9th S. IV. Oct. 7, '99.] 287 NOTES AND QUERIES. 1864. ' Army Equipment,' pt. ii., ' Artillery' (printed by order of the S.S.W.), p. 34 :— "Sword-belt The belt complete includes two carriages and two billets or buckling pieces." 1893. 'Detailsof Equipmentof Her Majesty's Army,' pt. iii. sect, ii., ' War : Cavalry ' (War Office), p. 34, Cavalry of the Line :— "Carriages, sabretache with billets. [In the margent] Two per sabretache." 1894. ' Dress Regulations for the Officers of the Army ' (printed for H.M. Stationery Office), p. 92, Army Service Corps :— "Sword-belt A swivel-hook on the eye of dee of front sling for hooking up sword, running car- riage for back sling." Though Dr. Murray's definition is not strictly applicable to these carriages, Osric's is wordea so as to include them. Killigrew. @u«i«. Wk must request correspondents desiring infor- mation on family matters of only private interest to affix their names, and addresses to their queries, in order that the answers may be addressed to them direct. " By the haft."—I find that the late Mr. Thomas Hallam has registered this expres- sion as a common oath in use in Derbyshire —in the Peak district. What is the precise meaning of "haft" as a thing to swear by! A. L. Mayhew. Oxford. "Hal-an-Tow."—This is a term given to a pleasure party at Helston, in Cornwall, on 8 May ("Furry-Day"). On that day the party go and breakfast in the country, and return laden with boughs. For this purpose the " Hal-an-Tow" are privileged to levy contributions on strangers coming into Helston. See Folk-lore Journal, iv. 231. What is the etymology of " Hal-an-Tow " t A. L. Mayhew. Oxford. Dauverone, alias d'Auvergne. — Philip Dauvergne, styled Prince of Bouillon, rear- admiral (14 August, 1810); born in Jersey, 22 November, 1764 ; died in , — October, 1816. Name of his wife? Date of marriage ? Vte. Reverend. 25, Rue Fontaine, Paris. Margaret Blount.— Is Margaret Blount, author of ' Maid, Wife, and Widow,' the same as Miss Brandon, the popular novelist ? Brutus. Pronunciation of "Water." —Was the word water " anciently pronounced "watter"? Some two hundred years ago I think it was (vide 'Hudibras'), and I have heard my own father so pronounce it. Brutus. A " Skimmington."—What is the origin of this expression ? It is used in the sense of a skirmish or quarrel. See Horace Walpole's 'Letters,' Cunningham's edition, vol. ii. p. 336. H. T. B. Author of Verses Wanted.—I wish to ask again who wrote these verses on a tomb- stone in our churchyard :— Earthly cavern, to thy keeping We commit our parents' dust: Keep it safely, softly sleeping, Till our Lord demands thy trust. Is it part of a funeral hymn 1 Alfred Hall. 1, Church Park, Mumbles, R.S.O. " Pins."—Edgar is credited with the in- troduction of "pins" into drinking vessels for the purpose of repressing drunkenness. The question is, How could or did this arrange ment act ? We are told that in later days tankards were divided into eight equal parts, and that these measures held two quarts ; the pins in this case were the source oi much fun, and possibly more drinking. It was at a synod in Westminster, 1102, that priests were forbidden to attend "public drinking* " or to drink at " pins," nee ad Pinnns bibant. The Dutch drinking-cup, usually of wood, had a pin about its middle, and the drinker who could so gauge his drinking as to finish at the pin (which was called " nick the pin") was free of a forfeit which was incurred by one who drank below the pin. The Saxon " pin " was the point below which it was penal to drink ; if it is supposed this measure held two quarts, it would be interesting to know which pin was a drinker's halting spot. The Rev. Dr. Brewer explains the custom thus. When two or more drank from the same bowl the pin was to prevent the one drinker en- croaching on another's share ; but this has nothing to do with the preventing of too much drinking, and in no way, it seems to me, explains Edgar's so-called plan to repress drunkenness. How was it managed when a solitary thirsty individual drank? A pin in this case could not be of any use unless the vessel was filled and the pins in, below which he was not allowed to drink. If this was so, then what remained would be served up to the next imbiber. Surely not! If the solitary drinker had a measure without a pin, then how and by what means was his drinking regulated 1 If several drank from the same vessel and that receptacle contained the
