Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 3.djvu/319

 12 S. JIL MAY, 1917.]

NOTES AND QUERIES.

313

William Gould in 1792 ; Hon. Richard Denman in 1839 ; and / in 1887 also that Gerald Dutton Fleetwood was appointed to the same office on the Norfolk Circuit in 1740 ; Harry Edgell in 1797 ; and Charles Platt in 1863. '

On the death of the last-named, the two offices were amalgamated ; and, since 1902, I have represented both. Therefore, at the present moment, there is an interval (with two between), since the appointment of Mr. Knapp, of 170 years ; and, since the ap- pointment of Mr. Fleetwood, of 177 years.

The 30 years of my service appear paltry by comparison ; but the post is a freehold, and the examples set are, certainly, en- couraging. ARTHUR DENMAN, F.S.A.

PRONUNCIATION OF " EA " (12 S. ii. 530 ; Hi. 58, 77, 97, 219). John Walker in the second edition of his ' Pronouncing Dic- tionary ' (London, 1797), quoting from Sheridan, notes at p. ix that " in the com- bination ea " the Irish " pronounce the words tea, sea, please, as if they were spelt tay, say, plays ; instead of tee, see, pleese." Still quoting Sheridan, Walker goes on to say :

" The English constantly give this sound to ea, wherever the accent is on the vowel e, except in the following words, great, a pear, a bear, to bear, to forbear, to swear, to tear, to wear .... For want of knowing these exceptions, the gentlemen of Ireland, after some time of residence in London, are apt to fall into the general rule, and pronounce these words as if spelt greet, beer, sicear [sic], &c."

JOHN B. WAINE WRIGHT.

" Break " is pronounced hereabouts as " breek " or " brick." I do not think the word is ever pronounced " brake."

Tyneside. R - B

Among the MS. records of the Society of Friends, preserved at Devonshire House, Bishopsgate, is a mention of one Gerard Sefferenson, pressed at sea and " kept on board by force, and from his wife and child, although a Dean by nation " (' Records of the " Meeting for Sufferings," ' 1695). A Friend, William Homould, returning from a ^religious visit to Holland, on a voyage amidst alarms of French privateers, saw on the horizon two sails, " great ships, sup- posed to be Deans" ('Records of the Yearly Meeting,' 1706). M. E. HIRST.

Saffron Walden.

AMERICANISMS (12 S. ii. 287, 334, 414, 496; hi. 35, 115). Besides the instances given by MR. PENRY LEWIS at the last reference, the word " behove " is always

written " behoove " in the States ; and old English " lief " and " liefer " are often used instead of " rather." The American's predisposition to megalomania is doubtless responsible for an ordinary stone being called a " rock " ; thus a girl will say : " That boy threw a rock at me," meaning a pebble. " Stick," too, is a rather quaint term for a pole, or beam of wood ; while a single letter or even a postcard will be described as yuor " mail." Similarly, a passenger's cabin on board ship becomes a " stateroom." " What a mess you have made ! " is rendered by " What a mush ! " the word " mess " in America denoting a measure, e.g., " a mess of berries, or peas." Instead of offering to- get you a cup of tea, the good housewife will talk of going " to fix you some tea," the verb " fix " being used in a variety of connotations, often signifying to " repair."

The tendency to shorten common English words is, I think, partly due to the negro element, the African negro having a certain difficulty in properly pronouncing many English words. So he talks of " way down east " and " way down upon the Swanee River," where " way " is short, but ugly, for " away."

In California I was not a little surprised to hear the expletive " What do you know about that ? " doing duty for " Well, I never ! " or " You don't say so ! "

As to " carom," our " cannon " is a corruption of this word, which was ab- breviated in English from the Spanish carambola or French carambolage. The etymology of these two foreign expressions has not yet been satisfactorily solved.

N. W. HILL.

PORTRAITS WANTED (12 S. iii. 210). 1. Anselm Bayly. The ' D.N.B.' gives 1794 as the year of his death.

2. Leonard Busher. Though passed over in the body of the ' D.N.B.' he is included in the First Supplement, but the biographical details are very scanty.

EDWARD BENSLY.

1. Anselm Bayly. See 'D.N.B.,' iii. 448, where 1794 is given as the date of death. But, according to Foster, he is identical with Anselm Baily, son of Anselm, of Haresfield, co. Gloucester, pleb., who matriculated from Exeter College on Nov. 4, 1740, aged 21'. This would give 1719 as the year of birth.

2. Leonard Busher. See 'D.N.B.,' Sup- plement I., p. 356. A. R. BAYLEY.