Hong Kong.
"When the Maggot bites."—A note will oblige to explain the origin of the phrase, that a thing done on the spur of the moment is done "When the maggot bites."
Anon.
Eclipses of the Sun.—Where can I find a list of solar eclipses that have taken place since the time of the invasion of Julius Cæsar? I am greatly in want of this information, and shall be grateful to any correspondent who will give me the reference required.
C. Mansfield Ingleby.
Birmingham.
"An" before "u" long.—I should be much obliged to any of my fellow-students of "N. & Q." who would answer the following Query: What is the reason of the increasingly prevailing custom of writing an before words beginning with u long, or with diphthongs having the sound of u long? Surely a written language is perfect in proportion as it represents the spoken tongue; if so, this is one of the many instances in which modern fashions are making English orthography still more inconsistent than it was wont to be. It appears to me just as reasonable to say "an youthful (pronounced yoothful) person," as "an useful (pronounced yooseful) person."
If there is a satisfactory reason for the practice, I shall be delighted to be corrected but, if not, I would fain see the fashion "nipped in the bud."
Benjamin Dawson.
London.