_The Oldenburgh Horn_ (Vol. ii., p. 417.) is preserved amongst the antiquities in the Gallery of the King of Denmark at Copenhagen. It is of silver gilt, and ornamented in paste with enamel. It is considered by the Danish antiquaries to be of the time of Christian I., in the latter half of the fifteenth century. There are engraved on it coats of arms and inscriptions, which show that it was made for King Christian I., in honour of the three kings, or wise men, on whose festival he used it, at Cologne.
[We avail ourselves of the opportunity afforded by Sir Walter Trevelyan's communication to add from Vulpius (_Handwörterbuch der Mythologie_) the following additional references to representations and descriptions of this celebrated horn--which is there said (p. 184.) to have been found in 1639:--Schneider, _Saxon. Vetust._ p. 314.; Winkelmann's _Oldenburgische Chronik._ s. 59.; S. Meyer, _Vom Oldenburgischen Wunderhorne_, Bremen, 1757.]
_Curious Custom_.--In 1833 the late Record Commissioners issued Circular Questions to the Municipal Corporations of England and Wales, requesting various information; among such questions was the following:--"Do any remarkable customs prevail, or have any remarkable customs prevailed within memory, in relation to the ceremonies accompanying the choice of corporate officers, annual processions, feasts, &c., not noticed in the printed histories or accounts of your borough? Describe them, if there be such."
To this question the borough of Chippenham, Wilts, replied as follows:--"The corporation dine together twice a-year, and _pay for it themselves_!" (_Report of Record Commissioners_, 1837, p. 442.)
_Kite_ (_French_, "_Cerf-volant_").--Some years ago, when reading Dr. Paris' popular work called _Philosophy in Sport made Science in Earnest_, 5th edition, London, J. Murray, 1842, I observed that the author could not explain the meaning of the French term "cerf-volant," applied to the toy so well known among boys in England as a "kite," and in Scotland as a "dragon." The following passages will solve this mystery: { 517}
"Cerf-volant. Scarabæus lucanus. Sorte d'insecte volant qui porte des cornes dentelées, comme celles du cerf.
"Cerf-volant. Ludicra scarabei lucani effigies. On donne ce nom à une sorte de joüet d'enfans qui est composé de quelques bâtons croisés sur lesquels on étend du papier, et exposant cette petite machine à l'air, le moindre vent la fait voler. On la retient et on la tire comme l'on veut, par le moyen d'une longue corde qui y est attachée."--See _Dictionnaire de la Langue Françoise_, de Pierre Richelet; à Amsterdam, 1732.