Decking Churches at Christmas._--Does the custom of dressing the churches
at Christmas with holly, and other evergreens, prevail in any country
besides England?

L.

_Coinage of Germany._--I should wish to be referred to the names of the
principal works on the coinage of Germany; not merely the imperial, but
that of sovereign prelates, abbeys, &c., that struck money.

A. N.

_Titles of Peers who are Bishops_ (Vol. iii., p. 23.).--Why is Lord Crewe
always called so, and not Bishop of Durham, considering his spiritual
precedency? Was not Lord Bristol (who was an Earl) always called Bishop of
Derry?

Cx.

_At Sixes and Sevens._--Shakspeare uses the well-known adage--"at sixes and
sevens;" Bacon, Hudibras, Arbuthnot, Swift, all use the proverb. Why should
sixes and sevens be more congruous with disorder than "twos and threes?"
and whence comes the saying?

D. C.

_Shaking Hands._--What is the origin of the custom of _shaking hands_ in
token of friendship? And were the _clasped hands_ (now the common symbol of
Benefit Clubs) ever used as a signet, prior to their adoption as such by
the early Christians in their wedding rings; or, did these rings {119} bear
any other motto, or posy, than "Fides annulus castus" (i. e. _simplex et
sine gemma_)?

J. SANSOM.

_George Steevens._--Can any of your readers inform me whether a memoir of
George Steevens, the Shakspearian commentator, ever was published? Of
course I have seen the biographical sketch in the _Gentleman's Magazine_,
the paragraph in Nichols' _Anecdotes_, and many like incidental notices.
Steevens, who died in January, 1800, left the bulk of his property to his
cousin, Miss Elizabeth Steevens, of Poplar; and as there is no reservation
nor special bequest in the will, I presume she took possession of his books
and manuscripts. The books were sold by auction; but what has become of the
manuscripts?

A. Z.

_Extradition._--The discussion which was occasioned, some time ago, by the
sudden transference of the word _extradition_ into our diplomatic
phraseology, must be still in the recollection of your readers. Some were
opposed to this change on the ground that _extradition_ is not English;
others justified its adoption, for the very reason that we have no
corresponding term for it; and one gentleman resolved the question by
urging that, "si le mot n'est pas Anglais, il merite de l'etre." I believe
there is no reference in "NOTES AND QUERIES" to this controversy