to become universal, the sound of w, and not merely the symbol, would at last be established; but I seem to gather that this has not yet happened. Still, it may yet do so; for the force of "popular etymology" is often considerable. The result, even then, would be due to the fact that wood became I'ood in other cases. letter representing a real sound], excepting, fore inferred (through ignorance) that what of course, d after n [not u], and similar well-sounded something like Bardrochood really known insertions due to phonetic causes, is meant Bardroch-wood. If this belief were quite another matter," &c. The "excrescent d" after n, as in Craigend for craigean, is due to confusion with words like sound (from French son), and is the very thing I meant. It is extremely common, and is explained in my 'Principles of Eng. Etym,' first series, p. 370, with many examples. Of course, in this case it is entirely wrong, because (as suppose) the accent does not fall on the suffix -ean; but it became possible by confusion with other cases. Precisely parallel to the excrescent d in sound is the excrescent p after m, as in Hampstead; I explain this in the same work, p. 373, and cite as examples em-p-ty, glim-p-se, whim-p-er, sem-p-ster; to which add Dem-p-ster. I also show (p. 370) that d occurs, similarly, after 1, as in al-d-er (the tree), &c.; so also Tinwald, where the d shows that some people, at some time, turned the ll into ld, whether it is done now or not. After all, all changes in the spoken names must be of phonetic origin; for even when due to popular etymology, they must have been suggested by analogy with some change that had such an origin. The case of Tideswell is quite different; for if the name could be supposed to refer to tide, the name would be tide-well. We can here only explain the actual presence of an s that is really pronounced by the supposition that it has always been pronounced. I conclude, as before, that it is impossible to discuss pronunciations within reasonable limits. If I am obscure, it is owing to the necessity of being brief. I do not believe, any more than I did before, that the introduction of letters that represent real sounds into words or names that did not once possess them is at all a common phenomenon ; that is, when we make due allowances for such well-known instances as are found in em-p-ty, thun-d-er, al-d-er, slum-b-er, amongs-t, most of which are due to what has been so happily called "dissimilated gemination," as explained in my 'Principles of Eng. Etym.,' p. 366. The second win Wigtown is purely phonetic; it shows that (it may be long ago) the suffix in this word was once pronounced as in the Scottish toon, rhyming with boon. For, after all, town is merely a variant of toun, the Anglo-French form of A.-S. tun (pronounced toon, as above); so that Wig-town was once correct. But, of course, the second syllable has long since been reduced to tun by lack of emphasis, and it pleased the Anglo-French scribes to write ton for tun, monk for munk, honey for huney, and the like, because un (in MSS.) looked indistinct. It is the fact that Wigton, but not Wigtown, has lost a written w. In cases where place-names have been The difference of spelling indicates that Wig-wilfully perverted, it has generally been done town is a name of later date than the other, by force of a popular etymology that tries to and that is all. Both are now sounded alike. give a new meaning to a word. The worst In words like Carlisle there is no inserted instances of this character are not those due letter" in the sense I intended; for the s to unlearned people, but to the shameless is not sounded. I was referring to words like and unpardonable meddlesomeness of those Tideslow, in which it is sounded. There is, who ought to know better, and who imagine however, an inserted "symbol"; which is a they know what is correct when they are all very different thing, and due, of course, to the while in the blindest ignorance. Placeignorance. The beginning of it was the Lat. names are best preserved when they are left insula; this gave O.F. isle, with s sounded. in the keeping of the illiterate, who speak But in Norman and later French s was naturally and are not ambitious to be always dropped before l, m, and n, and the word inventing theories. WALTER W. SKEAT. became really ile; yet s was still written, and found its way into island and Carlisle, by mere mistake. Strictly, there is no gain of s, but a loss not only of s, but of n; for we started from the form insula. Bardroch-wood is an excellent example; the ignorant insertion of a written w arose from the fact that the E. wood was frequently pronounced 'ood, as it is still. It was there COBWEB PILLS (10th S. i. 205, 273).—In the spring of 1871 I was staying at Wakefield, in the house of the Rev. Thomas Pearson, an old West Indian missionary. I was making merry over Wesley's Primitive Physic,' and particularly over cobweb pills as a remedy for ague, or for anything. Mrs. Pearson quietly observed, "You may laugh, but I WILTON NUNNERY (10th S. i. 248).-Wilton Abbey was dissolved in the thirty-fifth year of Henry VIII., by whom the site and build ings were granted to Sir William Herbert, afterwards created Earl of Pembroke. Its religious inmates were of the Benedictine order, and seem to have been usually selected from among the daughters of the nobility. At the suppression its revenues, according to Dugdale, were estimated at 6011. 11s. 1d., but Speed states their amount as 6521. 119. 5d. The prioress of this nunnery was, in right of her title, a baroness of England. That it was restored during the reign of Queen Mary there is no doubt. The former abbey was then-and has been since-known as Wilton House. Soon after the dissolution of Wilton Abbey, some considerable alterations were made (according to Mr. John Britton, F.S.A.) in the arrangement of the buildings for domestic purposes, by William, the first Earl of Pembroke. Charles I. is said to have been particularly partial to Wilton, and frequently resided there. The architects Holbein, De Caus, Inigo Jones, Webb, and others, were successively engaged to enlarge and embellish it. Edmund Lodge tells us that Queen Elizabeth visited the town in September, 1579, and that the Court resided here for a short time in October, 1603. An interesting incident in connexion with Wilton Nunnery has hitherto remained unrecorded in 'N. & Q.' The story runs that in 1299 there was a certain knight, Sir Osborne Gifford, of Fonthill, who stole out of the nunnery of Wilton two fair nuns and carried them off. This coming to the ears of the Archbishop of Canterbury, John Peckham, he first excommunicated the said knight, and then absolved him on the following conditions: 1, That he should never come within any nunnery, or into the company of a nun; 2, that for three Sundays together he should be publicly whipped in the parish church of Wilton, and as many times in the marketplace and church of Shaftesbury; 3, that he should fast a certain number of months; 4, that he should not wear a shirt for three years; and lastly, that he should not any more take upon him the habit and title of a knight, but should wear apparel of a russet colour until he had spent three years in the NOTES ON BOOKS, &c. Microcosmographie; or, a Piece of the World Discovered in Essayes and Characters. By John WITH a reprint of Earle's witty and thoughtful Earle. (Cambridge, University Press.) Microcosmographie,' to a knowledge of the value of which the world is tardily awaking, the Cambridge University Press is beginning a series of reprints certain to gladden the heart of the scholar, the antiquary, and the bibliophile. The series in question, of which the second volume will consist previously attempted by the Cambridge Press, and of Sidney's 'Defence of Poesie,' is unlike anything is issued in a new and an eminently artistic type and in a strictly and narrowly limited edition, but two hundred and twenty-five copies in all being offered for sale, and the type, which is reserved to already distributed. How beautiful this type is, the Cambridge Press, being in the present instance and how clear also, may be seen from the work and from the prospectus. Altogether exquisite is the reproduction of the title of the sixth augmented edition of 1633, with its quaint allegorical printer's any departure from the original permitted, and the mark. Neither as regards text nor punctuation is masterpieces of literature, to which the series is confined, will be placed before the reader of to-day as they were seen by their producers. On the fitness of Earle's work for revival, and on the his358) in dealing with a previous, if less ambitious, tory of its appearance, we commented (9th S. xii. reprint of the same edition. Seventy-eight "characters appear in this, as against fifty-four in the first edition, which bears date 1628. Earle's translated into French-no common fate at that 'Microcosmographie,' it may be mentioned, was time for an English book-so early as 1679 under the title of Le Vice ridicule et la Vertu louée.' A greeting is merited by the book for its own sake, as introducing to general notice one of the No less welcome is it as proof of the resolution of a most characteristic works of early Stuart times. great University Press to be known as producers of beautiful works. No long time can elapse, taking into account circumstances and conditions of publication, before the owner of these dainty shelves, and their possession will be disputed in volumes will point to them with pride upon his the sale-rooms. Great Masters. Part XII. (Heinemann.) ANOTHER part of 'Great Masters' maintains the that places the work foremost among modern art high level, both as regards selection and execution, publications. A dozen consecutive parts establish how thoroughly representative of the great galleries of Europe the completed work will be, and how processes at which at the outset we were disposed artistic, when competently exercised, are those to cavil. ing the number comes Reynolds's 'The Duchess First of the four plates constitutof Devonshire and her Baby,' from the Duke of Devonshire's collection, a replica existing at Windsor Castle. Far away the most popular is this of many pictures of the then celebrated lady from the brush of the same great artist, and it also represents the supreme accomplishment in portraiture of the English School of the eighteenth century, Quite delightful and exquisitely easy and natural is the mimic action of the child. Wonderful is the contrast between this seductive work and the portrait from the Berlin Museum, by Albrecht Dürer, of Hieronymus Holzschuher, which Dr. Bode declares "the pearl of all Dürer's portraits." Concerning it the same eminent authority says that "when seen close it has all the delicacy of a miniature, and yet, when beheld from a distance, it is none the less broadly effective and powerful." On the technical qualities of the workmanship, making the picture unique in its class, this is not the place to comment. A Fresh Breeze,' by Jacob van Ruijsdael, from Lord Northbrook's collection, is a magnificent seascape, presenting a wildly tumultuous sea, and informed by the very spirit of the wind. From the National Gallery, London, where it constitutes the lunette over the artist's best picture, designed as an altarpiece for the church of St. Frediano at Lucca, comes The Deposition' of Francesco Francia. The flesh of the Christ is marvellous, and the faces of the women are beyond praise. Francesco Francia, Aurifex, as he described himself, died in 1517, and this work has all the qualities of the century preceding his death. Old Moss Side. By Henry Thomas Crofton. (Manchester, City News' Office.) THIS is a reprint of papers which have appeared at intervals in the Manchester City News. They were well worthy of being reproduced in a permanent form, as they record much that is of interest concerning men and things when Old Moss Side was a rural place, with neither churches nor chapels, and did not, we believe, though of this we are not quite certain, possess one single shop. In 1834 the district had progressed so far as to have one publichouse. Mr. Crofton deals mainly with modern times. There are, however, many notes on family history which will be of service to the genealogists of the future, and these, we are glad to say, have been indexed most carefully. 66 As the name of the district indicates, the greater part of its surface was covered with peat, and as a consequence the roads were in a vile condition. About seventy years ago one of them, known as Withington Road, was such a quagmire that no cart could take a full load along it." Those which carried hay and straw on the way to Manchester had to be accompanied by men armed with "pikels," whose function it was to hold up the loads so as to hinder the carts from overturning. The writer records a curious piece of folk-lore which is worthy of attention. There was a place called Twenty Pits, which took its name from many deep pools. These were probably of a relatively modern date, as they are believed to have been dug for the purpose of getting marl for agricultural purposes. These ponds were in a secluded spot, and had become the haunt of ducks-wild ones, we imagine-which nested on their margins. Schoolboys used to fish for sticklebacks there in summer, and slide and skate thereon in winter. As these pools were deep, it is not surprising that from time to time cases of drowning occurred, and that the place acquired an evil name. A malicious water-hag, we are told, dwelt there whose name was Jenny Greenteeth. She was in the habit of seizing those who came too near her abode and dragging them down into its depths, and as a matter of course they were seen no more. We seem here to have a tale much older than these ponds-if, indeed, they were modern marl-pits. Probably it is a case of transference from some demon-haunted mere. Rosemary and Pansies. By Bertram Dobell. (Published by the Author.) ALTHOUGH we have a rule not to review books of modern verse, we feel we must turn aside to notice this little collection by an old friend who has already rendered good service to literature by his Sidelights on Charles Lamb' and his rediscovery, after two hundred and fifty years, of the poet Traherne. These recreations of Mr. Dobell are put forward with such modesty as to disarm criticism. In his dedication to Arthur H. Bullen he says:I thought, old friend, a better gift to bring Than this poor garland, rather weeds than flowers,. Not the rich product of calm leisured hours, But such as I from toil and haste could wring. The poems include one 'To J. W. E. The initialswill be recognized by lovers of old ballads. There is one, A Song of Yearning,' three verses of which we quote: Our eyes are dim with watching for the dawning of the day, The yearned-for day that's coming when our griefsshall melt away: Oh! shall we never, never, of that dawn perceive a ray? Must we ever wait in vain? Might we but live to see the day when ancient wrong departs, And Oh It is man no more contends with man save in the peaceful arts! what a thrill of love and joy would glad our wearied hearts On such a blessed dawn! a dawn we'll hope for still, ev'n though we hope in vain ; We will not think the world was made for naught but care and pain; We'll still believe we shall at last a Golden Ageattain, And every dawn be blessed! Mr. Dobell is right in the hope he expresses that, whether the verse "attracts or repels," there is. much in this little volume "that will to some kind hearts the bard endear.” Jesus Christ Gure Iaunaren Testamentu Berria. (Trinitarian Bible Society.) We understand these mysterious words on the title-page of this little volume to announce it as being a Basque version of the New Testament.. Hovelacque tells us that the Spaniards have a story that the Devil spent seven long years among the Basques without succeeding in understanding a single word of their language. As we have not even served the apprenticeship of the Evil One, we may be pardoned if we shrink from discussing the merits of this translation, made originally by John Leizarraga in 1571; but as it has had theadvantage of having been revised by Mr. E. S. Dodgson, we have every confidence that it is trust-worthy. The Burlington Magazine. No. XIII. IN the current number of the Burlington Magazine appears the first part of Comments,' by Julia Cartwright, upon the drawings of J. F. Millet in the collection of Mr. James Staats Forbes, which, unfortunately, that eminent collector, now defunct, will be unable to see. Among them are many studies for The Gleaners." Mr. Lionel Cust sends the first of a series of papers on Prince Albert as an Art Collector." The Blue Porcelain in the Possession of Sir William Bennett' supplies some excellent coloured illustrations. Clayden House, the seat of the Verneys, is well illustrated. Etchings of Rembrandt in the Dutuit Collection are also reproduced The frontispiece to the number, not being satisfactory in all copies, is being reprinted. Yorkshire Notes and Queries, edited by Dr. Charles L. Forshaw, has to be added to the long list of our descendants. It is issued in Bradford, and contains much matter of moment to Yorkshire antiquaries. STRIKING proof how interest in the drama has revived during recent years is shown in the space assigned to it in reviews and magazines. In the Fortnightly, in addition to a third list of signatures "in support of a movement to ameliorate the British Stage "-which includes, among others, that of Mr. Swinburne -- letters concerning the theme are published from Mary Anderson (Madame de Navarro) and from Mrs. Craigie. With what the latter says we find ourselves in full accord, especially when she asks for a list of the instructors. Miss Bateman also furnishes a rhapsody concerning the new play of Gabriele D'Annunzio.--In the Nineteenth Century the stage, as such, has no place, but there is an essay by Mr. De Courcy Laffan on Eschylus and Shakespeare. Mr. Reginald J. Farrer gives a faithful study of 'The Geisha,' and shows how closely, in her most exalted aspects as in the more debased, the outcome of connexion with European so-called civilization, the Geisha corresponds with the Hetaira of Athens. In relation to this subject a striking picture is afforded of the status of the Japanese wife. Other articles of interest are Mr. Frederick Wedmore's 'The Place of Whistler' and Prof. Giles's 'In Chinese Dreamland.'-In the Pall Mall a close study of Mr. Beerbohm Tree is given under the title, appropriate, if such ever was, of Master Workers. A portion of the observations upon Mr. Tree are drawn from an interview. It is interesting, in view of Mr. Tree's present undertakings, to find that he thinks that in its essence acting cannot be taught. Mr. Archer's Real Conversations' diminish in interest as they recede from the drama, and what he and Mr. Norman, M.P., have to say concerning motoring has no strong appeal to the world Mr. Archer ordinarily addresses.-Scribner's has a paper on Playgoing in London,' which is accurate in observation, but of no special significance. At any rate, what is said is sufficiently eulogistic. Mrs. George Bancroft's deeply interesting letters are concluded, and will shortly be issued in a separate form. They are readable and valuable in themselves, and the illustrations add greatly to their claims. To the Cornhill Mr. Frederic Harrison contributes an estimate of Sir Leslie Stephen, which is discrimi nating as well as eulogistic. Mr. Lang's paper on The Strange Case of David Dunglas Home' is too near our own time to figure among Historical Mysteries. At any rate, we find it less interesting as well as less edifying than previous contributions under similar headings. Mr. Alex. Innes Shand gives us a peep behind the Times, for which we have long craved. It is good so far as it goes, but inadequate.-Most interesting among the contents of the Atlantic Monthly is Mr. Higginson's 'Books Unread,' a good paper with a suggestive title. Prescott the Man' and 'Theodor Mommsen' repay study. Among 'True Poets, in an article somewhat arrogantly so named, is included Mrs. Marriott-Watson. Mr. Heneage Legge in the Gentleman's deals with The Bridge.' Under the title A Curiosity of Literature' Mr. Barton Baker writes concerning James Merry and Hannah Cowley, and others of the Anna Matilda or Della Crusca excellent, as is 'In Arcady. Into At the Sign of school. Feathered Foragers in Longman's is the Ship' Mr. Lang admits a tribute to Canon Ainger other than his own. Notices to Correspondents. We must call special attention to the following notices: ON all communications must be written the name and address of the sender, not necessarily for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. WE cannot undertake to answer queries privately. To secure insertion of communications correspondents must observe the following rules. Let each note, query, or reply be written on a separate slip of paper, with the signature of the writer and such address as he wishes to appear. When answering queries, or making notes with regard to previous entries in the paper, contributors are requested to put in parentheses, immediately after the exact heading, the series, volume, and page or pages to which they refer. Correspondents who repeat queries are requested to head the second communication "Duplicate." - cussed at great length, 8th S. iv., v., ix., x., xi. E. L. ("Peacocks' Feathers Unlucky"). — Dis W. E. HARLAND-OXLEY.-Proof of Queen's Westminsters shortly. R. S. (Reminiscences of Thought and Feeling"). -Mary Ann Kelty, for whom see 'Dict. Nat. Biog.' See ante, pp. 247, 316. R. A. B. ("I shall pass through the world").— NOTICE. 66 Editorial communications should be addressed to "The Editor of Notes and Queries'"-Advertisements and Business Letters to lisher" at the Office, Brean's Buildings, Chancery Lane, E.C. 'The Pub We beg leave to state that we decline to return communications which, for any reason, we do not print; and to this rule we can make no exception. THE ATHENAUM JOURNAL OF ENGLISH AND FOREIGN LITERATURE, SCIENCE, Last Week's ATHENÆUM contains Articles on GREEN'S HISTORICAL STUDIES. The LITERATURE of the HIGHLANDS. A HISTORY of AMERICAN LITERATURE. Mr. DRAGE on RUSSIAN AFFAIRS. HILL TOWNS of ITALY. NEW NOVELS :-The Gage of Red and White; Red Morn; Maureen; To-morrow's Tangle; The Man in the Wood; What Ought She to Do? Miss Caroline; The Ellwoods; The Brazen Calf; L'Invisible Lien. OUR LIBRARY TABLE: — - Modern Poets of Faith, Doubt, and Paganism; Selections from the 'Confessio Amantis'; Women in the Printing Trades; Juniper Hall; Grace Book B; The Library; Flower-Time in the Oberland; Adventures on the Roof of the World; American Tariff Controversies in the Nineteenth Century; The Liberal View; The "Hampstead" Shakespeare; Guide to Historical Novels; Typee. LIST of NEW BOOKS. WYNKYN DE WORDE and BENEDETTO DA ROVEZZANO at WESTMINSTER; The LITURGICAL LITERARY GOSSIP. SCIENCE :-Railways and Engineering; Mathematics and Geometry; Symbolic Logic; The Spring Publishing Season; Societies; Meetings Next Week; Gossip. FINE ARTS:- The Administration of the Chantrey Bequest; Michael Angelo Buonarroti; The Apartments of the House; The Ancestor; Old Silver and China; Prints; Among the Norfolk Churches; A State of a Sixteenth-Century Woodcut; Sale; Gossip. MUSIC: Johannes Brahms; Living Masters of Music; Essai Historique sur la Musique en Russie; Gossip; Performances Next Week. DRAMA: A Maid from School'; 'Sunday'; Gossip. The ATHENEUM for April 2 contains Articles on The POETRY of CHRISTINA ROSSETTI. An ILLUSTRATED RECORD of ENGLISH LITERATURE. The NAPOLEON of NOTTING HILL. OUR LIBRARY TABLE:-Sir Robert Giffen's Economic Inquiries and Studies; Naval Development in the Century; The House of Quiet; The Balkans from Within; Singoalla; A Compendium of the Canon Law; Winchester Long Rolls; Twelve Trifles; A Conspiracy under the Terror; The Society of To-morrow; Pocket Edition of Ruskin, and other Reprints. LIST of NEW BOOKS. SIR EDWIN ARNOLD; The POPISH PLOT'; 'The PSALMS in HUMAN LIFE'; The UNIVERSITY of DURHAM; The SPRING PUBLISHING SEASON. LITERARY GOSSIP. ALSO SCIENCE: The Metallurgy of Steel; Animal Education; Botanical Literature; Natural History; Anthropological Notes; Societies; Meetings Next Week; Gossip. FINE ARTS-Two Books on G. F. Watts; The Wallace Collection; Morel-Ladeuil; The Whitechapel Art Gallery; Among the Norfolk Churches; The Hawkins Sale; Gossip. MUSIC: Philharmonic Concert; Popular Concert; Royal Academy Students' Concert; Broadwood Concerts; Gossip; Performances Next Week. DRAMA:-The Irish Theatre; Gossip. The ATHENEUM, every SATURDAY, price THREEPENCE, of JOHN C. FRANCIS, Athenæum Office, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, E.C. Aad of all Newsagents. |