Latin words by their nearest English equivalent in sound and spelling. Proceeding on this plan a pupil represents 'sapiat quid vulva popinæ' by what the taste of the yellow poppy is'; vulva is something like fulvus, and if popina does not mean poppy it ought to. One dainty suggests another; an epicure translates 'si quis lectica nitidam gestare amet agnam' by 'if any one should like to taste fat lamb with lettuce'; gesto is not unlike gusto, and lectica is more like lettuce than anything else. The food of man may naturally lead our thoughts to the drink of the gods, which is said to be nectar; with this word a young Anglomaniac chanced not to be familiar, and so he stated véкTap to mean necktie, and soon afterwards gave 'flock' as the English of pλo. The Latin for flock is generally thought to be grex, and one boy asserted the ablative of this word to be greve, while another preferred gregore. Were rich gravy and Gregory painfully associated in the young minds? One would expect a boy of this kind to translate flocci' by 'flock,' but in this, as in other things, the unexpected always happens, and so 'flocci non faciam' appears as 'I not make wool.'

may

If some creatures carry wool, others carry hair: 'hairs from an ass' is an aggravated instance of this class of mistake; it does not adequately reproduce heres ex asse.' A donkey in this condition, i.e. after the removal of these hairs, might be called a defective donkey (some people, by the way, may not know that 'i.e.' means 'in English'). Verbs are sometimes spoken of as defective; one person defines such verbs as being 'those which hurt or defect anybody': his friend explained frequentative verbs to be those which have frequent changes of tenses.' Such constant change must somewhat perplex; these verbs must have much in common with locative cases, which are so called because

they move about.' Another authority derives locative from loquor, 'it is the speaking case;' presumably a sister to the

vocative.

'Terruit Auster euntes' seems a simple sentence, but an Anglomaniac can find difficulties; he makes it mean 'the rushing Austrian frightened them.' His position is not mentioned, he probably attacked them in front; such a position might be expressed by pre, which is rightly stated by one young scholar to mean before,' but he is not correct in saying that pretext ' means the text before the sermon.' Sermons may suggest cathedrals; in this connection mention may be made of an error into which a man fell in a cathedral. A country parson was taking

his choir round to see objects of interest; among other things they visited the tomb of a dean. One of the singing men who was in advance of the rest, said 'Oh, I see he died in the Crystal Palace.' The parson thinking this improbable, drew near to read the authority for the statement, and saw the words 'obdormivit in Christo placide.' He was enough of a student to know the meaning of the verb. The word student reminds one that 'omnes ratione regi student' has been translated by all men study the reason of the king.'

6

We have spoken of defective verbs; even Anglomania is defective sometimes; the patient's guessing power has been known to fail him in the very midst of a sentence, thus causing a classical aposiopesis, e.g. 'sororem tuam æstate reversuram esse non verisimile est,' 'sorrow in summer is like your

One cause of mistake is sheer confusion between two words which are somewhat alike. An extreme case is given in the statement, 'Tenus governs a dative'; for instance, 'tene illi homini, hold that man.' This might be a necessary precaution in case the man should take to flying into the council,' which was given as the English of 'fugiendi consilium capere.' Such an aeronaut might be able to 'journey towards the sun'; this marvel was attributed to a creature of whom the poet only says 'ingreditur solo.' Of some people it is asserted that they can because they can see'; the original says 'possunt quia posse videntur.' One boy expressly stated what he could see; 'I see Charles the Second king.' This did not appear likely: it afterwards transpired, as the papers say, that he was translating an inscription connected with a religious and ancient foundation, stating it to be 'auspicio Caroli Secundi regis'; perhaps he was the king whose reason all men studied.

The mention of royalty recalls an unfortunate association of words which turned a benevolent aspiration into something like a malignant imprecation:

Oh might I live to see thee grace

In Scotland Yard thy birthright place!

'a

A person spurred on by the last infirmity' whereof we have heard, hopes to find a 'fair guerdon'; a hungry boy stated this object of ambition to be a large flat thing that you broil upon '; he was apparently thinking of gridiron.' Another boy must have been in the pangs of hunger who wrote in answer to the question What makes the tower of Pisa lean? Because there was a sore famine in that land.' The Biblical form of this answer

reminds one that on a class being asked to quote from the Bible for the use of the verb 'hale' meaning to draw, one boy promptly said Hail, King of the Jews!

Among sentences which were to be corrected in a certain paper, occurred 'Qui leges paret is patriæ juvat.' One young scholar, either because he thought the passage perfect or hopelessly corrupt, chose to translate it instead, who brings forth laws orders his native country'; this statement, like some others, lacks lucidity, but it contains one word which is dear to all boys who love their dictionary, namely native country.' For this country it behoves us (to use another favourite) to fight well. It is true that páxopai means I fight,' and that opέap means 'a well,' but he who represented 'to fight well' by μáxɛodai opέap was literal rather than idiomatic; indeed, he might be charged with what a translator of Thucydides charged a distinguished predecessor in that field, namely hideous fidelity.'

Passages for what is facetiously called 'unseen "translation' present so many difficulties to young boys that it may be desirable to give, for their benefit, a verbatim report of one performance which is striking in its tenacity of purpose and audacity of imagination; even Humpty Dumpty could not order about words in more imperious fashion. Cæsar Cæsar, viderit was seen, cum with, suos complures his forces, ex out of, omnibus partibus all the parts, vulnerari he was wishing, ascendere to ascend, montem the mountain, ex but, cohortes the cohorts, oppidi were opposed, et simulatione very likely' (another boy translates this word by 'at the same time'), 'monium occupandorum by those who occupied it, jubet he orders them, tollere to raise, clamorem a shout, undique from all sides. Quo facto by whom having made, oppidani perterriti an opportunity for going through' (these latter words are thought by others to mean he perished on the opposite side,' or through the frightened townsmen'), cum with, quid those, in locis in these places, essent they were, reliquis left, suspensi in suspense, ageretur of change, revocant he calls together, ab impugnandis for fighting, operibus armatos the armies, disponunt they were placed, murisque from the walls. Ita thus, nostri prælii our battles, facta are done, opera the works, celeriter are running away, flamma comprehensa the inflammable comprehensity, partim a part, restinguunt is resting, partim a part, interscindunt being done away with.' Let us, like the 'part,'

rest also.

Claudite jam rivos, pueri.

THE

CORNHILL MAGAZINE.

JUNE, 1887.

THE GAVEROCKS.

A TALE OF THE CORNISH COAST.

BY THE AUTHOR OF JOHN HERRING,' 'MEHALAH,' ETC.

CHAPTER XXVI.

IN THE DUSK.

GERANS and his father returned to Towan on Saturday evening. The Mermaid' was run into the little port at Sandy Mouth, and secured, then both ascended the cliff, for home.

'What have we here?' asked the Squire, hats and sticks! That is the hat of Loveys-I know it, and there is Madame's umbrella. Her clogs also.'

'Dennis is also here,' said Gerans, 'I know his overcoat.'

'And that green umbrella belongs to the Misses Brendon,' said Hender Gaverock. There seems to be a party here.' He opened the door into the hall, and saw that the table was laid with glass, silver, preserves, pies, cold chicken, and adorned with flowers.

Old Gaverock laughed. Whilst the cat is away the mice are romping. I must take off my sea-togs and make myself presentable. You do the same, Gerans.'

'Where is Mrs. Rose Gaverock?' asked the young man of a servant. He was told that she was in her own room. Mrs. Gaverock was in the parlour with the company.

Gerans was disappointed. In his kindly, tender heart the words Rose had said to him before he left rankled. He tried to forget and bury them out of thought, but they worked up, like stones in a ploughed field. He was inclined to judge her VOL. VIII.-NO. 48, N.S.

26

charitably. She was accustomed to have her own way, and was impatient of opposition. When opposed, she fired up and said words which, doubtless, she afterwards repented having uttered, and which at the time they were spoken were exaggerations of her momentary feeling.

She had told him that she despised him, she had scoffed at his obedience to his father; but his conscience was clear; he had given way to his father because his father was in the right; surely Rose would have despised him if he had supported her in demanding and doing what was wrong. She did not mean what she said. Her words were the spluttering of sparks from a burning log of fir. The sparks scorched and marked where they fell, but were too small and powerless to ignite anything. Besides, Gerans had been accustomed to rough words from his father, all his life, which had gone with a good deal of affection. Nevertheless, the experience of stinging speeches from a woman's lips was new to Gerans, and was painful, partly because he believed them to be undeserved, chiefly because the speaker was very dear to him.

He had looked forward to his return, that he might be alone with Rose, and be completely reconciled. She would beg his pardon for what she had said, and he would caution her not to test her powers against those of the old Squire. He heard the buzz of voices in the parlour; he was glad she was in her own room; he could see her alone first, before she met the visitors. Their presence was not pleasant to him. He was not very well, and would have to remain in his own room; he must either withdraw her from the party downstairs, or remain the evening by himself.

'Why should she not keep me company?' he said. 'I would gladly do so, if she were ill. She will be pleased to be with me. A woman is happy to sacrifice something for the man she loves. She is not wanted in the parlour, for my mother is there, my father is going in, and my aunt is hostess in our house.'

He opened his dressing-room door and went in, and would have passed through into the bedroom beyond, but he heard Loveday's voice, within, speaking to Rose. The door of communication was ajar. There was another door into the bedroom from the corridor outside.

'You are longing for their return, I suppose.'

Oh dear, no!' answered Rose, not at all. I fairly skipped when their backs were turned. Loveday, there is nothing like marriage for making a girl sick of mankind.'