Part 3
[It appears doubtful whether this work was ever printed, for in a pamphlet published April 27, 1653, entitled _A Supply to a Draught of an Act or System proposed (as is reported) by the Committee for Regulations concerning the Law_, &c., the writer thus notices it:--"Having _lately heard_ of some propositions called 'The System of the Law,' which are said to be intended preparatives to several Acts of Parliament touching the regulation of the law, we cannot but with thankfulness acknowledge the care and industry of those worthy persons who contrived the same, it containing many good and wholesome provisions for the future perpetual good and quiet of the nation.... We know not, at present, wherein we could give a more visible testimony of our affections to the peaceable government of the free people here, than by offering to them and the supreme authority, what we humbly conceive prejudicial and inconvenient to well-government, in case that System (_as it is said to be now prepared_) should take effect." A week before the publication of this work, the Long Parliament had been turned out of doors by Cromwell.]
_Saint Malachy on the Popes._--Saint Malachy, Archbishop of Armagh, who flourished in the first half of the twelfth century, is said to be the author of a curious prophecy respecting the Popes. Some years ago I met with this prophecy in an old French almanack, and was particularly struck with its applicability to the life and character of the present Pope; but I omitted to make a Note.
Can you inform me where I may find a copy of this prophecy?
HENRY H. BREEN.
[St. Malachy's hieroglyphical descriptions or prophecy on the succession of Roman Pontiffs will be found in _Flosculi Historici delibati nunc delibatiores redditi, sive Historia Universalis_; Auctore Joanne de Bussieres, Societatis Jesu Sacerdote, Oxon. 1668. An explanation of each prophecy is given from the pontificate of Celestus II. A.D. 1143, to that of Innocent X. A.D. 1644. The present Pope being the nineteenth from Innocent X., the following prophecy relates to him, "Crux de Cruce." We subjoin the remainder: 20. Lumen in coelo. 21. Ignis ardens. 22. Religio depopulata. 23. Fides intrepida. 24. Pastor angelicus. 25. Pastor et nauta. 26. Flos Florum. 27. De medietate lunae. 28. De labore solis. 29 Gloria Olivae. St. Malachy concludes his prophecy with the following prediction of the downfall of the Roman Church: "In persecutione extrema Sacrae Romanae Ecclesiae sedebit Petrus Romanus, qui pascet oves in multis tribulationibus; quibus transactis civitas septicollis diruetur, et Judex tremendus judicabit populum."]
_Work on the Human Figure._--A few years ago there was a little work published on _Dress and the Art of improving the Human Figure_, by (I believe) a nobleman's valet: I wish to consult this for a literary purpose, and should be much obliged to any of your readers who can favour me with the exact title and date.
CHARLES DEMAYNE.
[The following two works on dress appear in the _London Catalogue:--The Whole Art of Dress_, by a Country Officer, 12mo. Lond. 1830; and _The Art of Dress, or a Guide to the Toilette_, fcp. 8vo., Lond. 1839.]
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Replies.
"NAMBY-PAMBY," AND OTHER WORDS OF THE SAME FORM.
(Vol. viii., p. 318.)
The origin of the word _namby-pamby_ is explained in the following passage of Johnson's _Life of Ambrose Philips_:
"The pieces that please best are those which from Pope and Pope's adherents procured him the name of _namby-pamby_, the poems of short lines, by which he paid his court to all ages and characters--from Walpole, 'the steerer of the realm,' to Miss Pulteney in the nursery. The numbers are smooth and sprightly, and the diction is seldom faulty. They are not loaded with much thought, yet, if they had been written by Addison, they would have had admirers. Little things are not valued but when they are done by those who can do greater."
In the _Treatise on the Bathos_, the _infantine_ style is exclusively exemplified by passages from Ambrose Philips:
"This [says Pope] is when a poet grows so very simple as to think and talk like a child. I shall take my examples from the greatest master in this way: hear how he fondles like a mere stammerer:
'Little charm of placid mien, Miniature of Beauty's queen, Hither, British Muse of mine, Hither, all ye Grecian nine, With the lovely Graces three, And your pretty nursling see. When the meadows next are seen, Sweet enamel, white and green; When again the lambkins play, Pretty sportlings full of May, Then the neck so white and round, (Little neck with brilliants bound) And thy gentleness of mind, (Gentle from a gentle kind), &c. Happy thrice, and thrice again, Happiest he of happy men,' &c.
And the rest of those excellent lullabies of his composition."--C. xi.
These verses are stated by Warburton, in his note on the passage, to be taken from a poem to {391} Miss Cuzzona. They are however in fact selected from two poems addressed to daughters of Lord Carteret, and are put together arbitrarily, out of the order in which they stand in the original poems. There is a short poem by Philips in the same metre, addressed to Signora Cuzzoni, and dated May 25, 1724, beginning, "Little syren of the stage;" but none of the verses quoted in the _Treatise on the Bathos_ are extracted from it.
_Namby-pamby_ belongs to a tolerably numerous class of words in our language, all formed on the same rhyming principle. They are all familiar, and some of them childish; which last circumstance probably suggested to Pope the invention of the word _namby-pamby_, in order to designate the infantine style which Ambrose Philips had introduced. Many of them, however, are used by old and approved writers; and the principle upon which they are formed must be of great antiquity in our language. The following is a collection of words which are all formed in this manner:
_Bow-wow._--A word coined in imitation of a dog's bark. Compare the French _aboyer_.
_Chit-chat._--Formed by reduplication from _chat_. A word (says Johnson) used in ludicrous conversation. It occurs in the _Spectator_ and _Tatler_.
_Fiddle-faddle._--Formed in a similar manner from _to fiddle_, in its sense of _to trifle_. It occurs in the _Spectator_.
_Flim-flam._--An old word, of which examples are cited from Beaumont and Fletcher, and Swift. It is formed from _flam_, which Johnson calls "a cant word of no certain etymology." _Flam_, for a lie, a cheat, is however used by South, Barrow, and Warburton, and therefore at one time obtained an admission into dignified style. See Nares' _Glossary_ in v.
_Hab or nab._--That is, according to Nares, have or have not; subsequently abridged into _hab, nab_. _Hob or nob_ is explained by him to mean "Will you have a glass of wine or not?" _Hob, nob_ is applied by Shakspeare to another alternative, viz. give or take (_Twelfth Night_, Act III. Sc. 4.). See Nares in v. _Habbe or Nabbe_.
_Handy-dandy._--"A play in which children change hands and places" (Johnson). Formed from hand. The word is used by Shakspeare.
_Harum-scarum._--"A low but frequent expression applied to flighty persons; persons always in a hurry" (Todd). Various conjectures are offered respecting its origin: the most probable seems to be, that it is derived from _scare_. The Anglo-Saxon word _hearmsceare_ means punishment (see Grimm, _Deutsche Rechtsalterthuemer_, p. 681.); but although the similarity of sound is remarkable, it is difficult to understand how _harum-scarum_ can be connected with it.
_Helter-skelter._--Used by Shakspeare. Several derivations for this word are suggested, but none probable.
_Higgledy-piggledy._--"A cant word, corrupted from _higgle_, which denotes any confused mass, as _higglers_ carry a huddle of provisions together" (Johnson). It seems more probable that the word is formed from _pig_; and that it alludes to the confused and indiscriminate manner in which pigs lie together. In other instances (as _chit-chat_, _flim-flam_, _pit-a-pat_, _shilly-shally_, _slip-slop_, and perhaps _harum-scarum_), the word which forms the basis of the rhyming reduplication stands second, and not first.
_Hocus-pocus._--The words _ocus bochus_ appear, from a passage cited in Todd, to have been used anciently by Italian conjurers. The fanciful idea of Tillotson, that _hocus-pocus_ is a corruption of the words _hoc est corpus_, is well known. Compare Richardson _in v._
_Hoddy-doddy._--This ancient word has various meanings (see Richardson _in v._). As used by Ben Jonson and Swift, it is expressive of contempt. In Holland's translation of Pliny it signifies a snail. There is likewise a nursery rhyme or riddle:
"Hoddy-doddy, All legs and no body."
_Hodge-podge_ appears to be a corruption of _hotch-pot_. It occurs in old writers. (See Richardson in _Hotch-pot_.)
_Hoity-toity._--Thoughtless, giddy. Formed from the old word _to hoit_, to dance or leap, to indulge in riotous mirth. See Nares in _Hoit_ and _Hoyt_.
_Hubble-bubble._--A familiar word, formed from _bubble_. Not in the dictionaries.
_Hubbub._--Used by Spenser, and other good writers. Richardson derives it from _hoop_ or _whoop_, shout or yell. It seems rather a word formed in imitation of the confused inarticulate noise produced by the mixture of numerous voices, like _mur-mur_ in Latin.
_Hugger-mugger._--Used by Spenser, Shakspeare, and other old writers. The etymology is uncertain. Compare Jamieson in _Hudge-mudge_. The latter part of the word seems to be allied with _smuggle_, and the former part to be the reduplication. The original and proper sense of hugger-mugger is secretly. See Nares _in v._, who derives it from _to hugger_, to lurk about; but query whether such a word can be shown to have existed?
_Humpty-dumpty._--Formed from _hump_. This word occurs in the nursery rhyme:
"_Humpty-dumpty_ sat on a wall, _Humpty-dumpty_ had a great fall," &c.
_Hurdy-gurdy._--The origin of this word, which is quoted from no writer earlier than Foote, has not been explained. See Todd _in v._
_Hurly-burly._--This old word occurs in the well-known verses in the opening scene of _Macbeth_--
"When the _hurly burly's_ done, When the battle's lost and won"--
{392} where see the notes of the commentators for other instances of it. There are rival etymologies for this word, but all uncertain. The French has _hurlu-burlu_. Nares in _Hurly_.
_Hurry-scurry._--This word, formed from _hurry_, is used by Gray in his _Long Story_.
_Nick-nack._--A small ornament. Not in the dictionaries.
_Pic-nic._--For the derivation of this word, which seems to be of French origin, see "N. & Q.," Vol. vii., pp. 240. 387.
_Pit-pat, or Pit-a-pat._--A word formed from _pat_, and particularly applied to the pulsations of the heart, when accelerated by emotion. Used by Ben Jonson and Dryden. Congreve writes it _a-pit-pat_.
_Riff-raff._--The refuse of anything, "Il ne lui lairra rif ny raf." Cotgrave in _Rif_, where _rif_ is said to mean nothing.
_Rolly-pooly._--"A sort of game" (Johnson). It is now used as the name of a pudding rolled with sweetmeat.
_Rowdy-dowdy, and Rub-a-dub._--Words formed in imitation of the beat of a drum.
_Shilly-shally._--Used by Congreve, and formerly written "shill I, shall I."
_Slip-slop._--"Bad liquor. A low word, formed by reduplication of _slop_" (Johnson). Now generally applied to errors in pronunciation, arising from ignorance and carelessness, like those of Mrs. Malaprop in _The Rivals_.
_Tip-top._--Formed from _top_, like _slip-slop_ from _slop_.
_Tirra-lirra._--Used by Shakspeare:
"The lark that _tirra lirra_ chants."--_Winter's Tale_, Act IV. Sc. 2.
From the French, see Nares _in v._
The preceding collection is intended merely to illustrate the principle upon which this class of words are formed, and does not aim at completeness. Some of your correspondents will doubtless, if they are disposed, be able to supply other examples of the same mode of formation.
L.
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EARL OF OXFORD.
(Vol. viii., p. 292.)
S. N. will find the Earl's answer in a volume, not very common now, entitled _A Compleat and Impartial History of the Impeachments of the Last Ministry_, London, 8vo., 1716. The charge respecting the creation of twelve peers in one day formed the 16th article of the impeachment. I inclose a copy of the answer, if not too long for your pages.
G.
"In answer to the 16th article, the said Earl doth insist, that by the laws and constitution of this realm, it is the undoubted right and prerogative of the Sovereign, who is the fountain of honor, to create peers of this realm, as well in time of Parliament as when there is no Parliament sitting or in being; and that the exercise of this branch of the prerogative is declared in the form or preamble of all patents of honor, to proceed _ex mero motu_, as an act of mere grace and favor, and that such acts are not done as many other acts of public nature are, by and with the advice of the Privy Council; or as acts of pardon usually run, upon a favorable representation of several circumstances, or upon reports from the Attorney-General or other officers, that such acts are lawful or expedient, or for the safety or advantage of the Crown; but flows entirely from the beneficent and gracious disposition of the Sovereign. He farther says, that neither the warrants for patents of honor, the bills or other engrossments of such patents, are at any time communicated to the council or the treasury, as several other patents are; and therefore the said Earl, either as High Treasurer or Privy Councillor, could not have any knowledge of the same: Nevertheless, if her late sacred Majesty had thought fit to acquaint him with her most gracious intentions of creating any number of peers of this realm, and had asked his opinion, whether the persons whom she then intended to create were persons proper to have been promoted to that dignity, he does believe he should have highly approved her Majesty's choice; and does not apprehend that in so doing he had been guilty of any breach of his duty, or violation of the trust in him reposed; since they were all persons of honor and distinguished merit, and the peerage thereby was not greatly increased, considering some of those created would have been peers by descent, and many noble families were then lately extinct: And the said Earl believes many instances may be given where this prerogative hath been exercised by former princes of this realm, in as extensive a manner; and particularly in the reigns of King Henry the Eighth, King James the First, and his late Majesty King William. The said Earl begs leave to add, that in the whole course of his life he hath always loved the established constitution, and in his private capacity as well as in all public stations, when he had the honor to be employed, has ever done his utmost to preserve it, and shall always continue so to do."
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PICTS' HOUSES.
(Vol. viii., p. 264.)
The mention there made of the recent discovery of one of these subterranean vaults or passages in Aberdeenshire, induces me to ask a question in regard to two subterranean passages which have lately been discovered in Berwickshire, and which so far differ from all others that I have heard or read of, that whereas all of them seem to have been built at the sides with large flat stones, and roofed with similar ones, and then covered with earth, those which I am about to mention are both hewn out of the solid rock. They are both situated in the Lammermoor range of hills. Those persons who have seen them are at a loss to know for what {393} purpose they could have been excavated, unless for the purpose of sepulture in the times of the aborigines, or of very early inhabitants of Britain, as they in many respects resemble those stone graves which are mentioned in Worsaae's _Description of the Primaeval Antiquities of Denmark_, translated and applied to the illustration of similar remains in England by Mr. Thoms.
One of these cavities is situated on a remote pasture farm, among the hills belonging to the Earl of Lauderdale, called Braidshawrigg; and was discovered by a shepherd very near his own house, within less than a quarter of a mile up a small stream which runs past it, and on the opposite side of the water, a few yards up the steep hill. The shepherd had observed for some time that one of his dogs was in the habit of going into what he supposed to be a rabbit hole at this place, and when he was missing and called, he generally came out of this hole. At last, curiosity led his master to take a spade and dig into it; and he soon found that, after digging down into the soil to the rock, the cavity became larger, and had evidently been the work of human hands. Information was given to Lord Lauderdale, and the rubbish was cleared away. It (the rubbish) did not extend far in, and after that the passage was clear. The excavation consists of a passage cut nearly north and south (the entrance being to the south) through various strata of solid rocks, partly grauwacke, (or what is there called _whinstone_), and partly grey slate: the strata lying east and west, and nearly vertical. The whole length of it is seventy-four feet. From the entrance the passage, for four or five yards, slopes downwards into the hill; it then runs horizontally the length of sixty-three feet from the entrance, when it changes its direction at right angles to the westward for a distance of eleven feet; when it ends with the solid rock. It is regularly from three feet four inches to three feet six inches wide, and about seven feet high, the ceiling being somewhat circular. The floor is the rock cut square. The time and labour must have been great to cut this passage, as not more than one man could conveniently quarry the rock at the same time. It might have been supposed that this was a level to a mine, as copper has been worked in this range farther eastward; but the passage does not follow any vein, but cuts across all the strata, and keeps a straight line, till it turns westward, and then in another straight line; and the floors, sides, and roof are all made quite regular and even with a pickaxe or a hammer. There does not appear to have been at any time any other habitation than the shepherd's house, and another cottage a little lower down the stream, in the neighbourhood. The discovery of this cavern recalled to the recollection of myself, and some of my family, that a few years ago, in cutting a road through the rock into a whinstone quarry, about four miles south of Braidshawrigg, near a mill, we had cut across the east end of a passage somewhat similar to the one before mentioned, but running east and west; that we had cleared it out for a short way, but as it then went under a corner of one of the houses belonging to the mill, we stopped, for fear of bringing down the building, as this passage, though cut out of the solid rock, was not a mine, but had been worked to the surface; and, if it ever had been used for purposes of sepulture, must have been roofed with flagstones, and then covered with earth like other Picts' houses. But these roof-stones must have been carried away, and the whole trench was filled with rubbish, and all trace of it on the surface was obliterated. This passage we have lately opened, and cleared out. To the westward it passes into the adjoining water-mill, which is itself in great part formed by excavation of the rock; and the east wall of the upper part of the mill is arched over the passage. Beyond the west wall of the mill which adjoins the stream, there is a continuation of the trench through the rock down to the water, which serves to take away that which passes over the millwheel at right angles to where the rock has been cut away to make room for the millwheel itself. That which has been cut away in making the trench, is a seam of clay slate about three feet six inches in breadth, between two solid whinstone rocks. The length of the passage, from the east end, which terminated in rock, to the mill, is sixty-three feet. The mill is thirty feet, and the cut beyond it twelve feet: in all, one hundred and five feet. The average depth is about twelve feet; but as it slopes down to the stream, some of it is sixteen feet deep. It has been suggested that it might have been dug out in order to obtain the coarse slate; but the difficulty of working a confined seam like this, in any other way than by picking it out piecemeal with immense labour, seems impossible. It can never have been meant to convey water to the mill, as the highest part begins in the solid rock, and the object must always have been to keep the water on the highest possible level, until it reached the top of the millwheel. Nothing was found in either of these excavations.--After this long discussion, Query, What can have been the purpose for which these laborious works can have been executed?
J. S. S.
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PRONUNCIATION OF "HUMBLE."
(Vol. viii., pp. 229. 298.)
It is my misfortune entirely to differ from MR. DAWSON (p. 229.) and MR. CROSSLEY (p. 298.) as to the pronunciation of _humble_; and permit me to say (with all courtesy) that I was unfeignedly surprised at the latter's assertion, that sounding {394} the _h_ is "a recent attempt to introduce a mispronunciation," as I have known that mode of pronunciation all but universally prevalent for nearly the last forty years; and I have had pretty good opportunities for observing what the general usage in that respect was, as I was for some years at a very large public school, then at Oxford for more than the usual time, and have since resided in London more than twenty-five years, practising as a barrister in Westminster Hall, and on one of the largest circuits. If, therefore, I have not had ample means of judging as to the pronunciation of _humble_, I know not where the means are to be found; especially as I doubt whether _humble_ and _humbly_ are anywhere so frequently used as in courts: a counsel rarely making a speech without "_humbly_ submitting" or making a "_humble_ application." Now the result of my experience is, that the _h_ is almost universally sounded; and at this moment I cannot call to mind a single gentleman who omits it, who does not also omit it in many other instances where no doubt can exist that it ought to be sounded.