Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 2.djvu/472

 NOTES AND QUERIES.

. n. DEC. 10,

into the water it would float down to the spot where the body lay and then jump about. He did as he was told, out nothing extraordinary hap- pened."

H. K. [See the General Indexes to ' N. & Q.']

INSULARITY IN ADVERTISEMENTS. What islanders we are even in the nineteenth cen- tury even in literature, of which the makers ought to be endowed with something of a cos- mopolitan spirit ! Thus of late there has been appearing in the papers an advertisement of the merits of the ' Encyclopaedia Britannica.' Here are some extracts from it :

" Upon its own plane and in its own field it [i. e- the ' Encyclopaedia '] has absolutely no competitor."

"The 'Encyclopaedia Britannica' is the best library of reference in the world."

"A better book it is impossible to obtain for any money, nor is there any reason tc suppose that the present generation will see a worthy rival in the field."

Now all this is no doubt perfectly true if there is no country in the world but Great Britain, and no language or literature but English. Certainly the 'Encyclopaedia Britannica' is a credit to the firm and the nation that produced it. But the above extracts become amusing when it is borne in mind that a neighbouring nation has pro- duced an encyclopaedia about as large, speak- ing quite roughly, as the 'Encyclopaedia Britannica,' and a work of the highest merit and interest. And any one who has compared the 'Encyclopaedia Britannica' with the encyclopaedia published by Larousse will know that the pre-eminence of the first mentioned "ne saute pas aux yeux," as our neighbours say. For solid, conscientious industry and research, perhaps the ' Encyclo- paedia Britannica ' carries off the prize, but Larqusse's great work surpasses it in charm, in wit, in attractive reading, and in a thousand and one trifles in the creation of which French writers are expert.

It is a dangerous thing to indulge too often in superlatives. ROBIN GOODFELLOW.

EARLY BELFAST BOOK-PLATES. On p. 272 of his valuable history of ' Old Belfast,' Mr. E. M. Young reproduces two book-plates which he believes to be the earliest existing specimens of Belfast book-plates, viz., that of the Belfast Library, dated 1765, and that of the Rev. James Mackay, of an earlier date. I have, however, in my possession a book-plate of the fourth Earl of Donegall, w-ho was corn in 1695, and died in 1757.

This plate is not to be confused with that of the fifth earl, reproduced on p. 265 of 'Old Belfast.' On the plate in my possession the Donegall arms are not quartered with those

of Itchingham, as is usual with all the later Donegall plates. The plate bears the Done- gall supporters and the Chichester crest, but does not bear any name, signature, or date.

I have seen the Marquis of Donegall, who has given me some information about the matter, and he agrees that the plate must be of an earlier date than either of those repro- duced by Mr. Young. ARTHUR SHEPHARD.

Cromer, Norfolk.

DESCRIPTIVE SURNAMES IN THE WAVERLEY NOVELS. (See ante, p. 379.) In the notice of 'Kenilworth' in the cheap reissue of the " Border " Waverley at the above reference there is a remark which suggests a note on this subject. It is a subject I venture to re- commend to MR. JONATHAN BOUCHIER. Mean- while I doubt whether it is a fact that in ' Kenilworth ' Scott employs more of such names than he is wont to do in the Scottish novels. Take ' The Heart of Midlothian,' for instance. Running over this tale very hastily, I find a great many. Here are some of them : Saddletree, Crossmyloof, Driver, Lord Flash and Flame, Earl of Blazonbury, Sharpitlaw, Fairscrieve, Buskbody, Kittlesides, Laird of Lickpelf, Marsport, Lackland, Kilstoup, Madge Wildfire (properly Murdockson), Dick Ostler. There are besides these many more. Some of them are, it is true, names only, but not a few are borne by more or less prominent actors in the story. I need only mention two or three from a few of the other novels in proof that in this respect ' The Heart of Midlothian ' is not peculiar ; I choose only the more obvious sort. Such are Professor Snufflegreek (' Legend of Montrose ') ; Lords Turn tippet and Brittlebrains ('Bride of Lam- mermoor') ; Mr. Rubrick, Mrs. Mucklewrath, and Nosebag (' Waverley ') ; Protocol (' Guy Mannering ') ; Caxon, Mailsetter, Shortcake, Taffril, Heukbane (' Antiquary ') ; Muckle- wrath, Poundtext, Kettledrummle ('Old Mortality'); Redgauntlet, Crossbite, Drud- geit, Foxley (' Redgauntlet ') ; and Snailsfoot, Weatherport, and last, but not least, Tripto- lemus Yellowley (' Pirate '). This list might, of course, be very greatly lengthened. ' Rob Roy ' has, I think, fewer of these names than any other of the series, but it furnishes the capital instance of Andrew Fairservice. Capt. Dugald Dalgetty of Drumthwacket is an equally good instance of the descriptive territorial appellations in which Scott de- lights.

It must be admitted, however, that this is a somewhat cheap form of humour, and when carried to excess it becomes wearisome. Much more artistic are names which, without being