information?--From the
_Navorscher_.

J. M.

_MS. by Rubens on Painting._--May I inquire of M. PHILARETE CHASLES whether
he ever saw or heard of a manuscript said to be written in Latin by Rubens,
and existing in the _Bibliotheque Nationale_ at Paris? One or two fragments
have occasionally been quoted: I think one may be found in Sir Joshua
Reynolds' _Discourses_, and the same is used by Burnet in his work on
painting; but no authority is given as to the source of the information.[2]

If such a work can be found, it would confer a great boon upon the
profession of the fine arts, if it were brought to light without delay.

WELD TAYLOR.

[Footnote 2: [This may probably be Rubens's MS. Album, of which an account
is given in Vertue's _Anecdotes of Painting_, vol. ii. pp. 185, 186.--ED.]]

_Peter Allan._--Will some correspondent of "N. & Q." afford information as
to the exact date and place of birth of the celebrated Peter Allan, whose
cave at Sunderland is regarded as one of the principal curiosities of the
north of England? {540} What is known of his general history; and is any
member of his family now living?

E. C.

_Haschisch or Indian Hemp._--I have been for some time trying to procure
some of the _Haschisch_, or Indian hemp, about which Dr. Moreau has
published such an amusing book, _Du Haschisch et de l'Alienation Mentale_,
Par. 1845.--Can any of your readers tell me where I can get any? The
narcotic effects of the common hemp plant are well known in our country
districts: where, under its ironical alias _Honesty_, the dried stalk is
often smoked, but the tropical variety appears to be infinitely more
powerful in its operation.

V. T. STERNBERG.

_Crieff Compensation._--During the rebellion in 1715, the village of
Crieff, Perthshire, was burnt by the Highland army, on account of the
attachment of its inhabitants to the royal cause. It has been stated that,
some years ago, the descendants of the sufferers received from government a
sum equivalent to a certain proportion of the loss which had been
sustained.

Is there any official record in reference to this compensation?

D.

_Admission to Lincoln's Inn, the Temple, and Gray's Inn._--Have there ever
been published, or do there exist anywhere in MSS., lists of the persons
who have been from time to time matriculated as students of those inns of
court?

A publication of them would be of the greatest value to the biographical
department of literature.