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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9* s. n. SEPT. 2*. *

Darlscote, Eastcote, Ascote, Caldecote, Hul- cote, Heathencote. There are many other instances of this termination in Northampton- shire, as, for instance, Holcote, Fawcote, and Muscot, but they are not in the district I have named. JOHN T. PAGE.

West Haddon, Northamptonshire.

This cluster of names in ley curiously marks the extent of an ancient district of woodland which helped to give a name to Shrubshire, as Shropshire was formerly called. The iron- works nave now eradicated all but a few patches. ISAAC TAYLOR.

A CHURCH TRADITION (9 th S. i. 428 ; ii. 58, 150, 173). Referring to MR. GARBETT'S note, I am not aware whether the Norman church of Barfrestone, Kent, has been noted for its irregular building. While the longi- tudinal axis of the chancel corresponds with that of the nave, the walls of the chancel are so built that it appears to incline to the northward, at an angle of five degrees from that of the longitudinal axis. In this church, however, there is scarcely a rectangle anywhere : everything is oblique in plan, the builders evidently detesting anything like mechanical accuracy. W. C. S.

"CROSS" VICE " KRIS " (9 th S. i. 85, 317, 458 ; ii. 36). MR. PLATT declares in the most posi- tive fashion that I am wrong in a few re- marks I made some time ago in reference to Spanish guttural aspirates and the pronun- ciation of the words "Quixote" and "Xerez."* The guttural aspirates are g, x, and j.

" Amidst the euphony of the Castilian syllables, the ear is, however, struck with the sound of the German and Arabic guttural, which is rejected by all the other nations speaking languages in which the Latin predominates. Bouterwek's 'Spanish Lite- rature, p. 6, English edition.

The Visigoths held sway in Spain for some three hundred years, the Arabs for over seven hundred. This characteristic sound is, therefore, mostly of Gothic and Arabic origin, the g representing the former and the x the latter ('Ortografia de la Lengua Castellana,' 1770, p. 80), while thej>', now so much used, is of a more recent date (see Mora tin's 'Origenes del Teatro Espanol, Discurso Historico,' vol. i. p. 15, Paris, Baudry, 1838). After this brief

sote.' ' Don Quixote, you mean, madam,' quoth Sancho Panza, 'or otherwise called the Knight of the Sorrowful Figure.' ' You are right,' said Dorothea." Smollett's, as may be expected, is more lively : " ' Don Hacksot, or Kicksot ' 'Don Quixote, your ladyship would say,' cried Sancho, interposing, 'alias the Knight of the Rueful Countenance.' ' The very same,' replied Dorothea."
 * Jarvis's translation : " ' Don Axote, or Don Gig-

reference to history, it must be apparent that it is useless to assert, as does MR. PLATT, "that, so late as 1621, these letters were pro- nounced in Castilian much as they still are in Portuguese," <fec. That would mean that these gutturals were adopted after the over- throw of both the Gothic and the Moorish domination, as a compliment, I suppose, to the vanquished. It would also mean, as a learned professor at San Sebastian, to whom I have submitted the matter in dispute, says,

''that the guttural sounds made their appearance in Spain only in the seventeenth century, that is to say, almost recently, within three or four


 * enerations of men, in the time of Cervantes, Lope

[e Vega, and Calderon,"

which he rightly characterizes as an absurd contention. When they came into general use is a moot point

Grammatici certant et adhuc sub judice lis est.

Mr. H. Butler Clarke, Taylorian Teacher of Spanish in the University of Oxford, in his interesting, and useful book on 'Spanish Literature' (London, Sonnenschein & Co., 1893), has a note on p. 11, in which he says:

"The date of the introduction of the characteristic

harsh guttural sound is uncertain. Such evidence

as is obtainable points to the sixteenth century."

If MR. PLATT can clear up this doubtful matter, I shall be one of the first to congratu- late him on his success ; but he must give chapter and verse for his statements.

In his assertion that Cervantes pronounced his hero's name in the way represented by the French Don Quichotte and the Italian Don Chisciotte, MR. PLATT is in error. It is one of those rash assertions whereby he does injustice to his undoubted ability. A single quotation will, I think, be enough to justify what I have ventured to say. In part i. chap. xxx. of the immortal book, Dorothea, pretending not to be sure of the knight's proper appellation, calls him

"Don Azote 6 Don Gigote. Don Quixote diria, senora, dijo a esta sazon Sancho Panza, 6 por otro nombre el Cabellero de la Triste Figura. Asf es la verdad, dijo Dorotea."

One can almost hear the honest squire's em- phatic guttural as he pronounces his master's: name.

As to the word "Xerez," from which our word sherry is undoubtedly derived, it is well to know how it is pronounced in French. In that language we have "Don Quichotte" for "Don Quixote," " Chimene " for " Ximena " (Cor- neille's ' Cid '), but for " Xerez " we have "Xerez, ville d'Espagne, on prononce Keresse, en aspirant le k " (' Dictionnaire General de la Langue Francaise,' par MM. Gue'rard et