432
NOTES AND QUERIES.
t MAY *,
shoulders protruding through the Antarctic
Ocean, while his feet were somewhere up
Behriiig Strait, Reasoning now by analogy
not guessing would the Brighton sign be
" The Hemispheres " 1 When the proper ex-
planation comes along, if my reasoning is
fallacious, I must take my punishment like a
man. AYEAHR.
It is stated (but in 1849 and with no autho- rity given) in the ' Sussex Arch. Colls.,' ii. 40 :
"The early limits of the 'Upper Town' in- closed a space which, as it was divided into shares or allotments appropriated to the fishermen for the growth of hemp, to be used in the manufacture of their nets, is marked in the map as ' the Hemp- shares,' a term, I [Rev. Edward Turner] believe, still recognized by the lord of the manor for this part of modern Brighton."
EDWARD H. MARSHALL, M.A. Hastings.
It may be worth while to see what has been said about "Hemplands" in 'N. & Q.,' 7 th S. viii. 227, 314. In 1663 there was a hempgarth at Barlby, near Selby, and in 1767 a hempland at Hales worth. W. C. B.
MENDOZA FAMILY (9 th S. i. 307). There is a pedigree of the family of Mendoza in the 'Descripcion Genealogica de la Casa de Aguayo,' by Antonio Ramos (Malaga, 1781, folio), p. 474, but, not having the book by me, I cannot say if it is the same branch as that your correspondent inquires for. There is a copy of the oook in the British Museum.
H. J. B. CLEMENTS.
Killadoon, Celbridge.
SCRAPS OF NURSERY LORE (9 th S. i. 267). I believe a woman who had a cherry-tree grow- ing out of her nose was the heroine of a chap-book which I possessed in the days of my childhood. Did not Baron Munchausen suffer from some analogous disaster? The prospect of seeds germinating in inconvenient places is often held up to experimental juveniles to deter them from swallowing fruit stones or from planting them in their ears, &c. ST. SWITHIN.
HUGH MASSEY (9 th S. i. 269). I think F. J. P. will find that his query is one of the many broken chains requiring another link, which cannot be answered unless some MS. be unearthed. The peerages of Burke and Foster and Archdall's ' Lodge ' are silent as to the father of Hugh Massey, of Duntryleague ; and I do not find that Collins makes the state- ment mentioned in the query. On p. 303, vol. vii. of his peerage (1812), ne quotes from an MS. history of the family (Lord Massey), but the paternity of Hugh is not mentioned.
The second Hugh is not given in the pedi-
grees of the Cheshire families ; probably he
belonged to the London branch. The obituary
of Richard Smyth (Camden Society, 1848)
records the death of a Capt. Massey, or
Newington Green, 21 Sept., 1649. The registers
issued by the Harleian Society might give
further information. JOHN RADCLIFPE.
Du PLESSY FAMILY (9 th S. i. 248). Assuming identity of this with the Du Plessis (Richelieu) family, the following works from Guigard (' Bibliotheque Heraldique de la France ') may interest ENQUIRER :
Saincte Marche (l)e). Recueil de pieces latines et francoises sur 1'illustre Maison de Riche- lieu. 4to. Poictiers, 1634.
V illareal. Epitome genealogico del Cardinal
Richelieu. 4to. Pamplona, 1641.
Chesne (A. du). Histoire genealog. de la maison
de Dreux, &c. [Contains du Plessis de
Richelieu.] Fol. Paris, 1631.
Somewhere or other I have read that a Duplessis (Mornay 1 ?), having emigrated to South Africa, was asked by Napoleon I. (or III.?) to return and take up the family honours, which he refused to do. I imagined I should find this in Smiles's ' Huguenots,' but have failed to do so.
However, Noble ('Official Handbook to South Africa,' 8vo. Cape Town, 1893), speak- ing of those who left France on account of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, says :
" These refugees, numbering in all about three hundred men, women, and children, arrived in the colony during 1688 and 1689. The public records contain a register of their names. Among them are those of Du Plessis, Malherbe whose de- scendants are now widely scattered over the whole of South Africa."
A. V. DE P.
BATTLE-AXES AND ROMANS (9 th S. i. 269). The battle-axe was not a Roman weapon. Planche, writing on the authority of Hope (' Costume of the Ancients '), says :
"As offensive weapons, the Romans had a sword of somewhat greater length than that of the Greeks in the earlier ages they were of bronze, but at the time of their invasion of Britain they were of steel; a long spear, of which they never quitted their hold ; and a short javelin, which they used to throw to a distance. They had also in their armies archers and slingers." ' History of Costume,' p. 11.
In the Roman epoch the battle-axe appears to have been the weapon of the less civilized races. The Franks are said to have derived their name from the battle-axe (the franciq-ue), but the debt was probably in the opposite direction, and the people gave their name to the weapon. The Longobardi were formerly supposed to have derived their name from wearing long beards, but are now shown to
