_Meaning of Wallop_--In the article of Collins's _Peerage_ which narrates the history of the "Wallops, Earls of Portsmouth," great and deserved praise is bestowed upon Sir John Wallop, a most valorous and successful military commander.
Not to trouble you with more, I make one extract, which is, for more reasons than one, likely to be interesting:
"Sir John Wallop, in 6 Henry VIII., was sent as Admiral and Commander-in-Chief of the fleet, to encounter Prior John, the French Admiral, who, landing in Sussex, had burnt the town of Brighthelmstone. The French getting into their own ports, Sir John Wallop sailed to the coast of Normandy, and there landed and burnt twenty-one villages and towns with great slaughter, and also the ships and boats in the havens of Treaport, Staple, &c., wherein he acquitted himself with such conduct and valour, that all our historians have mentioned this expedition much to his honour."
The Query which I desire to ask is, whether the significant, but somewhat coarse phrase of "to wallop," have its origin in the exploits of this gallant ancestor of the Earl of Portsmouth?
_The "Mistral."_--There is an old French proverb which says:
"Trois fléaux en Provence, Le Parlement, le Mistral, la Durance."
The first of these scourges has disappeared: the third will probably last for ever: but what of the second?
The _Mistral_ is a kind of whirlwind (partaking of the character of the African simoon, or of the West Indian hurricane), which pays its annual visits to Provence, and causes the most frightful devastation along the banks of the Rhone. It is spoken of by Seneca, and other writers of his time; and the Emperor Augustus is said to have raised a temple to it during his residence in Gaul.
Has any attempt been made, in this age of scientific advancement, to explain the causes of the _Mistral_? Perhaps Sir William Reid, from his present position and opportunities, as Governor of Malta, may be induced to turn his attention to the subject. An attempt to investigate the origin of this phenomenon, coupled with an historical sketch of its progress and effects, would form a valuable chapter in any future edition of his work on the _Law of Storms_.
_Deaths from Fasting._--In the church of St. Mary, Bury St. Edmund's, is a fine table-tomb, surmounted by a corpse in a winding-sheet, to the memory of John Bant, whose very curious will has been printed by the Camden Society. Tradition says that the death of this pious church decorator arose from the vain attempt to imitate Our Lord in fasting forty successive days and nights. This tradition has no foundation in fact, but owes its origin to the figure on the tomb, which would appear to have been made in the lifetime of the deceased. There are similar traditions in other parts of the kingdom. Can any of your correspondents state where, and whether accompanied by similar wasted figures?