Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 1.djvu/351

.

s k i.Ap R iL3o,'98,i NOTES AND QUERIES.

343

to contain as great a proportion of ) Cental words as of Slavonic.* The following i; ,ve been selected at random as examples of o reign words incorporated into Bulgarian :

Adet, Arabic, habit.

Avdji, Turkish, a hunter.

Avra, Persian, fortress.

Agi, Greek (aywq ), holy.

Botsa, Italian (boccia), a bottle.

Bunda, Magyar, a cloak.

Huner, Persian, talent, wonder.

Kalesma, Mod. Greek, an invitation.

Malakov, Malakov, Crimea, crinoline, hoop (a

ord adopted by the Turks after the Crimean

r ar).

Molepsam, Roumanian, to infect.

Mostra, Italian, example.

Taksidion, Mod. Greek, a traveller.

Vlak, Czech, a railway train.

A curious instance of false etymology is exhibited by the corrupt pronunciation of the name of Adrianople ('Ao>ai/o7rdAis). The Bulgarian says Drianopole (Servian Dreno- pole, Turkish Edrene, Edirne), and through the elision a new meaning is attached to the word, which is supposed to be compounded of drian, medlar, and pole, field, the city of Hadrian becoming " the field of medlars."

To judge by the articles in the Sbornitc (Miscellany) of science, literature, and folk- lore published by the Bulgarian Government, of which a volume lies before me, it is not difficult for a Russian scholar to understand the literary and scientific language, not so difficult as for a German student to spell out Dutch ; but the popular dialect of the folk- lore section is as perplexing as Mr. W. Barnes's Dorsetshire poems would prove to a good continental student of newspaper English.

Very few dictionaries of Bulgarian have as yet been issued. With regard to the well- known French - Bulgarian dictionary of Bogorov, now out of print, the poet Vasov made a humorous epigram to the effect that m purifying his native tongue the author had caused such confusion as to necessitate ms presence every minute for consultation. 1 have the voluminous Bulgaro - Russian dictionary already mentioned, bearing the name of A. Duvernois. The author, who resided in Bulgaria in order to execute his task thoroughly, died after completing the nrst two parts. In order that the work should not be left unfinished, as in the case of the dictionaries of Rilski and Gerov, Madame Duvernois learned the language, and continued the work, aided by competent

A vocabulary of Turkish words current in Macedonia has been compiled by Dr. von Bilguer, Macedonisch - tiirkische Wortersammlung mit ulturhistorischen Erlauterungen. '

scholars, under the supervision of Prof. Drinov, of Kharkov. Each word is carefully explained, and examples of its usage illus- trated by quotations from the Sbornik and other standard sources. The meaning is often given in French and German as well as Russian. The Russo-Bulgarian portion is not yet published, but the Bulgaro-Russian holds a place by the side of Alexandra v's Russian-English dictionary and Popovich's Servian-German one.

FRANCIS P. MARCHANT. Brixton Hill.

JOHN JOHNSTON, OF STAPLETON. Questions concerning the life of this individual having from time to time appeared in the columns of 'N. & Q.,' the following account of him will not, I hope, be useless. The peculiar inter- est that attaches to John Johnston, of Staple- ton, arises from the fact that his legitimate descendants, if any exist, are entitled to the dormant honours of Annandale. Sir William Fraser has briefly stated that Johnston of Stapleton left no lawful issue, while others contend the contrary to have been the case. In the work to which I refer the date of his death is not given, nor, indeed, any import- ant information concerning his life.

John Johnston was born in the year 1665, being the second son of James, first Earl of Annandale, and brother of William Johnston, first marquis. I have seen it stated that in a pedigree presented by the Hopetouns upon the occasion of the commission of lunacy against George, Marquis of Annandale, and also in the pedigree submitted to the House of Lords by Mr. John James Hope- Johnston e, there is no mention made of this John John- ston.

The subject of this article was a Jacobite, and after having served James VII. in Ire- land did his best to promote the pretensions of that monarch's son. He was in Paris in 1687. In March, 1689, he was arrested in London and committed to Newgate under a warrant of the Earl of Shrewsbury on a sus- picion of high treason. He was, however, shortly afterwards liberated. In the same year a bond was executed by him with John Johnston, of Westerhall, as cautioner to John Hay, tailor, in London, for 1001. sterling. There was another bond executed by Capt. Johnston, brother of the Earl of Annandale, to Sir James Johnston, of Westerhall, for 900 merks Scots, dated at Edinburgh, 19 Dec., 1690. Before the date of this bond John Johnston had signified to his brother his intention to go to Holland, and he apparently remained abroad until 1701. By a remit