A. R. X.
Paisley.
Original Letter.—The following letter, written by the French general at Guadaloupe, when it was taken in 1810, to his conqueror, is an exquisite specimen of something more than that national politeness which does not desert a Frenchman even in misfortune. I possess the original:
Au quartier général du Parc,
le 6 Février, 1810.A son Excellence
Le Général Beckwith, Commandant en chef les forces de sa Majesté Britannique aux isles du Vent.
Monsieur le Général,
J'ai été prévenu que Votre Excellence se proposait de venir au Parc demain dans la matinée. J'ose espérer qu'elle voudra bien me faire l'honneur d'accepter le diner que lui offre un Général malheureux et vaincu, mais qu'il présente de tout cœur.
Daignez, Monsieur le Général, agréer l'assurance de la haute considération avec laquelle
J'ai l'honneur d'être,
de votre Excellence,
Le très-obéissant serviteur,
Emouf.
Edward Foss.
Erroneous Forms of Speech.—Since you allow your correspondents to correct such words as teetotal, I hope you will allow me to call the attention of your agricultural readers to the corruption in the word mangold, as they now write it. The word is in German mangel wurzel, root of scarcity. It is wrong to use even such a name as this, in my opinion, while we have the English name beet, which has the additional advantage of being derived from the botanical name Beta. But if a new name must be used, let it, at any rate, be the pure German mangel, and not the mongrel mangold. Indeed, those who spell the word in the latter way, ought in common consistency to write reddishes, sparrowgrass, and cowcumbers for radishes, asparagus, and cucumbers.
E. G. R.