"Nor e'er was to the bowers of bliss convey'd
A fairer spirit, or more welcome shade."
J. K. R. W.
The Budget (Vol. vi., p. 604.).—It may be useful to inform Prestoniensis, that, in a recent work on political economy, M. Ch. Coquelin says, that the word budget, in its present signification, has passed into France from England: the latter country having first borrowed it from the old French language—bougette signifying (and particularly in old Norman) a leather purse. It was the custom in England to put into a leather bag the estimates of receipts and expenditure presented to parliament: and hence, as Coquelin observes, the term passed from the containant to the contained, and, with this new signification, returned from this country into France; where it was first used in an official manner in the arrêtés of the Consul's 4th Themidor, year X, and 17th Germinal, year XI.
F. H.
"Catching a Tartar" (Vol. vi., p. 317.).—This common and expressive saying is thus explained in Arvine's Cyclopædia:
"In some battle between the Russians and the Tartars, who are a wild sort of people in the north of Asia, a private soldier called out, 'Captain, halloo there! I've caught a Tartar!' 'Fetch him along then,' said the Captain. 'Ay, but he won't let me,' said the man. And the fact was the Tartar had caught him. So when a man thinks to take another in, and gets himself bit, they say he's caught a Tartar."
Grose says that this saying originated with an Irish soldier who was in the "Imperial," that is, I suppose he means the Austrian service. This is hardly probable; the Irish are made to father many sayings which do not rightly belong to them, and this I think may be safely written as one among the number.
Eirionnach has now two references before him, Grose's Glossary and Arvine's Cyclopædia, in which his Query is partly explained, if he can but find the dates of their publication. In this search I regret I cannot assist him, as neither of these works are to be found in the libraries of this island; at least thus far I have not been able to meet with them.