III. v. 6: Will you sterner be †Than he that dies and lives by bloody drops? The late lamented Dr. Ingleby, in his 'Shakespeare Hermeneutics' (p. 59), while acknowledging the good service done by the REV. W. R. ARROWSMITH (N. & Q.,' 1st S. vii. 542) in proving that the phrase "dies and lives was a recognized hysteron proteron," was far too acute to think that this was sufficient to solve the difficulty in the passage before us. "Mr. Arrowsmith," says Dr. Ingleby, "tells us that 'to die and live' means 'to subsist from the cradle to the grave.' Shakespeare's executioner, then, must have been initiated into his mystery' pretty early." But, with all deference, I do not think that Dr. Ingleby himself solves the difficulty when he gives as the solution, "The profession or calling of a man is that by which he 'dies and lives,' .e., by which he lives, and failing which he dies." Every one understands what is meant by living by a thing; but to speak of dying by a thing seems very strained and unnatural. But, in another sense, The common executioner Whose heart the accustomed sight of death makes hard, does indeed die, while he "lives by bloody drops." The horrible craft he plies turns his heart into stone, kills all that is human in him, and leaves him at last a man only in outward form. Perhaps, when he commenced his terrible trade, when he was still in some degree human, there might be meaning in the pardon which he begged ere he let the axe fall " upon the humbled neck "; but before long this would become a heartless' and unmeaning formality. Shakspeare knew well the meaning of death of soul. "There is thy gold," said Romeo to the apothecary, There is thy gold; worse poison to men's souls, printed "observance" I prefer obeisance," the one proposed by Ritson, (1) because it departs least from the cursus literarum; (2) because it is a Shakspearian word; (3) because it seems a fitting close to the list foregoing, as it were bowing assent to all. V. iv. 4: I sometimes do believe, and sometimes do not; †As those that fear they hope, and know they fear. Notwithstanding all supposed needed, and all attempted emendation, the wrongly suspected line still holds its place in the text; and may it do so for ever with all its truly Shakspearian conciseness and condensation! If hope were destitute of all elements of doubt or fear it would cease to be hope, and become assured expectation instead. We fear what we hope (what, or that which, supplies the ellipsis in the text), because while we hope we cannot rid ourselves of fear that the object of hope may be unattainable. The desired object is thus a source at once of hope and of fear. We know what we fear, inasmuch as hope implies a known want, which we fear may never be supplied. R. M. SPENCE, M.A. Manse of Arbuthnott, N.B. P.S.-II. vii. 70, Means or moans. After all there In Jamieson's 'Scottish Dictionary' I find, "To may be no misprint; means may mean moans. mean, to lament"; "To mene, meyne, meane, to be"To mene, meane, to make moan (Barbour)"; lamentation, to utter moans"; "Mene, mein, mane, I am much pleased to find, quite unmoaning." expectedly, this strong support to my interpretation of the passage in Shakspeare. 'MEASURE FOR MEASURE,' III. i. (7th S. v. 181, 382). There is no scene ii. to Act V. of 'The Comedy of Errors' in the Globe edition, but I Than these poor compounds that thou mayest not sell. presume that MR. CARLETON refers to the last IV. iii. 86: The boy is fair Of female favour, and bestows himself †Like a ripe sister. I speech of the abbess, which is thus given by Thirty-three years have I but gone in travail The Globe suspects "ripe," and with reason. cannot believe Shakespeare ever penned the word. Surely this makes better sense than either "are" or "Ripe" might be an epithet applicable to a dame" is," whatever the Folio has. Would it be imper66 fair, fat, and forty," but not to Rosalind. The context suggests to me what I believe to be the proper word: The boy is fair, Of female favour, and bestows himself I. e., he is so feminine in look and bearing that he tinent to ask MR. CARLETON for an instance of 'HENRY V., ACT IV. (7th S. vi. 84).-MR WATKISS LLOYD (my old acquaintance, though of so many years ago that he will hardly recognize the fact) writes respecting Theobald's suggested emendation in the fourth act of Shakespeare's 'Henry V.,' ,"Then, mean and gentle all," &c. (inter alia, respecting which I agree with him) that he (Theobald) was wrong in the notion-in Of the many substitutions for the manifestly mis- which, strange to say, Dyce concurs—that the poet V. iii. 104: +All purity, all trial, all observance. could address his audience with the distinction of "mean and gentle" and so insult half of them. I think it a mistake to suppose that the audience Shakespeare addressed would have felt or imagined such a distinction to have implied any insult or even disparagement at all. Nowadays, when every man is a gentleman, or at the very least a gent, an audience would probably resent such a form of address. But in Shakespeare's day a man knew himself to be (socially) what he was, and had no pretence to be anything else. Men were "gentle" or "simple": "="mean." The fact was indisputable, and there was no offence in stating it; no more offence than is felt in the present day (though how it may be fifty years hence is questionable) in the case of an orator who addresses his audience as 'My lords and gentlemen." Т. А. Т. SCOTCH MINING TERMS. Hasson or hassing, a vertical gutter between water-rings in a shaft. Evidently from hass, the throat, which is common in place-names to denote a narrow pass. Joug or jugg, an iron collar put round the neck of disobedient miners in old times. The jougs need no comment. When I was a child going to church for the first time I well remember being threatened with the "gorgets" if I did not sit still. But not even the oldest inhabitant could tell me what the "gorgets" were; and it was not till long afterwards that I discovered that "jougs" and " gorgets" were the same, and that in my native parish the name of the thing had outlived the memory of it. 66 " Kain coal, produce of the mine as, or towards, payment of rent. Kain was a Celtic exaction dating from pre-feudal times, a species of tribute paid in kind from the produce of the soil to the laird. Such payments, for example, in cheese and A Glossary of Scotch Mining Terms,' compiled poultry, known as cane cheese and cane by James Barrowman, mining engineer, secretary fowls," were common. Naturally enough, in to the Mining Institute of Scotland (Hamilton, W. mining districts the "cane" was sometimes paid Naismith, 1886), contains many curious and sug-in coal. Poultry was, however, the commonest gestive words, of which I have noted and annotated a few. Technical language has many sources. Part of it consists of old words, in the common Vocabulary of an earlier generation, but now astricted to a special class and used in a special sense. Part consists of modern every-day words specialized or figuratively employed. It is not necessary for my purpose to touch upon other sources, such as the adoption of foreign terms and the invention of compound terms from classic languages. My selections bear upon the two sources first referred to, and begin with some old words. The definitions are either quoted or condensed from the 'Glossary,' but beyond the definitions Mr. Barrowman must not be held responsible :Air-gate, air course. Recalls the old sense of gate, a road. Clack, the fixed or stationary valve of a pump. This may be the same as clack, the clapper of a mill. Corf, a hutch or tram of wicker-work once used to carry coals. Scotch corf, a basket. Dander, ashes. Seldom heard of now except from American humourists. "My dander ris," they say, meaning that the embers of their anger glowed. medium in all districts, and is frequently stipulated for in old charters and leases. A modified form of the practice survives. Recently I examined the titles of a Lanarkshire property, in which a commuted allowance for "cane fowls" was a burden upon the lands. Over and above the money payment in chief for ground rent or feu duty there was payable 51. 18s. Scots as the cash equivalent of seven capons and eight hens, besides a further sum as "knaveship" to an adjacent mill. Perquisites die hard. Mash, a double-headed hammer for breaking coals. Mash as a verb means “to pound small." From it a curious metaphor has given us a name for that product of this enlightened age known as a "masher." 8 Shangie, a ring of straw or hemp put round a jumper to prevent the water in the bore-hole from squirting up. Shangie, defined by Jamieson as shackle that runs on the stake to which a cow is bound in the byre," has travelled from the byre to the pit. Steg, to stop or retard. Steg the cleek, to retard or stop the winding, to stop the work. Steg, associated with cleek, a hook, seems to indicate some archaic mode of working. I do not remember the word steg occurring elsewhere. Fang. A pump "loses the fang" when so much air passes the bucket that a vacuum cannot be made. Fang-grip had begun to acquire a figur- Stoup and thirl, system of mining known geneative meaning as early as the days of Edward the rally as "stoup and room," in which mineral is exConfessor, when Infangentheof had become a well-tracted in galleries, leaving pillars to support the known jurisdiction of landowners. Harrie or herrie. To harrie pillars is to take what coal can conveniently be got without systematically removing the whole. Harry, to plunder, is English. Herrie is the schoolboy's technicality in Scotland for robbing birds' nests. roof. To thirl is to drill or perforatę. Who does not remember the story old historians tell of Thirlwall Castle, in Northumberland? Here Fordun says the great Roman wall was broken through by the Scots, for Thirlwall, he says, is just "Murus perforatus." Wyntown records the same circum stance and deduces the same conclusion (bk. v. the oath, and the woman's body disappeared in the 1. 3251):rapidly rising masonry. After that the wall remained solid as a rock." And yhit men callys it Thryl Wal. My concluding selections will consist mainly of more modern words. Glasgow. (To be continued.) "The origin of literary journals was the project of Denis de Sallo, a counsellor in the parliament of Paris. In 1665 appeared his Journal des Scavans, which he published in the name of his footman. This was 80 successful that it was imitated throughout Europe, and translated into many languages. Yet the criticism of Sallo was full of asperity and malignant wit, and thus excited murmurs on all sides from authors, so that at the conclusion of his third volume Sallo was compelled to cast down his biting pen. Sallo was followed by KIRK-GRIMS.-There is an interesting article on the Abbé Gallois, who was as insipidly mild as his prethis subject in the Cornhill Magazine for February, extracts from the works which he noticed. Bayle, in decessor was waspishly severe he confined himself to 1887. The writer-anonymous-traces the rise of 1684, undertook his Nouvelles de la Republique des the widespread superstition that it is most unlucky Lettres. He possessed the happy art of presenting the to be the first to enter a new building or to cross reader with the main features of books which came over a newly-erected bridge to the fact that in very under review. It is said of him that 'he wreathed the remote times the foundations of any building were and in his later volumes he forsook the path in which rod of criticism with roses'; but yet he failed to satisfy, laid in blood. Something living was offered as a he had set out. He gave to the world thirty-six small sacrifice, and traditions show that animals, and even volumes of criticism, the last published in 1687. The human beings, were slaughtered for the purpose of work was continued by Bernard, and afterwards with strengthening buildings with their blood. The more success by Basnage. Le Clerc was the contemceremony of laying bottles containing coins in the porary of Bayle, and his antagonist. He gave to the foundation-stone of any building about to be-Universelle et Historique, Choisie, and Ancienne et world eighty-two volumes, comprising three Bibliothèques erected is a lingering form of the old sacrifice- Moderne. Gibbon referred to Le Clerc's volumes as an coins taking the place of animals as they in their inexhaustible source of amusement and instruction.' turn were substitutes for human victims. Beausobre and L'Enfant wrote a Bibliothèque Germanique, from 1720 to 1740, in fifty volumes. The Bibliothèque Britannique contains an account of English books from 1373 to 1747. It contains twenty-three volumes, published at the Hague. The Journal Britannique exhibits a view of English literature from 1750 to 1755; it was edited by Dr. Matz, a foreign physician, residing in London. Our own early journals notice but few publications. The original Monthly Review commenced in 1749, and was the mother of our reviews." I am indebted to an old volume of the now defunct Family Friend for the above, which may possibly interest some of the many readers of and contributors to 'N. & Q.,' and is worthy of rescue in its In Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and North Germany, some animal is traditionally associated with every church. This is the "Kirk Grim," the goblin apparition of the beast buried under the foundation-stone. The writer of the article in question says that in Devonshire two white sows yoked together by a silver chain were the "Kirk Grims" of the church of his own parish; to another church belonged a black dog; to a third a ghostly calf; to a fourth a white lamb. What churches are these? In Yorkshire the "Kirk Grim" is said to be usually a huge black dog. The following story is told of a church in England, though, unfortunately, the writer of the article alluded to is unable to name it : "Three masons who were engaged in building this church found on returning to their work each morning that the portion of the wall which they had completed the previous day had fallen during the night. The head mason informed his comrades one morning that he had dreamt that their labours would continue to come to naught unless they vowed that day to immure in the structure the first woman-wife or sister-that should arrive with the morning meal for one or other of them. They all took the oath; and the last mason had hardly been sworn before the head mason's own wife appeared on the scene, bringing her husband's breakfast. He kept pages. Manchester. J. B. S. INDIFFERENT.-It may be well to note the great change which in the course of two or three centuries has come over the meanings of several words which we have adopted from the Latin. Take, for instance, the word named above. The Times on Aug. 13, wrote: "We have no doubt whatever that Scottish judges and juries will administer indifferent justice.' He meant, of course, "impartial." But a Glasgow correspondent, supposing that he meant it in its modern sense of "poor and second rate," called the Times to task. Whereupon another correspondent quotes the following passage from Bishop Hooper's If I mistake not, however, the words "may 'EASTWARD Ho,' FIRST EDITION.-Two leaves of this edition, with the afterwards suppressed passages, are inserted in Dyce's copy-now in the South Kensington Museum-of the next edition, if it be really a next edition. These leaves, however, are insufficient to determine whether this was the case, or whether, according to Collier's very likely conjecture, the unsold copies of the first edition had two or more leaves cut away, the text of these reprinted, less the obnoxious passages, and the copies thus altered reissued. On this last supposition, that A, B, was but one edition of unaltered and altered copies, there were still editions C and D in 1605. But, as I have said, A and B may have been separate editions, and, having failed in my search, I would-that I may determine this point-gladly learn whether any copy containing the suppressed passages exists, and where. I have spoken of" suppressed passages" because, besides the known one, that against the Scots, there is in the same speech a passage that was altered at the same time. In edition A it ran, "[In Virginia] you may be a nobleman, and never be a slave," an unpleasant hit at James's nobility. Hence in B (the altered copies or the possible second edition) "nobleman was altered to "any other officer "—any other, that is, than an alderman. It may be added that, except in misprints and in the addition or otherwise of "and" or the like, the texts of B, C, and D are identical, as, with the exception of the two afterwards suppressed and altered passages, was A. But editions A, B, and C, by various means of compression, finished on H 4 verso, but such was the run on the copies that edition D was allowed to extend to 1 4 verso-that is, to one sheet more. BR. NICHOLSON. ...... wich. By a Young Lady, daughter of the said Clergyman." It is to be gathered from the letter, which is in rhyme, that ......, Esq., was a visitor at the house of his friend the clergyman, and, taking advantage of the reverend gentleman's attendance at divine service, he abducted his host's only daughter, the authoress of the epistle, who, by the way, was motherless. The clergyman upon his return home and finding his daughter gone (I will now quote from the lines)— Struck with the dismal news in wild despair My conscience wounded, owns the horrid guilt, On thee he calls for vengeance from above, And prays that Heaven his curses will approve; Then in the anguish of his wild despair Renounces every hope and every fear; No longer able to sustain the strife, With furious haste he rushes out of life. Nor even here must end the tragic scene; What savage cruelty must govern men ! His lifeless corse, with blood all over dy'd, The Christian rites of burial is deny'd; And, like the carcase of a dog, is thrust Into a hole to mingle with the dust. And then, O shocking! to complete the woe, A pointed stake must pierce his body through. I take it from the foregoing lines that......, Esq., deserted his victim-in fact, the tone of the whole 'Epistle' declares it-and I suppose I may further assume that the deceased clergyman was awarded the burial of a felo de se. I have made most exhaustive inquiry in this city for any record of the affair, but can trace nothing. Is it merely a romance; or can any of your readers give the names of the dramatis personæ, and afford me any further details? GEO. C. PRATT. Grapes Hill, Norwich. SNOW IN JULY. but in the Lake district a few days ago (30th) snow fell so (See 7th S. PAMPHLET RELATING TO NORWICH.-In searching the catalogues of the British Museum, s. v. POPULAR NOTIONS OF ECLIPSES. "Norwich," I recently came across a quarto pam-vi. 125.)—It is not to be wondered at that in an phlet, London, 1750, designated, "T***** Ingrati- unscientific age even such a man as Evelyn should tude, an Epistle to ..., Esq." I read it through, have had vague notions of an eclipse of the sun. and considered it sufficiently interesting to tran- Last year I was staying in a country house in scribe, and I shall be glad if you will allow me to Surrey where some of the young people who had ask one or two questions through N. & Q.' with just "finished their education" (!) were describing regard to the authoress of the epistle and fuller having got up early on August 19 and seen the details of the sad affair narrated, if it really be total eclipse of the sun. I said to them "I supfounded on fact, as alleged in the opening lines, pose you saw just a notch out of the sun." which run thus after......, Esq., " occasioned by no," was the reply, "it was a total eclipse." "But," the late sad Catastrophe of a Clergyman at Nor-I said, "it wasn't a total eclipse in England; "Oh, DICTIONARY DESIDERATA.-We want mention of "Cheddar cheese" before 1721. There was a Cheddar Club of dairy farmers in the preceding century. We want cheek impudence before 1840, and examples of cheeky, cheekiness before 1850; also of "to one's own cheek"=all to one's self, before 1850, and "quite the cheese" before 1850. 'N. & Q.' (4th S. v. 342) touched on "Charley," the old city watch, attributing the name to Charles I., who remodelled the body. Is there any confirmation of this guess; and is the word to be found before Vaux's 'Flash Dictionary' of 1812? Charger, war-horse, has been sent to us from Smollett and Gibbon. J. A. H. Murray. CHOIR-Can any one furnish an example of this word, so spelt, before the eighteenth century? It need not be said that later reprints afford no evidence. My earliest example of this modern spelling is a case in point. Ray (Wisdom of God in Creation,' pt. i., 1692) speaks of "a Quire of Planets." In the fourth edition, 1704, I find this altered to "Choire." I beg for direct replies. C. B. MOUNT. 14, Norham Road, Oxford, GLASGOW ANTIQUITIES.-In the archæological collection in the Bishop's Castle at the Glasgow Exhibition (No. 761) is a part of a crozier found in the "Tomb (so called) of St. Kentigern in the Cathedral about 1800." It is known that this fragment of crozier was dug out early in this century by William Bullock, the well-known naturalist and collector, and that he also got from the tomb the metal crook of the crozier and an episcopal ring. Can any one tell me what has become of these articles? They are not in the Catalogue of Bullock's collection, sold by himself in London in 1819, of which there is a copy in the British Museum. J. O. M. WHITE ELEPHANT.-Who is the authority for the proverbial story that the kings of Siam are accustomed to present a white elephant to any person whom they wish to ruin? It does not seem likely to be founded on fact; but the universal currency of the allusion to it suggests that it must have been told by some widely popular author. H. BRADLEY. NOTE IN ROGERS'S 'ITALY.'-Some reader may possibly be able to inform me what is the note on the Transfiguration in the 18mo. edition of Rogers's Italy,' p. 366, referring to the line that begins "Then on that masterpiece." I can state as a matter of certainty that the above edition is not in the Library of the British Museum, and I cannot find the above note in any other edition that I have consulted. J. P. MALLET. ROSS AND SUTHERLAND.-In the MS. "Cronicle of the Earles of Ross" at Dunrobin it is stated that "Hucheon Ross marryed the Earle of Sutherland's Daug callit Janet Sutherland, her moy beand the Earle of Orkney's Daug' callit Ellen Sinclaire." This statement agrees with the printed 'Balnagown Cronicle.' Who was this Earl of Sutherland, and what is known of this daughter? A search was kindly made for me at Dunrobin, but no trace of the marriage or of the lady could be found. Hugh Ross lived circa 1398-1450. In 1456 John of Balnagown, his son, paid a debt to Alexander of Sutherland, laird of Dunbeth. Was his mother of this family, and not daughter of an Earl of Sutherland? F. N. R. NONSENSE VERSES.-Can any one tell me where I could find some nonsense verses, repeated to me ORIGIN OF FUNERAL CUSTOM.-The husband of many years ago, about a walk taken in London by Nanny Nob and Sir Erasmus Shoot Eye? a lady living in Lancashire recently died. As soon Leeds. Is West Gate, Southampton. H. W. MAYES. PEGGE OR PEGG.-A branch of this familywhich has been somewhat widely scattered in Derbyshire and parts of Staffordshire and Lei cestershire, and of which some pedigrees were published in the Journal of the Derbyshire Archæo |