Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 8.djvu/300

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NOTES 'AND QUERIES. [9 th s. vra. OCT. 5, 1901

a line, and race, which I must flatly deny, and if the meanings of the words had anything in common, even then the etymology sug- gested must fall to the ground from the simple consideration that steam engines are modern contrivances, and that the technical terms relative to them cannot have been derived by modern English engineers from a period and a language which they did not know. Their own was fully sufficient for their purposes ; they chose " racing " as an excellently suggested comparison for what they wanted to describe. The engine, when working without the check of resisting power, really races like a racehorse ; and with the same simile we say in German " Die Maschine jagt " ; of a heart palpitating in an abnormally strong manner, " Das Her/ jagt." Besides, as the racing remains the same, whether it occurs in the engines of steamers or stationary engines, why must another etymon be looked out for the latter ] And, again, why an A.-S. one ? As to the derivation of "racing" a grindstone I will venture no surmise. G. KRUEGEE.

Berlin.

" WEEK END " (9 th S. viii. 162). There is one point about the use of this expression which requires attention, viz., the ambiguity of it in some connexions. For example : I ask my friend in town to come arid spend next week end with me in the country. What does this mean 1 Is he to come next Saturday, or the Saturday after? Can the end of this week be " next week end " ] This ambiguity could perhaps be remedied by putting a hyphen between the two words, forming them into one compound substantive. " Next week-end " would surely mean the week end next arriving, not the end of next week.

T. DUNNING ROBERTS. L/ondover.

A LADLE (9 th S. vii. 407; viii. 94, 174) MR UATCLIFFE speaks at the last reference as though " love-feasts "had been given up. Lneyst ill continue, in the Primitive Methodist body at any rate, and are duly marked on the quarterly Plan." This is a paper issued to members and adherents. On it are set forth the different preachers, meetings, &c. in the three or four chapels which constitute the circuit or station.

At a "love- feast" members of class- meetings from all these chapels are brought together under the leadership of the circuit minister, and those who are called upon by him to speak or feel moved to do so relate their experiences in an orderly manner. They are not revival meetings for the unconverted

but for members only. I have never seen the bread and water in London "love-feasts," but have heard middle-aged men who were "born Primitives" Cthey are very proud of this) say that " in the old times when they were boys " they remembered the bread and water.

About twenty years ago I was at a Mormon meeting one Sunday in a music- hall in John Street, Goswell Road ; and at the close of many long and weary discourses, one of the mission from Utah crumbled some bread with rather a dirty hand into a plate, poured water into a pewter pot, said what I imagine to have been a prayer over them, and carried them round to the audience, who, however, were not Mormons, these latter keeping all together on the platform.

I did not gather the exact meaning of the ceremony ; indeed, nothing was made plain, except that whatever difficulties anybody had on any conceivable subject would become clear as daylight once they arrived in Utah.

IBAGUE.

When a boy I was several times taken to a Wesley an "love-feast," and I have attended at least one since I grew up. The refresh- ments in every case consisted, not of broken bread, but of small round plum-buns and mugs of water. The buns were not served round in ladles, but were handed to each person present. Hymns were sung and " ex- periences" related, much as in an ordinary class - meeting, except that, so far as I remember, nobody was directly asked to testify. C. C. B.

ORNAMENTED LACE STICKS (9 th S. viii. 164). The "sticks" which MR. COURTENAY writes about are lace bobbins. I have fifty, and some are ornamented after the fashion which he describes ; but the " carvings " have been done on the lathe and by hand jointly. Some are of ivory, others of bone, and the rest of various kinds of wood, and all of elaborate and skilful workmanship. The most striking ornamentation consists of shallow indenta- tions of various sizes, coloured black and red. In others the "turnings" are wound with " gold " and " silver " wire of great fine- ness, the ends of the wire being passed through the bobbins for fastening purposes. In some the spans are filled with what appears to be solid metal, and others are coloured green and red. Several of the bobbins have lengths of very fine cotton wound round the tops, and some are worn with much use. They are weighted at the bottom with rings of old glass beads. The workmanship is very fine, and many hours