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stricke, which they use in measuring of corn." Perhaps this strickle had a rim of gold, to show it was standard; true, and not fraudulent.'

In Randle Holme's Academy of Armory and Blazon, p. 337, we read: "The strickler is a thing that goes along with the measure, which is a straight board with a staffe fixed in the side, to draw over corn in measureing, that it exceed not the height of the measure. Which measureing is termed wood

and wood."2

TURNING CAT IN PAN.

DR. PEGGE, in the Gent. Mag., xxiv. 67, supposes turning "cat in pan" a corruption of turning cate, the old word for cake, in pan. See also p. 212 of the same volume: "When the lower side is made brown in the frying-pan, the cake is turned the other side downwards ;" and again, ibid. vol. liii. p. 928. In the Workes of John Heiwood, newlie imprinted, 1598, the following line :

"Thus may ye see to turne the cat in the pan.”

See also Gent. Mag. for 1812, lxxxii. 228, 308, 429, 627.

'In Ainsworth's Dictionary, "a miller's thumb [the fish] is rendered capito, cephalus fluvialis." Capito is explained, ibid. "Qui magno est capite, unde et piscis ita dictus, [1] a jolthead, [2] also a kind of codfish, a pollard." In Cotgrave's French Dictionary, "a miller's thumb," the fish, is rendered "cabot, teste d'asne, musnier.”

2 Shaw, in his History of Staffordshire, vol. ii. pt. i., p. 20, speaking of some provincialisms of the south of Staffordshire, respecting measures, quantities, &c. &c., says: "Strike is now the same thing with bushel, though formerly two strikes were reckoned to a bushel; for the old custom having been to measure up grain in a half-bushel measure, each time of striking off was deemed a strike, and thus two strikes made one bushel; but this is now become obsolete, bushel measures being in use; or if a half-bushel be used, it is deemed a half-strike; at present, therefore, strike and bushel are synonymous terms. The grosser articles are heaped, but grain is stricken off with the strait edge of a strip of board, called a strickless; this level measure of grain is here provincially termed strike and strickless."

PUTTING THE MILLER'S EYE OUT.

IN the Gent. Mag. for November, 1783, liii. 926, the inquiry after the meaning of the expression "putting the miller's eye out," when too much liquid is put to any dry or powdery substance, is answered by another query: "One merit of flour, or any powdered substance, being dryness, is it not a reflection on, or injury to, a miller, or vender of such substances, when they are debased or moistened by any heterogeneous mixture ?"

LYING FOR THE WHETSTONE.

IN Stow's Chronicle (edit. Howes, fol. Lond. 1631, p. 604) we read that in the month of September 1550, "Grig, a poulter of Surrey, taken among the people for a prophet, in curing of divers diseases by words and prayers, and saying he would take no money, &c., was by commandement of the Earle of Warwick, and other of the councell, set on a scaffold, in the towne of Croydon in Surrey, with a paper on his breast, wherein was written his deceiptfull and hypocriticall dealings. And after that, on the 8 of September set on the pillorie in Southwarke, being then our Lady faire there kept; and the maior of London, with his brethren the aldermen, riding thorow the faire, the said Grig asked them and all the citizens forgivenesse. Thus much for Grig. Of the like counterfeit physitian have I noted in the summary of my Chronicles, anno 1382, to be set on horse-backe, his face to the horse-taile, the same taile in his hand as a bridle, a cholar of jordans about his necke, a whetstone on his breast, and so led through the city of London, with ringing of basons, and banished."

In Lupton's Too Good to be True, 1580, p. 80 (by way of dialogue between Omen and Siuqila, i. e. Nemo and Aliquis, concerning Mauqsun, i. e. Nusquam, but meaning England), is the following passage: "Merry and pleasant lyes we take rather for a sport than for a sin. Lying with us is so loved and allowed, that there are many tymes gamings and prises therefore purposely, to encourage one to outlye another.-Omen.

And what shall he gaine that gets the victorie in lying?— Siuqila. He shall have a silver whetstone for his labour.-Omen. Surely if one be worthy to have a whetstone of silver for telling of lyes, then one is worthy to have a whetstone of gold for telling of truth; truly methinks a whip of whitleather were more meete for a lyar than a whetstone of silver.-Siugila. In my judgment he was eyther a notable lyar, or loved lying better than St. Paule did, that devised suche a rewarde for suche an evil desert. I marvel what moved him, that the lewdest lyar shoulde have a silver whetstone for his labour.— Omen. I knowe not, unlesse he thoughte he was worthy for his lying to goe always with a blunte knife, whereby he should not be able to cutte his meate: and that he shoulde have no other whetstone wherewyth to sharp his knife, but the same of sylver which he hadde wonne with lying.-Siuqila. What his fond fancie was therein I know not; but I wishe that every such lyar hadde rather a sharp knife, and no meate, than to have meate enough with a blunt-edged knife, untill they left their lying."

Perhaps our author, in another passage of his work, p. 94, speaking of chesse, hints at a better reason than the above for making a whetstone the prize in this singular contest: his words are, "Gentlemen, to solace their wearied mindes by honest pastimes, playe at chesse, the astronomer's game and the philosopher's game, which whettes thyr wittes, recreates theyr minds, and hurts no body in the meane season. The essence of a lie is well known to be an intention to deceive. The prize-fighters in this contest have no such intentiontheir aim is only who can raise the loudest laugh.

In a Ful and Round Answer to N. D., alias Robert Parsons the Noddie his foolish and rude Warne-word, 1604, by Matthew Sutcliffe, p. 310, "A List of Robert Parsons his Lies, Fooleries, and Abuses," we read: "And for his witnesses he citeth Æneas Sylvius, Dubravius, Genebrard, Surius, Claudius de Sanctes, and a rabble of other lying rascals, not worth a cockle-shell. What then doth he deserve, but a crown of foxe tailes, counterpointed with whetstones, for his labour?” In Dekker's Seven Deadlie Sinns of London, 4to. 1606, it is said: "The chariot then that lying is drawne in, is made al of whetstones."

In Plaine Percevall the Peace-Maker of England is the fol

1owing passage: "He put those lies into print unlawfully, which he coin'd in hugger-mugger: and others opposite to his humour will have their lies lie open manifestly, if it be but to shew that they dare put in for the whetstone, and make as lowd lies as Martin the forman." In Faultes Faults, and Nothing else but Faultes, by Barnabie Rich, 1606, p. 13, the author, speaking of lying and slandering, says: "Most execrable creatures, whose depraving tongues are more persing than the point of a sword, and are whetted still with scandalous and lying reports."

In Vaughan's Golden Grove, also 1608, b. i. chap. 32, "Of Lies," is the following passage: "Papists, assure yourselves that for all your falsehoods and lies you shall, at the last, in recompence have nought els save the whetstone." So, in Walter Costelow's Charles Stuart and Oliver Cromwell united, 8vo. 1655, p. 92: "Of a like nature was one heard, praying in the pulpit for a reformation, in those over-active times, dispairingly say, 'How can we hope for it to God's glory, when there is not one in our universities or cathedrals but what are factors for that whore of Babylon?" Sure he was never there? he was so ignorant; mistake me not, I mean the university: if otherwise, give him the whetstone, having thus preached for it." Among Ray's Proverbial Phrases, 8vo. Lond. 1768, p. 79, we have the following: “A lier. He deserves the whetstone." There are two allusions to something of this kind in the common version of the Psalms. Ps. lii. 2: "Thy tongue-like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.” Ps. Ixiv. 3: "Who whet their tongue like a sword."

In the library of Mr. Douce is preserved a Pake of Knaves, i. e. a pack of bad characters, certainly out of Hollar's school, if not engraved by his own burin, consisting of eighteen in number. This appears to have been the first, and most fully illustrates the whetstone as an emblem of lying. The last line of the inscription attempts to account for its having been so : "An edge must needs be set on every lie.”

In an extract from the Berkeley Mss. read to the Society of Antiquaries of London, Thursday, June 4th, 1801, in an account of a sanctuary man at Westminster, who had behaved himself with great treachery and falsehood, it is stated on his detection that (vol. ii. p. 568), “ upon his own confession, the

abbot decreed him to bee had to an open place in the sanctuary of punishment and reproofe, and made him to bee arrayed in papires painted with signes of untroth, seditione, and doublenesse, and was made to goe before the procession in that array, and afterwards soe set him in the stocks that the people might behold him.”

The curious tract entitled a Ful and Round Answer to N. D., alias Robert Parsons, already quoted, furnishes a notice of some other modes of punishing liars. P. 280: "For this worthy place therefore thus falsely alledged, this worthlesse fellow is worthy to have a paper clapped to his head for a falsary." Ibid. p. 223: "While he continued in Bailiol Colledge, one Stancliffe, his fellow-burser did charge him with forgery, and with such favour he departed, that no man seemed desirous he should remaine in the colledge any longer. I thinke he may remember that he was rung with belles out of the house, which was either a signe of triumph, or else of his dismall departure out of the world." Ibid. p. 279: "Would not this fellow then have a garland of peacocke's feathers for his notorious cogging, and for his presumption in falsely alledging and belying the fathers?" Ibid. p. 250. "I will here bestow on him a crowne of fox tayles, and make him king of al renegate traitors; and doubt not, if he come into England, but to see him crowned at Tiburne, and his quarters enstalled at Newgate and Moorgate." Ibid. p. 355: "And so for his pride I give Parsons a crowne of peacocke's feathers, and leave him to be enstalled kard-foole at Tyburne.'

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Mr. Punshon informed me that, among the colliers at Newcastle there is a custom of giving a pin to a person in company, by way of hinting to him that he is fibbing. If another pitman outlies him, he in turn delivers the pin to him. No duels ensue on the occasion.

"Take my cap" appears to have been formerly a taunt for a liar. In a Trip through the Town, 8vo. p. 17, we read: "A Yorkshire wench was indicted at the Old Bailey for feloniously stealing from her mistress a dozen of round-eared laced caps, of a very considerable value. The creature pleaded not guilty, insisting very strenuously that she had her mistress's express orders for what she had done. The prosecutrix being called upon by the court to answer this allegation, said: 'Mary, thou wast always a most abominable lyar.' 'Very

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