Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 9.djvu/392

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. ix. MAY 17, 1902.

the bar (Manning, ' Memoirs of Sir Benjamin Rud- yerd,' p. 5)."

This statement is probably not strictly accurate, for no entry of admission of Sir Benjamin Rudyerd to the Inner Temple is to be found in the books of that Inn. According to Foster's 'Alumni Oxon.,' he became a student of the Middle Temple in 1590, and was entered there as third son of James Rudyerd, of Winchfield, Hants.

The 'Visitation of London, 1633-4' (Harl. Soc. Publ, xvii. 215), and the ' Visitation of Berkshire, 1664-6 ' (by Metcalfe, 85), contain pedigrees of Rudyerd, in which Sir Benja- min, his wife Elizabeth, and his son William are mentioned. Is anything known of the wife's parentage beyond that she was a daughter of Sir Henry Harington 1 H. C.

SHIELDS, DERIVATION OF THE PLACE NAME. In Tanner MSS. xlv. 22, as quoted in Cosin's 'Correspondence ' (Surtees Soc., ii. 134, note), referring to the plague, it is said :

" The sickness hath been a fortnight at St. Hild's (commonly called Sheelds), which is a town belong- ing to the Dean and Chapter betwixt Gateside and the sea mouth."

Now there is a church of St. Hilda at South Shields, and the above derivation seems inherently probable. But in 'Cassell's Gazetteer ' (not, we may suppose, a scientific authority on the etymology of place-names) I find :

"South S. (anciently written ' Le Sheels ') originated with the fishermen of the Tyne, who built here, along the southern shore, sheds (provincially termed 'sheelds' or 'shields') to defend themselves- from the weather."

I have not access just now to the late Canon Taylor's 'Words and Places'; still this note may not be altogether valueless.

JAMES HOOPER.

Norwich.

[In 'Names and their Histories' (1896) Canon

Taylor said : "North Shields probably takes its

name from some fishermen's huts or ' shiellings.'

South Shields %vas called St. Hild's from a chapel

dedicated to St. Hilda. The similar names of the two contiguous towns were inevitably assiniilated, Shiels becoming North Shields, and St. Hild's becoming South Shields. Two centuries ago South Shields was officially designated as St. Hilds, commonly called Sheelds. The d in North Shields is intrusive, and is absent in Selkirk and in Galashiels, the ' huts on the River Gala.'"]

"MESS OF POTTAGE." This phrase, fre- quently used, does not appear to have been noticed in ' N & Q.' It is found so far back as Coverdale's Bible (1535), at Prov. xv. 17 : " Better is a meace of potage with love, then a fat oxe w l evell will." In Matthew's Bible (1537), at Gen. xxv., the title has "Esau

selleth his byrthright for a messe of potage" ; and Prov. xv. 17 stands as in Coverdale. The same title and rendering appear in Cran- mer's Bible (1539). The Geneva Bible (1560) has at Gen. xxv. the same title, but in Prov. xv. "a dinner of greene herbes." The Bishops' Bible (1568) drops out of the title the words "for a messe of potage" ; and so does the Authorized Version. It seems pro- bable that the phrase became current chiefly from the heading to the passage in Genesis, as this is retained in the Geneva version, which for fully half a century was the Bible in popular use. R. D. WILSON.

[The late Mr. R. Roberts, of Boston, pointed out in 9 th S. ii. 17 that the phrase occurred in Matthew's Bible, 1537 ; but MR. WILSON carries the usage back two years. Coverdale rendered Gen. xxv. " a meace of meate."]

SOLDIERS' CARD-GAMES. A soldier recently returned from Africa told me that when camping out the men occasionally played cards. I asked, " What games ? " and was answered, "Pontoon and fat." "Pontoon" is simply Thomas Atkins's corruption of vingt-et-un thus, " vingtoon," "vontoon," "pontoon," a word which comes easily to him. "Fat" is the game of "five or nine," but my friend could give me no reason for the name. F. J.

[Half a century ago vingt-et-un was occasionally contracted into Van-John.]

BOOK-TITLES CHANGED. The changing of the name of a book seems to me a most repre- hensible practice. The name of a book has doubtless got something to do with its popu- larity, and an author is justified in asking the opinion of friends, and taking a hint from his publisher, with regard to the title. Thus Stevenson's ' Treasure Island ' was in- tended by the author to be named ' The Sea Cook,' but Mr. Henderson, the publisher, in one of whose publications it first appeared as a serial, suggested the present felicitous title. One might even excuse such a change as the title of one of Reade's novels underwent. ' Hard Cash ' first appeared as a serial with the title 'Very Hard Cash.' The dropping of the " very " was an improvement, and was justifiable enough when adopted in time- that is, before the appearance of the novel in book form.

I had heard of a romance by Oliver Madox Brown called ' The Black Swan.' I could not obtain it, but I succeeded finally in getting possession of ' Gabriel Denver ' by the same author, which is ' The Black Swan' under a different name. If the title in the second instance had been ' Gabriel Denver ; or, the