C.H.M.

_Arabic Numerals._--I should be glad to know something about the projected
work of Brugsh, Berlin, referred to in Vol. ii., p. 294.,--its size and
price.

J.W.H.

_Cardinal._--"_Never did Cardinal bring good to England._"--We read in Dr.
Ligard's _History_ (vol. iv. p. 527.), on the authority of Cavendish, that
when the Cardinals Campeggio and Wolsey adjourned the inquiry into the
legality of Henry VIII.'s marriage with Catharine of Arragon, "the Duke of
Suffolk, striking the table, exclaimed with vehemence, that the 'old saw'
was now verified,--'Never did Cardinal bring good to England.'" I should be
glad to know if this saying is to be met with elsewhere, and what gave rise
to it?

O.P.Q.

"_By the bye," &c._--What is the etymology of the phrases "by the bye," "by
and by," and such like?

J.R.N.

_Poisons._--Our ancestors believed in the existence of poisons made so
artfully that they did not operate till several years after they were
administered. I should be greatly obliged by any information on this
subject obtained from English books published previously to 1600.