Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 6.djvu/473

 Vs.vi.NOV.n, 1900.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 393 one has been added serves but to show in stronger relief that Huish is a word of itself, and cannot be, as contended, the simple Saxon hiwisc (hide), which was a sum of money rather than a specific area. The compounds adduced by your latest correspondent add greatly to the strength of the Celtic position, and show the danger of reliance upon mere sound. Jiocheuris, now Buckish, interprets itself, and is clearly Saxon Boc-hewis or hiwisc, just as the Bucklands everywhere are Boc-land. Melhewis, now Melhuish : Odehiwis, now Woodhuish ; Chiwarthiwis, Langkeuris, which are believed to exhaust the list, all proclaim themselves to be compounded with the Saxon hiwisc or hide—a totally different word from the Celtic word for water, now known in Irish and Gaelic as uisge. It is by no means singular that two words in different languages, so closely alike in sound, should, in course of time, take the same form in writing, and be accepted as identical. The ' H.E.D.' will afford abundant instances of similar confusion, not all so readily to be untangled. F. T. ELWORTHY. FOLK-LORE : SWEPT AND GARNISHED (9th S. vi. 327).—Probably the Russian lady of whom H. E. M. speaks feared that the outgoing tenant would carry away with him the good luck of the place by having his apartment swept out. A Lincolnshire maidservant explained to me some years ago that it was wrong " to sweep out at the door, for fear of sweeping luck away." Probably the super- stition is to be found in other parts of Europe also. E. O. INSCRIPTION IN MULL (9th S. vi. 329).—It seems tolerably plain, without requiring a knowledge of Gaelic, that two persons— R. M. L. and another—"passed one hour" at the lonely spot mentioned. R. J. HOOKEY. The Retreat, Liverpool. Perhaps R. M. L. and T., &c., are the initials of two companions who "passed one hour" on the spot where MR. R. J. WALKER found the stone. PALAMEDES. "SKILLY" (9th S. vi. 306, 378).—The word figures in the parody of a well-known hymn : Safe in the hands of the police, Safe, in Wandsworth jail, With a bundle of oakum to pick in the day, And a pint of skilly in a pail. S. T. W. PICTURE BY CORBOULD (5th S. v. 329).—At this reference, nearly twenty-five years ago, a correspondent asked for an engraving from a drawing by Corbould, but received no answer. The engraving formed the frontis- piece to the "English Classics" edition of Young's 'Night Thoughts,' 1824. where it is lettered " H. Corbould.—C. Heath." W. C. B. THE GRAVE OF GEORGE HERIOT (9th S. vi. 170, 272).—The following extract, with the marginal note, from the marriage register of Bermondsey parish may be of interest:— "1624. January 4th, James Heriott, Esq., and Elizabeth Josey, gent. This James Herryot was one of ye 40 children of his father, a Scotsman." J. G. WALLACE-JAMES, M.B. Haddington. " GALLUSES "=BRACES (9th S. vi. 330).—The word has not died out in Scotland. Only a few days ago I heard a small boy of the humbler classes complain of his "galluses" being too tight, and causing him discomfort. GEORGE ANGUS. St. Andrews, N.B. This word is still in common use in Scot- land. The following amusing incident in connexion with it may be worth bringing to memory. The extract is from " The Event- ful Life of a Soldier | by the late Joseph Donaldson, | Sergeant in the 94th Scots Bri- gade. | New Edition. | London, I Charles Griffin & Company, | 1863." Donaldson died in 1830. His book is evidence of undoubted genius :— "GeneralPicton commanded tin-division. On this advance a man belonging to one of the regiments had lingered behind and was prowling about from one house to another in search of plunder. General Picton, who was passing through, happened to cast his eye upon him, and called out, ' W hat aro you doing there, sir ? Why are you behind your regiment?' The man had not an answer ready, but he stammered out an excuse, saying, 'I came back to the house where I was quartered to look for my gallowses' (braces). ' Ay, I see how it is,' replied the general. ' Get along, sir, to your division, and take my advice—always keep the word gallows in your mind.'" P. F. H. Perth. I venture to think that if MR. HEMS had inquired for the article in any shop in the West Riding of Yorkshire, he would have found the former name to have been more familiar than the latter. T. B. J. This word is used in easy conversation among Lincolnshire villagers ; but I imagine that they would ask a shopman for " braces," as a matter of politeness. A. E. T have frequently met with this word in Virginia, and included it in a list of words