Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 5.djvu/33

 9< s. v. JAN. is, 1900.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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given to the world. As regards the prints, there is one illustrative of ' Robinson Crusoe' called " the footprint on the sand," which is ludicrous. Crusoe, who ought, according to the story, to be wild with terror, instead of looking at the immense footprint within a yard of him, is shading his eyes with his hands, and, quite calm and placid, not a bit agitated, is gazing at Africa or some other

usual), but looking at none of them. There is a print of Goldsmith's house, stated to have been in the "Strand," whereas it was near the little Old Bailey, spelt in one place in the book " Brecknock " Stair (in the singular), in another " Brecknock," which is interesting, if one only knew what the authority is for it; but in no other account of Goldsmith's life have I ever seen this print before. If it is from any authentic source in the British Museum or elsewhere it ought to have been stated. The same applies to a print rather say a caricature of Johnson in his Hebridean dress. Did Johnson really ever wear such a dress as this 1 Who saw it ? Who drew it ? Who printed itl The best print to my mind is Catiline in the senate house (the authority for which is given) listening to Cicero's famous oration, " quousque tandem," and looking very uneasy under it. In addition to the above defects, the volumes have this disadvantage, they are too heavy to hold in one's hand in an armchair over the fire, the pleasantest way of reading, and yet scarcely heavy enough to require a table. But the principal drawback is, what I mentioned at the commencement, the irritating American spelling ; a secondary one, that though there are probably some four hundred prints in the work, there is not, so far as I can find, any index to them. To refer to Goldsmith's house just now, I had to look through the contents of some fifteen volumes before I came to it, and then found it placed with his 'Traveller' (this, I need hardly say, spelt 'Traveler'). To those "about to purchase" I would give, not one word of advice, but two "Caveat emptor." W. O. WOODALL. Scarborough.

"HOPPING THE WAG." The following ap peared in the Daily Telegraph of 15 Dec. 1899 :

"Another slang phrase was registered in the Penge Police Court, when a small boy was brought up for neglecting to attend school. He confessed that he had been * hopping the wag,' which, being translated, means playing truant. The School Board representative acted as interpreter, and said it was

street vernacular. It is rather a picturesque phrase, and might be more generally used."

"Playing the wag," "hopping it," and "playing the hop" are synonymous terms very common in this district.

H. ANDREWS.

Gainsborough.

" CHIAUS." The note on the origin of this word in the ' Historical English Dictionary ' is very interesting. The usual explanation is that of Gifford, given in a note on the ' Alchemist,' I. i. :

What do you think of me ? That I am a chiaus?

Gifford wrote :

" In 1609, Sir Robert Shirley sent a messenger or chiaus (as our old writers call him) to this country, as his agent, from the Grand Signior, and the Sophy, to transact some preparatory business. Sir Robert followed him, at his leisure, as ambassador from both those princes ; but before he reached England, his agent had chiaused the Turkish and Persian merchants here of 4,000^. and taken his flight, unconscious, perhaps, that he had enriched the lan- guage with a word of which the etymology would mislead Upton and puzzle Dr. Johnson."

The ' Historical English Dictionary ' com- ments upon this :

" But no trace of this incident has yet been found outside of Gifford's note ; it was unknown to Peter Whalley, a previous editor of Ben Jonson, 1756, also to Skinner, Henshaw, Dr. Johnson, Todd, and others who discussed the history of the word. Yet most of these recognized the likeness., of chouse to the Turkish word, which Henshaw even proposed as the etymon, on the ground that the Turkish chiaus ' is little better than a fool.' Gifford's note must therefore be taken with reserve."

I cannot offer any further explanation of the word, but I have traced Gifford's authority, and this may yield a clue. Gifford copied without acknowledgment a note on p. 15 of W. E. Chetwood's ' Memoirs of the Life and Writings of Ben. Jonson, Esq.,' Dublin, 1756 :

" Chiaus, a Turkish Messenger that was in Eng- land in the year 1610, sent by Sir Robert Shirley as his Agent from the Grand Seignor and the Persian King. Shirley followed in two Years after as Am- bassador from both those Princes ; but his Agent, in the mean Time, had choused the Turkish and Persian Merchants out of 4,000^. and had gone off. Thence, we conjecture, is derived the Word chouse, to cheat ; for the Turkish Word Chiaus is pro- nounced as we pronounce chouse, to bite or cheat."

This carries the explanation back to 1756 ; but it is admittedly a conjecture, and no authority is cited for the story of the agent.

PERCY SIMPSON.

PORTRAIT BY THE MARCHIONESS OF GRANBY. In ' L'Image de la Femme,' noticed by your reviewer 9 th S. iv. 549, the portrait by the Marchioness of Granby alleged to be Mrs,