for Waltheof being sent as
envoy to William? and, if so, on what mission?

2. Is it not the more correct account, that the Conqueror gave his niece
Judith in marriage to Waltheof _after_ the surrender of the city, [at
the same time that he conferred other honours upon him, out of respect
for his brave defence of the city; creating him, first, Earl of
Northhampton and Huntingdon, and afterwards Earl of Northumberland, A.D.
1070.] And if so, as Waltheof could certainly not have had any "pledge
of love" _before_ the siege of York; so neither is it probable that he
had any issue at all by Judith, as in the same year, 1070, he was
beheaded by William, for supposed participation in a conspiracy at York.

The above drama is said to be "by a descendant of one of the _dramatis
personae_," viz. of "De Combre, one of William's generals;" being written
by Rev. Thomas Comber, of Oswaldkirk, Yorkshire. This De Combre is
represented as having married _Ilda_, a daughter of King Harold, and
sister of _Edgar_. Can any of your correspondents furnish me with
information as to the origin and antiquity of this family of Comber? I
learn from the present representatives of this family, that they have no
recorded pedigree which goes higher than the reign of Henry VI., but
that the family tradition has always been, that their ancestor came over
from Normandy with William, and married Ilda, daughter of Harold. It
seems that the name of Ilda is at this very day borne by one of the
family. In the _Memoirs of Dr. Thomas Comber, Dean of Durham_, this De
Combre is said to have had the manor of Barkham, in Sussex, given to him
by the Conqueror. What family had King Harold II.? Had he any daughter
Ilda? and, if so, is there any record or mention of her husband's name?

T.E.L.L.

19th July, 1850.

_"De male quaesitis," &c._--Spelman's striking argument, that spoliated
church property is seldom enjoyed for more than three generations, seems
but a special application of a general principle,--

"De male quaesitis gaudet non tertius haeraes."

Can any of your readers tell me who is the author of the above verse? I
find it quoted as "an adage" by John Gadsbury, in his work _On the
Doctrine of Nativities_, 1658.

R.P.

_Westminster Abbey._--The late Sir Harry Englefield is known to have had
access to some of the original fabric accounts of this venerable
structure. Can any of your readers inform me whether he published the
information he may have