NAMES: AND THEIR MEANING.

NAMES:
AND THEIR MEANING

A BOOK FOR THE CURIOUS

BY
LEOPOLD WAGNER

THIRD AND REVISED EDITION.

London
T. FISHER UNWIN
PATERNOSTER SQUARE
MDCCCXCIII

INTRODUCTION.

Not the least difficult matter in connection with the present work has been the choice of a title. The one finally determined upon is far from satisfactory, because it scarcely suggests the scope of the subject treated. True enough, the single word Nomenclature offered itself as a suitable title; but this is really a French word, derived, of course, from the Latin, and although it has been admitted into our vocabulary simply owing to the lack of an English equivalent, its use is properly restricted to the classification of technical terms in relation to a particular branch of science. In a scientific sense, then, the word Nomenclature finds a ready acceptance; but for the classification of the names of persons, of places, and of things, it is altogether too pedantic. A young friend of the author the other day, on being informed, in answer to his inquiry, that this work would probably be entitled “The Curiosities of Nomenclature,” promptly asked whether it might not be as well to explain, first of all, what the word Nomenclature meant. Now, the author does not believe for one moment that any intelligent person who took up this volume would be at a loss to judge of its contents from the title, that is, supposing the word Nomenclature appeared on the page; nevertheless, his young friend’s suggestion reminded him that a book intended not for the scientific and learned, but for general reference, should bear a title easily comprehended by all classes of the community. The title originally chosen has, therefore, been rejected in favour of one less pretentious and more matter-of-fact: if it is not sufficiently expressive, the fault must be attributed to the poverty of the English language.

Of all the “Ologies,” Philology, or the science of language, is the most seductive; and that branch of it known as Etymology, which traces the derivation and combination of the words of a language from its primary roots, possesses an interest—one might almost say a fascination—for all, when once the attention has been arrested by it. This fact is proved by the popularity of Archbishop Trench’s published lectures on “The Study of Words,” which have now reached a nineteenth edition. But it is not to an examination of the dictionary words of the English language that the present volume is devoted. Bearing in mind that several excellent works already exist on this subject, the author has occupied himself in the following pages exclusively with the etymology, and significance of Names—of personal names, comprising Surnames, Sobriquets, Pseudonyms, Nicknames, Class Names, and Professional Designations; of names of places, including the Countries of the World, with the principal Seas, Islands, Gulfs, Straits, &c., the United States of North America, the Counties of England and Wales, and particularly the Districts, Streets, Squares, Churches, and Public Buildings of London; of the names of Religious Sects and Political Factions; of the names of Inns and Taverns; in addition to the names of an infinite number of objects with which everyone is familiar, but whose actual significance is comprehended only by a few.

As to the utility of such a work, a brief glance into these pages may convince the reader that the subject of Names is fraught with much popular interest. Take the names of London streets. How many among the thousands who follow their daily occupations within sight of the gilt cross of St. Paul’s, ever reflect that the name of each street they frequent and pass by the way, points to the origin of the street itself; and that, were they to cultivate a practical acquaintance with those names, their knowledge of English History and Sociology might be considerably enlarged, with a result that they would be brought to ask themselves at length how they could have been possessed of “souls so dead” as never to have entered upon such a profitable field of inquiry before? Whitefriars, Blackfriars, and Austin Friars, carry us back in imagination to the days of yore; the friars have long returned to the dust, but the localities they inhabited are still identified with their existence by the names they bear. Yet these are possibly the only thoroughfares in the City—with the exception of such as have derived their names from a neighbouring church, public building, or private mansion—concerning which the average Londoner can express himself with any degree of certainty: if he venture a guess at the rest, it is safe to assert that he will be open to correction. The like observation applies to public buildings.

If the question were asked, for example, why the well-known Ships’ Registry Offices over the Royal Exchange are universally referred to as “Lloyd’s,” ninety-nine out of every hundred City men would avail themselves of the very plausible suggestion that the system of Marine Insurance was first established, either there or elsewhere, by some person named Lloyd. True, a certain Edward Lloyd had a remote connection with the enterprise; but he was a coffee-house keeper, who probably knew no more about ships and their tonnage than “Jonathan,” another noted London coffee-house keeper, after whom the Stock Exchange was formerly designated, knew about “bulls” and “bears.” Again, it is not every one who could account, off hand, for such familiar names as Scotland Yard, Bedlam, Doctors’ Commons, the Charterhouse, the churches of St. Mary-Axe, St. Clement-Danes, St. Hallow’s-Barking, or St. Catherine Cree. A few barristers would, doubtless, be in a position to inform us wherefore our seminaries for the study of the law were originally styled “Inns of Court”; but the ordinary inquirer, left to his own resources, might find the problem somewhat difficult to solve. Surely they were not at one time inns? and if so, whence came the designation Inns of Court? Did the Court flunkeys patronize them, perhaps? Or, more likely, did the sovereign, attended by the Court, take a fancy to sleeping beneath the roof of each for once in a way, after the manner of Queen Elizabeth? And, speaking about inns, every Londoner is, of course, aware of the one-time existence of “La Belle Sauvage” on the north side of Ludgate Hill, albeit the origin of this sign has generally been ascribed to Pocahontas, of Virginia, who accompanied her husband, John Rolfe, back to England in the year 1616, and, as tradition has it, put up at this famous old coaching-house. Moreover, Messrs. Cassell and Co., whose premises occupy the site, and are approached from La Belle Sauvage Yard, have profited by the popular misconception to the extent of adopting the figure of a female partly clad in skins as their trade-mark. Then, again, who has not heard of “The Tabard”? and whence did that derive its sign? Among other celebrated inns still preserved to us, we have “Jack Straw’s Castle” on Hampstead Heath. But who was Jack Straw? and had he ever a castle thereabouts? As will be shown in these pages, the answer to these questions is associated with a very stirring moment in English History.

A great deal of the early history of England can be gleaned from the names of the counties into which this country is divided. The terms Shire and County are so far synonymous in that they indicate a portion of land distinguished by a particular name; yet, etymologically considered, they are widely different. Although every shire is a county, it is not every county to whose individual name the word “shire” may be added. The latter is essentially Anglo-Saxon, denoting a division of land possessed by an earl, and wherever it occurs it points conclusively to the Saxon occupation of England. Certainly, we do not speak of Essex-shire, Middle-sex-shire, or Sussex-shire, because the Saxon territories referred to, as well as their relative positions, are fully indicated in the names themselves. Neither are we accustomed to allude to Surrey-shire, for the reason that the word Surrey expressed the Anglo-Saxon for the land south of the rey, or river, comprising, as it did, that large tract of land described as Wessex, or the land of the West Saxons, now divided into six southern shires. The fact is, Wessex was the great kingdom of the Saxons in this country, whereas Essex, Middlesex, and Sussex were but petty kingdoms. Consequently, in the kingdom of Wessex it was that earldoms were first created, and lands appertaining thereto were literally scired, or sheared off. On the other hand, it would be ridiculous in the extreme, quite apart from the unfamiliarity of such an expression, to speak of Kent-shire, because there is nothing in the name that invests it with a Saxon interest. The same remark is applicable to Cornwall. It is only from habit, too, or because the name lends itself to the euphony, that Devon is denominated a shire; for not only is this a Celtic name, but the Saxons scarcely penetrated into, and certainly never occupied any considerable portion of, the county. The England of the Saxons, therefore, is to be distinguished wherever the word “shire” appears as part of the name of a county.

If the foregoing paragraph be deemed interesting to the general inquirer, a careful digest of the chapter on “The Countries of the World” should prove most instructive. With a few exceptions only, the names of the different countries of the Old World afford us an indication of their original inhabitants, or the rude tribes that overran them. In regard to the New World, such names of countries as are not of native origin invariably point to the nationality of the navigators who discovered them or of the adventurers who explored and colonized them. The maritime enterprise of the Spanish and Portuguese is in nothing so evident as in the territories named in accordance with their respective languages in South and Central America, to say nothing of the islands discovered by them in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. And, as a set-off against the shameful treatment by the Spaniards of Christopher Columbus, it must not be forgotten that the whole of the North American territory now embraced in the United States was originally designated Columbia in his honour, which name has been preserved in the Western portion of the continent known as British Columbia. A few Spanish names still linger in North America, notably California, Labrador, Florida, Nevada, Oregon, and Colorado. But the Spaniards were rovers rather than settlers; wherefore they contented themselves with maintaining their national reputation as successful navigators by giving names to the countries they discovered, and establishing a lucrative trading monopoly in that portion of the Caribbean Sea which formerly bore the name of the Spanish Main.

On the contrary, the English and French have distinguished themselves always, and all the world over, as colonists; so that, saving those States of North America which have received the native names of the great lakes and rivers, we can discover exactly which were colonized by the one nation and which by the other. Moreover, the English and French have generally exercised the common trait of honouring the mother country by naming a new colony or a newly-discovered island after the reigning monarch or a distinguished countryman. A similar trait in the Dutch character presents itself in the repetition of the names of the native places of their navigators and colonists; while the Spaniards and Portuguese have displayed a tendency for naming an island discovered or a river explored by them in a manner commemorative of the day that witnessed the event. At the same time, it would not be wise to conjecture, merely from the name, that Columbus discovered the island of Trinidad on the Feast of the Holy Trinity, because he did nothing of the kind. Therefore, it behoves the curious inquirer to make himself acquainted with the circumstances under which our geographical names have arisen, so as to avoid falling into error. As well might he maintain, without the requisite knowledge, that the Canary Islands owed their designation to the birds that have so long been exported thence; for although such a conclusion were extremely plausible, he would still be at a loss to know how the canaries came by their name in the first place.

A like difficulty is liable to be encountered relative to the Sandwich Islands. A particularly smart boy might, indeed, be expected to inform us, as the outcome of a hastily-formed opinion, that the Sandwich Islands were so called because a shipwrecked crew who once found a refuge thereon continued to support themselves until such time as they were rescued by a passing vessel upon sandwiches. The bare idea may be laughed at; but it is no more preposterous than that the Canary Islands received their name from the birds that are found there in such plenty. The question at issue furnishes an example as to how a name may be perpetuated in different ways. Thus, Captain Cook named the Sandwich Islands in compliment to John Montague, fourth Earl of Sandwich and First Lord of the Admiralty, who took his title from Sandwich, or, as the etymology of this place implies, the “sand town,” one of the ancient Cinque Ports in Kent. An inveterate gamester was this Lord Sandwich; so much so that he would sit at the gaming-table for thirty hours and more at a stretch, never desisting from the game to partake of a meal, but from time to time ordering the waiter to bring him some slices of meat placed between two slices of thin bread, from which circumstance this convenient form of refreshment received the name of Sandwiches.

Mention of sandwiches reminds us that very few tradesmen possess the remotest idea of the significance of the names of the various commodities in which they deal. Ask a purveyor of ham and beef to explain the origin of the word Sandwich, and he will be quite unable to furnish an answer. Put a similar question to a Tobacconist, and it will be found that he has never interested himself to the extent of inquiring what the word Tobacco means, not to speak of the names of the different kinds of tobacco. A Haberdasher, again, would be sorely perplexed to account for his individual trade-name; so would a Milliner, so would a Grocer, so would a Tailor; and so would almost every one who passes for an intelligent citizen, yet whose reflections have never been directed toward those trifling concerns which, as one might be led to suppose, are most immediately interesting to him. And so we might go on multiplying examples until this Introduction reached an altogether inordinate length, with no other object than to arouse the reader’s interest in the pages that follow. But the necessity for a more extended Introduction does not arise. The scope of this work will be sufficiently indicated by the Analytical Table of Contents; but even there a very large number of names incidentally referred to in the text have not been included. The Index may be somewhat more to the purpose, inasmuch as every item set forth therein will be found not merely alluded to but discussed in the book; and to the book itself the reader is now referred.

L. W.

London.

CONTENTS.

THE COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD.

The oldest of the four great divisions of the world received its modern designation Asia from the Sanskrit Ushas, signifying “land of the dawn.” Africa traces its origin to the Phœnician afer, a black man, and the Sanskrit ac, the earth, a country. Europe owes its name to the Greek eurus, broad, and op, to see, or ops, the face, in allusion to “the broad face of the earth.” America honours the memory of Amerigo Vespucci, the Florentine navigator, who landed on the New Continent south of the Equator, the year after Columbus discovered the northern mainland in 1498. The name of America first appeared in a work published by Waldsemüller at St. Die, in Lorraine, in the year 1507. It is worthy of note that when Columbus landed in America he imagined he had set foot on part of that vast territory east of the Ganges vaguely known as India; therefore he gave the name of Indians to the aborigines. This also accounts for the islands in the Caribbean Sea being styled the West Indies.

The cradle of the human race bears the name of Palestine, or in Hebrew Palestina, meaning “the land of strangers,” agreeably to the native word palash, to wander. Palestine is usually denominated the Holy Land, because it was the scene of the birth, life, and death of the Redeemer. Asia Minor is, of course, Lesser Asia.

For the title of Persia we are indebted to the Greeks, who gave the name of Persis to the region (of which the capital was Persipolis) originally overrun by a wild branch of the Ayrian race called the Parsa, meaning, in the native tongue, “the Tigers” [see [Parsees]]. The suffix ia, wherever it occurs in a geographical sense, expresses the Celtic for land or territory. Hence, Persia signifies the territory of the Parsa or Parsees; Arabia, the country of the Arabs, “men of the desert”; Abyssinia, that of the Abassins, or “mixed races”; Kaffraria, that of the Kaffirs, or “unbelievers”; and Ethiopia, the “land of the blacks,” according to the two Greek words aithein, to burn, and ops, the face. India denotes the country traversed by the Indus, or rather the Hindu, which name is a Persicized form of the Sanskrit Sindhu, “a great river,” rendered Hindus in the Greek. Synonymous with the Celtic suffix just discussed is the Persian stan: consequently Hindustan signifies the territory traversed by the river Hindu, and peopled by the Hindoos; Turkestan, the country of the Turks; Afghanistan, that of the Afghans; Beloochistan, that of the Belooches; and Kurdestan, properly Koordistan, that of the Koords. The term China is a western corruption of Tsina, so called in honour of Tsin, the founder of the great dynasty which commenced in the third century B.C., when a knowledge of this country was first conveyed to the Western nations. It was this Tsin who built the Great Wall of China (or Tsin) to keep out the Barbarians. The Chinese Empire bears the description of the Celestial Empire because its early rulers were all celestial deities. Siberia is a term indicative of Siber, the residence of Kutsheen Khan, the celebrated Tartar prince, recognized as the ancient capital of the Tartars, the ruins of which may still be seen. Here again the Celtic suffix ia has reference to the surrounding territory.

Russia constituted the country of the Russ, a tribe who overran it at a very early period. The Russian Empire was founded by Ruric, or Rourik, a Scandinavian chief whose death took place in the year A.D., 879. Circassia denotes the country of the Tcherkes, a Tartar tribe who settled in the neighbourhood of the river Terck. The Crimea received its name from a small town established in the peninsula by the Kimri, or Cymri, and known to the Greeks as Kimmerikon. Finland is properly Fenland, “the land of marshes.” Sweden is a modern term made up of the Latin Suedia, signifying the land of the Suevi, a warlike tribe of the Goths, and the Anglo-Saxon den, testifying to its occupation by the Danes. Norway shows the result of a gradual modification of the Anglo-Saxon Norea, and the original Nordoe, being the Scandinavian for “north island.” It is easy to understand in this connection how the old Norsemen, deterred by the intense cold of the Arctic Sea, took it for granted that the great northern peninsula was surrounded by water, without actually determining the fact. The native name of this country in modern times is Nordrike, i.e., the north kingdom.

Britain was known to the Phœnicians as Barat-Anac, or “the land of tin,” as far back as the year 1037 B.C. Some five hundred years afterwards the Island was alluded to by the Romans under the name of Britannia, which subsequently became shortened into Britain. England was originally Engaland, the land of the Engles, or Angles, who came over from Sleswick, a province of Jutland. Prior to the year 258, which witnessed its invasion by the Scoti, a tribe who inhabited the northern portions of the country now known as Ireland, Scotland bore the name of Caledonia, literally the hilly country of the Caels, or Gaels. The word Cael, or Gael, is a corruption of Gadhel, signifying in the native tongue “a hidden rover”; while Scot, derived from the native scuite, means practically the same thing, i.e., a wanderer. The Caledonians were the inhabitants of the Highlands, the termination dun expressing the Celtic for a hill, fort, stronghold; the Scots were the invaders from Scotia, who appropriated the Hebrides and the Western Islands; whereas the Lowlanders were the Picts, so called from their description by the Romans, picti, painted men. These Picts were eventually subdued by the Caledonians and Britons from their respective sides. The Gaelic designation of what is now Ireland was Ierne, indicative of the “western isle.” Ireland is commonly styled The Emerald Isle owing to its fresh verdure.

Wales was originally Cambria, so called on account of the Cymri, or Kimri, who peopled it. The modern title of Wales was given to this province by the Anglo-Saxons, because they regarded it, in common with Cornwall, as the land of foreigners. Traces of the Wahl or Welsh still present themselves in such names as Wallachia, Walcheren, Walloon, Wallingford, Welshpool, &c. Thus we see that the prenomen Wahl, subject to slight modifications in the spelling, denotes any foreign settlement from the Saxon point of view. The Saxons, by the way, whose original settlement is determined by the little kingdom of Saxony, derived their name from the seax, or short crooked knife with which they armed themselves.

France was known to the Greeks as Gallatia, and to the Romans as Gallia, afterwards modified into Gaul, because it was the territory of the Celtiæ, or Celts. The modern settlers of the country were the Franks, so called from the franca, a kind of javelin which they carried, who in the fifth century inhabited the German province of Franconia, and, travelling westwards, gradually accomplished the conquest of Gaul. France, therefore, signifies the country of the Franks, or, as the Germans call it, Frankreich, i.e., the Kingdom of the Franks. All the western nations were styled Franks by the Turks and Orientals, and anything brought to them from the west invariably merited a prenomen descriptive of its origin, as, for example, FRANKINCENSE, by which was meant incense brought from the country of the Franks. Normandy indicates the coast settlement of the Northmen, or Danes; while Brittany comprised the land appropriated by the kings of Britain.

Germany was in ancient times known as Tronges, or the country of the Tungri, a Latin word signifying “speakers”; but the Romans afterwards gave it the name of Germanus, which was a Latinized Celtic term meaning “neighbours,” originally bestowed by the Gauls upon the warlike people beyond the Rhine. Holland is the modern acceptation of Ollant, the Danish for “marshy ground”; whereas Belgium denotes the land of the Belgiæ. The fact that the term Netherlands is expressive of the low countries need scarcely detain us. Denmark is properly Danmark, i.e., the territory comprised within the marc, or boundary established by Dan, the Scandinavian chieftain. Jutland means the land of the Jutes, a family of the Goths who settled in this portion of Denmark. Prussia is a corruption of Borussia, the country of the Borussi; and Bohemia, the country of the Boii, just as Hungary was originally inhabited by the Huns, a warlike Asiatic family, who expelled the Goths from this territory in the year 376. These Huns were first heard of in China in the third century B.C. under the name of Hiong-nu, meaning “giants.” Poland is an inversion of Land-Pole, the Slavonic for “men of the plains,” who first overran this territory.

Servia was styled by the Romans Suedia, the district peopled by the Suevi before they were driven northwards to their final settlement in the territory now called Sweden. Montenegro literally indicates “black mountain.” Bosnia is the country traversed by the river Bosna; Moldavia, that traversed by the Moldau; and Moravia, that traversed by the Morava. Bulgaria is a modern corruption of Volgaria, meaning the country peopled by the Volsci; while Roumania was anciently a Roman province. Turkey is more correctly written Turkia, the country of the Turks. This country also bears the style of the Ottoman Empire, in honour of Othman I., who assumed the government of the empire about the year 1300. Greece is the modern form of the Latin Græcia, from the Greek Graikoi, a name originally bestowed upon the inhabitants of Hellas.

Austria is our mode of describing the Oesterreich, literally the Eastern Empire, in contradistinction to the Western Empire founded by Charlemagne. Italy was so called after Italus, one of the early kings of that country. Switzerland is an Anglicized form of the native Schweitz, the name of the three forest cantons whose people asserted their independence of Austria, afterwards applied to the whole country. Spain expresses the English of Hispania, a designation founded upon the Punic span, a rabbit, owing to the number of wild rabbits found in this peninsula by the Carthaginians. The ancient name of the country was Iberia, so styled from the Iberi, a tribe who settled in the vicinity of the river Ebro Portugal was the Portus Cale, literally “the port Cale” of the Romans, the ancient name of the city of Oporto.

Algiers is a modified spelling of the Arabic Al Jezair, meaning “the peninsula.” Tunis was anciently known as Tunentum, the land of the Tunes; Morocco signifies the territory of the Moors; and Barbary that of the Berbers. The term Sahara is Arabic for “desert”; while the Soudan denotes, according to the Arabic Belad-ez-Suden, the “district of the blacks.” Egypt expresses the Hebrew for “the land of oppression,” alluding to the bondage of the Israelites. Senegambia was originally so named owing to its situation between the Senegal and Gambia rivers. The Gold Coast is that portion of Guinea on the West Coast of Africa where gold is found. Guinea is a native West African term meaning “abounding in gold.” In Zanzibar, properly written Zanguebar, we have an inversion of the Arabic Ber-ez-Zing, the “coast of the negroes.” Zululand is the country of the Zulus. By the Transvaal is meant the territory beyond the river Vaal; just as in Europe the Hungarians call a portion of their country Transylvania, from its situation “beyond the wood.” Natal received its name from Vasco di Gama because he discovered it on the Feast of the Nativity. The settlements of the Dutch Boers in South Africa are designated the Orange Free States from the circumstance that their original settlers were emigrants from the Principality of Orange, in Holland. Cape Colony is the British colony in South Africa, so called after the Dutch settlement at Cape Town, which dates from the year 1652. The Cape of Good Hope, discovered by Bartholomew de Diaz in 1487, was so named (Cabo de Bon Esperance) by John II., King of Portugal, who, finding that Diaz had reached the extremity of Africa, regarded it as a favourable augury for future maritime enterprises.

The most southern point of South America was called Cape Hoorn (or, according to the English, Cape Horn) by Schonten, who first rounded it in 1616, after Hoorn, his native place in North Holland. Patagonia was so styled by Magellan in accordance with the Spanish word patagon, meaning a large, clumsy foot. It was from the fact of seeing the impressions of the large shoes (not, as he imagined, the feet) of the aborigines that he at once concluded the country must be inhabited by giants. Chili is a Peruvian word denoting the “land of snow.” Argentina, now the Argentine Republic, owes its name to the silvery reflection of its rivers. Brazil is a Portuguese term derived from braza, “a live coal,” relative to the red dye-wood with which the country abounds. Bolivia perpetuates the memory of General Simon Bolivar, “the Liberator of Peru.” Uraguay and Paraguay are both names of rivers; the former meaning “the golden water,” and the latter “the river of waters,” referring to its numerous tributaries. Peru likewise received its name from its principal river, the Rio Paro, upon which stands the ancient city of Paruru. The Brazilian term Para, however modified, is at all times suggestive of a river. Pernambuco means “the mouth of hell,” in allusion to the violent surf always distinguished at the mouth of its chief river. Ecuador is Spanish for Equator, so called by virtue of its geographical position. Columbia was named in honour of Christopher Columbus. Venezuela expresses the Spanish for “Little Venice,” which designation was given to this country owing to the discovery of some Indian villages built upon piles after the manner of the “Silent City” on the Adriatic Sea.

The term Panama is Caribbean, indicative of the mud fish that abound in the waters on both sides of the isthmus. Costa Rica is literal Spanish for “rich coast”; while Honduras signifies, in the same tongue, “deep water.” The name of Nicaragua was first given by Gil Gonzales de Arila in 1521 to the great lake situated in the region now called after it, in consequence of his friendly reception by the Cacique, a Haytian term for a chief, whose own name was Nicaro, of a tribe of West Indians, with whom he fell in on the borders of the lake referred to. The Mosquito Coast owes its name to the troublesome insects (Spanish mosca, from the Latin musca, a fly) which infest this neighbourhood. Yutacan is a compound Indian word meaning “What do you say?” which was the only answer the Spaniards could obtain from the natives to their inquiries concerning a description of the country. Quatemala is a European rendering of the Mexican quahtemali, signifying “a decayed log of wood”; so called by the Mexican Indians who accompanied Alvarado into this region, because they found an old worm-eaten tree near the ancient palace of the Kings, or Kachiquel, which was thought to be the centre of the country.

Mexico denotes the place or seat of Mexitli, the Aztec God of War. The name of California, derived from the two Spanish words, Caliente Fornalla, i.e., “hot furnace,” was given by Cortez in the year 1535 to the peninsula now known as Old or Lower California, of which he was the discoverer, on account of its hot climate. British Columbia is the only portion of North America that retains the name of the discoverer of the New World; but originally the whole of the territory now comprised in the United States bore the designation of Columbia in honour of Christopher Columbus. The term Canada is Indian, indicative of a “collection of huts”; Manitoba traces its origin from Manitou, the Indian appellation of “The Great Spirit.” Ontario comes from the native Onontac, “the village on the mountain,” and chief seat of the Onondagas; while Quebec is an Algonquin term signifying “take care of the rock.” Labrador was originally denominated Tierra Labrador, the Spanish for “cultivated land,” as distinguished from the non-fertile though moss-covered Greenland. New Brunswick, colonized in 1785, received its name in compliment to the House of Brunswick. Nova Scotia, otherwise New Scotland, was so called by Sir William Alexander, a Scotsman who obtained a grant of this colony from James I. in 1621. Florida was named by Ponce de Leon in accordance with the day of its discovery, to wit, Easter Sunday, which in the Spanish language is styled Pascua Florida.

The first British settlement in North America was claimed by Sir Walter Raleigh on the 13th of July, 1584, in the name of Queen Elizabeth, and called Virginia in her honour. Maryland was so denominated by Lord Baltimore (who gave the name of Baltimore to a neighbouring State), in honour of Henrietta Maria, Queen of Charles I. Pennsylvania denotes the colony founded “in the wood” by William Penn, the son of Admiral Penn, in 1681. This is usually alluded to as the Keystone State, from its relative position to the other States. Georgia was named after George II., in whose reign this state was colonized; and Carolina (North and South) after Carolus II., the Latinized style of Charles II., by whom this state was granted to eight of his favourites. Louisiana was so called by M. de la Sale in the year 1682, in honour of Louis XIV. of France; while Maine and New Orleans received the names of existing French provinces. The title of New Hampshire was given to the state granted to him in 1629 by John Mason, in compliment to his native county in England; New Jersey complimented the scene of action whereon Sir George Carterat distinguished himself in the defence of Jersey Island against the Parliamentary forces in 1664; and New York (State) was denominated in honour of James, Duke of York, afterwards James II. [For Michigan see the great lake of the same name.] Indiana derived its name from the great number of Indians found here. Alabama in the native tongue, signifies “Here we rest”; Nebraska means “water valley”; Ohio is “beautiful”; Massachusetts, “about the great hills”; Wisconsin, “wild rushing channel”; Kansas, “smoky water”; Tennessee, “river of the great bend”; Kentucky, “at the head of a river”; Mississippi, “great and long river”; Missouri, “muddy river”; and Minnesota, “white water.” Arkansas conveys the same meaning as Kansas, with the addition of the French prefix arc, a bow. Illinois is a compound of the Indian illum, men, and the French suffix oix, a tribe. Oregon received its name from the Spanish oregano, wild majoram, which grows in abundance on this portion of the Pacific shore. Texas means “the place of protection,” in reference to the fact that a colony of French refugees were afforded protection here by General Lallemont in 1817; Vermont is, more correctly, Verd Mont, so called in testimony to the verdure-clad mountains which traverse this state; Colorado expresses the Spanish for “coloured,” alluding to its coloured ranges; while Nevada is Spanish for “snowy,” indicative of the character of its mountain ridges, the Sierra Nevada. Connecticut presents itself in the native Indian form Quinnitukut, meaning “the country of the long river”; Iowa is a French corruption of a Sioux term, signifying “drowsy,” or “the sleepy ones,” applied to the Pahoja, or Gray-snow tribe; Astoria was founded by John Jacob Astor, of New York, as a fur-trading station in the year 1811; and Delaware received its name from Thomas West, Lord de La Warre, Governor of Virginia, who visited the bay in 1610, and died on board his vessel at its mouth.

Lake Superior denotes the uppermost and chief of the five great lakes of North America. Lake Erie is the Lake of the “Wild Cat,” the name given to a fierce tribe of Indians exterminated by the Iroquois. Lake Huron owes its name to the French word hure, a head of hair; in reference to the Wyandots, whom the French settlers designated Hurons owing to their profusion of hair. Lake Ontario bears the denomination of the Canadian territory already discussed. Niagara, or rather, to give it its full name, Oni-aw-garah, expresses the West Indian for “the thunder of waters.” Lake Michigan signifies in the native tongue “a weir for fish”; and Lake Winnipeg, “lake of the turbid water.” The Great Bear Lake is indebted for its name to its northern situation [see [Arctic Ocean]]; and the Great Salt Lake, to the saline character of its waters.

Having disposed of the different countries, let us now consider the nomenclature of the principal seas and islands.

The Arctic Ocean received its name pursuant to the Greek arktos, a bear, on account of the northern constellations of the Great and Little Bear. The Antarctic Ocean denotes the ocean anti, against, or opposite to, the Arctic Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean, known to the Greeks by the name of Atlantikos pelagos, was originally so called from the Isle of Atlantes, which both Plato and Homer imagined to be situated beyond the Straits of Gibraltar. The Pacific Ocean was so named by Magellan, owing to its calm and pacific character, in striking contrast to his tempestuous passage through the Straits of Magellan, from which he emerged November 27, 1520. The Caribbean Sea washes the territory of the Caribbs, whose name means “cruel men.” The Mediterranean Sea expresses the Latin (medius, middle, and terra, earth) for the sea between two continents, viz., Europe and Africa. The Adriatic Sea indicates the Sea of Adrian or Hadrian. The Baltic Sea denotes, in accordance with the Swedish bält, a strait, a sea full of belts, or straits. The North Sea, the German Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Irish Sea, are names indicative of the positions of these respective seas. The White Sea is so called from its proximity to sterile regions of snow and ice; the Black Sea, because it abounds with black rocks; the Red Sea, on account of the red soil which forms its bottom; the Green Sea, owing to a strip of green always discernible along the Arabian shore; the Yellow Sea, from the immense quantity of alluvial soil continually poured into it by the Yang-tse-Kiang river; and the Dead Sea, because no fish of any kind has ever been found in its waters. The Caspian Sea preserves the name of the Caspii, a tribe who originally formed a settlement on its shores. The Sea of Marmora owes its designation to a small island at its western extremity which has long been famous for its marble (Latin marmor) quarries. The Gulf Stream is a warm current of water that issues from the mouth of the Amazon, immediately under the Equator, and after traversing the coast of South America, the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the coast of the United States, makes its way across the Atlantic directly for the British Isles, raising the temperature of the water through which it passes. The Horse Latitudes, situated between the trade winds and the westerly winds of higher latitudes, and distinguished for tedious calms, received this name because it was in this portion of the Atlantic the old navigators often threw overboard the horses which they had undertaken to transport to the West Indies. The southern banks of the West India Islands, and the water extending for some distance into the Caribbean Sea, were formerly known as the Spanish Main, from the fact that the Spaniards confined their buccaneering enterprises to this locality.

Hudson’s Bay and Hudson’s Strait were named after their re-discovery by Captain Henry Hudson while searching for the north-west passage in 1610. Prior to this date the Bay and the Strait had not been navigated since their original discovery by Cabot in 1512. James’ Bay honours the memory of James I., in whose reign it was completely explored. Quite a number of straits, gulfs, and bays bear the names of their respective navigators; therefore these need not detain us here. An exception exists in the case of Barrow’s Strait, which was so called by Captain Penny in compliment to John Barrow, the son of Sir John Barrow the traveller and statesman, in 1850. All Saints’ Bay was discovered by Vespucci on the Feast of All Saints in the year 1503. The Gulf of St. Lawrence was first explored, and the navigation of the long river of the same name commenced, on the Feast of St. Lawrence, 1500. The Gulf of Carpentaria preserves the memory of a Dutch captain named Carpenter who discovered it in 1606. Torres Strait received the name of the Spanish navigator, L. V. de Torres, to whom its discovery was due, in the year 1606. Botany Bay was so called by Captain Cook from the great variety of plants which he found growing on its shores when exploring it in the year 1770. The St. George’s Channel was named after the patron saint of England. The Skagerrack denotes the “crooked strait between the Skagen” (so called from the Gothic skaga, a promontory), which forms the northern extremity of Jutland and Norway. Zuyder Zee expresses the Dutch for the “south sea,” in relation to the North Sea or German Ocean. The Bay of Biscay takes its name from the Basque or Basquan, i.e., mountainous provinces, whose shores are washed by its waters. The Strait of Gibraltar honours the reputation of Ben Zeyad Tarik, a Moorish general who effected the invasion of Spain in the year 712 by obtaining possession of the apparently impregnable rock which has ever since borne the name, in consequence, of Jebel al tarik, the Mountain of Tarik. The Bosphorus is a Greek term composed of bous, an ox, and porus, a ford, alluding to the legend that when Io was transformed into a cow she forded this strait. The Dardanelles derive their name from the ancient city of Dardanus, founded by Dardanus, the ancestor of Priam, where the castle now stands on the Asiatic side.

By the term Australia is meant “the South,” and by Australasia “Southern Asia,” agreeably to the Latin australis, southern. Previous to its settlement by the British, Australia was known as New Holland owing to its discovery by the Dutch in the year 1606. The existing name of New Zealand likewise bears testimony to the deep-rooted affection of the Dutch navigators, and indeed of the Dutch people generally, for their native country—the word Zeeland, denoting sea-land, being significant of the low countries. Tasmania was originally known as Van Dieman’s Land, the name bestowed upon it by Abel Jansen Tasman, who discovered it in 1642, in compliment to the daughter of the Dutch governor of Batavia. The change of title was effected in 1853. The Society Islands received their name from Captain Cook in honour of the Royal Society; the Friendly Islands, on account of the friendly disposition of the natives; and Christmas Island, because he set foot upon it on Christmas Day, 1777. The naming of the Sandwich Islands by Cook conveyed a graceful compliment to Lord Sandwich, First Lord of the Admiralty. The Philippine Islands, discovered by Magellan in 1521, were named after Philip II. of Spain; and the Caroline Islands discovered by Lopez de Villalobos in 1543, after Charles V., Emperor of Germany and first King of Spain.

Papua is a Portuguese term for “frizzled,” in allusion to the enormous frizzled heads of hair worn by the natives; Java is a native Malay word signifying “the land of nutmegs;” Sumatra, a corruption of Trimatara, means “the happy land”; while Borneo comes from the Sanskrit bhurni, “land.” Japan is a European modification, brought about through the Portuguese Gepuen, of the native Niphon, compounded of ni, sun, fire, and pon, land, literally sun-land, or “land of the rising sun,” and signifying “the fountain of light.” Formosa is Portuguese for “beautiful”; whereas Ceylon, rendered in the Portuguese tongue Selen, is but part of the original Sanskrit Sinhala-dwipa, “the Island of Lions.” The Mauritius, when colonized by the Dutch, received the name of Maurice, Prince of Orange; and the Isle of Bourbon, when settled by the French, that of the Bourbon family. Madagascar is properly Malagasy, the Island of the Malagese, because the natives belong to the Malay race.

Tierra del Fuego expresses the Spanish for “land of fire.” The Island of Desolation was so designated by Captain Cook owing to the absence of all signs of life. Hanover Island honours the House of Hanover; and Adelaide Island, the queen of William IV.; while Juan Fernandez (also known as Selkirk’s Island, after Alexander Selkirk, its solitary inhabitant from September, 1704, to February, 1707), perpetuates the name of its discoverer in the year 1567. The Ladrone Islands merited this designation from the circumstance that when Magellan touched upon one of the lesser isles of the group in 1520 the natives stole some of his goods; whereupon he called the Islands the Ladrones, which is the Spanish for thieves. Pitcairn’s Island was discovered by Pitcairn in 1768. Easter Island was so denominated by Jacob Roggevin in consequence of his visit to its fertile shores on Easter Sunday, 1722; the island having previously been discovered by Captain Davis in 1686. Vancouver Island preserves the memory of Captain Vancouver, a midshipman under Captain Cook, who discovered it in 1792, while cruising about in search of a river on the west coast of North America. The Aleutian Islands expresses the Russian for “bald rocks.” Queen Charlotte Island was named in compliment to the queen of George III.; and Prince of Wales Island, after the Prince Regent, afterwards George IV. Barrow Island, discovered by Captain Penny in 1850, received the name of John Barrow, son of Sir John Barrow, the eminent statesman; while Baring Island, also discovered by Penny in the course of the same voyage, received the name of Sir Francis Baring, First Lord of the Admiralty. The Parry Islands and Baffin Land indicate the names of the famous Arctic navigators to whom their discovery was due. Banks Land was so called in compliment to Sir Joseph Banks, the eminent naturalist and President of the Royal Society.

Newfoundland is the only territory discovered by Cabot which has been allowed to retain its original name. Rhode Island, a corruption of the Danish rood, red, signifies Red Island, in allusion to its reddish appearance; whereas Long Island has reference to its long and narrow conformation. The Bermuda Islands were discovered by Juan Bermudez in 1522. San Salvador means “Holy Saviour.” This was the first land sighted by Columbus (October 11, 1492); he therefore gave it this name, as a token of thanksgiving. Jamaica is a corruption of Xaymaco, a native West Indian name signifying “the country abounding in springs.” Cuba and Hayti are also native names, the latter meaning “mountainous country.” The Island of Barbadoes derived its name from the Latin barba, a beard, in allusion to the beard-like streamers of moss always hanging from the branches of the trees. Dominica is indicative of the day of its discovery by Columbus, namely, Sunday, November 2, 1493; and Porto Rico is likewise Spanish for “rich port.” When Columbus first sighted the Isle of Trinidad he discerned three mountain peaks rising from the sea, thus conveying the impression of three distinct islands; but on approaching nearer he discovered that they formed one piece of land only; wherefore he gave the island the name of the Trinity, of which it was so eminently an emblem. But perhaps the most interesting of the West Indies in connection with the subject we are now discussing is Tobago Island, so called by Columbus from its fancied resemblance to the Tobaco, or inhaling tube of the aborigines, whence the word Tobacco has been derived. St. Kitt’s Island is an abbreviation of St. Christopher’s Island, so called by Columbus in 1493 after his patron saint.

Ascension Island was discovered by the Portuguese on Ascension Day, 1501; and the Isle of St. Helena on the Feast of St. Helena, 1502. Tristan d’Acunha received the name of the Portuguese navigator who discovered it in 1651. The Canary Islands were originally so called on account of the numerous dogs, as well as of their unusual size (Latin canis, a dog), bred here. Madeira is a Portuguese term signifying timber; the inference being that this island was formerly covered by an immense forest. Majorca and Minorca, literally in accordance with the Latin major and minor, the Greater and Lesser Island, are denominated also the Balearic Islands from the Greek ballein, to throw, because their inhabitants were anciently noted slingers. Corsica is a Phœnician word denoting “the wooded island”; Sardinia expresses the “land of the Sardonion,” a Greek term for a plant indigenous to this island; Capri signifies the “island of goats,” agreeably to the Latin caper, a he-goat; Sicily received its name from the Siculi, a tribe who settled upon it in early times; Malta was anciently Melita, “the place of refuge”; Candia comes from the Arabic Khandæ, “the island of trenches”; and Cyprus from the Greek Kupros, the name of a herb with which the island abounded; while Rhodes indicates an “island of roses,” in conformity with the Greek rhodon, a rose.

Belleisle is French for “beautiful island”; Jersey was originally Czar’s-ey, meaning “Cæsar’s Island,” so called by the Romans in honour of Julius Cæsar; the Isle of Wight denoted in the long, long ago the Island of the Wyts, or Jutes; just as Gothland indicated a settlement of the Goths. Heligoland expresses the Danish for “holy island settlement.” Anglesea is really a corruption of Anglesey, signifying, in accordance with the suffix ey, the Isle of the Angles [see [Chelsea]]. The Isle of Man is the modern designation of Mona Island, by which was meant, agreeably to the Celtic mæn, a stone “rocky island.” The Hebrides were anciently referred to by Ptolemy as the Ebudæ, and by Pliny as the Hebudes, denoting the “Western Isles”; the Orkney Isles expresses the Gaelic for the “Isles of Whales,” alluding to their situation; and the Shetland Isles, the Norse for the “Viking Island,” conformably with their native prenomen Hyalti, a Viking. The term Viking, by the way, meaning a pirate, was derived from the Vik, or creek, in which he lay concealed. The name of Iceland needs no comment, further than that, perhaps, the north and west coasts of the island are frequently blockaded with ice, which has drifted before the wind from Greenland. Spitzbergen is literal Dutch for “sharp-pointed mountains,” referring to the granite peaks of the mountains, which are so characteristic of this group of islands; while Nova Zembla presents a strange mixture of the Latin and Slavonic, literally “new land.”

THE MONTHS, AND DAYS OF THE WEEK.

The titles of the months are modernized forms of those in use among the Romans, namely:—January, in honour of Janus, a deity who presided over the beginning of everything; February, from the Latin word febru, to purify, because the purification of women took place in this month; March, after Mars, the God of War; April, from aperio, to open, this being the month in which the buds shoot forth; May, after Maia, the mother of Mercury, to whom sacrifices were offered on the first day of this month; June, from Juno, the queen goddess; July, the name given to this month by Marc Antony in honour of Julius Cæsar, who was born in it; August, named by Augustus Cæsar after himself, because in this month he celebrated three distinct triumphs, reduced Egypt to subjection, and put an end to the civil wars; while September, October, November, and December literally express the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth months of the old Roman Calendar, counted from March, which commenced the year previous to the addition of January and February by Numa in the year 713 B.C.

The Egyptian astronomers were the first to distinguish the days by names, when, as might have been expected, they called them after the Sun, the Moon, and the five planets, viz., Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. Of these the two first and the last survive, but for the rest the names of as many gods of the Scandinavian mythology have been substituted. Nowadays, then, we have the following:—Sunday, originally signifying the day upon which the sun was worshipped; Monday, the day of the moon; Tuesday devoted to Tiw, the God of War; Wednesday, set apart for the worship of Odin, or Wodin, the God of Magic and the Inventor of the Arts; Thursday, the day of Thor, the son of Odin (or Wodin), and the God of Thunder; Friday, allotted to Frigga, the wife of Odin, and the Goddess of Marriage; and Saturday, the day of Saturn, one of the planets of the solar system.

CREEDS, SECTS, AND DENOMINATIONS.

Theism and Deism both express a belief in God; the former term being derived from the Greek Theos, God, and the latter from the Latin, Deus, God. The Theist, however, admits the Theocracy or Government of God (Greek Theos, God, and kratein, to govern); the Deist, on the contrary, maintains that God in the beginning implanted in all His works certain immutable laws, comprehended by mankind under the name of the “Laws of Nature,” which act of themselves, and are no longer subject to the supervision of the Creator. Pantheism (from the Greek pan, all, everything, and Theos, God) is the religion which rejects a belief in a personal God, but recognizes Him in all the processes, and works, and glories, and beauties of Nature, and animated creation. Briefly, the Pantheist holds the doctrine that “God is everything, and everything is God.” The word Atheism comes from the Greek Theos, God, and the prefix a, without. An Atheist, therefore, practically answers to the description given by David in the opening line of Psalm xiv., “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” Agnosticism is also Greek, in accordance with the prefix a, without, and gnomi, to know. An Agnostic is one whose belief is confined to that which he knows and sees, and who rejects everything at all beyond his understanding. Secularism, derived from the Latin seculum, an age, a generation, is the term given to the principles advocated by Messrs. Holyoake in 1846, which professed an entire independence of religion, except so far as it pertains to this life. The Secularist aims at promoting the happiness of the community during the present life. His religion is that of this world, without troubling himself about possibilities concerning a life hereafter. Such views are closely allied to those set forth by John Stuart Mill (born 1806, died 1873) under the name of Utilitarianism, by which was meant, “the happiness of the greatest number.” This term was based upon the Latin utilitas, usefulness. Spiritualism expresses a belief in the soul’s immortality, as opposed to the doctrine of Materialism, which contends that the soul, or thinking part of man, is the result of some peculiar organization of matter in the body, with which it must necessarily die. Rationalism constitutes the doctrine which accepts the test of Reason and Experience in the pursuit of knowledge, particularly in regard to religious truth, rejecting the gift of Faith, Revelation, and everything connected with the supernatural or miraculous. This was the religion (!) of the French Revolutionists, who set up an actress to be publicly honoured as the “Goddess of Reason” in the Cathedral of Nôtre Dame on the 10th of November, 1793.

The earliest form of religion on the face of the earth was Monotheism, so called from the Greek monos, alone, only, and Theos, God; therefore signifying a belief in, and the worship of, one Only God. The word Religion is derived from the Latin religare, to bind. Hence, Religion implies obedience, submission, and an acknowledgment of certain orthodox doctrines regarding our duty to a Supreme Power. Mosaism, otherwise Judaism, denotes the religion of the Jews as enjoined in the laws of Moses. But even during that favoured period when God manifested Himself in various ways to the children of Israel, Idolatry prevailed. Let us consider what this word Idolatry really means. Idol is a contraction of the Greek eidolon, the diminutive of eidos, a figure, an image, or that which is seen, derived from the verb eidein, to see; while Idolater is made up of the two Greek words, eidolon, and latres, one who pays homage, a worshipper. An Idolater, therefore, is a worshipper of images, or that which he sees. The Israelites, who prostrated themselves before the Golden Calf, were strictly Idolaters; so were the Egyptians, who worshipped the sun, the moon, the ox, the dog, the cat, the ibis, and the ichneumon; but the Greeks and Romans were scarcely Idolaters, because the mythological deities they worshipped were unseen—as unseen as is the True God Himself. Neither were they Pagans, which term, from the Latin paganus, a countryman, a peasant, based upon pagus, a country, a district, has nothing whatever to do with religion. The Greeks and Romans were, in fact, Polytheists, and their religion was Polytheism, signifying, in accordance with the Greek polus, many, and Theos, God, a belief in more gods than one. The more general description of the religion of the ancients is comprised in the term Mythology, written in the Greek muthologia, from muthos, a fable, and logos, a discourse.

Alluding to the Fire Worshippers of the East, who fall prostrate in adoration of the sun, it should be noted that these do not actually worship the sun, but God, whom they believe to reside in it. This Sun or Fire Worship, the religion of the Parsees, otherwise denominated Zoroastrianism, was introduced into Persia by Zoroaster about five hundred years before the Christian era. In short, the Parsees are the descendants of those who, in Persia, adhered to the Zoroastrian religion after the Moslem or Mahommedan conquest of their country, whence they were at length driven by Moslem persecution to migrate to India. The Brahmins are the priests or higher caste of the Hindoos, who, like the Burmese, the inhabitants of the adjacent country, Burmah, claim to be descended from Brahma, the supreme deity of the Hindoo religion. The Buddhists are the followers of Buddha, a Hindoo sage who founded the doctrine of Buddhism in the sixth century B.C. Mahommedanism is the religion founded by Mahommed, or Mahomet (born 571, died 632). The term Koran, or more properly Al Koran, “The Koran,” which constitutes the Bible of the Mahommedans, is Arabic for a “Reading,” a “thing to be read.” The native name of the Mahommedan religion is Islam, resignation and obedience to God, founded upon the verb aslama, to bend, to submit, to surrender. The Mahommedans of Turkey and Persia usually bear the style of Mussulmans, a corruption and the plural of the Arabic muslim, rendered into English as Moslem, and meaning a true believer, or one who holds the faith of Islam.

Our reference to Mahommedanism having carried us some six hundred years beyond the foundation of Christianity by Christ, we must of necessity retrace our steps. Reverting to the Jewish people contemporary with Jesus Christ and His disciples, a certain portion of these styled themselves Pharisees because they affected a greater degree of holiness than their neighbours. The name was derived from the Hebrew word pharash, separated. The Nazarenes, so called after “Jesus of Nazareth,” were a sect of semi-converted Jews, who, while believing Christ to be the long-promised Messiah, and that His nature was Divine as well as human, nevertheless continued the rites and ceremonies peculiar to Judaism. The Gnostics, otherwise the “Knowers,” pursuant to the Greek gnomi, to know, were those who tried to accommodate the Scriptures to the speculations of Plato, Pythagoras, and other ancient philosophers; having done which to their own satisfaction they refused all further knowledge on the subject. The Aquarians (Latin aqua, water) insisted upon the use of water in the place of wine in the Communion. The Arians were the followers of Arius, a presbyter in the Church of Alexandria, universally regarded as the first heretic. Soon after his death (in 336), which was ignominious in the extreme, the Arians renounced their errors, and were readmitted into the Church; but this gave offence to another section of the Christians under Lucifer, Bishop of Cagliari, styling themselves the Luciferians, who refused all communication with the reconverted heretics. The Donatists were the followers of Donatus, Bishop of Numidia; the Macedonians, of Macedonius, Patriarch of Constantinople; the Apollinarians, of Apollinarius, Bishop of Laodicea and Greek Christian philosopher. These various sects arose in the fourth century of the Church.

The term Catholic, derived from the Greek Katholos, compounded out of Kata, throughout, and olos, whole, signifies One, Universal. During the first nine centuries of Christianity the Catholic Church was indeed universal; but at that epoch it became necessary to distinguish between the Eastern or Greek Church, and the Western or Church of Rome, by adding the word “Roman” to the original Church founded by St. Peter and perpetuated by his successors the Popes. The Greek Church, which constitutes the orthodox religion of Greece, Moldavia, and Russia, differs principally from the Roman Catholic in regard to the Papal supremacy, and the doctrine of Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father and the Son. The employment of the full title of Roman Catholic Church is at all times necessary in England when alluding to Christian doctrine in order to avoid probable confusion with the Established Church of this country which retains in its Creed the designation of “The Holy Catholic Church.” This is because at the Reformation the Church of England, then styled the Anglican Church, professed to be the Catholic Church governed by the reigning monarch instead of the Pope of Rome.

The Gallican Church is the so-called Church of France or Gaul, the ancient name of the country. Père Hyacinth, its founder, whose church was opened in Paris February 7, 1870, originally separated from the Church of Rome owing to his disapproval of the enforced celibacy of the clergy. The Lutheran Church of Germany took its name from Martin Luther (born 1483, died 1546), the monk who became the pioneer of Protestantism. In the year 1529 the Emperor Charles V. summoned a Diet at Spiers for the avowed object of enlisting the aid of the German Princes against the Turks, but really to devise some means of tranquillizing the disturbances which had grown out of Luther’s opposition to the Church of Rome, and restoring the national religion. Against a decree drawn up at this Diet six princes and the deputies of thirteen imperial towns offered a vehement protest, and ever afterwards the Lutherans were in consequence styled Protestants. The first Standard of Faith, according to the doctrines of Luther, is known as The Augsburg Confession, because it was presented by Luther and Melancthon to Charles V., during the sitting of the Imperial Diet at Augsburg in the year 1530.

The Calvinists were the followers of John Calvin (born 1509, died 1604), the zealous reformer of Switzerland. In due time these also styled themselves Protestants. From Switzerland Protestantism spread into France through the energy of a Genevese Calvinist named Hugh or Hugue, after whom the French Protestants adopted the name of Huguenots.

But Luther and Calvin were by no means the earliest of the reformers.

In England the Wycliffites, or followers of John Wycliffe (born 1324, died 1387), became known as Gospellers, after their leader had completed the translation of the Bible in 1377. Eventually they adopted the title of Lollards, in imitation of a sect of German reformers headed by Walter Lollard, a dissolute priest, who turned theologian and was publicly burned for heresy at Cologne in 1322. In France the precursors of the Huguenots were the Albigenses of Languedoc, so called because their capital was Albi, and its people were called the Albigeois, early in the twelfth century; and in 1170, the Waldenses, inhabiting the wooded districts of Valdois and Piedmont. The latter received their designation in accordance with the German walden, forests. The Camisards, or wearers of the Camisè, a peasant’s smock, to conceal their armour, comprised a body of Protestant insurgents who took up arms in the district of the Cevennes after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV., October 22, 1685. As these always conducted their attacks upon the soldiery under cover of the darkness the term “Camisard” in military parlance soon came to imply a night attack. The Protestants of Bohemia were styled Hussites, after John Huss (born 1373, burned 1415); they were also known as Bethlemites from the Church of Bethlehem in Prague, in which Huss used to hurl forth his denunciations against the Church of Rome. The Moravians, otherwise The United Brethren, who were driven by persecutions from Moravia and Bohemia in the last century, claimed to be descendants of the original Hussites.

Having now traced the rise of Protestantism generally, let us at once dispose of the various sects and denominations before confining ourselves to the Established Church and its offshoots.

The Adamites were the fanatical followers of one Picard, in Bohemia, self-styled “Adam, Son of God,” who, about the year 1400, proposed to reduce mankind to a state of primitive innocence and enjoyment. No clothes were worn, wives were held in common, and many other violations of Nature were committed ere they finally disappeared from the face of the earth. A similar sect were the Libertines, in Holland, These contended that nothing could be regarded as sinful in a community where each was at full liberty to act up to his natural dictates and passions. The Jansenists favoured the doctrines of Jansenius, Bishop of Ypres, in France (born 1585, died 1638). For a long period these maintained an open warfare with the Jesuists, properly, soldiers of the “Society of Jesus” [see [Religious Orders]], until they were finally put down by Pope Clement in 1705. The Gabrielites were a sect of Anabaptists of Germany in the sixteenth century, named after Gabriel Scherling, their founder. The Labadists were a sect of Protestant ascetics of the seventeenth century who conformed to the rules laid down by Jean Labadie, of Bourg, in Germany. The Socinians, a sect corresponding to the modern Unitarians, owed their existence to Lælius Socinus, an Italian theologian in 1546. The anti-Calvinists of Holland were styled Arminians, after the Latinized name (Jacobus Arminius) of their leader, James Harmensen (born 1560, died 1609). The New Christians comprised a number of Portuguese Jews in the fifteenth century, who, although they consented to be baptized under compulsion, still practised the Mosaic rites and ceremonies in secret. The Old Catholics of Germany are the followers of the late Dr. Döllinger, of Munich (born 1799, died 1890), who refused to accept the dogma of the infallibility of the Pope promulgated July 18, 1870.

In our own country the Scotists were those who adopted the opinions of John Duns Scotus (born 1272, died 1308), concerning the doctrines of the Immaculate Conception, in opposition to the Thomists, or followers of St. Thomas Aquinas (born 1227, died 1274), who denied that the Virgin was conceived without sin. The Sabbatarians, known also as the Seventh Day Baptists, founded by Brabourne, a clergyman who, about the year 1628, maintained that the seventh day was the real Sabbath as ordained at the beginning. The Fifth Monarchy Men, who came into existence during the reign of Charles I., believed in the early coming of Jesus Christ to re-establish the four great monarchies of the ancient world, viz., the Assyrian, Persian, Macedonian, and Roman, contemporaneously with the fifth, the Millennium. The Muggletonians were the followers of one Ludovic Muggleton, a journeyman tailor, who set himself up as a prophet in 1651. The Society of Friends originally styled themselves Seekers, because they sought the truth after the manner of Nicodemus, the Jewish ruler, as narrated in St. John iii. 1-21. They were first designated Quakers by Justice Bennet of Derby, in 1650, in consequence of George Fox, the founder, having admonished him and all present to quake on hearing the Word of the Lord. The Seekers came into existence in 1646. The White Quakers, who seceded from the main body about 1840, are distinguished by their white clothing. The original sect of the Shakers, first heard of in the time of Charles I., received its name from the convulsive movements indulged in by its members as part of their peculiar form of worship. The modern sect sprang from a body of expelled Quakers, headed by James Wardley, in 1747. They emigrated to America in May, 1772, and formed a permanent settlement near Albany, New York, two years afterwards. The Mormons derived their designation from “The Book of Mormon,” claimed to be a lost portion of the Bible written by the angel Mormon, the last of the Hebrew line of prophets, and found inscribed in Egyptian characters upon plates of gold by Joseph Smith, the founder of the sect, in the year 1827. This work was really written by the Rev. Solomon Spalding, who died in 1816. Joseph Smith died in 1844. The Peculiar People are so styled because they believe in the efficacy of prayer on the part of their elders, and the anointing with oil in the name of the Lord for the cure of sickness as set forth in James v. 14. This sect was first heard of in London in 1838. The Faith Healers, or those who uphold the doctrine of Healing by Faith, lately sprung up in our midst, may be regarded as an offshoot of the Peculiar People. The Irvingites are the followers of Edward Irving, a Scottish divine (born 1792, died 1834), who maintained that Christ was liable to commit sin in common with the rest of mankind. The Humanitarians incline to the same belief. The Sacramentarians are those who deny the Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist: the Calvinists were originally known by this title. The Plymouth Brethren first appeared at Plymouth about the year 1830; they so style themselves because they confess Christ as a fraternal community and do not recognize any order of priesthood. The Perfectionists of North America are so called owing to their rejection of civil laws, on the plea that the guidance of the Holy Spirit suffices for all earthly as well as spiritual affairs. Another body of co-coreligionists peculiar to North America are the Hopkinsians, named after Samuel Hopkins, of Connecticut, their founder. The doctrines which they hold are mainly Calvinistic.

The Scottish Covenanters were those who subscribed to a solemn league or covenant to stand by each other in opposition to the religious and political measures of Charles I. This occurred in 1638. In less than ten years afterwards the Covenanters, having increased in numbers and power, assumed the entire direction of their own ecclesiastical affairs and styled themselves Presbyterians, a term derived from the Greek presbuteros, an elder, because they contended that the government of the Church as set forth in the New Testament was by presbyters, equal in office, power, and order. The national Church of Scotland, therefore, when at length it was recognized by the English Parliament, bore the title of the Scottish Presbyterian Church. It was, however, not long before dissensions became rife. The strictest body of the Presbyterians adopted the style of Cameronians, after the name of their leader, Archibald Cameron, who was executed in 1688 on account of his religious opinions; while an equally numerous body, headed by John Macmillan, became known as Macmillanites, and also as The Reformed Presbytery. A much later sect was that founded in 1841 by James Morison, under the designation of the Morisonians. But the most alarming split in the Presbyterian Church took place May 18, 1843, when Dr. Chalmers, with a large following, established a separate community, entitled The Free Church of Scotland.

The Puritans of England were to the Established Church what the Pharisees were to the Jews. And not only did these Puritans profess a greater purity of doctrine, of morals, and of living, than their neighbours, but they embraced the earliest opportunity of separating themselves from the Church of England altogether. They were, in fact, the first of the Dissenters. On August 24, 1662, which date witnessed the secession of nearly two thousand ministers from the Church of England through their non-compliance with the “Act of Uniformity,” the Puritans joined forces with the latter, and the combined body assumed the name of Nonconformists. The Protestants were, consequently, divided into two great parties—the Conformists, or those who conformed to the requirements laid down in the “Act of Conformity,” and the Nonconformists. The latter have in more recent times borne the name of Dissenters, because they dissent from the Established Church. The Sectarians are Dissenters who attach themselves to one or other of the numerous sects and denominations which exist outside the Church of England. The Congregationalists and the Independents are one and the same. They maintain that each congregation is an independent religious community entitled to exercise the right of appointing its own ministers and managing its own affairs. These tenets were first publicly advanced by Robert Brown, a violent opponent of the Established Church, in Rutlandshire, as early as the year 1585. The Unitarians are the modern Socinians already alluded to. They are opposed to the doctrine of the Trinity; and, consequently, to the Trinitarians. The Baptists not only reject infant baptism, but hold that the adult subject should be baptized after the manner in which Christ was baptized by St. John. On this account the original Baptists, who arose about 1521, received the name of Anabaptists, because, having been already baptized during infancy, they of necessity went through the ceremony a second time on arriving at full age. The prefix ana is Greek, signifying twice. The followers of John Wesley (born 1703, died 1791) and his brother, Charles Wesley (born 1708, died 1788), were styled Methodists, owing to the methodical strictness of their lives and religious exercises. They were also denominated Wesleyans, or Wesleyan Methodists, in contradistinction to the Primitive Methodists, or Ranters, who separated from the original sect under Hugh Bourne, in 1810, and retained the style of open-air preaching peculiar to John Wesley in his early itinerant days.

The terms “High Church” and “Low Church” first came into prominence during the reign of Queen Anne. Nowadays, as then, that section is styled High Church which regards the Church of England as the only ark of salvation, while the less apprehensive and more moderate section is called Low Church. Those who take a still more liberal and comprehensive view of orthodox doctrine belong to what is known as the Broad Church, which is but another name for Latitudinarianism, as originally professed by a number of divines opposed alike to the Puritans and the High Church party in the time of Charles I. On the other hand, the Ritualists comprise the extreme High Church party who are anxious to return to the ritual of public worship in vogue during the reign of Edward VI. Prior to 1866, in which year the term arose, these High Churchmen bore the name of Puseyites, because they agreed with the views set forth by Dr. Pusey in his celebrated “Tracts for the Times,” published at Oxford between 1833 and 1841. Those scholars who assisted Dr. Pusey in the composition of these Oxford Tracts, as they were called, as well as the public at large who believed in their teaching, were styled Tractarians; while the great Roman Catholic revival that took place in the Church of England at this period universally bore, and still bears, the name of the Oxford Movement.

TAVERN SIGNS.

Hotel is a French term, derived from hostil, a lordly house, a palace. The designation Public House, signifying a house of public resort for refreshment and conviviality, is a modern substitute for Tavern, derived from the Latin taberna, a hut, a wooden booth; frequently also for Inn, or rather, as originally written, Inne, which expressed the Anglo-Saxon for a mansion. And here we may at once observe that by far the majority of our mediæval inns and Hostelries [see [Hotel]] grew out of the mansions of the nobility during the prolonged absence of their owners. At such times the privilege of utilizing the mansion for his own profit naturally fell to the family’s most trustworthy dependent, viz., the head gamekeeper, whose green costume gave existence to the sign of The Green Man, when, after quitting the family’s service, he set up an inn on his own account either in connection with his own cottage or abutting on the public highway. Nevertheless, this sign had nothing in common with that of The Green Man and Still, expressive of a herbalist bringing his herbs to a distillery, and which was doubtless the sign of a herbalist turned innkeeper.

As the family arms always occupied a prominent position on the front of the mansion these soon became known far and wide, though scarcely in accordance with their full heraldic significance. Briefly, the most conspicuous object in them sufficed to impress itself upon the minds of travellers as the distinguishing sign of the establishment; so that, instead of speaking of lions gules and lions azure, &c., they simplified matters by referring to red and blue lions, &c. Such was the origin, then, of The Red Lion, The Blue Lion, and many another familiar sign of this character. Moreover, as a variation of the same device entered into the arms of different families, it happened that the most conspicuous object in them became popular in different parts of the country at the same time. Another fruitful source of the rapid multiplication of a particular sign throughout the same county, and even upon the same estate, was the fact that as often as a retired dependent of a nobleman’s family turned innkeeper, he was pretty certain to name his establishment in accordance with the popular description of the original inn or mansion. If it chanced, however, that that sign had already been appropriated by another innkeeper in the immediate vicinity, the full cognizance of the ground landlord was adopted. Thus, in the Midland Counties there is no sign so common as The Bear and Ragged Staff, which was the cognizance of the Earl of Warwick, the King Maker. Similarly, The Boar’s Head was the cognizance of the Gordons; The Black Bull, that of the House of Clare; and The Talbot, that of the House of Shrewsbury. Another oft-to-be-met-with sign is The Chequers, which comprised the arms of the Earls of Fitzwarren who, in the time of the Plantagenets, held the right of granting the vintners their licences. Later in our history the same cognizance was adopted by the Stuarts. As every one is aware, The Red Rose was the recognized badge of the Lancastrians, and The White Rose that of the Yorkists. It may be assumed that these two signs were naturally more popular throughout the country at large during the Wars of the Roses than at any subsequent period. During that turbulent period of English history, too, the devices of the several adherents of the rival houses were not unfrequently chosen in commemoration of a particular event; as, for example, after the Battle of Barnet, when The Star, the badge of the Earl of Oxford who decided the fate of that day, sprang up as an inn-sign in all directions, except, of course, upon Yorkist ground.

Where the innkeeper was not bound by any ties of gratitude or regard to the ground landlord he evinced his loyalty to the reigning monarch by adopting a portion of the royal arms. As examples of this class:—The White Swan was the badge of Edward III. and of Henry IV.; The White Swan and Antelope, of Henry V.; The White Hart, and The Sun, both of Richard II.; The White Lion, of Edward IV. as Earl of March, and The Three Suns, of Edward IV. as King of England; The Eagle, of Queen Mary; The Blue Boar, of Richard III.; The Red Dragon, that of Henry VII., chosen for his standard after the Battle of Bosworth Field, and The Greyhound, his original badge as King. The Rose is the symbol of England, just as The Thistle stands for Scotland, The Shamrock for Ireland, and The Leek for Wales. A very general expression of loyalty, again, was conveyed in the sign of The Crown, which, by the way, was shrewdly complimentary to the reigning house without offering offence to the partisans of a rival claimant to the throne. The Rose and Crown had reference originally to the union of the red and white roses in the House of Tudor by the marriage of Henry VII. with Elizabeth, the daughter of Edward IV., in the year 1486; The Crown and Sceptre must have originated in the mind of one who had been witness to the elaborate ceremonial peculiar to a coronation; while The Crown and Anchor signified the reliance which was placed in the exalted person that wore the crown.

If, on the other hand, our mediæval innkeeper chose to flatter the ground landlord without actually adopting his cognizance, he invariably named his establishment after his lordship’s family title, e.g., The Earl of March, in compliment to the Duke of Richmond, or else set up some such sign as The Hare and Hounds, The Tally Ho!, The Fox in the Hole, &c., in allusion to the sporting tastes of his patron. At times he even went so far as to enter into the religious enthusiasm of the latter by exhibiting a preference for The Angel or The Salutation, both referring to the Annunciation of the Virgin; The Three Kings, meaning the Magi who presented themselves to the Infant at Bethlehem; or The Cross Keys, the symbol of St. Peter, and the badge of the Archbishop of York. The sign of The Mitre was generally adopted by an innkeeper whose establishment stood in the vicinity of a cathedral; consequently, this particular sign abounds in cities, but is rarely to be met with in the rural districts.

During the period of the Holy Wars, if the innkeeper did not content himself with the sign of The Turk’s Head or The Saracen’s Head, that of The Golden Cross, which was the ensign carried by the Crusaders, was usually chosen. The modern sign of The Half-Moon originated in the crescent, the ensign of the Infidel. The signs of The Swan, The Pheasant, and The Peacock arose in the days of knight-errantry, when every knight selected one of these birds as an emblem of chivalry, and exerted a pride in the association. For example, one of the principal characters in the “Niebelungen Lied” is called “The Knight of the Swan.” Then, again, many innkeepers assumed a sign in honour of the patron saint of England, or in commemoration of his combat with the dragon, viz., The St. George, The St. George and Dragon, The George and Dragon, The Green Dragon, &c. The George, a common sign enough in our own day—it would be difficult to name a town that has not its “George” in the High Street—was originally connected with the dragon too; but at the commencement of the Hanoverian succession the heraldic device was painted out altogether, and the words The George were put up in its place. The like observation applies to all such signs as The King’s Arms, The Queen’s Arms, The Freemasons’ Arms, The Coachmakers’ Arms, The Saddlers’ Arms, The Carpenters’ Arms, &c., nowadays identified by name only, instead of their distinctive badge or crest. We must not omit to mention also that, since the especial function of tavern and other signs was to call attention to the character of an establishment in days when the people were unable to read, and when, therefore, the display of the owner’s name or of the name of the house would have been useless, the misapprehension of the painted device was of common occurrence. Hence the corruption of many signs from their original meaning.

Perhaps the most glaring instance of this kind originated in the sign of The Garter, or the insignia of the Order of the Garter represented in its proper position on a leg (whence we have the intelligible sign of The Star and Garter); yet the vulgar mind quite failed to grasp the idea, with a result that a house exhibiting this sign was invariably referred to as The Leg and Star. Corruptions of a different character are of later date, when the name of the house instead of the device began to make its appearance on an innkeeper’s signboard. Chief among these are:—The Cat and Fiddle, a perversion of “Caton le Fidele,” in honour of Caton, the faithful Governor of Calais; The Bag o’ Nails, of “The Bacchanals,” in reference to Pan and the Satyrs; The Goat and Compasses, of the Puritan motto “God encompass us”; The Iron Devil, of “The Hirondelle,” or swallow; The Bull and Mouth, and The Bull and Gate, of “The Boulogne Mouth” and “The Boulogne Gate,” in compliment to Henry VIII., who effected the siege of Boulogne and its harbour in 1544; The Lion and Key, of “The Lion on the Quay,” meaning a house bearing the sign of The Lion, and situated by the water-side, in order to distinguish it from other Lions in the same port; The Cat and Wheel, of “The Catherine Wheel,” the instrument of St. Catherine’s martyrdom; The Plume and Feathers, of “The Plume of Feathers,” in allusion to the Prince of Wales; The Bully Ruffian, of “The Bellerophon,” the vessel on board of which Napoleon surrendered his sword to Captain Maitland after his defeat at Waterloo; and The Blue Pig, a mere modification of “The Blue Boar.” The Pig and Whistle is a very old sign, the term whistle being a corruption of “wassail,” and pig, the Old English for a bowl or cup. Surely there could be no more fitting sign for a tavern than that which suggested the drinking of healths!

The original character of many of our country inns is at once indicated by their signs. Thus, The Coach and Horses was clearly, before the introduction of railways, a coaching establishment; while The Pack Horse announced the fact that pack-horses were let out on hire. Again, The Bear—subject to sundry modifications, such as The Brown Bear, The Black Bear, The Grizzly Bear—informed the frequenters of such resorts that bear-baiting might be witnessed on the premises; exactly as, nearer to our own day, The Dog and Duck called attention to the popular diversion of duck-hunting by spaniels in a pond. The Skittles and The Bowling Green indicated a more rational kind of sport. Once more, The Grapes conveyed the intelligence that a vinery existed in connection with the establishment; whereas The Castle, which constitutes the arms of Spain, The Globe, the arms of the King of Portugal, and The Spread Eagle, the arms of Germany, told that the wines of those respective countries were to be had there. In the north of England the sign of The Yorkshire Stingo is very common, the allusion being to an old beer of particular strength and sharpness for which the county of York has won considerable celebrity.

Among other familiar country inn and tavern signs may be mentioned The Bell, referring to the silver bell that formed the prize at races previous to the Restoration; The Barley Mow, denoting the premises where the barley was housed, mowe being the Saxon term for “a heap”; and The Old Hat, which in the olden time may have been the shop of a hatter rejoicing in the sign of “The Hat,” and subsequently converted into a place of refreshment. Another distinctly tradesmanlike sign is The Ram and Teazle, which was originally chosen in compliment to the Clothiers’ Company; the lamb with the golden fleece being emblematical of wool, and the teazle, a tool used for raising the nap of the wool when woven into cloth. The Bricklayers’ Arms merely indicate a house of call for bricklayers; while The Cricketers’ Arms derives its title from a neighbouring cricket-ground. The significance of The Tankard, The Bottle, and similar signs, need not detain us. We may, however, state that The Black Jack refers to a leathern pitcher for holding beer, which took its name from the defensive breastplate of strong leather formerly worn by horsemen, and known as a Jacque, whence the term Jacket has been derived.

Signs that betray a political bias, such as The Royal Oak, The Boscobel, The Jacobite, The Hanover, &c., are altogether too numerous to mention. In the early part of the present century, too, the names of political leaders were largely drawn upon as an attraction for tavern signs, as were those also of distinguished naval and military commanders, and of the battles won by them. The Canning, The Palmerston, The Nelson, The Wellington, The Marquis of Granby, The Portobello Arms, The Trafalgar, The Waterloo, and a host of others of the like character, are everywhere to be encountered; while the old sign of The Ship carries us back to the days of Elizabeth, when the circumnavigation of the globe by Sir Francis Drake was regarded as an exploit that could scarcely be too highly honoured.

Before concluding, let us add a few words of comment upon the signal loyalty of the English people in the times we live in; for whereas our forefathers were for the most part content to express their loyalty to the throne by the choice of such vague tavern signs as The King’s Head, or The Queen’s Head, we of the nineteenth century are not nearly so half-hearted. Not only are The Victoria, The Prince Albert, The Prince of Wales, and The Prince of Wales’ Feathers honoured on every hand in the course of a day’s perambulation, but The Duke of Edinburgh, The Duke of Cambridge, The Duke of Connaught, and other members of the Royal Family, are similarly memorialized. Perhaps in the future, when the Prince of Wales shall occupy the British Throne, his descendants may also in their turn form the subject of many a tavern sign in our midst.

ROYAL SURNAMES.

Alfred the Great (reigned 871 to 901) fully merited his surname because he expelled the Danes, established a navy, founded schools, and effected the restoration of law and order during one of the most critical periods of early British history. Taking the remainder of the Saxon monarchs in chronological order, we have:—Edward the Martyr (975 to 978), treacherously murdered at Corfe Castle; Ethelred the Unready (978 to 1016), who, lacking rede, or council, fled to Normandy to escape the consequences of a threatened invasion by the Danes; Edmund Ironsides (reigned 1016), whose habitual precaution of wearing a complete suit of mail availed him nothing against the fatality of assassination; Edgar Atheling (born 1017, died 1120), otherwise “Edgar of Royal Descent”; Harold Harefoot (1035 to 1039), swift of foot as a hare; and Edward the Confessor (1042 to 1066), so called on account of his holy life. The distinction between a Confessor and a Martyr in the early days of Christianity was simply this: both made an open confession of their faith, and expressed their readiness to die for it; the former, however, was never called upon to do so, whereas the latter actually suffered martyrdom.

William I. (reigned 1066 to 1087), was styled The Conqueror because he defeated the Saxons at the Battle of Hastings, and founded the Norman Dynasty in England. William II. (1087 to 1100), received the name of Rufus from his florid complexion; rufus being Latin for ruddy. Henry I. (1100 to 1135), was surnamed Beauclerc, or good clerk, in recognition of his scholarly attainments. Richard I. (1189 to 1199), styled Cœur de Leon, otherwise “The Lion Hearted,” is traditionally said to have torn the living heart out of the mouth of a lion to whose fury he was exposed by the Duke of Austria for having killed his son in battle. This extraordinary exploit surpasses the bounds of reason; still there is no doubt that he performed prodigies of valour during the Wars of the Crusades. Another British monarch who rejoiced in a surname of the leonine order was William the Lion, King of the Scots (1165 to 1214), so called because he chose a red lion rampant for his crest. It is from this king that the lions distinguished in the Royal Arms of Scotland trace their origin.

King John (reigned 1199 to 1216) received the surname of Lackland on account of his improvidence, which at the time of the death of his father (Henry II.) left him entirely without provision. Edward I. (1272 to 1307) was styled Longshanks from his spindle legs. The eldest son of Edward III., known as The Black Prince (born 1330, died 1376), was not exclusively addicted to the wearing of black armour, as he is usually represented in waxwork shows and picture toy-books; consequently he did not derive his surname from such an association; but, as the historian Froissart informs us, “he received his name by terror of his arms.” Seeing that at the age of sixteen he won his knightly spurs at Crecy, and ten years later took the French king prisoner at Poictiers and brought him in triumph to London, the military renown of this young warrior must have been sufficient to command respect from his enemies. John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (born 1340, died 1399), took his title from the town of Ghent, in Flanders, where he was born. In like manner his son, Henry IV. (1399 to 1413), was styled Bolingbroke, after his native place.

Henry VIII. (reigned 1509 to 1547) was surnamed Bluff King Hal on account of his bluff manners; he also received the title of Defender of the Faith from Pope Leo X., in recognition of the tract he published against the heresy of Martin Luther. Mary, Queen of Scots (born 1542, died 1587), was known as The White Queen because she adopted white mourning for her husband, Lord Darnley. Our own Queen Mary (1547 to 1558) has been handed down to posterity under the opprobrious title of Bloody Mary, in consequence of the wholesale burnings of the Protestants under her reign. The religious persecutions of her time admit of no denial, yet they were fully equalled by those brought to light during the reign of her successor, Elizabeth, while they fell infinitely short of those characterized by the reign of Henry VIII. In one sense Elizabeth (1558 to 1603) was appropriately styled Good Queen Bess, inasmuch as she exercised due regard to the interests of the realm and the welfare of her people. Her enemies she speedily removed, but she was just as ready to bestow honours and rewards upon her nation’s worthies. Oliver Cromwell was called The Lord Protector (born 1599, died 1658) because he protected the interests of the Commonwealth. The reason why Charles II. (1660 to 1685) was dubbed The Merry Monarch must be sought in the licentiousness of the times in which he lived. Much nearer to our own day, William IV. (1830 to 1837) was distinguished by the title of The Sailor King, from the circumstance of his having entered the navy as a midshipman and worked his way upwards until he attained the rank of Lord High Admiral.

The family name of Plantagenet, derived from the Latin planta, a plant, and genista, broom, was originally assumed by Fulke Martel, Earl of Anjou, the great grandfather of Henry II., in commemoration of the incident, while on his pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre, of having offered himself to be scourged with the stems of the broom plant by his two attendants as an atonement for the murder of the Earl of Brittany. The Tudor Dynasty was founded by Owen Tudor, a Welsh soldier stationed at Windsor, who contracted a secret marriage with Catherine, the widowed queen of Henry V. The first of the long line of the Stuart sovereigns (Scottish and English) was Walter, the Lord High Steward of Scotland, whose wife was the daughter of King Robert the Bruce. As this Walter was the sixth member of his family that had held the post of Lord High Steward, he was popularly said to belong to the Stewards, until in course of time this word became corrupted into Stuarts, and was adopted as a family name.

Charles I., Emperor of Germany (born 742, died 814), was surnamed Charlemagne, otherwise Charles the Great. The She-Wolf of France was Isabella (born 1290, died 1357), daughter of Philip IV. of France, and queen of Edward II. of England, whom she, in concert with the Earl of Mortimer, her paramour, murdered by thrusting a red-hot iron into his bowels. Pedro the Cruel, King of Castille and Leon in 1350, merited his surname owing to his cruel treatment of his two brothers, whom he murdered, and his queen, whom he poisoned. Ivan II., Czar of Russia (reigned 1533 to 1584), was styled The Terrible on account of the cruelties he inflicted upon all who offended his autocracy. Frederick I., of Germany (reigned 1152 to 1190), was surnamed Barbarossa from his red beard, barba being Latin for beard; while for his bombardment of Messina in 1848 Ferdinand, King of Naples, was nicknamed Bomba. Philippe, Duc d’Orleans, the father of Louis Philippe, King of France, assumed the name of Egalité when he joined the Republican party in 1789. Of a truth, if “Equality” was what this not unworthy Prince aspired to, he enjoyed it to the full, for he lost his head under the guillotine in common with more than twenty thousand of his fellow-citizens.

NATIONAL NICKNAMES.

Brother Jonathan, the popular nickname of the United States, arose out of the person of Jonathan Trumbull, the Governor of Connecticut, whom General Washington never failed to consult in cases of emergency. “We must refer the matter to Brother Jonathan!” he was wont to exclaim when no other officer could offer any practical suggestion to aid him out of a difficulty; and true enough, “Brother Jonathan” proved himself in every instance equal to the confidence reposed in him. Another stock nickname for the United States is Uncle Sam. This originated from a vulgar misconception of the initial letters “U. S.” (United States) for those of the well-known sobriquet of an official whose business it was to mark them on all Government property. The numerous acquaintances of this person understood that the goods so marked had passed through the hands of “Uncle Sam,” and the joke becoming public it spread far and wide, until in the end it was considered far too good to be allowed to drop. The term Yankee finds its origin in the native attempt to pronounce the word “English,” but approaching no nearer to the sound than Yengees, the name bestowed upon the English colonists by the Indians of Massachusetts, and afterwards given to the New Englanders by the British soldiers during the American War.

The nickname of the typical Englishman, John Bull, was derived from Dr. Arbuthnot’s satire of this title published in 1721. There was also a real person of the name of John Bull, well known as the composer of “God Save the King”; but he died just a hundred years before Dr. Arbuthnot’s performance was heard of. Of a still later date is the national English nickname, Mrs. Grundy, which arose out of the passage, “What will Mrs. Grundy say?” from Thomas Morton’s drama, “Speed the Plough,” produced in 1798. The proverbial prudishness of the English people in matters affecting art, could scarcely be better expressed than under the style of The British Matron. The British soldier is popularly referred to under the general designation of Tommy Atkins, because “Thomas Atkins” was a fictitious name that figured in the soldiers’ monthly statement of accounts.

The Irish as a nation are invariably alluded to as Pat or Paddy, being short for Patrick, their most common Christian name, selected in honour of St. Padhrig, or Patrick (born 373, died 466); the Scots as Sandie or Sawney, a contraction of Alexander, their most popular Christian name; and the Welsh as Taffy, a corruption of Davy, and short for David, the name of their Archbishop and Saint (born 490, died 554).

The national nickname of the Chinese is John Chinaman, in imitation of our own characteristic “John Bull.” Even now a Chinaman addresses every Englishman he meets as “John,” which is his idea of our most popular name. Hence, British sailors in the Chinese waters from the first returned the compliment, so to speak, by alluding to each Celestial with whom they came in contact as “John Chinaman.”

The Chinese are also called Pigtails, on account of their Tartar tonsure and braided queue. By the Indians of North America Europeans are styled Pale Faces; while the Europeans designate the Indians Red Skins, both terms having reference to the complexion. The word Nigger is a corruption of Negro, derived from niger, the Latin for black. The reason why a negro generally bears the name of Sambo is because Zambo is the native term used to designate the offspring of a black person and a mulatto. The word Mulatto is Spanish, derived from the Latin mulus, a mule, and signifying a mixed breed. A Mulatto may be either the offspring of a negress by a white man, or of a white woman by a negro.

BIRDS.

The following owe their names to their characteristic note:—the Cuck-oo, the Pee-wit, the Cur-lew, the Chick-a-dee, and the Whip-poor-will. The Trumpeter of South America is so called on account of its loud, clear, and trumpet-like cry. The word Nightingale is a modern form of the Anglo-Saxon nihtegale, indicative of a bird that sings by night, agreeably to its component parts, niht, night, and gale, a songster. The Night-Jar bears its name because the sound it emits resembles the whirring of a spinning-wheel. The Mocking-bird possesses the power of imitating the notes of other birds; while the Humming-bird is remarkable for the humming sound that proceeds from its wings as it speeds through the air.

Several birds are named after the colour or some other characteristic of their plumage. Among these we have the Greenfinch and the Goldfinch, the term Finch from the Anglo-Saxon finc, denoting a small singing bird; the Greenlet expressing a tiny green bird peculiar to South America; the Jay, a corruption of gai, its French name, alluding to its gay or showy appearance; the Blue-bird, common in the United States, the upper half of which is blue; the Blackbird, so called from its sable aspect; the Starling, owing to the specks at the extremities of its feathers; the Flamingo, of South America and Africa, from its flaming colour; the Oriole, an Australian bird of golden-yellow plumage, agreeably to the Latin aureolus, golden; and the Lyre-bird, also a native of Australia, so denominated on account of the sixteen feathers of the tail which when folded form in appearance a perfect lyre. The British song-bird known as the Red-poll receives its name from the tuft of red feathers upon its head; whereas the South African Secretary-bird is so called because a tuft of feathers on each side of its head are supposed to resemble quill pens stuck behind the ear. The South American Birds of Paradise are indeed a beautiful species, all the colours of the rainbow being represented in their plumage; and the same may be said of the Love-birds, so designated from the extraordinary affection which they exhibit towards one another. The Kingfisher is regarded as the king of fisher-birds, or those that dive for fish as their prey, by reason of his gay plumage.

The Lapwing derives its name from the loud flapping noise made by its wings during flight; the Wagtail, from the incessant wagging of its tail; and the Scissors-tail—found only in South America—from the peculiar nature of its tail, which, like a pair of scissors, opens and shuts in the course of its rapid passage through the air and so entraps the flies upon which it preys. The Hangbird is so called from its habit of suspending its nest from the limb of a tree; the Weaver-bird, from the wonderful intertwining of twigs and grass displayed in the construction of its nest; and the Tailor-bird, from the skill it displays in constructing its nest by stitching together the leaves of plants.

Among corruptions of the names of birds it will be sufficient to mention the Widow-bird, properly the Whydaw-bird, after the territory in Africa of which it is a native; the Martin, from the Latin murustenco, or wall-swallow, shortened into murten, and mispronounced marten; and the Muscovy Duck, which, so far from claiming a Muscovite origin, is merely a musk duck, a species somewhat larger than our common duck.

The Swift derives its name from its rapid flight; the Passenger-pigeon, from its migratory habits; the Skylark, from mounting to the sky and singing as it flies; and the Chaffinch, from its preference for chaff above every other kind of food. The Diver is remarkable for its habit of diving; the Sandpiper inhabits the sea-beach; and the Chimney-swallow builds his nest in an ordinary house chimney. The Horn-bill, the Boat-bill, the Spoon-bill, and the Duck-bill are respectively so named on account of the resemblance of their bills to the articles, and in the last-mentioned case to the bird, indicated; while the Cross-bill has its mandibles crossed in opposite directions. The Pouter-pigeon is so called from the pouting, or bulging out, of its breast; the Ring-dove, from the white ring around its neck; and the Wryneck, from the curious manner in which it turns its neck over its shoulder when surprised. The Woodcock is found in the underwood of a forest, while the Woodpecker pecks holes in the bark of trees in search for insects.

Chief among the birds which derive their names from the countries to which they originally belonged are the Guinea-fowl, brought from Guinea, West Africa; the Brahma-fowl, from the neighbourhood of the Brahmapootra River in India; the Bantam, from Bantam in Java; the Barb, from Barbary, and the Turkey, which, although an American bird, was long believed to have been imported from European Turkey. Another native of North America received its name of the Baltimore-bird from the fact that its colours corresponded with those which occurred in the arms of Lord Baltimore, the Governor of Maryland, in which State it principally abounds. The Canary was first brought from the Canary Islands in 1500. The Petrel, a sea-bird usually associated with storms, expresses the Anglicized form of the Italian petrillo, a diminutive of Peter, in allusion to St. Peter walking on the sea, and the frequent appearance of this bird standing as it were on the surface of the water.

RELIGIOUS ORDERS.

Strictly speaking, the members of the various Religious Orders, in this country at least, are not Monks, but Friars. Only those who live completely isolated from the rest of mankind, as did St. Anthony, are entitled to the former designation, which, in common with the term Monastery, comes from the Greek monos, alone. Consequently, a Religious House is incorrectly described as a Monastery unless each individual within its walls occupies a separate cell, both by night and by day, and never suffers himself to have the least communion with his neighbour. Failing compliance with such a rule, the term Convent, derived from the Latin con, together, and venire, to come, is more fittingly applicable. This designation, however, is now borne by an institution reserved for a community of Nuns, so called from the Italian nonna, a grandmother, because they originally comprised only very aged women; albeit it was formerly the custom to speak of Monasteries and Convents without discrimination. An Abbey always indicated a Religious House in connection with a Church, as, for example, Westminster Abbey, the abode of the community attached to the West Minster, presided over by an Abbot, so styled in accordance with the Syriac and Latin abba, a father, or, in the case of a female community, by an Abbess; whereas a Priory denoted a lesser or branch establishment placed at some distance from the Abbey, and controlled by a Prior (or Prioress), signifying one who had a prior claim over the rest to the office of Abbot (or Abbess) in the original community.

A Friar, on the other hand, is—conformably to the Latin fratre and the French frère, a brother—what the term implies, viz., one of a brotherhood. In olden times there existed four distinct and powerful Orders of Friars. These were the Dominicans, founded by St. Dominic to preach away the Albigensian heresies, also known as the Black Friars, on account of their black habits, and in France as the Jacobins, because their first convent was situated in the Rue St. Jacques, Paris; the Franciscans, or Grey Friars, named after St. Francis d’Assissi; the Carmelites, or White Friars of Mount Carmel; and the Augustines, or Austin Friars, whose origin is ascribed to St. Augustin or Austin, the first Archbishop of Canterbury, who died in 605. Eventually a fifth Order, styled the Trinitarians, or Friars of the Holy Trinity, otherwise the Crutched Friars, so called from the cross (Latin cruciati, crossed) embroidered on their habit, came into existence.

Referring to the Franciscans, those who conformed to the austere rules laid down by their founder were denominated Observant Friars, while those who, as time wore on, began to live in convents and coveted lands, chapels, and books, received the name of Conventional Friars. Out of the Franciscans there have sprung two lesser Orders, so to speak, chiefly distinguished by a slight change in the details appertaining to the habit worn by them. These are the Capuchins, so called from the capuce, or pointed cowl, that they wear, and the Cordeliers, from the knotted cord which encircles their waist in place of a girdle. In effect, however, these two offshoots of the Franciscans are the same, and subject to the like rules, as the parent institution.

Having disposed of the Friars, let us now turn to the Monks properly so called. Originally the sole existing order of monks was that of the Benedictines as established by St. Benedict, who introduced the monastic system into Western Europe in the year 529. No less than twelve large Monasteries were raised by him before he died; but notwithstanding the austere rules which obtained among the Benedictines, these were yet considered too lax by some individual members of the Order, with the result that first one and then another “Reformed Order” sprang into existence, the latest being in each case distinguished for a still more rigorous rule than that of its immediate predecessor. Thus, we now have the Carthusians, our English designation for the monks of La Chartreuse near Grenoble, by whom the celebrated liqueur known as Chartreuse is prepared; the Cistercians, or monks of Citeau; and the Cluniacs, or monks of Cluny, respectively named after the vicinity of their original monastery in France; while the Bernardines received their title from St. Bernard, who founded the famous Hospice of Mont St. Bernard in the year 962. From the Carthusians, also, there have sprung the Basilians founded by St. Basil, and from the Cistercians, the Trappists, or monks of La Trappe, originally established in the French district so denominated.

Foremost among the Religious Orders not comprised in any of the brotherhoods cited above are the Jesuists, properly styled “The Society of Jesus,” an organization founded upon a military basis by St. Ignatius Loyola in 1534, which extends its influence all over the globe. Next in point of importance come the Servites, otherwise “The Religious Servants of the Holy Virgin,” established by seven Florentine merchants in 1283; the Passionists, a community of priests solemnly agreed to preach “Jesus Christ and Him crucified,” founded by Paul Francis, better known as St. Paul of the Cross, in 1737; and the Redemptorists, or preachers of the Redemption, also styled the Liguorians, after St. Francis Liguori, who originated this Order in 1732. Each of these, except, of course, the lay members of the Jesuists, are professedly Monks; and yet these are not really Monks, but Friars, because they live in community, and at times mingle freely with the people. In short, they are Missionary Friars.

PAPER AND PRINTING.

The word Paper comes from the Latin papyrus, and Greek papyros, the designation of an Egyptian plant from whose reeds the earliest kind of writing material was obtained. Parchment is an Anglicized form of the French parchemin, from the Greek pergamenos, named after the ancient city of Pergamos, in Asia Minor, where the skins of goats were first prepared for writing upon at a time when Ptolemy prohibited the exportation of the papyrus from Egypt.

Hand-paper was originally so called from its watermark, which was that of a hand; Pot-Paper, of a pot; Post-paper, of a post-horn; Crown-paper, of a crown; and Foolscap, of a fool’s head with the cap and bells. India-paper formerly came from the Far East, whereas Nepaul-paper is made in the district of Nepaul, Northern India. Cap-paper is so designated because, prior to being used by grocers for wrapping up sugar and other commodities sold by weight, it is folded into a cap-like form. Among papers of a stiffer kind, that are chiefly intended for drawing upon, we have Elephant, so called from its large size (28 inches by 23), Cartridge-paper, originally manufactured for soldiers’ cartridges, and Bristol-board, formerly made only at Bristol.

By the term Folio, derived from the Latin folium, a leaf, is meant a sheet of paper folded but once, thus making two leaves or four pages; a Quarto (written 4to), is a sheet folded into quarters or four leaves, making eight pages; an Octavo (8vo), so styled in accordance with the Latin octa, eight, one folded into eight leaves or sixteen pages; a Duodecimo (12mo), the Latin for “two and ten,” one making twelve leaves or twenty-four pages, and so forth.

When Caxton set up the first printing press in this country, in the year 1476, there were many among the vulgar who regarded it as an invention of the devil; and the clergy, no doubt, fostered this idea, foreseeing that in the event of the Bible being distributed to the masses by this means, the way would be thrown open to the production of spurious editions of Sacred Writ, and the perversion of religious doctrine, which up to that period had been free to all who chose to attend daily instruction in the monasteries. Hence, printing was popularly described as “The Black Art,” while the boys who took the sheets off the press, from the fact of generally smearing their faces with ink, came to be known as Imps or Devils. This will explain why a printer’s errand-boy still bears the nickname of a Printer’s Devil.

Our Parliamentary Records, Debates, Reports of Meetings, and Accounts, have received the name of Hansards because they are printed by the large printing firm established by Luke Hansard in 1752; whereas a Blue Book is so called on account of its stiff cover of blue paper. The French Government reports are styled Yellow Books for a similar reason. The term Book comes from the Danish bog, a beech-tree, which abounds in Denmark and whose wood is much used for engraving-blocks. The Leaf of a book is in allusion to the ancient custom of writing on the bark of trees; while Volume is derived from the Latin volvo, I roll, relative to the Egyptian papyri, each one of which when rolled up formed a document or volume complete in itself. A storehouse for books is styled a Library, in accordance with the Latin librarium, a book-case, derived in the first instance from liber, a book.

A Pamphlet owes its description to Pamphila, a Greek lady who left behind her a kind of commonplace book containing notes, epitomes, and anecdotes. The French equivalent for a pamphlet is a Brochure, so called from the verb brocher, to stitch, because such a book consists only of a few pages stitched together. The word Chart comes from the Latin charta, a leaf of paper; a chart, therefore, is not printed on canvas like a map, but on a single sheet of paper. Map traces its origin from mappa, a Punic word which signified a signal-cloth, also a napkin, because in ancient times military and other landmarks were sketched upon a cloth in the absence of parchment and paper. Nowadays, a book of maps designed for school use is called an Atlas, after the fabled King of Mauritania of this name, who was believed by the ancients to support the world on his shoulders. The figure of Atlas with the globe first appeared as a frontispiece to “Mercator’s Projections,” published about the year 1560.

A Cartoon, as we understand the term, is a representation of political significance, usually coloured and printed on stiff paper. To some extent this kind of publication owes its origin to the celebrated ‘Cartoons’ of Raffaelle, now in the South Kensington Museum, so called because they were drawn upon cartone, the Italian for pasteboard. A Broadside consists of a large sheet of paper having the matter printed straight across, instead of in columns, so as to admit of being read at one broad view. The reverse side of the sheet is left blank. A Poster bears its name from the fact that formerly the sidewalks of London streets, instead of being paved as now, were distinguished from the centre, or sedan-chair and riding way, by a series of posts; and upon these, theatrical and other announcements were posted. In France, the theatre bills are exhibited upon the lamp-posts on the Boulevards in a similar manner. In conclusion, the distinction between Booksellers and Stationers was originally this: the former were itinerant sellers of books, like hawkers, and pedlars, whereas the latter had stalls at the corners of streets or in open market; and as the stationarii, or stationary booksellers, were enabled to display a more varied stock than the itinerants who carried books only, such articles as writing-paper, pens, ink, and other materials in course of time received the name of Stationery.

POLITICAL NICKNAMES.

The utmost difficulty exists in reconciling the various opinions expressed by different authors concerning the origin of the terms Whig and Tory. And yet, if we but consider the reasons why these nicknames were first bestowed upon the two great political factions of this country during the reign of Charles II., we may possibly attain a much-desired end. In the year 1648 (temp. Charles I.) there occurred a rising, or sally, of the peasantry inhabiting the south-western districts of Scotland against the Royalists. This was known as the Whigamore Raid, the term whigamore being applied to the teamsters and ploughmen of those parts because they used the twin-syllabic cry of “Whi-gam!” to drive their horses. When, therefore, in the early days of the Restoration, the ultra-Protestant party opposed certain measures of the Government, the Catholics reproached them with favouring the fanatical opinions of the Scottish Covenanters and Whigamores, and styled them Whigs. In return the Protestants bestowed upon their opponents the nickname of Tories, the familiar designation of a band of Irish outlaws who sought refuge in the bog districts of Ireland. The word Tory, or rather Toree, is Irish, signifying a robber. From that time down to the present Toryism has been considered to denote a steadfast adherence to constitutional principles and the maintenance of royalty and the peerage, as opposed to the progressive and more liberal views appertaining to Whiggism, which advocates constitutional reform and a moderate extension of democratical powers. The word Liberal was first employed by Lord Byron and his friends as the title of a periodical intended to set forth the political aims of the advanced Whig party in 1828. The term Conservative (derived from the Latin con, together, and servare, to keep, to preserve) first appeared in an article in The Quarterly Review, January, 1830, and was permanently adopted by the Tory party on the passing of the Reform Bill two years afterwards. The still more advanced section of the Whig party which came into prominence in 1816 were styled Radicals, or Radical Reformers, from their desire to institute a thorough reformation in the national policy. In our own day the Radicals and the Democrats may be set down as one and the same party; while the Socialists eminently carry out the principles of the primitive Radicals of the time of Charles I., who styled themselves Levellers because they strove to reduce society to a common level. The word Democrat is derived from the Greek demos, people, and kratein, to govern; therefore denoting one who upholds the principle of government by the people themselves, and diametrically opposed to an Aristocracy (Greek, aristos, best, and kratein, to govern), or government by the bravest and best. These terms were first brought into notice by the French Revolutionists of 1790.

Adverting to the protracted struggle between the Royalists under Charles I. and the Parliamentarians under the Cromwellian Parliament, no two nicknames could have been more suggestive of their origin than those respectively of the Cavaliers and the Roundheads. The latter arose out of the Puritan fashion of cropping the hair close round the head, the former from the cavalier manner in which a number of gentlemen offered themselves as a permanent escort to the King after he had been subjected to insult in December, 1641. The word Cavalier is synonymous with the French chevalier, a mounted knight, from cheval, a horse, derived from the Latin caballus, and the Greek kaballes, an inferior horse.

The Protestants in Ireland received the name of Orangemen owing to their adherence to William III., Prince of Orange, while the Roman Catholics were styled Jacobites from their adhesion to James II., Jacobus being the Latin form of the King’s name. The Peep o’ Day Boys were so called because they broke into the houses of the people at dawn of day in quest of arms; and the White Boys, from the white smocks they wore over their clothing. The depredations of both these insurgents were finally put an end to by the Insurrection Acts, passed in 1786-7. The secret brotherhood of the Fenians, organized for the overthrow of the English rule in Ireland, derived its name from Fiona Mac Cumhal, better known as Fingal, after whom Fingal’s Cave is designated. The correct interpretation of the Gaelic word Fenian is “a hunter.” Another secret society of quite recent origin is that of the Irish Invincibles, established, as was publicly stated by Carey the Informer, for the “making of history by killing tyrants.” Their title is due to the boast that they defy extermination. The Ribbonmen take their name from the distinctive badge which they wear. Emergency Men are the more active members of the Irish Defence Association. The Separists and the Parnellites are one and the same, sworn to support the measures of Mr. Parnell and the Irish National Party in promoting Home Rule for Ireland. The now familiar word Boycotting, in connection with Irish affairs, arose out of the troubles experienced by Captain Boycott, of Lough Mask Farm, near Ballinrobe, County Mayo, the land agent of Lord Erne. His house was besieged, his labourers were threatened, his crops remained ungathered, and tradesmen refused to supply him with goods. This occurred on the 11th and 12th of November, 1880, after which the military was despatched to his aid, and a “Boycott Fund” subscribed for his benefit. The expression “to boycott” a man practically means to place him beyond the pale of civilization.

The lowest order of the French Revolutionists were denominated Sansculottes, literally, “without breeches,” because they rejected those very serviceable articles of attire as being emblematical of the aristocracy. The same term was also applied to the Republican leaders as a reproach for the negligence of their dress; but after a time they themselves adopted the title with pride. The Red Republicans were so called for a two-fold reason. In the first place, they did not hesitate to steep their hands in human blood to accomplish their political aims; and, secondly, they wore the red cap, symbolical of Liberty from the days of the Romans downwards. The two antagonistic parties of the Revolution were styled The Mountain and The Plain for the reason that the former sat upon the most elevated benches in the Hall of Assembly, while the latter occupied the ground floor. The Plain was for the most part composed of the Girondists, or deputies from the Department of the Gironde.

The Hats and the Caps were the two great political factions in Sweden, so called on account of the French chapeaux worn by the partisans of the French interest on the one side, and the Russian caps worn by the partisans of the Russian interest on the other. Apropos of Russia, the word Nihilist (derived from the Latin nihil, nothing), originally denoted a social rather than a political party opposed to the tyranny of custom. Its significance is well expressed by Turgeneff, who first introduced it in his novel “Fathers and Sons,” published in 1862:—“A Nihilist is a man who bows before no authority, who accepts no principle without examination, no matter what credit the principle has.” At the present day a Nihilist is a revolutionary Socialist of the most pronounced degree.

The Italian Carbonari, being the plural of carbonaro, a coal-man, a charcoal-burner, who first came into notice in 1820, assumed their designation from the fact of their meetings being originally held in the huts of the charcoal-burners, and because they held charcoal to be the symbol of purification. The Black Cloaks were the upper classes of Naples, distinguished by the colour and quality of their cloaks from the Lazzari, or beggars. Regarded as a political party, the Neapolitan Black Cloaks no longer exist; but the Lazzaroni, so called from the Hospital of St. Lazarus, which serves for their refuge, are still to be met with in all quarters of the city. Then, again, we must not omit mention of the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, names of two powerful families whose rival partisanship of the Papal and the Imperial supremacy in Italy threatened the peace of Europe during the long period embraced between the years 1250 and 1500.

The word Federal comes from the Latin fœdus, a league or compact. A federal form of government is one under which a number of States, while retaining their individual institutions and autonomy, unite together for purposes of defence and for a larger national existence, delegating to a representative national government certain specified powers. The most noteworthy examples in history of this form of government are the Achaean League, the Swiss Republic, and the United States of America. In the early history of the United States the term “Federal” was applied to that one of the two great political parties which was supposed to be more particularly in sympathy with English standards and to favour an English alliance, and which desired a strong central government. Their opponents, who preferred a French alliance, and who opposed a strong central government, were then termed “Republicans.”

About 1830 the “Federals” became Whigs, and in 1856 they assumed the name of Republicans (from res publica, the State), the States-rights party having in the meantime taken the name of “Democrats” (from demos, the people). During the civil war of 1861-1865 the Northerners were all termed “Federals” (or by their opponents “Yankees” or “Yanks”), while the Southerners had taken the name of Confederates, because their Constitution instituted a weaker central government and favoured the independent action of the several States.

The Southerners were also given the nickname of “Corn-feds,” in allusion to the chief article of their diet. The term Yankee above alluded to dates back to the seventeenth century, and is a modification of the name “Yengees,” an attempt by the Massachusetts Indians to pronounce the name “English.”

By the residents of the Northern States, the term is limited to the inhabitants of the six States of New England. During the civil war of 1861-1865, the members of a political faction in the North received the name of Copperheads, because they were regarded as secret foes to the national cause. The allusion was to the poisonous copperhead serpent, which gives no warning of its approach. The Know-nothings were a secret political party in the United States (1848-1860), whose chief aim was the checking of foreign immigration and the political influence of foreigners by the repeal of the Naturalization Laws, and the reserving of public appointments for native-born Americans. The answer given by its members to all questions about the party organization was, “I don’t know.”

The Tammany Ring was the name used to designate an organization among certain officials and their backers in the city of New York in 1870-1871, who succeeded for a time in enriching themselves at the expense of the city. The ring was overthrown in 1871, and its leaders imprisoned or banished. The name of the ring arose from Tammany Hall, the headquarters of a society originally founded (in 1805) for benevolent purposes, but which had become a political power, and which is again (1892) controlling the government of New York.

The term Mugwump first came into political use in 1884. It was then applied to voters who had been “Republicans,” but who, on various grounds, preferred the Democratic candidate Cleveland to the Republican Blaine, and who succeeded in electing the former. It has since been given generally to citizens, who, while actively interested in politics, refuse to be bound closely by party ties, considering causes such as free trade, civil service reform, honest money, &c., as more important than party labels or party success. The name “Mugwump” is said to be derived from an Indian word signifying “wise chief.”

The Chartists constituted an enormous body of the people of this country who, soon after the passing of the Reform Bill in 1832, loudly clamoured for “The People’s Charter,” of which the six principal points were these:—Universal Suffrage, Vote by Ballot, Annual Parliaments, Payment of the Members, Abolition of the Property Qualification, and the Equalization of Electorial Rights. William Lovett, the author of this document, died in August, 1877. The English war party, who sided with the Turks in the Russo-Turkish struggle of 1878 received the nickname of Jingoes, or The Jingo Party, from the chorus of Macdermott’s famous music-hall song, commencing—

“We don’t want to fight, but, by Jingo, if we do!”

“Jingo” is a corruption of Jainko, the Basque term for God. Hence the expression, “By Jingo!” is properly a direct appeal to the Deity. A Protectionist is one who advocates the protection of home-produce and manufactures against foreign competition by the imposition of import duties.

FLOWERS.

The name of Forget-me-not originated in the following legend:—A German knight and his lady were walking on the bank of the Danube, when the fair one saw a beautiful tuft of Myosotis palustris growing in the water, and expressed a wish to have it. With chivalrous alacrity the knight at once plunged into the river and gathered his prize; but before he could regain the steep and slippery bank, encumbered as he was by his heavy armour, he was drawn by the treacherous eddy into a deep pool. Finding he could not save himself, he threw the flowers ashore to his mistress as he sank, and uttered with his last breath the words “Vergess mein nicht!” (“Forget-me-not!”) Hence this flower has come to be universally regarded as the emblem of fidelity.

Mignonette, the diminutive of Mignon, the French for “darling,” is so called on account of its delicate fragrance. The Carnation owes its name to the Latin caro, flesh, in relation to its colour. Geranium comes from the Greek and Latin geranos, a crane; this genus of plants having a beak-like torus, or receptacle. It is also known as Crane’s-bill for the same reason. Pansy is an Anglicized form of the French pensée, “thoughts,” this being the sentiment expressed by the flower.

The Camellia was named after G. J. Camelli, the German botanist and missionary (died 1690), by whom it was introduced into Europe from the East; the Dahlia, after Andrew Dahl, the Swedish botanist, who discovered it in Mexico in 1784; and the Fuchsia, after Leonard Fuchs, who brought it from Mexico about the year 1542. The Victoria Regia was so called because it was introduced into this country from British Guiana soon after the accession of Queen Victoria. The Adonis is said to have sprung out of the blood of Adonis, the beautiful youth who was gored to death by a boar; and the Hyacinth is supposed to have originated in a similar manner after Hyacinth had fallen a victim to the jealousy of Zephyr. The Aspasia bears the name of Aspasia of Miletus, the mistress of Pericles. The term Orchid comes from the Greek orchis, a testicle, all plants of this family being distinguished by double testicles. The Sweetbriar is literally a “fragrant thorn”; the Lilac betrays its Eastern origin in the Turkish leilak, and Persian lilaj; while the term Lavender is derived from the Latin lavere, to wash, because the essential oil obtained from this shrub enters into the composition of a favourite scent.

The Dog-rose was so called by the Greeks from the belief that the root of this particular rose-tree was efficacious in curing the bite of a mad dog. The Damask-rose was brought to England from Damascus by Dr. Linacre in 1540. The Cabbage-rose is thick and compact like a cabbage. The Christmas-rose makes its appearance about Christmas-time. The word Primrose, agreeably to the Latin prima rosa, signifies the first rose, or flower, of spring.

The Mayflower, otherwise the Hawthorn, the Anglo-Saxon for “hedge-thorn,” appears in flower in the month of May, while Gilly-flower is merely a corruption of “July flower.” The Tiger-flower is streaked like a tiger. Daffodil is a corruption of “d’Asphodele,” the French name of this flower. Hollyhock is not “Holy Oak,” but the Anglo-Saxon holi-hoc, or marsh mallow. The Noon-tide, or Noon-flower, closes its petals at noon; the Convolvulus, so called from the Latin con, together, and volvere, to roll, does the like at sunset, in common with the ordinary field Daisy, which owes its name, a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon doeges-eaye, literally “the day’s eye,” to this circumstance. The Buttercup was originally so designated in accordance with an old-established idea that the yellow hue of butter was attributable to the fact of these flowers being eaten by cattle. However, as the buttercups are invariably avoided by the cattle, the proverbial wisdom of our forefathers must for once in a way be discredited. Cowslip is a corruption of “cows’ leek.”

The very common supposition that the Sunflower inclines towards the sun is entirely erroneous, as has been proved by observation. This flower merely takes its name from its form and colour. On the other hand, if its etymology be correct, the Heliotrope does actually turn towards the sun, the word helios being Greek for sun, and tropos, to turn. The Goldylocks is so called on account of its tufts of yellow flowers; whereas the Marigold, which bears yellow flowers, was named in honour of Queen Mary. Both these, with the Sunflower, belong to the Chrysanthemum (Greek chrusos, gold, and anthemos, flower) family. The word Rhododendron, we may add, comes from the Greek rhodon, rose, and dendron, tree.

The Passion-flower symbolizes in its tints and several parts the various attributes of Christ’s Passion, as follows:—The white tint, purity; the blue tint, heaven; the leaf, the spear; the five anthers, the five wounds; the tendrils, the whips and cords; the column of the ovary, the pillar of the cross; the stamens, the hammers; the three styles, the nails; the fleshy thorns within the flowers, the crown of thorns; the calyx, the nimbus, or glory. In addition to the foregoing the passion-flower remains open for three days, and this is supposed to correspond with the three years’ ministry of the Redeemer.

Lastly, the flower known as the Stock received its name from the fact that it was principally sold in the old Stocks Market displaced by the building of the present Mansion House in the year 1737; the market itself having derived its title from a pair of stocks that stood there.

THE BIBLE.

In the estimation of many millions of human beings the Bible is very properly regarded as the “Book of Books.” And a Book of Books it truly is; not only The Book above all others, but comprising a number of distinct works from the pens of various Inspired Writers according to the Old Law and the New. For this reason precisely the earliest Saxon version of the Sacred Volume was called the Bible in accordance with the Greek and Latin word biblia, the plural of biblion, a book, derived from biblos, the inner bark of the papyrus, which was the first kind of writing material known. “Bible,” therefore, is a collective term for the Scriptures, which designation comes from the Latin scriptura, a writing, based upon the verb scribere, to write. Here, again, note the correct use of the plural.

The original translation of the Hebrew Testament into Greek, about the year 260 B.C., bore the title of the Septuagint because it employed the labours of seventy, or rather of seventy-two, translators. More than six hundred years afterwards, viz., in the Year of Our Lord 405, when St. Jerome (born 346, died 420) rendered the whole of the Scriptures—to be sure the New Testament had not an existence at the time of the Greek translation—into the Latin tongue, his performance was styled the Vulgatus, or Vulgate, from vulgare, to make known to the vulgus, the multitude. This Latin Vulgate constitutes the Bible of the Roman Catholics as authorized by the Council of Trent in the year 1546. It was first printed for the use of the Christian world generally in 1462. The English translation of the Old Testament portion of the Vulgate bears the title of the Douay Bible because it was first printed and published at the English College at Douay, in France, in 1609. The New Testament portion, known as the Rheims Bible, was issued at Rheims twenty-seven years earlier, viz., in 1582.

The Authorized Version of the Bible appointed to be read in the Church of England is called King James’s Bible, after James I., who ordered it to be prepared, and in whose reign (in the year 1611) it was first given to the people. The Bishops’ Bible, published in parts between 1568 and 1572, derived its name from the seven bishops that assisted Archbishop Parker with his revision of Cranmer’s Bible, otherwise The Great Bible, so called because Archbishop Cranmer’s version of the text, published in 1539, was of large size, specially printed for the purpose of being displayed and read by the people in the churches. To the 1540 edition of this version Cranmer prefixed a lengthy Introduction. One of the earliest Latin Bibles, printed by Gutenberg between the years 1450 and 1455, and, indeed, one of the earliest perfect printed books from separate types, is known as the Mazarin Bible, from a copy being discovered in Cardinal Mazarin’s library. The Pearl Bible was so called because it was printed in pearl type by Field in 1653. The Geneva Bible, printed at Geneva in 1560, also bears the singular title of the Breeches Bible, owing to the substitution of the word “breeches” for “aprons” in Genesis iii. 7. Similarly, the Vinegar Bible is indebted for its title to the misprinting of the word “vineyard” in the running headline to Luke xx. at the Clarendon Press in 1717; the Beer Bible, to the substitution of the words “the beer” for “strong drink” in the twenty-fourth chapter of Isaiah, ninth verse; the Treacle Bible, to the rendering of the passage, “Is there no balm in Gilead?” into “There is no more triacle at Gilaad” (Jeremiah viii. 22); the Whig Bible, to the misprinting of the word “peacemakers,” so that the sentence reads, “Blessed are the placemakers”; the Wicked Bible, from the omission of a word in Exodus xx. 14, which caused the verse to read, “Thou shalt commit adultery”; and the Bug Bible, printed by John Daye in 1551, from the peculiar rendering of the fifth verse in Psalm xci., which reads, “So thou shalt not need to be afraid for any bugs by night, nor for the arrow that flieth by day.” The first edition of the Authorized Version is called the “He” Bible, because it contains a misprint in Ruth iii. 15, the passage reading, “And he went into the city.” A subsequent issue published in the same year, in which the mistake is rectified, is known as the “She” Bible. The Virginia Bible is a rare version of the Scriptures translated into the native language of the North American Indians of Virginia. The first edition of this Bible was printed in 1661-3, copies of which are said to be worth £200.

The first five books of the Old Testament written by Moses bear the collective title of the Pentateuch on account of the two Greek words penta, five, and teuchos, an implement, a tool, alluding to the Books being the direct instrument of communication between God and His people. The titles of these five Books themselves are as follows:—Genesis, which expresses the Greek for origin or production, describes the history of the world from its beginning; Exodus, derived from ex, out, and odus, a way, narrates the departure of the Israelites out of Egypt; Leviticus sets forth the regulations affecting the priests and Levites; Numbers contains the census of the Israelites; and Deuteronomy, from the Greek deuteros, second, and nomos, law, comprises the second giving of the Law by Moses.

The designation Apocrypha, signifying hidden or spurious, is applied to those Books whose authenticity as Inspired Writings is not admitted; in other words, to those portions of the Scriptures which, inasmuch as they do not establish any doctrine, are not held to be canonical, yet are such as, in the words of the Prayer Book, “the Church doth read for example of life and instruction of manners.” On the other hand, the Apocalypse, signifying disclosure, is synonymous with the “Book of Revelation,” and specifically applies to the concluding Book of the Bible.

WINES.

With one or two exceptions only, the different kinds of wines owe their names to the places where they are produced. Thus, Burgundy and Champagne respectively come from the French provinces, Pontac from the town, and Moselle from the vineyards extensively cultivated on the banks of the river, so designated. Rhenish wines are popular all over Europe; yet none are probably more celebrated than the Johannisberg, produced at the Castle of Johannisberg (literally, John’s Rock), near Wiesbaden, and Hock, produced at Hockheim. Among Italian wines, Florence comes from the historic “City of Flowers,” whereas Falernian, celebrated by Martial, Horace, and other Latin authors, was made from grapes grown in the district around the ancient city of Falernum. A justly celebrated Tuscan wine is the Montepulciano, produced at the old city so denominated. As its name implies, Malaga is imported from Malaga, in Spain; Sherry is our English rendering of the place-name Xeres, near Cadiz; while Port constitutes the native wine of Oporto, the capital of Portugal. Of Mediterranean wines, Cyprus, brought from the now British island of that name, and Malmsey, an English corruption of Malvasia, so termed after the district in the island of Candia, where it is produced, are the chief. Madeira and Canary are imported from the islands so called, situated on the great ocean highway to the Cape of Good Hope. An excellent wine greatly sought after on the Continent, though somewhat unknown in this country, is Tokay, produced from white grapes cultivated in the district of Tokay, Upper Hungary. Claret owes its designation to the French clair, clear, because it is a clarified wine; whereas Tent Wine is a mere corruption of the Spanish vino tinto, signifying a white wine coloured. The sparkling champagne known as Sillery popularizes the name of the Marquis de Sillery, the proprietor of the vineyards where this particular species is produced; just as Pommery is destined to perpetuate the memory of Madame Pommery, mother to the Duchess de Polignac, and sole proprietress of the vineyards and subterranean Pommery vaults near Rheims. Moet and Chandon similarly denotes the champagne brewed by the well-known French firm trading under the style of “Moet et Chandon.”

Among concoctions of the vinous order we have Hippocras, so called because it is said to have been first made according to the recipe of Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine; Badminton, originally prepared at Badminton, the seat of the Duke of Beaufort; and Negus, named after Colonel Francis Negus, who invented it. Formerly, our countrymen set great store by Sack, which was simply the designation of a dry wine, derived from the French word sec, dry. Wine is said to be a Dry Wine when it is neither sweet nor sparkling. It cannot be sweet because, the fermentation being complete, the sugar contained in it is fully decomposed; moreover, it is dry because the carbonic acid has escaped. For the like reason, a certain evidence that port wine has completed the process of fermentation is the collection of tartar in the interior of the bottle, forming a crust; hence the term Crusted Port. A very bad wine of whatever kind usually bears the name of Three Men Wine, owing to the idea that it requires one man to hold the drinker, and another to pour it down his throat, while the third is the unfortunate individual himself. The derivation of the term Wine is the Anglo-Saxon vin from the Latin vinum, allied to vinea, a vine.

LITERARY SOBRIQUETS.

Gildas, the earliest chronicler of British history (born 511, died 570), was surnamed The Wise on account of his learning, which must have excited the wonder of the semi-barbarian inhabitants of these islands in the sixth century. Later, the Saxon historian Beda, incorrectly called Bede (born 673, died 735), was surnamed The Venerable because he was also an ecclesiastic. Approaching more modern times, we meet with John White, a Nonconformist lawyer, who, in consequence of being the author of a work entitled “The First Century of Scandalous, Malignant Priests, made and admitted into Benefices by the Prelates, &c.,” merited the popular description of Century White. Still nearer our own day, Matthew Gregory Lewis (born 1775, died 1818) became the recipient of the name of Monk Lewis, after the publication of his famous novel, “The Monk”; just as John Thomas Smith, the antiquary (born 1766, died 1833), was indebted to his chatty, albeit valuable work, “A Book for a Rainy Day,” for his sobriquet of Rainy-Day Smith.

Turning to the poets, John Sylvester, the translator of Du Barta’s “Divine Weeks and Works” (born 1563, died 1613), is popularly referred to as Silver-tongued Sylvester on account of the sweet melody of his verse. John Taylor, The Water Poet (born 1580, died 1654), was a Thames waterman; James Hogg, The Ettrick Shepherd (born 1772, died 1835), followed the employment of a shepherd in the forest of Ettrick, Selkirkshire; and Edward Capern, The Bidëford Postman (born 1819), was for several years a letter-carrier in the little town of Bidëford, Devonshire. Nathaniel Lee (born 1655, died 1691) received the name of The Mad Poet from the fact of his four years’ confinement in a mad-house. The Quaker Poet was Bernard Barton, the friend of Charles Lamb (born 1784, died 1849); while Samuel Rogers, The Banker Poet (born 1763, died 1855), divided his time pleasantly between the counting-house and the study. Thomas Moore (born 1779, died 1852) merited the style of Anacreon Moore by his translations from the Greek poet Anacreon, and the circumstance that his own original verses were constructed upon the same classic model. Richard Horne, the poet and critic (born 1802, died 1884), was known as Orion Horne, and also as The Farthing Poet, on account of his principal work “Orion,” published at one farthing, as a satire on the poverty of the book-buying public.

Sir Walter Scott (born 1771, died 1832) was surnamed The Wizard of the North owing to the magic influence which he exerted over all classes of the people, and the widespread fascination of his novels; while Henry Mackenzie, the author of “The Man of Feeling” (born 1745, died 1831), enjoyed the signal honour of being designated The Addison of the North, owing to the purity and excellence of his style. No more flattering recognition of the genius of William Wordsworth (born 1770, died 1850) could ever have been desired than the title of The Minstrel of the Border, bestowed upon him by Sir Walter Scott. The Corn Law Rhymer was Ebenezer Elliott (born 1781, died 1849) who, by the dedication of his numerous versified philippics to the opponents of Free Trade, indirectly, if not directly, prepared the way for the repeal of the obnoxious Corn Laws in the year 1846. Reference to the word “Philippics” carries us back in imagination to Demosthenes, who directed one of his most famous orations against Philip, King of Macedon; hence, any indignant invective or vehement denunciation is characteristically styled a Philippic.

THE COUNTIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES.

Northumberland originally denoted the land north of the Humber; Cumberland, the land occupied by the Cymri; and Westmoreland, the land of the Westmorings, or people of the Western moors. Durham is a corruption of Dunholm, signifying a hill-fort on an island in the river; dun being Celtic for a hill, or fort on a hill, and holm the Scandinavian for an island. The Shire, or County, of York, in common with the majority of the Midland and Welsh counties, is named after its chief town; or rather, in this case, the ancient city described in documents as Eurewic, but pronounced Yorric, from its position on the river Eure, now known as the Ouse.

Lancashire indicates the Shire of Lancaster, the caester, or camp-town, on the Lune. This Anglo-Saxon word Caester, derived from the Latin castra, a camp, fortress, appears also in the names of Cheshire, a contraction of Caestershire, the Shire of Chester, the town built on the site of the old Roman castra, or camp; in Leicestershire, the Shire of the camp-town on the river Leire, now called the Soar; in Worcestershire, the Shire of Hwic-ware-shire, or fortress-town, of the Huiccii; and in Gloucestershire, the Shire of the camp-town in which Gloi, a son of the Emperor Claudius, was born during the Roman occupation of Britain.

Lincoln is a contraction of the Latin Lindumcolonia, signifying the colony formed by the Romans on the Llyn-dun, literally “the fortified hill by the pool,” originally occupied and so called by the ancient Britons [see [London]]. The names Norfolk and Suffolk respectively indicate those portions of the eastern coast settled by the Angles, who separated into two distinct tribes, viz., the north folk and the south folk. Essex is a contraction of East-seaxe, denoting the territory occupied by the East Saxons; Sussex, of Suth-seaxe, or South Saxons; and Middlesex, of Middle-seaxe, or the inhabitants of the district between Essex and Wessex, the land of the West Saxons, which, under the Heptarchy, extended to the westward as far as Devon. Surrey is a modification of the Anglo-Saxon Suth-rey, south of the river, i.e., the Thames. Kent was formerly Cantium, indicating the land bestowed upon Canute, one of the companions of Brute, an early King of Britain, who, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, settled in England and eventually founded the Danish dynasty.

Hampshire, also written Hants, expresses the Shire of Hantone, or Hantune, now known as Southampton, the south town on the river Ant, or Southampton Water. Dorset was originally Dwrset, a compound of the Celtic dwr, water, and the Anglo-Saxon set, a settlement, alluding to the early settlement of this district by a tribe of Britons who styled themselves Dwr-trigs, or “water-dwellers.” Somerset is a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon Suthmorset, literally “the south-moor-settlement.” Devon is a modified form of Dwfuient, the Celtic for “the deep valleys.” An earlier name for this portion of Britain was Damnonia, the territory of the Damnonii, a Celtic tribe. Cornwall denotes the territory of the “foreigners in the horn,” agreeably to the Latin cornu, a horn, referring to its numerous promontories, and its inhabitants the Wahl, the Saxon term for “foreigners.” Like Wales, this portion of our island was never invaded by the Anglo-Saxons; consequently its people, the Cymri, a branch of the Celts, were left in undisturbed possession [see [Wales]]. The Duchy of Cornwall is still included in the Principality of Wales. Wiltshire only partly expresses the Shire of Wilton, a contraction of Willy-town, or the town on the river Willy. Berkshire is a modern spelling of the Anglo-Saxon Bearoc-scire, “forest shire,” in allusion to the forest districts of Bagshot and Windsor; while Buckingham was originally described as Boccenham, the Anglo-Saxon for “beech-tree-home,” this county being especially noted for its beeches.

Oxford derived its name from the Ox-ford over the Isis; Hertford, from the ford crossed by harts; Hereford, from the army ford; and Stafford, from the ford crossed by means of staves or stilts. Bedford is a contraction of Bedican ford, the Anglo-Saxon for “the protected ford.” Cambridge owes its name to the University town by the bridge over the Cam, or crooked river [see [Camberwell]]. Huntingdon was anciently a great deer forest, and therefore much resorted to for hunting. Northampton is a corruption of North-avon-town, alluding to its position north of the river Neu, in olden times known as the Avon. Rutland expresses the Anglo-Saxon for “red land,” referring to the colour of its soil. Warwick is the modern description of the Anglo-Saxon Waer-wic, signifying the garrison, or war town. Nottingham is a corruption of Snotingaham, “the place of caves,” so called on account of the soft sandstone which so greatly facilitated the formation of caverns during the early history of our country; as e.g., “Mortimer’s hole,” and the subterranean passage that led thereto from Nottingham Castle in the reign of Edward III. Derby is a contraction of the Saxon Deer-by, or “wild-beast village,” doubtless so designated from its frequent invasion by strange animals from the mountainous district of “The Peak” in search of prey. Shropshire denotes the Shire of Scrobbesburgh, the Anglo-Saxon for “shrub-town,” modified by the Normans into Sloppesburie (from which the present town of Salop derived its name), and corrupted in modern times into Shrewsbury. Monmouth indicates the county that includes the mouth of the Mon, originally described as the Mynwy, “the border river.”

Anglesea, properly Anglesey [see [Chelsea], &c.], is one of the three counties of Wales whose names are not essentially Welsh. Thus, Glamorgan signifies the Gwlad-Morgan, or territory of Morgan, a chieftain who lived in the tenth century; Brecknock is the hill of Brecon, or Brychan, a Welsh prince; Radnor is a modern spelling of Rhiadnwr-Gwy, meaning “the Cataract of the Wye”; Montgomery refers to the fortress built on the mont, or height, by Roger de Montgomerie, in 1093; Denbigh was originally Dinbach, the Celtic and Cymric for “a little fort”; Flint was so called from the quantity of quartz found in this county; Carnarvon owes its origin to Cær-yu-ar-Fon, the cær, or fortress, on the arfon, or water; Carmarthen denotes the fortress erected by Merlin; Merioneth was named after Merion, an early British saint; Cardigan indicates the territory of Ceredig, a Welsh chieftain; while Pembroke signifies the pen, or head of the broc, the Celtic and Cymric for a district, so called because this promontory was virtually the Land’s End.

CARRIAGES.

The Phaeton owes its designation to the mythological personage of that name who received permission to drive the sun-car of Helios, his father, for one day, with the result that, being overthrown, he nearly set the world on fire. The Victoria was introduced in the year that witnessed the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. The Clarence was the favourite conveyance of the Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV. The Brougham, invented in 1839, received its name from Lord Brougham, who was the first to permanently adopt it; and the same may be said of the Stanhope, so called in compliment to Lord Stanhope. The Sociable is an appropriate name enough for an open carriage of which the facing seats afford opportunity for pleasant conversation. The Landau was first made at Landau in Germany; whereas the Tilbury perpetuates the name of a celebrated London sportsman who introduced this particular species of carriage during the early part of the present century.

The small, light, one-horse vehicle known as a Dog-cart is so called because such a one was originally constructed for sportsmen to drive their pointers and setters (which they kept in a box under the seat) to the scene of the sport. The term Buggy is a corruption of Bourgeois, a French name indicating a vehicle intended for the middle classes so denominated; while Gig is a contraction of the Italian giga, a romp, and the French gigue, a lively dance, a jig, in allusion to its jumping and rocking motion. The like derivation applies to the long, light ship’s wherry which passes under the same name. The term Sulky, as applied to a light two-wheeled conveyance, owed its origin to the fact that, when it was introduced, people hazarded the opinion that none but sulky, morose, and selfish people would ride in such a carriage, because it had only accommodation for one person. The Noddy, peculiar to Dublin, derives its title from the jolting motion which keeps its riders continually nodding; and the Jaunting Car, from the jaunts and country outings for which, on the other side of the Irish Sea, these vehicles are largely employed. The English Break bears its name because it partakes of the character of the four-wheel vehicle used by horse-breakers; indeed, it differs from the latter only in the addition of the upper portion containing the seats.

Stage-coaches were originally so called on account of the different stages at which they stopped to change horses and refresh the passengers. ’Bus is short for Omnibus, a Latin word signifying “for all.” The step at the back of an omnibus is facetiously styled the Monkey-board, in consequence of the capers usually executed thereon by the conductor. The board on either side of the roof of the vehicle, upon which theatrical and other advertisements are exhibited is known as the Knife-board, from its fancied resemblance to that article of domestic utility. So far from having derived its name from one of the northern suburbs of London, a Hackney-coach is simply an English rendering of coche-a-haquence, the literal French for a coach drawn by a hired horse. The word Coach (French, coche, the diminutive of the Italian conchula, a shell) really means a shell-like contrivance upon wheels. Cab is a contraction of the Cabriolet, from cabriole, a goat’s leap, in allusion to its lightness and springiness, first introduced in Paris. This vehicle, after undergoing sundry changes and improvements, was patented in the year 1883 as the “Safety Cab” by Joseph Aloysius Hansom, from which circumstance it has in more recent times come to be generally designated the Hansom Cab.

The term Hearse traces its origin through the German hirsch from the Gothic hersa, a sepulchral mound. At a later date it implied a temporary monument, but nowadays it denotes the funeral car. The word Funeral, by the way, is a contraction of the Latin funeralis, signifying a torchlight procession, from funis, a torch, because interments among the Romans always took place by night. Pantechnicon is a Greek word, composed of pan, all, and techne, art, indicative of the place where every kind of industrial art was exhibited or exposed for sale. In modern days the term has come to be exclusively applied to a vehicle constructed for the removal of household furniture. Lastly, the cloth that covers the box-seat of a carriage of any kind is called the Hammer-cloth, because in the old coaching days it concealed the box which contained a hammer, nails, and other implements useful for repairs in the event of a breakdown on the journey.

DANCES.

Dancing is styled the Terpsichorean Art in honour of Terpsichore, the daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne, whom the ancients regarded as its inventress. The Morris Dance, from which our “Jack in the Green” and his fellow May-day revellers trace their origin, was the military dance of the Moors, or Moriscoes, introduced into this country by John of Gaunt on his return from Spain in the reign of Edward III. Five men and a boy took part in it, and from the fact of the boy wearing an ill-fitting helmet called a morione, he received the name of “Mad Morion,” which was subsequently corrupted into Maid Marian. The Saraband was invented by Zarabanda, a famous dancer of Seville in the sixteenth century. The Gavotte arose among the Gavots, a people who inhabited the department of the Upper Alps and the province of Dauphiny, in France. Quadrille is the literal French for “a little square,” so called from the position taken up by the dancers; while the Lancers derived their name from a company of Lancers who originally improvised this variation of the Quadrille for their own amusement while seated in their saddles. The Polka, of Polish origin, is so designated on account of the Bohemian word pulka, a half, in allusion to the half step occurring in it; the Schottische is a variation of the Polka; the Mazourka is the national dance of Poland—all of which, with the addition of the Redowa, are native terms. The Waltz is a contraction of the German Waltzer, derived from the verb waltzen, to roll, to revolve, alluding to the revolutions made by the pairs of dancers placed vis-à-vis. The Country Dance, so far from being a peasants’ dance, is nothing more than a corruption of the French contre-danse, signifying that the parties place themselves opposite to each other during the dance. Strictly speaking, the Contre-danse and the Quadrille are one and the same. The Roger de Coverley derived its name from the great-grandfather of Roger de Coverley, or rather, to be precise, of Roger of Cowley, near Oxford, who invented it. The Minuet (Latin minutus, small) is so called wholly on account of the short steps peculiar to this dance. The Tarantella was invented in Italy out of the supposition that the profuse perspiration which it induced was a certain cure for the poisonous bite of the Tarantula Spider, named after the city of Taranto, where its baneful presence was first manifested. Cinderella Dances are those which terminate before midnight, in allusion to Cinderella of nursery renown.

The origin of the word Ball, in its application to a dancing-party, is somewhat singular. Centuries ago there was in vogue on the Continent a three-fold game, in which the players danced to the sound of their own voices while they threw to one another a ball. In all probability this arose out of the curious “Ball-Play in Church” by the Neapolitans during the Saturnalia, or “Feast of Fools,” corresponding to our Easter-tide. There is even now a statute in existence which regulated the size and character of the ball to be used on such occasions. In opening the ceremony, the Dean took the ball in his left hand, and commenced an antiphon, which the organ took up; whereupon he tossed the ball to first one and then another of the choir-boys, as they joined hands, sang, and danced around him. When, therefore, the three-fold game alluded to above divided and its three sets of dancers became independent of each other, the dance itself took the name of the article that was, as if by common consent, discarded—to wit, the ball; and the song was styled the Ballata, or, according to the modern English, a Ballad indicative of a dancing-song; while the verb ballare, to dance, gave existence to the French Ballet, signifying a dance tune. Apropos of the Ballet, the term Coryphée, as applied to a ballet-dancer, traces its origin from the Greek coryphœus, the designation of one who danced to the lute in the theatres of the ancients. En passant, the famous war dance of the Greeks, executed in very quick time and known as the Phyrric Dance, was so denominated after Pyrrichos, a celebrated Dorian flautist.

The Hornpipe is an inversion of pib-gorn, the name of the old Welsh instrument consisting of a pib, or pipe, with a gorn, or horn, at each end, to which this dance was originally stepped; the Reel has reference to the whirling evolutions performed by the dancer, as of winding cotton on a reel; whereas the Jig comes from the French gigue, a lively dance, and gige, a stringed instrument, the usual accompaniment to this rough-and-ready style of pedal exhilaration. The term Breakdown is an Americanism, denoting the last boisterous dance before the breaking up of a dancing-party towards early morning. Appropriately enough, such a dance invariably constitutes the final item of a negro-minstrel entertainment.

PIGMENTS AND DYES.

The word Pigment is a contraction of the Latin pigmentum, based upon the verb pingere, to paint. Dye traces its origin to the Anglo-Saxon deag, a colour, remotely derived from the Latin tingere, to stain. Several of the pigments most generally used owe their names to the places whence they are, or were originally, brought. As examples: Umber was first obtained in the district of Umbria, in Italy, and Sienna, properly called Terra di Sienna, or Sienna Earth, from Sienna; Gamboge comes from Cambodia, formerly known as Gambogia, in Siam; Indigo, from Indicus, the ancient description of India; and Krems White, from the city of Krems, in Austria, where it is exclusively manufactured. Prussian Red, Brunswick Green, Brunswick Black, Frankfort Black, Hamburg Lake, Venetian Red, and Chinese Yellow, speak for themselves. Prussian Blue, also called Berlin Blue, was first made by a native colourman of Berlin in the year 1710; whereas Saunders Blue is merely a corruption of cendres-bleus, the French for blue ashes, this pigment being obtained from calcined bluestone. Another name for the latter is Ultramarine, because it was originally brought from ultra, beyond, and marinus, the sea.

The deep blue known as Mazarine was named after Cardinal Mazarin, the Prime Minister of France (born 1602, died 1661), in whose time it was first prepared; while the puce colour known as Pompadour received its designation from Madame le Pompadour, the mistress of Louis XV. (born 1721, died 1764), who popularized it. Cardinal is so called because it expresses the exact shade of the red habit worn by the cardinals of the Church; the term Carmine owes its origin to the Italian carminio, purple; while Carnation denotes a flesh tint, in accordance with the Latin caro, flesh. The colour which results from the combination of a vivid red with more or less white is styled Pink, owing to its resemblance to the flower so designated.

The origin of the word Purple must be sought in connection with the circumstance in which this dye, or colour, was discovered. It appears that one day a favourite dog belonging to Hercules of Tyre chanced to eat a species of fish known to the ancients as the purpura; and upon returning to his master, the latter found the lips of the animal tinged with the colour that was shortly afterwards imitated and denominated purple. The term Scarlet is a modification of sakarlat, the Persian description of a bright red colour; while Crimson traces its existence through the Old English crimosyn to garmaz, the Arabic term for the cochineal insect, from whose dried body, found upon a species of cactus, this vivid dye-stuff is obtained. The beautiful purple obtained from chloride of gold bears the name of Cassius after its inventor.

Magenta was named in commemoration of the Battle of Magenta, fought in 1859; and Vandyke Brown, from its having been so frequently used by Vandyk (born 1599, died 1641) that it forms a characteristic colour in all his portraits. Sepia is the Greek designation of the cuttle-fish, and the pigment so called is obtained from the dark juice secreted by the glands of the Indian species of this fish. Sap-Green is prepared from the juice of the ripe berries of the buckthorn; whereas Emerald Green denotes the particular shade of green that characterizes the emerald. Lamp Black is so called because it was originally obtained from the burning of resinous matter over a lamp. Ivory Black is a pigment formerly obtained from charred ivory, but nowadays from bones. The origin of Isabel, a dull brownish-yellow, with a mixture of red and grey, is as follows:—When the Duke of Austria was besieging Ostend in 1601, Isabella, his wife, the daughter of Philip II. of Spain, vowed that she would not change her linen until the town had been taken. Unfortunately for her personal comfort, the town held out for two years, at the end of which period her linen assumed the characteristic hue that was afterwards imitated by the ingenious colourman who sought to honour her by perpetuating the incident.

LONDON DISTRICTS AND SUBURBS.

At that remote period when the first rude huts were established on the banks of the Thames, the surrounding scene could have presented nothing more inviting to the eye than an extensive marsh or morass. That such was undoubtedly the case the existing names of Fenchurch Street and Finsbury, furnish ample evidence. The former marks the site of an ancient church situated among the fens, while the latter is an easy corruption of Fensbury, the Anglo-Saxon designation for “a town among the fens.” Therefore it was not surprising that the barbaric Britons, who founded what we now call London, should have given the name of Llyn-dun [see [Lincoln]] to their colony beside the Thames. Apropos of the Thames, the name of our noble river is merely a slight contraction of the Latin Thamesis, signifying “the broad Isis.” Isis is the Celtic for water.

Westminster was denominated after the Abbey [see [Westminster Abbey]]. Belgravia is the name given to the fashionable district of which Belgrave Square is the common centre. Pimlico owed its designation to an attempt on the part of the tavern-keepers of this neighbourhood to rival the celebrated nut-brown ales of one Ben Pimlico, who kept a pleasure-garden near Hoxton, the road to which was known as Pimlico Walk (still in existence), and the garden itself, first as “Pimlico’s,” and subsequently as “Pimlico.” The name of Knightsbridge carries us back to the time when two knights, on their way to receive a blessing from the Bishop of London at Fulham, engaged in a deadly combat on the bridge that spanned the Westbourne, exactly on the spot where Albert Gate now stands. Prior to this incident the bridge had borne the name of Fulham Bridge. Mayfair occupies the site of an annual six days’ fair held in May, originally at the instance of Edward I., for the benefit of the leper hospital of St. James the Less, Bishop of Jerusalem, now St. James’s Palace. The district of Soho was known by its present name as long ago as the sixteenth century; “So ho!” being the cry of the huntsmen when calling off their harriers in the days when the whole of London west of Drury Lane was open country. Bloomsbury is a corruption of “Lomesbury Village,” of which the Manor House stood on the site of Bloomsbury Square. Smithfield is a modern perversion of “Smoothfield,” an extensive tract of meadow land where horses were sold and tournaments were held as far back as the twelfth century. The first recorded English horse-race was witnessed in Smoothfield in the year 1154. Clerkenwell derived its name from an ancient well (now marked by an iron pump let into the wall at the south-east end of Ray Street) beside which the parish clerks performed their Miracle Plays. Spa Fields, now built over, owed their designation to a medicinal well, or Spa, discovered in 1206, and subsequently known as “The London Spa.” The proper description of Bunhill Fields is Bonhill, i.e., “good hill” Fields, so styled because the victims of the Great Plague were buried here in 1665. Moorfields was formerly a bleak moor skirting the northern portion of the marshy land known as Fensbury, now Finsbury, already referred to.

Shoreditch did not receive its name from Jane Shore, neither is the word a corruption of “Sewer Ditch,” as some writers have suggested. This district really comprised the manor of Sir John Soerditch, a wealthy London citizen and a valiant knight who fought by the side of Edward the Black Prince at Crecy and Poictiers. Whitechapel was designated after the White Chapel of St. Mary, built in 1673. Goodman’s Fields perpetuated the name of the owner of the land now known as the Minories, upon which a Priory of the Nuns of St. Clare was afterwards built. Shadwell is a corruption of St. Chad’s Well, discovered in this neighbourhood in ancient times. The once-notorious Ratcliffe Highway derived its name from the Manor of Ratcliffe, belonging to the adjoining parish of Stepney. The title has now been changed to St. George’s Street. Stepney was anciently described as Stebenhithe, signifying that it contained a wharf or haven belonging to one Steben or Steven. Spitalfields marks the site of the ancient Priory of St. Mary of the Spittle, dissolved in 1534. The French refugees established the silk manufacture here in 1685. Bethnal Green recalls the existence of the old family of the Bathons, whose history is first recorded in connection with their property situated in this neighbourhood during the reign of Edward I. Hoxton is a corruption of Hogsdon, meaning hog’s town. In proof of this statement we may add that Hog Lane still exists in the vicinity. De Beauvoir Town preserves the family name of the De Beauvoirs, whose original ancestor, Richard de Beauvoir, of Guernsey, resided here in princely style. Copenhagen Fields were so called after a tea-house opened by a Dane, about the time when the King of Denmark paid a visit to James I. Haggerstone is a corruption of “Hergotestan,” the literal Saxon for “Our God’s Town.” Hackney was originally described as Hackoneye, signifying an ey, or portion of well-watered pasture land, appropriated by a Danish chief named Hacon [see [Chelsea], &c.].

Dalston is properly Daleston, or Vale-town. This was a quiet suburban village situated in a valley during the days when the northern districts of the Metropolis were more or less wooded—as witness Stoke Newington, or the new town in the meadow by the wood. The word Stoke comes from the Anglo-Saxon stoc, a wood or stockade; ton is the Old English for town, and ing the Anglo-Saxon for a meadow, also a family settlement. Southgate is expressive of the southern entrance to the enclosure, anciently known as Enfield Chase; and Kingsland the royal domain adjacent to it. Abney Park owes its name to Abney House, recently converted into a Conservative Club, but originally the residence of Sir Thomas Abney (born 1639, died 1722), Lord Mayor and a distinguished Nonconformist, knighted by William III. Dr. Isaac Watts died at Abney House in 1748. Green Lanes indicates the rural character of this neighbourhood in bygone times. Edmonton is properly Edmond’s-town. The name of Ball’s Pond is all that remains to remind us of the one-time existence of “The Salutation” house of call which had a pond for dog and duck sports, kept by John Ball. Mildmay Park is so called after Mildmay House, the family seat of Sir Henry Mildmay, who came into possession of the estate by his marriage with the daughter of William Halliday, an Alderman of the City in the time of Charles I. Muswell Hill is a slight corruption of Mustwell Hill, derived from the Latin mustus, new, fresh; because on this hill there was anciently discovered a well of clear, fresh water by the friars of St. John’s Priory, Clerkenwell, who had a dairy hereabouts. That portion of the hill which has been cut through for the construction of the line of railway to Enfield, Barnet, and the north, bears the name of The Hog’s Back, in allusion to its shape. The name of Wood Green is self-explanatory. Hornsey is a corruption of “Harringe,” or meadow of hares. Canonbury received its title from the residence of the Prior of the Canons of St. Bartholomew, built in this neighbourhood soon after the Conquest. Bury is Saxon for a town or enclosed habitation, equivalent to the Celtic don, and Old English ton. In days of old, Highbury contained a Priory of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, built in 1271. The establishment was called High-bury, because it stood upon higher ground than their previous residence which had borne the name of Tolentone, or lower town. Holloway reminds us that this was once a miry hollow between Highgate and Islington. Barnsbury is a corruption of Berners-bury, originally a manor belonging to Lady Juliana Berners, Abbess of St. Albans. Islington has always been a favourite suburb in modern times, and even our mediæval ancestors must have been delighted with its situation, lying high and dry beyond the fens and the sloughy neighbourhood of the “old bourne.” Its name signifies “the settlement of the Islings.”

King’s Cross derived its name from a wretched statue of George IV., set up in honour of his accession in 1820, and demolished to make way for the London terminus of the Great Northern Railway in 1842. The parish of St. Pancras is so called after the church dedicated to the boy-saint who was martyred by Diocletian in the early days of Christianity. Agar Town, now entirely swept away by modern improvements, was designated after William Agar, a miserly lawyer who acquired the lease of the land for building purposes in 1840. Somers Town is the property of Lord Somers, and Camden Town, of the Earl of Camden. Kentish Town was formerly written “Kestestown”; but even that was a corruption of “Kantelowes Town,” erected upon the Manor of Kantelowes. The modern spelling of this family name is Cantlowes. Primrose Hill is still a pleasant eminence whereon primroses grow, despite the encroachments of bricks and mortar all around. Highgate is a title expressive of the elevated situation of the village that sprang up around the toll-gate established on the common highway from Barnet to Gray’s Inn Road about the year 1400. Holly Village, Highgate, was so called by its foundress, the Baroness Burdett-Coutts-Bartlett, after her residence, Holly Lodge, hard by. Hampstead signifies a farmhouse or homestead. The word is Saxon: ham, a home, and stede, a place. In its wider sense, ham denotes a town. The western slope of Hampstead bears the name of Frognal, after Frognal Priory, an ambitious edifice built here by Memory-Corner Thompson (born 1757, died 1843), in imitation of Horace Walpole’s toy village on Strawberry Hill. Bishop’s Wood, Hampstead, comprised the private estate of the Bishop of London, at the time when that ecclesiastic resided at Highgate. Gospel Oak received its designation from the oak that marked the boundaries of Hampstead and St. Pancras, and under which, in accordance with an ancient custom, the Gospel was read once a year. John Whitfield is said to have preached under this oak. Chalk Farm is a corruption of “Chalcot Farm,” a picturesque farmhouse in whose vicinity duels were usually fought during the century gone by. St. John’s Wood was anciently a thickly wooded district sheltering an “Abbey of the Holy Virgins of St. John the Baptist.” Kilburn owes its name to the Kil, the Celtic word for a cell, occupied by “one Godwyne, a holy hermit,” beside the bourne, or brook. Maida Vale was so called in commemoration of the Battle of Maida, in which the English defeated the French, July 4, 1806. Marylebone does not signify “Mary the Good,” as the majority of Londoners imagine, but “St. Mary of the Bourne,” alluding to the church of St. Mary within sight of the bourne that ran from the hermit’s cell at Kilbourne down to Tyburn, or rather Twa-burne; so called because two different bournes, or streams, met in the neighbourhood where the Marble Arch now stands.

The name of Bayswater has undergone considerable change from the original. Not so very long ago the whole of this district was known as Bayswater Fields; during the last century it bore the name of “Bear’s Watering,” and previously that of Baynard’s Watering. By the last was meant the land dotted with pools held from the Manor of Westminster, by Ralph Baynard, the favourite of William the Conqueror, who resided at Baynard’s Castle, at Blackfriars, on the north bank of the Thames. These pools, together with the Tyburn were converted into what is now styled the Serpentine, owing to its form, in 1733. Paddington, originally written Padynton, was the settlement or town of the Pædings, a branch of the family who originally established themselves at, and gave their name to, Padendene, in Surrey. Westbourne Park derived its name from the west bourne, or stream, that wended its way from the hermit’s cell at “Kilbourne,” in the direction of the “Baynard’s Watering,” and thence, after passing under Fulham (or Knights’) Bridge, emptied itself into the Thames. Notting Hill is a corruption of Knolton Barn (Hill), a manor held by the De Veres, and subsequently by Robert Fenroper, an Alderman of the City, in the reign of Henry VIII. The name of Shepherd’s Bush once more puts us in mind of the pastoral character of the environs of London in the days gone by. Acton is an Anglo-Saxon name for “Oak town,” signifying the town built in the vicinity of the large Oak Forest. Gunnersbury denotes the town, or enclosed habitation, named after Gunylda, the niece of King Canute, who resided here during the Danish occupation of England. Kew was anciently described in documents as Kay-hoo, meaning a quay situated on a hoo, or hoe, the Scandinavian for a spit of land. Brentford signifies the ford over the Brent, a tributary of the Thames that takes its rise near Hendon. Isleworth means a manor beside the water. The first portion of the word comes from the Celtic, Isis, water; the second is Anglo-Saxon for a manor. Staines owes its name to the boundary stone (Saxon stane, a stone) by the river, which displays the words “God preserve the City of London.” The date of this stone is 1280. Kingston was designated after the King’s stone, now preserved within railings near the Town Hall, upon which the Saxon monarchs sat to be anointed. Shepperton is Old English for Shepherd’s Town, or the abode of shepherds. The name of Twickenham denotes a hamlet situated between two tributaries of the Thames. Richmond was anciently known as Sheen, a Saxon term for “resplendent,” in allusion to the palace erected by Edward I. When Henry VII. rebuilt the palace, after its destruction by fire in 1479, he changed the name of the village to Richmond, in perpetuation of his title of Earl of Richmond prior to ascending the throne. This king died here in 1509.

Chiswick is a corruption of “Cheoselwick,” derived from the Anglo-Saxon ceosel, sand, gravel, and the Teutonic wick, a reach, from the root waes, a moist meadow. Hammersmith was originally Hammersmeide, a Saxon village distinguished for the number of its smithies. The forename, Hammer, is Scandinavian for a village or small town. Kensington derived its name, or rather that of Kynsington, the Saxon for King’s meadow, with the Old English suffix ton, a town, from a royal residence erected here in very early times. Brompton was so called from the broom-trees that grew in the neighbourhood of this healthy ton or town. Chelsea is described in old documents as “Chevelsey,” meaning shingle island. The first portion of the word claims the same etymology as Chiswick, viz., ceosel, sand, gravel; while the suffix ey, or ea, is also Anglo-Saxon, derived from oe, the Scandinavian for running water. These terminals always indicate water, and not unfrequently an island, properly so called; as, for example, Anglesey, the Isle of the Angles. In the case of Hackney the terminal is expressive of a well-watered pasture, as has already been seen; whereas in the cases of Chelsea and Battersea the allusion is not merely to their proximity to the Thames, but to their partial isolation in ancient times from the adjacent land on account of the creeks and inlets of the river. Battersea, we may here remark, is described in Domesday Book as “the Manor of Patricesy”; but even this early name was a corruption of Petersey, or St. Peter’s-ey, because it had belonged to the Abbey of St. Peter’s, Westminster, from time out of mind. To return: Walham Green denotes a settlement of foreigners; wal, being a modification of wahl, the Celtic for foreign, and ham, the Old English for a home. Fulham was formerly written “Fullenhame,” the Anglo-Saxon for a habitation of water-fowl. Parson’s Green received its name from the parsonage in connection with Fulham Church that stood here previous to 1740. Percy Cross, Fulham, is a corruption of “Parson’s Cross,” referring to a cross on the roof of the parsonage on Parson’s Green. Putney was originally “Puttaney,” the Saxon for Putta’s Isle; whereas Wimbledon was Wibbandun, a Celtic term signifying the dun, or hill-fort, belonging to one Wibba. The name of Wandsworth denotes a manor watered by the Wandle. Lambeth is a corruption of “Loamhithe,” the Anglo-Saxon for haven of the loamy soil. Vauxhall is described in a document dated 1282 as the Manor of Faukeshall. As, however, this manor was originally held by Fulke de Breante soon after the Conquest, it is highly probable that the designation was more correctly Fulke’s Hall, afterwards corrupted into Faukeshall. The present spelling of the name may be traced back to the year 1615, when the Hall, or Manor House, was occupied by Jane Vaux.

Southwark is a modification of the Anglo-Saxon “Suthwerk,” and the Danish Sydrike, literally the south fortification. During the Danish occupation of England this was a very strong position. Bermondsey was anciently written Beormundsey, signifying that the ey, or strip of land intersected by creeks [see [Chelsea], &c.], belonged to Beormund, a prominent Anglo-Saxon lord. Horselydown is properly Horsadown, so called because this district was originally a down used for grazing horses. Walworth was named in honour of Sir William Walworth, Lord Mayor in 1380, who resided here. The Borough recalls the fact that the inhabitants of London south of the Thames were Burghers, and, therefore, entitled to the rights and privileges of Corporation.

Rotherhithe is Saxon for red haven, alluding to the colour of the soil. The name of Deptford indicates the deep ford over the Ravensbourne, which is now spanned by a bridge. Greenwich means the green town, or, more precisely, the verdant settlement beside the wick, or reach of the river [see [Chiswick]]; whereas Woolwich was originally Hylwich, i.e., hill town. The Isle of Dogs is a corruption of “Isle of Ducks,” so described in ancient documents on account of the number of wild-fowl always to be found there. New Cross derived its name from “The Golden Cross,” a famous old coaching-house, rebuilt and renamed “The New Cross.” Lewisham is properly Leawreham, or meadow-home. Blackheath is a corruption of Bleakheath. Eltham was formerly written “Ealdham,” the Anglo-Saxon for the old home or dwelling, referring to the palace occupied by the English kings down to the time of James I. Catford is a contraction of Cattleford, signifying a shallow portion of the Ravensbourne easily forded by cattle. [The University town on the Isis received its present name of Oxford for a similar reason.] Beckenham denotes a home beside the beck or brook. Here again the Ravensbourne comes into notice. Sydenham means the home or habitation in the south. The names of Forest Hill, Norwood, a contraction of Northwood, and Westwood remind us that the whole of this district was formerly a large tract of wooded land. Dulwich is a corruption of Dalewich, the town in the dale. Honor Oak owes its designation to the boundary oak, under whose umbrageous shade Queen Elizabeth is said to have dined. Nunhead derived its name from “The Nuns’ Head,” a place of holiday resort for Londoners, dating back more than two hundred years. Peckham was originally Beckham, a home distinguished for its becks or brooks. Brixton is a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon “Brigestan,” the bridge of stone. Camberwell derived its name from a miraculous well discovered close by the parish church dedicated to St. Giles, the patron of cripples. Cam is Celtic for crooked. In this instance the word applies to the cripples, or rather to their patron saint. [On the other hand, the University town of Cambridge was so called from the bridge over the Cam, a river distinguished for its winding course.] Stockwell is in allusion to the well found in the stoc, or wooded place, in Anglo-Saxon times. Kennington means a settlement in the King’s meadow. One of the palaces of Henry VIII. stood here. Newington denotes the new town in the meadow. Finally, the name of St. George’s Fields was derived from the neighbouring church of St. George the Martyr.

BATTLES.

The Tearless Victory was the name given by Plutarch to the victory won by Archimadus, King of Sparta, over the Argives and Arcadians in the year 367 B.C. without the loss of a single Spartan soldier. The Thundering Legion is the historical designation given to the Roman legion that overthrew the Alemanni in the year 179 A.D., during a thunderstorm, which was supposed to have been sent in answer to the prayers offered up by the Christians. Not only did the storm strike terror into the minds of their enemies, but it also enabled the Romans to relieve their long-protracted thirst. The Hallelujah Victory received its name from the battle-cry of the newly-baptized Bretons, who were led to the attack by Germanus, Bishop of Auxerre, in the year 429.

The Battle of the Standard, fought between the English and the Scots at Northallerton, August 29, 1138, was so called because the standard of the former consisted of a tall crucifix borne upon a wagon. From the crucifix itself there was suspended the Consecrated Host enclosed in a pyx, while floating beneath were the bannerets of SS. Peter, Wilfrid, and John of Beverley. The Battle of the Herrings (February 12, 1429) obtained its title from the defeat suffered by the Duc de Bourbon when attempting to intercept a convoy of salted herrings on their way to the English besieging Orleans. The Battle of Spurs is the more familiar designation of the Battle of Guinnegate, in which Henry VIII. defeated the Duc de Longueville (August 16, 1513), because the French were said to have used their spurs more than their swords. This event, however, must not be confounded with The Battle of the Spurs of Gold, which took place between the French and the Flemish at Courtray, in Belgium, July 11, 1302. In this engagement the French were completely routed, and the spurs of upwards of eight thousand of the vanquished knights were left upon the field. These were collected and preserved as trophies of war in the Church of Notre Dame de Courtray.

The Battle of Marignano (September 13, 1515) also bears the name of The Battle of the Giants, owing to the defeat by Francis I., King of France, of 1,200 Swiss Guards, the allies of the Milanese. The Battle of Leipsic (October 16-18, 1813) is known as The Battle of All the Nations, because, in addition to signalizing the overthrow of Napoleon and the deliverance of Germany, it was the champion battle of the nations of Europe.

NOTABLE DAYS AND FESTIVALS.

That New Year’s Day is the first day of the recurring year goes without saying. Previous to 1752, when the year commenced on the 25th of March, its four recognized quarters were Whitsuntide, Lammastide, Martinmastide, and Candlemastide; at the present time they are Lady Day, Midsummer, Michaelmas, and Christmas. Let us at once consider the meaning of these terms.

Whitsuntide is the season ushered in by Whit Sunday, a corruption of White Sunday, because, during the primitive ages of the Church, all newly-baptized persons were required to attend Mass in white garments on this day. As every one knows, Whit Sunday commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the form of fiery tongues. It is highly probable, therefore, that the true meaning of Whit, or White, Sunday remains to be sought in connection with the wisdom symbolized by these fiery tongues. After all, the original spelling of this festival-name may have been Witan Sunday, the Anglo-Saxon for Wisdom Sunday; just as the earliest English parliaments were styled Witanagemotes, or “meetings of the wise men.” But to proceed. Lammastide literally signified the season of First Fruits; since on Lammas Day, a term compounded out of the Anglo-Saxon hlaf, a loaf, and mœsse, a feast, (Aug. 1st), it was formerly the custom to offer bread made of new wheat in the churches. Martinmas Day (Nov. 4th), latterly corrupted into Martlemas Day, denotes the Feast of St. Martin, Bishop of Tours in the fourth century. Candlemas Day, or the Feast of the Purification (Feb. 2nd), which commemorates the presentation of the Infant in the Temple in accordance with the Jewish Law instituted 1490 B.C., because the early Christians walked in procession to Mass with lighted candles in their hands on this day. This religious observance was introduced by Pope Gelasius in the fifth century, as a literal bearing out of the words spoken by Holy Simeon when he took the child Jesus in his arms: “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people: A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel” (Luke ii. 29-32). It is still the practice in the Roman Catholic Church to make offerings of candles for the use of the altar on this day. Lady Day (Mar. 25th) is but another name for the Feast of the Annunciation, or the day upon which “the angel of the Lord appeared unto Mary,” and announced that she was to become the Mother of the Son of God. Midsummer Day (June 24th) expresses the midday of the year; while Michaelmas Day (Sept. 29th) is the Feast of St. Michael, the patron saint of the Roman Catholic Church. As the latter feast falls upon the first day of autumn, the hiring of labourers and domestics in the rural districts takes place at this time. Christmas Day is, to put it literally, the Feast Day of Christ, being the anniversary of the Nativity of the Blessed Redeemer.

Innocents’ Day, formerly known as Childermas Day (Dec. 28th), commemorates the Massacre of the Innocents by Herod. Twelfth Day (Jan. 6th), signifying the twelfth day after Christmas Day, bears the ecclesiastical name of the Epiphany, from the Greek Epiphaneia, a showing or appearance, because on this day the Infant manifested Himself to the Three Wise Men from the East who came to adore Him. In olden times the Feast of the Epiphany was kept with great solemnity in the churches during the day, followed by a festival of a more social character in the evening, thus accounting for the old-fashioned appellation of Twelfth Night. The 7th of January was formerly called Distaff’s Day, because the Christmas festivities having come to an end with Twelfth Night, the women were expected to return to their distaffs and other regular occupations on this day. Another name for the same occasion was Rock Day, rock being the Anglo-Saxon term for a distaff. Similarly, the first Monday after the Epiphany bore the designation of Plough Monday, on account of the men returning to the plough and the ordinary labours of the field on this day. Handsel Monday, the first Monday in the New Year, was so called by the Anglo-Saxons because then it was that handsels, or presents, were bestowed upon domestics and children. To the best of our knowledge the custom no longer exists in any portion of this country; or perhaps it may be more correct to say that its observance has been universally transferred to Boxing Day (Dec. 26th), originally so styled from the opening of the various alms-boxes in the churches, and the distribution of their contents, which bore the name of a Christmas Dole, to the poor by the clergy on this day. Moreover, since heads of families usually gave their children and domestics small sums of money to drop into the boxes for the latter purpose on Christmas morning, we here trace the origin of the term Christmas Box, which nowadays applies to a present received by servants and others during the Christmas season.

The word Lent is a contraction of the Old English lenten, and the Anglo-Saxon lencten, the spring, both derived from lencgan, to lengthen, because the long fast of the Christian Church occurs when the days begin to lengthen. Shrove Tuesday, also known as Pancake Tuesday, derived its name from the shriving or confessing imposed upon the faithful on this day. The custom of eating pancakes originated from the fact that this species of food afforded a stay to the appetite during the long hours of waiting in church to be shrived. The distribution of ashes on Ash Wednesday commemorates the passage in the third chapter of Genesis, where the Lord curses Adam in these words: “In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat bread till thou return to the ground; for dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.” Passion Sunday, which precedes Palm Sunday, is devoted to a general commemoration of the subject of Christ’s Passion. Palm Sunday owes its name to the distribution of palms in the Roman Catholic Church, in allusion to the palms borne by the populace who accompanied the Redeemer into Jerusalem shortly before His betrayal by Judas. The week following Palm Sunday is called Passion Week, and also Holy Week, because it contains the days upon which the incidents of Christ’s Passion are particularly commemorated. Maunday Thursday is the first, not at all on account of the maund, the Saxon term for an alms-basket, formerly presented to the poor by the Lord (or rather by the Lady, “the loaf-giver”) of the Manor, but from the ancient ceremony of washing the feet of poor persons, in imitation of Christ at the Last Supper, when He said, “Mandatum novum do vobis,” &c., the French for Mandatum being Maundé. The ecclesiastical designation of this day is Holy Thursday, in commemoration of the Agony and Bloody Sweat of the Saviour in the Garden of Gethsemane. Good Friday, the anniversary of the Crucifixion, was originally known as “God’s Friday.” The Anglo-Saxons usually called this day Long Friday, in consequence of the length of the Church service. Holy Saturday is the day upon which the Church commemorates the Burial of Christ.

The word Easter bears in itself no Christian significance whatever, having been derived from Eoster, the goddess of light, or spring, in whose honour a festival was anciently held in the month of April. The Jewish festival corresponding to our Easter is called the Passover, in commemoration of the Destroying Angel having passed over the houses of the Israelites whose door-posts were marked with the blood of a lamb killed the previous night in accordance with the Divine command, when He smote the firstborn of the Egyptians in the year 1491 B.C. Returning to the Christian Church, the Sunday after Easter is called Low Sunday, because it stands at the bottom of the Lenten Calendar; being the last day upon which Roman Catholics may fulfil their Easter obligation of receiving the Holy Communion. Sexagesima Sunday, Quinquagesima Sunday, and Quadragesima Sunday are situated in the Calendar respectively sixty, fifty, and forty days before Easter; the terms expressing the Latin for those round numbers.

The Feast of Whitsuntide, which we have already discussed, also bears the name of Pentecost, from the Greek pentekoste, the fiftieth day, in commemoration of the gift of the Law to the Israelites fifty days after their deliverance out of Egypt. Trinity Sunday, so called from the Latin trinitas, three, is the Festival of the Holy Trinity, i.e., the unity of the three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, under one Godhead. Corpus Christi expresses the Latin for the Body of Christ, especially alluding to the Last Supper. As the Church considered it out of keeping with the solemnity peculiar to Holy Week, the celebration of this High Festival has been transferred to the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. The Sunday preceding Ascension Day is called Rogation Sunday because it ushers in the three Rogation Days, or days of preparation, conformably to the Latin rogare, to beseech, for the Feast of the Ascension. We may conveniently add here that Ember Days are those days of especial fasting and prayers that occur in each of the four seasons of the year, viz., the Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday after the first Sunday in Lent, and the corresponding three days after the Feast of Whitsuntide, the 14th of September, and the 13th of December. The weeks in which these days occur are styled Ember Weeks; the allusion to embers (Anglo-Saxon, ämyrie, hot ashes) being commemorative of the ancient custom of doing penance by the wearing of sackcloth and ashes.

On Ascension Day the Church celebrates the Ascension of our Saviour; while the Feast of the Assumption similarly reminds Roman Catholics of the consummation of the Virgin’s mission upon earth by being assumed into Heaven. Holy Cross Day, Holy Rood Day, and the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross are one and the same, the term Rood being Old English, derived from the Anglo-Saxon rôd, for cross. This festival, which occurs on the 14th of September, celebrates the restoration of the Holy Cross of Calvary to Jerusalem in the year 628. All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1st), is the day dedicated to those whose sanctification during life merited their canonization by the Church after death; while All Souls’ Day (Nov. 2nd) is the day set apart for special prayers, having for their object the liberation of the suffering souls in Purgatory. The older designation of the first-named was Allhallowes Day, in accordance with the Anglo-Saxon word haligan, holy. Allhallowe’en denoted the evening before, generally attended with sundry amusements in the social circle; conspicuous among which was the cracking of nuts in large quantities in the fire, whence it received the name of Cracknut Night.

St. Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14th) is sacred to the memory of Bishop Valentine, a Christian martyr beheaded at Rome on this day in the year 278. The custom among young people of sending poetical souvenirs to their sweethearts on the birthday of St. Valentine originated from the old notion that birds commenced to couple on this day: hence, a sweetheart chosen on the 14th of February anciently bore the name of a Valentine. Nowadays, alas! the paper Valentines are all that remain to remind us of the fact. St. Swithin’s Day (July 15th) perpetuates the memory of St. Swithin, the preceptor of King Ethelwulf and Bishop of Winchester, who died July 2, 862. The vulgar belief that if it rains on this day it will continue to rain for forty successive days is attributed to the tradition that when, despite the saint’s dying request to be buried in the churchyard, the clergy took steps to disinter his body in order to remove it within the cathedral, a heavy downpour of rain necessitated a postponement of their efforts on thirty-nine successive days, whereupon, after the fortieth attempt, they determined to allow the saint to remain where he lay. St. David’s Day (Mar. 1st) commemorates the victory won by the Welsh over the Saxons on the birthday of their Archbishop (born 490, died 554), in the year 540. It was in consequence of the Archbishop having ordered them on this occasion to place a leek in their caps, so as to distinguish one another from the invaders, that the Welsh afterwards adopted the leek as their national emblem in his honour. Comb’s Mass, which in the north of Scotland, and Caithness more particularly, takes the place of our Whitsuntide, is the colloquial term for the Feast of St. Columba, Abbot of Iona (born 521, died 597).

Primrose Day (April 19th) is the anniversary of the death of Lord Beaconsfield (born 1804, died 1881). The abundant display of primroses on this day, particularly on the part of the members of the Primrose League, established in 1884 in his honour, originated in the Queen’s primrose wreath sent to the funeral of the great statesman, thus inscribed—“His favourite flower.” The custom of displaying a sprig of oak on Royal Oak Day (May 29th) perpetuates the manner in which the Royalists welcomed the return to England of Charles II. on his birthday, May 29, 1651, in allusion to his concealment in the oak at Boscobel, after the Battle of Worcester, on the 3rd of September previous. Guy Fawkes’ Day keeps alive the incident of the Gunpowder Plot, by the timely discovery of which, November 5, 1605, the wholesale destruction of King James’s Parliament was averted. The name of the chief conspirator was not Guy, but Guido Fawkes; his execution took place January 13, 1606.

Arbor Day is an expression scarcely understood in this country, except, perhaps, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where the Transatlantic ceremony of planting trees, shrubs, and flowers within the school precincts, was publicly performed for the first time by the Mayor, June 11, 1888. This annual observance prevails not only throughout the United States and Canada, but also in certain portions of British Columbia, where the trees have to be coaxed into growing. Forefathers’ Day (Dec. 20th) is kept as a high holiday in New England, commemorative of the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers at New Plymouth in the year 1620. Independence Day (July 4th), perpetuates the memory of the American Declaration of Independence, 1776; and Evacuation Day (Nov. 25th), the date of the evacuation of New York City by the British army, at the conclusion of the American War of Independence, 1783.

The Sunday in Mid-Lent when the Pope blesses the Golden Rose, and children and domestics out at service visit their mothers to feast upon Mothering Cakes, really owes its name of Mothering Sunday to the ancient custom of making offerings to “Mother Church” on the afternoon of this day. St. Grouse’s Day is a popular nickname given to the 12th of August (Grouse Day), when grouse shooting commences; and St. Partridge’s Day, to the 1st of September (Partridge Day), which opens the season for partridge shooting; while Sprat Day (Nov. 9th) is the first day for selling sprats in London. The expression Red Letter Day, signifying a past event generally referred to with pleasure, found its origin in the old almanacks, where the Festivals and Saints’ Days were printed in red ink and the rest in black. This arrangement still obtains in Roman Catholic countries.

Holiday is a corruption of Holy Day, or a day originally set apart by the Roman Catholic Church for the celebration of some feast in commemoration of an important event, or in honour of a particular saint. The word Almanac, also written Almanack, is derived from the Arabic al manah, to count; whereas Calendar is a contraction of the Latin calendarium, an account-book.

TEXTILES, EMBROIDERIES, AND LACE.

Several of our textile fabrics are indebted for their names to the places where they were first manufactured. As examples: Damask Linens and Silks originally came from Damascus; Muslin from Moosul, in Mesopotamia; Nankeen from Nankin, in China; Calico from Calicut, on the Malabar Coast; Cashmere from the valley of Cashmere, in India; Dimity from Damietta, in Egypt; Valence from Valencia, in Spain; and Holland from the Netherlands. Cambric was first made at Cambray; Shalloon at Chalons; and Tarlatan at Tarare: each of these towns being situated in France. Worsted formerly comprised the staple industry of a town of that name in Norfolk; Cobourg is brought from Cobourg, in Germany; while Angola comes from the Portuguese territory so called on the West Coast of Africa. The coarse woollen cloth known as Frieze was originally imported from Friesland.

The name of Cotton is a modification of the Arabic qoton; Silk is derived from the Latin sericus, soft; and Satin from the Italian seta, a species of silk distinguished for its gloss and close texture. Variegated silk or other stuff bears the name of Brocade in accordance with the Italian verb broccare, to prick, to stitch, to figure; Damassin is a damask cloth interwoven with flowers, or silver, or gold; Sarsanet is a fine silk, originally made by the Saracens; Mohair is properly Moorhair, or the hair of the Angola goat introduced into Spain by the Moors; whereas Moire Antique is the French description of a watered silk worked up in the manner of that worn in the olden time. Chintz is a Persian word signifying spotted or stained; Taffety, or Taffeta, is a modification of the Persian tâftah, derived from taftan, to spin; Linen is an Anglo-Saxon rendering of the Latin linum, flax; and Lawn is simply fine linen bleached upon a lawn instead of the customary drying-ground. Pompadour received its name from Madame le Pompadour, the mistress of Louis XV. of France (born 1721, died 1764), who was the first to introduce it.

Swansdown is, of course, made from the down of swans; Moleskin is not the skin of the mole, but a strong cotton fabric or fustain having a smooth surface like the mole-skin; Merino is manufactured from the wool of the Merino sheep; and Alpaca from that of the alpaca, a species of llama found in Peru. Kersey is a corruption of Jersey, indicative of the place where this favourite woollen material was first produced. The dyed cotton stuff known as Gingham, out of which umbrellas were formerly made—hence the slang term for those articles—is so called after the native Javanese name pronounced ginggang. We may also conveniently add here that Blankets received their designation from Thomas Blanket, who first made them at Bristol as long ago as the year 1340.

The name of Velvet traces its origin from the Latin villus, shaggy hair; and Plush from pilus, a hair. Velveteen is a cotton velvet or a cloth in imitation of velvet. Fustian, derived from the Spanish fustan, is a generic term for the twilled cotton stuffs of which velvet, corduroy, &c., are the chief. Grogram is a corruption of the French gros-grain, meaning coarse-grained; whereas Corduroy is properly Cord du roy, King’s Cord, so called because, owing to its ribbed or corded surface, it was at one time considered superior to any other kind of cloth intended for masculine wear. Pina-cloth, a material much used for ladies’ dresses, is manufactured from the fibres of the pine-apple leaf; just as Grass-cloth is extensively worked up into light jackets for Indian wear from the Grass Cloth plant which abounds in China, Assam, and Sumatra. T-cloth comprises a special kind of cloth expressly manufactured in this country for exportation to India, and distinguished by a T marked upon it; while Broadcloth simply bears its name on account of its unusual width. The name of Twill is a modification of the German Zwillich, signifying trellis-work, and founded upon twillen, to separate in two, since this cloth presents the appearance of diagonal lines or ribs upon its surface. Tweed is a cloth made in the neighbourhood of the river Tweed; but it did not always bear this name. The cloth is really twill, and the altered designation arose out of the word being blotted in an invoice sent to James Locke, of London, who, conceiving it to look like “Tweed,” suggested that it might as well stand for the name of the cloth as any other. Plaid owes its name to the Gaelic peallaid, a sheepskin out of which the over-garments of the Highlanders were originally made. Check is but another name for Plaid, meaning checkered, i.e., marked with variegated or crossed lines; as, for example, a draught-board, of which the counters are, on account of their cross movements, called Checkers or Chequers.

The word Embroidery is a modern substantive evolved out of the old verb “Embordering,” by which was meant the adornment of any material with a border. Tapestry is derived, through the French tapisserie, from the Latin tapes, a carpet. The celebrated Bayeaux Tapestry, supposed to have been the work of Matilda, queen of William the Conqueror, and her maidens, took its name from the Norman town where it was discovered in 1728. Gobelin Tapestry preserves the memory of the Brothers Gobelin, the great French dyers (flourished 1470) whose house in Paris was acquired in 1662 by Louis XIV. for the production of tapestry and other works of ornamental design suitable for the adornment of palaces under the direction of M. Colbert. The more ancient name for Tapestry was that of Arras, in allusion to the town situated in the French Netherlands whence it chiefly came.

Having regard to Lace, it will suffice to observe that Lisle, Chantilly, Brussells, Honiton, &c., severally identify the Lace with the local centres where its manufacture is principally carried on; that Valenciennes is made at Valenciennes, in France; and that Colbertine derives its name from M. Colbert, the superintendent of the French Royal Lace Factories established by Louis XIV. in the seventeenth century. Lace is styled Point-lace when it is worked with the point of a needle; and Pillow-lace when produced by twisted threads around a series of pins arranged on a cushion. The latter, which has so greatly superseded the more costly point-lace, is said to have been the invention of Barbara Uttmann, of St. Annaberg, in the year 1561. The word Lace itself comes from the Latin laques, a noose or snare. Tulle, a species of network or lace, is indebted for its designation to the French town of that name where it was first made.

LITERARY PSEUDONYMS.

So far from being chosen at random these are frequently the result of much premeditation. Voltaire (born 1694, died 1778), whose proper name was Arovet, composed out of this and the initials L. I. (le jeune) the anagram by which all his writings are identified. Again, Barry Cornwall is an imperfect anagram founded upon Bryan Waller Procter (born 1790, died 1874), the poet’s real name; whereas Yendys, the signature of Sydney Dobell (born 1824, died 1874), was merely the Christian name reversed. To cite an instance of another class: Charles James Apperley, of Denbighshire, author of “The Chase, the Turf, and the Road,” and a regular contributor to The Quarterly Review could scarcely have hit upon a more fitting pseudonym than that of Nimrod, who “was a mighty hunter before the Lord,” alluded to in Genesis x. 9. Such a choice will be the better understood, perhaps, when it is mentioned that out of regard for the sporting tastes of his esteemed contributor, Mr. Pittman, the proprietor of the Quarterly kept a stud of hunters for his especial use. Equally appropriate was the pseudonym Zadkiel, denoting the angel of the planet Jupiter, adopted by Lieutenant Richard James Morrison, author of “The Prophetic Almanack,” which still survives as an annual publication.

Washington Irving selected the nom de plume of Knickerbocker for his “History of New York,” in allusion to the wide breeches worn by the original settlers of that city. The true account of how Charles Lamb (born 1775, died 1834) adopted the name of Elia for his “Essays” is as follows:—His first contribution to the “London Magazine” being a description of the Old South Sea House, in which he had spent several months of his noviciate as a clerk, he at the very moment of appending his signature, bethought himself of a gay, light-hearted foreigner who used to flutter about there; and, as a mere matter of whim, he wrote down the name of that individual instead of his own. Boz, the early nom de plume of Charles Dickens (born 1812, died 1870), arose out of the nickname of Moses conferred by him upon a younger pet brother in honour of Moses Primrose in the “Vicar of Wakefield.” The other children of the family, however, found it impossible to utter a nearer pronunciation to the name than “Bozes,” which presently became shortened in “Boz”; and the latter hit the fancy of our young author sufficiently to lead him to its adoption at that period of his literary career when he lacked the confidence to appear before the world under his own name. Out of an analogous incident sprang Ouida, the pseudonym of one of the most widely-read lady novelists of the present day. Her actual name is Louise de la Ramée (born in 1840); but remarking the infantile conversion of Louise into “Ouida,” she was struck by the novelty of such a nom de plume, and immediately adopted it. Another lady novelist of probably higher attainments assumed the name of George Sand (born 1804, died 1876) as the outcome of her attachment to a young student named Jules Sand, or rather Sandeau, with whom she collaborated in the production of “Rose et Blanche,” her first novel. The real name of this lady was Mdlle. Dupin, afterwards changed by marriage to Madame Dudevant.

It may be deemed interesting to learn also that Artemus Ward was an actual name borne by an eccentric showman with whom Charles Farrar Browne, the American humorist (born 1834, died 1867) often came into personal contact; and, further, that Samuel Langhorne Clemens (born in 1835) owes his singular pseudonym to the fact of having been employed in early life as a pilot on one of the Mississippi River steamboats. The nautical phrase for taking soundings, Mark Twain, or, in other words, “mark two fathoms,” suggested the name under which the works of the latter have become widely popular on both sides of the Atlantic.

Finally, not every one is aware that F. M. Allen, the pseudonym of Mr. Edmund Downey, author of “The Voyage of the Ark,” “Through Green Glasses,” and some other books of Irish humour, was his wife’s maiden name.

COUNTERFEIT PRESENTMENTS.

A Portrait, so called from the Latin protrahere, to draw forth, is produced by the individual skill of an artist; whereas a Photograph, conformably to the two Greek words photos, light, and graphein, to write, is obtained by the action of sunlight upon a chemically prepared surface, such as silver, zinc, copper, glass, or paper.

The earliest examples of portraiture were styled Miniatures because they originated from the head of the Virgin or of some well-known saint introduced into the initial letters of illuminated rubics by the Miniatori, a number of monks noted for their skill in painting with minium, or red lead. The reason why the portraits of monarchs are represented on coins and medals in Profile dates back to Antigonus, one of the generals of Alexander the Great, who, having lost one eye, ordered his likeness to be drawn from a side view. This occurred in the year 330 B.C. The term is a corruption, by way of the French profil, of the Latin perfilum, compounded out of per, through, by, and filum, a line, a thread. A profile cut out of black paper bears the name of a Silhouette in honour of Etienne de Silhouette, the French Comptroller of Finance under Louis XV. (born 1709, died 1767), who was the first to have his features outlined in this manner.

The earlier descriptions of photographs were respectively styled Talbotypes, Daguerreotypes, and Ferriertypes, after the names of their inventors. The smaller-sized photographs at present in use were originally described as Cartes-de-Visite from the practice of the Duc de Parma, who, while staying at Nice in the year 1857, had his photograph produced on the back of his visiting cards. The designation Vignette, which expresses the French diminutive of vine or tendril, owes its origin to the vine-leaves or branches that properly surround the photographs produced in this style. A photograph of the larger size is called a Cabinet because it forms a picture suited to the walls of a cabinet or very small room. A three-quarter-length photograph or portrait is styled among artists a Kit-Kat, in allusion to the portraits of the original members of the “Kit-Kat Club,” which were painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller for Jacob Tonson, the secretary, to suit the dimensions of the room in which the Club was latterly held at his villa at Barn Elms. Similarly, a canvas measuring 28 inches by 36 inches is styled a Kit-Kat Canvas because this was the uniform size of the famous “Kit-Kat Club portraits.” We may as well add here that the Kit-Kat Club derived its name from Christopher Kat, a pastrycook of King Street, Westminster, in whose house the thirty noblemen and gentlemen who formed themselves into a Club for the purpose of promoting the Protestant Succession in the year 1703 held their first meetings.

LONDON INNS AND GARDENS.

In our article on [Tavern Signs] we confined ourselves to a general survey of the subject; we now purpose to consider the significance of a few Inn Signs that are, or were once, peculiar to London. Commencing with the celebrated Tabard, in Southwark, so dear to the memory of Chaucer and his Canterbury Pilgrims, that sign was derived from the rich tunic or mantle of the same name worn by military nobles over their armour and emblazoned with heraldic devices. The Tabard still forms part of the costume of the heralds. La Belle Sauvage, on Ludgate Hill, was, as is evident from a legal document dated the thirty-first year of the reign of Henry VI., known both as “Savage’s Inn” and “The Bell and the Hoop.” The latter was the actual sign, representing a bell within a hoop, of the Inn which was kept by Isabelle Savage; and the combination of these two names resulted in the punning title of “La Belle Sauvage.” The Swan with Two Necks, in Lad Lane, was a corruption of “The Swan with Two Nicks.” As most Londoners are aware, it has long been the custom of the Vintners’ Company, in their annual “swan-upping” expeditions on the Thames, to mark their swans with a couple of nicks or notches in the bill, so as to distinguish them from the royal swans, whose nicks are five in number, viz., two lengthways and three across on the bill. That this characteristic mark of the Vintners’ Company should have been chosen for a London Inn Sign is scarcely extraordinary.

The sign of The Elephant and Castle, on the south side of the river, was adopted from the crest of the Cutlers’ Company, into whose trade ivory, and consequently elephants’ tusks, enters very considerably. With regard to the “Castle,” this was in mediæval times inseparable from the idea of an elephant, owing to the part which these huge animals anciently took in the Punic wars. Another “Elephant and Castle” exists in the parish of St. Pancras, near King’s Cross; but this sign originated from the discovery, in 1714, of the skeleton of an elephant in the neighbourhood of Battle Bridge. A flint-headed spear lay beside the remains, and from this it is reasonable to conjecture that the animal must have been killed by the Britons who were led by Queen Boadicea against the Romans in the year 61 A.D.

The Horse Shoe, Tottenham Court Road, came into existence as a sign from the large horse-shoes nailed up at the entrance of Messrs. Meux’s brewery adjoining. The shoes are also conspicuous on the trappings of the dray-horses belonging to that establishment; in short, they comprise the trade-mark of the firm. The Blue Posts, at the corner of Hanway Street, nearly opposite the “Horse Shoe,” arose out of the fancy of an old innkeeper to distinguish his hostelry from all others by causing the chain-posts abutting on the road to be painted blue instead of white, which eccentricity fully served the purpose of a sign. There is another “Blue Posts” in Cork Street, Piccadilly, and yet another in Southampton Buildings, Holborn; but the first-named is the oldest of the three, and therefore the original. The Black Posts, Bond Street, may also be regarded as a modified imitation of the example set by the original “Blue Posts.” The Three Chairmen, at the foot of Hay Hill, Berkeley Square, and The Running Footman, in Hayes’ Mews, close by, were so denominated from being the resort of gentlemen’s servants in the days when Sedan Chairs (these chairs were first made at Sedan, in France, which accounts for their name, exactly as Bath Chairs were originally introduced at Bath during the last century, when fashionable invalids flocked to the West of England to drink the Bath and Cheltenham waters) and Running Footmen preceded the use of private carriages by the wealthy.

The Mother Red Cap, Camden Town, perpetuates the memory of a notorious poisoner known as “Mother Damnable, the Consort of the Devil,” who lived at Hungerford Stairs during the period of the Commonwealth. The Mother Shipton, Haverstock Hill, was built at the time when the prophecies of Mrs. Evan Preece, of Glamorganshire, South Wales, were in everybody’s mouth. This old woman was said to have had a son by the devil, whereupon, in return for the sacrifice of her honour, she was accorded the gift of prophecy. When we state that she correctly predicted the deaths of Lord Percy, Wolsey, and other historical personages, the existence of Mother Shipton in this country must be regarded as a time-honoured if not exactly as a well-founded institution. The Adelaide, Haverstock Hill, was named in honour of the consort of William IV., and The York and Albany after the title of Frederick, the second son of George III.

Jack Straw’s Castle, Highbury, as also the celebrated hostelry of the same name on Hampstead Heath, was so called after Jack Straw, one of the leaders in Wat Tyler’s insurrection, who pulled down the Priory of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem at the former place, and whose habitation was a hole formed out of the hill-side on the site of the present Inn at the latter place. The Spaniards, Highgate, was originally the private residence of the Spanish Ambassador to James I. The Whittington Stone, Highgate Hill, took its sign from the stone upon which the world-famous Dick Whittington sat down to rest the while he listened to the bells of Bow Church pleasantly chiming across the open fields. The stone is still to be seen on the edge of the pavement exactly opposite the public-house.

The sign of The Thirteen Cantons, King Street, Golden Square, was adopted in compliment to the thirteen Protestant cantons of Switzerland, and to the numerous natives of that country who at one time took up their residence in the parish of Soho. During the last decade or two the Swiss population has given way in a large degree to French immigrants. The North Pole, Wardour Street, dates back to the time when our national interest in Arctic discovery was at its height; exactly in the same manner as The South Australian, Hans Place, Chelsea, was established in the year that first witnessed the colonization of Southern Australia.

The World’s End, in the King’s Road, Chelsea, a favourite house of entertainment during the Restoration period, received its name on account of its distance from town. The Fulham Bridge, at Knightsbridge, recalls the original name of the structure which crossed the Westbourne in this neighbourhood (see [Knightsbridge]). The Devil, Fleet Street, received its name from its situation, nearly opposite the Church of St. Dunstan, and the traditional account of that saint having seized the Evil One by the nose with a pair of hot pincers. The Three Nuns, Aldgate, well serves the purpose of reminding us of the existence of an ancient priory inhabited by the nuns of St. Clare in this neighbourhood (see [Minories]). The White Conduit Tavern, Islington, occupies the site of the famous old White Conduit House, a popular place of resort previous to its demolition in 1849. This was the Conduit which had served the Carthusian Friars with water from ancient times. The prenomen “white” applied to the house and was derived from the appearance of its exterior. The Belvedere, Pentonville Hill, originally contained a small structure on the roof known by this name for sitting under and enjoying the prospect across the fields. The term Belvidere is Italian, signifying “a fine prospect,” and is equally applicable to a summer arbour and the flat roof of a house. The Clown Tavern, St. John Street Road, Clerkenwell, owes its sign to the fact that it was formerly kept by a clown engaged at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, in its immediate vicinity. The well-known Hummuns’s Hotel, generally alluded to as Hummuns’s, Covent Garden, derived this title from its erection on the site of a Hummuns, the Arabic name for a sweating bath, kept by a Mr. Small some time during the seventeenth century.

Reference to the above Inns and Taverns peculiar to London compels us almost to say a few words concerning those popular places of outdoor resort of which we have all read and heard so much. Sadler’s Wells marks the position of an ancient holy well whose waters were famous for working extraordinary cures. In the year 1683, after having been stopped up since the Reformation, a Mr. Sadler, while digging for gravel in his garden, discovered this well, and thereafter it bore his name. In order to profit by the re-established fame of this well, Sadler converted his residence into a house of entertainment under the title of “Sadler’s Musick House.” Here were provided tight-rope dancing, conjuring, tumbling, and a variety of other diversions, always accompanied by music. Sixty years later, probably after the death of Mr. Sadler, the property passed into the hands of Mr. Rosoman, who turned it into a theatre, but retained the name of the old proprietor. The present theatre was built by Mrs. Bateman in 1879. Highbury Barn, first a small ale and cake house, and afterwards a place of public entertainment, including a theatre, was so called from its occupying the site of a barn-like structure originally belonging to the ancient Priory of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, and left standing after the incursion of Jack Straw and his rebellious companions [see ante, [Jack Straw’s Castle]]. Vauxhall Gardens derived their title from the Hall, or Manor-house, of Jane Vaux, which they displaced [see [Vauxhall]]; Ranelagh Gardens occupied the site of Ranelagh House, the seat of an Irish nobleman of that title; while Cremorne Gardens were named after Thomas Dawson, Lord Cremorne, whose town house and grounds they covered. Whatever may have been the moral character of these places, their removal has had the effect of effacing one phase of Metropolitan amusement entirely; but it has also been instrumental in introducing another—namely, the Music-Halls. The first London music-hall was “The Canterbury,” Westminster Bridge Road, which grew out of The Canterbury Arms, displaying the arms of the city of Canterbury in the year 1848.

SOBRIQUETS AND NICKNAMES.

The list of historical personages whose sobriquets and nicknames are even better known than their proper names is very large; we must, therefore, content ourselves with a random selection of the principal.

Commencing with the ladies: Ayesha (born 610, died 677), the second and favourite wife of Mahomet, was called The Mother of Believers because the prophet styled himself “The Father of Believers.” Fair Helen was the wife of Menelaos, King of Sparta, by whose guest, Paris, the Trojan prince, she was carried off. This incident was the immediate cause of the famous siege of Troy which lasted ten years. Fair Rosamond (died 1154) was the mistress of Henry II., who kept her in a secluded bower that could be approached only by a labyrinth or maze in the neighbourhood of the royal palace at Woodstock. One day, however, the queen artfully discovered her way thereto by means of a silken thread attached to the garment of the faithless husband, after which she soon procured the removal of her rival by poison. Joan, the wife of Edward the Black Prince, was styled The Fair Maid of Kent (died 1385) on account of her beauty and being the only daughter of the Earl of Kent. The Holy Maid of Kent was Elizabeth Barton, a religious enthusiast, hanged at Tyburn in 1534. A brave, if not a beautiful, woman of historic renown was the Countess of Dunbar and March, who, in the year 1337, completely defied the attempt of the Earl of Salisbury to capture Dunbar Castle during a siege of nineteen weeks, at the end of which the latter was forced to retire with ignominy. This warlike heroine is generally alluded to under the name of Black Agnes, in consequence of her swarthy complexion. A less fortunate Scottish heroine who fell at the Battle of Ancrum Moor beside her English adversary, General Evers, whom she had killed, was Fair Maiden Lilliard. She was buried on the site of the conflict; and her epitaph, as follows, is known to every man, woman, and child in that part of the country:—

“Fair Maiden Lilliard lies under this stene,

Little was her stature, but great was her fame;

Upon the English loons she laid many thumps,

And when her legs were cutted off, she fought upon her stumps.”

The spot where she fell still bears the name of “Lilliard’s Edge.” Then, of course, we have the celebrated Joan of Arc, The Maid of Orleans (born 1412, burnt at the stake 1431), who placed herself at the head of the attacking party and effected the capture of the city of Orleans from the English. Neither must we omit a passing allusion to Augustine Zaragossa, better known as The Maid of Saragossa, owing to the signal heroism which she displayed during the siege of her native city in 1808-9. The Honourable Elizabeth St. Leger, the niece of Colonel Anthony St. Leger, who founded the Stakes named after him in connection with Doncaster races, is known to posterity as The Lady Freemason, because on one occasion she overheard the proceedings of an assembly of Freemasons, and, being discovered, was, as the only way of meeting an unprecedented difficulty, duly elected a member of the craft and initiated into its peculiar rites and ceremonies. Madame Jenny Lind Goldschmidt (born 1821, died 1887) was styled The Swedish Nightingale on account of her vocal genius and her birth in the city of Stockholm. The now popular society actress, Mrs. Langtry, bears the somewhat punning though highly complimentary sobriquet of The Jersey Lily, because she was born in Jersey and her Christian name is Lillie.

Heraclitus of Ephesus (flourished 500 B.C.) was known as The Weeping Philosopher, because he spent the latter years of his life in grieving over the folly of men; on the other hand, Democritus of Abdera (born 460 B.C., died 357 B.C.) merited the surname of The Laughing Philosopher, because he jeered at the feeble powers of man, whose every act was in the hands of fate. Duns Scotus, the Scottish schoolman (born 1272, died 1308), was styled The Subtle Doctor by reason of his learning; while St. Thomas Aquinas (born 1227, died 1274) was denominated The Angelic Doctor because he belonged to the priesthood. St. Paul of the Cross is the name by which Paul Francis (born 1694, died 1775), founder of the religious Order of the Passionists, is best known.

The famous English outlaw who flourished between the years 1180 and 1247, and whose real name was Robert Fitz-ooth, Earl of Huntingdon, adopted the style of Robin Hood, in deference to the example set by the people of Nottinghamshire, who, while dropping the Fitz, corrupted the Robert into Robin and the ooth into Hood. Little John was properly called John Little, but being a great, stalwart fellow, the outlaw chief took a fancy to invert his name for the sake of the contrast. We can quite understand “the merry men of Sherwood Forest” cultivating an objection to hard-sounding words; therefore it could not have been long before William Scathelocke, another prominent member of Robin Hood’s band, found his name reduced to the more euphonious form of Will Scarlet. Friar Tuck was so called because his habit was tucked in around the waist by a girdle.

Sixteen-string Jack was the name popularly bestowed upon Jack Rann, a notorious highwayman hanged in 1791, owing to the sixteen tags he wore on his breeches, eight at each knee. Another notorious representative of the great family of Jacks, good, bad, and otherwise, was the Marquis of Waterford, commonly known as Spring-heel Jack, from his habit of frightening people by springing upon them out of obscure corners after nightfall during the early part of the present century. Gentleman Jack and Gentleman Smith were the titles respectively borne by John Bannister and William Smith, both actors of the century gone by. The former was noted for his straightforward dealings with his fellow-men in private life, the latter for his gentlemanly deportment on the stage.

Who has not heard of Admirable Crichton? This extraordinary Scottish prodigy, James Crichton (born 1560, died 1583), is said to have given such early proofs of his learning that the degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him at the age of fourteen. In addition to his classical knowledge, he was a poet, a musician, a sculptor, an artist, an actor, a brilliant conversationalist, a good horseman, and an excellent fencer. Surely the possessor of such varied accomplishments deserved a better fate than that which befell him in the very prime of his life! He was stabbed by a band of masked desperadoes led by his own pupil, Vincenzo Gonzaga, the son of the Duke of Mantua. A genius of a totally different stamp was George Robert Fitzgerald, better known, owing to his duelling proclivities, as Fighting Fitzgerald. This individual was one of the most infamous characters of the last century. No enemy ever escaped him with life; being a sure shot and an expert swordsman, his intense love of gambling and duelling, united to a haughty and overbearing disposition, habitually prompted him to shed the blood of his fellow-men without the least compunction.