F. B—w.
Gibbon's Library (Vol. vii., p. 407.)—West's Portrait of Franklin (Vol. vii., p. 409.).—Gibbon's library was sold at Lausanne in 1833. I have a copy of Le Théâtre de Marivaux, four volumes 12mo. (Amst. et à Leipzig, 1756), which contains the following MS. note on the fly-leaf of the first volume: "Gibbon's copy, bought at the sale of his library at Lausanne, Sept. 1833.—John Wordsworth." You will find a reference to this gentleman, "N. & Q.," Vol. v., p. 604. About four hundred of Gibbon's books were in the library of the late Rev. Samuel Farmar Jarvis, of Connecticut, who bought them at Lausanne. Among them was Casiri, Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispania. Some of these books had his name, E. Gibbon, printed in them in Roman letters; others had his coat of arms. Dr. Jarvis's library was sold by Lyman and Rawdon in New York on the 14th of October, 1851, for very good prices. I possess Gibbon's copy of Herrera's America, in English, 6 vols. 8vo.
I think there must be some mistake about the portrait of Dr. Franklin by West, mentioned by your correspondent H. G. D. I have never heard of but one portrait by West of Dr. Franklin, and that was painted for my grandfather, Mr. Edward Duffield, one of the executors of the Doctor's will, and sent to him by the Doctor himself. It is now in my possession, in excellent preservation. A short notice of it will be found in the ninth volume of Franklin's Writings (Sparks's ed.), p. 493.
Edward D. Ingraham.
Walnut Street, Philadelphia.
Derivation of "Island" (Vol. viii., p. 49.).—H. C. K.'s derivation of island from eye, the visual orb, because each are surrounded by water, seems to me so like a banter on etymologists, that I am doubtful whether I ought to notice it; but as our Editor seems, by the space he has given it, to take it as serious, I shall venture to say two or three words upon it. H. C. K. begins by begging the question: he says that "the etymon from the Fr. isle, It. isola, Lat. insula, is manifestly erroneous." Now I think I can prove—and that by a single word—that it is "manifestly" the true one. I only reverse his order of placing these words; they should stand, the mother first, the children after; insula Lat., isola It., isle Fr., and to them I add my single word, which H. C. K. has chosen to ignore altogether, isle English; as, Isle of Wight, Isle of Man, Isle of Thanet, Isles of Arran, &c. This single word, thus supplied, is to my mind a sufficient answer to H. C. K.'s theory, but I may add, as a corroboration, the peculiarity of retaining in spelling, and dropping in pronunciation, the s in the English isle and island, just as it is in the French isle and islot. Indeed the relation between the French and English words is, in this case, not derivation but identity. I may also observe that the Scotch and Irish names for an island, inch, innis, ennis—as, Inch-keith, Innis-fallen, Ennis-killen—are "manifestly" derived from insula, the common parent of all. I half suspect that H. C. K. is a wag, and meant to try whether we should take seriously what he meant as all my eye!
C.
Spur (Vol. vi., pp. 242. 329.).—To spur is to spere, by Gower written sper, to search or seek, to inquire into; and your correspondents might have found the word fully treated and illustrated by Jamieson, and more briefly by Richardson. To ask at church is a common expression, and Spur Sunday is merely Asking Sunday.
Q.
Bloomsbury.