the honourable degree of LL.B. conferred upon
George M. Berkeley by the University of Dublin, Nov. 8, 1788.]

* * * * *

Minor Queries.

_Life._--Is it not the general feeling that man, in advancing years, would
not like to begin his life again? I have noted that Edgeworth, Franklin,
and Sismondi express the contrary.

A. C.

"_The Boy of Heaven._"--I have a poem entitled _The Boy of Heaven_, copied
some years ago from a manuscript. Can any of your readers inform me who is
the author, whether it has ever appeared in print, or give me any other
information respecting it?

W. P.

_Bells._--Can any of your readers inform me why the bells of the Convent of
Santa Theresa, at Madrid, alone have the privilege of tolling on Good
Friday, in that city? In all Roman Catholic countries the bells on that day
are forbidden to be rung; and there is no exception made, even in Rome.

As much has been said about the _baptizing_ of bells, as if it were a
custom nearly or entirely obsolete, I beg to say that I was present at the
baptizing of a bell in the south-west of France not very long ago; and have
no doubt that the great bell at Bordeaux, which is to have the emperor and
empress as its sponsors, will undergo the full ceremony.

CERIDWEN.

_Captain Ayloff._--Where can I find any notices of Captain Ayloff, one of
the coadjutors of Tom Brown in the eccentric _Letters from the Dead to the
Living_?

V. T. STERNBERG.

_Robert Johnson._--Perhaps some of your correspondents could give me some
information relative to the pedigree of Robert Johnson, Esq., who was a
baron of the Exchequer in Ireland in 1704; his parentage and descent; his
wife's name and family; his armorial bearings; and date of his birth and
death.

Was he the Robert Johnson who entered Trinity College, Dublin, in 1671, as
a Fellow Commoner at the age of fourteen? If so, his birthplace was London,
and his father's name was also Robert.

E. P. L.

Co. Westmeath.

_Selling a Wife._--What is the origin of the popular idea, that a man may
legally dispose of his spouse by _haltering_ her, and exposing her for sale
in a public market? Some time ago the custom appears to have been very
prevalent; and only a few months back there was a paragraph in _The Times_,
describing an occurrence of the kind at Nottingham.

French romancers and dramatists have seized upon it as a leading trait of
English society; and in their remarkably-f