Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 2.djvu/213

 12 s. ii. SEPT. 9, 1916.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

207

WELCH OK WELSH ? The recent publica- tion of ' A History of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers,' by Mr. Howel Thomas, has revived the question of the spelling of the national name in the title of that famous regiment. Mr. Thomas tells us, on p. 19, that the officers of the senior battalions insist upon the spelling " Welch," but that it has been definitely decided by high military authority that the use of that spelling shall be discontinued. Mr. Thomas says " fortunately we have not to depend upon the taste and fancy of the speller." But upon what is it that the spelling " Welsh " does depend ? Upon analogy and orthographical rule ? Certainly not, but upon custom, i.e., taste and fancy.

When the i of the adjectival formation is retained we write Swedish, Spanish, Irish ; and we write Scotch, Dutch, and French -when that has fallen out. Similarly we do not spell belch, bench, squelch, tench, wrench, &c., with ah. It is clear then that in modern English, when a consonant im- mediately precedes the representation of the O.E. adjectival sc, we ought to write ch. Hence the Old English Welisc should be regularly represented in modern English by " Welch," and the officers of the senior battalions are correct.

ALFRED ANSCOMBE. tSee also 11 8. xi. 452.]

" CROWNER'S QUEST LAW." A remark- able instance of the exercise of this was reported from Sunderland by The Yorkshire Herald of Aug. 17, 1916 :

" After lingering for fourteen years with a fractured spine, caused by falling over cliffs at the seaside, Thomas Wyatt died in the Sunderland ^Hospital.

" The evidence at the inquest showed that Wyatt was a navvy, and 49 years of age. In September, 1902, he accidentally fell over the cliffs to the beach below, fracturing the lower part of his spine. He was taken to the hospital, and was never out of bed again, though his appetite and intellect remained good, and he was cheery to the end.

" A verdict of ' Accidental death ' was re- turned."

ST. SwiTHlN.

" QUITE ALL RIGHT." I heard this, to me, objectionable pleonasm first in California some two years ago, and supposed then that it was of Western manufacture. Since my return to this country, however, it has assailed my ears far too frequently, being uttered for the most part by unsophisticated members of the weaker sex, who seemingly look upon it as recherche. N. W. HILL.

TABLE-CUSTOMS OF ANCIENT WALES. " The pious and charitable people of ancient Wales, in sacred memory of ' Holy Trinity,' were fond of sitting down to table three together, and used to reserve the first cut of every loaf of bread for the poor." Cf. Giraldus Cambrensis, ' Cam- brise descriptio,' cap. xviii., ed. Powel, 1585; ed. altera, Londini, 1806.

X.

THE APOTHECARY IN ' ROMEO AND JULIET.' The late Prof. Dowden, in his introduc- tion to the International Edition of ' Romeo and Juliet, ' makes rather a curious blunder when, referring to the apothecary, he names him Spolentino. Bandello, who was Dowden's authority, merely mentions the apothecary as coming from Spoleto to reside in Mantua, and nowhere refers to him by name. MAURICE JONAS.

" VICTORY HANDKERCHIEFS." There are to be seen in some London drapers' shop- windows just now a variety of handkerchiefs bearing war devices of divers kinds, even including maps of the French front and the Dardanelles ; but I have not yet come across one claiming to be a " Victory Handker- chief," in the sense used in England in the fighting days of Anne. In The Post-Boy for Dec. 1-3, 1709, appeared an advertisement announcing the sale by various booksellers, as well as " at the Shops in Westminster- Hall," of

" A Silk Handkerchief, Printed, With a Draft of the Roads of England, according to Sir. Ogilby's Survey, shewing the Roads and Distances in measur'd Miles from London to the several Cities and Towns in England. Also the Victory Handkerchief, which gives account of the Success of five most Glorious Victories obtain'd by the Confederates over the French. Ornamented with the Arms of the Empire, Great Britain, Prussia, and Holland. Both which will wash in a weak Lather of Sope without Prejudice. Price 2s. 6d. And the Victory Card - Table Japan'd white ; having thereon the same Account and Ornaments as the Handkerchief, very Legible, and will not be damag'd by Water. Price a Guinea."

ALFRED F. BOBBINS.

LONDON TOPOGRAPHICAL HANDKER- CHIEFS. The " Moral Pocket Handker- chief " was the prototype that ultimately developed into the Derby Winner Hand- kerchief, for many years produced by Messrs. Welch, Margetson & Co. of Cheapside. In the forties several London subjects were intro- duced. A map printed in red and black on calico is still frequently met with, but of greater rarity is a silk handkerchief with a view of the Royal Exchange. A press cutting attached to the example before me is from The Railway Bell of Nov. 16, 1844.