I some time ago thought of sending you a copy of this "Note," but had forgotten it, until recalled to my memory by reading J. M.'s extract.
T. H. KERSLEY, A.B.
King William's College, Isle of Man.
Yankee—Yankee-doodle (Vol. iii., p. 260.).—In a curious book on the Round Towers of Ireland (I forget the title), the origin of the term Yankee-doodle was traced to the Persian phrase, "Yanki dooniah," or "Inhabitants of the New World." Layard, in his book on Nineveh and its Remains, also mentions "Yanghi-dunia" as the Persian name of America.
BENBOW.
Birmingham.
Yankee.—The following lines from a poem, written in England by the Rev. James Cook Richmond, of Providence, Rhode Island, and dated Sept. 7, 1848, gives the derivation of this word:—
"At Yankees, John, beware a laugh,
Against yourself you joke:
For Yenghees 'English' is, but half