Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 9.djvu/201

 9" S. IX. MARCH 8, 1902.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

193

tion, neither "dawn" nor "done"; "tun" = tone, a vessel which gives a hollow tone ; "bun" = 6o?i<?, a cake made of crushed bone. As come and some are pronounced " cuin " and "sum," so "hum "=home, a home-sound. The new etymology of gun is surely proved up to the hilt by the interesting light it throws on the abusive expression " son of a gun"=son of a gone person, gone off his head, of course, son of a lunatic.

Possibly the professional jealousy which endeavours to make etymology a select science, protected from the competition of the vulgus by an elaborate hocus-pocus system of absurd rules, will not permit such simple explanations to "find favour with philo- logists." Have they not haughtily condemned many equally ingenious etymologies offered in olden times by worthy monks and others, and covered with ridicule their praiseworthy attempts to explain the language in an in- telligible way 1 It is time to protest against this pedantic trades-unionism. There may yet be many things concealed from the philo- logists and revealed to babes and Brutuses.

SIMPLICISSIMUS.

1 LES LAURIERS DE NASSAU ' (9 th S. viii. 464 ; ix. 157). The copy that I have of this book bears the date 1612, so it can hardly be a translation of the Dutch book published in 1616. Is there an earlier edition of the Dutch text, or is the French edition the original one which was afterwards translated into Dutch ? Can your correspondent MR. JOHN RADCLIFFE tell me whether the book (either in Dutch or French) is one of any authority as an historical record ? B. D.

SIR NICHOLAS SMITH (9 th S. viii. 283, 373). Perhaps these references to Chancery Pro- ceedings, Car.L, may be useful to your corre- spondents on this subject.

P. 38, 34. The Lady Smith, wife of George Parry, Chancellor of Exeter, having bought the marriage of her eldest son Nicholas Smith for 1,500. from the Court of Wards, and borrowed 500/. to do so and further on his marriage with Rosse, daughter of Hester, Lady Lambert, her sons Lord Lambert and Sir Carew Lambert having taken over the bond as part of her marriage portion the said Lamberts did not pay, and Lady Smith is now threatened with proceedings, which she praj^s the Court to avert. Her brother Sir George Horsey, of Clifton, Dorset, is mentioned. 1628.

P. 39, 35. The same on behalf of her infant children, Ralph and Lettice Smith, claims alimony for them under the will of her hus- band, Sir N. Smith, of Larkbeere, pr. 1622

)f which James Walker and Ralph Symes were trustees, and also under an indenture f 17 Jac. I. In the answer it is stated that ler eldest daughter Edith had married William Bruton.

P. 39, 36. The same, with her son James Smith, complains that Lady Smith (once Glrace Bevil, of Cornwall), widow of Sir Greorge Smith, of Maddeford, had a right f dower on an estate at Ottery St. Mary under an indenture of 40 Eliz. made with aid Sir George and his sons Thomas and Nicholas, and had agreed with Nicholas, after }he death of Sir George and Thomas Smith, x> give up this right, but had never done so, whereby the complainants were injured. 1628.

R. 15, 7. John Richards claims moneys from Sir George Parry as executor of his stepson aeorge Smith, who with his brother owned the manor of Ivedon Penne, Devon. 1648.

P. 34, 14. Dorothy, Lady Parry, and her son John Smith make certain claims on Grace, Lady Smith. Also see S. 15, 22.

J. H. PARRY.

I wish to thank the gentlemen who have replied to my inquiry about this knight tor the information they have sent. They bell me a great deal about his ancestors, but I want also to connect him with the Smith family of Great Torrington, Canons- Leigh, parish of Burlescombe, and St. Audries, Somerset, from whom I claim descent. If Sir Nicholas Smith is really my ancestor, as I have been assured, I would only ask for about two generations of Smiths to connect him with a James Smith, of Great Torrington, who married about 1680 Thomasine, daughter of a Henry Rowland and Elizabeth Bickforcl. I will ask any one who is kind enough to take an interest in this pedigree to look at my former letter. DOMINICK BROWNE.

Christchurch, New Zealand.

ST. BRIAVEL (9 th S. ix. 9, 30). The earliest occurrence I have met with of St. Briavel's as a place-name is in the Gloucestershire Subsidy Roll of 1313, where it is called " S'c'us Brewel'." It is supposed to be the name of a Cambro- British saint ; and, indeed, there can be little doubt as to this, though a very full calendar of the Welsh Church which I have compiled from various sources contains no mention of such a person. " Briauail tilius Luuarch" (Briafael ap Llywarch, in modern spelling) occurs several times in the ' Book of Llandaff ' as the name of a layman witnessing various grants of land to that see in the tenth century ('Liber Landavensis,' Oxford, 1893, pp. 143, 145, 148, 149, 151, 217).