Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 10.djvu/14

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [11 s. x. JULY *, wu.

at the same time to the greatest inconvenience, particularly as M Glass being in a far advanced state of Pregnancy, such kindness having made so deep an impression on our Minds that dis- tance nor time can never obliterate for their Conduct towards us throughout in hazarding their lives so often having to traverse twenty five miles in a dangerous and uncertain sea in Small Boats three times backwards and forwards, getting all hands 44 from the late Scene of our Misfortunes. Under all these circumstances we most humbly intreat your Lordships will take such steps in recovering and causing to be paid to Cap* James Todrig of Hackney London, such sums as mav be allowed to the aforesaid Glass, and the others concerned in taking us off the Island of Inacces- sible, as Cap* T is fully empowered to transact all business in England for these people. Our object in intruding so long on your Lordships Valuable time proceeds from a conviction that should there be any as we are given to understand there is) some allowance from the liberality of the Government at home to such men as Hazard their lives in taking off Shipwrecked people) (Particularly from a desolate Island, where for the time of 4 months we Suffered Hardships of every kind almost incredible & such as has Seldom fell to the lot of any set people.

We Humbly beg to Subscribe ourselves

Your Lordships Most Ob* & Humble Servants

ALEX GREIO COMMANDER Mrs. Mary Gormly Miss Margaret Harris Mrs. Ann Keys Mrs. Pepper

John Pepper Lieut. H.C.S.* W m Law

Colin Mactavish Ass* Surgeon H.C.S. Mark Giberne Cadet H.C.S. Kichard Furlong L. Harris L*

John Patch Assis* Surgeon H.C.S. Eobert Liddel Ass* Surgeon H.C.S. John McLennan, Ass* Surgeon H.C.S. Bernard Gormly Q r M r H.M.S. 17" Reg*

T George Symers Surgeon Tho" Symers 2 nd Officer Jn Scrymgour Chief Officer H. M. Greig Jun r Purser Alex Greig Commander

[Endorsed]

Ap. 23. There is no such allowance, that my Lords know of, certainly n ne from this Office.

ex' 1 8 May I. S.

In 'The Convict Ship,' by W. Clark Russell (p. 130), there is an interesting account of this island in 1835. There it is stated that Governor Glass, an Englishman (then getting on to be an old man), was a corporal when Cloete's garrison was with- drawn, and was left as a volunteer in charge of a wreck and some military stores in 1824. For Tristan was occupied by a detachment

Service.
 * Probably stands for Honourable Company's

of our artillery while Bonaparte was at St. Helena.

Two seamen of the St. Helena squadron settled on the island with him. Mrs. Glass was a mulatto woman from the Cape, and the wives of the other settlers were negresses from St. Helena. The population was then about forty ; " though some of the women are well built and handsome, their com- plexions run from milk to chocolate."

E. H. FAIRBEOTHER.

WALA OF ' WIDSITH ' AND " INSUXJE." A little geographical work called the ' Liber Generations ' was printed by Dr. Theodore Mommsen in ' Chronica Minora/ vol. i. It was compiled in the fifth or sixth century, and it has come down to us in four manuscripts, the oldest of which was written in the seventh century. It gives the follow- ing particulars about the Balearic Island* (p. 110, 216):

Terraconensem tres sunt quse appellantur Valli- aricse. Habent autem ciuitates quinque has r Ebuso, Palma, Pollentia, quse dicitur Majorica, lomsene,* Magone, quse appellantur Minorica."
 * ' Insulse autem quse pertinent at Hispaniana

" lomsene " became Jamna, and is now Ciudadela. " Magone " is Port Mahon.

The name given to the group of islands by the compiler of the ' Liber Generationis ' is * spurious metaphony, that is to say, it is an. intentional accommodation of the sound of the true word to a supposititious etymon. Cp. English Roth's child with Rothschild (roth+schild, i.e. "red shield"). The title accorded to Q. Csecilius Metellus in B.C. 125 must be marked for length as follows : Bal&aric-us. But the word Valliaric-e con- tains " Vallia," the name of the greatest of the Visigothic kings, and " ric-," the Gothic reiki, " rule," " power," and it imist be marked thus : Valliaric-ae.

The metaphony is attributable either to the fact that Vallia, the king of the Visigoths who succeeded Singiric in Hispania Tarra- conensis in October, 415, actually did conquer the Balearic Islands ; or else to an uncritical attempt made by the geographer to har- monize a word that he could not understand with a well-known and much - honoured personal name. Cp. " Wala " in ' Widsith/ 'N. &Q.,' 11 S. vi. 7.

In 'Widsith,' 1. 75, the poet tells us he was "mid Seringum." Mr. Chambers (' W./ p. 212) and some other comment ator believe that Widsith meant the Seres, i.e., Chinamen. ! But Latin e in early loan-

MS. has tomcene (with t : : i).