J.M.B.
The Coptic Language.—I read in The Times of this morning the following:
"The Coptic is an uncultivated and formal tongue, with monosyllabic roots and rude inflexions, totally different from the neighbouring languages of Syria and Arabia, totally opposite to the copious and polished Sanscrit."
Do you think it worth while to try if some Coptic scholar among your learned correspondents can give us some clearer account of the real position of that tongue, historically so interesting? The point is this, Is it inflected, or, does it employ affixes, or is it absolutely without inflections and affixes?
If the first, it cannot be "totally opposite" to the Sanscrit: if the second, it cannot be "totally different" from Syriac and Arabic: if the third, it cannot have "rude inflections."
J.E.
Oxford, October 23. 1850.
Cheshire Cat.—Will some of your correspondents explain the origin of the phrase, "grinning like a Cheshire cat?" The ingenious theory of somebody, I forget who, that Cheshire is a county palatine, and that the cats, when they think of it, are so tickled that they can't help grinning, is not quite satisfactory to
K.I.P.B.T.
Mrs. Partington.—Where may I find the original Mrs. Partington, whose maltreatment of the Queen's English maketh the newspapers so witty and merry in these dull days?