familiar.

that hurried him along the road of action, "to cut and run; "" to take him down served in a great measure to alleviate the a peg; "to set the Thames on fire;" or intensity of mental anguish with which the like. And he will have but a Adrian Lyle had become of late so terribly slightly greater success in the case of numerous words, such as queer" (which is sufficiently familiar); the term "jerked," as applied to beef; or the name "John Dory," attached to a well-known denizen of the deep. As the whole subject of origin is curious, we may as well begin by an examination of the history of " queer. De Quincey was a high authority on etymology; he was also, beyond doubt,

Anything, he felt, was better than to contemplate dumbly, helplessly, that changed and sad young life; to listen to the broken words; to gaze at the altered face, with all its sweet and trusting innocence burnt out by the touch of that fatal brand which still flames in the hand of that guardian of the fatal sin-the sin which bears the fruit of knowledge of" queer; " and we have to thank him for good and evil.

Away from her, his memory pictured her as she had been, not as she was; though at times the agony of unavailing regret would thrill his soul, as he felt that never word or deed of mortal man would restore her to that lost place, that pedestal of purity and innocence from which her angel face had first looked back to his.

it.

He dared not trust himself to think of He forced aside the misery of thought by the restlessness of action. Hour by hour and day by day he pursued the course he had set himself, steadily and relentlessly, keen of eye and strong of nerve, neglecting not the smallest incident that might serve as a link in the chain he was forging. With endurance strung to its highest tension; with patience and resolve waiting on energy and zeal; so he carried on his task, knowing well that his only reward would be the knowledge that he had saved one who would not even know her saviour, or the doom he had averted.

SOME ETYMOLOGICAL CURIOS.

A PAINSTAKING effort to trace the descent of many words and phrases in common use unfolds an interesting field of research; and this, notwithstanding the fact that several works, dealing in a more or less exhaustive manner with the subject, have been published. It would almost seem, however, that the authors of these books have frequently missed their mark by aiming too high; or, in other words, that they have often selected words or sayings which are not by any means common. Those who have devoted attention to the pedigree of familiar terms will scarcely dispute the above assertion; for the philological antiquary will often in vain consult the dictionaries in question concerning the origin of such expressions, for instance, as

placing on record the strange circumstances connected with the birth of that expressive word. These were briefly as follows. Quin, the celebrated actor, while engaged as manager of a theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, one night wagered a nobleman one hundred pounds that, next morning, a new word would be in everybody's mouth. The wager was accepted, it being clearly bargained that the word would be a brandnew one. So, when Mr. Rich's theatre closed that evening, Quin called together all the "supers" and other inferior stage hands. Giving each a large piece of chalk he desired them to go through all the principal streets of London, and write in very legible characters on the "side-walks," the word " queer." On the following morning, of course, people were amazed, and the expression was literally in everyone's mouth. Knots of persons gathered here and there to discuss the matter; and Quin won the wager, leaving us a legacy in the shape of "queer."

Some of the Opium-Eater's etymological discoveries are interesting, if not always trustworthy. He tells us, for example, that the familiar word "news" is simply a combination of the initial letters of the monosyllables North, East, West, South; while he derives the opprobrious term "coward," not from the well-known animal represented in its orthography, but from that animal's caudal appendage—a coward being one who lags behind in battle. A similar kind of reasoning, no doubt, gave rise to the saying: "He is always behind, like the cow's tail," which is common in some districts. Though it may be questioned if the inventor of the "truckle-bed" was conversant with the Greek Lexicon, De Quincey says that that article of furniture derives its designation from “ trochlea," a little wheel.

We continually hear of persons "stepping into dead men's shoes," or, rather, it is

remarked that So-and-so has stepped into from beyond the "silver streak."
"a dead man's shoes." Several theories
have been advanced to account for the
origin of this expression; and an ex-
ceedingly plausible one has been set forth
by a recent writer. Very much abridged,
it is to the following effect.

In Ireland and the Scottish High-
lands many
"tanist" stones have been
found. These are generally portions of
the solid rock projecting above the neigh-
bouring surface; and on the tanist stone
is carved the impression of a very large
human foot. Why the impression is
invariably so large, has been a puzzling
question to antiquaries; and the writer
on tanist stones makes no attempt to
explain this important point. But it
seems to us to be easily capable of
elucidation; at least, if we are to believe
the statements of an ancient Celtic author,
whose somewhat unspellable name we at
present forget. He asserts, however, that
the feet of the Picts were so large, that,
when the men were slain in battle, they
did not fall, but the upper part of their
bodies, as it were, "hung," for their feet,
owing to their immense proportions, re-
tained their normal position flat on the
ground.

This is surprising enough, and we may picture to ourselves the extraordinary aspect of a field "after the battle." But our veracious writer goes further. He adds that, in summer, the Picts utilised the soles of their feet after the manner of the modern umbrella - they lay on their backs, and, elevating their lower limbs, were at once provided with an adequate shelter from the rays of the sun. When a new King or Chief succeeded to power, he installed himself by placing his right foot in the carved impression, at the same time saying that he was by right installed into his possessions, and would walk in his ancestor's footsteps. Thus he stepped into a dead man's shoes.

While treating of feet we may here note the saying to "put the right foot foremost," which, it is believed, can boast of a Roman origin. Roman etiquette required a visitor, calling on an acquaintance, to step over the threshold with his right foot; and so strictly was this insisted upon, that an attendant was posted at the door to see that the regulation was complied with.

A word which we have just employed, "etiquette," is, of course, directly imported

But

its present meaning has considerably wandered from its original signification, and has done so by the following interesting path. Etiquette, in the first place, implied a ticket, a label; so, etiquettes were tied to luggage to show its destination; and they were also used to indicate the contents of legal deeds or other documents. In course of time tickets (or etiquettes) were given to people on occasions of state, or to gain for them admission to various entertainments.

From the latter circumstance arose the application of the word to ceremonious behaviour.

The curious word "leet," much used in Scotland, is also derived from the French. According to the old method of an Edinburgh or Glasgow municipal election, a large list of persons was first presented by the trades, so that the magistrates might shorten it. This was the "lang leet; " when abridged, it was called the "short leet." The word is, of course, a corruption of "élite," chosen persons.

Among slang terms, "blunt," meaning money, is from the French "blond," palecoloured coin.

Some place-names have, however, been set down in too hasty a manner as being direct appropriations from our neighbours. A notable instance of this occurs in the appellations Belgrave, Belgravia, etc., which are often said to have arisen after the great influx of the Huguenots in the seventeenth century. But it appears to be certain that the name of the metropolitan Belgravia is derived from the ancient village of Belgrave, in Cheshire. This place belonged, for hundreds of years, to a family of Belgraves, the ruins of whose castle still exist, though the family has long been extinct.

The same county of Chester gave origin to the saying "to grin like a Cheshire cat," which is still in vogue in many districts of the north of England. Several accounts have been given as to the birth of this suggestive phrase. One, which appears to be the most plausible, asserts that the wild cat continued to inhabit the peninsula between the Dee and Mersey long after it had disappeared from other parts of the country. The face, and especially the mouth, of the animal were very wide, and its "grin" was so exceedingly formidable, that it may easily be imagined how the saying, "to grin like a Cheshire cat" came to be a common one among the peasantry.

Crusaders from the "sainte terre," became before long known as "sainte terrers," hence our word "saunterer."

"Pelu" was the Indian name for "river," and was given by a native to one of the Spaniards, who jumped to the conclusion that it was the name of the country; while We may perhaps hazard the guess that Montesinos remarks that Peru was the the phrase that such a person, or such an ancient Ophir, which in time became modi- undertaking, is "up a tree," is derived fied into Phiru, Piru, Peru. This is almost from the unpleasant experiences of Charles as good as the origin of the Scotch the Second, after the battle of Worcester; surname "Carruthers;" the first of that while we may in passing attempt to deprive name being a steersman, who was styled our American cousins of the honour of by his shipmates "John Ca' the rudder." coining the term "Lynch Law." It appears The etymology of "John Dory" has to be generally believed that this expression been a vexed question. It appears, however, is of Yankee origin. But a recent traveller that this name is a corruption of "il in the west of Ireland visited Galway, janitore," or the doorkeeper. On the where he was shown one of the principal Italian coast, the fish was called St. Peter, "sights" of the town-an ancient house, and he being supposed to be the doorkeeper with a window over which Governor Lynch of heaven, "il janitore" was occasionally hanged his own son. This event probably substituted; this, British tars transformed took place long before "Lynch Law" was into John Dory. Among vegetables, the heard of in the far West. Many "Jerusalem" artichoke is a corruption of words and phrases in common use are, "girasole "the plant turning to the sun however, importations from the United -and many may have wondered what States. "Yankee" itself was originally connection it has with Jerusalem. The the word "English," as pronounced by the "mayduke" cherry, again, derives its name Indians (Yenghies, Yanghies, Yankees). from Medoc in Burgundy; while the dam-"Bogus," again, is from "Borghese," a son is "damascene," or the plum of swindler who passed many counterfeit bills Damascus. The "bigaroon" cherry is so in America, while "The Upper Ten," or called from Bigorre, the French province "The Upper Ten Thousand," seems to where it is grown; and "cherry" itself is have come from the same country. Mr. from Cerasus, in Asia Minor. Among N. P. Willis, in one of his letters as celebrated apples, the "rennet" is "la Special Correspondent to a Philadelphia reinette," or the "little queen"; while newspaper, said: "The seats for the first "pippin" is derived, says Dr. Johnson, night are already many of them engaged, from the Dutch "puppy nghe." The brown and engaged, too, by the very cream of our "bury" pear is so named from its buttery upper ten." Upper Crust" is another or melting quality ("beurré "); and the example. Judge Haliburton, as Sam Slick "arline "plum is a corruption of "Orleans." in England, writes: "I want you to see The word plum reminds us of the slang Peel, Stanley, Macaulay, etc. They are all term "plum," meaning one hundred thou- upper crust here." sand pounds. Professor Barrere traces this to "pluma," a feather, the idea being that the man who had accumulated so large a sum had thoroughly "feathered his nest." This is as good as Dr. Mackay's etymology of "bobby," a policeman. Bobby, he says, is derived from a Gaelic word, "bobhan," meaning "a big boy." But Professor Barrere confesses himself beat by other financial terms, such as "pony," "monkey," and "marygold." The name "" tanner," however, which is attached to a well-known coin, is derived from the Gipsy language. It is remarkable to observe that numerous words, once regarded as slang, have now been regularly incorporated with the English tongue. "Saunterer" is an instance of this. The beggars who, in mediæval times, wandered about the country, pretending that they were poor

Many of us have been told by pedagogues or others that the word "Cabal," was formed from the initials of the names of Charles the Second's ministers-names needless to detail here. This, however, is undoubtedly a mistake; for we find the word used in the time of Queen Elizabeth by Sir John Harrington. It occurs in the epigram:

I am no cabalist, to judge by number;
Yet this church is so with pilleers filled,
It seems to me to be the lesser wonder,
That Sarum's church is every house pilled.

"Hudibras " was written ten years before the celebrated, "Cabal" of 1672, yet we find the word employed by Butler in two different senses. In Part One it occurs as follows:

For mystic learning with wondrous able
In magic talisman and cabal.

To pack designs without the walls. Some etymologists derive "cabal" from a Hebrew word, meaning a hidden science of Divine mysteries, which the Rabbis affirmed was revealed to Moses, and by him handed down to posterity. The sceptical Gentiles, however, treated this assumption of the Jewish priests as a mere pretence, so in time "cabal" came to have a less reverential significance. But whatever the remote derivation of the word may be, it is clear that it was in use before" navigators," soon contracted to "navvies." the reign of Charles the Second.