Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 2.djvu/428

 352

NOTES AND QUERIES. [io< s. n. OCT. 29,

the Huguenot invasions. Among the hospital- patient class such words as ivery and ivinegar are still heard. The dialect as a whole is that brought thither by the continual influx of East Anglians. MEDICULTJS.

WHITSUNDAY (10 th S. ii. 121, 217, 297). There is a further point about this term which is far too important to be missed. I have already mentioned that Welsh mlgwyn (white sun), as a name for Whitsuntide,' is obviously translated from English ; and I am informed that sulgwyn is by no means modern.

But my further point is this. Vigfusson has already pointed out that White Sunday was originally Dominica in albis, i e., Low Sunday, and was transferred to the day of Pentecost later on ; which is in itself an excel- lent reason why White Sunday was not de- rived from Pentecost either in its Middle High German or any other form. I adduce a few other curious facts of a similar kind.

Hexham, in his 'Middle-Dutch Diet.,' ed. 1658, has : " Witte brodt, white bread ; Witten Donderdagh, Holy Thursday ; Witten Sondagh, Palme Sunday."

Kalkar's 'Middle-Danish Diet. 3 has : "ffvid, white; Hvidesondag, (1) the first Sunday after Easter; (2) the first Sunday in Lent." Larsen's mod. 'Danish Diet.' has: "livid, white ; Hvide, white of an egg ; Hvidehavet, the White Sea ; Hvidesondag, Low Sunday ; Hvidetirsdag, Shrove Tuesday."

It would be interesting to learn how and why all these days were named from a German form of Pentecost, which means "fiftieth." For Low Sunday is the "eighth" day, and Holy Thursday is the "fortieth"; while Shrove Tuesday and the first Sunday in Lent can only be reckoned from Easter by help of a minus quantity.

It is truly wonderful to be told that the M.Du. wiiten-donder- in what looks like " white Thunder-day," ivitten-son- in what looks like "White Sunday," and the Dan. hvide-tirs- in what looks like " White Tues- day," are, after all, to be derived from the M.H.G. form of Pentecost !

WALTER W. SKEAT.

ENGLISH GRAVES IN ITALY (10 th S. ii. 307). I should imagine that, failing a kindly intervention on the part of the local authori- ties, the nearest British Consul would be the right person to approach in the matter of the crumbling tombstone at Macerate, with its relic, so precious to many. No doubt in the larger cities of Italy societies exist whose scope would embrace such considerate service as needed in the present instance, but I cannot at the moment call any such to

mind. The interment of an English subject abroad after the manner recorded must surely be very unusual. CECIL CLARKE. Junior Athenaeum Club.

SCHOOL COMPANY (10 th S. ii. 288). D. M. might obtain information which would be useful to him by applying to the Secretary of the Girls' Public Day School Company, The High School, 53, Norland Square. Netting Hill, London, W., though I do not think that the establishments of this company number quite so many as sixty. L. L.

MARTYRDOM OF ST. THOMAS : ST. THOMAS OF HEREFORD (10 th S. i. 388, 450 ; ii. 30,. 195, 273). The statement that Thomas de Cantelupe was "the last Englishman canonized," made by MR. J. H OLDEN. MACMICHAEL, contradicts the story which one used to hear about St. Richard, whose beautiful shrine attracts so much attention in the cathedral church of Chichester. As the latter was one of Wyke- ham's " sons," I feel bound, as a loyal Wyke- hamist, to ask why he is to be ousted from- the distinction which he used to enjoy.

E. S. D'ODGSON.

ALEXANDER AND K. EDGAR (10 th S. ii. 248).. Raikes Edgar was of Downing Coll., Cam., B.A. 1827 ; Robert Edgar was of Trin. Coll., Oxon., 1819. The former was curate of Broxtel, and the latter curate of Nacton.

CHAS. F. FORSHAW, LL.D.

ITALIAN INITIAL H (10 th S. ii. 107). To- write b, ai, a, anno, is not a peculiarity of Petrocchi's publishers. In Vanzon's well- known ' Grammatica Ragionata,' published at Leghorn in 1834, it is said, p. 18, IT xvii. :

" La H da noi s' usa solamente 1 Nelle quattro qui appresso voci ho, hai, ha, hanno onde non con- fonderle con o cong., ai artic. comp., a prep., anno' nome ; eppure in quelle yoci avean gia taluni comin- oiato a sopprimerla, sostituendovi un accento posto sopra la susseguente vocale, scrivendo d, ai, a, anno ; ma tale innovazione pochi seguaci trovo."

In Caleffi's grammar, published at Florence in 1863, it is said, p. 14 :

'* Serve pure 1' H a togliere alcuni equivoci come si puo veaere nelle quattro voci seguenti ho, hai,. ha, hanno. In questo caso pert) non manifesta alcun suono distinto ; tan to e vero che molti, invece delP H,sogliono in quest! casi adoperare 1' accento."

As for Petrocchi, it is he who is respon- sible, and not his publishers, for the o, ai, a,, anno, to be found in his works, for in his 'Dictionary,' vol. i. p. 1122, he says, under the letter H :

" Molti la conservano come puro segno orto-

grafico nelle quattro voci del verbo avere dove

altri, e specialmente nel Veneto e nell' Italia meri-'