"Pay me tribute, or else——."—In Mr. Bunn's late work, Old England and New England, I find this note:
"We all remember the haughty message of the ruler of a certain province to the governor of a neighbouring one, 'Pay me tribute, or else——;' and the appropriate reply, 'I owe you none, and if——.'"
Not being of the totality reminiscent, may I beg for enlightenment? The anecdote sounds well, and I am therefore curious to know who the governors and what the provinces?
W. T. M.
Hong Kong.
"A regular Turk."—We often hear of people bad to manage being "regular Turks." When did the phrase originate? Though not a journal for politics, "N. & Q." will no doubt breathe a wish for the present sultan to be, in the approaching warfare, "a regular Turk."
Prestoniensis.
Benjamin Rush.—I found the following in an old paper:
"Edinburgh, June 14, 1768. Yesterday Benjamin Rush, of the city of Philadelphia, A. M., and Gustavus Richard Brown, of Maryland, were admitted to the honour of a degree of Doctors of Physic, in the university of this place, after having undergone the usual examinations, both private and public. The former of whom was also presented some time before with the freedom of this city."
The Benjamin Rush here referred to subsequently became quite eminent as a physician. He took an active part in the struggle between the American colonies and the mother country, and was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. One of his sons was the American minister to London a few years since.