t respectable inhabitants of the parish of Closeburn,
which has been united to Dalgarnock:

"Here Lyes the body of JAMES HARKNESS, in Locherben, who died 6th Dec.
1723, aged 72 years.

"Belo this stone his dust doth ly,
Who indured 28 years
Persecution by tirrany
Did him pursue with echo and cry
Though many a lonesome place,
At last by Clavers he was taen
Sentenced for to dy;
But God, who for his soul took care,
Did him from prison bring,
Because no other Cause they had
But that he ould not give up
With Christ his Glorious King.
And swear allegence to that beast,
The duke of York I mean.
In spite of all there hellish rage
A natural death he died
In full assurance of his rest
With Christ ieternalie."

The following may be given as an example of a punning epitaph. It is found
in St. Anne's churchyard, in the Isle of Man, and is said to have been
written by Sir Wadsworth Busk, who was for many years attorney-general of
the island:

"Here, Friend, is little Daniel's Tomb,
To Joseph's age he did arrive;
Sloth killing thousands in their bloom,
While labour kept poor Dan alive.
Though strange yet true, full seventy years
Was his wife happy in her _Tears_.

DANIEL TEAR died December 9th, 1787, aged 110 years."

C. T. R.

_Straw-bail_ (Vol. vii., pp. 85. 342.).--The origin of the expression "a
man of straw" may be traced to those mannikins or effigies representing the
human figure, which are (or used to be) paraded in the streets during the
Carnival in most continental countries. These mannikins were {465}
generally stuffed with _straw_; and hence, in legal phraseology, "a man of
straw" denotes the semblance of a man--a person of neither substance nor
responsibility, who is put forward to screen a real delinquent, or bear the
brunt of a prosecution. Such, at least, is the origin commonly assigned by
the French to their "homme de paille," the prototype of our "man of straw."

HENRY H. BREEN.

St. Lucia.

_How to stain Deal_ (Vol. vii., p. 356).--If C. will apply by letter or
otherwise to Mr. Henry Stevens, 54. Stamford Street, Blackfriars Road, he
will learn every particular, and be furnished with samples of its effect on
common deal, as now very extensively used in churches, school-rooms, &c.

_Detached Belfry Towers_ (Vol. vii., pp. 333. 416.).--Add to the list,
Marston