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a universal and well-known law of change in English pronunciation always to suppress the trilling of r as much as possible. But this caused a slight change of the vowel sound, so that er (as in F. serve) became aa, as in baa, or as in vulgar English saav for serve.

This law of change has been to some extent interfered with by the spelling, for, whilst uneducated people freely retain this change, the educated classes, who read much, have reduced the pronunciation of serve to that now in use by a further change of aa to an indistinct vowel sound with which we are all familiar, and which we indicate by er, though the r is really silent, being wholly untrilled. We may find sarve for serve in use as early as in Tyndall; we now pretend to be ashamed of it. Sarmon for sermon occurs in the fourteenth century.

Opponents of spelling reform are often unacquainted with the history of the language, and are wholly unconscious of the fact that in many words we have already adopted a phonetic spelling. Such is peculiarly the case with words of this class; a large number of them are actually spelt with ar, so that the law of change is thereby concealed. I now give examples :

1. The Middle-English word berne is now phonetically spelt barn; the same is the case with bernacle, a barnacle; herte, the heart (where the old e still lingers); tern, a tarn; perseley, parsley; berken, to bark as a dog; derk, dark; herknen, to hearken (again the e); merke, a mark; querelle, a quarrel (oddly pronounced quorrel); smert, smart; sterten, to start; yerde, a yard; Dertemouthe, Dartmouth; kerven, to carve ; fer, far; ferme, a farm; wernen, to warn; werre, war; merren, to mar; mersh, a marsh; merveile, a marvel; gerner, a garner; gernet, a garnet; werblen, to warble; werpen, to warp; serk, a sark, or shirt. And doubtless more might be added. In particular note persone, a parson, and ferrier, a farrier.

Such are sarve for serve; sarvant, larn, sarten for
certain; varjus (verjuice), yarb (Shropshire for
herb), sarpent, starn, consarn, detarmine, 'varsity,
'tarnal, 'tarnation (short for 'tarnal 'nation),
sarmon, varmin, marcy, narvous, Jarmany; be-
themselves.
sides many more which our readers can supply for

three pronunciations in chronological order :-
It will now, I think, be seen that there are really
obsolete.
1. Er, as in F. serve, with trilled r; probably

but concealed by phonetic spelling, as when we
2. Er, as in clerk, with untrilled r; very common,
write Clark.

in the highly polite-"your servant.”
3. Er, with a modern refined pronunciation, as

Cambridge.

WALTER W. SKEAT.

"Parson," in our last volume, p. 497, by MR. J. ELIOT [This article was already in hand before the note on HODGKIN, appeared.]

FELLER'S "PHILOSOPHICAL CATECHISM." Under the title of "A Catholic Encyclopedist," Mr. Wilfrid C. Robinson gives, in The Month and Catholic Review for August, 1880, an interesting sketch of the life and literary labours of François Xavier de Feller. this learned and indefatigable writer will be found A more complete memoir of in the Dictionnaire de Biographie Chrétienne, which forms part of the Abbé Migne's vast "Encyclopédie Catholique." Feller was born at Brussels in 1735, and was educated in the College of the Jesuits at Rheims. In due course he became a professed member of the Society of Jesus. When the Order was suppressed in France in 1763, he found a refuge in the Austrian Netherlands; and after the suppression of the Society in the Low Countries he resided at Liége, where he assumed the garb of a secular priest and devoted himself with extraordinary energy to literary pursuits. Political troubles afterwards induced him to retire to Holland, and he finally fixed his abode at Ratisbon, where he died on May 21, 1802. His 3. As to many words we are in a state of hesi- best-known work is the Dictionnaire Historique; tancy; some people shrink from saying Darby, ou, Histoire abrégée des Hommes qui se sont fait Barkley, and from sounding Kerr as Carr, fearing un Nom par leur Génie, leurs Talents, leurs Vertus, hostile criticism, and unaware that Darby is rather &c. This has gone through many editions. the regular than the exceptional pronunciation. most recent I have seen is entitled, "Biographie Here in Cambridge we have a Sherman who always Universelle des Hommes qui se sont fait un Nom calls himself Sharman, whilst another has Sharman par leur Génie, &c. Revue et continuée jusqu'en over his shop-door. We say merchant, yet Mar-1860, par l'Abbé Simonin," 8 vols., Paris, 1860. chant occurs as a name. As for the berberis, we call it a barberry, insinuating a third r with a clutch at a new sense in berry. We say fern, but also Farncombe. Perilous also appears as parlous. 4. Lastly, when we allow the law of change free play, as among the lower classes, who have not yet adopted the last modern refinements, we shall find plenty of examples, familiar to all of us.

2. In some words we boldly retain the changed pronunciation in spite of the spelling-I allude to clerk, serjeant, Hertford, and the like.

The

Father Feller's pen is the Catéchisme PhilosoPerhaps, however, the ablest production of phique; ou, recueil d'Observations propres à been reprinted several times as a separate work, défendre la Religion contre ses Ennemis, which has and which occupies the post of honour in the collection of Catéchismes Philosophiques Polémiques, Historiques, &c., published by the Abbé

Migne in 1842. Mr. Robinson, in the article little further down the street are three genuine referred to above, states that this Philosophical old Grub Street houses, Nos. 16, 17, and 18. Catechism has been translated into German, These certainly date back to the latter end of the Italian, and English. I have been unable to find seventeenth century. The last house on the west a copy of the alleged English version, and I shall side is numbered 36A. Crossing over to the east feel obliged to any correspondent who will kindly side, the first three houses are worthy of notice. supply me with the date of its appearance and a The first two seem to be built entirely of wood. transcription of the title-page. It has occurred to They are old buildings, with the first and second ne that Mr. Robinson may possibly have been stories overhanging the street. The corner house misled by a statement in the memoir of Feller is 96, Fore Street. The one next to it in Milton prefixed to Migne's collection. The writer of that Street is the back entrance to 95, Fore Street. memoir, speaking of the Philosophical Catechism, says, "Il a été traduit en allemand et en italien; on en préparait une traduction en anglais." Perhaps the English translation was never completed. Madame de Genlis published Feller's Catechism in an inaccurate form, accompanied by notes of her own, under the disguised title of Catéchisme Critique et Moral. She was so ignorant of the origin of the book that she attributed it to several Jesuit Fathers, whereas it was a matter of public notoriety that Feller was its sole author.

THOMPSON COOPER, F.S.A.

GRUB STREET, NOW MILTON STREET.-Grub Street, one of the most interesting relics of old London, of which the name has passed into our language as a household word, is fast changing its appearance, and in a few more years if the heroes of the Dunciad were to return to earth they would be unable to recognize their former haunts.

A short description of the place as it now stands might interest some of the readers of "N. & Q.," and be useful in future years, when its locality and the origin of its name will be forgotten. About 1831 Grub Street lost its classic name, and was rechristened as Milton Street. Its dimensions, however, are still the same, though very few of the old houses remain. A portion of the street was pulled down when the Underground Railway was made, and many of the old buildings have been replaced by large warehouses and merchants' offices. It runs nearly due north and south from 56, Chiswell Street to 96, Fore Street. The numbering commences from the north end on the west side, and the first ten houses are outside the City boundary. No. 10 is an eating-house, through the windows of which may be seen huge smoking joints of meat and lofty piles of cabbages, which would cause agonies of desire in the souls of the hungry authors who formerly frequented the neighbourhood. Inside the City boundaries the numbering of the houses recommences. Between the houses numbered 3 and 4 of the new series is a passage leading to Haberdasher Square, a picturesque old nook, with paving flags in the centre, and old-fashioned buildings with red-tiled roofs and dormer windows. It is not mentioned in the Post Office Directory. A

Retracing our steps towards Chiswell Street, we come to two more curious houses, Nos. 68 and 69. The windows of the first and second stories project, and their appearance is very picturesque. These buildings appear to be the oldest in the street, and they are probably remains of Elizabethan London.

The question naturally arises, When was the term Grub-Street first applied as an epithet to poor authors? One of your best-informed contributors gives me a reference to a passage in Andrew Marvel's The Rehearsal Transposed, published in 1672. "He, honest man, was deep gone in Grub Street and polemical divinity." The term, however, was probably not in common use till the beginning of the eighteenth century, when it frequently occurs in the writings of the wits of the reign of Queen Anne.

In 1730 the famous Grub Street Journal was commenced. It was not published in a permanent form till 1737, but in the mean time selections were given to the public under the title of Grubiana, The Grub Street Miscellany, &c., and the term became familiarized in our language. Johnson gave "Grubstreet" a place in his Dictionary, and in early life must have been on intimate terms with many of its inhabitants. Perhaps some of your contributors could give us a list of the authors who have resided there. F. G.

IMPERFECT BOOKS. - Every book collector, I suppose, has to lament the absence of a title-page, or one or more leaves, which in books of rarity he finds it difficult to supply. Perhaps "N & Q" may be a medium for assistance in this respect. For instance, I have the two impressions of Stubbs's Anatomy of Abuses, dated respectively May 1 and August 16, 1583. My copy of August 16 wanted the title-page, which I had supplied in fac-simile. Recently I acquired a copy, imperfect at the beginning and the end, but which contained the title-page by which I have made my copy perfect. There remains with me a very large proportion of the work, quite useless to me, but which might enable others to supply deficiencies in their copies, which I should be happy to do. Having offered to assist others, may I mention some of my own grievances?

I have the Seven Champions of Christendom, both parts, printed for Elizabeth Busbie, 1608,

black letter. It wants one page, and I know not how to supply it, even in fac-simile. Does any one know of another copy, perfect or imperfect. Again, I have a fine vellum book of Heures a lusuige de Rome, Imprimees a Paris le xiv iour du mois de Juing Mil Cent cinq cens et trois," which wants two leaves. FREDERIC OUVRY.

"THE THREE F's."-We hear not a little nowadays of the difficulty of attaching a right and definite meaning to these three mysterious letters. An authoress has, I think, been more successful than any one else I know, the title of her recently-published volume being Tasmanian Friends and Foes: Feathered, Furred, and Finned. "Birds, Beasts, and Fishes" would have been rather antiquated. ABHBA.

EPITAPH.—In the parish churchyard at Folkestone is a gravestone bearing the following inscrip

tion :

"In Memory of Rebecca Rogers,
Who died August 22, 1688, aged 44 years.
A house she hath, it's made of such good fashion,
The tenant ne'er shall pay for reparation.
Nor will her landlord ever raise her rent,
Or turn her out of doors for non payment.
From chimney money* too this cell is free,
Of such a house who would not tenant be."

A. C. S. WHISKEY-SKIN.-A correspondent of "N. & Q." a little time ago gave us the derivation of gin-sling. Will he, or some one else learned in the philology of drinks, interpret whiskey-skin? The word occurs in Mr. John Hay's Pike County Ballads :—

"At last come Colonel Blood of Pike,
And old Jedge Phinn, permiscus-like,
And each as he meandered in,
Remarked, 'A whisky-skin.'”

P. 26.

About the time of the last contest for knights of the shire in North Lincolnshire the following lines were repeated :

"When Jim Spruggins run for Congress
There wasn't a high-toneder man

To be found between Boston Harbour
And the state of Michigan;

But when Jim got to Washington
Of business naught thought he,

But a deader hand at a whisky-skin
You needn't hope to see."

1. At Stainton, Cumb., Mrs. Smith, aged 104. 2. At Carrickfergus, in Ireland, Mr. James O'Brien, aged 114.

3. Near Buxton, Derbyshire, Sam. Fidler, aged 105.

4. At Liverpool, Tho. Keggan, aged 107. 5. At Alfreton, Derbyshire, John Stewardson, aged 102. C. W. HOLGATE.

HEREDITARY DESCENT OF THE OFFICE OF ToWN CRIER.-On December 1 there died, in Mill Street, Oakham, at the age of seventy-five, Seth Ellingworth, who for twenty-five years had been the town crier of Oakham. It is worthy of note that the office of town crier had been held in the same family for four generations. CUTHBERT BEDE.

POETICAL TAVERN SIGNS.-What I believe to

be the original verses under the sign of the "Hive" (see ante, p. 286) are still to be read at Abingdon, Berks. Their point consists in the publican's name having been for many years Honey. The pun is lost in the Lancashire sign :

"Within this Hive we 're all alive,

Good liquor makes us funny;
If you are dry, step in and try
The flavour of our Honey.'

The name of the landlord has, however, been recently changed. W. J. BERNHARD-SMITH. Temple.

Queries.

We must request correspondents desiring information on family matters of only private interest, to affix their names and addresses to their queries, in order that the answers may be addressed to them direct.

GIBRALTAR QUERIES.-Can any of your readers tell me who the officer's wife was who fired the first shot at the great siege of 1779-83? On this occasion General Eliott, who was standing by, exclaimed, "Britons, strike home!"

From what does the landing place known as the "Ragged Staff" derive its name?

Near the guard house, on Mediterranean Road, there is a recess hollowed out of the rock containing a stone seat. At the back of this seat is a carefully carved tablet, which has been unfortunately

These are the only two examples of the word much mutilated, the following words and letters with which I remember to have met.

ANON.

CENTENARIANS.-Having occasion to refer, a short time ago, to the December number of the Gentleman's Magazine for 1780, I was surprised to find recorded in the obituary column the deaths of no less than five centenarians. I think the fact is worthy of record in these pages, and so I subjoin the names:

[For "chimney money," consult Cowel's Law Dictionary, and see "N. & Q.," 6th S. ii. 110, 111]

only remaining :

"Mrs. Chetwynds S When Phoebus

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REV. JAMES SERCES, HUGUENOT REFUGEE.— Jaques Serces-author, it is believed, of treatises published in Amsterdam and in London in 1729 and 1736, viz., Traité sur les Miracles and Popery an Enemy to Scripture-was acting in 1756 as minister of the French Chapel Royal at St. James's, in the books of which he is described as "vicaire

d'Apleby." I seek to identify this Appleby out of the four parishes of the name which are found in counties Leicester, Lincoln, and Westmoreland, and to trace the place and date of the vicar's death, and should be grateful for information. H. W.

New Univ. Club.

DISCOLOURED PEARLS.-A friend lately requested me to have a pearl ring cleaned for him. The jeweller to whom it was entrusted on returning the ring informed me that he had taken a small worm from each of the pearls through microscopic holes. He alleged that these worms were always found in pearls discoloured, as in the case of those cleaned by him. I should be glad if this curious fact, if it be such, can be confirmed by any of your readers. As the cost of cleaning the ring was only 1s. 6d. or 28., this story was not likely to have been invented to enhance the value of the cleaning operation.

ALFRED EDGAR.

DAMSONS.-Will somebody who knows what damsons are (which few southerners do) tell me, or rather my sister-in-law, where they are to be obtained at the nearest point to London? A northerner will need no description; but a southerner is deferentially asked to remember that what is wanted is the "prune damson," and not the damson so called at Covent Garden, which is simply a variety of plum, and not the true damson. HERMENTRUDE.

DID QUEEN ELIZABETH EVER VISIT THE CITY OF GLOUCESTER ?—I know that she visited Berkeley Castle and other places in the county, but have found no record of her having visited the city, though there is a tradition that she did so, and an old house by St. Nicholas Church is pointed out as the one she stayed at. J. J. P. Temple.

BOWKER OR BOOKER FAMILY.-Can you assist me with pedigrees or any information with regard to this family? I am desirous of collecting materials for a work on the subject, and should be deeply grateful for any help. References to living members would be acceptable. I shall be happy to correspond with any one upon the subject.

Saffron Walden, Essex.

CHAS. E. B. BOWKER.

A PUBLIC-HOUSE SIGN.-A couple of miles from Carlisle is an inn bearing the sign of the "White Quey." What is the meaning of "Quey"?

The position of the house makes it unlikely that it should be a corruption of "quay." Mr. Hotten does not mention the sign. EDWARD H. MARSHALL. [Cow?]

HERALDIC.-To whom do the following arms belong?-Azure, a fesse wavy erminois between three mullets argent, pierced of the field; on an escutcheon of pretence, Purpure, on a fesse between three horses courant argent, as many hurtes. W. A. WELLS.

SIR JOHN TOWNSHEND, KT., M.P. FOR WYCOMBE_1604-11.--Of what family was he? Sir John Townshend, the representative of the Norfolk house, was killed in a duel Aug. 3, 1603. W. D. PINK.

portrait of this clergyman, and shall be glad to REV. JOHN BARTLAM, M. A.-I have an engraved learn what living he held, also any particulars DUNELM. concerning him.

AMBERLEY.-There is a district so called in the neighbourhood of Stroud, in Gloucestershire. What may be the derivation of the name? If called, as some will have it, from amber stones, what and where are they? ABHBA.

GERMAN HISTORY.-What is the best history in English of the Rhine provinces of Germany?

JOSEPHUS.

GRIFFIN'S "FIDESSA," 1596.-There are, I believe, only three copies known. One in the Bodleian; a second from which C. Whittingham took his one hundred copy Chiswick reprint in 1815; a third, one of Mr. Edmonds's treasure troves at Sir Ch. Isham's. I shall be much obliged for information as to the whereabouts of the second, and also as to any other copy known to exist. B. NICHOLSON.

NAME OF AUTHOR WANTED. -I shall feel much obliged for the name of the author and the place and date of publication of an old octavo volume (pp. 600), the copy now before me wanting the title-page, and there not being any clue in the body of the work to the information I desire. Chap. i. "The Faith of a True Believer," &c., and Serious Contemplation of Mortality, or a Mournful chap. xxxvii. (which is the concluding one) "A Panegyrick in Memory of William III., King of Great Britain," &c.

is on

Авива.

THE ALLEN FAMILY AND THE MS. "CONCERTATIO."-The Rev. Mr. Thornber, of Blackpool, writing some time in the year 1853, says :

"When the translation of a rare old MS., entitled 'Concertatio,' which I am in the hopes of seeing pub

lished by a reverend Catholic friend, shall appear, many other things will be revealed to illustrate the Spanish invasion. It tells how Fleetwood purchased of the king

the fee of Rossal Grange; how he deprived the cardinal's [Allen] nieces of the estate of Todderstaff, the gift of one of their uncles; how the deeds were stolen when Rossal was plundered at night by the sheriff and his people, &c. The translation and publication of such a fund of local history will be hailed with satisfaction by the readers in the Fylde."

Can you give me any information as to the author of the above manuscript, and say whether the same was ever published, as the Rev. Mr. Thornber anticipated? JOSEPH SMITH, Jun. Warrington.

A HYMN BY CHArles Wesley (?).—-Hymn 93 of the new hymnal published by authority of the Church of Scotland, is said to be written by Charles Wesley, and concludes as follows :—

"Till death thy endless mercies seal

And make my sacrifice complete."
I shall be glad to learn whether this version is
authentic, or whether the original has been altered.
J. MACKINTOSH.

IRISH HERALDRY.-Are there any works on the ancient heraldry of Ireland? That such a science existed there for many centuries before the invasion of the English is a fact known to all; but where is it that a detailed reference can be met with?

ZANONI.

“GUAGING" OR "GAGEING."-This is the word which is applied to the pleating and embroidery work with which the old-fashioned smock-frocks are decorated. I should be glad to know how it ought to be spelled, and whether the derivation of it can be traced. W. D. PARISH.

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THE "MAIDENHEAD."-I have an octavo litho“ALK.”—Tanner, in his Notitia Monastica, says graph of this public-house. Where was it situated? that "Barrowe" in Lincolnshire was formerly "At THE "BRITISH AMAZON."-There is an oval Barwe," that is, in a wood. Stark, in his History octavo portrait of a handsome woman thus desigof Gainsborough, makes mention of the Saxon alk.nated. It appears to be a magazine print of last What is the meaning of alk? Did the two words alk and at originally mean the same thing? J. GOULTON CONSTABLE.

Walcot, Brigg.

century. Who was she?

AUTHORS OF BOOKS WANTED.

CALCUTTENSIS.

The following signatures are appended to ballads in a volume of "6 Original Ballads by Living Authors, SCOTCH-DUTCH REGIMENTS.-I find the follow-MDCCCL., edited by the Rev. Henry Thompson," pubing item of news in an Irish journal of December, 1775:

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lished by Joseph Masters in 1850. Can any reader furnish the full names of the writers? F. R., Annabel C, A. H. T., J. E. L., D. B., S. M., Enna.

My Children's Diary; or, the Moral of the Passing Hour, London, Darton & Harvey, 1824, 12mo. Preface signed R. D.

Choirochorographia, sive Hoglandiæ Descriptio. Lon-
don, 1709, 8vo. [5th S. x. 428, 455, 477; xi. 34, 154.]
A Dissertation on Comedy. By a Student of Oxford.
London, 1750, 8vo.
Ancient History: the History of Greece from Various
Sources. 1818, 8vo.
C. W. S.

AUTHORS OF QUOTATIONS WANTED.

"A ring of gold, wedding two distant worlds." From a short poem, "On a Mother Looking at a Dead

Child's Hair."

I. C. G.

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