Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 4.djvu/523

 9"-s. iv. dec. so, m] NOTES AND QUERIES. 547 land's designs two years before Edward VI.'s death. A. F. P. Hoese-BKEAD (9th S. iv. 83, 173, 333).— ' Travels through Sweeden, Norway, and Fin- mark, to the North Cape, in the Summer of 1820,' by A. de Capell Brooke, M.A. (London, printed for Rod well & Martin, Bond Street), 1823, pp. 46-7 :— " We reached Smaby, the first stage from Eskil- stuna, at an early hour ; and while changing horses, were not a little entertained at the curious group formed by the peasants and their steeds break- fasting together, Doth cordially partaking of a large, • hard, rye cake. This is their constant food on the road: and indeed throughout Sweeden it forms the chief, and frequently the only subsistence of the peasantry. Before setting out on a journey, a few of these cakes are strung together, which serve for the support of themselves and their horses." Heber's 'Journal,' ii. 103-4, s.v. 'Elephant': "I have got these poor beasts' allowance increased in consideration of their long march ; and that they may not be wronged, have ordered the mohout to give them all their gram in presence of a sentry. The gram is made up in cakes, about as large as the top of a hat-box, and baked on an earthen pot. Each contains a seer, and sixteen of them are con- sidered as sufficient for one day's food for an ele- phant on a march. The suwarree elephant had only twelve, but I ordered him the full allowance, as well as an increase to the others. If they knew this they would indeed be glad to see me." ' Austria,' by J. G. Kohl (London, Chapman & Hall), 1843, p. 210, s.v. 'The Fair at Pesth': " Among the clay vessels was also one used for baking a sort of paste, the tarhonya, an indis- pensable article in the steppes of Hungary." Thomas J. Jeakes. Tower House, New Hampton. There can be no possible question as to which university had control over the pro- ceedings at Stourbridge Fair, as is implied at the close of the last reference ; for it was held on land between the Stour and the Cam, just outside Cambridge. See 3rd S. xi. 443, 512 (referred to 8th S. i. 499), and Hone's ' Every- day Book ' (1841), i. 1300-8, under 19 Sept. Ernest B. Savage. St. Thomas, Douglas, I.O.M. Why does Mr. King doubt which univer- sity had power of regulation of Stourbridge Fair, which was (and is) held within a mile or so of Cambridge Senate House 1 See many books on Cambridge, e.g., Gunning's 'Re- miniscences.' G. A. M. Anglo-Saxon Speech (9th S. iv. 45, 94, 137,' 218, 296,466).—I will offer a few last remarks. My view as to the use of u for wu in Scotland is that it is due to Scandinavian influence, which comes to exactly the same thing, ultimately, as saying that the same use in English dialects is due to Norman influence, for the Normans were Scandinavians; so that one simple explanation serves in both cases. When I said that the symbol w was chosen to represent the sound of oo in Welsh, of course I was expressing a particular in- stance of a general principle, viz., that symbols are devised for sounds. I never hinted at the contrary process as being a probable one. The statement that the Welsh w was sounded oo seemed to imply that the sound of wo in woman became oo because Celts turned the sound (not the symbol) of w into oo; and 1 cannot find that they did so. On the contrary, the English wall, borrowed from Lat. uallum at a time when the Latin u was still a w, is represented by fal in Gaelic, fdl in Irish, and gwal in Welsh, which shows the treatment of w before a. What the Celts did with wu I do not exactly know; but there seems to be no reason why it might not have been represented in Gaelic and Irish by /w,and in Welsh bygw followed by some vowel. The connexion of Eng. wool with the Welsh gwlan is so remote that nothing can be in- ferred from it. I do not see that any proof has been offered in favour of the Celtic treat- ment of the sound of wu as 'u. The Welsh symbol w represents a vowel, and has nothing to do with the question. I was not referring to symbols, but to sounds. Scandinavian and Anglo-French affected a large number of dialects. Scandinavian words occur all round our coasts and up large rivers, such as the Severn. Nearly all dialects contain a much larger number of Anglo-French words than has been suspected, as the ' English Dialect Dictionary' shows. When I said that the pronunciation of woman as 'ooman is common in London, perhaps I should have said that it was so once. Your correspondent does not seem to know that I was born in London, and spent my first twenty-five years there, and that I spoke from personal experience. In the same way, we are now actually asked whether Dickens is trustworthy in his representations of London speech. Alas for Dickens! His records are or wonderful exactitude ; but the speech has now changed, and his honesty and aoility are now impugned like mine. The changes are remarkable. During all the time that I lived in London I never once heard the use of i for a, as in skite for skate; and now it is difficult not to do so. Walter W. Skeat. I am not qualified to take part in the dis- cussion between Prof. Skeat and Mr. Harri- son, but I must protest mildly, but firmly, against the last-named gentleman pressing a