The opprobrious name of Christ amongst the Jews is Jesus son of Sadta, which Gozani may have mistaken for Sirach; indeed,—the Chinese pronunciation of Hebrew is quite peculiar, as they cannot pronounce, for instance, the letters b, r, th, naming them respectively p, l, z.
POETICAL TAVERN SIGNS.
(Vol. viii., pp. 242. 452.)
I made a note of the following specimen of poetical tavern sign, in one of Mr. Mark Lemon's Supplements to The Illustrated London News (Dec. 27, 1851). I here transcribe it to add to Mr. Warde's collection:
"The following is a literal copy of a sign conspicuously displayed in front of a small public-house in the village of Folkesworth,[[4]] near Stilton, Hunts. It contains as much poetry as, perhaps, the rustic Folkesworth folks are worth; and doubtless they think it to be (in the Stilton vernacular) 'quite the cheese:'
[A rude figure of a Fox.]
'I . HAM . A . CUNEN . FOX
YOU . SEE . THER . HIS
NO . HARME . ATCHED
TO . ME . IT . IS . MY . MRS.
WISH . TO . PLACE . ME
HERE . TO . LET . YOU . NO
HE . SELS . GOOD . BEERE.'
"The Captain Rawlinson of the district has deciphered this inscription, and conjectures its meaning to be as follows:
'I am a cunning fox, you see;
There is no harm attach'd to me;
It is my master's wish to place me here,
To let you know he sells good beer.'"
Cuthbert Bede, B.A.
Footnote 4:[(return)]
It was in the lane between Folkesworth and the Norman Cross Barracks, that Borrow was first induced to try the gipsy life. (Vide Lavengro.)