Upon his dulcet pipe the merle doth only play.
Polyolbion, xiii. (1613).
Whistler (The), a young thief, natural son of Sir G. Staunton, whom he shot after his marriage with Effie Deans.--Sir W. Scott, Heart of Midlothian (time, George II.).
Whistling. Mr. Townley, of Hull, says, in Notes and Queries, August 2, 1879, that a Roman Catholic checked his wife, who was whistling for a dog: “If you please, ma’am, don’t whistle. Every time a woman whistles, the heart of the blessed Virgin bleeds.”
Une poule qui chante, le coq et une fille qui siffle, portent malheur dans la maison.
La poule ne doit point chanter devant le coq.
A whistling woman and a crowing hen
Are neither good for God or men.
Whitaker (Richard), the old steward of Sir Geoffrey Peveril.--Sir W. Scott, Peveril of the Peak (time, Charles II.).
Whitchurch, in Middlesex (or Little Stanmore), is the parish, and William Powell was the blacksmith, made celebrated by Händel’s Harmonious Blacksmith. Powell died in 1780.