Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 8.djvu/316

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. VIIL OCT. 12, 1901.

is also pp. of the verb " to bolt," meaning " to sif t ." ARTHUR MAYALL.

POEM WANTED (9 th S. viii. 185). The re- markably fine poem by the late Henry Glass- ford Bell, who was, I think, a sheriff sub- stitute in Scotland, and died some years ago, entitled 'Mary, Queen of Scots,' commences with the words cited by your correspondent, the first line being " I look'd far back into other years." It portrays the successive scenes in Mary's pathetic history with a wealth of historical illustration and with great dramatic power. I suppose there is a published col- lection of H. G. Bell's poems, but I have never met with it. Your correspondent, however, will find what he seeks included in the mis- cellaneous poems contained in. James Sheridan Knowles's ' Elocutionist,' published by Simms & Mclntyre, Belfast, 1840.

C. T. SAUNDERS.

Birmingham.

"LOOKS WISE, THE PRETTY FOOL" (9 th S.

viii. 184). Possibly the lines sought are these from Browning's ' Dis Aliter Visum '' : Did you consider " Now makes twice

That I have seen her, walked and talked With this poor pretty thoughtful thing,

Whose worth I weigh : she tries to sing ; Draws, hopes in time the eye grows nice ;

Reads verse, and thinks she understands"? There is a measure of gallantry in Browning's version. ARTHUR MAYALL.

HUGUENOT (9 th S. viii. 165). - Castelnau, in his 'Memoirs,' says the name was derived from huguenot, a coin of small value in use in the time of Hugo Capet, and that it was applied to the Reformed Church party after the flight of the petitioners in the Amboise plot, to signify that the Reformers were people of little account. Unfortunately, this ingenious derivation will not bear close in- vestigation, as there is evidence to prove that the name was in use prior to 1560 (the date of the conspiracy of Amboise).

If your contributor has not referred to JNugent's translation of Renault's 'Chrono- logical Abridgment of the History of France,' the following note, taken from that work, may afford some information :

"Some derive it from John Hus ; as much as to say les guenons de Hus,' the apes of Hus. Others trorn Hugo Capet, the Huguenots defending the ignt of his descendants to the crown against the house of Guise, who pretended to be descended trom Charlemagne. There are some who deduce it from Hugh the Sacramentarian, who taught the same doctrine as Calvin, in the reign of Charles IV. Others derive it from the harangue of a German, who, being taken and interrogated by the Cardinal

of Lorraine concerning the conspiracy of Amboise, stopped short in his harangue, which began with these words, 'Hue nos venimus,' we are come hither ; and the courtiers, not understanding Latin, said to one another, ' These fellows are from Hue nos.' Pasquier relates that the common people at Tours were persuaded that a hobgoblin, or night spirit, called King Hugo, ran about the town at night; and as the Reformed assembled in the night to perform their devotions, from thence they were called Huguenots ; as much as to say the disciples of King Hugo : and this opinion appears the most plausible. Others affirm it was owing to their meeting near the gate called Hugon. Others, in fine, and, among the rest, M. Voltaire, de- rive it from the Eidgenossen of Geneva. There had been two parties for some time in that city; one of the Protestants, and the other of the Roman Catholics. The former were called Egnots, from the German word Eidgenossen, allied by oath ; and at length triumphed over the latter. Hence the French Protestants, who were before styled Lutherans, began to be distinguished by the name of Egnots, which, by corruption, was changed into that of Huguenots."

ALBERT GOUGH. Glandore Gardens, Antrim Road, Belfast.

The 'H.E.D.,' which repays consultation, cites a quotation from Smiles, 1880, "Mahn

gives no fewer than fifteen supposed

derivations of the word Huguenot." The author of 'A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames,' s.v. l Huggins,' says :

"The French fondness for double diminutives gave them the famous name Huguenot (Hug-in-ot), so that we must trace that religious sect to an individual, if we would get at its origin."

But the generally accepted derivation is not on these lines. See ' Encyc. Brit.,' &c. The steps are Ignots, Iguenots (Eidgenossen) oath-comrades. The truth lies most likely between the two contentions, i.e., the origin is in accordance with the latter statement, but the term "Huguenot" is the French form as contrasted with the German-Swiss " Eiguenot." The word ^ " Huguenot," re- sembling the double diminutive "Huginot," would be trebly familiar, whereas "Eid- genossen," being foreign, would be practically unknown in France. The form "eiguenots," from the 'Chron. de Geneve' of 1550, does not suggest Huss. ARTHUR MAYALL.

May I suggest a reference to the * H.E.D.'?

Q. V.

HARVEST BELL (9 th S. viii. 201). In many of the eighteenth-century Inclosure Acts for the East Riding of Yorkshire there is a clause which secures to the sexton certain rights for ringing the harvest or barley bell.

W. C. B.

" SOD- WIDOW" (9 th S. vii. 268). It may be noted that German has an equivalent to