Notes and Queries, Number 180, April 9, 1853 - Various 2 стр.

In his "Rape of Lucrece:"

where the editor's note is"probably derived from the French word méchant, wicked." In his "English Traveller:"

This misprint the editor corrects to mickle: professing, however, as he well might, distrust of his amendment. Nares discards Dilke's guess, and says, "If a right reading, it must be derived from mich, truant, adulterous." Whereby to correct one error he commits another, assigning to mich a sense that it never bears. If haply any doubt should remain as to what the true reading in the above passage is, a reference to Heywood's Various History concerninge Women will at once assoil it. In that part of his fourth book which treats of adulteresses (p. 195.), reciting the very story on which his play was founded, and calling it "a moderne historie lately happening, and in mine owne knowledge," he continues his narrative thus:

"With this purpose, stealing, softly vp the stayres, and listening at the doore, before hee would presume to knocke, hee might heare a soft whispering, which sometimes growing lowder, hee might plainely distinguish two voyces (hers, and that gentleman's his supposed friend, whom the maide had before nominated), where hee might euidently vnderstand more than protestations passe betwixt them, namely, the mechall sinne itselfe."

Mr. Halliwell, in his compilation of Archaic and Provincial Words, gives Mechall, wicked, adulterous, with a note of admiration at Dilke's conjecture; and a reference to Nares, in v. Michall. Mr. H. neither adduces any authority for his first sense, "wicked," nor can adduce one.

To lowt, to mock or contemn. A verb of very common occurrence, but, as might be expected, quite unknown to the commentators on Shakspeare, though its meaning was guessed from the context. As it would be tedious and unnecessary to write all the instances that occur, let the following suffice:

"Pride is it, to vaunt princely robes, not princely virtues. Pride is it to lowte men of lower sort or pore lasers, as is some men's guise."The Third Booke of Nobilitye; writte in Latine by Laurence Humfrey, late Englished, 1563.

"Among serving men also, above all other, what wicked and detestable oaths are there heard! If there be any of that sort which fear God, and love his word, and therefore abstain from vain oaths, how doth his company lout him! Look what an ass is among a sort of apes, even the very same is he among his fellows."The Invective against Swearing, p. 361.; Works of Thomas Becon (Parker Society).

Samson was accounted of the Philistines for a fool, but he would rather die than suffer that opprobry unrevenged (Judic. xvi.).

"David was lowted of Michol Saul's daughter, but she was made therefore barren all her life."2 Reg. vi.

And same page, a little above:

"He that calleth his brother fool, that is to say, contemn him, mock him, or, as men call it now-a-days, lowting of a man, committeth such murder as is worthy hell-fire and eternal damnation."A Declaration of the Ten Commandments, ch. ix. p. 373.; Early Writings of Bishop Hooper (Parker Society).

Where I would note, by the way, that in three copies of the folio 1632, now by me, it is printed "at traitor," although two of these folios have different title-pages; that which appears to be the later impression bears under the portrait these words: "London, printed by Thos. Cotes, for Robert Allot, and are to be sold at his shop at the signe of the Blacke Beare, in Paul's Church-yard, 1632." The other wants the words "at his shop," as described in Mr. Collier's edition.

The mention of Mr. Collier's name is a hint that reminds me to advertise him of a mistake he lies under, in supposing that the Duke of Devonshire's copy of the Play of King Richard II. in 4to., dated 1605, is unique (vid. Collier's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 105., Introduction); as there is another in the Philosophical Institute at Hereford, presented by the late Edward Evans, Esq., of Eyton Hall, in the same county.

But to return. Mr. Halliwell, in his work above quoted, furnishes another instance of the verb lowt, from Hall's History of King Henry IV., which the reader may consult for himself. I will merely add, that the interpretation there propounded is plausible but unsound, the context only giving aim to his conjecture.

FOLK LORE

Drills presaging Death.In Norfolk, agricultural labourers generally believe that if a drill go from one end of a field to the other without depositing any seedan accident which may result from the tubes and coulters clogging with earthsome person connected with the farm will die before the year expires, or before the crop then sown is reaped. It is a useful superstition, as it causes much attention to be paid to make the drill perform its work correctly. Still it is remarkable that such a superstition should have arisen, considering the recent introduction of that machine into general use. I should be glad to learn from other readers of "N. & Q." whether this belief prevails in other parts of England where the drill is generally used.

Beltane in Devonshire.Seeing that the ancient superstition of the Beltane fire is still preserved in Scotland, and is lighted on the 1st of May, the origin of which is supposed to be an annual sacrifice to Baal, I am induced to state that a custom, evidently derived from the same source, is, or was a few years since, annually observed in the wild parts of Devonshire. At the village of Holne, situated on one of the Spurs of Dartmoor, is a field of about two acres, the property of the parish, and called the Ploy (Play) Field. In the centre of this stands a granite pillar (Menhir) six or seven feet high. On May morning, before daybreak, the young men of the village assemble there, and then proceed to the Moor, where they select a ram lamb (doubtless with the consent of the owner), and after running it down, bring it in triumph to the Ploy Field, fasten it to the pillar, cut its throat, and then roast it whole, skin, wool, &c. At midday a struggle takes place, at the risk of cut hands, for a slice, it being supposed to confer luck for the ensuing year on the fortunate devourer. As an act of gallantry, in high esteem among the females, the young men sometimes fight their way through the crowd to get a slice for their chosen amongst the young women, all of whom, in their best dresses, attend the Ram Feast, as it is called. Dancing, wrestling, and other games, assisted by copious libations of cider during the afternoon, prolong the festivity till nightfall.

The time, the place (looking east), the mystic pillar, and the ram, surely bear some evidence in favour of the Ram Feast being a sacrifice to Baal.

Touching for King's Evil.The following passage bearing upon the custom of touching for the King's Evil, and its antiquity, is extracted from Laing's translation of Snorro Sturleson's Heimskringla. King Olaf the Rich, afterwards Saint, had fled to Russia on being driven out of his kingdom by Knut the Great. Ingigerd, Queen of Russia, desired a widow to take her son, who "had a sore boil upon his neck," to King Olaf, "the best physician here, and beg him to lay his hands on thy lad." The king was unwilling to do so, saying that he was not a physician; but at last consented:

"Then the king took the lad, laid his hands upon his neck, and felt the boil for a long time, until the boy made a very wry face. Then the king took a piece of bread, laid it in the figure of the cross upon the palm of his hand, and put it into the boy's mouth. He swallowed it down, and from that time all the soreness left his neck, and in a few days he was quite well.... Then first came Olaf into the repute of having as much healing power in his hands as is ascribed to men who have been gifted by nature with healing by the touch."

Laing asks in a note:

"Is the touching for the King's Evil connected with this royal saint's healing by the touch?"The Heimskringla, vol. ii. p. 297., 8vo.: London, 1844.

GAFFER OR GAMMER, ETC

These two venerable words were used by our ancestors. Every one has heard of Gammer Gurton; Gaffer Gingerbread was also famous in, as well as I can remember, a portion of the literature which amused my childhood. In Joseph Andrews, Fielding styles the father of Pamela "Gaffer Andrews:" and, for aught I know, the word may be still in use in Wilts and Somerset.

Unde derivantur Gaffer and Gammer? Lye said they were quasi good-father and good-mother; Somner, that they were the Anglo-Saxon Gefæder and Gemeder, i. e. godfather and godmother; Webster derives the former from the Hebrew geber, man, the latter from the Scandinavian gamel, old. Having a fondness for simplicity, I go less learnedly to work. I have observed little children, when commencing to speak, to say "ganpa" and "gamma" for grandpapa and grandmamma: whence I conjecture that, in the olden time, ere we had Pa's and Ma's, the little aspirants used to say "ganfa'er" and "gamma'er," which easily became Gaffer and Gammer. I am confirmed in this view by a friend to whom I mentioned it, and who told me that his own children always called his father gaffer, a word entirely of their own formation.

There is a term now coming a little into use, which is I believe of pure Irish origin, namely, old fogie. Indeed, I have heard it used rather disrespectfully of those mature old warriors, whom it pleases the wisdom of our government to send out in the command of our fleets and armies. The word, as I said, is of Irish, or rather of Dublin birth. The old fogies are the inmates of the Royal or Old Men's Hospital, the Irish Chelsea. I think, then, that it must be plain to every one that the term is nothing more than a good-humoured corruption or diminutive of old folks.

This leads me to the simple origin of a word which seems to have posed all our etymologistsit has done so to Richardson at leastnamely, "Pettifogger, a low, tricky attorney." According to my view, pettifogger is neither more nor less than pettifolker, i. e. one whose practice lies among the petty folk, small tradesmen, day-labourers, and such like. This derivation, too, has simplicity in its favour.

Minor Notes

Search for MSS.A proposal was made some time ago in "N. & Q." by Mr. Mackenzie, that some systematic effort should be made for the recovery of ancient MSS. I have heard nothing more of it, but am sure that, if a beginning were made, it would receive warm support from the friends of literature. There is, however, a kindred search which can be prosecuted nearer home, with more certain success and more important results. I mean a continued search among the numerous MSS. in which so much of our unknown history is buried. Might not a systematic examination of these be instituted, with the help of the "division of labour" principle, so that important portions of the great mass should be accurately described and indexed, valuable papers abridged for publication, and thus given to the world entire? Much is being done, no doubt, here and there; but surely much more would be accomplished by united and systematised labour. How much light might be thrown on a given period of our history by such a study of all the records, correspondence, &c. relating to it. Is there none of our existing societies within whose scope such an undertaking would fall, or might not different societies unite for the purpose? The books, of course, should be sold to the public. I leave the hint to the judgment of your readers.

Clifton of Normanton.Following the excellent example of Dr. Todd, of Trin. Coll. Dublin, I send you from the fly-leaves of an old English Bible (C. Barker, London, 1599, small 4to.), for the information of any one connected, some of the particulars inscribed on the leaves, relating to

"Thomas Clifton of Normanton, in the county of Darby, who had issue by his first wife three sonnes and four daughters; and by his second wife, two sonnes and one daughter."

The names of his wives are not mentioned. The details of births, marriages, and deaths extend from 1586 to 1671, and some of the branches of the family went to Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Zachary Clifton was at the Universities of Utrecht and Leyden (at which latter university "hee com̅enct Mr. of Arts, March 5, 1654"), and in 1659 was ordained minister of the gospel at Wisborough Green in Sussex. Many other particulars are given. The Bible is in the library of Sir Robert Taylor's Institution, Oxford, and is in excellent preservation, having been recently carefully repaired.

Oxford.

The Three per Cent. Consols.In Jerdan's Autobiography, vol. iii., published in 1852, we read this anecdote:

"At a City dinner, so political that the three Consuls of France were drunk, the toast-master, quite unacquainted with Bonaparte, Cambacères, and Lebrun, hallooed out from behind the chair, 'Gentlemen, fill bumpers! The chairman gives the Three per Cent. Consols!'"

In Merrie England in the Olden Time, vol. ii. p. 70. (published ten years before), will be found the following note:

"This eminent professor (toast-master Toole), whose sobriquet is 'Lungs,' having to shout the health of the 'three present Consuls,' at my Lord Mayor's feast, proclaimed the health of the 'Three per Cent. Consols!'"

The latter version is the correct one. It was the three foreign Consuls who were present among this annual gathering of grandees that was given; not Bonaparte, Cambacères, and Lebrun. The after-dinner organ of Toole might easily, on hearing the toast, mistake "present" for "per cent.," and "Consuls" (in the City, too) for "Consols."