E. P. MERRITT.

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WHEATEAR (10 S. xii. 329).—The correct etymology is given in Palmer's FolkEtymology' (1882), and (independently) in Davies's Supplementary English Glossary It is (1881). also in The Century Dictionary.' The extract from Fuller's 'Worthies of England,' ii. 382, shows that the old name was wheatears, and that it has lost an s, which was mistaken as the form of a plural (as in sherry, cherry, shay for chaise, Chinee, &c.). Wheat represents a pronunciation of white, and a more correct form would be whitears, to be divided after the e. This etymology was known to Smollett, who (see Davies) notes that wheat-ears is a corruption [really a variant pronunciation] of white-a-e, the translation [rather, the equivalent] of their French name cul-blanc (Travels,' Letter III.).

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Mr. Arthur Beckett in his book 'The Spirit of the Downs' says:—

"Its south-country name was supposed to come from its alleged habit of feeding on ears of wheat, but the idea of wheat forming any part of its food has long since been exploded.....But, as its actual markings show, the real origin is due to the AngloSaxon equivalent of 'white-rump,' of which wheatear' is thought to be a modern derivation, though it is considered by some authorities to be a corruption of whitterer,' i.e., 'twitterer."

I have elsewhere seen the Anglo-Saxon equivalent stated to be whit-erse. There is much more about these birds in the book quoted. G. S. PARRY, Lieut.-Col. de Gardens, Eastbourne.

Mr. Swainson would have us believe that the bird is so called from the pure white colour of the base and lower portion of the side of the tail." He cites John Taylor the Water Poet, who expatiated on the gastronomic graces of the bird, and was, as Mr. Swainson thought, not quite correct about the meaning of its name :There were rare birds I never saw before, The like of them I think to see no more: Th' are called wheat-ears, less than lark or sparrow, Well roasted, in the mouth they taste like marrow. When once 'tis in the teeth it is involv'd, Bones, flesh, and all is lusciously dissolv'd. The name of wheat-ears, on them is ycleped Because they come when wheat is yearly reaped, And are well nigh 11 months, God knows where. Six weeks, or thereabouts, they are catch'd there, 'Works,' ed. Hindley, 1872. Swainson's 'Provincial Names British Birds,' pp. 9, 10.

See

of

Bardsley attributes the surname Whittear, Whittier, and variants, to the occupation

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of the white tawer

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or tower, one who

dressed the lighter kid skins for the glover ('Dict. of English and Welsh Surnames '). ST. SWITHIN.

I have pointed out in my little volume 'The Folk and their Word-lore' (Routledge 1904) that wheat-ear is a fictitious singular of white-ears, whit-ers, i.e. "white-tail," having synonyms in other languages. So far back as 1882 I showed this, with many illustrative quotations, in my 'Folk-Etymology,' p. 433. A. SMYTHE PALMER.

South Woodford.

Wheatear, of course,

is a corruption. For a similar metamorphosis see a communication on "Neither my eye nor my elbow " at 10 S. viii. 137.

SUSSEX. [MR. TOM JONES, H. P. L, MR. DOUGLAS OWEN, and T. M. W. thanked for replies.

COWPER PRONUNCIATION OF HIS NAME (10 S. xii. 265, 335, 372).—There is a proof that the poet's family name was pronounced Cooper at least before he was born, which seems to have been overlooked, though it is cogent, and may have suggested his own jocose presumption that a forefather had migrated to England from Cupar, in Scotland, When Lord Cowper, the poet's great-uncle, was presiding, in 1715, at the trial of Lord Wintoun for his share in the Rebellion of that year, the prisoner, a man of weak mind, but a certain amount of shrewdness, asked him to do him justice, and not to use what, in Scotland, used to be called "Cowper (Cupar) law, hang a man first, and then judge him."

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COW

The correct pronunciation of the name seems to have been lost in Olney, unless I was misinformed in the shop in the village where I was buying post cards some time ago. I was then told, Every one about here calls him Cowper," the syllable being pronounced as is the name of the animal except in the North of England, where the rustics still sound ow as oo both in and "Cowper," as I can myself testify. F. NEWMAN. 109, Club Garden Road, Sheffield. The poet Cowper was a cadet of the family of which the late Lord Cowper was the head and last survivor. Nobody ever dreamed of pronouncing his family name except as Cooper." If any doubt survives in any perverse mind, reference could be made to his widow, Katrine, Countess Cowper, Panshanger, Hertford. G. W. E. R.

"ALL RIGHT": ORIGIN OF THE PHRASE (10 S. xii. 228, 314).-A very useful instance of this phrase, and one earlier than those quoted, is to be found in a boyish fragment of Tennyson, entitled 'The Coach of Death,' written when the poet was fourteen or fifteen years of age, i.e., about 1824. The verse in which the expression occurs will be found on p. 26 of Tennyson: a Memoir,' by Hallam, Lord Tennyson, and runs :

They mounted slow in their long black cloaks,
The tears bedimm'd their sight:

The grim old coachee strode to the box,
And the guard gasp'd out, "All's right."
C. E. LOMAX.

Louth, co. Lincoln.

EPWORTH PARSONAGE GHOST (10 S. xii. 129, 197, 338).-There is no tombstone to the memory of "old Jeffrey "in Epworth Churchyard. I believe the oldest stone to be found there is the one to Samuel Wesley himself; I, at any rate, have not found an older one, and I know the yard well. I have

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also searched the parish registers more than once for different names, though never for Jeffrey's; but I should probably have noticed his, had it been there, which I do not think is the case. C. C. B. 'NOTES AND QUERIES COMMEMORATION (10 S. xii. 167, 251, 331, 376).—MR. PICKFORD is certainly not the oldest living correspondent of N. & Q.'" I doubt if I am; but some years before his date of 1856 I was a contributor, probably under initials my then name of Adams," or my then 'G. E. A." The Index does not enable me to trace these contributions, but in 1 S. vi. 585 (18 Dec., 1852), signed "G. R. one of them, on the Wellesley Pedigree,' is [sic] Adams, Oxford and Cambridge Club." By mistake of the printer, the initial letter of my second Christian name is there given as "R." instead of "E." I may add that, having been admitted to that Club 11 May, 1848, I was on 1 Dec., 1908, the third in seniority of its then existing members.

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G. E. C.

MR. PICKFORD is not quite the oldest living contributor to N. & Q.' If he will find several small contributions from me, refer to the volumes for 1851-2, he will signed with my initials.

HENRY N. ELLACOMBE.

Bitton Vicarage, Bristol.

[The earliest instance we can trace of our venerable correspondent's contributions is at 1 S. iv. 72 (26 July, 1851). But in the Index to our second volume there are two signatures that are happily still familiar to readers of N. and Q.,' viz., EDWARD PEACOCK and K. P. D. E. There is no harm at this time of day in disclosing the fact that they cover two gentlemen under one hat.]

ing to Helbig, Führer durch die öffentlichen EPICURUS IN ART (10 S. xii. 347).-AccordSammlungen klassischer Altertümer in Rom,' cult of Epicurus's portrait that prevailed vol. i. 2nd ed. p. 185, in consequence of the among his numerous followers, his likenesses that have come down to us are more numerous than those of any other ancient philosopher. Portrait-busts of him have naturally been found in Herculaneum and Pompeii and among other representations may be mentioned a head in the Sala delle Muse of the Vatican (described by Helbig at the reference already given), and a double Hermes of Epicurus and his pupil Metrodorus in the Capitoline Museum. Helbig supplies many references-including one to Schuster über die erhaltenen Porträts der griechischen Philosophen '-that may be of use to DR. KRUEGER.

On p. 315 of the Horace edited by H. A. J. Munro, and illustrated from antique gems by C. W. King (1869), is a life-like portrait of Epicurus, engraved in the best Roman style." King adds (p. 449):"Heads of this philosopher are extremely rare on gems; a thing difficult to account for, as Cicero (De Fin.,' I. v. [should be V. i. 3]) laughs at the fondness of his sect for carrying about their Master's likeness in their rings; and considering the popularity of his doctrines at Rome, one would naturally have expected his head to present itself in our cabinets at least as frequently as that of Socrates."

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ROBERT PIERPOINT.

It

BOURNE IN PLACE-NAMES (10 S. xi. 361, 449; xii. 130, 191, 272, 372).-CAIUS may rest assured that Closeburn is rightly interpreted cil Osbern, of Osbjörn." The name was written Kylosat the cell or chapel bern when the barony belonged to the Crown in the reign of David I. (1123-54). The cell itself was hewn out of a cliff of New Red Sandstone, and was known as the Elf's Kirk; but it is recorded in the 'Old Statistical Account,' compiled towards the close of the eighteenth century, that it had recently been destroyed in quarrying the stone. It may be worth noting how the name Kylosbern came to receive its present misleading form. The Crichope Burn, after performing a fine cascade over a precipice of 100 feet, has cut a very deep and narrow channel through the Red Sandstone bedsa regular little cañon-a "close burn" in short. HERBERT MAXWELL.

In reference to the origin of Bourne Beck in Wiltshire, it may be observed that the primitive meaning of bourne or burn is a spring or fountain, and hence running water.

Beck means a stream, and by transference also the bank or valley bottom through which the beck flows. Bourne Beck somewhat corresponds to such names as Burnbrae, Brook-bank, Bourne Valley (Bournemouth). TOM JONES.

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SPURGEON ON MONTE CARLO PASSMORE & ALABASTER (10 S. xii. 308).— The Rev Joseph W. Harrald informs me that The Serpent in Paradise; or, Gambling at Monte Carlo,' is the title of an article by Mr. Spurgeon which appeared in The Sword and Trowel for 1879 (p. 260); and that there is another article from his pen in the same publication for 1887 (p. 71), entitled there are further references to Monte Carlo. Gambling, a Common Snare,' in which Both articles were reprinted as leaflets by Messrs. Passmore & Alabaster. It was while at Mentone for his health that Spurgeon in the Autobiography,' edited by his wife once went to the casino, but it is recorded and Mr. Harrald (vol. iv. pp. 211-12), that gardens surrounding the building where so in all later years he avoided even the like any of those who were staying with him many had been ruined,....and he did not to go merely to look at the players."

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Spurgeon carefully corrected the proofs of each sermon before publication, bestowing much time so that each sentence should be perfect in construction. After the great preacher's death, until the purchase of the Marshall Brothers, Mr. Harrald (who was Passmore & Alabaster business by Messrs. 1892) saw every sermon through the press, Spurgeon's private secretary from 1878 to He is now revising the sermons for the new except during three months when he was ill. publishers. Three years ago, on the 9th of August, 1906, No. 3,000 of the sermons was published; and in John Ploughman's Almanack, 1907, the publishers of The that more than 150,000,000 of the sermons Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit' estimated had been sold by them, besides the translations and reprints in newspapers at home and abroad. In Spurgeon's AutobioHarrald, and some playful lines addressed graphy is a very fine portrait of Mr. to him, written by Spurgeon one evening at

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Mentone :

Poor old Spurgeon we must urge on,
Not so Joseph Harrald.

Joseph Passmore, the founder of the firm of Passmore & Alabaster, died on the 1st of August, 1895. He was a nephew of Dr. Rippon, and told me that he was a scholar in my father's class at the New Park Street

If Lochinvar vaulted from the steps of a Border peel, he could no doubt throw his leg over the neck of a horse standing close to them, without coming in contact with the girl behind the saddle by swaying his body backwards to preserve his balance. The feat would be easy-so easy that the girl, too, might have mounted without being swung to the croup.

But would the entrance to the tower built for defence be the one used on festive occasions by a family of importance like the Netherby Græmes? Space for many people and for dancing was needed. Lochinvar enter'd the Netherby Hall Among bridesmen, and kinsmen, and brothers,

and all.

The bride-maidens whispered together while he danced with the bride till the two "reached the hall door, and the charger stood near." Does this "hall door" mean the door of a military tower?

With regard to the idea that he mounted from a horse-block, why did not the bride's kinsmen interfere while he was ascending it? That he sprang up from the ground with the needful swiftness and dexterity seems impossible. The woman already on the horse would prevent his making the necessary

movements.

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But if he gained the saddle from the steps leading down from a Border peel, it is a little surprising that Scott did not complete his description of the scene by a few words showing from what vantage he took off." O. 0. 0. CAINSFORD, GLOUCESTERSHIRE (10 S. xii. 367). It is quite possible Cainsford may mean Kempsford. The only name in Gloucestershire at all similar is Cainscross, and this is a village constituted in 1894 from the parishes of Stonehouse, Randwick, and Stroud. There are several entries relating to the Jenner family of Kempsford in Mr. Crisp's Register of Kempsford, 1653-1700, the earliest being 1654 (birth of Robert Jenner). The names of Edith and William

do not occur.

Gloucester Public Library.

ROLAND AUSTIN.

MILDEW IN BOOKS (10 S. xii. 387).-If mildew on the binding is what the querist refers to, I think that formalin will be found useful. It may be applied with a brush, without dilution, and (so far as my experience goes) without any injury to the leather. It seems not only to kill the existing mildew, but also to prevent, at least for a year or two, the growth of new mildew, although the neighbouring volumes

"DISH OF TEA":"SAUCER" (10 S. xii. 287, 377). The evidence of the REV. JOHN PICKFORD goes to show that tea was formerly drunk, even among the higher circles of saucer. What society, from the dish or was the reason for the custom being discontinued, and whence does the discontinuance date? Was it considered an ungainly or awkward proceeding? or why was it that it became "bad form," and is sometimes spoken of to-day as savouring ? I remember seeing of "kitchen manners

a gentleman-farmer, some few years ago, come in from hunting and drink his tea from the saucer.

When was the word "saucer" (originally a vessel for holding sauce) first applied to the receptacle used to support the cup containing tea or coffee?

J. HOLDEN MACMICHAEL.

Surely the phrase "dish of tea arose from the fact that the earliest teacups were made without handles, and were very wide I have seen such cups in and shallow. G. W. E. R. collections of old china. It cannot be conceded that the expression "dish of tea drinking tea from the saucer, because in originated in the practice of Shakespeare's time, and later, a "dish of milk," a dish of aqua vitæ,' a "dish of coffee," and a Idish of tea were common locutions for a quantity more or less indefinite; and saucers, which were specially used for sauce (hence their name), had not come into general use, nor had teacups. Pepys, 25 Sept., 1666, makes early mention of a cup of tea," a China drink of which he had never drunk before. But it is evident that the tea-bowl, with or without stand, was in use prior to the tea-cup and

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