Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 11.djvu/624

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [io s. XL JUNE 26, im

Longmans in 1905 (the only book on the subject) ; or had he examined with care the definitions and extracts in the ' N.E.D.,' he would not have found it " somewhat remarkable that, with the analogies of the words ' boycott ' and ' burke ' before them, the compilers do not in any way refer to the case of the Irishman Lynchy, the date of which was 1816." There is no exact analogy between " boycott " or " burke " and " lynch," as the two former are derived directly from the names of persons, while " lynch " is derived from " lynch law," and that in turn from " Lynch's law." Not only was " Lynch's law " the original form of the term, but ib was the only form known until after 1830. Moreover, though the term " Lynch's law " is first found (and in America) in 1817, yet the practice was known here before the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. (The word " regu- lator," where later Americans would have said "lyncher," occurs as early as 1752.) In short, both the term and the practice, I regret to say, arose in this country. Finally, the term " Lynch's law," as originally used, did not mean to put to death, but merely indicated punishment in some milder way sometimes by driving a wrong-doer (or alleged wrongdoer, for mis- takes were often made) out of a district, sometimes by tarring and feathering, but generally by applying thirty-nine lashes. It was not until about 1835 that any one was put to death under lynch law.

Of the many persons named Lynch some imaginary, some real who have been proposed as the putative father of lynch law, the only one who deserves serious consideration is Charles Lynch of Virginia, who was born in 1736 and died 29 Oct., 1796. Dr. Cutler thinks that lynch law is certainly derived from Charles Lynch. On the other hand, the paper alluded to above on ' The Term Lynch Law ' concludes as

follows :

' In the opinion of the present writer, so far as Charles Lynch is concerned, the Scotch verdict of ' not proven ' must be rendered ; and the true origin of the term lynch law has yet to l>e determined."

ALBERT MATTHEWS. Boston, U.S.

GOOSE WITH ONE LEG (10 S. xi. 388, 438, 497). See in Tarlton's 'Newes out of Purga- tone ' the ' Tale of a Cook ' ; but I recollect having seen it in an Indian version, though unable now to put my hand upon it. There t was a heron or crane.

ST. CLAIR BADDELEY.

ST. SUNDAY (10 S. xi. 208, 275). As to the Portus Setantiorum, has the suggestion been hazarded that the present St. Anne's is a corrupt derivative from Setantii ? If so, that place may be regarded as the true site of the Portus. Or is there historical evi- dence to show that the place was named from a saint ? T. NICKLIN.

DANIEL DEFOE'S WIFE (10 S. xi. 466). The facts respecting Defoe's marriage, and the date of his birth, were given in detail in papers which I published in The, Con- temporary Review for February, 1890, and The Athenceum for 23 Aug., 1890.

G. A. AITKEN.

21, Church Row, Hampstead.

MANOR COURT TERMS (10 S. xi. 249).

I. Corr=ihe fittings or furniture (? core> or perhaps an abbreviation of "cover")- " Cover " has two dialect meanings. It is. either a roof, or stock, property, &c., con- vertible into cash. " Covers " is spelt and! pronounced core in the provincial dialects.

8. Ad campi partem = campartum, a part or portion of a larger field or ground, which would otherwise be in gross or common. (Prinne, ' Histor. Collect.' vol. iii. p. 89, cited in Cowel's 'Interpreter.')

9. Helping stock = a horse block ; in East Anglia and Hampshire known as a " jossing- block. "

10. Stoup=& stool or bench, a cucking or ducking stool, which, perhaps, preceded the use of the chair used later for this purpose. In Crockett's ' Stickit Minister,' " Leeb sat down on the ' stoop,' or wooden bench by the door."

II. Cublad= ? a stable lad. A " cub " is a crib for cattle or horses to eat from, or a boarded partition or chest in a granary, stables, or malt-house, to store corn or malt

(' E.D.D.'). J. HOLDEN MACMlCHAEL.

I venture to offer conjectural interpreta- tions of some of the puzzling items.

1. Old house walling sometimes consists of a facing of dressed stones with a core of rubble ; was it this that was removed ?

2. Was the implement a fire-shovel, used in the Zele, or hall ?

9. A mounting - block for horseback travellers ?

10. In New York, U.S.A., some old houses have a single or double flight of steps with a broad landing, before the front door, called a stoop (Dutch stoep, a seat before a door, a porch), both the feature and the