Chapter 3

_Hepburn Crest and Motto._--Can some of your numerous readers give me the origin of the crest and motto of the family of Hepburn, namely, a horse argent, furnished gules, passant, and tied to a tree proper. Motto, "Keep Traist."

I should also be glad to know the name of any book containing the legends, or authentic stories, relating to the heraldic bearings of various families?

R.E.

_Concolinel._--I have recently met with a curious manuscript which contains numerous tunes of the time of Queen Elizabeth, one of which is stated in a recent hand to be the "tune of _Concolinel_ mentioned by Shakspeare;" but the old index, if there was one that indicated this, is now missing. My reason for writing to you is to ask whether Dr. Rimbault, or any of your other correspondents, can refer me to any information that will enable me to ascertain whether my MS. really contains that tune. It certainly does contain several others noticed by Shakspeare.

R.

"_One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church._"--Can any of your correspondents inform me how, or why, the word "holy" is omitted in the above article of the Nicene (Constantinopolitan) Creed, in all our Prayer-books? It is not omitted in the original Greek and Latin.

J.M.W.

_The Norfolk Dialect._--Mr. Dickens' attempt to give interest to his new novel by introducing this dialect would have been even more successful had he been more familiar with the curious peculiarities of that east-coast language. Many of the words are, I believe, quite peculiar to Norfolk and Suffolk, such as, for instance, the following:

_Mawther_, a girl, a wench. _Gotsch_, a stone jug. _Holl_, a dry ditch. _Anan? An?_ an interrogation used when the speaker does not understand a question put to him. _To be muddled_, to be distressed in mind. _Together_, an expletive used thus: where are you going _together?_ (meaning several persons)--what are you doing _together?_

Perhaps some reader can explain the origin of these words.

Icenus.

_Sir John Perrot._--Sir John Perrot, governor of Ireland in the reign of Henry VIII., was one of the few rulers over that most unfortunate country who have ruled it wisely. I believe that he was beheaded in the reign of Elizabeth. Will any of your readers kindly inform me whether his life has {218} ever been published, or where I can meet with the best account of him?

E.N.W.

"_Antiquitas sæculi juventus mundi._"--Mr. Craik in his admirable little work on _Bacon; his Writings and his Philosophy_, after quoting the paragraph containing this fine aphoristic expression, remarks that,

"From the manner in which it is here introduced as a Latin phrase, there would seen to be some reason for doubting whether it be an original thought of Bacon's. It has much the appearance of some aphorism or adage of the schools." (Vol. ii. p. 55.)

Mr. Craik adds in a note,

"A friend, however, who, if we were to name him, would be recognised as one of the first of living authorities on all points connected with the history of learning and philosophy, informs us that he feels certain of having never met with the expression or the thought in any writer previous to Bacon."

In Basil Montagu's edition of _The Advancement of Learning_ it is marked as a quotation. Query. Has the expression, or the thought, been traced to any writer previous to Bacon?

J.M.B.

* * * * *

REPLIES.

DERIVATION OF NEWS.

I have no wish to prolong the controversy on this word, in which I feel I, at least, have had my share. I beg room, however, for an observation on one or two very pertinent remarks by Mr. Singer.

In the course of this argument I have seen that if _news_ were originally a plural noun, it might be taken for an ellipsis of _new-tidings_. My objection to this would be twofold. First, that the adjective _new_ is of too common use, and, at the same time, too general and vague to form an ellipsis intelligible on its first application; and, secondly, that the ellipsis formed of _new-tidings_ would be found to express no more than _tidings_, still requiring the _new_, if the idea of _new_ were required, as in the instance Mr. Singer cites of _new newes_.

I would not pretend to determine whether the word were taken from the High German or the Dutch; but Mr. Singer's remark, that our language has derived scarcely anything from the former, brings back the question to the point from which I originally started. That there was a political and commercial connexion between the two countries, I suppose there can be no doubt and such, I imagine, never existed without leaving its marks on languages so near akin.

Taking up Bailey's _Dictionary_ by accident a day or two ago, I turned to the word, which I there find as derived from Newes, _Teut_.; Bailey using the term _Teutonic_ for German.

I think I shall express the feelings of the majority of your readers in saying that nothing could be more acceptable or valuable to the consideration of any etymological question than the remarks of Mr. Singer.

Samuel Hickson.

I have read with much interest the respective theories of the derivation of _news_, and it seems to me that Mr. Hickson's opinion must give way to an excellent authority in questions of this kind, Dr. Latham, who says,

Some say, _this news_ IS good in which case the word is singular. More rarely we find the expression, _these news_ ARE good; in which case the word "news" is plural. In the word "news", the -_s_ (unlike the -_s_ in _alms_ and _riches_) is no part of the original singular, but the sign of the plural, like the -_s_ in "trees." Notwithstanding this, we cannot subtract the _s_, and say "new," in the same way that we _can_ form "tree" from "trees." Hence the word "news" is, in respect to its original form, plural; in respect to its meaning, either singular or plural, most frequently the former.--_Eng. Grammar_, p. 62.

The above extract will probably suffice to show the true state of the case, and for information on similar points I would refer your readers to the work from which the above extract is taken, and also to that on _The English Language_, by the same author.

T. C.

* * * * *

REPLIES TO MINOR QUERIES.

_Swords worn in public_ (Vol. i., p. 415.; vol. ii. p. 110.).--I am surprised that the curious topic suggested by the Query of J.D.A. has not been more satisfactorily answered. Wedsecuarf's reply (Vol. ii., p. 110.) is short, and not quite exact. He says that "Swords ceased to be worn as an article of dress through the influence of Beau Nash, and were consequently first out of fashion at Bath;" and he quotes the authority of Sir Lucius O'Trigger as to "wearing no swords _there_." Now, it is, I believe, true that Nash endeavoured to discountenance the wearing swords at Bath; but it is certain that they were commonly worn twenty or thirty years later.

Sir Lucius O'Trigger talks of Bath in 1774, near twenty years after Nash's reign, and, even at that time, only says that swords were "not worn _there_"--implying that they were worn elsewhere; and we know that Sheridan's own duel at Bath was a rencontre, he and his adversary, Mathews, both wearing swords. I remember my father's swords hung up in his dressing-room, and his telling me that he had worn a sword, even in the streets, so late as about 1779 or 1780. In a set of characteristic sketches of eminent persons about the year 1782, several wear swords; and one or two members of the House of Commons, evidently represented in the attitude of speaking, have swords. I have seen a picture of the Mall in {219} St. James's Park, of about that date, in which all the men have swords.

I suspect they began to go out of common use about 1770 and were nearly left off in ordinary life in 1780; but were still occasionally worn, both in public and private, till the French Revolution, when they totally went out, except in court dress.

If any of your correspondents who has access to the Museum would look through the prints representing out-of-doors life, from Hogarth to Gilray, he would probably be able to furnish you with some precise and amusing details on this not unimportant point in the history of manners.

C.

_Quarles' Pension_ (Vol. ii., p. 171.).--There should have been added to the reference there given, viz. "Vol. i., p. 201." (at which place there is no question as to Quarles' _pension_), another to Vol. i., p. 245., where that question is raised. I think this worth noting, as "Quarles" does not appear in the Index, and the imperfect reference might lead inquirers astray. It seems very curious that the inquiry as to the precise meaning of Pope's couplet has as yet received no explanation.

C.

_Franz von Sickingen_ (Vol. i., p. 131.).--I regret that I cannot resolve the doubt of H.J.H. respecting Albert Durer's allegorical print of _The Knight, Death, and the Devil_, of which I have only what I presume is a copy or retouched plate, bearing the date 1564 on the tablet in the lower left-hand corner, where I suppose the mark of Albert Durer is placed in the original.

I should, however, much doubt its being intended as a portrait of Sickingen, and I can trace no resemblance to the medal given by Luckius. I believe the conjecture originated with Bartsch, in his _Peintre Graveur_, vol. vii. p. 107. Schoeber, in his _Life of Durer_, p. 87., supposes that it is an allegory of the nature of a soldier's life.

It was this print that inspired La Motte Fouqué with the idea of his _Sintram_ as he thus informs us in the postscript to that singularly romantic tale:

"Some years since there lay among my birth-day presents a beautiful engraving of Albert Durer. A harnessed knight, with an oldish countenance, is riding upon his high steed, attended by his dog, through a fearful valley, where fragments of rock and roots of trees distort themselves into loathsome forms; and poisonous weeds rankle along the ground. Evil vermin are creeping along through them. Beside him Death is riding on a wasted pony; from behind the form of a devil stretches over its clawed arm toward him. Both horse and dog look strangely, as it were infected by the hideous objects that surround them; but the knight rides quietly along his way, and bears upon the tip of his lance a lizard that he has already speared. A castle, with its rich friendly battlements, looks over from afar, whereat the desolateness of the valley penetrates yet deeper into the soul. The friend who gave me this print added a letter, with a request that I would explain the mysterious forms by a ballad.... I bear the image with me in peace and in war, until it has now spun itself out into a little romance."

S.W. Singer.

Mickleham Aug. 13. 1850.

"_Noli me tangere_" (Vol. ii., p. 153.).--B.R. is informed, that one of the finest paintings on this subject is the altar-piece in All Souls College Chapel, Oxford. It is the production of Raphael Mengs, and was purchased for the price of three hundred guineas of Sir James Thornhill, who painted the figure of the founder over the altar, the ceiling, and the figures between the windows. There may be other paintings by earlier masters on so interesting subject, but none can surpass this of Raphael Mengs in the truthfulness of what he has here delineated. The exact size of the picture I do not recollect, but it cannot be less than ten feet high.

There is a beautiful engraving of it by Sherwin.

J.M.G.

Worcester.

_Dr. Bowring's Translations_ (Vol. ii. p. 152.).--Besides the anthologies mentioned by Jarltzberg, Dr. Bowring has published _Poets of the Magyars_, 8vo. London, 1830; _Specimens of Polish Poets_, 1827; _Servian popular Poetry_, 1827; and a _Cheskian Anthology_, 1832.

H.H.W.

"_Speak the Tongue that Shakspeare spoke_" (Vol. ii., p. 135.).--The lines about which X. asks, are

"We must be free or die, who speak the tongue That Shakspeare spake; the faith and morals hold Which Milton held," &c.

They are in one of Wordsworth's glorious "Sonnets to Liberty" (the sixteenth), and belong to _us_, and not to the New-Englanders.

G.N.

_Countess of Desmond_ (Vol. ii., pp. 153. 186.).--In reply to K., I have an impression that Horace Walpole has a kind of dissertation on the _Old Countess of Desmond_, to whom his attention was directed by her being said to have danced with Richard III. Having no books at hand, I cannot speak positively; but if K. turns to Walpole's _Works_, he will see whether my memory is correct. I myself once looked, many years ago, into the subject, and satisfied myself that the great age attributed to _any_ Countess of Desmond must be a fable; and that the portrait of her (I think, at Windsor) was so gross an imposition as to be really that of an old man. I made a "Note"--indeed many--of the circumstances which led me to this conclusion; but they are at this moment inaccessible to me. I venture however, now that the question is revived, to offer these vague suggestions. By and by, if the subject be not exhausted, I shall endeavour to find my "Notes," and communicate them to you. I wonder the {220} absurdity of the kind of death imputed to the imaginary lady did not reflect back a corresponding incredulity as to the length of her life.

C.

_Yorkshire Dales_ (Vol. ii., p. 154.).--No guide or description has been published that would serve as a handbook to the dales in the West Riding of Yorkshire between Lancashire and Westmoreland. Should A PEDESTRIAN wish to explore the beauties of Teesdale he will find a useful handbook in a little work, published anonymously in 1813, called _A Tour in Teesdale, including Rokeby and its Environs_. The author was Richard Garland, of Hull, who died several years ago.

[Greek: Delta].

_The Yorkshire Dales_ (Vol. ii., p. 154.).--In answer to a recent inquiry, I beg to state that a guide to the above dales is in preparation. It will be edited by your humble servant, illustrated by a well-known gentleman, and published by Mr. Effingham Wilson.

J.H. DIXON.

Tollington Villa, Hornsey.

[We are glad to hear that such a Guide is preparing by Mr. Dixon, whose knowledge of the locality peculiarly fits him for the work he has undertaken.]

_Sir Thomas Herbert's Memoirs_ (Vol. ii., p. 140.).--The information MR. GATTY wishes for, he will find in Dr. Bliss's edition of the _Athenæ_, vol. iv. p. 18. He will perform an acceptable service to historical inquirers, if he will collate the printed memoir with the MS. in the possession of his friend, and give to the world such passages, if any, as have not been hitherto published.

[Greek: Delta].

_Alarum_ (Vol. ii., pp. 151. 183.).--There can be no doubt that the word _alarm_ (originally French) comes from the warning war-cry _à l'arme_. So all the French philologists agree; and the modern variance of _aux armes_ does not invalidate so plain an etymology. When CH. admits that there can be no doubt that _alarm_ and _alarum_ are identical, it seems to one that _cadit questio_,--that all his doubts and queries are answered. I will add, however, that it appears that in the words' original sense of an _awakening cry_, Shakspeare generally, if not always, spelled it _alarum_. Thus--

"Ring the _alarum_ bell!"--_Macbeth_.

"--Murder "_Alarum'd_ by his sentinel the wolf." _Macbeth_.

"When she speaks, is it not an _alarum_ to love?" _Othello_.

"But when he saw my _best-alarum'd_ spirits roused to the encounter."--_Lear_.

In all these cases _alarum_ means incitement, not _alarm_ in the secondary or metaphorical sense of the word, which has now become the ordinary one. In truth, the meanings, though of identical origin, have become almost contradictions: for instance, in the passage from _Othello_, an "alarum to love"--incitement to love--is nearly the reverse of what an "alarm to love" would be taken to mean.

C.

_Practice of Scalping among the Scythians, &c_. (Vol. ii., p. 141.).--Your correspondent T.J. will find in Livy, x. 26., that the practice of scalping existed among the Kelts.

"Nec ante ad consules ... famam ejus cladis perlatam, quam in conspectu fuere Gallorum equites pectoribus equorurn suspensa gestantes capita, et lanceis infixa ovantesque moris sui carmine."

W.B.D.

_Gospel Tree_ (Vol. ii., p. 56.).--In reply to W.H.B., I may mention that there is a "Gospel Tree" near Leamington. I do not know of one so called in Gloucestershire.

GRIFFIN.

_Martinet_ (Vol. ii., p. 118.).--There is no doubt the term _martinet_ is derived from the general officer _M. de Martinet_ indicated by MR. C. FORBES, and who was, as Voltaire states, celebrated for having restored and improved the discipline and tactics of the French army; whence very strict officers came to be called _martinets_: but is it also from this restorer of discipline that the name of what we call _cat-o'-nine-tails_ is in French _martinet_? This is rather an interesting Query, considering how severely our neighbours censure our use of that auxiliary to discipline.

C.

_"Yote" or "Yeot"_ (Vol. ii., p. 89.).--You may inform B. that _Yote_ or _Yeot_ is only provincial pronunciation of _Yate_ or _Gate_, a way or road. The channel made to conduct melted metal into the receptacle intended for it, is called a gate.

GRIFFIN.

_Map of London_ (Vol. ii., p. 56.).--The map of London, temp. Edw. VI., in the Sutherland collection, has been recently engraved. It is of singular curiosity. I do not know the name of the publisher.

R.

_Wood-carving, Snow Hill_ (Vol. ii., p. 134.).--The carving alluded to by A.C. is, I believe, of artificial stone, and represents Æsop attended by a child, to whom he appears to be narrating his fables. It is or rather _was_, a work of some merit, and is, as A.C. observes, "worth preserving;" but, alas! of this there is but little chance. The house in question (No. 41. Skinner Street), and also the one adjoining, have been tenantless for many years; they belong to two old ladies, who also own the two deserted houses at the corner of Stamford Street, Blackfriars Road. It is scarcely necessary to speak of the now somewhat picturesque condition of the houses alluded to in either locality, for the pitiably dilapidated condition of them all must have been matter of remark for many years past to any one at all acquainted with London. {221} The house, 41. Skinner Street, is also worthy of remark from another circumstance. It was formerly occupied by William Godwin, the well-known author of _Caleb Williams, Political Justice_, &c. It was here he opened a bookseller's shop, and published his numerous juvenile works, under the assumed name of Edward Baldwin.

E.B. PRICE.

_Waltheof_ (Vol. ii, p. 167.).--I believe that Waltheof (or Wallef, as he is always styled in Doomsday Book) never appeared at the court of William the Conqueror in the character of an envoy; but in 1067, little better than six months after the first landing of the Normans, we find him, in conjunction with Edgar Atheling and others, accompanying the Conqueror in his triumphal return to Normandy, as a hostage and guarantee for the quiescence of his countrymen. At this period, it is probable he might have first become acquainted with Judith; but this must rest on conjecture. At all events, we have the authority of William of Malmsbury for saying that Waltheof's marriage did not take place until the year 1070, soon after his reconciliation with the king on the banks of the Tees. Your correspondent errs in ascribing 1070 as the date of Waltheof's execution; the _Saxon Chronicle_ distinctly states May 31st, 1076, as the date of his death; while the chronicle of Mailros, and Florence of Worcester, assign it to the preceding year: in which they are followed by Augustin Thierry. T.E.L.L. has also fallen into an error as to the cause of Waltheof's execution, which he states arose from his participation in a conspiracy at York. Now the crime for which he was accused, and condemned (on the evidence of his wife), was his inviting over the Danes to the invasion of England. This was the primary cause; although his being present at the celebrated marriage-feast at Norwich was doubtless a secondary one. According to Thierry, he left two children by Judith.

DAVID STEVENS.

Godalming.

_The Dodo_ (Vol. i., pp. 261. 410.).--I have the pleasure to supply Mr. Strickland with the elucidation he desires in his Query 7., by referring to Hyde, _Historia Religionis Vet. Persarum_, p. 312.

"Et ut de Patre (Zoroastris) conveniunt, sic inter omnes convenit Matris ejus nomen fuisse Dôghdu, quod (liquescente _gh_ ut in vocibus Anglicis, _high_, _mighty_, &c.) apud eos plerumque sonat Dôdu; nam sonus Gain in medio vocum fere evanescere solet. Hocque nomen innuit quasi foecundidate ea similis esset ejusdem nominis Gallinæ Indicæ, cujus Icon apud Herbertum in Itinerario extat sub nomine Dodo, cujus etiam exuviæ farctæ in Auditorio Anatomico Oxoniensi servantur. Reliqua ex Icone dignoscantur. Plurima parit ova, unde et commodum foecunditatis emblema."

T.J.

"_Under the Rose_" (Vol. i., p. 214.).--I find the three following derivations for this phrase in my note-book:--

I. "The expression, 'under the rose,' took its origin," says Jenoway, "from the wars between the Houses of York and Lancaster. The parties respectively swore by the red or the white rose, and these opposite emblems were displayed as the _signs of two taverns_; one of which was by the side of, and the other opposite to, the Parliament House in Old Palace Yard, Westminster. Here the retainers and servants of the noblemen attached to the Duke of York and Henry VI. used to meet. Here also, as disturbances were frequent, measures either of defence or annoyance were taken, and every transaction was said to be done 'under the rose;' by which expression the most profound secrecy was implied."

II. According to others, this term originated in the fable of Cupid giving the rose to Harpocrates, the god of silence, as a bribe to prevent him betraying the amours of Venus, and was hence adopted as the emblem of silence. The rose was for this reason frequently sculptured on the ceilings of drinking and feasting, rooms, as a warning to the guests that what was said in moments of conviviality should not be repeated; from which, what was intended to be kept secret was said to be held "under the rose."

III. Roses were consecrated as presents from the Pope. In 1526, they were placed over the goals of confessionals as the symbols of secrecy. Hence the origin of the phrase "Under the Rose."

JARLTZBERG.

_Ergh, Er, or Argh._--Might not these words (queried by T.W., Vol. ii. p 22.) be corruptions of "_burgh_," aspirated _wurgh_, and the aspirate then dropped; or might not _ark, argh_, &c., be corruptions of "_wark_:" thus Southwark, commonly pronounced _Southark_? I merely offer this as a conjecture.

JARLTZBERG.