If it occurred anywhere, it would be in describing the duties of the scout-master; but here we have nothing but warning and surprise, never alarm.  But in the son’s appendix, the word alarme does occur twice in one page (173.).  It also occurs in the body of the second edition of the book, when of course it is the son who inserts it.  We may say then, that, in all probability, the military technical term was introduced in the third quarter of the sixteenth century.  This, I suspect, is too late to allow us to suppose that the vernacular force which Shakspeare takes it to have, could have been gained for it by the time he wrote.

The second edition was published in 1590; about this time the spelling of the English language made a very rapid approach to its present form.  This is seen to a remarkable extent in the two editions of the Stratioticos; in the first, the commanding officer of a regiment is always corronel, in the second collonel.  But the most striking instance I now remember, is the following.  In the first edition of Robert Recorde’s Castle of Knowledge (1556) occurs the following tetrastich:—­

  “If reasons reache transcende the skye,
  Why shoulde it then to earthe be bounde? 
  The witte is wronged and leadde awrye,
  If mynde be maried to the grounde.”

In the second edition (1596) the above is spelt as we should now do it, except in having skie and awrie.

M.

Prelates of France (Vol. ii., p. 182.).—­In answer to a Minor Query of P.C.S.S., I can inform him that I have in my possession, if it be of any use to him, a manuscript entitled Tableau de l’Ordre religieux en France, avant et depuis l’Edit de 1768, {253} containing the houses, number of religions, and revenues, and the several dioceses in which they were to be found.

M.

Midgham House, Newbury, Berks.

Haberdasher (Vol. ii., p. 167.).—­

“Haberdasher, a retailer of goods, a dealer in small wares; T. haubvertauscher, from haab; B. have; It. haveri, haberi, goods, wares; and tauscher, vertauscher, a dealer, an exchanger; G. tuiskar; D. tusker; B. tuischer.”

This derivation of the term haberdasher is from Thomson’s Etymons, and seems to be satisfactory.

Haberdascher was the name of a trade at least as early as the reign of Edward III.; but it is not easy to decide what was the sort of trade or business then carried on under that name.  Any elucidation of that point would be very acceptable.

D.

“Rapido contrarius orbi” (Vol. ii., p. 120.).—­No answer having appeared to the inquiry of N.B., it may be stated that, in Hartshorne’s Book-Rarities of Cambridge, mention is made of a painting, in Emanuel College, of “Abp.  Sancroft, sitting at a writing-table with arms, and motto, Rapido contrarius orbi.  P.P.  Lens, F.L.”