Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 12.djvu/46

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NOTES AND QUERIES. IP* s. XIL JULY n, was.

thing that strikes us is that the part was printed a week or two too early to include the word radium, the latest important introduction into the language. So much is it likely to be used that we regret it is not in its place, though an encyclopaedia is, of course, the proper work in which to look for it. Very interesting is the history of the letter r itself, which in England is generally untrilled. The connexion of r with the months during which oysters are in season is dwelt upon, and some particulars are supplied as to the manner in which, in words such as dtrk and sergeant, the sound of er became ar. This is commonest in proper names, such as Berkeley, Hervey, Derby, &c., but Parson is really 2 )erson (persona). The three R's reading, writing, and arithmetic are also the subject of comment. Kal)bit used expletively, " Rabbit it,'' is held to be probably a fanciful alteration of rat in od 'ra^ = drat it. Under rabble, rabblement, &c., nothing is said concerning rdble, the broad back of a peasant, so we suppose there is no connexion between the words. /tore=running, rush of water, &c., is of obscure etymology. In the case of many monosyl- labic words in general use similar uncertainty as to origin prevails. It is curious to find early forms of racoon in rahaugcurns, raugroiiffhcums, arathconc, rarowcnn, &c. A quotation from Motteux's Rabe- lais gives raddlt '/ f uddled, which is said to be of obscure origin. Might it have the sense of raddled, coarsely coloured ? Drink has sometimes this effect. Kayc is held to be kindred with rabbia. l\aid, a hostile and predatory incursion, an armed foray, is said to owe its revival to Scott. Hail., a woman's garment, furnishes opportunity for valuable com- ment. Kail, to use abusive language, is said to be of uncertain origin. Hail-way is h'rst used in 1776'. Jtalcf=si man of loose habits, is an abridgment of rakehell, also written rakfl ; rakeshame is an uncom- mon form introduced 1599 and sanctioned by Whit- tier. Ramble is said to be of obscure formation, and is compared with rumble. Kampageous is not met with until 1822. Rank in its various senses repays close study. Under ranxom consult the proverbial phrase "a king's ransom," r.. 7., "A peck of March dust is worth a king's ransom." Under such deriva- tives from rant as rantipo/e, ran(tr,&c., much curious information is given. The Primitive Methodists were called Ranters so early as 1823. 7frryy = a small coin "not worth e rap" is another word of obscure origin, and rascal yet another. The vary- ing meanings of the latter word are of great interest. Before Milton's rat In- primrose we have, in ' England's Helicon,' " the rathe and timely primrose." In 1813 Scott, in ' Rokeby,' also speaks of rathe, primrose. Lowell applies rathe to the anemone.

Memorial* of Old Northamptonshire. Edited by

Alice Dryden. (Bemrose & Sons.) Miss DRYDEN, in this valuable addition to the history of Northamptonshire, does not seek to encroach upon the provinces of the county history or guide-book ; she has included her father's notes, which have hitherto only been accessible to a limited number in the pages of the Architectural Societies' reports. These have been cut down so as to bring them to a level of more general interest without impairing their value. The contents are by several writers. Miss Dryden's contributions include ' Northamptonshire Villages,' and she claims that the term " undiscovered " would almost apply to the county, "so little is known of its beauties

and associations by the general public. A good many know it as the home of the Pytchley, famous amongst packs in a famous fox-hunting district; the student of architecture may know it as the setting of some of his fairest gems ; but it is quite unusual to put Northamptonshire as a happy hunt- ing-ground for lovers of pretty scenery and good buildings, having historical associations to ennoble and sanctify them both." Pleasant as the scenery is, "the buildings of the past, both ecclesiastical and domestic, are the glory of the county. North- amptonshire has been specially fortunate in pro- ducing everything requisite for building, and having always been rich, its inhabitants have left behind them such grand legacies to posterity as Peter- borough Cathedral, the monumental work of the Fenland monks; Burghley House, built by the great Cecil ; Kirby Hall, now, alas ! in ruins, a palace of Sir Christopher Hatton ; Rushton Hall, the home of Sir Thomas Tresham " ; and many others included by Miss Dryden. Norden, one of its earliest historians, said the county contained " more spires and more squires than any other county." One has said of it " more mires " ; another, " more haughtiness and less hospitality " ; and another, "springs and spinsters." Norden has also written, " No Shire within this Realme can answere the like number of Noblemen." The numerous villages contain well-built stone houses, many of them being of the seventeenth and latter part of the sixteenth centuries. Of the market crosses, an interesting one is in the centre of Brigstock, a well- preserved structure of Renaissance design. It has engraved on two sides of its head the royal arms, and on the other two "E.R., 1586," marking the date of its erection. On the shaft, in commemora- tion of our other queens, is cut "A.R., 1705," and "V.R., 1887." At Helpston there is a " charming cross of fourteenth-century work," a solid octagon on circular steps, with pilasters and crocketed gables. The shaft is a tapering octagonal monolith. Astrop, at the southern end of the county, seems, through the discovery of the virtues of a mineral spring, to have been at one time a fashionable resort, and to have attracted so many visitors that assemblies for cards and balls were rife Some curious old lines, published in 1786, on the abolition of the Goose Feast there, would show that the wells were then out of date :

Where were ye, cacklers of the Wells, Ye brilliant beaus and lovely belles ?

Astrop, once esteemed so clever, Now sinks for ever and for ever. Miss Dryden also writes on 'The Northampton- shire Homes of George Washington's Ancestors ' 4 Ihe Royal Forests,' ' Sir Christopher Hatton and his Homes,' and ' Queen Eleanor's Crosses,' North- amptonshire possessing two of the original (of which there are now but three remaining), one at Geddmgton and the other at Northampton. Of these illustrations are given. Mr. M. Jourdain contributes ' The History of Northampton Town,'

Ihe Gunpowder Plot,' 'feir Thomas Tresham and his Symbolic Buildings,' and 'Fotheringhay and }m, Me, mor } e8 -' r The subjects of other papers are

The Castle of Tichmarsh,' by the late Sir H. Dryden ; The Monumental Effigies,' by Mr. Albert Hartshorne ; The Northamptonshire Militia in the Reigns of King Henry VIII. and Queen Elizabeth,' by Sir H. Dryden ; Fawsley,' by the Lady Knight-