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ELSE. This word formerly written alles, alys, alyfe, elles, ellus, eilis, els, is no other than ales or alys, the imperative of alefan, or alyjan, to dismiss.

THO' or THOUGH, or as our country folks more purely pronounce it, thaf, thauf, thof, is the imperative thaf, or thafig of the verb thafian or thafigan, to allow. In confirmation of this etymology it may be obferved, that anciently writers often used algife, algyff, allgyff, and algive, instead of although: as,

-whofe pere is hard to fynd,

Allgyf England and Fraunce were thorow faught.'

Skelton.

BuT is the imperative bot of botan, to boot, i. e. to fuperadd, to supply, to fubftitute, to compenfate with, to remedy with, to make amends with, to add fomething more, in order to make up a deficiency in something else.

BŪT is the imperative be-utan of beon utan, to be out. It was this word, but, which Mr. Locke had chiefly in view, when he spoke of conjunctions as making fome ftands, turns, limitations, and exceptions of the mind. And it was the corrupt use of this one word but in modern English for two words, bot and but, originally in the Anglo-Saxon very different in fignification, though, by repeated abbreviation and corruption, approaching in found, which chiefly misled him... G. Douglas, notwithstanding he frequently confounds these two words, and ufes them improperly, does yet, without being himself aware of the diftinction, and from the mere force of customary fpeech, abound with fo many inftances and fo contrafted, as to awaken, one should think, the most inattentive reader.

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Bot thy werke shall endure in laude and glorie,
But fpot or falt condigne eterne memorie.'

Bot gif the fatis, but pleid,

At my plefure fuffer it me life to leid.'

Preface.

Book iv.

It may be proper to obferve, that G. Douglas's language, where bot is very frequently found, though written about a century after, must yet be efteemed more ancient than Chau cer's: even as at this day the prefent English speech in Scot land is, in many refpects, more ancient than that spoken in England, as early as the reign of queen Elizabeth. So Mer. Cafaubon, de Vet. Ling. Ang. fays of his time, Scotica lingua Anglicâ hodiernâ purior;' where by purior he means nearer to the Anglo Saxon. So Hickes, in his Anglo-Saxon Grammar, fays, Scoti in multis Saxonizantes,-In five inftances, which

Mr.

Mr. Locke has given us for five different meanings of the word but, there are indeed only two different meanings. Nor could he have added any other fignifications of this particle, but what are to be found in bot and but, as above explained. Dr. Johnson and others have mistaken the expreffion to boot, for a fubftantive: it is indeed the infinitive of the fame verb, of which the conjunction is the imperative.

WITHOUT is wyrth utan, of weerthan utan, to be out. But, as diftinguished from bot, and without, have both exactly the fame meaning. They were both originally used indifferently, either as conjunctions or prepofitions. But later writers, having adopted the falfe notions and diftinctions of language, maintained by the Greek and Latin grammarians, have fucceffively endeavoured to make the English language conform more and more to the fame rules. Accordingly without in approved modern speech, is now entirely confined to the office of a prepofition, and but is generally, though not always, used as a conjun&tion.

AND is an ad the imperative of anan-ad, to give or grant, dare congeriem.

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LEST is the participle lefed, of lefan, to difmifs; and, with the article that, either expreffed or understood, means no more than boc dimiffo, or quo dimiffo. Example. You make use of fuch indirect and crooked arts as thefe, to blast my reputation, and to poffefs men's minds with difaffection to my perfon; left peradventure, they might with fome indifference hear reafon from me.' Chillingworth.-Here left is properly used. • You make use of these arts:' why? The reafon follows: Lefed that, i. e. hoc dimisso, men might hear reason from me : therefore you ufe these arts.'

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Since, fiththan, fyne, feand-es, fith-the, or fines, is the participle of feon, to fee. Since is a very corrupt abbreviation, confounding together different words, and different combinations of words. Where we now employ fince,-fiththan, fyne, &c. according to their refpective fignification, were formerly used. In modern English it is ufed. four ways: two, as a prepofition, connecting, or rather affecting words; and two, as a conjunction, affecting fentences. When used as a prepofition, it has always the fignification, either of the paft participle Seen, joined to thence (that is, feen and thence forward) or else it has the fignification of feen only. When used as a conjun&tion, it has fometimes, the fignification of the prefent participle seeing or feeing that, and fometimes the fignification of the past participle Jeen, or feen that.

THAT is the neuter article that. There is fomething fo very fingular in the ufe of this conjunction, as it is called,

that

that one fhould think it would alone have been fufficient to lead the grammarians to a knowledge of moft of the other conjunctions, as well as of itfelf: If that, an that, unless that, though that, but that, without that, left that, fince that, save that, except that, &c.

AS is an article, and means the fame as it, that, which. In the German, where it ftill evidently retains its original fignification and ufe, as fo alfo does, it is written, es. Als, in our old English, is a contraction of al, and es or as, and this al (which in comparisons used to be very properly employed be. fore the first es or as, but was not employed before the second) we now, in modern English, fupprefs, as we have done in numberlefs other inftances. Thus,

As fwift as darts or feather'd arrows fly,'

In old English is written,

Als fwift as ganze or fedderit arrow fleis.'

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which means, With all that swiftness, with which, &c.'

Be-it, albeit, notwithstanding, nevertheless, fet, fave, except, out-cept, out-take, to wit, because, &c. are evident at first fight.

In this manner the ingenious author has traced all these supposed unmeaning, indeclinable conjunctions to their source, and fhewn the precife meaning of each of them, with a perfpicuity and confiftency, which will at leaft entitle his hypo-· thefis to the favourable confideration of every future etymologist and grammarian.

A General History of Ireland, from the earliest Accounts to the Clofe of the Twelfth Century, collected from the most authentic Records. By Mr. O'Halloran. 2 vols. 4to. 17. 115. 6d. in boards.

Robinson.

WH

HEN literary prejudices are attended with a competent fhare of ingenuity and learning, there is hardly any hypothefis which a writer of character may not embellish with the air of plaufibility. Enough, we imagined, had been faid in refutation of the historical authority of the Irish bards, fileas, and fenachies; but when the conteft feemed to be decided, another champion arifes, who afferts the caufe of national honour with a degree of warmth, address, and ability, fuperior to all his predeceffors. We are juftified in this remark, not only by the whole series of the prefent History, but by the Preliminary Difcourfe, in which Mr. O'Halloran has endeavoured to pave the way for the reception of his hypothefis, and has concentrated all the force of its collateral fupports. But we fhall immediately proceed to the Hiftory, which commences with the following chapter.

VOL, XLVI. July, 1778.

D

⚫ In

In the year of the world, according to the Hebrew compu-. tation, 2736, in the month of Bel or May, and the 17th day of the moon's age, according to the relation of Amhergin, highprieft to this expedition, Ireland was invaded by a numerous body of fele&t troops, from Galicia in Spain. After fubduing the country, and establishing their government on a permanent bafis, as fhall be related in its place, they fet on foot an inquiry into the history and antiquities of the people thus reduced, how long they had been in the kingdom, and what colonies had preceded them, &c. The refult of their researches produced the following relations, which have been as carefully tranfmitted from age to age, as those of their own particular exploits, and thefe of their ancestors.

In the year of the world 1956, Partholan, the fon of Seara, the fon of Sru, the son of Eafru, fon of Framant, fon to "Fa thocda, the fon of Magog, fon to Japhet. the fon of Noah, landed in Ireland, accompanied by his wife, Ealga, or Ealgnait, his three fons, Rughraidhe, Slainge, and Laighline, with their wives, and 1000 foldiers. The Book of Invasions, from which this relation is taken, fixes the time of his landing to be 278 years after the flood; but Mr. O'Flaherty makes it 35 years later; differences, however, of little confequence in transactions fo remote and uninterefting. The caufe of his flying from his native country, Greece, we are told, was, the inhuman murder of his father and mother, with a refolution to cut off alfo his elder brother, in order to poffefs himself of the fupreme command; but his parricide and villany were fo univerfally detefted, that he was compelled to fly the country, and feek new abodes, and at length, as we fee, with his followers reached Ireland. The Book of Conquefts mentions-but as an affair not authenticated-that before the arrival of Partholan, Ireland was poffeffed by a colony from Africa, under the command of Ciocall, between whom and the new comers a bloody battle was fought, in which the Africans were cut off.

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It is recorded, that at this time, there were found in Ire-* land but three lakes and nine rivers, whofe names are particularly mentioned; but from this it appears probable that the parts. of the country, in which these lakes and rivers appeared, were only what were then known; and that as their fucceffors began to explore and lay open other parts, the rivers and lakes then appearing, were entered into the national annals, as they were difcovered; but as no previous mention could have been made of them, and that the different periods in which they were found out, were diflinctly marked, fucceeding annalifts have dated the first bursting forth of each, from the time of its difcovery. Our writers are very exact in the times in which these lakes and rivers appeared: it cuts a confpicuous figure in our history, and proves the extreme accuracy of our early writers; but a very unjuftifiable credulity in their fucceffors, who could fuppofe the firit difcovery of them to be their first rife, though the learned

Dr.

Hutchinfon, bishop of Down and Conner, has taken no fmall pains to defend it. But as it appears to me almott a certainty, that (with a very few exceptions) rivers and lakes are nearly coeval with the creation, the reader will I hope excufe my taking no farther notice of this part of our history.

Soon after the landing of Partholan, his fon Slainge died, and was interred in the fide of a mountain, in the prefent county of Down, from him denominated Sliabh-Slainge, fliabh being, Irish for a mountain. Laighline alfo died, and was buried near a lake in Meath, from him called Loch-Laighline; and from the place of Rughraidhe's interment, the adjoining lake was called Loch-Rughraidhe. After a reign of thirty years, Pare tholan quitted this life, at Magh-Alta, in Meath, leaving the kingdom between his four fons, born in Ireland, whofe names. were Ear, Orba, Fearn, and Feargna.

We are furprised to find in the retinue of this prince, four men of letters, three druids, three generals, a knight, a beatach or keeper of open house, and two merchants, whofe names are preferved in our annals. The fons of Partholan, we are told, governed with great wifdom, as did their fucceffors for fome generations, till at length a violent plague broke out, which fwept away the greatett part of this colony. By this means the kingdom, which for near 300 years was governed by the pofterity. of this prince, continued for thirty years after in a state of anarchy. The greatest number that were carried off by this contagion, was at Ben-Hedir, now Hoath, near Dublin, and the places adjacent from which circumftance, we may infer, that it was brought into the kingdom by fome fhip or fhips: the mortality was fo rapid, that experience pointed out the utility (instead of different burial places, which only ferved to spread the diforder) of fixing on one common place, in which the dead were to be thrown indifcriminately; and which from this circumftance, fays the Book of Conquefts, was ever after called Taimhleacht-Muinter Phartholan, or the burial place of the pofterity of Partholan. After the reception of Christianity, a celebrated monaftery was founded on this ground, to this day called Taimhleacht."

It is, we readily agree with Mr. O'Halloran, surprising to find in Partholan's retinue two men of letters, three druids, a knight, &c. (though knights errant may have existed in all ages); but we are more furprised to find any credit given to a narrative that pretends to so high antiquity, when the parti culars are furprifing in any degree.

In book II. chap. I. the hiftorian relates, that Phænius, the inventor of letters, is claimed as the founder of the Irish or Milesian race. This perfonage is faid to be the son of Baath, the fon of Magog, the son of Japhet, the fon of Noah. But, fays Mr. O'Halloran, if we admit of this ge nealogy, we will at the fame time fee the neceffity for fup

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