The particular _costume_, however, of the deceased was more attended to in monumental effigies; and it is this fact which renders the study of them so serviceable towards a knowledge of the manners and habits of our ancestors. Care was even taken not to omit any peculiarity which may have distinguished the deceased; of which the long beard of Sir Wm. Tendring, at Stoke, by Layland, is perhaps an instance, and many others might be quoted. If any decided portraits are known in _stone effigies_, it would I think be desirable to communicate such to the pages of "N. & Q." C. R. M. _Motto on Chimney-piece_ (Vol. v., p. 345.)--It does not appear to me that the mottoes sent by your inquirer C. T. are very difficult to solve. The first is Latin: "VITATRANOVULAESTOLIM." He says he is not certain as to one or two letters. I suspect the first O should be Q, and the V should be I. It will then read: "Vita tranquila est olim." "Life is henceforth tranquil." A very proper motto for a fire-side. The second is Italian: "VE DAL AM DARO." I suspect the R should be T. It will then read: "Ve da'l amico dato." "Given to you by the friend." If the word is _daro_, it will be-- "I will give it to you from the friend." JAMES EDMESTON. Homerton. The arms given by your correspondent C. T. are those of Cavendish (quartering Clifford), one of that family having been created Earl of Newcastle in 1610. Becoming shortly after extinct, John Holles, Earl of Clare (who had married the heiress of Cavendish), was created by King William III. in 1694 Marquis of Clare and Duke of Newcastle. Might not the chimney-piece have adorned a mansion of the Cavendish family, who probably resided in Newcastle during the period above alluded to? The motto underneath (which is _not_ the family motto of Cavendish) certainly at first sight looks puzzling enough; will the following solution suffice, which I merely throw out as a first thought that may lead to a better elucidation? "Vita: tran: ovula: est: olim." Presuming "ovula" to be the diminutive of _ovum_ (I am not sure if I am correct), and "tran" (if correctly transcribed) to be a component part of one of the numerous compounds of _trans_ (say _transitorius_), may not the passage be _freely_ translated: "(Our) transitory life (was) once (as mysterious, or hidden, or minute as) is (the germ of vitality) in an egg?" If C. T. could give a description of the second coat, some connecting link may possibly be supplied toward unravelling the motto. HENRY W. S. TAYLOR. Southampton. "_Ve dâl am daro_" (Vol. v., p. 325.).--One of the mottoes which puzzle your correspondent C. T. is Welsh, and means that _retribution will follow violence_: "he will pay (_i.e._ suffer) for striking." Σ.