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I shall not enter into the dark abyss of terms formed by that disgraceful practice of swearing: it is curious, however, to note the characteristic oaths of different nations. Thus the Frenchman swears 'Par bleu' and by his 'mille tonnères!' while the German growls out his 'Donner und Blitzen!' or 'Donner und Teufel!' as Jean Paul often has it.

So we see that oaths are not only national, but individual. Thus how famous is Socrates' 'By the dog!' And Charles' 'Odd's death!' Just as notorious, however, is the 'God's death!' of good Queen Bess. Swearing, indeed, Elizabeth affected as she did many other manly accomplishments. For if she could sing 'ditties,'

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she was also quite as able, when occasion required, heartily to cuff her courtiers. It would seem, however, that ladies once enjoyed a much larger share of this peculiar prerogative than at present. We should, at least, conclude so from Hotspur's exhortation to his wife:

"Hotspur. Come, Kate, I'll hear your song, too. Lady Percy. Not mine, in good sooth.

Hotspur. Not yours, in good sooth! 'Heart, you swear like a comfit-maker's wife! Not you, in good sooth; and, As true as I live; and, As God shall mend me; and, As sure as day;

And giv'st such sarcenet surety for thy oaths,
As if thou never walk'dst further than Finsbury.
Swear me, Kate, like a lady (!), as thou art,
A good mouth-filling oath; and leave in sooth,
And such protests of pepper-gingerbread,
To velvet guards and Sunday citizens!"

First Part of Henry IV. III. 2.

'ZOUNDS!' is a common enough exclamation, and is probably a contraction for God's wounds-a form which we find in Chaucer, who is overflowing with quaint asseverations of this kind. Thus we find,

"I make a vow by Goddes digne bones."

The Pardoneres Tale.

'PERDY,' again, is just a corruption for par dieu (by God). So, 'GRAMERCY' returns-grand merci-great thanks. Of this primitive form Chaucer will afford us an example:

"Grand mercy, lord, God thank it you (quod she)
That ye have saved me my children dere."

The Clerkes Tale.

'BY'R LADY,' that is by our lady (the Virgin Mary),

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and 'BY'R LAKIN' - that is, by our ladykin a diminutive of the preceding-were once (when our lady' received more veneration than she now does) very popular forms of asseveration. So Snout the tinker, exclaims:

"By'r lakin, a parlous fear!"

Mid Summers Night's Dream, III. 1.

Falstaff, on the contrary, is constantly swearing 'BY THE LORD!' and declaring (what he certainly well merited) 'I'LL BE HANGED!' Whereas Justice Shallow prefers to point his declaration 'BY YEA AND NAY,' or 'BY COCK AND PYE' (a corruption for God and Pye-the latter being the name given to the Popish book of church offices-By God and the Book!) Another whimsical form of swearing was 'By these ten bones!' i. e. the fingers or 'by these pickers and stealers' (Hamlet). See Shakespeare, Jonson, etc.

We of the Saxon brood are perhaps as abusive in our language and as terrible in our oaths as any nation on the face of the earth. So much so, that we can scarcely tax Caliban with extravagance when he declares:

"You taught me language, and my profit on't

Is, I know how to curse; the red plague rid ye

For learning me your language."*

Tempest.

It is averred, indeed, that the Italians outstrip us in this matter, as in many other arts-worthy and unworthy; but this is to be regarded as dubious!

We have seen how Shakespeare wields this class of words-conjuring up the most fantastic or ludicrous or scurrilous combinations-piling term on term and capping the climax of the ridiculous or the abusive. Like a Titan, he laughs and sports amid the spoils of language-playing with and tossing about words-or rattling them like a tempest of hail stones about the ears of some luckless wight.

"Ha, thou mountain-foreigner! Sir John, and master mine, I combat challenge of this latten bilbo ;

Word of denial, froth and scum, thou liest."

Merry Wives of Windsor, I. 1.

"Out of my doors, you witch, you hag, you baggage, you pole"Get you gone, you dwarf;

cat, you ronyon.”

Ibid, IV. 2.

* Caliban imprecates the 'red plague.' The names of frightful diseases are often used as imprecations. Thus, the old 'Pox on you!' was, previous to the introduction of vaccination, a fearful curse. Thank vaccination, then, for removing both the

thing and the word!

So with a 'murrain!' etc., etc.

You minimus, of hind'ring knot-grass made;

You bead, you acorn."

Mid-Summer Nights' Dream, III. 2.

"Falstaff. Strike; down with them; cut the villains' throats; oh! whoreson caterpillars! bacon-fed knaves! they hate us youth; down with them; fleece them.

Hang ye gorbellied knaves; are ye undone? No, ye fat chuffs; I would your store were here! On, bacons, on! What, ye knaves, etc."

First Part of Henry IV. II. 2.

However, Falstaff many a time gets paid back in his own coin:

"You will, chops?

Farewell, thou latter-spring! Farewell, all-hallown summer!

Peace, ye fat-kidney'd rascal!

Call in ribs, call in tallow.

Peace, ye fat guts !

Here comes lean Jack, here comes bare-bone !"

And so we leave off, even as we began:

"Why, thou clay-brained guts; thou knotty-pated fool; thou

whoreson, obscene, greasy, tallow-keech!"

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