Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 10.djvu/146

 116 NOTES AND QUERIES. [ 12 s.x. FEB. 11,1922. FINAL " DEN " IN KENTISH PLACE-NAMES <12 S. x. 49). The final "den" in Kentish j place-names is taken from the " dens," | "dennes" or " denberse "of the Weald from the Saxon " dene, signifying valley, i low-enclosed place, or den." These dens, j according to Spelman, " were of no deter- minate bigness nor extent." They appear to have contained in places a few hundred | acres or less ; in other places they extended several miles. With the exception of Otter- j den, near Faversham, and Heronden, near ! Sandwich, the termination " den " is not ! found in Kent outside the Weald. These " dennes " were the first settlements in the Great Wood, and at first were but clearings in the forests for the " pannage of hogs," and, j later, for the feeding of cattle. After the i Conquest they were mostly appended by i royal grants to circumadjacent and even! to far distant manors ; it is from the latter | circumstance that, as noted above, one or j two final "dens" appear in other parts of Kent, e.g., the Heronden, near Sandwich, ! from Heronden in Tenterden in the Weald, ; though this particular instance happened | partly from a " family removal." The old names, such as Mapulisinden, | Biddenden, Benenden, Pettenden and| Rouvenden or Rolvenden, &c., are interest- ! ing to philologists, as the " en " or " in " of the penultimate syllable is that genitive j form to which Mr. Allen Mawer, in his i attention, I think, in dealing with names in I " ing " ; it marked the " den " of the | Mapules family, of the Bidds or Budds, l of the Petts, of Rolf or of Rollo ; it was not ! a reference to Rolf " in the den." Human j beings lived, colloquially, " on the den," j hogs, &c., in it. PERCY HULBURD. TRANSLATION OF MOTTO REQUIRED (12 S. ix. 331, 397). Perhaps the source of this motto should be recorded. The words " Alterum alterius auxilio eget " (not egit) are taken from Sallust's ' Catilina,' cap. i. The historian, speaking of war, declares that deliberation before action and prompt action after deliberation are required to supplement one another. EDWARD BENSLY. SMOKERS' FOLK LORE (12 S. ix. 528 ; x. 38). The reference to the dislike to having three lights in a room prompts one to men- tion the history of the Hyksos or Shepherd , Kings of ancient North Egypt, who, it is Alleged, were wont daily to sacrifice three men ; but when Amasis expelled these Shep- herd Bangs, he abolished the human offerings and ordered that in their place three candles should be burned daily on the altar. This allows opportunity to view the " three- light " superstition from a happier stand- point. The Rev. S. Baring-Gould quotes the foregoing in his ; Strange Survivals.' WILLIAM R. POWER. SPELLING or " CHAMPAGNE " (12 S. x. 71). According to the * N.E.D.' the earliest use of champagne, as now generally spelt, occurs in ' Freethinker,' 1718 (attributed to Addison and others), " Sprightly young fellows, who drink champagne " (Essay 107). If your inquirer wishes to pursue the deri- vation he should consult Elyot, Stephens and Cooper, * Latin English Dictionary,' 1584 (under ' Campus'); Cotgrave, 'French Dictionarie,' 1611; Minsheu, 'Guide into Tongues,' 1617 (under ' Champion '). W. JAGGARD (Capt.). CEREMONIAL VESTMENTS OF THE JUDICIARY (12 S. ix. 529). This query recalls a newspaper account of approxi- mately fifteen years since, when Mr. Justice (now Lord) Phillimore, then sitting at York Assizes, paid a visit to a girls' school in or near that city, and for the edification of the scholars donned the robes of a " red judge," explaining in much detail the use or significance of each portion of the judicial equipment. W. B. H. THE ENGLISH " H " : CELTIC, LATIN AND GERMAN INFLUENCES (12 S. x. 32). A great deal of interesting information about the letter h is to be found in ' The Latin Language,' by W. M. Lindsay. The author writes that We have no reason to doubt that the sound was dropped in Vulgar Latin as early as the middle of the third century B.C., for we have not a trace of initial or medial " h " in any Romance languages, not even the oldest ; and one of the earlest tasks of grammarians at Rome was to draw up rules for the correct use. and also that St. Augustine playfully remarks that the drop- ping of the " h " was generally regarded as a more heinous sin than an offence against the law of Christian charity (' Conf.' i. 18). It is a most fascinating subject, and I hope further information and theories will be forthcoming. Why do the so-called Cock- neys and the natives of the Midlands drop the h while the true natives of Essex and East Anglia do not ? A. M. C.
 * Place-names of Northumberland,' draws j