Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 11.djvu/139

 10 s. XL FEB. 6, im] NOTES AND QUERIES.

Ill

In the Glossary to the ' Liber Cus- tumarum,' Part II. p. 825, Riley gives :

" Selda, a seld, silde, or shed used for warehousing goods. It is generally said to be from the A.-S. seld, " a seat,' but it seems more probable that its origin is the word scyld, ' a shield or protection ' ; the old Eng- lish words shiel and sheal, a cottage, being probably from the same source."

This is of course in accordance with PROF. SKEAT'S second suggestion ; but if this were the origin of the word, it would surely sometimes appear with the sh. I have, however, never met with it in this form.

Bosworth and Toller give as the meaning of the A.-S. seld, 1, " a seat, a throne " ; 2, "a seat, residence, mansion, hall," and quote as an example "Hie tempel strudon, Salomanes seld," from Csedmon's Metrical Paraphrase. They also quote " Ca heallican seld palatias zetas " from Wright's ' Vocabu- lary,' ii. 81, 223. The feminine form "selde" (which would agree with the Latin selda found in mediaeval records) is defined as a " porch, proaula " ; and the words " sumor- selde " and " winter-selde " are quoted from Wright's ' Vocabulary ' as meaning " summer house " and " winter house " respectively selde, zetas hyemalcs." I would therefore suggest that " seld " is derived from the A.-S. fern, word selde. H. A. HARBEN.
 * ' sumerselde, zetas cestivales " and " winter-

The word " seld " frequently occurs in the a shed, or open shop, in which the pro- prietor publicly sat in order to attract customers, in the manner seen in most Oriental cities and many old-fashioned Continental towns. It is of course the Anglo-Saxon word, and the article "le" gives it no Anglo-French connotation, but is merely a legal survival. It precedes nearly a all the sign-names in the wills. The real difficulty lies in the adjective " broken," which we find also in the " Broken Wharf," the " Broken Cross," &c. I do not remember to have seen the exact signification of this epithet determined, and, not having the ' N.E.D.' at hand, cannot say from which of the many meanings of the verb " to break " it is derived. W. F. PRIDEAUX.
 * Calendars of Husting Wills,' and denotes

BROKEN CROSS, WESTMINSTER (10 S. xi. 49). I would refer our friend MR. HOLDEN MACMICHAEL to Walcott's ' Memorials of Westminster,' p. 73. The author states that Princes Street was " so called first between the years 1765 and 1782," and he goes on to say that it

" formerly bore the name 01 Long Ditch, and at one time contained an ancient conduit, the site of which

is now |? 1849] marked by a pump. At the bottom of the well, it is said, is a black marble image of St. Peter, and some marble steps seen aoout seventy years ago when the well was examined. The southern extremity was called Broken Cross ; and about the middle of the last [eighteenth] century it was stated that it was the most ancient house in Westminster, which was then inhabited by a baker."

The latter statement is quoted by Mr. Wheatley in ' London, Past and Present,' vol. i. p. 279. Mr. Wheatley also says that there is a token in the Beaufoy Collection inscribed " At the Broken Cross in West- minster, 1659." In Sir Walter Besant's ' Westminster,' p. 152, is an engraving of Broken Cross within the Abbey precincts, but no authority is given for it.

W. E. HARLAND-OXLEY. Westminster.

THE CURIOUS HOUSE, GREENWICH (10 S. x. 469 ; xi. 32). I regret that I have no more explicit information as to the exact situation of this house, but the friend on whose behalf I sent the query is a descendant (through families of the name of Ridley and Whitfield) of the first owner, Gibson, and she is positive as to the facts given, which were told her by her mother about twenty- five years ago. The mother did not know whether the house was then standing or not. Probably the name " Curious " was only a nickname given it by a few people, and I think we must go back to the eighteenth century for information about it.

ALEX. RUSSEIX.

Stromness.

ELIHU YALE'S EPITAPH : THE PILGRIM FATHERS (10 S. x. 502). It is pleasant to Americans to know that Englishmen find attractive " any items connected with the makers of the U.S.A." But as the brief paragraph quoted by MR. CLAYTON contains two errors and one omission, these ought to be corrected. First, Wrexham is not in Flintshire, as stated by Miss Boyes, but in Denbighshire. Secondly, Miss Boyes has given the epitaph only in part. The following is copied from a pamphlet entitled ' Elihu Yale, Esq., and the Parish Church of Wrexham,' printed at Wrexham in or about 1901, and presumably prepared by Canon William H. Fletcher : Born in America, in Europe bred, In Africa travelled, and in Asia wed ; Where long he lived and thrived ; in London dead : Much good, some ill, he did ; so hope all's even, And that his soul through mercy's gone to heaven. You that survive and read this tale, take care For this most certain exit to prepare, Where, blest in peace, the actions of the just Smell sweet, and blossom in the silent dust.