1889. Notes and Queries, 7 S., vii., p. 36, c. 2. Terms which have lived in America, and again crossed the herring-pond with modern traffic.
1890. Punch, 6 Feb. Saturday.—My connection with war ended. Calculate I start to-morrow with the Show across the herring-pond, to wake up the Crowned Heads of Europe!
1891. Gunter, Miss Nobody, ch. xvii. If so, I’ll—I’ll cut him, when I cross the—er—herrin’ pond.
1892. Hume Nisbet, Bushranger’s Sweetheart, p. 119. I guess we have ruined one or two well-known authors, on the other side of the herring pond.
Hertfordshire-kindness, subs. (old).—An acknowledgment, or return, in kind, of favours received. (But see quots., 1662, 1690, and 1738).
1662. Fuller, Worthies. This is generally taken in a good and grateful sense, for the mutual return of favours received: it being (belike) observed that the people in this county at entertainments drink back to them who drank to them.
1690. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Hertfordshire-kindness, Drinking to the same Man again.
1717. Ned Ward, Wks., ii., 7. Then we were fain To use Hertfordshire-kindness, Here’s to you again.
1725. New Cant. Dict., s.v.
1738. Swift, Polite Conversations. Neverout. My Lord, this moment I did myself the honour to drink to your Lordship. Lord Smart. Why then that’s Hertfordshire Kindness. Neverout. Faith, my Lord, I pledged myself: for I drank twice together without thinking.