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Page 17
J.B.C.
_The Oldenburgh Horn_ (Vol. ii., p. 417.) is preserved amongst the
antiquities in the Gallery of the King of Denmark at Copenhagen. It is
of silver gilt, and ornamented in paste with enamel. It is considered by
the Danish antiquaries to be of the time of Christian I., in the latter
half of the fifteenth century. There are engraved on it coats of arms
and inscriptions, which show that it was made for King Christian I., in
honour of the three kings, or wise men, on whose festival he used it, at
Cologne.
W.C. TREVELYAN.
Wallington, Dec. 19. 1850.
[We avail ourselves of the opportunity afforded by Sir Walter
Trevelyan's communication to add from Vulpius (_Handw�rterbuch der
Mythologie_) the following additional references to representations and
descriptions of this celebrated horn--which is there said (p. 184.) to
have been found in 1639:--Schneider, _Saxon. Vetust._ p. 314.;
Winkelmann's _Oldenburgische Chronik._ s. 59.; S. Meyer, _Vom
Oldenburgischen Wunderhorne_, Bremen, 1757.]
_Curious Custom_.--In 1833 the late Record Commissioners issued Circular
Questions to the Municipal Corporations of England and Wales, requesting
various information; among such questions was the following:--"Do any
remarkable customs prevail, or have any remarkable customs prevailed
within memory, in relation to the ceremonies accompanying the choice of
corporate officers, annual processions, feasts, &c., not noticed in the
printed histories or accounts of your borough? Describe them, if there
be such."
To this question the borough of Chippenham, Wilts, replied as
follows:--"The corporation dine together twice a-year, and _pay for it
themselves_!" (_Report of Record Commissioners_, 1837, p. 442.)
J.E.
_Kite_ (_French_, "_Cerf-volant_").--Some years ago, when reading Dr.
Paris' popular work called _Philosophy in Sport made Science in
Earnest_, 5th edition, London, J. Murray, 1842, I observed that the
author could not explain the meaning of the French term "cerf-volant,"
applied to the toy so well known among boys in England as a "kite," and
in Scotland as a "dragon." The following passages will solve this
mystery: {517}
"Cerf-volant. Scarab�us lucanus. Sorte d'insecte volant qui porte
des cornes dentel�es, comme celles du cerf.
"Cerf-volant. Ludicra scarabei lucani effigies. On donne ce nom �
une sorte de jo�et d'enfans qui est compos� de quelques b�tons
crois�s sur lesquels on �tend du papier, et exposant cette petite
machine � l'air, le moindre vent la fait voler. On la retient et on
la tire comme l'on veut, par le moyen d'une longue corde qui y est
attach�e."--See _Dictionnaire de la Langue Fran�oise_, de Pierre
Richelet; � Amsterdam, 1732.
In Kirby and Spence's _Entomology_, vol. ii. p. 224., they mention "the
terrific and protended jaws of the stag-beetle of Europe, the _Lucanus
Cervus_ of Linn�us."
The "toothed horns" alluded to by Richelet are represented by the pieces
of stiff paper fastened at intervals, and at right angles, to the
string-tail of the toy kite, or dragon, so much delighted in by boys at
certain seasons of the year in England and Scotland.
G.F.G.
Edinburgh.
_Epitaph on John Randal._--As a counterpart to Palise's death, I have
sent a Warwickshire epitaph, taken from Watford Magna churchyard,
written about the same period:
"Here old John Randal lies, who counting by his sale,
Lived three score years and ten, such virtue was in ale;
Ale was his meat, ale was his drink, ale did his heart revive,
And could he still have drunk his ale, he still had been alive."
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