Part 18

=Mignonette.= Expresses the diminutive of _Mignon_, the French for “darling.”

=Mildmay Park.= The estate of the Mildmays, whose ancestor, Sir Henry Mildmay, came, by marriage, into possession of Mildmay House and its park in the time of Charles I.

=Mile End Gate.= From a toll gate which at this point of the highroad marked the eastern limits of London town and the parish of Whitechapel, distant one mile from the city boundary at Aldgate.

=Miles Lane.= After Miles Coverdale, a famous preacher at the Weigh-House Chapel hard by in former days.

=Milford Lane.= From an old mill that stood here in the fields. The lane itself led to a ford across the river at low water.

=Milking the Street.= An Americanism for the operations of stockbrokers who, by alternately raising and depressing shares, capture all the floating money in the market. The allusion is, of course, to Wall Street, the financial centre of New York city.

=Milk Street.= The ancient milk and butter market in connection with Cheapside.

=Millbank.= From an old mill that stood on the Thames bank, on the site of which the Grosvenors built a mansion, subsequently displaced for the gloomy prison of the same name.

=Millerites.= An American religious sect, whose founder, William Miller, prophesied the millennium or first judgment of the world by Christ and His angels to take place on 23rd February 1843. Many of his followers went mad through excitement as this date approached. Subsequent days assigned for the fulfilment of the prophesy proved alike misleading.

=Milliner.= A corruption of _Milaner_, after the city of Milan, which at one time set the fashion throughout Europe for elegance and taste not only in matters of dress, but of art. A milliner is one who deals in hats, feathers, and ribbons. See “Mercer.”

=Mill Street.= From a mill that stood hereabouts when the scene was one of peaceful rusticity.

=Milton Street.= After the author of “Paradise Lost,” who resided here for a time, and was buried in the parish church of St Giles’s, Cripplegate. This was the famous Grub Street of tradition.

=Milwaukee.= Indian for “rich land.”

=Mincing Lane.= A corruption of “Mynchen Lane,” denoting the property of the Minchery, the Saxon term for a nunnery of St Helen’s in Bishopsgate Street.

=Minden Boys.= The 20th Foot, so called from the conspicuous bravery displayed by them at the battle of Minden.

=Mind your P’s and Q’s.= This had reference originally to the pints and quarts chalked up against a rustic at the village alehouse. When his score threatened to become too disproportionate to his prospective wages, the alehouse-keeper generally administered a timely warning in these set terms. It was a polite way of saying he would very soon decline to serve him with more until the next settling day.

=Miniature.= So called because this early species of hand-painted portraiture originated in the head of the Madonna or of a saint that formed the initial letter of the beautifully illuminated rubrics produced by the monks styled the “Miniatori,” because their paints were made out of _minium_, or red lead.

=Minnesingers.= Expresses the Old German for “love singers,” the troubadours of the Fatherland in the Middle Ages.

=Minnesota.= Indian for “smoky water.”

=Minorca.= Expresses the lesser of the “Balearic Islands.”

=Minories.= This thoroughfare was laid out across the lands belonging to the Minoresses or Nuns of St Clare after their priory had been demolished at the Reformation. The Order of the Minoresses corresponded to the Friars Minor of the Franciscans founded by St Francis de Paula.

=Minster.= The distinction between a minster and a cathedral lies in this: the former is the church in connection with a monastery, whereas the latter contains the _kathedra_, or chair, of a bishop.

=Minstrel Boy.= A favourite page whose duty it was to attend a knight in peace and war. On his return from “feats of arms” he recited the doughty deeds of his master to the accompaniment of a lute, harp, or lyre in the banqueting-hall. In times of peace his theme was the bravery of the knight in the lists at tournaments or his prowess in defence of fair maidens.

=Minstrel of the Border.= The name bestowed upon William Wordsworth by Sir Walter Scott.

=Mint.= On the spot where Manlius Capitolinus had built himself a sumptuous residence the Romans set up a temple to Juno Moneta, or “The Monitress,” since Manlius had been apprised of the Gallic invasion through the cackling of the sacred geese. Subsequently this temple of Moneta was converted into an establishment for the coinage of money. Both mint and money therefore come from _Moneta_.

=Mint Street.= From the old mint established at Suffolk House by Henry VIII. when that property was sequestered to the Crown.

=Minuet.= So called from the Latin _minutus_, small, on account of the short, graceful steps which distinguish this dance.

=Miserere.= The name given to a mediæval choir stall of which the seat could be turned up so as to form a ledge for the support of the aged monks while kneeling. Its name, _miserere_, “Have mercy,” was singularly appropriate.

=Misluck.= An Americanism for misfortune or ill luck.

=Misses’ Tailors.= An Americanism for “Ladies’ Tailors.”

=Mississippi.= Indian for “great and long river.”

=Missouri.= Indian for “muddy water.”

=Mitre.= An inn sign most generally to be met with in a cathedral city, having reference, of course, to the mitre worn by a bishop.

=Mitre Court.= So called after an ancient Fleet Street tavern hard by.

=Mitre Square.= From an old inn, “The Mitre.”

=Mob.= From the Latin _mobile vulgus_, “the vulgar crowd.”

=Mobtown.= The name given to the city of Baltimore on account of the lawlessness of a certain section of its inhabitants.

=Mocha.= Coffee brought from the district of the same name in Arabia.

=Mocking Bird.= A species of thrush that mocks or imitates the notes produced by other birds.

=Moet and Chandon.= A favourite brand of champagne from the vineyards of the French firm trading under the name of “Moet et Chandon.”

=Molasses.= The American term for syrup or treacle, derived from the French _melasse_, the root of which is the Latin _mellis_, honey.

=Money.= See “Mint.”

=Mohair.= From the Arabic _Mukhayyar_, “goatskin hair,” through the French _moire_, the fine silken hair of the Angora goat.

=Mohawks.= Night marauders who in the days of the “Old Charlies” terrorised peaceable London citizens, self-styled after the fierce Indian tribe of the same name. “Mohawk” means “man-eater” or “live-eater,” this term being applied to the Iroquois by the eastern Indians of North America.

=Moire Antique.= The French description of watered silk worked in the style of the olden times. See “Mohair.”

=Moldavia.= The country traversed by the River Moldau.

=Moleskin.= A superior fabric of fustian or strong cotton distinguished for a smoothness like the hair of the mole.

=Molly Maguires.= An Irish Secret Society in the United States, more especially Pennsylvania, composed of young men dressed in women’s clothes, and with blackened faces, who did not hesitate to murder in connection with the agrarian outrages that they committed. The execution of ten of the ringleaders in June 1877 at length put an end to their reign of terror.

=Monastery.= From the Greek _monos_, alone. This term expresses an establishment of monks, secluded from one another in cells except when at prayers or at meals; recluses who never go into the outer world at all. A Friary, on the contrary, is a convent whose inmates live in community and go forth to preach among the people.

=Monday.= A term derived from Scandinavian mythology when, after the first day of the week given up to sun-worship, the second was set apart for the worship of the moon.

=Money makes Money.= This is a truism which it were vain to deny. Without capital a man cannot possibly set up in business for himself, even as a costermonger. The command of money makes its possessor doubly rich.

=Monger.= This word enters into various designations of the trading community, such as Fishmonger, Costermonger, being derived from the Anglo-Saxon _mongere_, “one who trades.”

=Monk.= From the Greek _monachos_, “one who lives alone.” See “Monastery.”

=Monkey.= From the Italian _monicchio_, the diminutive of _monna_, an ape. This word is often used as a verb--_e.g._ “Don’t monkey about on there,” meaning “Don’t play about or be up to monkeyish pranks.”

=Monkey Board.= The platform at the back of an omnibus, so called on account of the capers usually indulged in by the conductor. On a vehicle of the old-fashioned kind this platform was so small that he had to jump off it in order to allow a passenger to enter or alight.

=Monk Lewis.= The sobriquet of Matthew Gregory Lewis after he had published his celebrated novel, “The Monk,” in 1795.

=Monmouth.= The mouth of the Mon, the ancient description of which was _Mynwy_, “the border river.”

=Montague Place.= This, like the street close by, received its name from Montague House, the town mansion of the Dukes of Montague, in which the treasures of the British Museum were at first deposited pending the erection of the present edifice.

=Montague Square.= Like the street of the same name, this was designated in compliment to Mrs Montague of the “Blue Stocking Club,” who after the death of her husband resided in Portman Square.

=Mont Blanc.= French for “white mountain,” because it is eternally snow-clad.

=Montenegro.= Literally “black mountain.”

=Montepulciano.= A famous Italian wine produced at the ancient city of the same name.

=Montgomery.= After Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury, who obtained forcible possession of the castle erected on the height by the Lord of the Marshes in the time of William the Conqueror.

=Montreal.= So called from the admiring exclamation of Jacques Coutier, when in 1534 he viewed the surrounding country from its summit. The name is French for “Royal Mount.”

=Montserrat.= Expresses the Latin for a mountain serrated or jagged like a saw.

=Monumental City.= Baltimore, so called on account of its one hundred and four churches, the obelisk, etc., which it contains.

=Moonshiners.= The name given in the western states of America to illicit whisky distillers.

=Moonshine Whisky.= American whisky distilled under cover of night by “Moonshiners.”

=Moorfields.= See “Moorgate Street.”

=Moorgate Street.= From the postern gate in the Roman Wall leading to the moor beyond the fen lands or marshes of Finsbury known as Moorfields.

=Moors.= From the Latin _mauri_, and Spanish _moros_, “black.” Elsewhere denominated “Saracens,” these Arab conquerors of the peninsula were called by the Spaniards “Moriscoes.”

=Mop Fair.= The name given to a fair held a few days after the periodical Statute Fair for the hiring of farm servants. The dregs of the Statute Fair are then mopped or swept up.

=Moravia.= From the _Morava_, which name expresses a marsh or boundary river.

=Moravians.= The followers of John Huss, driven out of Bohemia and Moravia by religious persecutions early in the eighteenth century.

=Morgan Horse.= A favourite breed of American sporting horse descended from the animal owned by Justin Morgan, a schoolmaster of Randolph, Vermont, nearly a hundred years ago.

=Morgue.= So far from denoting a mortuary, this term really means the inner wicket of a prison, where the identification marks of new arrivals are taken before they have their cells and tasks assigned to them. It is therefore not incorrectly applied to the place of public examination and identification of the unknown dead.

=Morisonians.= A religious sect which separated from the Scottish Presbyterians in 1841, under the leadership of James Morison.

=Mormons.= A sect whose founder, Joseph Smith, claimed to have received a new revelation in “The Book of Mormon,” written on gold plates by the angel Mormon, the last of the Hebrew line of prophets, in 1827.

=Mornington Crescent.= After the Earl of Mornington, Governor-General of India, the brother of the Duke of Wellington.

=Morocco.= The territory of the Moriscoes or “Moors.”

=Morris Dance.= An ancient military dance of the Moriscoes or Moors of Spain introduced to England by John of Gaunt after his return from that country, _temp._ Edward III. Hence the companions of the “Jack in the Green” at the May Day festival always blackened their faces, and disported themselves in extravagant costumes, imitative of the flowing robes of the original dancers. See “Maid Marian.”

=Mortimer Street.= After Edward Harley, Earl of Wigmore and Mortimer, landlord of the estate in 1717.

=Mosaics.= So called because such inlaid work of stones was originally employed in the pavements of the temples of the Muses. The word is French _mosaique_, derived from the same Greek root as _Museum_.

=Moscow.= From the River _Moskwa_, on which the city was built.

=Moselle.= Wines produced at the vineyards on the banks of the French river of the same name.

=Moslem.= From the Arabic _Muslim_, “true believer,” through _Salama_, “to submit.” This term expresses the plural of “Mussulman” among the Persians. By the Turks “true believers” are styled “Moslemin.” There is no such word as “Mussul_men_” or “Mussul_mans_.”

=Mosquito.= From the Spanish _mosca_, a fly.

=Mosquito Coast.= A territory in Central America which, on account of its climate and the swampy nature of the land, is infested by mosquitoes.

=Mothering Sunday.= The Sunday in Mid-Lent when the members of a family in domestic service visit their parents and enjoy “Mothering Cakes” for tea. These cakes had their origin in offerings made to the “Mother Church” on the afternoon on this day.

=Mother Black Cap.= A public-house sign in Camden Town set up in opposition to the “Mother Red Cap” over the way. There never was a noted character of this name.

=Mother of Believers.= The name bestowed by Mohammedans upon Ayesha, the favourite wife of “The Prophet,” styled “The Father of Believers.” Mohammed himself declared that Ayesha was the only member of his family who cherished the slightest faith in his mission. His preference for his second wife, therefore, can be readily understood.

=Mother of Presidents.= Virginia, on account of the many Presidents which this state has given to the American Republic.

=Mother of South-Western Statesmen.= Tennessee, from the seventeen eminent Congressmen which this state has given to the Union.

=Mother of States.= Virginia, the pioneer British colony in the New World.

=Mother Red Cap.= An omnibus stage in Camden Town, the sign of which perpetuates the memory of a notorious London poisoner during the Commonwealth.

=Mother Shipton.= A noted hostelry at Haverstock Hill, built when the prophecies of this Welsh sorceress were the common talk of the day. Some of her less baneful predictions were actually verified; notably those as to ships ploughing the ocean without sails and vehicles careering along the road without horses. Is it possible that she had the motor car in her mind?

=Moulin Rouge.= Expresses the French for “Red Mill.”

=Mound City.= St Louis, on account of the numerous artificial mounds occupying its site at the time when the city was built.

=Mountain.= The extremists of the Democratic party in France during the Reign of Terror, so called because they occupied the elevated benches in the House of Convention.

=Mountain Dew.= An Irishman’s term for whisky, because it was often secretly distilled among the mountains in order to escape excise duty; hence the expression: “A drop o’ the cratur.”

=Mount Street.= On a natural mound the Parliamentary forces here erected a fort or bastion when the Royalists were expected to make an attack upon London from the west.

=Mrs Grundy.= A term expressive of the prudishness of the English character. It arose out of the line: “What will Mrs Grundy say?” in Thomas Morton’s drama, “Speed the Plough,” produced in 1798.

=Mudlarks.= The nickname of the Royal Engineers, whose function it is to throw up entrenchments.

=Muff.= This term was at first applied to an effeminate dandy who at one time, like the ladies, carried a muff to keep his hands warm in winter. This incapacitated him from defending himself with his sword against an unexpected attack at the hands of a street bully, and hence, as now, a _muff_ was easily taken advantage of, or likely to become a prey to the sharp-witted.

=Muff Dogs.= Small dogs carried by ladies in their muffs during the seventeenth century. A “muff dog” figures in an engraving by Hollar.

=Mug.= Slang for a man’s face. This arose out of the rude portraiture of Lord Shaftesbury or some other political celebrity which from the time of the Restoration to the middle of the eighteenth century adorned the yellow chinaware beer mugs at an alehouse, or Mug-House as it was called. These Mug-Houses were the first political clubs; out of them sprang the popular “Free and Easies” of modern times, and more recently the Music Halls.

=Muggletonians.= A religious sect headed by Ludovic Muggleton, a tailor, who proclaimed himself a prophet, in 1651.

=Mugwump.= An Indian word for “wise chief.” The Mugwumps of North America are the Democrats, whose political aims are above cliques or parties; therefore they refuse to be influenced by a “Caucus.”

=Mulatto.= From the Spanish _mulato_, a mixed breed, through _mulo_, a mule, the offspring of a white and a Negro.

=Mumm.= A strong German beer named after Christian Mumme, who first brewed it.

=Mummer.= Slang for an actor. This old English term, derived from the German _mumme_, a mask, was applied to the performers in a Christmas masque or buffoonery.

=Mummock.= An Americanism for handle, disarrange, or play with--_e.g._ “Don’t mummock things about.” The word is really obsolete provincial English for “maul.”

=Munich.= From the German _monchen_, monks. On the spot where the city stands some monks built a warehouse for the salt which they obtained in the neighbourhood. In the twelfth century Henry the Lion made this _Villa Minichen_, as it was then called, into a mint, and a town grew up around it.

=Munster Road.= From Munster House, the residence of Melesina Schulenberg, created Duchess of Munster by George II.

=Munster Square.= In honour of the eldest son of William IV., created Earl of Munster.

=Murphies.= Potatoes, the chief articles of consumption among the Irish peasantry. This term is current also in America.

=Muscadel.= French and Italian wines, so called from the Italian _muscado_, musk, nutmeg. Variants of this name are Muscatel and Muscadine.

=Muscatels.= Raisins exported from Muscat in the Gulf of Oman, Arabia.

=Muscovy Duck.= A corruption of “Musk duck,” a species larger than the common duck.

=Mush.= An Americanism for an umbrella.

=Musical Comedy Artiste.= The new pet name for a chorus girl.

=Musical Small-Coal Man.= The lifelong sobriquet of Thomas Britton of Aylesbury Street, Clerkenwell, where was his coal shed. He inaugurated Thursday evening concerts, that attracted fashionable enthusiasts from the West End. This worthy, though he earned his livelihood by crying small coals in the street, was a scholar, a musician, and a companion of gentlemen.

=Muslin.= Called by the French _Mousseline_, from Mosul in Asiatic Turkey, whence during the Middle Ages this fabric was sent to supply all the markets of Europe.

=Muss.= An Americanism for “mess,” used in the sense of a confusion or disorder. It is used also to imply a squabble or a reprimand--_e.g._ “I got into a dreadful muss this morning.”

=Mussulman.= See “Moslem.”

=Muswell Hill.= Properly “Mustwell Hill,” from the Latin _mustus_, fresh. On this hill there was discovered an ancient well of clear, fresh water, that belonged to the prior of St John’s Clerkenwell and Highbury, who had a dairy farm hereabouts.

=Mutes.= See “Undertaker.”

=Mutoscope.= A modern peep show, in which the figures move; living pictures, so called from the Latin _mutatis_, to change, and the Greek _skopein_, to view.

=Myddleton Square.= After Sir Hugh Myddleton, who at his own cost embarked upon the ruinous enterprise of constructing the New River from Chadwell in Hertfordshire, nearly forty miles distant, to London. One of the reservoirs occupies the enclosed portion of this square.

=My Eye.= An exclamation signifying “You dazzle me,” “You make me blink with astonishment.” Its American equivalent is briefly “My!”

=My Lady Nicotine.= The pretty name now generally applied to tobacco since the republication in book form of J. M. Barrie’s essays on smoking which originally appeared in the _St James’s Gazette_. See “Nicotine.”

=Mythology.= From the Greek _muthos_, a fable, and _logos_, a discourse. This was essentially a religion built upon fable.

=My Uncle.= The popular designation of a pawnbroker. See “Uncle.”

N

=Nailed.= Slang for “caught,” in allusion to being pinned down by the captors. Also a thing seized and made off with; a punning reference to “driving” a nail.

=Naked Possessor.= The Far West description of the possessor of a piece of land for a long period without a legal title to it. He is the naked possessor because his title is not clothed in a set form of words recognised by the Courts of Law.

=Nankeen.= Cotton stuff originally made at _Nankin_, in China.

=Nankin.= Expresses the Chinese for “Southern Capital.”

=Nanny Goats.= The nickname of the 23rd Foot on account of their regimental pet goat.

=Nantes.= A native brandy exported from Nantes in Brittany. The name is the Celtic for “valley.”

=Nap.= A game of cards, originally named after Napoleon I.

=Naples.= Called by the Greeks _Neapolis_, “New City.” The ancient name is better expressed when speaking of the inhabitants as “Neapolitans.”

=Napoleon.= A gold coin of France issued during the Consulate of Napoleon Bonaparte. This superseded the “Louis d’Or.”

=Narcissus.= This flower is fabled to have sprung up on the spot where the beautiful Grecian youth so called died of love-sickness.

=Naso.= The nickname given to Ovid on account of the length of his nose; hence “Ovidius Naso.”

=Nassau Street.= After the royal House of Nassau, to which William III., as Prince of Orange, belonged.

=Natal.= So called because the Portuguese navigator Vasco di Gama landed upon its shores on Christmas Day, or the Feast of the Nativity, 1498.

=Nation.= An Americanism for “damnation.”

=National Democrats.= Those in the United States whose principles are national as opposed to sect or party.

=Navvy.= Originally the name of a labourer employed in the construction of canals for inland navigation. An alehouse set up beside one of the earliest canals bore the sign of the “Navigation Inn,” and those who frequented it were called _Navigators_. This term soon became shortened into _Navvies_.