Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 10.djvu/503

 ii B. x. DEC. ID, ion] N OTES AND QUERIES.

497

3. " A | Sermon | Preached at the | Funeral | of the | Right Honourable | the | Lady Margaret Mainard, | at | Little Easton in Essex | On the 30 th of June 1632. | By Tho. Ken, D.D. one of his Majesty's Chaplains | in ordinary. | London. | Printed for Joanna Brome, at the Sign of the | Gun in St. Paul's Church-yard ; And William Clarke | Bookseller in Winchester MDCLXXXII." The last page of this sermon is completely blacked out, in addition to being black- bordered on the title-page.

STEPHEN J. BARNS.

Frating, Woodside Road, Woodford Wells.

PRZEMYSL : LANGUAGE OF GALICIA (US. x. 410, 456). 1. Przemysl. The rz, as a rule, is pronounced like the French / in jour, but after p, k, t, it sounds like the English sh. The Polish y sounds like the English y in funny (but before vowels it sounds like the y in yet). The Polish e is always pronounced like that in edition. The 8 is, I understand, peculiar to the Polish language and to those formed under its influence, e.g., the Ruthe- nian language. It should be pronounced as a soft s, between s and ah, and requires, like the English th, some practice. But for this sound, for which, in the case of foreigners, \ will do quite well, the word Przemysl, pronounced Pshemyshl, without dropping the P, with the accent on the e, and only slightly marking the I, should not present to Englishmen any difficulties, and such pro- nunciation will be quite correct. The accu- mulation of sounds suggested by a Bohemian friend to one of your contributors no Pole, I am afraid, would be able to master.

2. The population of Galicia consisted in 1910, when it was over 8,300,000 (I am quoting from memory, therefore am open to slight corrections), of about 56 per cent Polish - speaking, and about 42 per cent Ruthenian -speaking people. In many dis- tricts of Eastern Galicia, as well as in the whole of Western Galicia, the Poles were in the majority. Lw6w (pron. Lvooff) num- bered more than 200,000, about 80 per cent of whom were Polish - speaking (of their number about 52 per cent Roman Catholics, about 27 per cent Jews, the rest being Protestants and Greek Catholics), about 15 per cent Ruthenian - speaking (almost -exclusively Greek Catholics), &c.

3. The Ruthenian language is considered by the Russians a dialect ; but the Ruthe- nians, not only in Galicia, but also in Southern Russia, mostly consider themselves a separate nation (so-called Ukraintsy). In this language is being published a good number of scientific publications some of them are in the British Museum ; they have

also a pretty numerous literature. Those of the Ruthenians who accept Russian as tli<ir literary language or, indeed, consider them- selves Russians are, at any rate in Galicia, only a few per cent. The Ruthenian grammar, as well as the vocabulary and pronunciation, differ in many respects from Russian; e.g., the Russian and Polish g is almost always h ; the o sounds always as in Polish, i.e., like the English aw in awful ; the Polish and Russian o is often replaced by an i, e.g., in kon, horse, which is kin in Ruthenian. The accent and the forms of nouns, verbs, &c., are, to a large extent, different. LUDWIK EHRLICH,

Dr. Jur. Lwow.

" EPHESIANS " : A SHAKESPEARIAN TERM (11 S. x. 450). Dr. Brewer in ' Phrase and Fable ' suggests

"a jovial companion; a thief; a roysterer. A pun on the verb to pheese A-pheeze-ian. Pheeze is to flatter. 'It is thine host, thine Ephesian, calls' ('Merry Wives of Windsor,' IV. v.)."

In his ' Reader's Handbook ' Dr. Brewer says that Malone suggests that the word is a pun on pheese ("to chastise or pay one tit for tat ), and means "quarrelsome fellows."

WM. H. PEET.

According to a popular explanation, " Ephesian," in the sanse of a jovial com- panion, is from the verb " phoese " or " pheeze," which Halliwell in the ' Archaic Dictionary ' renders " to beat, to chastise, to humble " ; also," to pay a person off for an injury." From this " pheese " comes " A-pheese-ian," from which it is an easy step to "Ephesian." See ' Troilus and Cressida,' II. iii. 219, " An a' be proud with me, I'll pheeze his pride."

THOMAS BAYNE.

DIDO'S PCTRCHASE OF LAND (11 S. ix. 47, 353, 474 ; x. 430). I think that the Indian legend quoted at the third reference is referred to in ' Kehama ' ; but, if I remember rightly, the poet represents Bali, or Baby, riot as a demon, but as a great rajah like Kehama, though without the latter's wicked- ness.

I remember reading a story (doubtless fiction) that Sir Edward Coke bought so much land in Norfolk that fear was aroused in high quarters lest his influenco should become excessive, and he received a hint to cease his purchases. Thereupon he asked and received permission to buy one more acre, and bought Castle Acre.

G. H. WHITE.

St. Cross, Harleston, Norfolk.