"If I had one to send to school that were sick of the talking evil—the morbus loquendi—I would give (as Isocrates required) a double pay to the schoolmaster willingly; one part for teaching him to hold his tongue, and the other half for teaching him to speak. I should think many such men and women half cured if they were half as weary of speaking as I am of hearing them. He that lets such twattling swallows build in his chimney may look to have his pottage savour of their dung."
B. B.
Latin Hexameters on the Bible.—The verses given under this title by Lord Braybrooke, in Vol. v., p. 414., remind me of a similar method which I adopted, when at school, in order to impress upon my memory the names of the Jewish months. The lines run thus:—
"Nisan Abib, Iyar Zif, Sivan, Thammuz, Ab, Elul;
Tisri, Marchesvan, Chisleu, Thebeth, Sebat, Adar."
The first verse commences with the first month of the ecclesiastical year, the second with the first month of the civil year.
A. W.
Ancient Connexion of Cornwall and Phœnicia.—The effort to trace the ancient connexion of countries by the relics of their different customs, would be amusing if not useful. The fragment of the voyage of Hamilcar the Carthaginian confirms the trade of the Phœnicians with Cornwall for tin. The Roman writers still extant confirm it. The traffic was carried on by way of Gades or Cadiz, the Carthaginians being the carriers for the Phœnicians. In Andalusia to this day, middle-aged and old men are addressed Tio, or uncle; as Tio Gorgè, "Uncle George." This custom prevails in Cornwall also, and only there besides. Is not that a trace of the old intercourse? Again, clouted cream, known only in the duchy of Cornwall, which once extended as far as the river Exe in Devon, is only found besides in Syria and near modern Tyre, whence the same tin trade was carried on. These are curious coincidences. Many of the old Cornish words are evidently of Spanish origin: as cariad, caridad, charity or benevolence; Egloz or Eglez, a church; Iglesia or Yglezia, and many others, which seem to bear a relation to the same intercourse.
The notice respecting the word cot or cote,—termination of proper names in a particular district in Cornwall,—already mentioned in these pages, supposed to be Saxon from the idea that its use was confined to one district, which I have shown to be a mistake, may be from the Cornish word icot, "below," in place of the Saxon cote or cot, "cottage." Thus, goracot is probably from gora or gorra, and icot, i. e. "down below."
Trelacot from Tre, "a town," and icot, "below." The l was often prefixed for sound sake: as lavalu for avalu, "an apple;" quedhan lavalu, "an apple tree;" Callacot, from cala, or calla, "straw," and icot. The introduction of the vowel a for i might be a corruption in spelling after the sound. This is only surmise, but it has an appearance of probability.