshire, in 1818, a knob on its trunk
was lopped off, and this medal discovered in its core! It was probably
the cause of the excrescence, having been, perhaps, thrust under the
bark to escape the danger of its apparently political allusion. The
Linton carrier purchased it for half-a-crown, and from him it passed in
1820 into hands whence it devolved to me.
Is anything known of this medal, or are any other specimens of it extant?
I pretend to no numismatic skill, but to an unlearned mind it would
seem to contain allusion to the insult which Charles II. and his
government were supposed to submit to from Louis XIV.; to be, in fact,
a sort of metallic