Replies to Minor Queries.
Chatterton (Vol. vii., p. 189.).—J. M. G. informs N. B. that he is possessed of the whole of the late Mr. Hazlewood's collection of volumes, tracts, and cuttings from periodicals, published during the period when the Rowleian and Chattertonian
controversy engrossed so much of public criticism and dispute.
He has likewise various other articles relating to Chatterton, both in print and manuscript, collected during many years that he was resident at and connected with Bristol, which then naturally interested him in the subject. But what would be of far greater use to N. B. in ascertaining who was the author of the Rowleian poems, is an essay in manuscript, recently furnished to J. M. G. by a gentleman now resident in Bristol, whose ancestors were acquainted with Chatterton's family, and who has in this document shown, not only great archæological research, but has thrown much new light upon various disputed points both relative to Chatterton's relations and friends, which go far to settle the opinion, that the venerable Rowley, and not the boy Chatterton, was the writer of the poems.
J. M. G. is afraid that this subject is one, the revival of which would fail to interest the public mind, or he might be induced to publish the essay, to which he has reason to believe that its author would give his consent; and should J. M. G. again raise the controversy by sending to "N. & Q." any detached parts, he is apprehensive that the subjects of them would not meet with the attention they formerly would have done.
J. M. G.
Worcester.
Princes' Whipping-boys (Vol. v., pp. 468. 545.).—In your publication are notices respecting two whipping-boys, Edward Browne and William Murray, who both endured punishment for the offences of English princes. I, however, think it not improbable such infliction was perpetrated in other kingdoms, and perhaps in Spain, for the improvement of Philip III. or some such worthy scion of royalty. Le Sage, who was a most incomparable observer of men and manners, has, in his admirable novel of Gil Blas, introduced, with purely natural humour, and in his style so naïf, an instance of such mode of correction. In livre 5ième, chap. i., there is the history of Don Raphaël, who at twelve years of age was selected by the Marquis de Leganez to be the companion of his son of the same age, who "ne paraissait pas né pour les sciences," and scarcely knew a letter of his alphabet. The story goes on with describing various endeavours of his masters to induce him to apply to his studies, but without success: till at last the Précepteur thought of the expedient to give le fouet to young Raphaël whenever the little Leganez deserved it; and this he did without mercy, till Raphaël determined to elope from the roof of the Marquis de Leganez: and in some degree to revenge himself for all the injustice he had suffered, took with him all the argent comptant of the Précepteur, amounting to one hundred and fifty ducats. In concluding, I may observe that there is a very neat edition of Gil Blas lately published in Paris, with illustrated vignettes by Gigoux, one of which represents the Précepteur operating upon the unfortunate Raphaël:
"... horribili sectêre flagello."—Hor.
and young Leganez looking on seemingly unconcerned!
Θ.
Richmond.
"Grub Street Journal" (Vol. vii., p. 108.).—Some particulars relating to this work are given in Drake's Essays on the Rambler, &c., vol. i. p. 66.
F. R. A.
"Pinch of Snuff" (Vol. vi., p. 431).—I have been informed by a gentleman conversant in literary matters, that the author or compiler of this little volume was Benson Earle Hill, formerly an officer in the artillery, but at the time of his death (circa 1842-3) a performer or prompter at one of the theatres in the Strand.
I may here mention another humorous little work, closely allied to the above, and entitled A Paper of Tobacco; treating of the Rise, Progress, Pleasures and Advantages of Smoking: with Anecdotes of distinguished Smokers, Mems. on Pipes and Tobacco-boxes: and a Tritical Essay on Snuff. By Joseph Fume. 2nd ed., with additions. Lond. Chapman and Hall, 1839. 12mo. It contains six spirited and characteristic etchings by "Phiz," besides several woodcuts; and is a very amusing book, well worthy of being enlarged, for which there are ample materials both in prose and rhyme.
F. R. A.
Race for Canterbury (Vol. vii., p. 219.).—J. F. infers that Hoadley was a competitor with Herring and Gibson for the archiepiscopal throne after the death of Bishop Potter, because he is mentioned in some lines under the woodcut broadside in his possession. He may also find him alluded to in the last lines of the other print in his possession:
"Then may he win the prize who none will oppress,
And the palace at Lambeth be Benjamin's mess."
Benjamin being Benjamin Hoadley.
I have two other prints upon this subject, besides the three mentioned by J. F. In one which has the title "For Lambeth," the bishop in the most distant boat has dropt his oars, sits with his arms across, looks very sulky, and exclaims, "Damn my scull."
The other is entitled "Haw'y Haw'y L—b-th Haw'y." Three bishops, as in the others, are rowing towards Lambeth: a fourth, approaching in an opposite direction, is rowing "against tide." In the foreground are two groups. In one, two noblemen are addressing three competing bishops: "Let honour be the reward of virtue, and not interest." One bishop says: "I give it up till
next." Another holds a paper, inscribed "10,000l. for it." In the other group, two noblemen are promising to different bishops. Another bishop is fighting his way through boatmen; and two persons are running forward as candidates for an archdeaconry or dean of arches. Underneath are two lines:
"Sculls, sculls to Lambeth! see how hard they pull 'em!
But sure the Temple's nearer much than Fulham."
Temple alluding to Sherlock, Fulham to Gibson.
Underneath this print, some one, perhaps Horace Walpole, mistaking the date and the subject, has written:
"The man whose place they thought to take
Is still alive, and still a Wake."
There is still another print entitled "Lambeth," where three bishops are rowing from Lambeth, with the word "Disappointed" under them. A fourth is rowed towards Lambeth by a waterman, who exclaims "Your're all Bob'd!"
Edw. Hawkins.
Chichester Pallant (Vol. vii., p. 206.).—Chichester, I need not say, is of Roman foundation, and has several marks of its Roman origin; the little stream that runs through it is called the Lavant, evidently from lavando. The Pallant, the chief quarter of the town, and, of old, a separate jurisdiction, was called "Palatinus sive Palenta." "Palantia, Palatinatus," says Ducange, "jurisdictio ejus qui habet jus lites decidendi supremo jure." The Pallant of Chichester is not to be confounded with the Bishop's Palace. It is in a different district, and was, no doubt, from Roman times, a separate palatine jurisdiction.
C.
Scarfs worn by Clergymen (Vol. vii., pp. 143. 215.).—As Mr. Jebb has intervened voluntarily in this question, not merely as an inquirer or reasoner, but as an evidence to facts, I hope I may be allowed to ask him his authority for the distinction "between broad and narrow scarfs." After this assertion as to the fact, he adds his own personal authority of having "in his boyhood heard mention made of that distinction." As I do not know his age, I would beg to ask when and where he heard that mention; and to make my inquiry more clear, I would ask whether he has any (and what) authority for the fact of the distinction beyond having "in his boyhood heard mention of it?" We must get at the facts before we can reason on them.
C.
Alicia Lady Lisle (Vol. vii., p. 236.).—The lady referred to was Alice, or Alicia, daughter and coheir of Sir White Beconsawe: she was beheaded at Winchester, 1685. The jury by whom she was tried had, it is stated, thrice acquitted her; but the judge, that disgrace to human nature, Jefferies, insisted upon a conviction. Her husband was John Lisle the regicide, a severe republican, and one of the Protector's lords. An account of the family will be found in Curious Memoirs of the Protectorate House of Cromwell, vol. i. p. 273.
The family of the present Lord Lisle, whose family name is Lysaght, and elevated to the peerage of Ireland in 1758, has nothing to do with that of the republican court.
Respecting the old baronies of Lisle, full accounts will be found in the admirable report of the claim to that barony by Sir Harris Nicolas, one of the counsel for the claimant, Sir John Shelley Sidney: 8vo. Lond. 1829.
G.
Major-General Lambert (Vol. vii., p. 237.).—Major-General Lambert appears, from a meagre memoir of him given in the History of Malham in Yorkshire, by Thomas Hursley: 8vo. 1786, to have descended from a very ancient family in that county. According to the register of Kirkby Malhamdale, he was born at Calton Hall, in that parish, 7th of September, 1619, and lost his father at the age of thirteen. On the 10th of September, 1639, he married Frances, daughter of his neighbour Sir William Lister, of Thornton, in Craven, then in her seventeenth year, and said to have been a most elegant and accomplished lady. Nothing seems to be known as to the precise time or place of the death of Lambert or his wife, beyond the tradition of his having been imprisoned in Cornet Castle, in the island of Guernsey, after the Restoration, and that he remained in confinement thirty years. His marriage is confirmed in the account of Lord Ribblesdale's family in Collins' Peerage, vol. viii. edition Brydges. John Lambert, son and heir of the major-general, married Barbara, daughter of Thomas Lister, of Arnoldsbigging, and had by her three sons, who all died v. p., and one daughter, who was the wife of Sir John Middleton, of Belsay Castle, in Northumberland, and became the heir-general of her family. Pepys speaks of Lady Lambert in 1668.
Perhaps these very imperfect notices may elicit further information,—on which account only can they be worthy of a place in "N. & Q."
Braybrooke.
Mistletoe (Vol. iii., pp. 192. 396.).—In addition to the trees, on which the mistletoe grows, mentioned by "the late learned Mr. Ray" in the quotation cited by Dr. Wilbraham Falconer, I subjoin others named in Jesse's Country Life, some of which I have had opportunities of verifying viz., horse-chestnut; maple (Acer opalus, A. rubrum, A. campestre); poplar (Populus alba, P. nigra, P. fastigiata); acacia, laburnum, pear; large-leaved sallow (Salix caprea); locust tree (Robinia pseudo-acacia); larch, Scotch fir, spruce fir; service tree (Pyrus domestica); hornbeam
(Carpinus ostrya); Loranthus Europæus (itself a parasite); olive, vine, walnut, plum, common laurel, medlar, grey poplar. The localities and authorities are stated.
In answer to your correspondent Ache, I may add, that the opinion of recent botanists is contrary to Sir Thomas Browne's notion with reference to the propagation of the seed; for it is known that the seeds, in germinating, send their radicles into the plant to which they are attached; and grow afterwards as true parasites, selecting certain chemical ingredients in preference to others. The mistletoe has never been known to grow in Ireland; but its frequency in various parts of the world—in France, Italy, Greece, and parts of Asia—has been remarked by travellers. Its use seems to be to provide food for birds during those rare seasons of scarcity, when a very sparing supply of other fruits and seeds can be procured.
Robert Cooke.
Scarborough.
The Sizain (Vol. vi., p. 603.; Vol. vii., p. 174.).—I know not whether any one of the sizains you have published may be the original, from which all the others must be considered as imitations or parodies; but they bring to my mind an English example, which I met with many years ago in some book of miscellanies. I do not recollect whether the book in question attributed it to any particular author; who, I presume, must have been some staunch adherent for Protestant ascendancy in the early part of the last century:
"Our three great enemies remember,
The Pope, the Devil, and the Pretender.
All wicked, damnable, and evil,
The Pope, the Pretender, and the Devil.
I wish them all hung on one rope,
The Devil, the Pretender, and the Pope."
Since writing the foregoing, the following has been dictated to me from recollection; which may be referred to about the period of George III.'s last illness:
"You should send, if aught should ail ye,
For Willis, Heberden, or Baillie.
All exceeding skilful men,
Baillie, Willis, Heberden.
Uncertain which most sure to kill is,
Baillie, Heberden, or Willis."
M. H.
Venda (Vol. vii., p. 179.).—This word, in Portuguese, signifies a place where wine and meat are sold by retail in a tavern. It also appears to answer to the Spanish Venta, a road-side inn; something between the French and English inn, and the Eastern caravansaries. In the places which C. E. F. mentions, Venda in Portugal is like Osteria in Italy, of which plenty will be seen on the plains of the Campagna at Rome.
T. K.
Meaning of "Assassin" (Vol. vii., p. 181.).—We owe this word to the Crusaders, no doubt; but Muhammed will find a very interesting account of the word in the Rev. C. Trench's admirable little work On the Study of Words. See also Gibbon's Decline and Fall, chap. lxiv.; to which, if I remember rightly, Mr. Trench also refers.
R. J. S.
If Muhammed would take the trouble of looking into the translation of Von Hammer's Geschichte der Assassinen, or, a more common book, The Secret Societies of the Middle Ages, he would find that there was "a nation of the assassins;" and that his idea of the derivation of the name, which was first indicated by De Sacy, is the received one.
T. K.
Dimidium Scientiæ (Vol. vii., p. 180.).—Mr. B. B. Woodward will find Lord Bacon's sententia, "Prudens interrogatio quasi dimidium scientiæ," in his De Augmentis Scientiarum, lib. v. cap. iii., "Partitio Inventivæ Argumentorum in Promptuariam et Topicam."
Bibliothecar. Chetham.
Epigrams (Vol. vii., p. 175.).—The true version of the epigram on Dr. Toe, which I heard or read about fifty years ago, is as follows:
"'Twixt Footman John and Doctor Toe,
A rivalship befel,
Which should become the fav'rite beau,
And bear away the belle.
"The Footman won the Lady's heart;
And who can wonder? No man:
The whole prevail'd against the part,—
'Twas Foot-man versus Toe-man."
Perhaps the "John" ought to be "Thomas;" for I find, on the same page of my Common-place Book, the following:
"Dear Lady, think it no reproach,
It show'd a generous mind,
To take poor Thomas in the coach,
Who rode before behind.
"Dear Lady, think it no reproach,
It show'd you lov'd the more,
To take poor Thomas in the coach,
Who rode behind before."
Scrapiana.
Use of Tobacco before the Discovery of America (Vol. iv., p. 208.).—Sandys, in the year 1610, mentions the use of tobacco as a custom recently introduced, at Constantinople, by the English. (See Modern Traveller.) Meyen, however, in his Outlines of the Geography of Plants, as translated for the Ray Society, says:
"The consumption of tobacco in the Chinese empire is of immense extent, and the practice seems to be of great antiquity; for on very old sculptures I have observed the very same tobacco pipes which are still used. Besides, we now know the plant which furnishes the Chinese tobacco: it is even said to grow wild in the East Indies. It is certain that the tobacco plant of Eastern Asia is quite different from the American species."
This is the opinion of a botanist at once distinguished for extensiveness of research and accuracy of detail; although Mr. J. Crawford, in a paper read before the Statistical Society, on the 15th of November, 1852, seems to incline to a contrary notion. It is, however, necessary to remark that his facts tend rather to elucidate the statistics of the plant than its natural character, so that Meyen's opinion must, I think, stand good until it be disproved.
Seleucus.
Oldham, Bishop of Exeter (Vol. vii., p. 189.).—Perhaps it may help J. D. in his difficulty touching the difference between the coat of arms borne by Oldham, Bishop of Exeter, and that borne by the Oldham family at Hatherleigh, to be informed of what I believe he will find, upon inquiry, to be the fact, viz. that Laing was the original name of the present family of Oldham at Hatherleigh; and that, consequently, the arms of Laing may possibly still be borne by them.
* *
Oxford.
Bishop Hugh Oldham, B.C.L., was one of the family of Oldenham, of Oldenham, co. Lancaster, which gave for arms, Sable, between three owls arg., a chevron or: in chief, of the third, three roses, gules. Richard Oldham, Bishop of Sodor, was Abbot of Chester in 1452.
Hugh was born in Goulburn Street, Oldham, and educated at Exeter College, Oxford, and at Queen's College, Cambridge: he was Rector of St. Mildred's, Bread Street, Sept. 19, 1485; Swineshead, February 3, 1493; Wareboys, March 31, 1499; Shitlington, August 17, 1500; Vicar of Cheshunt, July 27, 1494; Overton, April 2, 1501; Canon of St. Stephen's, Westminster, 1493; Prebendary of South Aulton in Sarum, September, 1495; of Newington in St. Paul's, March 11, 1496; of South Cave in York, August 26, 1499; Archdeacon of Exeter, February 16, 1503; Chaplain to Margaret, Countess of Richmond, and Master of St. John's, Lichfield, 1495; and St. Leonard's Hospital, Bedford, January 12, 1499.
He was the founder of Manchester High School, and was consecrated between December 29 and January 6, 1504. He was a great benefactor to Corpus Christi College in Oxford; and the intimate friend of Bishop Smyth, co-founder of Brasenose College, with whom he had been brought up in the household of Thomas, Earl of Derby. He died June 25, 1519, and was buried in St. Saviour's Chapel in Exeter Cathedral.
These notes are taken from a MS. History of the English Episcopate, which it is my hope to give to the public.
Mackenzie Walcott, M.A.
Tortoiseshell Tom Cat.—I am pretty certain that I once saw in "N. & Q." an inquiry whether there ever was a well-authenticated instance of a tortoiseshell tom cat. The inclosed advertisement, which I have cut from The Times of the 19th January, 1853, will perhaps give some of your readers an opportunity of testing the fact:
"To be sold, a real Tortoiseshell Tom Cat. This natural rarity is fifteen months old and eight lbs. weight. Apply to John Sayer, Mr. Bennison's, bookseller, Market-Drayton, Salop."
L. L. L.
[The inquiry will be found in our 5th Vol., p. 465.]
Irish Rhymes (Vol. vi., and Vol. vii., p. 52.).—Cuthbert Bede, in his notice of the Irish rhymes in Swift's poetry, quoted one couplet in which put rhymes to cut. Is this pronunciation of the word put an Irishism?
A late distinguished divine, who, although he occupied an Irish see, was certainly no Irishman, and who was remarkably particular and, I believe, correct in his diction, always pronounced this word in this manner (as indeed every other word with the same termination is pronounced: as rut, cut, shut, nut, but, &c.).
The bishop to whom I allude pronounced the word thus, long before he ever had any communication with Ireland: and it is strange that, although I have been in Ireland myself, I never heard put pronounced so as to rhyme with cut by any native of that island.
Rubi.
The following extract is a note by Lord Mahon, in vol. i. p. 374. of his edition of Lord Chesterfield's Letters to his Son (Bentley, 1847). I cannot see how the quotation from Boswell bears upon either accent or cadence; it appears to relate entirely to different modes of pronunciation:
"It may be observed, however, that the questions of what are 'false accents and cadences' in our language appear to have been far less settled in Lord Chesterfield's time than at present. Dr. Johnson says: 'When I published the plan for my dictionary, Lord Chesterfield told me that the word great should be pronounced so as to rhyme with state; and Sir William Yonge sent me word, that it should be pronounced so as to rhyme to seat, and that none but an Irishman would pronounce it grait. Now, here were two men of the highest rank,—the one the best speaker in the House of Lords, the other the best speaker in the House of Commons—differing entirely."—Boswell's Life, Notes of March 27, 1772.
C. Forbes.
Temple.
Consecrated Rings (Vol. vii., p. 88.).—The inquiry opened by Sir W. C. T. is shown to be one of much interest by the able communication of your correspondent Ceyrep. I trust he will excuse me in expressing strong doubts as to
Havering, the chapel in Essex, being so called from "having the ring." Nothing is more dangerous to any etymological solution than the being guided by the sound of words, rather than by the probable derivation of the name of the place or thing signified. I am aware that Camden says Havering is called so for the above-stated reason; and other compilers of topography have followed what I venture to suggest is an error. Habban, in Anglo-Saxon, means to have; and Ring is ring—this is not to be denied; but in the general (and let me add excellent) rules for the investigation of names of places affixed to the late Dr. Ingram's Translation of the Saxon Chronicle, I find Aver is from Aver, Br., the mouth of a river, ford, or lake; and Ing, it is well known, is a frequent termination for the names of places—its import in Anglo-Saxon being a meadow. How far "the meadow near the source of the river, or stream" applies to the site of Havering, I will leave to those more competent than myself to decide, but offer the suggestion to the consideration of Ceyrep and others.
C. I. R.
Brasses since 1688 (Vol. vi., pp. 149. 256.).—In connexion with the subject of late brasses, a rubbing which I took from one in Masham Church, Yorkshire, may not be unworthy of a note. It runs thus:
"Christopher Kay,
Buried October the 23d,
Anno Dom. 1689.
[Mrs. Jane Nichollson,
Bu. June the 4th, 1690.]
C onfined . in . a . bed . of . dust
H ere . doth . a . body . lye
R aised . again . it . will . I . trvst
I nto . the . Heavens . high
S in . not . bvt . have . a . care
T o . make . yovr . calling . svre
O mit . those . things . which . trivial . are
P rise . that . we . will . indure
H ange . not . your . mind . on . secular . things
E ach . one . doth . fade . apace
R iches . the . chief . of . we . hath . wings.
[A . Matron . grave . is . here . interr'd
Whose . soul . in . heaven . is . preferr'd
Aftwher . grandson . lost . his . breath
She . soon . svrrender'd . vnto . death.]
K eeping . no . certaine . place
A dict . your . selues . unto . his . conuersation
Y our . purchase . heaven . for . your . habitation."
This, it will be seen, is an acrostic: the lines between brackets are insertions.
Wm. Procter.
York.
Derivation of Lowbell (Vol. vii., p. 181.).—In my younger days I frequently had occasion to draw out (from old established precedent) the form of an appointment, by the lord, of a gamekeeper for a manor, in which the latter was authorised and required to seize and destroy all and all manner of gins, snares, springs, &c., including a dozen or more technical words, one of which was "lowbells." The manors in question were in Dorsetshire and Somersetshire, but I doubt not but that the same form was adopted in other counties in various parts of England. Being strongly impressed with the familiarity of the word on reading H. T. W.'s Note, I was induced to refer to Johnson's Dictionary, where I find my own notion fully borne out as follows:
"Lowbell.—A kind of fowling in the night, in which the birds are wakened by a bell and lured by a flame."
At this moment I have only the abridged edition (3rd edition, 1766) to refer to, and that does not give any reference or authority for the definition in question. I would observe, however, that I believe "loke" is either a Saxon or Scandinavian word, signifying a flame or firebrand, which, coupled with "bell," fully bears out the definition, and I think sufficiently accounts for the term "lowbelling" in H. T. W.'s Note, as the offender might have been greeted with bells and firebrands in lieu of the "tin pots and kettles," or by way of addition to them.
May not this also serve to explain what is considered as a puzzling term in Beaumont and Fletcher? Lowell being nothing more nor less than a snare, may not "Peace, gentle lowbell," mean "Peace, gentle ensnarer?"
M. H.
The Negative given to the Demand of the Clergy at Merton (Vol. vii., p. 17.).—Warburton agrees with Bishop Hurd on this subject, for he observes as follows, in one of his letters (the 84th), that—
"At a parliament under Henry III., 'Rogaverunt omnes Episcopi ut consentirent quod nati ante matrimonium essent legitimi, et omnes Comites et Barones una voce responderunt quod nolunt leges Angliæ mutari.' This famous answer has been quoted a thousand and a thousand times, and yet nobody seems to have understood the management. The bishops, as partizans of the Pope, were for subjecting England to the imperial and papal laws, and therefore began with a circumstance most to the taste of the Barons. The Barons smelt the contrivance; and rejected a proposition most agreeable to them, for fear of the consequences, the introduction of the imperial laws, whose very genius and essence was arbitrary despotic power. Their answer shows it: 'Nolumus leges Angliæ mutari:' they had nothing to object to the reform, but they were afraid for the constitution."
C. I. R.
Nugget (Vol. vi., pp. 171. 281.; Vol. vii., p.143.).—T. K. arrogantly sets aside the etymology of W. S.; and, in lieu of the Persian nugud of the latter, would have us believe that nugget is nothing more than a Yankee corruption of an ingot. I
hold with W. S. notwithstanding, and so will all who have had any dealings with the Bengalees: the term nuggut pisa being with them a common one for "hard cash;" and as the Hindostanee language is largely indebted to the Persian, the derivation of W. S. is no doubt correct. To account for its occurrence in Australia, it is only necessary to say that that country has been for some years past a sanatarium for the debilitated Qui Hye's, many of whom have settled there; and becoming interested in the "diggings," have given the significant term of nuggut to what has in reality turned out hard cash, both to them and to certain lucky gentlemen in this city—holders of the script of the "Great Nuggut Vein" of Australia.
J. O.
Blackguard (Vol. vii., p. 77.).—It may, in some degree, support the first portion of the argument so interestingly stated by Sir J. Emerson Tennent respecting the derivation of this term, to record that, in my youth, when at school at the New Academy in Edinburgh, some five or six-and-twenty years ago, I used frequently to be engaged, with my schoolfellows, in regular pitched battles, technically called by us bickers, with the town boys, consisting chiefly of butchers' and bakers' boys, whom we were accustomed to designate as the blackguards, without, I am sure, ever attaching to that word the more opprobrious meaning which it now generally bears; but only indicating by it those of a lower rank in life than ourselves, the gentlemen.
May I venture to add, that whilst the former portion of Sir J. E. Tennent's Note seems to me to be fully satisfactory in proof that the term blackguard is originally derived from the ancient appellation of menials employed in the lowest and most dirty offices of a great household, and that it is thus purely English,—the last two paragraphs, on the other hand, appear to advocate an unnecessary and far-fetched derivation of the word from the French, and which, I humbly conceive, the true sense of the alleged roots, blague, blaguer, blagueur, by no means justifies; it being impossible to admit that these are, in any sort, "corresponding terms" with blackguard.
G. W. R. Gordon.
Stockholm.