i, the unspeakable by walt sheldon illustrated by louis marchetti [transcriber's note: this etext was produced from galaxy science fiction april 1951. extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the u.s. copyright on this publication was renewed.] "what's in a name?" might be very dangerous to ask in certain societies, in which sticks and stones are also a big problem! i fought to be awake. i was dreaming, but i think i must have blushed. i must have blushed in my sleep. "_do it!_" she said. "_please do it! for me!_" it was the voice that always came, low, intense, seductive, the sound of your hand on silk ... and to a citizen of northem, a conformist, it was shocking. i was a conformist then; i was still one that morning. i awoke. the glowlight was on, slowly increasing. i was in my living machine in center four, where i belonged, and all the familiar things were about me, reality was back, but i was breathing very hard. i lay on the pneumo a while before getting up. i looked at the chroner: 0703 hours, day 17, month ix, new century three. my morning nuro-tablets had already popped from the tube, and the timer had begun to boil an egg. the egg was there because the realfood allotment had been increased last month. the balance of trade with southem had just swung a decimal or two our way. i rose finally, stepped to the mirror, switched it to positive and looked at myself. new wrinkles--or maybe just a deepening of the old ones. it was beginning to show; the past two years were leaving traces. i hadn't worried about my appearance when i'd been with the office of weapons. there, i'd been able to keep pretty much to myself, doing research on magnetic mechanics as applied to space drive. but other jobs, where you had to be among people, might be different. i needed every possible thing in my favor. yes, i still hoped for a job, even after two years. i still meant to keep on plugging, making the rounds. i'd go out again today. the timer clicked and my egg was ready. i swallowed the tablets and then took the egg to the table to savor it and make it last. as i leaned forward to sit, the metal tag dangled from my neck, catching the glowlight. my identity tag. everything came back in a rush-my name. the dream and _her_ voice. and her suggestion. _would i dare? would i start out this very morning and take the risk, the terrible risk?_ * * * * * you remember renumbering. two years ago. you remember how it was then; how everybody looked forward to his new designation, and how everybody made jokes about the way the letters came out, and how all the records were for a while fouled up beyond recognition. the telecomics kidded renumbering. one went a little too far and they psycho-scanned him and then sent him to marscol as a dangerous nonconform. if you were disappointed with your new designation, you didn't complain. you didn't want a sudden visit from the deacons during the night. there had to be renumbering. we all understood that. with the population of northem already past two billion, the old designations were too clumsy. renumbering was efficient. it contributed to the good of northem. it helped advance the warless struggle with southem. the equator is the boundary. i understand that once there was a political difference and that the two superstates sprawled longitudinally, not latitudinally, over the globe. now they are pretty much the same. there is the truce, and they are both geared for war. they are both efficient states, as tightly controlled as an experiment with enzymes, as microsurgery, as the temper of a diplomat. we were renumbered, then, in northem. you know the system: everybody now has six digits and an additional prefix or suffix of four letters. stateleader, for instance, has the designation aaaa-111/111. now, to address somebody by calling off four letters is a little clumsy. we try to pronounce them when they are pronounceable. that is, no one says to stateleader, "good morning, a-a-a-a." they say, "good morning, aaaa." reading the last quote, i notice a curious effect. it says what i feel. of course i didn't feel that way on that particular morning. i was still conformal; the last thing in my mind was that i would infract and be psycho-scanned. four letters then, and in many cases a pronounceable four letter word. a four letter word. yes, you suspect already. you know what a four letter word can be. mine was. it was unspeakable. the slight weight on my forehead reminded me that i still wore my sleep-learner. i'd been studying administrative cybernetics, hoping to qualify in that field, although it was a poor substitute for a space drive expert. i removed the band and stepped across the room and turned off the oscillator. i went back to my egg and my bitter memories. i will never forget the first day i received my new four letter combination and reported it to my chief, as required. i was unthinkably embarrassed. he didn't say anything. he just swallowed and choked and became crimson when he saw it. he didn't dare pass it to his secretarial engineer; he went to the administrative circuits and registered it himself. i can't blame him for easing me out. he was trying to run an efficient organization, after all, and no doubt i upset its efficiency. my work was important--magnetic mechanics was the only way to handle quanta reaction, or the so-called non-energy drive, and was therefore the answer to feasible space travel beyond our present limit of mars--and there were frequent inspection tours by big wheels and very important persons. whenever anyone, especially a woman, asked my name, the embarrassment would become a crackling electric field all about us. the best tactic was just not to answer. * * * * * the chief called me in one day. he looked haggard. "er--old man," he said, not quite able to bring himself to utter my name, "i'm going to have to switch you to another department. how would you like to work on nutrition kits? very interesting work." "nutrition kits? _me?_ on nutrition kits?" "well, i--er--know it sounds unusual, but it justifies. i just had the cybs work it over in the light of present regulations, and it justifies." everything had to justify, of course. every act in the monthly report had to be covered by regulations and cross-regulations. of course there were so many regulations that if you just took the time to work it out, you could justify damn near anything. i knew what the chief was up to. just to remove me from my post would have taken a year of applications and hearings and innumerable visits to the capital in center one. but if i should infract--deliberately infract--it would enable the chief to let me go. the equivalent of resigning. "i'll infract," i said. "rather than go on nutrition kits, i'll infract." he looked vastly relieved. "uh--fine," he said. "i rather hoped you would." it took a week or so. then i was on non-productive status and issued an n/p book for my necessities. very few luxury coupons in the n/p book. i didn't really mind at first. my new living machine was smaller, but basically comfortable, and since i was still a loyal member of the state and a verified conformist, i wouldn't starve. but i didn't know what i was in for. i went from bureau to bureau, office to office, department to department--any place where they might use a space drive expert. a pattern began to emerge; the same story everywhere. when i mentioned my specialty they would look delighted. when i handed them my tag and they saw my name, they would go into immediate polite confusion. as soon as they recovered they would say they'd call me if anything turned up.... * * * * * a few weeks of this and i became a bit dazed. and then there was the problem of everyday existence. you might say it's lucky to be an n/p for a while. i've heard people say that. basic needs provided, worlds of leisure time; on the surface it sounds attractive. but let me give you an example. say it is monthly realfood day. you go to the store, your mouth already watering in anticipation. you take your place in line and wait for your package. the distributor takes your coupon book and is all ready to reach for your package--and then he sees the fatal letters n/p. non-producer. a drone, a drain upon the state. you can see his stare curdle. he scowls at the book again. "not sure this is in order. better go to the end of the line. we'll check it later." you know what happens before the end of the line reaches the counter. no more packages. well, i couldn't get myself off n/p status until i got a post, and with my name i _couldn't_ get a post. nor could i change my name. you know what happens when you try to change something already on the records. the very idea of wanting change implies criticism of the state. unthinkable behavior. that was why this curious dream voice shocked me so. the thing that it suggested was quite as embarrassing as its non-standard, emotional, provocative tone. bear with me; i'm getting to the voice--to _her_--in a moment. i want to tell you first about the loneliness, the terrible loneliness. i could hardly join group games at any of the rec centers. i could join no special interest clubs or even state loyalty chapters. although i dabbled with theoretical research in my own quarters, i could scarcely submit any findings for publication--not with my name attached. a pseudonym would have been non-regulation and illegal. but there was the worst thing of all. i could not mate. * * * * * funny, i hadn't thought about mating until it became impossible. i remember the first time, out of sheer idleness, i wandered into a eugenic center. i filled out my form very carefully and submitted it for analysis and assignment. the clerk saw my name, and did the usual double-take. he coughed and swallowed and fidgeted. he said, "of course you understand that we must submit your application to the woman authorized to spend time in the mating booths with you, and that she has the right to refuse." "yes, i understand that." "m'm," he said, and dismissed me with a nod. i waited for a call in the next few weeks, still hoping, but i knew no woman would consent to meet a man with my name, let alone enter a mating booth with him. the urge to reproduce myself became unbearable. i concocted all sorts of wild schemes. i might infract socially and be classified a nonconform and sent to marscol. i'd heard rumors that in that desolate land, on that desolate planet, both mingling and mating were rather disgustingly unrestricted. casual mating would be terribly dangerous, of course, with all the wild irradiated genes from the atomic decade still around, but i felt i'd be willing to risk that. well, almost.... about then i began to have these dreams. as i've told you, in the dream there was only this woman's seductive voice. the first time i heard it i awoke in a warm sweat and swore something had gone wrong with the sleep-learner. you never hear the actual words with this machine, of course; you simply absorb the concepts unconsciously. still, it seemed an explanation. i checked thoroughly. nothing wrong. the next night i heard the woman's voice again. "_try it_," she said. "_do it. start tomorrow to get your name changed. there will be a way. there must be a way. the rules are so mixed up that a clever man can do almost anything. do it, please--for me._" * * * * * she was not only trying to get me to commit nonconformity, but making heretical remarks besides. i awoke that time and half-expected a deacon to pop out of the tube and turn his electric club upon me. and i heard the voice nearly every night. it hammered away. "_what if you do fail? almost anything would be better than the miserable existence you're leading now!_" one morning i even caught myself wondering just how i'd go about this idea of hers. wondering what the first step might be. she seemed to read my thoughts. that night she said, "_consult the cybs in the govpub office. if you look hard enough and long enough, you'll find a way._" now, on this morning of the seventeenth day in the ninth month, i ate my boiled egg slowly and actually toyed with the idea. i thought of being on productive status again. i had almost lost my fanatical craving to be useful to the state, but i did want to be busy--desperately. i didn't want to be despised any more. i didn't want to be lonely. i wanted to reproduce myself. i made my decision suddenly. waves of emotion carried me along. i got up, crossed the room to the directory, and pushbuttoned to find the location of the nearest govpub office. i didn't know what would happen and almost didn't care. ii like most important places, the govpub office in center four was underground. i could have taken a tunnelcar more quickly, but it seemed pleasanter to travel topside. or maybe i just wanted to put this off a bit. think about it. compose myself. at the entrance to the govpub warren there was a big director cyb, a plate with a speaker and switch. the sign on it said to switch it on and get close to the speaker and i did. the cyb's mechanical voice--they never seem to get the "th" sounds right--said, "this is branch four of the office of government publications. say, 'publications,' and/or, 'information desired,' as thoroughly and concisely as possible. use approved voice and standard phraseology." well, simple enough so far. i had always rather prided myself on my knack for approved voice, those flat, emotionless tones that indicate efficiency. and i would never forget how to speak statese. i said, "applicant desires all pertinent information relative assignment, change or amendment of state serial designations, otherwise generally referred to as nomenclature." there was a second's delay while the audio patterns tripped relays and brought the memory tubes in. then the cyb said, "proceed to numbering and identity section. consult alphabetical list and diagram on your left for location of same." "thanks," i said absent-mindedly. i started to turn away and the cyb said, "information on tanks is military information and classified. state authorization for--" i switched it off. * * * * * numbering and identity wasn't hard to find. i took the shaft to the proper level and then it was only a walk of a few hundred yards through the glowlit corridors. n. & i. turned out to be a big room, somewhat circular, very high-ceilinged, with banks of cyb controls covering the upper walls. narrow passageways, like spokes, led off in several directions. there was an information desk in the center of the room. i looked that way and my heart went into free fall. there was a girl at the information desk. an exceptionally attractive girl. she was well within the limits of acceptable standard, and her features were even enough, and her hair a middle blonde--but she had something else. hard to describe. it was a warmth, a buoyancy, a sense of life and intense animation. it didn't exactly show; it radiated. it seemed to sing out from her clear complexion, from her figure, which even a tunic could not hide, from everything about her. and if i were to state my business, i would have to tell her my name. i almost backed out right then. i stopped momentarily. and then common sense took hold and i realized that if i were to go through with this thing, here would be only the first of a long series of embarrassments and discomforts. it had to be done. i walked up to the desk and the girl turned to face me, and i could have sworn that a faint smile crossed her lips. it was swift, like the shadow of a bird across one of the lawns in one of the great parks topside. very non-standard. yet i wasn't offended; if anything, i felt suddenly and disturbingly pleased. "what information is desired?" she asked. her voice was standard--or was it? again i had the feeling of restrained warmth. i used colloquial. "i want to get the dope on state serial designations, how they're assigned and so forth. especially how they might be changed." she put a handsteno on the desk top and said, "name? address? post?" i froze. i stood there and stared at her. she looked up and said, "well?" "i--er--no post at present. n/p status." her fingers moved on the steno. i gave her my address and she recorded that. then i paused again. she said, "and your name?" i took a deep breath and told her. i didn't want to look into her eyes. i wanted to look away, but i couldn't find a decent excuse to. i saw her eyes become wide and noticed for the first time that they were a warm gray, almost a mouse color. i felt like laughing at that irrelevant observation, but more than that i felt like turning and running. i felt like climbing and dashing all over the walls like a frustrated cat and yelling at the top of my lungs. i felt like anything but standing there and looking stupid, meeting her stare- * * * * * she looked down quickly and recorded my name. it took her a little longer than necessary. in that time she recovered. somewhat. "all right," she said finally, "i'll make a search." she turned to a row of buttons on a console in the center of the desk and began to press them in various combinations. a typer clicked away. she tore off a slip of paper, consulted it, and said, "information desired is in bank 29. please follow me." well, following her was a pleasure, anyway. i could watch the movement of her hips and torso as she walked. she was not tall, but long-legged and extremely lithe. graceful and rhythmic. very, very feminine, almost beyond standard in that respect. i felt blood throb in my temples and was heartily ashamed of myself. i would like to be in a mating booth with her, i thought, the full authorized twenty minutes. and i knew i was unconformist and the realization hardly scared me at all. she led me down one of the long passageways. a few moments later i said, "don't you sometimes get--well, pretty lonely working here?" personal talk at a time like this wasn't approved behavior, but i couldn't help it. she answered hesitantly, but at least she answered. she said, "not terribly. the cybs are company enough most of the time." "you don't get many visitors, then." "not right here. n. & i. isn't a very popular section. most people who come to govpub spend their time researching in the ancient manuscript room. the--er--social habits of the pre-atomic civilization." i laughed. i knew what she meant, all right. pre-atomics and their ideas about free mating always fascinated people. i moved up beside her. "what's your name, by the way?" "l-a-r-a 339/827." i pronounced it. "lara. lah-rah. that's beautiful. fits you, too." * * * * * she didn't answer; she kept her eyes straight ahead and i saw the faint spot of color on her cheek. i had a sudden impulse to ask her to meet me after hours at one of the rec centers. if it had been my danger alone, i might have, but i couldn't very well ask her to risk discovery of a haphazard, unauthorized arrangement like that and the possibility of going to the psycho-scan. we came to a turn in the corridor and something happened; i'm not sure just how it happened. i keep telling myself that my movements were not actually deliberate. i was to the right of her. the turn was to the left. she turned quickly, and i didn't, so that i bumped into her, knocking her off balance. i grabbed her to keep her from falling. for a moment we stood there, face to face, touching each other lightly. i held her by the arms. i felt the primitive warmth of her breath. our eyes held together ... proton ... electron ... i felt her tremble. she broke from my grip suddenly and started off again. after that she was very business-like. we came finally to the controls of bank 29 and she stood before them and began to press button combinations. i watched her work; i watched her move. i had almost forgotten why i'd come here. the lights blinked on and off and the typers clacked softly as the machine sorted out information. she had a long printed sheet from the roll presently. she frowned at it and turned to me. "you can take this along and study it," she said, "but i'm afraid what you have in mind may be--a little difficult." she must have guessed what i had in mind. i said, "i didn't think it would be easy." "it seems that the only agency authorized to change a state serial under any circumstances is opsych." "opsych?" you can't keep up with all these departments. "the office of psychological adjustment. they can change you if you go from a lower to higher e.a.c." "i don't get it, exactly." as she spoke i had the idea that there was sympathy in her voice. just an overtone. "well," she said, "as you know, the post a person is qualified to hold often depends largely on his emotional adjustment category. now if he improves and passes from, let us say, grade 3 to grade 4, he will probably change his place of work. in order to protect him from any associative maladjustments developed under the old e.a.c, he is permitted a new number." i groaned. "but i'm already in the highest e.a.c.!" "it looks very uncertain then." "sometimes i think i'd be better off in the mines, or on marscol--or--in the hell of the pre-atomics!" she looked amused. "what did you say your e.a.c. was?" "oh, all right. sorry." i controlled myself and grinned. "i guess this whole thing has been just a little too much for me. maybe my e.a.c.'s even gone down." "that might be your chance then." "how do you mean?" "if you could get to the top man in opsych and demonstrate that your number has inadvertently changed your e.a.c., he might be able to justify a change." "by the state, he might!" i punched my palm. "only how do i get to him?" "i can find his location on the cyb here. center one, the capital, for a guess. you'll have to get a travel permit to go there, of course. just a moment." she worked at the machine again, trying it on general data. the printed slip came out a moment later and she read it to me. chief, opsych, was in the capital all right. it didn't give the exact location of his office, but it did tell how to find the underground bay in center one containing the opsych offices. we headed back through the passageway then and she kept well ahead of me. i couldn't keep my eyes from her walk, from the way she walked with everything below her shoulders. my blood was pounding at my temples again. i tried to keep the conversation going. "do you think it'll be hard to get a travel permit?" "not impossible. my guess is that you'll be at travbur all day tomorrow, maybe even the next day. but you ought to be able to swing it if you hold out long enough." i sighed. "i know. it's that way everywhere in northem. our motto ought to be, 'why make it difficult when with just a little more effort you can make it impossible?'" * * * * * she started to laugh, and then, as she emerged from the passageway into the big circular room, she cut her laugh short. a second later, as i came along, i saw why. there were two deacons by the central desk. they were burly and had that hard, pinched-face look and wore the usual black belts. electric clubs hung from the belts. spidery looking pistols were at their sides. i didn't know whether these two had heard my crack or not. i know they kept looking at me. lara and i crossed the room silently, she back to her desk, i to the exit door. the deacons' remote, disapproving eyes swung in azimuth, tracking us. i walked out and wanted to turn and smile at lara, and get into my smile something of the hope that someday, somewhere, i'd see her again--but of course i didn't dare. iii i had the usual difficulties at travbur the next day. i won't go into them, except to say that i was batted from office to office like a ping pong ball, and that, when i finally got my travel permit, i was made to feel that i had stolen an original picasso from the state museum. i made it in a day. just. i got my permit thirty seconds before closing time. i was to take the jetcopter to center one at 0700 hours the following morning. in my living machine that evening, i was much too excited to work at theoretical research as i usually did after a hard day of tramping around. i bathed, i paced a while, i sat and hummed nervously and got up and paced again. i turned on the telepuppets. there was a drama about the space pilots who fly the nonconformist prisoners to the forests and pulp-acetate plants on mars. seemed that the southem political prisoners who are confined to the southern hemisphere of mars, wanted to attack and conquer the north. the nonconformists, led by our pilot, came through for the state in the end. corn is thicker than water. standard. there were, however, some good stereofilm shots of the limitless forests of mars, and i wondered what it would be like to live there, in a green, fresh-smelling land. pleasant, i supposed, if you could put up with the no doubt revolting morality of a prison planet. and the drama seemed to point out that there was no more security for the nonconformists out there than for us here on earth. maybe somewhere in the universe, i thought, there would be peace for men. somewhere beyond the solar system, perhaps, someday when we had the means to go there.... yet instinct told me that wasn't the answer, either. i thought of a verse by an ancient pre-atomic poet named hoffenstein. (people had unwieldy, random combinations of letters for names in those days.) the poem went: wherever i go, _i_ go too, and spoil everything. that was it. the story of mankind. i turned the glowlight down and lay on the pneumo after a while, but i didn't sleep for a long, long time. then, when i did sleep, when i had been sleeping, i heard the voice again. the low, seductive woman's voice--the startling, shocking voice out of my unconscious. "_you have taken the first step_," she said. "_you are on your way to freedom. don't stop now. don't sink back into the lifelessness of conformity. go on ... on and on. keep struggling, for that is the only answer...._" * * * * * i didn't exactly talk back, but in the queer way of the dream, i _thought_ objections. i was in my thirties, at the mid-point of my life, and the whole of that life had been spent under the state. i knew no other way to act. suppressing what little individuality i might have was, for me, a way of survival. i was chockful of prescribed, stereotyped reactions, and i held onto them even when something within me told me what they were. this wasn't easy, this breaking away, not even this slight departure from the secure, camouflaged norm.... "_the woman, lara, attracts you_," said the voice. i suppose at that point i twitched or rolled in my sleep. yes, the voice was right, the woman lara attracted me. so much that i ached with it. "_take her. find a way. when you succeed in changing your name, and know that you can do things, then find a way. there will be a way._" the idea at once thrilled and frightened me. i woke writhing and in a sweat again. it was morning. i dressed and headed for the jetcopter stage and the ship for center one. the ship was comfortable and departed on time, a transport with seats for about twenty passengers. i sat near the tail and moodily busied myself watching the gaunt brown earth far below. between centers there was mostly desert, only occasional patches of green. before the atomic decade, i had heard, nearly all the earth was green and teemed with life ... birds, insects, animals, people, too. it was hard rock and sand now, with a few scrubs hanging on for life. the pre-atomics, who hadn't mastered synthesization, would have a hard time scratching existence from the earth today. i tried to break the sad mood, and started to look around at some of the other passengers. that was when i first noticed the prisoners in the forward seats. man and woman, they were, a youngish, rather non-descript couple, thin, very quiet. they were manacled and two deacons sat across from them. the deacons' backs were turned to me and i could see the prisoners' faces. they had curious faces. their eyes were indescribably sad, and yet their lips seemed to be ready to smile at any moment. they were holding hands, not seeming to care about this vulgar emotional display. i had the sudden crazy idea that lara and i were sitting there, holding hands like that, nonconforming in the highest, and that we were wonderfully happy. our eyes were sad too, but we were really happy, quietly happy, and that was why our lips stayed upon the brink of a smile. * * * * * i sighed. my mood was just as sad, if not sadder, than it had been before. later, in the rest room, i had a chance to talk to one of the deacons guarding these two. i was washing my hands when he came in, and he nodded to me briefly and said, "nice day for a flight." he seemed pleasant enough, more than i would expect a deacon to be. he was tall and blond and rather lithe; his shoulders sloped forward like a boxer's. "taking those prisoners to center one?" i asked. he nodded. "yup. habitual nonconforms. about as bad as they come." "what did they do?" he chuckled lasciviously. "kept meeting each other in the rec centers. didn't know they were being watched. we nabbed 'em topside after they'd gone out in the desert together." "what happens to them now--marscol?" "they'd be lucky, brother, if that was only it. oh, we'll ship 'em to mars sooner or later, but first they got to be interviewed." "you mean for reclassification?" "no. just interviewed. we do it routine with everybody we pick up now. specially morals cases. that's how we crack down on other nonconforms. they got a regular organization, you know." "they _have_?" "sure. they're all southem spies. trying to weaken us for an attack, that's all. i can spot 'em a mile away." i frowned and cleared my throat a little. "wouldn't you think that any spies would try to act as normal as possible and not call attention to themselves by infracting morally?" he put a big finger on my chest. "listen, you got no idea. i see these buzzards in operation all the time. i know what goes on." "of course. i'm sure you do." i kept the sarcasm out of my voice, but it was a struggle. the finger tapped my chest, once to every word, it seemed. "we interview 'em all. some of 'em, they really got nothing to tell us and the interview kind of breaks 'em. know what i mean? but we got to do it. if we only get dope on other nonconforms from one out of ten, we figure we didn't waste our time." "you mean these--interviews of yours are a form of _torture_?" he gave me a hard eye and said, "we don't call it that, brother. we don't call it that." "of course," i said again, and went back to washing my hands. i watched the prisoners for the rest of the flight. i couldn't stop watching them. and all this time i kept thinking of lara, visualizing her, seeing her young figure and her light hair and her mouse-colored eyes, and not really knowing why. i had the overpowering desire to spring forward and throttle the two deacons and help the prisoners to escape. _almost_ overpowering. i didn't, naturally. the jetcopter lowered toward the great green parks that cover the topside area of center one. it was really refreshing to see them. i understood that the lucky residents of center one were allowed to wander in these parks, and look at the growing things and the sky. then, presently, the parks were out of sight again and we were settling on the concrete landing stage and i was back to reality. * * * * * the first contact at the office of psychological adjustment was, as usual, an information desk. there were people instead of cybs to greet you and i suppose that was because of the special complications of problems brought here. the cybs have their limits, after all. a gray man with a gray eye and a face like a mimeographed bulletin looked at me and said, in approved voice and standard phraseology, "what information is desired?" i told him. his eyebrows rose, as if suddenly buoyant. "_change your name?_ that's impossible." i quoted, verse and chapter, the regulation covering it. "h'm," he said. his eyebrows came down, cuddling into a scowl. "well, that's highly unusual procedure. better let me see your identity tag." i gave that to him and he saw my n/p status, and then my unspeakable name, and his eyebrows went up again. "perhaps you'd better get this straightened out with general administration first," he said. he scribbled a slip of paper, showing me how to get there. the rat race was on. i found general administration. they sent me to activity control. activity control said they couldn't do a thing until i was registered. i went to registration. registration said oh, no, i shouldn't have been sent there--although they'd try to direct me to the proper office if i got an okay from investigation and security. i. & s. said the regulation i quoted had been amended and i would have to have the amendment first and i could find that in records. records sent me back to the first place to get a search permit. and so on. i kept at it doggedly. toward the end of the day my legs ached and head felt like a ball of granite. i had discovered that opsych had nearly as many levels and tunnels and bays as center four in its entirety, and i had taken the intercom cars when possible, but most of it had been walking. i tightened my jaw and pulled my stomach in. i'd get to see the chief if it took me a year. that was hyperbole, of course. no man could last a year walking those dim, monotonous, aseptic corridors. how can i describe the feeling? the corridors are the same wherever you go. the glowlight comes steadily, unblinkingly, from the walls. the color is a dead oyster white. there is always the feeling of being lost--even when you know, or think you know, exactly where you are. * * * * * it was near the end of the day and i was back at the information desk. "you again," said the gray man with the gray eye. "records says i need a search permit. i have to find an amendment on the regulation covering my case." "why don't you just give up? you're causing us a great deal of trouble, you know. we have other work to do. important work." "so have i. i'm a magnetic mechanics expert. i could be working for the state right now if i could get a post. i can't get a post till my name's changed." "that's ridiculous." "i agree. but it's true just the same." "well, here's your search permit. but i still think you'd be wiser to forget it. and you'd save us a lot of fuss." i leaned across the desk. "you could save the whole organization a lot of fuss if you'd direct me to the chief's office. then i could take my case up with him directly. i've been keeping my eye open for it, but i can't find it anywhere, and of course nobody'll direct me there, even if they know where it is." he stared at me with mild horror. "_go direct to the chief's office? without going through channels?_" "well, that's what i had in mind." "then you'd better get it out of your mind. that's pretty dangerous thinking. that's close to infraction." "all right." i sighed. "i'll do it the hard way." i took the search permit and went back to records. i was still searching for the amendment when closing time came. i went back into the dim white corridors and found a foodmat, got some nutro-pills and reviewed the day. these workers here in center one were experts at putting you off. they were much more skilful than the officials in center four. maybe that was why they were in center one. maybe i never would wear them down. that thought came along and formed a ball of ice right in the bottom of my stomach. i had to think. i had to think and rest. real air and a night breeze would help. i found a shaft and went topside. i started walking along a winding trail in the great park. the stars were out. they were diamonds, ground to dust, and thrown carelessly across the black velvet of the sky. the moon had not yet risen. there was a breeze, cool and light, and it brought temporary sanity. at least it helped me realize i was tired. i came to a little brook, and, instead of crossing the foot bridge, i turned and followed the brook upstream. it led through groves of trees and presently i found a little clearing where the bank sloped gently and was covered with soft moss. at the water's edge, the bank and a rock formation made a kind of overhanging ledge and i sat on this a while and stared at the water, liquid silver, tumbling below. finally i moved up the bank a little, wrapped my cloak around me and lay down. i looked at the stars. i wondered which one might be mars. it was red, i'd heard, but i saw nothing like that. probably it wasn't visible now. i got to thinking about mars, and i got to thinking about the prison colony there, and then i got to thinking about the primitive life, and then free-mating. that made me think of lara, and her firm body and long, clean limbs and blonde hair and mouse-colored eyes. i drifted off to sleep. lara stayed with me; she stepped into my dream. it was a wonderful dream. her voice, when she broke from standard, was thrilling and delicious. it was linked with the tumbling of the brook somehow. she was warm and vibrant in my arms. she was alive, so alive. she was all movement. we were laughing together and.... * * * * * i awoke to the sound of shooting. the moon had risen and the broad glades were silver green and the trees were casting shadows. voices were barking back and forth within the woods. "over that way!" called one. "cut 'em off! cut 'em off!" yelled another. a man and woman, both entirely naked, both speckled with wounds and bruises, all standard in questioning, stumbled into the clearing. their eyes were wild, big for their faces. they were thin. they gasped for breath. they looked around them, rats in mazes, and then saw me. they drew back. "this way!" called a voice from the wood. another shot rang out. i stared at the man and woman, still too surprised to know what to do or say. they were the two prisoners i had seen in the jetcopter on my way to center one. iv maybe i was not quite awake. maybe i was not really bright, though everybody thinks of himself as bright, i suppose. maybe it was everything that had happened since the renumbering. maybe i was fed up and maybe something about the quiet woods called out: _rebel! rebel!_ i don't know. i pointed to the brook, the overhanging bank, and said, "in there! quick!" they scuttled. they passed me and looked at me half-thankfully, half-fearfully. the voices came nearer. "come on! this way! they can't get far!" i wrapped myself in my cloak and sat down and pretended to be gazing at the stars. a moment later three deacons burst upon the clearing. i turned slowly, and stared at them, showing mild artificial surprise. handsome, burly fellows. the one in the middle was a positive apollo; i was sure that he waved his hair. he glared at me. "you," he said. "me?" "yes, you. what are you doing here?" i said, "i'm sitting here." "what for?" "the night air. to study the stars. get a change of scene." i shrugged. apollo stepped forward and held out his hand. "your tag." this was it. when he saw my four letter name he'd really start working on me. i unsnapped the tag from my neck band and handed it to him. he looked at it, but didn't change expression. the deacons are well-trained. he looked up again. "n/p, eh?" "yes." "and you belong in center four." "yes." "explain." i did. or tried to. things were roiling around inside me, keeping me from thinking clearly. once, as i talked, i thought i heard movement under the bank, but the deacons didn't seem to notice anything. i tried to tell them of my troubles. there was no sympathy in their eyes. apollo said, "see anybody pass by here?" "pass by?" i hoped my look was innocent. "who?" "two fugitives. nonconforms. escaped during interview. got the force screen turned off somehow--must have had spies helping them. you didn't see them, eh?" i shook my head. "i haven't seen anyone for several hours." * * * * * apollo and his two friends traded glances. the one on the right was bull-necked and red-headed; the one on the left had a neck and nose like a crane. it was the one on the left who suddenly smiled. not a pleasant smile. he stepped up to apollo and whispered something in his ear. then apollo smiled and turned to me again. "you're _sure_ you haven't seen anyone." he knew something. i didn't know what, but it was too late to back out now. i said, "of course i'm sure." apollo kept his eyes on me, hard, flat, stony, and held out his hand to the cranelike deacon. "your light," he said. the other handed it to him. apollo flashed it on the ground. it came to rest upon unmistakable footprints in the soft moss. they led to the bank. i could be certain of arrest, and one of their little interviews now. i really had nothing to lose. nothing that wasn't already lost-"run!" i shouted at the top of my lungs. "they're coming!" there was a rustling under the bank. i leaped at apollo. i leaped hard, with my feet solid, pushing me forward. my shoulder hit him in the midriff. he went down. i scrambled over him and jammed my thumb into his shoulder. he screamed. there was a buzzing sound and the smell of burned flesh, and a tenth of a second later i felt pain. one of the others had jammed his electric truncheon into the small of my back. it bored in, it burned, and i writhed and yelled. i couldn't help it. i rolled over. someone was kicking at me. i grabbed his leg and pulled him down and when he struck the ground i twisted. another shape blurred toward me--apollo, recovered and on his feet again. then buzzing, burned flesh, and the pain this time in the back of my neck. my head swirled. i thrashed, trying to get away. get away where? that made not much difference. away, that was all. the buzzing continued. it was through my flesh now and touching the spine. it would destroy the nerves in a moment. i would be dead--or even worse, a limp cripple, a rag doll. the smell of roasted flesh and hair was a thick, choking, sickening fog of decay. i couldn't breathe. there was blackness, swirling and concentric, closing in. i think one of them kicked me in the groin before i lost consciousness. i couldn't be sure. i couldn't be sure of anything. * * * * * coming out. sound before sight and i heard the low voices. my eyes were already open. nebulous shapes, now sharpening. i was in a small room with gleaming metal walls and i was on my back on a sort of table. three men were in the room with me, standing over me. apollo ... the bull-necked man ... the man with the nose like a crane. apollo was smiling. pour water over that smile and immediately a film of ice would form. "a spy," said apollo, looking into my open eyes. "another damn spy." i shook my head. ridiculous, but that's what i did. the movement pulled at the wound in the back of my neck and sharp pain, starting there, shot through my whole body. i grimaced and groaned. apollo laughed, then suddenly brought his club hard across my face. my cheekbone seemed to make a crunching sound. "a spy, a damned spy," said apollo. "we got a confession for you to sign," said the crane. apollo said, "shut up. not yet. we got to interview him first." "look," i said, trying to lift my head, trying to rise upon my elbows, "call your chief. call anybody like that. i can explain this whole thing. it's a long story--" * * * * * he hit me again across the other cheekbone. shall i describe the next timeless endless hour? all the details? i don't remember all of them, of course, just the moments of sharpest pain that lifted me from the daze. just the sound of my own screaming at times, and the helpless dryness of my own throat, and the sounds that kept coming from it even when the vocal cords were numb. apollo and his pals had fun. there were the electric clubs. they become so hot at the tip that they will burn through an inch of pine in a couple of seconds. they go even quicker through flesh. after a while the smoke of my own burning flesh was thick in the room, and we all choked a little on it. they had more fun with their fists, though. they didn't burn me in the worst places. they saved them for their fists and hands. after a while i couldn't scream. only a hoarse, helpless, retching sound came out whenever i opened my mouth. did i hear their voices then? i couldn't be sure whether i heard them speak, or whether i dreamed that they spoke. "he can't feel it any more now." that was apollo's voice. "wake him up again," said the crane. "give him a shot." "oh, hell, i'm hungry," said apollo. "all right," said the crane, "let's go get something to eat. we can always come back again." blackness, sweet blackness, and the sense of floating among the stars. nothingness. it was exquisite now ... even the touch of agony that still seeped through was exquisite. how much of this, i don't know. i heard a voice again, and at first i thought my precious blackness was leaving me. i struggled to keep it. i grasped out, clutching with my mind. "_don't give up ... we are coming...._" it was _her_ voice. the low, seductive voice of my dreams. but i didn't want to hear it now; this was the last thing i wanted to hear. this voice had brought me here, and i never wanted to hear it again. "_no matter what they say ... no matter what they offer you or tell you ... don't give up._" i fought it off. i drove it away by sheer mind-power. either that or it stopped of itself. i didn't know and didn't care; all i wanted was peace and blackness again if i could find it. and then, after a while, i was awake, truly awake, and i knew this because i ached and burned all over. i could scarcely move. i lay on the tablelike thing and stared at the gleaming metal ceiling, not really seeing it. "how do you feel?" said somebody. * * * * * i turned my head. the somebody was sitting beside me. he was a man of about fifty, thick-set and gray-haired with skin that looked like fine porcelain. his eyes were blue and they seemed able, intelligent. he was not exactly smiling, but his expression was pleasant. poised--that was the word. here was a man who would quietly control things wherever he would go. i said, "lousy. and you?" ghost of a smile. "sorry you had to go through it. we pick the deacons because they're sadistically inclined. that makes for efficiency in the long run. some people suffer, of course, but it's for the common good." i didn't say anything. if i had, it would have been insulting, unreasonable, blasphemous, obscene and treasonable. so i didn't say anything. i just kept staring at him. he continued to smile. "i'm n-j-k-f one seven seven three four nine, chief of the office of psychological adjustment. i'm usually simply chief. i want you to consider me your friend--within the limits of state good, that is." i still didn't say anything. "yours is quite a case, and of course i understand it. i think i had a quick insight into it the moment i spotted the arrest report on you. you're really lucky i happened to go through the arrest reports a little while ago, and got to you before the three deacons who interviewed you returned. they were going to interview you some more." "yes. i'm very lucky." my voice was flat, lifeless. he leaned back easily in the chair. for all that he was thick-set, he was graceful. he was handsome. his head, and deep, pleasant voice, and the cut of his porcelain features all were handsome. trust in me, said this handsomeness, i am a father to all men. "naturally, we want to excuse your actions, and all the infractions you have committed in your rather desperate struggle for escape from your situation. of course we'll have to re-evaluate your emotional adjustment category. it must be very low by now. and i think i'll be able to assign a new name to you, and have it justify." funny, here was the thing i'd sought and fought for, and now i had it, and this was the end of the long fight, and i didn't feel triumphant at all. i didn't even feel pleased. funny. the chief said, "you can undoubtedly find a post suitable to a lower e.a.c. you can work your way up again. at least you'll be on productive status and have all the privileges that go with it." "yes," i said. "yes, i suppose so." "so there's really nothing to worry about now, is there?" "no, i suppose not." "there's just one little thing i'd like to go into before i take the steps necessary to get you on your feet again." even his magnificent poise couldn't conceal the feather touch of slyness then. "one little thing?" i asked. * * * * * the pain was with me again. my body wasn't flesh; it was all raw, clinging pain. "we'll have to know who started you on your little quest. who influenced you to try to have your name changed." i said, "i don't understand what you're talking about." he looked patient, smilingly patient. "it's rather obvious, you know. you wouldn't have acted as you did purely on your own impulses. i know that, because i cybed for your master file after i saw the report of arrest. up until two days ago, your actions have always been satisfactorily conformal. a man doesn't change overnight like that without some sort of external influence." "but there wasn't any," i protested. "i mean, nobody told me to do anything. nobody real." he chuckled. "come now, you don't expect me to believe that, do you? after all, i deal with cases like this quite often. you're not the only one who has tried to upset the efficiency of the state. there's a pattern in these things, my friend. almost invariably we find that a deliberate influence has gone to work on our infractor. there's a dangerous, organized underground movement that spends its time bringing these things about. one of its members unquestionably contacted you, suggested that you take the steps you have taken. now, then, who was it?" "nobody." i looked blank because i felt blank. the chief sighed. "you've changed more than i thought. probably you're emotionally angry with the state now, after that little interview with the deacons. that's understandable. but you'll have to come back to your senses. let's put it this way, old man. _if i don't get this information from you right now, the deacons will._" "listen," i said, "what i'm telling you is the truth. there was nobody who told me to do anything. there was--well, there was a kind of voice that used to come into my dreams. a woman's voice. it suggested, in my dreams, that i go ahead and try to get my name changed. that's all." he wasn't smiling any more. "do you really expect me to believe that?" "it's the truth, i tell you. it's the truth!" "perhaps whoever influenced you did it subtly. perhaps you never even realized it. think back now. who helped you? who departed from standard and gave you any kind of aid?" realization came like a cold wash. there had been help. lara. she had gone out of her way back there in n. & i. she had been warm and real and she had dropped the mask of efficiency. could it have been with a purpose? no matter. guilty or innocent, if i mentioned her name, she would be interviewed. i didn't want that to happen to lara. i shook my head and said, "no one helped me. i did it all myself. you've got to believe that." "i don't," said the chief, and got up. he looked at me for just a moment before he turned away. he said, "the boys will be able to have their fun, after all. i suppose it's just as well. it keeps their morale up to be able to interview somebody once in a while." "no! you can't! you can't send them in here again!" i shouted, without meaning to. i struggled to rise and found that i was strapped to the table. "no! no!" he was standing at the doorway to the room. he held a key-box oscillator in his hand and i knew that a force screen held me in the cubicle here, and that without a key-box i could beat my head forever against that invisible barrier and never pass through that doorway. he said, "i'll give you one hour to decide. i'll be back. i'll ask you if you're ready to talk. if you aren't--well, you'll talk to the deacons instead of me." the key-box hummed and he walked through the doorway and turned and disappeared. i stared after him and fought back my sudden nausea. v how long, then, lying there before a key-box hummed again? i didn't know. my time sense had been dulled. even the pain was dull now; it was something that had always existed. i looked at the shining ceiling. the glowlights began to dim and i supposed that since my arrest in the park another day had passed. most of all, i wondered. something had happened to me, something that i could almost feel as a physical change, but i didn't know quite what it was. i knew its results. i knew that i was no longer standard, no longer conformal, no longer well-behaved and moral and an efficient, useful citizen of the state. i hated the state. i hated all states. i hate all efficiency and common sense and hate. it suddenly came to me that i didn't care whether i was in southem or northem, or which of them ruled the world. i lay there. and presently a key-box hummed and i didn't even look that way. the stink of my own burning flesh still clung to my nostrils, the dull pain was still with me, but i didn't care. it was too much. when horror becomes too great, it stops being horror. the mind is smart. it doesn't believe; it doesn't register. the curve of sensation flattens out, stops, almost. when such horror looms, you go on doing whatever you are doing. i was lying there, so i went on lying there. "don't speak," whispered a voice. "don't ask questions." something fumbled at the straps. i turned my head, and two people were in the room. they were thin, and their eyes were overlarge and they were naked and covered with bruises. the fugitives of the park last night! "what are you doing here?" finger to the lips. that was the man. he was taking the straps from my legs. the woman was releasing my arms and shoulders. "but--" "sh!" that was the woman. in a moment they had me free. i started, confidently, to rise, and the pain streaked through me like a powder rocket. they helped me. i stood there, amazed that i could stand. they helped me go forward. i took several dizzy steps, and after that it wasn't as bad. we moved through the doorway; there was no force screen. the man held the key-box. he pressed it as we moved away, to bring the force screen into place once more. i said, "where are we--?" i was shushed again. we went on through the corridors. dead oyster white corridors. i walked as through a sea of marshmallow. time sense was gone again and we were pushing on and on and there was no end in sight and we had already forgotten the beginning. we took an automatic shaft to another level and walked more corridors. * * * * * once we passed an opening and tunnelcars filled with people roared past. i had a flash glimpse of them. they sat there staring straight ahead, wearing the efficient expressions of good workers. state corpses. suddenly we emerged into the dark. it was the dark of night, but after the tunnels it was practically sunrise. the air was clean--no, it was not actually as clean as the conditioned air below. it was more than clean. it was _alive_. we were on the edge of a great concrete paved area. about a hundred yards ahead, a massive, shining, fat needle rose into the air, and squatted there against the stars. it was a spaceship in its launching cradle. there were low buildings near it, a few floodlights, and people standing around. it took a moment to realize that the men walking up and down and along the groups of people, the men with rifles on their shoulders, were guards. "luck, now, that's all we need. a little luck," said the thin man beside me. it was the first time i had heard his voice. it was a low voice; he spoke with emotion. it was not approved standard. the woman moved beside him and put her hand upon his arm. i said, "may i talk now?" he turned to me, smiling. the smile had something of that sadness i had first noticed when he sat a prisoner in the jetcopter. "you want an explanation, don't you? of course you do. but i'm afraid i can't tell you very much, except that we were sent to get you." "sent? by whom? how did you have a key-box? and--" he laughed. "wait, one question at a time. i was a force screen technician before--before we were arrested. cells are the same everywhere. i know how to short the screens out from the inside; it's troublesome, but it can be done. that's how we escaped the first time. then they discovered we were gone, chased us, and _you_ gave us our second chance. we came here to the rendezvous. there were six here, including our elected leader. when we told the leader what had happened, she arranged for us to return, find you, and help you escape. it wasn't any problem to lift a key-box from the rack where they're usually kept." * * * * * i felt as though i had been put upon the end of a huge oscillating spring. i said, "the leader? she?" "you'll meet her," he said. "after blastoff you'll meet her. right now our problem is to slip in among those prisoners without being seen." "among the _prisoners_?" "haven't time to explain more. you'll have to trust us. unless you want to stay here and have the deacons hunt you till they find you." he was right: wherever i was going, i had to go. i couldn't go back now. ever. i said, "i trust you. let's go." slipping in wasn't really difficult. there were only one or two guards for each group of prisoners, and they were looking for someone to escape, not join their flock. some of the prisoners were dressed, some naked. some looked bruised and beaten; some did not. it all depended on whether they had been questioned. they all looked dull-eyed, resigned. they paid remarkably little attention as we moved in among them, and stood there. * * * * * the guards began to call out orders presently and the groups shuffled forward, and then single lines moved up the ramp and into the spaceship. the thin man and his woman were still with me. "they don't bother to count," he whispered, "so we won't be noticed." i wanted to ask him other questions, but we were divided into groups and they weren't in mine. minutes later i found myself in the vast hull, sitting on one of the tiers that hold the seats vertical when the ship is tail-based for blastoff. it was very dim here and i couldn't readily make out the faces of the people on the same tier with me. a loudspeaker came to life; a deep, impersonal voice. "fasten your webbings carefully!" i did that and heard the rustling sounds about me as the others did it, too. "stand by for blastoff!" there was a dead pause, then a sudden low throbbing roar and the feeling of life in the floor plates and the bulkheads. i felt the slightest weight of pressure against the seat. the seat began to tilt slightly. suddenly a soft voice on my left spoke: "_we're on our way. they can't stop us now, can they?_" it was the same low, provocative woman's voice that i had heard in my dreams! i whirled my head. i could see only the shape of flowing hair, no features. "who are you?" she laughed. "no wonder you don't recognize me. the natural voice is different than approved standard, isn't it? listen. do you remember this?" the head cocked to one side and a crisp, formal voice came out. "information you desire is in bank 29." "lara!" i said. i pushed toward her, but the webbing held me back. "yes. it's i. and we're together now and we'll have a long, long time to find out about each other. it's ten weeks to mars." * * * * * i ran my hand over my forehead. "i don't get it. i don't get any of it. your voice--i mean your real voice, not the standard one--i dreamed about it, and--" "i know." i could see her nod. "it wasn't a dream, though. i _was_ talking to you. each time. that was the way we planned it from the beginning." "talking to me? but--but _how_? through the sleep-learner?" "no, we'd never have been able to arrange that. it was through your identity tag, which would almost always be in contact with your skin when you slept. it has a microscopic electrical circuit, both between its metal halves and painted on its surface. the same principle as the sleep-learner, tactile induction, and, of course, a highly selective one-channel receiver. all i needed to do was put my transmitter on that same frequency." i shook my head. "i follow, i guess, but i'm still baffled. why all this? when did--" "wait for me to finish," she said. "we've been organized and underground, just as the deacons suspect, for some time. one of our members worked on the identity tags and, when renumbering came about, it was a perfect opportunity to plant the receivers. we picked our people carefully. we picked doctors and hydroponic experts and chemists and rocket pilots--and we picked you because of your knowledge of space drive theory. someday we'll go on to the stars; someday you'll help us do that. anyway, all these people we have picked--or most of them--are joining us on mars. there's where mankind will begin again while northem and southem sit upon earth and glare at each other across the equator and wait for war." "but mars--there's an equator there, too." she laughed. "northem and southem prisoners there mingle all the time. there aren't enough guards to notice it, or stop it if they did notice it. there have even been hundreds of intermarriages." "marriages? you mean like the pre-atomics?" "exactly. but we'll get to that later. we needed you for our colony, only it wasn't likely that you'd infract all by yourself. you were too standard, too adjusted. we had to give you something to shake you out of it, to make you realize that the security of the state was not security, but slavery. and so one of our members in the renumbering bureau arranged for you to have that four letter word of yours for a name. one thing led to another, then, not always exactly as we'd planned it, but always in the same general direction. our whole plan nearly failed when the deacons nabbed you in the park. fortunately, i'd come along to stow away on this trip, and i sent those others back after you." "but what if i'd actually managed to get my name changed?" * * * * * the ship was swaying now, balanced on its rocket trail. the acceleration was increasing. the seat was swinging back. the roar was becoming louder. "it was unlikely enough to take a chance on it. we felt at the very least you'd be kept on n/p status and then we could work on you some more until you infracted, and got sent to marscol as a nonconform. funny, that seems a terrible fate to most people. actually, it's the only escape. from what i hear of mars we'll like it there." i was recovering a little now and i dared to say, "if you're there, too, i'll like it. i know that." "oh, you'll like other things. you'll like everything. and on mars they'll call you by your present name if you wish, and no one will be at all shocked by it." there was a slight pause and then she said, "in fact, it's a very nice name. i--i wouldn't mind having it myself." "is that what the pre-atomics called a proposal?" she laughed. "i'm not sure. but at least we have ten weeks to talk it over--" and then the acceleration pressed hard and the gray curtain began to come, and i knew that when it was lifted we would be on our way through space. i thought in that moment of the name that had brought all this about--the unspeakable four letter word that no conformist would ever dare voice, or even think of; the word, the dangerous word inimical to all that the warring, efficient state meant and stood for. the word, i realized, that eventually would destroy all that. i dared to say it now. i spelled it out first, and then i pronounced it. just loud enough for lara to hear above the growing roar. "l-o-v-e," i said. "love." i heard lara repeat it before the momentary blackout came. shadowings by lafcadio hearn lecturer on english literature in the imperial university, tôkyô, japan _author of_ "exotics and retrospectives," "in ghostly japan," etc., etc. [decoration] boston little, brown, and company 1919 _copyright, 1900_, by little, brown, and company _all rights reserved_ printers s. j. parkhill & co. boston, u. s. a. contents stories from strange books: i. the reconciliation 5 ii. a legend of fugen-bosatsu 15 iii. the screen-maiden 23 iv. the corpse-rider 33 v. the sympathy of benten 41 vi. the gratitude of the samébito 57 japanese studies: i. sémi 71 ii. japanese female names 105 iii. old japanese songs 157 fantasies: i. noctilucæ 197 ii. a mystery of crowds 203 iii. gothic horror 213 iv. levitation 225 v. nightmare-touch 235 vi. readings from a dream-book 249 vii. in a pair of eyes 265 illustrations _facing page_ plate i 72 1-2, _young sémi._ 3-4, _haru-zémi_, also called _nawashiro-zémi_. plate ii 76 "_shinné-shinné_" also called _yama-zémi_, and _kuma-zémi_. plate iii 80 _aburazémi._ plate iv 84 1-2, _mugikari-zémi_, also called _goshiki-zémi_. 3, _higurashi_. 4, "_min-min-zémi_." plate v 88 1, "_tsuku-tsuku-bôshi_," also called "_kutsu-kutsu-bôshi_," etc. (_cosmopsaltria opalifera?_) 2, _tsurigané-zémi_. 3, _the phantom_. stories from strange books il avait vu brûler d'étranges pierres, jadis, dans les brasiers de la pensée ... émile verhaeren the reconciliation[1] [decoration] [1] the original story is to be found in the curious volume entitled _konséki-monogatari_ there was a young samurai of kyôto who had been reduced to poverty by the ruin of his lord, and found himself obliged to leave his home, and to take service with the governor of a distant province. before quitting the capital, this samurai divorced his wife,--a good and beautiful woman,--under the belief that he could better obtain promotion by another alliance. he then married the daughter of a family of some distinction, and took her with him to the district whither he had been called. * * * * * but it was in the time of the thoughtlessness of youth, and the sharp experience of want, that the samurai could not understand the worth of the affection so lightly cast away. his second marriage did not prove a happy one; the character of his new wife was hard and selfish; and he soon found every cause to think with regret of kyôto days. then he discovered that he still loved his first wife--loved her more than he could ever love the second; and he began to feel how unjust and how thankless he had been. gradually his repentance deepened into a remorse that left him no peace of mind. memories of the woman he had wronged--her gentle speech, her smiles, her dainty, pretty ways, her faultless patience--continually haunted him. sometimes in dreams he saw her at her loom, weaving as when she toiled night and day to help him during the years of their distress: more often he saw her kneeling alone in the desolate little room where he had left her, veiling her tears with her poor worn sleeve. even in the hours of official duty, his thoughts would wander back to her: then he would ask himself how she was living, what she was doing. something in his heart assured him that she could not accept another husband, and that she never would refuse to pardon him. and he secretly resolved to seek her out as soon as he could return to kyôto,--then to beg her forgiveness, to take her back, to do everything that a man could do to make atonement. but the years went by. at last the governor's official term expired, and the samurai was free. "now i will go back to my dear one," he vowed to himself. "ah, what a cruelty,--what a folly to have divorced her!" he sent his second wife to her own people (she had given him no children); and hurrying to kyôto, he went at once to seek his former companion,--not allowing himself even the time to change his travelling-garb. * * * * * when he reached the street where she used to live, it was late in the night,--the night of the tenth day of the ninth month;--and the city was silent as a cemetery. but a bright moon made everything visible; and he found the house without difficulty. it had a deserted look: tall weeds were growing on the roof. he knocked at the sliding-doors, and no one answered. then, finding that the doors had not been fastened from within, he pushed them open, and entered. the front room was matless and empty: a chilly wind was blowing through crevices in the planking; and the moon shone through a ragged break in the wall of the alcove. other rooms presented a like forlorn condition. the house, to all seeming, was unoccupied. nevertheless, the samurai determined to visit one other apartment at the further end of the dwelling,--a very small room that had been his wife's favorite resting-place. approaching the sliding-screen that closed it, he was startled to perceive a glow within. he pushed the screen aside, and uttered a cry of joy; for he saw her there,--sewing by the light of a paper-lamp. her eyes at the same instant met his own; and with a happy smile she greeted him,--asking only:--"when did you come back to kyôto? how did you find your way here to me, through all those black rooms?" the years had not changed her. still she seemed as fair and young as in his fondest memory of her;--but sweeter than any memory there came to him the music of her voice, with its trembling of pleased wonder. then joyfully he took his place beside her, and told her all:--how deeply he repented his selfishness,--how wretched he had been without her,--how constantly he had regretted her,--how long he had hoped and planned to make amends;--caressing her the while, and asking her forgiveness over and over again. she answered him, with loving gentleness, according to his heart's desire,--entreating him to cease all self-reproach. it was wrong, she said, that he should have allowed himself to suffer on her account: she had always felt that she was not worthy to be his wife. she knew that he had separated from her, notwithstanding, only because of poverty; and while he lived with her, he had always been kind; and she had never ceased to pray for his happiness. but even if there had been a reason for speaking of amends, this honorable visit would be ample amends;--what greater happiness than thus to see him again, though it were only for a moment? "only for a moment!" he answered, with a glad laugh,--"say, rather, for the time of seven existences! my loved one, unless you forbid, i am coming back to live with you always--always--always! nothing shall ever separate us again. now i have means and friends: we need not fear poverty. to-morrow my goods will be brought here; and my servants will come to wait upon you; and we shall make this house beautiful.... to-night," he added, apologetically, "i came thus late--without even changing my dress--only because of the longing i had to see you, and to tell you this." she seemed greatly pleased by these words; and in her turn she told him about all that had happened in kyôto since the time of his departure,--excepting her own sorrows, of which she sweetly refused to speak. they chatted far into the night: then she conducted him to a warmer room, facing south,--a room that had been their bridal chamber in former time. "have you no one in the house to help you?" he asked, as she began to prepare the couch for him. "no," she answered, laughing cheerfully: "i could not afford a servant;--so i have been living all alone." "you will have plenty of servants to-morrow," he said,--"good servants,--and everything else that you need." they lay down to rest,--not to sleep: they had too much to tell each other;--and they talked of the past and the present and the future, until the dawn was grey. then, involuntarily, the samurai closed his eyes, and slept. * * * * * when he awoke, the daylight was streaming through the chinks of the sliding-shutters; and he found himself, to his utter amazement, lying upon the naked boards of a mouldering floor.... had he only dreamed a dream? no: she was there;--she slept.... he bent above her,--and looked,--and shrieked;--for the sleeper had no face!... before him, wrapped in its grave-sheet only, lay the corpse of a woman,--a corpse so wasted that little remained save the bones, and the long black tangled hair. * * * * * slowly,--as he stood shuddering and sickening in the sun,--the icy horror yielded to a despair so intolerable, a pain so atrocious, that he clutched at the mocking shadow of a doubt. feigning ignorance of the neighborhood, he ventured to ask his way to the house in which his wife had lived. "there is no one in that house," said the person questioned. "it used to belong to the wife of a samurai who left the city several years ago. he divorced her in order to marry another woman before he went away; and she fretted a great deal, and so became sick. she had no relatives in kyôto, and nobody to care for her; and she died in the autumn of the same year,--on the tenth day of the ninth month...." a legend of fugen-bosatsu[2] [decoration] [2] from the old story-book, _jikkun-shô_ there was once a very pious and learned priest, called shôku shônin, who lived in the province of harima. for many years he meditated daily upon the chapter of fugen-bosatsu [the bodhisattva samantabhadra] in the sûtra of the lotos of the good law; and he used to pray, every morning and evening, that he might at some time be permitted to behold fugen-bosatsu as a living presence, and in the form described in the holy text.[3] [3] the priest's desire was probably inspired by the promises recorded in the chapter entitled "the encouragement of samantabhadra" (see kern's translation of the saddharma pundarîka in the _sacred books of the east_,--pp. 433-434):--"then the bodhisattva mahâsattva samantabhadra said to the lord: ... 'when a preacher who applies himself to this dharmaparyâya shall take a walk, then, o lord, will i mount a white elephant with six tusks, and betake myself to the place where that preacher is walking, in order to protect this dharmaparyâya. and when that preacher, applying himself to this dharmaparyâya, forgets, be it but a single word or syllable, then will i mount the white elephant with six tusks, and show my face to that preacher, and repeat this entire dharmaparyâya."--but these promises refer to "the end of time." one evening, while he was reciting the sûtra, drowsiness overcame him; and he fell asleep leaning upon his _kyôsoku_.[4] then he dreamed; and in his dream a voice told him that, in order to see fugen-bosatsu, he must go to the house of a certain courtesan, known as the "yujô-no-chôja,"[5] who lived in the town of kanzaki. immediately upon awakening he resolved to go to kanzaki;--and, making all possible haste, he reached the town by the evening of the next day. [4] the _kyôsoku_ is a kind of padded arm-rest, or arm-stool, upon which the priest leans one arm while reading. the use of such an arm-rest is not confined, however, to the buddhist clergy. [5] a yujô, in old days, was a singing-girl as well as a courtesan. the term "yujô-no-chôja," in this case, would mean simply "the first (or best) of yujô." when he entered the house of the _yujô_, he found many persons already there assembled--mostly young men of the capital, who had been attracted to kanzaki by the fame of the woman's beauty. they were feasting and drinking; and the _yujô_ was playing a small hand-drum (_tsuzumi_), which she used very skilfully, and singing a song. the song which she sang was an old japanese song about a famous shrine in the town of murozumi; and the words were these:- _within the sacred water-tank[6] of murozumi in suwô, even though no wind be blowing, the surface of the water is always rippling._ [6] _mitarai_. _mitarai_ (or _mitarashi_) is the name especially given to the water-tanks, or water-fonts--of stone or bronze--placed before shintô shrines in order that the worshipper may purify his lips and hands before making prayer. buddhist tanks are not so named. the sweetness of the voice filled everybody with surprise and delight. as the priest, who had taken a place apart, listened and wondered, the girl suddenly fixed her eyes upon him; and in the same instant he saw her form change into the form of fugen-bosatsu, emitting from her brow a beam of light that seemed to pierce beyond the limits of the universe, and riding a snow-white elephant with six tusks. and still she sang--but the song also was now transformed; and the words came thus to the ears of the priest:- _on the vast sea of cessation, though the winds of the six desires and of the five corruptions never blow, yet the surface of that deep is always covered with the billowings of attainment to the reality-in-itself._ dazzled by the divine ray, the priest closed his eyes: but through their lids he still distinctly saw the vision. when he opened them again, it was gone: he saw only the girl with her hand-drum, and heard only the song about the water of murozumi. but he found that as often as he shut his eyes he could see fugen-bosatsu on the six-tusked elephant, and could hear the mystic song of the sea of cessation. the other persons present saw only the _yujô_: they had not beheld the manifestation. then the singer suddenly disappeared from the banquet-room--none could say when or how. from that moment the revelry ceased; and gloom took the place of joy. after having waited and sought for the girl to no purpose, the company dispersed in great sorrow. last of all, the priest departed, bewildered by the emotions of the evening. but scarcely had he passed beyond the gate, when the _yujô_ appeared before him, and said:--"friend, do not speak yet to any one of what you have seen this night." and with these words she vanished away,--leaving the air filled with a delicious fragrance. * * * * * the monk by whom the foregoing legend was recorded, comments upon it thus:--the condition of a _yujô_ is low and miserable, since she is condemned to serve the lusts of men. who therefore could imagine that such a woman might be the _nirmanakaya_, or incarnation, of a bodhisattva. but we must remember that the buddhas and the bodhisattvas may appear in this world in countless different forms; choosing, for the purpose of their divine compassion, even the most humble or contemptible shapes when such shapes can serve them to lead men into the true path, and to save them from the perils of illusion. the screen-maiden[7] [decoration] [7] related in the _otogi-hyaku-monogatari_ says the old japanese author, hakubai-en rosui:--[8] "in chinese and in japanese books there are related many stories,--both of ancient and of modern times,--about pictures that were so beautiful as to exercise a magical influence upon the beholder. and concerning such beautiful pictures,--whether pictures of flowers or of birds or of people, painted by famous artists,--it is further told that the shapes of the creatures or the persons, therein depicted, would separate themselves from the paper or the silk upon which they had been painted, and would perform various acts;--so that they became, by their own will, really alive. we shall not now repeat any of the stories of this class which have been known to everybody from ancient times. but even in modern times the fame of the pictures painted by hishigawa kichibei--'hishigawa's portraits'--has become widespread in the land." [8] he died in the eighteenth year of kyôhô (1733). the painter to whom he refers--better known to collectors as hishigawa kichibei moronobu--flourished during the latter part of the seventeenth century. beginning his career as a dyer's apprentice, he won his reputation as an artist about 1680, when he may be said to have founded the _ukiyo-yé_ school of illustration. hishigawa was especially a delineator of what are called _fûryû_, ("elegant manners"),--the aspects of life among the upper classes of society. he then proceeds to relate the following story about one of the so-called portraits:- there was a young scholar of kyôto whose name was tokkei. he used to live in the street called muromachi. one evening, while on his way home after a visit, his attention was attracted by an old single-leaf screen (_tsuitaté_), exposed for sale before the shop of a dealer in second-hand goods. it was only a paper-covered screen; but there was painted upon it the full-length figure of a girl which caught the young man's fancy. the price asked was very small: tokkei bought the screen, and took it home with him. when he looked again at the screen, in the solitude of his own room, the picture seemed to him much more beautiful than before. apparently it was a real likeness,--the portrait of a girl fifteen or sixteen years old; and every little detail in the painting of the hair, eyes, eyelashes, mouth, had been executed with a delicacy and a truth beyond praise. the _manajiri_[9] seemed "like a lotos-blossom courting favor"; the lips were "like the smile of a red flower"; the whole young face was inexpressibly sweet. if the real girl so portrayed had been equally lovely, no man could have looked upon her without losing his heart. and tokkei believed that she must have been thus lovely;--for the figure seemed alive,--ready to reply to anybody who might speak to it. [9] also written _méjiri_,--the exterior canthus of the eye. the japanese (like the old greek and the old arabian poets) have many curious dainty words and similes to express particular beauties of the hair, eyes, eyelids, lips, fingers, etc. gradually, as he continued to gaze at the picture, he felt himself bewitched by the charm of it. "can there really have been in this world," he murmured to himself, "so delicious a creature? how gladly would i give my life--nay, a thousand years of life!--to hold her in my arms even for a moment!" (the japanese author says "for a few seconds.") in short, he became enamoured of the picture,--so much enamoured of it as to feel that he never could love any woman except the person whom it represented. yet that person, if still alive, could no longer resemble the painting: perhaps she had been buried long before he was born! day by day, nevertheless, this hopeless passion grew upon him. he could not eat; he could not sleep: neither could he occupy his mind with those studies which had formerly delighted him. he would sit for hours before the picture, talking to it,--neglecting or forgetting everything else. and at last he fell sick--so sick that he believed himself going to die. now among the friends of tokkei there was one venerable scholar who knew many strange things about old pictures and about young hearts. this aged scholar, hearing of tokkei's illness, came to visit him, and saw the screen, and understood what had happened. then tokkei, being questioned, confessed everything to his friend, and declared:--"if i cannot find such a woman, i shall die." the old man said:- "that picture was painted by hishigawa kichibei,--painted from life. the person whom it represented is not now in the world. but it is said that hishigawa kichibei painted her mind as well as her form, and that her spirit lives in the picture. so i think that you can win her." tokkei half rose from his bed, and stared eagerly at the speaker. "you must give her a name," the old man continued;--"and you must sit before her picture every day, and keep your thoughts constantly fixed upon her, and call her gently by the name which you have given her, _until she answers you_...." "answers me!" exclaimed the lover, in breathless amazement. "oh, yes," the adviser responded, "she will certainly answer you. but you must be ready, when she answers you, to present her with what i am going to tell you...." "i will give her my life!" cried tokkei. "no," said the old man;--"you will present her with a cup of wine that has been bought at one hundred different wine-shops. then she will come out of the screen to accept the wine. after that, probably she herself will tell you what to do." with these words the old man went away. his advice aroused tokkei from despair. at once he seated himself before the picture, and called it by the name of a girl--(what name the japanese narrator has forgotten to tell us)--over and over again, very tenderly. that day it made no answer, nor the next day, nor the next. but tokkei did not lose faith or patience; and after many days it suddenly one evening answered to its name,- "_hai!_" (yes.) then quickly, quickly, some of the wine from a hundred different wine-shops was poured out, and reverentially presented in a little cup. and the girl stepped from the screen, and walked upon the matting of the room, and knelt to take the cup from tokkei's hand,--asking, with a delicious smile:- "how could you love me so much?" says the japanese narrator: "she was much more beautiful than the picture,--beautiful to the tips of her finger-nails,--beautiful also in heart and temper,--lovelier than anybody else in the world." what answer tokkei made to her question is not recorded: it will have to be imagined. "but will you not soon get tired of me?" she asked. "never while i live!" he protested. "and after--?" she persisted;--for the japanese bride is not satisfied with love for one life-time only. "let us pledge ourselves to each other," he entreated, "for the time of seven existences." "if you are ever unkind to me," she said, "i will go back to the screen." * * * * * they pledged each other. i suppose that tokkei was a good boy,--for his bride never returned to the screen. the space that she had occupied upon it remained a blank. * * * * * exclaims the japanese author,- "how very seldom do such things happen in this world!" the corpse-rider[10] [decoration] [10] from the _konséki-monogatari_ the body was cold as ice; the heart had long ceased to beat: yet there were no other signs of death. nobody even spoke of burying the woman. she had died of grief and anger at having been divorced. it would have been useless to bury her,--because the last undying wish of a dying person for vengeance can burst asunder any tomb and rift the heaviest graveyard stone. people who lived near the house in which she was lying fled from their homes. they knew that she was only _waiting for the return of the man who had divorced her_. at the time of her death he was on a journey. when he came back and was told what had happened, terror seized him. "if i can find no help before dark," he thought to himself, "she will tear me to pieces." it was yet only the hour of the dragon;[11] but he knew that he had no time to lose. [11] _tatsu no koku_, or the hour of the dragon, by old japanese time, began at about eight o'clock in the morning. he went at once to an _inyôshi_[12] and begged for succor. the _inyôshi_ knew the story of the dead woman; and he had seen the body. he said to the supplicant:--"a very great danger threatens you. i will try to save you. but you must promise to do whatever i shall tell you to do. there is only one way by which you can be saved. it is a fearful way. but unless you find the courage to attempt it, she will tear you limb from limb. if you can be brave, come to me again in the evening before sunset." the man shuddered; but he promised to do whatever should be required of him. [12] _inyôshi_, a professor or master of the science of _in-yô_,--the old chinese nature-philosophy, based upon the theory of a male and a female principle pervading the universe. * * * * * at sunset the _inyôshi_ went with him to the house where the body was lying. the _inyôshi_ pushed open the sliding-doors, and told his client to enter. it was rapidly growing dark. "i dare not!" gasped the man, quaking from head to foot;--"i dare not even look at her!" "you will have to do much more than look at her," declared the _inyôshi_;--"and you promised to obey. go in!" he forced the trembler into the house and led him to the side of the corpse. * * * * * the dead woman was lying on her face. "now you must get astride upon her," said the _inyôshi_, "and sit firmly on her back, as if you were riding a horse.... come!--you must do it!" the man shivered so that the _inyôshi_ had to support him--shivered horribly; but he obeyed. "now take her hair in your hands," commanded the _inyôshi_,--"half in the right hand, half in the left.... so!... you must grip it like a bridle. twist your hands in it--both hands--tightly. that is the way!... listen to me! you must stay like that till morning. you will have reason to be afraid in the night--plenty of reason. but whatever may happen, never let go of her hair. if you let go,--even for one second,--she will tear you into gobbets!" the _inyôshi_ then whispered some mysterious words into the ear of the body, and said to its rider:--"now, for my own sake, i must leave you alone with her.... remain as you are!... above all things, remember that you must not let go of her hair." and he went away,--closing the doors behind him. * * * * * hour after hour the man sat upon the corpse in black fear;--and the hush of the night deepened and deepened about him till he screamed to break it. instantly the body sprang beneath him, as to cast him off; and the dead woman cried out loudly, "oh, how heavy it is! yet i shall bring that fellow here now!" then tall she rose, and leaped to the doors, and flung them open, and rushed into the night,--always bearing the weight of the man. but he, shutting his eyes, kept his hands twisted in her long hair,--tightly, tightly,--though fearing with such a fear that he could not even moan. how far she went, he never knew. he saw nothing: he heard only the sound of her naked feet in the dark,--_picha-picha_, _picha-picha_,--and the hiss of her breathing as she ran. at last she turned, and ran back into the house, and lay down upon the floor exactly as at first. under the man she panted and moaned till the cocks began to crow. thereafter she lay still. but the man, with chattering teeth, sat upon her until the _inyôshi_ came at sunrise. "so you did not let go of her hair!"--observed the _inyôshi_, greatly pleased. "that is well ... now you can stand up." he whispered again into the ear of the corpse, and then said to the man:--"you must have passed a fearful night; but nothing else could have saved you. hereafter you may feel secure from her vengeance." [decoration] the conclusion of this story i do not think to be morally satisfying. it is not recorded that the corpse-rider became insane, or that his hair turned white: we are told only that "he worshipped the _inyôshi_ with tears of gratitude." a note appended to the recital is equally disappointing. "it is reported," the japanese author says, "that a grandchild of the man [_who rode the corpse_] still survives, and that a grandson of the _inyôshi_ is at this very time living in a village called otokunoi-mura [_probably pronounced otonoi-mura_]." this village-name does not appear in any japanese directory of to-day. but the names of many towns and villages have been changed since the foregoing story was written. the sympathy of benten[13] [decoration] [13] the original story is in the _otogi-hyaku-monogatari_ in kyôto there is a famous temple called amadera. sadazumi shinnô, the fifth son of the emperor seiwa, passed the greater part of his life there as a priest; and the graves of many celebrated persons are to be seen in the temple-grounds. but the present edifice is not the ancient amadera. the original temple, after the lapse of ten centuries, fell into such decay that it had to be entirely rebuilt in the fourteenth year of genroku (1701 a. d.). a great festival was held to celebrate the rebuilding of the amadera; and among the thousands of persons who attended that festival there was a young scholar and poet named hanagaki baishû. he wandered about the newly-laid-out grounds and gardens, delighted by all that he saw, until he reached the place of a spring at which he had often drunk in former times. he was then surprised to find that the soil about the spring had been dug away, so as to form a square pond, and that at one corner of this pond there had been set up a wooden tablet bearing the words _tanjô-sui_ ("birth-water").[14] he also saw that a small, but very handsome temple of the goddess benten had been erected beside the pond. while he was looking at this new temple, a sudden gust of wind blew to his feet a _tanzaku_,[15] on which the following poem had been written:- shirushi aréto iwai zo somuru tama hôki, toruté bakari no chigiri narétomo. [14] the word _tanjô_ (birth) should here be understood in its mystical buddhist meaning of new life or rebirth, rather than in the western signification of birth. [15] _tanzaku_ is the name given to the long strips or ribbons of paper, usually colored, upon which poems are written perpendicularly. poems written upon _tanzaku_ are suspended to trees in flower, to wind-bells, to any beautiful object in which the poet has found an inspiration. this poem--a poem on first love (_hatsu koi_), composed by the famous shunrei kyô--was not unfamiliar to him; but it had been written upon the _tanzaku_ by a female hand, and so exquisitely that he could scarcely believe his eyes. something in the form of the characters,--an indefinite grace,--suggested that period of youth between childhood and womanhood; and the pure rich color of the ink seemed to bespeak the purity and goodness of the writer's heart.[16] [16] it is difficult for the inexperienced european eye to distinguish in chinese or japanese writing those characteristics implied by our term "hand"--in the sense of individual style. but the japanese scholar never forgets the peculiarities of a handwriting once seen; and he can even guess at the approximate age of the writer. chinese and japanese authors claim that the color (quality) of the ink used tells something of the character of the writer. as every person grounds or prepares his or her own ink, the deeper and clearer black would at least indicate something of personal carefulness and of the sense of beauty. baishû carefully folded up the _tanzaku_, and took it home with him. when he looked at it again the writing appeared to him even more wonderful than at first. his knowledge in caligraphy assured him only that the poem had been written by some girl who was very young, very intelligent, and probably very gentle-hearted. but this assurance sufficed to shape within his mind the image of a very charming person; and he soon found himself in love with the unknown. then his first resolve was to seek out the writer of the verses, and, if possible, make her his wife.... yet how was he to find her? who was she? where did she live? certainly he could hope to find her only through the favor of the gods. but presently it occurred to him that the gods might be very willing to lend their aid. the _tanzaku_ had come to him while he was standing in front of the temple of benten-sama; and it was to this divinity in particular that lovers were wont to pray for happy union. this reflection impelled him to beseech the goddess for assistance. he went at once to the temple of benten-of-the-birth-water (_tanjô-sui-no-benten_) in the grounds of the amadera; and there, with all the fervor of his heart, he made his petition:--"o goddess, pity me!--help me to find where the young person lives who wrote the _tanzaku_!--vouchsafe me but one chance to meet her,--even if only for a moment!" and after having made this prayer, he began to perform a seven days' religious service (_nanuka-mairi_)[17] in honor of the goddess; vowing at the same time to pass the seventh night in ceaseless worship before her shrine. [17] there are many kinds of religious exercises called _mairi_. the performer of a _nanuka-mairi_ pledges himself to pray at a certain temple every day for seven days in succession. * * * * * now on the seventh night,--the night of his vigil,--during the hour when the silence is most deep, he heard at the main gateway of the temple-grounds a voice calling for admittance. another voice from within answered; the gate was opened; and baishû saw an old man of majestic appearance approaching with slow steps. this venerable person was clad in robes of ceremony; and he wore upon his snow-white head a black cap (_eboshi_) of the form indicating high rank. reaching the little temple of benten, he knelt down in front of it, as if respectfully awaiting some order. then the outer door of the temple was opened; the hanging curtain of bamboo behind it, concealing the inner sanctuary, was rolled half-way up; and a _chigo_[18] came forward,--a beautiful boy, with long hair tied back in the ancient manner. he stood at the threshold, and said to the old man in a clear loud voice:- [18] the term _chigo_ usually means the page of a noble household, especially an imperial page. the _chigo_ who appears in this story is of course a supernatural being,--the court-messenger of the goddess, and her mouthpiece. "there is a person here who has been praying for a love-union not suitable to his present condition, and otherwise difficult to bring about. but as the young man is worthy of our pity, you have been called to see whether something can be done for him. if there should prove to be any relation between the parties from the period of a former birth, you will introduce them to each other." on receiving this command, the old man bowed respectfully to the _chigo_: then, rising, he drew from the pocket of his long left sleeve a crimson cord. one end of this cord he passed round baishû's body, as if to bind him with it. the other end he put into the flame of one of the temple-lamps; and while the cord was there burning, he waved his hand three times, as if to summon somebody out of the dark. immediately, in the direction of the amadera, a sound of coming steps was heard; and in another moment a girl appeared,--a charming girl, fifteen or sixteen years old. she approached gracefully, but very shyly,--hiding the lower part of her face with a fan; and she knelt down beside baishû. the _chigo_ then said to baishû:-"recently you have been suffering much heart-pain; and this desperate love of yours has even impaired your health. we could not allow you to remain in so unhappy a condition; and we therefore summoned the old-man-under-the-moon[19] to make you acquainted with the writer of that _tanzaku_. she is now beside you." [19] _gekkawô_. this is a poetical appellation for the god of marriage, more usually known as _musubi-no-kami_. throughout this story there is an interesting mingling of shintô and buddhist ideas. with these words, the _chigo_ retired behind the bamboo curtain. then the old man went away as he had come; and the young girl followed him. simultaneously baishû heard the great bell of the amadera sounding the hour of dawn. he prostrated himself in thanksgiving before the shrine of benten-of-the-birth-water, and proceeded homeward,--feeling as if awakened from some delightful dream,--happy at having seen the charming person whom he had so fervently prayed to meet,--unhappy also because of the fear that he might never meet her again. but scarcely had he passed from the gateway into the street, when he saw a young girl walking alone in the same direction that he was going; and, even in the dusk of the dawn, he recognized her at once as the person to whom he had been introduced before the temple of benten. as he quickened his pace to overtake her, she turned and saluted him with a graceful bow. then for the first time he ventured to speak to her; and she answered him in a voice of which the sweetness filled his heart with joy. through the yet silent streets they walked on, chatting happily, till they found themselves before the house where baishû lived. there he paused--spoke to the girl of his hopes and fears. smiling, she asked:--"do you not know that i was sent for to become your wife?" and she entered with him. * * * * * becoming his wife, she delighted him beyond expectation by the charm of her mind and heart. moreover, he found her to be much more accomplished than he had supposed. besides being able to write so wonderfully, she could paint beautiful pictures; she knew the art of arranging flowers, the art of embroidery, the art of music; she could weave and sew; and she knew everything in regard to the management of a house. * * * * * it was in the early autumn that the young people had met; and they lived together in perfect accord until the winter season began. nothing, during those months, occurred to disturb their peace. baishû's love for his gentle wife only strengthened with the passing of time. yet, strangely enough, he remained ignorant of her history,--knew nothing about her family. of such matters she had never spoken; and, as the gods had given her to him, he imagined that it would not be proper to question her. but neither the old-man-under-the-moon nor any one else came--as he had feared--to take her away. nobody even made any inquiries about her. and the neighbors, for some undiscoverable reason, acted as if totally unaware of her presence. baishû wondered at all this. but stranger experiences were awaiting him. one winter morning he happened to be passing through a somewhat remote quarter of the city, when he heard himself loudly called by name, and saw a man-servant making signs to him from the gateway of a private residence. as baishû did not know the man's face, and did not have a single acquaintance in that part of kyôto, he was more than startled by so abrupt a summons. but the servant, coming forward, saluted him with the utmost respect, and said, "my master greatly desires the honor of speaking with you: deign to enter for a moment." after an instant of hesitation, baishû allowed himself to be conducted to the house. a dignified and richly dressed person, who seemed to be the master, welcomed him at the entrance, and led him to the guest-room. when the courtesies due upon a first meeting had been fully exchanged, the host apologized for the informal manner of his invitation, and said:-"it must have seemed to you very rude of us to call you in such a way. but perhaps you will pardon our impoliteness when i tell you that we acted thus upon what i firmly believe to have been an inspiration from the goddess benten. now permit me to explain. "i have a daughter, about sixteen years old, who can write rather well,[20] and do other things in the common way: she has the ordinary nature of woman. as we were anxious to make her happy by finding a good husband for her, we prayed the goddess benten to help us; and we sent to every temple of benten in the city a _tanzaku_ written by the girl. some nights later, the goddess appeared to me in a dream, and said: 'we have heard your prayer, and have already introduced your daughter to the person who is to become her husband. during the coming winter he will visit you.' as i did not understand this assurance that a presentation had been made, i felt some doubt; i thought that the dream might have been only a common dream, signifying nothing. but last night again i saw benten-sama in a dream; and she said to me: 'to-morrow the young man, of whom i once spoke to you, will come to this street: then you can call him into your house, and ask him to become the husband of your daughter. he is a good young man; and later in life he will obtain a much higher rank than he now holds.' then benten-sama told me your name, your age, your birthplace, and described your features and dress so exactly that my servant found no difficulty in recognizing you by the indications which i was able to give him." [20] as it is the old japanese rule that parents should speak depreciatingly of their children's accomplishments the phrase "rather well" in this connection would mean, for the visitor, "wonderfully well." for the same reason the expressions "common way" and "ordinary nature," as subsequently used, would imply almost the reverse of the literal meaning. * * * * * this explanation bewildered baishû instead of reassuring him; and his only reply was a formal return of thanks for the honor which the master of the house had spoken of doing him. but when the host invited him to another room, for the purpose of presenting him to the young lady, his embarrassment became extreme. yet he could not reasonably decline the introduction. he could not bring himself, under such extraordinary circumstances, to announce that he already had a wife,--a wife given to him by the goddess benten herself; a wife from whom he could not even think of separating. so, in silence and trepidation, he followed his host to the apartment indicated. then what was his amazement to discover, when presented to the daughter of the house, that she was the very same person whom he had already taken to wife! _the same,--yet not the same._ she to whom he had been introduced by the old-man-under-the-moon, was only the soul of the beloved. she to whom he was now to be wedded, in her father's house, was the body. benten had wrought this miracle for the sake of her worshippers. [decoration] the original story breaks off suddenly at this point, leaving several matters unexplained. the ending is rather unsatisfactory. one would like to know something about the mental experiences of the real maiden during the married life of her phantom. one would also like to know what became of the phantom,--whether it continued to lead an independent existence; whether it waited patiently for the return of its husband; whether it paid a visit to the real bride. and the book says nothing about these things. but a japanese friend explains the miracle thus:-"the spirit-bride was really formed out of the _tanzaku_. so it is possible that the real girl did not know anything about the meeting at the temple of benten. when she wrote those beautiful characters upon the _tanzaku_, something of her spirit passed into them. therefore it was possible to evoke from the writing the double of the writer." the gratitude of the samébito[21] [decoration] [21] the original of this story may be found in the book called _kibun-anbaiyoshi_ there was a man named tawaraya tôtarô, who lived in the province of ômi. his house was situated on the shore of lake biwa, not far from the famous temple called ishiyamadera. he had some property, and lived in comfort; but at the age of twenty-nine he was still unmarried. his greatest ambition was to marry a very beautiful woman; and he had not been able to find a girl to his liking. one day, as he was passing over the long bridge of séta,[22] he saw a strange being crouching close to the parapet. the body of this being resembled the body of a man, but was black as ink; its face was like the face of a demon; its eyes were green as emeralds; and its beard was like the beard of a dragon. tôtarô was at first very much startled. but the green eyes looked at him so gently that after a moment's hesitation he ventured to question the creature. then it answered him, saying: "i am a _samébito_,[23]--a shark-man of the sea; and until a short time ago i was in the service of the eight great dragon-kings [_hachi-dai-ryû-ô_] as a subordinate officer in the dragon-palace [_ryûgû_].[24] but because of a small fault which i committed, i was dismissed from the dragon-palace, and also banished from the sea. since then i have been wandering about here,--unable to get any food, or even a place to lie down. if you can feel any pity for me, do, i beseech you, help me to find a shelter, and let me have something to eat!" [22] the long bridge of séta (_séta-no-naga-hashi_), famous in japanese legend, is nearly eight hundred feet in length, and commands a beautiful view. this bridge crosses the waters of the sétagawa near the junction of the stream with lake biwa. ishiyamadera, one of the most picturesque buddhist temples in japan, is situated within a short distance from the bridge. [23] literally, "a shark-person," but in this story the _samébito_ is a male. the characters for _samébito_ can also be read _kôjin_,--which is the usual reading. in dictionaries the word is loosely rendered by "merman" or "mermaid;" but as the above description shows, the _samébito_ or _kôjin_ of the far east is a conception having little in common with the western idea of a merman or mermaid. [24] _ryûgû_ is also the name given to the whole of that fairy-realm beneath the sea which figures in so many japanese legends. this petition was uttered in so plaintive a tone, and in so humble a manner, that tôtarô's heart was touched. "come with me," he said. "there is in my garden a large and deep pond where you may live as long as you wish; and i will give you plenty to eat." the _samébito_ followed tôtarô home, and appeared to be much pleased with the pond. thereafter, for nearly half a year, this strange guest dwelt in the pond, and was every day supplied by tôtarô with such food as sea-creatures like. [_from this point of the original narrative the shark-man is referred to, not as a monster, but as a sympathetic person of the male sex._] now, in the seventh month of the same year, there was a female pilgrimage (_nyonin-môdé_) to the great buddhist temple called miidera, in the neighboring town of ôtsu; and tôtarô went to ôtsu to attend the festival. among the multitude of women and young girls there assembled, he observed a person of extraordinary beauty. she seemed about sixteen years old; her face was fair and pure as snow; and the loveliness of her lips assured the beholder that their every utterance would sound "as sweet as the voice of a nightingale singing upon a plum-tree." tôtarô fell in love with her at sight. when she left the temple he followed her at a respectful distance, and discovered that she and her mother were staying for a few days at a certain house in the neighboring village of séta. by questioning some of the village folk, he was able also to learn that her name was tamana; that she was unmarried; and that her family appeared to be unwilling that she should marry a man of ordinary rank,--for they demanded as a betrothal-gift a casket containing ten thousand jewels.[25] [25] _tama_ in the original. this word _tama_ has a multitude of meanings; and as here used it is quite as indefinite as our own terms "jewel," "gem," or "precious stone." indeed, it is more indefinite, for it signifies also a bead of coral, a ball of crystal, a polished stone attached to a hairpin, etc., etc. later on, however, i venture to render it by "ruby,"--for reasons which need no explanation. * * * * * tôtarô returned home very much dismayed by this information. the more that he thought about the strange betrothal-gift demanded by the girl's parents, the more he felt that he could never expect to obtain her for his wife. even supposing that there were as many as ten thousand jewels in the whole country, only a great prince could hope to procure them. but not even for a single hour could tôtarô banish from his mind the memory of that beautiful being. it haunted him so that he could neither eat nor sleep; and it seemed to become more and more vivid as the days went by. and at last he became ill,--so ill that he could not lift his head from the pillow. then he sent for a doctor. the doctor, after having made a careful examination, uttered an exclamation of surprise. "almost any kind of sickness," he said, "can be cured by proper medical treatment, except the sickness of love. your ailment is evidently love-sickness. there is no cure for it. in ancient times rôya-ô hakuyo died of that sickness; and you must prepare yourself to die as he died." so saying, the doctor went away, without even giving any medicine to tôtarô. * * * * * about this time the shark-man that was living in the garden-pond heard of his master's sickness, and came into the house to wait upon tôtarô. and he tended him with the utmost affection both by day and by night. but he did not know either the cause or the serious nature of the sickness until nearly a week later, when tôtarô, thinking himself about to die, uttered these words of farewell:-"i suppose that i have had the pleasure of caring for you thus long, because of some relation that grew up between us in a former state of existence. but now i am very sick indeed, and every day my sickness becomes worse; and my life is like the morning dew which passes away before the setting of the sun. for your sake, therefore, i am troubled in mind. your existence has depended upon my care; and i fear that there will be no one to care for you and to feed you when i am dead.... my poor friend!... alas! our hopes and our wishes are always disappointed in this unhappy world!" no sooner had tôtarô spoken these words than the samébito uttered a strange wild cry of pain, and began to weep bitterly. and as he wept, great tears of blood streamed from his green eyes and rolled down his black cheeks and dripped upon the floor. and, falling, they were blood; but, having fallen, they became hard and bright and beautiful,--became jewels of inestimable price, rubies splendid as crimson fire. for when men of the sea weep, their tears become precious stones. then tôtarô, beholding this marvel, was so amazed and overjoyed that his strength returned to him. he sprang from his bed, and began to pick up and to count the tears of the shark-man, crying out the while: "my sickness is cured! i shall live! i shall live!" therewith, the shark-man, greatly astonished, ceased to weep, and asked tôtarô to explain this wonderful cure; and tôtarô told him about the young person seen at miidera, and about the extraordinary marriage-gift demanded by her family. "as i felt sure," added tôtarô, "that i should never be able to get ten thousand jewels, i supposed that my suit would be hopeless. then i became very unhappy, and at last fell sick. but now, because of your generous weeping, i have many precious stones; and i think that i shall be able to marry that girl. only--there are not yet quite enough stones; and i beg that you will be good enough to weep a little more, so as to make up the full number required." but at this request the samébito shook his head, and answered in a tone of surprise and of reproach:-"do you think that i am like a harlot,--able to weep whenever i wish? oh, no! harlots shed tears in order to deceive men; but creatures of the sea cannot weep without feeling real sorrow. i wept for you because of the true grief that i felt in my heart at the thought that you were going to die. but now i cannot weep for you, because you have told me that your sickness is cured." "then what am i to do?" plaintively asked tôtarô. "unless i can get ten thousand jewels, i cannot marry the girl!" the samébito remained for a little while silent, as if thinking. then he said:-"listen! to-day i cannot possibly weep any more. but to-morrow let us go together to the long bridge of séta, taking with us some wine and some fish. we can rest for a time on the bridge; and while we are drinking the wine and eating the fish, i shall gaze in the direction of the dragon-palace, and try, by thinking of the happy days that i spent there, to make myself feel homesick--so that i can weep." tôtarô joyfully assented. next morning the two, taking plenty of wine and fish with them, went to the séta bridge, and rested there, and feasted. after having drunk a great deal of wine, the samébito began to gaze in the direction of the dragon-kingdom, and to think about the past. and gradually, under the softening influence of the wine, the memory of happier days filled his heart with sorrow, and the pain of homesickness came upon him, so that he could weep profusely. and the great red tears that he shed fell upon the bridge in a shower of rubies; and tôtarô gathered them as they fell, and put them into a casket, and counted them until he had counted the full number of ten thousand. then he uttered a shout of joy. almost in the same moment, from far away over the lake, a delightful sound of music was heard; and there appeared in the offing, slowly rising from the waters, like some fabric of cloud, a palace of the color of the setting sun. at once the samébito sprang upon the parapet of the bridge, and looked, and laughed for joy. then, turning to tôtarô, he said:-"there must have been a general amnesty proclaimed in the dragon-realm; the kings are calling me. so now i must bid you farewell. i am happy to have had one chance of befriending you in return for your goodness to me." with these words he leaped from the bridge; and no man ever saw him again. but tôtarô presented the casket of red jewels to the parents of tamana, and so obtained her in marriage. japanese studies [decoration] ... life ere long came on me in the public ways, and bent eyes deeper than of old: death met i too, and saw the dawn glow through. --george meredith [illustration: plate i. 1-2, _young sémi_. 3-4, _haru-zémi_, also called _nawashiro-zémi_.] sémi (cicadæ) [decoration] koë ni mina naki-shimôté ya- sémi no kara! --_japanese love-song_ the voice having been all consumed by crying, there remains only the shell of the _sémi!_ i a celebrated chinese scholar, known in japanese literature as riku-un, wrote the following quaint account of the five virtues of the cicada:- "i.--the cicada has upon its head certain figures or signs.[26] these represent its [written] characters, style, literature. [26] the curious markings on the head of one variety of japanese _sémi_ are believed to be characters which are names of souls. "ii.--it eats nothing belonging to earth, and drinks only dew. this proves its cleanliness, purity, propriety. "iii.--it always appears at a certain fixed time. this proves its fidelity, sincerity, truthfulness. "iv.--it will not accept wheat or rice. this proves its probity, uprightness, honesty. "v.--it does not make for itself any nest to live in. this proves its frugality, thrift, economy." * * * * * we might compare this with the beautiful address of anacreon to the cicada, written twenty-four hundred years ago: on more than one point the greek poet and the chinese sage are in perfect accord:- "_we deem thee happy, o cicada, because, having drunk, like a king, only a little dew, thou dost chirrup on the tops of trees. for all things whatsoever that thou seest in the fields are thine, and whatsoever the seasons bring forth. yet art thou the friend of the tillers of the land,--from no one harmfully taking aught. by mortals thou art held in honor as the pleasant harbinger of summer; and the muses love thee. phoebus himself loves thee, and has given thee a shrill song. and old age does not consume thee. o thou gifted one,--earth-born, song-loving, free from pain, having flesh without blood,--thou art nearly equal to the gods!_"[27] [27] in this and other citations from the greek anthology, i have depended upon burges' translation. and we must certainly go back to the old greek literature in order to find a poetry comparable to that of the japanese on the subject of musical insects. perhaps of greek verses on the cricket, the most beautiful are the lines of meleager: "_o cricket, the soother of slumber ... weaving the thread of a voice that causes love to wander away!_" ... there are japanese poems scarcely less delicate in sentiment on the chirruping of night-crickets; and meleager's promise to reward the little singer with gifts of fresh leek, and with "drops of dew cut up small," sounds strangely japanese. then the poem attributed to anyté, about the little girl myro making a tomb for her pet cicada and cricket, and weeping because hades, "hard to be persuaded," had taken her playthings away, represents an experience familiar to japanese child-life. i suppose that little myro--(how freshly her tears still glisten, after seven and twenty centuries!)--prepared that "common tomb" for her pets much as the little maid of nippon would do to-day, putting a small stone on top to serve for a monument. but the wiser japanese myro would repeat over the grave a certain buddhist prayer. it is especially in their poems upon the cicada that we find the old greeks confessing their love of insect-melody: witness the lines in the anthology about the tettix caught in a spider's snare, and "making lament in the thin fetters" until freed by the poet;--and the verses by leonidas of tarentum picturing the "unpaid minstrel to wayfaring men" as "sitting upon lofty trees, warmed with the great heat of summer, sipping the dew that is like woman's milk;"--and the dainty fragment of meleager, beginning: "_thou vocal tettix, drunk with drops of dew, sitting with thy serrated limbs upon the tops of petals, thou givest out the melody of the lyre from thy dusky skin_." ... or take the charming address of evenus to a nightingale:- "_thou attic maiden, honey-fed, hast chirping seized a chirping cicada, and bearest it to thy unfledged young,--thou, a twitterer, the twitterer,--thou, the winged, the well-winged,--thou, a stranger, the stranger,--thou, a summer-child, the summer-child! wilt thou not quickly cast it from thee? for it is not right, it is not just, that those engaged in song should perish by the mouths of those engaged in song._" on the other hand, we find japanese poets much more inclined to praise the voices of night-crickets than those of sémi. there are countless poems about sémi, but very few which commend their singing. of course the sémi are very different from the cicadæ known to the greeks. some varieties are truly musical; but the majority are astonishingly noisy,--so noisy that their stridulation is considered one of the great afflictions of summer. therefore it were vain to seek among the myriads of japanese verses on sémi for anything comparable to the lines of evenus above quoted; indeed, the only japanese poem that i could find on the subject of a cicada caught by a bird, was the following:- ana kanashi! tobi ni toraruru sémi no koë. --ransetsu. ah! how piteous the cry of the sémi seized by the kite! or "caught by a boy" the poet might equally well have observed,--this being a much more frequent cause of the pitiful cry. the lament of nicias for the tettix would serve as the elegy of many a sémi:- "_no more shall i delight myself by sending out a sound from my quick-moving wings, because i have fallen into the savage hand of a boy, who seized me unexpectedly, as i was sitting under the green leaves._" here i may remark that japanese children usually capture sémi by means of a long slender bamboo tipped with bird-lime (_mochi_). the sound made by some kinds of sémi when caught is really pitiful,--quite as pitiful as the twitter of a terrified bird. one finds it difficult to persuade oneself that the noise is not a _voice_ of anguish, in the human sense of the word "voice," but the production of a specialized exterior membrane. recently, on hearing a captured sémi thus scream, i became convinced in quite a new way that the stridulatory apparatus of certain insects must not be thought of as a kind of musical instrument, but as an organ of speech, and that its utterances are as intimately associated with simple forms of emotion, as are the notes of a bird,--the extraordinary difference being that the insect has its vocal chords _outside_. but the insect-world is altogether a world of goblins and fairies: creatures with organs of which we cannot discover the use, and senses of which we cannot imagine the nature;--creatures with myriads of eyes, or with eyes in their backs, or with eyes moving about at the ends of trunks and horns;--creatures with ears in their legs and bellies, or with brains in their waists! if some of them happen to have voices outside of their bodies instead of inside, the fact ought not to surprise anybody. * * * * * i have not yet succeeded in finding any japanese verses alluding to the stridulatory apparatus of sémi,--though i think it probable that such verses exist. certainly the japanese have been for centuries familiar with the peculiarities of their own singing insects. but i should not now presume to say that their poets are incorrect in speaking of the "voices" of crickets and of cicadæ. the old greek poets who actually describe insects as producing music with their wings and feet, nevertheless speak of the "voices," the "songs," and the "chirruping" of such creatures,--just as the japanese poets do. for example, meleager thus addresses the cricket: "_o thou that art with shrill wings the self-formed imitation of the lyre, chirrup me something pleasant while beating your vocal wings with your feet!_ ..." ii before speaking further of the poetical literature of sémi, i must attempt a few remarks about the sémi themselves. but the reader need not expect anything entomological. excepting, perhaps, the butterflies, the insects of japan are still little known to men of science; and all that i can say about sémi has been learned from inquiry, from personal observation, and from old japanese books of an interesting but totally unscientific kind. not only do the authors contradict each other as to the names and characteristics of the best-known sémi; they attach the word sémi to names of insects which are not cicadæ. the following enumeration of sémi is certainly incomplete; but i believe that it includes the better-known varieties and the best melodists. i must ask the reader, however, to bear in mind that the time of the appearance of certain sémi differs in different parts of japan; that the same kind of sémi may be called by different names in different provinces; and that these notes have been written in tôkyô. i.--haru-zémi. various small sémi appear in the spring. but the first of the big sémi to make itself heard is the _haru-zémi_ ("spring-sémi"), also called _uma-zémi_ ("horse-sémi"), _kuma-zémi_ ("bear-sémi"), and other names. it makes a shrill wheezing sound,--_ji-i-i-i-i-iiiiiiii_,--beginning low, and gradually rising to a pitch of painful intensity. no other cicada is so noisy as the _haru-zémi;_ but the life of the creature appears to end with the season. probably this is the sémi referred to in an old japanese poem:- hatsu-sémi ya! "koré wa atsui" to iu hi yori. --taimu. the day after the first day on which we exclaim, "oh, how hot it is!" the first sémi begins to cry. [illustration: plate ii. "_shinné-shinné_," also called _yama-zémi_, and _kuma-zémi_.] ii.--"shinné-shinné." the _shinné-shinné_--also called _yama-zémi_, or "mountain-sémi"; _kuma-zémi_, or "bear-sémi"; and _ô-sémi_, or "great sémi"--begins to sing as early as may. it is a very large insect. the upper part of the body is almost black, and the belly a silvery-white; the head has curious red markings. the name _shinné-shinné_ is derived from the note of the creature, which resembles a quick continual repetition of the syllables _shinné_. about kyôto this sémi is common: it is rarely heard in tôkyô. [my first opportunity to examine an _ô-sémi_ was in shidzuoka. its utterance is much more complex than the japanese onomatope implies; i should liken it to the noise of a sewing-machine in full operation. there is a double sound: you hear not only the succession of sharp metallic clickings, but also, below these, a slower series of dull clanking tones. the stridulatory organs are light green, looking almost like a pair of tiny green leaves attached to the thorax.] [illustration: plate iii. _aburazémi._] iii.--aburazémi. the _aburazémi_, or "oil-sémi," makes its appearance early in the summer. i am told that it owes its name to the fact that its shrilling resembles the sound of oil or grease frying in a pan. some writers say that the shrilling resembles the sound of the syllables _gacharin-gacharin_; but others compare it to the noise of water boiling. the _aburazémi_ begins to chant about sunrise; then a great soft hissing seems to ascend from all the trees. at such an hour, when the foliage of woods and gardens still sparkles with dew, might have been composed the following verse,--the only one in my collection relating to the _aburazémi_:- ano koë dé tsuyu ga inochi ka?- aburazémi! speaking with that voice, has the dew taken life?--only the _aburazémi_! [illustration: plate iv. 1-2, _mugikari-zémi_, also called _goshiki-zémi_. 3, _higurashi_. 4, "_min-min-zémi_."] iv.--mugi-kari-zémi. the _mugi-kari-zémi_, or "barley-harvest sémi," also called _goshiki-zémi_, or "five-colored sémi," appears early in the summer. it makes two distinct sounds in different keys, resembling the syllables _shi-in, shin--chi-i, chi-i_. v.--higurashi, or "kana-kana." this insect, whose name signifies "day-darkening," is the most remarkable of all the japanese cicadæ. it is not the finest singer among them; but even as a melodist it ranks second only to the _tsuku-tsuku-bôshi_. it is the special minstrel of twilight, singing only at dawn and sunset; whereas most of the other sémi make their music only in the full blaze of day, pausing even when rain-clouds obscure the sun. in tôkyô the _higurashi_ usually appears about the end of june, or the beginning of july. its wonderful cry,--_kana-kana-kana-kana-kana_,--beginning always in a very high clear key, and slowly descending, is almost exactly like the sound of a good hand-bell, very quickly rung. it is not a clashing sound, as of violent ringing; it is quick, steady, and of surprising sonority. i believe that a single _higurashi_ can be plainly heard a quarter of a mile away; yet, as the old japanese poet yayû observed, "no matter how many _higurashi_ be singing together, we never find them noisy." though powerful and penetrating as a resonance of metal, the _higurashi's_ call is musical even to the degree of sweetness; and there is a peculiar melancholy in it that accords with the hour of gloaming. but the most astonishing fact in regard to the cry of the _higurashi_ is the individual quality characterizing the note of each insect. no two _higurashi_ sing precisely in the same tone. if you hear a dozen of them singing at once, you will find that the timbre of each voice is recognizably different from every other. certain notes ring like silver, others vibrate like bronze; and, besides varieties of timbre suggesting bells of various weight and composition, there are even differences in tone, that suggest different _forms_ of bell. i have already said that the name _higurashi_ means "day-darkening,"--in the sense of twilight, gloaming, dusk; and there are many japanese verses containing plays on the word,--the poets affecting to believe, as in the following example, that the crying of the insect hastens the coming of darkness:- higurashi ya! sutétéoitémo kururu hi wo. o higurashi!--even if you let it alone, day darkens fast enough! this, intended to express a melancholy mood, may seem to the western reader far-fetched. but another little poem--referring to the effect of the sound upon the conscience of an idler--will be appreciated by any one accustomed to hear the _higurashi_. i may observe, in this connection, that the first clear evening cry of the insect is quite as startling as the sudden ringing of a bell:- higurashi ya! kyô no kétai wo omou-toki. --rikei. already, o higurashi, your call announces the evening! alas, for the passing day, with its duties left undone! vi.--"minmin"-zémi. the _minmin-zémi_ begins to sing in the period of greatest heat. it is called "_min-min_" because its note is thought to resemble the syllable "_min_" repeated over and over again,--slowly at first, and very loudly; then more and more quickly and softly, till the utterance dies away in a sort of buzz: "_min--min--min-min-min-minminmin-dzzzzzzz_." the sound is plaintive, and not unpleasing. it is often compared to the sound of the voice of a priest chanting the _sûtras_. [illustration: plate v. 1, _"tsuku-tsuku-bôshi_," also called "_kutsu-kutsu-bôshi_," etc. (_cosmopsaltria opalifera?_) 2, _tsurigané-zémi_. 3, _the phantom_.] vii.--tsuku-tsuku-bôshi. on the day immediately following the festival of the dead, by the old japanese calendar[28] (which is incomparably more exact than our western calendar in regard to nature-changes and manifestations), begins to sing the _tsuku-tsuku-bôshi_. this creature may be said to sing like a bird. it is also called _kutsu-kutsu-bôshi_, _chôko-chôko-uisu_, _tsuku-tsuku-hôshi_, _tsuku-tsuku-oîshi_,--all onomatopoetic appellations. the sounds of its song have been imitated in different ways by various writers. in izumo the common version is,- tsuku-tsuku-uisu, tsuku-tsuku-uisu, tsuku-tsuku-uisu:- ui-ôsu ui-ôsu ui-ôsu ui-ôs-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-su. [28] that is to say, upon the 16th day of the 7th month. another version runs,- tsuku-tsuku-uisu, tsuku-tsuku-uisu, tsuku-tsuku-uisu:- chi-i yara! chi-i yara! chi-i yara! chi-i, chi, chi, chi, chi, chiii. but some say that the sound is _tsukushi-koïshi_. there is a legend that in old times a man of tsukushi (the ancient name of kyûshû) fell sick and died while far away from home, and that the ghost of him became an autumn cicada, which cries unceasingly, _tsukushi-koïshi!--tsukushi-koïshi!_ ("i long for tsukushi!--i want to see tsukushi!") * * * * * it is a curious fact that the earlier sémi have the harshest and simplest notes. the musical sémi do not appear until summer; and the _tsuku-tsuku-bôshi_, having the most complex and melodious utterance of all, is one of the latest to mature. viii.--tsurigané-sémi.[29] the _tsurigané-sémi_ is an autumn cicada. the word _tsurigané_ means a suspended bell,--especially the big bell of a buddhist temple. i am somewhat puzzled by the name; for the insect's music really suggests the tones of a japanese harp, or _koto_--as good authorities declare. perhaps the appellation refers not to the boom of the bell, but to those deep, sweet hummings which follow after the peal, wave upon wave. [29] this sémi appears to be chiefly known in shikoku. iii japanese poems on sémi are usually very brief; and my collection chiefly consists of _hokku_,--compositions of seventeen syllables. most of these _hokku_ relate to the sound made by the sémi,--or, rather, to the sensation which the sound produced within the poet's mind. the names attached to the following examples are nearly all names of old-time poets,--not the real names, of course, but the _gô_, or literary names by which artists and men of letters are usually known. * * * * * yokoi yayû, a japanese poet of the eighteenth century, celebrated as a composer of _hokku_, has left us this naïve record of the feelings with which he heard the chirruping of cicadæ in summer and in autumn:- "in the sultry period, feeling oppressed by the greatness of the heat, i made this verse:- "sémi atsushi matsu kirabaya to omou-madé. [the chirruping of the sémi aggravates the heat until i wish to cut down the pine-tree on which it sings.] "but the days passed quickly; and later, when i heard the crying of the sémi grow fainter and fainter in the time of the autumn winds, i began to feel compassion for them, and i made this second verse:- "shini-nokoré hitotsu bakari wa aki no sémi." [now there survives but a single one of the sémi of autumn!] lovers of pierre loti (the world's greatest prose-writer) may remember in _madame chrysanthème_ a delightful passage about a japanese house,--describing the old dry woodwork as impregnated with sonority by the shrilling crickets of a hundred summers.[30] there is a japanese poem containing a fancy not altogether dissimilar:- matsu no ki ni shimikomu gotoshi sémi no koë. into the wood of the pine-tree seems to soak the voice of the sémi. [30] speaking of his own attempt to make a drawing of the interior, he observes: "il manque à ce logis dessiné son air frêle et sa sonorité de violon sec. dans les traits de crayon qui représentent les boiseries, il n'y a pas la précision minutieuse avec laquelle elles sont ouvragées, ni leur antiquité extrême, ni leur propreté parfaite, _ni les vibrations de cigales qu' elles semblent avoir emmagasinées pendant des centaines d'étés dans leurs fibres desséchées_." a very large number of japanese poems about sémi describe the noise of the creatures as an affliction. to fully sympathize with the complaints of the poets, one must have heard certain varieties of japanese cicadæ in full midsummer chorus; but even by readers without experience of the clamor, the following verses will probably be found suggestive:- waré hitori atsui yô nari,- sémi no koë! --bunsô. meseems that only i,--i alone among mortals,- ever suffered such heat!--oh, the noise of the sémi! ushiro kara tsukamu yô nari,- sémi no koë. --jofû. oh, the noise of the sémi!--a pain of invisible seizure,- clutched in an enemy's grasp,--caught by the hair from behind! yama no kami no mimi no yamai ka?- sémi no koë! --teikoku. what ails the divinity's ears?--how can the god of the mountain suffer such noise to exist?--oh, the tumult of sémi! soko no nai atsusa ya kumo ni sémi no koë! --saren. fathomless deepens the heat: the ceaseless shrilling of sémi mounts, like a hissing of fire, up to the motionless clouds. mizu karété, sémi wo fudan-no taki no koë. --gen-u. water never a drop: the chorus of sémi, incessant, mocks the tumultuous hiss,--the rush and foaming of rapids. kagéroishi kumo mata satté, sémi no koë. --kitô. gone, the shadowing clouds!--again the shrilling of sémi rises and slowly swells,--ever increasing the heat! daita ki wa, ha mo ugokasazu,- sémi no koë! --kafû. somewhere fast to the bark he clung; but i cannot see him: he stirs not even a leaf--oh! the noise of that sémi! tonari kara kono ki nikumu ya! sémi no koë. --gyukaku. all because of the sémi that sit and shrill on its branches- oh! how this tree of mine is hated now by my neighbor! this reminds one of yayû. we find another poet compassionating a tree frequented by sémi:- kazé wa mina sémi ni suwarété, hito-ki kana! --chôsui. alas! poor solitary tree!--pitiful now your lot,--every breath of air having been sucked up by the sémi! sometimes the noise of the sémi is described as a moving force:- sémi no koë ki-gi ni ugoité, kazé mo nashi! --sôyô. every tree in the wood quivers with clamor of sémi: motion only of noise--never a breath of wind! také ni kité, yuki yori omoshi sémi no koë. --tôgetsu. more heavy than winter-snow the voices of perching sémi: see how the bamboos bend under the weight of their song![31] [31] japanese artists have found many a charming inspiration in the spectacle of bamboos bending under the weight of snow clinging to their tops. morogoë ni yama ya ugokasu, ki-gi no sémi. all shrilling together, the multitudinous sémi make, with their ceaseless clamor, even the mountain move. kusunoki mo ugoku yô nari, sémi no koë. --baijaku. even the camphor-tree seems to quake with the clamor of sémi! sometimes the sound is compared to the noise of boiling water:- hizakari wa niétatsu sémi no hayashi kana! in the hour of heaviest heat, how simmers the forest with sémi! niété iru mizu bakari nari- sémi no koë. --taimu. simmers all the air with sibilation of sémi, ceaseless, wearying sense,--a sound of perpetual boiling. other poets complain especially of the multitude of the noise-makers and the ubiquity of the noise:- aritaké no ki ni hibiki-kéri sémi no koë. how many soever the trees, in each rings the voice of the sémi. matsubara wo ichi ri wa kitari, sémi no koë. --senga. alone i walked for miles into the wood of pine-trees: always the one same sémi shrilled its call in my ears. occasionally the subject is treated with comic exaggeration:- naité iru ki yori mo futoshi sémi no koë. the voice of the sémi is bigger [_thicker_] than the tree on which it sings. sugi takashi sarédomo sémi no amaru koë! high though the cedar be, the voice of the sémi is incomparably higher! koë nagaki sémi wa mijikaki inochi kana! how long, alas! the voice and how short the life of the sémi! some poets celebrate the negative form of pleasure following upon the cessation of the sound:- sémi ni dété, hotaru ni modoru,- suzumi kana! --yayû. when the sémi cease their noise, and the fireflies come out--oh! how refreshing the hour! sémi no tatsu, ato suzushisa yo! matsu no koë. --baijaku. when the sémi cease their storm, oh, how refreshing the stillness! gratefully then resounds the musical speech of the pines. [here i may mention, by the way, that there is a little japanese song about the _matsu no koë_, in which the onomatope "zazanza" very well represents the deep humming of the wind in the pine-needles:- zazanza! hama-matsu no oto wa,- zazanza, zazanza! zazanza! the sound of the pines of the shore,- zazanza! zazanza!] there are poets, however, who declare that the feeling produced by the noise of sémi depends altogether upon the nervous condition of the listener:- mori no sémi suzushiki koë ya, atsuki koë. --otsushu. sometimes sultry the sound; sometimes, again, refreshing: the chant of the forest-sémi accords with the hearer's mood. suzushisa mo atsusa mo sémi no tokoro kana! --fuhaku. sometimes we think it cool,--the resting-place of the sémi;--sometimes we think it hot (it is all a matter of fancy). suzushii to omoéba, suzushi sémi no koë. --ginkô. if we think it is cool, then the voice of the sémi is cool (that is, the fancy changes the feeling). in view of the many complaints of japanese poets about the noisiness of sémi, the reader may be surprised to learn that out of sémi-skins there used to be made in both china and japan--perhaps upon homoeopathic principles--a medicine for the cure of ear-ache! * * * * * one poem, nevertheless, proves that sémi-music has its admirers:- omoshiroi zo ya, waga-ko no koë wa takai mori-ki no sémi no koë![32] sweet to the ear is the voice of one's own child as the voice of a sémi perched on a tall forest tree. [32] there is another version of this poem:- omoshiroi zo ya, waga-ko no naku wa sembu-ségaki no kyô yori mo! "more sweetly sounds the crying of one's own child than even the chanting of the sûtra in the service for the dead." the buddhist service alluded to is held to be particularly beautiful. but such admiration is rare. more frequently the sémi is represented as crying for its nightly repast of dew:- sémi wo kiké,- ichi-nichi naité yoru no tsuyu. --kikaku. hear the sémi shrill! so, from earliest dawning, all the summer day he cries for the dew of night. yû-tsuyu no kuchi ni iru madé naku sémi ka? --baishitsu. will the sémi continue to cry till the night-dew fills its mouth? occasionally the sémi is mentioned in love-songs of which the following is a fair specimen. it belongs to that class of ditties commonly sung by geisha. merely as a conceit, i think it pretty, in spite of the factitious pathos; but to japanese taste it is decidedly vulgar. the allusion to beating implies jealousy:- nushi ni tatakaré, washa matsu no sémi sugaritsuki-tsuki naku bakari! beaten by my jealous lover,- like the sémi on the pine-tree i can only cry and cling! and indeed the following tiny picture is a truer bit of work, according to japanese art-principles (i do not know the author's name):- sémi hitotsu matsu no yû-hi wo kakaé-kéri. lo! on the topmost pine, a solitary cicada vainly attempts to clasp one last red beam of sun. iv philosophical verses do not form a numerous class of japanese poems upon sémi; but they possess an interest altogether exotic. as the metamorphosis of the butterfly supplied to old greek thought an emblem of the soul's ascension, so the natural history of the cicada has furnished buddhism with similitudes and parables for the teaching of doctrine. man sheds his body only as the sémi sheds its skin. but each reincarnation obscures the memory of the previous one: we remember our former existence no more than the sémi remembers the shell from which it has emerged. often a sémi may be found in the act of singing beside its cast-off skin; therefore a poet has written:- waré to waga kara ya tomurô- sémi no koë. --yayû. methinks that sémi sits and sings by his former body,- chanting the funeral service over his own dead self. this cast-off skin, or simulacrum,--clinging to bole or branch as in life, and seeming still to stare with great glazed eyes,--has suggested many things both to profane and to religious poets. in love-songs it is often likened to a body consumed by passionate longing. in buddhist poetry it becomes a symbol of earthly pomp,--the hollow show of human greatness:- yo no naka yo kaëru no hadaka, sémi no kinu! naked as frogs and weak we enter this life of trouble; shedding our pomps we pass: so sémi quit their skins. but sometimes the poet compares the winged and shrilling sémi to a human ghost, and the broken shell to the body left behind:- tamashii wa ukiyo ni naité, sémi no kara. here the forsaken shell: above me the voice of the creature shrills like the cry of a soul quitting this world of pain. then the great sun-quickened tumult of the cicadæ--landstorm of summer life foredoomed so soon to pass away--is likened by preacher and poet to the tumult of human desire. even as the sémi rise from earth, and climb to warmth and light, and clamor, and presently again return to dust and silence,--so rise and clamor and pass the generations of men:- yagaté shinu keshiki wa miézu, sémi no koë. --bashô. never an intimation in all those voices of sémi how quickly the hush will come,--how speedily all must die. i wonder whether the thought in this little verse does not interpret something of that summer melancholy which comes to us out of nature's solitudes with the plaint of insect-voices. unconsciously those millions of millions of tiny beings are preaching the ancient wisdom of the east,--the perpetual sûtra of impermanency. yet how few of our modern poets have given heed to the voices of insects! perhaps it is only to minds inexorably haunted by the riddle of life that nature can speak to-day, in those thin sweet trillings, as she spake of old to solomon. the wisdom of the east hears all things. and he that obtains it will hear the speech of insects,--as sigurd, tasting the dragon's heart, heard suddenly the talking of birds. note.--for the pictures of sémi accompanying this paper, i am indebted to a curious manuscript work in several volumes, preserved in the imperial library at uyéno. the work is entitled _chûfu-zusetsu_,--which might be freely rendered as "pictures and descriptions of insects,"--and is divided into twelve books. the writer's name is unknown; but he must have been an amiable and interesting person, to judge from the naïve preface which he wrote, apologizing for the labors of a lifetime. "when i was young," he says, "i was very fond of catching worms and insects, and making pictures of their shapes,--so that these pictures have now become several hundred in number." he believes that he has found a good reason for studying insects: "among the multitude of living creatures in this world," he says, "those having large bodies are familiar: we know very well their names, shapes, and virtues, and the poisons which they possess. but there remain very many small creatures whose natures are still unknown, notwithstanding the fact that such little beings as insects and worms are able to injure men and to destroy what has value. so i think that it is very important for us to learn what insects or worms have special virtues or poisons." it appears that he had sent to him "from other countries" some kinds of insects "that eat the leaves and shoots of trees;" but he could not "get their exact names." for the names of domestic insects, he consulted many chinese and japanese books, and has been "able to write the names with the proper chinese characters;" but he tells us that he did not fail "to pick up also the names given to worms and insects by old farmers and little boys." the preface is dated thus:--"_ansei kanoté, the third month--at a little cottage_" [1856]. with the introduction of scientific studies the author of the _chûfu-zusetsu_ could no longer hope to attract attention. yet his very modest and very beautiful work was forgotten only a moment. it is now a precious curiosity; and the old man's ghost might to-day find some happiness in a visit to the imperial library. japanese female names [decoration] i by the japanese a certain kind of girl is called a rose-girl,--_bara-musumé_. perhaps my reader will think of tennyson's "queen-rose of the rosebud-garden of girls," and imagine some analogy between the japanese and the english idea of femininity symbolized by the rose. but there is no analogy whatever. the _bara-musumé_ is not so called because she is delicate and sweet, nor because she blushes, nor because she is rosy; indeed, a rosy face is not admired in japan. no; she is compared to a rose chiefly for the reason that a rose has thorns. the man who tries to pull a japanese rose is likely to hurt his fingers. the man who tries to win a _bara-musumé_ is apt to hurt himself much more seriously,--even unto death. it were better, alone and unarmed, to meet a tiger than to invite the caress of a rose-girl. now the appellation of _bara-musumé_--much more rational as a simile than many of our own floral comparisons--can seem strange only because it is not in accord with our poetical usages and emotional habits. it is one in a thousand possible examples of the fact that japanese similes and metaphors are not of the sort that he who runs may read. and this fact is particularly well exemplified in the _yobina_, or personal names of japanese women. because a _yobina_ happens to be identical with the name of some tree, or bird, or flower, it does not follow that the personal appellation conveys to japanese imagination ideas resembling those which the corresponding english word would convey, under like circumstances, to english imagination. of the _yobina_ that seem to us especially beautiful in translation, only a small number are bestowed for æsthetic reasons. nor is it correct to suppose, as many persons still do, that japanese girls are usually named after flowers, or graceful shrubs, or other beautiful objects. æsthetic appellations are in use; but the majority of _yobina_ are not æsthetic. some years ago a young japanese scholar published an interesting essay upon this subject. he had collected the personal names of about four hundred students of the higher normal school for females,--girls from every part of the empire; and he found on his list only between fifty and sixty names possessing æsthetic quality. but concerning even these he was careful to observe only that they "_caused_ an æsthetic sensation,"--not that they had been given for æsthetic reasons. among them were such names as _saki_ (cape), _miné_ (peak), _kishi_ (beach), _hama_ (shore), _kuni_ (capital),--originally place-names;--_tsuru_ (stork), _tazu_ (ricefield stork), and _chizu_ (thousand storks);--also such appellations as _yoshino_ (fertile field), _orino_ (weavers' field), _shirushi_ (proof), and _masago_ (sand). few of these could seem æsthetic to a western mind; and probably no one of them was originally given for æsthetic reasons. names containing the character for "stork" are names having reference to longevity, not to beauty; and a large number of names with the termination "_no_" (field or plain) are names referring to moral qualities. i doubt whether even fifteen per cent of _yobina_ are really æsthetic. a very much larger proportion are names expressing moral or mental qualities. tenderness, kindness, deftness, cleverness, are frequently represented by _yobina_; but appellations implying physical charm, or suggesting æsthetic ideas only, are comparatively uncommon. one reason for the fact may be that very æsthetic names are given to _geisha_ and to _jôro_, and consequently vulgarized. but the chief reason certainly is that the domestic virtues still occupy in japanese moral estimate a place not less important than that accorded to religious faith in the life of our own middle ages. not in theory only, but in every-day practice, moral beauty is placed far above physical beauty; and girls are usually selected as wives, not for their good looks, but for their domestic qualities. among the middle classes a very æsthetic name would not be considered in the best taste; among the poorer classes, it would scarcely be thought respectable. ladies of rank, on the other hand, are privileged to bear very poetical names; yet the majority of the aristocratic yobina also are moral rather than æsthetic. * * * * * but the first great difficulty in the way of a study of _yobina_ is the difficulty of translating them. a knowledge of spoken japanese can help you very little indeed. a knowledge of chinese also is indispensable. the meaning of a name written in _kana_ only,--in the japanese characters,--cannot be, in most cases, even guessed at. the chinese characters of the name can alone explain it. the japanese essayist, already referred to, found himself obliged to throw out no less than thirty-six names out of a list of two hundred and thirteen, simply because these thirty-six, having been recorded only in _kana_, could not be interpreted. _kana_ give only the pronunciation; and the pronunciation of a woman's name explains nothing in a majority of cases. transliterated into romaji, a _yobina_ may signify two, three, or even half-a-dozen different things. one of the names thrown out of the list was _banka_. _banka_ might signify "mint" (the plant), which would be a pretty name; but it might also mean "evening-haze." _yuka_, another rejected name, might be an abbreviation of _yukabutsu_, "precious"; but it might just as well mean "a floor." _nochi_, a third example, might signify "future"; yet it could also mean "a descendant," and various other things. my reader will be able to find many other homonyms in the lists of names given further on. _ai_ in romaji, for instance, may signify either "love" or "indigo-blue";--_chô_, "a butterfly," or "superior," or "long";--_ei_, either "sagacious" or "blooming";--_kei_, either "rapture" or "reverence";--_sato_, either "native home" or "sugar";--_toshi_, either "year" or "arrow-head";--_taka_, "tall," "honorable," or "falcon." the chief, and, for the present, insuperable obstacle to the use of roman letters in writing japanese, is the prodigious number of homonyms in the language. you need only glance into any good japanese-english dictionary to understand the gravity of this obstacle. not to multiply examples, i shall merely observe that there are nineteen words spelled _chô_; twenty-one spelled _ki_; twenty-five spelled _to_ or _tô_; and no less than forty-nine spelled _ko_ or _kô_. * * * * * yet, as i have already suggested, the real signification of a woman's name cannot be ascertained even from a literal translation made with the help of the chinese characters. such a name, for instance, as _kagami_ (mirror) really signifies the pure-minded, and this not in the occidental, but in the confucian sense of the term. _umé_ (plum-blossom) is a name referring to wifely devotion and virtue. _matsu_ (pine) does not refer, as an appellation, to the beauty of the tree, but to the fact that its evergreen foliage is the emblem of vigorous age. the name _také_ (bamboo) is given to a child only because the bamboo has been for centuries a symbol of good-fortune. the name _sen_ (wood-fairy) sounds charmingly to western fancy; yet it expresses nothing more than the parents' hope of long life for their daughter and her offspring,--wood-fairies being supposed to live for thousands of years.... again, many names are of so strange a sort that it is impossible to discover their meaning without questioning either the bearer or the giver; and sometimes all inquiry proves vain, because the original meaning has been long forgotten. before attempting to go further into the subject, i shall here offer a translation of the tôkyô essayist's list of names,--rearranged in alphabetical order, without honorific prefixes or suffixes. although some classes of common names are not represented, the list will serve to show the character of many still popular _yobina_, and also to illustrate several of the facts to which i have already called attention. selected names of students and graduates of the higher normal school for females (1880-1895):- number of students so named. _ai_ ("indigo,"--the color) 1 _ai_ ("love") 1 _akasuké_ ("the bright helper") 1 _asa_ ("morning") 1 _asa_ ("shallow")[33] 2 [33] probably a place-name originally. _au_ ("meeting") 2 _bun_ ("composition"--in the literary sense)[34] 1 [34] might we not quaintly say, "a fair writing"? _chika_ ("near")[35] 5 [35] probably in the sense of "near and dear"--but not certainly so. _chitosé_ ("a thousand years") 1 _chiyo_ ("a thousand generations") 1 _chizu_ ("thousand storks") 1 _chô_ ("butterfly") 1 _chô_ ("superior") 2 _ei_ ("clever") 1 _ei_ ("blooming") 2 _etsu_ ("delight") 1 _fudé_ ("writing-brush") 1 _fuji_ ("fuji,"--the mountain) 1 _fuji_ ("wistaria-flower") 2 _fuki_ ("fuki,"--name of a plant, _nardosmia japonica_) 1 _fuku_ ("good-fortune") 2 _fumi_ ("letter")[36] 5 [36] _fumi_ signifies here a letter written by a woman only--a letter written according to the rules of feminine epistolary style. _fumino_ ("letter-field") 1 _fusa_ ("tassel") 3 _gin_ ("silver") 2 _hama_ ("shore") 3 _hana_ ("blossom") 3 _haruë_ ("spring-time bay") 1 _hatsu_ ("the first-born") 2 _hidé_ ("excellent") 4 _hidé_ ("fruitful") 2 _hisano_ ("long plain") 2 _ichi_ ("market") 4 _iku_ ("nourishing") 3 _iné_ ("springing rice") 3 _ishi_ ("stone") 1 _ito_ ("thread") 4 _iwa_ ("rock") 1 _jun_ ("the obedient")[37] 1 [37] _jun suru_ means to be obedient unto death. the word _jun_ has a much stronger signification than that which attaches to our word "obedience" in these modern times. _kagami_ ("mirror") 3 _kama_ ("sickle") 1 _kamé_ ("tortoise") 2 _kaméyo_ ("generations-of-the-tortoise")[38] 1 [38] the tortoise is supposed to live for a thousand years. _kan_ ("the forbearing")[39] 11 [39] abbreviation of _kannin_, "forbearance," "self-control," etc. the name might equally well be translated "patience." _kana_ ("character"--in the sense of written character)[40] 2 [40] _kana_ signifies the japanese syllabary,--the characters with which the language is written. the reader may imagine, if he wishes, that the name signifies the alpha and omega of all feminine charm; but i confess that i have not been able to find any satisfactory explanation of it. _kané_ ("bronze") 3 _katsu_ ("victorious") 2 _kazashi_ ("hair-pin,"--or any ornament worn in the hair) 1 _kazu_ ("number,"--i.e., "great number") 1 _kei_ ("the respectful") 3 _ken_ ("humility") 1 _kiku_ ("chrysanthemum") 6 _kikuë_ ("chrysanthemum-branch") 1 _kikuno_ ("chrysanthemum-field") 1 _kimi_ ("sovereign") 1 _kin_ ("gold") 4 _kinu_ ("cloth-of-silk") 1 _kishi_ ("beach") 2 _kiyo_ ("happy generations") 1 _kiyo_ ("pure") 5 _ko_ ("chime,"--the sound of a bell) 1 _kô_ ("filial piety") 11 _kô_ ("the fine") 1 _koma_ ("filly") 1 _komé_ ("cleaned rice") 1 _koto_ ("koto,"--the japanese harp) 4 _kuma_ ("bear") 1 _kumi_ ("braid") 1 _kuni_ ("capital,"--chief city) 1 _kuni_ ("province") 3 _kura_ ("treasure-house") 1 _kurano_ ("storehouse-field") 1 _kuri_ ("chestnut") 1 _kuwa_ ("mulberry-tree") 1 _masa_ ("straightforward,"--upright) 3 _masago_ ("sand") 1 _masu_ ("increase") 3 _masuë_ ("branch-of-increase") 1 _matsu_ ("pine") 2 _matsuë_ ("pine-branch") 1 _michi_ ("the way,"--doctrine) 4 _mië_ ("triple branch") 1 _mikië_ ("main-branch") 1 _miné_ ("peak") 2 _mitsu_ ("light") 5 _mitsuë_ ("shining branch") 1 _morië_ ("service-bay")[41] 1 [41] the word "service" here refers especially to attendance at meal-time,--to the serving of rice, etc. _naka_ ("the midmost") 4 _nami_ ("wave") 1 _nobu_ ("fidelity") 6 _nobu_ ("the prolonger")[42] 1 [42] perhaps in the hopeful meaning of extending the family-line; but more probably in the signification that a daughter's care prolongs the life of her parents, or of her husband's parents. _nobuë_ ("lengthening-branch") 1 _nui_ ("tapestry,"--or, embroidery) 1 _orino_ ("weaving-field") 1 _raku_ ("pleasure") 3 _ren_ ("the arranger") 1 _riku_ ("land,"--ground) 1 _roku_ ("emolument") 1 _ryô_ ("dragon") 1 _ryû_ ("lofty") 3 _sada_ ("the chaste") 8 _saki_ ("cape,"--promontory) 1 _saku_ ("composition")[43] 3 [43] abbreviation of _sakubun_, a literary composition. _sato_ ("home,"--native place) 2 _sawa_ ("marsh") 1 _sei_ ("force") 1 _seki_ ("barrier,"--city-gate, toll-gate, etc.). 3 _sen_ ("fairy")[44] 3 [44] as a matter of fact, we have no english equivalent for the word "sen," or "sennin,"--signifying a being possessing magical powers of all kinds and living for thousands of years. some authorities consider the belief in _sennin_ of indian origin, and probably derived from old traditions of the rishi. _setsu_ ("true,"--tender and true) 2 _shidzu_ ("the calmer") 1 _shidzu_ ("peace") 2 _shigë_ ("two-fold") 2 _shika_ ("deer") 2 _shikaë_ ("deer-inlet") 1 _shimé_ ("the clasp,"--fastening) 1 _shin_ ("truth") 1 _shina_ ("goods") 1 _shina_ ("virtue") 1 _shino_ ("slender bamboo") 1 _shirushi_ ("the proof,"--evidence) 1 _shun_ ("the excellent") 1 _sué_ ("the last") 2 _sugi_ ("cedar,"--cryptomeria) 1 _suté_ ("forsaken,"--foundling) 1 _suzu_ ("little bell") 8 _suzu_ ("tin") 1 _suzuë_ ("branch of little bells") 1 _taë_ ("exquisite") 1 _taka_ ("honor") 2 _taka_ ("lofty") 9 _také_ ("bamboo") 1 _tama_ ("jewel") 1 _tamaki_ ("ring") 1 _tamé_ ("for-the-sake-of--") 3 _tani_ ("valley") 4 _tazu_ ("ricefield-stork") 1 _tetsu_ ("iron") 4 _toku_ ("virtue") 2 _tomé_ ("stop,"--cease)[45] 1 [45] such a name may signify that the parents resolved, after the birth of the girl, to have no more children. _tomi_ ("riches") 3 _tomijû_ ("wealth-and-longevity") 1 _tomo_ ("the friend") 4 _tora_ ("tiger") 1 _toshi_ ("arrowhead") 1 _toyo_ ("abundance") 3 _tsugi_ ("next,"--i. e., second in order of birth) 2 _tsuna_ ("bond,"--rope, or fetter) 1 _tsuné_ ("the constant,"--or, as we should say, constance) 10 _tsuru_ ("stork") 4 _umé_ ("plum-blossom") 1 _umégaë_ ("plumtree-spray") 1 _uméno_ ("plumtree-field") 2 _urano_ ("shore-field") 1 _ushi_ ("cow,"--or ox)[46] 1 [46] this extraordinary name is probably to be explained as a reference to date of birth. according to the old chinese astrology, years, months, days, and hours were all named after the signs of the zodiac, and were supposed to have some mystic relation to those signs. i surmise that miss ushi was born at the hour of the ox, on the day of the ox, in the month of the ox and the year of the ox--"_ushi no toshi no ushi no tsuki no ushi no hi no ushi no koku._" _uta_ ("poem,"--or song) 1 _wakana_ ("young _na_,"--probably the rape-plant is referred to) 1 _yaë_ ("eight-fold") 1 _yasu_ ("the tranquil") 1 _yô_ ("the positive,"--as opposed to negative or feminine in the old chinese philosophy;--therefore, perhaps, masculine) 1 _yoné_ ("rice,"--in the old sense of wealth) 4 _yoshi_ ("the good") 1 _yoshino_ ("good field") 1 _yû_ ("the valiant") 1 _yuri_ ("lily") 1 it will be observed that in the above list the names referring to constancy, forbearance, and filial piety have the highest numbers attached to them. ii a few of the more important rules in regard to japanese female names must now be mentioned. the great majority of these _yobina_ are words of two syllables. personal names of respectable women, belonging to the middle and lower classes, are nearly always dissyllables--except in cases where the name is lengthened by certain curious suffixes which i shall speak of further on. formerly a name of three or more syllables indicated that the bearer belonged to a superior class. but, even among the upper classes to-day, female names of only two syllables are in fashion. among the people it is customary that a female name of two syllables should be preceded by the honorific "o," and followed by the title "san,"--as _o-matsu san_, "the honorable miss [or mrs.] pine"; _o-umé san_, "the honorable miss plum-blossom."[47] but if the name happen to have three syllables, the honorific "o" is not used. a woman named _kikuë_ ("chrysanthemum-branch") is not addressed as "o-kikuë san," but only as "kikuë san." [47] under certain conditions of intimacy, both prefix and title are dropped. they are dropped also by the superior in addressing an inferior;--for example, a lady would not address her maid as "_o-yoné san_," but merely as "_yoné_." before the names of ladies, the honorific "o" is no longer used as formerly,--even when the name consists of one syllable only. instead of the prefix, an honorific suffix is appended to the _yobina_,--the suffix _ko_. a peasant girl named _tomi_ would be addressed by her equals as _o-tomi san_. but a lady of the same name would be addressed as _tomiko_. mrs. shimoda, head-teacher of the peeresses' school, for example, has the beautiful name _uta_. she would be addressed by letter as "shimoda utako," and would so sign herself in replying;--the family-name, by japanese custom, always preceding the personal name, instead of being, as with us, placed after it. this suffix _ko_ is written with the chinese character meaning "child," and must not be confused with the word _ko_, written with a different chinese character, and meaning "little," which so often appears in the names of dancing girls. i should venture to say that this genteel suffix has the value of a caressing diminutive, and that the name _aiko_ might be fairly well rendered by the "amoretta" of spenser's _faerie queene_. be this as it may, a japanese lady named _setsu_ or _sada_ would not be addressed in these days as o-setsu or o-sada, but as setsuko or sadako. on the other hand, if a woman of the people were to sign herself as setsuko or sadako, she would certainly be laughed at,--since the suffix would give to her appellation the meaning of "the lady setsu," or "the lady sada." i have said that the honorific "o" is placed before the _yobina_ of women of the middle and lower classes. even the wife of a _kurumaya_ would probably be referred to as the "honorable mrs. such-a-one." but there are very remarkable exceptions to this general rule regarding the prefix "o." in some country-districts the common _yobina_ of two syllables is made a trisyllable by the addition of a peculiar suffix; and before such trisyllabic names the "o" is never placed. for example, the girls of wakayama, in the province of kii, usually have added to their _yobina_ the suffix "_ë_,"[48] signifying "inlet," "bay," "frith,"--sometimes "river." thus we find such names as _namië_ ("wave-bay"), _tomië_ ("riches-bay"), _sumië_ ("dwelling-bay"), _shizuë_ ("quiet-bay"), _tamaë_ ("jewel-bay"). again there is a provincial suffix "_no_" meaning "field" or "plain," which is attached to the majority of female names in certain districts. _yoshino_ ("fertile field"), _uméno_ ("plumflower field"), _shizuno_ ("quiet field"), _urano_ ("coast field"), _utano_ ("song field"), are typical names of this class. a girl called _namië_ or _kikuno_ is not addressed as "o-namië san" or "o-kikuno san," but as "namië san," "kikuno san." [48] this suffix must not be confused with the suffix "_ë_," signifying "branch," which is also attached to many popular names. without seeing the chinese character, you cannot decide whether the name _tamaë_, for example, means "jewel-branch" or "jewel inlet." "san" (abbreviation of _sama_, a word originally meaning "form," "appearance"), when placed after a female name, corresponds to either our "miss" or "mrs." placed after a man's name it has at least the value of our "mr.",--perhaps even more. the unabbreviated form _sama_ is placed after the names of high personages of either sex, and after the names of divinities: the shintô gods are styled the _kami-sama_, which might be translated as "the lords supreme"; the bodhisattva jizô is called _jizô-sama_, "the lord jizô." a lady may also be styled "sama." a lady called _ayako_, for instance, might very properly be addressed as ayako sama. but when a lady's name, independently of the suffix, consists of more than three syllables, it is customary to drop either the _ko_ or the title. thus "the lady ayamé" would not be spoken of as "ayaméko sama," but more euphoniously as "ayamé sama,"[49] or as "ayaméko." [49] "ayamé sama," however, is rather familiar; and this form cannot be used by a stranger in verbal address, though a letter may be directed with the name so written. as a rule, the _ko_ is the more respectful form. so much having been said as regards the etiquette of prefixes and suffixes, i shall now attempt a classification of female names,--beginning with popular _yobina_. these will be found particularly interesting, because they reflect something of race-feeling in the matter of ethics and æsthetics, and because they serve to illustrate curious facts relating to japanese custom. the first place i have given to names of purely moral meaning,--usually bestowed in the hope that the children will grow up worthy of them. but the lists should in no case be regarded as complete: they are only representative. furthermore, i must confess my inability to explain the reason of many names, which proved as much of riddles to japanese friends as to myself. names of virtues and proprieties _o-ai_ "love." _o-chië_ "intelligence." _o-chû_ "loyalty." _o-jin_ "tenderness,"--humanity. _o-jun_ "faithful-to-death." _o-kaiyô_ "forgiveness,"--pardon. _o-ken_ "wise,"--in the sense of moral discernment. _o-kô_ "filial piety." _o-masa_ "righteous,"--just. _o-michi_ "the way,"--doctrine. _misao_ "honor,"--wifely fidelity. _o-nao_ "the upright,"--honest. _o-nobu_ "the faithful." _o-rei_ "propriety,"--in the old chinese sense. _o-retsu_ "chaste and true." _o-ryô_ "the generous,"--magnanimous. _o-sada_ "the chaste." _o-sei_ "truth." _o-shin_ "faith,"--in the sense of fidelity, trust. _o-shizu_ "the tranquil,"--calm-souled. _o-setsu_ "fidelity,"--wifely virtue. _o-tamé_ "for-the-sake-of,"--a name suggesting unselfishness. _o-tei_ "the docile,"--in the meaning of virtuous obedience. _o-toku_ "virtue." _o-tomo_ "the friend,"--especially in the meaning of mate, companion. _o-tsuné_ "constancy." _o-yasu_ "the amiable,"--gentle. _o-yoshi_ "the good." _o-yoshi_ "the respectful." the next list will appear at first sight more heterogeneous than it really is. it contains a larger variety of appellations than the previous list; but nearly all of the _yobina_ refer to some good quality which the parents trust that the child will display, or to some future happiness which they hope that she will deserve. to the latter category belong such names of felicitation as _miyo_ and _masayo_. miscellaneous names expressing personal qualities, or parental hopes _o-atsu_ "the generous,"--liberal. _o-chika_ "closely dear." _o-chika_ "thousand rejoicings." _o-chô_ "the long,"--probably in reference to life. _o-dai_ "great." _o-den_ "transmission,"--bequest from ancestors, tradition. _o-é_ "fortunate." _o-ei_ "prosperity." _o-en_ "charm." _o-en_ "prolongation,"--of life. _o-etsu_ "surpassing." _o-etsu_ "the playful,"--merry, joyous. _o-fuku_ "good luck." _o-gen_ "source,"--spring, fountain. _o-haya_ "the quick,"--light, nimble. _o-hidé_ "superior." _hidéyo_ "superior generations." _o-hiro_ "the broad." _o-hisa_ "the long." (?) _isamu_ "the vigorous,"--spirited, robust. _o-jin_ "superexcellent." _kaméyo_ "generations-of-the-tortoise." _o-kané_[50] "the doubly-accomplished." [50] from the strange verb _kaneru_, signifying, to do two things at the same time. _kaoru_ "the fragrant." _o-kata_ "worthy person." _o-katsu_ "the victorious." _o-kei_ "delight." _o-kei_ "the respectful." _o-ken_ "the humble." _o-kichi_ "the fortunate." _o-kimi_ "the sovereign,"--peerless. _o-kiwa_ "the distinguished." _o-kiyo_ } {"the clear,"--in the sense of _kiyoshi_ } { bright, beautiful. _o-kuru_ "she-who-comes" (?).[51] [51] one is reminded of, "o whistle, and i'll come to you, my lad"--but no japanese female name could have the implied signification. more probably the reference is to household obedience. _o-maru_ "the round,"--plump. _o-masa_ "the genteel." _masayo_ "generations-of-the-just." _o-masu_ "increase." _o-mië_ "triple branch." _o-miki_ "stem." _o-mio_ "triple cord." _o-mitsu_ "abundance." _o-miwa_ "the far-seeing." _o-miwa_ "three spokes" (?).[52] [52] such is the meaning of the characters. i cannot understand the name. a buddhist explanation suggests itself; but there are few, if any, buddhist _yobina_. _o-miyo_ "beautiful generations." _miyuki_[53] "deep snow." [53] this beautiful name refers to the silence and calm following a heavy snowfall. but, even for the japanese, it is an æsthetic name also--suggesting both tranquillity and beauty. _o-moto_ "origin." _o-naka_ "friendship." _o-rai_ "trust." _o-raku_[54] "pleasure." [54] the name seems curious, in view of the common proverb, _raku wa ku no tané_,--"pleasure is the seed of pain." _o-sachi_ "bliss." _o-sai_ "the talented." _sakaë_ "prosperity." _o-saku_ "the blooming." _o-sei_ "the refined,"--in the sense of "clear." _o-sei_ "force." _o-sen_ "sennin,"--wood-fairy. _o-shigé_ "exuberant." _o-shimé_ "the total,"--_summum bonum_. _o-shin_ "the fresh." _o-shin_ "truth." _o-shina_ "goods,"--possessions. _shirushi_ "proof,"--evidence. _o-shizu_ "the humble." _o-shô_ "truth." _o-shun_ "excellence." _o-suki_ "the beloved,"--_aimée_. _o-suké_ "the helper." _o-sumi_ "the refined,"--in the sense of "sifted." _o-suté_ "the forsaken,"--foundling.[55] [55] not necessarily a real foundling. sometimes the name may be explained by a curious old custom. in a certain family several children in succession die shortly after birth. it is decided, according to traditional usage, that the next child born must be exposed. a girl is the next child born;--she is carried by a servant to some lonely place in the fields, or elsewhere, and left there. then a peasant, or other person, hired for the occasion (it is necessary that he should be of no kin to the family), promptly appears, pretends to find the babe, and carries it back to the parental home. "see this pretty foundling," he says to the father of the girl,--"will you not take care of it?" the child is received, and named "suté," the foundling. by this innocent artifice, it was formerly (and perhaps in some places is still) supposed that those unseen influences, which had caused the death of the other children, might be thwarted. _o-taë_ "the exquisite." _o-taka_ "the honorable." _o-taka_ "the tall." _takara_ "treasure,"--precious object. _o-tama_ "jewel." _tamaë_ "jewel-branch." _tokiwa_[56] "eternally constant." [56] lit., "everlasting-rock,"--but the ethical meaning is "constancy-everlasting-as-the-rocks." "tokiwa" is a name famous both in history and tradition; for it was the name of the mother of yoshitsuné. her touching story,--and especially the episode of her flight through the deep snow with her boys,--has been a source of inspiration to generations of artists. _o-tomi_ "riches." _o-toshi_ "the deft,"--skilful. _o-tsuma_ "the wife." _o-yori_ "the trustworthy." _o-waka_ "the young." place-names, or geographical names, are common; but they are particularly difficult to explain. a child may be called after a place because born there, or because the parental home was there, or because of beliefs belonging to the old chinese philosophy regarding direction and position, or because of traditional custom, or because of ideas connected with the religion of shintô. place-names _o-fuji_ [mount] "fuji." _o-hama_ "coast." _o-ichi_ "market,"--fair. _o-iyo_ "iyo,"--province of iyo, in shikoku. _o-kawa_ (rare) "river." _o-kishi_ "beach,"--shore. _o-kita_ "north." _o-kiwa_ "border." _o-kuni_ "province." _o-kyô_ "capital,"--metropolis,--kyôto. _o-machi_ "town." _matsuë_ "matsuë,"--chief city of izumo. _o-mina_[57] "south." [57] abbreviation of _minami_. _o-miné_ "peak." _o-miya_ "temple" [_shintô_].[58] [58] i must confess that in classing this name as a place-name, i am only making a guess. it seems to me that the name probably refers to the _ichi no miya_, or chief shintô temple of some province. _o-mon_[59] "gate." [59] i fancy that this name, like that of o-séki, must have originated in the custom of naming children after the place, or neighborhood, where the family lived. but here again, i am guessing. _o-mura_ "village." _o-nami_[60] "wave." [60] this classification also is a guess. i could learn nothing about the name, except the curious fact that it is said to be unlucky. _naniwa_ "naniwa,"--ancient name of ôsaka. _o-nishi_ "west." _o-rin_ "park." _o-saki_ "cape." _o-sato_ "native place,"--village,--also, home. _o-sawa_ "marsh." _o-seki_ "toll-gate,"--barrier. _shigéki_ "thickwood,"--forest. _o-shima_ "island." _o-sono_ "flower-garden." _o-taki_ "cataract,"--or waterfall. _o-tani_ "valley." _o-tsuka_ "milestone." _o-yama_ "mountain." the next list is a curious medley, so far as regards the quality of the _yobina_ comprised in it. some are really æsthetic and pleasing; others industrial only; while a few might be taken for nicknames of the most disagreeable kind. names of objects and of occupations especially pertaining to women _ayako_ or } "damask-pattern." _o-aya_[61] } [61] _aya-nishiki_,--the famous figured damask brocade of kyôto,--is probably referred to. _o-fumi_ "woman's letter." _o-fusa_ "tassel." _o-ito_ "thread." _o-kama_[62] "rice-sickle." [62] _o-kama_ (sickle) is a familiar peasant-name. _o-kama_ (caldron, or iron cooking-pot), and several other ugly names in this list are servants' names. servants in old time not only trained their children to become servants, but gave them particular names referring to their future labors. _o-kama_ "caldron." _kazashi_ "hair-pin." _o-kinu_ "cloth-of-silk." _o-koto_ "harp." _o-nabé_ "pot,"--or cooking-vessel. _o-nui_ "embroidery." _o-shimé_ "clasp,"--ornamental fastening. _o-somé_ "the dyer." _o-taru_ "cask,"--barrel. the following list consists entirely of material nouns used as names. there are several _yobina_ among them of which i cannot find the emblematical meaning. generally speaking, the _yobina_ which signify precious substances, such as silver and gold, are æsthetic names; and those which signify common hard substances, such as stone, rock, iron, are intended to suggest firmness or strength of character. but the name "rock" is also sometimes used as a symbol of the wish for long life, or long continuance of the family line. the curious name _suna_ has nothing, however, to do with individual "grit": it is half-moral and half-æsthetic. fine sand--especially colored sand--is much prized in this fairy-land of landscape-gardening, where it is used to cover spaces that must always be kept spotless and beautiful, and never trodden,--except by the gardener. material nouns used as names _o-gin_ "silver." _o-ishi_ "stone." _o-iwa_ "rock." _o-kané_ "bronze." _o-kazé_[63] "air,"--perhaps wind. [63] i cannot find any explanation of this curious name. _o-kin_ "gold." _o-ruri_[64]} "emerald,"--emeraldine? _ruriko_ } [64] the japanese name does not give the same quality of æsthetic sensation as the name esmeralda. the _ruri_ is not usually green, but blue; and the term "ruri-iro" (emerald color) commonly signifies a dark violet. _o-ryû_ "fine metal." _o-sato_ "sugar." _o-seki_ "stone." _o-shiwo_ "salt." _o-suna_ "sand." _o-suzu_ "tin." _o-tané_ "seed." _o-tetsu_ "iron." the following five _yobina_ are æsthetic names,--although literally signifying things belonging to intellectual work. four of them, at least, refer to calligraphy,--the matchless calligraphy of the far east,--rather than to anything that we should call "_literary_ beauty." literary names _o-bun_ "composition." _o-fudé_ "writing-brush." _o-fumi_ "letter." _o-kaku_ "writing." _o-uta_ "poem." names relating to number are very common, but also very interesting. they may be loosely divided into two sub-classes,--names indicating the order or the time of birth, and names of felicitation. such _yobina_ as _ichi_, _san_, _roku_, _hachi_ usually refer to the order of birth; but sometimes they record the date of birth. for example, i know a person called o-roku, who received this name, not because she was the sixth child born in the family, but because she entered this world upon the sixth day of the sixth month of the sixth meiji. it will be observed that the numbers two, five, and nine are not represented in the list: the mere idea of such names as _o-ni_, _o-go_, or _o-ku_ seems to a japanese absurd. i do not know exactly why,--unless it be that they suggest unpleasant puns. the place of _o-ni_ is well supplied, however, by the name _o-tsugi_ ("next"), which will be found in a subsequent list. names signifying numbers ranging from eighty to a thousand, and upward, are names of felicitation. they express the wish that the bearer may live to a prodigious age, or that her posterity may flourish through the centuries. numerals and words relating to number _o-ichi_ "one." _o-san_ "three." _o-mitsu_ "three." _o-yotsu_ "four." _o-roku_ "six." _o-shichi_ "seven." _o-hachi_ "eight." _o-jû_ "ten." _o-iso_ "fifty."[65] [65] such a name may record the fact that the girl was a first-born child, and the father fifty years old at the time of her birth. _o-yaso_ "eighty." _o-hyaku_ "hundred."[66] [66] the "o" before this trisyllable seems contrary to rule; but _hyaku_ is pronounced almost like a dissyllable. _o-yao_ "eight hundred." _o-sen_ "thousand." _o-michi_ "three thousand." _o-man_ "ten thousand." _o-chiyo_ "thousand generations." _yachiyo_ "eight thousand generations." _o-shigé_ "two-fold." _o-yaë_ "eight-fold." _o-kazu_ "great number." _o-mina_ "all." _o-han_ "half."[67] [67] "better half?"--the reader may query. but i believe that this name originated in the old custom of taking a single character of the father's name--sometimes also a character of the mother's name--to compose the child's name with. perhaps in this case the name of the girl's father was hanyémon, or hanbei. _o-iku_ "how many?" (?) other names relating to order of birth _o-hatsu_ "beginning,"--first-born. _o-tsugi_ "next,"--the second. _o-naka_ "midmost." _o-tomé_ "stop,"--cease. _o-sué_ "last." some few of the next group of names are probably æsthetic. but such names are sometimes given only in reference to the time or season of birth; and the reason for any particular _yobina_ of this class is difficult to decide without personal inquiry. names relating to time and season _o-haru_ "spring." _o-natsu_ "summer." _o-aki_ "autumn." _o-fuyu_ "winter." _o-asa_ "morning." _o-chô_ "dawn." _o-yoi_ "evening." _o-sayo_ "night." _o-ima_ "now." _o-toki_ "time,"--opportunity. _o-toshi_ "year [of plenty]." names of animals--real or mythical--form another class of _yobina_. a name of this kind generally represents the hope that the child will develop some quality or capacity symbolized by the creature after which it has been called. names such as "dragon," "tiger," "bear," etc., are intended in most cases to represent moral rather than other qualities. the moral symbolism of the _koi_ (carp) is too well-known to require explanation here. the names _kamé_ and _tsuru_ refer to longevity. _koma_, curious as the fact may seem, is a name of endearment. names of birds, fishes, animals, etc. _chidori_ "sanderling." _o-kamé_ "tortoise." _o-koi_ "carp."[68] [68] _cyprinus carpio._ _o-koma_ "filly,"--or pony. _o-kuma_ "bear." _o-ryô_ "dragon." _o-shika_ "deer." _o-tai_ "bream."[69] [69] _chrysophris cardinalis._ _o-taka_ "hawk." _o-tako_ "cuttlefish." (?) _o-tatsu_ "dragon." _o-tora_ "tiger." _o-tori_ "bird." _o-tsuru_ "stork."[70] [70] sometimes this name is shortened into _o-tsu_. in tôkyô at the present time it is the custom to drop the honorific "o" before such abbreviations, and to add to the name the suffix "chan,"--as in the case of children's names. thus a young woman may be caressingly addressed as "tsu-chan" (for o-tsuru), "ya-chan" (for o-yasu), etc. _o-washi_ "eagle." even _yobina_ which are the names of flowers or fruits, plants or trees, are in most cases names of moral or felicitous, rather than of æsthetic meaning. the plumflower is an emblem of feminine virtue; the chrysanthemum, of longevity; the pine, both of longevity and constancy; the bamboo, of fidelity; the cedar, of moral rectitude; the willow, of docility and gentleness, as well as of physical grace. the symbolism of the lotos and of the cherryflower are probably familiar. but such names as _hana_ ("blossom ") and _ben_ ("petal") are æsthetic in the true sense; and the lily remains in japan, as elsewhere, an emblem of feminine grace. flower-names _ayamé_ "iris."[71] [71] _iris setosa, or iris sibrisia._ _azami_ "thistle-flower." _o-ben_ "petal." _o-fuji_ "wistaria."[72] [72] _wistaria chinensis._ _o-hana_ "blossom." _o-kiku_ "chrysanthemum." _o-ran_ "orchid." _o-ren_ "lotos." _sakurako_ "cherryblossom." _o-umé_ "plumflower." _o-yuri_ "lily." names of plants, fruits, and trees _o-iné_ "rice-in-the-blade." _kaëdé_ "maple-leaf." _o-kaya_ "rush."[73] [73] _imperata arundinacea._ _o-kaya_ "yew."[74] [74] _torreya nucifera._ _o-kuri_ "chestnut." _o-kuwa_ "mulberry." _o-maki_ "fir."[75] [75] _podocarpus chinensis._ _o-mamé_ "bean." _o-momo_ "peach,"--the fruit.[76] [76] yet this name may possibly have been written with the wrong character. there is another _yobina_, "momo" signifying "hundred,"--as in the phrase _momo yo_, "for a hundred ages." _o-nara_ "oak." _o-ryû_ "willow." _sanaë_ "sprouting-rice." _o-sané_ "fruit-seed." _o-shino_ "slender bamboo." _o-sugé_ "reed."[77] [77] _scirpus maritimus._ _o-sugi_ "cedar."[78] [78] _cryptomeria japonica._ _o-také_ "bamboo." _o-tsuta_ "ivy."[79] [79] _cissus thunbergii._ _o-yaë_ "double-blossom."[80] [80] a flower-name certainly; but the _yaë_ here is probably an abbreviation of _yaë-zakura_, the double-flower of a particular species of cherry-tree. _o-yoné_ "rice-in-grain." _wakana_ "young _na_."[81] [81] _brassica chinensis._ names signifying light or color seem to us the most æsthetic of all _yobina_; and they probably seem so to the japanese. nevertheless the relative purport even of these names cannot be divined at sight. colors have moral and other values in the old nature-philosophy; and an appellation that to the western mind suggests only luminosity or beauty may actually refer to moral or social distinction,--to the hope that the girl so named will become "illustrious." names signifying brightness _o-mika_ "new moon."[82] [82] _mika_ is an abbreviation of mikazuki, "the moon of the third night" [of the old lunar month]. _o-mitsu_ "light." _o-shimo_ "frost." _o-teru_ "the shining." _o-tsuki_ "moon." _o-tsuya_ "the glossy,"--lustrous. _o-tsuyu_ "dew." _o-yuki_ "snow." color-names _o-ai_ "indigo." _o-aka_ "red." _o-iro_ "color." _o-kon_ "deep blue." _o-kuro_ "dark,"--lit., "black." _midori_[83] "green." _murasaki_[83] "purple." [83] _midori_ and _murasaki_, especially the latter, should properly be classed with aristocratic _yobina_; and both are very rare. i could find neither in the collection of aristocratic names which was made for me from the records of the peeresses' school; but i discovered a "midori" in a list of middle-class names. color-names being remarkably few among _yobina_, i thought it better in this instance to group the whole of them together, independently of class-distinctions. _o-shiro_ "white." the following and final group of female names contains several queer puzzles. japanese girls are sometimes named after the family crest; and heraldry might explain one or two of these _yobina_. but why a girl should be called a ship, i am not sure of being able to guess. perhaps some reader may be reminded of nietzsche's "little brig called angeline":- "angeline--they call me so- now a ship, one time a maid, (ah, and evermore a maid!) love the steersman, to and fro, turns the wheel so finely made." but such a fancy would not enter into a japanese mind. i find, however, in a list of family crests, two varieties of design representing a ship, twenty representing an arrow, and two representing a bow. names difficult to classify or explain _o-fuku_[84] "raiment,"--clothing. [84] possibly this name belongs to the same class as _o-nui_ ("embroidery"), _o-somé_ ("the dyer"); but i am not sure. _o-funé_ "ship,"--or boat. _o-hina_[85] "doll,"--a paper doll? [85] probably a name of caress. the word _hina_ is applied especially to the little paper dolls made by hand for amusement,--representing young ladies with elaborate coiffure; and it is also given to the old-fashioned dolls representing courtly personages in full ceremonial costume. the true doll--doll-baby--is called _ningyô_. _o-kono_ "this." _o-nao_ "still more." _o-nari_ "thunder-peal." _o-nibo_ "palanquin" (?). _o-rai_ "thunder." _o-rui_ "sort,"--kind, species. _o-suzu_[86] "little bell." [86] perhaps this name is given because of the sweet sound of the _suzu_,--a tiny metal ball, with a little stone or other hard object inside, to make the ringing.--it is a pretty japanese custom to put one of these little _suzu_ in the silk charm-bag (_mamori-bukero_) which is attached to a child's girdle. the _suzu_ rings with every motion that the child makes,--somewhat like one of those tiny bells which we attach to the neck of a pet kitten. _suzuë_ "branch-of-little-bells." _o-tada_ "the only." _tamaki_ "armlet,"--bracelet. _o-tami_ "folk,"--common people. _o-toshi_ "arrowhead,"--or barb. _o-tsui_ "pair,"--match. _o-tsuna_ "rope,"--bond. _o-yumi_ "bow,"--weapon. before passing on to the subject of aristocratic names, i must mention an old rule for japanese names,--a curious rule that might help to account for sundry puzzles in the preceding lists. this rule formerly applied to all personal names,--masculine or feminine. it cannot be fully explained in the present paper; for a satisfactory explanation would occupy at least fifty pages. but, stated in the briefest possible way, the rule is that the first or "head-character" of a personal name should be made to "accord" (in the chinese philosophic sense) with the supposed _sei_, or astrologically-determined nature, of the person to whom the name is given;--the required accordance being decided, not by the meaning, but by the sound of the chinese written character. some vague idea of the difficulties of the subject may be obtained from the accompanying table. (page 143.) [illustration: phonetic relation of the five elemental-natures to the japanese syllabary a, i, u, é, o. ---------------------- i.--wood-nature { ka, ki, ku, ké, ko. } { ga, gi, gu, gé, go. } ---------------------- { sa, shi, su, sé, so. } { za, ji, zu, zé, zo. } ---------------------- ii.--fire-nature { ta, chi, tsu, té, to. } { da, ji, dzu, dé, do. } ---------------------- na, ni, nu, né, no. iii.--earth-nature ---------------------- { ha, hi, fu, hé, ho. } { ba, bi, bu, bé, bo. } { pa, pi, pu, pé, po. } ---------------------- iv.--metal-nature ma, mi, mu, mé, mo. ---------------------- ya, i, yu, yé, yo. ---------------------- ra, ri, ru, ré, ro. v.--water-nature ---------------------- wa, i, u, yé, wo.] ************************************************************ * * * transcriber note: explanation of table * * * * in the table above, there were lines connecting the * * five elements of nature with the lines of japanese * * syllabary: * * * * the wood element was associated with the * * ka/ga lines, * * * * the fire element was associated with the * * ta/da, na, and ra lines, * * * * the earth element was associated with the * * a, ka/ga, ya, and wa lines, * * * * the metal element was associated with the * * sa/za lines, and * * * * the water element was associated with the * * ha/ba/pa, and ma lines. * * * ************************************************************ iii for examples of contemporary aristocratic names i consulted the reports of the _kwazoku-jogakkô_ (peeresses' school), published between the nineteenth and twenty-seventh years of meiji (1886-1895). the kwazoku-jogakkô admits other students besides daughters of the nobility; but for present purposes the names of the latter only--to the number of one hundred and forty-seven--have been selected. it will be observed that names of three or more syllables are rare among these, and also that the modern aristocratic _yobina_ of two syllables, as pronounced and explained, differ little from ordinary _yobina_. but as written in chinese they differ greatly from other female names, being in most cases represented by characters of a complex and unfamiliar kind. the use of these more elaborate characters chiefly accounts for the relatively large number of homonyms to be found in the following list:- personal names of lady students of the kwazoku jogakkô _aki-ko_ "autumn." _aki-ko_ "the clear-minded." _aki-ko_ "dawn." _asa-ko_ "fair morning." _aya-ko_ "silk damask." _chiharu-ko_ "a thousand springs." _chika-ko_ "near,"--close. _chitsuru-ko_ "a thousand storks." _chiyo-ko_ "a thousand generations." _ei-ko_ "bell-chime." _etsu-ko_ "delight." _fuji-ko_ "wistaria." _fuku-ko_ "good-fortune." _fumi-ko_ "a woman's letter." _fuyô-ko_ "lotos-flower." _fuyu-ko_ "winter." _hana-ko_ "flower." _hana-ko_ "fair-blooming." _haru-ko_ "the tranquil." _haru-ko_ "spring,"--the season of flowers. _haru-ko_ "the far-removed,"--in the sense, perhaps, of superlative. _hatsu-ko_ "the first-born." _hidé-ko_ "excelling." _hidé-ko_ "surpassing." _hiro-ko_ "magnanimous,"--literally, "broad," "large,"--in the sense of beneficence. _hiro-ko_ "wide-spreading,"--with reference to family prosperity. _hisa-ko_ "long-lasting." _hisa-ko_ "continuing." _hoshi-ko_ "star." _iku-ko_ "the quick,"--in the sense of living. _ima-ko_ "now." _iho-ko_ "five hundred,"--probably a name of felicitation. _ito-ko_ "sewing-thread." _kamé-ko_ "tortoise." _kané-ko_ "going around" (?).[87] [87] it is possible that this name was made simply by taking one character of the father's name. the girl's name otherwise conveys no intelligible meaning. _kané-ko_ "bell,"--the character indicates a large suspended bell. _kata-ko_ "condition"? _kazu-ko_ "first." _kazu-ko_ "number,"--a great number. _kazu-ko_ "the obedient." _kiyo-ko_ "the pure." _kô_[88] "filial piety." [88] the suffix "_ko_" is sometimes dropped for reasons of euphony, and sometimes for reasons of good taste--difficult to explain to readers unfamiliar with the japanese language--even when the name consists of only one syllable or of two syllables. _kô-ko_ "stork." _koto_ "harp." _kuni-ko_ "province." _kuni_ "country,"--in the largest sense. _kyô-ko_ "capital,"--metropolis. _machi_ "ten-thousand thousand." _makoto_ "true-heart." _masa-ko_ "the trustworthy,"--sure. _masa-ko_ "the upright." _masu-ko_ "increase." _mata-ko_ "completely,"--wholly. _matsu-ko_ "pine-tree." _michi-ko_ "three thousand." _miné_ "peak." _miné-ko_ "mountain-range." _mitsu-ko_ "light,"--radiance. _miyo-ko_ "beautiful generations." _moto-ko_ "origin,"--source. _naga-ko_ "long,"--probably in reference to time. _naga-ko_ "long life." _nami-ko_ "wave." _nao-ko_ "correct,"--upright. _nyo-ko_[89] "gem-treasure." [89] this name is borrowed from the name of the sacred gem _nyoihôju_, which figures both in shintô and in buddhist legend. the divinity jizô is usually represented holding in one hand this gem, which is said to have the power of gratifying any desire that its owner can entertain. perhaps the _nyoihôju_ may be identified with the gem-treasure _veluriya_, mentioned in the sûtra of the great king of glory, chapter i. (see _sacred books of the east_, vol. xi.) _nobu-ko_ "faithful." _nobu-ko_ "abundance,"--plenty. _nobu-ko_ "the prolonger." _nori-ko_ "precept,"--doctrine. _nui_ "embroidery,"--sewing. _oki_ "offing,"--perhaps originally a place-name.[90] [90] a naval officer named oki told me that his family had originally been settled in the oki islands ("islands of the offing"). this interesting coincidence suggested to me that the above _yobina_ might have had the same origin. _sada-ko_ "the chaste." _sada-ko_ "the sure,"--trustworthy. _sakura-ko_ "cherry-blossom." _sakaë_ "the prosperous." _sato-ko_ "home." _sato-ko_ "the discriminating." _seki-ko_ "great." _setsu-ko_ "the chaste." _shigé-ko_ "flourishing." _shigé-ko_ "exuberant,"--in the sense of rich growth. _shigé-ko_ "upgrowing." _shigé-ko_ "fragrance." _shiki-ko_ "prudence." _shima-ko_ "island." _shin-ko_ "the fresh,"--new. _shizu-ko_ "the quiet,"--calm. _shizuë_ "quiet river." _sono-ko_ "garden." _suë-ko_ "last,"--in the sense of youngest. _suké-ko_ "the helper." _sumi-ko_ "the clear,"--spotless, refined. _sumi-ko_ "the veritable,"--real. _sumië-ko_ "clear river." _suzu-ko_ "tin." _suzu-ko_ "little bell." _suzunë_ "sound of little bell." _taka-ko_ "high,"--lofty, superior. _taka-ko_ "filial piety." _taka-ko_ "precious." _také-ko_ "bamboo." _taki-ko_ "waterfall." _tama-ko_ "gem,"--jewel. _tama-ko_ "gem,"--written with a different character. _tamé-ko_ "for the sake of--" _tami-ko_ "people,"--folks. _tané-ko_ "successful." _tatsu-ko_ "attaining." _tatsuru-ko_[91] "many storks." [91] so written, but probably pronounced as two syllables only. _tatsuru-ko_ "ricefield stork." _teru-ko_ "beaming,"--luminous. _tetsu-ko_ "iron." _toki-ko_ "time." _tomé-ko_ "cessation." _tomi-ko_ "riches." _tomo_ "intelligence." _tomo_ "knowledge." _tomo-ko_ "friendship." _toshi-ko_ "the quickly-perceiving." _toyo-ko_ "fruitful." _tsuné_ "constancy." _tsuné-ko_ "ordinary,"--usual, common. _tsuné-ko_ "ordinary,"--written with a different character. _tsuné-ko_ "faithful,"--in the sense of wifely fidelity. _tsuru-ko_ "stork." _tsuya-ko_ "the lustrous,"--shining, glossy. _umé_ "female hare." _umé-ko_ "plum-blossom." _yachi-ko_ "eight thousand." _yaso-ko_ "eighty." _yasoshi-ko_ "eighty-four." _yasu-ko_ "the maintainer,"--supporter. _yasu-ko_ "the respectful." _yasu-ko_ "the tranquil-minded." _yoné-ko_ "rice." _yori-ko_ "the trustful." _yoshi_ "eminent,"--celebrated. _yoshi-ko_ "fragrance." _yoshi-ko_ "the good,"--or gentle. _yoshi-ko_ "the lovable." _yoshi-ko_ "the lady-like,"--gentle in the sense of refined. _yoshi-ko_ "the joyful." _yoshi-ko_ "congratulation." _yoshi-ko_ "the happy." _yoshi-ko_ "bright and clear." _yuki-ko_ "the lucky." _yuki-ko_ "snow." _yuku-ko_ "going." _yutaka_ "plenty,"--affluence, superabundance. iv in the first part of this paper i suggested that the custom of giving very poetical names to _geisha_ and to _jorô_ might partly account for the unpopularity of purely æsthetic _yobina_. and in the hope of correcting certain foreign misapprehensions, i shall now venture a few remarks about the names of _geisha_. _geisha_-names,--like other classes of names,--although full of curious interest, and often in themselves really beautiful, have become hopelessly vulgarized by association with a calling the reverse of respectable. strictly speaking, they have nothing to do with the subject of the present study,--inasmuch as they are not real personal names, but professional appellations only,--not _yobina_, but _geimyô_. a large proportion of such names can be distinguished by certain prefixes or suffixes attached to them. they can be known, for example,-(1) by the prefix _waka_, signifying "young";--as in the names _wakagusa_, "young grass"; _wakazuru_, "young stork"; _wakamurasaki_, "young purple"; _wakakoma_, "young filly". (2) by the prefix _ko_, signifying "little";--as in the names, _ko-en_, "little charm"; _ko-hana_, "little flower"; _kozakura_, "little cherry-tree". (3) by the suffix _ryô_, signifying "dragon" (the ascending dragon being especially a symbol of success);--as _tama-ryô_, "jewel-dragon"; _hana-ryô_, "flower-dragon"; _kin-ryô_, "golden-dragon". (4) by the suffix _ji_, signifying "to serve", "to administer";--as in the names _uta-ji_, _shinné-ji_, _katsu-ji_. (5) by the suffix _suké_, signifying "help";--as in the names _tama-suké_, _koma-suké_. (6) by the suffix _kichi_, signifying "luck", "fortune";--as _uta-kichi_, "song-luck"; _tama-kichi_, "jewel-fortune". (7) by the suffix _giku_ (i. e., _kiku_) signifying "chrysanthemum";--as _mitsu-giku_, "three chrysanthemums"; _hina-giku_, "doll-chrysanthemum"; _ko-giku_, "little chrysanthemum". (8) by the suffix tsuru, signifying "stork" (emblem of longevity);--as _koma-tsuru_, "filly-stork"; _ko-tsuru_, "little stork"; _ito-zuru_, "thread-stork". these forms will serve for illustration; but there are others. _geimyô_ are written, as a general rule, with only two chinese characters, and are pronounced as three or as four syllables. _geimyô_ of five syllables are occasionally to be met with; _geimyô_ of only two syllables are rare--at least among names of dancing girls. and these professional appellations have seldom any moral meaning: they signify things relating to longevity, wealth, pleasure, youth, or luck,--perhaps especially to luck. * * * * * of late years it became a fashion among certain classes of _geisha_ in the capital to assume real names with the genteel suffix _ko_, and even aristocratic _yobina_. in 1889 some of the tôkyô newspapers demanded legislative measures to check the practice. this incident would seem to afford proof of public feeling upon the subject. old japanese songs [decoration] this new year's morning i find upon my table two most welcome gifts from a young poet of my literary class. one is a roll of cloth for a new kimono,--cloth such as my western reader never saw. the brown warp is cotton thread; but the woof is soft white paper string, irregularly speckled with black. when closely examined, the black specklings prove to be chinese and japanese characters;--for the paper woof is made out of manuscript,--manuscript of poems,--which has been deftly twisted into fine cord, with the written surface outwards. the general effect of the white, black, and brown in the texture is a warm mouse-grey. in many izumo homes a similar kind of cloth is manufactured for family use; but this piece was woven especially for me by the mother of my pupil. it will make a most comfortable winter-robe; and when wearing it, i shall be literally clothed with poetry,--even as a divinity might be clothed with the sun. the other gift is poetry also, but poetry in the original state: a wonderful manuscript collection of japanese songs gathered from unfamiliar sources, and particularly interesting from the fact that nearly all of them are furnished with refrains. there are hundreds of compositions, old and new,--including several extraordinary ballads, many dancing-songs, and a surprising variety of love-songs. neither in sentiment nor in construction do any of these resemble the japanese poetry of which i have already, in previous books, offered specimens in translation. the forms are, in most cases, curiously irregular; but their irregularity is not without a strange charm of its own. * * * * * i am going to offer examples of these compositions,--partly because of their unfamiliar emotional quality, and partly because i think that something can be learned from their strange art of construction, the older songs--selected from the antique drama--seem to me particularly worthy of notice. the thought or feeling and its utterance are supremely simple; yet by primitive devices of reiteration and of pause, very remarkable results have been obtained. what strikes me especially noteworthy in the following specimen is the way that the phrase, begun with the third line of the first stanza, and interrupted by a kind of burthen, is repeated and finished in the next stanza. perhaps the suspension will recall to western readers the effect of some english ballads with double refrains, or of such quaint forms of french song as the famous- au jardin de mon père- _vole, mon coeur, vole!_ il y a un pommier doux, _tout doux!_ but in the japanese song the reiteration of the broken phrase produces a slow dreamy effect as unlike the effect of the french composition as the movements of a japanese dance are unlike those of any western round:- kano yuku wa (_probably from the eleventh century_) kano yuku wa, kari ka?--kugui ka? kari naraba,- (ref.) _haréya tôtô!_ _haréya tôtô!_ kari nara nanori zo sémashi;- nao kugui nari-ya!- (ref.) _tôtô!_ that which yonder flies,- wild goose is it?--swan is it? wild goose if it be,- _haréya tôtô!_ _haréya tôtô!_ wild goose if it be, its name i soon shall say: wild swan if it be,--better still! _tôtô!_ there are many old lyrics in the above form. here is another song, of different construction, also from the old drama: there is no refrain, but there is the same peculiar suspension of phrase; and the effect of the quadruple repetition is emotionally impressive:- isora ga saki ni tai tsuru ama mo, tai tsuru ama mo,- wagimoko ga tamé to, tai tsuru ama mo, tai tsuru ama mo! off the cape of isora, even the fisherman catching _tai_,[92] even the fisherman catching _tai_,- [works] for the sake of the woman beloved,- even the fisherman catching _tai_, even the fisherman catching _tai_! [92] _chrysopbris cardinalis_, a kind of sea-bream,--generally esteemed the best of japanese fishes. but a still more remarkable effect is obtained in the following ancient song by the extraordinary reiteration of an uncompleted phrase, and by a double suspension. i can imagine nothing more purely natural: indeed the realism of these simple utterances has almost the quality of pathos:- agémaki (_old lyrical drama--date uncertain_) agémaki[93] wo waséda ni yarité ya! so omou to, so omou to, so omou to, so omou to, so omou to,- so omou to, nani-mo sezushité,- harubi sura, harubi sura, harubi sura, harubi sura, harubi sura! my darling boy!- oh! they have sent him to the ricefields! when i think about him,- when i think, when i think, when i think, when i think,- when i think about him! i--doing nothing at all,- even on this spring-day, even this spring-day, even this spring-day, even this spring-day, even on this spring-day!- [93] it was formerly the custom to shave the heads of boys, leaving only a tuft or lock of hair on either temple. such a lock was called _agémaki_, a word also meaning "tassel"; and eventually the term came to signify a boy or lad. in these songs it is used as a term of endearment,--much as an english girl might speak of her sweetheart as "my dear lad," or "my darling boy." other forms of repetition and of refrain are furnished in the two following lyrics:- bindatara (_supposed to have been composed as early as the twelfth century_) bindatara wo ayugaséba koso, ayugaséba koso, aikyô zuitaré! _yaréko tôtô, yaréko tôtô!_ with loosened hair,- only because of having tossed it, only because of having shaken it,- oh, sweet she is! _yaréko tôtô! yaréko tôtô!_ sama wa tennin (_probably from the sixteenth century_) sama wa tennin! _soré-soré_, _tontorori!_ otomé no sugata kumo no kayoiji chirato mita! _tontorori!_ otomé no sugata kumo no kayoiji chirato mita! _tontorori!_ my beloved an angel is![94] _soré-soré!_ _tontorori!_ the maiden's form, in the passing of clouds, in a glimpse i saw! _tontorori!_ the maiden's form, in the passage of clouds, in a glimpse i saw! _tontorori!_ [94] lit., "a tennin";--that is to say, an inhabitant of the buddhist heaven. the tennin are usually represented as beautiful maidens. my next selection is from a love-song of uncertain date, belonging to the kamakura period (1186-1332). this fragment is chiefly remarkable for its buddhist allusions, and for its very regular form of stanza:- makoto yara, kashima no minato ni miroku no mifuné ga tsuité gozarimôsu. _yono!_ _sâ iyoë, iyoë!_ _sâ iyoë, iyoë!_ hobashira wa, kogané no hobashira; ho niwa hokkékyô no go no man-makimono. _sâ iyoë, iyoë!_ _sâ iyoë, iyoë!_ * * * * * i know not if 't is true that to the port of kashima the august ship of miroku[95] has come! _yono!_ _sâ iyoë, iyoë!_ _sâ iyoë, iyoë!_ [95] miroku bosatsu (maitrêya bodhisattva) is the next great buddha to come. as for the mast, it is a mast of gold;- the sail is the fifth august roll of the hokkékyô![96] _sâ iyoë, iyoë!_ _sâ iyoë, iyoë_ [96] japanese popular name for the chinese version of the saddhârma pundarîka sûtra.--many of the old buddhist scriptures were written upon long scrolls, called _makimono_,--a name also given to pictures printed upon long rolls of silk or paper. * * * * * otherwise interesting, with its queer refrain, is another song called "agémaki,"--belonging to one of the curious class of lyrical dramas known as _saibara_. this may be found fault with as somewhat "free"; but i cannot think it more open to objection than some of our much-admired elizabethan songs which were probably produced at about the same time:- agémaki (_probably from the sixteenth century_) agémaki ya! _tonton!_ hiro bakari ya- _tonton!_ sakarité netarédomo, marobi-ainikéri,- _tonton!_ kayori-ainikéri, _tonton!_ oh! my darling boy! _tonton!_ though a fathom[97] apart, _tonton!_ sleeping separated, by rolling we came together! _tonton!_ by slow approaches we came together, _tonton!_ [97] lit., "_hiro_." the _hiro_ is a measure of about five feet english, and is used to measure breadth as well as depth. my next group of selections consists of "local songs"--by which term the collector means songs peculiar to particular districts or provinces. they are old--though less old than the compositions previously cited;--and their interest is chiefly emotional. but several, it will be observed, have curious refrains. songs of this sort are sung especially at the village-dances--_bon-odori_ and _hônen-odori_:- love-song (_province of echigo_) hana ka?--chôchô ka? chôchô ka?--hana ka? _don-don!_ kité wa chira-chira mayowaséru, kité wa chira-chira mayowaséru! _taichokané!_ _sôkané don-don!_ flower is it?--butterfly is it? butterfly or flower? _don-don!_ when you come thus flickering, i am deluded!- when you come thus twinkling, i am bewitched! _taichokané!_ _sôkané don-don!_ love-song (_province of kii,--village of ogawa_) koë wa surédomo sugata wa miénu- fuka-no no kirigirisu! though i hear the voice [_of the beloved_], the form i cannot see--a _kirigirisu_[98] in the high grass. [98] _the kirigirisu_ is a kind of grasshopper with a very musical note. it is very difficult to see it, even when it is singing close by, for its color is exactly the color of the grass. the song alludes to the happy peasant custom of singing while at work in the fields. love-song (_province of mutsu,--district of sugaru_) washi no kokoro to oki kuru funé wa, raku ni misétémo, ku ga taënu. my heart and a ship in the offing--either seems to move with ease; yet in both there is trouble enough. love-song (_province of suwô,--village of iséki_) namida koboshité shinku wo kataru, kawairashi-sa ga mashimasuru! as she tells me all the pain of her toil, shedding tears,--ever her sweetness seems to increase. love-song (_province of suruga, village of gotemba_) hana ya, yoku kiké! shô aru naraba, hito ga fusagu ni nazé hiraku? o flower, hear me well if thou hast a soul! when any one sorrows as i am sorrowing, why dost thou bloom? old tôkyô song iya-na o-kata no shinsetsu yori ka suita o-kata no muri ga yoi. better than the kindness of the disliked is the violence of the beloved. love-song (_province of iwami_) kawairashi-sa ya! hotaru no mushi wa shinobu nawaté ni hi wo tomosu. ah, the darling!... ever as i steal along the ricefield-path [_to meet my lover_], the firefly kindles a light to show me the way. comic song (_province of shinano_) ano yama kagé dé hikaru wa nanja?- tsuki ka, hoshi ka, hotaru no mushi ka? tsuki démo naiga; hoshi démo naiga;- shûto no o-uba no mé ga hikaru,- (chorus) _mé ga hikaru!_ in the shadow of the mountain what is it that shines so? moon is it, or star?--or is it the firefly-insect? neither is it moon, nor yet star;- it is the old woman's eye;--it is the eye of my mother-in-law that shines,- (chorus) _it is her eye that shines!_ kaëri-odori[99] (_province of sanuki_) [99] i am not sure of the real meaning of the name _kaëri-odori_ (lit. "turn-dance" or "return-dance"). oh! the cruelty, the cruelty of my mother-in-law!- (chorus) _oh! the cruelty!_ even tells me to paint a picture on running water! if ever i paint a picture on running water, you will count the stars in the night-sky! _count the stars in the night-sky!_ --_come! let us dance the dance of the honorable garden!_- _chan-chan! cha-cha! yoitomosé, yoitomosé!_ who cuts the bamboo at the back of the house?- (chorus) _who cuts the bamboo?_- my sweet lord's own bamboo, the first he planted,- _the first be planted?_ --_come! let us dance the dance of the honorable garden!_- _chan-chan! cha-cha! yoitomosé, yoitomosé!_ oh! the cruelty, the cruelty of my mother-in-law!- _oh! the cruelty!_ tells me to cut and make a hakama[100] out of rock! if ever i cut and sew a hakama of rock, then you will learn to twist the fine sand into thread,- _twist it into thread._ --_come! let us dance the dance of the honorable garden!_- _chan-chan! cha-cha! yoitomosé, yoitomosé! chan-chan-chan!_ [100] a divided skirt of a peculiar form, worn formerly by men chiefly, to-day worn by female students also. otera-odori (temple-dance) (_province of iga, village called uenomachi_) visiting the honorable temple, when i see the august gate, the august gate i find to be of silver, the panels of gold. noble indeed is the gate of the honorable temple,- _the honorable temple!_ visiting the honorable temple, when i see the garden, i see young pinetrees flourishing in the four directions: on the first little branch of one the _shijûgara_[101] has made her nest,- _has made her nest_. visiting the honorable temple, when i see the water-tank, i see little flowers of many colors set all about it, each one having a different color of its own,- _a different color._ visiting the honorable temple, when i see the parlor-room, i find many kinds of little birds gathered all together, each one singing a different song of its own,- _a different song._ visiting the honorable temple, when i see the guest-room, there i see the priest, with a lamp beside him, reading behind a folding-screen--oh, how admirable it is!- _how admirable it is!_ [101] the manchurian great tit. it is said to bring good fortune to the owners of the garden in which it builds a nest,--providing that the nest be not disturbed and that the brood be protected. many kinds of popular songs--and especially the class of songs sung at country-dances--are composed after a mnemonic plan. the stanzas are usually ten in number; and the first syllable of each should correspond in sound to the first syllable of the numeral placed before the verse. sometimes chinese numerals are used; sometimes japanese. but the rule is not always perfectly observed. in the following example it will be observed that the correspondence of the first two syllables in the first verse with the first two syllables of the japanese word for one (_hitotsu_) is a correspondence of meaning only;--_ichi_ being the chinese numeral:- song of fishermen (_province of shimosa,--town of chôshi_)[102] [102] chôshi, a town of some importance, is situated at the mouth of the tonégawa. it is celebrated for its _iwashi_-fishery. the _iwashi_ is a fish about the size of the sardine, and is sought chiefly for the sake of its oil. immense quantities of _iwashi_ are taken off the coast. they are boiled to extract the oil; and the dried residue is sent inland to serve as manure. _hitotsutosé_,- ichiban buné é tsumi-kondé, kawaguchi oshikomu ô-yagoë. _kono tai-ryô-buné!_ _futatsutosé_,- futaba no oki kara togawa madé tsuzuité oshikomu ô-yagoë. _kono tai-ryô-buné!_ _mitsutosé_,- mina ichidô-ni manéki wo agé, kayowasé-buné no nigiyakasa _kono tai-ryô-buné!_ _yotsutosé_,- yoru-hiru taitémo taki-amaru, san-bai itchô no ô-iwashi! _kono tai-ryô-buné!_ _itsutsutosé_,- itsu kité mitémo hoshika-ba ni akima sukima wa sarani nai. _kono tai-ryô-buné!_ _mutsutoyé_,- mutsu kara mutsu madé kasu-wari ga ô-wari ko-wari dé té ni owaré. _kono tai-ryô-buné!_ _nanatsutosé_,- natakaki tonégawa ichi-men ni kasu-ya abura wo tsumi-okuru _kono tai-ryô-buné!_ _yatsutosé_,- yatébuné no okiai wakashu ga, ban-shuku soroété miya-mairi. _kono tai-ryô-buné!_ _kokonotsutosé_,- kono ura mamoru kawa-guchi no myôjin riyaku wo arawasuru. _kono tai-ryô-buné!_ _firstly_ (or "number one"),- the first ship, filled up with fish, squeezes her way through the river-mouth, with a great shouting.[103] [103] _ô-yagoë._ the chorus-cry or chant of sailors, pulling all together, is called yagoë. _o this ship of great fishing!_[104] [104] _tai-ryô buné_, lit.:--"great-fishing," or "great-catching-ship." the adjective refers to the fishing, not to the ship. the real meaning of the refrain is, "this-most-successful-in-fishing of ships." _secondly_,- from the offing of futaba even to the togawa,[105] the ships, fast following, press in, with a great shouting. _o this ship of great fishing!_ [105] perhaps the reference is to a village at the mouth of the river togawa,--not far from chôshi on the tonégawa. the two rivers are united by a canal. but the text leaves it uncertain whether river or village is meant. _thirdly_,- when, all together, we hoist our signal-flags, see how fast the cargo-boats come hurrying! _o this ship of great fishing!_ _fourthly_,- night and day though the boiling be, there is still too much to boil--oh, the heaps of _iwashi_ from the three ships together! _o this ship of great fishing!_ _fifthly_,- whenever you go to look at the place where the dried fish are kept,[106] never do you find any room,--not even a crevice. _o this ship of great fishing!_ [106] _hoshika-ba_: lit., "the hoshika-place" or "hoshika-room." "hoshika" is the name given to dried fish prepared for use as fertilizer. _sixthly_,- from six to six o'clock is cleaning and washing: the great cutting and the small cutting are more than can be done. _o this ship of great fishing!_ _seventhly_,- all up and down the famous river tonégawa we send our loads of oil and fertilizer. _o this ship of great fishing!_ _eighthly_,- all the young folk, drawing the _yatai-buné_,[107] with ten thousand rejoicings, visit the shrine of the god. _o this ship of great fishing!_ [107] _yatai_ is the name given to the ornamental cars drawn with ropes in a religious procession. _yatai-buné_ here seems to mean either the model of a boat mounted upon such a car, or a real boat so displayed in a religious procession. i have seen real boats mounted upon festival-cars in a religious procession at mionoséki. _ninthly_,- augustly protecting all this coast, the deity of the river-mouth shows to us his divine favor. _o this ship of great fishing!_ a stranger example of this mnemonic arrangement is furnished by a children's song, composed at least a hundred years ago. little girls of yedo used to sing it while playing ball. you can see the same ball-game being played by girls to-day, in almost any quiet street of tôkyô. the ball is kept bounding in a nearly perpendicular line by skilful taps of the hand delivered in time to the measure of a song; and a good player should be able to sing the song through without missing a stroke. if she misses, she must yield the ball to another player.[108] there are many pretty "ball-play songs;" but this old-fashioned and long-forgotten one is a moral curiosity:- [108] this is the more common form of the game; but there are many other forms. sometimes two girls play at once with the same ball--striking it alternately as it bounds. _hitotsu to ya:_- hito wa kô na hito to iu; on wo shiranéba kô naraji. _futatsu to ya:_- fuji yori takaki chichi no on; tsuné-ni omouté wasuré-naji. _mitsu to ya:_- mizu-umi kaetté asashi to wa, haha no on zo ya omou-beshi. _yotsu to ya:_- yoshiya mazushiku kurasu tomo, sugu-naru michi wo maguru-moji. _itsutsu to ya:_- itsumo kokoro no kawaranu wo, makoto no hito to omou-beshi. _mutsu to ya:_- munashiku tsukihi wo kurashi-naba, nochi no nagéki to shirinu-beshi. _nanatsu to ya:_- nasaki wa hito no tamé narodé, waga mi no tamé to omou-beshi. _yatsu to ya:_- yaku-nan muryô no wazawai mo kokoro zen nara nogaru-beshi. _kokonotsu to ya:_- kokoro kotoba no sugu-naraba, kami ya hotoké mo mamoru-beshi. _tô to ya_:- tôtoi hito to naru naraba, kôkô mono to iwaru-beshi. _this is the first_:- [only] a person having filial piety is [worthy to be] called a person:[109] if one does not know the goodness of parents, one has not filial piety. [109] lit., "a person having filial piety is called a person." the word _hito_ (person), usually indicating either a man or a woman, is often used in the signification of "people" or "mankind." the full meaning of the sentence is that no unfilial person deserves to be called a human being. _the second_:- higher than the [mountain] fuji is the favor of a father: think of it always;--never forget it. _the third_:- [compared with a mother's love] the great lake is shallow indeed! [by this saying] the goodness of a mother should be estimated. _the fourth_:- even though in poverty we have to pass our days, let us never turn aside from the one straight path. _the fifth:_- the person whose heart never changes with time, a true man or woman that person must be deemed. _the sixth_:- if the time [of the present] be spent in vain, in the time of the future must sorrow be borne. _the seventh_:- that a kindness done is not for the sake of others only, but also for one's own sake, should well be kept in mind. _the eighth_:- even the sorrow of numberless misfortunes we shall easily escape if the heart be pure. _the ninth_:- if the heart and the speech be kept straight and true, the gods and the buddhas will surely guard us well. _the tenth_:- in order to become a person held in honor, as a filial person one must [first] be known. the reader may think to himself, "how terribly exigent the training that could require the repetition of moral lessons even in a 'ball-play song'!" true,--but it produced perhaps the very sweetest type of woman that this world has ever known. * * * * * in some dance-songs the burthen is made by the mere repetition of the last line, or of part of the last line, of each stanza. the following queer ballad exemplifies the practice, and is furthermore remarkable by reason of the curious onomatopoetic choruses introduced at certain passages of the recitative:- kané-maki-odori uta ("_bell-wrapping-dance song_."--_province of iga--naga district_) a yamabushi of kyôto went to kumano. there resting in the inn chôjaya, by the beach of shirotaka, he saw a little girl three years old; and he petted and hugged her, playfully promising to make her his wife,- (chorus) _playfully promising._ thereafter that yamabushi travelled in various provinces; returning only when that girl was thirteen years old. "o my princess, my princess!" he cried to her,--"my little princess, pledged to me by promise!"--"o sir yamabushi," made she answer,--"good sir yamabushi, take me with you now!- "_take me with you now!_" "o soon," he said, "i shall come again; soon i shall come again: then, when i come again, i shall take you with me,- "_take you with me._" therewith the yamabushi, escaping from her, quickly, quickly fled away;--with all haste he fled away. having passed through tanabé and passed through minabé, he fled on over the komatsu moor,- _over the komatsu moor._ kakkara, kakkara, kakkara, kakka![110] [110] these syllables, forming a sort of special chorus, are simply onomatopes; intended to represent the sound of sandalled feet running at utmost speed. therewith the damsel, pursuing, quickly, quickly followed after him;--with all speed she followed after him. having passed through tanabé and passed through minabé, she pursued him over the komatsu moor,- _over the komatsu moor._ then the yamabushi, fleeing, came as he fled to the river of amoda, and cried to the boatman of the river of amoda,--"o good boatman, good sir boatman, behind me comes a maid pursuing!--pray do not take her across, good boatman,- "_good sir boatman!_" _deboku, deboku, deboku, denden!_[111] [111] these onomatopes, chanted by all the dancers together in chorus, with appropriate gesture, represent the sound of the ferryman's single oar, or scull, working upon its wooden peg. the syllables have no meaning in themselves. then the damsel, pursuing, came to the river of amoda and called to the boatman, "bring hither the boat!--take me over in the boat!"--"no, i will not bring the boat; i will not take you over: my boat is forbidden to carry women!- "_forbidden to carry women!_" "if you do not take me over, i will cross!--if you do not take me over, i will cross!--there is a way to cross the river of amoda!" taking off her sandals and holding them aloft, she entered the water, and at once turned into a dragon with twelve horns fully grown,- _with twelve horns fully grown._ then the yamabushi, fleeing, reached the temple dôjôji, and cried to the priests of the temple dôjôji:--"o good priests, behind me a damsel comes pursuing!--hide me, i beseech you, good sir priests!- "_good sir priests!_" then the priests, after holding consultation, took down from its place the big bell of the temple; and under it they hid him,- _under it they hid him_. then the dragon-maid, pursuing, followed him to the temple dôjôji. for a moment she stood in the gate of the temple: she saw that bell, and viewed it with suspicion. she thought:--"i must wrap myself about it once." she thought:--"i must wrap myself about it twice!" at the third wrapping, the bell was melted, and began to flow like boiling water,- _like boiling water_. so is told the story of the wrapping of the bell. many damsels dwell by the seashore of japan;--but who among them, like the daughter of the chôja, will become a dragon?- _become a dragon?_ this is all the song of the wrapping of the bell!--this is all the song,- _all the song!_[112] [112] this legend forms the subject of several japanese dramas, both ancient and modern. the original story is that a buddhist priest, called anchin, having rashly excited the affection of a maiden named kiyohimé, and being, by reason of his vows, unable to wed her, sought safety from her advances in flight. kiyohimé, by the violence of her frustrated passion, therewith became transformed into a fiery dragon; and in that shape she pursued the priest to the temple called dôjôji, in kumano (modern kishû), where he tried to hide himself under the great temple-bell. but the dragon coiled herself round the bell, which at once became red-hot, so that the body of the priest was totally consumed. in this rude ballad kiyohimé figures only as the daughter of an inn-keeper,--the _chôja_, or rich man of his village; while the priest anchin is changed into a yamabushi. the yamabushi are, or at least were, wandering priests of the strange sect called shugendo,--itinerant exorcists and diviners, professing both shinto and buddhism. of late years their practices have been prohibited by law; and a real yamabushi is now seldom to be met with. the temple dôjôji is still a famous place of pilgrimage. it is situated not far from gobô, on the western coast of kishû. the incident of anchin and the dragon is said to have occurred in the early part of the tenth century. i shall give only one specimen of the true street-ballad,--the kind of ballad commonly sung by wandering samisen-players. it is written in an irregular measure, varying from twelve to sixteen syllables in length; the greater number of lines having thirteen syllables. i do not know the date of its composition; but i am told by aged persons who remember hearing it sung when they were children, that it was popular in the period of tenpô (1830-1843). it is not divided into stanzas; but there are pauses at irregular intervals,--marked by the refrain, _yanrei!_ o-kichi-seiza kudoki ("_the ditty of o-kichi and seiza_") now hear the pitiful story of two that died for love.--in kyôto was the thread-shop of yoëmon, a merchant known far and near,--a man of much wealth. his business prospered; his life was fortunate. one daughter he had, an only child, by name o-kichi: at sixteen years she was lovely as a flower. also he had a clerk in his house, by name seiza, just in the prime of youth, aged twenty-and-two. _yanrei!_ now the young man seiza was handsome; and o-kichi fell in love with him at sight. and the two were so often together that their secret affection became known; and the matter came to the ears of the parents of o-kichi; and the parents, hearing of it, felt that such a thing could not be suffered to continue. _yanrei!_ so at last, the mother, having called o-kichi into a private room, thus spoke to her:--"o my daughter, i hear that you have formed a secret relation with the young man seiza, of our shop. are you willing to end that relation at once, and not to think any more about that man, o-kichi?--answer me, o my daughter." _yanrei!_ "o my dear mother," answered o-kichi, "what is this that you ask me to do? the closeness of the relation between seiza and me is the closeness of the relation of the ink to the paper that it penetrates.[113] therefore, whatever may happen, o mother of mine, to separate from seiza is more than i can bear." _yanrei!_ [113] lit.:--"that affinity as-for, ink-and-paper-soaked-like affinity." then, the father, having called seiza to the innermost private room, thus spoke to him:--"i called you here only to tell you this: you have turned the mind of our daughter away from what is right; and even to hear of such a matter is not to be borne. pack up your things at once, and go!--to-day is the utmost limit of the time that you remain in this house." _yanrei!_ now seiza was a native of ôsaka. without saying more than "yes--yes," he obeyed and went away, returning to his home. there he remained four or five days, thinking only of o-kichi. and because of his longing for her, he fell sick; and as there was no cure and no hope for him, he died. _yanrei!_ then one night o-kichi, in a moment of sleep, saw the face of seiza close to her pillow,--so plainly that she could not tell whether it was real, or only a dream. and rising up, she looked about; but the form of seiza had vanished. _yanrei!_ because of this she made up her mind to go at once to the house of seiza. and, without being seen by any one, she fled from the home of her parents. _yanrei!_ when she came to the ferry at the next village, she did not take the boat, but went round by another road; and making all haste she found her way to the city of ôsaka. there she asked for the house of seiza; and she learned that it was in a certain street, the third house from a certain bridge. _yanrei!_ arriving at last before the home of seiza, she took off her travelling hat of straw; and seating herself on the threshold of the entrance, she cried out:--"pardon me kindly!--is not this the house of master seiza?" _yanrei!_ then--o the pity of it!--she saw the mother of seiza, weeping bitterly, and holding in her hand a buddhist rosary. "o my good young lady," the mother of seiza asked, "whence have you come; and whom do you want to see?" _yanrei!_ and o-kichi said:--"i am the daughter of the thread-merchant of kyôto. and i have come all the way here only because of the relation that has long existed between master seiza and myself. therefore, i pray you, kindly permit me to see him." _yanrei!_ "alas!" made answer the mother, weeping, "seiza, whom you have come so far to see, is dead. to-day is the seventh day from the day on which he died." ... hearing these words, o-kichi herself could only shed tears. _yanrei!_ but after a little while she took her way to the cemetery. and there she found the sotoba[114] erected above the grave of seiza; and leaning upon it, she wept aloud. _yanrei!_ [114] a wooden lath, bearing buddhist texts, planted above graves. for a full account of the sotoba see _my exotics and retrospectives_: "the literature of the dead." then--how fearful a thing is the longing of a person[115]--the grave of seiza split asunder; and the form of seiza rose up therefrom and spoke. _yanrei!_ [115] in the original:--_hito no omoi wa osoroshi mono yo!_--("how fearful a thing is the thinking of a person!"). the word _omoi_, used here in the sense of "longing," refers to the weird power of seiza's dying wish to see his sweetheart. even after his burial, this longing has the strength to burst open the tomb. --in the old english ballad of "william and marjorie" (see child: vol. ii. p. 151) there is also a remarkable fancy about the opening and closing of a grave:- she followed him high, she followed him low, till she came to yon churchyard green; _and there the deep grave opened up_, and young william he lay down. "ah! is not this o-kichi that has come? kind indeed it was to have come to me from so far away! my o-kichi, do not weep thus. never again--even though you weep--can we be united in this world. but as you love me truly, i pray you to set some fragrant flowers before my tomb, and to have a buddhist service said for me upon the anniversary of my death." _yanrei!_ and with these words the form of seiza vanished. "o wait, wait for me!" cried o-kichi,--"wait one little moment![116] i cannot let you return alone!--i shall go with you in a little time!" _yanrei!_ [116] with this episode compare the close of the english ballad "sweet william's ghost" (child: vol. ii., page 148):- "o stay, my only true love, stay!" the constant margaret cried: wan grew her cheeks; she closed her een, stretched her soft limbs, and died. then quickly she went beyond the temple-gate to a moat some four or five _chô_[117] distant; and having filled her sleeves with small stones, into the deep water she cast her forlorn body. _yanrei!_ [117] a _chô_ is about one fifteenth of a mile. and now i shall terminate this brief excursion into unfamiliar song-fields by the citation of two buddhist pieces. the first is from the famous work _gempei seisuiki_ ("account of the prosperity and decline of the houses of gen and hei"), probably composed during the latter part of the twelfth, or at the beginning of the thirteenth century. it is written in the measure called _imayô_,--that is to say, in short lines alternately of seven and of five syllables (7, 5; 7, 5; 7, 5, _ad libitum_). the other philosophical composition is from a collection of songs called _ryûtachi-bushi_ ("ryûtachi airs"), belonging to the sixteenth century:- i (_measure, imayô_) sama mo kokoro mo kawaru kana! otsuru namida wa taki no mizu: myô-hô-rengé no iké to nari; guzé no funé ni sao sashité; shizumu waga mi wo nosé-tamaë! both form and mind- lo! how these change! the falling of tears is like the water of a cataract. let them become the pool of the lotos of the good law! poling thereupon the boat of salvation, vouchsafe that my sinking body may ride! ii (_period of bunrokû--1592-1596_) who twice shall live his youth? what flower faded blooms again? fugitive as dew is the form regretted, seen only in a moment of dream. fantasies [decoration] ... vainly does each, as he glides, fable and dream of the lands which the river of time had left ere he woke on its breast, or shall reach when his eyes have been closed. matthew arnold noctilucæ [decoration] the moon had not yet risen; but the vast of the night was all seething with stars, and bridged by a milky way of extraordinary brightness. there was no wind; but the sea, far as sight could reach, was running in ripples of fire,--a vision of infernal beauty. only the ripplings were radiant (between them was blackness absolute);--and the luminosity was amazing. most of the undulations were yellow like candle-flame; but there were crimson lampings also,--and azure, and orange, and emerald. and the sinuous flickering of all seemed, not a pulsing of many waters, but a laboring of many wills,--a fleeting conscious and monstrous,--a writhing and a swarming incalculable, as of dragon-life in some depth of erebus. and life indeed was making the sinister splendor of that spectacle--but life infinitesimal, and of ghostliest delicacy,--life illimitable, yet ephemeral, flaming and fading in ceaseless alternation over the whole round of waters even to the sky-line, above which, in the vaster abyss, other countless lights were throbbing with other spectral colors. * * * * * watching, i wondered and i dreamed. i thought of the ultimate ghost revealed in that scintillation tremendous of night and sea;--quickening above me, in systems aglow with awful fusion of the past dissolved, with vapor of the life again to be;--quickening also beneath me, in meteor-gushings and constellations and nebulosities of colder fire,--till i found myself doubting whether the million ages of the sun-star could really signify, in the flux of perpetual dissolution, anything more than the momentary sparkle of one expiring noctiluca. even with the doubt, the vision changed. i saw no longer the sea of the ancient east, with its shudderings of fire, but that flood whose width and depth and altitude are one with the night of eternity,--the shoreless and timeless sea of death and birth. and the luminous haze of a hundred millions of suns,--the arch of the milky way,--was a single smouldering surge in the flow of the infinite tides. * * * * * yet again there came a change. i saw no more that vapory surge of suns; but the living darkness streamed and thrilled about me with infinite sparkling; and every sparkle was beating like a heart,--beating out colors like the tints of the sea-fires. and the lampings of all continually flowed away, as shivering threads of radiance, into illimitable mystery.... then i knew myself also a phosphor-point,--one fugitive floating sparkle of the measureless current;--and i saw that the light which was mine shifted tint with each changing of thought. ruby it sometimes shone, and sometimes sapphire: now it was flame of topaz; again, it was fire of emerald. and the meaning of the changes i could not fully know. but thoughts of the earthly life seemed to make the light burn red; while thoughts of supernal being,--of ghostly beauty and of ghostly bliss,--seemed to kindle ineffable rhythms of azure and of violet. * * * * * but of white lights there were none in all the visible. and i marvelled. then a voice said to me:-"the white are of the altitudes. by the blending of the billions they are made. thy part is to help to their kindling. even as the color of thy burning, so is the worth of thee. for a moment only is thy quickening; yet the light of thy pulsing lives on: by thy thought, in that shining moment, thou becomest a maker of gods." a mystery of crowds [decoration] who has not at some time leaned over the parapet of a bridge to watch the wrinklings and dimplings of the current below,--to wonder at the trembling permanency of surface-shapes that never change, though the substance of them is never for two successive moments the same? the mystery of the spectacle fascinates; and it is worth thinking about. symbols of the riddle of our own being are those shuddering forms. in ourselves likewise the substance perpetually changes with the flow of the infinite stream; but the shapes, though ever agitated by various inter-opposing forces, remain throughout the years. and who has not been fascinated also by the sight of the human stream that pours and pulses through the streets of some great metropolis? this, too, has its currents and counter-currents and eddyings,--all strengthening or weakening according to the tide-rise or tide-ebb of the city's sea of toil. but the attraction of the greater spectacle for us is not really the mystery of motion: it is rather the mystery of man. as outside observers we are interested chiefly by the passing forms and faces,--by their intimations of personality, their suggestions of sympathy or repulsion. we soon cease to think about the general flow. for the atoms of the human current are visible to our gaze: we see them walk, and deem their movements sufficiently explained by our own experience of walking. and, nevertheless, the motions of the visible individual are more mysterious than those of the always invisible molecule of water.--i am not forgetting the truth that all forms of motion are ultimately incomprehensible: i am referring only to the fact that our common relative knowledge of motions, which are supposed to depend upon will, is even less than our possible relative knowledge of the behavior of the atoms of a water-current. * * * * * every one who has lived in a great city is aware of certain laws of movement which regulate the flow of population through the more crowded thoroughfares. (we need not for present purposes concern ourselves about the complex middle-currents of the living river, with their thunder of hoofs and wheels: i shall speak of the side-currents only.) on either footpath the crowd naturally divides itself into an upward and a downward stream. all persons going in one direction take the right-hand side; all going in the other direction take the left-hand side. by moving with either one of these two streams you can proceed even quickly; but you cannot walk against it: only a drunken or insane person is likely to attempt such a thing. between the two currents there is going on, by reason of the pressure, a continual self-displacement of individuals to left and right, alternately,--such a yielding and swerving as might be represented, in a drawing of the double-current, by zigzag medial lines ascending and descending. this constant yielding alone makes progress possible: without it the contrary streams would quickly bring each other to a standstill by lateral pressure. but it is especially where two crowd-streams intersect each other, as at street-angles, that this systematic self-displacement is worthy of study. everybody observes the phenomenon; but few persons think about it. whoever really thinks about it will discover that there is a mystery in it,--a mystery which no individual experience can fully explain. * * * * * in any thronged street of a great metropolis thousands of people are constantly turning aside to left or right in order to pass each other. whenever two persons walking in contrary directions come face to face in such a press, one of three things is likely to happen:--either there is a mutual yielding,--or one makes room for the other,--or else both, in their endeavor to be accommodating, step at once in the same direction, and as quickly repeat the blunder by trying to correct it, and so keep dancing to and fro in each other's way,--until the first to perceive the absurdity of the situation stands still, or until the more irritable actually pushes his _vis-à-vis_ to one side. but these blunders are relatively infrequent: all necessary yielding, as a rule, is done quickly and correctly. of course there must be some general law regulating all this self-displacement,--some law in accord with the universal law of motion in the direction of least resistance. you have only to watch any crowded street for half an hour to be convinced of this. but the law is not easily found or formulated: there are puzzles in the phenomenon. * * * * * if you study the crowd-movement closely, you will perceive that those encounters in which one person yields to make way for the other are much less common than those in which both parties give way. but a little reflection will convince you that, even in cases of mutual yielding, one person must of necessity yield sooner than the other,--though the difference in time of the impulse-manifestation should be--as it often is--altogether inappreciable. for the sum of character, physical and psychical, cannot be precisely the same in two human beings. no two persons can have exactly equal faculties of perception and will, nor exactly similar qualities of that experience which expresses itself in mental and physical activities. and therefore in every case of apparent mutual yielding, the yielding must really be successive, not simultaneous. now although what we might here call the "personal equation" proves that in every case of mutual yielding one individual necessarily yields sooner than the other, it does not at all explain the mystery of the individual impulse in cases where the yielding is not mutual;--it does not explain why you feel at one time that you are about to make your _vis-à-vis_ give place, and feel at another time that you must yourself give place. what originates the feeling? a friend once attempted to answer this question by the ingenious theory of a sort of eye-duel between every two persons coming face to face in a street-throng; but i feel sure that his theory could account for the psychological facts in scarcely half-a-dozen of a thousand such encounters. the greater number of people hurrying by each other in a dense press rarely observe faces: only the disinterested idler has time for that. hundreds actually pass along the street with their eyes fixed upon the pavement. certainly it is not the man in a hurry who can guide himself by ocular snap-shot views of physiognomy;--he is usually absorbed in his own thoughts.... i have studied my own case repeatedly. while in a crowd i seldom look at faces; but without any conscious observation i am always able to tell when i should give way, or when my _vis-à-vis_ is going to save me that trouble. my knowledge is certainly intuitive--a mere knowledge of feeling; and i know not with what to compare it except that blind faculty by which, in absolute darkness, one becomes aware of the proximity of bulky objects without touching them. and my intuition is almost infallible. if i hesitate to obey it, a collision is the invariable consequence. furthermore, i find that whenever automatic, or at least semi-conscious, action is replaced by reasoned action--in plainer words, whenever i begin to think about my movements--i always blunder. it is only while i am thinking of other matters,--only while i am acting almost automatically,--that i can thread a dense crowd with ease. indeed, my personal experience has convinced me that what pilots one quickly and safely through a thick press is not conscious observation at all, but unreasoning, intuitive perception. now intuitive action of any kind represents inherited knowledge, the experience of past lives,--in this case the experience of past lives incalculable. utterly incalculable.... why do i think so? well, simply because this faculty of intuitive self-direction in a crowd is shared by man with very inferior forms of animal being,--evolutional proof that it must be a faculty immensely older than man. does not a herd of cattle, a herd of deer, a flock of sheep, offer us the same phenomenon of mutual yielding? or a flock of birds--gregarious birds especially: crows, sparrows, wild pigeons? or a shoal of fish? even among insects--bees, ants, termites--we can study the same law of intuitive self-displacement. the yielding, in all these cases, must still represent an inherited experience unimaginably old. could we endeavor to retrace the whole course of such inheritance, the attempt would probably lead us back, not only to the very beginnings of sentient life upon this planet, but further,--back into the history of non-sentient substance,--back even to the primal evolution of those mysterious tendencies which are stored up in the atoms of elements. such atoms we know of only as points of multiple resistance,--incomprehensible knittings of incomprehensible forces. even the tendencies of atoms doubtless represent accumulations of inheritance----but here thought checks with a shock at the eternal barrier of the infinite riddle. gothic horror [decoration] i long before i had arrived at what catechisms call the age of reason, i was frequently taken, much against my will, to church. the church was very old; and i can see the interior of it at this moment just as plainly as i saw it forty years ago, when it appeared to me like an evil dream. there i first learned to know the peculiar horror that certain forms of gothic architecture can inspire.... i am using the word "horror" in a classic sense,--in its antique meaning of ghostly fear. on the very first day of this experience, my child-fancy could place the source of the horror. the wizened and pointed shapes of the windows immediately terrified me. in their outline i found the form of apparitions that tormented me in sleep;--and at once i began to imagine some dreadful affinity between goblins and gothic churches. presently, in the tall doorways, in the archings of the aisles, in the ribbings and groinings of the roof, i discovered other and wilder suggestions of fear. even the façade of the organ,--peaking high into the shadow above its gallery,--seemed to me a frightful thing.... had i been then suddenly obliged to answer the question, "what are you afraid of?" i should have whispered, "_those points!_" i could not have otherwise explained the matter: i only knew that i was afraid of the "points." of course the real enigma of what i felt in that church could not present itself to my mind while i continued to believe in goblins. but long after the age of superstitious terrors, other gothic experiences severally revived the childish emotion in so startling a way as to convince me that childish fancy could not account for the feeling. then my curiosity was aroused; and i tried to discover some rational cause for the horror. i read many books, and asked many questions; but the mystery seemed only to deepen. books about architecture were very disappointing. i was much less impressed by what i could find in them than by references in pure fiction to the awfulness of gothic art,--particularly by one writer's confession that the interior of a gothic church, seen at night, gave him the idea of being inside the skeleton of some monstrous animal; and by a far-famed comparison of the windows of a cathedral to eyes, and of its door to a great mouth, "devouring the people." these imaginations explained little; they could not be developed beyond the phase of vague intimation: yet they stirred such emotional response that i felt sure they had touched some truth. certainly the architecture of a gothic cathedral offers strange resemblances to the architecture of bone; and the general impression that it makes upon the mind is an impression of life. but this impression or sense of life i found to be indefinable,--not a sense of any life organic, but of a life latent and dæmonic. and the manifestation of that life i felt to be in the _pointing_ of the structure. attempts to interpret the emotion by effects of altitude and gloom and vastness appeared to me of no worth; for buildings loftier and larger and darker than any gothic cathedral, but of a different order of architecture,--egyptian, for instance,--could not produce a like impression. i felt certain that the horror was made by something altogether peculiar to gothic construction, and that this something haunted the tops of the arches. "yes, gothic architecture is awful," said a religious friend, "because it is the visible expression of christian faith. no other religious architecture symbolizes spiritual longing; but the gothic embodies it. every part climbs or leaps; every supreme detail soars and points like fire...." "there may be considerable truth in what you say," i replied;--"but it does not relate to the riddle that baffles me. why should shapes that symbolize spiritual longing create horror? why should any expression of christian ecstasy inspire alarm?..." * * * * * other hypotheses in multitude i tested without avail; and i returned to the simple and savage conviction that the secret of the horror somehow belonged to the points of the archings. but for years i could not find it. at last, at last, in the early hours of a certain tropical morning, it revealed itself quite unexpectedly, while i was looking at a glorious group of palms. then i wondered at my stupidity in not having guessed the riddle before. ii the characteristics of many kinds of palm have been made familiar by pictures and photographs. but the giant palms of the american tropics cannot be adequately represented by the modern methods of pictorial illustration: they must be seen. you cannot draw or photograph a palm two hundred feet high. the first sight of a group of such forms, in their natural environment of tropical forest, is a magnificent surprise,--a surprise that strikes you dumb. nothing seen in temperate zones,--not even the huger growths of the californian slope,--could have prepared your imagination for the weird solemnity of that mighty colonnade. each stone-grey trunk is a perfect pillar,--but a pillar of which the stupendous grace has no counterpart in the works of man. you must strain your head well back to follow the soaring of the prodigious column, up, up, up through abysses of green twilight, till at last--far beyond a break in that infinite interweaving of limbs and lianas which is the roof of the forest--you catch one dizzy glimpse of the capital: a parasol of emerald feathers outspread in a sky so blinding as to suggest the notion of azure electricity. * * * * * now what is the emotion that such a vision excites,--an emotion too powerful to be called wonder, too weird to be called delight? only when the first shock of it has passed,--when the several elements that were combined in it have begun to set in motion widely different groups of ideas,--can you comprehend how very complex it must have been. many impressions belonging to personal experience were doubtless revived in it, but also with them a multitude of sensations more shadowy,--accumulations of organic memory; possibly even vague feelings older than man,--for the tropical shapes that aroused the emotion have a history more ancient than our race. one of the first elements of the emotion to become clearly distinguishable is the æsthetic; and this, in its general mass, might be termed the sense of terrible beauty. certainly the spectacle of that unfamiliar life,--silent, tremendous, springing to the sun in colossal aspiration, striving for light against titans, and heedless of man in the gloom beneath as of a groping beetle,--thrills like the rhythm of some single marvellous verse that is learned in a glance and remembered forever. yet the delight, even at its vividest, is shadowed by a queer disquiet. the aspect of that monstrous, pale, naked, smooth-stretching column suggests a life as conscious as the serpent's. you stare at the towering lines of the shape,--vaguely fearing to discern some sign of stealthy movement, some beginning of undulation. then sight and reason combine to correct the suspicion. yes, motion is there, and life enormous--but a life seeking only sun,--life, rushing like the jet of a geyser, straight to the giant day. iii during my own experience i could perceive that certain feelings commingled in the wave of delight,--feelings related to ideas of power and splendor and triumph,--were accompanied by a faint sense of religious awe. perhaps our modern æsthetic sentiments are so interwoven with various inherited elements of religious emotionalism that the recognition of beauty cannot arise independently of reverential feeling. be this as it may, such a feeling defined itself while i gazed;--and at once the great grey trunks were changed to the pillars of a mighty aisle; and from altitudes of dream there suddenly descended upon me the old dark thrill of gothic horror. even before it died away, i recognized that it must have been due to some old cathedral-memory revived by the vision of those giant trunks uprising into gloom. but neither the height nor the gloom could account for anything beyond the memory. columns tall as those palms, but supporting a classic entablature, could evoke no sense of disquiet resembling the gothic horror. i felt sure of this,--because i was able, without any difficulty, to shape immediately the imagination of such a façade. but presently the mental picture distorted. i saw the architrave elbow upward in each of the spaces between the pillars, and curve and point itself into a range of prodigious arches;--and again the sombre thrill descended upon me. simultaneously there flashed to me the solution of the mystery. i understood that the gothic horror was a _horror of monstrous motion_,--and that it had seemed to belong to the points of the arches because the idea of such motion was chiefly suggested by the extraordinary angle at which the curves of the arching touched. * * * * * to any experienced eye, the curves of gothic arching offer a striking resemblance to certain curves of vegetal growth;--the curves of the palm-branch being, perhaps, especially suggested. but observe that the architectural form suggests more than any vegetal comparison could illustrate! the meeting of two palm-crests would indeed form a kind of gothic arch; yet the effect of so short an arch would be insignificant. for nature to repeat the strange impression of the real gothic arch, it were necessary that the branches of the touching crests should vastly exceed, both in length of curve and strength of spring, anything of their kind existing in the vegetable world. the effect of the gothic arch depends altogether upon the intimation of energy. an arch formed by the intersection of two short sprouting lines could suggest only a feeble power of growth; but the lines of the tall mediæval arch seem to express a crescent force immensely surpassing that of nature. and the horror of gothic architecture is not in the mere suggestion of a growing life, but in the suggestion of an energy supernatural and tremendous. * * * * * of course the child, oppressed by the strangeness of gothic forms, is yet incapable of analyzing the impression received: he is frightened without comprehending. he cannot divine that the points and the curves are terrible to him because they represent the prodigious exaggeration of a real law of vegetal growth. he dreads the shapes because they seem alive; yet he does not know how to express this dread. without suspecting why, he feels that this silent manifestation of power, everywhere pointing and piercing upward, is not natural. to his startled imagination, the building stretches itself like a phantasm of sleep,--makes itself tall and taller with intent to frighten. even though built by hands of men, it has ceased to be a mass of dead stone: it is infused with something that thinks and threatens;--it has become a shadowing malevolence, a multiple goblinry, a monstrous fetish! levitation [decoration] out of some upper-story window i was looking into a street of yellow-tinted houses,--a colonial street, old-fashioned, narrow, with palm-heads showing above its roofs of tile. there were no shadows; there was no sun,--only a grey soft light, as of early gloaming. suddenly i found myself falling from the window; and my heart gave one sickening leap of terror. but the distance from window to pavement proved to be much greater than i supposed,--so great that, in spite of my fear, i began to wonder. still i kept falling, falling,--and still the dreaded shock did not come. then the fear ceased, and a queer pleasure took its place;--for i discovered that i was not falling quickly, but only _floating_ down. moreover, i was floating feet foremost--must have turned in descending. at last i touched the stones--but very, very lightly, with only one foot; and instantly at that touch i went up again,--rose to the level of the eaves. people stopped to stare at me. i felt the exultation of power superhuman;--i felt for the moment as a god. then softly i began to sink; and the sight of faces, gathering below me, prompted a sudden resolve to fly down the street, over the heads of the gazers. again like a bubble i rose, and, with the same impulse, i sailed in one grand curve to a distance that astounded me. i felt no wind;--i felt nothing but the joy of motion triumphant. once more touching pavement, i soared at a bound for a thousand yards. then, reaching the end of the street, i wheeled and came back by great swoops,--by long slow aerial leaps of surprising altitude. in the street there was dead silence: many people were looking; but nobody spoke. i wondered what they thought of my feat, and what they would say if they knew how easily the thing was done. by the merest chance i had found out how to do it; and the only reason why it seemed a feat was that no one else had ever attempted it. instinctively i felt that to say anything about the accident, which had led to the discovery, would be imprudent. then the real meaning of the strange hush in the street began to dawn upon me. i said to myself:-"this silence is the silence of dreams;--i am quite well aware that this is a dream. i remember having dreamed the same dream before. but the discovery of this power is not a dream: _it is a revelation!_ ... now that i have learned how to fly, i can no more forget it than a swimmer can forget how to swim. to-morrow morning i shall astonish the people, by sailing over the roofs of the town." morning came; and i woke with the fixed resolve to fly out of the window. but no sooner had i risen from bed than the knowledge of physical relations returned, like a sensation forgotten, and compelled me to recognize the unwelcome truth that i had not made any discovery at all. * * * * * this was neither the first nor the last of such dreams; but it was particularly vivid, and i therefore selected it for narration as a good example of its class. i still fly occasionally,--sometimes over fields and streams,--sometimes through familiar streets; and the dream is invariably accompanied by remembrance of like dreams in the past, as well as by the conviction that i have really found out a secret, really acquired a new faculty. "this time, at all events," i say to myself, "it is impossible that i can be mistaken;--i _know_ that i shall be able to fly after i awake. many times before, in other dreams, i learned the secret only to forget it on awakening; but this time i am absolutely sure that i shall not forget." and the conviction actually stays with me until i rise from bed, when the physical effort at once reminds me of the formidable reality of gravitation. * * * * * the oddest part of this experience is the feeling of buoyancy. it is much like the feeling of floating,--of rising or sinking through tepid water, for example;--and there is no sense of real effort. it is a delight; yet it usually leaves something to be desired. i am a low flyer; i can proceed only like a pteromys or a flying-fish--and far less quickly: moreover, i must tread earth occasionally in order to obtain a fresh impulsion. i seldom rise to a height of more than twenty-five or thirty feet;--the greater part of the time i am merely skimming surfaces. touching the ground only at intervals of several hundred yards is pleasant skimming; but i always feel, in a faint and watery way, the dead pull of the world beneath me. * * * * * now the experience of most dream-flyers i find to be essentially like my own. i have met but one who claims superior powers: he says that he flies over mountains--goes sailing from peak to peak like a kite. all others whom i have questioned acknowledge that they fly low,--in long parabolic curves,--and this only by touching ground from time to time. most of them also tell me that their flights usually begin with an imagined fall, or desperate leap; and no less than four say that the start is commonly taken from the top of a stairway. [decoration] for myriads of years humanity has thus been flying by night. how did the fancied motion, having so little in common with any experience of active life, become a universal experience of the life of sleep? it may be that memory-impressions of certain kinds of aerial motion,--exultant experiences of leaping or swinging, for example,--are in dream-revival so magnified and prolonged as to create the illusion of flight. we know that in actual time the duration of most dreams is very brief. but in the half-life of sleep--(nightmare offering some startling exceptions)--there is scarcely more than a faint smouldering of consciousness by comparison with the quick flash and vivid thrill of active cerebration;--and time, to the dreaming brain, would seem to be magnified, somewhat as it must be relatively magnified to the feeble consciousness of an insect. supposing that any memory of the sensation of falling, together with the memory of the concomitant fear, should be accidentally revived in sleep, the dream-prolongation of the sensation and the emotion--unchecked by the natural sequence of shock--might suffice to revive other and even pleasurable memories of airy motion. and these, again, might quicken other combinations of interrelated memories able to furnish all the incident and scenery of the long phantasmagoria. but this hypothesis will not fully explain certain feelings and ideas of a character different from any experience of waking-hours,--the exultation of voluntary motion without exertion,--the pleasure of the utterly impossible,--the ghostly delight of imponderability. neither can it serve to explain other dream-experiences of levitation which do not begin with the sensation of leaping or falling, and are seldom of a pleasurable kind. for example, it sometimes happens during nightmare that the dreamer, deprived of all power to move or speak, actually feels his body lifted into the air and floated away by the force of the horror within him. again, there are dreams in which the dreamer has no physical being. i have thus found myself without any body,--a viewless and voiceless phantom, hovering upon a mountain-road in twilight time, and trying to frighten lonely folk by making small moaning noises. the sensation was of moving through the air by mere act of will: there was no touching of surfaces; and i seemed to glide always about a foot above the road. * * * * * could the feeling of dream-flight be partly interpreted by organic memory of conditions of life more ancient than man,--life weighty, and winged, and flying heavily, _a little above the ground?_ or might we suppose that some all-permeating over-soul, dormant in other time, wakens within the brain at rare moments of our sleep-life? the limited human consciousness has been beautifully compared to the visible solar spectrum, above and below which whole zones of colors invisible await the evolution of superior senses; and mystics aver that something of the ultra-violet or infra-red rays of the vaster mind may be momentarily glimpsed in dreams. certainly the cosmic life in each of us has been all things in all forms of space and time. perhaps you would like to believe that it may bestir, in slumber, some vague sense-memory of things more ancient than the sun,--memory of vanished planets with fainter powers of gravitation, where the normal modes of voluntary motion would have been like the realization of our flying dreams?... nightmare-touch [decoration] i what _is_ the fear of ghosts among those who believe in ghosts? all fear is the result of experience,--experience of the individual or of the race,--experience either of the present life or of lives forgotten. even the fear of the unknown can have no other origin. and the fear of ghosts must be a product of past pain. probably the fear of ghosts, as well as the belief in them, had its beginning in dreams. it is a peculiar fear. no other fear is so intense; yet none is so vague. feelings thus voluminous and dim are super-individual mostly,--feelings inherited,--feelings made within us by the experience of the dead. what experience? nowhere do i remember reading a plain statement of the reason why ghosts are feared. ask any ten intelligent persons of your acquaintance, who remember having once been afraid of ghosts, to tell you exactly why they were afraid,--to define the fancy behind the fear;--and i doubt whether even one will be able to answer the question. the literature of folk-lore--oral and written--throws no clear light upon the subject. we find, indeed, various legends of men torn asunder by phantoms; but such gross imaginings could not explain the peculiar quality of ghostly fear. it is not a fear of bodily violence. it is not even a reasoning fear,--not a fear that can readily explain itself,--which would not be the case if it were founded upon definite ideas of physical danger. furthermore, although primitive ghosts may have been imagined as capable of tearing and devouring, the common idea of a ghost is certainly that of a being intangible and imponderable.[118] [118] i may remark here that in many old japanese legends and ballads, ghosts are represented as having power to _pull off_ people's heads. but so far as the origin of the fear of ghosts is concerned, such stories explain nothing,--since the experiences that evolved the fear must have been real, not imaginary, experiences. now i venture to state boldly that the common fear of ghosts is _the fear of being touched by ghosts_,--or, in other words, that the imagined supernatural is dreaded mainly because of its imagined power to touch. only to _touch_, remember!--not to wound or to kill. but this dread of the touch would itself be the result of experience,--chiefly, i think, of prenatal experience stored up in the individual by inheritance, like the child's fear of darkness. and who can ever have had the sensation of being touched by ghosts? the answer is simple:--_everybody who has been seized by phantoms in a dream._ elements of primeval fears--fears older than humanity--doubtless enter into the child-terror of darkness. but the more definite fear of ghosts may very possibly be composed with inherited results of dream-pain,--ancestral experience of nightmare. and the intuitive terror of supernatural touch can thus be evolutionally explained. let me now try to illustrate my theory by relating some typical experiences. ii when about five years old i was condemned to sleep by myself in a certain isolated room, thereafter always called the child's room. (at that time i was scarcely ever mentioned by name, but only referred to as "the child.") the room was narrow, but very high, and, in spite of one tall window, very gloomy. it contained a fire-place wherein no fire was ever kindled; and the child suspected that the chimney was haunted. a law was made that no light should be left in the child's room at night,--simply because the child was afraid of the dark. his fear of the dark was judged to be a mental disorder requiring severe treatment. but the treatment aggravated the disorder. previously i had been accustomed to sleep in a well-lighted room, with a nurse to take care of me. i thought that i should die of fright when sentenced to lie alone in the dark, and--what seemed to me then abominably cruel--actually _locked_ into my room, the most dismal room of the house. night after night when i had been warmly tucked into bed, the lamp was removed; the key clicked in the lock; the protecting light and the footsteps of my guardian receded together. then an agony of fear would come upon me. something in the black air would seem to gather and grow--(i thought that i could even _hear_ it grow)--till i had to scream. screaming regularly brought punishment; but it also brought back the light, which more than consoled for the punishment. this fact being at last found out, orders were given to pay no further heed to the screams of the child. * * * * * why was i thus insanely afraid? partly because the dark had always been peopled for me with shapes of terror. so far back as memory extended, i had suffered from ugly dreams; and when aroused from them i could always _see_ the forms dreamed of, lurking in the shadows of the room. they would soon fade out; but for several moments they would appear like tangible realities. and they were always the same figures.... sometimes, without any preface of dreams, i used to see them at twilight-time,--following me about from room to room, or reaching long dim hands after me, from story to story, up through the interspaces of the deep stairways. i had complained of these haunters only to be told that i must never speak of them, and that they did not exist. i had complained to everybody in the house; and everybody in the house had told me the very same thing. but there was the evidence of my eyes! the denial of that evidence i could explain only in two ways:--either the shapes were afraid of big people, and showed themselves to me alone, because i was little and weak; or else the entire household had agreed, for some ghastly reason, to say what was not true. this latter theory seemed to me the more probable one, because i had several times perceived the shapes when i was not unattended;--and the consequent appearance of secrecy frightened me scarcely less than the visions did. why was i forbidden to talk about what i saw, and even heard,--on creaking stairways,--behind wavering curtains? "nothing will hurt you,"--this was the merciless answer to all my pleadings not to be left alone at night. but the haunters _did_ hurt me. only--they would wait until after i had fallen asleep, and so into their power,--for they possessed occult means of preventing me from rising or moving or crying out. needless to comment upon the policy of locking me up alone with these fears in a black room. unutterably was i tormented in that room--for years! therefore i felt relatively happy when sent away at last to a children's boarding-school, where the haunters very seldom ventured to show themselves. * * * * * they were not like any people that i had ever known. they were shadowy dark-robed figures, capable of atrocious self-distortion,--capable, for instance, of growing up to the ceiling, and then across it, and then lengthening themselves, head-downwards, along the opposite wall. only their faces were distinct; and i tried not to look at their faces. i tried also in my dreams--or thought that i tried--to awaken myself from the sight of them by pulling at my eyelids with my fingers; but the eyelids would remain closed, as if sealed.... many years afterwards, the frightful plates in orfila's _traité des exhumés_, beheld for the first time, recalled to me with a sickening start the dream-terrors of childhood. but to understand the child's experience, you must imagine orfila's drawings intensely alive, and continually elongating or distorting, as in some monstrous anamorphosis. nevertheless the mere sight of those nightmare-faces was not the worst of the experiences in the child's room. the dreams always began with a suspicion, or sensation of something heavy in the air,--slowly quenching will,--slowly numbing my power to move. at such times i usually found myself alone in a large unlighted apartment; and, almost simultaneously with the first sensation of fear, the atmosphere of the room would become suffused, half-way to the ceiling, with a sombre-yellowish glow, making objects dimly visible,--though the ceiling itself remained pitch-black. this was not a true appearance of light: rather it seemed as if the black air were changing color from beneath.... certain terrible aspects of sunset, on the eve of storm, offer like effects of sinister color.... forthwith i would try to escape,--(feeling at every step a sensation _as of wading_),--and would sometimes succeed in struggling half-way across the room;--but there i would always find myself brought to a standstill,--paralyzed by some innominable opposition. happy voices i could hear in the next room;--i could see light through the transom over the door that i had vainly endeavored to reach;--i knew that one loud cry would save me. but not even by the most frantic effort could i raise my voice above a whisper.... and all this signified only that the nameless was coming,--was nearing,--was mounting the stairs. i could hear the step,--booming like the sound of a muffled drum,--and i wondered why nobody else heard it. a long, long time the haunter would take to come,--malevolently pausing after each ghastly footfall. then, without a creak, the bolted door would open,--slowly, slowly,--and the thing would enter, gibbering soundlessly,--and put out hands,--and clutch me,--and toss me to the black ceiling,--and catch me descending to toss me up again, and again, and again.... in those moments the feeling was not fear: fear itself had been torpified by the first seizure. it was a sensation that has no name in the language of the living. for every touch brought a shock of something infinitely worse than pain,--something that thrilled into the innermost secret being of me,--a sort of abominable electricity, discovering unimagined capacities of suffering in totally unfamiliar regions of sentiency.... this was commonly the work of a single tormentor; but i can also remember having been caught by a group, and tossed from one to another,--seemingly for a time of many minutes. iii whence the fancy of those shapes? i do not know. possibly from some impression of fear in earliest infancy; possibly from some experience of fear in other lives than mine. that mystery is forever insoluble. but the mystery of the shock of the touch admits of a definite hypothesis. first, allow me to observe that the experience of the sensation itself cannot be dismissed as "mere imagination." imagination means cerebral activity: its pains and its pleasures are alike inseparable from nervous operation, and their physical importance is sufficiently proved by their physiological effects. dream-fear may kill as well as other fear; and no emotion thus powerful can be reasonably deemed undeserving of study. one remarkable fact in the problem to be considered is that the sensation of seizure in dreams differs totally from all sensations familiar to ordinary waking life. why this differentiation? how interpret the extraordinary massiveness and depth of the thrill? i have already suggested that the dreamer's fear is most probably not a reflection of relative experience, but represents the incalculable total of ancestral experience of dream-fear. if the sum of the experience of active life be transmitted by inheritance, so must likewise be transmitted the summed experience of the life of sleep. and in normal heredity either class of transmissions would probably remain distinct. now, granting this hypothesis, the sensation of dream-seizure would have had its beginnings in the earliest phases of dream-consciousness,--long prior to the apparition of man. the first creatures capable of thought and fear must often have dreamed of being caught by their natural enemies. there could not have been much imagining of pain in these primal dreams. but higher nervous development in later forms of being would have been accompanied with larger susceptibility to dream-pain. still later, with the growth of reasoning-power, ideas of the supernatural would have changed and intensified the character of dream-fear. furthermore, through all the course of evolution, heredity would have been accumulating the experience of such feeling. under those forms of imaginative pain evolved through reaction of religious beliefs, there would persist some dim survival of savage primitive fears, and again, under this, a dimmer but incomparably deeper substratum of ancient animal-terrors. in the dreams of the modern child all these latencies might quicken,--one below another,--unfathomably,--with the coming and the growing of nightmare. it may be doubted whether the phantasms of any particular nightmare have a history older than the brain in which they move. but the shock of the touch would seem to indicate _some point of dream-contact with the total race-experience of shadowy seizure_. it may be that profundities of self,--abysses never reached by any ray from the life of sun,--are strangely stirred in slumber, and that out of their blackness immediately responds a shuddering of memory, measureless even by millions of years. readings from a dream-book [decoration] often, in the blind dead of the night, i find myself reading a book,--a big broad book,--a dream-book. by "dream-book," i do not mean a book about dreams, but a book made of the stuff that dreams are made of. i do not know the name of the book, nor the name of its author: i have not been able to see the title-page; and there is no running title. as for the back of the volume, it remains,--like the back of the moon,--invisible forever. at no time have i touched the book in any way,--not even to turn a leaf. somebody, always viewless, holds it up and open before me in the dark; and i can read it only because it is lighted by a light that comes from nowhere. above and beneath and on either side of the book there is darkness absolute; but the pages seem to retain the yellow glow of lamps that once illuminated them. a queer fact is that i never see the entire text of a page at once, though i see the whole page itself plainly. the text rises, or seems to rise, to the surface of the paper as i gaze, and fades out almost immediately after having been read. by a simple effort of will, i can recall the vanished sentences to the page; but they do not come back in the same form as before: they seem to have been oddly revised during the interval. never can i coax even one fugitive line to reproduce itself exactly as it read at first. but i can always force something to return; and this something remains sharply distinct during perusal. then it turns faint grey, and appears to sink--as through thick milk--backward out of sight. * * * * * by regularly taking care to write down, immediately upon awakening, whatever i could remember reading in the dream-book, i found myself able last year to reproduce portions of the text. but the order in which i now present these fragments is not at all the order in which i recovered them. if they seem to have any interconnection, this is only because i tried to arrange them in what i imagined to be the rational sequence. of their original place and relation, i know scarcely anything. and, even regarding the character of the book itself, i have been able to discover only that a great part of it consists of dialogues about the unthinkable. fr. i ... then the wave prayed to remain a wave forever. the sea made answer:-"nay, thou must break: there is no rest in me. billions of billions of times thou wilt rise again to break, and break to rise again." the wave complained:-"i fear. thou sayest that i shall rise again. but when did ever a wave return from the place of breaking?" the sea responded:-"times countless beyond utterance thou hast broken; and yet thou art! behold the myriads of the waves that run before thee, and the myriads that pursue behind thee!--all have been to the place of breaking times unspeakable; and thither they hasten now to break again. into me they melt, only to swell anew. but pass they must; for there is not any rest in me." murmuring, the wave replied:-"shall i not be scattered presently to mix with the mingling of all these myriads? how should i rise again? never, never again can i become the same." "the same thou never art," returned the sea, "at any two moments in thy running: perpetual change is the law of thy being. what is thine 'i'? always thou art shaped with the substance of waves forgotten,--waves numberless beyond the sands of the shores of me. in thy multiplicity what art thou?--a phantom, an impermanency!" "real is pain," sobbed the wave,--"and fear and hope, and the joy of the light. whence and what are these, if i be not real?" "thou hast no pain," the sea responded,--"nor fear nor hope nor joy. thou art nothing--save in me. i am thy self, thine 'i': thy form is my dream; thy motion is my will; thy breaking is my pain. break thou must, because there is no rest in me; but thou wilt break only to rise again,--for death is the rhythm of life. lo! i, too, die that i may live: these my waters have passed, and will pass again, with wrecks of innumerable worlds to the burning of innumerable suns. i, too, am multiple unspeakably: dead tides of millions of oceans revive in mine ebb and flow. suffice thee to learn that only because thou wast thou art, and that because thou art thou wilt become again." muttered the wave,-"i cannot understand." answered the sea,-"thy part is to pulse and pass,--never to understand. i also,--even i, the great sea,--do not understand...." fr. ii ... "the stones and the rocks have felt; the winds have been breath and speech; the rivers and oceans of earth have been locked into chambers of hearts. and the palingenesis cannot cease till every cosmic particle shall have passed through the uttermost possible experience of the highest possible life." "but what of the planetary core?--has that, too, felt and thought?" "even so surely as that all flesh has been sun-fire! in the ceaseless succession of integrations and dissolutions, all things have shifted relation and place numberless billions of times. hearts of old moons will make the surface of future worlds...." fr. iii ... "no regret is vain. it is sorrow that spins the thread,--softer than moonshine, thinner than fragrance, stronger than death,--the gleipnir-chain of the greater memory.... "in millions of years you will meet again;--and the time will not seem long; for a million years and a moment are the same to the dead. then you will not be all of your present self, nor she be all that she has been: both of you will at once be less, and yet incomparably more. then, to the longing that must come upon you, body itself will seem but a barrier through which you would leap to her--or, it may be, to him; for sex will have shifted numberless times ere then. neither will remember; but each will be filled with a feeling immeasurable of having met before...." fr. iv ... "so wronging the being who loves,--the being blindly imagined but of yesterday,--this mocker mocks the divine in the past of the soul of the world. then in that heart is revived the countless million sorrows buried in forgotten graves,--all the old pain of love, in its patient contest with hate, since the beginning of time. "and the gods know,--the dim ones who dwell beyond space,--spinning the mysteries of shape and name. for they sit at the roots of life; and the pain runs back to them; and they feel that wrong,--as the spider feels in the trembling of her web that a thread is broken...." fr. v "love at sight is the choice of the dead. but the most of them are older than ethical systems; and the decision of their majorities is rarely moral. they choose by beauty,--according to their memory of physical excellence; and as bodily fitness makes the foundation of mental and of moral power, they are not apt to choose ill. nevertheless they are sometimes strangely cheated. they have been known to want beings that could never help ghost to a body,--hollow goblins...." fr. vi ... "the animulæ making the self do not fear death as dissolution. they fear death only as reintegration,--recombination with the strange and the hateful of other lives: they fear the imprisonment, within another body, of that which loves together with that which loathes...." fr. vii ... "in other time the el-woman sat only in waste places, and by solitary ways. but now in the shadows of cities she offers her breasts to youth; and he whom she entices, presently goes mad, and becomes, like herself, a hollowness. for the higher ghosts that entered into the making of him perish at that goblin-touch,--die as the pupa dies in the cocoon, leaving only a shell and dust behind...." fr. viii ... the man said to the multitude remaining of his souls:-"i am weary of life." and the remnant replied to him:-"we also are weary of the shame and pain of dwelling in so vile a habitation. continually we strive that the beams may break, and the pillars crack, and the roof fall in upon us." "surely there is a curse upon me," groaned the man. "there is no justice in the gods!" then the souls tumultuously laughed in scorn,--even as the leaves of a wood in the wind do chuckle all together. and they made answer to him:-"as a fool thou liest! did any save thyself make thy vile body? was it shapen--or misshapen--by any deeds or thoughts except thine own?" "no deed or thought can i remember," returned the man, "deserving that which has come upon me." "remember!" laughed the souls. "no--the folly was in other lives. but we remember; and remembering, we hate." "ye are all one with me!" cried the man,--"how can ye hate?" "one with thee," mocked the souls,--"as the wearer is one with his garment!... how can we hate? as the fire that devours the wood from which it is drawn by the fire-maker--even so we can hate." "it is a cursed world!" cried the man--"why did ye not guide me?" the souls replied to him:-"thou wouldst not heed the guiding of ghosts that were wiser than we.... cowards and weaklings curse the world. the strong do not blame the world: it gives them all that they desire. by power they break and take and keep. life for them is a joy, a triumph, an exultation. but creatures without power merit nothing; and nothingness becomes their portion. thou and we shall presently enter into nothingness." "do ye fear?"--asked the man. "there is reason for fear," the souls answered. "yet no one of us would wish to delay the time of what we fear by continuing to make part of such an existence as thine." "but ye have died innumerable times?"--wonderingly said the man. "no, we have not," said the souls,--"not even once that we can remember; and our memory reaches back to the beginnings of this world. we die only with the race." the man said nothing,--being afraid. the souls resumed:-"thy race ceases. its continuance depended upon thy power to serve our purposes. thou hast lost all power. what art thou but a charnel-house, a mortuary-pit? freedom we needed, and space: here we have been compacted together, a billion to a pin-point! doorless our chambers and blind;--and the passages are blocked and broken;--and the stairways lead to nothing. also there are haunters here, not of our kind,--things never to be named." for a little time the man thought gratefully of death and dust. but suddenly there came into his memory a vision of his enemy's face, with a wicked smile upon it. and then he wished for longer life,--a hundred years of life and pain,--only to see the grass grow tall above the grave of that enemy. and the souls mocked his desire:-"thine enemy will not waste much thought upon thee. he is no half-man,--thine enemy! the ghosts in that body have room and great light. high are the ceilings of their habitation; wide and clear the passageways; luminous the courts and pure. like a fortress excellently garrisoned is the brain of thine enemy;--and to any point thereof the defending hosts can be gathered for battle in a moment together. _his_ generation will not cease--nay! that face of his will multiply throughout the centuries! because thine enemy in every time provided for the needs of his higher ghosts: he gave heed to their warnings; he pleasured them in all just ways; he did not fail in reverence to them. wherefore they now have power to help him at his need.... how hast thou reverenced or pleasured us?" * * * * * the man remained silent for a space. then, as in horror of doubting, he questioned:-"wherefore should ye fear--if nothingness be the end?" "what is nothingness?" the souls responded. "only in the language of delusion is there an end. that which thou callest the end is in truth but the very beginning. the essence of us cannot cease. in the burning of worlds it cannot be consumed. it will shudder in the cores of great stars;--it will quiver in the light of other suns. and once more, in some future cosmos, it will reconquer knowledge--but only after evolutions unthinkable for multitude. even out of the nameless beginnings of form, and thence through every cycle of vanished being,--through all successions of exhausted pain,--through all the abyss of the past,--it must climb again." the man uttered no word: the souls spoke on:-"for millions of millions of ages must we shiver in tempests of fire: then shall we enter anew into some slime primordial,--there to quicken, and again writhe upward through all foul dumb blind shapes. innumerable the metamorphoses!--immeasurable the agonies!... and the fault is not of any gods: it is thine!" "good or evil," muttered the man,--"what signifies either? the best must become as the worst in the grind of the endless change." "nay!" cried out the souls; "for the strong there is a goal,--the goal that thou couldst not strive to gain. they will help to the fashioning of fairer worlds;--they will win to larger light;--they will tower and soar as flame to enter the zones of the divine. but thou and we go back to slime! think of the billion summers that might have been for us!--think of the joys, the loves, the triumphs cast away!--the dawns of the knowledge undreamed,--the glories of sense unimagined,--the exultations of illimitable power!... think, think, o fool, of all that thou hast lost!" then the souls of the man turned themselves into worms, and devoured him. in a pair of eyes [decoration] there is one adolescent moment never to be forgotten,--the moment when the boy learns that this world contains nothing more wonderful than a certain pair of eyes. at first the surprise of the discovery leaves him breathless: instinctively he turns away his gaze. that vision seemed too delicious to be true. but presently he ventures to look again,--fearing with a new fear,--afraid of the reality, afraid also of being observed;--and lo! his doubt dissolves in a new shock of ecstasy. those eyes are even more wonderful than he had imagined--nay! they become more and yet more entrancing every successive time that he looks at them! surely in all the universe there cannot be another such pair of eyes! what can lend them such enchantment? why do they appear divine?... he feels that he must ask somebody to explain,--must propound to older and wiser heads the riddle of his new emotions. then he makes his confession, with a faint intuitive fear of being laughed at, but with a strange, fresh sense of rapture in the telling. laughed at he is--tenderly; but this does not embarrass him nearly so much as the fact that he can get no answer to his question,--to the simple "why?" made so interesting by his frank surprise and his timid blushes. no one is able to enlighten him; but all can sympathize with the bewilderment of his sudden awakening from the long soul-sleep of childhood. * * * * * perhaps that "why?" never can be fully answered. but the mystery that prompted it constantly tempts one to theorize; and theories may have a worth independent of immediate results. had it not been for old theories concerning the unknowable, what should we have been able to learn about the knowable? was it not while in pursuit of the impossible that we stumbled upon the undreamed-of and infinitely marvellous possible? * * * * * why indeed should a pair of human eyes appear for a time to us so beautiful that, when likening their radiance to splendor of diamond or amethyst or emerald, we feel the comparison a blasphemy? why should we find them deeper than the sea, deeper than the day,--deep even as the night of space, with its scintillant mist of suns? certainly not because of mere wild fancy. these thoughts, these feelings, must spring from some actual perception of the marvellous,--some veritable revelation of the unspeakable. there is, in very truth, one brief hour of life during which the world holds for us nothing so wonderful as a pair of eyes. and then, while looking into them, we discover a thrill of awe vibrating through our delight,--awe made by a something _felt_ rather than seen: a latency,--a power,--a shadowing of depth unfathomable as the cosmic ether. it is as though, through some intense and sudden stimulation of vital being, we had obtained--for one supercelestial moment--the glimpse of a reality, never before imagined, and never again to be revealed. there is, indeed, an illusion. we seem to view the divine; but this divine itself, whereby we are dazzled and duped, is a ghost. not to actuality belongs the spell,--not to anything that is,--but to some infinite composite phantom of what has been. wondrous the vision--but wondrous only because our mortal sight then pierces beyond the surface of the present into profundities of myriads of years,--pierces beyond the mask of life into the enormous night of death. for a moment we are made aware of a beauty and a mystery and a depth unutterable: then the veil falls again forever. the splendor of the eyes that we worship belongs to them only as brightness to the morning-star. it is a reflex from beyond the shadow of the now,--a ghost-light of vanished suns. unknowingly within that maiden-gaze we meet the gaze of eyes more countless than the hosts of heaven,--eyes otherwhere passed into darkness and dust. thus, and only thus, the depth of that gaze is the depth of the sea of death and birth,--and its mystery is the world-soul's vision, watching us out of the silent vast of the abyss of being. thus, and only thus, do truth and illusion mingle in the magic of eyes,--the spectral past suffusing with charm ineffable the apparition of the present;--and the sudden splendor in the soul of the seer is but a flash,--one soundless sheet-lightning of the infinite memory. transcriber's notes: some of the illustrations have been moved so that they do not break up paragraphs and so they correspond to the text, thus the page number of the illustration no longer matches the page number in the list of illustrations. repeated chapter titles have been deleted. throughout the document, vowels having macrons in japanese words are indicated by vowels having circumflexes. for example, english word for the japanese capital (currently written in japanese romanji as toukyou) used to be written as tokyo, but with macrons associated with each letter "o". in this text the japanese capital would be written as tôkyô. throughout the document, there are instances where punctuation seems to be missing, but it is unclear whether the missing punctuation is deliberate or what the missing punctuation should be. in those cases the punctuation was not "corrected". also, throughout the document, the [oe] ligature was replaced with "oe". passages in italics were indicated by _underscores_. small caps have been replaced with all caps. sometimes in the text the word "samébito" was italicized and sometimes it was not italicized. that inconsistency was persevered. in the third footnote, which began on page 15, there was a missing close quotation mark. that "error in punctuation" was not changed, as it appeared in a quotation from another work. on page 55, a period was added after "kibun-anbaiyoshi". on page 57, "setagawa" was replaced with "sétagawa". on page 140, two footnote markers point to footnote 83. that is because the footnote is about the two words marked by the two footnote marker. that was how it was in the original text. on page 143, a transcriber's note was added right after the illustration explaining the connections draw between the five elemental-natures and the japanese syllabary. on page 178, an emdash was added after "sixthly,". on page 178, "processsion" was replaced with "procession". generously made available by the internet archive.) curiosities of puritan nomenclature by the same author. _crown 8vo, cloth extra, 7s. 6d._ our english surnames: their sources and significations. "mr. bardsley has faithfully consulted the original mediæval documents and works from which the origin and development of surnames can alone be satisfactorily traced. he has furnished a valuable contribution to the literature of surnames, and we hope to hear more of him in this field."--_times._ _chatto and windus, piccadilly, w._ curiosities of puritan nomenclature by charles w. bardsley author of "english surnames, their sources and significations" "o my lord, the times and titles now are alter'd strangely" king henry viii. london chatto and windus, piccadilly 1880 [_the right of translation is reserved_] _printed by william clowes and sons, limited, london and beccles._ dedicated to his fellow members of the harleian society. preface. i will not be so ill-natured as to quote the names of all the writers who have denied the existence of puritan eccentricities at the font. one, at least, ought to have known better, for he has edited more books of the puritan epoch than any other man in england. the mistake of all is that, misled perhaps by walter scott and macaulay, they have looked solely to the commonwealth period. the custom was then in its decay. i have to thank several clergymen for giving me extracts from the registers and records under their care. a stranger to them, i felt some diffidence in making my requests. in every case the assistance i asked for was readily extended. these gentlemen are the rev. w. sparrow simpson, st. matthew, friday street, london; the rev. w. wodehouse, elham, canterbury; the rev. j. b. waytes, markington, yorks.; the rev. william tebbs, caterham valley; the rev. canon howell, drayton, norwich; the rev. j. o. lord, northiam, staplehurst; and the rev. g. e. haviland, warbleton, sussex. the last-named gentleman copied no less than 120 names, all of puritan origin, from the warbleton records. i beg to thank him most warmly, and to congratulate him on possessing the most remarkable register of its kind in england. certain circumstances led me to suspect that warbleton was a kind of head-quarters of these eccentricities; i wrote to the rector, and we soon found that we had "struck ile." that mr. heley, the puritan incumbent, should have baptized his own children by such names as fear-not and much-mercy, was not strange, but that he should have persuaded the majority of his parishioners to follow his example proves wonderful personal influence. amongst the laity, i owe gratitude to mr. chaloner smith, richmond, surrey; mr. r. r. lloyd, st. albans; mr. j. e. bailey, f.s.a., manchester; mr. j. l. beardsley, cleveland, u.s.a.; mr. tarbutts, cranbrook, kent; and mr. speed, ulverston. of publications, i must needs mention _notes and queries_, a treasure-house to all antiquaries; the sussex archæological society's works, and the _yorkshire archæological and topographical journal_. the "wappentagium de strafford" of the latter is the best document yet published for students of nomenclature. out of it alone a complete history of english surnames and baptismal names might be written. though inscribed with clerkly formality, it contained more _pet forms_ than any other record i have yet seen; and this alone must stamp it as a most important document. the harleian society, by publishing church registers, have set a good example, and i have made much use of those that have been issued. they contain few instances of puritan extravagance, but that is owing to the fact that no leading puritan was minister of any of the three churches whose records they have so far printed. i sincerely hope the list of subscribers to this society may become enlarged. for the rest--the result of twelve years' research--i am alone responsible. heavy clerical responsibilities have often been lightened by a holiday spent among the yellow parchments of churches in town and country, from north to south of england. as it is possible i have seen as many registers as any other man in the country, i will add one statement--a very serious one: there are thousands of entries, at this moment faintly legible, which in another generation will be wholly illegible. what is to be done? should this little work meet the eye of any of the clergy in sussex, kent, and, i may add, surrey, i would like to state that if they will search the baptismal records of the churches under their charge, say from 1580 to 1620, and furnish me with the result, i shall be very much obliged. vicarage, ulverston, _march, 1880_. note. w. d. s. in the prologue = "wappentagium de strafford." c. s. p. = "calendar of state papers." contents. prologue. the pet-name epoch in england. page i. the paucity of names after the conquest 1 ii. pet forms 9 (_a._) kin 9 (_b._) cock 13 (_c._) on or in 17 (_d._) ot or et 21 (_e._) double terminatives. 30 iii. scripture names already in use at the reformation 34 (_a._) mystery names 34 (_b._) crusade names 35 (_c._) the saints' calendar 36 (_d._) festival names 36 chapter i. the hebrew invasion. i. the march of the army 38 ii. popularity of the old testament 59 iii. objectionable scripture names 70 iv. losses 76 (_a._) the destruction of pet forms 76 (_b._) the decrease of nick forms 82 (_c._) the decay of saint and festival names 92 (_d._) the last of some old favourites 99 v. the general confusion 109 chapter ii. puritan eccentricities. i. introductory 117 ii. originated by the presbyterian clergy 121 iii. curious names not puritan 128 iv. instances 134 (_a._) latin names 134 (_b._) grace names 138 (_c._) exhortatory names 155 (_d._) accidents of birth 166 (_e._) general 176 v. a scoffing world 179 (_a._) the playwrights 182 (_b._) the sussex jury 191 (_c._) royalists with puritan names 194 vi. bunyan's debt to the puritans 198 vii. the influence of puritanism on american nomenclature 201 epilogue. double christian names: their rise and progress. i. royal double names 213 ii. conjoined names 222 iii. hyphened names 224 iv. the decay of single patronymics in baptism 228 v. the influence of foundling names upon double baptismal names 233 index 239 curiosities of puritan nomenclature. prologue. the pet-name epoch in england. "one grows too fat, another too lean: modest matilda, pretty pleasing peg, sweet-singing susan, mincing merry moll, dainty dancing doll, neat nancy, jolly joan, nimble nell, kissing kate, bouncing bess with black eyes, fair phillis with fine white hands, fiddling frank, tall tib, slender sib, will quickly lose their grace, grow fulsome, stale, sad, heavy, dull, sour, and all at last out of fashion."--_anatomy of melancholy._ "be the jacks fair within, the jills fair without, the carpets laid, and everything in order?"--_the taming of the shrew._ i. the paucity of names after the conquest. there were no scripture names in england when the conqueror took possession; even in normandy they had appeared but a generation or two before william came over. if any are found in the old english period, we may feel assured they were ecclesiastic titles, adopted at ordination. greek and latin saints were equally unnoticed. it is hard to believe the statement i have made. before many generations had passed, bartholomew, simon, peter, philip, thomas, nicholas, john, and elias, had engrossed a third of the male population; yet domesday book has no philip, no thomas, only one nicholas, and but a sprinkling of johns. it was not long before jack and jill took the place of godric and godgivu as representative of the english sexes, yet jack was from the bible, and jill from the saintly calendar. without entering into a deep discussion, we may say that the great mass of the old english names had gone down before the year 1200 had been reached. those that survived only held on for bare existence. from the moment of william's advent, the names of the norman began to prevail. he brought in bible names, saint names, and his own teutonic names. the old english names bowed to them, and disappeared. a curious result followed. from the year 1150 to 1550, four hundred years in round numbers, there was a very much smaller dictionary of english personal names than there had been for four hundred years before, and than there has been in the four hundred years since. the norman list was really a small one, and yet it took possession of the whole of england. a consequence of this was the pet-name epoch. in every community of one hundred englishmen about the year 1300, there would be an average of twenty johns and fifteen williams; then would follow thomas, bartholomew, nicholas, philip, simon, peter, and isaac from the scriptures, and richard, robert, walter, henry, guy, roger, and baldwin from the teutonic list. of female names, matilda, isabella, and emma were first favourites, and cecilia, catharine, margaret, and gillian came closely upon their heels. behind these, again, followed a fairly familiar number of names of either sex, some from the teuton, some from the hebrew, some from the greek and latin church, but, when all told, not a large category. it was, of course, impossible for englishmen and englishwomen to maintain their individuality on these terms. various methods to secure a personality arose. the surname was adopted, and there were john atte-wood, john the wheelwright, john the bigg, and john richard's son, in every community. among the middle and lower classes these did not become _hereditary_ till so late as 1450 or 1500.[1] this was not enough, for in common parlance it was not likely the full name would be used. besides, there might be two, or even three, johns in the same family. so late as march, 1545, the will of john parnell de gyrton runs: "alice, my wife, and old john, my son, to occupy my farm together, till olde john marries; young john, my son, shall have brenlay's land, plowed and sowed at old john's cost." the register of raby, leicestershire, has this entry: "1559. item: 29th day of august was john, and john picke, the children of xtopher and anne, baptized. "item: the 31st of august the same john and john were buried." mr. burns, who quotes these instances in his "history of parish registers," adds that at this same time "one john barker had three sons named john barker, and two daughters named margaret barker."[2] if the same family had but one name for the household, we may imagine the difficulty when this one name was also popular throughout the village. the difficulty was naturally solved by, _firstly_, the adoption of _nick_ forms; _secondly_, the addition of _pet_ desinences. thus emma became by the one practice simple _emm_, by the other _emmott_; and any number of boys in a small community might be entered in a register as bartholomew, and yet preserve their individuality in work-a-day life by bearing such names as bat, bate, batty, bartle, bartelot, batcock, batkin, and tolly, or tholy. in a word, these several forms of bartholomew were treated as so many separate proper names. no one would think of describing wat tyler's--we should now say walter tyler's--insurrection as gowen does: "_watte_ vocat, cui _thoma_ venit, neque _symme_ retardat, _bat_--que _gibbe_ simul, _hykke_ venire subent: _colle_ furit, quem _bobbe_ juvat, nocumenta parantes, cum quibus, ad damnum _wille_ coire volat- _crigge_ rapit, dum _davie_ strepit, comes est quibus _hobbe_, _larkin_ et in medio non minor esse putat: _hudde_ ferit, quem _judde_ terit, dum _tibbe_ juvatur _jacke_ domosque viros vellit, en ense necat." these names, taken in order, are walter, thomas, simon, bartholomew, gilbert, isaac, nicholas, robert, william, gregory, david, robert (2), lawrence, hugh, jordan (or george), theobald, and john. another instance will be evidence enough. the author of "piers plowman" says- "then goeth glutton in, and grete other after, _cesse_, the sonteresse, sat on the bench: _watte_, the warner, and his wife bothe: _tymme_, the tynkere, and twayne of his prentices: _hikke_, the hackney man, and _hugh_, the pedlere, _clarice_, of cokkeslane, and the clerke of the churche: _dawe_, the dykere, and a dozen othere." taken in their order, these nick forms represent cecilia, walter, timothy, isaac, clarice, and david. it will be seen at a glance that such appellatives are rare, by comparison, in the present day. tricks of this kind were not to be played with bible names at the reformation, and the new names from that time were pronounced, with such exceptions as will be detailed hereafter, in their fulness. to speak of william and john is to speak of a race and rivalry 800 years old. in domesday there were 68 williams, 48 roberts, 28 walters, to 10 johns. robert montensis asserts that in 1173, at a court feast of henry ii., sir william st. john and sir william fitz-hamon bade none but those who bore the name of william to appear. there were present 120 williams, all knights. in edward i.'s reign john came forward. in a wiltshire document containing 588 names, 92 are william, 88 john, 55 richard, 48 robert, 23 roger, geoffrey, ralph, and peter 16. a century later john was first. in 1347, out of 133 common councilmen for london, first convened, 35 were john, 17 william, 15 thomas, (st. thomas of canterbury was now an institution), 10 richard, 8 henry, 8 robert. in 1385 the guild of st. george at norwich contained 377 names. of these, john engrossed no less than 128, william 47, thomas 41. the reformation and the puritan commonwealth for a time darkened the fortunes of john and william, but the protestant accession befriended the latter, and now, as 800 years ago, william is first and john second. but when we come to realize that nearly one-third of englishmen were known either by the name of william or john about the year 1300, it will be seen that the _pet name_ and _nick form_ were no freak, but a necessity. we dare not attempt a category, but the surnames of to-day tell us much. will was quite a distinct youth from willot, willot from wilmot, wilmot from wilkin, and wilkin from wilcock. there might be half a dozen johns about the farmstead, but it mattered little so long as one was called jack, another jenning, a third jenkin, a fourth jackcock (now jacox as a surname), a fifth brownjohn, and a sixth micklejohn, or littlejohn, or properjohn (_i.e._ well built or handsome). the _nick_ forms are still familiar in many instances, though almost entirely confined to such names as have descended from that day to the present. we still talk of bob, and tom, and dick, and jack. the introduction of bible names at the reformation did them much harm. but the reformation, and the english bible combined, utterly overwhelmed the _pet_ desinences, and they succumbed. emmot and hamlet lived till the close of the seventeenth century, but only because they had ceased to be looked upon as altered forms of old favourite names, and were entered in vestry books on their own account as orthodox proper names. ii. pet forms. these pet desinences were of four kinds. (_a_) _kin._ the primary sense of _kin_ seems to have been relationship: from thence family, or offspring. the phrases "from generation to generation," or "from father to son," in "cursor mundi" find a briefer expression: "this writte was gett fra kin to kin, that best it cuth to haf in min." the next meaning acquired by _kin_ was child, or "young one." we still speak in a diminutive sense of a manikin, kilderkin, pipkin, lambkin, jerkin, minikin (little minion), or doitkin. appended to baptismal names it became very familiar. "a litul soth sermun" says- "nor those prude yongemen that loveth malekyn, and those prude maydenes that loveth janekyn: * * * masses and matins ne kepeth they nouht, for wilekyn and watekyn be in their thouht." unquestionably the incomers from brabant and flanders, whether as troopers or artisans, gave a great impulse to the desinence. they tacked it on to everything: "_rutterkin_ can speke no englyssh, his tongue runneth all on buttyred fyssh, besmeared with grece abowte his dysshe like a rutter hoyda." they brought in hankin, and han-cock, from johannes; not to say baudkin, or bodkin, from baldwin. _baudechon le bocher_ in the hundred rolls, and _simmerquin waller_, lieutenant of the castle of harcourt in "wars of the english in france," look delightfully flemish. hankin is found late: "thus for her love and loss poor hankin dies, his amorous soul down flies." "musarum deliciæ," 1655. to furnish a list of english names ending in _kin_ would be impossible. the great favourites were hopkin (robert),[3] lampkin and lambkin (lambert), larkin (lawrence), tonkin (antony), dickin, stepkin (stephen),[4] dawkin (david), adkin,[5] now atkin (adam, not arthur), jeffkin (jeffrey), pipkin and potkin (philip), simkin, tipkin (theobald), tomkin, wilkin, watkin (walter), jenkin, silkin (sybil),[6] malkin (mary), perkin (peter), hankin (hans), and halkin or hawkin (henry). pashkin or paskin reminds us of pask or pash, the old baptismal name for children born at easter. judkin (now as a surname also juckin) was the representative of judd, that is, jordan. george afterwards usurped the place. all these names would be entered in their orthodox baptismal style in all formal records. but here and there we get free and easy entries, as for instance: "agnes hobkin-wyf, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. "henry, son of halekyn, for 17-1/2 acres of land."--"de lacy inquisition," 1311. "emma watkyn-doghter, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. "thi beste cote, hankyn, hath manye moles and spottes, it moste ben y-wasshe." "piers plowman." _malkin_ was one of the few english female names with this appendage. some relics of this form of mary still remain. malkin in shakespeare is the coarse scullery wench: "the kitchen malkin pins her richest lockram 'bout her reechy neck, clambering the walls to eye him." "coriolanus," act ii. sc. 1. while the author of the "anatomy of melancholy" is still more unkind, for he says- "a filthy knave, a deformed quean, a crooked carcass, a maukin, a witch, a rotten post, a hedge-stake may be so set out and tricked up, that it shall make a fair show, as much enamour as the rest."--part iii. sect. 2, mem. 2, sub-sect. 3. from a drab malkin became a scarecrow. hence chaucer talks of "malkin-trash." as if this were not enough, malkin became the baker's clout to clean ovens with. thus, as jack took the name of the implements jack used, as in boot-jack, so by easy transitions malkin. the last hit was when grimalkin (that is, grey-malkin) came to be the cant term for an old worn-out quean cat. hence the witch's name in "macbeth." it will be seen at a glance why malkin is the only name of this class that has no place among our surnames.[7] she had lost character. i have suggested, in "english surnames," that makin, meakin, and makinson owe their origin to either mary or maud. i would retract that supposition. there can be little doubt these are patronymics of matthew, just as is maycock or meacock. maykinus lappyng occurs in "materials for a history of henry vii.," and the maykina parmunter of the hundred rolls is probably but a feminine form. the masculine name was often turned into a feminine, but i have never seen an instance of the reverse order. terminations in _kin_ were slightly going down in popular estimation, when the hebrew invasion made a clean sweep of them. they found shelter in wales, however, and our directories preserve in their list of surnames their memorial for ever.[8] (_b_) _cock._ the term "cock" implied _pertness_: especially the pertness of lusty and swaggering youth. to cock up the eye, or the hat, or the tail, a haycock in a field, a cock-robin in the wood, and a cock-horse in the nursery, all had the same relationship of meaning--brisk action, pert demonstrativeness. the barn-door cockerel was not more cockapert than the boy in the scullery that opened upon the yard where both strutted. hence any lusty lad was "cock," while such fuller titles as jeff-cock, or sim-cock, or bat-cock gave him a preciser individuality. the story of "cocke lorelle" is a relic of this; while the prentice lad in "gammer gurton's needle," acted at christ college, cambridge, in 1566, goes by the only name of "cock." tib the servant wench says to hodge, after the needle is gone- "my gammer is so out of course, and frantic all at once, that cock our boy, and i, poor wench, have felt it on our bones." by-and-by gammer calls the lad to search: "come hither, cock: what, cock, i say. _cock._ how, gammer? _gammer._ go, hie thee soon: and grope behind the old brass pan." such terms as nescock, meacock, dawcock, pillicock, or lobcock may be compounds--unless they owe their origin to "cockeney," a spoiled, home-cherished lad. in "wit without money" valentine says- "for then you are meacocks, fools, and miserable." in "appius and virginia" (1563) mausipula says (act i. sc. 1)- "my lady's great business belike is at end, when you, goodman dawcock, lust for to wend." in "king lear" "pillicock sat on pillicock-hill" seems an earlier rendering of the nursery rhyme- "pillicock, pillicock sate on a hill, if he's not gone, he sits there still." in "wily beguiled" will cricket says to churms- "why, since you were bumbasted that your lubberly legs would not carry your lobcock body." these words have their value in proving how familiarly the term _cock_ was employed in forming nicknames. that it should similarly be appended to baptismal names, especially the nick form of sim, will, or jeff, can therefore present no difficulty. _cock_ was almost as common as "_kin_" as a desinence. _sim-cock_ was _simcock_ to the end of his days, of course, if his individuality had come to be known by the name. "hamme, son of adecock, held 29 acres of land. "mokock de la lowe, for 10 acres. "mokock dal moreclough, for six acres. "dik, son of mocock, of breercroft, for 20 acres."--"the de lacy inquisition," 1311. adecock is adam, and mocock or mokock is matthew. in the same way sander-cock is a diminutive of sander, lay-cock of lawrence, luccock of luke, pidcock and peacock of peter, maycock and mycock of matthew, jeff-cock of jeffrey, johncock of john, hitch-cock or hiscock or heacock of higg or hick (isaac), elcock of ellis, hancock or handcock of han or hand (dutch john), drocock or drewcock of drew, wilcock of william, badcock or batcock of bartholomew, and bawcock of baldwin, adcock or atcock of adam, silcock of silas, and palcock of paul: "johannes palcock, et beatrix uxor ejus, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. "ricardus sylkok, et matilda uxor ejus, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. the difficulty of identification was manifestly lessened in a village or town where _bate_ could be distinguished from _batkin_, and _batkin_ from _batcock_. hence, again, the common occurrence of such a component as _cock_. this diminutive is never seen in the seventeenth century; and yet we have many evidences of its use in the beginning of the sixteenth. the english bible, with its tendency to require the full name as a matter of reverence, while it supplied new names in the place of the old ones that were accustomed to the desinence, caused this. it may be, too, that the new regulation of cromwell in 1538, requiring the careful registration of all baptized children, caused parents to lay greater stress on the name as it was entered in the vestry-book. any way, the sixteenth century saw the end of names terminating in "cock." (_c._) _on or in._ a dictionary instance is "violin," that is, a little viol, a fiddle of four strings, instead of six. this diminutive, to judge from the paris directory, must have been enormously popular with our neighbours. our connection with normandy and france generally brought the fashion to the english court, and in habits of this kind the english folk quickly copied their superiors. terminations in _kin_ and _cock_ were confined to the lower orders first and last. terminations in _on_ or _in_, and _ot_ or _et_, were the introduction of fashion, and being under patronage of the highest families in the land, naturally obtained a much wider popularity. our formal registers, again, are of little assistance. beton is coldly and orthodoxly beatrice or beatrix in the hundred rolls. only here and there can we gather that beatrice was never so called in work-a-day life. in "piers plowman" it is said- "_beton_ the brewestere bade him good morrow." and again, later on: "and bade bette cut a bough, and beat _betoun_ therewith." if alice is alice in the registrar's hands, not so in homely chaucer: "this _alison_ answered: who is there that knocketh so? i warrant him a thefe." or take an old yorkshire will: "item: to symkyn, and watkyn, and alison meek, servandes of john of bolton, to ilk one of yaim, 26{s}. 8{d}."--"test. ebor." iii. 21. surtees society. hugh, too, gets his name familiarly entered occasionally: "_hugyn_ held of the said earl an oxgang of land, and paid yearly iii{s}. vi{d}."--"the de lacy inquisition," 1311. huggins in our directories is the memorial of this. but in the north of england hutchin was a more popular form. in the "wappentagium de strafford" occurs- "willelmus huchon, & matilda uxor ejus, iiii{d}." also- "elena houchon-servant, iiii{d}." that is, ellen the servant of houchon. our hutchinsons are all north of trent folk. thus, too, peter (pier) became perrin: "the wife of peryn."--"manor of ashton-under-lyne," chetham society, p. 87. marion, from mary, is the only familiar instance that has descended to us, and no doubt we owe this fact to maid marion, the may-lady. many a mary ann, in these days of double baptismal names, perpetuates the impression that marion or marian was compounded of mary and ann. of familiar occurrence were such names as _perrin_, from pierre, peter; _robin_ and _dobbin_, from rob and dob, robert; _colin_, from col, nicholas; _diccon_, from dick, richard; _huggin_, from hugh; _higgin_, from hick or higg, isaac; _figgin_, from figg, fulke;[9] _phippin_, from phip and philip; and _gibbin_, or _gibbon_, or _gilpin_, from gilbert. every instance proves the debt our surnames have incurred by this practice. several cases are obscured by time and bad pronunciation. our tippings should more rightly be tippins, originally tibbins, from tibbe (theobald); our collinges and collings, collins; and our gibbings, gibbins. our jennings should be jennins; _jennin_ caervil was barber to the earl of suffolk in the french wars ("wars of england in france," henry vi.). robing had early taken the place of robin: "johanne robyng-doghter, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. such entries as raoulin meriel and raoul partrer (this raoul was private secretary to henry vi.) remind us of the former popularity of ralph and of the origin of our surnames rawlins and rawlinson: "dionisia rawlyn-wyf, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. here again, however, the "_in_" has become "_ing_," for rawlings is even more common than rawlins. deccon and dickin have got mixed, and both are now dickens, although dicconson exists as distinct from dickinson. spenser knew the name well: "diggon davie, i bid her 'good-day;' or diggon her is, or i missay." "matilda dicon-wyf, webester, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. the london directory contains lamming and laming. alongside are lampin, lamin, and lammin. these again are more correct, all being surnames formed from lambin, a pet form of lambert: "willelmus lambyn, et alicia uxor ejus, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. lambyn clay played before edward at westminster at the great festival in 1306 (chappell's "popular music of ye olden time," i. 29). the french forms are lambin, lamblin, and lamberton, all to be met with in the paris directory. all these names are relics of a custom that is obsolete in england, though not with our neighbours. (_d._) _ot and et._ these are the terminations that ran first in favour for many generations. this diminutive _ot_ or _et_ is found in our language in such words as _poppet_, _jacket_, _lancet_, _ballot_, _gibbet_, _target_, _gigot_, _chariot_, _latchet_, _pocket_, _ballet_. in the same way a little page became a _paget_, and hence among our surnames smallpage, littlepage, and paget. coming to baptism, we find scarcely a single name of any pretensions to popularity that did not take to itself this desinence. the two favourite girl-names in yorkshire previous to the reformation were matilda and emma. two of the commonest surnames there to-day are emmott and tillot, with such variations as emmett and tillett, emmotson and tillotson. the archbishop came from yorkshire. _tyllot_ thompson occurs under date 1414 in the "fabric rolls of york minster" (surtees society). "rome, april 27, eugenius iv. (1433). dispensation from selow for richard de akerode and emmotte de greenwood to marry, they being related in the fourth degree."--"test. ebor.," iii. 317. "licence to the vicar of bradford to marry roger prestwick and emmote crossley. bannes thrice in one day" (1466).--"test. ebor.," iii. 338. isabella was also popular in yorkshire: hence our ibbots and ibbotsons, our ibbetts and ibbetsons. registrations such as "ibbota filia adam," or "robert filius ibote," are of frequent occurrence in the county archives. the "wappentagium de strafford" has: "johanna ibot-doghter, iiii{d}. "willelmus kene, et ibota uxor ejus, iiii{d}. "thomas gaylyour, et ebbot sa femme, iiii{d}." cecilia became sissot or cissot: "willelmus crake, & cissot sa femme, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. in the "manor of ashton-under-lyne" (chetham society), penned fortunately for our purpose in every-day style, we have such entries as- "syssot, wife of patrick. "syssot, wife of diccon wilson. "syssot, wife of thomas the cook. "syssot, wife of jak of barsley." four wives named cecilia in a community of some twenty-five families will be evidence enough of the popularity of that name. all, however, were known in every-day converse as sissot. of other girl-names we may mention mabel, which from mab became mabbott; douce became dowcett and dowsett; gillian or julian, from gill or jill (whence jack and jill), became gillot, juliet, and jowett; margaret became margett and margott, and in the north magot. hence such entries from the yorkshire parchments, already quoted, as- "thomas de balme, et magota uxor ejus, chapman, iiii{d}. "hugo farrowe, et magota uxor ejus, smyth, iiii{d}. "johannes magotson, iiii{d}." custance became cussot, from cuss or cust, the nick form. the hundred rolls contain a "cussot colling"--a rare place to find one of these diminutives, for they are set down with great clerkly formality. from lettice, lesot was obtained: "johan chapman, & lesot sa femme, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. and dionisia was very popular as diot: "johannes chetel, & diot uxor ejus, iiii{d}. "willelmus wege, & diot uxor ejus, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. of course, it became a surname: "robertus diot, & mariona uxor ejus, iiii{d}. "willelmus diotson, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. it is curious to observe that annot, which now as annette represents anne, in richard ii.'s day was extremely familiar as the diminutive of annora or alianora. so common was annot in north england that the common sea-gull came to be so known. it is a mistake to suppose that annot had any connection with anna. one out of every eight or ten girls was annot in yorkshire at a time when anna is never found to be in use at all: "stephanus webester, & anota uxor ejus, iiii{d}. "richard annotson, wryght, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. as alianora and eleanora are the same, so were enot and anot: "henricus filius johannis enotson, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. again, eleanor became elena, and this lina and linot. hence in the hundred rolls we find "linota atte field." in fact, the early forms of eleanor are innumerable. the favourite sibilla became sibot: "johannes de estwode, et sibota uxor ejus, iiii{d}. "willelmus howeson, et sibbota uxor ejus, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. mary not merely became marion, but mariot, and from our surnames it would appear the latter was the favourite: "isabella serviens mariota gulle, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. "mariota in le lane."--hundred rolls. eve became evot, adam and eve being popular names. in the will of william de kirkby, dated 1391, are bequests to "evæ uxori johannes parvying" and "willielmo de rowlay," and later on he refers to them again as the aforementioned "evotam et dictum willielmum rowlay" ("test. ebor.," i. 145. surtees society). but the girl-name that made most mark was originally a boy's name, theobald. tibbe was the nick form, and tibbot the pet name. very speedily it became the property of the female sex, such entries as tibot fitz-piers ending in favour of tibota foliot. after the year 1300 tib, or tibet, is invariably feminine. in "gammer gurton's needle," gammer says to her maid- "how now, tib? quick! let's hear what news thou hast brought hither."--act. i. sc. 5. in "ralph roister doister," the pet name is used in the song, evidently older than the play: "pipe, merry annot, etc., trilla, trilla, trillary. work, tibet; work, annot; work, margery; sew, tibet; knit, annot; spin, margery; let us see who will win the victory." gib, from gilbert, and tib became the common name for a male and female cat. scarcely any other terms were employed from 1350 to 1550: "for right no more than gibbe, our cat, that awaiteth mice and rattes to killen, ne entend i but to beguilen." hence both tibet and gibbet were also used for the same; as in the old phrase "flitter-gibbett," for one of wanton character. tom in tom-cat came into ordinary parlance later. all our modern tibbots, tibbetts, tibbitts, tippitts, tebbutts, and their endless other forms, are descended from tibbe. coming to boys' names, all our wyatts in the directory hail from guiot,[10] the diminutive of guy, just as wilmot from william: "adam, son of wyot, held an oxgang of land."--"de lacy inquisition." "ibbote wylymot, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. _payn_ is met in the form of paynot and paynet, _warin_ as warinot, _drew_ as drewet, _philip_ as philpot, though this is feminine sometimes: "johannes schikyn, et philipot uxor ejus, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. _thomas_ is found as thomaset, _higg_ (isaac) as higgot, _jack_ as jackett, _hal_ (henry) as hallet (harriot or harriet is now feminine), and hugh or hew as hewet: "dionisia howet-doghter, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. the most interesting, perhaps, of these examples is hamnet, or hamlet. hamon, or hamond, was introduced from normandy: "hamme, son of adcock, held 29 acres of land."--"de lacy inquisition," 1311. it became a favourite among high and low, and took to itself the forms of hamonet and hamelot: "the wife of richard, son of hamelot."--"de lacy inquisition," 1311. these were quickly abbreviated into hamnet and hamlet. they ran side by side for several centuries, and at last, like emmot, defied the english bible, the reformation, and even the puritan period, and lived unto the eighteenth century. hamlet winstanley, the painter, was born in 1700, at warrington, and died in 1756. in kent's london directory for 1736 several hamnets occur as baptismal names. shakespeare's little son was hamnet, or hamlet, after his godfather hamnet sadler. i find several instances where both forms are entered as the name of the same boy: "nov. 13, 1502. item: the same day to hamlet clegge, for money by him layed out ... to the keper of dachet ferrey in rewarde for conveying the quenes grace over thamys there, iii{s}. iiii{d}." compare this with- "june 13, 1502. item: the same day to hampnet clegge, for mone by him delivered to the quene for hir offring to saint edward at westm., vi{s}. viii{d}."--"privy purse expenses, eliz. of york," pp. 21 and 62. speaking of hamelot, we must not forget that _ot_ and _et_ sometimes became _elot_ or _elet_. as a diminutive it is found in such dictionary words as bracelet, tartlet, gimblet, poplet (for poppet). the old ruff or high collar worn alike by men and women was styled a _partlet_: "jan. 1544. item: from mr. braye ii. high collar partletts, iii{s}. ix{d}."--"privy purse expenses, princess mary." hence partlet, a hen, on account of the ruffled feathers, a term used alike by chaucer and shakespeare. in our nomenclature we have but few traces of it. in france it was very commonly used. but hughelot or huelot, from hugh, was popular, as our hewletts can testify. richelot for richard, hobelot and robelot for robert, crestolot for christopher, cesselot for cecilia, and barbelot for barbara, are found also, and prove that the desinence had made its mark. returning, however, to _ot_ and _et_: eliot or elliot, from ellis (elias), had a great run. in the north it is sometimes found as aliot: "alyott de symondeston held half an oxgang of land, xix{d}."--"de lacy inquisition," 1311. the feminine form was elisot or elicot, although this was used also for boys. the will of william de aldeburgh, written in 1319, runs- "item: do et lego elisotæ domicellæ meæ 40{s}."--"test. ebor.," i. 151. the will of patrick de barton, administered in the same year, says- "item: lego elisotæ, uxori ricardi bustard unam vaccam, et 10{s}."--"test. ebor.," i. 155. "eliseus carpenter, cartwyth, et elesot uxor ejus, vi{d}."--w. d. s. as ellis became ellisot, so ellice became ellicot, whence the present surname. bartholomew became bartelot, now bartlett, and from the pet form toll, or tolly, came tollett and tollitt. it is curious to notice why emmot and hamlet, or hamnet, survived the crises that overwhelmed the others. both became baptismal names in their own right. people forgot in course of time that they were diminutives of emma and hamond, and separated them from their parents. this did not come about till the close of elizabeth's reign, so they have still the credit of having won a victory against terrible odds, the hebrew army. hamnet shakespeare was so baptized. hamon or hamond would have been the regular form. looking back, it is hard to realize that a custom equally affected by prince and peasant, as popular in country as town, as familiar in yorkshire and lancashire as in london and winchester, should have been so completely uprooted, that ninety-nine out of the hundred are now unaware that it ever existed. this was unmistakably the result of some disturbing element of english social life. at the commencement of the sixteenth century there was no appearance of this confusion. in france the practice went on without let or hindrance. we can again but attribute it to the reformation, and the english bible, which swept away a large batch of the old names, and pronounced the new without addition or diminution. when some of the old names were restored, it was too late to fall back upon the familiarities that had been taken with them in the earlier period. (_e._) _double terminatives._ in spite of the enormous popularity in england of _ot_ and _et_, they bear no proportion to the number in france. in england our _local_ surnames are two-fifths of the whole. in france _patronymic_ surnames are almost two-fifths of the whole. terminatives in _on_ or _in_, and _ot_ and _et_, have done this. we in england only adopted double diminutives in two cases, those of _colinet_ and _robinet_, or _dobinet_, and both were rarely used. robinet has come down to us as a surname; and dobinet so existed till the middle of the fifteenth century, for one john dobynette is mentioned in an inventory of goods, 1463 (mun. acad. oxon.). this dobinet seems to have been somewhat familiarly used, for dobinet doughty is ralph's servant in "ralph roister doister." matthew merrygreek says- "i know where she is: dobinet hath wrought some wile. _tibet talkapace._ he brought a ring and token, which he said was sent from our dame's husband."--act. iii. sc. 2. colin is turned into colinet in spenser's "shepherd's calendar," where colin beseeches pan: "hearken awhile from thy green cabinet, the laurel song of careful colinet?" jannet is found as janniting (jannetin) once on english soil, for in the "london chanticleers," a comedy written about 1636, janniting is the apple-wench. _welcome_ says- "who are they which they're enamoured so with? _bung._ the one's nancy curds, and the other hanna jenniting: ditty and jenniting are agreed already ... the wedding will be kept at our house."--scene xiii. but the use of double diminutives was of every-day practice in normandy and france, and increased their total greatly. i take at random the following _surnames_ (originally, of course, christian names) from the paris directory:--margotin, marioton, lambinet (lambert), perrinot, perrotin, philiponet, jannotin, hugonet, huguenin, jacquinot, and fauconnet (english fulke). huguenin (little wee hugh) repeats the same diminutive; perrinot and perrotin (little wee peter) simply reverse the order of the two diminutives. the "marionettes" in the puppet-show take the same liberty with mariotin (little wee mary) above mentioned. hugonet, of course, is the same as huguenot; and had english, not to say french, writers remembered this old custom, they would have found no difficulty in reducing the origin of the religious sect of that name to an _individual_ as a starting-point. _guillotin_ (little wee william) belongs to the same class, and descended from a baptismal name to become the surname of the famous doctor who invented the deadly machine that bears his title. i have discovered one instance of this as a baptismal name, viz. gillotyne hansake ("wars of english in france: henry vi.," vol. ii. p. 531). returning to england, we find these pet forms in use well up to the reformation: "nov., 1543. item: geven to fylpot, my lady of suffolk's lackaye, vii{s}. vi{d}. "june, 1537. item: payed to typkyn for cherys, xx{d}."--"privy purse expenses, princess mary." "1548, july 22. alson, d. of jenkin rowse."--st. columb major. "1545, oct. 3. baptized alison, d. of john james."--ditto.[11] "ralph roister doister," written not earlier than 1545, and not later than 1550, by nicholas udall, contains three characters styled annot alyface, tibet talkapace, and dobinet doughty. christian custance, sim suresby, madge mumblecheek, and gawyn goodluck are other characters, all well-known contemporary names. in "thersites," an interlude written in 1537, there is mention of "_simkin_ sydnam, sumnor, that killed a cat at cumnor." _jenkin_ jacon is introduced, also _robin_ rover. in a book entitled "letters and papers, foreign and domestic" (henry viii.), we find a document (numbered 1939, and dated 1526) containing a list of the household attendants and retinue of the king. even here, although so formal a record, there occurs the name of "hamynet harrington, gentleman usher." we may assert with the utmost certainty that, on the eve of the hebrew invasion, there was not a baptismal name in england of average popularity that had not attached to it in _daily converse_ one or other of these diminutives--_kin_, _cock_, _in_, _on_, _ot_, and _et_; not a name, too, that, before it had thus attached them, had not been shorn of all its fulness, and curtailed to a monosyllabic nick form. bartholomew must first become bat before it becomes batcock, peter must become pierre before perrot can be formed, nicholas must be abbreviated to col or cole before col or cole can be styled colin, and thomas must be reduced to tom before tomkin can make his appearance. several names had attached to themselves all these enclytics. for instance, peter is met with, up to the crisis we are about to consider, in the several shapes of perkin or parkin, peacock, perrot, and perrin; and william as willin (now willing and willan in our directories), wilcock, wilkin, and wilmot, was familiar to every district in the country. iii. scripture names already in use at the reformation. it now remains simply to consider the state of nomenclature in england at the eve of the reformation in relation to the bible. _four_ classes may be mentioned. (_a._) _mystery names._ the leading incidents of bible narrative were familiarized to the english lower orders by the performance of sacred plays, or mysteries, rendered under the supervision of the church. to these plays we owe the early popularity of adam and eve, noah, abraham, isaac, jacob, joseph, sara, daniel, sampson, susanna, judith, hanna or anna, and hester. but the apocryphal names were not frequently used till about 1500. scarcely any diminutives are found of them. on the other hand, adam became adcock and adkin; eve, evott and evett; isaac, hickin, and higgin, and higgot, and higget; joseph, joskin; and daniel, dankin and dannet. (_b._) _crusade names._ the crusaders gave us several prominent names. to them we are indebted for _baptist_, _ellis_, and _jordan_: and _john_ received a great stimulus. the sacred water brought in the leathern bottle was used for baptismal purposes. the jordan commemorated john the baptist, the second elias, the forerunner and baptizer of jesus christ. children were styled by these incidents. _jordan_ became popular through western europe. in england he gave us, as already observed, judd, judkin, judson, jordan, and jordanson. elias, as ellis, took about the eighth place of frequency, and john, for a while, the first. (_c._) _the saints' calendar._ the legends of the saints were carefully taught by the priesthood, and the day as religiously observed. all children born on these holy days received the name of the saint commemorated: st. james's day, or st. nicholas's day, or st. thomas's day, saw a small batch of jameses, nicholases, and thomases received into the fold of the church. in other cases the gossip had some favourite saint, and placed the child under his or her protection. of course, it bore the patron's name. a large number of these hagiological names were extra-biblical--such as cecilia, catharine, or theobald. of these i make no mention here. all the apostles, save judas, became household names, john, simon, peter, bartholomew, matthew, james, thomas, and philip being the favourites. paul and timothy were also utilized, the former being always found as pol. (_d._) _festival names._ if a child was born at whitsuntide or easter, christmas or epiphany, like robinson crusoe's man friday, or thursday october christian of the pitcairn islanders, he received the name of the day. hence our once familiar names of noel or nowell, pask or pascal, easter, pentecost, and epiphany or tiffany. it will be observed that all these imply no direct or personal acquaintance with the scriptures. all came through the church. all, too, were in the full tide of prosperity--with the single exception of jordan, which was nearly obsolete--when the bible, printed into english and set up in our churches, became an institution. the immediate result was that the old scripture names of bartholomew, peter, philip, and nicholas received a blow much deadlier than that received by such teutonic names as robert, richard, roger, and ralph. but that will be brought out as we progress. the subject of the influence of an english bible upon english nomenclature is not uninteresting. it may be said of the "vulgar tongue" bible that it revolutionized our nomenclature within the space of forty years, or little over a generation. no such crisis, surely, ever visited a nation's register before, nor can such possibly happen again. every home felt the effect. it was like the massacre of the innocents in egyptian days: "there was not one house where there was not one dead." but in pharoah's day they did not replace the dead with the living. at the reformation such a locust army of new names burst upon the land that we may well style it the hebrew invasion. chapter i. the hebrew invasion. "with what face can they object to the king the bringing in of forraigners, when themselves entertaine such an army of hebrewes?" _the character of a london diurnall_ (dec. 1644). "albeit in our late reformation some of good consideration have brought in zachary, malachy, josias, etc., as better agreeing with our faith, but without contempt of country names (as i hope) which have both good and gracious significations, as shall appeare hereafter."--camden, _remaines_. 1614. i. _the march of the army._ the strongest impress of the english reformation to-day is to be seen in our font-names. the majority date from 1560, the year when the genevan bible was published. this version ran through unnumbered editions, and for sixty, if not seventy, years was the household bible of the nation. the genevan bible was not only written in the vulgar tongue, but was printed for vulgar hands. a moderate quarto was its size; all preceding versions, such as coverdale's, matthew's, and of course the great bible, being the ponderous folio, specimens of which the reader will at some time or other have seen. the genevan bible, too, was the puritan's bible, and was none the less admired by him on account of its calvinistic annotations. but although the rage for bible names dates from the decade 1560-1570, which decade marks the rise of puritanism, there had been symptoms of the coming revolution as early as 1543. richard hilles, one of the reformers, despatching a letter from strasburg, november 15, 1543, writes: "my wife says she has no doubt but that god helped her the sooner in her confinement by reason of your good prayers. on the second of this month she brought forth to the church of christ a son, who, as the women say, is quite large enough for a mother of tall stature, and whom i immediately named _gershom_."--"original letters," 1537-1558, no. cxii. parker society. we take up our bibles, and find that of zipporah it is said- "and she bare him (moses) a son, and he called his name gershom: for he said, _i have been a stranger in a strange land_."--exod. ii. 22. the margin says, "a desolate stranger." at this time moses was fled from pharaoh, who would kill him. the parallel to richard hilles's mind was complete. this was in 1643.[12] in mr. tennyson's drama "mary," we have the following scene between gardiner and a yokel: "_gardiner._ i distrust thee, there is a half voice, and a lean assent: what is thy name? _man._ sanders! _gardiner._ what else? _man._ zerrubabel." the laureate was right to select for this rebellious protestant a name that was to be popular throughout elizabeth's reign; but poetic license runs rather far in giving this title to a _full-grown man_ in any year of mary's rule. sanders might have had a young child at home so styled, but for himself it was practically impossible. so clearly defined is the epoch that saw, if not one batch of names go out, at least a new batch come in. equally marked are the names from the bible which at this date were in use, and those which were not. of this latter category zerrubabel was one. in the single quotation from hilles's letter of 1543 we see the origin of the great hebrew invasion explained. the english bible had become a fact, and the knowledge of its personages and narratives was becoming _directly_ acquired. in every community up and down the country it was as if a fresh spring of clear water had been found, and every neighbour could come with jug or pail, and fill it when and how they would. one of the first impressions made seems to have been this: children in the olden time received as a name a term that was immediately significant of the circumstances of their birth. often god personally, through his prophets or angelic messenger, acted as godparent indeed, and gave the name, as in isaiah viii. 1, 3, 4: "moreover the lord said unto me, take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning maher-shalal-hash-baz. "and i went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a son. then said the lord to me, call his name maher-shalal-hash-baz. "for before the child shall have knowledge to cry, my father, and my mother, the riches of damascus and the spoil of samaria shall be taken away before the king of assyria." here was a name palpably significant. even before they knew its exact meaning the name was enrolled in english church registers, and by-and-by zealot puritans employed it as applicable to english church politics. all the patriarchs, down to the twelve sons of jacob, had names of direct significance given them. above all, a peculiar emphasis was laid upon all the titles of jesus christ, as in isaiah vii. 14: "behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name immanuel." at the same time that this new revelation came, a crisis was going on of religion. the old romish church was being uprooted, or, rather, a new system was being grafted upon its stock, for the links have never been broken. the saints were shortly to be tabooed by the large mass of english folk; the festivals were already at a discount. simultaneously with the prejudice against the very names of their saints and saintly festivals, arose the discovery of a mine of new names as novel as it was unexhaustible. they not merely met the new religious instinct, but supplied what would have been a very serious vacuum. but we must at once draw a line between the reformation and puritanism. previous to the reformation, so far as the church was concerned, there had been to a certain extent a _system_ of nomenclature. the reformation abrogated that system, but did not intentionally adopt a new one. puritanism deliberately supplied a well-weighed and revised scheme, beyond which no adopted child of god must dare to trespass. previous to the reformation, the priest, with the assent of the gossip, gave the babe the name of the saint who was to be its patron, or on whose day the birth or baptism occurred. if the saint was a male, and the infant a female, the difficulty was overcome by giving the name a feminine form. thus theobald become theobalda; and hence tib and tibot became so common among girls, that finally they ceased to represent boys at all. if it were one of the great holy days, the day or season itself furnished the name. thus it was simon, or nicholas, or cecilia, or austen, or pentecost, or ursula, or dorothy, became so familiar. from the reign of elizabeth the clergy, and englishmen generally, gave up this practice. saints who could not boast apostolic honours were rejected, and holy men of lesser prestige, together with a large batch of virgins and martyrs of the agnes, catharine, and ursula type, who belonged to church history, received but scant attention. as a matter of course their names lapsed. but the nation stood by the old english names not thus popishly tainted. against geoffrey, richard, robert, and william, they had no prejudice: nay, they clung to them. the puritan rejected both classes. he was ever trotting out his two big "p's,"--pagan and popish. under the first he placed every name that could not be found in the scriptures, and under the latter every title in the same scriptures, and the church system founded on them, that had been employed previous, say, to the coronation day of edward vi. of this there is the clearest proof. in a "directory of church government," found among the papers of cartwright, and written as early as 1565, there is the following order regarding and regulating baptism:- "they which present unto baptism, ought to be persuaded not to give those that are baptized the names of god, or of christ, or of angels, or of holy offices, as of baptist, evangelist, etc., nor such as savour of paganism or popery: but chiefly such whereof there are examples, in the holy scriptures, in the names of those who are reported in them to have been godly and virtuous."--neale, vol. v. appendix, p. 15. nothing can be more precise than this. to the strict puritan to reject the richards, mileses, and henrys of the teutonic, and the bartholomews, simons, peters, and nicholases of the ecclesiastic class, was to remove the canaanite out of the land. how early this "article of religion" was obeyed, one or two quotations will show. take the first four baptismal entries in the canterbury cathedral register: "1564, dec. 3. abdias, the sonne of robert pownoll. "1567, april 26. barnabas, the sonne of robert pownoll. "1569, june 1. ezeckiell, the sonne of robert pownoll. "1572, feb. 10. posthumus, the sonne of robert pownoll." another son seems to have been philemon: "1623, april 27. john, the sonne of philemon pownoll." a daughter "repentance" must be added: "1583, dec. 8. married william arnolde and repentance pownoll." take another instance, a little later, from the baptisms of st. peter's, cornhill: "1589, nov. 2. bezaleell, sonne of michaell nichollson, cordwayner. "1599, sep. 23. aholiab, sonne of michaell nicholson, cordwainer. "1595, may 18. sara, daughter of michaell nichollson, cobler. "1599, nov. 1. buried rebecca, daughter of michaell nicholson, cordwainer, 13 yeares." rebecca, therefore, would be baptized in 1586. sara and aholiab died of the plague in 1603. both old robert pownoll and the cobler must have been puritans of a pronounced type. the presbyterian clergy were careful to set an example of right name-giving: "1613, july 28. baptized jaell, daughter of roger mainwaring, preacher."--st. helen, bishopsgate. "1617, jan. 25. baptized ezekyell, sonne of mr. richard culverwell, minister."--st. peter, cornhill. "1582, ----. buried zachary, sonne of thomas newton, minister."--barking, essex. a still more interesting proof comes from northampton. as an example of bigotry it is truly marvellous. on july 16, 1590, archbishop whitgift furnished the lord treasurer with the following, amongst many articles against edmond snape, curate of st. peter's, in that town: "item: christopher hodgekinson obteyned a promise of the said snape that he would baptize his child; but snape added, saying, 'you must then give it a christian name allowed in the scriptures.' then hodgekinson told him that his wife's father, whose name was richard, desired to have the giving of that name." at the time of service snape proceeded till they came to the place of naming: they said "richard;" "but hearing them calling it richard, and that they would not give it any other name, he stayed there, and would not in any case baptize the child. and so it was carried away thence, and was baptized the week following at allhallows churche, and called richard."--strype's "whitgift," ii. 9. this may be an extreme case, but i doubt not the majority of the presbyterian clergy did their best to uproot the old english names, so far as their power of persuasion could go. even the pulpit was used in behalf of the new doctrine. william jenkin, the afterwards ejected minister, in his "expositions of jude," delivered in christ church, london, said, while commenting on the first verse, "our baptismal names ought to be such as may prove remembrances of duty." he then instances leah, alpheus, and hannah as aware of parental obligations in this respect, and adds- "'tis good to impose such names as expresse our baptismal promise. a good name is as a thread tyed about the finger, to make us mindful of the errand we came into the world to do for our master."--edition 1652, p. 7. as a general rule, the new testament names spread the most rapidly, especially girl-names of the priscilla, dorcas, tabitha, and martha type. they were the property of the reformation. damaris bothered the clerks much, and is found indifferently as tamaris, damris, dammeris, dampris, and dameris. by james i.'s day it had become a fashionable name: "1617, april 13. christened damaris, d. of doctor masters. "----, may 29. christened damaris, d. of doctor kingsley."--canterbury cathedral. martha, which sprang into instant popularity, is registered at the outset: "1563, july 25. christened martha wattam."--st. peter, cornhill. phebe had a great run. the first i have seen is- "1568, oct. 24. christened phebe, d. of harry cut."--st. peter, cornhill. dorcas was, perhaps, the prime favourite, often styled and entered darcas. every register has it, and every page. a political ballad says- "come, dorcas and cloe, with lois and zoe, young lettice, and beterice, and jane; phill, dorothy, maud, come troop it abroad, for now is our time to reign." persis, tryphena, and tryphosa were also largely used. the earliest persis i know is- "1579, maye 3. christened persis, d. of william hopkinson, minister heare."--salehurst. some of these names--as, for instance, priscilla, damaris, dorcas, and phebe--stood in james's reign almost at the head of girls' names in england. indeed, alike in london and the provinces, the list of girl-names at elizabeth's death was a perfect contrast to that when she ascended the throne. then the great national names of isabella, matilda, emma, and cecilia ruled supreme. then the four heroines anna, judith, susan, and hester, one or two of whom were in the apocryphal narrative, had stamped themselves on our registers in what appeared indelible lines, although they were of much more recent popularity than the others. they lost prestige, but did not die out. many puritans had a sneaking fondness for them, finding in their histories a parallel to their own troubles, and perchance they had a private and more godly rendering of the popular ballad of their day: "in ninivie old toby dwelt, an aged man, and blind was he: and much affliction he had felt, which brought him unto poverty: he had by anna, his true wife, one only sonne, and eke no more." esther[13] is still popular in our villages, so is susan. hannah has her admirers, and only judith may be said to be forgotten. but their glory was from 1450 to 1550. after that they became secondary personages. throughout the south of england, especially in the counties that surrounded london, the bible had been ransacked from nook to corner. the zealots early dived into the innermost recesses of scripture. they made themselves as familiar with chapters devoted solely to genealogical tables, as to those which they quoted to defend their doctrinal creed. the eighth chapter of romans was not more studied by them than the thirty-sixth of genesis, and the dukes of edom classified in the one were laid under frequent contribution to witness to the adoption treated of in the other. thus names unheard of in 1558 were "household words" in 1603. the slowest to take up the new custom were the northern counties. they were out of the current; and lancashire, besides being inaccessible, had stuck to the old faith. names lingered on in the palatinate that had been dead nearly a hundred years in the south. gawin figures in all northern registers till a century ago, and thurston[14] was yet popular in the fylde district, when it had become forgotten in the fens. scotland was never touched at all. the general assembly of 1645 makes no hint on the subject, although it dwelt on nearly every other topic. nothing demonstrates the clannish feeling of north britain as this does. at this moment scotland has scarcely any bible names. in yorkshire, however, puritanism made early stand, though its effects on nomenclature were not immediately visible. it was like the fire that smoulders among the underwood before it catches flame; it spreads the more rapidly afterwards. the genevan bible crept into the dales and farmsteads, and their own primitive life seemed to be but reflected in its pages. the patriarchs lived as graziers, and so did they. there was a good deal about sheep and kine in its chapters, and their own lives were spent among the milk-pails and wool shears. the women of the old testament baked cakes, and knew what good butter was. so did the dales' folk. by slow degrees cecilia, isabella, and emma lapsed from their pedestal, and the little babes were turned into sarahs, rebeccas, and deborahs. as the seventeenth century progressed the state of things became still more changed. there had been villages in sussex and kent previous to elizabeth's death, where the presbyterian rector, by his personal influence at the time of baptism, had turned the new generation into a hebrew colony. the same thing occurred in yorkshire only half a century later. as nonconformity gained ground, guy, and miles, and peter, and philip became forgotten. the lads were no sooner ushered into existence than they were transformed into duplicates of joel, and amos, and obediah. the measles still ran through the family, but it was phineas and caleb, not robert and roger, that underwent the infliction. chosen leaders of israel passed through the critical stages of teething. as for the twelve sons of jacob, they could all have answered to their names in the dames' schools, through their little apple-cheeked representatives, who lined the rude benches. on the village green, every prophet from isaiah to malachi might be seen of an evening playing leap-frog: unless, indeed, zephaniah was stealing apples in the garth. from yorkshire, about the close of the seventeenth century, the rage for scripture names passed into lancashire. nonconformity was making progress; the new industries were already turning villages into small centres of population, and the church of england not providing for the increase, chapels were built. if we look over the pages of the directories of west yorkshire and east lancashire, and strike out the surnames, we could imagine we were consulting anciently inscribed registers of joppa or jericho. it would seem as if canaan and the west riding had got inextricably mixed. what a spectacle meets our eye! within the limits of ten leaves we have three pharoahs, while as many hephzibahs are to be found on one single page. adah and zillah pickles, sisters, are milliners. jehoiada rhodes makes saws--not solomon's sort--and hariph crawshaw keeps a farm. vashni, from somewhere in the chronicles, is rescued from oblivion by vashni wilkinson, coal merchant, who very likely goes to barzillai williamson, on the same page, for his joints, barzillai being a butcher. jachin, known to but a few as situated in the book of kings, is in the person of jachin firth, a beer retailer, familiar to all his neighbours. heber holdsworth on one page is faced by er illingworth on the other. asa and joab are extremely popular, while abner, adna, ashael, erastus, eunice, benaiah, aquila, elihu, and philemon enjoy a fair amount of patronage. shadrach, meshach, and abednego, having been rescued from chaldæan fire, have been deluged with baptismal water. how curious it is to contemplate such entries as lemuel wilson, kelita wilkinson, shelah haggas, shadrach newbold, neriah pearce, jeduthan jempson, azariah griffiths, naphtali matson, philemon jakes, hameth fell, eleph bisat, malachi ford, or shallum richardson. as to other parts of the scriptures, i have lighted upon name after name that i did not know existed in the bible at all till i looked into the lancashire and yorkshire directories. the bible has decided the nomenclature of the north of england. in towns like oldham, bolton, ashton, and blackburn, the clergyman's baptismal register is but a record of bible names. a clerical friend of mine christened twins cain and abel, only the other day, much against his own wishes. another parson on the derbyshire border was gravely informed, at the proper moment, that the name of baptism was ramoth-gilead. "boy or girl, eh?" he asked in a somewhat agitated voice. the parents had opened the bible hap-hazard, according to the village tradition, and selected the first name the eye fell on. it was but a year ago a little child was christened tellno in a town within six miles of manchester, at the suggestion of a cotton-spinner, the father, a workman of the name of lees, having asked his advice. "i suppose it must be a scripture name," said his master. "oh yes! that's of course." "suppose you choose _tellno_," said his employer. "that'll do," replied the other, who had never heard it before, and liked it the better on that account. the child is now tell-no lees, the father, too late, finding that he had been hoaxed.[15] "_sirs_," was the answer given to a bewildered curate, after the usual demand to name the child. he objected, but was informed that it was a scripture name, and the verse "sirs, what must i do to be saved?" was triumphantly appealed to. this reminds one of the puritan who styled his dog "_moreover_" after the dog in the gospel: "_moreover_ the dog came and licked his sores." there is, again, a story of a clergyman making the customary demand as to name from a knot of women round the font. "ax her," said one. turning to the woman who appeared to be indicated, he again asked, "what name?" "ax her," she replied. the third woman, being questioned, gave the same reply. at last he discovered the name to be the scriptural achsah, caleb's daughter--a name, by the way, which was somewhat popular with our forefathers. no wonder this mistake arose, when achsah used to be entered in some such manner as this: "1743-4, jan. 3. baptized axar starrs (a woman of ripe years), of stockport. "1743-4, jan. 3. married warren davenport, of stockport, esq., and axar starrs, aforesaid, spinster."--marple, cheshire. axar's father was caleb starrs. the scriptural relationship was thus preserved. achsah crossed the atlantic with the pilgrim fathers, and has prospered there ever since. it is still popular in devonshire and the south-west of england. all these stories serve to show the quarry whence modern names are hewn. i have mentioned the north because i have studied its post-office directories carefully. but if any one will visit the shires of dorset, and devon, and hampshire, he will find the same result. the hebrew has won the day. just as in england, north of trent, we can still measure off the ravages of the dane by striking a line through all local names lying westward ending in "by," so we have but to count up the baptismal names of the peasantry of these southern counties to see that they have become the bondsmen of an eastern despot. in fact, go where and when we will from the reign of elizabeth, we find the same influence at work. take a few places and people at random. looking at our testamentary records, we find the will of kerenhappuch benett proved in 1762, while kerenhappuch horrocks figures in the manchester directory for 1877. onesiphorus luffe appears on a halfpenny token of 1666; habakkuk leyman, 1650; euodias inman, 1650; melchisedek fritter, 1650; elnathan brock, 1654; and abdiah martin, 1664 ("tokens of seventeenth century"). shallum stent was married in 1681 (racton, sussex); gershom baylie was constable of lewes in 1619, araunah verrall fulfilling the same office in 1784. captain epenetus crosse presented a petition to privy council in 1660 (c. s. p. colonial); erastus johnson was defendant in 1724, and cressens boote twenty years earlier. barjonah dove was vicar of croxton in 1694. tryphena monger was buried in putney churchyard in 1702, and tryphosa saunders at st. peter's, worcester, in 1770. mahaliel payne, azarias phesant, and pelatiah barnard are recorded in state papers, 1650-1663 (c. s. p.), and aminadab henley was dwelling in kent in 1640 ("proceedings in kent." camden society). shadrack pride is a collector of hearth-money in 1699, and gamaliel chase is communicated with in 1635 (c. s. p.). onesiphorus albin proposes a better plan of collecting the alien duty in 1692 (c. s. p.), while mordecai abbott is appointed deputy-paymaster of the forces in 1697 (c. s. p.). eliakim palmer is married at somerset house chapel in 1740; dalilah white is buried at cowley in 1791, and keziah simmons is christened there in 1850. selah collins is baptized at dyrham, gloucestershire, in 1752, and keturah jones is interred at clifton in 1778. eli-lama-sabachthani pressnail was existing in 1862 (_notes and queries_), and the _times_ recorded a talitha-cumi people about the same time. the will of mahershalalhashbaz christmas was proved not very long ago. mrs. mahershalalhashbaz bradford was dwelling in ringwood, hampshire, in 1863; and on january 31, 1802, the register of beccles church received the entry, "mahershalalhashbaz, son of henry and sarah clarke, baptized," the same being followed, october 14, 1804, by the baptismal entry of "zaphnaphpaaneah," another son of the same couple. a grant of administration in the estate of acts-apostles pegden was made in 1865. his four brothers, older than himself, were of course the four evangelists, and had there been a sixth i dare say his name would have been "romans." an older member of this family, many years one of the kennel-keepers of tickham fox-hounds, was pontius pilate pegden. at a confirmation at faversham in 1847, the incumbent of dunkirk presented to the amazed archbishop a boy named "acts-apostles." these are, of course, mere eccentricities, but eccentricities follow a beaten path, and have their use in calculations of the nature we are considering. eccentricities in dress are proverbially but exaggerations of the prevailing fashion. ii. popularity of the old testament. the affection felt by the puritans for the old testament has been observed by all writers upon the period, and of the period. cleveland's remark, quoted by hume, is, of course, an exaggeration. "cromwell," he says, "hath beat up his drums cleane through the old testament--you may learne the genealogy of our saviour by the names in his regiment. the muster-master uses no other list than the first chapter of matthew." lord macaulay puts it much more faithfully in his first chapter, speaking, too, of an earlier period than the commonwealth: "in such a history (_i.e._ old testament) it was not difficult for fierce and gloomy spirits to find much that might be distorted to suit their wishes. the extreme puritans, therefore, began to feel for the old testament a preference which, perhaps, they did not distinctly avow even to themselves, but which showed itself in all their sentiments and habits. they paid to the hebrew language a respect which they refused to that tongue in which the discourses of jesus and the epistles of paul have come down to us. they baptized their children by the names, not of christian saints, but of hebrew patriarchs and warriors." the presbyterian clergy had another objection to the new testament names. the possessors were all saints, and in the saints' calendar. the apostolic title was as a red rag to his blood-shot eye. "upon saint peter, paul, john, jude, and james, they will not put the 'saint' unto their names," says the water-poet in execrable verse. its _local_ use was still more trying, as no man could pass through a single quarter of london without seeing half a dozen churches, or lanes, or taverns dedicated to saint somebody or other. "others to make all things recant the christian and surname of saint, would force all churches, streets, and towns the holy title to renounce." to avoid any saintly taint, the puritan avoided the saints themselves. but the discontented party in the church had, as macaulay says, a decided hankering after the old testament on other grounds than this. they paid the hebrew language an almost superstitious reverence.[16] ananias, the deacon, in the "alchemist," published in 1610, says- "heathen greek, i take it. _subtle._ how! heathen greek? _ananias._ all's heathen but the hebrew."[17] bishop corbet, in his "distracted puritan," has a lance to point at the same weakness: "in the holy tongue of canaan i placed my chiefest pleasure, till i pricked my foot with an hebrew root, that i bled beyond all measure." in the "city match," written by mayne in 1639, bannsright says- "mistress dorcas, if you'll be usher to that holy, learned woman, that can heal broken shins, scald heads, and th' itch, your schoolmistress: that can expound, and teaches to knit in chaldee, and work hebrew samplers, i'll help you back again." the puritan was ever nicknamed after some old testament worthy. i could quote many instances, but let two from the author of the "london diurnall" suffice. addressing prince rupert, he says- "let the zeal-twanging nose, that wants a ridge, snuffling devoutly, drop his silver bridge: yes, and the gossip's spoon augment the summe, altho' poor _caleb_ lose his christendome." more racy is his attack on pembroke, as a member of the mixed assembly: "forbeare, good pembroke, be not over-daring: such company may chance to spoil thy swearing; and these drum-major oaths of bulk unruly may dwindle to a feeble 'by my truly.' he that the noble percy's blood inherits, will he strike up a hotspur of the spirits? he'll fright the _obediahs_ out of tune, with his uncircumcis-ed algernoon: a name so stubborne, 'tis not to be scanned by him in gath with the six fingered hand." if a bible quotation was put into the zealot's mouth, his cynical foe took care that it should come from the older scriptures. in george chapman's "an humorous day's work," after lemot has suggested a "full test of experiment" to prove her virtue, florilla the puritan cries- "o husband, this is perfect trial indeed." to which the gruff labervele replies- "and you will try all this now, will you not? _florilla._ yes, my good head: for it is written, we must pass to perfection through all temptation: abacuk the fourth. _labervele._ abacuk! cuck me no cucks: in a-doors, i say: thieves, puritans, murderers! in a-doors, i say!" in the same facetious strain, taylor, the water-poet, addresses a child thus: "to learne thy duty reade no more than this: paul's nineteenth chapter unto genesis." this certainly tallies with the charge in "hudibras," that they "corrupted the old testament to serve the new as precedent." this affection for the older scriptures had its effect upon our nomenclature. no book, no story, especially if gloomy in its outline and melancholy in its issues, escaped the more morbid puritan's notice. every minister of the lord's vengeance, every stern witness against natural abomination, the prophet that prophesied ill--these were the names that were in favour. and he that was least bitter in his maledictions was most at a discount. shadrach, meshach, and abednego were in every-day request, shadrach and abednego being the favourites. mordecai, too, was daily commemorated; while jeremiah attained a popularity, as jeremy, he can never altogether lose. "lamentations" was so melancholy, that it must needs be personified, don a puritanical habit, and stand at the font as godfather--i mean witness--to some wretched infant who had done nothing to merit such a fate. "lamentations chapman" appeared as defendant in a suit in chancery about 1590. the exact date is not to be found, but the case was tried towards the close of elizabeth's reign ("chancery suits, elizabeth"). it is really hard to say why names of melancholy import became so common. perhaps it was a spirit morbidly brooding on the religious oppressions of the times; perhaps it was bile. any way, camden says "dust" and "ashes" were names in use in the days of elizabeth and james. these, no doubt, were translations of the hebrew "aphrah" into the "vulgar tongue," the name having become exceedingly common. micah, in one of the most mournful prophecies of the old testament, says- "declare ye it not at gath, weep ye not at all: in the house of aphrah roll thyself in the dust." literally: "in the house of dust roll thyself in the dust." the name was quickly seized upon: "sept., 1599. baptized affray, d. of richard manne of lymehus."--stepney. "may 15, 1576. wedding of william brickhead and affera lawrence."--st. peter's, cornhill. this last entry proves how early the name had arisen. in kent it had become very common. the registers of canterbury cathedral teem with it: "1601, june 5. christened afra, the daughter of william warriner. "1614, oct. 30. christened aphora, the daughter of mr. merrewether. "1635, july 20. robert fuller maryed apherie pitt." in these instances we see at a glance the origin of the licentious aphra behn's name, which looks so like a _nom-de-plume_, and has puzzled many. she was born at canterbury, with the surname of johnson, baptized aphra, and married a dutch merchant named behn. when acting as a government spy at antwerp in 1666, she signs a letter "aphara behn" (c. s. p.), which is nearer the biblical form than many others. it is just possible her father might have rolled himself several times in the dust had he lived to read some of his daughter's writings. their tone is not puritanic. the name has become obsolete; indeed, it scarcely survived the seventeenth century, dying out within a hundred years of its rise. but it was very popular in its day. rachel, in her dying pains, had styled, under deep depression, her babe benoni ("son of my sorrow"); but his father turned it into the more cheerful benjamin ("son of the right hand"). of course, puritanism sided with the mother, and the benonis flourished at a ratio of six to one over the benjamins: "1607. christened benony, sonne of beniamyn ruthin, mariner."--stepney. "1661, dec. 20. christened margrett, d. of bennoni wallington, goldsmith."--st. dionis backchurch. "1637, may 6. order to transmit benoni bucke to england from virginia."--"c. s. p. colonial." "1656, march 25. petition of benoni honeywood."--"c. s. p. colonial." i don't think, however, all these mothers died in childbed. it would speak badly for the chirurgic skill of the seventeenth century if they did. it was the church of christ that was in travail. _ichabod_ was equally common. there was something hard and unrelenting in jael (already mentioned) that naturally suited the temper of every fanatic: "1613, july 28. christened jaell, d. of roger manwaryng, preacher."--st. helen, bishopsgate. mehetabell had something in it, probably its length, that made it popular among the puritan faction. it lasted well, too: "1680, march 24. married philip penn and mehittabela hilder."--cant. cath. "1693, may 21. baptized mehetabell, d. of jeremiah hart, apothecary."--st. dionis backchurch. but while deborah, an especial pet of the fanatics, sara, rebecca, rachel, zipporah, and leah were in high favour as old testament heroines, none had such a run as abigail: "1573, oct. abigoll cumberford, christened."--stepney. "1617, oct. 15. christened abbigale, d. of john webb, shoemaker."--st. peter, cornhill. "1635, jan. 19. married jarrett birkhead and abigaile whitehead."--ditto. "may 30, 1721. married robert elles and abigail six."--cant. cath. few scripture names made themselves so popular as this. at the conclusion of the sixteenth century it was beginning its career, and by queen anne's day had reached its zenith. when the cavalier was drinking at the alehouse, he would waggishly chant through his nose, with eye upturned- "come, sisters, and sing an hymne to our king, who sitteth on high degree. the men at whitehall, and the wicked, shall fall, and hey, then, up go we! 'a match,' quoth my sister joice, 'contented,' quoth rachel, too; quoth abigaile, 'yea,' and faith, 'verily,' and charity, 'let it be so.'" a curious error has been propagated by writers who ought to have known better. it is customarily asserted that abigail, as a cant term for a waiting-maid, only arose after abigail hill, the duchess of marlborough's cousin, became waiting-woman to the queen, and supplanted her kinswoman. certainly we find both swift and fielding using the term after this event. but there is good reason for believing that the sobriquet is as old as charles i.'s reign. indeed, there can be no reasonable doubt but that we owe the term to the enormous popularity of beaumont's comedy, "the scornful ladie," written about 1613, and played in 1616. the chief part falls to the lot of "abigal, a waiting-gentlewoman," as the _dramatis personæ_ styles her, the playwright associating the name and employment after the scriptural narrative. but beaumont knew his bible well. that abigail at once became a cant term is proved by "the parson's wedding," written by killigrew some time between 1645 and 1650. wanton addresses the parson: "was she deaf to your report? _parson._ yes, yes. _wanton._ and ugly, her abigail, she had her say, too? _parson._ yes, yes." that this sentence would never have been written but for beaumont's play, there can be no reasonable doubt. it was performed so late as 1783. in 1673, after yearly performances, it was published as a droll, and entitled "the false heir." in 1742 it appears again under the title of "the feigned shipwreck." samuel pepys, in his diary, records his visits to the playhouse to see "the scornful lady" at least four times, viz. 1661, 1662, 1665, and 1667. writing december 27, 1665, he says- "by coach to the king's playhouse, and there saw 'the scornful lady' well acted: doll common doing abigail most excellently." abigail passed out of favour about the middle of the last century, but mrs. masham's artifices had little to do with it. the comedy had done its work, and abigail coming into use, like malkin two centuries before, as the cant term for a kitchen drab, or common serving wench, as is sufficiently proved by the literature of the day, the name lost caste with all classes, and was compelled to bid adieu to public favour. this affection for the old testament has never died out among the nonconformists. the large batch of names i have already quoted from modern directories is almost wholly from the earlier testament. wherever dissent is strong, there will be found a large proportion of these names. amongst the passengers who went out to new england in james and charles's reigns will be found such names as ebed-meleck gastrell, oziell lane, ephraim howe, ezechell clement, jeremy clement, zachary cripps, noah fletcher, enoch gould, zebulon cunninghame, seth smith, peleg bucke, gercyon bucke (gershom), rachell saunders, lea saunders, calebb carr, jonathan franklin, boaz sharpe, esau del a ware, pharaoh flinton, othniell haggat, mordecay knight, obediah hawes, gamaliell ellis, esaias raughton, azarias pinney, elisha mallowes, malachi mallock, jonadab illett, joshua long, enecha fitch (seemingly a feminine of enoch), and job perridge. occasionally an epenetus olney, or nathaniell patient, or epaphroditus haughton, or cornelius conway, or feleaman dickerson (philemon), or theophilus lucas, or annanias mann is met with; but these are few, and were evidently selected for their size, the temptation to poach on apostolic preserves being too great when such big game was to be obtained. besides, they were not in the calendar! these names went to virginia, and they are not forgotten. iii. objectionable scripture names. camden says- "in times of christianity, the names of most holy and vertuous persons, and of their most worthy progenitors, were given to stirre up men to the imitation of them, whose names they bare. but succeeding ages, little regarding st. chrysostome's admonition to the contrary, have recalled prophane names, so as now diana, cassandra, hyppolitus, venus, lais, names of unhappy disastre, are as rife somewhere, as ever they were in paganisme."--"remaines," p. 43. the most cursory survey of our registers proves this. captain hercules huncks and ensign neptune howard fought under the earl of northumberland in 1640 (peacock's "army list of roundheads and cavaliers"). both were royalists. "1643, feb. 6. buried paris, son of william and margaret lee."--st. michael, spurriergate, york. "1670, march 13. baptized cassandra, d. of james smyth."--banbury. "1679, july 2. buried cassandra, ye wife of edward williams."--st. michael, barbados, (hotten). "1631, may 26. married john cotton and venus[18] levat."--st. peter, cornhill. cartwright, the great puritan, attacked these names in 1575, as "savouring of paganism" (neal, v. p. xv. appendix). it was a pity he did not include some names in the list of his co-religionists, for surely tamar and dinah were just as objectionable as venus or lais. the doctrine of a fallen nature could be upheld, and the blessed state of self-abasement maintained, without a daily reminder in the shape of a bible name of evil repute. bishop corbett brought it as a distinct charge against the puritans, that they loved to select the most unsavoury stories of old testament history for their converse. in the "maypole" he makes a zealot minister say- "to challenge liberty and recreation, let it be done in holy contemplation. brothers and sisters in the fields may walk, beginning of the holy word to talk: of david and uria's lovely wife, of tamar and her lustful brother's strife." one thing is certain, these names became popular: "1610, march. baptized bathsheba, d. of john hamond, of ratcliffe."--stepney. "1672, feb. 23. buried bathsheba, wife of richard brinley, hosier."--st. denis backchurch. the alternate form of bath-shua (1 chron. iii. 5) was used, although the clerks did not always know how to spell it: "1609, july 1. baptized bathshira and tabitha, daughters of sir antonie dering, knight. "1609, july 5. buried bathshira and tabitha, ds. of sir antonie dering, knight, being twines."--pluckley, kent. "1601, jan. baptized thamar, d. of henry reynold."--stepney. "1691, nov. 20. baptized tamar, d. of francis and tamar lee."--st. dionis backchurch. "1698, april 10. buried tamar, wife of richard robinson, of fell-foot."--cartmel. as for dinah, she became a great favourite from her first introduction; every register contains her name before elizabeth's death: "1585, aug. 15. christening of dina, d. of john lister, barbor. "1591, aug. 21. buried mrs. dina walthall, a vertuous yong woman, 30 years."--st. peter, cornhill. crossing the atlantic with the pilgrim fathers, she settled down at length as the typical negress; yet puritan writers admitted that when she "went out to see the daughters of the land," she meant to be seen of the sons also! taylor, the water-poet, seems to imply that goliath was registered at baptism by the puritan: "quoth he, 'what might the child baptized be? was it a male she, or a female he?'- 'i know not what, but 'tis a son,' she said.- 'nay then,' quoth he, 'a wager may be laid it had some scripture name.'--'yes, so it had,' said she: 'but my weak memory's so bad, i have forgot it: 'twas a godly name, tho' out of my remembrance be the same: 'twas one of the small prophets verily: 'twas not esaias, nor yet jeremy, ezekiel, daniel, nor good obadiah, ah, now i do remember, 'twas goliah!'" pharaoh occurs, and went out to virginia, where it has ever since remained. it is, as already shown, familiar enough in yorkshire. of new testament names, whose associations are of evil repute, we may mention ananias, sapphira, and antipas. ananias had become so closely connected with puritanism, that not only did dryden poke fun at the relationship in the "alchemist," but _ananias dulman_ became the cant term for a long-winded zealot preacher. so says neal. "1603, sep. 12. buried ananias, sonne of george warren, 17 years."--st. peter, cornhill. "1621, sep. baptized ananias, son of ananias jarratt, glassmaker."--stepney. _sapphira_ occurs in bunhill fields: "here lyeth the body of mrs. sapphira lightmaker, wife of mr. edward lightmaker, of broadhurst, in sussex, gent. she died in the lorde, dec. 20, 1704, aged 81 years." she was therefore born in 1633. her brother (they were brought up presbyterians) was robert leighton, who died archbishop of glasgow. _drusilla_, again, was objectionable, but perchance her character was less historically known then: "1622. baptized drusilla, d. of thomas davis."--ludlow. _antipas_, curiously enough, was almost popular, although a murderer and an adulterer: "1633, feb. 28. baptized antipas, sonne of robert barnes, of shadwell."--stepney. "1662. petition of antipas charrington."--"cal. st. p. dom." "1650. antipas swinnerton, tedbury, wollman."--"tokens of seventeenth century." dr. increase mather, the eminent puritan, in his work entitled "remarkable providences," published at boston, u.s.a., in 1684, has a story of an interposition in behalf of his friend antipas newman. of other instances, somewhat later, _sehon_ stace, who lived in warding in 1707 ("suss. arch. coll.," xii. 254), commemorates the king of the amorites, _milcom_ groat ("cal. st. p.," 1660) representing on english soil "the abomination of the children of ammon." dr. pusey and mr. spurgeon might be excused a little astonishment at such a conversion by baptism. _barrabas_ cannot be considered a happy choice: "buried, 1713, oct. 18, barabas, sonne of barabas bowen."--all-hallows, barking. mr. maskell draws attention to the name in his history of that church. there is something so emphatic about "now barrabas was a robber," that thoughts of theft seem proper to the very name. we should have locked up the spoons, we feel sure, had father or son called upon us. the father who called his son "judas-not-iscariot" scarcely cleared the name of its evil associations, nor would it quite meet the difficulty suggested by the remark in "tristram shandy:" "your billy, sir--would you for the world have called him judas?... would you, sir, if a jew of a godfather had proposed the name of your child, and offered you his purse along with it--would you have consented to such a desecration of him?" we have all heard the story of beelzebub. if the child had been inadvertently so baptized, a remedy might have been found in former days by changing the name at confirmation. until 1552, the bishop confirmed by name. archbishop peccham laid down a rule: "the minister shall take care not to permit wanton names, which being pronounced do sound to lasciviousness, to be given to children baptized, especially of the female sex: and if otherwise it be done, the same shall be changed by the bishop at confirmation." that this law had been carelessly followed after the reformation is clear, else venus levat, already quoted, would not have been married in 1631 under that name. certainly dinah and tamar come under the ban of this injunction. curiously enough, the change of name was sanctioned in the case of orthodox names, for lord coke says- "if a man be baptized by the name of thomas, and after, at his confirmation by the bishop, he is named john, his name of confirmation shall stand." he then quotes the case of sir francis gawdie, chief justice of the court of common pleas, whose name by baptism was thomas, thomas being changed to francis at confirmation. he holds that francis shall stand ("institutes," 1. iii.). this practice manifestly arose out of peccham's rule, but it is strange that wanton instances should be left unchanged, and the orthodox allowed to be altered. arising out of the puritan error of permitting names like tamar and dinah to stand, modern eccentricity has gone very far, and it would be satisfactory to see many names in use at present forbidden. i need not quote the venuses of our directories. emanuel is of an opposite character, and should be considered blasphemy. we have not adopted christ yet, as dr. doran reminded us they have done in germany, but my copy of the london directory shows at least one german, bearing the baptismal name of christ, at present dwelling in the metropolis. puritan eccentricity is a trifle to this. iv. losses. (_a._) _the destruction of pet forms._ but let us now notice some of the more disastrous effects of the great hebrew invasion. the most important were the partial destruction of the nick forms, and the suppression of diminutives. the english pet names disappeared, never more to return. desinences in "cock," "kin," "elot," "ot," "et," "in," and "on," are no more found in current literature, nor in the clerk's register. why should this be so? an important reason strikes us at once. the ecclesiastic names on which the enclytics had grown had become unpopular well-nigh throughout england. it was an english, not a puritan prejudice. with the suppression of the names proper went the desinences attached to them. the tree being felled, the parasite decayed. another reason was this: the names introduced from the scriptures did not seem to compound comfortably with these terminatives. the hebrew name would first have to be turned into a nick form before the diminutive was appended. the english peasantry had added "_in_," "_ot_," "_kin_," and "_cock_" only to the _nickname_, never to the baptismal form. it was wat-kin, not walterkin; bat-kin, not bartholomewkin; wilcock, not williamcock; colin, not nicholas-in; philpot, not philipot. but the popular feeling for a century was against turning the new scripture names into curt nick forms. as it would have been an absurdity to have appended diminutives to sesquipedalian names, national wit, rather than deliberate plan, prevented it. if it was irreverent, too, to curtail scripture names, it was equally irreverent to give them the diminutive dress. to prove the absolute truth of my statement, i have only to remind the reader that, saving "nat-kin," not one single bible name introduced by the reformation and the english bible has become conjoined with a diminutive.[19] the immediate consequence was this; the diminutive forms became obsolete. emmott lingered on till the end of the seventeenth century; nay, got into the eighteenth: "emmit, d. of edward and ann buck, died 24 april, 1726, aged 6 years."--hawling, gloucester. but it was only where it was not known as a form of emma, and possibly both might exist in the same household. i have already furnished instances of hamlet. here is another: "the rev. hamlet marshall, d.d., died in the close, lincoln, in 1652. with him dwelt his nephew, hamlet joyce. he bequeaths legacies in his will to hamlet pickerin and hamlet duncalf, and his executor was his son, hamlet marshall."--_notes and queries_, february 14, 1880. it lasted till the eighteenth century. but nobody knew by that time that it was a pet name of hamon, or hamond; nay, few knew that the surname of hammond had ever been a baptismal name at all: "1620, jan. 3. buried hamlet rigby, mr. askew's man."--st. peter, cornhill. "1620. petition of hamond franklin."--"cal. s. p. dom.," 1619-1623. it is curious to notice that mr. hovenden, in his "canterbury register," published 1878, for the harleian society, has the following entries:- "1627, aprill 3. christened ham'on, the sonn of richard struggle." "1634. jan. 18. christened damaris, daughter of mr. ham'on leucknor." turning to the index, the editor has styled them _hamilton_ struggle and _hamilton_ leucknor. ham'on, of course, is hammon, or hammond. i may add that some ecclesiastic, a critic of my book on "english surnames," in the _guardian_, rebuked me for supposing that emmot could be from emma, and calmly put it down as a form of aymot! what can prove the effect of the reformation on old english names as do such incidents as these? an english monarch styled his favourite peter gaveston as "piers," a form that was sufficiently familiar to readers of history; but when an antiquary, some few years ago, found this same gaveston described as "perot," it became a difficulty to not a few. the perrots or parratts of our london directory might have told them of the old-fashioned diminutive that had been knocked on the head with a hebrew bible. collet, from nicholas, used as a feminine name, died out also. the last instance i know of is- "1629, jan. 15. married thomas woollard and collatt hargrave."--st. peter, cornhill. colin, the other pet form, having got into our pastoral poetry, lingered longer, and may be said to be still alive: "1728. married colin foster and beulah digby."--somerset house chapel. the last wilmot i have discovered is a certain wilmote adams, a defendant in a chancery suit at the end of elizabeth's reign ("chancery suits: elizabeth"), and the last philpot is dated 1575: "1575, aug. 26. christened philpott, a chylde that was laide at mr alderman osberne's gatt."--st. dionis backchurch. all the others perished by the time james i. was king. guy, or wyatt, succumbed entirely, and the same may be said of the rest. did we require further confirmation of this, i need only inquire: would any yorkshireman now, as he reads over shop-fronts in towns like leeds or bradford, or in the secluded villages of wensleydale or swaledale, the surnames of tillot and tillotson, emmett and emmotson, ibbott, ibbet, ibbs, and ibbotson, know that, twenty years before the introduction of our english bible, these were not merely the familiar pet names of matilda, emma, and isabella, but that as a trio they stood absolutely first in the scale of frequency? nay, they comprised more than forty-five per cent. of the female population. the last registered ibbot or issot i have seen is in the chancery suits at the close of queen bess's reign, wherein ibote babyngton and izott barne figure in some legal squabbles ("chancery suits: elizabeth," vol. ii.). as for sissot, or drewet, or doucet, or fawcett, or hewet, or philcock, or jeffcock, or batkin, or phippin, or lambin, or perrin, they have passed away--their place knoweth them no more. what a remarkable revolution is this, and so speedy! failing our registers, the question may arise whether or not in familiar converse the old pet forms were still used. our ballads and plays preserve many of the nick forms, but scarcely a pet form is to be seen later than 1590. in 1550 nicholas udall wrote "ralph roister doister," in the very commencement of which matthew merrygreek "says or sings"- "sometime lewis loiterer biddeth me come near: somewhiles _watkin_ waster maketh us good cheer." amongst the _dramatis personæ_ are _dobinet_ doughty, sim suresby, madge mumblecrust, _tibet_ talkapace, and _annot_ aliface. a few years later came "gammer gurton's needle." both _diccon_ and hodge figure in it: two rustics of the most bucolic type. hodge, after relating how gib the cat had licked the milk-pan clean, adds- "gog's souls, _diccon_, gib our cat had eat the bacon too." immediately after this, again, in 1568 was printed "like will to like." the chief characters are tom tosspot, _hankin_ hangman, pierce pickpurse, and nichol newfangle. wat waghalter is also introduced. but here may be said to end this homely and contemporary class of play-names. 'tis true, in beaumont and fletcher's "beggar's bush," higgen (_higgin_) is one of the "three knavish beggars," but the scene is laid in flanders. judging by our songs and comedies, the diminutive forms went down with terrible rapidity, and were practically obsolete before elizabeth's death. but this result was more the work of the reformation at large than puritanism. (_b._) _the decrease of nick forms._ this was not all. the nick forms saw themselves reduced to straits. the new godly names, i have said, were not to be turned into irreverent cant terms. from the earliest day of the reformation every man who gave his child a bible name stuck to it unaltered. ebenezer at baptism was ebenezer among the turnips, ebenezer with the milk-pail, and ebenezer in courtship; while deborah, who did not become deb till charles i.'s reign, would ebenezer him till the last day she had done scolding him, and put "ebenezer" carefully on his grave, to prove how happily they had lived together! as for the zealot who gradually forged his way to the front, he gave his brother and sister in the lord the full benefit of his or her title, whether it was five syllables or seven. there can be no doubt that these hebrew names did not readily adapt themselves to ordinary converse with the world. melchisedek and ebedmelech were all right elbowing their way into the conventicle, but melchisedek dispensing half-pounds of butter over the counter, or ebedmelech carrying milk-pails from door to door, gave people a kind of shock. these grand assumptions suggested knavery. one feels certain that our great-grandmothers had a suspicion of tallow in the butter, and jupiter pluvius in the pail. nor did these excavated names harmonize with the surnames to which they were yoked. adoniram was quaint enough without byfield, but both (as butler, in "hudibras," knew) suggested something slightly ludicrous. byron took a mean advantage of this when he attacked poor cottle, the bookseller and would-be writer: "o amos cottle! phoebus! what a name to fill the speaking trump of future fame! o amos cottle! for a moment think what meagre profits spring from pen and ink." amos is odd, but amos united to cottle makes a smile irresistible. who does not agree with wilkes, who, when speaking to johnson of dryden's would-be rival, the city poet, says- "elkanah settle sounds so queer, who can expect much from that name? we should have no hesitation to give it for john dryden, in preference to elkanah settle, from the names only, without knowing their different merits"? and sterne, as the elder disraeli reminds us, in one of his multitudinous digressions from the life of "tristram shandy," makes the progenitor of that young gentleman turn absolutely melancholy, as he conjures up a vision of all the men who "might have done exceeding well in the world, had not their characters and spirits been totally depressed, and nicodemas'd into nothing." even oliver goldsmith cannot resist styling the knavish seller of green spectacles by a conjunction of hebrew and english titles as ephraim jenkinson; and his servant, who acts the part of a job trotter (another old testament worthy, again) to his master, is, of course, abraham! but, oddly as such combinations strike upon the modern tympanum, what must not the effect have been in a day when a nickname was popular according as it was curt? how would men rub their eyes in sheer amazement, when such conjunctions as ebedmelech gastrell, or epaphroditus haughton, or onesiphorus dixey, were introduced to their notice, pronounced with all sesquipedalian fulness, following upon the very heels of a long epoch of traditional one-syllabled ralphs, hodges, hicks, wats, phips, bates, and balls (baldwin). conceive the amazement at such registrations as these: "1599, sep. 23. christened aholiab, sonne of michaell nicolson, cordwainer."--st. peter, cornhill. "1569, june 1. christened ezekiell, sonne of robert pownall."--cant. cath. "1582, april 1. christened melchisadeck, sonne of melchizadeck bennet, poulter."--st. peter, cornhill. "1590, dec. 20. christened abacucke, sonne of john tailer."--ditto. "1595, nov. christened zabulon, sonne of john griffin."--stepney. "1603, sep. 15. buried melchesideck king."--cant. cath. "1645, july 19. buried edward, sonne of mephibosheth robins."--st. peter, cornhill. "1660, nov. 5. buried jehostiaphat (_sic_) star."--cant. cath. "1611, oct. 21. baptized zipporah, d. of richard beere, of wapping."--stepney. the "chancery suits" of elizabeth contain a large batch of such names; and i have already enumerated a list of "pilgrim fathers" of james's reign, whose baptisms would be recorded in the previous century. but compare this with the fact that the leading men in england at this very time were recognized only by the curtest of abbreviated names. in that very quaint poem of heywood's, "the hierarchie of blessed angels," the author actually makes it the ground of an affected remonstrance: "marlowe, renowned for his rare art and wit, could ne'er attain beyond the name of _kit_, although his _hero and leander_ did merit addition rather. famous kid was called but _tom_. _tom_ watson, though he wrote able to make apollo's self to dote upon his muse, for all that he could strive, yet never could to his full name arrive. _tom_ nash, in his time of no small esteem, could not a second syllable redeem. * * * * * mellifluous shakespeare, whose enchanting quill commanded mirth or passion, was but _will_: and famous jonson, though his learned pen be dipped in castaly, is still but _ben_." however, in the end, he attributes the familiarity to the right cause: "i, for my part, think others what they please, accept that heart that courts my love in most familiar phrase; and that it takes not from my pains or praise, if any one to me so bluntly come: i hold he loves me best that calls me _tom_." it is sir christopher, the curate, who, in "the ordinary," rebels against "kit:" "_andrew._ what may i call your name, most reverend sir? _bagshot._ his name's sir kit. _christopher._ my name is not so short: 'tis a trisyllable, an't please your worship; but vulgar tongues have made bold to profane it with the short sound of that unhallowed idol they call a kit. boy, learn more reverence! _bagshot._ yes, to my betters." we need not wonder, therefore, that the comedists took their fun out of the new custom, especially in relation to their length and pronunciation in full. in cowley's "cutter of colman street," cutter turns puritan, and thus addresses the colonel's widow, tabitha: "sister barebottle, i must not be called cutter any more: that is a name of cavalier's darkness; the devil was a cutter from the beginning: my name is now abednego: i had a vision which whispered to me through a key-hole, 'go, call thyself abednego.'" in his epilogue to this same comedy, cutter is supposed to address the audience as a "congregation of the elect," the playhouse is a conventicle, and he is a "pious cushion-thumper." gazing about the theatre, he says--through his nose, no doubt- "but yet i wonder much not to espy a brother in all this court called zephaniah." this is a better rhyme even than butler's "their dispensations had been stifled but for our adoniram byfield." in brome's "covent garden weeded," the arrival at the vintner's door is thus described: "_rooksbill._ sure you mistake him, sir. _vintner._ you are welcome, gentlemen: will, harry, zachary! _gabriel._ zachary is a good name. _vintner._ where are you? shew up into the phoenix."--act. ii. sc. 2. the contrast between will or harry, the nick forms, and zachary,[20] the full name, is intentionally drawn, and gabriel instantly rails at it. in "bartholomew fair," half the laughter that convulsed charles ii., his courtiers, and courtezans, was at the mention of _ezekiel_, the cut-purse, or _zeal-of-the-land_, the baker, who saw visions; while the veriest noodle in the pit saw the point of squire cokes' perpetually addressing his body-man humphrey in some such style as this: "o, numps! are you here, numps? look where i am, numps, and mistress grace, too! nay, do not look so angrily, numps: my sister is here and all, i do not come without her." how the audience would laugh and cheer at a sally that was simply manufactured of a repetition of the good old-fashioned name for humphrey; and thus a passage that reads as very dull fun indeed to the ears of the nineteenth century, would seem to be brimful of sarcastic allusion to the popular audience of the seventeenth, especially when spoken by such lips as wintersels. the same effect was attempted and attained in the "alchemist." subtle addresses the deacon: "what's your name? _ananias._ my name is ananias. _subtle._ out, the varlet that cozened the apostles! hence away! flee, mischief! had your holy consistory no name to send me, of another sound, than wicked ananias? send your elders hither, to make atonement for you, quickly, and give me satisfaction: or out goes the fire ... if they stay threescore minutes; the aqueity, terreity, and sulphureity shall run together again, and all be annulled, thou wicked ananias!" exit ananias, and no wonder. of course, the pit would roar at the expense of ananias. but abel, the tobacco-man, who immediately appears in his place, is addressed familiarly as "nab:" "_face._ abel, thou art made. _abel._ sir, i do thank his worship. _face._ six o' thy legs more will not do it, nab. he has brought you a pipe of tobacco, doctor. _abel._ yes, sir; i have another thing i would impart--- _face._ out with it, nab. _abel._ sir, there is lodged hard by me a rich young widow." to some readers there will be little point in this. they will say "abel," as an old testament name, should neither have been given to an un-puritanic character, nor ought it to have been turned into a nickname. this would never have occurred to the audience. abel, or nab, had been one of the most popular of english names for at least three centuries before the reformation. hence it was _never_ used by the puritans, and was, as a matter of course, the undisturbed property of their enemies. three centuries of bad company had ruined nab's morals. the zealot would none of it.[21] but from all this it will be seen that a much better fight was made in behalf of the old nick forms than of the diminutives. by a timely rally, tom, jack, dick, and harry were carried, against all hindrances, into the restoration period, and from that time they were safe. wat, phip, hodge, bat or bate, and cole lost their position, but so had the fuller philip, roger, bartholomew, and nicholas, but the opponents of puritanism carried the war into the enemy's camp in revenge for this, and priscilla, deborah, jeremiah, and nathaniel, although they were rather of the reformation than puritanic introductions, were turned by the time of charles i. into the familiar nick forms of pris, deb, jerry, and nat. the licentious richard brome, in "the new academy," even attempts a curtailment of nehemiah: "_lady nestlecock._ negh, negh! _nehemiah._ hark! my mother comes. _lady n._ where are you, childe? negh! _nehemiah._ i hear her _neighing_ after me." act iv. sc. 1. (1658). it was never tried out of doors, however, and the experiment was not repeated. brome was still more scant in reverence to damaris. in "covent garden weeded" madge begins "the dismal story:" "this gentlewoman whose name is damaris--- _nich._ damyris, stay: her nickname then is dammy: so we may call her when we grow familiar; and to begin that familiarity--dammy, here's to you. (_drinks._)" after this she is dammy in the mouth of nicholas throughout the play. this, too, was a failure. indeed, it demonstrates a remarkable reverence for their bible on the part of the english race, that every attempt to turn one of its names into a nick form (saving in some three or four instances) has ignominiously failed. we mean, of course, since the reformation. the restoration was a great restoration of nick forms. such names as had survived were again for a while in full favour, and the reader has only to turn to the often coarse ballads and songs contained in such collections as tom d'urfey's "pills to purge melancholy" to see how nan, sis, sib, kate, and doll had been brought back to popular favour. it was but a spurt, however, in the main. as the lascivious reaction from the puritanic strait-lacedness in some degree spent itself, so did the newly restored fashion, and when the eighteenth century brought in a fresh innovation, viz. the _classic_ forms, such as beatrix, maria, lætitia, carolina, louisa, amelia, georgina, dorothea, prudentia, honora--an innovation that for forty years ran like an epidemic through every class of society, and was sarcastically alluded to by goldsmith in miss carolina wilhelmina amelia skeggs, and the sisters olivia and sophia--the old nick forms once more bade adieu to english society, and now enjoy but a partial favour. but bill, tom, dick, and harry still hold on like grim death. long may they continue to do so! (_c._) _the decay of saint and festival names._ there were some serious losses in hagiology. names that had figured in the calendar for centuries fared badly; simon, peter, nicholas, bartholomew, philip, and matthew, from being first favourites, lapsed into comparative oblivion. some virgins and martyrs of extra-biblical repute, like agnes, ursula, catharine, cecilia, or blaze, crept into the registers of charles's reign, but they had then become but shadows of their former selves. 'sis' is often found in d'urfey's ballads, but it only proves the songs themselves were old ones, or at any rate the choruses, for cecilia was practically obsolete: "1574, oct. 8. buried cisly weanewright, ye carter's wife."--st. peter, cornhill. "1578, june 1. buried cissellye, wife of gilles lambe."--st. dionis backchurch. "1547, dec. 26. married thomas bodnam and urcylaye watsworth."--ditto. "1654, sep. 20. buried ursley, d. of john fife."--st. peter, cornhill. it was now that awdry gave way: "1576, sept. 7. buryed awdry, the widow of -seward."--st. peter, cornhill. "1610, may 27. baptized awdrey, d. of john cooke, butcher."--st. dionis backchurch. st. blaze,[22] the patron saint of wool-combers and the _nom-de-plume_ of gil blas, has only a church or two to recall his memory to us now. but he lived into charles's reign: "blaze winter was master of stodmarsh hospital, when it was surrendered to queen elizabeth, 1575."--hasted's "history of kent." "1550, may 23. baptized blaze, daughter of -goodwinne."--st. peter, cornhill. "1555, julie 21. wedding of blase sawlter and collis smith."--ditto. "1662, may 6. blase whyte, one of ye minor cannons, to mrs. susanna wright, widow."--cant. cath. this is the last instance i have seen. hillary shared the same fate: "1547, jan. 30. married hillarye finch and jane whyte."--st. dionis backchurch. "1557, june 27. wedding of hillary wapolle and jane garret."--st. peter, cornhill. "1593, jan. 20. christening of hillary, sonne of hillary turner, draper."--ditto. bride is rarely found in england now: "1556, may 22. baptized bryde, daughter of -stoakes. "1553, nov. 27. baptized bryde, daughter of -faunt."--st. peter, cornhill. benedict, which for three hundred years had been known as bennet, as several london churches can testify, became well-nigh extinct; but the feminine benedicta, with bennet for its shortened form, suddenly arose on its ashes, and flourished for a time: "1517, jan. 28. wedding of william stiche and bennet bennet, widow."--st. peter, cornhill. "1653, sep. 29. married richard moone to benedicta rolfe."--cant. cath. "1575, jan. 25. baptized bennett, son of john langdon."--st. columb major. these feminines are sometimes bothering. look, for instance, at this: "1596, feb. 6. wedding of william bromley and mathew barnet, maiden, of this parish."--st. peter, cornhill. "1655, sep. 24. married thomas budd, miller, and mathew larkin, spinster."--ditto. the true spelling should have been mathea, which, previous to the reformation, had been given to girls born on st. matthew's day.[23] the nick form _mat_ changed sexes. in "englishmen for my money" walgrave says- "nay, stare not, look you here: no monster i, but even plain ned, and here stands mat my wife." appoline, all of whose teeth were extracted at her martyrdom with pincers, was a favourite saint for appeal against toothache. in the homily "against the perils of idolatry," it is said- "all diseases have their special saints, as gods, the curers of them: the toothache, st. appoline."[24] scarcely any name for girls was more common than this for a time; up to the commonwealth period it contrived to exist. take st. peter, cornhill, alone: "1593, jan. 13. christened apeline, d. of john moris, clothworker. "1609, m{ch}. 11. christened apoline, d. of will{m}. burton, marchant. "1617, june 29. buried appelyna, d. of thomas church." names from the great church festivals fared as badly as those from the hagiology. the high day of the ecclesiastical calendar is easter. we have more relics of this festival than any other. pasche oland or pascoe kerne figure in the chancery suits of elizabeth. long before this the hundred rolls had given us a _huge fil. pasche_, and a contemporary record contained an _antony pascheson_. the different forms lingered till the commonwealth: "1553, m{ch}. 23. baptized pascall, son of john davye."--st. dionis backchurch. "1651, m{ch}. 18. married thomas strato and paskey prideaux."--st. peter's, cornhill. "1747, may 4. baptized rebekah, d. of pasko and sarah crocker."--st. dionis backchurch. "1582, june 14. baptized pascow, son-in-law of pascowe john."--st. columb major. pascha turner, widow, was sister of henry parr, bishop of worcester. the more english "easter" had a longer survival, but this arose from its having become confounded with esther. to this mistake it owes the fact that it lived till the commencement of the present century: "april, 1505. christened easter, daughter of thomas coxe, of wapping."--stepney. "may 27, 1764. buried easter lewis, aged 56 years."--lidney, glouc. "july 27, 1654. married thomas burton, marriner, and easter taylor."--st. peter, cornhill. _epiphany_, or _theophania_ (shortened to tiffany), was popular with both sexes, but the ladies got the chief hold of it. "megge merrywedyr, and sabyn sprynge, tiffany twynkeler, fayle for no thynge," says one of our old mysteries. this form succumbed at the reformation. tyffanie seamor appears as defendant about 1590, however ("chancery suits: eliz."), and in cornwall the name reached the seventeenth century: "1594, nov. 7. baptized typhenie, daughter of sampson bray. "1600, june 21. baptized tiffeny, daughter of harry hake."--st. columb major. the following is from banbury register: "1586, jan. 9. baptized epiphane, ye sonne of ambrose bentley."[25] epiphany howarth records his name also about 1590 ("chancery suits: eliz."), and a few years later he is once more met with in a state paper (c. s. p. 1623-25): "1623, june. account of monies paid by epiphan haworth, of herefordshire, recusant, since nov. 11, 1611, £6 10 0." this epiphan is valuable as showing the transition state between epiphania and ephin, the latter being the form that ousted all others: "1563, march 14. christening of ephin king, d. of -king. "1564, june 30. christening of effam, d. of john adlington. "1620, march 30. frauncis, sonne of alexander brounescome, and effym, his wife, brought a bead at mr. vowell's house. "1635, jan. 28. buried epham vowell, widow."--st. peter, cornhill. but ephin was not a long liver, and by the time of the restoration had wholly succumbed. the last entry i have seen is in the westminster abbey register: "1692, jan. 25. buried eppifania cakewood, an almsman's wife." pentecost was more sparely used. in the "rotuli litterarum clausarum in turri londonensi" occur both pentecost de london (1221) and pentecost servicus, and a servitor of henry iii. bore the only name of "pentecost" ("inquis., 13 edw. i.," no. 13). this name was all but obsolete soon after the reformation set in, but it lingered on till the end of the seventeenth century. "1577, may 25. baptized pentecost, daughter of robert rosegan."--st. columb major. "1610, may 27. baptized pentecost, d. of william tremain."--ditto. "august 7, 1696. pentecost, daughter of mr. ezekel and pentecost hall, merchant, born and baptized."--st. dionis backchurch. noel shared the same fate. the hundred rolls furnish a noel de aubianis, while the "materials for a history of henry vii." (p. 503) mentions a nowell harper: "1486, july 16. general pardon to nowell harper, late of boyleston, co. derby, gent." "1545, dec. 20. baptized nowell, son of william mayhowe."--st. columb major. "1580, march 1. baptized james, son of nowell mathew."--ditto. "1627. petition of nowell warner."--"c. s. p. domestic," 1627-8. noel still struggled gamely, and died hard, seeing the eighteenth century well in: "1706, april 23. noell whiteing, son of noell and ann whiteing, linendraper, baptized."--st. dionis backchurch. again the reformation, apart from puritanism, had much to do with the decay of these names. (_d._) _the last of some old favourites._ there were some old english favourites that the reformation and the english bible did not immediately crush. thousands of men were youths when the hebrew invasion set in, and lived unto james's reign. their names crop up, of course, in the burial registers. others were inclined to be tenacious over family favourites. we must be content, in the records of elizabeth's and even james's reign, to find some old friends standing side by side with the new. the majority of them were extra-biblical, and therefore did not meet with the same opposition as those that savoured of the old ecclesiasticism. nevertheless, this new fashion was telling on them, and of most we may say, "their places know them no more." looking from now back to then, we see this the more clearly. we turn to the "calendar of state papers," and we find a grant, dated november 5, 1607, to _fulk_ reade to travel four years. shortly afterwards (july 15, 1609), we come across a warrant to john carse, of the benefit of the recusancy of _drew_ lovett, of the county of middlesex. casting our eye backwards we speedily reach a grant or warrant in 1603, wherein _gavin_[26] harvey is mentioned. in 1604 comes _ingram_ fyser. one after another these names occur within the space of five years--names then, although it was well in james's reign, known of all men, and borne reputably by many. but who will say that drew, or fulk, or gavin, or ingram are alive now? how they were to be elbowed out of existence these very same records tell us; for within the same half-decade we may see warrants or grants relating to _matathias_ mason (april 7, 1610) or _gersome_ holmes (january 23, 1608). _jethro_ forstall obtains licence, november 12, 1604, to dwell in one of the alms-rooms of canterbury cathedral; while _melchizedec_ bradwood receives sole privilege, february 18, 1608, of printing jewel's "defence of the apology of the english church." the enemy was already within the bastion, and the call for surrender was about to be made. take another specimen a few years earlier. in the chancery suits at the close of elizabeth's reign, we find a plaintiff named goddard freeman, another styled anketill brasbridge, a defendant bearing the good old title of frideswide heysham, while a fourth endeavours to secure his title to some property under the signature of avery howlatt. hamlett holcrofte and hammett hyde are to be met with (but we have spoken of them), and such other personages as ellice heye, morrice cowles, and gervase hatfield. within a few pages' limit we come across dogory garry, digory greenfield, digory harrit, and degory hollman. these names of goddard, anketill, frideswide, avery, hamlet, ellice, morrice, gervase, and digory were on everybody's lips when henry viii. was king. who can say that they exist now? only maurice and gervase enjoy a precarious existence. a breath of popular disregard would blow them out. avery held out, but in vain: "avery terrill, cooke at ye falcon, lothbury, 1650."--"tokens of seventeenth century." but what else do we see in these same registers? we are confronted with pages bearing such names as esaye freeman (isaiah), or elizar audly (eliezer), or seth awcocke, or urias babington, or ezekias brent,--and this not forty years after the reformation. these men must have been baptized in the very throes of the great contest. another "calendar of state papers," bearing dates between 1590 and 1605, contains the names of colet carey (1580) and amice carteret (1599), alongside of whom stands aquila wyke (1603). here once more we are reminded of two pretty baptismal names that have gone the way of the others. it makes one quite sad to think of these national losses. amice, previous to the reformation, was a household favourite, and colet a perfect pet. won't somebody come to the rescue? why on earth should the fact that the bible has been translated out of latin into english strip us of these treasures? turn once more to our church registers. few will recognize thurstan as a baptismal name: "1544, may 11. married thryston hogkyn and letyce knight."--st. dionis backchurch. "1573, nov. 15. wedding of thrustone bufford and annes agnes dyckson."--st. peter, cornhill. drew and fulk are again found: "1583, april 16. buried drew hewat, sonne of nicholas hewat. "1583, march 8. buried foulke phillip, sonne of thomas phillip, grocer."--st. peter, cornhill. take the following, dropped upon hap-hazard as i turn the pages of st. dionis backchurch: "1540, oct. 25. buried jacomyn swallowe. "1543, aug. 3. buried awdrye hykman. "1543, june 12. married bonyface meorys and jackamyn kelderly. "1546, nov. 23. christened grizill, daughter of--deyne. "1557, nov. 8. buried austin clarke. "1567, april 22. married richard staper and dennis hewyt. "1573, sep. 25. married john carrington and gyllian lovelake. "1574, oct. 23. buried joyce, d. of john bray. "1594, nov. 1. married gawyn browne and sibbell halfhed." so they run. how quaint and pretty they sound to modern ears! amongst the above i have mentioned some girl-names. the change is strongly marked here. it was elizabeth's reign saw the end of joan. jane grey set the fashionable jane going; joan was relegated to the milkmaid, and very soon even the kitchen wench would none of it. joan is obsolete; jane is showing signs of dissolution.[27] it was elizabeth's reign saw the end of jill, or gill, which had been the pet name of juliana for three centuries: "1586, feb. 5. christening of gillian jones, daughter of thomas jones, grocer."--st. peter, cornhill. "1573, sep. 25. married john carrington, cheape, and gillian lovelake."--st. dionis backchurch. in one of our earlier mysteries noah's wife had refused to enter the ark. to noah she had said- "sir, for jak nor for gille wille i turne my face, tille i have on this hille spun a space." it lingered on till the close of james's reign. in 1619 we find in "satyricall epigrams"- "wille squabbled in a tavern very sore, because one brought a _gill_ of wine--no more: 'fill me a quart,' quoth he, 'i'm called will; the proverb is, each _jacke_ shall have his _gill_.'" but jill had become a term for a common street jade, like parnel and nan. all these disappeared at this period, and must have sunk into disuse, bible or no bible. a nanny-house, or simple "nanny," was well known to the loose and dissolute of either sex at the close of the sixteenth century. hence, in the ballad "the two angrie women of abington," nan lawson is a wanton; while, in "slippery will," the hero's inclination for nan is anything but complimentary: "long have i lived a bachelor's life, and had no mind to marry; but now i faine would have a wife, either doll, kate, sis, or mary. these four did love me very well, i had my choice of mary; but one did all the rest excell, and that was pretty nanny. "sweet nan did love me deare indeed," etc. respectable people, still liking the name, changed it to nancy, and in that form it still lives. parnel, the once favourite petronilla, fell under the same blight as peter, and shared his fate; but her character also ruined her. in the registers of st. peter, cornhill, we find the following entries:- "1539, may 20. christened petronilla, ignoti cognominis." "1594, sep. 15. christening of parnell griphin, d. of john griphin, felt-maker." "1586, april 17. christening of parnell averell, d. of william averell, merchant tailor." two other examples may be furnished:- "1553, nov. 15. peternoll, daughter of william agar, baptized."--st. columb major. "1590, april. pernell, d. of antony barton, of poplar."--stepney, london. the restoration did not restore parnel, and the name is gone. sibyl had a tremendous run in her day, and narrowly escaped a second epoch of favour in the second charles's reign. tib and sib were always placed side by side. burton, speaking of "love melancholy," says- "one grows too fat, another too lean: modest matilda, pretty pleasing peg, sweet singing susan, mincing merry moll, dainty dancing doll, neat nancy, jolly joan, nimble nell, kissing kate, bouncing bess with black eyes, fair phillis with fine white hands, fiddling frank, tall tib, slender sib, will quickly lose their grace, grow fulsome, stale, sad, heavy, dull, sour, and all at last out of fashion." the "psalm of mercie," too, has it: "'so, so,' quoth my sister bab, and 'kill 'um,' quoth margerie; 'spare none,' cry's old tib; 'no quarter,' says sib, 'and, hey, for our monachie.'" in "cocke lorelle's bote," one of the personages introduced is- "sibby sole, mylke wyfe of islynton." "sibb smith, near westgate, canterbury, 1650."--"half-penny tokens of seventeenth century." "1590, aug. 30. christening of cibell overton, d. of lawrence overton, bowyer." three names practically disappeared in this same century--olive, jacomyn or jacolin, and grissel: "1581, feb. 17. baptized olyff, daughter of degorie stubbs."--st. columb major. "1550, dec. 11. christning of grysell, daughter of -plummer."--st. peter, cornhill. "1598, march 15. buried jacolyn backley, widow."--st. dionis backchurch. olive was a great favourite in the west of england, and was restored by a caprice of fashion as olivia in the eighteenth century. it was the property of both sexes, and is often found in the dress of "olliph," "olyffe," and "olif." from being a household pet, dorothy, as doll, almost disappeared for a while. doll and dolly came back in the eighteenth century, under the patronage of the royal and stately dorothea. what a run it again had! dolly is one of the few instances of a really double existence. it was the rage from 1450 to 1570; it was overwhelmed with favour from 1750 to 1820. dr. syntax in his travels meets with three dollys. napoleon is besought in the rhymes of the day to "quit his folly, settle in england, and marry dolly." once more dolly, saving for dora, has made her bow and exit. i suppose she may turn up again about 1990, and all the little girls will be wearing dolly vardens. _barbara_, with its pet bab, is now of rarest use. _dowse_, the pretty douce of earlier days, is defunct, and with it the fuller dowsabel: "1565, sep. 9. buried dowse, wife of john thomas."--st. dionis backchurch. _joyce_ fought hard, but it was useless: "1563, sep. 8. buried joyce, wife of thomas armstrong."--st. dionis backchurch. "1575, april 5. baptized joyes, daughter of john lyttacott."--st. columb major. "1652, aug. 18. married joseph sumner and joyce stallowhace."--st. peter, cornhill. _lettice_ disappeared, to come back as lætitia in the eighteenth century: "1587, june 19. married richard evannes and lettis warren."--st. peter, cornhill. _amery_, or _emery_, the property of either sex, lost place: "1584, april 9. buried amery martin, widow, of wilsdon."--st. peter, cornhill. "1668. emerre bradley, baker, hartford."--"tokens of seventeenth century." _avice_ shared the same fate: "avis kingston and amary clerke, widow, applied for arrears of pay due to their husbands, may 13, 1656."--c. s. p. "1590-1, jan. christened avis, d. of philip cliff."--stepney. "1600, feb. 6. baptized avice, daughter of thomas bennett."--st. columb major. "1623, august 5. christened thomas, the sonne of james jennets, and avice his wife."--st. peter, cornhill. thomasine requires a brief notice. coming into use as a fancy name about 1450, it seems to have met with no opposition, and for a century and a half was a decided success. it became familiar to every district in england, north or south, and is found in the registers of out-of-the-way villages in derbyshire, as plentifully as in those of the metropolitan churches: "1538, nov. 30. married edward bashe and thomeson agar."--st. dionis backchurch. "1582, nov. 1. baptized tamson, daughter of richard hodge."--st. columb major. "1622, jan. 19. christened thomas, the sonne of henery thomson, haberdasher, and of thomazine his wife."--st. peter, cornhill. "1620, jan. 21. baptized johanna, fil. tamsin smith, adulterina."--minster. "1640, jan. 31. buried thomasing, filia william sympson."--wirksworth, derbyshire. in other registers such forms as thomasena, thomesin, thomazin, tomasin, and thomasin occur. in cowley's "chronicle," too, the name is found: "then jone and jane and audria, and then a pretty thomasine, and then another katharine, and then a long et cætera." v. the general confusion. but what a state of confusion does all this reveal! by the time of the commonwealth, there was the choice of three methods of selection open to the english householder in this matter of names. he might copy the zealot faction, and select his names from the scriptures or the category of christian graces; he might rally by the old english gentleman, who at this time was generally a cavalier, and dick, tom, harry, or dolly, his children; or he might be careless about the whole matter, and mix the two, according to his caprice or fancy. that royalist had no bad conception of the state of society in 1648, when he turned off verses such as these: "and greenwich shall be for tenements free for saints to possess pell-mell, and where all the sport is at hampton court shall be for ourselves to dwell. _chorus._ ''tis blessed,' quoth bathsheba, and clemence, 'we're all agreed.' ''tis right,' quoth gertrude, 'and fit,' says sweet jude, and thomasine, 'yea, indeed.' "what though the king proclaims our meetings no more shall be; in private we may hold forth the right way, and be, as we should be, free. _chorus._ 'o very well said,' quoth con; 'and so will i do,' says franck; and mercy cries, 'aye,' and mat, 'really,' 'and i'm o' that mind,' quoth thank." as we shall show in our next chapter, "thank" was no imaginary name, coined to meet the exigencies of rhyme. thanks, however, to the good sense of the nation, an effort was made in behalf of such old favourites as john, william, richard, robert, and thomas. so early as 1643, thomas adams, puritan as he was, had delivered himself in a london pulpit to the effect that "he knew 'williams' and 'richards' who, though they bore names not found in sacred story, but familiar to the country, were as gracious saints" as any who bore names found in it ("meditations upon the creed"). the cavalier, we know, had deliberately stuck by the old names. a political skit, already referred to, after running through a list of all the new-fangled names introduced by the fanatics, concludes: "they're just like the gadaren's swine, which the devils did drive and bewitch: an herd set on evill will run to the de-vill and his dam when their tailes do itch. 'then let 'em run on!' says ned, tom, and john. 'ay, let 'um be hanged!' quoth mun: 'they're mine,' quoth old nick, 'and take 'um,' says dick, 'and welcome!' quoth worshipful dun. 'and god blesse king charles!' quoth george, 'and save him,' says simon and sill; 'aye, aye,' quoth old cole and each loyall soul, 'and amen, and amen!' cries will." another ballad, lively and free as the other, published in 1648, and styled "the anarchie, or the blest reformation," after railing at the confusion of things in general, and names in particular, concludes with the customary jolly old english flourish: "'a health to king charles!' says tom; 'up with it,' says ralph like a man; 'god bless him,' says moll, 'and raise him,' says doll, 'and send him his owne,' says nan." the restoration practically ended the conflict, but it was a truce; for both sides, so far as nomenclature is concerned, retained trophies of victory, and, on the whole, the hebrew was the gainer. at the start he had little to lose, and he has filled the land with titles that had lain in abeyance for four thousand years. the old english yeoman has lost many of his most honoured cognomens, but he can still, at least, boast one thing. the two names that were foremost before the middle of the twelfth century stand at this moment in the same position. out of every hundred children baptized in england, thirteen are entered in the register as john or william. the cavalier, too, can boast that "charles,"[28] although there were not more of that name throughout the length and breadth of england at the beginning of elizabeth's reign than could be counted on the fingers of one hand, now occupies the sixth place among male baptismal names. several names, now predominant, were for various reasons lifted above the contest. george holds the fourth position among boys; mary and elizabeth, the first and second among girls. george dates all his popularity from the last century, and mary was in danger of becoming obsolete at the close of elizabeth's reign, so hateful had it become to englishmen, whether churchmen or presbyterians. it was at this time philip, too, lost a place it can never recover. but the fates came to the rescue of mary, when the prince of orange landed at torbay, and sate with james's daughter on england's throne. it has been first favourite ever since. as for elizabeth, a chapter might be written upon it. just known, and no more, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, it was speedily popularized in the "daughter of the reformation." the puritans, in spite of persecution and other provocations, were ever true to "good queen bess." the name, too, was scriptural, and had not been mixed up with centuries of romish superstition. elizabeth ruled supreme, and was contorted and twisted into every conceivable shape that ingenuity could devise. it narrowly escaped the diminutive desinence, for ezot and ezota occur to my knowledge four times in records between 1500 and 1530. but bess and bessie took up the running, and, a century later, bett and betty. it will surprise almost all my readers, i suspect, to know that the "lady bettys" of the early part of last century were never, or rarely ever, christened elizabeth. queen anne's reign, even william and mary's reign, saw the fashionable rage for latinized forms, already referred to, setting in. elizabeth was turned into bethia and betha: "1707, jan. 2. married will{m}. simonds and bethia ligbourne."--st. dionis backchurch. "1721. married charles bawden to bethia thornton."--somerset house chapel. "1748. married adam allyn to bethia lee."[29]--ditto. the familiar form of this was betty: "betty trevor, wife of the hon. john trevor, eldest d. of sir thomas frankland, of thirkleby, in the county of york, baronet, ob. dec. 28, 1742, ætat. 25."--"suss. arch. coll.," xvii. 148. bess was forgotten, and it was not till the present century that, betty having become the property of the lower orders, who had soon learnt to copy their betters, the higher classes fell back once more on the bessie of reformation days. meanwhile other freaks of fancy had a turn. bessie and betty were dropped into a mill, and ground out as betsy. this, after a while, was relegated to the peasantry and artisans north of trent. then tetty and tetsy had an innings. dr. johnson always called his wife tetty. writing march 28, 1753, he says- "i kept this day as the anniversary of my tetty's death, with prayer and tears in the morning." eliza arose before elizabeth died; was popular in the seventeenth, much resorted to in the eighteenth, and is still familiar in the nineteenth century. thomas nash, in "summer's last will and testament," has the audacity to speak of the queen as- "that eliza, england's beauteous queen, on whom all seasons prosperously attend." dr. johnson, in an epigram anent colley cibber and george ii., says- "augustus still survives in maro's strain, and spenser's verse prolongs eliza's reign." but by the lexicographer's day, the poorer classes had ceased to recognize that eliza and betty were parts of one single name. they took up each on her own account, as a separate name, and thus betty and eliza were commonly met with in the same household. this is still frequently seen. the _spectator_, the other day, furnished a list of our commonest font names, wherein elizabeth is placed fourth, with 4610 representatives in every 100,000 of the population. looking lower down, we find "eliza" ranked in the twenty-first place with 1507. this is scarcely fair. the two ought to be added together; at least, it perpetuates a misconception. chapter ii. puritan eccentricities. "and we have known williams and richards, names not found in sacred story, but familiar to our country, prove as gracious saints as any safe-deliverance, fight-the-good-fight-of-faith, or such like, which have been rather descriptions than names."--thomas adams, _meditations upon the creed_, 1629. "in giving names to children, it was their opinion that _heathenish names_ should be avoided, as not so fit for christians; and also the names of god, and christ, and angels, and the peculiar offices of the mediator,"--neal, _history of the puritans_, vol. 1, ch. v. 1565. i. introductory. there are still many people who are sceptical about the stories told against the puritans in the matter of name-giving. of these some are nonconformists, who do not like the slights thus cast upon their spiritual ancestry; unaware that while this curious phase was at its climax, puritanism was yet within the pale of the church of england. others, having searched through the lists of the protector's parliaments, commissioners, and army officers, and having found but a handful of odd baptismal names, declare, without hesitation, that these stories are wicked calumnies. mr. peacock, whose book on the "army lists of roundheads and cavaliers" is well worth study, says, in one of the numbers of _notes and queries_- "i know modern writers have repeated the same thing over and over again; but i do not remember any trustworthy evidence of the commonwealth time, or that of charles ii., that would lead us to believe that strange christian names were more common in those days than now. what passages have we on this subject in the works of the restoration playwrights?" this is an old mistake. if mr. peacock had looked at our registers from 1580 to 1640, instead of from 1640 to 1680, he would never have written the above. there is the most distinct evidence that during the latter portion of elizabeth's reign, the whole of james's reign, and great part of charles's reign, in a district roughly comprising england south of the trent, and having, say, banbury for its centre, there prevailed, amongst a certain class of english religionists, a practice of baptizing children by scriptural phrases, pious ejaculations, or godly admonitions. it was a practice instituted of deliberate purpose, as conducive to vital religion, and as intending to separate the truly godly and renewed portion of the community from the world at large. the reformation epoch had seen the english middle and lower classes generally adopting the proper names of scripture. thus, the sterner puritan had found a list of bible names that he would gladly have monopolized, shared in by half the english population. that a father should style his child nehemiah, or abacuck, or tabitha, or dorcas, he discovered with dismay, did not prove that that particular parent was under any deep conviction of sin. this began to trouble the minds and consciences of the elect. fresh limits must be created. as richard and roger had given way to nathaniel and zerrubabel, so nathaniel and zerrubabel must now give way to _learn-wisdom_ and _hate-evil_. who inaugurated the movement, with what success, and how it slowly waned, this chapter will show. there can be no doubt that it is entirely owing to praise-god barebone, and the parliament that went by his name,[30] the impression got abroad in after days that the commonwealth period was the heyday of these eccentricities, and that these remarkable names were merely adopted after conversion, and were not entered in the vestry-books as baptismal names at all. the existence of these names could not escape the attention of lord macaulay and sir walter scott. the whig historian has referred to tribulation wholesome and zeal-of-the-land busy almost as frequently as to that fourth-form boy for whose average (!) abilities to the very end of his literary life he entertained such a profound respect. two quotations will suffice. in his "comic dramatists of the restoration" he says, speaking of the commonwealth- "to know whether a man was really godly was impossible. but it was easy to know whether he had a plain dress, lank hair, no starch in his linen, no gay furniture in his house; whether he talked through his nose, and showed the whites of his eyes; whether he named his children _assurance_, _tribulation_, and _maher-shalal-hash-baz_." again, in his essay on croker's "boswell's life of johnson," he declares- "johnson could easily see that a roundhead who named all his children after solomon's singers, and talked in the house of commons about seeking the lord, might be an unprincipled villain, whose religious mummeries only aggravated his fault." in "woodstock," scott has such characters as _zerrubabel_ robins and _merciful_ strickalthrow, both soldiers of oliver cromwell; while the zealot ranter is one _nehemiah_ holdenough. mr. peacock most certainly has grounds for complaint here, but not as to facts, only dates. ii. originated by the presbyterian clergy. in strype's "life of whitgift" (i. 255) we find the following statement:- "i find yet again another company of these fault-finders with the book of common prayer, in another diocese, namely, that of chichester, whose names and livings were these: william hopkinson, vicar of salehurst; samuel norden, parson of hamsey; antony hobson, vicar of leominster; thomas underdown, parson of st. mary's in lewes; john bingham, preacher of hodeleigh; thomas heley, preacher of warbleton; john german, vicar of burienam; and richard whiteaker, vicar of ambreley." i follow up the history of but two of these ministers, hopkinson of salehurst, and heley of warbleton. suspended by the commissary, they were summoned to canterbury, december 6, 1583, and subscribed. both being married men, with young families, we may note their action in regard to name-giving. the following are to be found in the register at salehurst: "maye 3, 1579, was baptized persis (rom. xvi. 12), the daughter of william hopkinson, minister heare. "june 18, 1587, was baptized stedfast, the sonne of mr. william bell, minister. "nov. 3, 1588, was baptized renewed, the doughter of william hopkinson, minister. "feb. 28, 1591, was baptized safe-on-highe, the sonne of will{m}. hopkinson, minister of the lord's worde there.[31] "oct. 29, 1596. constant, filia thomæ lorde, baptisata fuit. "march, 1621. rejoyce, filia thomæ lorde, baptisata fuit die 10, et sepulta die 23. "november, 1646. bethshua, doughter of mr. john lorde, minister of salehurst, bapt. 22 die." these entries are of the utmost importance; they begin at the very date when the new custom arose, and are patronized by three ministers in succession--possibly four, if thomas lorde was also a clergyman. heley's case is yet more curious. he had been prescribing grace-names for his flock shortly before the birth of his first child. he thus practises upon his own offspring: "nov. 7, 1585. muche-merceye, the sonne of thomas hellye, minyster. "march 26, 1587. increased, the dather of thomas helly, minister. "maye 5, 1588. sin-denie, the dather of thomas helly, minister. "maye 25, 1589. fear-not, the sonne of thomas helly, minister." under rectorial pressure the villagers followed suit; and for half a century warbleton was, in the names of its parishioners, a complete exegesis of justification by faith without the deeds of the law. _sorry-for-sin_ coupard was a peripatetic exhortation to repentance, and _no-merit_ vynall was a standing denunciation of works. no register in england is better worth a pilgrimage to-day than warbleton.[32] still confining our attention to sussex and kent, we come to berwick: "1594, dec. 22. baptized continent, daughter of hugh walker, vicar. "1602, dec. 12. baptized christophilus, son of hugh walker."--berwick, sussex. i think the father ought to be whipped most incontinently in the open market who would inflict such a name on an infant daughter. they did not think so then. the point, however, is that the father was incumbent of the parish. a more historic instance may be given. john frewen, puritan rector of northiam, sussex, from 1583 to 1628, and author of "grounds and principles of the christian religion," had two sons, at least, baptized in his church. the dates tally exactly with the new custom: "1588, may 26. baptized accepted, sonne of john frewen. "1591, sep. 5. baptized thankful, sonne of john frewen."--northiam, sussex. _accepted_[33] died archbishop of york, being prebend designate of canterbury so early as 1620: "1620, sep. 8. grant in reversion to accepted frewen of a prebend in canterbury cathedral."--"c. s. p. dom." one more instance before we pass on. in two separate wills, dated 1602 and 1604 (folio 25, montagu, "prerog. ct. of cant.," and folio 25, harte, ditto), will be found references to "more-fruite and faint-not, children of dudley fenner, minister of the word of god" at marden, in kent. now, this dudley fenner was a thoroughly worthy man, but a fanatic of most intolerant type. in 1583 we find him at cranbrook, in kent. an account of his sayings and doings was forwarded, says strype, to lord burghley, who himself marked the following passage:- "ye shall pray also that god would strike through the sides of all such as go about to take away from the ministers of the gospel the liberty which is granted them by the word of god." but a curious note occurs alongside this passage in lord burghley's hand: "names given in baptism by dudley fenner: joy-againe, from-above, more-fruit, dust."--whitgift, i. p. 247. two of these names were given to his own children, as cranbrook register shows to this day: "1583, dec. 22. baptized more-fruit, son of mr. dudley fenner." "1585, june 6. baptized faint-not, fil. mr. dudley fenner, concional digniss." soon after this dudley fenner again got into trouble through his sturdy spirit of nonconformity. after an imprisonment of twelve months, he fled to middleborough, in holland, and died there about 1589. the above incident from strype is interesting, for here manifestly is the source whence camden derived his information upon the subject. in his quaint "remaines," published thirty years later (1614), after alluding to the latin names then in vogue, he adds: "as little will be thought of the new names, free-gift, reformation, earth, dust, ashes, delivery, more-fruit, tribulation, the-lord-is-near, more-triale, discipline, joy-againe, from-above, which have lately been given by some to their children, with no evill meaning, but upon some singular and precise conceite." very likely lord burghley gave fenner's selection to the great antiquary. coming into london, the following case occurs. john press was incumbent of st. matthew, friday street, from 1573 to 1612: "1584. baptized purifie, son of mr. john presse, parson." john bunyan's great character name of _hopeful_ is to be seen in banbury church register. but such an eccentricity is to be expected in the parish over which wheatley presided, the head-quarters, too, of extravagant puritanism. we all remember drunken barnaby: "to banbury came i, o prophane one! where i saw a puritane one, hanging of his cat on monday for killing of a mouse on sunday." but the point i want to emphasize is that this _hopeful_ was wheatley's own daughter: "1604, dec. 21. baptized hope-full, daughter of william wheatlye." take a run from banbury into leicestershire. a stern puritan was antony grey, "parson and patron" of burbach; and he continued "a constant and faithfull preacher of the gospell of jesus christ, even to his extreame old age, and for some yeares after he was earle of kent," as his tombstone tells us. he had twelve children, and their baptismal entries are worth recording: "1593, april 29. grace, daughter of mr. anthonie grey. "1594, nov. 28. henry, son of ditto. "1596, nov. 16. magdalen, daughter of ditto. "1598, may 8. christian, daughter of ditto. "1600, feb. 2. faith-my-joy, daughter of ditto.[34] "1603, april 3. john, son of ditto. "1604, feb. 23. patience, daughter of myster anthonie grey, preacher. "1606, oct. 5. jobe, son of ditto. "1608, may 1. theophilus, son of ditto. "1609, march 14. priscilla, daughter of ditto (died). "1613, sept. 19. nathaniel, son of ditto. "1615, may 7. presela, daughter of ditto." why old antony was persuaded of the devil to christen his second child by the ungodly agnomen of henry, we are not informed. it must have given him many a twinge of conscience afterwards. had the puritan clergy confined these vagaries to their own nurseries, it would not have mattered much. but there can be no doubt they used their influence to bias the minds of godparents and witnesses in the same direction. we have only to pitch upon a minister who came under the archbishop's or lord treasurer's notice as disaffected, seek out the church over which he presided, scan the register of baptisms during the years of his incumbency, and a batch of extravagant names will at once be unearthed. in the villages of sussex and kent, where the personal influence of the recalcitrant clergy seems to have been greatest, the parochial records teem with them. thus was the final stage of fanaticism reached, the year 1580 being as nearly as possible the exact date of its development. thus were english people being prepared for the influx of a large batch of names which had never been seen before, nor will be again. the purely biblical names, those that commemorated bible worthies, swept over the whole country, and left ineffaceable impressions. the second stage of puritan excess, names that savour of eccentricity and fanaticism combined, scarcely reached england north of trent, and, for lack of volume, have left but the faintest traces. they lasted long enough to cover what may be fairly called an epoch, and extended just far enough to embrace a province. the epoch was a hundred years, and the province was from kent to hereford, making a small arc northwards, so as to take in bedfordshire, leicestershire, buckinghamshire, and oxfordshire. the practice, so far as the bolder examples is concerned, was a _deliberate scheme_ on the part of the presbyterian clergy. on this point the evidence is in all respects conclusive. iii. curious names not puritan. several names found in the registers at this time, though commonly ascribed to the zealots, must be placed under a different category. for instance, original sin and the ninth article would seem to be commemorated in such a name as original. we may reject camden's theory: "originall may seem to be deducted from the greek _origines_, that is, borne in good time," inasmuch as he does not appear to have believed in it himself. the name, as a matter of fact, was given in the early part of the sixteenth century, in certain families of position, to the eldest son and heir, denoting that in him was carried on the original stock. the bellamys of lambcote grange, stainton, are a case in point. the eldest son for three generations bore the name; viz. _original_ bellamy, buried at stainton, september 12, 1619, aged 80; _original_, his son and heir, the record of whose death i cannot find; and _original_, his son and heir, who was baptized december 29, 1606. the first of these must have been born in 1539, far too early a date for the name to be fathered upon the puritans. _original_ was in use in the family of babington, of rampton. original babington, son and heir of john babington, was a contemporary of the first original bellamy (nicholl's "gen. et top.," viii.). another instance occurs later on: "1635, may 21. these under-written names are to be transported to st. christopher's, imbarqued in the _matthew_ of london, richard goodladd, master, per warrant from ye earle of carlisle: "originall lowis, 28 yeres," etc.--hotten's "emigrants," p. 81. _sense_, a common name in elizabeth and james's reigns, looks closely connected with some of the abstract virtues, such as prudence and temperance. the learned compiler of the "calendar of state papers" (1637-38) seems to have been much bothered with the name: "1638, april 23. petition of seuce whitley, widow of thomas whitley, citizen, and grocer." the suggestion from the editorial pen is that this seuce (as he prints it) is a bewildered spelling of susey, from susan! the fact is, seuce is a bewildered misreading on the compiler's part of sense, and sense is an english dress of the foreign senchia, or sancho, still familiar to us in sancho panza. several of the following entries will prove that sense was too early an inmate of our registers to be a puritan agnomen: "1564, oct. 15. baptized saints, d. of francis muschamp. "1565, nov. 25. buried sence, d. of ditto. "1559, june 13. married matthew draper and sence blackwell. "1570-1, jan. 15. baptized sence, d. of john bowyer."--camberwell church. "1651. zanchy harvyn, grocer's arms, abbey milton."--"tokens of seventeenth century." "1661, june. petition of mrs. zanchy mark."--c. s. p. that it was familiar to camden in 1614 is clear: "sanchia, from sancta, that is, holy."--"remaines," p. 88. the name became obsolete by the close of the seventeenth century, and, being a saintly title, was sufficiently odious to the presbyterians to be carefully rejected by them in the sixteenth century. men who refused the apostles their saintly title were not likely to stamp the same for life on weak flesh.[35] nor can _emanuel_, or _angel_, be brought as charges against the puritans. both flatly contradicted cartwright's canon; yet both, and especially the former, have been attributed to the zealots. no names could have been more offensive to them than these. even adams, in his "meditations upon the creed," while attacking his friends on their eccentricity in preferring "safe-deliverance" to "richard," takes care to rebuke those on the other side, who would introduce _emanuel_, or even _gabriel_ or _michael_, into their nurseries: "some call their sons _emanuel_: this is too bold. the name is proper to christ, therefore not to be communicated to any creature." _emanuel_ was imported from the continent about 1500: "1545, march 19. baptized humphrey, son of emanuell roger."--st. columb major. the same conclusion must be drawn regarding _angel_. adams continues: "yea, it seems to me not fit for christian humility to call a man _gabriel_ or _michael_, giving the names of angels to the sons of mortality." if the puritans objected, as they did to a man, to the use of gabriel and michael as angelic names, the generic term itself would be still more objectionable: "1645, nov. 13. buried miss angela boyce."--cant. cath. "1682, april 11. baptized angel, d. of sir nicholas butler, k{nt}."--st. helen, bishopgate. "weymouth, march 20, 1635. embarked for new england: angell holland, aged 21 years."--hotten's "emigrants," p. 285. in this case we may presume the son, and not the father, had turned puritan. a curious custom, which terminated soon after protestantism was established in england, gave rise to several names which read oddly enough to modern eyes. these were titles like vitalis or creature--names applicable to either sex. mr. maskell, without furnishing instances, says creature occurs in the registers of all-hallows, barking ("hist. all-hallows," p. 62). in the vestry-books of staplehurst, kent, are registered: "1 edward vi. apryle xxvii., there were borne ii. childre of alex'nder beeryl: the one christened at home, and so deceased, called creature; the other christened at church, called john."--burns, "history of parish registers," p. 81. "1550, nov. 5. buried creature, daughter of agnes mathews, syngle woman, the seconde childe. "1579, july 19. married john haffynden and creature cheseman, yong folke."--staplehurst, kent. one instance of _vitalis_ may be given: "vitalis, son of richard engaine, and sara his wife, released his manor of dagworth in 1217 to margery de cressi."--blomefield's "norfolk," vi. 382, 383. these are not puritan names. the dates are against the theory. they belong to a pre-reformation practice, being names given to _quick children before birth_, in cases when it was feared, from the condition of the mother, they might not be delivered alive. being christened before the sex could be known, it was necessary to affix a neutral name, and vitalis or creature answered the purpose. the old romish rubric ran thus: "nemo in utero matris clausus baptizari debet, sed si infans caput emiserit, et periculum mortis immineat, baptizetur in capite, nec postea si vivus evaserit, erit iterum baptizandus. at si aliud membrum emiserit, quod vitalem indicet motum in illo, si periculum pendeat baptizetur," etc. vitalis engaine and creature cheeseman, in the above instances, both lived, but, by the law just quoted, retained the names given to them, and underwent no second baptism. if the sex of the yet breathing child was discovered, but death certain, the name of baptism ran thus: "1563, july 17. baptizata fuit in ædibus mri humfrey filia ejus quæ nominata fuit creatura christi."--st. peter in the east, oxford. "1563, july 17. creatura christi, filia laurentii humfredi sepulta."--ditto. an english form occurs earlier: "1561, june 30. the chylde-of-god, filius ric. stacey."--ditto. without entering into controversy, i will only say that if the clergy, up to the time of the alteration in our article on baptism, truly believed that "insomuch as infants, and children dying in their infancy, shall undoubtedly be saved thereby (_i.e._ baptism), _and else not_," it was natural that such a delicate ceremonial as i have hinted at should have suggested itself to their minds. after the reformation, the practice as to unborn children fell into desuetude, and the names with it. iv. instances. (_a._) _latin names._ the elder disraeli reminded us, in his "curiosities of literature," that in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries it was common for our more learned pundits to re-style themselves in their own studies by greek and latin names. some of these--as, for instance, erasmus[36] and melancthon--are only known to the world at large by their adopted titles. the reformation had not become an accomplished fact before this custom began to prevail in england, only it was transferred from the study to the font, and from scholars to babies. renovata, renatus, donatus, and beata began to grow common. camden, writing in 1614, speaks of still stranger names- "if that any among us have named their children remedium, amoris, 'imago-sæculi,' or with such-like names, i know some will think it more than a vanity."--"remaines," p. 44. while, however, the presbyterian clergy did not object to some of these latin sobriquets, as being identical with the names of early believers of the primitive church, stamped in not a few instances with the honours of martyrdom, they preferred to translate them into english. many of my examples of eccentricity will be found to be nothing more than literal translations of names that had been in common vogue among christians twelve and thirteen hundred years before. to the majority of the puritan clergy, to change the latin dress for an english equivalent would be as natural and imperative as the adoption of tyndale's or the genevan bible in the place of the latin vulgate. a curious, though somewhat later, proof of this statement is met with in a will from the probate court of peterborough. the testator was one theodore closland, senior fellow of trinity college, cambridge. the date is june 24, 1665: "item: to what-god-will crosland, forty shillings, and tenn shillings to his wife. and to his sonne what-god-will, six pound, thirteen shillings, fourpence." this is a manifest translation of the early christian "quod-vult-deus." grainger, in his "history of england" (iii. 360, fifth edition), says- "in montfaucon's 'diarium italicum' (p. 270), is a sepulchral inscription of the year 396, upon quod-vult-deus, a christian, to which is a note: 'hoc ævo non pauci erant qui piis sententiolis nomina propria concinnarent, _v.g._ quod-vult-deus, deogratias, habet-deum, adeodatus.'" closland, or crosland, the grandfather, was evidently a puritan, with a horror of the latin vulgate, latin pope, and latin everything. hence the translation. nevertheless, the puritans seem to have favoured latin names at first. it was a break between the familiar sound of the old and the oddity of the new. redemptus was less grotesque than redeemed, and renata than renewed. the english equivalents soon ruled supreme, but for a generation or two, and in some cases for a century, the latin names went side by side with them. take renatus, for instance: "1616, sep. 29. baptized renatus, son of renatus byllett, gent."--st. columb major. "1637-8, jan. 12. order of council to renatus edwards, girdler, to shut up his shop in lombard street, because he is not a goldsmith. "1690, april 10. petition of renatus palmer, who prays to be appointed surveyor in the port of dartmouth."--c. s. p. "1659, nov. 11. baptized renovata, the daughter of john durance."--cant. cath. it was renatus harris who built the organ in all-hallows, barking, in 1675 ("hist. all-hallows, barking," maskell). renatus and rediviva occur in st. matthew, friday street, circa 1590. rediviva lingered into the eighteenth century: "1735, ----. buried rediviva mathews."--banbury. desiderata and desiderius were being used at the close of elizabeth's reign, and survived the restoration of charles ii.: "1671, may 26. baptized desiderius dionys, a poor child found in lyme street."--st. dionis backchurch. donatus and deodatus, also, were latin names on english soil before the seventeenth century came in: "1616, jan. 29. baptized donate, vel deonata, daughter of martyn donnacombe."--st. columb major. desire and given,[37] the equivalents, both crossed the atlantic with the pilgrim fathers. _love_ was popular. side by side with it went _amor_. george fox, in his "journal," writing in 1670, says- "when i was come to enfield, i went first to visit amor stoddart, who lay very weak and almost speechless. within a few days amor died."--ed. 1836, ii. 129. in ripon cathedral may be seen: "amor oxley, died nov. 23, 1773, aged 74." the name still exists in yorkshire, but no other county, i imagine. other instances could be mentioned.[38] i place a few in order: "1594, aug. 3. baptized relictus dunstane, a childe found in this parisshe."--st. dunstan. "1613, nov. 7. baptized beata, d. of mr. john briggs, minister."--witherley, leic. "1653, sep. 29. married richard moone to benedicta rolfe."--cant. cath. "1661, may 25. married edward clayton and melior[39] billinge."--st. dionis, backchurch. "1706. beata meetkirke, born nov. 2, 1705; died sep. 10, 1706."--rushden, hereford. (_b._) _grace names._ in furnishing instances, we naturally begin with those grace names, in all cases culled from the registers of the period, which belong to what we may style the first stage. they were, one by one, but taken from the lists found in the new testament, and were probably suggested at the outset by the moralities or interludes. the morality went between the old miracle-play, or mystery, and the regular drama. in "every man," written in the reign of henry viii., it is made a vehicle for retaining the love of the people for the old ways, the old worship, and the old superstitions. from the time of edward vi. to the middle of elizabeth's reign, there issued a cluster of interludes of this same moral type and cast; only all breathed of the new religion, and more or less assaulted the dogmas of rome. these moralities were popular, and were frequently rendered in public, until the elizabethan drama was well established. all were allegorical, and required personal representatives of the abstract graces, and doctrines of which they treated. the _dramatis personæ_ in "hickscorner" are freewill, perseverance, pity, contemplation, and imagination, and in "the interlude of youth," humility, pride, charity, and lechery. it is just possible, therefore, that several of these grace names were originated under the shadow of the pre-reformation church. the following are early, considering they are found in cornwall, the county most likely to be the last to take up a new custom: "1549, july 1. baptized patience, d. of will{m}. haygar."- "1553, may 29. baptized honour, d. of robert sexton."--st. columb major. however this may be, we only find the cardinal virtues at the beginning of the movement--those which are popular in some places to this day, and still maintain a firm hold in america, borne thither by the puritan emigrants. the three graces, and grace itself, took root almost immediately as favourites. shakespeare seems to have been aware of it, for hermione says- "my last good deed was to entreat his stay: what was my first? it has an elder sister, or i mistake you--o would her name were grace!" "winter's tale," act i. sc. 2. "1565, march 19. christening of grace, daughter of -hilles."--st. peter, cornhill. "1574, jan. 29. baptized grace, daughter of john russell."--st. columb major. "1588, aug. 1. married thomas wood and faythe wilson."--st. dionis backchurch. "1565, ----. baptized faith, daughter of thomas and agnes blomefield."--rushall, norfolk. "1567, aprill 17. christening of charity, daughter of randoll burchenshaw."--st. peter, cornhill. "1571, ----. baptized charity, daughter of thomas blomefield."--rushall, norfolk. "1598, nov. 19. baptized hope, d. of john mainwaringe."--cant. cath. "1636, nov. 25. buried hope, d. of thomas alford, aged 23."--drayton, leicester. the registers of the sixteenth and seventeenth century teem with these; sometimes boys received them. the rev. hope sherhard was a minister in providence isle in 1632 ("cal. s. p. colonial," 1632). we may note that the still common custom of christening trine-born children by these names dates from the period of their rise:[40] "1639, sep. 7. baptized faith, hope, and charity, daughters of george lamb, and alice his wife."--hillingdon. "1666, feb. 22. -finch, wife of -finch, being delivered of three children, two of them were baptized, one called faith, and the other hope; and the third was intended to be called charity, but died unbaptized."--cranford. _vide_ lyson's "middlesex," p. 30. mr. lower says ("essays on english surnames," ii. 159)- "at charlton, kent, three female children produced at one birth received the names of faith, hope, and charity." thomas adams, in his sermon on the "three divine sisters," says- "they shall not want prosperity, that keep faith, hope, and charity." perhaps some of these parents remembered this. faith and charity are both mentioned as distinctly puritan sobriquets in the "psalm of mercie," a political poem: "'a match,' quoth my sister joyce, 'contented,' quoth rachel, too: quoth abigaile, 'yea,' and faith, 'verily,' and charity, 'let it be so.'" _love_, as the synonym of charity, was also a favourite. love atkinson went out to virginia with the early refugees (hotten, "emigrants," p. 68). "1631-2, jan. 31. buried love, daughter of william ballard."--berwick, sussex. "1740, april 30. buried love arundell."--racton, sussex. "1749, may 31. love luckett admitted a freeman by birthright."--"history of town and port of rye," p. 237. "1662, may 7. baptized love, d. of mr. richard appletree."--banbury. besides love and charity, other variations were humanity and clemency: "1637, march 8. bond of william shaw, junior, and thomas snelling, citizens and turners, to humanity mayo, of st. martin-in-the-fields, in £100 0 0."--c. s. p. "1625, aug. 27. buried clemency chawncey."--st. dionis backchurch. clemency was pretty, and deserved to live; but mercy seems to have monopolized the honours, and, by the aid of john bunyan's heroine in the "pilgrim's progress," still has her admirers. instances are needless, but i furnish one or two for form's sake. they shall be late ones: "1702, sep. 28. married matthias wallraven and mercy waymarke."--st. dionis backchurch. "1716, may 25. married thomas day and mercy parsons, of staplehurst."--cant. cath. but there were plenty of virtues left. prudence had such a run, that she became pru in the sixteenth, and prudentia in the seventeenth century: "1574, june 30. buried prudence, d. of john mayhew. "1612, aug. 2. married robert browne and prudence coxe."--st. dionis backchurch. justice is hard to separate from the legal title; but here is an instance: "1660, july 16. richard bickley and justice willington reported guilty of embezzling late king's goods."--"cal. st. p. dom." truth, constancy, honour, and temperance were frequently personified at the font. temperance had the shortest life; but, if short, it was merry. there is scarcely a register, from gretna green to st. michael's, without it: "1615, feb. 25. baptized temperance, d. of -osberne."--hawnes, bedford. "1610, aug. 14. baptized temperance, d. of john goodyer."--banbury. "1611, nov. --. baptized temperance, d. of robert carpinter."--stepney. "1619, july 22. married gyles rolles to temperance blinco."--st. peter, cornhill. constance,[41] constancy, and constant were common, it will be seen, to both sexes: "1593, sep. 29. buried constancy, servant with mr. coussin."--st. dionis backchurch. "1629, dec. petition of captain constance ferrar, for losses at cape breton."--"c. s. p. colonial." "1665, may 25. communication from constance pley to the commissioners in relation to the arrival of a convoy."--c. s. p. "1665, may 31. grant to edward halshall of £225 0 0, forfeited by connistant cant, of lynn regis, for embarking wool to guernsey not entered in the custom house."--ditto. "1671, sep. 2. buried constant sylvester, esquire."--brampton, hunts. patience, too, was male as well as female. sir patience warde was lord mayor of london in 1681. thus the weaker vessels were not allowed to monopolize the graces. how familiar some of these abstract names had become, the cavalier shall tell us in his parody of the sanctimonious roundheads' style: "'ay, marry,' quoth agatha, and temperance, eke, also: quoth hannah, 'it's just,' and mary, 'it must,' 'and shall be,' quoth grace, 'i trow.'" several "truths" occur in the "chancery suits" of elizabeth, and the greek alathea arose with it: "1595, june 27. faith and truth, gemini, -john johnson, bapt."--wath, ripon. alathea lasted till the eighteenth century was well-nigh out: "1701, dec. 4. francis milles to alathea wilton."--west. abbey. "1720, sep. 18. buried alydea, wife of will{m}. gough, aged 42 years."--harnhill, glouc. "1786, oct. 6. died althea, wife of thomas heberden, prebendary."--exeter cath.[42] honour, of course, became honora, in the eighteenth century, and has retained that form: "1583, aug. 24. baptized honor, daughter of thomas teage."--st. columb major. "1614, july 4. baptized honour, d. of john baylye, of radcliffe."--stepney. "1667, oct. 9. christened mary, d. of sir john and lady honour huxley."--hammersmith. "1722, oct. 4. christened martha, d. of john and honoria hart."--st. dionis backchurch. sir thomas carew, speaker of the commons in james's and charles's reign, had a wife temperance, and four daughters, patience, temperance, silence, and prudence (lodge's "illust.," iii. 37). possibly, as speaker, he had had better opportunity to observe that these were the four cardinal parliamentary virtues, especially silence. this last was somewhat popular, and seems to have got curtailed to "sill," as prudence to "pru," and constance to "con." in the calendar of "state papers" (june 21, 1666), a man named taylor, writing to another named williamson, wishes "his brother sill would come and reap the sweets of harwich." writing again, five days later, he asks "after his brother, silence taylor." this was one of the names that crossed the atlantic and became a fixture in america (bowditch). it is not, however, to be confounded with sill, that is, sybil, in the old cavalier chorus: "'and god blesse king charles,' quoth george, 'and save him,' says simon and sill." silence is one of the few puritan names that found its way into the north of england: "1741, dec. 9. married robert thyer to silence leigh."--st. ann, manchester. the mother of silence leigh, who was a widow when she married, was silence beswicke ("memorials of st. ann, manchester," p. 55).[43] the name is found again in the register of youlgreave church, derbyshire (_notes and queries_, feb. 17, 1877). curiously enough, we find camden omitting silence as a female name of his day, but inserting tace. in his list of feminine baptismal names, compiled in 1614 ("remaines," p. 89), he has "tace--be silent--a fit name to admonish that sex of silence." here, then, is another instance of a latin name translated into english. i have lighted on a case proving the antiquary's veracity: "here lieth the body of tacey, the wife of george can, of brockwear, who departed this life 22 day of feb., an. dom. 1715, aged 32 years."--hewelsfield, glouc. tace must have lasted a century, therefore. silence may be set down to some old puritan stickler for the admonition of saint paul: "let the woman learn in silence, with all subjection" (1 tim. ii. 11). the epistle to the romans was a never-failing well-spring to the earnest puritan, and one passage was much applied to his present condition: "therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with god through our lord jesus christ: by whom also we have access by faith unto this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of god. and not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed."--v. 1-5. there is scarcely a word in this passage that is not inscribed on our registers between 1575 and 1595. faith, grace, and hope have already been mentioned;[44] camden testified to the existence of tribulation in 1614; rejoice was very familiar; patience, of course, was common: "1592, july 7. buried patience birche."--cant. cath. "1596, oct. 3. baptized pacience, daughter of martin tome."--st. columb major. "1599, april 23. baptized patience, d. of john harmer."--warbleton. even _experience_ is found--a strange title for an infant. "the rev. experience mayhew, a.m., born feb. 5, 1673; died of an apoplexy, nov. 9, 1758." so ran the epitaph of a missionary (_vide_ _pulpit_, dec. 6, 1827) to the vineyard island. it had been handed on to him, no doubt, from some grandfather or grandmother of elizabeth's closing days. a late instance of _diligence_ occurs in st. peter, cornhill: "1724, nov. 1. buried diligence constant." obedience had a good run, and began very early: "1573, sep. 20. bapt. obedience, dather of thomas garding. "1586, aug. 28. bapt. obedyence, dather of richard ellis."--warbleton. "1697, april 30. bapt. robert, son of james and obedience clark."--st. james, picadilly. obedience robins is the name of a testator in 1709 (wills: archdeaconry of london), while the following epitaph speaks for itself: "obedience newitt, wife of thomas newitt, died in 1617, aged 32. "her name and nature did accord, obedient was she to her lord."--burwash, sussex. "add to your faith, virtue," says the apostle. as a name this grace was late in the field: "1687, may 25. married virtue radford and susannah wright."--west. abbey. "1704, oct. 20. buried virtue, wife of john higgison."--marshfield, glouc. "1709, may 6. buried vertue page."--finchley. confidence and victory were evidently favourites: "1587, jan. 8. baptized confydence, d. of roger elliard."--warbleton. "1770, nov. 17, died confidence, wife of john thomas, aged 61 years."--bulley, glouc. "1587, feb. 8. buryed vyctorye buttres."--elham, kent. "1618, dec. 9. buryed victorye lussendine."--ditto. "1696, may 17. bapt. victory, d. of joseph gibbs."--st. dionis backchurch. _perseverance_ went out with the emigrants to new england, but i do not find any instance in the home registers. _felicity_ appeared in one of our law courts last year, so it cannot be said to be extinct; but there is a touch of irony in the first of the following examples:- "1604-5, march 15. baptized felicity, d. of john barnes, vagarant."--stepney. "1590, july 5. baptized felycyte harris."--cranbrook. _comfort_ has a pleasant atmosphere about it, and many a parent was tempted to the use of it. it lingered longer than many of its rivals. comfort farren's epitaph may be seen on the floor of tewkesbury abbey: "comfort, wife of abraham farren, gent., of this corporation, died august 24, 1720." again, in dymock church we find: "_comfort_, wife to william davis, died 14 june, 1775, aged 78 years. "_comfort_, their daughter, died 9 feb., 1760, aged 24 years." nearly 150 years before this, however, comfort starr was a name not unknown to the more heated zealots of the puritan party. he was a native of ashford, in kent, and after various restless shiftings as a minister, carlisle being his head-quarters for a time, went to new plymouth in the _mayflower_, in 1620. there he became fellow of harvard college, but returned to england eventually, and died at lewes in his eighty-seventh year. perhaps the most interesting and popular of the grace names was "repentance." in a "new interlude" of the reformation, entitled the "life and repentance of marie magdalene," and published in 1567, one of the chief characters was "repentance." at the same time repentance came into font use, and, odd as it may sound, bade fair to become a permanently recognized name in england: "1583, dec. 8. married william arnolde and repentance pownoll."--cant. cath. "1587, oct. 22. baptized repentance, dather of george aysherst."--warbleton. "1588, june 30. baptized repentance water."--cranbrook. "1597, aug. 4. baptized repentance, daughter of robert benham, of lymhouse."--stepney. "1612, march 26. baptized repentance wrathe."--elham, kent. "1688, dec. 23. bapt. repentance, son of thomas and mercy tompson."--st. james, piccadilly. in the "sussex archæological collections" (xvii. 148) is found recorded the case of repentance hastings, deputy portreeve of seaford, who in 1643 was convicted of hiding some wreckage: "repentance hastings, 1 load, 1 cask, 2 pieces of royals." evidently his repentance began too early in life to be lasting; but infant piety could not be expected to resist the hardening influence of such a name as this.[45] _humiliation_ was a big word, and that alone must have been in its favour: "1629, jan. 24. married humiliation hinde and elizabeth phillips by banes."--st. peter, cornhill. humiliation, being proud of his name, determined to retain it in the family--for he had one--but as he had began to worship at st. dionis backchurch, the entries of baptism lie there, the spelling of his surname being slightly altered: "1630, nov. 18. baptized humiliation, son of humiliation hyne." this son died march 11, 1631-2. humiliation _père_, however, did not sorrow without hope, for in a few years he again brings a son to the parson: "1637-8, jan. 21. baptized humiliation, son of humiliation hinde." humility is preferable to humiliation. humility cooper was one of a freight of passengers in the _mayflower_, who, in 1620, sought a home in the west. a few years afterwards humility hobbs followed him (hotten, "emigrants," p. 426): "1596, march 13. baptized humilitye, sonne of wylliam jones."--warbleton. "1688, may 5. buried humility, wife of humphey paget."--peckleton, leic. had it not been for charles dickens, humble would not have appeared objectionable: "1666-1667, jan. 29. petition of dame frances, wife of humble ward, lord ward, baron, of birmingham."[46]--c. s. p. all saints, leicester, records another saintly grace: "here lieth the body of abstinence pougher, esq., who died sept. 5, 1741, aged 62 years." in some cases we find the infant represented, not by a grace-name, but as in a state of grace. every register contains one or two godlies: "1579, july 24. baptized godlye, d. of richard fauterell."--warbleton. "1611, may 1. baptized godly, d. of henry gray, and joane his wife. joane standmer and godly gotherd, sureties."--south bersted, sussex. "1619, nov. baptized godly, d. of thomas edwardes, of poplar."--stepney. "1632, oct. 30. married john wafforde to godly spicer."--cant. cath. gracious is as objectionable as godly. gracious owen was president of st. john's college, oxford, during the decade 1650-1660. "oct. 24, 1661. examination of gracious franklin: joshua jones, minister at the red lion, fleet street, told him that he heard there were 3000 men about the city maintained by presbyterian ministers."--c. s. p. _lively_, we may presume, referred to spiritual manifestations. a curious combination of font name and patronymic is obtained in lively moody, d.d., of st. john's college, cambridge, 1682 (wood's "fasti oxonienses"). exactly one hundred years later the name is met with again: "1782, july 3. lively clarke of this town, sadler, aged 60."--berkeley, gloucester. at warbleton, where the puritan heley ministered, it seems to have been found wearisome to be continually christening children by the names of repent and repentance, so a variation was made in the form of "sorry-for-sin:" "1589, jan 25. baptized sory-for-sine, the dather of john coupard." the following is curious: "thomas luxford, of windmill hill, died feb. 24, 1739, aged 72 years. he was grandson of thomas luxford, of windmill hill, by _changed_ collins, his wife, daughter of thomas collins, of socknash in this county, esq., and eldest son of richard luxford, of billinghurst."--wartling church. faithful[47] may close this list: "1640, oct. 18. baptized benjamin, son of faithful bishop."--st. columb major. faithful rouse settled in new england in 1644 (bowditch). the following despatch mentions another: "1666, july 18. major beversham and lieut. faithful fortescue are sent from ireland to raise men."--c. s. p. bunyan evidently liked it, and gave the name to the martyr of vanity fair: "sing, faithful, sing, and let thy name survive; for though they killed thee, thou art yet alive." speaking from a nomenclatural point of view, the name did not survive, for the last instance i have met with is that of faithful meakin, curate of mobberley, cheshire, in 1729 (earwaker, "east cheshire," p. 99, _n._). it had had a run of more than a century, however. the reader will have observed that the majority of these names have become obsolete. the religious apathy of the early eighteenth century was against them. they seem to have made their way slowly westward. certainly their latest representatives are to be found in the more retired villages of gloucestershire and devonshire. a few like mercy, faith, hope, charity, grace, and prudence, still survive, and will probably for ever command a certain amount of patronage; but they are much more popular in our religious story-books than the church registers. the absence of the rest is no great loss, i imagine. (_c._) _exhortatory names._ the zealots of elizabeth's later days began to weary of names that merely made household words of the apostolic virtues. many of these sobriquets had become popular among the unthinking and careless. they began to stamp their offspring with exhortatory sentences, pious ejaculations, brief professions of godly sorrow for sin, or exclamations of praise for mercies received. i am bound to confess, however, that the prevailing tone of these names is rather contradictory of the picture of gloomy sourness drawn by the facile pens of macaulay and walter scott. 'tis true, anger and wrath existed: "1654. wroth rogers to be placed on the commission of scandalous ministers."--scobell's "acts and ord. parl.," 1658. "1680, dec. 22. buried anger bull, packer."--st. dionis backchurch. i dare say he was familiarly termed angry bull, like "savage bear," a gentleman of kent who was living at the same time, mentioned elsewhere in these pages. nevertheless, in the exhortatory names there is a general air of cheerful assurance. the most celebrated name of this class is praise-god barebone. i cannot find his baptismal entry. a collection of verses was compiled by one fear-god barbon, of daventry (harleian m.s. 7332). this cannot have been his father, as we have evidence that the leatherseller was born about 1596, and, allowing his parent to be anything over twenty, the date would be too early for exhortatory names like fear-god. we may presume, therefore, he was a brother. two other brothers are said to have been entitled respectively, "jesus-christ-came-into-the-world-to-save barebone," and "if-christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-damned barebone." i say "entitled," for i doubt whether either received such a long string of words in baptism. brook, in his "history of the puritans," implies they were; hume says that both were _adopted_ names, and adds, in regard to the latter, that his acquaintance were so wearied with its length, that they styled him by the last word as "damned barebone." the editor of _notes and queries_ (march 15, 1862) says that, "as his morals were not of the best," this abbreviated form "appeared to suit him better than his entire baptismal prefix." whether the title was given at the font or adopted, there is no doubt that he was familiarly known as dr. damned barebone. this was more curt than courteous. of praise-god's history little items have leaked out. he began life as a leatherseller in fleet street, and owned a house under the sign of the "lock and key," in the parish of st. dunstan-in-the-west. he was admitted a freeman of the leathersellers' company, january 20, 1623. he was a fifth monarchy man, if a tract printed in 1654, entitled "a declaration of several of the churches of christ, and godly people, in and about the city of london," etc., which mentions "the church which walks with mr. barebone," refers to him. this, however, may be fear-god barebone. praise-god was imprisoned after the restoration, but after a while released, and died, at the age of eighty or above, in obscurity. his life, which was not without its excitements, was spent in london, and possibly his baptismal entry will be found there. a word or two about his surname. the elder disraeli says ("curiosities of literature")- "there are unfortunate names, which are very injurious to the cause in which they are engaged; for instance, the long parliament in cromwell's time, called by derision the rump, was headed by one barebones, a leatherseller." isaac disraeli has here perpetuated a mistake. barebone's parliament was the parliament of barebone, not barebones. peck, in his "desiderata curiosa," speaking of a member of the family who died in 1646, styles him mr. barborne; while echard writes the name barbon, when referring to dr. barbon, one of the chief rebuilders of the city of london after the fire. between barebones and barbon is a wide gap, and barbon's parliament suggests nothing ludicrous whatsoever. yet (if we set aside the baptismal name) what an amount of ridicule has been cast over this same parliament on account of a surname which in reality has been made to meet the occasion. no historian has heaped more sarcasm on the "rump" than hume, but he never styles the leatherseller as anything but "barebone." but while _praise-god_ has obtained exceptional notoriety, not so _faint-not_, and yet there was a day when faint-not bade fair to take its place as a regular and recognized name. i should weary the reader did i furnish a full list of instances. here are a few: "1585, march 6. baptized faynt-not, d. of james browne."--warbleton. "1590, jan. 17. baptized faynt-not wood."--cranbrook. "1631, ----. thomas perse married faint-not kennarde."--chiddingly. "1642, aug. 2. married john pierce and faint-not polhill, widow."--burwash, sussex. this faint-not polhill was mother of edward polhill, a somewhat celebrated writer of his day. she married her first husband december 11, 1616. "1678, feb. 12. buried faint-not blatcher, a poor old widdow."--warbleton. the rents of certain houses which provided an exhibition for the boys of lewes grammar school were paid in 1692 as usual. one item is set down as follows: "faint-not batchelor's house, per annum, £6 0 0."--"hist. and ant. lewes," i. 311. _faint-not_ occurs in maresfield church ("suss. arch. coll.," xiv. 151). we have already referred to faint-not, the daughter of "dudley fenner, minister of the word of god" at marden, kent. fear-not was also in use. the rector of warbleton baptized one of his own children by the name; some of his parishioners copied him: "1594, nov. 10. baptized fear-not, sonne of richard maye. "1589, oct. 19. baptized fear-not, sonne of will{m}. browne." decidedly cheerful were such names as hope-still or hopeful. both occur in banbury church. hopeful wheatley has already been mentioned. "1611, june 16. baptized hope-still, d. to edward peedle. "1697, dec. 30. buried hope-still faxon, a olde mayde." whether or no her matrimonial expectations were still high to the end, we are not told. one of the earliest pilgrim fathers was hope-still foster (hotten, p. 68). he went out to new england about 1620. his name became a common one out there. two bearers of the name at home lived so long that it reached the georges: "near this place is interred the body of john warden, of butler's green in this parish, esq., who died april 30, 1730, aged 79 years; and also of _hope-still_, his wife, who died july 22, 1749, aged 92."--cuckfield church, sussex. "dec. 1, 1714. administration of goods of michael watkins, granted to hope-still watkins, his widow."--c. s. p. in the list of incumbents of lydney, gloucestershire, will be found the name of _help-on-high_ foxe, who was presented to the living by the dean and chapter of hereford in 1660. for some reason or other, possibly to curtail the length, he styled himself in general as hope-well, and this was retained on his tomb: "hic in cristo quiescit hope-wel foxe, in artibus magister, hujus ecclesiæ vicarius vigilantissimus qui obiit 2 die aprilis, 1662."--bigland's "monuments of gloucester." how quickly such names were caught up by parishioners from their clergy may again be seen in the case of hope-well voicings, of tetbury, who left a rentcharge of £1 for the charity schools at cirencester in 1720. probably he was christened by the vicar himself at lydney. we have already mentioned rejoice lord, of salehurst. the name had a tremendous run: "1647, june 22. buried rejoice, daughter of john harvey. "1679, oct. 18. baptized rejoice, daughter of nicholas wratten."--warbleton. _rejoice_ reached the eighteenth century: "1713, sep. 29. married john pimm, of st. dunstan's, cant., to _rejoice_ epps, of the precincts of this church."--cant. cath. _magnify_ and _give-thanks_ frequently occur in warbleton register: "1595, dec. 7. buried gyve-thanks bentham, a child. "1593, m{ch}. 11. baptized give-thanks, the dather of thomas elliard. "1591, feb. 6. baptized magnyfy, sonne of william freeland. "1587, sep. 17. baptized magnyfye, sonne of thomas beard. "1587, april 2. baptized give-thankes, sonne of thomas cunsted." it is from the same register we obtain examples of an exhortatory name known to have existed at this time, viz. "be-thankful." a dozen cases might be cited: "1586, feb. 6. baptized be-thankfull, the dather of abell tyerston. "1601, nov. 8. baptized be-thankfull, d. of james gyles. "1617, nov. 27. married thomas flatt and be-thankefull baker. "1662, may 9. buried be-thankeful giles." thus miss giles bore her full name for over sixty years: and, i dare say, was very proud of it.[48] besides be-thankful, there was "be-strong:" "1592, nov. 26. baptized be-strong philpott."--cranbrook. many of the exhortatory names related to the fallen nature of man. one great favourite at warbleton was "sin-deny." it was coined first by heley, the puritan rector, in 1588, for one of his own daughters. afterwards the entries are numerous. two occur in one week: "1592, april 23. baptized sin-denye, d. of richard tebb. " " 29. baptized sin-denye, d. of william durant. "1594, march 9. baptized sin-denye, d. of edward outtered." this name seems to have been monopolized by the girls. one instance only to the contrary can i find: "1588, feb. 9. baptized sin-dynye, sonne of andrew champneye." still keeping to the same register, we find of this class: "1669, jan. 21. buried refrayne benny, a widdow. "1586, may 15. baptized refrayne, dather of john celeb. "1586, april 24. baptized repent, sonne of william durant. "1587, july 16. baptized returne, sonne of rychard farret. "1587, aug. 6. baptized obey, sonne of rychard larkford. "1587, dec. 24. baptized depend, sonne of edward outtered. "1588, ap. 7. baptized feare-god, sonne of john couper. "1608, aug. 14. baptized repent champney, a basterd. "1595. maye 18. baptized refrayne, d. of john wykes." many registers contain "repent." cranbrook has an early one: "1586, jan. 1. baptized repent boorman." _abuse-not_ is quaint: "1592, sep. 17. baptized abuse-not, d. of rychard ellis. "1592, dec. 3. baptized abus-not, d. of john collier."--warbleton. the last retained her name: "1603, maye 20. buried abuse-not collyer." here, again, are two curious entries: "1636, march 19. baptized be-steadfast, sonne of thomas elliard. "1589, nov. 9. baptized learn-wysdome, d. of rychard ellis." these also are extracts from the warbleton registers. none of them, however, can be more strongly exhortatory than this: "1660, april 15. baptized hate-evill, d. of antony greenhill."--banbury. doubtless she was related to william greenhill, born 1581, the great puritan commentator on ezekiel. this cannot be the earliest instance of the name, for one hate-evill nutter was a settler in new england twenty years before her baptism (bowditch). i suspect its origin can be traced to the following:- "1580, june 25. baptized hatill (hate-ill), sonne of will{m}. wood. "1608, nov. 17. baptized hatill, sonne to antony robinson."--middleton-cheney. as middleton-cheney is a mere outlying parish from banbury, i think we may see whence hate-evil greenhill's name was derived. returning once more to warbleton, _lament_ is so common there, as in other places, that it would be absurd to suppose the mother had died in childbirth in every instance. a glance at the register of deaths disproves the idea. the fact is _lament_ was used, like repent, as a serious call to godly sorrow for sin: "1594, july 22. baptized lament, d. of antony foxe. "1598, may 14. baptized lament, d. of john fauterell. "1600, m{ch} 29. baptized lament, d. of anne willard." but we must not linger too much at warbleton. _live-well_ commanded much attention. neither sex could claim the monopoly of it, as my examples prove. at the beginning of charles ii.'s reign, a warrant was abroad for the capture of one live-well chapman, a seditious printer. in such a charge it is possible he fulfilled the pious injunction of his god-parent: "1662-3, march 9. warrant to apprehend live-well chapman,[49] with all his printing instruments and materials."--c. s. p. he is mentioned again: "1663, nov. 24. warrant to sir edward broughton to receive live-well chapman, and keep him close prisoner for seditious practices."--c. s. p. this is no unique case. live-well sherwood, an alderman of norwich, was put on a commission for sequestering papists in 1643 (scobell's "orders of parl.," p. 38). again the name occurs: "1702, oct. 15. thomas halsey, of shadwell, widower, to live-well prisienden, of stepney."--st. dionis backchurch. _love-god_ is found twice, at least, for letters of administration in the case of one love-god gregory were granted in 1654. also is found: "1596, march 6. baptized love-god, daughter of hugh walker, vicar."--berwick, sussex. _do-good_ is exhortatory enough, but it rather smacks of works; hence, possibly, the reason why i have only seen it once. a list of the trained bands under lord zouch, lord warden of hastings, 1619, includes- "_musketts_, james knight, doo-good fuller, thomas pilcher."--"arch. soc. coll." (sussex), xiv. 102. _fare-well_ seems a shade more worldly than live-well, but was common enough: "1589, july 16, baptized fare-well, son of thomas hamlen, gent."--st. dunstan-in-the-west, london. "1723, sep. 5. buried mr. fare-well perry, rector of st. peter's."--marlborough. a writer in _notes and queries_, september 9, 1865 (mr. lloyd of thurstonville), says- "a man named sykes, resident in this locality, had four sons whom he named respectively love-well, do-well, die-well, and fare-well. sad to say, fare-well sykes met an untimely end by drowning, and was buried this week (eleventh sunday after trinity) in lockwood churchyard. the brothers live-well, do-well, and die-well were the chief mourners on the occasion." it seems almost impossible that the father should have restored three of the puritan names accidentally. probably he had seen or heard of these names in some yorkshire church register. one of these names, farewell, is still used in the county, as the directories show. i see fare-well wardley, in sheffield, in the west riding directory for 1867. this closes the exhortatory class. it is both numerous and interesting, and some of its instances grew very familiar, and looked as if they might find a permanent place in our registers. the eighteenth century saw them all succumb, however. (_d._) _accidents of birth._ evidently it was a puritan notion that a quiverful of children was a matter for thanksgiving. there is a pleasant ring in some of the names selected by religious gossips at this time, or witnesses, as i should rather term them. _free-gift_ was one such, and was on the point of becoming an accepted english name, when the restoration stepped in, and it had to follow the way of the others. it began with the presbyterian clergy, judging by the date of its rise:[50] "1616, ----. buried mary, wiffe of free-gift mabbe."--chiddingly, sussex. "1621, ----. baptized john, son of free-gift bishopp."--ditto. "1591, jan. 14. baptized fre-gift, sonne of abraham bayley."--warbleton. the will of free-gift stacey was proved in 1656 in london; while a subsidy obtained by an unpopular tax on fires, hearths, and stoves in 1670, rates a resident in chichester thus: "free-gift collins, two hearths."--"suss. arch. coll.," xxiv. 81. the last instance i have seen is: "dec. 4, 1700. the petition of free-gift pilkington, wife of richard pilkington, late port-master of ipswich, county suffolk."--c. s. p. _good-gift_ was rarer: "1618, march 28. bapt. john, sonne of goodgift gynninges."--warbleton. one of the earliest puritan eccentricities was _from-above_, mentioned by camden as existing in 1614: "1582, march 10. baptized from-above hendley."--cranbrook. a subsidy collected within the rape of lewes in 1621 records: "from-above hendle, gent, in landes, 30 4 0."--"suss. arch. coll.," lx. 71. many of these names suggest thanksgiving for an "addition to the family." _more-fruit_ is one such: "1587, june 6. baptized more-fruite stone, of steven."--berwick, sussex. "1592, oct. 1. baptized more-fruite starre."[51]--cranbrook. "1599, nov. 4. baptized more-fruite, d. of richard barnet."--warbleton. "1608, aug. 28. baptized more-frute, d. of rychard curtes."--ditto. we have already referred to more-fruit fenner, christened about the same time. the great command to adam and eve was, "multiply, and replenish the earth." some successor of thomas heley thought it no harm to emphasize this at the font: "1677, may 14. buried replenish, ye wife of robert french." but "increase" or "increased" was the representative of this class of thanksgiving names, in palpable allusion to psa. cxv. 14: "the lord shall increase you more and more, you and your children." i could easily furnish the reader with half a hundred instances. it is probable thomas heley was the inventor of it. the earliest example i can find is that of his own child: "1587, march 26. baptized increased, dather of thomas helley, minister. "1637, sep. 15. buried increase, wife of robard barden. "1589, apr. 13. baptized increased, d. of john gynninges."--warbleton. one or two instances from other quarters may be noted: "1660, june. petition of increased collins, for restoration to the keepership of mote's bulwark, dover."--c. s. p. dr. increase mather, of the liverpool family of that name, will be a familiar figure to every student of puritan history. in 1685 he returned from america to thank king james for the toleration act. through him it became a popular name in new england, although increase nowell, who obtained a charter of appropriation of massachusetts bay, march 4, 1628, and emigrated from london, may have helped in the matter (neal's "new england," p. 124). the perils of childbirth are marked in the thanksgiving name of deliverance. so early as 1627 the will of deliverance wilton was proved in london. camden, too, writing in 1614, says "delivery" was known to him; while adams, whose puritan proclivities i have previously hinted at, preaching in london in 1626, asserts that safe-deliverance existed to his knowledge ("meditations upon the creed"). deliverance crossed the atlantic with the pilgrim fathers (bowditch), and i see one instance, at least, in hotten's "emigrants:" "1670, feb. 18. buried deliverance addison."--christ church, barbados. "deliverance hobbs and deliverance dane were both examined in the great trial for witchcraft at salem, june 2, 1692."--neal, "new england," pp. 533, 506. the last instance, probably, at home is- "1757, jan. 7. buried deliverance branan."--donnybrook, dublin (_notes and queries_). this "deliverance" must have been especially common. one more instance: in the will of anne allport, sen., of cannock, stafford, dated march 25, 1637, mention is made of "my son-in-law deliverance fennyhouse" (_vide_ _notes and queries_, dec. 8, 1860, w. a. leighton). much-mercy is characteristic: "1598, may 22. baptized much-mercie harmer, a child."--warbleton. this is but one more proof of heley's influence, for he had baptized one of his own sons "much-mercy" in 1585. perhaps a sense of undeserved mercies caused the following: "1589, sep. 28. baptized no-merit, dather of stephen vynall."--warbleton. that babes are cherubs, if not seraphs, every mother knows; but it is not often the fact is recorded in our church registers. peculiar thankfulness must have been felt here: "on dec. 11, 1865, aged seventy-eight years, died cherubin diball."--_notes and queries_, 4th series, ii. 130. and two hundred years previously, _i.e._ 1678, _seraphim_ marketman is referred to in the last testament of john kirk. but was it gratitude, after all? we have all heard of the wretched father who would persist in having the twins his wife presented to him christened by the names of cherubin and seraphim, on the ground that "they continually do cry." perhaps cherubin diball and seraphim marketman made noise enough for two! but if the father of the twins was not as thankful for his privilege as he ought to have been, others were. _thanks_ and _thankful_ were not unknown to our forefathers. one of the earliest instances i can find is the marriage lines of thankful hepden: "1646, july 16. thankfull hepden and fraunces bruer."--st. dionis backchurch. in peck's "desiderata curiosa" (p. 537) we read: "dec. m.d.clvi. mr. thankful frewen's corps carried through london, to be interred in sussex." thankful's father was john frewen, rector of northiam, the eminent puritan already referred to. _accepted_, the elder son's name, belongs to this same class. _thankful_ seems to have become a favourite in that part of the country, and to have lingered for a considerable time. in the "history of the town and port of rye" we find (p. 466): "christmas, 1723. assessment for repairs of highways: mr. thankful bishop paid 7{s} 6{d}." again, so late as 1749 we find the death of another thankful frewen recorded, who had been rector of northiam for sixteen years, christened, no doubt, in memory of his predecessor of a century gone by.[52] thankful owen was brother to gracious owen, president of st. john's, oxford, 1650-1660. one more instance will suffice. the will of thanks tilden was proved in 1698. no wonder the name was sufficiently familiar to be embodied in one of the political skits of the commonwealth period: "'o, very well said,' quoth con; 'and so will i do,' says frank; and mercy cries 'aye,' and mat, 'really,' 'and i'm o' that mind,' quoth _thank_." possibly the sentence "unfeignedly thankful" suggested the other word also; any way, it existed: "1586, april 1. baptized unfeigned, sonne of roger elliard."--warbleton. the estate of unfeigned panckhurst was administered upon in 1656. from every side we see traces of the popularity of thankful. during the restoration of hawkhurst church, a small tombstone was discovered below the floor, with an inscription to the "memory of elizabeth, daughter of _thankful_ bishop, of hawkhurst, gent., who died january 2, 1680" ("arch. cant.," iv. 108). in the churchwarden's book of the same place occurs this curious item: "1675. received by thankfull thorpe, churchwarden in the year 1675, of richard sharpe of bennenden, the summe of one pound for shouting of a hare."--"arch. cant.," v. 75. several names seem to breathe assurance and trust in imminent peril. perhaps both mother and child were in danger. _preserved_ is distinctly of this class: "here lieth the body of preserved, the daughter of thomas preserved emms, who departed this life in the 18th year of her age, on the 17th of november, mdccxii."--st. nicholas, yarmouth. "1588, aug. 1. baptized preserved, sonne of thomas holman. "1594, nov. 17. baptized preserved, sonne of roger caffe."--warbleton. preserved fish, whose name appeared for many years in the new york directory, did not get his name this way. a friend of his informs me that, about eighty-five years ago, a vessel was wrecked on the new jersey coast, and when washed ashore, a little child was discovered secured in one of the berths, the only living thing left. the finder named the boy "preserved fish," and he bore it through a long and honoured life to the grave, having made for himself a good position in society. _beloved_ would naturally suggest itself to grateful parents: "1672, july 10. buried anne, wife of beeloved king."--warbleton. this name is also found in st. matthew, friday street, london. _joy-in-sorrow_ is the story of rachel and benoni over again: "1595. on the last daye of august the daughter of edward godman was baptized and named joye-in-sorrow."--isfield, sussex. _lamentation_ tells its own tale, unless taken from the title of one of the old testament books: "plaintiff, lamentation chapman: bill to stay proceedings on a bond relating to a tenement and lands in the parish of borden, kent."--"proc. in chancery, eliz.," i. 149. we have already mentioned _safe-on-high_ hopkinson, christened at salehurst in 1591, and _help-on-high_ foxe, incumbent of lydney, gloucester, in 1661. the former died a few days after baptism, and the event seems to have been anticipated in the name selected. the termination _on-high_ was popular. _stand-fast-on-high_ stringer dwelt at crowhurst, in sussex, about the year 1635, as will be proved shortly, and _aid-on-high_ is twice met with: "1646, june 6. letters of administration taken out in the estate of margery maddock, of ross, hereford, by aid-on-high maddock, her husband." "1596, july 19. stephen vynall had a sonne baptized, and was named aid-on-hye."--isfield, sussex.[53] the three following are precatory, and we may infer that the life of either mother or child was endangered: "1618, ----. married restore weekes to constant semar."--chiddingly. "1613, ----. baptized have-mercie, d. of thomas stone."--berwick, sussex. a monument at cobham, surrey, commemorates the third: "hereunder lies interred the body of aminadab cooper, citizen and merchaunt taylor of london, who left behind him god-helpe, their only sonne. hee departed this life the 23{d} june, 1618." still less hopeful of augury was the following: "1697, july 6. weakly ekins, citizen and grocer, london."--"inquisit. of lunacy," rec. office mss. what about him? his friends brought him forward as a case for the commissioners of lunacy to take in hand, on the ground that he was weak of intellect, and unfit to manage his business. it might be asked whether such a name was not likely to drive him to the state specified in the petition. while on the subject of birth, we may notice that the presbyterian clergy were determined to visit the sins of the parents on the children in cases of illegitimacy. a few instances must suffice: "1589, aug. 3. baptized helpless henley, a bastard."--berwick, sussex. "1608, aug. 14. baptized repent champney, a bastard."--warbleton. "1599, may 13. baptized repentance, d. of martha henley, a bastard."--warbleton. "1600, m{ch}. 26. baptized lament, d. of anne willard, a bastard."--ditto. "1600, april 13. baptized repentance gilbert, a bastard."--cranbrook. "1598, jan. 27. baptized forsaken, filius meretricis agnetis walton."--sedgefield. "1609, dec. 17. baptized flie-fornication, the bace son of catren andrewes."--waldron. this is more kindly, but an exceptional case: "1609, nov. 25. baptized fortune, daughter of dennis judie, and in sin begoten."--middleton-cheney. (_e._) _general._ there is a batch of names which was especially common, and which hardly appears to be of puritan origin; i mean names presaging good fortune. doubtless, however, they were at first used, in a purely spiritual sense, of the soul's prosperity; and afterwards, by more worldly minds, were referred to the good things of this life. _fortune_ became a great favourite: "1607, oct. 4. baptized fortune gardyner."--st. giles, camberwell. "1642, ----. baptized fortune, daughter of thomas patchett."--ludlow, shropshire. "1652-3, m{ch}. 10. married mr. john barrington and mrs. fortune smith."--st. dionis backchurch. "1723, april 8. buried fortune symons, aged 111 years."--hammersmith. if fortune meant fulness of years, it was attained in this last example. _wealthy_ is equally curious: "1665 [no date]. petition of wealthy, lawful wife of henry halley, and one of the duke of york's guards."--c. s. p. "1714, april 25. buried wealthy whathing."--donnybrook, dublin.[54] "1704, aug. 18, died riches browne, gent., aged 62."--scarning, norfolk. the father of this riches was also riches, and was married to the daughter of john nabs! (_vide_ blomefield, vi. 5). several names may be set in higgledy-piggledy fashion, for they belong to no class, and are _sui generis_. pleasant[55] is found several times: "1681, nov. 8. christened pleasant, daughter of robert tarlton."--st. dionis backchurch. "1725, dec. 18. william whiteing, of chislett, to pleasant burt, of reculver."--cant. cath. "1728, nov. 3. buried pleasant smith, late wife of mr. john smith."--st. dionis backchurch. the following, no doubt, had a political as well as spiritual allusion. it occurs several times in the new york directory of the present year: "1689, march 4. petition of freeman howes, controller of chichester port."--"c. s. p. treasury." "1691, sep. 21. petition of freeman collins."--ditto. "1661. petition of freeman sonds."--"c. s. p. domestic."[56] what a freak of fancy is commemorated in the following: "1698, june 23. examination of isaac cooper, thomas abraham, and centurian lucas."--c. s. p. "1660, june. petition of handmaid, wife of aaron johnson."--c. s. p. "1661, august 29. baptized miracle, son of george lessa."--new buckenham. "1728. married john foster to beulah digby."--somerset house chapel. the trinity in unity were not held in proper reverence; for _trinity_ langley fought in the army of cromwell, while _unity_ thornton (st. james, piccadilly, 1680) and _unity_ awdley ("top. et. gen.," viii. 201) appear a little later: "1694, jan. 8. james commelin to mrs. unitie awdrey."--market lavington. "1668, feb. 15. baptized unity, son of john brooks."--banbury. _providence_ hillershand died august 14, 1749, aged 72 (bicknor, gloucester). providence was a _he_. "1752, nov. 5. buried selah, d. of ric. and diana collins."--dyrham, gloucestershire. "1586, april 10. baptized my-sake hallam."--cranbrook. biblical localities were much resorted to: "1616, nov. 26. baptized bethsaida, d. of humphrey trenouth."--st. columb major. "1700, june 6. buried canaan, wife of john hatton, 55 years."--forthampton, gloucestershire. "1706, april 27. married eden hardy to esther pantall."--st. dionis backchurch. "1695, dec. 15. baptized richard, son of richard and nazareth rudde."--st. james, piccadilly. _nazareth_ godden's will was administrated upon in 1662. _battalion_ shotbolt was defendant in a suit in the eleventh year of queen anne (decree rolls, record office). the following is odd: "1683, oct. 11. buried mr. _inward_ ansloe."--cant. cath. v. a scoffing world. while these strange pranks were being played, the world was not asleep. calamy seems to have discovered a source of melancholy satisfaction in the fact that the quaint names of his brethren were subjected to the raillery of a wicked world. one of the ejected ministers was sabbath clark, minister of tarvin, cheshire. of him he writes: "he had been constant minister of the parish for nigh upon sixty years. he carried puritanism in his very name, by which his good father intended he should bear the memorial of god's holy day. this was a course that some in those times affected, baptizing their children reformation, discipline, etc., as the affections of their parents stood engaged. for this they have sufficiently suffered from profane wits, and this worthy person did so in particular. yet his name was not a greater offence to such persons than his holy life." probably calamy was referring to the "profane wit" dr. cosin, bishop of chester, who, in a visitation held at warrington about the year 1643, is said to have acted as follows:- "a minister, called sabbaith clerke, the doctor re-baptized, took's marke, and call'd him saturday." that this was a deliberate insult, and not a pleasantry, calamy, of course, would stoutly maintain. hence the above sample of holy ire. many of the names in the list i have recorded must have met with the good-humoured raillery of the every-day folk the strangely stigmatized bearer might meet. i suppose in good time, however, the owner, and the people he was accustomed to mix with, got used to it. it is true they must have resorted, not unfrequently, to curter forms, much after the fashion of the now almost forgotten nick forms of the plantagenet days. fight-the-good-fight-of-faith is a very large mouthful, if you come to try it, and i dare say mr. white or brown, whoever he might be, did not so strongly urge as he ought to have done the gross impropriety of his friends recognizing him by the simple style of "faith" or "fight." fancy at a dinner, in a day that had not invented the convenient practice of calling a man by his surname, having to address a friend across the table, "please, fight-the-good-fight-of-faith, pass the pepper!" the thing was impossible. even help-on-high was found cumbersome, and, as we have seen, the rector of lydney curtailed it. a curious instance of waggery anent this matter of length will be found in the register of st. helen, bishopgate. the entry is dated 1611, just the time when the dramatists were making fun of this puritanic innovation, and when the custom was most popular: "sept. 1, 1611. job-rakt-out-of-the-asshes, being borne the last of august in the lane going to sir john spencer's back-gate, and there laide in a heape of seacole asshes, was baptized the ffirst day of september following, and dyed the next day after." this is confirmed by the burial records: "sept. 2, 1611. job-rakt-out-of-the-asshes, as is mentioned in the register of christenings." the reference, of course, is to job ii. 8: "and he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes." this was somewhat grim fun, though. probably _job-rakt-out-of-the-asshes_, during his brief life, would be styled by the curter title of "ashes." it is somewhat curious to notice that camden, writing three years later, says ashes existed. perhaps this was the instance. a similar instance of waggery is found in the parish church of old swinford, where the following entry occurs:- "1676, jan. 18. baptized dancell-dallphebo-marke-antony-dallery-gallery-cesar, sonn of dancell-dallphebo-marke-antony-dallery-gallery-cesar williams." allowing the father to be thirty years of age, the paternal christening would take place in 1646, which would be a likely time in the political history of england for a mimical hit at puritan eccentricity. (_a._) _the playwrights._ there is a capital scene in "the ordinary" (1634), where andrew credulous, after trolling out a verse of nonsensical rhyme against the puritan names, says to his friends hearsay and slicer, in allusion to these new long and uncouth names: "andrew the great turk? i would i were a peppercorn, if that it sounds not well. doe'st not? _slicer._ yes, very well. _credulous._ i'll make it else great andrew mahomet, _imperious andrew mahomet credulous_. tell me which name sounds best. _hearsay._ that's as you speak 'em. _credulous._ oatmealman andrew! andrew oatmealman! _hearsay._ ottoman, sir, you mean. _credulous._ yes, ottoman." "oatmealman andrew! andrew oatmealman!" seems to have suggested to thomson that unfortunate line: "o sophonisba, sophonisba o," so unkindly parodied into- "o jemmy thomson, jemmy thomson o." from this quotation it will be seen that it is not to the church register alone we must turn, to discover the manner in which these new names were being received by the public. calamy might wax wroth over the "profane wits" of the day, but one of the severest blows administered to the men he has undertaken to defend, came from his own side; for thomas adams, rector of st. benet, paul's wharf, must unquestionably be placed, even by calamy's own testimony, among the puritan clergy of his day. his name does not appear in the list of silenced clergy, and his works are dedicated to pronounced friends of the noncomformist cause. in his "meditations upon the creed" (vol. iii. p. 213, edit. 1872), first published in 1629, he says- "some call their sons _emanuel_: this is too bold. the name is proper to christ, therefore not to be communicated to any creature. it is no less than presumption to give a subject's son the style of his prince. yea, it seems to me not fit for christian humility to call a man _gabriel_ or _michael_, giving the names of angels to the sons of mortality. "on the other side, it is a petulant absurdity to give them ridiculous names, the very rehearsing whereof causeth laughter. there be certain affectate names which mistaken zeal chooseth for honour, but the event discovers a proud singularity. it was the speech of a famous prophet, _non sum melior patribus meis_--'i am no better than my fathers;' but such a man will be _sapientior patribus suis_--'wiser than his fathers.' as if they would tie the goodness of the person to the signification of the name. but still a man is what he is, not what he is called; he were the same, with or without that title or that name. and we have known _williams_ and _richards_, names not found in sacred story, but familiar to our country, prove as gracious saints as any _safe-deliverance_, _fight-the-good-fight-of-faith_, or such like, which have been rather descriptions than names." i have quoted portions of this before. i have now given it in full, for it is trenchant, and full of common sense. coming from the quarter it did, we cannot doubt it had its effect in throwing the practice into disfavour among the better orders. but there had been a continued battery going on from a foe by whose side adams would have rather faced death than fight. years before he wrote his own sentiments, the puritan nomenclature had been roughly handled on the stage, and by such ruthless pens as ben jonson, cowley, and beaumont and fletcher. a year before little job-rakt-out-of-the-asshes was laid to rest, the sharp and unsparing sarcasm of "the alchemist" and "bartholomew fair" had been levelled at these doings. the first of these two dramas ben jonson saw acted in 1610. by that time the custom was a generation old, and men who bore the godly but uncouth sobriquets were walking the streets, keeping shops, driving bargains, known, if not avoided, of all men. in 1610 increase brown, your apprentice, might be demanding an advance upon his wages, help-on-high jones might be imploring your patronage, while search-the-scriptures robinson might be diligently studying his ledger to see how he could swell his total against you for tobacco and groceries. in 1610 society would be really awake to the fact that such things existed, and proceed to discuss this serio-comic matter in a comico-serious manner. the time was exactly ripe for the playwright, and it was the fate of the presbyterians that the playwright was "rare ben." in "the alchemist" appears _ananias_, a deacon, who is thus questioned by subtle: "what are you, sir? _ananias._ please you, a servant of the exiled brethren, that deal with widows' and with orphans' goods, and make a just account unto the saints: a deacon. _subtle._ o, you are sent from master wholesome, your teacher? _ananias._ from tribulation wholesome, our very zealous pastor." after accusing ananias of being related to the "varlet that cozened the apostles," subtle meets tribulation himself, the amsterdam pastor, whom he treats with scant courtesy: "nor shall you need to libel 'gainst the prelates, and shorten so your ears against the hearing of the next wire-drawn grace. nor of necessity rail against plays, to please the alderman whose daily custard you devour; nor lie with zealous rage till you are hoarse. not one of these so singular arts. nor call yourselves by name of _tribulation_, _persecution_, _restraint_, _long-patience_, and such like, affected by the whole family or wood of you, only for glory, and to catch the ear of your disciple." to which hard thrust tribulation meekly makes response: "truly, sir, they are ways that the godly brethren have invented for propagation of the glorious cause." every word of this harangue of subtle's would tell upon a sympathetic audience. so popular was the play itself, that a common street song was made out of it, the first verse of which we find credulous singing in "the ordinary:" "my name's not tribulation, nor holy ananias; i was baptized in fashion, our vicar did hold bias."[57] act iv. sc. 1. this comedy appeared twenty years after "the alchemist," and yet the song was still popular. many a lad with a puritan name must have had these rhymes flung into his teeth. _tribulation_, by the way, is one of the names given in camden's list, written four years later than ben jonson's play. this name, which has been the object of an antiquary's, a playwright's, a ballad-monger's and an historian's ridicule (for macaulay had his fling at it), curiously enough i have not found in the registers. but its equivalent, _lamentation_, occurs, as we have seen, in the "chancery suits" (1590-1600), in the case of _lamentation chapman_. _restraint_ is met by _abstinence_ pougher, and _persecution_ by _trial_ travis (c. s. p. 1619, june 7). still more severe, again, is this same dramatist in "bartholomew fair," which was performed in london, october, 1614, by the retinue of lady elizabeth, james's daughter. pouring ridicule upon the butt of the day, whose name of "puritan" was by-and-by to be anagrammatized into "a turnip," from the cropped roundness of his head, this drama became the play-goers' favourite. it was suppressed during the commonwealth, and one of the first to be revived at the restoration.[58] the king is said to have given special orders for its performance. whether his grandfather liked it as much may be doubted, for it once or twice touches on doctrinal points, and james thought he had a special gift for theology. zeal-of-the-land busy is a banbury man, which town was then even more celebrated for puritans than cakes. _caster_, in "the ordinary," says- "i'll send some forty thousand unto paul's: build a cathedral next in banbury: give organs to each parish in the kingdom." zeal-of-the-land is thus inquired of by winwife: "what call you the reverend elder you told me of, your banbury man? _littlewit._ rabbi busy, sir: he is more than an elder, he is a prophet, sir. _quarlous._ o, i know him! a baker, is he not? _littlewit._ he was a baker, sir, but he does dream now, and see visions: he has given over his trade. _quarlous._ i remember that, too: out of a scruple that he took, in spiced conscience, those cakes he made were served to bridales, maypoles, morrices, and such profane feasts and meetings. his christian name is zeal-of-the-land? _littlewit._ yes, sir; zeal-of-the-land busy. _winwife._ how! what a name's there! _littlewit._ o, they all have such names, sir: he was witness for win here--they will not be called godfathers--and named her win-the-fight: you thought her name had been winnifred, did you not? _winwife._ i did indeed. _littlewit._ he would have thought himself a stark reprobate if it had." all this would be caviare to the cavalier, and it is doubtful whether he did not enjoy it more than his grandparents, who could but laugh at it as a hit religious, rather than political. the allusion to _witnesses_ reminds us of corporal oath, who in "the puritan," published in 1607 (act ii. sc. 3), rails at the zealots for the mild character of their ejaculations. the expression "oh!" was the most terrible expletive they permitted themselves to indulge in, and some even shook their heads at a brother who had thus far committed himself: "why! has the devil possessed you, that you swear no better, you half-christened c----s, you un-godmothered varlets?" the terms godfather and godmother were rejected by the disaffected clergy, and they would have the answer made in the name of the sponsors, not the child. hence they styled them witnesses. in "women pleased," a tragi-comedy, written, as is generally concluded, by fletcher alone about the year 1616, we find the customary foe of maypoles addressing the hobby: "i renounce it, and put the beast off thus, the beast polluted. and now no more shall _hope-on-high_ bomby follow the painted pipes of worldly pleasures, and with the wicked dance the devil's measures: away, thou pampered jade of vanity!" here, again, is no exaggeration of name, for we have help-on-high foxe to face hope-on-high bomby. the rector of lydney would be about twenty-five when this play was written, and may have suggested himself the sobriquet. the names are all but identical. from "women pleased" and fletcher to "cutter of coleman street" and cowley is a wide jump, but we must make it to complete our quotations from the playwrights. although brought out after the restoration, the fun about names was not yet played out. the scene is laid in london in 1658. this comedy was sorely resented by the zealots, and led the author to defend himself in his preface. he says that he has been accused of "prophaneness:" "there is some imitation of scripture phrases: god forbid! there is no representation of the true face of scripture, but only of that vizard which these hypocrites draw upon it." this must have been more trying to bear even than cutter himself. under a thin disguise, colonel _fear-the-lord_ barebottle is none other than praise-god barebone, of then most recent notoriety. cowley's allusion to him through the medium of jolly is not pleasant: "_jolly._ my good neighbour, i thank him, colonel fear-the-lord barebottle, a saint and a soap-boiler, brought it. but he's dead, and boiling now himself, that's the best of 't; there's a cavalier's comfort." cutter turns zealot, and wears a most puritanical habit. to the colonel's widow, mistress tabitha barebottle, he says- "sister barebottle, i must not be called cutter any more: that is a name of cavalier's darkness; the devil was a cutter from the beginning: my name is now _abednego_. i had a vision which whispered to me through a keyhole, 'go, call thyself _abednego_.'"[59] but cutter--we beg his pardon, abednego--was but a sorry convert. having lapsed into a worldly mind again, he thus addresses tabitha: "shall i, who am to ride the purple dromedary, go dressed like _revelation_ fats, the basket-maker?--give me the peruke, boy!" i fancy the reader will agree with me that cowley needed all the arguments he could urge in his preface to meet the charge of irreverence. (_b._) _the sussex jury._ one of the strongest indictments to be found against this phase of puritanic eccentricity is to be found in hume's well-known quotation from brome's "travels into england"--a quotation which has caused much angry contention. the book quoted by the historian is entitled "travels over england, scotland, and wales, by james brome, m.a., rector of cheriton, in kent." writing soon after the restoration, mr. brome says (p. 279)- "before i leave this county (sussex), i shall subjoin a copy of a jury returned here in the late rebellious troublesome times, given me by the same worthy hand which the huntingdon jury was: and by the christian names then in fashion we may still discover the superstitious vanity of the puritanical precisians of that age." a second list in the british museum mr. lower considers to be of a somewhat earlier date. we will set them side by side: accepted trevor, of norsham. | approved frewen, of northiam. redeemed compton, of battle. | be-thankful maynard, of brightling. faint-not hewit, of heathfield. | be-courteous cole, of pevensey. make-peace heaton, of hare. | safety-on-high snat, of uckfield. god-reward smart, of fivehurst. | search-the-scriptures moreton, stand-fast-on-high stringer, of | of salehurst. crowhurst. | more-fruit fowler, of east hothley. earth adams, of warbleton. | free-gift mabbs, of chiddingly. called lower, of the same. | increase weeks, of cuckfield. kill-sin pimple, of witham. | restore weeks, of the same. return spelman, of watling. | kill-sin pemble, of westham. be faithful joiner, of britling. | elected mitchell, of heathfield. fly-debate roberts, of the same. | faint-not hurst, of the same. fight-the-good-fight-of-faith | renewed wisberry, of hailsham. white, of emer. | return milward, of hellingly. more-fruit fowler, of east hodley. | fly-debate smart, of waldron. hope-for bending, of the same. | fly-fornication richardson, of graceful harding, of lewes. | the same. weep-not billing, of the same. | seek-wisdom wood, of the same. meek brewer, of okeham. | much-mercy cryer, of the same. | fight-the-good-fight-of-faith | white, of ewhurst. | small-hope biggs, of rye. | earth adams, of warbleton. | repentance avis, of shoreham. | the-peace-of-god knight, of | burwash. i dare say ninety-five per cent. of readers of hume's "history of england" have thought this list of sussex jurors a silly and extravagant hoax. they are "either a forgery or a joke," says an indignant writer in _notes and queries_. hume himself speaks of them as names adopted by converts, evidently unaware that these sobriquets were all but invariably affixed at the font. the truth of the matter is this. the names are real enough; the panel is not necessarily so. they are a collection of names existing in several sussex villages at one and the same time. everything vouches for their authenticity. the list was printed by brome while the majority must be supposed still to be living; the villages in which they resided are given, the very villages whose registers we now turn to for puritanic examples, with the certainty of unearthing them; above all, some of the names can be "run down" even now. _accepted_ or approved frewen, of _northiam_, we have already referred to. _free-gift_ mabbs, of _chiddingly_, is met by the following entry from chiddingly church: "1616, ----. buried mary, wife of free-gift mabbs." the will of _redeemed_ compton, of battle, was proved in london in 1641. _restore_ weeks, of cuckfield, is, no doubt, the individual who got married not far away, in chiddingly church: "1618, ----. restore weeks espoused constant semer." "increase weeks, of cuckfield," may therefore be accepted as proven, especially as i have shown _increase_ to be a favourite puritan name. these two would be brothers, or perchance father and son. as for the other names, the majority have already figured in this chapter. fly-fornication is still found in waldron register, though the surname is a different one. return, faint-not, much-mercy, be-thankful, repentance, safe-on-high, renewed, and more-fruit, all have had their duplicates in the pages preceding. "_fight-the-good-fight-of-faith_ white, of emer," is the only unlikely sobriquet left to be dealt with. thomas adams, in his "meditations upon the creed," in a passage already quoted, testified to its existence in 1629. the conclusion is irresistible: the names are authentic, and the panel may have been. (_c._) _royalists with puritan names._ it may be asked whether or not the world went beyond scoffing. was the stigma of a puritan name a hindrance to the worldly advancement of the bearer? it is pleasant, in contradiction of any such theory, to quote the following:- "1663, aug. petition of _arise_ evans to the king for an order that he may receive £20 in completion of the £70 given him by the king."--c. s. p. in a second appeal made march, 1664 (c. s. p.), _arise_ reminds charles of many "noble acts" done for him as a personal attendant during his exile. "1660, june. petition of handmaid, wife of aaron johnson, cabinet-maker, for the place for her husband of warden in the tower, he being eminently loyal. "1660, june. petition of increased collins, his majesty's servant, for _restoration_ to the keepership of mote's bulwark, near dover, appointed january, 1629, and dismissed in 1642, as not trustworthy, imprisoned and sequestered, and in 1645 tried for his life. "1660, oct. petition of noah bridges, and his son japhet bridges, for office of clerk to the house of commons."--c. s. p. thus it will be seen that, in the general rush for places of preferment at the restoration, there were men and women bearing names of the most marked puritanism, who did not hesitate to forward their appeals with the williams and richards of the world at large. they manifestly did not suppose their sobriquets would be any bar to preferment. one of them, too, had been body-man to charles in his exile, and another had suffered in person and estate as a devoted adherent of royalty. we may hope and trust, therefore, that all this scoffing was of a good-humoured character. it was, doubtless, the prejudice against puritan eccentricity that introduced civil titles as font names into england--a class specially condemned by cartwright and his friends. at any rate, they are contemporary with the excesses of fanatic nomenclature, and are found just in the districts where the latter predominated. _squire_ must have arisen before elizabeth died: "1626, march 21. petition of squire bence."--c. s. p. "1662, oct. 30. baptized jane, d. of squire brockhall."--hornby, york. "1722, july 28. baptized squire, son of john pysing and bennet, his wife."--cant. cath. _duke_ was the christian name of captain wyvill, a fervent loyalist, and grandson of sir marmaduke wyvill, bart., of constable burton, yorkshire: "1681, feb. 12. baptized duke, son of robert fance, k{nt}."--cant. cath. _squire_ passed over the atlantic, and is frequently to be seen in the states; so that if men may not squire themselves at the end of their names in the great republic, they may at the beginning. yorkshire and lancashire are the great centres for this class of names on english soil. _squire_ is found on every page of the west riding directory, such entries as squire jagger, squire whitley, squire hind, squire hardy, or squire chapman being of the commonest occurrence. _duke_ is also a favourite, duke redmayne and duke oldroyd meeting my eye after turning but half a dozen pages. but the great rival of _squire_ is _major_. there is a kind of martial, if not braggadocio, air about the very sound, which has taken the ear of the yorkshire folk. close together i light upon major pullen, farmer; major wold, farmer; major smith, sexton; major marshall, ironmonger. other illustrations are _prince_ jewitt, _earl_ moore, _marshall_ stewart, and _admiral_ fletcher. this custom has led to awkwardnesses. there was living at burley, near leeds, a short time ago, a "_sir robert_ peel." in the same way "earl grey" is found. sir isaac newton was living not long ago in the parish of soho, london. robinson cruso still survives, hale and hearty, at king's lynn, and dean swift is far from dead, as the west riding directory proves. it was an odd idea that suggested "shorter." i have five instances of it, two from the westminster abbey registers: "1689, march 3. buried shorter norris." "1690, july 9. baptized shorter, son of robert and ann tanner." _junior_ is found so early as 1657: "1657, ----. christened junior, sonne of robert naze."--cant. cath. little is similarly used. little midgley in the west riding directory is scarcely a happy conjunction. in the same town are to be seen john berry, side by side with "young john berry," and allen mawson, with young allen mawson. vi. bunyan's debt to the puritans. but if the sussex jury was not visionary, except for the panel, neither was that at mansoul! what a text is this for the next biographer of bunyan, if he have the courage to enter upon it! to suggest that the great dreamer was not a reprobate in his youth, and thus spoil the contrast between his converted and unconverted life, was a perilous act on lord macaulay's part. to insinuate that he had a not altogether unpleasant time of it in the bedford gaol, that he could have his friends to visit him, and, on the face of it, ink, paper, and quills to set down his meditations, even this is enough to set a section of political and religious society about our ears. but to hint that his character names were not wholly the offspring of his imagination, not thought out in the isolation of his dreary captivity, and not pictured in his brain, while his brain-pan was lying upon a hard and comfortless pallet--this, i know, not very long ago would have brought a mob about me! in the present day, i shall only be smiled upon with contempt, and condemned to a righteous ignominy by the superior judgment of the worshippers of john bunyan! nevertheless i ask, were the great mass of bunyan's character names the creation of his own brain, or were they suggested by the nomenclature of his friends or neighbours in the days of his youth? it is the peculiarity of the names in the "pilgrim's progress" and "siege of mansoul," that they suggest the incidents of which the bearers are the heroes. but, in a large proportion of cases, these names already existed. born in 1628, bunyan saw puritan character names at their climax. living at elstow, he was within the limits of the district most addicted to the practice. he had seen christian and hopeful, christiana and mercy, of necessity long before he was "haled to prison" at bedford. the four fair damsels, discretion, piety, charity, and prudence, may and must have in part been his companions in his boyish rambles years before he met them in the valley of humiliation; and if afterwards, in the siege of mansoul, he turned charity into a man, he was only doing what godfathers and godmothers had been doing for thirty years previously. the name and sweet character of _faithful_ might be a personal reminiscence, good father _honest_ a quondam host on one of his preaching expeditions, and _standfast_, "that right good pilgrim," an old pædo-baptist of his acquaintance. the shepherds _watchful_, _sincere_, and _experience_, if not _knowledge_, were known of all men, in less pastoral avocations. and as for the men that were panelled in the trial of the diabolonians, we might set them side by side with the sussex jury, and certainly the contrast for oddity would be in favour of the cricketing county. messrs. belief, true-heart, upright, hate-bad, love-god, see-truth, heavenly-mind, thankful, good-work, zeal-for-god, and humble have all, or well-nigh all, been quoted in this chapter, as registered by the church clerk a generation before do-right, the town-clerk of mansoul, called them over in court. "do-right" himself is met by "do-good," and the witness "search-truth" by "search-the-scriptures." even "giant despair" may have suffered convulsions in teething in the world of fact, before his fits took him in the world of dreams; and his wife "diffidence" will be found, i doubt not, to have been at large before bunyan "laid him down in a den." where names of evil repute come--and they are many--we do not expect to see their duplicates in the flesh. _graceless_, _love-lust_, _live-loose_, _hold-the-world_, and _talkative_ were not names for the puritan, but their contraries were. _grace_ meets the case of _grace-less_, _love-lust_ may be set by "fly-fornication," and _live-loose_ by "live-well" or "continent." _hold-the-world_ is directly suggested by the favourite "safe-on-high;" _talkative_, by "silence." that john bunyan is under debt to the puritans for many of his characters must be unquestionable; and were he living now, or could we interview him where he is, i do not doubt we could extract from him, good honest man, the ready admission that in the names of the personages that flit before us in his unapproachable allegory, and which have charmed the fancy of old and young for so many generations, he was merely stereotyping the recollections of childhood, and commemorating, so far as sobriquets were concerned, the companionships of earlier years. vii. the influence of puritanism on american nomenclature. baptismal nomenclature to-day in the united states, especially in the old settlements, bears stronger impressions of the puritan epoch than the english. their ancestors were puritans, who had fled england for conscience' sake. their life, too, in the west was for generations primitive, almost patriarchal, in its simplicity. there was no bantering scorn of a wicked world to face; there was no deliberate effort made by any part of the community to restore the old names. to this day the impress remains. take up a story of backwood life, such as american female writers affect so much, and it will be inscribed "faith gartney's girlhood," or "prudence palfrey." all the children that figure in these tales are "truth," or "patience," or "charity," or "hope." the true descendants of the early settlers are, to a man, woman, and child, even now bearers of names either from the abstract christian graces or the narratives of holy scripture. of course, the constant tide of immigration that has set in has been gradually telling against puritan traditions. the grotesque in name selection, too, has gone further in some of the more retired and inaccessible districts of the states than the eastern border, or in england generally, where social restraints and the demands of custom are still respected. if we are to believe american authorities, there are localities where humour has certainly become grim, and the solemn rite of baptism somewhat burlesqued by a selection of names which throw into the shade even puritan eccentricity. look at the names of some of the earliest settlers of whom we have any authentic knowledge. we may mention the _mayflower_ first. in 1620 the emigrants by this vessel founded new plymouth. this led to the planting of other colonies. among the passengers were a girl named _desire_ minter, a direct translation of desiderata, which had just become popular in england; william brewster, the ruling elder; his son _love_ brewster, who married, settled, and died there in 1650, leaving four children; and a younger son, _wrestling_ brewster. the daughters had evidently been left in england till a comfortable home could be found for them, for next year there arrived at new plymouth, in the _ann_ and _little james_, _fear_ brewster and _patience_ brewster. patience very soon married thomas prince, one of the first governors. on this same memorable journey of the _mayflower_ came also _remember_, daughter of isaac allerton, first assistant to the new governor; _resolved_ white, who married and left five children in the colony; and _humility_ cooper, who by-and-by returned to england. a little later on, in the _ann_ and _little james_, again came manasseh faunce and _experience_ mitchell. in a "list of living" in virginia, made february 16, 1623, is _peaceable_ sherwood. in a "muster" taken january 30, 1624, occur _revolt_ morcock and _amity_ waine. there is a conversation in "the ordinary"--a drama written in 1634 or 1635, by cartwright, the man whose "body was as handsome as his soul," as langbaine has it--which may be quoted here. _hearsay_ says- "london air, methinks, begins to be too hot for us. _slicer._ there is no longer tarrying here: let's swear fidelity to one another, and so resolve for new england. _hearsay._ 'tis but getting a little pigeon-hole reformed ruff--- _slicer._ forcing our beards into th' orthodox bent--- _shape._ nosing a little treason 'gainst the king, bark something at the bishops, and we shall be easily received." act iv. sc. 5. it is interesting to remember that 1635, when this was written, saw the high tide of puritan emigration. the list of passengers that have come down to us prove it. after that date the names cease to represent the sterner spirit of revolt against episcopacy and the star chamber. in the ship _francis_, from ipswich, april 30, 1634, came _just_ houlding. in the _elizabeth_, landed april 17, 1635, _hope-still_ foster and _patience_ foster. from the good barque _james_, july 13, 1635, set foot on shore _remembrance_ tybbott. in the _hercules_ sailed hither, in 1634, _comfort_ starre, "chirurgeon." in 1635 settled _patient_ white. in a book of entry, dated april 12, 1632, is registered _perseverance_ greene, as one who is to be passed on to new england. such names as constant wood, temperance hall, charity hickman, fayth clearke, or grace newell, i simply record and pass on. that these names were perpetuated is clear. the older states teem with them now; american story-books for girls are full of them. _humility_ cooper, of 1620, is met by an entry of burial in st. michael's, barbados: "1678, may 16. _humility_ hobbs, from ye almshous." the churchwardens of st. james' barbados, have entered an account of lands, december 20, 1679, wherein is set down "madam _joye_ sparks, 12 servants, 150 negroes." _increase_ mather is a familiar name to students of american history. his father, richard mather, was born at liverpool in 1596. richard left for new england in 1635, with his four sons, samuel, nathaniel, eleazar, and increase. cotton mather was a grandson. about the same time, charles chauncey (of a hertfordshire family), late vicar of ware, who had been imprisoned for refusing to rail in his communion table, settled in new england. dying there in 1671, as president of harvard college, he bequeathed, through his children, the following names to the land of his adoption:--isaac, ichabod, sarah, barnabas, elnathan, and nathaniel. both the mathers and the chaunceys, therefore, sent out a nathaniel. adding these to the large number of nathaniels found in the lists of emigrants published by mr. hotten, no wonder nathaniel became for a time the first name on american soil, and that "nat" should have got instituted into a pet name. jonathan was not to be compared to it for a moment. but we have not done with the chaunceys. one of the most singular accidents that ever befell nomenclature has befallen them. what has happened to sidney in england, has happened to chauncey in america, only "more so." the younger chaunceys married and begot children. a grandson of isaac chauncey died at boston, in 1787, aged eighty-three. he was a great patriot, preacher, and philanthropist at a critical time in his country's history. the name had spread, too, and no wonder that it suggested itself to the authoress of "uncle tom's cabin" as a character name. she, however, placed it in its proper position as a surname. it may be that mrs. stowe has given the use of this patronymic as a baptismal name an impulse, but it had been so used long before she herself was born. it was a memorial of charles chauncey, of boston. it has now an average place throughout all the eastern border and the older settlements. i take up the new york directory for 1878, and at once light upon chauncey clark, chauncey peck, and chauncey quintard; while, to distinguish the great smith family, there are chauncey smith, lawyer, chauncey smith, milk-dealer, chauncey smith, meat-seller, and chauncey smith, junior, likewise engaged in the meat market. thus, it is popular with all classes. in my london directory for 1870, there are six sidney smiths and one sydney smith. chauncey and sidney seem likely to run a race in the two countries, but chauncey has much the best of it at present. another circumstance contributed to the formation of americanisms in nomenclature. the further the puritan emigrants drew away from the old familiar shores, the more predominant the spirit of liberty grew. it was displayed, amongst other ways, in the names given to children born on board vessel.[60] it was an outlet for their pent-up enthusiasm. shakespeare puts into the mouth of pericles- "we cannot but obey the powers above us. could i rage and roar as doth the sea she lies on, yet the end must be as 'tis. my gentle babe, _marina_ (whom, for she was born at sea, i've named so) here i charge your charity withal, leaving her the infant of your care." act iii. sc. 3. the puritan did the same. _oceanus_ hopkins was born on the high seas in the _mayflower_, 1620; _peregrine_ white came into the world as the same vessel touched at cape cod; _sea-born_ egginton, whose birth "happened in his berth," as hood would say, is set down as owner of some land and a batch of negroes later on (hotten, p. 453); while the marriage of _sea-mercy_ adams with mary brett is recorded, in 1686, in philadelphia (watson's "annals of philadelphia," 1. 503). again, we find the following:- "1626, nov. 6. grant of denization to bonaventure browne, born beyond sea, but of english parents."--c. s. p. no doubt his parents went over the atlantic on board the _bonaventure_, which was plying then betwixt england and the colonies (_vide_ list of ships in hotten's "emigrants," pp. vii. and 35). we have another instance in the "baptismes" of st. george's, barbados: "1678, oct. 13. samuel, ye son of bonaventure jellfes." allowing the father to be forty years old, _his_ parents would be crossing the water about the time the good ship _bonaventure_ was plying. again, we find the following (hotten, p. 245):- "muster of john laydon: "john laydon, aged 44, in the _swan_, 1606. "anne laydon, aged 30, in the _mary margett_, 1608. "virginia laydon (daughter), borne in virginia." all this, as will be readily conceived, has tended to give a marked character to new england nomenclature. the very names of the children born to these religious refugees are one of the most significant tokens to us in the nineteenth century of the sense of liberty they felt in the present, and of the oppression they had undergone in the past. if we turn from these lists of passengers, found in the archives of english ports, not to mention "musters" already quoted, to records preserved by our transatlantic cousins, we readily trace the effect of puritanism on the first generation of native-born americans. from mr. bowditch's interesting book on "suffolk surnames," published in the united states, we find the following baptismal names to have been in circulation there: standfast, life, increase, supply, donation, deodat, given, free-grace, experience, temperance, prudence, mercy, dependance, deliverance, hope, reliance, hopestill, fearing, welcome, desire, amity, comfort, rejoice, pardon, remember, wealthy, and consider. nothing can be more interesting than the analysis of this list. with two exceptions, every name can be proved, from my own collection alone, to have been introduced from the mother country. in many instances, no doubt, mr. bowditch was referring to the same individual; in others to their children. the mention of _wealthy_ reminds us of wealthy, riches, and fortune, already demonstrated to be popular english names. _fortune_ went out to new england in the person of fortune taylor, who appears in a roll of virginian immigrants, 1623. settling down there as a name of happy augury for the colonists' future, both spiritual and material, she reappears, in the person of fortune the spinster, in the popular new england story entitled "the wide, wide world." even "_preserved_," known in england in 1640, was to be seen in the new york directory in 1860; and _consider_, which crossed the atlantic two hundred and fifty years ago, so grew and multiplied as to be represented at this moment in the directory just mentioned, in the form of "consider parish, merchant, clinton, brooklyn." mr. bowditch adds "_search-the-scriptures_" to his list of names that crossed the atlantic. this tallies with search-the-scriptures moreton, of salehurst, one of the supposed sham jury already treated of. he quotes also _hate-evil_ nutter from a colonial record of 1649.[61] here again we are reminded of bunyan's diabolonian jury, one of whom was _hate-bad_. it is all but certain from the date that hate-evil went out from the old country. the name might be perfectly familiar to the great dreamer, therefore. _faint-not_ wines, mr. bowditch says, became a freeman in 1644, so that the popularity of that great puritan name was not allowed to be limited by the english coast. in this same year settled _faithful_ rouse--one more memorial of english nonconformity. english puritanism must stand the guilty cause of much modern humour, not to say extravagance, in american name-giving. puns compounded of baptismal name and surname are more popular there than with us. robert new has his sons christened nothing and something. price becomes sterling price; carrol, christmas carrol; mixer, pepper mixer; hopper, opportunity hopper; ware, china ware; peel, lemon peel; codd, salt codd; and gentle, always gentle. it used to be said of the english house of commons that there were in it two lemons, with only one peel, and the register-general not long since called attention in one of his reports to the existence of christmas day. we have, too, cannon ball, dunn brown, friend bottle (london directory), and river jordan, not to mention two brothers named jolly death and sudden death, the former of whom figured in a trial lately as witness. the _times_ of december 7, 1878, announced the death of mr. emperor adrian, a local government board member. nevertheless, the practice prevails much more extensively across the water, and the reason is not far to seek. mr. bowditch seems to imagine, we notice, america to be a modern girl's name. he says administration upon the estate of america sparrow was granted in 1855, while in 1857 america c. tabb was sued at law. america and americus were in use in england four hundred years ago (_vide_ "english surnames," 2nd edit., p. 29), and two centuries ago we meet with "america baguley, 1669, his halfpeny," on a token. _amery_ was the ordinary english dress. epilogue. double christian names: their rise and progress. i. royal double names. "but two christian names are rare in england, and i only remember now his majesty, who was named charles james, as the prince his sonne henry frederic: and among private men, thomas maria wingfield and sir thomas posthumus hobby."--camden. if we take this sentence literally, the great antiquary, who knew more of the families and pedigrees of the english aristocracy than any other man of his day, could only recall to his mind four cases of double christian names. this was in 1614. at the outset, therefore, there is significance in this statement. mr. blunt, in his "annotated prayer-book," says of "n. or m." in the catechism- "n. was anciently used as the initial of nomen, and 'nomen vel nomina' was expressed by 'n. vel nn.,' the double n being afterwards corrupted into m." if this be a correct explanation, "m." must refer to cases where more than one child was brought to the priest, n. standing for an occasion where only one infant was presented. in a word, "n. or m." could not stand for "thomas or thomas henry," but for "thomas or thomas and henry." if this be unsatisfactory, then mr. blunt's explanation is unsatisfactory. camden's sentence may be set side by side with lord coke's decision. in his "first institute" (coke upon littleton) he says- "and regularly it is requisite that the purchaser be named by the name of baptism, and his surname, and that special heed be taken to the name of baptism; for that a man cannot have two names of baptism, as he may have divers surnames." again, he adds- "if a man be baptized by the name of thomas, and after, at his confirmation by the bishop, he is named john, he may purchase by the name of his confirmation.... and this doth agree with our ancient books, where it is holden that a man may have divers names at divers times, but not divers christian names." this is all very plain. even in james i.'s days thousands of our countrymen had no fixed surnames, and changed them according to caprice or fancy. but the christian name was a fixture, saving in the one case of confirmation. lord coke is referring to an old rule laid down by archbishop peckham, wherein any child whose baptismal name, by accident or evil thought, had a bad significance is advised, if not compelled, to change it for one of more christian import. the chief point of interest, however, in this decision of lord coke's, is the patent fact that no thought of a double christian name is present in his mind. had it been otherwise, he would never have worded it as he has done. archbishop peckham's rule had evidently been infringed, and lord coke upholds the infringement. a child with such an orthodox name as thomas (a name with no immoral significance) might, he lays it down, become john at confirmation. even in such a case as this, however, john is not to be added to thomas; it must take its place, and thomas cease to be recognized. lord coke, of course, was aware that charles i.'s queen was henrietta maria, the late king charles james, and his son henry frederic. it is possible, nay probable, that he was not ignorant of thomas maria wingfield's existence, or that of thomas posthumus hobby. but that these double baptismal names should ever become an every-day custom, that the lower and middle classes should ever adopt them, that even the higher orders should ever go beyond the use of "maria" and "posthumus," seems never to have suggested itself to his imagination. there is no doubt the custom came from france in the first instance. there, as in england, it was confined to the royal and aristocratic circles. the second son of catharine de' medici was baptized edward alexander in 1551. mary stuart followed the new fashion in the names of her son charles james. the higher nobility of england slowly copied the practice, but within most carefully prescribed limits. one limitation was, the double name must be one already patronized by royalty. henrietta maria found her title repeated in henrietta maria stanley, daughter of the ill-fated james, earl of derby, who for his determined loyalty was beheaded at bolton, in lancashire, in 1651. she was born on the 17th of november, 1630, and was buried in york minster on the 13th of january, 1685. sir peter ball, attorney to the queen of charles i., baptized his seventeenth child by the name of his royal mistress, henrietta maria. he followed her fortunes after as before the king's execution (polwhel's "devon," p. 157). these must both have been considered remarkable cases in their day. the loyalty of the act would be its sanction in the eyes of their friends. but while some copied the double name of the queen (also the name of the queen's mother), other nobles who had boys to christen mimicked the royal nursery of james i. henry frederick, earl of arundel, was born in 1608, and henry frederick thynne, brother of lord weymouth, was created a baronet in 1641. no one need doubt the origin of these double forms. again loyalty would be their answer against objections. but side by side with these went "maria" (used for either sex) and "posthumus," or posthuma--the only two instances recalled by camden as in use among "private men." there seems good reason to believe that, for two or three generations at least, these were deemed, by some unwritten code, the only permissible second names outside the royal list. the case of wingfield is curious. three generations, at least, bore a second name "maria," all males. the first was edward maria, of kimbolton, who received the female title in honour of, and from, the princess mary, daughter of henry viii., his godmother; the second was thomas maria, adduced by camden; and the third is referred to in the following document: "1639, april. bill of complaint relative to the sale of the manor of keyston, hunts, by edward maria wingfield."--c. s. p., 1639. maria had long been common in italy, france, and spain, as a second name, and still is, whether for a boy or girl, the child being thereby specially committed to the protection of the virgin. the earliest instances in england, however, were directly given in honour of two royal godmothers, who happened to be mary in one case, and henrietta maria in the other. hence the seeming transference of the foreign second name maria to our own shores. thus introduced, maria began to circulate in society generally as an allowed second name: "1610, july 10. baptized charles maria, sonne of charles chute, esquire."--st. dunstan-in-the-west. "1640, ----. died gulielma maria posthuma springett."--tablet, ringmer, lewes, sussex. this last was a bold procedure, three names being an unheard-of event. but the sponsor might reply that he was only placing together the two recognized second names, maria and posthuma. later on, maria is again found in the same family. in the year 1672, william penn, the quaker, married gulielma maria, daughter of sir william springett. posthuma (as in the above instance), or posthumus, is still more remarkable. the idea of styling a child by this name, thus connecting its birth with the father's antecedent death, seems to have touched a sympathetic chord, and the practice began widely to prevail. the first example i have seen stands as a single name. thus, in the canterbury cathedral register, is recorded: "1572, feb. 10. christened posthumus, the sonne of robert pownoll." the following is the father's entry of burial: "1571, june 8. buried robert pownoll." this is the earliest instance i have seen. very soon it was deemed right to make it a second name: "1632, sept. 18. baptized henry postumus, son of james gamble."--doncaster. sir thomas posthumus hoby, knight, lord of the manor of hackness, died in 1641. he bequeathed the greater portion of his estates to "his dearly beloved and esteemed cozen john sydenham," of brimpton, somerset, who, being baroneted in july, 1641, died in 1642, and was succeeded by his son sir john posthumus sydenham. posthumus, possibly, in this case was commemorative of sir thomas, and not of sir john. william ball, son of sir peter ball, already mentioned, married maria posthuma hussey. this must have occurred before the commonwealth, but i have not the exact date. the character of all these names is sufficient proof of their rarity. all belong, with one exception, to the higher ranks of society. all were called after the children in the royal nursery, or maria or posthuma was the second component. several formed the double name with both. it seems certain that at first it was expected that, if people in high life were to give encouragement to the new fashion, they must do so within certain carefully defined limits. as for any lower class, it was never imagined that they would dream of aspiring to such a daring innovation. the earliest instance of this class, i find, still has mary for its second component, and commemorates two english queens: "1667, jan. 12. baptized elizabeth mary, being of the age of 18 and upwards, daughter to john allen, and emm his wife, both of them being pro-baptists."--cant. cath. even to the close of the seventeenth century, if a middle-class man gave his child a double name, it must be to commemorate royalty: "1696, june 4. baptized william henry, son of mr. jacob janeway, and francis his wife."--cant. cath. william iii. was christened william henry. speaking of mary's husband, we may add that two of the most familiar conjunctions of the present day among the middle and lower classes, that of anna maria or mary ann, arose similarly. in italy and france the two went together a hundred years earlier, in connection with the virgin and her mother. in england they are only found since 1700, being used as commemorative of the sisters anne and mary, both queens. like william henry, the combination has been popular ever since: "1717, feb. 15. christened anne-mary, d. of james hebert, mercer. "1729, march 30. christened anna-maria, d. of thomas and mary hoare, pewterer."--st. dionis backchurch. the clerk of finchley church could not understand this conjunction--not to add that his education seems to have been slightly neglected: "1715, feb. 26. baptized anammeriah, d. of thomas and eliz. biby. "1716, m{ch}. 17. baptized anameriah, d. of richard and sarah bell." these are the first double names to be found in this register. the latin form represents the then prevailing fashion. there was not a girl's name in use that was not latinized. goldsmith took off the custom in his "vicar of wakefield," in the names of sophia, olivia, and carolina wilhelmina amelia skeggs. the latter hit at the new rage for double and treble baptismal names also; for the day came when two names were not enough. in 1738 george iii. was christened george william frederic. gilly williams, writing to george selwyn, december 12, 1764, says- "lord downe's child is to be christened this evening. the sponsors i know not, but his three names made me laugh not a little--john christopher burton. i wish to god, when he arrives at the years of puberty, he may marry mary josephina antonietta bentley."--"memoirs of george selwyn," by jesse, quoted by mr. waters in "parish registers," p. 31. i need scarcely add that three do not nearly satisfy the craving of many people in the nineteenth century, nor did they everybody in the eighteenth: "1781, april 29. bapt. charles caractacus ostorius maximilian gustavus adolphus, son of charles stone, tailor."--burbage, wilts. in beccles church occurs the following: "1804, oct. 14. bapt. zaphnaphpaaneah isaiah obededom nicodemus francis edward, son of henry and sarah clarke." only francis edward could be got in the ordinary place, so the rest had to be furnished in a note at the foot of the page. "on oct. 8th, 1876, in the revision of the parliamentary list at preston, a claimant appeared bearing the name of thomas hill joseph napoleon horatio bonaparte swindlehurst nelson. the vote was allowed, and the revising barrister ordered the full name to be inserted on the register."--_manchester evening news_, october 11, 1876. ii. conjoined names. returning to the first half of the seventeenth century, we find strong testimony of the rarity of these double names, and a feeling that there was something akin to illegality in their use, from our registers, wherein an attempt was made to glue two names together as one, without a hyphen or a second capital letter. take the following, all registered within a generation or two of camden's remark: "1602, may 24. baptized fannasibilla, d. of thomas temple."--sibbesdon, leicestershire. here is a palpable attempt to unite francis (fanny) and sybil. "1648, jan. 25. baptized aberycusgentylis, son of richard balthropp, gent."--iver, buckingham. here the father has been anxious to commemorate the great oxford professor, the father of international law, dr. abericus gentilis. he has avoided a breach of supposed national law by writing the two names in one. "1614, aprill 16. buried jockaminshaw butler, wife of james butler, potter, in bishopsgate street."--st. peter, cornhill. the surname of "shaw" has done service hundreds of times since then as a second baptismal name. "1640, may 7. baptized johnamaria, ye son of frances ansloe, and clare his wife."--cant. cath. here again is the inevitable maria, but so inwoven with john, that lord coke's legal maxim could not touch the case. it is the same in the following example:- "1632, ----. married john pell to ithamaria, d. of henry reynolles, of london."--lower, "worthies of sussex," p. 178. one of the most strange samples of conjoined names is this: "1595, april 3. joane, whome we maye call yorkkooppe, because she was ye basterd daughter, as yt is comonlye reported, of one john york and anne cooper."--landbeach. here is a double conjunction; john and anne forming jo-ane, and york and cooper, yorkkooppe. the first is neat, the second clumsy: but, doubtless, the clerk who wielded the goose-quill deemed both a masterpiece of ingenuity. the following is interesting:- "1616, july 13, being satterday, about half an hour before 10 of the clocke in the forenoon, was born the lady georgi-anna, daughter to the right hon. lady frances, countess of exeter; and the same ladie georgi-anna was baptized 30th july, 1616, being tuesday, queen anne and the earl of worcester, lord privie seal, being witnesses: and the lorde bishop of london administered the baptism."--_vide_ r. e. c. waters, "parish registers." 1870. iii. hyphened names. it will be noticed that so far the two names were both (saving in the case of aberycusgentylis and jockaminshaw) from the recognized list of baptismal names. about the reign of anne the idea of a patronymic for a second name seems to have occurred. to meet the supposed legal exigencies the two names were simply hyphened. we will confine our instances to the register of canterbury cathedral: "1721, jan. 20. baptized howe-lee, son of lee warner, esquire, and mary his wife. "1728, july 4. baptized francis-gunsby, son of dr. william ayerst, prebendary of this church. "1746, sep. 28. baptized james-smith, son of james horne, and mary his wife." i need not say that at first these children bore the name in common parlance of howe-lee, or francis-gunsby, or james-smith. the two were never separated, but treated as one name. to this day traces of this eighteenth-century habit are to be found. i know an old gentleman and his wife, people of the old school, dwelling somewhat out of the world, who address a child invariably by all its baptismal titles. the effect is very quaint. in all formal and legal processes the two or three names have to be employed, and clergymen who only recite the first in the marriage service, as i have heard some do, are in reality guilty of misdemeanour. how odd all these contrivances to modern eyes! we take up a directory, and every other registration we look on is made up of three names. the poorer classes are even more particular than the aristocracy upon the point. the lady-help, describing her own superior merit, says- "do not think that we resemble betsy jane or mary ann, women born in lowly cottage, bred for broom or frying-pan." and yet, in forty-nine church registers out of fifty, throughout the length and breadth of england, there will not be found a single instance of a double christian name previous to the year 1700. mr. maskell has failed to find any instance in the register of all-hallows, barking, and the harleian society's publication of the registers of st. peter, cornhill, and st. dionis backchurch only confirms the assertion i have made. many stories have arisen upon these double names. a mr. gray, bearing the once familiar christian name of anketil, wanted the certificate of his baptism. the register was carefully searched--in vain; the neighbouring registers were as thoroughly scanned--in vain. again the first register was referred to, and upon a closer investigation he was found entered as ann kettle gray. not very long ago a child was brought to the font for baptism. "what name?" asked the parson. "john," was the reply. "anything else?" "john _h_only," said the godparent, putting in an "h" where it was not needed. "john honly, i baptize thee," etc., continued the clergyman, thus thrown off his guard. the child was entered with the double name. in gutch's "geste of robin hode" (vol. i. p. 342) there is a curious note anent maid marian, wherein some french writers are rebuked for supposing marian to be composed of mary and ann, and the statement is made that it is from mariamne, the wife of herod! marian or marion, of course, is the diminutive of mary, the other pet form being mariot. nevertheless the great commonness of the double christian name mary ann is consequent on the idea that marian is compounded of both. in the registers of marriages at halifax parish church (december 1, 1878) is the name of a witness, charity h----. he--it was a _he_--is the third child of his parents, two sisters, faith and hope, having preceded him. his full baptismal name is "and charity," and in his own marriage certificate his name is so written. in ordinary affairs he is content with charity alone (_notes and queries_, august 16, 1879). this could not have happened previous to queen anne's reign. acts-apostles pegden's will was administered upon in 1865. his four elder brothers bore the four evangelists' names. this, again, could not well have occurred before the eighteenth century was in. in yorkshire directories one may see such entries as john berry, and immediately below, young john berry. this represents a common pleasantry at the font among the "tykes," but is necessarily modern. nor could "sir isaac" or "sir robert," as prænomens to "newton" or "peel," have been originated at any distant period. iv. the decay of single patronymics in baptism. the introduction of double baptismal names produced a revolution as immediate as it was unintentional. it put a stop to what bade fair to become a universal adoption of patronymics as single baptismal names. this practice took its rise about the year 1580. it became customary in highly placed families to christen the eldest son by the name of the landed estate to which he was heir. especially was it common when the son succeeded to property through his mother; then the mother's surname was his christian name. with the introduction of second baptismal names, this custom ceased, and the boy or girl, as the case might be, after a first orthodox name of robert or cecilia, received as a second the patronymic that before was given alone. instead of neville clarke the name would be charles neville clarke. from the year 1700, say, this has been a growing custom, and half our present list of treble names are thus formed.[62] the custom of giving patronymic names was, for a century at least, peculiar to england, and is still rare on the continent. camden notices the institution of the practice: "whereas in late yeares sirnames have beene given for christian names among us, and no where else in christendome: although many dislike it, for that great inconvenience will ensue: neverthelesse it seemeth to procede from hearty goodwill and affection of the godfathers, to shew their love, or from a desire to continue and propagate their owne names to succeeding ages. and is in no wise to bee disliked, but rather approoved in those which, matching with heires generall of worshipfull ancient families, have given those names to their heires, with a mindefull and thankfull regard of them, as we have now pickering, wotton, grevill, varney, bassingburne, gawdy, calthorpe, parker, pecsal, brocas, fitz-raulfe, chamberlanie, who are the heires of pickering, etc."--"remaines," 1614. fuller says- "reader, i am confident an instance can hardly be produced of a surname made christian in england, save since the reformation.... since it hath been common."--"worthies," i. 159, 160. for two hundred years this custom had the widest popularity among the higher classes, and from some of our registers there are traces that the lower orders were about to adopt the practice. in the case of female heiresses the effect is odd. however, this was got over sometimes by giving a feminine termination: "1660, aug. 28. john hendon, knight, of biddenden in kent, and northamtonia haward, of tandridge in surrey, married."--streatham, surrey. "1711, jan. 3. buried jermyna, d. of mr. edward tyson, gent."--st. dionis backchurch. "1699, march 7. nathaniel parkhurst and althamia smith, of kensington, married." althamia was daughter of altham smyth, barrister, son of sir thomas smyth, of hill hall, essex (chester's "westminster abbey," p. 173). but more often they were without the feminine desinence: "1639, oct. 18. buried essex, daughter of lord paget."--drayton (lyson's "middlesex," p. 42). will of john wilmot, earl of rochester, 1680 (doctors' commons): "item: to my daughter _mallet_, when shee shall have attained the like age of sixteen, the summe of foure thousand pounds." the countess of rochester was elizabeth, daughter and heir of john mallet, esq., of enmore, somerset. "1699. petition of windebank coote, widow, to the lords of the treasury, showing that her husband lambert coote was a favourite servant of king charles ii., and left her with a great charge of children."--"c. treas. p.," 1697-1702. "tamworth, daughter of sir roger martin, of long melford, married thomas rookwood (who was born aug. 18, 1658)."--"collect. et top.," vol. ii. p. 145. "1596, nov. 21. baptized cartwright, daughter of nicholas porter."--aston-sub-edge, gloucester. "1634, april 18. baptized steward, daughter of sir thomas stanley, knight."--stepney, london. "1656, march 24. douglas sheffield, daughter of sir john sheffield."--"lunacy commissions and inquisitions," record office. "1709, feb. 3. tankerville chamberlyne, spinster, daughter of edward c."--ditto. "1601, feb. buryed handforth, d. thomas davenport, a soldier in ireland."--stockport parish church. "1610, july 24. baptized kenburrow, ye daughter of dr. masters, one of the worshipfull prebendaries."--cant. cath. "1688, march 29. baptized tufton, daughter of the rev. dr. james jefferys, one of the prebendarys of this church."--cant. cath. even down to the middle of last century the custom was not uncommonly practised: "1763, sep. 15. thomas steady, of chartham, to chesterton harnett, of the precincts of this church, spinster, by licence."--cant. cath. "1759, june 12. honourable chatwynd trumbull, widow."--"lunacy commissions and inquisitions." as to the male heirs, we need not furnish illustrations; they would require too much room: "sir humphry winch, solicitor-general to queen elizabeth, married cicely onslowe. his eldest son was onslowe winch."--"collect. et top.," vol. iii. p. 86. "woodrove foljambe, born jan. 25, 1648, son of peter foljambe. his mother was jane woodrove, of hope, derbyshire."--ditto, p. 88. how common the practice was becoming among the better-class families the canterbury register shall show: "1601, april 16. baptized nevile, the sonne of edwarde whitegrave. "1614, nov. 28. baptized tunstall, sonn of mr. william scott, the sonn-in-lawe to the worshipful mr. tunstall, prebendary of this church. "1615, may 15. baptized dudly, sonn of mr. doctor jacksonn. "1619, dec. 16. baptized dudley, sonne of sir john wiles. "1624, july 26. baptized sydney, sonne of sirre william barnes, k{t}." dudley was, perhaps, the first surname that obtained a place among ordinary baptismal names: "1614, aug. 17. christened dudley, son of thomas styles. "1684, april 17. christened dudley, son of francis and sarah dylate."--st. dionis backchurch. the introduction of surnames at the font permitted private predilections full play. at canterbury we naturally find: "1727, feb. 22. buried cranmer herris, gent., in ye cloisters."--cant. cath. "1626, oct. baptized bradford, sonne of christopher wilson, of limehouse."--stepney. hanover stirling was a scholar of trinity college, dublin, in 1729. a scotch jacobite in london showed some skill in the heat of the great crisis of 1715: "1715, june 10. christened margaret jacobina, d. of mr. archiball johnson, merchant."--st. dionis backchurch.[63] this will be sufficient. the custom is by no means extinct; but, through the introduction of second baptismal names, the practice is now rare, and all but entirely confined to boys. two hundred and fifty years ago, it was quite as popular with the other sex. both dudley and sydney, mentioned above, have been used so frequently that they have now taken a place in our ordinary list of baptismal names. so far as sydney is concerned, the reason is easily explained. the smith family have been so fond of commemorating the great sydney, that it has spread to other families. chauncey and washington occupy the same position in the united states. v. the influence of foundling names upon double baptismal names. one circumstance that contributed to the adoption of two baptismal names was the christening of foundlings. having no father or mother to attest their parentage, being literally anonymous, there sprang up a custom, about the year 1500, of baptizing these children with a double title; only the second one was supposed to be the surname, and not a baptismal name at all. this second name was always a local name, betokening the precise spot, street, or parish where the child was found. every old register has its numerous instances. the foundlings of st. lawrence jewry got the baptismal surname of lawrence. at all-hallows, barking, the entries run: "a child, out of priest's alley, christened thomas barkin. "christened a child out of seething lane, named charles parish. "a child found in mark lane, and christened mark lane."--maskell, "all-hallows, barking," p. 62. at st. dunstan-in-the-west they are still more diversified: "1597, m{ch}. 1. renold falcon, a childe borne in falcon court, bapt. "1611, may 11. harbotles harte, a poor childe found at hart's dore in fewter lane, bapt. "1614, march 26. moses dunstan, a foundlinge in st. dunstan's hall, bapt. "1618, jan. 18. mary porch, a foundeling, bapt. "1625, aug. 7. roger middlesex was baptized. "1627, may 19. katherine whitefryers was baptized." "1610, nov. bapt. elizabeth christabell, d. of alice pennye, begotten in fornacacion."--stepney, london. "1586, may 21. christening of peter grace, sonne of katherine davis, an harlot."--st. peter, cornhill. "1592, aug. 2. christening of roger peeter, so named of our church; the mother a rogue, the childe was born the 22{d} july at mr. lecroft's dore."--ditto. the baptismal register of st. dionis backchurch teems with dennis, or dionys, as the name is entered: "1623, aug. 6. joane dennis, being laid at mr. john parke's doore in fanchurch streete. "1627, june 3. denis the bastard, who was laid in the parish. "1691, nov. 19. ingram dionis, a fondling taken up in ingram's court."[64] we see in these registers the origin of the phrase, "it can't be laid at my door." doubtless it was not always pleasant to have a little babe, however helpless, discovered on the doorstep. the gossips would have their "nods, and becks, and wreathed smiles," if they said nothing upon the subject. it was a common dodge to leave it on a well-known man's premises: "1585, april 23. a man child was laid at sir edward osbourne gate, and was named dennis philpot, and so brought to christes ospitall." the same practice prevails in america. a new york correspondent wrote to me the other day as follows:- "one babe, who was found in the vestibule of the city hall, in this city (new york), was called john city hall; another, thomas fulton, was found in fulton street in an ash-box; and a third, a fine boy of about four months, was left in the porch of christ church rectory in brooklyn. he was baptized by the name of parish church, by the rev. dr. canfeild, the then rector." the baptisms of "blackamoors" gave a double christian name, although the second was counted as a surname: "baptized, 1695, m{ch}. 27, john wearmouth, a tawny, taken captive, aged 20."--bishop wearmouth (burns). "baptized, 1602-3, march, christian ethiopia, borne a blackmore."--stepney. "baptized, 1603, july, charity lucanoa, a blackamor from ratcliff."--ditto. "1744, sep. 27. rum john pritchard, a indian and mahomitan, baptized this day by self at mr. pritchard's."--fleet registers (burns). "1717, ----. baptized charles mustava, a black boy, servant to the honble. lord hartford."--preshute, wilts. our forefathers did not seem to perceive it, but in all these cases double baptismal names were given. it must, however, have had its unfelt influence in leading up to the new custom, and especially to patronymics as second names. we are all now familiarized to these double and treble names. the poorest and the most abject creatures that bring a child to the font will have their string of grand and high-sounding titles; sometimes such a mouthful, that the parson's wonder is excited whence they accumulated them, till wonder is lost in apprehension lest he should fail to deliver himself of them correctly. the difficulty is increased when the name is pronounced as the fancy or education of the sponsor dictates. when one of three names is "hugginy," the minister may be excused if he fails to understand all at once that "eugénie" is intended. such an incident occurred about six years ago, and the flustered parson, on a second inquiry, was not helped by the woman's rejoinder: "yes, hugginy; the way ladies does their 'air, you know." we must confess we are not anxious to see the new custom--for new it is in reality--spread; but we fear much it will do so. we have reached the stage when three baptismal names are almost as common as two; and we cannot but foresee, if this goes on, that, before the century is out, our present vestry-books will be compelled to have the space allotted to the font names enlarged. as it is, the parson is often at his wits' end how to set it down. index. a abacuck, 62, 85, 119 abdiah, 56 abdias, 45 abednego, 53, 63, 87, 190, 191 abel, 54, 89, 90 abelot, 90 abericusgentylis, 223, 224 abigail, 66, 67, 68, 141 abner, 53 abraham, 35, 85 abstinence, 152, 187 abuse-not, 162 accepted, 123, 152, 171, 193 achsah, 55 acts-apostles 58, 227 adah, 53 adam, 35 adcock, 16, 35 adecock, 15 adkin, 10, 35 admiral, 197 adna, 53 adoniram, 84, 88 agatha, 144 agnes, 43, 93 aholiab, 45, 85 aid-on-high, 174 alathea, 144 alianora, 23 alice, 18 aliot, 28 alison, 18 alpheus, 47 altham, 230 althamia, 230 althea, 144 always, 211 alydea, 144 amalasiontha, 60 amelia, 92 america, 212 americus, 212 amery, 108, 212 amice, 102 aminadab, 57 amity, 203, 209 amor, 137 amos, 51, 84 anammeriah, 221 ananias, 69, 73, 89, 185 and charity, 227 angel, 130, 131 angela, 131 anger, 155 anketill, 101, 226 anna, 23, 35, 48 anna maria, 220, 221 anne, 23, 208 anne-mary, 221 annette, 23 annora, 23 annot, 23, 25, 33, 82 anot, 24 antipas, 73, 74 antony, 96 aphora, 64 aphra, 64 aphrah, 63 appoline, 95 aquila, 53, 102 araunah, 57 arise, 194, 195 asa, 53 ashael, 53 ashes, 63, 181 assurance, 120 atcock, 16 atkin, 10 atkinson, 13 audria, 106 austen, 43 austin, 103 avery, 101, 102 avice, 108 awdry, 93, 103 axar, 55 aymot, 79 azariah, 53 azarias, 57, 69 b bab, 106, 107 badcock, 16 baldwin, 3, 85 baptist, 35 barbara, 28, 107 barbelot, 28 barijirehah, 60 barjonah, 57 barnabas, 45, 205 barrabas, 74 bartholomew, 2, 3, 29, 34, 36, 44, 90, 92 bartelot, 5, 29 bartle, 5 bartlett, 29 barzillai, 53 bat, 5, 6, 34, 90 batcock, 5, 14, 16, 34 bate, 5, 16, 85, 90 bathsheba, 71, 110 bathshira, 71 bathshua, 71 batkin, 5, 16, 77, 81 battalion, 179 batty, 5 bawcock, 16 beata, 134, 137, 138 beatrice, 17 beatrix, 17, 92 beelzebub, 75 belief, 200 beloved, 173 ben, 86 benaiah, 53 benedict, 94 benedicta, 94, 138 bennet, 94 benjamin, 65 benoni, 65 bess, 106, 114, 116 bessie, 114, 115 be-steadfast, 163 be-strong, 161 betha, 114 be-thankful, 161, 194 bethia, 114 bethsaida, 179 bethshua, 122 beton, 17 betsy, 115 bett, 114 betty, 114, 115, 116 beulah, 178 bezaleel, 45 bill, 92 blaze, 93, 94 boaz, 69 bob, 6, 8 bodkin, 10 bonaventure, 208 bradford, 232 bride, 94 brownjohn, 8 c cain, 54 caleb, 52, 55, 61, 69 canaan, 179 cannon, 211 caroletta, 112 carolina, 92, 112 carolina wilhelmina amelia, 92, 221 caroline, 112 cartwright, 230 cassandra, 70 catharine, 3, 36, 43, 93 cecilia, 3, 6, 22, 28, 36, 43, 48, 51, 93, 228 centurian, 178 cess, 6 cesselot, 28 changed, 153 charity, 67, 140, 141, 154, 199, 202, 204, 227, 234 charity lucanoa, 235 charles, 112, 206 charles caractacus ostorius maximilian gustavus adolphus, 222 charles james, 215, 216 charles maria, 218 charles mustava, 235 charles neville, 228 charles parish, 233 charlotte, 112 chatwynd, 231 chauncey, 206, 207, 233 cherubin, 170 chesterton, 231 china, 211 christ, 76 christian, 33, 126, 199 christiana, 199 christian ethiopia, 235 christmas, 211 christopher, 28 christophilus, 123 church-reform, 232 chylde-of-god, 133 cibell, 106 cissot, 22 clarice, 6 clemence, 110 clemency, 142 cloe, 48 cock, 14 col, 34 cole, 34, 90, 111 colet, 102 colin, 19, 31, 80 colinet, 30, 31 coll, 6 collet, 80 collin, 19 colling, 19 collinge, 19 comfort, 149, 167, 204, 209 con, 110, 143, 145 confidence, 149 consider, 209, 210 constance, 143 constancy, 142, 143 constant, 121, 143, 193, 204 continent, 123, 200 cornelius, 69 cotton, 205 cranmer, 232 creatura christi, 133 creature, 132, 133 cressens, 57 crestolot, 28 cuss, 23 cussot, 23, 143 cust, 23, 143 custance, 23, 143 d dalilah, 57 damaris, 47, 48, 91 dameris, 47, 48 dammeris, 47 dammy, 91 dampris, 47 damris, 47 dancell-dallphebo-marke-antony-dallery-gallery-cesar, 182 daniel, 35, 72 dankin, 35 dannet, 35 darcas, 48 david, 6 daw, 6 dawkin, 10 dawks, 13 dean, 197 deb, 83, 91 deborah, 51, 66, 83, 90 deccon, 20 degory, 101 deliverance, 169, 170, 209 delivery, 169 dennis, 103, 234 dennis philpot, 235 deodat, 209 deodatus, 137 deonata, 137 depend, 162 dependance, 209 desiderata, 137, 202 desiderius, 137 desire, 137, 202, 209 diccon, 19, 82 dicconson, 20 dick, 8, 90, 92, 109, 111 dickens, 13, 20 dickenson, 13, 20 dickin, 10, 20 die-well, 165 diffidence, 200 diggon, 20 digory, 101 diligence, 148 dinah, 71, 72, 75, 76 dionisia, 20, 23 dionys, 234 diot, 23 discipline, 179 discretion, 199 dobbin, 19 dobinet, 30, 33, 82 do-good, 165, 200 dogory, 101 doll, 92, 105, 106, 107, 111 dolly, 107, 109 donate, 137 donation, 209 donatus, 134, 137 dora, 107 dorcas, 47, 48, 61, 119 do-right, 200 dorothea, 92, 107 dorothy, 43, 48, 107 douce, 22, 107 doucet, 81 douglas, 230 dowcett, 22 do-well, 165 dowsabel, 107 dowse, 107 dowsett, 22 drew, 26, 100, 102 drewcock, 16 drewet, 26, 81 drocock, 16 drusilla, 73 dudley, 231, 232 duke, 196 dun, 111 dunn, 211 dust, 63, 124 e earl, 197 easter, 36, 96 ebbot, 22 ebed-meleck, 69, 83, 85 ebenezer, 83 eden, 179 edward alexander, 216 edward maria, 217 elcock, 16 eleanor, 24 eleanora, 24 eleazar, 205 elena, 18, 24 eleph, 53 eliakim, 57 elias, 2, 28, 35 elicot, 28 elihu, 53 eli-lama-sabachthani, 57 eliot, 28 elisha, 69 elisot, 28 eliza, 115, 116 elizabeth, 113, 116 elizabeth christabell, 234 elizabeth mary, 220 elizar, 102 elkanah, 84 ellice, 29, 101 ellicot, 29 elliot, 28 ellis, 28, 29, 35 ellisot, 29 elnathan, 56, 205 emanuel, 76, 130, 131, 183 emery, 108 emm, 5, 220 emma, 3, 21, 29, 48, 51, 78, 79, 81 emmett, 21 emmot, 5, 8, 21, 27, 29, 78, 79 emmotson, 21 emperor, 212 enecha, 69 enoch, 69 enot, 24 epaphroditus, 69, 85 epenetus, 57, 69 ephin, 98 ephraim, 69, 85 epiphany, 36, 97 er, 53 erasmus, 134 erastus, 53, 57 esaias, 69, 72 esau, 69 esaye, 102 essex, 230 esther, 49, 96 eugénie, 236 eunice, 53 euodias, 56 eve, 24, 35 evett, 35 evot, 24 evott, 35 experience, 147, 148, 199, 203, 209 ezechell, 69 ezeckiell, 45 ezekias, 102 ezekiel, 72, 85, 88 ezekyell, 46 ezot, 113 ezota, 113 f faint-not, 124, 158, 159, 194, 211 faith, 67, 140, 141, 147, 154, 201, 204, 227 faithful, 154, 199, 211 faith-my-joy, 126 fannasibilla, 223 fare-well, 165, 166 fauconnet, 31 fawcett, 81 fear, 203 fear-god, 156, 157, 162 fearing, 209 fear-not, 122, 159 fear-the-lord, 190 feleaman, 69 felicity, 149 fick, 19 ficken, 19 figg, 19 figgess, 19 figgin, 19 figgins, 19 figgs, 19 fight-the-good-fight-of-faith, 180, 184, 194 flie-fornication, 176, 194, 200 forsaken, 176 fortune, 176, 210 francis, 75 francis-gunsby, 225 frank, 106, 110 free-gift, 166, 167, 193 free-grace, 209 free-man, 177, 178 frideswide, 101 friend, 211 from-above, 124, 167 fulk, 100, 103 fulke, 31 g gabriel, 131, 140, 183 gamaliel, 57, 69 gavin, 100 gawain, 100 gawen, 100 gawin, 50, 100 gawyn, 33, 103 geoffrey, 44 george, 11, 111, 113 george william frederic, 221 georgi-anna, 224 georgina, 92 gercyon, 69 gershom, 39, 57, 69 gersome, 101 gertrude, 110 gervase, 101 gib, 25 gibb, 6 gibbet, 25 gibbin, 19 gibbing, 19 gibbon, 19 gilbert, 25 gill, 22, 104 gillian, 3, 22 gillot, 22 gillotyne, 32 gilpin, 19 given, 137, 209 give-thanks, 161 goddard, 101 godgivu, 2 god-help, 175 godly, 152, 153 godric, 2 goliath, 72 good-gift, 167 good-work, 200 grace, 126, 140, 144, 147, 154, 200, 204 graceless, 200 gracious, 153, 172 grigg, 6 grissel, 106 grizill, 103 guion, 26 guiot, 26 guillotin, 32 gulielma maria, 218 gulielma maria posthuma, 218 guy, 3, 26, 51, 80 gyllian, 103 h habakkuk, 56 hadassah, 49 hal, 26 halkin, 11 hallet, 26 hamelot, 27 hameth, 53 hamilton, 79 hamlet, 8, 26, 27, 29, 78, 79, 101 hammett, 101 hamnet, 26, 27, 29 hamon, 26, 29, 78 hamond, 26, 29, 78, 79 hamonet, 27 hamynet, 33 han-cock, 10, 16 handcock, 16 handforth, 231 handmaid, 178, 195 hankin, 10, 11, 82 hanna, 35 hannah, 47, 49, 144 hanover, 232 harbotles harte, 234 hariph, 53 harriet, 26 harriot, 26 harry, 88, 90, 92, 109 hate-bad, 200, 211 hate-evil, 119, 163, 210, 211 hatill, 163 have-mercie, 175 hawkes, 13 hawkin, 11 hawkins, 13 hawks, 13 heacock, 16 heavenly-mind, 200 heber, 53 helpless, 175 help-on-high, 160, 174, 181, 189 henrietta maria, 215, 216, 218 henry, 3, 26, 44, 126 henry frederick, 215, 217 henry postumus, 219 hephzibah, 53 hercules, 70 hester, 35, 48 hew, 26 hewet, 26, 81 hewlett, 28 hick, 6, 85 hickin, 35 higg, 26 higget, 35 higgin, 19, 35, 82 higgot, 26, 35 hillary, 94 hiscock, 16 hitch-cock, 16 hobb, 6 hobelot, 28 hodge, 82, 85, 90 hold-the-world, 200 honest, 199 honora, 92, 145 honour, 139, 142, 145 hope, 140, 147, 154, 202, 209, 227 hopeful, 125, 159, 199 hope-on-high, 189 hope-still, 159, 160, 204, 209 hope-well, 160 hopkin, 10 hopkins, 13 howe-lee, 225 hud, 6 huelot, 28 huggin, 19 huggins, 18 hugginy, 236 hugh, 6, 18, 19, 26, 28 hughelot, 28 hugonet, 31, 32 huguenin, 31 huguenot, 32 hugyn, 18 humanity, 142 humble, 152, 200 humiliation, 151 humility, 152, 203, 205 humphrey, 88 hutchin, 18 hutchinson, 18 hyppolitus, 70 i ibbetson, 22 ibbett, 22 ibbot, 22, 81 ibbotson, 22 ichabod, 65, 205 if-christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-damned, 156 immanuel, 42 increase, 168, 169, 194, 205, 209 increased, 122, 168, 195 ingram, 100 ingram dionis, 234 inward, 179 isaac, 3, 26, 35, 203, 205, 206 isabella, 3, 22, 48, 51, 81 isaiah, 52 issott, 81 ithamaria, 223 j jabez, 40 jachin, 53 jack, 2, 6, 8, 26, 90 jackcock, 8 jackett, 26 jacob, 35 jacolin, 106 jacomyn, 103, 106 jacquinot, 31 jaell, 46, 65 james, 36 james-smith, 225 jane, 48, 103, 106 jannet, 31 jannetin, 31 janniting, 31 jannotin, 31 japhet, 195 jeduthan, 53 jeffcock, 14, 16, 81 jeffkin, 10 jehoiada, 53 jehostiaphat, 85 jenkin, 8, 11, 33 jenkinson, 13 jenks, 13 jennin, 19 jenning, 8, 19 jeremiah, 63, 88, 90 jeremy, 63, 69, 72, 88 jermyna, 230 jerry, 91 jesus-christ-came-into-the-world-to-save, 156 jethro, 101 jill, 2, 22, 104 joab, 53 joan, 103, 106 joane dennis, 234 joane yorkkoope, 224 job, 69, 84, 126 job-rakt-out-of-the-asshes, 181, 184 joel, 51 jockaminshaw, 223, 224 john, 2, 3, 7, 35, 36, 110, 111, 112, 126, 197, 208, 215, 226 johnamaria, 223 john christopher burton, 222 john city hall, 235 johncock, 16 john posthumus, 219 john wearmouth, 235 jolly, 211 jonadab, 69 jonathan, 69, 206 jordan, 11, 35, 37 jordanson, 35 joseph, 35 joshua, 69 joskin, 35 jowett, 22 joy-againe, 124 joyce, 67, 103, 107, 114 joye, 205 joy-in-sorrow, 174 juckes, 13 juckin, 11 judas, 36 judas-not-iscariot, 74 judd, 6, 11, 35 jude, 110 judith, 35, 48, 49 judkin, 11, 35 judson, 35 jukes, 13 julian, 22 juliana, 104 juliet, 22 junior, 197 just, 204 justice, 142 k kate, 92, 105, 106 katherine whitefryers, 234 kelita, 53 kenburrow, 231 kerenhappuch, 56 keturah, 57 keziah, 57 kit, 86, 87 knowledge, 199 l lætitia, 92, 108 lais, 70, 71 lambert, 31 lamberton, 20 lambin, 20, 81 lambinet, 31 lambkin, 10 lamblin, 20 lament, 163, 164, 176 lamentation, 174, 187 lamentations, 63 lamin, 20 laming, 20 lammin, 20 lamming, 20 lampin, 20 lampkin, 10 larkin, 6, 10 lawrence, 233 laycock, 15 leah, 47, 66, 69 learn-wisdom, 119 learn-wysdome, 163 lemon, 211 lemuel, 53 lesot, 23 lettice, 23, 48, 108 life, 209 lina, 24 linot, 24 little, 197 littlejohn, 8 live-loose, 200 lively, 153 live-well, 164, 200 living, 170 louisa, 92 love, 137, 141, 203 love-god, 164, 165, 200 love-lust, 200 love venus, 70 love-well, 165 luccock, 15 m mab, 22 mabbott, 22 mabel, 22 madge, 33, 82 magdalen, 126 magnify, 161 magot, 23 mahaliel, 57 mahershalalhashbaz, 41, 58, 120 major, 196 makin, 12 makinson, 12 malachi, 52, 53, 69 malkin, 9, 11, 12 malkynson, 12 mallet, 230 manasseh, 40, 203 margaret, 3, 22 margaret jacobina, 232 margerie, 25, 106 margett, 22 margotin, 31 margott, 23 maria, 92, 215, 217, 220 223 marian, 19, 227 maria posthuma, 219 marion, 18, 24 mariot, 24 mariotin, 32 marioton, 31 mark lane, 233 marshall, 197 martha, 47 mary, 12, 24, 105, 113, 218, 220 mary ann, 220, 227 mary given, 137 mary josephina antonietta, 222 mary porch, 234 mat, 95, 110 matathias, 100 mathea, 95 matilda, 3, 21, 48, 81, 106 matthew, 13, 36, 92 maud, 12, 48 maurice, 101 maycock, 13, 16 meacock, 13 meakin, 12 mehetabell, 66 melchisedek, 56, 83, 85, 101 melior, 138 mephibosheth, 85 mercy, 110, 142, 154, 199, 209 meshach, 53, 63 michael, 131, 183 michalaliel, 60 micklejohn, 8 milcom, 74 miles, 44, 51 miracle, 178 mocock, 15 mokock, 15 moll, 106, 111 mordecai, 57, 63 mordecay, 69 more-fruite, 124, 167, 168, 194 morrice, 101 moses dunstan, 234 much-mercy, 122, 170, 194 mun, 111 mycock, 16 my-sake, 178 n nab, 89, 90 nan, 92, 104, 105, 111 nancy, 105, 106 naphtali, 53 nat, 91, 206 nathaniel, 69, 78, 90, 119, 126, 205, 206 natkin, 78 nazareth, 179 ned, 111 nehemiah, 119, 120 nell, 106 neptune, 70 neriah, 53 neville, 228, 231 nichol, 82 nicholas, 2, 3, 34, 36, 37, 43, 45, 80, 90, 91, 92 nick, 111 noah, 35, 69, 195 noel, 36, 98, 99 no-merit, 122, 170, 174 northamtonia, 229 nothing, 211 nowell, 36, 99 o obadiah, 72 obediah, 51, 61, 69 obedience, 148 obey, 162 oceanus, 208 olive, 106 olivia, 92, 106, 221 onesiphorus, 56, 57, 85 onslowe, 231 opportunity, 211 original, 128, 129 othniell, 69 oziell, 69 p palcock, 16 pardon, 209 paris, 70 parish church, 235 parkin, 34 parnel, 104 parratt, 79 pascal, 36 pasche, 96 pascoe, 96 pash, 11 pashkin, 11 pask, 11, 36 paskin, 11 patience, 120, 139, 143, 145, 147, 202, 203, 204 patient, 204 paul, 36 payn, 26 paynet, 26 paynot, 26 peaceable, 203 peacock, 15, 34 peg, 106 pelatiah, 57 peleg, 69 pentecost, 36, 43, 98 pepper, 211 peregrine, 208 perkin, 11, 34 perks, 13 perot, 79 perrin, 18, 19, 34, 81 perrinot, 31 perrot, 34, 79 perrotin, 31 perseverance, 149, 187, 204 persis, 48, 121 peter, 2, 3, 18, 34, 36, 37, 45, 51, 79, 92, 105 peter grace, 234 petronilla, 105 pharaoh, 52, 69, 72 phebe, 48 philadelphia, 144 philcock, 81 philemon, 45, 53, 69 philip, 2, 3, 26, 36, 37, 51, 90, 92, 95, 113 philiponet, 31 phillis, 106 philpot, 26, 77, 80 phineas, 52 phippin, 19, 81 phip, 85, 90 pidcock, 15 pierce, 82 pierre, 34 piers, 79 piety, 199 pipkin, 11 pleasant, 177 pol, 36 pontius pilate, 58 posthuma, 217, 218 posthumus, 45, 215, 217, 218, 219 potkin, 11 praise-god, 119, 156, 157, 158 presela, 126 preserved, 173, 210 prince, 197 pris, 91 priscilla, 47, 48, 90, 126 properjohn, 8 providence, 178 pru, 142, 145 prudence, 129, 142, 145, 155, 199, 202, 209 prudentia, 92, 142 purifie, 125 purkiss, 13 q quod-vult-deus, 135 r rachel, 66, 67, 69, 141 ralph, 20, 37, 85, 111 ramoth-gilead, 54 raoul, 20 raoulin, 20 rawlings, 20 rawlins, 20 rawlinson, 20 rebecca, 45, 51, 66 redeemed, 136, 193 redemptus, 136 rediviva, 136 reformation, 179 refrayne, 162 rejoice, 147, 160, 161, 209 rejoyce, 122 reliance, 209 relictus, 137 remember, 203, 209 remembrance, 204 renata, 136 renatus, 134, 136 renewed, 121, 136, 194 renold falcon, 234 renovata, 134, 136 repent, 153, 162, 175 repentance, 45, 150, 151, 153, 176, 194 replenish, 168 resolved, 203 restore, 175, 193 restraint, 187 returne, 162, 194 revelation, 191 revolt, 203 richard, 3, 28, 37, 44, 46, 103, 110, 119, 131, 184, 195, 205 richelot, 28 riches, 177, 210 river, 211 robelot, 28 robert, 3, 28, 37, 44, 52, 110, 211, 228 robbin, 19 robin, 19, 33 robinet, 30 robing, 19 robinson, 197 roger, 3, 37, 52, 90, 119 roger middlesex, 234 roger peeter, 234 rum john pritchard, 235 rutterkin, 10 s sabbath, 179 safe-deliverance, 131, 169 safe-on-high, 121, 174, 194, 200 salt, 211 sampson, 35 samuel, 205 sancho, 130 sander, 15 sandercock, 15 sapphira, 73 sara, 35, 45, 66 sarah, 51, 205 saturday, 180 sea-born, 208 sea-mercy, 208 search-the-scriptures, 200, 210 search-truth, 200 see-truth, 200 sehon, 74 selah, 57, 178 senchia, 130 sense, 129, 130 seraphim, 170 seth, 69, 102 seuce, 129 shadrach, 53, 63 shadrack, 57 shallum, 53, 56 shelah, 53 shorter, 197 sib, 92, 105, 106 sibb, 106 sibby, 106 sibilla, 24 sibot, 24 sibyl, 105 sidney, 207 silcock, 16 silence, 11, 145, 147, 200 silkin, 11 sill, 11, 111, 145, 146 sim, 6, 33, 82 simcock, 14, 15 simkin, 11 simon, 2, 3, 36, 43, 45, 92, 111 simpkinson, 13 sincere, 199 sin-denie, 122 sin-deny, 162 sir isaac, 197, 227 sir robert, 197, 227 sirs, 54 sis, 92, 93, 105 sissot, 22, 81 something, 211 sophia, 92, 144, 221 sorry-for-sin, 122, 153 sou'wester, 207 squire, 196 standfast, 199, 209 stand-fast-on-high, 174 stedfast, 121 stepkin, 10 sterling, 211 steward, 230 subpena, 137 sudden, 212 supply, 209 susan, 48, 49, 106, 129 susanna, 35 susey, 129 sybil, 11, 145 sydney, 207, 231, 232, 233 syssot, 22 t tabitha, 47, 119 tace, 146, 147 tacey, 147 talitha-cumi, 57 talkative, 200 tamar, 71, 72, 75, 76 tamaris, 47 tamsin, 109 tamson, 108 tamworth, 230 tankerville, 230 tebbutt, 26 tellno, 54 temperance, 129, 142, 143, 144, 145, 204, 209 tetsy, 115 tetty, 115 thank, 109 thankful, 123, 171, 172, 173, 200 thanks, 171, 172 theobald, 25, 36, 43 theobalda, 43 theophania, 97 theophilus, 69, 126 tholy, 5 thomas, 2, 3, 26, 34, 36, 75, 108, 203, 215 thomas barkin, 233 thomasena, 109 thomaset, 26 thomas fulton, 235 thomas hill joseph napoleon horatio bonaparte swindlehurst nelson, 222 thomasin, 109 thomasine, 108, 110 thomas maria, 215 thomas posthumus, 215, 219 thomazin, 109 thomesin, 109 thurstan, 102 thurston, 50 tib, 6, 25, 43, 104, 106 tibbe, 25, 26 tibbett, 25 tibbin, 19 tibbitt, 25 tibet, 25, 33, 82 tibbot, 25 tibot, 25, 43 tiffanie, 97 tiffany, 36, 97 tiffeny, 97 tillett, 21 tillot, 21 tillotson, 21 tim, 6 timothy, 36 tipkin, 11 tippin, 19 tipping, 19 tippitt, 25 tobel, 40 toll, 29 tollett, 20 tollitt, 29 tolly, 5, 29 tom, 8, 34, 82, 86, 87, 90, 92, 109, 111, 122 tomasin, 109 tomkin, 11, 34 tonkin, 10 trial, 187 tribulation, 120, 147, 185, 186 trinity, 178 true-heart, 200 truth, 142, 144, 202 tryphena, 48, 57 tryphosa, 48, 57 tufton, 231 tunstall, 231 tyffanie, 97 tyllot, 21 typhenie, 97 u unfeigned, 172 unity, 178 upright, 200 urias, 102 ursula, 43, 93 v vashni, 53 venus, 70, 71, 75, 76 victory, 149 virginia, 208 virtue, 148 vitalis, 132, 133 w walter, 3 warin, 26 warinot, 26 washington, 232 wat, 82, 85, 90 watchful, 199 watkin, 9, 11, 77, 81 watkins, 13 watt, 6 weakly, 175 wealthy, 177, 209, 210 welcome, 209 what-god-will, 135 wilcock, 8, 16, 34, 77 wilkin, 8, 9, 11, 34 will, 6, 86, 88, 111 willan, 34 william, 3, 7, 26, 34, 44, 110, 112, 184, 195, 203 william henry, 220 willin, 34 willing, 34 willot, 8 wilmot, 8, 26, 34, 80 windebank, 230 woodrove, 231 wrath, 155 wrestling, 203 wyatt, 26, 80 wyon, 26 y young allen, 197 young john, 197, 227 z zabulon, 85 zachary, 46, 69, 88 zanchy, 130 zaphnaphpaaneah, 58 zaphnaphpaaneah isaiah obededom nicodemus francis edward, 222 zeal-for-god, 200 zeal-of-the-land, 88, 120, 187, 188 zebulon, 69 zephaniah, 52, 87 zerrubabel, 40, 41, 119, 120 zillah, 53 zipporah, 66, 86 _printed by william clowes and sons, limited, london and beccles._ footnotes: [1] this is easily proved. in the wardrobe accounts for edward iv., 1480, occur the following items:- "john poyntmaker, for pointing of xl. dozen points of silk pointed with agelettes of laton. "john carter, for cariage away of a grete loode of robeux that was left in the strete. "to a laborer called rychard gardyner working in the gardyne. "to alice shapster for making and washing of xxiiii. sherts, and xxiiii. stomachers." shapster is a feminine form of shapper or shaper--one who shaped or cut out cloths for garments. all these several individuals, having no particular surname, took or received one from the occupation they temporarily followed.--"privy purse expenses, eliz. of york," p. 122. [2] any number of such instances might be recorded. mr. w. c. leighton, in _notes and queries_, february 23, 1861, notices a deed dated 1347, wherein two john de leightons, brothers, occur. mr. waters, in his interesting pamphlet, "parish registers" (p. 30), says that protector somerset had three sons christened edward, born respectively 1529, 1539, and 1548. all were _living_ at the same time. he adds that john leland, the antiquary, had a brother john, and that john white, bishop of winchester 1556-1560, was brother to sir john white, knight, lord mayor in 1563. [3] "i also give to the said robert ... that land which hobbekin de bothum held of me."--ext. deed of sir robert de stokeport, knight, 1189-1199: earwaker's "east cheshire," p. 334. [4] i have seen stepkin as a surname but once. lieutenant charles stepkin served under the duke of northumberland, in 1640.--peacock's "army list of roundheads and cavaliers," p. 78. [5] _adekyn_ was the simple and only title of the harper to prince edward in 1306, who attended the _cour plenière_ held by king edward at the feast of whitsuntide at westminster.--chappell, "popular music of ye olden time," p. 29. [6] sill was the nick form of sybil and silas till the seventeenth century, when the puritan silence seized it. i have only seen one instance of the surname, "john silkin" being set down as dwelling in tattenhall, cheshire, in 1531 (earwaker's "east cheshire," p. 56). [7] nevertheless the surname did exist in yorkshire in richard ii.'s reign: "willelmus malkynson, and dionisia uxor ejus, iiii{d}."--w. d. s. [8] i need not quote, in proof of the popularity of _kin_, our surnames of simpkinson, hopkins, dickens, dickenson, watkins, hawkins, jenkinson, atkinson, and the rest. i merely mention that the patronymics ending in _kins_ got abbreviated into _kiss_, and _kes_, and _ks_. hence the origin of our perkes, purkiss, hawkes, and hawks, dawks, jenks, juckes, and jukes (judkins). [9] in this class we must assuredly place figgins. in the hundred rolls appears "ralph, son of fulchon." here, of course, is the diminutive of the once common fulke. fick and figg were the nick forms: "1 henry viii. to fygge the taborer, 6{d}."--churchwarden's books of kingston-on-thames, brand's "pop. ant.," i. 147. the london directory has all the forms and corruptions as surnames, including fick, ficken, figg, figgs, figgess, and figgins. [10] guion was not half so popular in england as guiot. there are fifty-five wyatts to three wyons in the london directory (1870). if spenser had written of guyon two centuries earlier, this might have been altered. guy fawkes ruined guy. he can never be so popular again. [11] cornwall would naturally be last to be touched by the reformation. hence these old forms were still used to the close of elizabeth's reign, as for instance: "1576, march 24. baptized ibbett, d. of kateryne collys, bastard. "1576, july 30. baptized isott, d. of richard moyle."--st. columb major. [12] this connection of scripture name with present circumstance ran out its full period. in the diary of samuel jeake, a well-known puritan of rye, occurs this reference to his son, born august 13, 1688: "at 49 minutes past 11 p.m. exactly (allowing 10' that the sun sets at rye before he comes to the level of the horizon, for the watch was set by the sun-setting), my wife was safely delivered of a son, whom i named manasseh, hoping that god had now made me _forget_ all my toils."--"history of town and port of rye," p. 576. manasseh = forgetfulness. a bishop may be instanced. aylmer, who succeeded sandys in the see of london, was for many years a favourer of puritanism, and had been one of the exiles. his sixth son was _tobel_ (_i.e._ god is good), of writtle, in essex. archbishop whitgift was his godfather, and the reason for his singular appellation was his mother's being overturned in a coach without injury when she was pregnant (cooper's "ath. cant." ii. 172). again: "at dr. whitaker's death, his wife is described as being 'partui vicina,' and a week afterwards her child was christened by the name of _jabez_, doubtless for the scriptural reason 'because, she said, i bare him with sorrow.'"--cooper's "ath. cant." ii. 197. [13] esther's other name of hadassah had a share of favour. so late as william and mary's reign we find the name in use: "1691, may 24. christened hadasa, daughter of arthur richardson. "1693, sep. 4. christened john, son of nicholas and hadassah davis."--st. dionis backchurch. [14] in the lancashire "church surveys," 1649-1655, being the first volume of the lancashire and cheshire record society's publications, edited by colonel fishwick, occur thurston brown, thurston brere, thurston brich, on one single page of the index. [15] to tell a lie is to tell a _lee_ in lancashire. [16] several names seem to have been taken directly from the hebrew tongue. "amalasioutha" occurs as a baptismal name in the will of a man named corbye, 1594 (rochester wills); barijirehah in that of j. allen, 1651, and michalaliel among the pilgrim fathers (hotten). [17] colonel cunningham, in his annotations of the "alchemist," says, speaking of the new englanders bearing the puritan prejudices with them: "so deeply was it rooted, that in the rebellion of the colonies a member of that state seriously proposed to congress the putting down of the english language by law, and decreeing the universal adoption of the hebrew in its stead."--vol. ii. p. 33, jonson's works. [18] the following entry is a curiosity: "1756, may 24. buried love venus rivers."--st. peter, cornhill. [19] even nathaniel may have been a pre-reformation name, for grumio says, "call forth nathaniel, joseph, nicholas, philip, walter, sugarsop, and the rest; let their heads be sleekly combed" ("taming of the shrew," act iv. sc. 1.), where he is manifestly using the old names. [20] zachary was the then form of zachariah, as jeremy of jeremiah. neither is a nickname. [21] the story of cain and abel would be popularized in the "mysteries." abelot was a favourite early pet form (_vide_ "english surnames," index; also p. 82). [22] "jan, 1537. item: payed to blaze for brawdering a payre of sleves for my lady's grace, xx{s}."--"privy purse expenses, princess mary." [23] philip is found just as frequently for girls as boys: "1588, march 15. baptized phillip, daughter of john younge. "1587, feb. 7. baptized phillip, daughter of james laurence."--st. columb major. [24] in the oxford edition, 1859, is a foot-note: "appoline was the usual name in england, as appoline in france, for apollonia, a martyr at alexandria, who, among other tortures, had all her teeth beaten out." [25] mr. beesley, in his "history of banbury" (p. 456), curiously enough speaks of this _epiphany_ as a puritan example. i need not say that a banbury zealot would have as soon gone to the block as impose such a title on his child. [26] gawain, gawen, or gavin lingered till last century in cumberland and the furrness district. the surname of gunson in the same parts shows that "gun" was a popular form. hence, in the hundred rolls, matilda fil. gunne or eustace gunnson. the london directory forms are gowan, gowen, and gowing: "1593, nov. 7. buried sarra bone, wife of gawen bone."--st. dionis backchurch. [27] a good instance of the position in society of jane and joan is seen in rowley's "a woman never vexed," where, in the _dramatis personæ_, _jane_ is daughter to the london alderman, and _joan_ servant-wench to the widow. the play was written about 1630. [28] there seems to have been some difficulty in forming the feminines of charles, all of which are modern. charlotte was known in england before the queen of george iii. made it popular, through the brave charlet la trémouille, lady derby; but it was rarely used: "1670, oct. 26. sir sam{l}. morland to carola harsnet."--westminster abbey. "1703. charlotte eliza, d. of mr. john harmand, a french minister."--hammersmith. "9 will. iii. june 29. caroletta hasting, defendant."--decree rolls, mss. record office. carolina, englished into caroline, became for a while the favourite, but charlotte ran away with the honours after the beloved princess of that name died. [29] bethia still lingers in certain families, but its origin has manifestly been forgotten. in _notes and queries_, february 23, 1861, mr. w. a. leighton deems the name an incorrect version of the scriptural bithiah (1 chron. iv. 18); while "g.," writing march 9, 1861, evidently agrees with this conclusion, for after saying that his aunt, a sister, and two cousins bear it, he adds, "they spell it bethia and bathia, instead of bithiah, which is the accurate form"! miss yonge also is at fault: "the old name of bethia, to be found in various english families, probably came from an ancestral beth on either welsh, scots, or irish sides." she makes it keltic. the latest instance of bethia i have seen is the following, on a mural tablet in kirkthorpe church, york:- "bethia atkins, ob. ap. 16th, 1851, aged 74." [30] "but the ridicule which falls on this mode of naming children belongs not to these times only, for the practice was in use long before."--harris, "life of oliver cromwell," p. 342. [31] this child was buried a few days later. from the name given the father seems to have expected the event. [32] from 1585 to 1600, that is, in fifteen years, warbleton register records more than a hundred examples of eccentric puritanism. [33] this name crept into yorkshire after accepted frewen became archbishop. "thornton church is a little episcopal chapel-of-ease, rich in nonconformist monuments, as of accepted lister, and his friend dr. hale."--mrs. gaskell's "charlotte brontë," p. 37. [34] faith-my-joy was buried june 12, 1602. while the name was puritan in the sense that it would never have been given but for the zealots, it was merely a translation of the purefoy motto, "pure foi ma joi." antony turned it into a spiritual allusion. [35] "on jan. 28, 17 james i., william foster ... together with sir henry burton, susan mowne, and james bynde, and sanctia or sence his wife, joined in conveying to robert raunce and edward thurland ... a house and land in carshalton on trust to sell."--"bray's surrey," ii. 513. [36] erasmus became a popular baptismal name, and still exists: "1541, jan. 3. baptized erasmus, sonne of john lynsey."--st. peter, cornhill. "1593, sep. 16. baptized erasmus, sonne of john record, merchaunt tailor."--ditto. "1611, july 18. buried erasmus finche, captaine, of dover castle."--cant. cath. [37] "april 6, 1879, at st. peter's thanet, entered into rest, mary given clarke, aged 71 years."--_church times_, april 10, 1879. [38] the following is curious, although it does not properly belong to this class: "1629, july 11. baptized subpena, a man childe found at the subpena office in chancery lane."--st. dunstan. [39] _melior_ was a favourite:- "1675, april 15. baptized melior, d. of thomas and melior richardson."--westminster abbey. "1664-5, feb. 22. william skutt seeks renewal of a wine licence, which he holds in behalf of his mother-in-law, melior allen, of sarum, at £10 a year."--"c. s. p. dom." "1552, july 11. baptized mellior, d. of john james."--st. columb major. [40] "1661, sep. 6. baptized faith dionis, charity dionis, grace dionis, three foundlings."--st. dionis, backchurch. the _manchester evening mail_, march 22, 1878, says, "at stanton, near ipswich, three girls, having been born at one birth, were baptized faith, hope, and charity." [41] constance had been an old english favourite, its nick and pet forms being cust, or custance, or cussot (_vide_ "english surnames," p. 67, 2nd edition). the puritan dropped these, but adopted "constant" and "constancy." the more worldly, in the mean time, curtailed it to "con." [42] sophia did not come into england for a century after this. but, while speaking of greek names, the most popular was philadelphia: "1639, may 3. buried the lady philadelphia carr."--hillingdon, middlesex. "1720, aug. 6. married william adams and philadelphia saffery."--cant. cath. "1776, jan. 5. buried philadelphia, wife of john read."--blockley, glouc. whether penn styled the city he founded after the church mentioned in the apocalypse, or after a friend or kinswoman, or because, interpreted, it was a quaker sentiment, i cannot say. but philadelphia, in james i.'s reign, had become such a favourite that i have before me over a hundred instances, after no very careful research. none was needed; it appears in every register, and lingered on into the present century. [43] "1658. mr. charles beswicke, minister of the parish ch. of stockport, and sylance symonds, d. of mr. robert symonds, of daubever, co. derby, published march 28, april 4 and 11, 1658."--banns, parish church, stockport. this silence was either mother or grandmother to silence thyer, but i am not sure which is the relationship. if grandmother, then there must have been three generations of "silences." [44] "i myself have known some persons in london, and other parts of this kingdom, who have been christened by the names of faith, hope, charity, mercy, grace, obedience, endure, rejoice, etc."--brome's "travels in england," p. 279. [45] repentance lingered longer than i thought. in the churchyard of mappowder, dorset, is a tombstone to the memory of "repentance, wife of," etc. she died within the last twenty years. there is no doubt that these names found their latest home in devon and dorset. the names in mr. blackmore's novels corroborate this. [46] this is another case of a puritan name that got into high society. accepted frewen died an archbishop; humble ward became first baron ward. his daughter theodosia married sir thomas brereton, bart. [47] "faithful teate was minister at sudbury, suffolk, at the time richard sibbes, who was born close by, was growing up."--sibbes' works, 1. xxvi. nichol, 1862. [48] antony à wood says robert abbott, minister at cranbrook, kent, published a quarto sermon in 1626, entitled "be-thankful london and her sisters." when we remember that warbleton in 1626 had at least a dozen be-thankfuls among its inhabitants, and that cranbrook was within walking distance, we see where the title of this discourse was got. [49] live-well chapman was a fifth monarchy man. there is still extant a pamphlet headed "a declaration of several of the churches of christ, and godly people, in and about the city of london, concerning the kingly interest of christ, and the present sufferings of his cause, and saints in england. printed for live-well chapman, 1654." [50] these two were twins: "1589, oct. 12. baptized fre-gyft and fear-not, ye children of john lulham."--warbleton. [51] this, no doubt, will be a relative of the well-known puritan, comfort starr, born in the adjacent hamlet of ashford. [52] a tablet in northiam church says- "in memory of thankfull frewen, esq., patron of, and a generous benefactor to, this church: who was many years purse-bearer and afterwards secretary to lord keeper coventry, in the reign of charles the first." a flat stone in the chancel commemorates the second thankful: "hic situs est vir reverendus thankfull frewen hujus ecclesiæ per quinquaginta sex annos rector sanctissimus & doctissimus ... obiit 2{do} septembris, 1749, anno ætatis 81{mo}." [53] we have already seen that stephen vynall had a daughter baptized no-merit at warbleton, september 28, 1589. heley's influence followed him to isfield, as this entry proves. [54] "1723.--welthiana bryan."--nicholl's "coll. top. et gen.," iii. 250. [55] pleasant lasted for some time: "1757, jan. 11. married thomas dunn and pleasant dadd."--cant. cath. [56] a dozen freemans may be seen within the limits of half that number of pages in the finchley registers. here is one: "1603, feb. 26. baptized freeman, filius freeman page." [57] that is, he held him crosswise in his arms. [58] "and here was 'bartholomew fayre' acted to-day, which had not been these forty years, it being so satyricall against puritanism, they durst not till now."--pepys, sept. 7, 1661. [59] that some changed their names for titles of more godly import need not be doubted. william jenkin says, "i deny not, but in some cases it may be lawfull to change our names, or forbear to mention them, either by tongue or pen: but then we should not be put upon such straits by the badnesse of our actions (as the most are) which we are ashamed to own, _but by the consideration of god's glory_, or _the churches good_, or our own necessary preservation in time of persecution."--"exposition of jude," 1652, p. 7. [60] a child was baptized, january 10, 1880, in the parish church of stone, near dartford, by the name of sou'wester. he was named after an uncle who was born at sea in a south-westerly gale, who received the same name (_notes and queries_, february 7, 1880). [61] we have already recorded hate-evil as existing in the banbury church register. [62] the practice of hyphening names, as a condition of accepting property, etc., is of recent origin. by this means not a double baptismal, but a double patronymic, name is formed. but though manifestly increasing, the number of such double surnames is not yet a large one. [63] "at faversham a tradesman in 1847 had a son baptized church-reform, and wished for another, to style him no-tithes, but wished in vain."--p. s. in _notes and queries_, february 3, 1866. [64] sometimes, however, one was deemed enough, as, for instance, "charitye, daughter of the lord knows who!" this is from youlgreave, derbyshire, but the correspondent of _notes and queries_ does not give the date. transcriber's notes: passages in italics are indicated by _italics_. superscripted characters are indicated by {superscript}. file was produced from images generously made available by the kentuckiana digital library) [illustration: thomas e. pickett, m. d., ll. d. member of the filson club] filson club publication no. 22 the quest for a lost race presenting the theory of paul b. du chaillu an eminent ethnologist and explorer, that the english-speaking people of to-day are descended from the scandinavians rather than the teutons--from the normans rather than the germans by thomas e. pickett, m.d., ll.d. member of the filson club read before the club october 1, 1906 illustrated [illustration: acorn] louisville, kentucky john p. morton & company printers to the filson club 1907 copyright, 1907 by the filson club all rights reserved filson club publications number twenty-two the quest for a lost race [illustration: tree branch] _alphabetical series of norse, norman, and anglo-norman, or non-saxon, surnames_ by thomas e. pickett, m. d., ll. d. member of the filson club preface the native kentuckian has a deep and abiding affection for the "old commonwealth" which gave him birth. it is as passionate a sentiment, too--and some might add, as irrational--as the love of a frenchman for his native france. but it is an innocent idolatry in both, and both are entitled to the indulgent consideration of alien critics whose racial instincts are less susceptible and whose emotional nature is under better control. here and there, a captious martinet who has been wrestling, mayhap, with a refractory recruit from kentucky, will tell you that the average kentuckian is scarcely more "educable" than his own horse; that he is stubborn, irascible, and balky; far from "bridle-wise," and visibly impatient under disciplinary restraint. in their best military form kentuckians have been said to lack "conduct" and "steadiness"--even the men that touched shoulders in the charge at king's mountain and those, too, that broke the solid saxon line at the battle of the thames. whether this be true or not--in whole or in part--we do not now stop to enquire. suffice it to say that the kentuckian has been a participant in many wars, and has given a good account of himself in all. in ordinary circumstances, too, he is invincibly loyal to his native state; and when it happened that, in the spring of 1906, there came to kentuckians in exile, an order or command from the hospitable governor of kentucky to return at once to the state, they responded with the alacrity of distant retainers to a signal from the hereditary chieftain of the clan. "now," said they, "the lid will be put on and the latch-string left out." when the reflux current set in it was simply prodigious--quite as formidable to the unaccustomed eye as the fieldward rushing of a host; and it was in the immediate presence of that portentous ethnic phenomenon that the paper upon the "lost race" was first published;--appearing in a local journal of ability and repute, and serving in some measure as a contribution to the entertainment of the guests that were now crowding every avenue of approach. it is not strange that the generous kentuckians, then only upon hospitable thoughts intent, should imagine for one happy _quart d'heure_ that the "lost race" of the morning paper was already knocking at their doors. but they little imagined--these good kentuckians--that their hospitable suspicion had really a basis of historic truth. the handsome book now launched from the louisville press is merely that ephemeral contribution to a morning paper,[1] presented in a revised and expanded form, with such illustrations as could come only from the liberal disposition and cultivated taste of colonel r. t. durrett, the president of the filson club. the title which the writer has given the book is recommended, in part, by the example of a great writer of romance, who held that the _name_ of the book should give no indication of the _nature of the tale_. if the indulgent reader should be unconvinced by the "argument" that is implied in almost every paragraph, it is hoped that he will at least derive some entertainment from the copious flow of reminiscential and discursive talk. the book is addressed chiefly to those persons who may have the patience to read it and the intelligence to perceive that nothing it contains is written with a too serious intent. [1] the _morning ledger_ (maysville, kentucky), june 20, 1906. the writer makes grateful acknowledgments to the many friends who have encouraged him with approval and advice in the preparation of the work. for the correction of his errors and the continuance of his labors he looks with confident expectation to the scholars of the state. introduction while the home-coming kentuckians were enjoying their meeting, in louisville, in the month of june, 1906, doctor thomas e. pickett published a newspaper article which he had written for the home-coming week, the object of which was to present the theory of paul b. du chaillu as to the descent of the english-speaking people from the scandinavians instead of the teutons; and to show that the descendants of these scandinavians were still existing in different countries, and especially in kentucky. the author sent me a copy of his article, and after reading it i deemed it an ethnological paper worthy of a more certain and enduring preservation than a daily newspaper could promise, and concluded that it would be suitable for one of the publications of the filson club. i wrote to the author about it, and suggested that if he could enlarge it enough to make one of the annual publications of the club, of the usual number of pages, and have it ready in time, it might be issued for the club publication of 1907. the author did as i suggested, and the book to which this is intended as an introduction is number twentytwo of the filson club publications, entitled "the quest for a lost race," by thomas e. pickett, m. d., ll. d., member of the filson club. many persons of the english-speaking race of to-day believe that the english originated in england. the race doubtless was formed there, but it came of different peoples, principally foreign, who only consolidated upon english soil. half a dozen or more alien races combined with one native to make the english as we now know them, and many years of contention and change were required to weld the discordant elements into a homogeneous whole. the original inhabitants of england, found there by julius cæsar fifty-five years before the christian era and then first made known to history, were celts, who were a part of the great aryan branch of the caucasian race. their numbers have been estimated at 760,000, and they were divided into thirty-eight different tribes with a chief or sovereign for each tribe. they were neither barbarians nor savages in the strict sense of these terms. they were civilized enough to make clothes of the skins of the wild animals they killed for food; to work in metals, to make money of copper and weapons of iron, to have a form of government, to build cabins in which to live, to cultivate the soil for food, and to construct war chariots with long scythes at the sides to mow down the enemy as trained horses whirled the chariots through their ranks. they had military organizations, with large armies commanded by such generals as cassivelaunus, cunobelin, galgacus, vortigern, and caractacus, and once one of their queens named boadicea led 230,000 soldiers against the romans. the bravery with which caractacus commanded his troops, and the eloquence with which he defended himself and his country before the emperor claudius when taken before him in irons to grace a roman triumph, compelled that prejudiced sovereign to order the prisoner's chains thrown off and him and his family to be set at liberty. there were enough brave men and true like caractacus among these celts, whose country was being invaded and desolated, to have secured to the race a better fate than befell them. after being slaughtered and driven into exile into brittany and the mountains of wales by roman, saxon, and dane for eight hundred years, the few of them that were left alive were not well enough remembered even to have their name attached to their own country. the celt was entirely ignored and a name combined of those of two of the conquerors given to their country. who will now say that anglo-saxon is a more appropriate name for historic england than the original albion, or britannia, or norman-french, or celt? anglo-saxon, compounded of anglen and saxon, the names of two tribes of low dutch teutons, can but suggest the piracy, the robbery, the murder and the treachery with which these tribes dealt with the celts; while norman-french reminds us of the courage, the endurance, and the refinement which were infused into the english by the norman conquest. celt is a name which ought to have been respected for its antiquity of many centuries since it left its ancient bactria and found its way to england without a known stain upon its national escutcheon. these celts were once a mighty people occupying france, spain, and other countries besides england, but their descendants are now scattered among other nations, without a country or a name of their own. there may be doubts whether the angles, the jutes, the saxons, and the danes--all of whom shared in partial conquests of england and in the establishment of the english race--were scandinavians or teutons, normans or germans. they all belonged to the great aryan branch of the caucasian race, and whatever differences or similarities originally existed between them must have changed in the thousands of years since they emigrated from their first home. there can be no doubt, however, about the nationality of william the conqueror. he was scandinavian by descent from a long line of noble scandinavian ancestors. the home of his ancestors was in norway, far to the north of the home of the teutons in germany. in this bleak land of arctic cold and sterility, on the western coast of norway, where innumerable islands form a kind of sea-wall along the shore, his ancestor, rognvald, who was a great earl holding close relations with king harold of norway, had his home and his landlocked harbor, in which ships were built for the vikings who sailed from that port to the shores of all countries which they could conquer or plunder. here, his son gongu hrolf, better known as rollo or rolf, was born and received his training as a viking. on his return from one of his viking raids to the east he committed some depredations at home, for which king harold banished him. he then fitted out a ship and manned it with a crew of his own choice and sailed for the british channel islands. when he reached the river seine he went up it as far as paris, and, according to the fashion of the times, laid waste the country as he went. king charles of france offered to buy him off by conveying to him the country since known as normandy and giving him his daughter in marriage, on condition that he would become a christian and commit no more depredations in the king's domain. rollo accepted the king's offer and at once ceased to be a viking, and began to build up, enlarge and strengthen the domain which had been given him with the title of duke. in the course of time his dukedom of normandy, with the start rollo had given it and its continuance under his successors, became one of the most powerful and enlightened countries of the period. at the death of rollo his dukedom was inherited by his son, william, and after passing through four generations of his descendants who were dukes of normandy it descended to a second william, known as the conqueror. duke william, therefore, could trace his scandinavian descent through his paternal ancestors back to rognvald, the great earl of norway, and even further back through the earls eystein glumra, ivar uppland, and possibly other noblemen of hard names to write or pronounce or remember. it is possible that some of his ancestors were with lief the scandinavian when he made his discovery of america, nearly five hundred years before the discovery of columbus. in 1066, duke william took advantage of a promise, solemnized by an oath, which harold had made before he was king of england, to assist him to the throne of england, but which he had not kept. hence william invaded england with a great army, and at the battle of hastings slew king harold and gained a complete victory over his forces. duke william was soon after crowned king of england, and at once began that wise policy which in a few years enabled him to lay firmly the foundation of the great english nation. his conquest, though not complete at first, was more so than had been that of the romans, or the angles and jutes, or the saxons or the danes. at the time of the conquest of william there were hostile celts, romans, angles, jutes, and danes in every part of his kingdom. it was not his policy to destroy any more of them than he deemed necessary, but to make as many of them citizens loyal to him as possible; hence his numerous army and the still more numerous hosts that were constantly coming from normandy to england in time became reconciled to the people and the people to them, until all were consolidated into one homogeneous nation. english history may be said to have begun with the conquest of william, for all previous history in the island was but little more than the record of kings and nobles and pretenders contending against kings, nobles, and pretenders, and sections and factions and individuals seeking their own aggrandizement. the conquest of william began with the idea of all england under one sovereign, and he and his successors clung to this view until it was accomplished. england never went backward from william's conquest as it did from others, but kept right on in the course of empire until it became one of the greatest countries in the world, and this conquest was made by scandinavians, who, if they did not make scandinavians of the conquered, so scandinavianized them that it would be difficult to distinguish them from scandinavians. the evolution of the english race from so many discordant national elements reminds one of the act of the witches of macbeth, casting into the boiling cauldron so many strange things to draw from the dark future a fact so important as the fate of a king. who would have thought that from the mingling of the celts and the romans and the angles and the jutes and the saxons and the danes and the normans and the french in the great national cauldron that such a race as the english would be evolved? but it is not certain that such a race would have been produced if william the scandinavian and his french had been left out. he came at a time when a revolution was needed in manners and language as well as in politics, and imparted that refinement which the french had gotten from the romans and other nations. the french language so imparted soon began to infuse its softening influence into the jargon of the conglomeration of tongues in vogue, and the french manners to refine the clownish habits which had come down from original celt, saxon, and dane. the saxons and danes had inhabited england for the four hundred years which followed the same period occupied by the romans, without materially changing the manners or the language of the english, but it was not as long as either of these periods after the conquest before the englishman acted and spoke like a gentleman and belonged to a country which commanded the respect as well as fear of all other nations. the scandinavian's fondness for war soon infused itself into the english and made them invincible upon both land and sea, and now with a land which so envelopes the earth that they boast the sun always shines on some part of it, they may look back some hundreds of years to the origin of their greatness and find no one thing which contributed more to the glory of england than the norman-french conquest. but the reader had better learn the views of paul b. du chaillu, an accomplished ethnologist and explorer, about the descent of the english from the scandinavians instead of the teutons as set forth in doctor pickett's book than from me in an introduction to it. doctor pickett explains the du chaillu theory, and gives examples of similar tastes and habits between english and scandinavians which are striking. he also gives a long list of names borne by scandinavians in england and normandy eight hundred years ago which are the same as names borne by kentuckians to-day. in this introduction, i have rather confined myself to such historic matters as are involved, without alluding to the ethnological facts so well presented in the text by the author. the work is beautifully and copiously illustrated with halftone likenesses of the author and du chaillu and by a number of distinguished kentuckians of scandinavian descent. there was both good taste and skill in placing among the illustrations the likenesses of theodore o'hara, john t. pickett, thomas t. hawkins, and william l. crittenden, who joined the filibustering expeditions of lopez to cuba. these distinguished citizens, like the scandinavian vikings whom they imitated, lost nothing of their character by raiding upon a neighbor's lands, and are among the best examples of the theory of the descent of the english-speaking people from scandinavians rather than teutons. to be an admirer of this work it is not necessary to be a believer in the theory of du chaillu, that the english are descended from scandinavians instead of teutons. the truth is, all the northern nations connected with england were kinsmen descended from the same stock--celts, romans, angles, jutes, saxons, and danes all being of the aryan branch of the great caucasian race. they are so much alike in some particulars that fixed opinions about differences or likenesses between them are more or less untenable. there is one thing, however, in the book about which there can be no two opinions, and that is the value and importance of the list of names copied from records eight hundred years old, in england and normandy. as many of them are the same as names now borne by living families in kentucky, they can hardly fail to be of help to those in search of family genealogy. doctor pickett has presented in this work the theory of du chaillu in charming words and with excellent taste, as the theory of du chaillu and not as his own, and such has been my effort with regard to myself in this introduction. it is simply the resumption of a "quest." r. t. durrett, _president of the filson club_. illustrations opposite page thomas e. pickett, m. d., ll. d. _frontispiece_ paul b. du chaillu 4 king william the conqueror 8 "the map that tells the story" 12 george rogers clark 16 daniel boone 24 isaac shelby 32 joseph hamilton daveiss 36 henry clay 40 joseph desha 48 abraham lincoln (bas relief) 56 "our beautiful scandinavian" 64 jefferson davis 72 john c. breckinridge 80 william preston 88 basil w. duke 96 the marshall home at "buck pond" 104 richard m. johnson 112 j. stoddard johnston 120 northumbria 128 theodore o'hara 136 john t. pickett 144 thomas t. hawkins 152 william l. crittenden 160 william nelson 168 humphrey marshall 176 john j. crittenden 184 henry watterson 192 bennett h. young 200 reuben t. durrett 208 contents i page the "scandinavian explorer," du chaillu, visits kentucky--a cordial reception 1 ii british association meeting at newcastle, 1889--a sensational paper--industrial activity of modern northumbria--a notable group of savants 10 iii revelations of ancient records bearing upon the origin of the english race 20 iv characteristic traits of the early normans--transmission of racial qualities--mid-century kentuckians 27 v doctor craik's views--english more scandinavian than german--george p. marsh--editorial comment on the "sensational paper" 34 vi scandinavians and kentuckians--characteristic traits in common--their passion for the "horse"--doncaster races--"cabullus" in normandy--crusading "cavaliers"--the "man-on-horseback"--his "effigies" on english seals--the production of cavaliers--the grasses 42 vii a french savant on english types--weismann's "theory"--"snorro sturleson" quoted by lord lytton--the "homicidal humor" not invented by kentuckians, but possibly inherited--andrew d. white quoted 51 viii john fiske--ethnic differentiation--the hindoo and the kentuckian--aryan brothers--a broad historic "highway" from the baltic sea to the bluegrass--streams of scandinavian migration--"the virginian states"--anglo-norman "lawlessness"--degenerate castes or breeds--"political assassination" as practiced by norman and saxon--"the homicidal humor not an invention of kentucky" (shaler); not invented, but derived--andrew d. white on the american murder record 58 ix peculiar norman traits--craft--profanity--a "swearing" race--historic oaths--kentuckians full of strange oaths 63 x william, the norman; napoleon, the corsican; great administrators--the conditions of english civilization--american statesmen 76 xi early virginian history--researches of doctor alexander brown--kentucky a direct product of elizabethan civilization--the "vikings of the west"--professor barrett wendell's views 83 xii the norman as a colonizer--as a devastator--revival of northumbria by modern industrialism--the power of scandinavian energy in pushing the victories of peace--english unity established on salisbury plain--the scandinavian in literature--shakespeare and his historical plays--psychological contrasts of modern scandinavian races--shakespeare's favorite author--evolution of the "melancholy dane"--advice from a thoughtful frenchman: "let us not disown the fortune and condition of our ancestors" 90 xiii a body of anglo-norman names in kentucky--concurrent testimony of many coinciding facts--the race "lost," but not the names--ethnical transmutations--the normans everywhere at home--disraeli on descent--his theory of transmuted traits--hæckel--the jungle of bohun--berwick and gaston phoebus--"isaac le bon"--bismarck--napoleon--mid-century "claims of race"--kentucky a sovereign commonwealth--shelby and perry 101 xiv the gothic migration--scandinavian pirates--their foot-prints on english soil--normans hotly received by their kindred, the danes--old gothic wars--"the yenghees and the dixees"--westward march of the teuton and the goth--genesis of the scandinavian--cradle of the race--rolf ganger a potential force--reconstruction of the modern world--william of normandy 108 xv stragglers in the gothic migration--jutes, angles, saxons--the two great races; teutons and scandinavians--"mixed races" planted on the southern shores of the north sea 114 xvi authentic lists of old norman names--descendants of illustrious families--the norman capacity for leadership not "lost"--alphabetical series of names (from "the norman people"); english names originally norman--familiar as household words in kentucky--a legal maxim--elements of the english race--preponderance of scandinavian blood--stevenson and disraeli--lord lytton--maltebrun--scandinavian characteristics--physique--social traits--passion for "strong liquor"--hospitality 117 xvii captain shaler quoted--measurements of american soldiers by the mathematician gould--superior physical vigor of the "rebel exiles"--general humphrey marshall--his aide captain guerrant--general william nelson--"the orphan brigade"--hereditary surnames as memorials of race--every step of norman migration noted by the historic eye--montalembert--"monks of the west"--the rude saxon transfigured by the eloquence of the gifted writer--a field for the philologist 123 xviii the alphabetical series of names--anglo-norman surnames--names of obvious scandinavian derivation--the original discussion of the general question--an excerpt from sir walter scott--the "elizabethan" a product of a balanced race--the march of the goth resumed--the virginian hunter--the yankee skipper--a man of oak and bronze 126 xix norman craft--mr. freeman quoted--popular attribution of the quality--its value in mediæval days--its prevalence to-day 131 xx names and notes--kentuckian and norman--characteristics in common--norman traits and saxon names--estimate of the kentuckian from an english source 133 xxi shadows in "arcady"--brief preface to the alphabetical list 136 appendix alphabetical series of norse, norman, and anglo-norman, or non-saxon, surnames 141 the quest for a lost race by thomas e. pickett, m. d. i upon the northern border of mr. james lane allen's "arcady" there rises with picturesque distinctness against a range of green hills the pleasant old kentucky town of maysville, which, unlike the typical town of the south, is neither "sleepy" nor "quaint," but in a notable degree animated, bustling, ambitious, advancing, and up-to-date. it must be confessed, however, that here and there, in certain secluded localities, it is architecturally antique. constructed almost wholly of brick, and planted solidly upon the lower slopes of the wooded hills, the site is indescribably charming, and, looked at from a distant elevation in front or from the elevated plateau of the environing hills, presents a pleasing completeness and finish in the _coup d'oeil_. at one glance the eye takes in the compact little city, set gem-like in the crescentic sweep of the river that flows placidly past the willow-fringed shore and the walled and graded front. the scene is likewise suggestive, since it marks the northern limit of the "phosphatic limestone" formation which assures the permanent productiveness of the overlying soil--a natural fertilizer which by gradual disintegration perpetually renews the soil exhausted by prolonged or injudicious cultivation. the town is of virginian origin. at one time, indeed, it was a virginian town. the rich country to the south of it was peopled chiefly by tobacco planters from "piedmont" virginia, slaveholding virginians of a superior class. in the infancy of this early virginian settlement it was vigilantly guarded by the famous occidental hunters, kenton and boone; the former a commissioner of roads for the primitive virginian county, then ill-cultivated and forest clad: the latter, a leading "trustee" of the embryonic eighteenth century town. as we pass through the streets near the center of the place to-day we note the handsome proportions of a public edifice which has come down to us from the early mid-century days--an imposing "colonial" structure with a lofty, well-proportioned cupola and a nobly columned front. it is that significant symbol of southern civilization--the courthouse. to the artistic and antiquarian eye the building is the glory of the old "virginian" town, since it appeals at once to civic pride and superior critical taste. it was here--in the capacious auditorium of the courthouse, and in the closing quarter of the last century--that a large and enthusiastic gathering of really typical kentuckians, familiar from childhood with tales of wild adventure, greeted with rapturous applause the renowned hunter and explorer, paul du chaillu, a native of paris, france. a common taste for woodcraft had brought the alien elements in touch. the frenchman was a swell hunter of big game, and had come hither to repeat his graphic recital of experiences in the equatorial haunts of that formidable anthropoid--the gorilla. du chaillu's discovery of the gorilla and the obonga dwarfs was so astounding to modern civilization that strenuous efforts were made to discredit it, notably by gray and barth. but later explorations amply vindicated the frenchman's claims. he had a like experience later. the adventurous explorer had come to kentucky in prompt response to an invitation from a local club, a social and literary organization which owed its popularity and success chiefly to the circumstance that the genial members, though sometimes intemperately "social," were never obtrusively "literary." the social feature was particularly pleasing to the accomplished frenchman, who was a man of the world in every sense, and who dropped easily into congenial relations with gentlemen who had an hereditary and highly cultivated taste for _le sport_ in all its phases. take them when or where you might, the spirit of _camaraderie_ was in them strong. they told a good story in racy english and with excellent taste. they had studied with discrimination the composition of a bourbon "cocktail." they had a distinctly connoisseurish appreciation of the flavor, fragrance, and tints of an havana cigar. they had a traditional preference for bourbon in their domestic and social drinking, but they always kept ample supplies of imported wines for their guests. the genial frenchman was very indulgent to the generous tipple of his hosts. he drank their bourbon without apparent distaste; he praised their imported mumm and clicquot. he did better still; he drank the imported champagne with appreciation--a high compliment from such a source. [illustration: paul b. duchaillu.] clearly enough the harmony between the guest and his environment was complete. these courteous and loquacious kentuckians were not only brilliant and audacious _raconteurs_, but with their varied experiences as sportsmen had a variety of marvelous stories to tell. when their stock of pioneer exploits fell short, they would listen with polite interest to their guest's weird stories of the african jungle, and cleverly cap them with reminiscences of a miraculous outing on reelfoot lake or kinniconick. they were themselves experts with the rifle and the long bow, and were loaded to the muzzle with authentic traditions of the rod and gun. the jungle stories were all right, but the african hunter was never allowed to forget that he was in the land of the hunter boone. the very ground upon which they commemoratively wassailed had been consecrated by the footsteps of the great explorer of the west. the beastly "anthropoids" that confronted _him_ were armed with tomahawks and guns. a salient point of difference indeed. the clever and daring frenchman listened with smiling interest to their characteristic spurts of "brag," and was silently remarking, no doubt, its curious affinity to the gasconade of france. he seemed to feel perfectly at home. and who of us that were present can ever forget the impression of that dark, resolute face, the illumining smile, the gleaming teeth, and the kindly, humorous glance of the piercing eye? his experiences at the clubroom only partially prepared him for the peculiar impressiveness of the audience that greeted him at the stately old courthouse. there were the same men, to be sure, handsome, graceful, courteous, smiling, and soft of speech; but the women!--with their lovely faces, their handsome dresses, their enchanting manners, their distinction, ease and charm! the frenchman was never more of a philosopher than when he gazed upon this scene. he told his tale of the jungle simply, but with a vividness that was realistic and startling to a degree. the fascination of the audience was complete. he not only described that strange encounter in the african forest, but he re-enacted the part, a representation which gave a curiously thrilling quality to the tale not appreciable when told in print, admirably as it is told in the author's famous book. when the voice of the speaker ceased, as it did all too soon, the silent, fascinated audience, aroused from its strange african dream, broke into round after round of hearty, appreciative applause. for several moments the lecturer stood in a grave, thoughtful attitude, gazing intently upon the moving throng, not as though idly observing the dispersion of a village gathering, but as some philosophic tourist from another sphere, studying the aspect, the attitude, characteristic manner and physiognomical traits of an alien race. he asked but one question. turning eagerly to the gentleman who accompanied him, he inquired with an expression of intense interest, as his glance fell upon a graceful kentuckienne near the center of the throng--a lovely blonde with exquisite complexion, hair and eyes--"who is our beautiful scandinavian?"[2] the answer seemed to please him, and he walked thoughtfully toward the door, an object of respectful attention from the slow-moving throng, lingering as if it longed to stay. though of small stature, he would have attracted attention anywhere. his figure was compact, lithe, elastic, and perfectly erect, his cranial outline (typically french) denoted intellectual strength and physical vigor, his facial contour was bold, regular, and pleasing--a singularly virile countenance softened and dignified by the discipline of thought. the crowd of which he is now the central figure is composed largely of men wholly different from du chaillu in air, stature, carriage, countenance, complexion, and racial type. yet nature seldom evolves from any source a solider bit of man than this gallant frenchman from the heart of france. [2] our beautiful scandinavian.--it may interest the general public to know that "the beautiful scandinavian" of the french traveler was mrs. elizabeth wall, wife of that popular gentleman, judge garrett s. wall. her maiden name was buckner--elizabeth buckner--a native of kentucky and daughter of a famous southern house. that she was a very beautiful woman, her portrait (taken years after marriage) amply attests; and until her ill-health came, her beauty retained, in almost ideal perfection, its characteristic grace and charm. the beautiful scandinavian, from whose portrait in oil a halftone likeness is presented in this book, now takes her place in history and moves down its interminable lines with an escort that recalls the "bands of gallant gentlemen" attendant upon fair inez when she "went into the west." the distinguished guest took his departure on the following day, not with a cold adieu, but with an airy _au revoir_--as of one who, charmed with his welcome, was meditating an early return. but was he pleased? apparently he _was_, and if not, he had the frenchman's happy art of _seeming to be_. if here simply for observation, he certainly found no degeneracy, but rather, we should say, certain pleasing lines of variation in the occidental evolution of the race. it seems impossible that he should not have had a pleasant impression of his hosts--these genial sons of "arcady," forever piping their minty elixirs with oaten straws, whose drinks even when "straightest" were not stronger than their steady heads--so hospitable to strangers, so chivalrous to women, so courteous to men, so gracious in manner, so happy in speech, so loyal to kin, so proud of their commonwealth, their ancestral traditions, and their indomitable race. they drank naught from the skulls of their enemies, but they were adepts in filling their own. their potations were pottle deep, and the intervals between were not needlessly prolonged. and yet they rose refreshed from their heady cups, ordered their stud a drench, and sighed for work. [illustration: king william the conqueror.] the adventurous frenchman was no glutton in debauch, but in a modest symposium could always hold his own, and doubtless imagined in this festal reunion of bourbon and champagne that he had re-discovered the _nouvelle france_ of the royal days when louis le grand was king.[3] [3] m. paul du chaillu's visit to maysville (which is here described) took place in february, 1876. his arrival was handsomely noticed in the local papers--in the _eagle_, edited by mr. thomas marshall green, the author of "the spanish conspiracy"; the _ledger_, edited by mr. thomas a. davis, who still presides over its columns with all the old-time ability; and the _bulletin_, edited by mr. clarence l. stanton, a son of judge r. h. stanton, and a gallant officer in the confederate navy during the civil war. all these gentlemen were present at the lecture, and the distinguished traveler was introduced to the audience by colonel thomas m. green. the lecture was followed by an entertainment at the limestone club, which was pleasantly noticed by captain stanton in his paper of the following day. the committee of reception and entertainment was composed of major thomas h. mannen, judge garrett s. wall, colonel francis p. owens, and doctor thomas e. pickett (the president of the club). ii in the early autumn of 1889, the writer of this paper had the good fortune to be present at the newcastle meeting of the british association. newcastle-upon-tyne, standing at the very gateway of scotland and looking out from the tyne upon the great north sea, is a famous old city in english history, that lay directly in the path of conquest and migration and was literally cradled in war, alternately rocked by scandinavian or dane, saxon or norman, englishman or scot. to-day it is big, prosperous, and progressive; even in the midst of peace perpetually sounding the note of preparation for war. true to its oldest and best traditions it is staunchly loyal to the crown, proudly proclaiming its fealty on every coast, from the mouths of mighty guns cast in its own cyclopean shops. from the days of the scandinavian sea-rover through centuries of ruthless conflict she has stood out stoutly against the enemies of england, just as to-day her long sea-front of solid wall resists the encroachments of the northern sea. here the shipbuilder is ceaselessly busy, constructing in his immense yards the great modern ship with its heart of fire and frame of steel. in any large yards the whole scheme of construction in all its branches may be seen at a glance, from the laying of the keel to the launching of the ship. the best work in modern engineering can be seen on the tyne; and this is not surprising when we remember that upon the banks of this river the locomotive was born, giving to this aggressive contemporary people a command of the earth as complete as their immemorial mastery of the sea. so enormous is the demand for fuel in the shipyards of the north-east coast that it will take but a few centuries of work in these busy shops to exhaust the supply. the old proverb has lost its point. the most careless or unobservant tourist may see the steam-drawn trains "carrying their coals" to newcastle, _now_, at all hours. nor does the northern farmer sit with idle hands. all industries rest upon him. the farms are small, but the joint product is large. thousands of farm laborers in northumberland have each their "three acres and a cow." the northern cattle-market in newcastle would have filled the highland caterans with delight. the weekly supply of cattle exceeds two thousand; the number of sheep is not less than twenty thousand. this was nearly twenty years ago. what must it be now? but even thus, how it speaks for the varied gifts and exhaustless vigor and vitality of this old northumbrian race! their rage for "river improvement" carries a lesson for men of their blood elsewhere. between 1860 and 1889 the material dredged from the bed of the river tyne amounted to more than _eighty millions_ of tons. "now,"--it was said at the newcastle meeting--"there are more vessels entering and leaving this port _than any other in the world_." among the outgoing vessels at that time was a gallant norwegian barque which bore the name of "longfellow." a few years before--a score, perhaps--the writer had seen upon a famous track in kentucky a racer of great note who bore the same illustrious name--almost a contemporaneous compliment from widely separate branches of the same race. but what more enduring than the singer's own verse?- "once as i told in glee tales of the stormy sea." a fit place of meeting--this old gateway of the north--for a select body of england's brilliant, busy, clear-headed and practical savants, and especially for that marvelously fruitful mid-century "section" which here first received supreme scientific recognition, having been organized at the newcastle meeting by the british association in 1863. [illustration: "the map that tells the story."] though the youngest of the sections, its proceedings are singularly fascinating and the attendance always large. the meeting was held in the reading-room of the free library. upon a long, low platform to the left of the entrance there sat facing the audience, a group, not of "scientists," but of really scientific men, their names as familiar to the english reading world as household words. the central figure of the group, sir william turner of edinburgh, was the chairman of the section--a man of striking personality, who read a paper on weismann and his theories which was listened to with closest attention, the novelty of the doctrines eliciting many expressions of doubt or dissent, though presented by the author of the paper with singular lucidity, fairness, and force. sir william graced his position well, not merely by reason of intellectual gifts, but by virtue of a personal dignity which admirably comported with his commanding presence. he was a large, handsome man, with a robust frame, an erect carriage, and a notably aggressive air. seated near him, and firmly supporting his somewhat heavy presence, were a number of men with world-renowned names--francis galton, famous for his studies in heredity and the publication of an epochal work; sir henry acland, a learned anthropologist and medical scholar--a thinker of deep and varied scientific resource; boyd dawkins, the pioneer "cave hunter" and writer upon prehistoric archæology; john evans, an able, learned, and industrious writer upon archæological themes; doctor bruce, the eminent historian of the roman wall; general pitt rivers, equally famous as soldier and savant, a quiet, dark-faced gentleman of easy, pleasant manners, dressed in the plainest fashion and judiciously expending an income of £30,000 a year. his large benefactions for scientific purposes made him truly a prince of science, gracious, munificent, and wise. the most striking and conspicuous figure in this solid english line was george romanes, then in his prime and in apparently perfect health, tall, erect, dark-haired, with pale, handsome features and scholarly, high-bred air--a most impressive personification of intellectual pride and strength. as he sat in the midst of that animated group, cold, proud, silent but keenly observant, he vividly recalled the figure of the famous kentuckian who once presided over the united states senate, calmly noting the portents of impending war. in both, one easily discerned the same high qualities of intellect, resolution, and reserved force. by the side of the stately romanes there sat the learned and vivacious canon isaac taylor, slender, gray-haired, keen-eyed, alert, humorous, and full of tact--one of those clerical scholars and gentlemen who have done so much for english literature and have been a characteristic charm of english social life--men most admirably depicted by the novelist bulwer in his better moods. canon taylor was the most animated figure in this noble english group. near him sat two foreigners, each in curiously striking contrast with the other; one of these, a tall, ruddy, broad-shouldered blonde, with a strong, lithe, well-knit frame, an eager, alert expression, and a somewhat restless air, was the celebrated scandinavian explorer fridjof nansen, then just twenty-six years of age, but already made world-famous by his recent explorations in the polar seas. at the left of the young scandinavian, and presenting a remarkable contrast to that impressive figure, there sat a somewhat older man of small stature, of compact, vigorous frame, of clear, dark complexion, keen, clear, thoughtful eyes, and features typically french. the reader recognizes the description at once. it is our old friend, du chaillu, who has come to the northern coast of england, and standing in the very pathway of old scandinavian invasions and confronting some of england's best thinkers upon their own ground, has calmly looked out upon the "grim--troubled" sea of england's saxon king and boldly proclaimed his theory of the direct scandinavian origin of the english race. it was the sensational paper of the day, and even the most phlegmatic english scholar was stirred by this defiant bugle-blast from a philosophic french explorer who was not only disturbing the settled convictions of english thinkers, but still worse was running counter to cherished prejudices of the english race. that historic hyphenation of racial appellatives--"anglo-saxon"--was a sacred immemorial conjunction of names representing a fusion of racial elements not to be shaken asunder by a blast upon the ram's horn of a wandering gaul. the assault was not altogether "pickwickian"; but the frenchman was a stout antagonist, and found an incidental confirmation of his theory in the occasional flash of berserker rage which followed his masterly game of parry and thrust. nor was he ill-equipped for his controversial work. from certain antiquities which he had found during his recent explorations in the north he inferred the existence of commercial relations between the northmen of that period and the peoples of the mediterranean sea, rome and greece being at that time in direct communication with these seafaring peoples of the north. the tribes of germania, on the contrary, were "a shipless people," and according to the roman writers were still in an uncivilized state. he said there were settlements in britain by the northmen during the roman occupation; that england was always called by the northmen one of their northern lands; that the language of the north and of england were similar in the early times; that the early northern kings claimed part of england as their own; that the northmen were bold and enterprising navigators, pushing their explorations wherever a ship could survive the perils of the sea. on the contrary, neither the saxons nor the franks were a seafaring people, either at the time of charlemagne or at any earlier period. [illustration: general george rogers clark.] it was this scandinavian element which had infused a spirit of enterprise into the _english race that they had never lost_, and which had made it in all its branches, wherever they had sailed their fleets or pushed their invading columns, the invincible masters of earth and sea. its resistless movement across the american continent, he declared, was the most dramatic spectacle in history. this, in brief, was the frenchman's startling theory; first broached in england on the borders of that rude north sea which the vikings had swept in early days, and upon the banks of the peaceful tyne, where many a scandinavian rover had moored his little barque. the discussion of m. du chaillu's paper took a wide range, all the distinguished ethnologists present--dawkins, taylor, turner, evans, galton, and others--participating in this rattling ethnological debate. du chaillu, who had very much the attitude of a french _suspect_ in a german camp, maintained throughout his gallic _aplomb_, listening with admirable composure and with apparent interest, though his dark skin visibly reddened at times under the critical lash, however courteously applied. canon taylor, who evidently was in full sympathy with du chaillu's startling views, gave a happy turn to the little imbroglio by a cleverly parodied quotation from tennyson's welcome to the sea-king's daughter from over the sea- "for saxon or dane or norman, teuton or celt--or whatever we- saxon or norse--it is nothing to me, we are all of us _one in our welcome of thee_," the closing line being given with a politely sympathetic inclination of the head toward the gentleman from france, and with a gracious smile more expressive than his words--the smile interpreting to his hearers the startling disclaimer: "it is nothing to me." the clever ecclesiast read a very learned paper at the same meeting on a similar theme, and the two gentlemen who sat near him, du chaillu and nansen, were ideal representatives of two of his four ethnological types, the auvergnat type of central france and the long-headed scandinavian of the north. indeed, as a matter for courteous rational discussion the question of "saxon or norse" had the profoundest interest for the amiable savant, who seemed to possess in perfection that fine philosophical quality of intellect which the french have happily termed _justesse d'esprit_--a quality of mind in which even the ablest disputant may sometimes be deficient. but, nothing disconcerted by criticism or compliment, m. du chaillu remarked, with cold dignity, as he rose in final response: "opinions, gentlemen, may differ in england from opinions in france, but the truth on both sides of the channel is the same"--a sentiment to which all present responded with that fine sympathy and with that perfect courtesy "wherein--to derogate from none--the true heroic english gentleman hath no peer." iii "every schoolboy" (to quote macaulay) is familiar with the salient facts in the history of the normans; their origin in scandinavia; the seizure of a fertile province in france (wrung from a _fainéant_ heir of charlemagne); their extraordinary evolution as the great ethnic force of the period; their absolute mastery of sea and land on every shore, from the atlantic ocean to the red sea, and notably their conquest of england, their perfect fusion with the conquered peoples, and the resulting evolution of the english race. all this is commonplace to every historical reader. but recent investigators, going deeper, have inquired if the laws, institutions, language, and material constructions which mark the pathway of norman conquest are simply the memorials of an extinct race? is the norman still living, still powerful, progressive, and prolific? or is it an exhausted racial force, pithless, impotent, and effete, with no recognizable evidence of its ancient prepotency in racial struggles for existence in the conflicts of the past? or, in a word, is it, as mr. freeman affirms, a lost race? the answer to these questions depends largely upon the answer to other queries, to wit: was the conquest and sequential settlement of england merely a military invasion? or was it a vast popular migration such as america has witnessed in later times? or was it not in point of fact both--an invasion and a migration, the one following the other? england was not conquered in a day. the battle of hastings was decisive, but not conclusive. there was a long and bloody struggle before the invading force. nearly _four_ years (the duration of our "civil war") of close, desperate fighting must be encountered before the work of subjugation could be declared complete. every gap in the ranks of the invader must be filled by the importation of forces from abroad. there was a perpetual draft upon the continental populations, and a ceaseless "rushing of troops to the front," precisely as in the protracted "war between the states." all europe had become the recruiting ground of the conqueror. he was peopling england even in the midst of war; and when the period of "reconstruction" came the stream of migration continued to flow. england was the bourn from which no _immigrant_ returned; and under the military or reconstructive methods of the conqueror, every _invader_ was permanently planted upon the soil. apparently, these considerations furnish a conclusive answer to certain critical objections which shall be cited as we proceed. the facts upon which our conclusions rest are found, chiefly, in the official records of england and in the authentic annals of the anglo-norman races. here, then, we must infer the existence of an immense multitude of norman immigrants mingling and eventually fusing with the subjugated race. what has been the result of this intimate commingling of ethnic elements upon english soil? is it possible that so daring and successful a gamester as the norman was lost in the shuffle when an auspicious destiny was directing the game? the writer of this paper thinks that he found in the great library of the british museum evidence that the norman people are still a power upon this planet; to be as carefully counted with in the struggles of the future as in the conflicts of the past. recent investigation has disclosed the fact that contemporary records in england and normandy--records of two different countries of seven hundred years' standing, relating to different branches of the same race--are so minutely detailed as to enable the philosophic enquirer "to trace the identity of families and even individuals, in two countries." and this has been done by placing the great rolls of the norman exchequer in juxtaposition with similar english records of the twelfth century. this comparative juxtaposition of contemporary official records of kindred races geographically separate has been made the basis of an alphabetical series of english or anglo-norman surnames, which is remarkably full, though necessarily incomplete since the compiler, a very able english scholar, was not in position to enumerate all the families then extant; but it contains five times as many names as the famous battle abbey roll, and conclusively shows that the ancestry of the intellectual aristocracy of england was norman. the anglo-saxon and the dane were shown to be in a hopeless minority. the enquiry which resulted in the compilation of the alphabetical list was restricted entirely to surnames of a purely norman origin still existing in england. a third or more of this english population is norman, directly descended from the norman migration that preceded, accompanied, or followed the conquest. can evidence be more conclusive that the norman was neither extinguished nor absorbed by the sluggish saxon who accepted his yoke? mr. thomas hardy, in his powerful fiction, "tess," plainly accepts the conclusiveness of these views. his heroine, though of humble origin, clearly owed her involuntary seductiveness and fatal charm to the transmitted potency of her norman blood, and it is said that in certain secluded parts of england may be found to-day rural or village populations of the same class gathered about some old norman castle, donjon, or keep; their norman descent distinctly visible in their inherited personal traits; a certain characteristic combination of intellect, courage, beauty, and social charm distinguishing them at a glance from the dull, heavy, long-bodied, short-legged, unshapely saxon of a neighboring town or shire. the same restless blood or the same spirit of adventure which brought the scandinavian to normandy and the norman to english soil, in time drove him to the great settlements beyond the atlantic sea--settlements known by the english of to-day as "the states." their brethren in ireland followed in great numbers at a later day, and, wherever in recent wars the american flag has been unfurled, "the fighting race" has stood beneath its folds--always in force and always at the front, each with the line of battle beneath his feet and the fire of battle in his eye. "we fight wheriver a gintleman should," says murphy, and kelly, and shea; "we fight wheriver the fighting is good; and here's to the good, straight fighting blood!" says murphy, and kelly, and shea. [illustration: daniel boone.] thither, too, came the indomitable scot, precisely as he came in the colonial and revolutionary days. "the lowland race," says mackintosh, "briton and norman and saxon and dane, gave the world a new man--the sea rover, the border soldier, the pioneer.... the folk speech, from northumberland to the clyde and the forth, is northern english or lowland scotch; and the future man of bannockburn and king's mountain is beginning to appear. he is the man with the blood of the sea rover mixed with the blood of the borderer, and the soldier, the scholar and thinker, the statesman and lawyer, the trader and farmer." he is the man that crossed the blue ridge mountains as a pioneer. he is the man that sat in the conventions that organized the state, and stood in an unbroken line in all the pioneer battles of his race. the earliest migration of the anglo-norman folk was to the colony of virginia, as many of the old virginian surnames, bacon, baskerville, boys (bois), cabell, clay, etc., clearly attest; and the state of kentucky deriving a large population of english descent from virginia, we should naturally find a strong infusion of anglo-norman blood in the people of this state--an inference fully sustained by the transcript of anglo-norman surnames which the writer made from the list that he found in the great library in london. the late professor shaler is frequently quoted to the effect that ethnological research discloses the existence in kentucky of the largest body of nearly pure english folk to be found on the face of the globe--that has been separated for two hundred years from the parent english stock. but the facts do not warrant the assumption that the kentuckian is of purely "anglo-saxon" derivation. in _him_, at least, the blood of the norman is not wholly lost. he _is_, however, as professor shaler says, an "elizabethan" englishman. we print elsewhere a list of names familiar to kentuckians, which clearly points to the same general conclusion. with more leisure and space this list might be greatly extended. iv but what are the characteristic traits of the norman as we find him in his early habitat in france? we are told by a contemporary observer--geoffrey malaterra--that the typical or "composite" norman of his day was prodigiously astute, a passionate lover of litigation, an eloquent speaker, skilled in diplomacy, sagacious in council, convincing in debate; a son of the church, but not too deferential to prelates nor too precise in the observance of ecclesiastical forms; a bold and tireless litigant, but not over-scrupulous in his methods of procedure and not always strictly judicial in his construction of the law. "if he was born a soldier," said edward freeman, "he was also a born lawyer." in spite of this pronounced legal _penchant_ he was swift (if not restrained) to disregard and override the law; in the phrase of the old chronicler, the _gens_ was _effrenatissima_--recklessly wild, unbridled and dangerous, _nisi jugo justitiæ prematur_; daring, resolute, destructive in mutiny or revolt; seditious, piratical or even revolutionary, unless the reins of government were in strong and competent hands. we had a notable mid-century exemplification of this "unbridled" quality of temper in the introductory _razzia_ of lopez at cardenas. when the kentuckians, whose unerring rifles had crumpled up the spanish cavalry and successfully covered the slow retreat of lopez to the sea, were followed by the pursuing warship _pizarro_ into the harbor of key west, nothing daunted they coolly seized the united states fort, took possession of its batteries, and deliberately trained its guns upon the spanish man-of-war. _gens effrenatissima_, indeed. the fighting habits of the liberators were notoriously loose (especially under tropical suns); but what is to be particularly noted in this instance is, that the reins of power in our highly civilized government were unpardonably lax. it is possible, however, that the reckless and "unbridled" conduct of the kentuckians was due, in part, to the circumstance that the chaplain of the expedition had been killed. the subsequent official investigation showed to the entire satisfaction of our anglo-norman lawyers that practically everything had been done under "the forms of law." the word _effrenatus_ was almost overworked by cicero. it perfectly described the catilines of old rome and the banded ruffians that wrought their will. but in his very lawlessness the norman of malaterra never forgot the _law_. he scrupulously observed its "forms." even the conquest of england was "justified" by a pronunciamento of legal assumptions subtly and elaborately drawn. the norman was a shrewd and successful trafficker, and this tradition of commercial skill and thrift is current in normandy to-day. when he settled on english soil or sailed in english ships he did not lose his inherited commercial instincts. he made england the trading nation that she is. an eminent kentuckian, who bore the distinctive marks of norman blood, once said to a group of keenly attentive listeners, "the meanest of all aristocracies is a commercial aristocracy." a like disparaging conception of a powerful adversary was implied in the remark attributed to napoleon, that "the english were a nation of shop-keepers"--_un peuple marchand_. it was this same race of innocuous anglo-norman traffickers that crushed napoleon's iron columns at waterloo, and forever closed his conquering career. but the norman, who was a soldier, a lawyer, a diplomatist, orator, hunter, horseman and trader, was also a successful cultivator of the soil, and the norman agriculturist of to-day who reminds the tourist in his physical traits, hair, eyes, and complexion, and even in the intonations of his voice, of an english farmer of the anglo-norman type, bears a more striking resemblance to his english kinsman indeed than to his dark-visaged compatriot, the _vigneron_ of southern france. we must add, to complete the portraiture left us by malaterra, that the norman was a passionate lover of horses, of the breed immortalized by the genius of bonheur; a bold equestrian, skilled in the use of arms; at home upon the sea, and literally reared in the lap of war. and he was also a brilliant orator, passionately fond of eloquent speech. from his early boyhood, says the chronicler, he assiduously cultivated his natural aptitude for that persuasive art, that power of ready and effective utterance which, though often profane, made him dominant in the councils of war and of peace; in the cabinets of diplomacy, and even in the chamber of the king. _gens astutissima_ beyond all doubt. to return to our beginning--what think you was in the mind of paul du chaillu as he stood that memorable evening before an audience of mid-century kentuckians?--this philosophic thinker who had been for years a critical observer of "the most dramatic spectacle in history"--the sweeping, ceaseless, transcontinental march of the anglo-norman race--what did he think of the environing conditions as he stood in that old courthouse which had resounded with the eloquence of anglo-norman orators; which had echoed and re-echoed generation after generation to the "oyez!" "oyez!" of anglo-norman sheriffs? and which was still standing, an impressive memorial of days when the ground upon which it was built was the camping-ground of the dominant figure in this westward march--the anglo-norman leader boone or "bohun"--a name which in its very sound or utterance (_mugitus boum_) was in "dark and bloody" times a challenge to mortal combat--a deep bellowing defiance of "battle to the death"? what were his thoughts as he looked with wondering eyes upon that charming southern matron with her fair, delicate features and high-bred air? was the vision a vivid reminder of blue-eyed "scandinavian" maidens with faces as white as their native snows and locks with the softened shimmer of the midnight sun? one must acknowledge that the very exquisiteness of form and tint made this a rare type, even in kentucky, but there were many interesting variations of it to be seen at our great mid-century "fairs"--from the rich "auburn" of marie stuart to the "carroty" tresses of the virgin queen--framing lovely faces and crowning tall, willowy figures of queenly mold. but probably the prevailing tint of hair was that ascribed by the wizard romancer to the lady rowena--with her dash of scandinavian blood--something between flaxen and brown; all in clear and brilliant contrast with a type that glowed with the superb brunette finish of southern and central france. had du chaillu been with us in earlier days we could have shown him likewise figures of a striking masculine type--tall, soldierly figures that might have graced the "viking age"--men who, after the fashion of early norman days, would have been equally at home in camp or court. one of these gallant gentlemen, whom many of us remember, was in some respects a striking counterpart of a scandinavian sailor that figures in a late romance, "wolf larsen"; like him even in the soubriquet prefixed to his scandinavian name; of gigantic stature and strength; big-brained, passionate, strong-willed, energetic, proud, combative and sagacious, with a deep instinctive love of the sea. but his chronic irascibility of temper, often manifest on trifling provocation in unbridled bursts of berserker rage, sadly marred the brilliancy of his military career, and engendered deep and implacable enmities which brought his career as a soldier to a speedy and tragical close. [illustration: governor isaac shelby.] in other respects he radically differed from norsemen of the wolf larsen type. in his relations with his family and friends he was delicate, generous, and kind; the tenderest of sons, the kindest brother, the most devoted and loyal of friends: a lover of literature, music, and the finer pleasures of social life. strangest of all, he was reverent and devout. he respected the forms of the church, and every night, even in the rude environment of the camp, he knelt beside his soldier's couch and repeated the lord's prayer. but the soubriquet fastened upon him both by resentful enemies and admiring friends recalls his fictitious counterpart--wolf larsen. whenever the name of the federal commander came up for discussion during our great civil war--whether in confederate camp or by kentucky firesides, or by the campfires of his own loyal division--he was invariably known, by reason of his huge figure, his big bovine head, his flaming black eyes, his fierce, tumultuous energies, his headlong courage and gigantic strength, by the soubriquet "bull"--bull nelson--a sea-trained soldier with a bellowing soubriquet prefixed to an honored racial name--a mid-century kentuckian, who in mediæval battle might have swung the battle-axe of front-de-boeuf. there were many others--kentuckians of an ideal anglo-norman type--who would have brought to m. du chaillu the strongest confirmation of his philosophic views had he visited us during the cyclonic "sixties," or in that halcyon interlude "before the war." v returning now to the discussion of the masterly paper read by m. du chaillu at the british association,[4] we may consider certain aspects of the question more in detail; conceding at the same time full credit to the ability of the disputants who dissented from the views expressed by the foreign savant. m. du chaillu was peculiarly fortunate in his critics. if his theory should survive the searching and trenchant criticisms of such men, his scholarship would command respect even if they should decline to accept his conclusions in full. [4] british association for the advancement of science, newcastle meeting, 1889. a loyal briton does not lightly abandon what he conceives to be established or traditional views. this trait does not imply defect of philosophic insight or want of wide research. it denotes simply the influence of prepossession, opinionated habit, and conscious power. nor is this influence unusual. scholars differ even as "doctors" disagree. dr. george craik, whose name is familiar to every scholar of the english race, was liberal enough to concede, a quarter of a century before the advent of du chaillu as a scandinavian protagonist, that the english language might have more of a scandinavian than of a purely germanic character; or, in other words, "more nearly resembled the danish or swedish than the modern german." the invading bands, he adds, by whom the dialect was originally brought over into britain in the fifth and sixth centuries, were in all probability drawn in great part from the scandinavian countries. at a still later date, too, this english population was directly and largely recruited from denmark and the regions around the baltic. eastern and northern england, from the middle of the ninth century, "was as much danish as english." in the eleventh century the sovereign was a dane. m. du chaillu's theory rests upon other and perhaps stronger grounds, but these concessions from a thoughtful scholar at least will carry weight. the continuous existence of scandinavian influence in england is suggestive of the circumstance that the danish conquest of england preceded the norman conquest by "exactly half a century." an englishman (odericus vitalis), writing almost contemporaneously with the norman conquest, describes his countrymen as having been found by the normans "a rustic and almost illiterate people" (_agrestes et pene illiteratos_). and yet, says dr. craik, the dawn of the revival of letters in england may properly be dated from a point about fifty years antecedent to the norman conquest. to what, then, must be ascribed this scholastic renascence? very clearly to the intimate relations established between england and normandy by edward the confessor. but there is no trace of the new literature (that of the arabic school which was prevalent in europe) having found its way to england "before the norman conquest swept into the benighted old kingdom, carrying the torch of learning in its train." the name of lanfranc alone gives splendor to that civilization which his genius created for the english race. he not only lighted the torch of learning, but he strengthened the reins of power. he restrained the lawless impetuosity of william the conqueror; he imposed iron conditions upon the accession of william rufus; he checked the atrocities, and finally broke the power, of odo of bayeux. his work was well done, and its effects are visible to this day. he was the real power behind the throne. it is not easy, says an eminent english writer, to trace through the length of centuries "the measureless and invisible benefits which the life of one scholar bequeaths to the world." but such was the life, the work, the bequest of this norman scholar, who died honored and beloved even by the rude, sullen, and implacable race which had been subjugated by the norman kings. but dr. craik, with all his liberality and learning, is not disposed to accept the theory of a great migration or settlement preceding, or accompanying or following, the norman conquest in the eleventh century. to be sure, this theory was not elaborately or effectively presented until of late years; but dr. craik, writing as far back as the opening of our "war between the states," seems to contradict this theory by anticipation--"in point of fact, the normans never transferred themselves in a body, or generally, to england. it was never thus taken possession of by the normans. it was never colonized by these foreigners, or occupied by them in any other than a military sense. it received a foreign government, but not at all a new population." yet even dr. craik seems to appreciate the lesson of "names." he thinks it remarkable, for instance, that though we find a good many names of natives of gaul in connection with the last age of roman literature, scarcely a british name has been preserved. even in juvenal's days the pleaders of britain were trained by the eloquent scholars of gaul. the significance of a name in determining family origin is a common assumption of our familiar speech. "that is a _virginian_ name," we say; and if we find many virginian names in a given locality we naturally infer that the town, or the county, or the locality, large or small, was originally settled by virginians. in one of our old bluegrass counties two of these settlements were made in pioneer times, about two miles apart. one is known as "jersey ridge," the other as "tuckahoe." if in both localities we find an english stock with anglo-norman names we should naturally assume a common derivation from the anglo-norman branch of the great british race. [illustration: joseph hamilton daveiss.] but that accomplished philologist, dr. craik, seems to be quite in sympathy with the views of du chaillu touching the ancestral relations of the scandinavian to the english race; and dr. craik's eminent american compeer, mr. george p. marsh, is not hopelessly wedded to fixed conclusions, and has by no means overlooked the obvious scandinavian affinities of the english tongue. "almost every sound," says the latter, "which is characteristic of english orthoëpy, is met with in one or other of the scandinavian languages, and almost all their peculiarities, except those of intonation, _are found in english_; while between our articulation and that of the german dialects the most nearly related to the _anglo-saxon_ there are many irreconcilable discrepancies." if to determine the relative proportions of linguistic and ethnic elements in dialect and race were "a hopeless and unprofitable task," this would seem to invalidate all general conclusions in the matter. a few days after the very lively discussion of m. du chaillu's epochal paper in the free library of newcastle, there appeared in a great newspaper a contemporary estimate of his views, which was received by its multitudinous constituency with profound interest and respect. it was the rolling voice of "the thunderer"--the famous london _times_. in all crises in the national life, the influence of this journal is felt. it is not a mere priestly oracle, silent except at times, but a divinity that never ceases to speak; clothed with strangely beneficent powers, and in the exercise of legitimate influence as resistless as the fabled might of the scandinavian thor. it _forms_ opinion;--it _fixes_ opinion;--it _reflects_ opinion;--it gives effect to the popular will. it has been felicitously characterized as the "vast shadow of the public mind." on the 21st of september, 1889, the _times_, after a full report of the ethnological discussion in section h, had this to say by way of editorial comment: "perhaps the great sensation of the section was m. du chaillu's paper, intended to prove that we are _all scandinavians_.... this paper, combined with that of canon taylor, and the discussion that followed both, seemed to show that the time is ripe for a perfectly new investigation of the whole question of the origin and migration of the races which inhabit europe and asia; and, that, on lines in which language will play only a subordinate part." thus much for the startling theory discussed by the anthropological section at newcastle. in a subsequent correspondence, which appeared in the london _times_, m. du chaillu challenged archæologists to point out remains in any other part of europe so like those of the early anglo-saxons in england as the relics he figures from scandinavia in england. it is not always easy to indicate with precision the cradle of an ancient race; and even if such remains were found on the coasts of holland and north germany, the discovery would not seriously affect the conclusions that seem to have been reached as to ancestral relations of the scandinavian and the norman to the english race in england and the united states. one might abandon altogether the main line of m. du chaillu's argument, (1) his careful analysis of the sagas and other ancient documents and (2) his comparison of the antiquities upon which the challenge rests, and yet there would remain something more than a strong presumption that the animating principle of the english race, in its leading branches, is the scandinavian blood. it would seem to be quite in conformity with the law of nature that the daring, crafty, and indomitable race which still shapes the political destinies of men, which is historically traceable in its schemes of conquest and subjugation for a thousand years, and which is precisely traceable upon geographical lines in its movements of colonization or war, should have derived its enterprising characteristics from the only race which has demonstrably transmitted its conquering and colonizing traits within historic times: to wit, the scandinavian pirates that were conceived upon stormy waters, spawned upon an icy coast, and swept, apparently in a career of predestined conquest, from the waters of the baltic to the ends of the earth. the nations shrank from the rover in fear. the frenchman, at least, learned to dread his power, and the saxon submitted with sullen acquiescence to his rule. he sowed the seed of conquest with his blood, and upon whatever shore he drove his keel he planted himself fiercely upon the soil to stay. is it to be supposed for an instant that this puissant racial force was dissipated and lost? not so. the light, the fire, the sweep, the coruscating energies, the resistless currents, the driving forces are still there. the power is not "off"! [illustration: honorable henry clay.] nevertheless, it may be--to use the phrase of the london _times_--that "the time for a new investigation of the whole question is now ripe." vi those were stirring days in the old northumbrian city by the sea. and to the utmost border of that ancient kingdom the busy populations were alive with expectation and hope. little cared they for the sea rover now. he no longer enjoyed, as once, the freedom of the city and the sea. they were really as indifferent to the vexed question as the philosophic canon taylor humorously affected to be. the loquacious savants might settle matters to suit themselves; but there was another question, probably of equal importance, for popular consideration; and a question of far greater moment too, to a man with blood in his veins; a question which touched at once the pocket and the heart; to wit, the last of the classic races at doncaster, the st. leger and the great yorkshire stakes. will the duke of portland's "donovan"--a southern horse of great beauty, speed, and "luck"--win in the coming contest with "chitabob," the pride and hope of the north? there was anxiety in every face. the touts had come from their work at doncaster, and chitabob was reported to be lame; his old enemy (rheumatism) had seized his foreleg; he was not equal to a canter: could do only three hours' walk in the paddock near the ring. in spite of the conditions and the resulting consternation of chitabob's friends, his nervy young owner insists that "matters are not so bad as they seem, and the _horse will run_." meantime, the betting is against him--two to one on donovan; in rapid sequence six--seven--ten against chitabob. the situation was highly sensational; the state of excitement in doncaster was intense; even chitabob's friend, "guyon" (a noted sportsman), had surrendered hope. the owner, young mr. perkins, was alone undismayed; and the men of the stalls were as game as the horse. "he can win on three legs," they declared. "i do not think so," said guyon, "and though common sense prompts me to go for donovan, i am full of hope and sympathy for chitabob. the splendid fellow has always carried my money, and i will back him to-day. he is too grand a horse to let him run loose, but it is very clear to my mind that donovan will win." the loyal sportsman proved to be an infallible prophet--_chitabob lost_. as one looks intently upon such a scene as this, doncaster disappears and kentucky rises on the eye. the story of chitabob recalls the traditions of grey eagle, that superb and exquisite idol of the mid-century kentuckian's heart; his brilliant and exciting contest with wagner; his gallant start, his matchless stride, the vast crowd, the wild applause;--"the strained tendon," the slackened speed, the failing strength--the lost race. but the defeated racer was always (like clay or breckinridge) the idol of the state;--_the champion of kentucky_--as chitabob was the champion of the north. imported "yorkshire" was, likewise, a famous horse in the history of the southern turf, and his blood still mingles with that of our finest strains. we note in kentucky a noble reproduction of the old lines, both in man and horse; it was entirely fit that such a virginian as commodore morgan should bestow such a gift as "yorkshire" upon such a kentuckian as henry clay. it was a gift for a king, and there were marks of royal lineage in both man and horse; lines that were souvenirs of a royal race. traditions tell us, and the casual traveler notes abundant proof of the fact, that the "typical kentuckian" is indebted for many of his traits to the old northumbrian blood. even the familiar speech of the yorkshireman recalls much that is characteristic in the dialect of kentucky; as "mad," for angry or vexed; "thick," for friendly or intimate; "thumping," for big; "rattling good," for very good; "plump," for quite or entirely, as "shot plump through"; "whole lot," for a large number; "what's up?" for what's the matter? etc. were not these words and phrases conveyed by racial migration from the north of england to virginia and from virginia to kentucky in days lang syne? have you never heard among the old horsemen of the bluegrass the odd expression, "the colt will be two years old next 'grass'"? "it is curious," says mr. marsh, "that the same expression is used in _scandinavia_." in denmark and sweden, he adds, as well as in england, the gentlemen of the chase and turf reckon the age of their animals by "springs"--the season of verdure being the ordinary "birth season" of the horse; and a colt, therefore, is said to be so many years old next "grass." the same writer informs us that the names of the two brothers, hengist and horsa--both names of the genus _horse_--are words in one or another form common to all the scandinavian dialects. a danish colonel told mr. marsh that in a company in his regiment there were two privates bearing these names, who were as inseparable in their association as the hengist and horsa of old. an ardent theorist, like a jealous lover, may find confirmation strong in trifles light as air. it is a far cry from old scandinavia to old kentucky, but what brain is broad enough, what spirit is subtle enough, to comprehend the variety and infinitude of delicate, airy, intangible influences by which the busy hands of destiny have brought them together? not the least of these agencies were affinities, customs, explorations, battles, contests, migrations, and the "wingy mysteries" of kindred names or words. edward lee childe, in his admirable life of his kinsman, general robert lee (paris, france, 1874), says that in 1192 we find a lionel lee at the head of a company of gentlemen accompanying richard of the lion-heart in his third crusade. in the original the word here translated "gentlemen" is _gentilshommes_. a word of somewhat different connotation from its english equivalent, but sufficiently alike in meaning to justify the assumption that england is indebted to normandy for the word, and, essentially, for what the word connotes or implies--_the chief or leader of a family or gens_. the followers of lionel lee were, therefore, a military élite. the original conception of the word still lingers among the anglo-norman races. that the word in its later english form has taken on a finer sense is illustrated by the famous speech of the great nicholas to sir hamilton seymour. the diplomacy of the czar neither asked nor conceded conventional guarantees. "before all things," he said, "i am an english gentleman" (_un gentilhomme anglais_). the word "cavalierism," used by m. taine, reminds us that england, long before the conquest, was indebted to normandy for the "cavalier"; that the "man-on-horseback" was the cavalier; that the cavalier and gentilhomme were conspicuous in the ranks of the conqueror, and, not to be too precise, may be said to have come down the centuries together. in a certain conventional sense it is proper, no doubt, to say that the cavalier in england was a gentleman; and, always, in normandy _un gentilhomme_. but it was only in later days, as in the splendid epoch of the stuarts, that the qualities of the gentleman, fusing with the character of the cavalier, gave a peculiar dignity, elevation, and distinction to the natural and recognized leaders of the english race. but the bonniest cavalier, undisciplined by social culture, had precisely those defects of his qualities which the term "cavalierism" was invented by sir walter scott to express. the qualities depicted in esmond by thackeray were not conspicuous in scott's portraiture of "claverhouse" or "montrose." gentilhomme, cavalier, and gentleman were descriptive terms evolved under similar historic conditions, and derived from the same linguistic source. an anglo-norman kentuckian who figured conspicuously in the late war between the states humorously adjusted all differences as to the proper designation in that day, by addressing his friends in familiar conversation as "gentle-homines," a felicitous appellative not only for kentuckians, but for friendly indians as well. the _effigies_ of the "man-on-horseback" (a familiar phrase in english ears) was officially introduced to the english public by an english king, who in everything save birth and blood was typically norman himself. it is indelibly stamped upon the great seal of england, and not upon one seal alone. the most casual inspection of the famous guildhall collection will show, stamped upon seal after seal through a long succession of anglo-norman kings, the same equestrian figure which, obviously of norman origin, had appeared in england before the conquest; and which centuries later was designed by an anglo-norman engraver upon the great seal of the american confederate states. the artist was wyon (engraver to the queen), and the original of the symbolic figure was that immortal cavalier, george washington--a man of anglo-norman blood. it may be said that kentucky offered physical conditions that were exceptional, for the production of "cavaliers." [illustration: governor joseph desha.] a scientific explorer found upon the icy coast of the straits of magellan a growth of english grass--fresh, green, flourishing, and as full of fight for existence as the stock or race from which it took its name. it was like the grass described in the hudibrastic skit of the bluegrass colonel: "where bluegrass grew the winter through- and where it blooms in summer, too." it was a species of _poa_, closely akin in its characteristics to _poa pratensis_, the famous bluegrass of kentucky--a cosmopolitan grass; at home everywhere, but always seeking congenial skies; rooting itself firmly and clinging tenaciously; standing in with the rich soils and the strong races; unseating old sod; standing off all casual intruders; driving out all competing grasses; casting its own lines in pleasant places; dividing honors with _zea mays_, the stateliest of all grasses, and yielding to no competition save here and there to the cryptic, mossy growth that at last covers with oblivion the homes and the tombs of men. even the grasping, aggressive _poa_ yields to the power of _moss_; and mossback monstrosities may be found even among the vigorous offshoots of the anglo-norman race. yet, was it not an extraordinary incident of the evolution of our western world that in the genesis of the commonwealth of kentucky two such factors or agencies as the _race_ and the _grass_--inseparably linked--should be predestined each to a special function in the common work? "either," said a sagacious observer from new england, "no other land ever lent itself so easily to civilization as the bluegrass region, or it was _exceptionally fortunate in its inhabitants_." the alternative suggests that if this miracle of evolution be attributable to _either_ of the causes named--_civilizableness of the land or adaptableness of race_--then there can be but one conclusion should the result be ascribed to the operation of _both_. this speculative suggestion as to the genetic or determining element in the evolution of the bluegrass state came from the pen of that gifted and genial writer, charles dudley warner, many years ago. he was then visiting kentucky, and reporting in a series of papers his observations, as a visitor, for an influential publication in the east. please note this unconscious implication as to _grass_ and _race_ from a philosophic tourist of the olden times. "grass" or "race"--but what race? vii the continuous application of three acute and powerful minds along the same line of thought, in the first half of the last century--an unconscious or undesigned collaboration (so to speak) of lamarck, st. beuve, and hippolyte taine--evolved a marvelous instrument of critical and philosophic research; furnishing for every capable thinker a method adapted to the investigation of all subjects, great and small; neglecting no phase, shrinking from no interpretation, rejecting no authentic fact, and having in perfection the magical quality of adjustment to conditions described in the arabian tale. in his english notes, for example, m. taine, if too frank, is singularly felicitous and discriminative in his physical descriptions of certain anglican types of race--presenting, first, the beastly, repulsive traits of the _male_; the lowering, dog-like physiognomy, the huge jowl; the dull red eyes; the gluttonous chops; the swinish snout, the congested facial tissues; the gross, unwieldy figure, the bloated features and the protuberant accumulations of abdominal fat--thus graphically depicting, by way of philosophical illustration, an anthropoid incarnation of animal appetite. the picture is not flattering, but it certainly embodies some familiar traits, of which it is entirely pardonable to make a philosophic use. next he introduces the boadicean or brobdingnagian _female_--"broad, stiff, and destitute of ideas"--with heavy features, lifeless, fishy eyes, coarse, congested complexion, a clumsy figure, large feet, unshapely hands, and an utter lack of style and taste--notably in the bizarre combinations of color in her dress. moreover, he says, two out of every three have their feet shod with stout masculine boots, and as to their long, projecting teeth--huge white teeth--it is impossible to train oneself to endure them. "is this," he inquires philosophically, "a cause or an effect of the carnivorous regime?" plainly enough the cause--the remote cause at least--the determining cause, is what is designated by m. taine elsewhere as "the hereditary conformation of race." these fat, huge, fierce, vicious, dull, ill-shaped creatures are distinctly of a saxon strain. in cedric's day they were the gurths who herded the swine, and the "gigantic jades" who in the very teeth of mother church persisted in a merciless disciplinary "flogging of their slaves." suggestions of racial derivation are seldom questioned in ordinary life. every english thinker recognizes the fact. the biographer of an eminent english lawyer says that he combined, in the most pleasing fashion, fineness of physical texture with courage, high character, and the perfection of personal charm. the same writer thinks it necessary to explain that on the maternal side the gifted lawyer "came of gentle blood." apart from personal characteristics, the very name of the maternal _gens_ bore witness to her norman descent--a name that has been familiar in kentucky from the foundation of the state. according to the same biographer the conditions on the paternal side were quite different. an uncle, of the ruder strain, declared, in view of prospective revolutionary tribunals, that _his_ veins were "uncontaminated with one drop of gentility." he stood among the intellectual aristocracy of england just the same. but, if the philosophic taine is severe in his characterization of the "carnivorous types" of the english race, he makes ample amends in his descriptions of others. not every englishman is like the landlord in barnaby rudge--"half ox, half bull." "on the contrary," says this admirable frenchman, "when the person is a cultured and intelligent gentleman, the phlegmatic temperament imparts to the english personality a perfectly noble air. i have several of them in my memory, with pale complexion, clear blue eyes, regular features, constituting one of the finest types of the human species. there is no excess of cavalierism, of glittering gallantry after the style of the french gentleman; one is conscious of a mind wholly self-contained, a brain which can not lose its balance. they elevate this quality of their temperament into a virtue; according to them the chief merit of a man is always to have a clear and cool head. they are right; nothing is more desirable in misfortune and in danger. this is one of their national traits." taine's historic ideal of this type is william pitt. the awkwardness and erubescent bashfulness, so often observed in english social life, "is wholly physical," says m. taine, "and a peculiarity of _teutonic_ nations." it is certainly not the fine repose that is supposed to mark the caste of never care. _another_ type admired by this clever frenchman is thus described: "the blond maiden with downcast eyes, purer than one of raffaelle's madonnas, a sort of eve, incapable of falling, whose voice is music, adorable in candour, gentleness, and goodness, and before whom one is tempted to lower the eyes out of respect. since virginia, imogen, and the other women of shakespeare or his great contemporaries--from these to esther and to the agnes of dickens--english literature has placed them in the foreground; they are the perfect flower of the land." the section of the association at newcastle which listened to the paper of m. du chaillu with an air of courteous self-restraint, listened also, and apparently in a like mood, to sir william turner in the reading of his very able paper on the pathological aspect of the doctrine of "heredity," as recently expounded in the revolutionary hypothesis of professor weismann, a famous german pundit in pathology. it was the first appearance of the so-called weismann "theory" before the scientific public of england. professor weismann rejects the view that the characteristics acquired by parents through their own experiences or environment can be transmitted to their offspring. it is only those characteristics that have pre-existed in the germ of reproduction: that is, the congenital peculiarities alone; those which distinguish the race and breed that can be transmitted, according to the teachings of professor weismann. a german philosopher, for example, may transmit a superfluous toe or a prognathic jaw, but not his portentously developed brain. sir william turner did not accept in full the german's "theory." under the exclusive operation of a law which transmits only from congenital variations, how is it conceivable that the development of species can be brought about? on the other hand, does not the law of the survival of the fittest operate to correct the tendency to transmit defects of structure and organization? thus, affirmed our sturdy anglo-saxon savant, the hereditary tendency, properly understood, is in perfect harmony with the theory of natural selection. it is needless to say that the section and the speaker were quite at one upon these perplexing points. the conclusions of darwin upon "descent" were as little open to assault as their own conviction as to the origin of the anglo-saxon race. at all events, an englishman's established opinions would not tumble at the first blast of a ram's horn from germany or france. [illustration: abraham lincoln. (bas relief by a french artist.)] the discussion of the physical peculiarities of our ancestors never loses its interest among the thinkers of the various branches of the english race. how trippingly upon the tongue of the anglo-saxon child come the familiar lines of the english poet, a bard of the georgian period: "deep-blooming, strong, and yellow-haired, the blue-eyed saxon came." a pleasing description of peculiarities which holds good of the northern races to this day. but by a process of ethnic differentiation the separate or divergent races, with changed _milieu_ and lapse of time, took on some structural change; the scandinavian, for example (and possibly the kentuckian), coming to the front with cranial dimensions exceptionally large and mental capacities to correspond. laing's curious note to snorro sturleson (quoted by lytton) says that in the antiquarian museum of copenhagen the handles of almost all the swords of the early ages, in these collections, "indicate a size of hand very much smaller than the hands of modern people of any class or race." the norman is said to have retained this peculiarity of physical structure longer than the scandinavian from whom he sprang. it was probably the result of social conditions which soon ceased to exist. "here and there," says an eminent english writer, "amongst plain countryfolk settled from time immemorial in the counties peopled with the anglo-dane (scandinavian), may be found the 'scythian hand and foot,' the high features, and the reddish auburn hair." "but amongst the far more mixed breed," he adds, "of the larger landed proprietors (comprehended in the peerage), the saxon attributes of race are strikingly conspicuous, and amongst them the large hand and foot common to all of the germanic tribes." (lord lytton.) virginia and the virginian states were peopled chiefly from the former class. if any inquirer wishes to prosecute this inquiry under favorable conditions, he may find a contemporary transmission of racial peculiarities in the vast scandinavian population in our northern belt or tier of states--men of the old blood, in a broad, congenial field, with boundless energy and big brains. viii one of the most interesting results of a very prolonged process of ethnic differentiation is mentioned by john fiske, in comparing two remote branches of the so-called "aryan" race--the short, fat, pursy hindoo, and the wiry, long-limbed kentuckian. it is not incredible that these were simply original marks of race--"scythian," in the one instance; scandinavian in the other. it is a far cry, too, from old benares to the bluegrass; but it is possible that if missionaries from kentucky could remain in hindustan long enough there might be a gradual reversion of the occidental variety to the ancient or original type. if mr. fiske's deductions be correct, as possibly they are, the aryan brothers have wandered far apart, and perhaps it is hardly safe, in studying the genetic conditions of development in the bluegrass, to stray beyond the broad, well-traveled highway that reaches from the baltic sea through normandy and the british isles to the shores of the old dominion, to the blue ridge mountains, the "hills of breathitt," and the bluegrass lowlands of kentucky. the streams of population from the scandinavian seas are still flowing, and in all likelihood the scandinavians of the virginian states (the old settled populations of the states of the south and west) will ultimately fuse with the scandinavian populations of the north and establish in the heart of the continent the empire of the world. the great scandinavian settlements of the northwest are now almost equal in numbers to the anglo-norman populations that from the days of the virgin queen have been gathering and growing in old virginia and in the virginian sisterhood of states. coleridge once said that england's insular position had made her a mother of nations. it would seem that like conditions--an environing wilderness and an estranging sea--have helped to make virginia a "mother of states." the lawless elements that poured into kentucky were not segregated by social or other necessities, and, cast out by time or poverty, permanently isolated in one rude locality. this was at one time a popular theory among the savants. but there was always a tendency to _lawlessness_ wherever the anglo-norman went. if any "convict" blood muddied the turbulent, brawling stream of migration, it was not from the _race_, but from the chance intermingling of a degenerate _caste_ or _breed_, and whether you find that degenerate admixture in the rugged highlands or in the lovely champaign country at their feet, the convict blood is still there. in the highlands or the lowlands, in the mountains or the bluegrass, generation after generation is weighted with the curse. the family, the clan, the community never loses the criminal taint. but the great, strong, daring, gifted _race_ sweeps on untouched by the vile marks of degeneracy that would put a proud, ambitious caste to shame. the trade of political assassination was plied with great activity in the good old norman times, but apparently there was nothing that was beastly, or basely criminal, in the work; on the contrary, it seems to have been palliated almost invariably by the conditions of a traditional feud, and, where sentiment or authority was very exacting, the offense was sometimes justified under "the forms of law." this was not murder in any ordinary or vulgar sense. it was merely an indispensable _modus vivendi_ in times that imperiled men's bodies as well as tried their souls; one of those protective devices conceived by the savagery of mediæval statecraft in a transition period of christian civilization. even at this day it is difficult for a competent and experienced anglo-norman jury to detect decisive evidence of crime when looking through the subtile meshes of a technical defense. william himself had a strong disinclination to take life under the forms of law; and, possibly, had his loyal guardians yielded to a like weakness in the early days of his succession, the solid fabric of english or anglo-norman civilization would now be as unsubstantial as a castle in spain. but they did not share the weakness of their ward, and promptly settled the right of succession by assassinating all troublesome pretenders to the throne. the only sin of blood upon william's soul--"the blackest act of his life"--was the execution of a judicial sentence against waltheof upon the hill of st. giles. the only inexplicable crime of waltheof's life was his murder of the brothers carl, staunch comrades who had stood by his side at york. the judicial murder was wrought by the orders of a _norman king_. it was apparently premeditated, and done with the utmost deliberation and under established forms of law. the carl brothers were the victims of an ancient feud. their grandsire had slain the father of waltheof, and the grandsons of the murderer were slain to avenge this ancient deed of blood. they were the victims of a transmitted _hate_: of a vindictive passion that had lost its heat. but the murderer perished at last, under the forms of law which he had denied to the innocent victims of a feud. he could slay with impunity on his own account, but he was not allowed to conspire even in thought against the king. he, too, suffered the penalty long years after the offense. waltheof was the last of the _saxon earls_. not long ago that eminent publicist, mr. andrew d. white, delivered an address on the subject of "high crime in the united states." the following excerpt will be read with interest: "simply as a matter of fact the united states is, among all civilized nations of the world, the country in which the crime of murder is most frequently committed and least frequently punished. deaths by violence are increasing rapidly. our record is now larger than that of any other country in the world. the number of homicides that are punished by lynching exceeds the number punished by due process of law. "there is too much overwrought sentimentality in favor of the criminal. the young ward toughs look up with admiration to local politicians who have spent a part of their lives in state prison. germs of maudlin sentimentality are widespread. on every hand we hear slimy, mushy-gushy expressions of sympathy; the criminal called 'plucky,' 'nervy,' 'fighting against fearful odds for his life.' "it may be said that society must fall back on the law of self-preservation. it should cut through and make war, in my opinion, for its life. life imprisonment is not possible, because there is no life imprisonment. "_in the next year nine thousand people will be murdered._ as i stand here to-day, i tell you that nine thousand are doomed to death with all the cruelty of the criminal heart, and with no regard for home and families, and two thirds will be due to the maudlin sentiment sometimes called mercy. i have no sympathy for the criminal. my sympathy is for those who will be murdered, for their families, and for their children." ix the normans were a brilliant and enterprising race; but what before all things (says freeman) "distinguished them from other nations, was their _craft_." this was manifest in everything, at all times, and everywhere--in statesmanship, in war, in traffic, and in the trivial interactions of social and domestic life. craft was no more characteristic of a norman king in the past than of a norman trader in modern times. it is as distinctly racial as the commercial "cuteness" or cleverness universally attributed to the american people of to-day. lord wolseley may have noted this trait when he said of our people, "they are a race of english-speaking frenchmen." he may have observed, too, even during the war between the states, that americans were at times exceedingly _profane in their speech_, just as in the olden time it was said that the normans were "peculiarly fond of oaths." camden tells us that when carolus stultus made over normandy to rollo, the rude ingrate refused to kiss the king's foot. when urged to do so he viciously exclaimed, "_ne se, by god!_" "whence"--adds the chronicler--"the normans were familiarly known as _bigodi_ or _bigods_." at every other word, he says, they swore by god. for a like reason, at a later day, the english were known throughout europe as the english "goddams." all of us know how terribly the army swore in flanders. the profane tendencies of the race seemed to have been stimulated by war. "then, the soldier," says shakespeare, "full of strange oaths." was it not one of our innocent bluegrass girls who declared that up to the close of her "teens" she believed the familiar phrase "damned yankee" to be a _single_ word? but it was the conqueror of england and the founder of the anglo-norman race that swore the greatest oath of all. when the merry burghers of alençon were hurling insults from their walls upon the burly son of arletta and upon her sire--the tanner of falaise--the infuriated norman swore an oath which lights up the page of history like the flare of a conflagration--"by the splendor of god!" he exclaimed as he swept to his wild revenge. the profanest kentuckian in his palmiest days never rose in his profanity to such a plane as this. he preferred the direct and trenchant speech of that virgin queen who helped to shape the destiny of our common race. "do as i say," she said to a recalcitrant prelate, "or by god i will _unfrock_ you!" even her stately ministers were not safe from the fire of her anglo-norman wrath. in the royal council-chamber she sometimes fell to cursing like a very drab. in certain virginian circles profane swearing seemed to have been proscribed except in a softened or attenuated form, such as "jeems' river," as an ejaculatory substitute for a very blasphemous phrase. thomas jefferson did not regard profane "expletives" as a very rational or philosophic mode of speech; but george washington, though puritanically truthful, would sometimes infuse into an imprecation the spirit and effectiveness of a prayer. we have all heard of stonewall jackson's "teamster" and the moving quality of his profane speech; but jubal early never allowed the words to be taken out of his mouth in this way. he did his own swearing, and, presumably, did it well. swearing or fighting by proxy was not his forte. judged by military results, jackson's was probably the better method. as a tactical incentive upon the firing line nothing could be more effective than one of early's oaths; but for general strategic purposes, nothing could surpass the effectiveness of the deadly imprecations that lurked in stonewall jackson's prayer. this was a cromwellian modification of the anglo-norman oath. in the good old commonwealth of kentucky there seems to have been a relapse into the simpler forms of profanity--anglo-norman and early english. the historian collins tells us that one of the pioneer governors having refused to notice the "challenge" of a truculent upstart, the fellow threatened to "post him a coward." "post and be damned," said the old soldier, "you will only post yourself a damned liar!" the retort was profane, but it was in punctilious accord with the spirit and habits of the time. better still, it was more effective than a "gut-shot" at short range. as a rule, the kentuckian had an instinctive aversion for puritanic oaths. that consecrated phrase, "jeems' river," had a brief career in this state. the last person to use it, probably, was an elderly, smooth, genial, charming gentleman at the bar who was for many years the judge of a local court in the good old county of fleming. he was in many respects a marked exception to the common rule.[5] it might have been different had he left the old dominion at an earlier date. what brandy is for heroes, strong oaths were for the pioneer. not mere dicer's oaths; nor the mauldin imprecations of a sot, nor the rounding touches of a raconteur; but good, honest, english oaths, such an oath as that which settled the insistent corporal trim--the generous and daring oath that our uncle toby swore when the young lieutenant lay sick of a fever. "'he shall not die, by god,' cried my uncle toby." and the accusing spirit that "flew to heaven's chancery with the oath" had the grace to blush when he gave it in. god bless our uncle toby; he was the uncle toby of us all, and is as fresh in our remembrance as the good old uncles who told his story and praised his virtues and swore his oaths by the family fireside in the auld lang syne. tradition throws a strong light on one of these old kentuckians who denounced with suggestive picturesqueness of phrase a ruthless master who had sold and separated a family of hereditary slaves:--"he is the damnedest scoundrel between hell and guinea!" the old gentleman exclaimed, giving in effect a touch of lurid or local color to his imprecatory speech. but when one of his own negroes--a broken, helpless creature--was accused of marketing for his own benefit the products of the farm, he gently answered, "ah, well, i am not sure that, after all, the old slave is not _taking his own_!" as one recalls that kindly speech, with its reminiscent touch of uncle toby, he recalls, likewise, the sentiment of a famous line from a foreign source tenderly adapted to a modern taste- "_mais où sont les nègres d'antan?_" where are those dusky bondsmen of the past? they mingle their dust with the dust of them they served: and resting in old country graveyards, in the peace of immemorial graves, they await the morning light and the master's call. [5] in an admirable letter written in pioneer times to bolling stith, in kentucky, by his virginian mother, she says: "i hear you have become a notorious rattle and never open your mouth without an oath." to correct this vicious tendency she recommends the example of the "great and good general washington." excellent advice. the general's oaths were not so frequent as bolling's. they were louder, deeper, "heartier." the english traveler, fordham, says that the virginians of that day were "addicted to oaths." [illustration: "our beautiful scandinavian."] among the most popular of the well-trained african servitors of the mid-century days in the bluegrass was our versatile drudge, ben briler, one of the most active and useful functionaries of that old-time tavern life. "ben briler swept the poker-room- and gathered up the 'chips'; was 'mixer,' bootblack, cook, and groom, and salted down the 'tips.'" evil days came to ben's master, and ben was sold--becoming the joint chattel of the young swells of the poker-room. but the joint chattel proved to be too versatile for his vocation, and one of the stockholders denounced him as "a damned kinky-headed _corporation_," _and kicked him downstairs_. as governor desha, in a recent message to the legislature, had effectively arraigned those "dangerous corporations which embodied the interests of powerful men," the prompt action of the stockholder at the old tavern brought great relief to the public mind. it showed that corporations could be _reached_--that, contrary to the general impression, they had "bodies that could be kicked and souls that could be damned." the advent of the abolition "emissary," the emancipated negro, and the "burnt cork" minstrel was practically contemporaneous in kentucky. in the gentle mid-century days a company of strolling minstrels had announced an entertainment at the old county seat of mason--the town where mrs. harriet beecher stowe (a frequent guest of mrs. marshall key) first witnessed a "sale" of negro slaves. on the evening announced for the entertainment, the courthouse was packed from floor to dome. among the conspicuous figures toward the front was colonel robert b., a fine old kentuckian of antique norman type--tall, ruddy, high-featured, light haired; hearty, convivial, and profane--a boon companion and _bon vivant_. he sat expectantly but at ease, a bandaged arm resting upon the seat in front. he was cordially greeted by kinsmen and friends in every part of the house. the curtain rose and the minstrels filed upon the stage, looking for all the world like a lot of "free nigger" swells. their very appearance was an offense, and provoked at once a collision with the young mohawks of the town. the violoncello was shivered into splinters, and the flutes, fiddles, and castanets went singing through the air. no trace of harmony was left. there was a universal dash for windows and doors; none stood upon the order of his going. all went at once--all except "colonel bob," who sat unmoved, fixed to his seat as if fascinated by the moving scene in front. the spectators were amazed. "hell's fire, bob!" exclaimed an anxious friend, "don't you know there is a _fight_ going on down there?" the colonel looked incredulous. "i wish i may be damned," he said, "if i didn't think it was _part of the play_!" there was universal condemnation of these minstrel folk by persons who did not see the show; but the colonel, who was a "stayer," insisted that "the niggers made a good fight." unquestionably there is a certain lack of modernity, or at least of civilized amenity, in such a manifestation as this: but there was a spontaneous and elemental vivacity in their unpremeditated assault upon the counterfeit african bucks which betrayed the rude fantastic humor of their norman blood, and imparted a pleasant tang to the crude flavor of early plantation life. mr. barrett wendell finds in the still earlier life of the west conditions described as existing in the times of the plantagenet kings; and mr. owen wister seems inclined to adopt his startling views. apparently, then, we must count with inherited conditions and characteristics even in the politics of the times. the modern world is probably not ideally moral, but it is sensitively fastidious and scrupulously observant of "good form." it would wreck a railway, perhaps, or deplete a bloated insurance exchequer, but it would not launch an ungentlemanly imprecation or utter a trivial or unproductive oath. it even discountenances the _oath in court_-a solemn asseveration or attestation before a judge. it utterly discredits--socially and otherwise--the blas-_phe_-mous ejaculation or the vulgar "cuss-word," or the light conversational "swear" familiar in the dialect of the "back shop," the groggery, and the street. the variety of oath known as a "swear," considered psychologically, is not a very serious offense. in a philosophical aspect, indeed, it is in some sense a temperamental necessity, dependent on physiological conditions, and is essentially the result of a defensive or protective instinct. where not merely idle, wanton, and unmeaning, it is a psychological _regulator nervorum_. it is the unpremeditated product of a prompt cerebral reaction. it gives the centers of speech a chance to rally when thrown into disorder by a sudden attack. there is no time for the picking and arranging of words, and, except in persons of lymphatic temperament, no capacity for the leisurely elaborations of speech. one is confronted, not with a problem, or theory or condition, but with an _emergency_ that must be decisively met. silence perhaps is golden, but there is a certain steel-like quality in trenchant speech. profane, "rapid-fire" ejaculation is not only a deeply implanted instinct, but by frequent indulgence becomes an invincible habit--a habit so odious and offensive as to make even a chesterfield swear. as a racial instinct it survives transplantation to any clime, and religious training of every sort. even the disciplinary methods of calvinism fail to eradicate it. but an "inherited drill" may at times soften, or modify, or mask the _mode_ of _manifestation_, as is cleverly illustrated in the familiar lines- "the blue light elder knows 'em well- says he--'there's banks, we'll give him--well! that's stonewall jackson's way.'" a kentuckian casually encountering a distinguished new englander at the buffet of an exclusive eastern club, exclaimed: "does a _puritan_ drink?" "i would not give a damn," was the decisive answer, "for a puritan that could not drink, pray, and fight." it is probably no secret that in our amphibious scandinavian, general william nelson, the swearing instinct was abnormally developed. he did not swear "like a sailor," to be sure; nor "like a trooper" of the olden time; since neither soldier nor sailor of the ordinary type was ever gifted with his extraordinary abundance and facility of profane expression. it is but just to say, however, that at times he struggled manfully against the habitual inclination. "christ give me patience!" he cried when his favorite aide, colonel samuel owens (a joker of the norman type), inadvertently "sat down" upon his military hat. the utterance was a sincere and reverent appeal for divine help. he instinctively shrank from the coming torrent of profane ejaculation, and with a prayerful effort was bracing himself against the flood. [illustration: president jefferson davis] "there is some soul of goodness in things evil"; but in this instance one does not lessen the force of the evil by modifying or "softening" the form of the oath. the essence remains unchanged. when pecksniff slams the door in a rage, he simply "swears" what hood describes as a "wooden damn." the devout moslem will not tread upon a scrap of paper in his path, "lest," he says, "the name of god be written upon it"; but the impetuous anglo-norman recklessly flings the name of god into the contaminated environment of his daily life. and he has done so, history attests, since the day he sprang full-armed upon the planetary sphere--the most portentous apparition of mediæval days. "long ago," says canon bardsley, "under the offensive title of _jean gotdam_, we [the english] had become known as a people given to strange and unpleasant oaths." the very name--_jean gotdam_--vouches for its antiquity, as well as for the fearless sincerity of him who swore. there came into one of our bluegrass communities just after the war a clever confederate adventurer, who speedily established very pleasant social relations by exploiting his military record. a venerable kentuckian, who had come through the war with his confederate principles and virginian prejudices intact, was asked by a friend how he liked their virginian visitor--the ci-devant "aide to general lee." "i don't _like_ him, sir," he said with vicious emphasis, "he is not what he professes to be; i never in my life heard a virginian gentleman say 'god _dern_!' he either swore or he _didn't_ swear." he had no indulgence for a marked card nor for an emasculated oath. he would not substitute a sickly, modernized variant for a venerated traditional form. by "gad" or by "gosh" or by "gobbs" was good enough for a reforming purist; for himself he preferred to say, with the irascible robert of normandy, "ne se, by god!" it is not the form, after all, but the sentiment or suggestion, that lies behind the "swear." it is discouraging to the spirit of philosophic optimism to note the slinking figure of the iconoclast now running amuck in every field. the instinct and habit of reverence is almost gone, and the solidest traditional reputations are no longer safe. we no longer say with wallenstein- "there is a consecrating power in time, and what is gray with years to man is godlike." even the fine historic character of washington is "at a discount" in the modern world--partly on account of his alleged indulgence in profane speech, but chiefly because of his recognized incapacity to tell a lie. he had not only lost (we are told by one biographer) the useful--the indispensable--instinct of "prevarication," but (as we are told by another) "when deeply angered, he would _swear a hearty english oath_." one may survive in the darwinian struggle without the capacity to _swear_, but scarcely without the capacity to deceive. there seems to be no salvation in this life except for the successful liar; but for the man of many oaths there appears to be no salvation either in this life or the next. happily, the material prosperity of virginia was but little affected by the ethics of the washingtonian code. her commercial instincts had been powerfully quickened in her early years by an admonitory imprecation from a royal, or official, source. when the commissioners of virginia were pleading the interests of "learning and religion" before the attorney-general of charles ii (an anglo-norman lawyer, no doubt), he promptly responded with a hearty english oath--"damn your souls! _grow tobacco!_" there is no need for such an adjuration to the planters of the fine old anglo-norman commonwealth of kentucky. the tobacco will be planted, whatever may become of their souls. x an english scholar of sound judgment and exceptionally sound views has recently said that the emperor napoleon was the greatest administrator of all time. his greatest work, perhaps, is the system of administrative centralization which, through a century of the severest tests that political madness could apply, has maintained the conditions of social order even in the midst of war and under every form of organized misrule, and secured almost unparalleled prosperity for the municipalities and provinces of france. but it must not be forgotten that william the norman solved a like problem with apparently even greater success, and under antagonizing conditions which only a statesman of original genius could successfully confront. not for one century, only, of marvelous effectiveness in civic administration, but for eight hundred years of advancing and expanding _civilization_, the conceptions evolved by the norman's brain have been doing their beneficent work; and great as was the genius of the corsican adventurer, it is not incredible that even he, the master of europe, did not disdain the lesson which had been taught the nations by that magnificent son of france. the corsican was a close student of military history, and secretly meditated a descent upon modern england in imitation of the earlier conqueror's work. it is not likely that he would overlook the methods of reorganization that followed the war, with its machinery of sheriffs, judges, justiciaries, etc.--executive officers directly responsible to the king--bringing the throne in direct touch with the people, and drawing every subject, at least in every central shire, in direct personal allegiance to the throne. the _marquessess_, or wardens of the marches, were able and ambitious warriors whose sole concern was with dangers from _without_. but even napoleon could not foresee, in this guarded initiatory recognition of the landowner, the ultimate evolution of a territorial democracy that was to affect the political and social destinies of the english race. monarchs of a later date--henry the eighth and his masterful daughter elizabeth--saw in the people the sole source of _power_; and the loyal englishman even of this generation will proudly tell you that in his country the sole fountain of _honor_ is the _king_. there were at least two american statesmen who were illustrious disciples of the norman's political school. they were men of norman blood, who wrought in american statecraft with the norman's constructive brain--and there was still another of the same imperial strain who, with a philosophic conception of all that was of value in the principles of anglo-norman administration and a just appreciation by actual experience of government as a practical art, never failed throughout a long, brilliant, and successful career to teach the doctrine that the _people themselves_ were the sole fountain of honor and the exclusive source of power--a principle in the philosophy of government and in political administration equally patent to william the conqueror, when he anxiously sought a declaration of "personal" allegiance _from the subjects_ in that great gathering of potential "sovereigns" upon salisbury plain. in the long succession of administrators that followed the norman king, there was none that seems to have grasped so completely and applied so skillfully his principles and methods of political administration as a daughter of the tudor race. she may not have loved the people in any modern sense; but she knew their power, she recognized their rights; she studied their interests, and her jeweled finger was always upon their pulse. the best of all treatment, she thought, was to anticipate with soothing remedies the rude distempers of the times. she considered rather the constitution of the subject than the constitution of the state; since, collectively, one embraced the other. mr. barrett wendell, in his admirable work, "a literary history of america," discourses with great brilliancy and charm upon the elizabethan influences that governed in a large measure the development of the puritan and the virginian race. the reader of the present paper will note with curious interest the bearing of the following quotations from this work upon the theories which the present writer has discussed. "broadly speaking," he says, "all our northern colonies were developed from those planted in massachusetts; and all our southern from that planted in virginia." the statement is "socially" true, he says, to an extraordinary degree. the elizabethan type of character "displayed a marked power of _assimilating_ whatever came within its influence." this trait, akin to that which centuries before had made the conquered english slowly but surely _assimilate their norman conquerors_, the yankees of our own day have not quite lost. our native type still "absorbs" the foreign. the children of immigrants insensibly become native. the irresistible power of a _common language_ and of the _common ideals_ which underlie it still dominates. this tendency, he adds, declared itself from the earliest settlements of jamestown and plymouth. "north and south alike may be regarded as regions finally settled by elizabethan englishmen." the dominant traits of the english race of that time were "spontaneity, enthusiasm, and versatility." but the elizabethan english of _virginia_, he says, were notably different in this: they were men of a less "austere" type of character than their compatriots of the north; of more adventurous "instincts," and were "men of action" as the new englanders were "men of god." the peculiar power of assimilation and the "pristine alertness of mind" were the same in both. the economic superiority of the north was manifest; the political ability of the south seemed generally superior. pleasantly putting aside the traditional claims of exclusive "cavalier" descent, mr. wendell says: "at least up to the civil war the personal temper of the better classes in the south remained more like that of the better classes in seventeenth century england than anything else in the modern world." he frankly concedes that the most eminent statesmen of colonial and revolutionary days were virginians. recalling what has been said in regard to the constitutional sluggishness of the anglo-saxon, his mental inertness, his settled or stereotyped habits of thought, and his absolute lack of racial initiative _until the norman came_, we read the following passage from mr. wendell with curious interest: "such literature as the english world has left us bespeaks a public whose spontaneous alertness of mind, whose instant perception of every subtle variety of phrase and allusion, was more akin to that of our _contemporary french_ than to anything which we are now accustomed to consider native to insular england." this transformation mr. wendell attributes to "the spontaneous, enthusiastic versatility of the english temperament," in the spacious elizabethan days. what has produced or determined this extraordinary differentiation of race? what are the original, genetic factors behind this varied manifestation of power in that old, elizabethan stock? with the advent of the seventeenth century; with the turbulence, and trouble, and austerity of cromwellian days; with migrations following cromwellian war; with the evolution of a transatlantic type of the english race, there came an end to those spacious and splendid days--to the creative, prolific epoch of the virgin queen. [illustration: honorable john c. breckinridge.] the most trivial fact that connects the name of shakespeare with virginia is of interest to the virginian and his multitudinous clans. captain newport, vice-admiral of virginia, commanded the ship _sea adventure_, which was wrecked on the devil's islands. sir george somers, sitting on the poop and misled by a flaming apparition on the masts, unconsciously guided the vessel in a fatal course. william strachey, "secretary in virginia," wrote the account of the "tempest" published in purchas. thus was the "king's ship" boarded and burned by the spirit ariel at the command of his master prospero, and wrecked on those "bermoothes" which are "still vext" by that rude, tempestuous sea. it is of interest, too, to note that the special supervisors and directors of this elizabethan colony were william shakespeare's friends--the earl of southampton; the earl of pembroke; the earl of montgomery; viscount lisle (brother of sir philip sidney); lord howard of walden; lord sheffield; and lord carew of clopton, who sold shakespeare, in 1597, the house in which he lived till 1616--all of them elizabethan cavaliers derived from anglo-norman stock. there is another elizabethan name of still greater interest to all people of the anglo-virginian race--sir edwin sandys, the author of the political charters upon which the free institutions of virginia rest; and not only virginia, but the united states. educated at geneva and the son of an english archbishop, he was thoroughly seasoned with the doctrines of the genevan school; and aimed not only to found the american republic on genevan lines by the creation of a "free state" on the atlantic coast, but to make ample provision _in the charter itself_ for the ultimate "expansion" of the young republic toward the pacific ocean. this statement may not, even yet, be universally accepted; but it is incontestably true. xi in the spring of 1885, a pamphlet was published by a citizen of kentucky directing attention to the effect of certain racial influences in molding the institutions of this state. it was entitled "the genesis of a pioneer commonwealth." the suggestions offered by the writer as to the sources of our organic life were subsequently illustrated and confirmed by an eminent virginian scholar, dr. alexander brown, in his "genesis of the united states," published in 1890--a marvel of masterly investigation; a work which throws a flood of light upon the broad expanse of early american history, and is especially remarkable for the critical elaboration, lucidity, and acuteness with which the author has arranged the results of his extensive scheme of historic research. in this work he has noted and traced, from english records contemporary with the first settlement of virginia, the beginnings of that great duel between conflicting civilizations which closed with the destruction of spain's naval power at manila and santiago. and every scholar who seeks a precise comprehension of the _origines_ of the late war should closely follow the course of investigation pursued by dr. brown. every accessible detail of the desperate and protracted anglo-spanish conflict--including the exploits of elizabeth's captains and the destruction of the great armada--come out under this historic searchlight as distinctly and vividly as material objects under the light of day. to citizens of kentucky who have a critical and philosophic interest in the historic evolution of the commonwealth, it will be peculiarly attractive in the circumstance that it connects, and in a special sense includes, the genesis of kentucky with that of the united states. he suggests in a most interesting way that this commonwealth is not only a lineal product of the elizabethan civilization which he has sought to trace, but that--cartographically at least--_it formed an integral part of the first republic established in the new world_. in an explanatory communication addressed some years ago to the present writer, dr. brown says: "the bounds of the charters which contained the _popular charter rights_ which were the germ of this republic extended between thirty-four degrees (34°) and forty degrees (40°) north latitude, and from ocean to ocean. kentucky, therefore, was embraced within the first republic in america." the sagacious statesmen of spain were not slow to detect the menacing significance of this virginian settlement, small as it was; and the conflict then initiated did not cease until the navies of spain went down under the guns of dewey and schley. the persistent machinations of spanish _intrigants_ to obtain control of kentucky in the closing years of the eighteenth century were part of the same prolonged contest for supremacy upon american soil. every resource of diplomacy, intrigue, and corruption--or, in modern phrase, of _craft_ and _graft_--was exhausted by spain to wrest the germinant commonwealth from the parent stem. on the other hand, no scheme was more popular with the bold and enterprising kentuckians--the vikings of the west--than to wrest the control of the mississippi river from the desperate grasp of spain. even the splendid and seducing allurement of a spanish alliance was powerless against the transmitted instincts of a scandinavian or anglo-norman stock. but the racial inclination for territorial expansion kentucky never lost. there was a later manifestation of this spirit or instinct in the annexation of california; an appropriation by force, to be sure, but under recognized "legal forms"; and, still later, it was manifested in disastrous expeditions to the cuban coast, in which the reckless survivors barely escaped, like the man of uz, with the skin of their teeth--thanks to a swift steamship and to an indulgent interpretation of the violated law. in the near future, perhaps, we shall have an annexation of the island under forms which will fully justify the act; annexation on the old lines. as far as race could make them so, the daring adventurers who poured to foreign war from the vast network of streams and streamlets that flowed seaward from the mountains and lowlands of kentucky were _vikings_, with all the fighting characteristics of that ancient breed.[6] not _vi_-kings, nor "kings" of any sort, but simply the vik-ings or "creek-men" who followed their expatriated jarls wherever a dragon-prow would float; to the land of the saxon under his greatest king; to the heart of ireland, where the natives were already "absorbing" the alien norse; to the ancient kingdom of gaul; to scotland and to the islands of the atlantic ridge; and above all to iceland, the land of mist and snow and fire; to the incomparable mistress of the northern seas. through the beautiful mediterranean, too, they sailed; and gathering to the support of the decadent despotisms of the east, became famous in history and romance as the _varangian_ guard which held at bay the saracen and the hun. they were "rebels" when they fled from the consolidating despotism of harold fairhair. they have been rulers or rebels ever since. [6] that acute and philosophic observer, goldwin smith, says in his description of the "night-hawk" kentuckians (1812): "in all his proceedings he showed a _lawless vigor_ which might prove the wild stock of civilized virtue." _gens effrenatissima!_ but the story of their greatest exploits you read in the histories of the english race. we have analyzed the claims which mr. barrett wendell has made for the elizabethan settler upon the atlantic coast; and it is instructive to note that another gifted son of new england, mr. john fiske, has reached conclusions which he at least would acknowledge give confirmation to the present views, as strong as proof of holy writ. "the descendants of these northmen," he says, "formed a very large proportion of the population of the east anglian counties, and consequently of the men who founded new england. the east anglian counties have been conspicuous for resistance to tyranny and for freedom of thought." by parity of reasoning, we may easily prove that the kindred norman was the founder of civilization in england, and, in direct sequence and by filiation of race, of civilization in the colony of virginia; and, by a gradual evolution, in the states of the south and west. * * * * * far back in the history of our race there stands, luminous and large, in his _milieu_ of mediæval mist, a mounted conqueror with sword and torch--the immediate offspring of scandinavian jarls--the remote progenitor of the virginian "cavalier." it is the founder of that anglo-norman civilization of which we form a part, and which, in many ways, still responds to the impulse of that imperial brain. william the norman presented in vivid epitome the characteristic traits of his race, with other traits or variations of these traits that made him almost an abnormal figure even in the history of those times. he has been commonly depicted as physically a giant among his fellows; but lord lytton (a good authority) discredits these legends of gigantic stature; it is seldom we find, he declares, the association of great size and commanding intellect in great men; it is really a violation of the natural law, though possibly the great norman may have been, like abraham lincoln, an exception to the general rule. his physical forces were certainly subjected to severe tests. his personal leadership in the wintry marches through the north of england were, practically, paralleled in later days by the wintry marches of our scandinavian general, george rogers clark, in the vast territories of the north and west. the prodigious fortitude and endurance manifested in these campaigns proved beyond all question the staying capacity of the scandinavian blood. the royal norman had all the tastes of a forest-born man; not a mere taste for the sports of the field as known to the english gentlemen of a later period, but a wild, almost demoniac passion for the atrocities of the chase as practised by the early norman kings. a love of royal sport does not discredit a modern ruler of men; but scarcely such sport as this. the "wild king," says an old english chronicler, "loves wild beasts as if he were a wild beast himself and the father of wild beasts." churches and manors were swept away to create forests and dens and retreats for the creatures he loved to slay. he ruled, conquered, hunted, ravaged, "harried," and subjugated from brittany to scotland; and yet, says the same old chronicler in his "flowers of history," "he was such a lover of peace that a girl laden with gold might traverse the whole of england without harm." [illustration: honorable william preston.] this may or may not be a "flower of history"; but if true, it is a startling historic fact. xii as the conqueror stood among the sovereigns of that day, so stood the normans among the contemporary races. they were of peculiar type, these men--both sovereign and subject--and were cast in a like mold. they had body, sap, color, concentrated vigor, and inbred thracian fire. they had a sort of racial distinction which in its merely personal aspects was never lost. mingling with all races, they yet stood in a sense separate and apart from all. they were as the _haut brion_ among the wines of the bordelais. but, unlike their native vine, they bore transplantation to any land, and drew perpetual vigor from every soil. strange as it may seem, there is a confessed incapacity for colonization in the frenchman of to-day, and stranger still is the remedy for this defect which some of their leading thinkers have proposed, to wit, that the frenchman should transmogrify himself _into an anglo-saxon_. certainly a grotesque transformation, if effected in the manner proposed by those pessimistic prophets demolins and lemaître. france (they say) must have colonial expansion! the anglo-saxon is the only successful expansionist; we must _anglo-saxonize_ france! they forget that the anglo-saxon himself is indebted for his success as a colonist and trader to the scandinavian frenchmen who colonized england under william the conqueror, and that it was not until the norman's demoniac spirit of "enterprise" took possession of the anglo-saxon thegns and ceorls that they even felt the impulse to "go down to the sea in ships." later, too, they should remember, there was an _industrial_ colonization of england by the frenchmen who were relentlessly expatriated in the days of the dragonades. what france then lost has never been fully regained. when she lost the norman element in its early scandinavian form, her capacity for colonial expansion was seriously impaired. when she colonized england by an indiscriminate exclusion of the huguenots from her own soil, her capacity for normal evolution was lost. the recanting or subjugated element that remained is probably represented by the prescriptive "free-thinking" anti-clerical element of to-day. the profane spirit of the english "bigod" had been imported into the religion of france, and "bigotry" may discredit the claims of the noblest faith. the extreme reactionary result in this instance is an intolerant _unbelief_, passing at times into a ferocious contempt for country, constitutions, and creeds. the storms of norman conquest seemed scarce to touch the depths of anglo-saxon life. no marked change in the methods of local administration accompanied the change of kings. the rude strength of the old manorial system was proof against radical change. far less complex than the centralized administration of modern france, it was even better calculated to accommodate itself to the changes wrought by the hand of war. built low and strong, it stood four-square to every shock and blast. it was only the high towers that toppled in the sweep of the storm. when it passed, the village-group, the manorial life, and the rude strong sons of the soil were still there. andrews, an authority upon early anglo-saxon life, gives us a picture of the "yeoman" which leaves much to be desired in the way of picturesqueness and charm. upon the testimony of priests and leeches he is depicted as a swinish, servile sort of creature--gross, stupid, sensual, superstitious, cruel, and even "beastly"; with no conception whatever of "freedom," and only the most bestial conceptions of life. the routine of husbandry after the conquest knew no change. a norman baron unseats the saxon thegn, but the villein and ceorl take up the labors of the old manorial life; the new lord receives the customary dues, and protection against lawlessness is extended to bond and free. this servile saxon class were the descendants of a soldier race which many years before the advent of the conquering norman had rudely dispossessed the ancient inhabitants of the soil, and were themselves first to "harry," no doubt (for _harry_ is an old saxon word imported from the north), the _whole_ of that turbulent realm which william harried only in part. but the norman harried well. it may be said that northumbria never rallied from the devastation until the magical agencies of modern industrialism came to repair the ravage that he had wrought. but elsewhere the "conquest" worked no such change. the norman simply gave completeness, variety, elevation, splendor, and finish to the saxon's rude but solid work. the transformation wrought through the genius of the soldier-statesman was not the plodding reconstruction of a shattered kingdom upon ancient lines, but the orderly evolution of a new and splendid civilization within conditions "visualized" by the conqueror's creative brain. the primordial and paramount condition of this work was the permanent establishment of english _unity_ at the gathering of the people upon salisbury plain. when the people rallied in loyal allegiance to the throne, the old conceptions of "feudalism" ceased to exist--vanishing centuries before cervantes smiled spain's "chivalry" away. in our own websterian phrase, england was henceforth "one and indivisible." the fusion of warring elements was now as complete as if welded together by the hammer of thor. the consequences of that initial step are told in the history of the english race--consequences which this imperial statesman alone had the genius to forecast. to no mere man does the line of the nineteenth century poet so well apply- "he dipt into the future far as human eye could see." this norman adventurer who had now practically established all his pretensions--legitimate and illegitimate--was destined to establish, also, a line of anglo-norman princes who showed in varied ways that transmitted blood would tell. shakespeare, in his splendid series of historical plays, has painted in vivid colors and fine dramatic sequence the manifestation of this anglo-norman influence through a succession of closely connected reigns--weaving into brilliant and picturesque history the fireside traditions which fascinated his youthful mind. the story that he tells is unique, not only in the literature of the race, but in the literature of man. "the only history that i know," said an english statesman discussing the annals of his race, "is the history that shakespeare wrote." no formal historic writer has presented so faithfully or effectively the characteristic traits and temper of that time. it is a philosophic study, resting chiefly upon a traditional basis, and cast in a powerful dramatic form. and who so fit as shakespeare to depict the features of a royal race? this strong portrayal of their salient or their subtler qualities, in statecraft or in war, is something quite beyond the reach of a mere historian's art. through all this dramatic movement we note the wild tricks of an hereditary blood; the troublous or turbulent play of passions flowing from an alien source. it is in this record alone we find that magical touch, that moving speech, that strange, pathetic eloquence which flows from royal lips inspired to utterance by the sorrows of an anglo-norman brain. doubtless it is shakespeare's noblest work. it is certainly a product of the same imperial spirit that breathes in the aspirations, the utterances, and the acts of the "melancholy dane." recent researches among the scandinavian population of the northern states seem to show marked psychological distinctions in the several branches of the scandinavian stock, denoting original differences in the mental make-up and manifestations of the norwegian, the swede, and the dane; brainy races all, but the psychological manifestations of their daily life differing in each. the swede and his norwegian brother have a strong, instinctive inclination for the ruder activities of their social environment--building, boating, agriculture, railway construction, commercial operations, etc.; the dane, on the contrary, manifesting an equally marked predilection for life in its contemplative or æsthetic aspects--for philosophy, the _belleslettres_, the fine arts, and the higher lines of scholastic research. his physiognomy is differentiated, so to speak, by "the pale cast of thought." is it not possible that this deep intra-racial distinction was recognized by the creator of the "melancholy dane"? but "hamlet" was not altogether a product of shakesperean imagination. the original lines of the character seem to have been found in the personality of a contemporary thinker, himself, like hamlet, an obstinate questioner of invisible things. in those eager elizabethan times when drake and raleigh were "discovering" other worlds and shakespeare imagining new, there lived near the ancient city of bordeaux a modest country gentleman--a grand seigneur of peculiar distinction--who on his father's side was of direct english descent. he bore a patrician title; he was lord of a rich domain, and enjoyed social and civic distinctions of the highest sort. his scholarship was ample and unique; his social pretensions were not in excess of his rank; and he bore his weight of learning "lightly like a flower." rank, riches, scholarship, distinction--all these he had, and _more_; he had the prodigious gift of _common sense_, with a sort of cynical humor flashing through an habitual mood of philosophic thought that gave to his writing--and notably to his book of observations and reflections--a peculiar archaic charm. one could not pay a higher tribute to his literary power than to add, that his writings had a powerful fascination for shakespeare himself. these philosophic essays supplied the great dramatist with many subtle and striking thoughts, and the very personality of the modest country gentleman made a profound impression upon shakespeare's mind; so marked an impression indeed that according to the affirmation or suggestion of an ingenious modern scholar, the great english writer--himself of anglo-norman blood--found in this anglo-french philosopher the original of that incomparable dramatic figure--the "melancholy dane." if this theory be correct, it simply adds to the evidence of a certain bizarre weirdness in the working of that old scandinavian blood. be this as it may, if the mind of shakespeare could be touched and inspired by the philosophic reflexions of a provincial thinker in france (a frenchman with a strong suspicion of anglo-norman blood), there are doubtless others (some with the same ethnic affinities) that may profitably be reached in the same way; and lest the anglo-normans of our bluegrass "arcady" should take themselves too seriously, as even the wisest may do, in the momentous matter of "family," "rank," "blood," and "race," it would be well at parting to introduce for their consideration the antiquated opinions of the same ingenious frenchman, who, wise as he was, did not always perhaps take matters _seriously enough_. in this instance no doubt his views will carry weight. [illustration: general basil w. duke.] thus much by way of preface and apology (if there be need of either) in closing an excursive dissertation upon the ethnological theories of monsieur paul du chaillu, accompanied with some interesting reflections from the pen of another frenchman who, though not "modern" in the same sense, seems to have been in some of his conceptions quite judicious and even elevated in his views. this quaint, genial, and sagacious philosopher--the author of a famous book of "essays"--was the seigneur de la montaigne, count of perigord and sometime mayor of bordeaux, whose greatest title to fame is this--that he was the favorite author of william shakespeare, the foremost writer of all time. possibly montaigne by contribution of thought was an unconscious collaborator in the construction of "hamlet, the prince of denmark," a drama which illustrates in brilliant, powerful, and fantastic fashion the varied intellectual and emotive capacities of the scandinavian blood. in that royal anglo-norman, "prince hal" of england, the english dramatist depicts the _man of action_; in hamlet, the brooding prince of denmark, he presents the _man of thought_. they were the favorite children of shakespeare's prolific brain. "'tis a scurvy custom and of very ill-consequence," says the ingenious chevalier montaigne, "that we have in our kingdom of france to call every one by the name of his manor or seigneury, and the thing in the world that does the most prejudice and confounds families and descents.... we need look no further for example than our own royal family, where every partage creates a new sir-name, whilst in the meantime the original of the family is totally lost. there is so great liberty taken in these mutations that i have not in my time seen any one advanced by fortune to any extraordinary condition who has not presently had genealogical titles added to him new and unknown to his father. "how many gentlemen have we in france who by their own talk are of royal extraction? more i think than who will confess they are not. "was it not a pleasant passage of a friend of mine? there were a great many gentlemen assembled together; about the dispute of one lord of the manor with another, which other had in truth some pretty eminence of titles and alliances, above the ordinary scheme of gentry. upon the debate of this priority of place, every one standing up for himself, to make himself equal to him; one, one extraction, another another; one the near resemblance of name; another of arms; another an old worm-eaten patent, and the least of them great-grandchild to some foreign king. when they came to sit down to dinner, my friend, instead of taking his place amongst them, retiring with most profound congees, entreated the company to excuse him for having lived with them hitherto at the saucy rate of a companion; but being now better informed of their quality, he would begin to pay them the respect due to their birth and grandeur; and that it would ill become him to sit down among so many princes; and ended the farce with a thousand reproaches. "_let us in god's name_," continues the illustrious writer, "_satisfy ourselves with what our fathers were contented and with what we are; we are great enough if we understand rightly how to maintain it; let us not disown the fortune and condition of our ancestors, and lay aside those ridiculous pretences that can never be wanting to any one that has the impudence to alledge them_." xiii the alphabetical series of norman or anglo-norman names here given was selected by an english scholar from an english official directory and published, anonymously, in the latter half of the last century, to illustrate a theory of the genesis of the english race. the present selection represents only in part the series or lists originally published, embracing several thousand names. to this selection the writer has added norman or scandinavian names from other sources, together with "notes" that serve to confirm in detail the general theory of inherited racial traits. the list which he first published has been greatly enlarged and many additions made from the original english series.[7] [7] the norman people. mr. freeman says that the normans "lost themselves" among the people whom they conquered. very clearly, however, the "names" were not lost. the original norman may be said to have had, in a high degree, that _personnalité absorbante_ which, according to littré, is characteristic of every great man. it is not remarkable, therefore, that after every norman invasion the resulting ethnical transmutation was complete. the new element became at once the vitalizing power of the "absorptive" or subjugated race. this gift of racial transformation was so great that the scandinavians, seizing a gallic province, became french or norman; subjugating england, they became english; overflowing ireland, they fused at once with the native race; actually becoming "_irisher_ than the irish" themselves--_hibernis ipsis hiberniores_. the duke of argyle once said in the english house of lords that three of the irish leaders of that day (one of them john redmond, the present irish king) were genealogically superior men--men of illustrious descent--leaders of royal or noble norman blood; confirming the declaration made by the author of the "peerage" that it is not lands but ancestors that make a nobility. the career of the norman as a conquering or migratory race has been a perpetual masquerade; in england taking the form of an irishman and controlling the parliament; in the same guise leading the armies of england and france; in america, demoniacally possessed, becoming the personal director of a lynching, the boss of a strike, or the leader of a lawless expeditionary force. but everywhere he _leads_! the name of the race disappears, but the original, indestructible, irresistible, invisible and protean force is still _there_. if we reject the existence and operation of this subtle and pervasive influence in the ancestral strains of kentucky, the evolution of the typical kentuckian can not easily be explained. the race is "lost," not because the visiting norman is absorbed by his host, but because the visitor appropriates all that his host may have, even his personality and all that it implies. the englishman, or the irishman, or the scotchman, disappear, and a transmogrified norman takes his place. it is not english, nor irish, nor french absorptiveness, but norman appropriativeness, that has done the work. precisely thus, to compare great things with small: the english whigs once went in swimming, and the norman tories "stole their clothes." but the norman's act of appropriation usually goes deeper than the skin. he is not content with a petty theft of "clothes." with an almost satanic subtlety and finesse he appropriates the very soul. it becomes, indeed, his very own. that incomparable illusionist, benjamin disraeli, was a past-master in these norman arts, and in perfect sympathy with those anglo-norman tories who followed his fortunes in victory or defeat. but norman or saxon were equally indifferent to him. it was glory enough for semitic ambition to build success upon the needs of both; and yet, in doing it, this man of alien blood and ancient race repeated the miracle of lanfranc--the scholar and statesman who, in the old norman days, had not only cooled the hot blood of the normanized scandinavian and conciliated the respect of the proud, implacable saxon, but, linking their interests in inseparable association, had brightened with a prospect of imperial splendor the destinies of the common race. so, too, the semitic statesman charmed the rudest elements with his orphean song. his brilliant successor, salisbury, added to parts and learning the technical information of a savant. disraeli had something better. he had that deep, philosophic insight which seems to be bred into the elect of an ancient stock. it is a mystical gift. "he saw things, now, as though they _were_, and things _to be_ in things that are." this (if we may believe haeckel) was the "inspiration" of the jewish law-giver. [illustration: the marshall home at "buck pond." (near versailles, kentucky.) built in 1783 by colonel thomas marshall, father of chief justice marshall.] how little escaped the thoughtful eyes of our semitic statesman, as he surveyed from his coign of vantage the shifting currents of our modern world! in depicting monsignore berwick, a descendant of an old scottish family that for generations had mingled italian blood with its own, the writer looks quite beyond the native environment, and sees only the old northern blood in the _flaxen hair_ and _light blue eyes_ of the young italian priest. describing a nineteenth century function at the beautiful english home of hugo bohun, he sees at once in mr. gaston phoebus--the most gifted and attractive of the swells whom fashion has herded in this social jungle of bohun--not a modern englishman, but a _gascon noble of the sixteenth century_, clothed with all the attractions of a contemporary courtier of france--the france of louis le grand. in "gaston phoebus"--says the philosophic statesman--"nature, as is sometimes her wont, had chosen to reproduce exactly the original type." when the subtle semitic thinker introduced an american "colonel" at the swell function of hugo bohun, why should he take him from the _south_, and give him a _norman_ name? had nature reproduced in colonel campian the antique norman type? it is a notorious fact, says herbert spencer, that the celtic type disappears altogether in the united states. doubtless some vague conception of a potential undercurrent of ancestral blood must have been passing through the mind of that fine old gentleman, mr. isaac shelby of fayette, when dispensing his stores of bachelor wisdom to his young friends just "after the war." he would say, "depend on it, young gentlemen, there is no cross like a _virginian_ cross." the differentiating quality was there. it was observed, but not accurately depicted perhaps, by disraeli, by barrett wendell, and by _isaac le bon_. what was it? if a racial quality, what _race_? two of these acute observers were of scandinavian stock. the other did not need to say, even to the proudest statesman at potsdam or st. james, "_your_ race is of but yesterday compared with my own." one of disraeli's favorite themes was race. indeed, a statesman could not be ignorant of the subject in his day. the claims of race were sweeping over diplomatic arrangements and dynastic rights. bismarck was unifying the german people by removing ancient landmarks, by "appropriating" autonomous territories, and by appropriating or absorbing a large population of the scandinavian race; and the third (and last) napoleon undertook to unify the latin races by placing an austrian prince upon the mexican throne. but the napoleonic prince pushed his reconstructive theories of race to a destructive conclusion when, in freeing italy, he furnished a formidable partner to the triple alliance, that ultimately destroyed france. the sentiment of race, properly directed, has its uses. but the director must not be a despot or a despot's agent. the feeling must be popular in origin and expression--voluntary, spontaneous, normal, autonomous. there was never a better illustration of its power than in the prolonged struggle of kentucky for existence as an american state. there was never a better illustration of popular capacity in statecraft and of enterprise in war than in the early years of the last century (1800-12). they--the people--discharged the functions of an independent state. kentucky was in fact a little _nation_. raising and equipping armies, receiving diplomatic emissaries or agents, defending her frontiers, guarding the atlantic border, protecting the territories of the northwest, and in conjunction with the "sea-power" of commodore perry actually conducting war upon foreign soil. the very guns on perry's ships were "sighted" by riflemen from kentucky; and when the day came to try conclusions with the bold englishman on his own soil, one of the most efficient aides upon shelby's staff was perry himself. is there nothing in this record to appeal to a sentiment of national pride in the kentuckian's heart? and does it not inspire a disposition to revive and invigorate those pristine instincts of our common race? probably the recent manifestation of "home-coming" sentiment was denotive of some such stirring of racial impulse and emotion long dormant in the soul. xiv when following the long dim path of gothic migration we found but little that seemed to be in vivid relation with the ethnology of our own race; and it was not until we were afloat upon the scandinavian seas, with rolf ganger looking out upon the kingdoms of the earth, that we began to feel ourselves (to speak in paradox) firmly planted upon historic ground. here the conditions of the old parable are reversed. the genius of civilization is offering the kingdoms of the earth to the devil himself. with the old pirate of the norwegian coast begins the great movement that frees, elevates, and modernizes man.[8] henceforth all is plain sailing for the historical inquirer. the reader may take down his map and trace the foot-prints of the norse freebooters wherever they dropped a scandinavian name upon our ancestral soil. these ancient "place names" are found everywhere north of the avon, and may easily be traced along the eastern coast of england, from the tyne to the thames; or, proceeding westward and northward, far beyond the line of the cheviot hills;--far beyond the waters of the tweed. the scandinavian has resolved to stay wherever he has been planted by the fortunes of war. when his norman kinsman seized the counties of southern england, the practical result of the invasion was to _reinforce_ the anglo-saxon whom he came to rob. the norman invader was warmly received by those english normans--the danes--in his "wintry marches" to the north. from the dragon teeth thus sown sprang the kentuckian of to-day, two thirds "dragon" and one third "bull." the "half horse, half alligator" was an anglo-norman assimilation of a later date. [8] when otto, the _saxon_, a remote kinsman of our race, became a roman emperor, he became the conservator of rome and all her works. when william the norman became king of england and the leader of gothic races, it was his chosen mission to undo, in part, the work which rome had done. as a soldier and statesman, the norman leader had been trained in the "school" of the saxon king. read mr. freeman's "western europe in the eighth century." it is an impressive introduction to that "realm of shadows" which forms the background of the norman conquest. it was the genetic period of modern civilization. the geographic outlines of great modern states were just beginning to appear. it is conceivable that by reason of exhausted material resources--coal, iron, etc.--our present splendid civilization, in the course of a few thousand years, will disappear; leaving here and there, perhaps, in some happy isle of the pacific seas, a prosperous and cultivated population descended from some surviving element of the present american stock. peering painfully through the mists of tradition, they have vague glimpses of ancestral races fighting for supremacy in a vast continental war--the yenghees in the north and the dixees in the south--remote ancestral races in internecine conflict. it was thus with the teutonic and scandinavian races of to-day. in far-off central asia, beyond the caspian sea and beyond the definite historic boundaries of the past, they see great races in perpetual movement of migration or war; multitudinous peoples; two distinct groups or divisions; but all of one race. as they emerge into the twilight of history--into the savage gloaming betwixt the dog and the wolf--the observer recognizes two races, the teutones and the gothones, or goths. the vast migratory columns of the former take possession of central europe. the other column,--the kindred gothones or goths,--making its exit from central asia, sweeps along the valley of the vistula, follows the southern shores of the baltic sea, and moving to the mouths of the elbe and the rhine directs its columns of colonization into denmark and the danish islands, and to the vast scandinavian peninsula of the north. as the northern column loitered along the shores of the baltic they gathered great quantities of amber from the sea, which with early instincts of commercial thrift they sold to the teutones on the south, by whom, with early mechanic aptitude, it was wrought into many exquisite and profitable shapes for the markets of the world. "made in germany" is an antique trademark in the history of men, and there is a pleasant, if trivial, significance in the circumstance that the first historic article of traffic between these primitive races--the founders of modern civilization--was the substance which first manifested the property of "electricity" to the eyes of man. but in pursuing this inquiry we are less concerned in ascertaining the exact relations of the ancestral kinsmen than in studying the ethnic material (in this instance the scandinavian) which was molded or modified by the geographical _milieu_. what was the moral geography of the race? why should the norseman differ from his kindred teuton in the south? there may have been original differences in the psychology of race which made one, for example, an explorer and trader, and the other an unrivaled artisan and exploiter. but there is something to be considered in the plastic influence of the physical and social conditions. it is no melodramatic assumption, for example, to declare that no slave could live in the free air of scandinavia. not because the air is "free," but because the soil is thin. the slave could not subsist himself, much less pay tribute to a lord. if slavery or serfage was impossible, a nobility was equally so. where subsistence was scant, accumulation was at least slow. wealth could not exist as a basis of privilege, and class legislation upon primogeniture gave support to this natural law. the "five" and "fifty" acre holdings could not be consolidated into big estates. the rocky ridges, the high levels, the nipping airs, the thin, worn soil, the short seasons, and the fleeting harvests were conditions fatal to the growth of feudalism. retainers were superfluous where slaves could not make their keep. fish from the sea, a little pasturage in the glens--that was all. no smiling abundant harvests; no patient laborious thralls, no baronial _bas_ or boss; none of those iron teutonic laws that not only shaped the conditions of society but wrought changes in the very soul of man. the scandinavians were not germans or saxons or angles or celts. this rocky scandinavian peninsula was cradling the masters of the world. they were literally driven by their wild, arid nurse to follow the furrows of the sea and recast the corrupted civilizations of the earth. between the sheltering group of islands that fringe the western front of norway and curtain the main shore, there is a broad passage of the sea where a navy of dragon-prows might float secure from observation or attack. near the center of this insular barrier, rolf ganger--the greatest force of that hyperborean world--had constructed a system of dry-docks, from which, in the idle hours of summer and autumn, he launched those portentous fleets of dragons and serpents that sailed upon every sea and ravaged the most distant shores. from one point of view, it was a nest of scandinavian free-booters; from another, it was the naval station of a great sea-faring race--a race that, having failed as traders in amber and timber and fish, were now about to try their luck in ravage and loot upon the gravelly loams of the cheviot hills and deep in the sunny heart of france. [illustration: colonel richard m. johnson.] william the conqueror was fifth in descent from this great captain of the northern seas--the potential reconstructor of the modern world. xv when the great gothic column of migration, sweeping past the caspian and crossing the asian frontier, followed the river valleys and the shores of the baltic sea, making a reconnoissance in force that reached as far as the waters of the northern sea, it pushed its exploring columns through every part of scandinavia, peopling every shore it passed, and leaving every promontory and peninsula in every nook and hook and cranny and on every continental headland, every island inlet, and in every peaceful arm of the danish seas strewn with the wrecks of the migrant column, battered by the hardships of a long, unbroken march. only the strong survived. the weak and unenterprising, as the head of the resistless column bent toward the northern sea, shrank from the toils and terrors of a march in a northern clime. upon these geographical points of "refuge" the racial weaklings had been gathering for years. nothing stayed the mighty goth. the norman could turn the sharpest corners in the danish world. once planted in the footsteps of a pioneer, even a phlegmatic teuton might pursue his way. but the exhausted weakling dropped in his tracks, and crawled to the shelter of some inviting _angulus_ or nook. here they were--the drift in the eddy of an archipelagic sea. jutes from jutland (in denmark); _saxons_ from the shores to the south; angles, from the anglen in sleswick--in all a seething colluvian of ethnic stragglers swarming for an ultimate raid upon british soil. the great teutonic nation was seemingly planted on the best lands of _central europe_; the great scandinavian people lay far to the north; the jutes, the angles, the saxons, the frisians, _lay between_;--the angli, who gave their name to england, lying at the point (_angulus_) where the coast of the baltic first bends sharply toward the north. are these the peoples that gave substance and strength and splendor to the english race? the men who fall out in a forced march (said a great virginian captain) are not the men to stand up in a long fight. toward the close of the eighth century the scandinavians of the north began their work of devastation upon english soil. for at least three centuries the anglo-saxons held the rover's name in dread. contemporary english abounds with scandinavian words and forms; numerous traces of scandinavian occupancy are found on english soil to-day. the men of the heptarchy were in the main bred upon english soil. at least they were not a broken race of stragglers when they came. they were a vigorous, fighting breed. but if bismarck were looking for "mixed races" in his carefully calculated career of annexation (no "dreaming" here), he certainly found what he sought at the point where the column of goths that had marched from central asia, turning its head to the german ocean, took courage from the bracing prospect and--gathering their veterans into one compact, invulnerable mass--debouched boldly toward the vast, inhospitable regions of the north. the angles and saxons were cradled among the mixed or mongrel peoples that had been dropped by the great migrant races in the southeastern corner of the northern sea--a population, says marsh, of "very mixed and diversified blood." these furnished the original "comelings" upon british soil, but it is scarcely credible that the outcome of this mongrel stock was the _anglo-saxon race_,--which in the great triple alliance of norman and saxon and dane has for centuries maintained an unbroken front and kept the world in awe. xvi the learned author of "british family names," speaking of certain lists of ancient norman names alleged to be authentic, says: "of this great array of time-honored names, few are now borne by direct representatives. they exist among the old gentry rather than in the peerage. in the majority of cases, the later descendants of illustrious families have sunk into poverty and obscurity, unconscious of their origin." they have not "vanished from the world" (as mr. freeman says), but are daily coming to the front in circumstances requiring capacity for leadership in affairs. "even now," says the observant author of an anonymous treatise,[9] "agricultural laborers and coal miners can not combine for objects which demand the exercise of practical ability without finding themselves led by those who, though in humble stations, bear names of undoubted norman origin," citing, by way of example, joseph arch (_de arques_, normandy). these quotations will fitly introduce to the reader the long and suggestive alphabetical series of norman names which the compiler has made the basis of extended critical remark. [9] the norman people. in examining this series, one naturally inquires: how do we know that the thousands of names, taken from an old english directory, are norman? simply by the circumstance that the same names occur in the records of normandy in the eleventh and twelfth centuries--the references in most cases being to the great rolls of the exchequer, 1180-1200. comparative reference to the english records at an early date--eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centuries--raises a strong presumption that names appearing on the norman rolls _before the conquest_, and on english records _after the conquest_, were derived from normandy, and that names now accounted _english_ were originally _norman_ names. a similar correspondence between the names in the records of a virginian court house and those of official records in kentucky, to the mind of a contemporary genealogist, would carry decisive weight. it is the weight of concurrent testimony of high character from authentic sources. _identitas colligitur ex multitudine signorum._ even one surname in like circumstances is a significant record of individual descent. what shall be said of thousands historically traced--the continuous record of a single race? thirty years ago it was estimated by an english scholar that the english race proper comprised thirty millions of people--a great composite nation; the saxon, dane, and norman--a trinity of races all derived from the same ancient stock (the gothic) and each forming about one third of a homogeneous race. the saxon came immediately from the southeastern shores and islands of the north sea, and is of gothic descent; the dane from denmark or the danish isles, and is of pure scandinavian stock; the norman from normandy, remotely gothic, is of direct descent from the scandinavian race. if this statement be correct the conclusion seems to be inevitable, _not_ that "we are scandinavians"--as the london _times_ says--but that we are all deeply _scandinavianized_ and that there is a preponderance of scandinavian blood in the english race. if there has been a thorough intermixture of the three racial elements during the past eight hundred years, we may assume that every kentuckian of anglo-virginian stock represents a practically definite ethnical product: saxon, one third; scandinavian, two thirds--for all controversial purposes a sufficiently conclusive result. the long-commingled blood of this composite race is, in effect, an adamantine cement, and the racial plexus, fusion, or combination is one and inseparable in every sense. if it were possible to _remove_ either of these constituent elements--the _scandinavian_ or saxon--the kentuckian in his present admirable form would disappear and nothing but a restoration of the racial balance by a reconstitution of the original parts would restore him to the position of primacy assigned him by mr. bart kennedy in his recent contribution to the london _mail_. how true, then, in a deep ethnological sense, the familiar legend of our commonwealth--"united we stand, divided we fall." be this as it may, it is desirable to have it understood that so long as the saxon holds his _own_ (and no more) in the constitution of our common race, there can arise no possible "unpleasantness" between the parts of which it is composed. in that duplex anthropoidal abnormity to which its creator has given a significant binominal appellation--_jekyll_ and _hyde_--some _regulative_ element seems to be lacking. is it an element of race? the author does not say as much in express terms, but apparently he suggests it in his selection of names. have we not a _norman_ in mr. jekyll? and a _saxon_ in mr. hyde? that we have not a normal englishman is quite clear. is the dominant scandinavian element _short_? or has some demoniac "berserker" blood slipped into the cross? subtle and descriminative writers (such as stevenson and disraeli) do not express themselves after a careless fashion, as a rule. they mean something, even in the selection of a name. [illustration: colonel j. stoddard johnston.] there is something, too, no doubt, that appeals to the popular imagination merely in a _norman_ name, and lord lytton has cleverly exploited this predilection in many fascinating volumes of historical romance; tales of love and chivalry that in our soft mid-century days had rivaled, and for a time eclipsed, the magical creations of scott. the later school of scandinavian writers has not won the kentuckian from his early love of english and scottish romance. his conception of the actual scandinavian--the scandinavian in the flesh--the scandinavian of to-day, is still undefined and vague. until du chaillu came he had given the matter but little thought. and, yet, fifty years before--in the busy, brooding twenties--another frenchman, wandering among the scandinavians of gothia, describes their predominant characteristics thus: "fair hair, blue eyes, a middle stature, light and slim; a physiognomy indicating frankness, gentleness, and a certain sentimental elevation of mind, especially among the fair sex. the people in the other provinces partake of these different physical and moral qualities." how completely this description by a frenchman in scandinavia verifies the casual observation of another frenchman in kentucky! their hospitality, m. du chaillu informed us in his charming lecture, was almost without bounds, and at times to a kentuckian would have been embarrassing in the extreme, as when those snowy-handed hostesses bathed the traveler's feet and tucked him away in bed. but monsieur seems to have suffered no embarrassment on this account. among the population of the northern provinces of scandinavia there are men of almost gigantic stature, with dark hair, deep-set eyes, a look somewhat fierce, but full of expression and vivacity. their muscles are large, firm, and distinct, the bones prominent, the features regular and clear cut. a cheerful temper and "an enterprising disposition" are qualities common to the whole population. a stranger is welcome in all circles. even in the polar circles the hospitality loses none of its warmth. probably it is in dispensing their hospitality that their passion for "strong liquor" is most marked. this liquor they drink out of horns; and that is why, said du chaillu, convincingly, that we say in kentucky, "will you take a horn?" but the kentuckian seems to derive this peculiarity from every side. "fill the largest horns," said the saxon, cedric, when his slaves were arranging the banquet for his norman guests. xvii the impression we derive from the foregoing description of the scandinavian physique among the more northern tribes recalls professor shaler's conclusions from a careful study of the measurement of fifty thousand troops from kentucky, made by the astronomer gould (a distinguished mathematician), who after the war took service in the argentine republic. "the results," he says, "are surprising. their average height was nearly an inch greater than that of the new england troops; they exceed them equally in girth of chest, and the circumference of head is also very much larger. in size they come up to the level of the _picked regiments of the northern armies_ of europe."[10] yet these results were obtained from what was a levy _en masse_. it did not include "the rebel exiles" who were the "first running from the press," or, as is often said, "the flower of the state," and being in the main of a more exuberant habit of body would doubtless have given still better results. it is questionable if all scandinavia could furnish two such _heads_ as william nelson's and humphrey marshall's. _ceteris paribus_, said leidy, "size is a measure of power"--referring to _size of head_. when general marshall was warned that his great size would attract the attention of _sharpshooters_, he answered, "i have provided for that. i have a _fat staff_. there be _six_ richmonds in the field!" his aide and secretary was a norman of wholly different type; of a slight figure, but of an activity, courage, vivacity, and endurance wholly unsurpassed. captain shaler (himself a capable soldier, with a strong dash of new england blood) singles out for special commendation the soldiers and officers of morgan's command. he especially notes their high social quality, their physical vigor and activity, their endurance under severe tests, and their peculiar aptitude and penchant for the business of war. he waxes vigorously poetic in describing the martial qualities of the "orphan brigade." [10] kentucky. by n. s. shaler (harvard college), 1885. * * * * * hereditary surnames are said to be memorials of race that can never be obliterated. if thousands of men, swept along in some great historic migratory movement which is followed and described by critical observers through country after country, through century after century, never "breaking ranks" except to plant and build, leaving the same names upon the official records of every dukedom, or kingdom, or commonwealth through which they pass; when their names, their features, their instincts, their mental habits, their daily speech, their terms of law, the language and routine of their courts, are impressed with the same ethnic stamp; when the same mental, physical, and moral characteristics are manifest generation after generation; when myriads of minute resemblances confirm the conclusions of the larger view, why lose one's self in the haunting mystery of apparent discrepancies in detail? let us give full credit to each member of the triune ethnical trust--which is charged with all the responsibilities of this magnificent modern world. if you wish to know how much can be said to thrill with delight that old saxon element of your blood, read what the count de montalembert (another frenchman) has said in his "monks of the west." the enormous difficulties encountered by the church in that old chaotic day approximately measure the shortcomings of the race. that the crude, repulsive saxon should have been fashioned into the noble figure which montalembert describes, speaks well for the essential worth of the _saxon_; but what a tribute to the miraculous power of the _monk_! in the original prolusion and in the present preface the writer has simply tried to prepare the way for investigators of greater gifts. here the philologist is in his proper field. in pursuing this work, he becomes the genealogist of a race. names of localities, names of men, are subject--like all other words--to every variety of phonetic change, and, it may be said, are in a perpetual state of flux. but there is a soul that survives all changes. it is for the scholar to catch it on the wing and fix a fleeting syllable for all time. xviii the student who is interested in this subject may find some help in the following series of names (to which frequent reference has been made), compiled by an anonymous english scholar whose learning and ability have been recognized in the critical reviews. it was to one of these reviews that the present writer was indebted for suggestions that at once quickened his interest in m. du chaillu and his researches, and induced him in the republication of the english writer's list (taken from a london directory) to add to the selections a few names of obvious scandinavian derivation--danish, swedish, and old norse. any fixed rule of selection, in a discussion like this, it is difficult to apply. readers who comprehend how easily errors creep into an ordinary record of "family" pedigrees will make due allowance for errors that may be found in this modestly illustrative anglo-norman list, in which there is but little attempt to trace lineal family descent. with a body of names so pregnant with significance as this, the credentials of any branch of the anglo-norman race in any part of the earth will be recognized as good. the difficulties of the problem are apparent to all. its interest and importance it is impossible to exaggerate or deny. if more simply stated, probably it were more easily understood, but, failing in simplicity of statement, very frequent _repetitions_ may be excused. the origin of the general discussion ought to encourage every scholar. according to the pleasing conception of the great scottish romancer, the originator of this controversy was a saxon slave who understood the art of deducing philosophic conclusions from unconsidered trifles. while herding his master's swine in the west riding of yorkshire, he spoke to a fellow thrall who stalked about in the full enjoyment of saxon freedom with a brazen collar about his neck: "and _swine_ is good english," said the jester. "but how call you the sow when she is flayed, drawn and quartered, and hung up by the heels like a traitor?" "pork," said gurth. "and _pork_, i think, is good norman french. when alive and in charge of a saxon slave, she goes by a _saxon_ name. she is a _norman_ when dressed for the table in the castle hall. what dost thou think of _that_, friend gurth?" "it is but too true doctrine, friend wamba, _however it got into thy fool's pate_." this is elementary, but it was an inspiration to one of the greatest writers of france. the nimble wits of the scottish wizard are not at the service of all the wambas of the saxon race. * * * * * "the norman has vanished from the world," says mr. freeman, "but he has indeed left a name behind him"; and not only the "name," but wherever found he still exhibits "the indomitable vigor of the scandinavian with the buoyant vivacity of the gaul." it must be remembered, in discussing so large and complicated a subject as this, that philosophic scholarship is seldom narrow, absolute, final, or exclusive in its views. it would be folly to affirm, says the anonymous english writer who anticipated in certain aspects the theories of du chaillu, that the possession of norman and danish blood "always implies energy and intellect; and saxon descent, the reverse." we have too much evidence to the contrary. it is not individual instances that are now under consideration; it is the comparative qualities of _race_. we can only safely affirm, in a rational and considerate discussion of the question, that our people are not saxons nor scandinavians, nor normans, but broadly speaking, are a great branch of the english race which happily mingles the highest qualities of the three; the stolid conservatism of the first, the daring enterprise of the second, the "buoyant vivacity," the "spontaneity, enthusiasm, and versatility" of the third. when these racial elements were fairly balanced, as in the time of elizabeth, the evolution of the englishman was complete. it was then that, surcharged with complex currents of racial vitality, the adventurous "elizabethan" sought our shore. the virginian hunter followed or formed a trail in every wilderness, and the yankee skipper trafficked on every coast. the march begun in central asia was resumed upon the american continent, and "the most dramatic spectacle in history" was gradually unfolded before the eyes of men. [illustration: northumbria.] we should find many anglo-norman or scandinavian names upon the company rolls of that vast host. many of these names we have already heard, and, beside the bold norman, others walk unseen--men of blended races cast in the same heroic mold. it is the mark of a "true kentuckian" that, like the amiable and sagacious isaac le bon, he appreciates a good "cross," and to the end of time he will carry the cross which was originally stamped upon his english ancestor in the ancient nursery of the race. he has no quarrel, therefore, with his anglo-saxon blood. "nature," as mr. disraeli says: "natural selection," as others say, seems to delight in working with a purpose and upon a plan; and, when impelled to frame a creature that could do the work which apparently the anglo-norman was called to do, she seems to have found her model in the man of ancient rome: she made him _strong_--a man of oak and bronze. _illi tobur et æs_ triplex. some of the elements may be crude, but _all_ must be strong. a roman trireme might safely carry a vergilian body and an horatian soul; but only a vessel framed with the toughest constituents at nature's command could carry for century after century, in every land, upon every sea, in the "teeth of clenched antagonisms," and upon fixed predestinated lines, the fortunes of the english or "anglo-norman" race. in point of fact, destiny itself seems to have directed the process of evolution when the germ-plasm of those picked races--the norman, the saxon, and the dane--was united to create the english or anglo-norman race, the norman element by virtue of peculiar traits being dominant in the "cross." the kentuckian is no degenerate product of this magnificent ancestral "blend," and one of the objects of the "names" and the accompanying "notes" is to show that in every characteristic respect he has bred true to the ancient blood. if the storm of norman conquest scarcely touched the solid elements of that old manorial life, so the continuous intermingling, through many centuries, of the blood of three remotely kindred races has served to fix and transmit the characteristic traits which are stamped upon the kentuckian of to-day. xix perhaps no critic has thrown more light upon mediæval history than mr. freeman, who in his discriminating analysis of the norman character declares the supreme, the directive, the dominant quality to be _craft_: a special power of intellect which seems to have been created or evolved by the necessities of those times--intellect fused with instinct and directed by a conscienceless common sense. mr. freeman detected its manifestations in all the norman's great affairs. in legal proceedings, in court intrigues, in ecclesiastical relations; in diplomatic affairs, in local or in provincial administration, and, most notable of all, in the _conduct of war_. it was in _war-craft_ that the saxon fell short. if success in battle had come with a sturdy frame, a stout heart, and a short sword, the saxon would seldom have failed in war. but he was not strong (mr. freeman says) in "the wiles of war." from the very outset the scandinavian has won battles by sheer weight of brain, and nature certainly "turned loose a thinker" when she projected a scandinavian freebooter upon the soil of france. this attribution of craft, and all that it implies, to the norman, does not rest solely upon the deductions of a studious historian. the conception did not originate in the closet of a scholar; it seems to have come first from the "great common people"; from the field, from the market, the fireside, and the street. it is proverbial in the speech of france. "c'est un normand, c'est un fin normand, c'est un normand, adroit. "réponse normande, réponse ambiguë. que cela peut être vrai est peut être faux; la réponse est un peu normande." these popular conceptions of the norman character did not necessarily imply disparagement or reprobation. on the contrary, in that wild mediæval struggle for existence, astuteness and duplicity were the winning cards. in the councils of the forest the popular favorite, renard, was at the front. even the imperious isangrim was handicapped by lack of wit: a deprivation not unlike that of the clawless cat in hades. this sinister and sagacious quality of the norman intellect seems to have had full play through all the varied experiences of the race; but its most enduring effects were visible in the great triune nationality evolved upon english soil. it quickened the sluggish wits of the saxon; it tempered the rudeness and ferocity of the dane, and became a shaping factor in the civilization of the world. xx the "names" which follow, and the occasional "notes" that accompany them, are intended to illustrate the theory of descent which has been advocated in this discussion. to find a large body of people in kentucky derived from english sources and bearing norman surnames is in itself a circumstance of peculiar interest and of almost conclusive weight. but to find noted in connection with an hereditary surname certain characteristics that are common to two races and apparently derived along certain historic lines from the same ethnical source, materially strengthens the argument in favor of the assumed origin of the later or remoter race; and if, therefore, we conclude that the people of the commonwealth of kentucky are derived from that old norman strain, we ought to be able to indicate without difficulty characteristic and conspicuous points of resemblance between the original and the derivative stock. taking in hand the exact and vivid characterization of the old norman by the contemporary chronicler, malaterra, we ask ourselves, "are the kentuckians also marked by the characteristics here described?" are they persuasive orators, able lawyers, brilliant fighters, ready and practical thinkers; astute and successful negotiators? have they scholarly tastes? social gifts and accomplishments? a passion for travel, exploration, adventure, field sports, and fine horses? "i like him very much," said the english swell st. aldegonde, speaking of colonel campian, the southern colonel. "he knows all about horses and tobacco."[11] [11] don't forget to rest your horses. the observant traveler in norway notes at the foot of every steep hill a sign-post with the inscription--"don't forget to rest your horses." possibly this scandinavian consideration for the horse runs with the blood. the kentuckian, however, has learned to "rest his horses" before he has learned to read. a little information of this kind ought to be found in our "notes" by way of giving confirmation to the inference suggested by the "names." there is something in the name, but not everything. we have a notable--a brilliant--example in the current history of a kentuckian who is a norman in almost everything except the name, and he belongs to a family that is characteristically norman in many respects; and yet it has borne with great distinction for generations a fine old saxon name. not a few of our leading families are in the same category. the impartial agencies of evolution have given them their due proportion of norman or scandinavian blood, the name being a secondary consideration with the evolutionary fates. for saxon or norman, or--"whatever we"- celtæ, saxones, or norseman or gaul, there's no better stuff for a family tree, wherever the seed of the races may fall. note the broad and generous philosophy in these lines; and, some might add, the imaginative touch which almost gives the quatrain a poetic value. the kentuckian, at least, has but little reason to criticise the stuff of which he is made, particularly since he stands easily _first among the modern races of men_. this is an estimate from an impartial source--a writer for the english press.[12] is it not a fit conclusion to our ethnological tale? [12] mr. bart kennedy, london _mail_. xxi there came at last a shadow over our memory of the bright arcadian days. "the beautiful scandinavian" was fatally stricken in her prime by an insidious malady which gradually sapped her strength but scarcely touched the saint-like beauty which was the glory and charm of her youth. the great traveler, who construed at a glance the ethnical significance of those embodied charms, has long ago passed to his eternal rest. in her children she seems to live again. her sons--handsome young scandinavians of the higher type--are winning success and distinction in the great industrial movements of the times; and her beautiful daughter, vividly reproducing the attractions of the mother, is a passionate lover of travel, and but recently has demonstrated the scandinavian quality of her blood in the midst of a terrific nine days' storm that swept the seas near the coast of japan. [illustration: colonel theodore o'hara.] with this parting glance at the impressive figures which appeared in the early pages of this paper, the "explanatory preface" comes to a close; and the reader--the patient reader--is at last introduced to a rare lexicon of names--names which carry on their light wings the histories of states and men. here the humblest scholar may read without effort, in almost continuous narrative, the marvelous story of three kindred stocks transmuted by the fires of internecine conflict into one invincible race, which after centuries of almost unbroken struggle in peace and in war may almost be said to have made the earth its own. what part it has played in the genesis of our own commonwealth, each student of this "lexicon" must judge for himself, remembering that the decision of this question must rest upon a clear judicial faculty at last. many "names" might be added, but here mere numbers do not count. "to the quick eye of genius"--says max müller--"one case is like a thousand"; and it may be that the scholarly enquirer will find in the brilliant du chaillu an illustration of this maxim of the great german scholar. appendix alphabetical series of norse, norman, and anglo-norman, or non-saxon, surnames. derived from english official records and from other authentic sources. [the learned canon of carlisle assures us that not only has normandy supplied us with many of our family names, but it enjoys the distinction of having been the first to establish an hereditary surname. few stop to consider that a surname thus conceived is not merely an heraldic vanity or device to give social dignity and distinction to those who bear it, but is in reality a scientific advance in the working nomenclature of a race. if to "name" is but to classify, the addition or introduction of the surname simply adds completeness and precision to the racial classification. here, then, we have in the following list a large body of surnames coming almost directly from the land in which surnames are said to have originated. if a name, therefore, be merely that by which a thing is known, it would seem that a people who have borne these names continuously (as is historically attested) for _eight hundred years_ have in all likelihood inherited the characteristic traits, as well as the distinctive surnames, of the antique norman race. in kentucky, the original tone and vigor of the norman people are unimpaired. changes there have been; changes there will be; but, whatever changes may occur, there remains this one unalterable characteristic of the norman race, that "the more you change it, the more it is the same."] _abbett_, a form of abbott. _abbey_, for l'abbe. _abbott_, or abbot, abbas (1180, normandy), abbot, abbet, thirteenth century. _abel_, aubeale, normandy, twelfth century; sir john abel of kent, 1313. _aberdeen_, aberdern, abadam, from abadon. normandy, 1180. _achard_, 1238, berks. _ackin_, from dakin. _acland_, or de vantort, from vantort in mayenne; the baronets acland. _acton_, or barnell. from this family, lord acton. _adderley_, from adderley salop. _addington_, de abernon, normandy, 1112; one branch in somerset. _adrian_, hadrin (normandy), adrien (england). _agate_, a form of haggett or hacket. _agne_, battle abbey roll. _agnew_, or aigneaux, near bayeux, england, twelfth century; scotland, baronets agnew. _ains_, from aignes, near angoulême. _airey_, castle of airey, normandy; airy--celebrated astronomer. _albert_, walter and peter albert (normandy, 1180). _albin_, or albon, st. auben (robson). _alden_, normandy, 1195. _aldworth_, or de la mare. _aleman_ (allman). _alfee_, for alis or ellis. _alison_, barnard de alençon (sir archibald alison). _allan_, for alan. _allanson_, alison. _allebone._ _alley_, from ailly, near falaise, a form of hallett or allet. _alleyne._ _allison._ _allman._ _alpe_, for heppe or helps. _alpey_, averay. _alvers_, or alves. _amand._ _amber_, from ambrières. _ambler_, from ampliers, or aumliers, near arras. england; virginia. _amblie_, hamley. _ambrose._ _amery_, from hamars, near caen. _ames_, from hiesmes, normandy. _amherst_, or henhurst. _amias_, ames. _ammon_, amond, amand. _amory_, darmer. _amos_, ames. _amphlett._ _amy._ _ancell._ "ansel," a famous colored "trainer" in kentucky. _anders_, from andres, near boulogne. _andersen_ or anderson (scand.) _anderson-pelham_, or de lisle from the castle of lisle (normandy). sire edmund anderson, chief justice, temp. elizabeth. _andersons_ of kentucky, a distinguished family. connected by blood with george rogers clark. major robert anderson, of "sumter" fame, was of this family. _andrew_, from st. andre, evreux. _andrews._ geoffrey andreas, 1180 (normandy). landaff w. andrews, a bold, able, and popular whig leader (ky.), conspicuous in congress (1842), and characterized by john quincy adams, who admired his courage and ability, as "a nimrod wildfire from kentucky." (vide diary.) when he objected to one of adams' resolutions (in which he was sustained by the speaker) he looked, says adams, "as savage as a famished wolf"; as circuit judge in kentucky, during the civil war, he rendered certain decisions that were distasteful to the federal authorities. "that brother of yours," said general palmer to mrs. thomas steele, of louisville, "is a bold judge." _angell_, from de l'angle, from les angles, near evreux. _anger_, from angers, anjou; also angier. _angle_, angell. _angwin_, for angevin. _ankers_, for anceres, vide dancer. _anley_, or andley, near rouen. _annable_, or annabell, from anneboutt (cotentin). _anne_, or anns, from l'agne, near argenton (normandy). _annesley._ _ansell._ _anstruther_, or malberbe. _anthony_, st. antoine, near bolbec. _anvers_, or danvers. _anvill_, or hanwell, from andeville, near valognes. _arch_, or de arques, from the castle of arques, near dieppe. joseph arch, a famous english "labor leader." _archdeacon_, archidiaconus, normandy, 1180; england, 1086. _archer_, arcuarius (general of bowmen), sagittarius (normandy), 1195. _archer_, or de bois, armorially identified with de bosco; boys. _arden_, or ardern; a norman family; came to england in 1066. _argles_, hargle (hargis), normandy, 1198. _aris_, a form of heriz or harris. _arle_, or airel. _arliss._ _armes._ _armit._ _arnald_, arnold. _arnes._ _arnold_, ernaldus or ernaut, normandy, 1180; in england, 1272. _arrah_, arrow. _arundel_, hirendale, normandy, 1198. _ascouga_, askew. _ashburnham_, or de criol. _ashley_, de esseleia, normandy, 1198. _ashley_, cooper, or de columbers, from colombières, near bayeux. _askew_, for ascuo. _aspray_, from esperraye, normandy. _astor_, willielmus titz--estus or estor, normandy, 1180, 1198; england, 1272. _aubrey_, the norman origin of this name established. _aure_, with an aspirate. (hoare.) johne de aur was summoned in 1268 to march against the welsh. _auriol_, l'oriel. _austin_, william argustinus, normandy, twelfth century. _aveling_, aveline, evelyn. _avens_, from avernes, normandy, 1180. _averance_, from avranches, normandy, 1130. _averell_, avril, normandy, 1198. _avery_, every. _avery._ traced to aubrey, a norman form of albericus. _awdry_, from audrien, or aldry, near caen. _ayers_, ayres, ayre. _aylard_, allard. _ayre_, eyre. _ayrton._ [illustration: colonel john t. pickett.] _babington_, normandy, 1180; england, thirteenth century. bernard de babington. little babington, northumberland. _babot_, babo, normandy, 1195. _bachelor_, normandy, 1195. _back_, sir george back, arctic explorer. vide beck. _bacon._ (roger and francis bacon members of this family.) bacen or bacco, eleventh century in maine, northman family. _bagehot_, for bagot. _bagot._ a baronial family (normandy); came to england at the conquest. henry bagod, ancestor of house of stafford. _bailey_, baillie, from the norman office of le bailli. the baillies of scotland a branch of de quincys. _baine_, bayne. _baird._ ralph baiart in normandy before the conquest. godfrey baiard in 1165 held a barony in northumberland. from this line descended george washington, the great american general. _baker_, normandy, 1086; england, 1086. _baldwin_, normandy, william baldwinus, 1180; robert, 1183; england, 1116. _ballance_, for valence, normandy, 1210. _bally_, for baly. _bamfyld_, from baionville, near caen, 1093. in thirteenth century held lands of the honour of wallingford. _banard_, for bainard, banyard. _bancroft_, from boncraft, near warrington, cheshire. see butler. _band_, from calvus or le band, england, 1083. _bangs_, for banks. _banks_, from banc, near honfleur; england, 1130. the eminent savant, sir joseph banks, a descendant. _banner_, 1180, normandy, le baneor. _bannester_, from banastre, now beneter, near estampes. _banyard._ vide beaumont. _barbot_, normandy, 1188. _barbour_, from st. barbe sur gaillon, normandy, where was situated the celebrated abbey st. barbara. (vide british family surnames (barber) london.) barbour, a hamlet in dumbartonshire. st. barbe is on the roll of battle abbey. william de st. barbara, bishop of durham, 1143 a. d. le barbier, court of husting, london, 1258. john barbour, a churchman and archdeacon of aberdeen (1357): traveled in france (temp. edward iii): employed in a high capacity in civil affairs: historian, poet, and auditor of the exchequer. james barbour, born in orange county, virginia, u. s. senator (1815-1825): secretary of war: minister to the court of st. james. philip pendleton barbour, brother of james barbour, associate justice of the united states supreme court. john s. barbour (virginia), member of congress (1823-1833). james barbour (kentucky), assistant state auditor (under helm): president lexington and danville r. r.: cashier branch bank of kentucky. doctor lewis green barbour of louisville, late of central university, is a finished scholar. _bardo_, for bardolph. _bardolph_, england, 1165. held lands in normandy (honour of montfort). _barefoot_, barfot, normandy, 1180; england soon after. _barker._ bercarius, normandy, 1180. le bercher (england). _barker._ norman french la bercher. english surnames barcarius and le barkere. william le barcur. _barnes_, a form of berners from bernieres, near falaise; england, 1086. _barnett._ barnet (barney), bernai, normandy. _barnewall_, from the norman family de barneval, england, 1086 (domesday). _barney_, armorially identified with berney. _barold_, vide barrell. _baron_, from baron, near caen, england, 1165. _barough_, armorially identified with barrow. _barr_, from la barre in the cotentin. tiger de barra (normandy, 1180). _barr._ la barr, normandy; norman-french, de la barre. _barrable_, for barbal, normandy, 1180. _barre_, armorially identified with barry. _barrell_, richard barel, normandy, 1180. see battle abbey roll. _barrett._ (domesday) baret. _barrett._ john buret, 1195. walter de la burette, devon, 1272. _barrington_, or de barenton, from barenton, near candebec, normandy. _barrow_, barou was near falaise, normandy. england, barene, 1560. _barry_, armorially identified with barr. _bartellot_ (or bertelot), normandy, 1180; england, 1272. _bartleet_, a form of bartelot. _bartrum_, armorially identified with bartram. _barwell_, from berville, near pont andemar, 1165; england, 1086. _baskerville_, from bacquerville, near rouen. in 1109 robert de baskerville, on his return from palestine, granted lands to gloucester abbey. the baskervilles were early seated in virginia. _baskett._ walter pesket, normandy, 1180. _bass._ richard le bas, 1180. john basse, england, 1272. _bassett_, from bathet or baset. duke of the normans of the loire, 895. from this stock are descended the doyleys (d'ouilly), lisores, and downnays. osmond basset accompanied the conqueror, 1066. there were bassets in devon, essex, and wales. _bassit_, from biszeilles, near lithe. _bastable._ wastable, normandy, 1180. barnstaple (lower). _bastard._ robert bastard, a baron in devon, 1080, son of william the conqueror. also baistard, bestard. _baswell_, for boswell. _batcheller._ vide bachelor. _bateley_, from batilly, near alençon, normandy. _batell_, armorially identified with battayle. _bateman_, from baudemont in the norman vexin. roger de battemound, northumberland, thirteenth century. _bath._ ramier, afterwards de bada. _bathurst._ bateste, bathurts. thirteenth century, cranbrook, kent. _batten._ batin (flemish?), 1272, england. _battle._ batell. _batty_, from la bathie, maine, ralph baty, thirteenth century, devon. _baugh_, or de baa, from bahais, near contances. _bavin_, or bavant, from bavant, near caen. _bax_, or backs. _bayes_, for boyes. _bayley._ vide baillie. _bayne._ _baynes_, from baynes, near bayeux. _bazin_, normandy, 1180; england, fourteenth century. _beach_, armorially identified with beche or de la beche. from bac in normandy, frequently written bech and beche in england. _beacham_, for beauchamp. _beadel._ normandy, 1180. bucks, england, 1086. bishop. _beadle_, for beaddell. _beadon_, from bidon in burgundy. held a fee from the honour of wallingford. _beale_, or le bele, a form of bell. _beamand._ _beamis_, formerly beaumis, beaumeys, or beaumetz, from beaumetz, near abbeville. dujardin beaumetz was a famous medical savant of paris, france, in the latter half of the nineteenth century. _beamish_, for beamis. _beamont_, armorially identified with beaumont of yorkshire. _beamand_, the same. _bean_, for bene. _beard_, armorially identified with bard, a form of baird. _beards_, for beard. _bearfield_, for de berville, from berville, near caen. william de bareville, normandy, 1180; robert de b., england, 1272. _bease_, for bisse. _beaten_, for beaton. _beaton_, or bethune. from the carlovingian counts of artois. the duke of sully (sully's "memoirs") was of this family. _beauchamp_, from beauchamp in the cotentin. the same race as the meurdracs, the montagues and the grenvilles. a familiar old-time name in kentucky that has always appealed to lovers and writers of romance--notably to charles fenno hoffman and william gilmore simms. "this illustrious name," says lower, "is found in many countries of europe; in scotland, as campbell; in england, as fairfield; in germany, as schönau; and in italy as campobello." it was introduced into england at the norman conquest by hugh de belchamp, or beauchamp, or de bello campo. beauchamp is pronounced _beecham_ in england. _beaufoy_, from beaufay, near alençon, normandy, 1180. john de beaufoy, england, 1320. _beaumont_, or bayard. two lines in england. one of the beaumonts held the castle of st. luzanne for two years against william the conqueror. _beaver_, for bever. _beavill_, or beville, from beaville, near caen, england, 1086 (domesday). _beavis_, armorially identified with beaufiz, england, 1316. _becket_, or beckett. in 1180, malger bechet, rouen, john and william beket or bekeit, 1198. _ibid._ thomas beket's father was of caen. ralph de beket, england, 1272; hence thomas, the famous archbishop of canterbury. _becks_, for beck. vide beach. _beckwith_, adopted in lieu of the original norman name of malbisse (lower). _bedding_, or bedin. normandy, 1196; england, 1272. _bedell_, from the suffolk gens (thirteenth century). _beech_, a form of beach. _beecham_, a form of beauchamp. _beecher_, armorially identified with beach, of which it is a corruption. _beeden._ vide beadon. _beek_, armorially identified with beck or bec. _beeman_, for beaman. _beeman_, for beaumont (lower). _beerill_, for barrell. _beeson_, for beisin, normandy. _beeton_, for beaton. _beever_, for beevor. _beevor._ berenger de belver, or bevor. _belcher._ vide belshes, england, 1272. _bell_, from le bel, a common surname in normandy. _bellaers_, for beller, from bellieres, near alençon. normandy, 1180. ralph beler, 1325. _bellairs._ vide bellaers. _bellamy_, or bellameys, from belmeys or beaumitz. vide beamiss. _bellany_, from bellannay, normandy. _bellard._ beald heard (strong). an ancient baptismal name, balard (the hundred rolls). _bellas_, a form of bellowes. _bellchamber_, for bellencombre castle, near dieppe. england, 1272. _bellet._ belet, surname in normandy, 1180; england, 1165. the bellets were hereditary butlers to the king. _bellew_, from belleau or bella aqua, normandy, 1180. the lords bellew of ireland are of this family. _belling._ a northern clan, noble and ancient. _bellis_, armorially identified with bellew of cheshire. _bellowes_, armorially identified with bellew. _bellville_, belleville, or bellavilla, near dieppe, normandy. _belshes_, a corruption of bellassidge. _belward_, a form of belwar, belver, or belvoir. see beevor. _bemes_, for beamis. _bence._ robert and william bence, normandy, 1180; england, 1272. _bene._ hubert de bene, normandy, 1180; england, 1298. _benivell_, for beneville, from beneville, near havre, normandy, 1180; william de bendeville, england, twelfth century. _benn_, for bene. _bennet_, or beneyt, normandy, 1180. _bennett._ beneyt, or benedictus, a norman family. bennets, earls of arlington and tankerville. _berey_, for barrey or barry. _beringer_, normandy, 1195. _berks_, for perks or parks. _bernard._ common name in normandy, 1180; england, 1200. _bernes_, from bernes, near beauvais, 1167; england, 1272. _berney_, from berney, norfolk; bernai, near lisieux. _bernwell_, or barnwall, 1086 (domesday). _berrell_, for barrell. _berrett_, for barrett. _berry_, armorially identified with barry. _bertie_, a form of bertin which occurs in battle abbey roll, normandy, 1195; 1433, william bertyn, one of the kentish gentry. _bertin._ vide bertie. _bertram._ an illustrious norman name. vide milford. _berwell._ vide barwell. _best._ an abbreviation of bessett. _bever_, or beever, armorially identified with belvoir or bovor of leicestershire. _beverel._ richard de beverel, normandy, 1180. _bevington._ vide bovington. _beville._ vide beavill. _bevir_, for bever. _bevis_, beavis. _bevis_, armorially identified with beaufais, or beauvais. beauvays, yorkshire, 1313. _bew_, for bews. _bewett_, armorially identified with bluett, also blewitt. _bewley_, for beaulieu. _bews_, for bayeux, bayouse, beyouse, bews. _bewsay_, for bussey, or de busci. _bewshea_, for bewsay. _bick_, a form of bec. _biddle_, for bidell. vide beadle. _bidon_, for bidun. vide beadon. _biggers._ durand le bigre, normandy, 1180. ranulph de bigarz, 1198. _bigot._ richard le bigot, normandy, 1180; vide wiggett. _biles_, a form of byles. _bill_, a form of boyle, armorially identified with byle or byles. _billes._ vide bill. _billett._ bellet. _bing._ byng, binge. _bingham_, or de buisle, from builly, near neuchatel (often supposed to be of saxon origin). john de bingham, named from his "lordship," bingham, in bucks. one of the family named the heiress of turberville. _birbeck_, from brabant. henry de birbecka, 1134. _birmingham_, or paynel. vide paynel. _biron._ vide byron. _birt._ vide burt. _bishop._ radulphus episcopus, normandy, 1180; sir john bischopp, england, 1315. _bisse_, armorially identified with bissett. _bissell_, armorially identified with bissett. ralph and henry biset, normandy, 1180. sir john byset, england, 1300. _black._ odo and robert niger occur in normandy, 1180. robertus niger held lands in kent, 1086 (domesday). _blackett._ an abbreviation of blanchett. _blackstone_, or le breton. blackstone, devon, was held 1286 by alured le breton. in thirteenth century william blackstone held lands at stones of the honour of wallingford. _blagrave_, or le breton. alicia de blackgrave, thirteenth century. the name le breton indicates a breton origin. _blake._ admiral robert, the great naval commander of cromwell, was of somerset, in which county walter blache occurs, 1273. _blakey._ the french pronunciation of blaket. vide bleckett. _blanch._ william blanc and robert and john blanche occur in normandy, 1180. henry blanche, oxford, 1272. _blanchard._ ralph and william blanchart were of normandy, 1180. gilbert and william blanchard had estates in lincoln. this fine old norman family is readily traceable from normandy to england, and from england to america. colonel robert blanchard, with his tall, handsome figure and jocund face, would have thrown no discredit on his racial descent in any country, community, or social circle. his son, william lytle blanchard, an accomplished gentleman, was an officer in the confederate service. before the opening of the civil war he had been an associate of halliday (and other anglo-normans) in the establishment of the great overland route. william lytle blanchard was a first cousin of general william haynes lytle, of cincinnati. the blanchards are connected with the rowans, bollings, lytles, fosters, stoths, and other distinguished families. _blancherville_, from the forest of b., normandy. the family had branches in ireland. _blanchet._ robert and ralph blanchet. _blanquet_, or blanket, normandy, 1180. in england blanchet or blaket. _blashfield._ anglicised form of blancheville. _blaxton_, for blackstone. _blay_, for bleay. _bleakey_, for blakey. _bleay._ de ble, normandy, 1180. de blee, stafford, 1180. _blennerhasset_, or de tillial, from tilliol, near rouen. richard de tilliol, lord of blennerhasset, cumberland, temp. henry i. the younger branches bore the name of blennerhasset. a name to which the "burr expedition" gave a peculiar interest in kentucky. _blessett_, for blissett. _blews_, a form of blew or blue. etard de blew occurs in kent, 1199, and robert de bloi in essex. the name is a form of bloi, bloin, or blohin of bretagne, often written blue. vide bligh and blue. _bley_, for bleay. _bligh_, for de bloin, from bretagne. vide darnley. _blindell_, for blundell. _blizard_, blizart. perhaps from blesum, blois, meaning a native of blois. the name is evidently foreign. blizzard, blizard, blezard, blizart, blissett. even the best authorities have differed as to the origin of this name. one english writer says: "perhaps it is from blesum, blois, meaning a native of blois" (blizzard, which is norman, is an analogous form). another and later english authority says: "blizard, blezard, from the danish blichert, a strong sword player." a correspondent of the new york tribune, july 19, 1891, says: "the old english word blizzard, which describes so picturesquely the english snow-blast, is spoken of as an 'americanism.' even such philologists and lexicographers as murray treat the word as a recent 'americanism.' so far from its being american in origin, it was not till within the last thirty years (according to bartlett and other american philologists) that the word was ever heard in the eastern states, and in the western a 'blizzard' meant a knock-down blow--not from a snow-blast, but in an argument." [illustration: colonel thomas t. hawkins.] in reality, blizzard is an old english surname, and is doubtless of norman origin. in april, 1889, the writer of this note conversed with a federal soldier, whose full name was stephen decatur blizzard. he was of anglo-virginian stock; he was a soldier in the civil war, and his name may still be found on the national pension rolls of that date. his postal address in 1889 was "quincy, lewis county, kentucky." possibly the "snow-blast" took its name from some windy anglo-norman disputant, who wielded the sword of the spirit and dealt in apostolic blows and knocks. the word "blizzard" does not appear in worcester's dictionary, edition 1860. it is evidently of scandinavian origin (danish or norman). _blockey._ the french pronunciation of bloquet or ploquet. vide denman. _blomefield._ vide bloomfield. blomfield, bishop of london. _bloomfield_, armorially identified with blomville from the lordship so named near caen and toques. thomas de blumville had custody of the estates of earl bigod in suffolk. _blossett._ the blossetts of normandy were barons of beneval and vidames. _blount._ le blund, or blundus, normandy, 1180. frequent notices of the name, twelfth century, in essex. _blovice_, for blois, or blesum, france. thomas blois, living at norton, suffolk, 1470, was ancestor of the baronets blois. _blow_, for blue or bloy. vide bligh. _blue_, blew or blews. etard de bleu occurs in kent, 1179. the name was a form of bloi (france). the original norman form was le bleu. during the civil war there came before one of our kentucky courts a case in which there was a very interesting introduction of names that have been long traditionally associated--black and blue; the former the name of a great criminal lawyer (jeremiah s. black), and the latter the name of his client, blew or blue, the perpetrator of an atrocious crime. the case showed that the criminal was sadly "off" on color. he had killed an entire family of blacks; but was finally acquitted by the ingenuity and perseverance of his great "scandinavian" lawyer. _black_, blake, bleek, bleikr (norse). admiral blake was warden of the cinque ports, 1651. victor blue, an officer in the american service, won great distinction during the spanish-american war. _bluett._ in 1084, bluet, normandy; buqueville le blouette, the family seat. bluet, long a name of eminence in the west of england. _blundafield_, for blindville. vide blomfield. _blundell._ vide blunden. _blunt._ le blount, normandy, 1180. hence baronets blunt. _bly_, for bloi. vide bligh. _boag_, for bogne. _boase_, for bowes. (vide lower.) _boat_, from buat. the castle of buat, near falaise. sexus de bue, surry, 1180. vide bowett. _boax_, for boase. _bobart_, n. popart, normandy, 1180. _bockerfield_, from bocherville or bucheville, normandy. _bockett._ originally bouquet, normandy, 1198. _bodel_, for budell. _bodelly_, for botelly, or batelly. vide battey. _bodger._ boschier, normandy, 1180. le boghier, england, 1272. _body._ norse. diminutive of bodvarr (wary in battle). bodi, bodin, bot. french bodé, norman-french bot. (1195.) _boffay_, from beaufay, near alençon, normandy. boffei, normandy, 1195. sometimes bophay. _boggis._ william de bogis, 1180, normandy. _boggs._ vide boggis. _bogne_, for boges or boggis. _bois_, from normandy, several families, viz.: (1) de bois armand, hereditary servants of the counts of breteuil, sires of poilly. flourished in leicester. (2) de bois-guillauman, of the bailifry of caux, seated in essex, 1086. (3) debois. herbert, baron of halberton, devon; hugo de bosco, 1083, england. (4) de bois. robert or roard, bucks, 1086. (5) de bois. barony brecknock, 1088, named after him trebois. _bole_, or boels. _boles_, a form of boels. vide boyle. _boleyn._ queen anna boleyn was great-granddaughter of sir geoffrey boleyn, lord mayor of london, temp. henry vi. the family had formerly been of great consequence. there were two branches of it in england. william de bolein held one fee in york and one in lincoln. in the preceding generation easton and simon de bologne, brothers of pharamus de b., are mentioned in a charter of the latter. the familiar pronunciation is "bullen." _bolland._ richard de la boillante, normandy, 1198. _bollen_, armorially identified with boleyn. _bolleng_, for boulogne, or boleyne. _bollowe_, for bellewe or bellew. _bolster_, for bolster or balistar. vide alabaster or arbalister (norman), a general of crossbowmen. _bolt_, from bolt, or bout, near bayeux. tascelinus de boalt, normandy, 1180. reginald and richard bolt, oxford, 1272. "ben bolt" at all times and everywhere. composed by an american; cosmopolitanized by an englishman. an "anglo-norman" song. _bolten-nelson._ from the boltons of suffolk descend the earls nelson, who obtained their title as the nearest heirs in blood of the renowned nelson. _bompas_, from bonpas near perpignan; a visigoth family. _bonamy._ radulphus de bono-amico, burgundy, 1180. robert and william bon ami, 1198. _bone_, armorially identified with bohun of midhurst, or de falgeres. vide foulger. _bonell_, or bunel, lords of tissey, near caen (des bois). _boner._ bartholomew bonaire. _bonest_, from banaste, or banastre. vide bannister. _boney_, for bonney. _bonfield_, for bonville, from the castle of bouneville, bondeville, normandy. _bonham._ humphrey and william bonhomme, cambridge, 1272. _bonhote_, or bounot, a form of bonnett, with which it is armorially identified. _bonner._ norman-french. bounaire (courteous). _bonnett._ roger bonitus, sussex, 1075. family seat near alençon. the name occurs in battle abbey roll. _bonney._ nicholas and richard bonie occur in normandy, 1189. agnes and alicia bonye, oxfordshire, 1092. _bonnivelle_, for bonville. vide bonfield. _bonom_, for bonham. _bonus_, armorially identified with bonest. _boodle_, for budell. not familiar as a "surname" in kentucky. _boog_, for bogue. _booker._ walter bochier, normandy, 1180. the name in england is armorially identified with borcher. in kentucky, the bookers are an old and prominent family. a mayor of louisville was (maternally) of the booker blood. _boole_, or boyle. buelles or buels occurs in normandy, 1195. _boolen_, for bullen, or boleyn. _bools._ vide boule. _boon_, or boone, armorially identified with bohun. the norman family of that name descended from humphrey de bohun, who accompanied the conqueror and was ancestor of the bohuns, earls of hereford, constables of england. _booser_, for bowser. _boosey._ alexander de la buzeia, normandy, 1180. ralph buse, england, 1194. "boozy" in kentucky. _boot._ the fief of hugo boot is mentioned in normandy. "perhaps a trader's name"--says lower. _boothby._ a younger branch of the barons de tateshall, 1086 (domesday). _borne._ walter le borne, normandy, 1180. _borough_, or de burgh, otherwise tusard, which is the original norman name. _borrell_, armorially identified with burrell. _borrow_, armorially identified with borough and burgh. _bose_, for boss. _boshell_, for bushell. _bosher_, a form of bourchier (lower). _bosquet._ vide bockett. _boss._ bos or bose occurs in normandy, 1180; in bucks, 1194. the original "boss," in the modern sense (overseer, manager), was doubtless a burly, bull-necked norman. it is noteworthy that "boodle" is from the same source. _bossey._ vide boosey. _bossey._ bussey. _bostel_, for postel. ralph postel, normandy, 1180. _bostfield_, for bosville. _bosville._ bosville, near candebec, normandy. _boswell_, armorially identified with bosville. probably in england from the time of the conquest. the family emigrated from england to scotland in the reign of david i. the change from "ville" to "well" as a termination is also seen in the alteration of rooseville to roswell, laville to larwill, etc. _boterill._ geoffry boterel occurs in a beaton charter, 1081. _botevyle_, from bouteville, near carenton, normandy. the name occurs in battle abbey roll. butterfield probably a form of this old surname. _bott._ william bott occurs in normandy, 1195. walter bott in oxfordshire, 1189. the writer has seen the names william and elizabeth bott in old warwickshire records, and in an old prayer-book, temp. george iii (virginian families); the name may, also, be seen to-day (botts, not bott) upon tombs in old graveyards in eastern kentucky. the literal suffix "s" to such names as bott, hay, etc., is said to be an americanism. _bottin._ william bottin, normandy, 1180. thomas buting or boting. _botting_, for bottin. _bottle._ roger botel, normandy, 1195. _bottrell_, or botterel, or de botereaux, from bottereaux, near evreux. england, twelfth century. _bouche_, from buces, now bucels, near caen. de bueis, normandy, 1180. de buche, surrey, 1199. roger buche, norfolk. _bouchett_, a form of bockett. _bouffler_, from bouflers, near abbeville. james beaufleur (or beauflour), collector port of india, 1322. _boughey_, armorially identified with bowett. the baronets boughey are maternally descended from fletcher. _boughton_, or boveton, for boventon. vide boynton. baronets de boveton were of county warwick, fourteenth century. _boulder_, from baudre, near st. lo in the cotentin. walter bulder, york, 1272. _boully._ vide bulley. _boult_, armorially identified with bolt. _boun_ (or "boum"), armorially identified with bohun of midhurst. vide boone. _bound._ the same as bowne (lower). _boundy_, from bondy, near st. denis, isle of france. _bour_, armorially identified with boun or bohun. vide boone. _bourchier_, a form of bousser, or boursieres, burgundy. john de busser was a justice in essex and hertford, 1317. _bourdon._ geoffrey bordon and others in normandy 1180. reginald and roger bordon in gloucester, 1199. _bourke_, for burke or burgh. the earls of mayo are of this name. _bourlet_, or borlet. vide barlett. _bourner_ or barner, a form of berner or berners. _bousfield_, from bousville or bouville, near ravilly, normandy. walter andrew, serlo de buesvilla, or buevilla, normandy, 1180. in 1244 william de boevill did homage for his lands in the bailifry of newcastle-under-lyme. _bousher_, armorially identified with bourchier. _boutcher_, for boucher. _boutell._ vide bulteel and bottle. _boutroy._ john and roger boteri, normandy, 1180. william buteri, or butery in england. _bouts._ vide boot. _bouvier._ hugo bovier and john bovier of normandy, 1180-95. vide bowyer. _bovay_, for beauvais. _boville._ a baronial family from booville or bueville, normandy, suffolk, 1086 (domesday). the family was widely spread through england; chief-justice boville came of this stock. _bovington_, or boventon. vide boynton. _bowack_, or boag. _bowcher_, for bourchier. _bowden_, from bodin (lower). petrus bodin, normandy, eleventh century. _bowdler_ (from hope bowdler and other places, salop). a form of de bollers, or bodlers, of flanders. vide buller. _bowen._ bouvignes (bely). _bowes_, from boves, normandy. john de bowes or boves, normandy, 1180. hugh de boves commanded in poitou for king john (roger of wendover, 1287). _bowett._ alexander bonet occurs in normandy, 1180. bowet, england, 1321. _bowker._ vide booker. the names are armorially related. _bowles_, or buelles. vide boyle. hence, w. lisle bowles, the poet. _bowley_, for beaulieu (lower). simon de bello loco, normandy, 1180. alexander de bello loco, bedfordshire, 1255. _bown_, armorially identified with bohun of midhurst. vide boon. _bowne._ vide bown. _bowran_, or bowering, for beaurain, near cambrai, flanders. wybert de beaurain, normandy, 1180. "hence, the able writer, sir john bowring." _bowry._ vide bury. _bowser_, armorially identified with bourchier. _bowtell_, for boutel. u. s., boutelle. _bowton_, for boughton. _bowyer._ norman-french, bouvier. this name, as appears by the arms, was originally bouvier (robson). hugo bouvier, normandy, 1180. le boyer, kent, 1250. _bowyn_, armorially identified with bohun. vide boon. _boyall_, a form of boyle (lower). _boyce_, a form of bois. _boyd._ a branch of the beeton family of dinant. vide stuart. descent from a brother of walter, the first high steward of scotland. _boydell._ helto fitzhugh, grandson of osborne fitz-tezzo, baron of dodelston, had issue hugh boydell, ancestor of this family. _boyes_, for bois. _boyle_, from boile, otherwise boelles, or builles, now la buille, near rouen. william de boel, or boêles, and gilbert occur in normandy, 1180. william de buels was descended from helias de buel, temp. john. his son william settled in hertford; hence ludoric buel boyle, ancestor of the earls of cork, orrery, shannon and other great houses. one of the most notable members of the boyle family (u. s. a.) was chief-justice john boyle, of kentucky; a very able, eminent, and fearless judge. _boyle_, of scotland, from boyville, of normandy, otherwise boeville (vide bousfield). common name in normandy, twelfth century. william de boeville (bocville), suffolk, 1086. _boyles_, for boyle or buelleis. _boynell_, armorially identified with boyville. _boynton_, or de brus, abbreviated from boventon. vide bruce. robert fitz-norman bruis or bruce of boventon, york, 1129. a leading family (de boventon or boynton) in twelfth and thirteenth centuries. _boys_, or boyse, for bois (french). a huguenot bois in holland would become holtz; in america, wood. (vide bois.) _boyson._ william buisson of normandy, 1180; roger buzun, norfolk, 1258. _bozzard_, or bussard, bascart, or buschart, normandy, 1198. boscard, 1203. _brabant_, from the netherlands. arnold braban (brabant), of hamford, occurs 1297. _brabazon_, from brabant. thomas brabençon, normandy, 1198. john brabazon, oxfordshire, 1247. _brace_, from bracey. _bracebridge_, or de ardern. the family of arden or ardern was norman and went to england in 1066. ralph, son of william de ardern, was lord of bracebridge, lincoln, thirteenth century. the bracebridge family bears the arms of arden. john bracebrigge was living 1305. washington irving has made "bracebridge hall" famous wherever english is read. the name at least will survive. it was the peculiar distinction of the blood of arden that it flowed in the veins of shakespeare. his mother was an arden, and his magical "forest of arden" immortalizes the name. _bracey_, from brécy, near caen. henry de brécy occurs in normandy, 1180-95. robert de brécy, cheshire. from a branch of this cheshire family descend the present brasseys, among whom the most distinguished was the eminent engineer, an honored servant of england during the victorian reign. _bracher._ allen bracheor, normandy, 1180. vide brasier. _brack_, for brac. vide brake. _bragge_, for brac. vide brake. evain de brac, normandy, 1180. richard de la brache, england, 1199. bragg entered kentucky in 1862. _brain_, from brain, anjou; yorkshire, 1199. _bran_, for brand. _branch_, from st. denis de branche, normandy; suffolk, 1219. _brand._ walter brandus, caen, 1165. william brant, norfolk, 1086. simon brand, hertfordshire, 1325. the brands of lexington, kentucky, a well-known family. _brandram._ william brandram, normandy, 1198. _branis_, for brain. _brant._ vide brand. _brasier._ william braisier paid a fine, normandy, 1180. soon after "william de neelfa was a fugitive for slaying him." the name occurs also as bracheor, and broshear. _brasil_, from bresles, near beavois. _brass_, for brace. brass is one of dickens' names. _brassey._ vide bracy. _bratt_, armorially identified with brett. _braund._ brand. _brawn_, for braund. _bray_, from bray near evreux, normandy. william de bray occurs 1189-95. a branch of the family was seated in devon in the thirteenth century. sir reginald bray, the eminent architect, temp. henry vii. _brayne._ vide brain. _brazier._ vide brasier. _brazill_, for brasill. _breache._ vide brache. _breckinridge._ vide cabell. _breckinridge_ is from bracken-rigg, a loc n. cumb. robt. j. breckinridge, john c. breckinridge, and w. c. p. breckinridge were descended on the maternal side from the cabells--a famous norman family. vide cabell. the breckinridge family is directly of scottish origin. the foregoing derivation rests upon the authority of the english genealogist, doctor henry barber. but no american family has ever given more varied and striking illustrations of the power of inherited norman blood. scarcely a characteristic trait is lacking. [illustration: colonel william l. crittenden.] _brecks_, for brake. _brees._ vide breese. _breese_, a form of brice, being the norman-french pronunciation. _breeze._ vide breese. _bren_, armorially identified with brend. _brennard_, for burnard. _brery_, or de brereto, breuery, near vesoul, france. _breton_, from bretagne. baronial families in england (devon, bucks, lincoln, etc.). _bretell._ normandy, 1126. _brett_, from brette in maine, or, possibly, short for breton. geoffry le bret was one of the barons of ireland. _brettell_, lords of gremonville, normandy (des bois). bretel, kent, 1130. bretel is near alençon. _brettle_, for bretel. _breun_, or brewn, for brun. vide brown. _brew_, one of the forms of breux, brews, or braiose. _brewer_, (1) from brovers, or brueria, now breviare, near caen. seated in devon at the conquest. (2) from the english translation of braceator, or braceor. vide brazier, bracher. _brewhouse_, for brewis, or de braiose, a baronial family, from braiose, near argenton, normandy. branches in ireland, wales, suffold, sussex, norfolk, hants "and elsewhere." the name is frequently written breose, brewes, and is totally different from that of bruce or brus, with which it has often been confounded. _brewn._ vide breun. _brian_, armorially identified with bryan. _briant_, for breaunt, breant, or breante, near havre. fulco de breante, or de beent, england, temp. henry viii. (roger wendover.) _brice_, from st. brice, near avranches, normandy. robert de st. brice, normandy, 1180. _brickdale_, from briquedale, normandy. the derivation of the name from "brickdele, lancashire," is doubted, on the apparently sufficient ground that there is no such place. _bride_, or st. bride, or st. bridget. vide bridgett. _bridge_, or de ponte, normandy, 1180; england about the same time. bridges, 1328, middlesex. _bridgett_, for brichet. vide briett. _brient_, for brent or briant. _brier._ vide bryer. _briett._ occurs in normandy, 1180. ralph de brecet, england, 1272. _briley_, from broilly, near valognes, normandy. william de broleio, 1180-95. broily, bedford, 1086. bruilli, lindores, scotland, 1178. _brind_, armorially identified with brend. _brine_, for broyne, brun, browne. _brinson_, or de briançon, middlesex, 1189. giles de brianzon, 1324. _britain_, for breton. (lower.) _brittain_, for britain. _brittan_, for britain. _britten_, for britain. _brixey_, from brèze, anjou; de brexes, lancashire, 1199. _brize_, for brice. _broach_, for brock. _brock_, from broc, anjou; robert de broc, england, 1189; also nigel and ranulph de broc. _brocke_, for brock or broc. (lower.) _bronaker_, from broncort, near langres, france. roger bruncort, normandy, 1199. probably same as bruencort and brucort. (1180-98, normandy.) _brond_, for brand. _brontofl_, from bernetot, near yvetol. john de bernetot held lands in normandy, temp. philip augustus. the name of bernetôt in normandy at length changed to bernadotte--the name of one of napoleon's marshals. hence, the royal family of sweden. carew isaac taylor remarked at newcastle in 1889 that the royal families of europe were of scandinavian origin. but for the norman derivation of the bernadottes, here explained, the royal family of sweden might have appeared to be an exception. _brook_, for broke. (lower.) brooks, for brock; brookes, for broke. (lower.) _brosee._ brúsi, brozi (old norse). brosee, now pronounced brozee. william brosee, the progenitor of the family in kentucky, was a soldier in the russian campaign under napoleon. among the interesting "documentary" proofs of this service (now in possession of the family) is a portrait of the old campaigner in his french uniform. _broughton_, a branch of vernon; "broeton," stafford, thirteenth century. the arms concur with the descent from vernon. _brown._ vide browne. _brown._ gilbert le brun, normandy, 1180. the name brunus or le brun frequently occurs in normandy, 1180-98. many normans were brun, or browne; but, in england, all brownes were not norman. the line of hanno le brun, cheshire, temp. henry ii, is armorially connected with an irish line. william brone witnessed the charter of dunbrody, 1178; nigel le brun had a writ of military summons, 1309, and fremond bruyn was one of the barons of ireland, 1315-17. richard de la ferte accompanied robert of normandy to palestine in 1096. he had eight sons, the youngest of whom, surnamed le brun, settled in cumberland, where he had baronial grants, temp. henry i. the family of de la ferte, also called le brun, long flourished in cumberland. the name le brun gradually changed to broyne, brown, and browne. robert le browne, m. p. for cumberland, 1317-1339, was grandfather of robert, from whom descended the viscounts montague, the marquises of sligo, and the barons kilmaine. _brownett._ robert brunet, normandy, 1209. _brownlow._ the brownlows, lords lurgan, bear the arms of the de tankervilles, chamberlains of normandy. vide chamberlain. _bruce_, from the castle of brus, or bruis, now brix, near cherbourg, where are the ruins of an extensive fortress built by adam de brus in the eleventh century. hence the kings of scotland, the earls of elgin, the baronets bruce. _brudenell_, or de bretignolles, from bretignolles near alençon, normandy. william de bretignolles, in 1263, had a writ of summons to attend with his military array at oxford. from this family descended sire robert brudenell, chief justice of the common pleas, 1520. the orthographic modifications of this norman patronymic (from bretignolles to bredenell, to bredenhill, and brudenel) are clearly traceable upon the records. _bruen_, armorially identified with bruin, with brun, le brun, or browne, of cheshire. _brunes_, for brun, now brown. _brunker_, armorially identified with brounker. _brus._ vide bruce. _brush._ richard broche, normandy, 1198. _brushett._ chapon broste, normandy, 1198. william bruast, england, 1199. _bryan_, or briowne, from brionne, normandy. a branch of the counts of brionne and the earls of clare and hertford, descended from gilbert, count of brionne, son of richard i of normandy. wido brionne of the welsh line had a military court of summons, 1259. about this time the name was changed to bryan, and the barons of bryan inherited it. william jennings bryan seems to have been, prenatally, a kentuckian. _bryant_, for briant. _bryson._ vide brison. _buckle_, or buckell. identified by the arms (a chevron) with bushnell. hence the able writer buckle. _budgell_, for bushell. _budgett_, for buckett. _buggins._ bogin, normandy, 1180. bogun, derby, 1270. _buist._ roger baiste, or buiste, normandy, 1198. _buley_, or bewley, from beaulieu. _bullard._ a form of pullard or pollard. _bullett._ beringer bulete, normandy, 1180. iorceline bolet, 1207. normandy. in kentucky, the bullitts justify their norman descent. they have achieved distinction in many lines. _bullivant_, or bonenfant. normandy, temp. henry v; cambridge, 1253. bonenfant. _bullon_, or bullen. a form of boleyn. there is bullen (or boleyn) blood in kentucky. _bully_, for builly. vide bingham. _bulwer._ vide wiggett. _bumpus_, from boneboz, normandy. _bunce_, for bence. _bunker_, for boncoeur. (lower.) _bunn_, from le bon. (lower.) _burchell._ _burd_, for burt. _burden_, a familiar name. _burden._ vide burdon. "burdens' grant" (virginia). _burdett._ french bourdet. vide battle abbey roll. _burdett._ from the bordets, lords of cuilly, normandy. seated in england at the conquest. baronets burdett-coutts. _burdon._ bordon 1180, normandy. robert bordon, yorkshire, 1255. _burfield._ de bereville, de bareville, england, 1789. sometimes berewell. _burges_, burgess. simon de borgeis, normandy, 1195. ralph burgensis, 1198. _burgess_ is an old way of spelling burges. _burgoyne_, burgon, burgin. de bourgoyne, probably gothic, from burgundy. in 1083 walter burgundiensis, or borgoin, held lands in devon. _burke._ vide burgh. _burley._ roger de burlie, normandy, 1198. "white burley," kentucky. _burnett._ the scottish form of burnard. from roger de burnard. the name became burnet in 1409. bishop burnet of salisbury, celebrated writer, is of this gens. _burney_, a form of berney. vide berney. the name of a well-known family in kentucky. james g. birney was the first free-soil candidate for the presidency. _burr._ robert, roger, and peter burre occur in normandy, 1180. gilbert le bor, england, 1227. aaron burr was a conspicuous and dramatic figure in the early history of kentucky. professor shaler, the eminent harvard professor, writing of aaron burr's expeditionary project, says that the kentuckians "had inherited the spirit of the elizabethan english"; and that the mass of the kentucky people were always "filibusterish." there is not a decade in their history--he adds--that we do not find some evidence of this motive, to wit, "a natural hunger for adventure." _burrell_, or borel. normandy, 1180. burrells, burrill. _burrough._ (1) for burgh; (2) for burys, burroughs, burrowes. _burroughs._ vide burrough or burgh. _burt._ william berte, mortanie, normandy, 1203. john berte, england, 1272. _burton_, or de richmond. one of the family bore the feudal dignity of constable of richmond. the founder was viscount of nantes, bretagne. the baronets burton. _bury_, from bourry, near gisors, normandy. armorially identified with the family of bury, earls of charleville. _busain_, from buisson, in the cotentin. _bushe._ hugh de bucis, normandy, 1180. _bushwell_, for boswell. _busse._ armorially identified with bushe. _butcher_, for bourchier. _butler_, or de glanville. this family derives its name from theobold walter, the first butler of ireland, to whom that dignity and vast estates were granted by henry ii. the butlers bore the arms of de glanville, a family of glanville, near caen. _butler._ a name of peculiar distinction in the heraldic genealogies. the butler or de glanville family derives its name from theobald balton, temp. henry ii. the name has lost none of its distinction in the new world. the butlers of kentucky are thoroughly anglo-norman in their fighting instincts. all the male members (5) of this branch were officers in the revolution; all their sons but one were in the war of 1812; nine butlers of this branch were in the war with mexico; and in the civil war every male descendant of captain pierce butler (of kentucky) was in the confederate army (vide historic families). _butt_, for bott. a name made conspicuous in recent times by sir isaac butt. vide butts, boot. _butter._ earls of larnsborough, descended from hugo pincerna, who, in 1086, was a baron in bedford. hereditary butlers of the earls of leicester and mellent. several other families of distinction bore the name butler: (1) the butlers of cornwall and kent; (2) the butlers of essex; (3) the butlers, barons of warrington, feudal butlers of chester; (4) the butlers of bramfield, and others. _butterfield_, for botevyle. _buzar_, for buzzard. _buzzard._ hugo and william buscart, normandy, 1198. henry boscard, salop, 1199. _byars_, byers, de biars. (lower.) in kentucky, a familiar name. the byars family of mason was connected with the famous johnston family. _byles._ armorially identified with boyle. a distinguished judge bore the name. _byng_, from binge, gerault, normandy. reginald binge was one of the gentry of essex, 1433. no one is likely to forget the byng, who was shot _pour encourager les autres_. _byron_, or de beuron, near nantes, normandy. sir richard byron married, temp. henry iv, the daughter and heiress of colwick of notts; and from him descended lord byron, the poet. _cabban_, or cadban, from cabanne or chabannes in perigord. bartholomew caban of berkes, living 1322. _cabbell._ walter cabel is on record as having witnessed a charter in wiltshire, in the eleventh century. this walter cabel came over with the conqueror. the normans used the word _caballus_, instead of _equus_, for horse. it was so used in domesday book, and it seems certain, says doctor brown, that the family derived its surname from that word. hence, also, _caballero_. doctor brown gives at least forty-six different ways of spelling the name. geoffrey cabell owned land in caux, normandy, in 1180. the cabells of virginia are descended from the cabells of france, in somersetshire. in 1726 we find doctor william cabell in st. james parish, henrico, then deputy sheriff to captain john redford, high sheriff of henrico (shire-reeve), officially the first man in the county. in june, 1785, "polly" cabel was married to john breckinridge. the records show that mary h. cabell and john breckinridge had issue: (1) letitia preston. (2) joseph cabell. (3) mary h. (died in infancy). (4) robert h. (5) mary ann. (6) john. (7) robert jefferson. (8) william lewis. the political and social history of these families and their annexions are quite familiar to the people of kentucky and the south. _cadd_, or cade. arnulf cades, normandy, 1184. eustace cade, lincolnshire, 1189. _caffin._ a form of caufyn, or calvin. cavin, or calvin, occurs in normandy, 1180. _cain_, from cahaignes, normandy. _cain._ sometimes of hiberno-celtic origin; generally, however, of caen, or de cadomo, devonshire, 1083. _caines_, from the lordship of cahaignes. _caldecote._ a norman family bearing an english surname. _cale._ a form of kael. a breton name. vide call. _calf._ an english form of the norman name calxus, or le chauve. william calf, ireland, 1322. _call_, or de kael, from bretagne or poiton. walter cael, envoy to england, thirteenth century. _callis._ callass, cales, the usual forms of calais in sixteenth century. _calver._ an abbreviation of calvert. _calvert_, from calbert, or cauburt, near abbeville. the "b" being changed into "v," as usual, 1318. henry calverd was member of parliament for york. the calverts of maryland (lords baltimore). a familiar name in kentucky. formerly (in mid-century days and earlier) pronounced colbert; now, we only hear calvert. _cambray_, from the lordship of chambrai, normandy. sire de cambrai was at the battle of hastings, de chambrai, leicestershire, 1086. corrupted to chambreys, or chambreis. _camel_, from campelles, or campell, in normandy. geoffry campelles, normandy, twelfth century. _cameron._ scoto-celtic. but there is one english family of the name derived from champroud, near coutances. ausger de cambrun, essex, 1157. robert cambron and john de cambron, scotland, 1200 and 1234. cambronne, of the guard, of fragrant memory. _camfield_, or camfyled, a corruption of camville, from camville, near coutances. _camidge._ _camp_, from campe, or campes, normandy. john de campes, england, 1199. _campbell._ vide beauchamp. norman-french, de camville (de campo-bello), vide british surnames, barber (london, 1903). as early as 1812, doctor john poage campbell, of kentucky, in a series of "letters to a gentleman at the bar" (colonel joseph hamilton daveiss), gave a striking illustration of the high quality of his scholarship in his anticipation of sir benjamin brodie and professor tyndall of our day in the detection of the germinal ideas from which the darwinian theory of evolution is derived (vide green's historic families). an interesting illustration of the intellectual life of the pioneer period in kentucky. _campion._ william campion, normandy, 1184. geoffry campion, england, 1194. "campian," american colonel (lothair). _campton._ _candy_, from cande, near blois. nicholas candy, normandy, 1195. _cane_, for caen. (vide cain.) cany. richard cane, normandy 1180. walter cane, england, 1272. _canfell_, for camville. [illustration: general william nelson.] _cann_, from cane, normandy. geoffry de can, normandy, 1195. richard de canne, england, 1272. (cone, from _bosne_: loc n. france.) in kentucky, _conn_. _cannel_, from chanel, now chenean, near lille. _cannon._ radulfus canonicus, or le chanoin, of normandy. robert canonicus, england, 1189. _cant._ _cant_, for gant. _cantis_, for candish, or cavendish. a norman baronial family. _cantor_ (translated singer). gauridus cantor, normandy, 1180. christian le chaunter, england, 1272. _cantrell._ william and roger cantarel of normandy, 1188. alberid chanterhill, england, 1199. richard chaunterel, 1272. kentucky, u. s. a., cantrill, 1906. judge cantrill, court of appeals, kentucky. _cantwell._ cantelo. chanteloup. _cape_, or capes, from cappes. vide cope. _capel._ a breton family from la chapelle, nantes. rainald de capella, essex, 1066. (domesday.) william de c., suffolk, from whom the lords capel, earls of essex. capel, from la chapelle, near alençon. seated in the west of england. capell, for capel. monsignore capel figures vividly in lothair, _capern_, for capron. richard cepron, normandy, 1180. robert capron, england, 1194. mrs. laura lee capron, of baltimore, md., was a daughter of richard henry lee, of kentucky. _caplin_, capelen, or chaplain. william capellanus, normandy, 1180. richard c., england, 1190. john chaplyn, lincoln, 1443. _capun._ vide capern. _carabine_, for corbin. robert corbin, normandy, 1180. geoffry corbin, england, 1194. walter corbin, england, 1127. _carbonell_, normandy, 1180. carbonel, hereford, 1086. the family long flourished in hereford, bucks, and oxford. _carden._ an english local name. also a form of cordon, cordun: normandy, 1180; essex, 1086. _cardwell_, for cardeville, or cardunville, from cardunville, near caen. _cares_, from chars, normandy. _carew._ a branch of fitzgerald. cary, carey. _carle_, for carel, or carrell. _carles._ vide carless, or charles, from st. karles de percy, in the cotentin. charles family, in thirteenth century, seated in many parts of england. carlish, for carless. _carne._ geoffry le caron, normandy, 1180. wischard de charun, england, 1272. _carnell_, from carnelles, near evreux. geoffry de carneilles, normandy, 1180. armorially identified with charnell. in england, usually styled charnel or charnels. carneal, a distinguished name in kentucky; thomas d. carneal, one of the founders of covington, in that state. _carpenter._ bernard carpentarius, normandy, 1180. william carpentarius, father of henry biset, baron, temp. henry ii. _carr_, or kerr, q. v. _carrell_, or caril, from caril, near ligieux. james ii, after the loss of his throne, created a baron caryl. _carrey_, for carey. _carrington_, for carenton; from carenton, in the cotentin. robert de carenton granted the mill of stratton, wilts, to farley abbey, 1125. _carritt_, or caret, for garet. _carrol._ in england, a form of carrell. in ireland it is celtic. _carson._ probably from corson, normandy. carcun, thirteenth century, suffolk. _carter._ william cartier of normandy, 1195; 1203, william of warwick. thirteenth century ralph c. worcester. colonel carter, of cartersville, va. _carterfield_, or quaterville, normandy, 1205. _cartwright._ armorially identified with cateryke, or catherick. a branch was seated in notts; another in cambridge, and the name there changed from cateryke to cartwright. of the former branch was the celebrated reformer, and of the latter, thomas cartwright, the great puritan leader, under elizabeth. peter cartwright, an able revivalist, was equally famous in the states of the southwest. _carvell._ ranulph de carville, 1180; robert carvel, 1195, normandy. england, 1199. richard de carville. the english derivation of this patronymic has given a name to a popular american novel. _cary_, or pipart. waldin pipart held kari, 1086. (domesday.) william pipart held kari, whence the name of de kari, or cary. hence, the earls of monmouth and viscounts falkland. _case_, for chace. armorially related to chancy, or canci. vide chace. _casey_, or cassy. when english, it is a branch of canci, with which it bears armorial relations. robert de canecio, 1180, normandy; geoffry de chancy, england, 1194. chace, chase, or chousey, armorially identified to casey. in various forms appears in all parts of england; also, hiberno-celtic. _cash_, for cass. _cass._ a form of case, or chace. _cassell_, from cassel, flanders. hugo de cassel, london and middlesex, 1130. vide cecil. _casson_, for gasson. _castang_, for casteyn. _castell._ william castel, normandy, 1198. alexander de castro, castel, england, 1199. _castleman._ the castellan of a castle. ancient name; distinguished in kentucky. _castro_, for castell. casto? _cate_, or catt. william catus, normandy, 1180. rudulphus cattus, 1189. alexander le kat, england, 1272. _catherick._ vide cartwright. _catlin_, catline, castelline, from castellan, bearing three castles (armorial). de casleltan, normandy, 1180. sire reginald de casleltan, england, 1272. an eminent chief justice of england bore the name of cattine. catling, for catlin; also, catlyn, catlin, a famous american painter--an illustrator of our aboriginal life. _cato_, from catot, or escatol, in normandy. hugh de escatol, salop, 1189. _caton._ katune, normandy, 1198. england, de catton. _cattel_, or chatel. foreign origin--du chastel, or de castello. _cattermole_, from quatremealles or de quatuor molis (locality not ascertained); also, cattermoul, cattermull. _cattle_, for cattel. _cattlin_, for catlin. _catton._ vide caton. _caudel_, for caudle. roger caldel, or caudel, normandy, 1180. anistina and william caudel (mr. and mrs. caudle?), cambridgeshire, 1272. _caulcott._ vide calcott. _caulfield_, calvil, calfhill, or caville. vide cavell. seated in normandy, 1180. in england, gilbert de calvel, northumberland, and richard, of kent, 1202. sir toby caulfield, a renowned commander in ireland, descended from bishop of worcester, temp. elizabeth. hence, collaterally, earls of charlemont. _cave._ john cave, adelina de cava, normandy, 1180. sire alexander de cave, commissioner of array and justiciary. name of norman origin. from cave, in yorkshire. _cavendish._ the gernons were a branch of the barons of montfichet (or montfiquet, or montfiket), in normandy; so named after their scandinavian ancestor. the montfichets were hereditary standard-bearers, or military chiefs of london. the younger branches retained the name of gernon. alured gernon, brother of william de montfichet, had estates in essex and middlesex, 1130. geoffry gernon, of this line, was surnamed de cavendish, from his residence at cavendish, suffolk, 1302. he was grandfather of sir john cavendish, chief justice to richard ii. cavendish and gernon bear indiscriminately the same arms. the dukes of newcastle, devonshire and other great families bearing the name of cavendish (pronounced candish), descended from the gernons and montfichet. the genealogists differ on these points, but the old heralds seem to agree. _caville_, or cavill, identified by its arms (a calf) with calvel, or cauvel. robert cauvel, normandy, 1198. william cavell of oxfordshire, 1292. _cawdery_, or coudray, cawdray. a branch of the beaumonts, viscounts of maine. (vide beaumont.) _cawley_, for colley. _cawse_, calz, or caux, from caux, near abbeville. hence the english surname, cox or coxe. _cayley_, from cailly, near rouen. _cecil_, cicelle, or seyssel, from kessel, or cassel, east of bruges, flanders. its arms (escutcheon charged with the lion rampant of flanders) are still borne in flanders by a family of the same name. walter de alterens, descended from robert fitz-hamon, living 1165, is derived the noble house of cecil. the great english statesman, lord burleigh (william cecil) was of this family. _ceeley_, or seily, from silly, normandy. _chabot_, or cabot. robert kabot, 1198. roger cabot, of england, 1272. _chace_, chase, or chausey. armorially identified, also, with chancy or de canci. the name appears in all parts of england as chancey, chancy, etc. _chad_, for cadd. _chaff_, from chause. vide cafe. _chaffer_, chaffen, from chevricres, normandy, 1195. _chaffey_, or chaffy, a form of chafe, or chaff. _chaffin_, for caffin. (lower.) _chalie_, for cayley. _challands_, for chalas. vide challen. _challen._ a branch of the counts of chalons. _challenger_, or challenge, from chalenge, normandy. _challoner._ probably from chalons. _chamberlain_, robert, herbert, william henry camerarius, or le chamberlain, normandy, 1180-98. england, 1194-1200. henry, hugh, ralph, robert, thomas, walter, richard turbert camerarius. the principal family of these was descended from the barons of tancarville, chamberlains of normandy; also, chamberlaine, chamberlin, chamberlayne. _chambers_, or de camera. william de camera, england, 1189, oxford, essex, sussex. the family appear early in york, wilts and norfolk. chambre, or camera, was in brabant, the family seeming to have come thence at the conquest. governor john chambers, of kentucky, was one of the aides of general harrison at the battle of the thames;--was appointed territorial governor of iowa by president harrison. _champ._ vide camp. _champin_, for campion, or campian. _champney_, from de champigne, normandy. _chancellor_, canceller, chanslor. chancillor, a norman name. ranulph cancellarius. _chaney_, for cheyney. _channell._ armorially identified with charnell. an eminent judge bore this name. _channon._ vide cannon. _chant._ _chantry_, from chaintre, near macon. _chappel._ vide capel. _chappius._ calvus, normandy, 1195. england, cabous, 1311. _charge_, from gaurges, in the cotentin. _charles._ vide carless. _charnell_, for carnell. _charniter._ _charter_, for chartres. _charteris._ the scottish form of chartres. _chartres._ ralph carnotensis (de chartres) held estates in leicester, 1086. ébrard de carnot, 1148, winchester. _chase._ vide chace. _chattell._ vide cattell. _chatwin_, for chetwynd. _chaucer._ geoffrey chaucer, the poet, married a daughter of sir paine roet, sister of john of gaunt's wife, and was valectus, or esquire, to edward iii. the family of chaucer, chaucier, chaucers, or chaseor, had been seated in the eastern counties, and some members were in trade in london. the name, le chaucier (calcearius) may have arisen from some sergeantry connected with the tenure of land. probably a branch of the family of malesoures. _cheek._ william cecus occurs in normandy, 1198; and in gloucester, 1189. walter chike of england, 1272. _cheiley_, or ceiley, a form of cilly. vide ceely. _cheney._ vide cheyney. _chenoweth._ the history of this name is of peculiar interest. john trevelesick, according to an old london record, married elizabeth terrel. their son, john, received from his father a tract of land upon which he built a house, and called the place "chenoweth," doubtless from an oak grove or woods upon the land. the initial syllable of the name is not uncommon in the genealogical nomenclature of normandy; and cornwall is notably a land of norman castles and druidical groves of oak. the trevelesick family, as was a custom of the period, took the name of the _place_, and was henceforth known as "chenoweth." this change may have been partly induced by the circumstances that there was a law which required the people to take names that were "easy" to the english. there seems to have been an early etymological connection between the familiar virginian names "chenoweth" and "chinn." vide chinn, cheyne, chêne, chenoie, and the scandinavian suffix _with_. in a list of names from domesday book we note the following: cheneuvard, chenuard, cheuvin, chenut. the chenoweths of kentucky are from berkeley county, virginia, the progenitor of the family being a "fighting pioneer." _cherey._ (1) de ceresio. the early form, cerisy. (2) also from cheeri, william cheeri of normandy, 1180. _chesney_, from quesnay, near coutances; de chesnete in england. _chevalier_ (_i. e._ miles), normandy, 1180. reginald miles, england, 1272. _chew._ william de cayu, normandy, 1180. walter c. kew, england. _cheyne._ cheyney, chinn, from quesnay, near coutances. robert de chesneto, bishop of lincoln, 1147. the lords cheyny were of this stock. chinn is an old family name in kentucky, and seems to be genealogically connected with the chenoweth gens. (vide chenoweth.) the progenitor of the chinn family in england and america was one thomas de cheyne, of norman-french descent. rawleigh chinn, gent., married esther ball, a connection of the washington family, and came to america about 1713 and settled in lancaster county, virginia. (see the "register" for 1907, page 63.) _chick_, or chike, a form of cheak (robson). a prominent kentucky family (boyle). _child_, the english form of enfant. william and roger le enfant, normandy, 1180. william and john child, england, 1180. _childers._ a corruption of challen or challers. vide smithson. _chinn._ vide cheyney, cheyne. _chitty._ in 1272 was cette. roger cette, norfolk. _chivers_, or cheevers, from la chievre, or capra, normandy. _choicy_, a form of chausy. _chollett._ collett. _cholmelsey_, or cholmondely. william de belwar, or belvar, or belvoir, married mabilia, a daughter of robert fitzhugh. from this william de belwar descended the house of cholmondely. _christian._ thomas and william christianus, normandy, 1180. walter christianus, england, 1199. crestien, cristian, crestin, england, 1272. _christmas._ a translation of the norman-french noël. _chucks_, a form of chokes, or chioches, from choquet, flanders. _church._ vide search. _churchill_, or de courcelle. the churchills of dorset, ancestors of the great duke of marlborough, are traceable by the ordinary heralds' pedigrees to the reign of henry vii. the family of wallace (walensis) was a branch of the corcelles. from this family came the great duke. one of the later dukes of marlborough published a charming account of his visit to kentucky, just after the war. he was entertained at "ashland" by major henry c. mcdowell. _clare._ two families. (1) de clare of browne. (2) the norman house of de clere. _claret._ walter clarté, normandy, 1180. john clarrot, england, 1272. _clark._ george rogers clark. _clay_, from claye, near méaux. the name is borne by the baronets clay. the clays of bourbon and the clays of fayette, says general cassius m. clay, are descended from the same remote ancestor. _cliff_, or clift, clive. _cochrane_, cochran. the family were resident in county renfrew (says lower) for many centuries. vide peerage, earl of dundonal. renfrew has strong associations with john knox, and according to doctor macintosh, the vigorous race he represented had a strong infusion of norman or scandinavian blood. a recent legal decision connects the name of cochrane with one of the most important cases ever brought before a kentucky judge. _cockerell._ _collins._ _collins._ william de colince or colimes held lands at chadlington near oxford. coulimes was near alençon. hugh de coulimes, 1165, held a barony of four fees. (1) the collins family or families of kentucky have been notably distinguished. general richard h. collins was a lawyer of great ability. his sons, also lawyers, were brilliant and cultivated men. john a. collins was a member of the cincinnati bar, and a partner of senator pugh. charles and william were writers of ability and distinction. richard was a gallant confederate soldier and the artillerist of shelby's command. their father welcomed john quincy adams to kentucky when he made his famous speech in vindication of mr. clay. (2) judge lewis collins was a native of kentucky and derived from pure virginian stock. he was a man of the highest character. his history of kentucky, a valuable work, was officially recognized by the legislature of the state. his son, doctor richard h. collins, a man of marked and varied ability, continued his father's historic labors; revised the volume first published, added another volume, and increased the quantity of matter fourfold. no one has bestowed higher commendation upon this work than professor shaler, himself an historian of the state. _combs._ _cooke._ _corbett._ _corbin._ _corker._ de corcres, normandy, 1180-95. [illustration: honorable humphrey marshall.] _costello_, from mac ostello, descendants of hostilio de angelo, settled in ireland, temp. henry. in this instance the new settler took the prefix _mac_, not an uncommon occurrence in those days. the native "macs" and "o's" of ireland were never at peace, and the galwagians repudiated both. when the normans came they gave the celts "_fitz_," and characteristically enough the celts, who were dissatisfied with "o" and "mac," have been having "fitz" ever since. lower says that english settlers sometimes assume the prefix "mac," apparently from a desire of assimilation to the celtic race. in ireland "o" was held in higher esteem than "mac" in scotland, it was just the reverse. _courtenay._ _cowan._ _cox_, or coxe; cocks, le coq; coke; cocus; also, de caux. _creasy._ _cripps._ armorially identified with crisp. _crittenden._ a fine old name from kent. the crittendens of kentucky have nobly illustrated the name. the founder of the family, john crittenden, was an officer in the revolutionary war. he came to kentucky at the close of that struggle, and settled in woodford, the heart of this state. his sons, john, thomas, and robert, were eminent at the bar, and henry, who devoted his life to agriculture, was equally conspicuous for talent. john j. crittenden received his elementary education at the local schools; afterwards attended washington academy (now washington-lee university), and completed his studies at william and mary. the effect of his classical training is shown in the clearness, finish, and felicity of his published speeches; his peculiar power in forensic oratory must always be a matter of tradition. the name "crittenden" is imperishably associated with that of kentucky. it is peculiarly a family of soldiers, lawyers, and political leaders. one soldier of the name was immortalized by his tragic fate--william crittenden, the proto-martyr of _cuba libre_. the history of the family is the history of the state. _crockett._ _crook_, or crooke. _crozier._ _cummings_, or cumming. _cunditt._ _currier._ richard coriarius, normandy, 1180, from angerville, in the cotentin. _curtis._ _cuss._ a form of cust. one may be a "cuss" in kentucky; but quite as often he is "cust." _dade._ _dailey._ _dangerfield_, or d'angerville. _daniel._ _d'arcy._ _darrell._ _davie._ _davies._ _davis._ mr. burton n. harrison, in his graphic "century" narrative of the capture of jefferson davis, records the last "war" speech of the southern president. it was addressed to a column of cavalry, under the command of general duke, at charlotte, n. c., the soldiers waving their flags and hurrahing for "jefferson davis." the speech was brief. he thanked them for their cordial greeting; complimented the gallantry and efficiency of the kentucky cavalrymen; and expressed his determination not to despair of the confederacy, but to remain with the last organized band, "upholding the flag." this was all. he said later to his faithful secretary, "i can not feel like a beaten man." in a private letter written by secretary harrison to his mother about this time (unpublished), he says: "thaddeus stevens recently sent us an offer to become one of mr. davis' counsel if it were agreeable to us to have him serve." mr. harrison's letters to his family are admirably written and full of interest. it was the trained sagacity of an english statesman which in the midst of universal doubt and misconception enabled him to comprehend at a glance the difficulties encountered by jefferson davis in bringing order out of the wild chaos of secession in the southern states. "he has created a nation"--said mr. gladstone. doubtless, posterity, in full possession of the facts, will be disposed to let the judgment stand. these facts have never been more ably and accurately stated than in the eulogy by colonel william c. p. breckinridge upon that able and daring pilot in this great extremity of the south. the eulogist was competent to speak; he was early in the field; he was close to the inner councils of the war; he saw and shared the struggle in every phase; and at the close, he calmly accepted the results. his clear and rapid summary will carry historic weight: "when the world once understands how it was possible for the government, inaugurated at montgomery, without a battalion of soldiers, or a ship of war, without arms or munitions of war, without provisions and military stores; a government not possessing within its borders a single factory at which a single weapon of war, or a single part of a weapon of war, could be manufactured, without credit or funds; a nation with her ports soon blockaded so as to be deprived of access to the markets of the world; a republic composed nominally of thirteen separate states, of which kentucky, tennessee and missouri were practically under the control of its enemy--how such a nation could maintain such a war for a period of four years against the united states of america, and bring into the field an army more numerous than its entire adult white population, feed it, clothe it, transport it, arm it, take care of it and keep it in such condition that it won unprecedented victories, has been an unsolved mystery. when it is added that during those years personal freedom was maintained, order preserved, courts kept open and no rights usurped, thinkers will conclude that he who was the head and life, the spirit and chief must have been a very great man." the london _times_, in its obituary notice, said: "as he was the first to perceive the true nature of the struggle, so was he the last to admit that the battle was lost. he fought a losing battle with unquestionable ability and unflinching courage. his achievements will secure him an honorable place in his country's history." in the last public address of jefferson davis, delivered in the capitol of mississippi to the legislature in joint convention, he said: "the people of the confederate states did more in proportion to their numbers and men than was ever achieved by any people in the world's history. fate decreed that they should be unsuccessful in the effort to maintain their claim to resume the grants to the federal government. our people have accepted the decree; it, therefore, behooves them, as they may, to promote the general welfare of the union; to show to the world that hereafter, as heretofore, the patriotism of our people is not measured by the lines of latitude and longitude, but is as broad as the obligations they have assumed and embraces the whole of our ocean-bound domain. let them leave to their children and children's children the grand example of never swerving from the path of duty, and preferring to return good for evil rather than to cherish the unmanly feeling of revenge." _davison._ _davy_, or davey. _dawe._ _dawkins_, or dakin. _dawson._ _day._ _deacon._ _dean._ _dearing_, or deering. _delacy_, or lacy. _delmar_. an abbreviation of de la mare. _denis_, or dennis. _denney_, or denny. _denton._ _derry_, for d'arry or d'airy. _desha._ (fr. deshayes.) a grandson of governor desha of kentucky, visiting many years ago the valley of wyoming, the ancestral home-place of the desha family, found a venerable scion of the pioneer stock, who invariably spelt his name deshay. fields, woods, hedges, etc., give surnames to families. in the following line from an old french writer we find two family names, or at least words familiarly used as such:--_on lui dressoit des sentiers au travers des hayes de leurs bois_. the name desha is accented on the second syllable, in kentucky, this doubtless being the original pronunciation as implied by the ancestral orthography--"deshay." beyond the seine in old paris; beyond the latin quarter and the faubourg st. germain, near the fortifications, there stands--or did stand in the closing quarter of the last century--a block of antique villas. one of these was known as the _villa deshayes_. captain deshayes, of the french man-of-war _le grand joseph_, made a gallant fight against two british frigates during the colonial wars. general joseph desha, after a brilliant military and political career, became governor of kentucky in 1824. his administration (says collins, the old whig historian) was strong and efficient. the message of governor desha of kentucky, november 7, 1825, says professor w. g. sumner of yale, "deserves attentive reading from any one who seeks to trace the movement of decisive forces in american political history." judge bledsoe (the father-in-law of governor desha) is reported to have said that "desha commenced his career with as sound a set of politics as any man in kentucky, but it was his misfortune never to change them." even desha's enemies concede that he made a brilliant and impressive appearance upon the hustings. his handsome person and carriage contributed much to this effect. he is described in that hudibrastic skit, "the stumpiad" (1816): "with chapeau-bras and good broad sword, and fine as any english lord." (vide sketch and portrait of desha in no. 18 of the publications of the filson club: battle of the thames.) _devereux._ _devine._ william le devin, normandy, 1180-95. _dewey._ _dickens_, or digons. digin or diquon, an early "nurse-name" of richard. digg, diggery, dickman, digman, digins, diggins, "dickens"--name of the novelist. also, dickson, dickenson. "dickins," used as a nickname of satan, is a contraction of the diminutive _devilkins_. _dietrich._ (scan.) didrik. didrich, diderk, diderisk. (from a list of frisian personal and family names--barber.) _dimmett_, for diment. _dimmitt._ _dixie._ armorially identified with dicey. from diss, norfolk, which belonged to richard de lucy, governor of falaise. the confederate war-song, therefore, bears a norman name. _dodson._ the son of dode, alwinus dodesone, occurs in domesday as a tenant-in-chief. it is an open question whether it is scandinavian or anglo-saxon. even lower is doubtful. there is a large connection of this name in maryland and kentucky. one branch is connected with the botelers of virginia. a good english stock. _doggett._ _doniphan._ probably an early form of donovan. by old writers (says lower) the name is written dondubhan ("the brown-haired chief")--changed to doniphan by the familiar substitution of p for b. the doniphans of kentucky were a strong race--lawyers, soldiers, physicians, etc. general william nelson's mother was a doniphan. joseph doniphan came to the fort at boonesborough in 1777. he is said to have been the first school-teacher in kentucky. at the battle of bracito, the mexican leader of a large force called upon colonel doniphan (a kentuckian) to surrender, with the alternative "no quarter." "surrender, or i will charge your lines!" the answer came at once--"_charge and be damned_!" there was no surrender. the mexicans lost. colonel alexander doniphan was a close maternal kinsman of general william nelson, of kentucky, and like him in many respects. _dougles_, or dougless. _dover_, from douvres or dovers, normandy. a baronet family which derived its name from a scandinavian dover at the conquest of normandy, 912. dover, kentucky, is doubtless in the same line of descent. _dowell_, for doel or dol. rivallon, seneschal of dol, ancestor of the counts of dol; connections of the du guesclins (of france) and stuarts (of scotland). passing into a celtic environment, a norman dol or dowell would naturally assume the celtic prefix, "mac," as in like circumstances english settlers have done. in lord stair's list of _macs_, he gives _dowale_, _douall_, _dowell_. mcdowell is the form the name assumes in virginia and kentucky, one branch of the family (mcdowells) being known as the _mcdoles_, a traditional pronunciation of the name. the progenitor of the family, colonel samuel m. dowell, was a colonial leader in virginia, and conspicuous and influential as a pioneer in kentucky. he was president of the convention that organized the state. the common derivation of "dowell" is from _dougall_, and was intended in the highlands to apply exclusively to the _lowlander_; though quite as applicable to the "man from below." (vide lower: _dhu_, black; _gall_, a stranger.) _downing._ old english name familiar in kentucky. a loc. n. worc. (eng.) _drake._ there is no reason to doubt that the drakes of devon were all originally of the same race. they bore a dragon (draco), showing that their name had been draco. the father of daniel drake came to kentucky in the closing years of the eighteenth century, settling in the rich bluegrass county of mason. along with a rifle and an axe, he brought five books to the wilds of kentucky, to wit, a bible, a hymn book, an arithmetic, a spelling book, and the "famous history of montellion, a romance of the ages of chivalry." "the letters of lord chesterfield,"--borrowed by the father of daniel from a friend in the neighboring virginian colony--"fell in mighty close"--says the son--"with the tastes of the whole family." chesterfield and montellion:--ideal educators even in this "school of the woods," as it was happily termed by its most distinguished graduate, doctor daniel drake. daniel drake was not only a skillful physician and accomplished scholar, but he was the founder of a famous medical school, and an author whose productions, in the estimation of competent critics, have given him and his country a splendid and enduring renown. his elaborate and systematic treatise upon the diseases of the valley of the mississippi is a work which lays broad the foundations of medico-geographical research in the western hemisphere, and foreshadows in masterly fashion the rigorous methods of physical science that are now universally in vogue. the author was an explorer by right of birth. he was a true son of his pioneer father, and a typical scion of an adventurous race. the daring navigator, sir francis drake, the son of a devonshire yeoman, was a true kinsman in spirit, and probably in blood. the same passion for exploration which drove the one to circle the universal seas in an english keel inspired the other to toil through the vast spaces of a continental wilderness and explore the haunts of pestilence upon the shores of the mexican gulf. it is doubtless as the author of that unique work--"the diseases of the great interior valley"--that daniel drake will chiefly be remembered, and certainly no one could desire a better title to remembrance. the motto of his famous "journal," e sylvis nuncius, is a succinct and happy characterization of the man. he was indeed an ambassador from nature, and his credentials have passed unchallenged to this day. _drewry._ _duckworth._ _dudley._ _duer._ _duncan_, or dunkin. _duke._ le duc, normandy, 1180-98. radulphus dux (or duke), of bucks, england, 1199. the name keeps its old distinction in kentucky. it will long survive in social tradition and always hold a high place in the history of the state. an anglo-norman family. _dr. basil duke_, born in calvert county, maryland, 1766; died in washington, ky., 1828; married, 1794, charlotte marshall, born, 1777, in fauquier county, virginia; died in washington, kentucky, april 17, 1817. she was a sister of chief-justice marshall. 1. thomas marshall duke, born 1795, died about 1870; married: 1. bettie taylor. 2. nancy ashby. 3. ---mccormick. 2. mary wilson duke, born february 7, 1797; married, may 7, 1818, dr. john f. henry; died september, 1823. 3. james keith duke, born, washington, ky., 1799; died august 2, 1863; married, february 5, 1822, mary buford. 4. nathaniel wilson duke, born 1806; died at paris, ky., july, 1850; married, october 4, 1833, mary currie. parents of general basil duke. 5. john marshall duke, born, washington, ky., october 29, 1811, died in maysville, ky., 1880; married hannah morton. 6. lucy ann duke born washington, ky., january 11, 1814; died rock island, ill.; married, january 20, 1835, charles buford. 7. charlotte jane duke, born washington, ky., january 20, 1817; died february, 1886; married, january 14, 1840, harrison taylor, "war" speaker of the house of representatives. (kentucky.) the dukes of south mason are descended from alexander duke of maryland, a tall, vigorous specimen of the anglo-norman breed who lived to be nearly one hundred years of age. his son, dr. basil duke, was a brigade surgeon in the confederate service. [illustration: honorable john j. crittenden.] _durrell_, from durell. armorially identified with darrell, durrant, durran, durrock, and possibly durrett. (vide durrett.) note how slight a change converts the norman name clarte into claret. so, druett into durrett. _durrett._ a surname traceable beyond the conquest, and having all the marks of a norman surname. if not of literal record in our various lists, it is evidence of defect in the list itself. it is a familiar tradition in colonel paul durrett's family that the original form of the surname was _duret_, and that the family was of french extraction. widely separated branches of the same stock have the same tradition. every village in normandy--says camden--has "surnamed" a family in england. it is easy to perceive, therefore, that the number of surnames thus derived, added to the number derived from other sources, would oblige the compilers of genealogical dictionaries from sheer exhaustion to _omit_ many names. there is a simple process of linguistic mutation which explains the genesis of many words. it is known as _transposition_. it may be a transposition of _letters_, as in the simple name _crisp_, transpose the terminal letters and we have the familiar name _crips_; or it may be a transposition of _syllables_, of which we have a famous example in _al-macks_, _decelticized_ for anglican uses by a simple transposition of the syllables in the celtic surname--_mack-all_. so, durand, durant (vide battle abbey roll and d. b.), deruelle, durelle, druell, durell, durel, durell (huguenot, london, 1697), durrell; so, too, drouet (nor. fr.), druet, druett, durrett. _duré_ is a french surname easily normanized by the addition of the diminutive suffix _et_ or _ett_, giving us duré, duret, or durett; and when consonantally _braced_ (more anglico) by doubling the "r," we have _durrett_--a familiar surname in kentucky. _dur_, the adjective, means _hard, durable, enduring_; the noun _dur_ is _door_; _ett_ is a norman suffix; giving the ancient surname _durrett_ a characteristic norman stamp, structure, and _cachet_. _dye_, for deye. _dyer._ _eames._ ames. _edmonds_, or edmunds. _egerton._ _eckert._ _eliot._ _ellis_, or alis, from alis near pont de l'arche. the sensational duel between major thomas marshall and captain charles mitchell was fought upon the place of mr. washington ellis, near maysville, ky. it has been well described by dr. anderson nelson ellis, his son, an accomplished writer and physician. _ellison._ _emet_, or emmett, from amiot, normandy. _english_, or inglis; families of this name are all norman. england is another form of anglicus. _eve_, or ives. _everett_, from evreux. (normandy.) _fail_, for faiel, fales. william faiel, normandy, 1180. reginald fale, england, 1272. _faint_ for fant. _falconer_, or falkner. _farish_, or fariss or ferris. _farley_, or varley. _farrer_, armorially identified with ferrers of bere. ferrers, farrow, the same. a large family, well and widely connected in virginia and kentucky. archdeacon farrer is of the same gens. the name is variously spelled farrer, farrow, farra, farrers. _faulconer_, for falconer; also faulkner. _fell_, _fayle_, or fail, fales. _fickling._ _field._ richard de la felda is mentioned in normandy, temp. john (mem. soc. ant. norm. v. 126). burke (landed gentry) states under the head de la field that this family was originally seated in alsace near the vosges mountains. the author of "the norman people" says the name embraces both english and norman families. pierce's great two-volume "genealogy" (profusely illustrated) exhibits the prodigious growth in america, including such names as cyrus field, justice field, marshall field, and judge curtis field. the kentucky fields were connected by marriage with the clays of bourbon. pierce's genealogy gives very pleasing views of "auvergne," the home of the field-clays. this estate was inherited by hon. cassius m. clay, jr., of bourbon. henry field (eng. 1611) came to virginia in 1635. lieutenant henry field, culpeper county, virginia, married ann lightfoot, may, 1771. his will made november 19, 1777. his daughter, judith field, married francis taylor, of maryland, in louisville, ky., february 14, 1774. francis taylor studied law with judge sebastian in louisville. lucretia, a daughter of francis and judith taylor, married captain james b. robinson. the fields family of tennessee (afterward of kentucky) are now in the north, the brothers james and henry being conspicuous in the management of important steel and iron trusts. their sister, mrs. charles d. lanier, is a resident of new york city. her husband (a son of the famous southern poet) is now at the head of "the review of reviews." _fillpot_ or philpot, from philipot, diminutive of philip. _finch._ _finney._ _fisher._ _fisk_, or fyska. _fitch_, or fitz. _fitzgerald._ _flanders_, or flamders. common in england after the conquest. _fleet._ _fleming._ the flemings of fleming are derived from the flemings of virginia. _fleming._ the flemings of "wigton" came from flanders in the train of william the conqueror. sir thomas fleming came to virginia in 1626. colonel john fleming (another wigtonshire fleming) came from virginia to kentucky in 1790. his grandson, john donaldson fleming, was also a pioneer and served with marked efficiency as united states district attorney for colorado. _fletcher._ _flowers._ _foakes_, or fowkes. _foley._ _folk._ governor of missouri. a political leader of distinction. _follett._ _force_, de forz. _foreman_, or forman for fairman. the forman family of kentucky (local pronunciation _fur_-man) forms one of the largest and most influential connections in the state. they are scandinavians of a high type. _forrest._ _forrester._ _forster_, or foster. james lane allen was a foster in the maternal line. _fountain_, de fonte. _fowke_, gerard, a kentuckian, directed the later horsford excavations at cambridge. he is a descendant of the "elizabethan" fowke, a virginian pioneer. his latest paper described his explorations of the lower amur valley. it was a cold trail, but the story is one of singular interest. _fowkes_, or fowke. see foakes. _fowler._ _fox_, or reinard. the norman name was translated in england after the conquest, being previously rainer, renard, etc. the celebrated fox family of england was derived from le fox, normandy. renard de douvres is familiarly known in kentucky as "fox of dover." the fox family of dover are descendants of a wealthy virginian, arthur fox, distinguished among the pioneer citizens of the state. judge fountain fox of boyle and the southern novelist, john fox, were doubtless derived from the same anglo-norman stock. _francis_, governor of missouri; organizer of the world's fair in commemoration of the louisiana purchase. _frazee_, fraser, frazier, fraize, a loc. n. in france. fr. fraiseur. from _fraiser_, to fortify with stakes. samuel frazee, a revolutionary soldier, came to madison county, ky., in 1792. progenitor of a large and prominent family in the state. doctor lewis j. frazee, of louisville, was author of "a medical student, europe," a mid-century publication. _freyer_, or frier. (old norse.) armorially identified in normandy with frere. ansgot frater, of normandy, 1198. in england, 1326. _gaines._ _gairdner_, or gardner (c. jardinier). _gambier._ _gamble._ _garland._ _garrard_, for gerard; ralph and william gerard, normandy, 1180-95. twenty-six of the name in england, 1272. _garratt._ roger and william garrett, of normandy, 1180. _garrett._ _gaskin._ _gaskins._ _gates._ _gault._ _gay._ ralph gai, normandy, 1180. robert de gay, a benefactor to osney, oxford. _geary_, or gery, normandy, 1165. william de gueri. of this name are the baronets geary. _gentry_, chantry. from chaintre, near macon. _gibbon_, or gibbons. _gibbs._ _gibson._ _gilbert._ _gill_, gille or giles. _gillman._ _gilpin_, galopin. _glen_, or glenn. _goble_, for gobel. _goddard._ _godfrey._ _goggin_, or gogin, normandy, 1195; england, 1272. william l. goggin was a mid-century governor of virginia. lucien b. goggin, his brother, was a prominent citizen of kentucky. this ancient surname is distinctly traceable by record from normandy to england; from england to virginia; from virginia to kentucky. and this is but one out of _many names_, officially recorded in normandy, that reappear, hundreds of years afterward, in kentucky. _goode._ _gooding._ _goodman._ _gordon_, or berwick (anglo-norman, also a celtic clan name). _goring._ _gosling._ _gossett._ _gowan._ _graham_, in all the early records of england, means grantham in lincoln. william de graham, who settled in scotland, came from grantham. ralph, hereditary chamberlain of normandy, had two grandsons--(1) rabel, ancestor of the chamberlains of normandy. (2) william de graham, ancestor of montrose and dundee. _grand_, le grant, grand; scottish grants are celtic. _graves._ _gray_, greey or grey. from gray, normandy, near caen. _grenfell._ recalling the name of the gallant englishman that rode with morgan. _gresham._ _gunn._ william de gons, normandy, 1280. william gun, england, 1272. dennis gunn, kentucky, 1870. _gurney_, from de gournay. _gurdon_, from gourdon, near calais. _hailie_, for hailly or d'aily. _haines._ from haisne, near arras. _haley_, for hailey. _haley_, for hailey. percy haley is notably anglo-norman. _hall._ _halliday_, or holliday. recalls the famous overland route. _halliday_, from halyday, normandy. a name historically associated in america with the great overland route, as is also blanchard (q.v.). benjamin holliday, william blanchard, and judge thomas a. marshall (president of the central pacific) were kentuckians born within a few miles of each other, near the northern border of the state. all pioneers of scandinavian blood. _halsey._ _ham._ from the castle of ham, normandy. william _du_ ham, normandy, 1180. william _de_ ham, england, 1272. _hamer._ heirmir, the name of a jarl. it was that stout fighter, general hamer, who sent ulysses grant to west point. _hamilton._ a well-known family in kentucky. _hamilton._ gilbert de hamelden had estates in surrey, holding his lands from the honour of huntingdon, and, therefore, from the kings of scotland (1254). his elder son, walter, was one of the barons of scotland, and held the barony of hamilton. the family dates from normandy, 1130. the most illustrious descendant of this noble scottish family was an american--alexander hamilton--who, according to that very eminent authority, prince talleyrand, "was the greatest man of his epoch," an epoch illustrated by such names as napoleon and washington--his greatness consisting peculiarly in this, that he was not only variously gifted--soldier, scholar, orator, administrator, political philosopher and financier, but, like william of normandy, he was a creative or constructive statesman, and his mother, like the maiden of falaise, was a daughter of france. in a brilliant and powerful work descriptive of his life, he is fitly styled the "conqueror," and an american senator, writing upon the same lines, adopts practically the same views. the discussion in both instances is conducted with perfect frankness and in perfect taste. in a speech at the recent home-coming in louisville, an eloquent kentuckian made felicitous reference to a similar instance in which (it was alleged) destiny (or subterranean tradition) had assigned to a daughter of the people the same illustrious rôle. whatever the facts, there is a philosophy that rises above conventions; precisely as if it should say--"in the higher planes of life, the conceptions of social evolution are sometimes predestinated and immaculate." who knows? thus much at least may be conceded to the maiden of the wilderness, to the daughter of the tropics, and to the maiden of falaise, that no three women who have figured in profane history as the mothers of great men have more profoundly affected the destinies of the english or anglo-norman race. _hampden._ _hampton._ norman-french. de hantona. _hancock._ hancoc or hencot--these names were gradually changed to hancock. _hanks._ according to lower, an old cheshire "nick"-name of randolph. the name randolph has given rise to many "diminutives," as rankin, randolph, randy, ranson, hankin, hankey, hanks, resembling in this respect the prolific "peter" (q.v.). in the struggle for existence the monosyllabic "hanks" has survived to share the distinction of the original surname. to have been borne by the mother of lincoln is quite enough to render it illustrious for all time. a contemporary said of her that "she was a woman of superior natural endowments of mind and of great amiability and kindness of heart. she was always gentle, always kind, but far more energetic than her husband. she was quick-witted, with a great relish for the humorous and a keen appreciation of fun." her husband generously described her occasional "complaints" as "chirping"--a gracious felicity of speech. whatever the wit and charm of the woman, there was certainly humor, with tenderness and imagination, in the man. abraham lincoln was born in hardin county, ky., in february, 1809, three and a half years after the marriage of his father and mother. she died in october, 1818. she was buried near the present site of lincoln city, and lay for many years in an unmarked grave. a "sculptured monument" now marks the spot. it is a beautiful shaft of white marble and bears the impressive legend: "beneath this shaft lies in peace all that is mortal of nancy lincoln, mother of abraham lincoln, the sixteenth president of the united states." _hanson_, hausen (scand). _harben_ (norman) or harbin, de harpin: harbinson. _harcourt._ the earls of harcourt were descended from bernard, "the dane," who was chief counselor and second in command to rollo or rolf in his invasion of neustria, 875, and received for his services a chateau ("harcourt") near brionne in france. robert de harcourt attended william the conqueror to the conquest of england. "harcourt" is notably a name of "high life." _harden_, or hardin. walter hardin, a true norman name. _hardin._ ben hardin, the great kentucky lawyer, on one occasion when traveling the circuit breakfasted with his kinsman, major barbour, a prominent citizen of a pious community. mrs. barbour, who had little taste for the profane writers, but read her bible daily, was truly a mother in israel; and was as hospitable to sinners as to saints. the problem before the venerable hostess was to make the conversation interesting to the great lawyer. roosevelt and the kaiser were not at the front in those days, and the conversation naturally flagged; but the old lady soon found a satisfactory substitute for the great modern rulers, and turned suddenly upon her imposing kinsman with the query, "benjamin, what do you think of solomon?" ben had evidently studied the subject, for he answered instantly, "solomon, madam, was a magnificent damned scoundrel." _hardin_, hardinge, d. b. harding, hardingus, hardine. in old norse, haddingjar. harden for ardern or hardern. ralph de ardern was lord of bracebridge. the family of arden or ardern (with aspirate, harden) was norman and went to england in 1066. bernard "the dane" was regent of normandy, 940. _harden_, for hardern or ardern; or _arden_ with aspirate. _hardy._ _harris_, for heris, normandy. harsee, normandy, 1198. _harris_, for heriz. ralph heriz, normandy, 1180-'95. ivo de heriz, england, 1130. _harrison._ philip and gilbert heriçon, normandy, 1180. henry harsent, england, 1272. in virginia, a great name. [illustration: honorable henry watterson.] (1) the famous french economist, michel chevalier, traveled in the united states in 1835. he says in one of his _lettres_ that he remarked at the table of the hotel a man of about 60 years of age who had the lively air and alert carriage of a youth. he was impressed by the amenity of his manners and by a certain air of command which peered even through his "linsey" habit. this, he learned, was the distinguished american general, harrison, victor in the battle of the thames, one of the two very celebrated battles of the war, the other being the battle of tippecanoe. if a "norman" battle was ever fought upon this continent, it was the battle of the thames. it might have recalled to the conqueror his own baptism of fire. on the eve of battle the american commander changed his plans. having learned that colonel james johnson's cavalry had been drilled to _charge in the woods_, he ordered a charge to be made by the mounted kentuckians upon the british line, which was drawn up in a wooded strip of ground between the river and the swamp. their artillery was planted in the wagon road which bisected the center of the british line. the column of kentuckians flanking the artillery was launched upon the right of the saxon line with irresistible force. reserving their fire and reversing the movement, they charged the broken and disordered line from the rear, pouring upon it a destructive fire. the victory was complete. colonel r. m. johnson charged the indians in their covert on the left; and it was here, in a close hand-to-hand struggle, that tecumseh fell, bequeathing a lifelong controversy to his foes. it was ultimately settled, however, in the popular mind by the traditional couplet- "humpsy, dumpsy, humpsy, dumpsy, colonel johnson killed tecumseh." _harrison._ heriçon, normandy, 1180. _harrop._ la herupe. _harrow._ _hart._ _hart._ lecerf, ralph cerfus, normandy, 1180-1198. in england translated into herte, also harte. _harvey_, harvie, hervey, herveus, 1198, normandy. sire hervey is mentioned in piers plowman. the early pronunciation of hervey was _harvey_. now, generally pronounced as spelled. _hatcher._ _haughton._ _hawes._ richard hawes, confederate governor of kentucky. _hawkins._ from the manor of hawkings, kent, held by walter hawkins, 1326. colonel tom hawkins of kentucky, who fought with lopez in cuba, was a typical anglo-norman. _hawley._ _hay_, or de la haye. _hay_, or de la hey, hay. armorially identified with hayes, from hayes, near blois. vide desha or deshayes. _hayles._ _hayley._ _hayne_, or haynes. _hearn_, from heron, near rouen. _hedge._ _helm._ andrew de helm, england, 1262. (normandy, 1198.) _herd_, for hert, hart. _hert._ _hewett_, or hewitt. from huest or huet, near evreux. also, hewettson. _hibberd._ _hickey_, hequet, normandy. _hicks._ _higgin_, hequet, normandy. higginson. _hill._ the english form of de morete. for helle or de heille, near beaurais. the family was spread throughout kent and surrey. _himes._ _hitt._ _hoare._ aure from auray, in bretagne. _aure_, with aspirate, becomes _hoare_. _hogg_, or de hoge. from la hogue in the contentin. _hoghton_, hocton. _hoide._ _hoile_, or hoyle. norman hoel, a familiar name in kentucky. _holburd_, halbert, alberd, albert. _holiday_, or holliday. ben holliday, forerunner of the stanfords and huntingtons. _holland_, de hoilant, normandy, 1180. _holles_, for hollis. robert de holis, normandy, 1198. _holmes_ (william der holme). _holmes._ from norse holmer (an islet in a lake). d. b. de holme, a tenant in chief. william du holme, 1180-95. _hood._ norse udi. danish hude. the popular hero, robin, seems to have been of scandinavian descent. john hood, of kentucky, was pre-eminently a "fighting general." jesse james was the robin hood of our day. _hooker._ _hooper._ _hord._ a swedish name, borne by a general of charles xii. _howel._ _hudson._ hudson of maysville, an intimate friend of general grant. _hughes._ _hulbard._ for hubert. _humfrey._ _humphry._ _humphrey._ notably a norman name. as theologians, lawyers, scholars, the humphreys of kentucky have sustained the ancient distinction of the name. _hunt_, le huant, normandy, 1198. _hunter_ (venator or le veneur). _hunter._ english form of le veneur. _huntley._ _hurt._ _hutchings_, or hutchins, houchin. _hyatt_ (haytt). _ingall._ for angall. _ingle._ for angle. _inglis_, or anglicus. _ingram._ _innes_ (the baronets innes). _ireland_ (dehibernis, normandy, 1180). _jack._ for jacques; william jack, england, 172. _jackson._ a name of the family lascelles. _james._ st. james, normandy. _janvier._ (january.) at least three branches in this country from a common ancestor in france. the name is sometimes anglicized--notably in missouri and kentucky. _jarvis_ (gervasius, normandy, 1180). _jeffreys_ (with various forms), geoffrey, geoffrey's son, jefferson. in the home-coming reception mason and jefferson hold the extremes of the receiving line. _jennings_, from genn or canon, chanum, chanon, chanoun, jenun, jenning or jennings, william jennings bryan. vide bryan. _jewell_, from juel or judæ de mayenne. _jewett_, or guet, normandy, 1180. _johnson._ the johnsons of ayscough-fee, county lincoln, claim from the house of fitzjohn of normandy (guillim's display of heraldry). a distinguished name in maryland, virginia, and kentucky. _johnston_ is scandinavian. probably the most conspicuous and influential scandinavian in the united states at this time bears that name. he is a native of scandinavia. the most notable american of that race and name was the confederate general albert sidney johnston. there are two pictures of him that will live in the popular mind: (1) as he stood, silent and absorbed, beside his camp fire on the night before shiloh; (2) as he led that dashing and successful charge on the following day. a soldier worthy of his race. _julian._ from st. julian, normandy. _karr._ _kays._ _kerr._ appears to be a branch of the norman house of espec. the name is variously given as kerr, karr, carr, cairo, carum. lucien carr was author of a history of missouri. _keats_, for keate. keats the poet had a brother who lived in louisville, ky. _keats_, keat, keyt, kate. in collins' history, page 557, vol. 2, the reader notes the following reference to this name--"the most celebrated female school in the west at the time was in washington, 1807-12; that of mrs. louisa caroline warburton fitzherbert keats, sister of sir george fitzherbert, of st. james square, and wife of reverend mr. keats, a relation of the celebrated poet."--the keats family of louisville (closely related to the poet) was conspicuous in the early history of that city. they were connections of the famous speed family of kentucky. _kehoe._ (french) cahot; cahut; cayeux, p. n. _kenney_ (de kani, 1198, normandy). _kentain_, for kintan or quentin. simon kenton was always known among the plain people as kinton, though, in early kentucky statutes, the name is spelled _canton_, no doubt as then pronounced, even by "scollards." kenton, a "place" name near the northeast coast of england. much of our old kentucky stock is northumbrian. _keith._ _key._ _keyes._ _kimball_, for kemble. _king_ (rex de leroy, normandy, 1180). _kinsey_, for kensey. _kirk_, or quirk, de querçu. _kissill._ for cecil, which is also sometimes sissell, knight (miles or knight, normandy). _knott_, for canot or canute. _knott_ (danish), knouth. norse knöttr (a ball or knob, as a knot on oak). _kydd_, or kidd. _kyle_, or keyle. _lacy_, or lacey. a baronial name from lasey, between vire and aulnay. walter de lacy was in the battle of hastings, and captain walter lacy of kentucky was a soldier in the mexican war. _lamb_ (robert, agnus, and ralph, normandy, 1180). _lambton._ a durham family from the barons of tarp and normandy. _landor_, or lander. from landers, burgundy. from this family walter landor, the poet. _larken_, larkin, largan, largant, larcamp, larkins, normandy, 1180. _laurence_, lorenz, normandy, 1180; also lawrence. _lawson_, from loison, normandy, 1180. _lee_, leigh, de la mare. stephen lee, the progenitor of the kentucky lees, was born in prince william county, virginia, and died in mason county, kentucky. his first wife--the widow magruder--was the mother of priscilla lee, who married william botts of virginia. his second wife died without issue. his third wife was mrs. ann dunn. her son, henry, who rose to distinction in the history of kentucky, was born april 2, 1757. he married mary young. the question is sometimes asked, "how were the descendants of stephen lee related to the lees of the northern neck?" many years ago the writer of this note saw in a collection of old papers made by that able and conscientious antiquary, william d. hixson,[13] a letter from general henry lee of virginia ("light-horse harry") to general henry lee of kentucky, in which the latter was addressed as "dear cousin." the letter was in relation to certain lands in mason county then owned by a daughter, priscilla lee; and was of peculiar interest as confirming the familiar tradition of a connection by blood between the two families of lee. the name "lee" is traced by english genealogists to scandinavia. (vide sketch of the lee family in the "register," by lucy coleman lee.) [13] w. d. hixson, the "old mortality" of mason, is now a resident of mt. sterling, kentucky. _lemon_, lemmus, normandy, 1180. _lenard_, or leonard. for leonard from st. leonard near fecamp, normandy. _lenney_, or linney, from launer, normandy. _lewis_, delues or luiz, normandy, 1180. _liddell._ from lydale, on scottish border; seat of a norman. _lile_, for lisle. _lincoln._ alured de lincoln came from normandy with the conqueror; held a great barony in lincoln and bedford. from a collateral branch, it is said--and the branches were numerous--descended the greatest of the "rulers of men," abraham lincoln. _lincoln._ the following appreciation of the character of abraham lincoln is from paul bourget's outre-mer. the judgment of posterity is probably anticipated in this discriminating characterization by an able foreign writer: "that heroic struggle has left more noble vestiges than the shameful abuse of electoral pensions: the recollection in the first place of a common bravery, the proof that american industrialism has not in the least diminished the energies of the race; again, the legend of lincoln, of one of those men who by their example alone model after their mind the conscience of an entire country. that personage, so american by the composite character of his individuality, humorous and pathetic at the same time; that politician experienced in all trickeries and nevertheless so capable of idealism and mysticism; that half-educated man who had at times magnificent simplicities of eloquence; that old wood-cutter, his face bitter with disgust, yet luminous with hope, worn out with trials and still so strong; that statesman so close to the people and nevertheless with so broad a vision, remains the most modern of heroes, one whom the united states can boldly place in opposition to a napoleon, a cavour, a bismarck. the south to-day recognizes his greatness as well as the north. he had the luck to be exactly the workman that was needed for the task which he undertook, and to die as soon as that task was achieved. such circumstances continued form great destinies." "abraham lincoln" (says one of his admiring compatriots) "was an incomparable leader of men. while mcclellan and grant could conduct more or less successfully the operations of a hundred thousand men in the field, it was abraham lincoln alone that could keep in hand the vast and turbulent electorate of eighteen northern states. it was lincoln's consummate generalship, happily for the south, that held these radical and aggressive elements in check: '_unus homo nobis cunctando restituit rem._'" _lindsay_, or de lines. branch of a baronial norman house; one of the sovereign families that ruled in norway till dispossessed by harold harfager. the name "lindsay" is from the norman seigneury limesay. there are various branches with armorial identifications pointing to a common origin. chief justice lindsay, of kentucky, stands in the front rank of anglo-norman lawyers. _lisle._ _littell_, or little. parvus or le petit, normandy, 1180. _littleton_, or lytleton. _lockett_, for lockhart. _long._ petrus de longa, normandy. _lovell._ louvel, normandy, 1180. _lucas._ from de lukes or luches. _luckett_, for lockett. _luke._ from st. luc, near evreux, normandy. _luttrell_, ralph and robert lotrel, normandy, 1180. _lyle_, for lisle. _lyon._ from lions, normandy. _lyttleton._ from vantort, maine. lord chief justice lytleton was of this house. _machin._ from lemachun or lemeschun. _mainwaring._ mesnil, larin, a well-known norman family. _major._ normandy, 1198. _maltby._ (scandinavian.) _malby._ for malbiæ, normandy, 1180. _man_, or mann. _manning._ from maignon, normandy, 1180. _march._ from marchie, normandy. _markland._ an old scandinavian name. it was given by eric in his voyage of exploration (year 1000) to the "wooded" coast of cape breton, or nova scotia. _marsh._ demarisco, normandy, 1180. _marshall._ there are 62 coats of arms of this name, generally normans, the principal of these being the earls of pembroke. colonel thomas marshall of virginia, the father of the great chief justice, lived near washington, mason county, ky. he died in 1802. his grave in the family burying-ground near the old home ("the hill") has attracted many visitors of late years, and the family homestead near washington was once visited by the chief justice himself. john marshall was probably the greatest american lawyer of anglo-norman descent; and certainly, as mr. barrett wendell says, "the most eminent chief justice of the supreme court of the united states." judge thomas a. marshall, who recently passed away at salt lake city, a grandson of old colonel thomas marshall, was also a "pioneer." he became the greatest mining lawyer in the west, and president of the central pacific railroad. lytleton, coke, chitty, denman, and other great english lawyers were derived from that same learned, astute, and litigious norman race. _martin._ ralph, john, william, normandy, 1198; william martin, england, 1178. _mason._ william le mazon, normandy, 1198; hugh le maun, england, 1198. mason county, named after the famous virginian, george mason, by the legislature of virginia in 1788, and not (as recently proclaimed) after a governor of michigan, who in all likelihood was not born when the county was named. _massey._ _massie._ _massy._ a well-known norman family, macy, whence the name is derived, was seated near coutances and avranches, normandy. _may._ from de mai, normandy, 1180; de may, england, 1272. maysville, ky., named after john may. [illustration: colonel bennett h. young.] _mayhew_, for mayo. _mead_, or meade. the english form of de prato, normandy, 1180. _menzies_, or de maners, or later in scotland, manners. _mercer_, mercier; normandy. _merrill._ _miall_, miel, mihell, mighell (the last a mediæval form of michael). lower also derives mitchell from michael through the french form michel. _miles._ _mill._ _miller_, or milner, in normandy molendinarius. _mills_, from miles. _milton_, or middleton. armorially identified with the norman family de camville, in the cotentin. the poet milton was of this stock. _minors_, or minor. a distinguished family long settled in virginia. de mineriis, normandy, 1198; in england also, 1198. _mitchell_, for michel. _mitchell._ rudulphus michael, normandy, 1180-'95. william de st. michael, england, 1198. michael, michel, michell. _montagu._ from montaigu or montacute, normandy. _montgomery_, demonte. gourmeril, normandy, many branches. _moodie._ _moody._ _moore_ (de more). _morey._ english pronunciation of moret. _morton_, for moreton. _morton._ ralph de morteine. _mountjoy._ pagonus de montegaii, normandy, 1097; the family was seated in notts and derby. early settlers in virginia and kentucky. _mowbray._ baronial family, castle of molbrai. _mullins_, for molines. _mundey_, for munday. _murrell_, for morrall. _nelson_, nilson. of norman descent, who settled in norfolk, was the direct ancestor of admiral lord nelson. original form neilson or neilsen. _neville_, de nova villa, normandy, 1180. the families of neville, beaugenay, and baskeville are descended from a common ancestor. the nevilles are most numerous in lincoln. _newton._ the most famous of this large family, sir isaac newton, was of norman descent. _nicholas._ richard nicholas, normandy, 1198; nicholas, nicolaus, england, 1198. a distinguished name in kentucky. _norman._ ralph normannus, normandy, 1180; henry norman, england, 1272. this name has a social and official conspicuity in the state of kentucky; and in whatever position found it shows the characteristic marks of the old blood. _norris_, william norensis, normandy, 1180; thomas norensis, england, 1198. _northcott_, or northcote. _norton_, or conyers. elder branch of the family of conyers, or cognieres, normandy; named from the barony of norton, york, the chief english seat of the family. _nye_, for noye. _o'hara_, hare, o'hare, o'hara (fleet-footed). scions of the house of hare-court, or harcourt, counts of normandy. theodore o'hara was a kentuckian by birth and training. he was a gallant soldier in the mexican war; second officer in the first lopez expedition; a colonel in the confederate service. he is best known by those fine elegiac lines which seem to be following the military cemeteries of the english-speaking race: "on fame's eternal camping-ground their silent tents are spread." [see ranck's biography of o'hara, and "lopez's expeditions," published by the filson club, no. 21, this series.] _ormsby._ _orr_ (danish). a parish in kirk and brightshire. _orr._ norse, orri (heathcock tetras tetrix). _orth._ _osborne._ _owen_, from st. owen, near caen. _palmer._ _patterson_, the son of patricius (vide lower). _paul._ _payne._ _paynter_ (de peyntre). thos. h. paynter, united states senator from kentucky. _pearce._ _peed._ _peel_, pele, norman, 1180. peels of yorkshire and lancashire, ancestors of sir robert peel. _peers._ _pelham._ _percy._ _perry_, or perrie. _peters_ and _peter_ (pierre). doctor thomas lounsbury, who combines erudition most agreeably with common sense, says in a recent paper that at particular periods there is manifested a feeling of "hostility" to certain words. we have an illustration of this in the history of the proper name _peter_, which, as one of the philologists tells us, "at one time was odious to english ears." for example, we find in the statistical nomenclature of wiltshire only sixteen peters to ninety-two johns, and the ratio elsewhere in other shires or districts is about the same. yet we find many traces of peter or pierre (the original french form) in other names, as pears, peers, pars, etc. peter has been a prolific propagator of patronymics in spite of its temporary eclipse; peterson, pearson, peterman, pierson, etc. it does not seem to have recovered its early popularity, or to be able to stand alone; but with desinences attached it takes and retains its old position, as in perkins, peterkin, perrins, perrutts, etc. it is a buoyant, resilient norman vocable with the characteristic norman facility of assimilation. this one surname covers many others. _pettit._ _peyton._ _philpot._ _picard_, pykart, pecor, pecar. _pickett._ (picot.) _pinckard._ _pirtle._ norman french. a diminutive of "pert"; is common in the arrondissement of bayeux. _pitt._ taine's ideal type of an englishman was william pitt, who is thus described by that admirable observer: "sometimes," in his rounds of observation, he "detects the physiognomy of pitt; the slight face, impressive and imperious; the pale and ardent eyes; the look which shines like the gleam of a sword. the man is of a finer mould, but his will is only the more incisive and firmer; it is iron transformed into steel." contrast this portraiture of pitt with his pictures of the taurine type of englishman. that munificent english savant, general pitt-rivers, is of the same norman stock. he was a gallant soldier in the crimean war. _plunkett._ _poague._ _pollitt._ _porter._ _potter._ _potts._ _poyntz_, or ponz, a branch of fitz-poyntz, ponz, tenant d. b. nicholas printz held land in gloucestershire, temp. k. john. under _poyntz_, lower says, walter julius ponz, a tenant in chief at the time of the norman survey, was son of walter ponz, a noble norman. the surname poyntz may be traced from normandy through england and virginia to kentucky. many years before the establishment in kentucky of a club or society with a roving commission for historic research, there dwelt in the northern highlands of the bluegrass region a sagacious and successful cattle-breeder, who was a practical student of pedigrees and had put the knowledge thus acquired to a profitable use. _all_ of his theories would not have been accepted by weismann; nor, on the other hand, would all of weismann's theories been accepted by _him_. the conclusions which lay nearest his special vocation had been carefully "applied" after his own fashion, and he was satisfied with the results. francis galton, himself, had no better grounds for belief in the laws of heredity. he was a kentuckian of the early type--not unlike the kentuckians and virginians that the english traveler, mr. pym fordham, describes in a series of letters from the south and west. his mental gifts and pleasing manners, to say nothing of his commanding stature, not only made him conspicuous, but wherever he went assured him welcome and the right of way. there was a look of quiet resourcefulness in the man. his facial contour was striking. the features, seen in profile, were large, strong, and regular, and their impressiveness was notably enhanced by a broad, flowing beard with the same reddish tinge that brightened his locks of long brown hair. his eye was steady, soft, and penetrating--noting everything, overlooking nothing. his complexion was peculiar--not "ruddy" or glowing from daily exposure, at all seasons, in the open air, but of an almost bloodless hue; as colorless, at least, and as clear as if untouched by sun, or wind, or rain, in his active routine of life upon a bluegrass ranch. it was the life of a man whose time was largely given to observation and thought; and as one might suppose, he had an ample field for the indulgence of his studious tastes. his special line of work was the propagation of "high-grade" cattle by crossing our native stock with fine imported strains. in our pastoral mid-century days the casual traveler passing along a mountain road in the red river region of eastern kentucky could not have failed to observe, in the great forests that cast their dense shadows as far as the headwaters of buckhorn, large herds of native cattle that browsed and "drowsed" in the shade of those deep druidic woods. if the traveler were a man of the english race, and as well informed and observant as a traveler should be, he would say at once, "these cattle are in no degree akin to the english blood-stock which i have seen in the bluegrass lowlands of the state. they are wholly unlike; their 'lines' are wholly different,--size, shape, coloring, deer-like delicacy of structure and peculiar curve of horn; nothing in their construction is heavy or cumbrous except the deep, rich golden udders of the kine. they remind one of no familiar english stock. they are not durhams nor herefords, nor devons. are they not _alderneys_?" at all events, this was the native stock from which our practical bluegrass theorist obtained his "high-grade" cattle, by crossing it judiciously with fine imported strains from the channel isles. the results were all that could be desired. the half-grade cattle were scarcely distinguishable from the imported stock, and if the milk was not so "rich," the quantity was much larger. the same was true of the _uncrossed_ mountain stock which was brought to kentucky by the "comelings" of the eighteenth century, and was never a "degenerate" stock in any practical sense. the "deer-like" structure of the mountain cow came partly from environment and partly from race. it was one of the rough-hewn maxims of mountain husbandry--"the best milker is a cow with a little foot,"--a foot that can thread the brushiest "cove" or climb the airiest height to crop the nutrient herbage that makes the nutritious milk. the succulent "pea-vine" made the milk; the tissue-forming "mast" or acorn made the meat. the little-footed heifer had the freedom of the range; and, by some subtle morphologic law, the locomotive organ that was small, firm, and well-shaped seemed to imply or determine the full symmetric development of _thorax_ and _brain_ and an easy, unobstructed operation of the functions associated with both. the loyal mountaineer of the old stamp was chauvinistic to the core. though fifty years have passed, he still grows eloquent when he recalls the "fighting bulls" and the flowing pails of his boyhood days. a handsome, vivacious highlander of this class--a gentleman of marked gallic aspect and scion of an early pioneer stock--recently boasted to the writer, and almost in the language of the vergilian swain (_bis venit ud mulctram_), that old "white-face" came regularly to the pail twice a day--yielding six gallons in two milkings. these mountain kine were not large; but they were gentle, spirited, clean-limbed, fine-haired, and carried in their generous udders an abundance of wholesome milk. they bore indelible marks of race. had they been larger, they might have remained to this day an untraveled stock. their size favored easy transportation, and the canny emigrant made note of the fact. as a consequence of this demand from emigrants, no doubt, great numbers of cattle were shipped from the channel islands to england in the early decades of the nineteenth century--a circumstance which completely answers the assumption that our mountain cattle were derived originally from an english stock. for many years the name "alderney" was applied without discrimination to all cattle imported from the _anglo-norman islands_ of the english channel--islands which england has held with an iron grip since the conqueror brought them under english rule. the thrifty islanders--descendants of the old norman stock and for years clinging tenaciously to the old norman dialect--are now true anglo-normans, making daily proclamation of their loyalty to the english crown, and, until a very recent period, always in anglo-norman french. only this then remains to be said. a thoughtful bluegrass cattle-breeder, bearing a distinctively anglo-norman name that had come down from normandy--through england and virginia to kentucky[14]--and bearing in his own person characteristics and distinctive marks of his anglo-norman descent--utterly indifferent to "ethnological" theories and absolutely unconscious of his own descent from the anglo-norman race, is convinced--not by "herd-books" or historic pedigrees--but simply and solely by the evidence of his own eyes, that a certain native stock of cattle in the mountains of kentucky were merely an _earlier importation than his own_ from the anglo-norman islands of the english channel. he had the courage to put his theory to the touch of practical experimentation, and the astonished "experts" at the great cattle-fairs of the country bore generous testimony to the quality of his work. [14] john baldwin poyntz. norman name _poyntz_ in alphabetical list. if such conclusions are fairly deducible from an imperfect or incomplete study of a race of cattle in the mountain region of kentucky, why should a logical mind discredit like conclusions resting upon testimony that is singularly cumulative and convergent in regard to a contemporaneous race of men that is historically traceable from normandy--through england and virginia--to the same or a similar physical environment in that same state of kentucky? could there be a better example of cumulative verification? _preston._ general william preston, "the last of the cavaliers." _pyle._ _quantrell_, or quantrall. _quarrier._ _quay_, or kay. _quincey._ _raines._ _rankin._ _ransome._ _raynes_, or rains. _reine._ _respess_, respis, res-bisse, respeig, respisch. one of the seconds of casto in the famous metcalfe-casto duel was colonel thomas a. respess, of mason, a member of the kentucky bar, and associated for many years with the distinguished jurist and author judge richard h. stanton (stanton and respess). colonel respess is an able and scholarly man, and retains, at a very advanced age, the conversational brilliancy of his prime. _reynolds._ _riaud_ (pronounced ree-o). an old virginian name, of french derivation. in norman records the name is _riau_, not _riaud_, the terminal "d" in the latter form representing the "territorial" particle in the original name; thus _riau_ de alençon; _riau_ d'alençon; _riaud_. by syllabic transposition (as mackall, almack) riaud is now orear--a well-known kentucky name. _rich._ riche was near nancy, in lorraine. john de riches, thirteenth century. riche, riches; richeson. _riddell._ _roff._ _roper._ _ross._ _roswell._ _rowan._ john rowan, a jurist and scholar; lived at "federal hill,"--_the old kentucky home_. _rucker._ _ruddell._ _russell._ _ryder._ hreidarr (norse). _ryder._ there was a ryder in mason county, who never _rode_, but was a great walker. _sandford._ scandinavian, sandefiorde. _sargeant._ normandy, 1180; england, 1198. _savage._ _scott_, governor of kentucky. _schofield._ _scudder._ lower's orthography is "skudder." on the very face it is scandinavian, from the danish _skyde_, implying swiftness of motion. scudder is a name that may with equal propriety be applied to a scandinavian rover scudding over a sea of ice, or a calvinistical divine scudding over a sea of thought. in either case he is a scudder. _search_ (for church). thomas de cherches, normandy, 1180. _searles._ _sears._ _shannon._ _shreeve._ _sidwell._ _simms._ _sinton_, santon, normandy, 1180. [illustration: colonel reuben t. durrett, ll. d. president of the filson club.] _smith_, originally faber. a worker in iron and a maker of arms- the leading industry of that day. the name smith is a translation of faber, and first appeared in the thirteenth century. _somers._ _somerville._ _speed._ ivo de spade, normandy, 1180. john and roger sped, england, 1272. attorney-general speed; captain thomas speed, soldier and writer; representing a kentucky family of distinction and ability. _spurr._ _stanhope._ _stanley._ _starling._ _steele._ _stewart._ _stokes._ _stout._ _strange._ _stuart._ _taber._ _talbot_, or talebote and taulbee, and tallboy, are supposed to have the same derivation. from talebois, or taillebois, a name which goes back to the forests of normandy, taillis and bois, apparently an equivalent for the english _underwood_, from _taillebois_, a cutter of taillis (underbrush). william preston taulbee is a typically norman name. major william taulbee was a soldier in the mexican war and in the war between the states. nine of his descendants are now in the military service of the united states, two of them graduates of west point. _tanner._ hugo de tanur, normandy, 1082. _taylor._ hugo taillor, normandy 1180. a distinguished name in kentucky. soldiers, lawyers, physicians and bankers represent the various families of the state. general zachary taylor was a successful soldier who became president of the united states; he was a wealthy planter. _telford._ _temple._ _terrell._ _terry._ _thorne._ _tibbetts._ _todd._ a distinguished name in kentucky--mrs. abraham lincoln was of this stock. colonel charles todd was minister to russia. a gallant soldier in "1812." _tracy._ _treble._ _trepel._ _tudor._ the welsh form of theodore--the "people's" warrior--a name which does not seem to have lost its original significance. tudor is an old name in kentucky. _turner._ _turney._ _tyler._ _valingford_ (norman french). the conqueror passed through the town of wallingford "in his winter march to the north." in its english form, an old name in virginia and kentucky and connected with the ashbys, mooreheads, andersons, and cabells. _valler_, or waller. from valeres, normandy. de valier, valers, waler, walur, waller. sir william waler, the parliamentary general, was of this family. henry le wallere is found in the old records. henry waller, of mason, was a lawyer of ability and distinction. _vick_, from the fief of vic, normandy. _waddel._ _wadsworth._ records show that the name was spelled wordisworth, wardysworth, and wadysworth; wadsworth being the original form. hugh de wadsworth, abbot of roche, 1179, had a brother henry. the family of de wadsworth bore the arms of de tilly, a family that was norman and baronial. _walker._ norse, valka (a foreigner). _wall_ (de valle). a prominent family in kentucky. judge g. s. wall, of mason, was one of the state commissioners to the world's fair (st. louis). _wallan._ _walton._ from near evreux, normandy. _warin_, or waring. "waring's run," in mason county, was named after thomas waring. _waring_, or warin. thomas waring, a pioneer of virginia, was the founder of "waring's station." his grandson, edward waring, was the "honor" man of his class at centre college in 1860. one of his classmates (another young norman) bore the same name in french--guerrant. the traditional pronunciation of waring is _war_-ing. _warren._ _warrick._ _ward._ from gar or garde, near corbell, isle of france; john de warde, norfolk, 1194. john ward, kirby beadou, fourteenth century. captain james ward, a con temporary of boone, was high sheriff of mason county for thirty years, and was practically "warden" of the marches from bracken to the virginian line. he was a man of high character and of unquestioned courage and capacity. his granddaughter, mrs. mary ward holton, is now a resident of indianapolis. the late judge quincy ward, of harrison, and quincy ward, the famous sculptor, were scions of the same distinguished stock. _washington._ the president of the last constitutional convention in kentucky was george washington (a native of the state), who was connected by blood with george washington of mt. vernon, general of the continental armies, president of the united states, and sole proprietor of the famous mt. vernon mills, which produced a brand of flour known as far south as the west indies, and popular wherever known. the proprietor had an anglo-norman eye for trade, and nothing, it is said, interested him more than "the prices of flour and the operations of his mill." he naturally became the leader of a "commercial aristocracy" in virginia. miss mary johnson, in her charming description of early colonial life in the old dominion, notes the same commercial predilections in the elizabethan pioneers. they were merchants as well as planters. _watterson._ (norman.) walter, walters, waterson, henry watterson, a journalist distinguished for norman cleverness, buoyancy, spontaneity, enthusiasm, versatility, and absorptiveness. _welles._ _willett._ _willis_, from wellis, a fief in normandy. _willis._ _willock_ (walloche). _wingfield_ (norman). _winn._ _winsor._ _winter_, for vinter. _wise_ and wiseman (normandy). _withers_, normandy, 1180. _wolf._ _woodward_, woodard. oudard, oudart (french). _worrell._ william werel, normandy, 1180. h. werle, english, 1272. _wyatt._ there are kentucky families connected with the wyatts of virginia. _wycliffe._ seated at wycliffe, yorkshire, soon after the conquest. the kentucky wickliffes are of this race. "cripps" is a well known norman name, and beckham is a scandinavian name, as burnham, dalham, gresham, etc. _wyon._ ralph wyon, normandy, 1180, also wyand. _wray_, for ray. _wroe_, for roe--a kentucky name. _youett_, for jewitt. _young_, william juven or juvenis, jouvin, 1178. _zealey_, for sealey. _zissell_, for sissel. see cecil. some virginia names spelled one way and called another a very able and scholarly virginian, mr. b. b. green, of warwick, virginia, has compiled a list from which we make the following selections: armistead um´sted. baird beard. berkely barkly. blount blunt. boswell bos´ell. burwell bur´rel. carter cear´ter. chamberlaine chamberlin. chisman cheese´man. deneufville donevel. didwiddie dinwooddy drewry druit. enroughty darby! fauquier faw´keer. { fountain. fontaine { fontin. garvin goin. gibson gipson. gilliam gillum. gloucester glaw´ster. gower gore. haaughton } hawthorne } hor´ton. hobson hop´son. james jeames. jenkins jin´kins. jordan jur´dn. kean kane. ker, kerr, carr keaar. kirby kearby. langhorne langon. lawrence lar´ance. maury mur´ry. michaux mish´er. montford, munford mumford. morton mo´ton. napier napper. perrott parrot. piggot (from picot) picket. randolph randal. roper rooper. sandys sands. sayer saw´yer. { slaughter. sclater { slater. semple sarm´ple. sewell, seawell sow´el. sinclair sinkler. sweeny swin´ny. taliaferro toliver. timberlake timberley. warwick warrick. woodward wood´ard. woolfolk wool´fork. wyatt wait. "in living form,"--says mr. green, "are now to be heard in the southwest, words and pronunciations which have remained unaltered at least since the time of simon de montfort." "the virginian"--says the same writer--"has a good opinion of himself; is calm, well-balanced; is self-reliant, and has the english quality of not being afraid to take responsibility." in other words, his blood is scandinavian or norman, cooled by the icy currents of wessex. a correspondent of the _spectator_ (london) writes: "it is often asked what has become of old english families. i have just gathered white water-lilies from the fields of 'de vere,' now known as _diver_; one of my neighbors is 'bohun' abbreviated into _bone_; 'roy,' a grand sample of the english laborer, was recently carried into the old church-yard; for many years i employed the tall and stately 'plantagenet,' known on my labor books as _plant_; a shop in the neighboring town is kept by 'thurcytel,' the modern spelling being _thirkettle_; 'godwin,' the last of his race, died at a grand old age a year ago; 'mortimer' buys my barley; and around me we have such names as balding, harrold, rolf, hacon, and mallett." index page acland, sir henry, physician, 13 alfred, king. "the grim-troubled" sea, 15 allen, james lane. "summer in arcady," 1 anglo-norman orators and sheriffs, 29 leader, boone or bohun, 2 migration to virginia, 25 anglo-saxon. system of political administration not complex, but solid and enduring.--"yeoman" as depicted by andrews.--no conception of freedom in the modern sense.--his decadence.--his progenitors a soldier race.--incapacity for progress until the norman came, 92 their ancestors "harried" the race they dispossessed.--"harry" an old saxon word.--william learned the word and all that it implied.--he harried with unsparing ferocity, not the saxon, but his own kindred, the northumbrian danes.--the devastation was never repaired until an industrial civilization revived and regulated the ancient energies of the race.--elsewhere in england the norman built at once upon the saxon's rude but solid work, 93 apparatus criticus. evolution of, by three franch brains, lamarck, sainte-beuve, taine, 51 "arcady," sons of. impression upon their guest, du chaillu, 8 their social traits and habits, 8 argyle, the duke of, on genealogical origin of prominent irish leaders, 102 "assimilative" power of elizabethan englishmen (barrett wendell), 79 battle abbey roll, 23 bismarck. unifying the german people by "absorbing" a scandinavian population, 106 blood of norman in obscure english families, 24 in ireland, 24 in kentucky, 25 in scotland, 24 in "the states," 24 in virginia (earliest migration), 25 "blue grass"; or a poa found at the straits of magellan, 48 "a cosmopolitan grass" with peculiar affinity for the soil of kentucky.--the "grass" and the "race."--opinion expressed by a new england tourist, 49 boone, the explorer.--early "trustee" of maysville, 2 name derived from bohun, 2 "bourbon." famous kentucky distillate, 4 breckinridge, john c. vice-president united states, 14 british association, 1889.--newcastle-upon-tyne, 10 discusses paper on scandinavian origin of english race, 10 british savants stiff in opinion, 34 bruce, doctor. historian of roman wall, 13 buckner, a southern family (foot-note), 7 elizabeth, maiden name of the beautiful scandinavian, 7 cardenas, battle of, 27, 28 kentuckians cover retreat to the sea.--chaplain of expedition killed.--liberators seize united states fort, 28 carlisle, canon of, quoted.--english surnames are largely exotic. normandy, he says, was the source of supply.--what was the effect of the "conquest"?--anglo-saxon "grammar" survived, but the stately old _nomenclature of the race_ was hopelessly smashed.--if comparative grammar can deduce the history of the anglo-saxon tongue from the habitual speech of an english plough-boy, what historic significance is to be attached to the flood of norman surnames that were "absorbed" by the saxon race?--the native speech survived because the dialects which fed it were still living and intact, 141 cavalier. an original product of normandy.--"the man on horseback," 47 guild-hall collection of seals.--equestrian figure, 48 "cavalierism." origin of the word, 46, 47 celt, normanized, or scandinavian celt.--"the fighting race," 24 childe, edward lee. "life of robert e. lee" (paris, france, 1874), 46 clark, george rogers, a scandinavian general.--his "wintry marches" in the northwest, 88 coleridge on england's insular position.--its effect, 59 "commercial aristocracy," 29 comparison of the two races, norman and saxon.--origin of the discussion, 127 courthouse (maysville, kentucky).--description of.--du chaillu received at, 2 craft (says mr. freeman) is the dominant quality of the norman character, 131 popular recognition of the fact.--the winning cards, 132 craik, doctor george, an eminent british scholar, 34 eastern and northern england from middle of the ninth century as much danish as english, 35 says english "more scandinavian (danish or swedish) than the modern german," 34 scandinavian dialect imported by invading bands in fifth and sixth centuries, 35 views on a norman migration, 36 danes (who were english normans) fiercely opposed their kinsman, the norman invader, 109 every step obstinately contested in northumbria, 109 northumbria the birth-place of the puritan and the virginian (vide wendell and fiske), 86 the dane's (or english norman's) passionate love of freedom, 111 davis, thomas a., 9 dawkins, boyd. "cave hunter," 13 a warm debate (newcastle), 18 desha, governor. reference to corporations, 68 disraeli repeats the miracle of lanfranc, 103 gaston phoebus as a gascon noble, 105 his philosophic insight, 104 monsignore berwick and his inherited traits, 104 nature's reproduction of type, 105, 129 temp. louis le grand, 105 the southern "colonel" with a norman name, 105 doncaster races: chitabob and donovan--north against south.--deep popular interest.--wagner and grey eagle in kentucky.--extremes touch, 42, 43 du chaillu, paul. explorer's visit to maysville, kentucky, 3 committee of reception (foot-note), 9 date of visit to kentucky (1876), 9 description of hosts, 6 encounter with gorilla, 6 entertained by limestone club, 4 his re-discovery of la nouvelle france, 9 interest in "the beautiful scandinavian," 7 lecture at courthouse, 3 personal description of, 5-7 "take a horn"--du chaillu, 122 verifies the observations of maltebrun, 121 vivid description of, 6 edward the confessor established intimate relations between england and normandy, 36 effrenatissima. _effrenatus_ use by cicero, 28 elizabeth tudor and henry the eighth, 77-79 her recognition of the people, 78 "elizabethan" englishmen, the kentuckians are (professor shaler), 26 english farmer of anglo-norman type.--resemblance to norman farmer of present day, 29 english folk. professor shaler quoted, 25 "largest body of nearly pure english" found in kentucky, 25 englishman, the elizabethan. when the elements balanced, his evolution was complete, 128 evans, sir john. writer on archæology, 13 examples of atavism or reversion. the scottish blood (which was the "dominant" in the berwick cross) by a gradual process of selection from continuous or intermittent variations comes at last to the front; first manifested, no doubt, in the invigoration of the moral quality, and finally in a physical "mutation"--a return to the original or characteristic color of eyes and hair in the paternal gens. the theory of transmission or inheritance of moral and physical traits in gaston phoebus from the gascon noble is not materially different.--the problem of "three" bodies (really two) in the genesis of the _englishman_, though apparently more complex, is essentially the same, the "dominant" factor in the process being _norman_ or _norse_.--whether the explanation be convincing or not, beyond all question it shows that the darwinian "scientist" lacks the simplicity of the disraelitish seer, 104 facile princeps--an english estimate generally accepted in kentucky, 135 family names, british. families bearing norman names unconscious of their origin, 117 names now accounted _english_ were originally _norman_.--the proof of this exists in two countries (england and normandy) in practically contemporary records, 118 one norman name upon an english record after the conquest might be _suggestive_; five thousand names would be almost conclusive.--a legal maxim quoted, 118 this basis of record proof for purposes of comparison unique, 118 fiske, john. on "ethnic differentiation."--the aryan brothers far apart, 58 new england founded by east anglian or scandinavian englishmen, 87 the east anglian's hatred of tyranny and passion for freedom of thought, 87 freeman, edward a., says norman a "born soldier" and "a born lawyer," 27 galton, sir francis. writer on heredity, 13 gens effrenatissima (malaterra), 27 gentilhomme, translated "gentleman."--england indebted to normandy for the word, 46 gothic races. first seen in an historic twilight, 108 a great racial march or movement across europe in parallel columns, 110 a scandinavian naval station, with dry docks, 112 "a wild and arid nurse," 111 description of the peninsular (scandinavia) _milieu_, 111 difficulty of following the gothic trail in their early asian home.--modern illustrations of this asian mystery.--warring nations of the same race.--teuton and goths.--yenghees in the north, dixees in the south.--divided and belligerent, but racially the same, 109 drift in the eddies of an archipelagic sea.--what became of it? 114 ethnic differentiation.--why should the _norseman_ differ from the kindred _teuton_ in the south? 111 from the caspian sea to the mouths of the elbe and rhine, 110 he ravages the shores of northumbria and the rivers of france, 113 loitering along the shores of the baltic.--peopling denmark, the danish islands, and the scandinavian peninsula, 110 their asian migrations veiled by the mists of time, 109 who were the original "comelings" on english soil? 116 william the conqueror--fifth in descent from rolf ganger, the freebooting admiral of the northern seas, 113 green, colonel thomas m., author of "the spanish conspiracy," 9 green, thomas marshall, an accomplished speaker, introduces m. du chaillu to the audience, 9 hamilton--jefferson--lincoln, 77 hamlet. a psychological epitome of his race (danish).--the historic or legendary basis of the character.--the "original" of the character in its intellectual aspects was afamous french scholar and essayist.--his character and tastes.--his literary work.--the favorite writer of shakespeare, 96 advice to kentuckians who take themselves "too seriously" from a philosophic observer who sometimes, it is thought, did not take things _seriously enough_.--essentially a modern thinker, 97, 98 hardy, thomas, the novelist, 23 his views in "tess," a powerful work of fiction, 23 hengist and horsa, 45 inez. an allusion to hood's poem, "o saw ye not fair inez?" (foot-note), 7 isaac le bon and a virginian "cross."--the differentiating quality, 105, 129 kenton, pioneer.--commissioner of roads for mason county, 2 a famous hunter.--name in state enactments spelled _canton_, no doubt as then pronounced, 2 kentuckian, the. loves a "good cross," 129 kentuckians and normans; points of resemblance between the derivative and the original stocks, 133 not a weak vessel, 130 transmission of characteristic traits, 130 kentucky. lawless elements.--origin and distribution, 59 anglo-norman juries.--a technical defense, 60 political assassination.--murder as an administrative art, 60 statecraft; enterprise in war.--"a little nation," 106 "king's mountain," the man of, 25 lamarck, the famous french savant; referred to in conjunction with taine and sainte-beuve, _naturaliste des esprits_.--"i began my intellectual life," says sainte-beuve, "with lamarck and the physiologists," 51 lanfranc, the scholar, 36 effects of his work still visible, 36 restrains william rufus and odo of bayeux, 36 law. the norman of malaterra and "the forms of law," 28 lee, lionel, accompanies richard of the lion-heart in third crusade, at the head of a company of _gentilhommes_, 46 lexicon of names. a marvelous number and variety of facts. what theory best explains these facts in their relations? a clear judicial faculty required to recognize the force of the cumulative verification, 136 library, free, newcastle, 13 a group of savants, 13 anthropological section meets at, 13 personal description of, 13 limestone club, entertainment by, 3 limestone, phosphatic; basis of bluegrass region, 2 london times. a contemporary estimate of du chaillu's views. an organ that forms, reflects, and fixes opinion.--question of the origin and migration of races.--"time ripe for a new investigation," 39 letter from du chaillu to times containing challenge to skeptical archæologists, 39, 40 longfellow, the poet, 12 kentucky racer, 12 norwegian barque named, 12 lopez at cardenas, 27, 28 louis napoleon. places an austrian prince on the mexican throne to unify the latin race.--its effect, 106 mackintosh, doctor john. "the man of king's mountain," 25 malaterra, geoffrey. describes the norman in his original habitat, 27 mannen, major thomas h., 9 marshall, general humphrey. notably large head, 123 his aide and secretary captain guerrant, 124 marsh, george p., quoted.--peculiarities of scandinavian tongues observed in english.--"irreconcilable discrepancies," 45 mid-century figures, 30 a masculine type, 32 montaigne, the french essayist.--a quaint story with a cogent moral, 98-100 montalembert. his "monks of the west."--estimate of the saxon, 125 morgan, general john. his command remarkable for military qualities.--the opinion of captain shaler, 124 commodore morgan presents "yorkshire" to henry clay, 44 names, the lesson of, 37 additions to list, 126 notes, 133 virginian names. alphabetical series of, 101 nansen, fridjof. arctic explorer, 15 napoleon. the english _un peuple marchand_, 29 as an administrator, 6 nelson, general william. description of, 32 large head, 123 newcastle-upon-tyne, 10 anthropological "section" organized at (1863), 12 british association meets at, 10 "carrying coals" to, 11 description of, 10 industrial progress, 10 northern cattle market, 11 northumbrian vitality and vigor, 11 newport, captain of _sea adventure_.--vice-admiral of virginia, 81 norman exchequer, great rolls of, 22 juxtaposition of with english records, 22 normanized kentuckian who has "assimilated" everything norman but the _name_, 134 normans distinguished from all other nations by their _craft_ (e. a. freeman), 63, 131 leaders in england, france, america, 102 the norman in his ethnical transformation act, 103 this norman _craft_ akin in many respects to the "cuteness" and cleverness attributed to the american people, 63, 102 norman surnames, alphabetical series of. ("the norman people"), 23 norman race, 20 conquest of england by, 21 desperate and prolonged struggle, 21 flow of migration _post bellum_, 21, 22 great historic march of the norman people, 124 is it a "lost" race?, 20 memorials of, 20 the continental recruiting ground, 21 north and south. traits in common, 80 northmen in communication with peoples of the mediterranean, 16 england one of their northern lands, 16 language of, similar to english of early times, 16 their settlements in britain during roman occupation, 16 they were bold and enterprising navigators at a time when neither the saxons nor franks were "sea-faring" people, 17 northumbrian industries, 11 odericus vitalis (an english writer) on the illiteracy of his countrymen at the time of the conquest, 35 orphan brigade. captain shaler's estimate of, 124 otto the saxon and william the norman.--conflicting missions, 108 the shadowy background of the norman conquest.--formative period of western europe (foot-note), 108 owens, colonel francis p., 9 "oyez!" of anglo-norman sheriffs, 30 perry, commodore. furnishes "sea power" in 1812.--aide to governor shelby.--perry's sea-guns sighted by riflemen from kentucky, 107 philologist, the. his proper field, 125 pioneer commonwealth, "genesis of a", 83 pirates, scandinavian. transmission of traits to english within historic times, 41 pitt rivers, general, soldier, and savant, 14 profanity. the normans "fond of oaths."--rollo and carolus stultus, 63 a regulator of the nerves, 71 ben briler damned.--desha on corporations, 68 colonel robert blanchard and the "burnt cork" minstrels. description of the entertainment.--"hell's fire, bob."--conditions of life in the early west recalling the times of the plantagenet kings (barrett wendell), 69, 70 "damned yankee"--the two words fused by the fires of war, 64 early kentuckians (like shakespeare's soldier) "full of strange oaths," 64 fireside swearing in the auld lang syne, 67 general william nelson.--his strong swearing instincts, 72 "god dern" not a virginian oath, 74 imprecation upon a seller of inherited slaves.--parody on famous line from villon.--the dusky bondsmen of the past, 67 king william's oath at alençon--profanity of the virgin queen.--"a very drab."--"the virginians addicted to oaths" (fordham).--attenuated oaths, 65 pecksniff's "wooden damn," 73 stonewall jackson.--jubal early.--governor scott, of kentucky.--uncle toby's oath.--bolling stith.--george washington (foot-note), 66 "the blue light elder."--"does a puritan swear?" 72 the devout moslem.--jean gotdam (bardsley), 73 the master's call, 68 the modern passion for "good form," 70 the oath in court.--the vulgar "cuss-word."--the conversational "swear," 71 the slinking figure of the iconoclast, 74 washington, when deeply angered, _swore_.--the attorney-general of charles ii "damns the souls" of the virginian commissioners to stimulate their commercial instincts, 75 quatrain. (a tennysonian parody), 18, 134 race between wagner and grey eagle, 43 racial transformation. in england; ireland; france; the united states, 102 retrospect, a brief, 135 rolf ganger, the scandinavian rover.--the world before him where to choose.--scandinavian place-names, 108 romanes, george. interpreter of darwin, 14 description of appearance, 14 rome, the man of ancient, 129 rowena, lady, 31 sainte-beuve, the french critic. reference to, 51 salisbury plain.--political birth of the english people, 78 researches among scandinavians of northern states.--psychological distinctions, 95 sandys, sir edwin. author of the earliest political charters, 82 saxon, the. came directly from the southeastern shores and islands of the north sea, and is remotely of gothic descent: the _dane_ from denmark and the danish islands, and is directly of scandinavian descent; the norman, remotely gothic, is immediately scandinavian.--the conclusion inevitable, not that we are _scandinavians_, but that we are deeply _scandinavianized_, and that there is a _preponderance_ of _scandinavian_ blood in the english race, 119 a regulative element lacking in stevenson's duplex monstrosity, _jekyll_ and _hyde_.--norman and saxon, 120 mr. bart kennedy in london _mail_: racially, the kentuckian _facile princeps_, 120 stevenson and disraeli as writers, 120 the kentuckian of virginian descent a practically definite ethnical product, 119 scandinavia and kentucky. relations between the two, 45 cranial measurements of scandinavians, 56 scandinavian origin of english people, 15 animated debate in anthropological section, 17 description of scene, 18 outline of theory, 17 scandinavians infused a spirit of enterprise into the english people they have never lost, 17 "scot, the indomitable."--the lowland race, 24 sensational paper on (british association), 17 scandinavian population of the northern states.--their energy and brains, 57 possible fusion of with scandinavians of the virginian states to form a continental empire.--description of scandinavians by maltebrun, 57 scholarship, philosophic, seldom narrow and never offensive, 128 scott, sir walter. his romances popular in kentucky, 121 "scythian hand and foot." a scandinavian peculiarity transmitted to the norman and the anglo-dane, 57 "sea adventure" wrecked on devil's island.--captain newport, 81 seventeenth century. "cromwellian days," 81 shakespeare and virginia, 81 shakespeare's english friends, 82 shakespeare's portrayal of the anglo-norman kings, 94, 95 shaler, professor (harvard). conclusions drawn from gould's measurements, 123 on "english folk" in kentucky, 25 snorro sturleson, laing's note to; quoted by lytton, 56 spectacle. the most dramatic in history (du chaillu), 129 spencer, herbert. disappearance of celtic type in the united states, 105 st. aldegonde, the english "swell," 134 stanton, captain clarence l., 9 taine, hippolyte. description of english types--"male" and "female."--"carnivorous regime" or "conformation of race"?--mentions more attractive types.--the women described by shakespeare and dickens, and the noble historic type represented by william pitt, 51-53 "erubescent bashfulness" a racial peculiarity, 54 taylor, isaac canon, description of, 14 impromptu parody by, 18 turner, sir william. reads paper at british association (newcastle, '89) on the weismann theory.--first public appearance of the theory in english scientific circles, 13, 55 sir william did not accept the theory in full.--the hereditary tendency in harmony with the theory of natural selection, 55 types of beauty in kentucky, 31 united states, genesis of. beginnings of a great conflict, 83 anglo-spanish conflict closed by dewey and schley, 83 first republic in new world (dr. alexander brown), 84 vikings of the west. control of the mississippi, 85 california appropriated by force "under legal forms," 85 cuba. disastrous attempts at annexation. prospective annexation on the old lines, 85 passion for territorial expansion, 85 vikings: who were they?, 86 virginia. mason county settled by planters from, 2 "piedmont" virginia, 2 virginia and the virginian states, 39 virginia peopled by english countryfolk (anglo-danes), 57 wall, mrs. elizabeth wall (portrait), 7 judge garrett s. wall, 9 warren, charles dudley. visit to kentucky, 51 washington, george, of anglo-norman blood. effigies of cavalier on great seal of confederate states, 48 jared sparks derives the _family_ of washington from william de hertburn, who came into possession of "wessington" (washington), county durham, prior to 1183. the _family_ soon after assumed the _name_ of washington. the de hertburns, who took the name of the place in durham, were a norman family. a teutonic clan (says freeman) gave the name _wascingas_ to a village in the north of england. from this name of a mark, or village, came the name of a _family_--washington; ferguson deriving the name of washington from _wass_ (an anglo-saxon), a derivation which lower (one of the best authorities) says is clearly untenable. ferguson derives the name gustavus vasa (a swede) from _huass_, keen, bold (old norse). not an unworthy etymon (he says) for _two_ great names--gustavus vasa and washington. the first _de washington_ (says the judicious lower) was much more likely _a norman_ who came in with the conquest, and took the name which came with the estate. wendell, professor barrett (harvard), on early life in the west, 70 dominant traits of the elizabethan englishman--puritan and virginian, 79, 80 his "literary history of america," 78 white, andrew d. excerpt from address on "high crime in the united states," 61 william the conqueror. administrative methods and machinery, 77 "a lover of peace"; roger of wendover quoted, 89 descendant of scandinavian jarls, 87 effect upon france, 91 embodied the characteristic traits of his race, 87 _english unity_ permanently established upon salisbury plain. the foundations of feudalism destroyed.--england made "one and indivisible," 93 physical characteristics.--vigor and endurance tested in wintry campaigns, 88 progenitor of virginian "cavalier," 87 sovereign and subject cast in same mould.--the norman a race separate and apart, yet mingling with all.--capacity for colonization.--their sovereign the most successful colonizer in french history.--a lost art in france.--how to repair the loss, 90 the norman's conquest of england transferred the capacity for colonization to the english race, 91 the norman's system of administration rested upon a saxon basis, 92 the wild king's passion for war and the chase, 88 william's gift of political "visualization," 94 he established a principle (_unity_); he "created a nation"; he founded a line of anglo-norman princes.--shakespeare's dramatic characterization of the _anglo-norman kings_.--the significance of his work, 94, 95 william the conqueror and waltheof.--a judicial murder by a norman king.--a secret assassination by a saxon earl, 61 "wolf larsen." character depicted by jack london, 32 a physical counterpart in "bull" nelson, 32 wolseley, lord. "the americans a race of english-speaking frenchmen," 63 wyon. anglo-norman englishman of norman origin.--engraver to the queen.--engraved seal of the confederacy, 48 "yorkshire" blood in kentucky. transmitted traits, 44 george p. marsh quoted, 45 peculiarities of dialect, 44 "yorkshire," imported. gift from commodore morgan to henry clay, 44 _zen mays_ and _poa pratensis_, 49 * * * * * transcriber's notes obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. variations in spelling, hyphenation and accents are as in the original. page 67. "_mais où sont les nègres a'antan?_" changed to d'antan. page 145. "_baldwin_, normandy, william baldwinus, 1180; robert, 1183; england, 3116." 3116 changed to 1316. page 154. "_boles_, a form of boles." the 2nd boles changed to boels. italics are represented thus, _italic_. surnames as a science by robert ferguson, m.p., f.s.a., f.s.a. (scot.); author of "the teutonic name-system." london: george routledge and sons, broadway, ludgate hill, new york: 9, lafayette place. 1883. london: r. clay, sons, and taylor, bread street hill. to mrs. r.h. dana (_née_ longfellow), of boston, mass., in memory of early and valued friendship, and of days not to be forgotten, passed at cragie house, this little volume is inscribed by the author. preface. that portion of our surnames which dates back to anglo-saxon times, and so forms a part of the general system by which teutonic names are governed, is distinctly a branch of a science, and as such has been treated by the germans, upon whose lines i have generally endeavoured to follow. it has been a part of my object to show that this portion of our surnames is a very much larger one than has been generally supposed, and that it includes a very great number of names which have hitherto been otherwise accounted for, as well as of course a great number for which no explanation has been forthcoming. nevertheless, while claiming for my subject the dignity of a science, i am very well aware that the question as to how far i have myself succeeded in treating it scientifically is an entirely different one, and one upon which it will be for others than myself to pronounce an opinion. this work is of the nature of a supplement to one which i published some time ago under the title of _the teutonic name-system applied to the family-names of france, england, and germany_ (williams and norgate), though i have been obliged, in order to render my system intelligible, to a certain extent to go over the same ground again. i will only say, in conclusion, that in dealing with this subject--one in which all persons may be taken to be more or less interested--i have endeavoured as much as possible to avoid technicalities and to write so as to be intelligible to the ordinary reader. robert ferguson. morton, carlisle. contents. chapter i. page the antiquity and the unsuspected dignity of some of our common names 1 chapter ii. clue to some of the ancient forms represented in english names 23 chapter iii. names representing ancient compounds 36 chapter iv. the men who came in with the saxons 69 chapter v. men's names in place-names 92 chapter vi. corruptions and contractions 113 chapter vii. the old franks and the present french 123 chapter viii. the german origin of great italians as evidenced in their names 143 chapter ix. various unenumerated stems 154 chapter x. names which are not what they seem 171 chapter xi. christian names of women 197 list of the principal works consulted 213 additions and corrections 215 index of names 217 contractions. a.s. anglo-saxon. o.n. old northern. o.g. old german. o.h.g. old high german. surnames as a science. chapter i. the antiquity and the unsuspected dignity of some of our common names. as some things that seem common, and even ignoble, to the naked eye, lose their meanness under the revelations of the microscope, so, many of our surnames that seem common and even vulgar at first sight, will be found, when their origin is adequately investigated, to be of high antiquity, and of unsuspected dignity. _clodd_, for instance, might seem to be of boorish origin, and _clout_ to have been a dealer in old rags. but i claim for them that they are twin brothers, and etymologically the descendants of a frankish king. _napp_ is not a name of distinguished sound, yet it is one that can take us back to that far-off time ere yet the history of england had begun, when, among the little kinglets on the old saxon shore, "hnaf ruled the hôcings."[1] _moll_, _betty_, _nanny_, and _pegg_ sound rather ignoble as the names of men, yet there is nothing of womanliness in their warlike origin. _bill_ seems an honest though hardly a distinguished name, unless he can claim kinship with billing, the "noble progenitor of the royal house of saxony." now billing, thus described by kemble, is a patronymic, "son of bill or billa," and i claim for our bill (as a surname) the right, as elsewhere stated, to be considered as the progenitor. among the very shortest names in all the directory are _ewe_, _yea_, and _yeo_, yet theirs also is a pedigree that can take us back beyond anglo-saxon times. names of a most disreputable appearance are _swearing_ and _gambling_, yet both, when properly inquired into, turn out to be the very synonyms of respectability. _winfarthing_ again would seem to be derived from the most petty gambling, unless he can be rehabilitated as an anglo-saxon winfrithing (patronymic of winfrith.) a more unpleasant name than _gumboil_ (_lower_) it would not be easy to find, and yet it represents, debased though be its form, a name borne by many a frankish warrior, and by a burgundian king fourteen centuries ago. its proper form would be gumbald (frankish for gundbald), and it signifies "bold in war." another name which wofully belies its origin is _tremble_, for, of the two words of which it is composed, one signifies steadfast or firm, and the other signifies valiant or bold. its proper form is trumbald, and the first step of its descent is _trumbull_. a name which excites anything but agreeable associations is _earwig_. yet it is at any rate a name that goes back to anglo-saxon times, there being an earwig, no doubt a man of some consideration, a witness to a charter (_thorpe_, p. 333). and the animal which it represents is not the insect of insidious repute, but the sturdy boar so much honoured by our teuton forefathers, _ear_ being, as elsewhere noted, a contraction of _evor_, boar, so that earwig is the "boar of battle." of more humiliating seeming than even earwig is _flea_ (vouched for by lower as an english surname). and yet it is at all events a name of old descent, for flea--i do not intend it in any equivocal sense, for the stem is found in kemble's list of early settlers--came in with the saxons. and though it has nothing to do with english "flea," yet it is no doubt from the same root, and expresses the same characteristic of agility so marvellously developed in the insect. even _bugg_, if he had seen his name under this metaphorical microscope, might have felt himself absolved from changing it into howard, for bugg is at least as ancient, and etymologically quite as respectable. it is a name of which great and honourable men of old were not ashamed; there was, for instance, a buga, minister to edward of wessex, who signs his name to many a charter. and there was also an anglo-saxon queen, hrothwaru, who was also called bucge, which i have elsewhere given reasons for supposing to have been her original name. there are moreover to be found, deduced from place-names, two anglo-saxons named respectively buga and bugga, owners of land, and therefore respectable. in germany we find bugo, bugga, and bucge, as ancient names of men and women in the _altdeutsches namenbuch_. and bugge is at present a name both among the germans and the scandinavians, being, among others, that of a distinguished professor at christiania. as to its origin, all that we can predicate with anything like confidence is that it is derived from a word signifying to bend, and of the various senses thus derived, that of ring or bracelet (o.n. _baugr_) seems to me the most appropriate. the bracelet was of old an honourable distinction, and the prince, as the fountain of honour, was the "bracelet-giver."[2] my object then at present is to show that many of our short and unpretending names are among the most ancient that we have, being such as our saxon forefathers brought with them when they first set foot upon our shores, and such as we find whenever history gives us a yet earlier glimpse of the teuton in his home. _bass_, for instance, whose red pyramid to-day stamps authenticity on many a bottle, was in ancient times a well-known potter's name on the beautiful red samian ware of the romans. the seat of this manufacture was on the banks of the rhine, and in the long list of potters' names, mostly of course roman, there are not a few that are those of germans or of gauls. and there is one interesting case, that of a lamp found along the line of the roman wall, in which the german potter, one fus, has asserted his own nationality by stamping his ware with the print of a naked human foot, within which is inscribed his name, thus proving, by the play upon his name, that _fus_ meant "foot" in the language which he spoke. little perhaps the old potter thought, as he chuckled over his conceit, that when fifteen centuries had passed away, his trade-mark would remain to attest his nationality. but to return to bass, let us see what can be done to bridge the gulf between the princely brewers of to-day and the old potter on the banks of the rhine. and first, as to anglo-saxon england, we find bass as a mass-priest, and bassus as a valiant soldier of king edwin in the anglo-saxon _chronicle_, as also a bassa in the genealogy of the mercian kings. basing, the anglo-saxon patronymic, "son of bass," occurs about the twelfth century, in the _liber vitæ_. and kemble, in his list of anglo-saxon "marks," or communities of the early settlers, finds bassingas, _i.e._ descendants or followers of bass, in cambridgeshire and in notts, while mr. taylor finds offshoots of the same family on the opposite coast in artois. in germany we find many instances of bass, and its high german form pass, from the seventh century downwards. and in the neighbourhood of the wurm-see, in bavaria, we find, corresponding with our bassings, a community of pasings, _i.e._ descendants or followers of pass. we may take it then that our name _pass_ is only another form of _bass_, both names being also found at present in germany. as to the origin of the name, for which no sufficient explanation is to be found in the old german dialects, foerstemann has to turn to the kindred dialect of the old northern, where he finds it in _basa_, anniti, to strive contend. thus far we have had to do with bass as a name of teutonic origin. but it appears to have been a celtic name as well, for bassa, a name presumably welsh, occurs in the pathetic lament of llywarch, written in the sixth century, the name being, on the authority of the late dr. guest, still retained in baschurch near shrewsbury. the name bass, then, or pass, on roman pottery might be either that of a german or of a gaul, but more probably the former, especially as we find also bassico, a form more particularly german, and some other forms more probably teutonic. before parting with bass, i may refer to one in particular of his progeny, the name _basin_, formed from it by the ending _en_ or _in_, referred to in a subsequent chapter. the original of our basin has been supposed to have been a barber, the mediæval leech, but i claim for him a different origin, and connect his name, which is found as basin in domesday, with the name basin of a thuringian king of the fifth century. let us take another of our common surnames, _scott_. this has been generally assumed to have been an original surname derived from nationality, and we need not doubt that it has been so in many, perhaps in most, cases. but scott, as a man's name, is, not to say older than the introduction of surnames, but as old probably as the name of the nation itself. to begin with england, it occurs in the thirteenth century, in the _liber vitæ_, where it is the reverse of a surname, scott agumdessune (no doubt for agemundessune). i do not think, however, that agumdessune is here a surname, but only an individual description, an earnest of surnames that were to be. for there is another scott who signs about the same time, and it might be necessary to distinguish between these two men. there is in the same record yet another scott, described as "alstani filius," who, in the time of william the conqueror, "for the redemption of his soul, and with the consent of his sons and of all his friends," makes a gift of valuable lands to the church. scott again occurs in an anglo-saxon charter of boundaries quoted by kemble, "scottes heal," _i.e._ "scot's hall." and scotta occurs in another in "scottan byrgels," _i.e._ "scotta's burial mound." in germany scot occurs in the ninth century in the book of the brotherhood of st. peter at salzburg, where it is classed by foerstemann as a german name, which seems justified by the fact that scotardus, a german compound (_hard_, fortis), occurs as an old frankish name in the time of charlemagne. in italy, where, as i shall show in a subsequent chapter, the germans have left many teutonic names behind them, we find a scotti, duke of milan, in the middle ages, whose name is probably due to that cause. scotto is a surname at present among the frisians, while among the germans generally it is most commonly softened into schott. scot however, as a man's name, seems to have been at least as common among the celts as among the teutons; gluck cites four instances of it from ancient, chiefly latin, authors, in only one of which, however, that of a gaul, is the particular nationality distinguished. as to the origin of the name, all that can be said is that it is most probably from the same origin, whatever that may be, as the name of the nation; just as another celtic man's name, caled, signifying hard, durus, is probably from the same origin as that of caledonia, "stern and wild." lastly, among the names on roman pottery, we have scottus, scoto, and scotni, the last being a genitive, "scotni manû." of these three names the first is the latinisation of scott; the second has the ending in _o_ most common for men's names among the old franks, but also found among the celts; the third, as a genitive, presumably represents the form scotten, the ending in _en_, hereafter referred to, running through the whole range of teutonic names, but being also found in celtic. upon the whole, then, there does not seem anything sufficiently distinctive to stamp these names as either teutonic or celtic. i may observe that all these three forms, _scott_, _scotto_, and _scotten_, are found in our surnames, as well as _scotting_, the anglo-saxon patronymic, which assists to mark the name as in anglo-saxon use. we have also _scotland_, which has been supposed to have been an original surname derived from nationality, and so i dare say it may be in some cases. but scotland appears as a man's name in the _liber vitæ_ about the twelfth or thirteenth century, and before surnames begin to make their appearance. scotland again occurs as the name of a norman in the _acta sanctorum_, where it seems more probably of frankish origin, and cannot at any rate be from nationality. the fact seems to be that _land_, terra, was formed into compounds, like _bald_, and _fred_, and _hard_, without reference perhaps to any particular meaning. similarly we find old german, apparently frankish, names, ingaland and airland (more properly heriland), which might account in a similar way for our surnames _england_ and _ireland_. let us take yet one more name, _gay_, a little more complicated in its connections than the others, and endeavour to trace it up to its origin. "nay! but what better origin can we have," i can fancy the reader saying at starting, "than our own word 'gay', french _gai_?" i would not undertake to say that our name is not in any instance from this origin, but what i say is that a proved anglo-saxon _name_ is better than any assumed _word_, however suitable its meaning may seem to be. moreover, the same anglo-saxon word will account, not only for gay, but for a whole group of names, _gay_, _gye_, _gedge_, _gage_, _kay_, _key_, _kegg_, _kedge_, _cage_,--all variations, according to my view, of one original name. it must inevitably be the case that a name dating back to a remote antiquity, and in use over a wide area, must be subject to many phonetic variations. and it matters nothing to etymology, so long as her own strict rules are complied with, if some of these names have not a single letter in common. given, then, an anglo-saxon name gagg, gegg, with its alternative form cagg, keg, and we get from it all the forms that are required. for the english ear is averse, as a matter of euphony, to a final _g_, and while it most commonly changes it into _y_ (which is in effect dropping it), as in a.s. _dag_, eng. _day_, a.s. _cæg_, eng. _key_, it also not unfrequently changes it into _dg_, as in a.s. _bricg_, eng. _bridge_, &c. to come, then, to the anglo-saxon names concerned, kemble, in his list of original settlers, has both gagingas, _i.e._ descendants or followers of gag, and cægingas, _i.e._ descendants or followers of cæg. and the anglo-saxon names cited below, one of them the exact counterpart of gay, are deduced from place-names of a later period. the old german names do not, in this case, throw any light upon the subject, as, on account of the stem not being so distinctly developed as it is in anglo-saxon, they have been placed by foerstemann to, as i consider, a wrong stem, viz. _gaw_, patria. _anglo-saxon names._--gæcg, geagga, geah, cæg, ceagga, ceahha (gæging, gaing, _patronymics_). _old german names._--gaio, geio, kegio, keyo, keio. _present german._--gey, geu. _present friesic._--kay, key. _english surnames._--gay, gye, gedge, gage, kay, key, kegg, kedge, cage. as to the origin and meaning of the word, i can offer nothing more than a somewhat speculative conjecture. there is a stem _gagen_, _cagen_, in teutonic names, and which seems to be derived most probably from o.n. _gagn_, gain, victory. we find it in anglo-saxon in gegnesburh, now gainsborough, and in geynesthorn, another place-name, and we have it in our names _gain_, _cain_, _cane_. it is very possible, and in accordance with the teutonic system, that _gag_ may represent the older and simpler form, standing to _gagen_ in the same relation as english _ward_ does to _warden_, and a.s. _geard_ (inclosure), to _garden_. as in the two previous cases, so also in this case, there is an ancient celtic name, geio, to take into account, and to this may be placed the names _keogh_ and _keho_, if these names be, as i suppose, irish and not english. also the kay and the kie in _mckay_ and _mckie_. lastly, in this, as in the other two cases, there is also a name on roman pottery, gio, which might, as it seems, be either german or celtic. can there be any connection, i venture to inquire, between these ancient names, celtic or teutonic, and the roman gaius and caius? several well-known roman names are, as elsewhere noted, referred by german writers to a celtic origin. it will be seen then that, in the case of all the three names of which i have been treating, there is an ancient celtic name in a corresponding form which might in some cases intermix. and there are many more cases of the same kind among our surnames. _wake_, for instance, may represent an ancient name, either german or celtic; for the german a sufficient etymon may be found in _wak_, watchful, while for the celtic there is nothing, observes gluck, in the range of extant dialects to which we can reasonably refer it. so _moore_ represents an ancient stem for names common to the celts, the germans, and the romans, though at least as regards the germans, the origin seems obscure.[3] now it is quite possible, particularly in the case of such monosyllabic words as these, that there might be an accidental coincidence between a celtic and a teutonic name, without their having anything in common in their root. it is possible, again, that the one nation may have borrowed a name from the other, as the northmen, for instance, sometimes did from the irish or the gael, one of their most common names, niel(sen), being thus derived; while, on the other hand, both the irish and the gael received, as mr. worsaae has shown, many names from the northmen. so also the romans seem to have borrowed names from the celts, several well-known names, as plinius, livius, virgilius,[4] catullus, and drusus, being, in the opinion of german scholars, thus derived. but though no doubt both these principles apply to the present case, yet there is also, as it seems to me, something in the relationship between celtic and teutonic names which can hardly be accounted for on either of the above principles. and i venture to throw out the suggestion that when ancient celtic names shall have been as thoroughly collected and examined as, by the industry of the germans, have been the teutonic, comparative philology may--perhaps within certain lines--find something of the same kinship between them that it has already established in the case of the respective languages. meanwhile, i venture to put forward, derived from such limited observations as i have been able to make, certain points of coincidence which i think go some way to justify the opinion expressed above. in so doing i am not so much putting forward etymological views of my own, as collecting together, so as to shape them into a comparison, the conclusions which have, in various individual cases, been arrived at by scholars such as zeuss. there are, then, four very common endings in teutonic names,--_ward_, as in edward, _ric_, as in frederic, _mar_, as in aylmar, and _wald_, as in reginald (=reginwald). the same four words, in their corresponding forms, are also common as the endings of celtic names, _ward_ taking the form of _guared_ or _guaret_, the german _ric_ taking generally the form of _rix_ (which appears also to have been the older form in the german, all names of the first century being so given by latin authors), _wald_ taking the form of _gualed_ or _gualet_, and _mar_ being pretty much the same in both. of these four cases of coincidence, there is only one (_wald = gualet_) which i have not derived from german authority. and with respect to this one, i have assumed the welsh _gualed_, order, arrangement, whence _gualedyr_, a ruler, to be the same word as german _wald_, gothic _valdan_, to rule. but we can carry this comparison still further, and show all these four endings in combination with one and the same prefix common to both tongues. this prefix is the old german _had_, _hat_, _hath_, signifying war, the corresponding word to which is in celtic _cad_ or _cat_. (note that in the earliest german names on record, as the catumer and the catualda of tacitus, the german form is _cat_, same as the celtic. this seems to indicate that at that early period the germans so strongly aspirated the _h_ in _hat_, that the word sounded to roman ears like _cat_, and it assists perhaps to give us an idea of the way in which such variations of tongues arise.) i subjoin then the following names which, _mutatis mutandis_, are the same in both tongues, and which, judging them by the same rules which philology has applied to the respective languages, might be taken to be from some earlier source common to both races:- _ancient german names._ _ancient celtic names._ hadaward. catguaret (_book of llandaff_). haduric. caturix (_orelli_). hadamar (catumer, _tacitus_). catmôr (_book of llandaff_). hadold (=hadwald). catgualet (_british king of gwynedd_, a.d. 664). catualda (_tacitus_). cadwalladyr (_british king_) (catgualatyr, _book of llandaff_) in comparing catualda with the british cadwalladyr i am noting an additional point of coincidence. catualda is not, like other old german names, from _wald_, rule, but from _walda_, ruler. there is only one other old german name in the same form, cariovalda,[5] also a very ancient name, being of the first century. this then may represent the older form, though this is not what i wish at present to note, but that catualda is the counterpart of the british cadwalladyr, which also is not from _gualed_, rule, but from _gualedyr_, ruler. in suggesting that this coincidence may be confined within certain lines i mean to guard against the assumption that it would, as in the case of the language, be found to pervade the whole system, many of the formations of which may be of a more recent time. there are some other stems, considered by the germans to be in coincidence, to only one of which i will refer at present, the old celtic _tout_, welsh _tûd_ = the gothic _thiuda_. hence the name tudric, of a british king of glamorgan, would be the counterpart of that of the gothic king theuderic, or theoderic. i will take one more instance of a name presumed to be common to the germans and to the celts as an illustration of the manner in which--men's names being handed down from generation to generation without, even in ancient times, any thought of their meaning--a name may survive, while the word from which it was originally derived has perished out of the language, or is retained in a sense so changed as hardly to be recognised. the german name in question is that of sigimar, the brother of arminius, dating from the first century of our era, a name which we still have as _seymore_, and in its high german form sicumar we have as _sycamore_, intermediate anglo-saxon names being found for both. the prefix _sig_ is taken, with as much certainty as there can be in anything of the kind, to be from _sig_, victory; the ending _mar_, signifying famous, is a word to which i have already referred as common both to the germans and to the celts. segimar was also an ancient celtic name, but while the ending _mar_ has a meaning to-day in celtic speech, the prefix _seg_ is a word of which they are hardly able to render any account. only in the old irish (which seems to contain some of the most ancient elements) gluck, finding a word _seg_ with the meaning of the wild ox, _urus_, deduces from it the ancient meaning of strength (sansc. _sahas_, vis, robor), and infers an original meaning akin to the german. it happens, perhaps yet more frequently, that a german name, which cannot be explained by anything within the range of teutonic dialects, may find a sufficient etymon from the celtic. that is to suppose that a word originally common to the teutonic and the celtic, has dropped out of the former, and been retained only in the latter. thus there is a word _arg_, _arch_, found in many teutonic names, and from which we have several names, as _archbold_, _archbutt_, _archard_, _argent_, _argument_, for which the meaning that can be derived from the german seems very inadequate, but for which the irish _arg_, hero or champion, seems to offer as good a meaning as could be desired. so also _all_, from which, as elsewhere shown, there are a number of names, in its teutonic sense of _omnis_, does not seem to give by any means so satisfactory a result as in its celtic sense of "great" or, "illustrious." many other instances might be adduced on both sides to show the way in which a word has dropped out of the one language and been retained in the other. before passing from this part of the subject, i may be allowed to adduce an illustration--a striking one i think, albeit that the name in this case is not that of a man but of a dog--of the way in which a name may be retained in familiar use, though the word from which it is derived has perished out of the language, though the language itself has passed out of use among us for more than a thousand years, and though the word itself is only used in a sort of poetical or sentimental sense. who has not heard, in verse or in prose, of the "poor dog _tray_"? and yet who ever heard, excepting in books, of a dog being called tray, a word which conveys no meaning whatever to an english ear? what then is the origin, and what is the meaning, of the name? it is, i venture to think, the ancient british name for a dog, which is not to be found in any living dialect of the celtic, and which is only revealed to us in a casual line of a roman poet:- non sibi, sed domino, venatur _vertragus_ acer, illæsum leporem qui tibi dente feret. _martial._ the british _vertrag_ must have been something of the nature of a greyhound, though, from the description of his bringing back the game unmangled to his master, perhaps capable of a higher training than the greyhound generally attains to. now the _ver_ in _vertrag_ is in the celtic tongues an intensitive, and as prefixed to a word, gives the sense of preeminence. the ancient british word for a dog in general must have been _trag_, a word of which we find a trace in the irish _traig_, foot, allied, no doubt, to gothic _thragjan_, greek [greek: trechein], sanscrit _trag_, to run. the ancient british name then for a dog, _trag_ signified the "runner," and with the intensitive prefix _ver_, as in _vertrag_, the "swift runner."[6] and _trag_ is, i take it, the word from which, _g_ as usual in english becoming _y_, is formed our word tray. it may be of interest, in connection with the antiquity of our names, to take a few of the oldest teutonic names of which history gives us a record, and endeavour to show the relationship which they bear to our existing surnames. it will be seen that not only have we the representatives of these ancient names, but also in certain cases names which represent a still more ancient form of the word. and first let us take the name, dating back to the first century of our era, of the old german hero arminius, brought before us with such magnanimous fairness by tacitus. the old idea, let me observe, that armin is properly _herman_, leader or warrior, has long been given up by the germans. the name, of which the most correct form is considered to be irmin, is formed from one single word of which the root is _irm_, and the meaning of which is, as grimm observes, entirely obscure. we have then as english surnames _armine_, _ermine_, and _harmony_, the last, no doubt, a slight corruption, though, as far as the prefix of _h_ is concerned, it is as old as anglo-saxon times, for we find "harmines den," harmine's valley, in a charter quoted by kemble. then we have compounded with _gar_, spear, and corresponding with an o.g. irminger--_arminger_, _irminger_,[7] and again as a corruption, _iremonger_. and, compounded with _hari_, warrior, and corresponding with an o.g. irminhar, we have _arminer_. and, as a christian name of women, one at least of our old families still retains the ancient name _ermentrude_, the ending _trude_, as found also in _gertrude_, being perhaps from the name thrud, of one of the _valkyrjur_, or battle-maidens of odin. the french also, among the many names derived from their frankish ancestors, have _armingaud_, _armandet_, and _ermingcard_, corresponding with the ancient names irmingaud, irmindeot, and irmingard. and _irminger_, as i write, comes before me in the daily papers as the name of a danish admiral. but irmin is not the oldest form of the name,--"the older and the simple form," observes foerstemann, "runs in the form irm or irim," and with this also we can claim connection in our family names. for we have the simple form as _arms_ and _harme_; and as compounds we have _armiger_, corresponding with an o.g. ermgar; _armour_, with an o.g. ermhar; and _armgold_, with an o.g. ermegild. lastly, i may observe that both irm and irmin are found also by stark as ancient celtic names. and certainly there is no stem more likely than this, of the origin of which all trace is lost in the darkness of the past, to be one that is older than the arian separation. the name sigimar, of the brother of arminius, i have already shown that we have, not only in its own form as _seymore_, but also in its high german form as _sycamore_, the anglo-saxon names from which they may be taken to be more immediately derived being also found in the chapter on place-names. and i have also shown that we have the name cariovalda (or harwald) of a prince of the batavi, of the first century, in our _harold_. there was another old hero of the german race, not so fortunate as arminius in finding an historian in a generous foe, whose name only comes before us in a line of horace:- occidit daci cotisonis agmen. cotiso must have been a leader of some high german tribe, perhaps somewhere on the upper danube, and he must have made a gallant stand against the roman arms, inasmuch as his final overthrow is deemed by the roman poet a worthy subject on which to congratulate his imperial patron. cotiso is a high german form of another name, godiso or godizo, elsewhere referred to, and hence may be represented, i venture to think, in our names _godsoe_ and _goddiss_, while cotiso itself may be represented in our _cottiss_, the ancient vowel-ending being in our names, as i shall show in the next chapter, sometimes dropped and sometimes retained. another name which goes back to the first century of our era is arpus, that of a prince of the catti in tacitus. the eorpingas, descendants or followers of eorpa, were among the original settlers, and seem to have confined themselves to norfolk, where alone we have any traces of them. the name may perhaps be referred to anglo-saxon _eorp_, wolf, though other derivations have also been proposed. we have the name at present as _earp_ (the name of a member of the house of commons), and also as _harp_. upon this stem is formed the name arbogastes (_gast_, guest) of a frankish general under the emperor gratian in the fourth century; and _arbogast_ is still a family name among the french. lastly, let us take the name of the german king, ariovistus, brought before us by cæsar. the proper form of this name, there seems little doubt, is arefastus, as found in some other o.g. names. there was also an arfast, bishop of east anglia, in the time of william the conqueror. and arfast is a present name among the frisians, according to outzen, who compares it--rightly, as it seems to me--with the old name ariovistus. the corresponding name arinfast (_aro_, _arin_, eagle) was also in ancient use among the danes. it seems to me that our name _harvest_ may easily be a corruption of arfast; it has generally no doubt been derived from a man's having been born at such a season, but i distrust, as a general rule, as elsewhere stated, derivations of this kind. in connection with the subject of the antiquity of teutonic names generally, and of english names as derived from them, i shall have, in a subsequent chapter, to refer to the names of original settlers in england as deduced by kemble from ancient charters, and compare them with names of a similar kind found in germany. the coincidence that will be found in these names at that early period, from england and friesland in the north to bavaria in the south, will, i think, be a very strong argument to show that these names could not have originated within the teutonic area itself, and so dispersed themselves over it in its length and breadth, but that they must have been brought with them by the teutonic invaders from their earlier homes. footnotes: [1] from the old saxon fragment called the "traveller's song." hnaf is no doubt from the ang.-sax. _cnafa_, _cnapa_, son, boy, the anglo-saxons often representing _c_ by a (no doubt aspirated) _h_. [2] stark also adduces an instance in the eleventh century of buggo as a contraction of burchard. [3] so at least foerstemann seems to think, observing that we can scarcely derive it from maur, æthiops, english "moor." nevertheless, seeing the long struggle between the teutons and the moors in spain, it seems to me that such a derivation would be quite in accordance with teutonic practice. see some remarks on the general subject at the end of chapter iv. [4] so that we may take it that virgilius, as the name of a scot who became bishop of salzburg in the time of boniface, was his own genuine celtic name, and not derived from that of the roman poet. [5] this name, that of a prince of the batavi, is considered by the germans to be properly hariovalda, from _har_, army, and hence is another instance of an initial _h_ being represented among the romans by a _c_. the name is the same as the anglo-saxon harald, and as our present name _harold_. [6] for this explanation of _vertragus_ i am indebted to gluck. [7] there was an english admiral of this name, though i do not know of it at present. chapter ii. clue to some of the ancient forms represented in english names. so long as our surnames are treated as if each name were something standing apart by itself, very little progress can be made in their elucidation; it is by collation and comparison that, in this as in any other science, definite results are to be obtained. and a moderate amount of attention to the forms in which these names appear, and to the various endings prevalent among them, will enable many names, otherwise unrecognisable, to be brought within the pale of classification and of possible explanation. i am of course referring to that portion of our surnames--a much larger one according to my judgment than is generally acknowledged--which dates back to anglo-saxon times, and so forms a part of the general system by which teutonic names are governed. i shall have, in the course of this work, frequently to refer to the teutonic system, and to names which do, or do not, according to my judgment, enter into it. and i will therefore, before going further, endeavour to explain what i mean by the teutonic system. there is, then, a class of words which, at a time of remote antiquity, have been adopted as stems upon which, in some cases by a sort of phonetic accretion, in some cases by the addition of a diminutive ending, in some cases by forming a patronymic, in some cases by taking in another word as a compound, a number of other names have been formed. thus, when we find such a group of names as _dill_, _dilly_, _dillow_, _dillen_, _dilling_, _dilke_, _dilwyn_, or as _budd_, _budden_, _buddle_, _budding_, _buddrich_, _budmore_, we may take it that these are all ancient names, of which _dill_ and _budd_ are respectively the stems. and whenever we find a group of names with endings such as it is my object in the present chapter to explain, and in compounds such as will be dealt with in a succeeding chapter, we shall be warranted in assuming the antiquity of the group. the endings in _a_, _ay_, _ah_, _ey_, _ie_, _o_, _oe_, _ow_. and in the first place, let us take the endings in _a_, _i_, and _o_, of which the above are nothing more than arbitrary variations of spelling. now ancient teutonic names formed of one single word had commonly, though not invariably (and the same thing applies also to ancient celtic names), a vowel-ending in _a_, _i_, or _o_; this ending is in our names sometimes dropped and at other times retained. (it is to be observed, however, that even in anglo-saxon times it is not an unfrequent thing to find the same name variously with and without a vowel-ending, of which some instances may be noted in chapter v.) thus we have _abbe_, _abba_, and _abbey_, we have _bell_, _belly_, and _bellow_, we have _earl_ and _early_, we have _dand_, _dandy_, and _dando_, we have _brand_ and _brandy_, we have _todd_ and _toddy_, we have _dane_ and _dana_, we have _marr_, _marry_, and _marrow_. these are all ancient names, variously with and without the vowel-ending, and it will be readily seen how apt the addition is to disguise the name, and to give it the appearance of something else. the question now to consider is--what is the value and meaning of this vowel-ending, which was only given to simple names and never to compounds? it might be, in some cases, used simply as a sort of euphonic rounding-off of a name which might seem meagre and insignificant without something of the sort. we ourselves appear to use _s_ in the same manner in the case of some very short names, such as wills and epps, in which the final _s_ may perform the same service that was rendered by the vowel-ending. but there is also another principle which i think obtains, and which, indeed, may be the guiding principle in such cases. in anglo-saxon (and the same principle applied to other teutonic dialects), the addition of _a_ to a word implied connection with it. thus, from _scip_, a ship, is formed _scipa_, one connected with a ship, a sailor. now, going back to the remote origin of names, there were many cases in which a man took a name from an abstraction, such as war, peace, glory, victory, or from a weapon, as the sword or the spear, and it is obvious that in such cases he required something to connect his name with it, and this is, as it seems to me, what was effected by the ending in question. and the principle is still a living one among us, and we form names daily in accordance with it, though we no longer use the ending in _a_, which has been superseded by that in _i_.[8] a connection with anything whatever is expressed by this ending, as when a stupid person is called "duncey," one with a remarkable nose "nosey," or one with a halting gait "stumpy." the french seem to have retained their old ending, and, when they form names of this sort, to do it with the ending in _o_ (_eau_) which appears to be in accordance with the genius of their language, as that in _i_ (_ey_) is with that of ours. of these three endings, that in _a_ is the one which was in use among the goths, in such names as cniva, totila, ulfila. and the same was also the case among the saxons, a branch of the same low german stock, in such names as anna, ella, penda, dodda. the ending in _i_ was also common among the old saxons, and, if we may judge by the _liber vitæ_ of durham (which might naturally be supposed to contain a large proportion of northern names), was also prevalent in the ancient northumbria. we have in that record the names alli, arni, bynni, betti, cyni, diori, elsi, paelli, tidi, tilli, terri, all of which are found in our present names _alley_, _arney_, _binney_, _betty_, _kinney_, _deary_, _elsey_, _paley_, _tidy_, _tilley_, _terry_. the ending in _o_ was that which was in favour among the franks and the high germans generally, the oldest instance on record being probably that of cotiso, p. 20. this is the usual ending in french names (so far as they are of old frankish origin, and come under this head), the form being generally _eau_, as in _baudeau_, _godeau_, _fredeau_, representing the ancient names baldo, godo, fredo. hence our names ending in _o_ may be taken to be, to some extent, names of old frankish origin come to us through the normans. but the number of such names is larger than could reasonably be accounted for in such a way, and in point of fact, we meet occasionally with such names at a much earlier period. the frisians certainly seem to have had names in this form, and it is a question whether such names may not be partly due to them. it must be observed, then, that names with these three various endings represent the stem just the same as those that are without it. the ending in _an_, _en_, _in_, or _on_. this ending runs through the whole range of teutonic names, and is common in english surnames. hence we have _doran_, _lingen_, _bolden_, _hannen_, _farren_, the names on which they are formed being represented in _dore_, _ling_, _bold_, _hann_, _farre_. as to the value and meaning of this ending, we have nothing more to guide us than its parallel use in the languages most nearly concerned, where it is what may be called formative. that is to say, it is a form of speech which is used to form the endings of words, not adding anything to the meaning, but forming a kind of euphonic rounding-off of the word. thus from a.s. _wearda_ is formed _warden_, from _geard_ (inclosure) is formed _garden_, from _brytta_ is formed briton, from _mægd_, maid, is formed _maiden_. cf. also the old word _ratten_ for _rat_, still used in provincial speech. in many cases in teutonic names we have words thus formed, and also the simpler forms on which they have been founded, _e.g._ we have _bero_, bear, and also _berin_, we have _aro_, eagle, and also _arin_ (=a.s. _earn_), both forming the stems on which a number of other names have been built. i take the ending in _en_, then, to be most probably a kind of phonetic accretion, adding nothing to the sense, but sometimes representing a secondary word, and starting a stem on its own account. the ending in _ing_. this is the anglo-saxon and ancient german patronymic, as in _browning_, "son of brown," _dunning_, "son of dunn," _winning_, "son of winn." it must have been superseded during, or very soon after, anglo-saxon times, by the patronymic in _son_, inasmuch as no names of scriptural origin appear to be formed with it. hence we have such names as _bulling_, _burning_, _canning_, _gambling_, _halling_, _harding_, _hopping_, _loving_, _manning_, _swearing_, _telling_, _walking_, _willing_, some of which have been popularly supposed to be from the present participle. all of the above except two, _swearing_ and _gambling_, are found in the list of early saxon settlers, and of these two (which are found in after anglo-saxon times) _swearing_, which corresponds with an old german suaring, finds its stem in an anglo-saxon name sweor, signifying important, honourable; and _gambling_ (properly gamling) is the patronymic of an a.s. and o.n. name, gamol, signifying "old," probably in the honorific sense of old descent. from this origin, i take it, are also our names _farthing_ and _shilling_, the former from the stem _fard_, or _farth_, signifying "travel," found in several ancient names, and which i rather take to be the same as _ford_, found in the fordingas among the early settlers. and _shilling_, which corresponds with a present german _schilling_, is probably the same as the scilling in the "traveller's song," a supposed contraction of scilding, from a.s. _scyld_, shield, in which case our name _shield_ would be the parent of _shilling_. i have referred at the beginning of this book to the curious-looking name _winfarthing_ (quoted from lower) as perhaps a corruption of an a.s. winfrithing, though it is a case in which i do not feel much certainty, finding one or two other such names as _turnpenny_, which may have been sobriquets. the ending in _el_ or _il_. this ending in teutonic names may be taken, as a general rule, to be a diminutive, though in a few cases it may be more probably, like that in _en_, formative. thus in the list of early a.s. settlers we have bryd(ingas) and we have brydl(ingas), representing the words _bride_ and _bridle_. now, as german writers have taken the word _brid_ in ancient names to mean "bridle," comparing it with french _bride_, it would seem probable that, in the above a.s. name, brydl is not a diminutive, but the extended word "bridle." however, as a general rule, it may be presumed to be a diminutive, and in such sense i take the following, premising that this, as well as all other diminutives, except _kin_, _lin_, and _et_, is subject to a vowel-ending just the same as simple forms. we have _bable_, corresponding with an a.s. babel, and an o.g. babilo; _ansell_ and _anslow_ (ansilo), corresponding with an o.g. ansila; _mundell_ and _mundella_, with a gothic mundila;[9] _costall_, _costello_, and _costly_, with an o.g. costila. _costly_ is properly costili, with the ending in _i_, as also _brightly_ is brightili, and some other names with an adverbial look may be similarly explained. the ending in _ec_ or _ic_. this ending, with rare exceptions, may also be taken to be a diminutive. the oldest instance on record is stated by stark as that of the vandal general stilicho in the fourth century, though, as found on roman pottery (in the names bassico and bennicus), it may be still older. it seems rather singular that, though, according to grimm, this ending was more particularly in favour among the saxons, not a single instance of it occurs among the names of our early settlers, nor indeed any other form of diminutive except that in _el_, though the form in question is not uncommon in after anglo-saxon times. this diminutive is still in living use among us, at least in scotland, where a "mile and a bittock" (little bit) has proved a snare to many a tourist. we have _willock_, _wilkie_, and _wilke_, corresponding with an o.g. willico, and an a.s. uillech; _lovick_ and _lubbock_, corresponding with o.g. liuvicho; _jellicoe_, corresponding with o.g. geliko, jeliko, and an a.s. geleca, some of these examples being with, and some without, the vowel-ending. the ending in _lin_. this ending, which is also a diminutive, is probably formed from that in _el_, by the addition of _en_. it is found in foerstemann's list as early as the fifth century, but, as found on roman pottery, must probably be still older. we have _bucklin_, corresponding with a buccellin, general of the alemanni in the sixth century, and with a buccellan on roman pottery. also _tomlin_, corresponding with an o.g. domlin; _applin_, with an o.g. abbilin; _franklin_, with an o.g. francolin; _papillon_, with an o.g. babolen, &c. this form of diminutive never takes a vowel-ending. the ending in _kin_. this diminutive ending is formed from that in _ec_ by the addition of _en_. it is the youngest-born of all, not being found, unless in rare cases, before the tenth century. and it is one that is still in living use both in england and in germany, in the latter country more especially. we have _wilkin_, corresponding with an o.g. williken, and an o.n. vilkinr; _godkin_, with an o.g. gotichin; _hipkin_, with an o.g. ibikin or ipcin; and _hodgkin_, with an a.s. hogcin. the ending in _et_. there is an ending in _d_ or _t_ in o.g. names, which may be taken, though perhaps not with anything like certainty, to have the force of a diminutive. hence might be such a name as _ibbett_, corresponding with o.g. names ibed and ibet, from an unexplained stem _ib_; also our names _huggett_, _howitt_, and _hewitt_, corresponding with an anglo-saxon hocget, and an o.g. huetus, from the stem _hog_, _hug_, signifying study or thought. but some other endings are so liable to intermix, and particularly the common one _had_, war, that there is very seldom anything like certainty. the ending in _es_ or _is_. i take this ending also to be diminutive, and to be possibly akin to our _ish_, as in blue-_ish_, which, as signifying a "little blue," seems to have the force of a diminutive. hence we have _riches_, corresponding with an o.g. richizo, and a present french _richez_; and _willis_, corresponding with an o.g. willizo. then we have _godsoe_, corresponding with an o.g. godizo, of which cotiso, mentioned in horace (p. 20), is a high german form; and _abbiss_, corresponding with the name, abissa, of the son of hengest, from, as supposed, gothic _aba_, man. and we have _prentiss_, corresponding with an a.s. prentsa (=prentisa), respecting which i have elsewhere suggested that the name should be properly pentsa. another name which i take to be from this ending is _daisy_. there is an a.s. dægsa, which as dagsi, with the alternative ending in _i_, would give us _daisy_. we have another name, _gipsy_, which i take to be from gibb or gipp (a.s. _geban_, to give) with this ending. this ending in _is_ is naturally very apt to be corrupted into _ish_, and it is from this source, i take it, that we have such names as _radish_, _reddish_, _varnish_, _burnish_, and _parish_, the two last of which we have also in their proper form as _burness_, and _parez_ or _paris_. the ending in _cock_. this ending is not one that enters into the teutonic system, unless so far as it may turn out to be a corruption of something else. i have not met with it earlier than a.d. 1400, nor do i know of anything to make me think that it is much older. there has been at different times a good deal of discussion as to its origin in _notes and queries_ and elsewhere. mr. lower has supposed it to be a diminutive, for which i do not think that any etymological sanction can be found, unless indeed we can suppose it to be a corruption of the diminutive _eck_ or _ock_ before referred to, which seems not impossible. but on the whole i am disposed to agree with the suggestion of a writer in _notes and queries_ that _cock_ is a corruption of _cot_,--not, however, in the sense which i suppose him to entertain, of _cot_ as a local word, but of _cot_ as an ancient ending, the high german form of _gaud_ or _got_, signifying, as supposed, "goth." so far as the phonetic relationship between the two words _cock_ and _cot_ is concerned, we have an instance, among others, in our word _apricot_, which was originally _apricock_. i am influenced very much in coming to the above conclusion by finding _coq_ as a not unfrequent ending in french names, as in _balcoq_ and _billecoq_, also in _aucoq_, _lecoq_, _videcocq_, _vilcocq_, which latter seem to be names corresponding with our _alcock_, _laycock_, _woodcock_, and _willcock_. they might all be formed on teutonic stems, if we suppose _lecoq_ and _laycock_ to have lost a _d_, like _lewis_ and _lucas_, from _leod_, people. now, that the ending _gaud_, with its alternative forms _got_, _caud_, _cot_, is present in french names as well as in english will be clearly seen from the following. from the old german faregaud we have _faragut_, and the french have _farcot_; from the o.g. benigaud they have _penicaud_, and we have _pennycad_; from the o.g. ermingaud they have _armingaud_, and from megingaud they have _maingot_; from the o.g. aringaud we have _heringaud_, from wulfegaud we have _woolcot_, from adogoto we have _addicott_, and from madalgaud we have _medlicott_. i am also disposed on the same principle to take _northcott_, notwithstanding its local appearance, to represent the o.g. name nordgaud, and in this case we have also the name _norcock_ to compare. presuming the above derivation to be the correct one, the question then arises,--has this ending come to us through the french, or has the corruption proceeded simultaneously in both countries? that the latter has been the case, the french _videcocq_, as compared with our _woodcock_, goes some way to show, the one having the high german form _vid_ or _wid_, and the other the saxon form _wud_. i may also mention, as being, so far as it goes, in accordance with the above theory, that we have a number of names both in the form of _cot_ and _cock_, as _adcock_ and _addicott_, _alcock_ and _alcott_, _norcott_ and _norcock_, _jeffcock_ and _jeffcott_. i do not, however, desire to come to a definite conclusion, though, as far as i am able to carry it, the inquiry seems in favour of the view which i have advocated. but the whole subject will bear some further elucidation. footnotes: [8] how or when this change took place is a question that awaits solving, but i observe that, in 1265, the countess of montford, giving names (or sobriquets) to her servants, calls one of her messengers treubodi (trusty messenger), and not treuboda, as the anglo-saxon form would have been. [9] this name appears as [greek: moundilas] in procopius, but, judging by the present pronunciation of greek, it would sound as mundila. chapter iii. names representing ancient compounds. the subject of the relative antiquity of simple names (_i.e._ those formed from one single word) and of compound names is one which has occupied a good deal of the attention of the germans. and the conclusion at which some of them at least seem to have arrived, and which perhaps has been stated the most distinctly by stark, is that the compound names are the older of the two. and the principal ground upon which this conclusion is based seems to be this, that in a very great number of cases we find that a simple name was used as a contraction of a compound name, just as we use will for william, and ben for benjamin. stark, in particular, has gone into the subject with german thoroughness, and produced a most complete list of instances of such contractions, such as freddo for fredibert, wulf for wulfric, benno for bernhard; and among the anglo-saxons, eada for edwine, and siga for siwerd, &c., from which he seems to arrive at the general conclusion that simple names are in all cases contractions of compound names. nevertheless, i must say that it seems to me that to assume the compound to be older than the simple looks very much like something that is contrary to first principles, and indeed the very fact that simple names are so often used in place of compounds appears to me to show that they are more natural to men, and that men would generally adopt them if they could. i cannot but think then, going back to the far remote origin of teutonic names, that the vocabulary of single words must have been exhausted before men began to take to the use of compounds. when this period arrived, and when the confusion arising from so many men being called by the same name could no longer be endured, some other course required to be adopted. and the course that was adopted was--i put this forward only as a theory--when the range of single names was exhausted, to _put two names together_. the number of changes that could be thus introduced was sufficient for all purposes, and there is, as i believe, no established case of a teutonic name being formed of more than two words. from this point of view teutonic names would not be translatable, or formed with any view to a meaning, and this is, as it seems to me, what was in fact the case, as a general rule, though i should be very far from laying it down as a universal principle. if names were formed with a view to a meaning, it does not seem very probable that we should have a name compounded with two words, both of which signify war; still less with two words, one of which signifies peace and the other war. "bold in war" might have a meaning, but "bold in peace," if it means anything, seems satirical. in point of fact, there was a certain set of words on which the changes were rung in forming names without any apparent reference either to meaning or congruity. thus we find that the early frankish converts in the time of charlemagne, the staple of whose names was german derived from their heathen ancestors, adopted not a few words of christian import from the latin or the hebrew, and mixed them up with the old words to which they had been accustomed in their names. thus a woman called electa, no doubt meaning "elect," calls her son electardus (_hard_, fortis); thus from _pasc_ (passover) is formed pascoin (_wine_, friend); from the name of christ himself is formed cristengaudus (_gaud_, goth.) now these are three of the common endings of german names, but no one can suppose that any sense was intended to be made out of them here, or that they were given for any other reason than that they were the sort of words out of which men had been accustomed to form their names. indeed, the idea present to the minds of the parents seems to have been in many cases to connect the names of their children with their own, rather than anything else, by retaining the first word of the compound and varying the second. thus a man called girveus and his wife ermengildis give their children the names of giroardus, girfridis, gertrudis, ermena, and ermengardis, three of the names connecting with that of the father, and two with that of the mother. in the case of a man called ratgaudus and his wife deodata, the names of four of the children are ratharius, ratgarius, ratrudis, and deodatus, the names of two other children being different. many other instances might be given of this sort of yearning for some kind of a connecting-link in the names of a family. now the people by whom these names were given were common peasants and serfs, so that the case was not one like that of the anglo-saxon kings of northumbria, among whose names the prefix _os_, signifying "semi-deus," and expressive of a claim to a divine lineage, was of such frequent recurrence. it may be a question then whether, while the former word of the compound connected with the father or the mother, the latter part did not sometimes connect with some other relative whose name it was desired to commemorate, giving the effect that is now frequently expressed by a christian name and a surname. again, when we look at the remote origin of these names, when we find in the opening century of our era, and who can tell for how many centuries before, precisely the same names that have been current in all these centuries since, we can hardly doubt that some of these names, derived from words that had long died out from the language, must have been used even in ancient times without any more thought of their meaning than parents have now when they call a child henry or john. i desire, however, to put forward the above theory as to the origin of compound names rather with a view of raising the question than of expressing a definite conclusion. the vowel ending in _a_, _i_, or _o_, to which i have referred as in general use in the case of simple names was not used in the case of compounds, unless indeed it happened to be an original part of the second word as in frithubodo, from _bodo_, messenger. only in the case of women, to mark the sex, the ending in _a_ was given. and in the case of some names, such as _gertrud_, in which the second part is a word that could only be given to a woman, as no vowel-ending was required, so none was given. i now proceed to give a list of the principal compounds occurring in english names, with the ancient forms corresponding. i have been obliged, as a matter of necessity, to compare our names more frequently with old german than with anglo-saxon equivalents, on account of the former having been collected and collated--a work which it remains for some one of our well qualified anglo-saxon scholars to do with regard to the latter. the meanings which i have assigned for these names are such as have been most generally adopted by the german writers who have made a special study of the subject. but it must be borne in mind that this study is one in which there is no context by which conclusions can be verified, and that in the vast majority of cases we have nothing more to go upon than a reasonable presumption. _adal_, _athel_, _ethel_, "noble." (_hard_, fortis), old germ. adalhard--ang.-sax. ethelhard--eng. _adlard_. (_helm_), o.g. adalhelm--eng. _adlam_. (_hari_, warrior), a.s. ethilheri--eng. _edlery_. (_stan_, stone), a.s. æthelstan--eng. _ethelston_. _ag_, _ac_, _ec_, "point, edge." (_hard_, fortis), o.g. agihard--eng. _haggard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. agiher, egiher--eng. _agar_, _eager_. (_leof_ dear), o.n. eylifr--eng. _ayliffe_. (_man_, vir), o.g. egiman--a.s. æcemann--eng. _hayman_, _aikman_. (_mund_, protection), a.s. agemund--eng. _hammond_. (_ward_), o.g. eguard--a.s. hayward--eng. _hayward_. _agil_, _ail_, of uncertain meaning, but perhaps formed on the previous stem _ag_. (_gar_, spear), o.g. egilger, ailger--eng. _ailger_. (_hard_, fortis), o.g. agilard, ailard--eng. _aylard_. (_man_), o.g. aigliman--eng. _ailman_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. agilmar, ailemar--eng. _aylmer_. (_ward_, guardian), o.g. agilward, ailward--eng. _aylward_. (_wine_, friend), a.s. aegelwine--eng. _aylwin_. _alb_, _alf_, signifying "elf." (_hard_, fortis), o.g. alfhard--eng. _alvert_. (_hari_, warrior), a.s. ælfhere--o.g. alfheri, albheri--eng. _alvary_, _albery_, _aubrey_. (_rad_, _red_, counsel), o.g. alberat--a.s. alfred--eng. _alfred_. (_run_, mystery), o.g. albrun[10]--eng. _auberon_. _ald_, signifying "old." (_bert_, famous), o.g. aldebert--eng. _aldebert_. (_hari_, warrior), a.s. aldheri--eng. _alder_, _audrey_. (_gar_, spear), a.s. eldecar (moneyer of edmund)--eng. _oldacre_ (?). (_rad_, _red_, counsel), o.g. aldrad--eng. _aldred_, _eldred_. (_rit_, ride), o.g. aldarit--eng. _aldritt_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. alderich, olderich, altrih--eng. _aldrich_, _oldridge_, _altree_. (_man_, vir), a.s. ealdmann--eng. _altman_. _amal_, of uncertain meaning. (_gar_, spear), o.g. amalgar--eng. _almiger_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. amalhari, amalher--eng. _ambler_, _emeler_. _angel_, signifying "hook, barb"(?). (_bert_, famous), o.g. engilbert--eng. _engleburt_. (_hard_, fortis), o.g. englehart--eng. _engleheart_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. angelher--eng. _angler_. (_man_), o.g. angilman--eng. _angleman_. (_dio_, servant), o.g. engildeo--a.s. angeltheow--eng. _ingledew_. (_sind_, companion), o.g. ingilsind--eng. _inglesent_. _ans_, high germ, form of a.s. _os_, "semi-deus." (_hard_, fortis), o.g. ansard--eng. _hansard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. ansher--eng. _anser_. (_helm_), o.g. anshelm--eng. _anselme_, _hansom_. _ark_, _arch_ (see page 16). (_bald_, bold), eng. _archbold_. (_bud_, envoy), o.g. argebud--eng. _archbutt_. (_hard_, fortis), o.g. archard--eng. _archard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. erchear--archere, _roll of battle abbey_--eng. _archer_. (_rat_, counsel), o.g. archarat--eng. _arkwright_(?). (_mund_, protection), o.g. argemund--eng. _argument_. _aud_, _aut_, high germ. form of a.s. _ead_, "prosperity." (_hari_, warrior), o.g. authar--eng. _auther_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. audricus--eng. _auterac_. (_ram_, raven), o.g. audram--eng. _autram_, _outram_. _all_ (see page 16). (_frid_, peace), o.g. alufrid--eng. _allfrey_. (_gar_, spear), a.s. algar--eng. _alger_. (_hard_, fortis), a.s. ealhard--eng. _allard_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. alamar--eng. _almar_. (_mund_, protection), a.s. ealmund--o.g. alamunt--eng. _almond_, _alment_. (_noth_, bold), a.s. ælnoth--eng. _allnut_. (_ward_), o.g. aloard--a.s. alwerd--eng. _allward_. (_wid_, wood), o.g. aluid--eng. _allwood_. (_wig_, _wi_, war), a.s. alewih--eng. _allaway_.[11] (_wine_, friend), o.g. allowin--eng. _alwin_. _al_, _el_, probably "foreigner." (_bod_, envoy), o.g. ellebod--eng. _albutt_. (_gaud_, goth), o.g. eligaud--eng. _allgood_, _elgood_. (_gar_, spear), o.g. elger--eng. _elgar_. (_hard_, fortis), o.g. eleard--eng. _ellard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. elier--eng. _ellery_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. alimer--eng. _elmore_. (_mund_, protection), elmund, _domesday_--eng. _element_. (_wine_, friend), elwin, _lib. vit._--eng. _elwin_. (_wood_), elwod, _lib. vit._--eng. _elwood_. (_gern_, eager), o.g. aligern--eng. _hallgreen_. _ad_, _at_ (gothic, _atta_), "father." (_gis_, hostage), o.g. atgis--eng. _atkiss_. (_gaud_, goth), o.g. adogoto--eng. _addicott_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. adohar--eng. _adier_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. adamar--eng. _atmore_. (_ric_, rule), a.s. ætheric--eng. _attridge_. (_rid_, ride), o.g. atharid--eng. _attride_. (_wulf_), a.s. athulf--eng. _adolph_. _an_, _han_ (o.h.g. _ano_), "ancestor." (_fred_, peace), o.g. enfrid--eng. _henfrey_. (_gar_, spear), o.g. anager, eneger--eng. _hanger_, _henniker_. (_man_, vir), o.g. enman--eng. _hanman_, _henman_. (_rad_, counsel), o.g. henred--eng. _hanrot_. (_wald_, rule), o.g. anawalt--eng. _anhault_. _arm_, of uncertain meaning. (_gar_, spear), o.g. ermgar--eng. _armiger_. (_gild_, value?) o.g. ermegild--eng. _armgold_. (_had_, war), o.g. ermhad--eng. _armat_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. ermhar--eng. _armour_, _armory_. (_rad_, counsel), o.g. ermerad--eng. _ormerod_. _armin_, of uncertain meaning (_gar_, spear), o.g. irminger--eng. _irminger_, _arminger_ (_hari_, warrior), o.g. irminhar--eng. _arminer_. _arn_, _ern_ (a.s. _earn_), "eagle." (_hari_, warrior), o.g. arnheri--eng. _harnor_. (_helm_), o.g. arnhalm--eng. _arnum_. (_wald_, rule), o.g. arnoald--eng. _arnold_. (_wulf_), o.g. arnulf--eng. _arnulfe_. _ask_, _ash_, perhaps in the sense of "spear." (_bert_, famous), a.s. _æscbyrht_--eng. _ashpart_. (_hari_, warrior), a.s. æschere--eng. _asher_. (_bald_, fortis), eng. _ashbold_. (_man_, vir), a.s. æscmann--aschmann, _hund_. _rolls_--eng. _ashman_. (_mar_, famous), a.s. æscmer--eng. _ashmore_. (_wid_, wood), o.g. asquid--ascuit, _domesday_--eng. _asquith_, _ashwith_. (_wine_, friend), a.s. æscwine--eng. _ashwin_. (_wulf_), o.g. ascolf--eng. _ascough_. a.s. _beado_, "war." (_hari_, warrior), o.g. bathari--eng. _badder_, _bather_. (_hard_, fortis), a.s. badherd--beadheard, _lib. vit._--eng. _beddard_. (_man_, vir), badumon, _lib. vit._--eng. _badman_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. betterich--a.s. bædric--eng. _betteridge_. (_ulf_, wolf), o.g. badulf--eng. _biddulph_. _bald_, "fortis." (_hari_, warrior), a.s. baldhere--eng. _balder_, _boldery_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. baldric, baldrih--eng. _baldridge_, _baldry_. (_wine_, friend), a.s. baldwine--eng. _baldwin_. a.s. _band_, _bend_, "crown, chaplet." (_hard_, fortis), o.g. pantard--eng. _pindard_. (_hari_, warrior), a.s. pender--eng. _pender_. (_rad_, counsel), o.g. bandrad--eng. _banderet_, _pendered_. a.s. _ben_, "wound." (_gar_, spear), o.g. benegar--eng. _benger_. (_gaud_, goth), o.g. benegaud--eng. _pennycad_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. beniher--eng. _benner_. (_man_, vir), eng. _beneman_, a.d. 1535, _penman_. (_nid_, strife), o.g. bennid--eng. _bennet_. a.s. _bera_, "bear." (_gar_, spear), o.g. bereger[12]--eng. _berger_. (_grim_, fierce), o.g. peragrim--eng. _paragreen_. (_hard_, fortis), o.g. berhard--eng. _barehard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. beriher--eng. _berrier_. (_helm_), o.g. perrhelm--eng. _perriam_. (_land_, terra), o.g. perelant--eng. _purland_. (_man_, vir), o.g. berman--eng. _burman_, _perman_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. bermar--eng. _barmore_, _paramore_. (_rat_, counsel), o.g. perratt--eng. _perrott_. (_dio_, servant), o.g. peradeo--eng. _purdue_. (_ward_), o.g. beroward--eng. _berward_. (_wise_, sapiens), o.g. berois (=berwis)--eng. _barwise_. _berin_, _bern_, "bear." (_gar_, spear), o.g. beringar--eng. _berringer_. (_hard_, fortis), o.g. berinhard--eng. _bernard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. bernher, pernher--eng. _berner_, _pirner_. (_wald_, rule), o.g. berneold--eng. _bernold_. (_kel_, for _ketil_), o.n. biornkel--eng. _barnacle_. _bil_, supposed to mean "mildness, gentleness." (_frid_, peace), o.g. bilfrid--eng. _belfry_. (_grim_, fierce), o.g. biligrim, pilgrim--eng. _pilgrim_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. belemar--eng. _billamore_, _belmore_. (_gard_, protection), o.g. biligard--eng. _billiard_. (_mund_, protection), o.g. pilimunt--eng. _belment_. (_wald_, rule), biliald, _lib. vit._--eng. _billyald_. _bert_, "bright, illustrious." (_ram_, raven), o.g. bertram--eng. _bertram_. (_land_, terra), o.g. bertland--eng. _brightland_. (_mar_, famous), a.s. brihtmar--eng. brightmore. (_rand_, shield), o.g. bertrand--eng. _bertrand_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. perhtric--a.s. brihtric--partriche, _hund. rolls_--eng. _partrick_, _partridge_. (_wine_, friend), a.s. brihtwine--eng. _brightwine_. _black_, _blake_, signifying "brightness." (_hari_, warrior), o.g. blicher--eng. _blacker_, _blaker_. (_man_), a.s. blæcman (genealogy of the kings of northumbria), blacman (moneyer at norwich)--blaecmon, _lib. vit._--blacheman, _domesday_--eng. _blackman_, _blakeman_. (_wine_, friend), eng. _blackwin_. _bod_, _bud_, "envoy." (_gar_, spear), o.g. baudochar--eng. _bodicker_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. botthar--boterus, _domesday_--eng. _butter_, _buttery_. (_gis_, hostage), o.g. boutgis, boggis--eng. _boggis_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. baudomir--eng. _bodmer_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. buttericus, bauderich--eng. _butterick_, _buddrich_. (_rid_, rit, "ride"), o.g. bodirid, buotrit--eng. _botright_. _boll_, _bull_ (prob. m.h.g. _buole_), "friend." (_gar_, spear), o.g. pulgar--eng. _bulger_. (_hard_), pollardus, domesday--eng. _bullard_, _pollard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. bolheri--eng. _buller_. (_mar_, famous), a.s. bulemær--eng. _bulmer_. _burg_, signifying "protection." (_hard_), a.s. burghard--eng. _burchard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. burghar--eng. _burger_. (_wald_, rule), o.g. burgoald--eng. _purgold_. (_wine_, friend), eng. _burgwin_. _ball_, _bale_, signifying "bale, woe." (_frid_, peace), o.g. palfrid--eng. _palfrey_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. ballomar, belimar--eng. _balmer_, _bellmore_. _coll_, signifying "helmet." (_brand_, sword), a.s. colbrand--eng. _colbran_. (_biorn_, bear), o.n. kolbiorn--eng. _colburn_. (_man_, vir), a.s. colman--eng. _colman_. (_mar_, famous), a.s. colomôr--eng. _collamore_. (_hard_), a.s. ceolheard--eng. _collard_. _cost_, _cust_, "skill, science" (germ, _kunst_). (_hard_), o.g. custard--eng. _custard_. _dag_, "day," in the sense of brightness, glory.[13] (_bald_, bold), o.g. tagapald--daegbald, _lib. vit._--eng. _daybell_. (_bern_, bear), o.g. tagapern--eng. _tayburn_. (_burg_, protection), o.g. tagabirg--eng. _tackabarry_. (_gisil_, hostage), o.g. daigisil--eng. _daggesell_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. daiher--dacher, _lib. vit._--eng. _dagger_, _dacker_, _dayer_. (_helm_), o.g. dachelm--eng. _dacombe_. (_mund_, protection), o.g. dagamund--a.s. daiemond--eng. _daymont_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. dagemar--dagemar on roman pottery--eng. _damer_. _dall_, _dell_, as supposed, "illustrious." (_bert_, famous), o.g. dalbert--talbercht, _lib. vit._--eng. _talbert_. (_fare_, travel), o.g. dalferi--eng. _telfer_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. dealher--eng. _deller_. (_man_), o.g. dalman--eng. _dalman_, _tallman_. (_wig_, _wi_, war), daliwey, _hund. rolls_--eng. _dalloway_. _dan_, _den_, of uncertain meaning, perhaps, "dane." (_hard_), a.s. dæneheard--eng. _denhard_. (_gar_, spear), o.g. thangar--eng. _danger_. (_wulf_), a.s. denewulf--eng. _denolf_. _dar_, signifying "spear." (_nagel_, nail), a.s. dearnagel--eng. _darnell_. (_gund_, war), o.g. taragun--eng. _darrigon_. (_wine_, friend), o.g. daroin--eng. _darwin_. _dear_, "carus." (_leof_, dear), a.s. deorlaf--eng. _dearlove_. (_man_, vir), dereman, _domesday_--eng. _dearman_. (_môd_, courage), a.s. deormod--eng. _dermott_. (_wine_, friend), a.s. deorwyn--eng. _derwin_. gothic, _thius_ (o.h.g. _dio_), "servant." (_log_, _loh_, clean?), o.g. thioloh--eng. _dialogue_. (_mad_, reverence), o.g. deomad--eng. _demaid_. (_man_, vir), o.g. dioman--eng. _demon_. (_mund_, protection), o.g. thiomunt--eng. _diamond_. old north. _dolgr_, "foe." (_fin_, people's name), o.n. dolgfinnr--eng. _dolphin_. (_man_, vir), a.s. dolemann--eng. _dolman_. a.s. _dôm_ (o.h.g. _tuom_), "judgment." (_gis_, hostage), o.g. domigis, tomichis--eng. _tomkies_. (_hard_, fortis), o.g. domard--eng. _dummert_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. domarius--domheri, _lib. vit._--eng. _dummer_. a.s. _dugan_, to be "doughty." (_man_, vir), o.g. dugiman, tugeman--a.s. ducemann--eng. _tugman_, _duckman_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. daumerus--eng. _dugmore_. probably from the noun, _duguth_, virtue, a.s. dogod--eng. _doggett_, _dugood_. _erl_, supposed same as "earl." (_bad_, war), o.g. erlebad--eng. _hurlbat_ (_bert_, famous), o.g. erlebert--eng. _hurlburt_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. erleher--eng. _hurler_. (_wine_, friend), o.g. erliwin, a.s. herlawine--eng. _urlwin_. _evor_, "boar." (_hard_, fortis), o.g. everhard--eng. _everard_, _earheart_. (_rad_, counsel), o.g. eburrad--eng. _evered_, _everett_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. eburicus--eng. _every_. (_wacar_, watchful), o.g. eburacar--eureuuacre, _domesday_--eng. _earwaker_. (_wig_, war), o.g. eberwic--a.s. earwig--eng. _earwig_. anglo-saxon _eâd_, "prosperity." (_burg_, protection), a.s. eadburh--eng. _edbrook_. (_gar_, spear), a.s. eadgar--eng. _edgar_. (_mund_, protection), a.s. eadmund--eng. _edmond_. (_ric_, rule), a.s. eadric--eng. _edridge_. (_ward_), a.s. eadweard--eng. _edward_. (_wig_, war), a.s. eadwig--eng. _edwick_. (_wulf_), a.s. eadwulf--eng. _edolph_. (_wacar_, watchful), o.g. odoacer--a.s. edwaker--eng. _eddiker_? _far_, _fare_, signifying "travel." (_and_, life, spirit), o.g. ferrand, eng. _ferrand_. (_gaud_, goth), o.g. faregaud--eng. _farragut_, _forget_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. feriher--eng. _ferrier_. (_man_), o.g. faraman--fareman, _hund. rolls_--eng. _fairman_. (_mund_, protection), o.g. faramund--eng. _farrimond_. (_ward_), o.g. faroard--eng. _forward_. _fard_, also signifying "travel." (_hari_, warrior), a.s. forthere--eng. _forder_. (_man_), o.g. fartman--eng. _fortyman_. (_nand_, daring), o.g. ferdinand--eng. _ferdinand_. (_rad_, counsel), forthred, _lib. vit._,--eng. _fordred_. _fil_, _ful_, signifying "great." (_bert_, famous), o.g. filibert--eng. _filbert_. (_gar_, spear),--eng. _fullagar_. (_leof_, dear), o.g. filuliub--eng. _fullalove_. (_man_), o.g. filiman--eng. _fileman_. (_mar_, famous), a.s. fealamar, o.g. filomor--eng. _fillmer_, _phillimore_. (_dio_, _thius_, servant), o.g. filethius--eng. _filldew_. _frid_, _free_,[14] signifying "peace." (_bad_, war), o.g. fridibad--eng. _freebout_. (_bern_, bear), o.g. fridubern--friebern _domesday_--eng. _freeborn_. (_bod_. envoy), o.g. frithubodo--eng. _freebody_. (_lind_, gentle), o.g. fridulind--frelond _hund_. _rolls_--eng. _freeland_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. frithuric--eng. _frederick_. (_stan_, stone), a.s. frithestan--eng. _freestone_. _fin_, supposed from "the nation." (_bog_, bow), old norse, finbogi--eng. _finbow_. (_gar_, spear), old norse, finngeir--eng. _finger_. _gad_, of uncertain meaning, perhaps "friend." (_man_, vir), a.s. cædmon--eng. _cadman_. (_leof_, dear),--eng. _gatliffe_. _gal_, signifying "spirit, cheerfulness." (_and_, life, spirit), galaunt, _hund. rolls_--eng. _galland_, _gallant_. (_frid_, peace), a.s. galfrid, gaufrid--eng. _geoffry_. (_hard_), gallard _hund. rolls_--eng. _gallard_. (_wig_, war), o.g. geilwih--galaway, _hund. rolls_--eng. _galloway_. _gand_, signifying "wolf." (_hari_, warrior), o.g. ganthar--a.s. gandar--eng. _gander_, _ganter_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. gendirih, cantrih--eng. _gentery_, _gentry_, _chantrey_. _gar_, signifying "spear." (_bad_, war), o.g. kerpat--eng. _garbett_. (_bald_), o.g. garibald, kerbald--eng. _gorbold_, _corbould_. (_brand_, sword), o.g. gerbrand--eng. _garbrand_. (_brun_, bright), o.g. gerbrun--eng. _gorebrown_. (_bod_, envoy), o.g. gaerbod--gerbode _lib. vit._--eng. _garbutt_. (_hard_), o.g. garehard--eng. garrard. (hari, warrior), o.g. garoheri, caroheri--eng. _carary_, _carrier_. (_lac_, play), o.g. gerlac--eng. _garlick_. (_man_), o.g. garaman--a.s. jaruman--eng. _garman_, _jarman_. (_mund_, protection), o.g. garimund--eng. _garment_. (_noth_, bold), o.g. garnot--eng. _garnett_. (_rod_, red), o.g. kaerrod--old norse, geirraudr eng. _garrod_. (_laif_, relic), o.g. gerlef--eng. _gerloff_. (_ferhth_, life, spirit), gerferth, _lib. vit._--eng. _garforth_. (_stan_, stone), o.g. kerstin--eng. _garstin_. (_wald_, power), o.g. garold--eng. _garrold_. (_was_, keen), o.g. gervas--eng. _jervis_. (_wid_, wood), o.g. gervid--eng. _garwood_. (_wig_, war), o.g. garavig, gerwi--eng. _garroway_, _garvey_. (_wine_, friend), o.g. gerwin, caroin--eng. _curwen_?[15] (_van_, beauty), o.g. geravan--eng. _caravan_. _gan_, _gen_, supposed to mean "magic, sorcery." (_bert_, famous), o.g. gimbert--eng. _gimbert_. (_had_, war), o.g. genad--eng. _gennett_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. genear, ginheri--eng. _genner_, _jennery_. (_rid_, ride), o.g. generid--eng. _jeannerett_. _gab_, _geb_, eng. "give." (_bert_, famous), o.g. gibert--eng. _gippert_. (_hard_), o.g. gebahard, givard--eng. _giffard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. gebaheri--eng. _gaffery_. _gart_, _cart_, signifying "protection." (_hari_, warrior), o.g. gardar, karthar--eng. _garter_, _carder_. (_dio_, servant), o.g. cartdiuha--eng. _carthew_. (_ric_, rule), a.s. gyrdhricg--eng. _cartridge_. _gald_, _gold_, "reddere, valere." (_birin_, bear), o.g. goldpirin--eng. _goldbourne_. (_red_, counsel), o.g. goltered--eng. _coulthred_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. goldericus--eng. _goldrick_. (_run_, mystery), o.g. goldrun, coldrun--coldrun _lib. vit._--eng _calderon_. (_wine_, friend), o.g. gildewin--eng. _goldwin_. _geld_, _gild_, probably same as above. (_hard_), o.g. gildard--eng. _gildert_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. gelther--eng. _gilder_. (_wig_, _wi_, war), o.g. geltwi--eng. _gildawie_. _gisal_, _gil_, "hostage." (_bert_, famous), o.g. gisalbert, gilbert--eng. _gilbert_. (_brand_, sword), o.g. gislebrand--eng. _gillibrand_. (_frid_, peace), o.g. gisalfred--eng. _gillford_. (_hard_), o.g. giselhard--eng. _gillard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. gisalhar--a.s. gislher--eng. _giller_, _killer_. (_had_, war), o.g. gislehad--eng. _gillett_. (_helm_), o.g. gisalhelm--eng. _gilliam_. (_man_), o.g. gisleman--eng. _gillman_, _killman_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. gisalmer--eng. _gilmore_. _god_, supposed to mean "deus."[16] (_bald_), o.g. godebald--godebaldus, _domesday_--eng. _godbold_, _godbolt_, _cobbold_. (_frid_, peace), o.g. godafrid--eng. _godfrey_. (_gisil_, hostage), o.g. godigisil--eng. godsell. (heid, state, "hood"), o.g. gotaheid--eng. _godhead_. (_hard_), o.g. godehard--eng. _goddard_, _goodheart_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. godehar--eng. _goddier_, _goodyear_. (_laif_, relic), o.g. godolef--eng. _goodliffe_. (_lac_, play), o.g. godolec--eng. _goodlake_. (_land_), o.g. godoland--godland _lib. vit._--eng. _goodland_. (_man_), o.g. godeman--godeman _lib. vit._--eng. _godman_. (_mund_, protection), a.s. godemund--eng. _godmund_. (_niu_, young), o.g. godeniu--eng. _goodnow_. (_ram_, raven), o.g. godramnus--eng. _goodram_. (_rad_, counsel), o.g. gotrat--eng. _goodred_. (_rit_, ride), o.g. guderit--godritius _domesday_--eng. _goodwright_. (_ric_, rule), godricus _domesday_--eng. _godrick_. (_scalc_, servant), o.g. godscalc--eng. _godskall_. (_ward_), o.g. godeward--eng. _godward_. (_wine_, friend), a.s. godwine--eng. _godwin_. _goz_, _gos_, supposed high germ. form of _gaud_=goth. (_bald_), o.g. gauzebald--eng. _gosbell_. (_hard_), o.g. gozhart, cozhart--eng. _gozzard_, _cossart_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. gauzer, cozhere--eng. _gozar_, _cosier_. (_lind_, gentle), o.g. gauzlind--eng. _gosland_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. gozmar--eng. _gosmer_. (_wald_, power), o.g. gausoald--eng. _goswold_. _grim_, "fierce, terrible." (_bald_), o.g. grimbald--eng. _grimbald_, _grimble_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. grimhar--eng. _grimmer_. (_mund_, protection), o.g. grimund--eng. _grimmond_. (_hard_), o.g. grimhard--eng. _grimerd_. _gund_, _gun_, signifying "war." (_bald_), o.g. gundobald, gumbald--eng. _gumboil_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. gunther, cundher--eng. _gunter_, _conder_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. gunderih--eng. _gundry_. (_stan_, stone), old norse, gunstein--eng. _gunston_. _hun_, probably from "the people." (_bald_), o.g. hunibald--eng. _hunibal_. (_frid_, peace), o.g. hunfrid, humfrid--eng. _humphrey_. (_gar_, spear), o.g. hunger--eng. _hunger_. (_hard_), o.g. hunard--eng. _hunnard_. (_man_), huniman _hund. rolls_--eng. _honeyman_. (_wald_, power), o.g. hunewald--hunewald, _lib. vit._--eng. _hunhold_. _had_, _hath_, signifying "war." (_gis_, hostage), o.g. hadegis--eng. _hadkiss_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. hadamar--eng. _hattemore_. (_rat_, counsel), o.g. hadarat--eng. _hadrott_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. hadaricus--eng. _hattrick_. (_wig_, war), o.g. hathuwi--eng. _hathaway_. (_wine_, friend), o.g. hadawin--eng. _hadwen_. _hard_, _hart_, "strong, hardy." (_hari_, warrior), o.g. hardier--eng. _harder_. (_land_, terra), o.g. artaland--eng. _hardland_. (_man_, vir), o.g. hartman--eng. _hardman_. (_mund_, protection), o.g. hartomund--eng. _hardiment_. (_nagel_, nail), o.g. hartnagel--eng. _hartnoll_. (_nid_, strife), o.g. hartnit--eng. _hartnott_. (_rat_, counsel), o.g. hartrat--eng. _hartwright_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. harderich, hertrih--eng. _hartridge_, _hartry_. (_wulf_), o.g. hardulf--eng. _hardoff_. (_wig_, war), o.g. hardwic--eng. _hardwick_. (_wine_, friend), o.g. hardwin--eng. _ardouin_. _har_, _her_, "army" or "soldier."[17] (_bad_, war), o.g. heripato--eng. _herepath_. (_bert_, famous), o.g. hariberaht--a.s. herebritt--eng. _harbert_, _herbert_. (_bord_, shield), o.g. heribord--eng. _harboard_. (_bod_, envoy), o.g. heribod--eng. _harbud_. (_gar_, spear), o.g. hariker--a.s. hereger--eng. _harker_. (_gaud_, goth), o.g. haregaud--eng. _hargood_. (_land_, terra), o.g. hariland--eng. _harland_. (_man_, vir), o.g. hariman--eng. _harryman_, _harman_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. harmar--eng. _harmer_. (_mund_, protection), o.g. herimund--eng. _harmond_. (_sand_, envoy), o.g. hersand--eng. _hersant_. (_wald_, rule), a.s. harald--eng. _harold_. (_ward_), a.s. hereward--eng. _harward_. (_wid_, wood), o.g. erwid--eng. _harwood_. (_wig_, war), o.g. herewig, hairiveo--eng. _harvey_. (_wine_, friend), o.g. harwin--a.s. herewine--eng. _harwin_. _hild_, _hil_, "war." (_brand_, sword), o.g. hildebrand--eng. _hildebrand_. (_gard_, protection), o.g. hildegard--eng. _hildyard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. hildier--eng. _hilder_, _hillyer_. (_man_, vir), o.g. hildeman--eng. _hillman_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. hildemar--eng. _hilmer_. (_rad_, counsel), o.g. hildirad--eng. _hildreth_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. hilderic--eng. _hilridge_. _ing_, _ink_, "son, descendant." (_bald_), o.g. ingobald, incbald--eng. _inchbald_. (_bert_, famous), o.g. ingobert--eng. _inchboard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. inguheri--eng. _ingrey_. (_ram_, raven), o.g. ingram--eng. _ingram_. (_wald_, power), o.g. ingold--eng. _ingold_. _ise_, signifying "iron." (_burg_, protection), o.g. hisburg--eng. _isburg_. (_man_), o.g. isman--a.s. hysemann--eng. _heasman_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. ismar--eng. _ismer_. (_odd_, dart), old norse, isodd--eng. _izod_. _isen_, signifying "iron." (_hard_), o.g. isanhard--eng. _isnard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. isanhar--eng. _isner_. _ken_, _kin_, "nobility." (_hard_), a.s. cyneheard--eng. _kennard_, _kinnaird_. (_laf_, relic), a.s. cynlaf--eng. _cunliffe_. (_mund_, protection), a.s. cynemund--eng. _kinmonth_. (_ric_, rule), a.s. cynric--eng. _kenrick_. (_ward_), a.s. cyneweard--eng. _kenward_. (_wig_, war), kenewi, _hund. rolls_--eng. _kennaway_. _land_, "terra." (_bert_, famous), o.g. landbert, lambert--eng. _lambert_. (_burg_, protection), o.g. landburg--eng. _lambrook_. (_frid_, peace), o.g. landfrid--lanfrei _lib. vit._--eng. _landfear_, _lanfear_, _lamprey_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. landar--eng. _lander_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. landerich--landric _domesday_--eng. _landridge_, _laundry_. (_wig_, war), o.g. lantwih--eng. _lanaway_. (_war_, defence), o.g. landoar--eng. _lanwer_. (_ward_), o.g. _landward_--eng. _landlord?_ _laith_, _let_, "terrible." (_hara_), o.g. lethard--eng. _leathart_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. lethar--eng. _leather_. (_ward_), o.g. lethward--eng. _lateward_. _led_, _lud_, "people." (_burg_, protection), o.g. luitburc--eng. _ludbrook_. (_gar_, spear), o.g. leodegar--eng. _ledger_. (_gard_), o.g. liudgard--a.s. lidgeard--eng. _ledgard_. (_goz_. goth), o.g. luitgoz, luikoz--lucas _lib. vit._--eng. _lucas_. (_hard_), o.g. luidhard--eng. _liddard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. liuthari--a.s. luder--eng. _luther_. (_man_), o.g. liudman--a.s. ludmann--eng. _lutman_. (_ward_), o.g. liudward--eng. _ledward_. (_wig_, war), o.g. liudwig--eng. _lutwidge_. anglo-saxon _leof_, "dear." (_dag_, day), o.g. leopdag--luiedai, _domesday_--eng. _loveday_. (_hard_), o.g. luibhard, leopard--a.s. lipperd--eng. _leopard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. liubheri, libher--a.s. leofer--eng. _lover_. (_lind_, gentle), o.g. liublind--eng. _loveland_. (_man_), o.g. liubman--a.s. leofmann--eng. _loveman_.[18] (_mar_, famous), o.g. liubmar--eng. _livemore_. (_ric_, rule), a.s. leofric--eng. _loveridge_. (_drud_, friend), o.g. lipdrud--eng. _liptrot_.[19] (_gaud_, _goz_, goth), o.g. liobgoz--eng. _lovegod_, _lovegood_. _mal_, signifying to "maul." (_hard_), o.g. mallard--maularde, _roll. batt. abb._--eng. _mallard_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. malarich--eng. _mallory_. (_thius_, servant), o.g. malutheus--eng. _malthus_. (_wulf_), o.g. malulf--eng. _maliff_. _man_, as the type of "manliness." (_frid_, peace), o.g. manfrit--eng. _manfred_. (_gar_, spear), o.g. mangar--eng. _manger_. (_leof_, dear), a.s. manlef--eng. _manlove_. (_gald_, value), o.g. managold--eng. _manigault_. _mar_, signifying "famous." (_gaud_, goth), merigeat _lib. vit._--eng. _margot_. (_gild_, value), o.g. margildus--eng. _marigold_. (_wig_, war), o.g. merovecus, maroveus--eng. _marwick_, _marvey_. (_wine_, friend), o.g. maruin--mervinus _lib. vit._--eng. _marvin_. _mag_, _may_, goth. _magan_, "valere." (_hari_, warrior), o.g. magher--eng. _mager_, _mayer_. (_had_, war), o.g. magodius--magot _lib. vit._--eng. _maggot_. (_ron_, raven), o.g. megiran--eng. _megrin_. _main_, also signifying "strength, vigour." (_hard_), o.g. mainard--eng. _maynard_. _mad_, _med_, anglo-saxon _math_, "reverence." (_hari_, warrior), o.g. mather--eng. _mather_. (_helm_), o.g. madelm--eng. _madam_. (_lac_, play), o.g. mathlec--eng. _medlock_. (_land_), o.g. madoland--eng. _medland_. (_man_), o.g. medeman--eng. _maidman_, _meddiman_. (_wald_, power), o.g. meduald--eng. _methold_. (_wine_, friend), eng. _medwin_. (_wig_, war), o.g. medoveus--eng. _meadway_. _madel_, _medal_, "discourse, eloquence." (_hari_, warrior), o.g. madalhar--eng. _medlar_. (_gaud_, goth), o.g. madalgaud--eng. _medlicott_. _mil_, _mel_, of uncertain meaning. (_dio_, servant), o.g. mildeo--eng. _mellodew_, _melody_, _melloday_. (_hard_), o.g. milehard--eng. _millard_. _mald_, anglo-saxon _meald_, "strife, friction." (_wid_, wood), o.g. maldvit--maldwith, _domesday_--eng. _maltwood_. ang.-sax. _môd_. o.h.g. _môt_, "courage." (_hari_, warrior), o.g. muatheri, modar--eng. _mutrie_, _moder_. (_ram_, _ran_, raven), o.g. moderannus--eng. _mottram_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. moderich--eng. _mudridge_. _mark_, of uncertain meaning. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. marcher--a.s. marker--eng. _marcher_, _marker_. (_leif_, relic), o.g. marcleif--eng. _marklove_. (_wig_, war), o.g. marcovicus--eng. _markwick_. old north. _âs_, ang.-sax. _ôs_, "semi-deus." (_beorn_, bear), a.s. osbeorn--eng. _osborn_. (_got_, goth), a.s. osgot--eng. _osgood_. (_lac_, play), a.s. oslac--o.n. asleikr--eng. _aslock_, _hasluck_. (_man_, vir), o.g. asman, osman--asseman _hund. rolls_--eng. _asman_, _osman_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. osmer--osmer, _domesday_--eng. _osmer_. (_ketil_), o.n. asketil--eng. _ashkettle_. (_mund_, protection), a.s. osmond--eng. _osmond_. (_wald_, rule), a.s. oswald--eng. _oswald_. (_wine_, friend), a.s. oswin--eng. _oswin_. _rad_, _red_, signifying "counsel." (_brand_, sword), o.g. redbrand--eng. _redband_. (_geil_, elatus), o.g. ratgeil--eng. _redgill_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. rathere, rateri--eng. _rather_, _rattray_. (_helm_), o.g. rathelm--eng. _rattham_. (_leif_, relic), o.g. ratleib--eng. _ratliffe_. (_man_, vir), o.g. redman--eng. _redman_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. radmar, redmer--eng. _radmore_, _redmore_. (_mund_, protection), o.g. redemund--eng. _redmond_. (_war_, defence), o.g. ratwar--eng. _redwar_. (_wig_, war), o.g. redwi--eng. _reddaway_. (_wine_, friend), a.s. redwin--eng. _readwin_. (_bald_, fortis), o.g. ratbold--eng. _rathbold_. (_bern_, bear), o.g. ratborn, ratbon--eng. _rathbone_. _rag_, _ray_, signifying "counsel." (_bald_, fortis), o.g. ragibald--eng. _raybauld_, _raybolt_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. racheri--eng. _rarey_ (=ragheri). (_helm_), o.g. rachelm--eng. _rackham_. (_mund_, protection), o.g. raimond--eng. _raymond_, _rayment_. (_ulf_, wolf), a.s. rahulf--raaulf, _lib. vit._--eng. _ralph_. _ragin_, _rain_, same as above. (_bert_, famous), o.g. raginbert, reinbert--eng. _rainbird_. (_bald_, fortis), o.g. raginbald--eng. _raynbold_. (_frid_, peace), o.g. rainfred--eng. _rainford_. (_gar_, spear), o.g. raingar, reginker--eng. _ranger_, _ranacre_. (_hard_, fortis), o.g. regnard, rainhard--eng. _regnard_, _reynard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. reginhar--a.s. reiner--eng. _reyner_. (_helm_), o.g. rainelm--eng. _raynham_, (_wald_, rule), o.g. reginold--a.s. reinald--eng. _reynolds_. _ric_, _rich_, signifying "rule." (_bald_, fortis), o.g. richbold--eng. _richbell_. (_gard_, protection), o.g. richgard--eng. _ridgyard_. (_hard_, fortis), o.g. ricohard--eng. _riccard_, _richard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. richer--richerus, _domesday_--eng. _richer_. (_man_, vir), o.g. ricman--eng. _rickman_, _richman_. (_mund_, protection), o.g. richmund--eng. _richmond_. (_wald_, rule), o.g. ricoald--eng. _richold_. (_wig_, war), o.g. ricwi--eng. _ridgway_. _ring_, perhaps signifying "armour." (_hari_, warrior), o.g. rincar--eng. _ringer_. (_wald_, rule), a.s. hringwold--eng. _ringold_. _rod_, signifying "glory." (_bero_, bear), o.g. hruadbero--eng. _rodber_. (_bern_, bear), o.g. roudbirn--eng. _rodbourn_. (_bert_, famous), o.g. hrodebert--eng. _robert_. (_gar_, spear), o.g. hrodgar--eng. _rodger_. (_gard_, protection), o.g. hrodgard--eng. _rodgard_, _rodyard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. hrodhari, rotheri, rudher--eng. _rothery_, _rudder_. (_land_), o.g. rodland--eng. _rolland_. (_leik_, play), o.g. rutleich--eng. _rutledge_. (_ram_, raven), o.g. rothram--eng. _rotheram_. (_man_, vir), o.g. hrodman--eng. _rodman_, _roman_. (_niw_, young), o.g. hrodni--eng. _rodney_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. hrodric--eng. _rodrick_. (_wig_, war), o.g. hrodwig--eng. _rudwick_. (_ulf_, wolf), o.g. hrodulf--roolf, _lib. vit._--eng. _rolfe_. _ros_, perhaps signifying "horse." (_bert_, famous), o.g. rospert--eng. _rosbert_. (_kel_, contraction of ketel),[20] old norse hroskel--eng. _roskell_. _rum_, o.h.g. hruam, "glory." (_bald_, bold), a.s. rumbold--eng. _rumbold_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. rumhar--eng. _rummer_. _sal_, perhaps meaning "dark."[21] (_hari_, warrior), o.g. salaher--eng. _sellar_. (_man_, vir), o.g. salaman--eng. _salmon_. (_wig_, war), o.g. selwich--eng. _salloway_. _sar_, signifying "armour" or anything used for defence. (_bod_, envoy), o.g. sarabot--eng. _serbutt_. (_gaud_, goth), o.g. saregaud--eng. _sargood_. (_man_, vir), o.g. saraman--eng. _sermon_. (_had_, war), o.g. sarratt--eng. _sarratt_. _sig_, signifying "victory." (_bald_, bold), a.s. sigebald--eng. _sibbald_. (_bert_, famous), a.s. sigiberht, sibriht--eng. _sibert_. (_fred_, peace), a.s. sigefred--eng. _seyfried_. (_gar_, spear), a.s. siggær--eng. _segar_. (_man_), o.g. sigeman--eng. _sickman_. (_suff._, _surn._). (_mar_, famous), o.g. sigimar, sicumar--a.s. simær, secmær--eng. _seymore_, _sycamore_. (_mund_, protection), o.g. sigimund--eng. _simmond_. (_wig_, war), o.g. sigiwic--eng. _sedgewick_. (_wine_, friend), o.g. sigiwin--seguin, _roll batt. abb._--eng. _seguin_. _sea_, "mare." (_bera_, bear), sebar, _lib. vit._--eng. _seaber_. (_bern_, bear), old norse sæbiorn--sberne, _domesday_--eng. _seaborn_. (_bert_, famous), a.s. sæberht--eng. _seabright_. (_burg_, protection), o.g. seburg, seopurc--seaburch _lib. vit._--eng. _seabrook_, _seabury_. (_rit_, ride), o.g. seuerit--eng. _searight_, _sievewright_. (_wald_, rule), o.g. sewald--eng. _seawall_. (_ward_), o.g. sæward--eng. _seaward_, _seward_. (_fugel_, fowl), a.s. sæfugl--eng. _sefowl_. _stain_, "stone," in the sense of firmness or hardness. (_biorn_, bear), o.n. steinbiörn--eng. _stainburn_. (_burg_, protection), o.g. stemburg--eng. _steamburg_. (_hard_), o.g. stainhard--stannard _domesday_--eng. _stonard_, _stoneheart_. (_hari_, warrior), o.n. steinhar--eng. _stainer_, _stoner_. (_wald_, rule), o.g. stainold--eng. _stonhold_, and perhaps _sternhold_ as a corruption. _tank_, perhaps "thought." (_hard_), o.g. tanchard--eng. _tankard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. thancheri--eng. _tankeray_, _thackeray_ (scandinavian form). (_rad_, counsel), o.g. tancrad--eng. _tancred_. _tad_, supposed "father." (_hari_, warrior), o.g. tether--eng. _tedder_, _teather_. (_man_, vir), a.s. tatmonn--eng. _tadman_.[22] (_wine_, friend), o.g. daduin--eng. _tatwin_. _thor_, supposed from the name of the god, a stem specially danish. (_biorn_, bear), o.n. thorbiorn--thurbern _lib. vit._--eng. _thorburn_. (_gaut_, goth), o.n. thorgautr--turgod _lib. vit._--eng. _thurgood_, _thoroughgood_. (_geir_, spear), o.n. thorgeir--eng. _thorgur_. (_fin_, nation), o.n. thorfinnr--thurfin _lib. vit._--eng. _turpin_. (_môd_, courage), o.n. thormodr--eng. _thurmot_. (_stein_, stone), o.n. thorsteinn--turstin _lib. vit._--eng. _thurstan_. (_wald_, rule), o.n. thorvaldr--eng. _thorold_. (_vid_, wood), o.n. thorvidr--eng. _thorowood_. (_ketil_[23]) o.n. thorketil--eng. _thirkettle_. (_kel_, contraction of _ketel_), o.n. thorkel--turkillus _lib. vit._--eng. _thurkle_. (hence is borrowed as supposed the gaelic torquil.) ang.-sax. _theod_, "people." (_bald_, fortis), a.s. theodbald--tidbald _lib. vit._--eng. _theobald_, _tidball_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. theodahar, tudhari--a.s. theodhere--eng. _theodore_, _tudor_. (_ran_, raven), o.g. teutran--eng. _teuthorn_. (_man_, vir), o.g. tiadman--eng. _tidman_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. thiudemer--a.s. dydemer--eng. _tidemore_. (_ric_, rule), a.s. theodric--eng. _todrig_, _doddridge_. _wad_, _wat_, "to go," in the sense of activity? (_gis_, hostage), o.g. watgis--eng. _watkiss_. (_gar_, spear), o.g. waddegar--eng. _waddicar_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. vadomar--eng. _wadmore_. (_new_, young), o.g. wattnj--eng. _watney_. _wald_, signifying "power" or "rule." (_hari_, warrior), o.g. waldhar--a.s. wealdhere--eng. _walter_. (_man_) o.g. waldman--eng. _waldman_. (_ran_, raven), o.g. walderannus--walteranus _domesday_--eng. _waldron_. _wal_, "stranger" or "foreigner." (_and_, life, spirit), o.g. waland--eng. _waland_. (_frid_, peace), o.g. walahfrid--eng. _wallfree_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. walaheri, walher--eng. _wallower_, _waller_. (_had_, war), o.g. wallod--eng. _wallet_. (_raven_), gothic valerauan--walrafan _lib. vit._--eng. _wallraven_ (_suffolk surnames_). (_rand_, shield), o.g. walerand--walerandus _lib. vit._--eng. _walrond_. _war_, perhaps signifying "defence."[24] (_bald_, bold), o.g. warbalt--eng. _warbolt_. (_burg_, protection), o.g. warburg--eng. _warbrick_. (_gar_, spear), o.g. weriger--eng. _warraker_. (_goz_, goth), o.g. werigoz--eng. _vergoose_ (_suffolk surnames_). (_hari_, warrior), o.g. warher--eng. _warrior_. (_laik_, play), o.g. warlaicus--warloc _hund. rolls_--eng. _warlock_. (_man_), o.g. warman--a.s. wearman--eng. _warman_. (_mar_, famous). o.g. werimar--eng. _warmer_. (_lind_, gentle), o.g. waralind--eng. _warland_. _wern_, in the sense of "nationality." (_burg_, protection), o.g. warinburg--eng. _warrenbury_. (_frid_, peace), o.g. warnefrid--eng. _warneford_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. warenher, warner--eng. _warrener_, _warner_. (_had_, war), o.g. warnad--eng. _warnett_. _wag_, _way_, to "wave, brandish." (_hari_, warrior), o.g. wagher--eng. _wager_. (_bert_, famous), o.g. wagpraht--eng. _weybret_. _wid_, _wit_, of uncertain meaning.[25] (_brord_, sword), a.s. wihtbrord, wihtbrod--witbred _hund. rolls_--eng. _whitbread_. (_gar_, spear), o.g. witker--a.s. wihtgar--eng. _whittaker_, _whitecar_. (_hard_), o.g. witart--eng. _whitehart_. (_ron_, raven), o.g. widrannus--eng. _witheron_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. withar, wither _domesday_--eng. _wither_, _whiter_. (_ring_, armour), o.g. witering--eng. _wittering_. (_lag_, law), a.s. wihtlæg,--eng. _whitelegg_, _whitlaw_. (_laic_, play), o.g. widolaic,--a.s. wihtlac--eng. _wedlake_, _wedlock_. (_man_, vir), o.g. wideman, witman--eng. _wideman_, _whiteman_. (_mar_, famous), goth. widiomar--uitmer _lib. vit._--eng. _whitmore_. (_rad_, counsel), o.g. widerad, witerat--a.s. wihtræd--eng. _withered_, _whitethread_, _whiterod_. (_ric_, rule), goth. witirich--a.s. wihtric--eng. _witherick_, _whitridge_. _will_, in the sense of "resolution"? (_bern_, bear), o.g. wilbernus--eng. _wilbourn_. (_gom_, man), o.g. willicomo--uilcomæ _lib. vit._--eng. _wilcomb_, _welcome_. (_frid_, peace), a.s. wilfrid--eng. _wilford_. (_gis_, hostage), a.s. wilgis--eng. _willgoss_. (_hard_, fortis), o.g. willard--a.s. willeard--eng. _willard_. (_heit_, state, "hood") o.g. williheit--eng. _willett_. (_helm_), a.s. wilhelm--eng. _williams_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. willemar--eng. _willmore_. (_mot_, courage), o.g. willimot--eng. _willmot_. (_mund_, protection), a.s. wilmund--uilmund, _lib. vit._--eng. _willament_. _wind_, _wend_, supposed "from the people." (_hari_, warrior), o.g. winidhar--eng. _winder_. (_ram_, raven), o.g. winidram--eng. _windram_. (_rad_, counsel)--eng. _windred_. _wine_, "friend." (_bald_, fortis), o.g. winebald--eng. _winbolt_. (_cof_, strenuous), a.s. wincuf--eng. _wincup_. (_gaud_, goth), o.g. winegaud--eng. _wingood_. (_gar_, spear), o.g. wineger, vinegar--a.s. winagar--eng. _winegar_, _vinegar_. (_hari_, warrior), a.s. wyner--eng. _winer_. (_laic_, play), o.g. winleich--uinlac _lib. vit._--eng. _winlock_. (_man_, vir), o.g. winiman--a.s. winemen--eng. _wineman_, _winmen_. (_stan_, stone), a.s. wynstan--eng. _winston_. _wig_, _wick_, "war." (_bert_, famous), o.g. wigbert, wibert--eng. _vibert_. (_burg_, protection), o.g. wigburg--wiburch _lib. vit._--eng. _wyberg_, _wybrow_. (_hard_, fortis), o.g. wighard, wiart--a.s. wigheard--uigheard _lib. vit._--eng. _wyard_. (_hari_, warrior), o.g. wigheri, wiccar, wiher--uigheri _lib. vit._--eng. _wicker_, _vicary_, _wire_. (_helm_), a.s. wighelm--uighelm _lib. vit._--eng. _whigam_. (_ram_, raven), o.g. wigram--eng. _wigram_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. wigmar, wimar--wimar _lib. vit._--eng. _wymer_.[26] (_gern_, eager), o.g. wicchern--a.s. weogern--eng. _waghorn_. (_had_, war), o.g. wicod, wihad--a.s. wigod--eng. _wiggett_, _wichett_, _wyatt_. (_man_, vir), o.g. wigman--eng. _wigman_, _wyman_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. wigirich--eng. _vickridge_. ang.-sax. _wulf_, "wolf." (_bert_, famous), o.g. wolfbert--eng. _woolbert_. (_gar_, spear), a.s. wulfgar--eng. _woolgar_. (_gaud_, goth), o.g. wulfegaud--a.s. wulfgeat--eng. _woolcot_. (_hard_, fortis), a.s. wulfheard--eng. _woollard_. (_had_, war), o.g. wolfhad--eng. _woollat_. (_helm_), a.s. wulfhelm--eng. _woollams_. (_heh_, high), a.s. wulfheh--eng. _woolley_. (_mar_, famous), a.s. wulfmer--eng. _woolmer_. (_noth_, bold), a.s. wulfnoth--eng. _woolnoth_. (_ric_, rule), a.s. wulfric--eng. _woolrych_. (_sig_, victory), a.s. wulfsig--eng. _wolsey_. (_stan_, stone), a.s. wulfstan--eng. _woolston_. ang.-sax. _jû_, o.h.g. _êwa_ "law."[27] (_hari_, warrior), o.g. euhar--eng. _ewer_. (_man_, vir), o.g. eoman--perhaps iman and iiman on roman pottery--eng. _yeoman_, _yeaman_. (_ric_, rule), o.g. eoricus--eng. _yorick_. (_wald_, rule), o.g. ewald--eng. _ewald_. (_ward_, guardian), o.g. euvart--eng. _ewart_, _yeoward_. (_wolf_), o.g. eolf--eng. _yealfe_. the foregoing is not put forward as by any means an exhaustive list of the ancient compounds represented in our names, but only of the more common and more important. and there are some ancient stems well represented in other forms, such as those referred to in chapter ii., from which i have not been able to trace any compounds. it will be observed that i have in two or three instances assigned a place to an english name, without finding an ancient form to correspond. this indeed i might have done to a greater extent than i have done, for when we have such a well-defined system, with the same forms of compounds regularly recurring, we may in many cases assign a place to a name even though the ancient equivalent may not yet have come to light. footnotes: [10] hence i take to be the name of the fairy king oberon. albruna was also the name of a "wise woman" among the ancient germans referred to by tacitus. [11] probably also a.s. haluiu--eng. _halloway_. [12] here probably the name biracrus, on roman pottery, corresponding with an o.g. form, berecar. [13] or perhaps of beauty, like a celtic stem _tac_, found in names of men, and perhaps a corresponding word. [14] as an ending also _frid_ commonly becomes _free_, as in humphrey from humfrid, godfrey from godfred, geoffry from galfrid. [15] this name might perhaps be from the irish cwaran, whence probably the present _curran_. this name appears also to have been sometimes borrowed by the northmen, as in the case of olaf cwaran. [16] but not in a christian sense, the stem being much older than christian times. there is another stem _gaud_, supposed to mean goth, very liable to intermix. [17] as a prefix this may mean "army," but as an ending, where it is often _hari_ or _heri_ (and perhaps was originally always so), it may be taken, as suggested by grimm, to mean warrior. [18] also as a contracted form, ang.-sax. leommann (=leofmann, eng. _lemon_). [19] this seems to be a name of an exceptional kind, the ending _drud_ being a female one. that our name liptrot (which i take from lower), is really from the above origin is rendered the more probable by the corresponding name liebetrut as a present german name, similarly derived by foerstemann. but it may well be that the ending in this case is from a different word to that which, see p. 19, forms the endings of women's names, viz. o.h.g. _trut_, amicus, which, as a prefix, enters into several men's names. [20] from the mythological kettle of the gods, which enters into many old norse men's names. [21] "the anglo-saxons seem to have used sallow in the sense of dark. the raven is called sallow both by cædmon and the author of judith," _skeat_. it seems to me, however, a question whether, seeing how frequently the names of nationalities enter into teutonic men's names, the word contained in the above stem may not be "salian." this, however, still leaves open the question as to what is the origin of salian. [22] a corresponding name may be the dutch tadema, if _ma_, as is supposed, stands for _man_. [23] probably from the mythological kettle of the æsir. [24] so many different words might be suggested in this case that the meaning must be left uncertain. it is most probable that there may be an admixture. [25] three different words found in ancient names intermix so as to be hardly separable, viz., anglo-saxon _wiht_, strength or courage; _wid_, wood; and _wit_, wisdom. [26] the name of wigmore street seems to imply a man's name _wigmore_, but i do not know of it at present. [27] hence probably the name of the eows, a tribe or family mentioned in the "traveller's song." also probably the name eawa, in the genealogy of the mercian kings. the stem is represented in our names by _ewe_, _yeo_, and _yea_, and we have also the patronymic _ewing_ (euing in _domesday_). chapter iv. the men who came in with the saxons. the researches of mr. kemble, supplemented by those of mr. taylor, in connection with the early saxon settlements in england, have an important bearing upon the subject of our existing surnames. mr. kemble was the first to call attention to the fact that very many of the names of places in england, as disclosed by the forms in which these names appear in ancient charters, consist of a personal name in a patronymic form. some of these names consist simply of a nominative plural in _ingas_, as æscingas, the sons or descendants of æsc, others of a genitive plural in _inga_, with _ton_, _ham_, &c., appended, as in billingatun, the town of the billings, _i.e._ sons or descendants of billa. these he takes to denote tribal or family settlements, forming the anglo-saxon "mark," consisting of a certain area of cultivated land, surrounded by a belt of pasture land enjoyed by all the settlers in common, the whole inclosed by the forest. of these names he has made two lists, the one derived from the names found in ancient charters, and so perfectly trustworthy, the other inferred from existing names of places which appear to be in the same form. the latter list is of course subject to considerable correction and deduction, inasmuch as it depends entirely upon the ancient forms in which these names would appear whether they would come under this category or not. thus, if a name were anciently billing_a_ham, it would be "the home of the billings," while if it were billingham, it would simply be the home of an individual man called billing. and in looking through this list, a few names will be found, which a comparison with his own index of place-names shows to be incorrectly assigned. thus he infers impingas from impington in cambridgeshire, and tidmingas from tidmington in worcester, whereas it appears from his index that the ancient name of the one was impintun, and of the other tidelminctun, both being thus from the name of an individual and not of a tribe or family. sempringham again in lincolnshire, whence he derives sempringas, i find to have been sempingaham, and so used already for sempingas. i also feel very great doubt about names taken from places ending in _by_, _thorp_, and _toft_, in lincolnshire and the ancient denelaga, as being scandinavian, and given at a distinctly later period. indeed i have a certain amount of distrust of all names taken from the north of england, in the absence, as far as i know, of any distinct proof in any one case. northumberland would perhaps be the county to which, as containing the greatest number of such forms, any such doubt would the least strongly apply. moreover, i do not feel at all sure that _ing_ is not in some cases simply a form of the possessive, and that dunningland, for instance, is not simply dunn's land. this doubt is considerably strengthened when the name is that of a woman, as in cyneburginctun (now kemerton in glouc). cyneburg is certainly a woman's name, and as such could not, i should suppose--though the question is one for more experienced anglo-saxon scholars--form a patronymic, in which case cyneburginctun can only be "cyneburg's tun." and if it be so in one case, it may of course be so in others. mr. kemble's second list, then, requires to be used with a certain amount of caution, though in the main his deductions may be taken as trustworthy. the corresponding forms in germany have since been collected by professor foerstemann from ancient charters up to the eleventh century, and must all be considered therefore as trustworthy. his list contains upwards of a thousand different names, but inasmuch as many of these names are found in different parts of germany, the total number of such names must amount to many thousands. these consist sometimes of a form in _ingas_, same as in england, and this obtains more particularly in bavaria, sometimes of a form in _inga_, which he takes to be also a nominative plural, but most commonly of a dative plural, in _ingen_, as in herlingen, "to the harlings." this dative plural explains the origin of many existing names of places in germany, as göttingen, dettingen, tübingen, &c. a dative plural also occurs occasionally in england in the corresponding anglo-saxon form _ingum_, as in godelmingum, now godalming, angemeringum, now angmering, &c. meanwhile mr. taylor has instituted a detailed and very important comparison between the names contained in mr. kemble's two lists, and those of a corresponding kind in germany, not indeed from ancient records, but from existing place-names. and he has further supplemented this by a list of similar forms disclosed by his own very interesting discovery of a saxon area in france opposite to the shore of england, and which we can hardly doubt to be, as he considers it to be, the result of a saxon emigration from england. he has, moreover, given some similar instances of german occupation in the north of italy, and it can hardly be doubted that a more detailed examination would add to their number. the question now to be considered is--what is the value of these various forms in _ingas_, _inga_, and _ingen_, in england and in germany? in anglo-saxon and other teutonic dialects _ing_ is a patronymic, as in bruning, son of brûn. but it has also a wider sense implying any connection with a person or thing, and in certain of the names under consideration both in england and in germany, it seems very clear that it is used simply in a geographical sense. thus we cannot doubt that madelungen and lauringen, in germany, signify, as foerstemann suggests, the people of the madel and of the lauer, on which two rivers the places in question are respectively situated. also that salzungen signifies the people of the salt springs, in the neighbourhood of which the name is found.[28] so in england it seems clear that the leamingas found in leamington signifies the people of the leam, on which river the place is situated. so also the heretuningas, the hohtuningas, and the suthtuningas, must mean simply the people respectively of heretun, of hohtun, and of suthtun, the beorganstedingas the people of beorgansted, the eoforduningas the people of eofordun, and the teofuntingas, the people dwelling by the two fountains. but with these and perhaps one or two other exceptions, the word contained is simply a personal name, and the question is--in what connection is it used? does billingas mean the descendants of the man bill or billa, under whose leadership the settlement was made, or does it, as mr. kemble seems to think, refer to some older, perhaps mythical ancestor from whom the billings claimed a traditional descent? now, considering the great number of these names, amounting to more than a thousand in england alone, seeing the manner in which they are dispersed, not only over different counties of england, but as the annexed table will show, over the length and breadth of germany, it seems to me utterly impossible to consider them as anything else than the every-day names of men common to the great german family. i am quite in accord then with the view taken by sir j. picton (ethnology of wiltshire).[29] "when the saxons first invaded england, they came in tribes and families headed by their patriarchal leaders. each tribe was called by its leader's name, with the termination _ing_, signifying family, and where they settled they gave their patriarchal name to the _mark_ or central point round which they clustered." this is also the view taken by foerstemann with regard to the german names, and i cannot doubt that mr. kemble, if he had had the opportunity of extending his survey over this wider area, would have come to the same conclusion. i take it then that the name contained in these forms is simply that of the leader under whose guidance these little settlements were made, and that, inasmuch as members of the same family would generally keep together, it is in most cases that of the patriarch or head of the family. each man would no doubt have his own individual name, but as a community exercising certain rights in common, from which outsiders were excluded, they would require some distinctive appellation, and what so natural as that of their leader. i now come to consider some points of difference between the anglo-saxon settlements and the german. while all the settlements in england must be taken to have been made by a low german race, a large proportion of those in germany must be taken to have been made by a high german people. thus when we find bæbingas in england represented by papinga in austria, bassingas by pasingas, and bædingas by patinga in bavaria, we have the distinction between high and low german, which might naturally be expected. so when we find eastringas represented by austringa in baden, we have again a high german form to compare with a low german. but this distinction is by no means consistently maintained throughout, and we seem to have a considerable mixture of high and low german forms. thus we have both bæcgingas and pæccingas, dissingas and tissingas, gâringas and coringas, edingas and odingas (representing as it seems the anglo-saxon _ead_ or _ed_, and the high german _aud_ or _od_). and even in some cases the rule seems to be reversed, and we have the high german in england, as in eclingas against egilinga in bavaria, hoppingas against hobinga in alsace, ticcingas against dichingen, &c. it would seem as if our settlements were made, at least in part, by a people who if not high german, had at any rate considerable high german affinities. to what extent the speech of the angles which i suppose to have been the main element in the northumbrian dialect, would answer these conditions, i would rather leave to our higher anglo-saxon scholars to decide. but it seems to me, so far as i may venture to give an opinion, that lappenberg's theory, that the saxons were accompanied by franks, frisians, and lombards, would perhaps better than any other meet all the requirements of the case. whence for instance could come such a form as cwichelm for wighelm, apparently a rather strongly marked frankish form? or cissa (chissa) for, as i suppose, gisa, which would be apparently in conformity with a frisian form? i have endeavoured to go into this subject more fully in a subsequent chapter, more particularly with regard to the franks, and to show that there are a number of names in anglo-saxon times which might be of frankish origin, and which perhaps it would be difficult to account for on any other theory. and it must be borne in mind that the earlier date now generally assigned for the first teutonic settlements, naturally tends to give greater latitude to the inquiry as to the races by whom those settlements were made. another difference to be noted is that whereas all our settlements seem to have been made in heathen times, those of germany extend into christian times, as shown by such names as johanningen, jagobingen, and steveningen, containing the scriptural names john, jacob and stephen. there is another and a curious name, satanasinga, which, the place to which it is applied being a waste, seems to describe the people who lived in it, or around it, perhaps in reference to their forlorn condition, as "the children of satan." the adoption of scriptural names seems to have taken place at a later period in england than either in germany or in france. and we have not, as i believe, a single instance in our surnames of a scriptural name in an anglo-saxon patronymic form, as the germans, judging from the above, might--possibly may--have. another point of difference between the anglo-saxon and the german settlements would seem to be this, that while the german list contains a considerable proportion of compound names, such as willimundingas and managoldingas, the anglo-saxon list consists almost exclusively of names formed of a single word, and the exceptions may almost be counted upon the fingers. with this i was at first considerably puzzled, but on looking more carefully into the lists, it seemed to me apparent that many of the names assumed by mr. kemble from names of places were in reality compound names in a disguised and contracted form. and as tidmington, whence he derives tidmingas, was properly tidhelmingtun, so i conceive that osmingas derived from osmington, ought properly to be oshelmingas, and wylmingas, found in wilmington, to be wilhelmingas. so also i take it that wearblingas, found in warblington, ought to be warboldingas, that weomeringas, deduced from wymering, ought to be wigmeringas, and that horblingas, found in horbling, ought to be horbaldingas. there are several other names, such as scymplingas, wramplingas, wearmingas, galmingas, &c., that seem as they stand, to be scarcely possible for names of men, and which may also contain compounds in a corrupted or contracted form. in addition to this, i note the following, found in ancient charters, which mr. kemble seems to have overlooked, ægelbyrhtingas, found in ægelbyrtingahyrst, no. 1041, ceolredingas, found in colredinga gemerc, 1149, and godhelmingas found in godelmingum, 314. if all these were taken into account, the difference, though it would still exist, might not be so great as to be unaccountable, considering that our settlements were made to a considerable extent at an earlier date, and by tribes more or less differing from those of germany. it raises, moreover the question, dealt with in a very thorough manner by stark, as to the extent to which these short and simple names may be contractions of compound names. i have referred to the subject in another place, and i will only observe at present that from the instances he cites the practice seems to have been rather specially common among the frisians. now it will be found on comparing the names of our ancient settlers with the frisian names past and present cited by outzen and wassenberg, that there is a very strong family likeness between them, though we need not take it to amount to more than this, that the frisian names may be taken as a type of the kind of names prevalent among the other neighbouring low german tribes, until it can be more distinctly shown that there were settlements made by the frisians themselves. and i have brought these names into the comparison simply as being the nearest representatives that i can find. notwithstanding the complete and valuable tables drawn up by mr. taylor for the purpose of comparing the anglo-saxon settlements with those of germany, i have thought it useful to supplement them by another confined exclusively to the names drawn from ancient german records, and therefore, so far as they go, entirely trustworthy. and i take the opportunity to compare our existing surnames with these ancient names thus shown to be common to the great teutonic family. in the following table i have given then, first the anglo-saxon names from kemble's lists, then the corresponding old german from that of foerstemann, with the district in which it is found, and, wherever identified, the existing name of the place, then names corresponding from the _liber vitæ_ or elsewhere to show continued anglo-saxon use, with also frisian names as already mentioned, and finally, the existing english surnames with which i compare them. it will be seen that these surnames in not a few cases retain an ancient vowel-ending in _a_, _i_, or _o_, as explained in a preceding chapter. _the early saxon settlements compared with those of germany._ anglo-saxon. german. locality (l.v.), liber vitæ. english in germany. (f.), frisian. surnames. aldingas} aldinge {now aldingen,} {alda (l.v.),} {_allday_, _allt_, oldingas} {in würtemburg} { alte (f.) } { _old_, _olding_. æceringas[30] aguringas {now egringen} aker (l.v.) _ager_, _acres_. { in bavaria} ælingas allingen bavaria {alli (l.v.),} _alley_, _allo_. { alle (f.) } ælfingas} albungen hesse cassell alef (f.) {_aulph_, _alpha_, ælpingas} { _elvy_. æfeningas {heveningare appenzell afun (l.v.) _heaven? evening_. { marca antingas endinga {now endingen,} anta (a.s.) {_and_, _andoe_, { in baden } { _hand_. æscingas esginga ..... æsc (a.s.) _ask_, _ashe_. ætingas adinga pruss. saxony {atta (a.s.),} _hatt_. { atte (f.) } bæbingas papinga {now pabing, } {babba (a.s.),} _babb_. { in austria} { babe (f.) } baningas boninge ..... {beana (l.v.),} {_bann_, { banne (f.) } { _banning_. bædingas } {now beddingen, } {bada, } {_batt_, _batty_, } patinga { in brunswick; } { betti (l.v.)} { _betty_, beadingas} { also baden, } { _batting_. { prussia, austria} bassingas pasingas bavaria bass (a.s.) _bass_, _pass_. bæcgingas} bachingen würtemburg } {baga, } {_bagge_, _back_, beccingas} beckinga rhenish prussia} {backa (l.v.)} { _beck_, _peck_. pæccingas} bensingas pinsinga bavaria benza (l.v.) _bence_. bircingas biricchingen ..... ..... _birch_. bebingas bebingun bavaria, würtg. bebba (a.s.) {_bibb_, _bibby_, { _beeby_. billingas bilinga {hess., würt.,} ..... {_bill_, _billow_, { friesland } { _billing_. binningas binnungen {now bingen, } {bynni (l.v.),} {_binney_, { on rhine } {binne (f.) } { _binning_. bydelingas budilingen {luxembg.,} botel (f.) _biddle_. { austria} briningas ..... ..... bryni (l.v.) {_brine_, { _brinney_. beorningas pirninga würtemburg beorn (l.v.) {_burn_, { _burning_. bondingas ..... ..... bonde (l.v., f.) _bond_. beormingas bermingahem ..... ..... _breem_. brydingas breidinge {hesse cass., } ..... _bride_, _bird_. { pruss. sax.} bridlingas britlingi {now brütlingen,} ..... _bridle_. { in hanr. } blæcingas ..... ..... blaca (l.v.) _black_. bruningas brunninga austria {brôn (l.v.),} {_brown_, {bruyn (f.) } { _browning_. beorhtingas} perhtingen bavaria {bercht (l.v.),} {_burt_, byrtingas } { berti (f.) } { _bright_, { _brighty_, { _brighting_. brihtlingas bertelingas rhen. prussia ..... {_brightly_, { _brittell_. buccingas puchinga ..... {bocco, } _buck_, _puck_. { buco (f.)} bullingas bollinga {bullingen, in } bolle (f.) {_bull_, _bolley_, { rh. pruss. } { _bulling_. {also tyrol and} { westphal. } byttingas} buddinga {baden, würt.,} bota (l.v.) {_budd_, _butt_, { friesland } { _botting_. potingas } potingin {baden, aust.,} botte (f.) {_pott_, _potto_. { friesland } bobingas } bobinga {bobingen,} {bofa (l.v.),} {_boby_, _poppy_. bofingas } { in bav.} { poppe (f.)} bosingas bosinga austria, würt. bosa (l.v.) {_boss_, _bossey_. buslingas buselingen {büssling, } ..... _bussell_. { by schaffhausen} burringas buringen würtemburg. {burra (l.v.),} _burr_. { bore (f.) } cægingas cachinga ..... kay, key (f.) {_kay_, _key_ { (see p. 10). callingas callinge holland kalle (f.) _call_, _callow_. ceaningas conninge würtemburg {canio (l.v.),} {_cann_, { keno (f.) } { _canning_. cearlingas chirlingen {kierling, } {karl (l.v.),} {_charley_, { in austria} { carl (f.) } { _charles_. cifíngas cheffingin würtemburg ceefi (l.v.) {_chaff_, { _chaffey_. ceopingas chuppinga würtemburg ..... {_chope_, _chubb_. copingas cofunga hesse cassel {cufa, coifi } {_coffey_, _cuff_, { (ang.-sax.)} { _cuffey_. codingas } cuttingas near metz {goda, (l.v.) } {_goad_, _codd_, cotingas } gotinga bavaria { gode (f.) } { _coate_, { _godding_. colingas cholinga ceolla (l.v.) ..... {_coll_, _collie_, { _colling_. cocingas gukkingin {gugging, } ..... _cock_. { in austria} cressingas chresinga würtemberg ..... _cressy_. cnottingas knutingen ..... cnut (l.v.) _knott_. cnudlingas cnutlinga baden ..... _nuttall_. cenesingas[31] {kenzinga kenzingen, } in baden } ..... _chance?_ {gensingen gensungen, } hess. cass.} centingas gandingen friesland kaenta (l.v.) {_cant_, _gant_, { _gandy_. culingas ..... ..... ..... {_cull_, { _cooling_. denningas daningen baden dene (l.v.) {_dane_, _dana_, { _denn_, { _denning_. dillingas dilinga {dillengen,} { in bav. } {tilli (l.v.),} {_dill_, _till_, { tilo (f.) } { _tilly_. deorlingas} darlingin brunswick ..... {_darrell_, teorlingas} { _darling_. dissingas} tisinga bavaria tisa, disa (f.) {_dyce_, _dicey_, tissingas} { _tisoe_. ticcangas dichingen friesland, bav. tycca (a.s.) _dick_. dyclingas tuchilingen now tuchling ..... {_dickle_, { _tickle_. doccingas dockinga friesland {tocki (l.v.),} {_dock_, { tocke (f.) } { _tocque_, { _docking_. dodingas ..... ..... doda (f.) _dodd_, _todd_. dunningas tuningas ..... duna (l.v.) {_dunn_, _dunning_. eastringas austringa {oestringen,} ..... _easter_. { in baden } edingas } edinga {holland, } {ede (l.v.),} _eddy_. { baden, bav.} { edde (f.)} oddingas} odinga {westphal., } {oda (l.v.),} _oddy_. { bav. } odde (f.) } elcingas ..... ..... ..... {_elk_, _elcy_, { _elgee_. ecgingas eginga {schaffhausen,} {ecga (l.v.),} _egg_. { bav. } {egga (f.) } eclingas egilinga bavaria ecgel (a.s.) {_edgell_, _egle_. elsingas elisingun hesse {elsi (l.v.),} {_else_, _elsey_, { ealse (f.)} { _elliss_. eppingas} ebinga baden, austria ebbi (l.v.) {_epps_. ippingas} ippinga {ippingen, } eppe (f.) {_hipp_. { on danube} everingas } eburingen pruss. silesia ..... {_ever_, _every_, eoforingas} { _heber_. eorpingas arpingi ..... {earbe (l.v.),} _harp_, _earp_. { arpe (f.) } fearingas faringa {upper bav. ..... {_farre_, { & l. constance { _farrow_. fearningas ..... ..... forne (l.v.) _fearn_. finningas finninga ..... finn (a.s.) {_finn_, _finney_. fincingas ..... ..... {finc (a.s.),} _finch_. { surname } folcingas fulchingen ..... folco (l.v.) _fulke_. frodingas ..... ..... frode (l.v.) _froude_. gâringas} geringen würtemberg ..... _gore_, _cory_. coringas} gestingas ..... ..... ..... {_guest_, { _gasting_. geofuningas gebeningen austria _giffen_. gisilingas} gisilinga bavaria {gisle, } _gill_. gillingas } { gille (l.v.)} gealdingas} geltingen {gelting, } {golde (a.s.),} {_gold_, _galt_, goldingas } { in bav.} { giolt (f.) } { _golding_. hallingas halinge bavaria halle (l.v.) {_hall_, { _halling_. hæglingas hegelinge bavaria hagel (a.s.) {_hail_, { _hailing_. hanesingas anzinga bavaria ..... _hance_. heardingas} hardinghen pas de calais hart (f.) {_hard_, _hardy_. heartingas} hertingen bavaria ..... {_hart_, { _harding_. hæslingas} hasalinge near bremen {esel (l.v.), } _hasell_. æslingas } { hessel (f.)} hanningas} heninge ..... {anna (l.v.),} {_hann_, _hanning_, heningas } { hanne, } { _henn_, anningas } { enno (f.) } { _anning_, { _anne_. hillingas} illingun {illingen, {ylla (l.v.),} _hill_. illingas } { in baden { hille (f.)} honingas oningas {oeningen, } {ona (l.v.),} _hone_. { on l. } {onno (f.) } { constance} horningas ..... ..... horn (a.s.) _horne, horning_. herelingas herlingun austria harrol (f.) {_harle_, _harley_, { _harling_. hoppingas hobinga near metz {obbe, } {_hopp_, _hoby_, { hobbe (f.)} { _hopping_. hæcingas hahhinga {haching, {hacci (l.v.),} {_hack_, { near munich { acke (f.) } { _hacking_. hafocingas hauechingas rhen. pruss. hauc (l.v.) _hawke_. hocingas hohingun {near cologne} hoco (f.) _hockey_. { and zurich} hucingas huchingen friesland ..... _hook_. huningas huninga {hüningen, } {una (l.v.), } _hunn_, _honey_. { near basle} { hunne (f.)} huntingas huntingun baden ..... _hunt, hunting_. ifingas ..... ..... ivo (l.v.) _ive, ivy_. immingas eminga {emmingen, } {imma (l.v.),} {_eames_, _yems_, { in würt.} { emo, } { _hime_. { imme (f.) } læferingas livaringa near salzburg ..... _laver_. lullingas lolinga {lullingen, in} lolle (f.) _lull_, _lully_. { rh. pruss. } luddingas liutingen baden {lioda (l.v.),} _lyde_, _lutto_. { ludde (f.) } lofingas luppinge ..... {lufe (l.v.),} {_love_, { lubbe (f.)} { _loving_. lidelingas lutilinga würtemburg ..... _liddle_. locingas ..... ..... locchi (l.v.) {_lock_, { _lockie_. leasingas lasingi ..... leising (l.v.) _lees_, _lessy_. manningas meningen ..... {man (l.v.), } {_mann_, _manning_. { manno (f.)} massingas masingi ..... mæssa (a.s.) {_massey_, { _messing_. madingas madungen sax-weimar ..... _maddey_. mægdlingas[32] ..... ..... mædle _madle_. {maching, in } { { bavaria } mecga (a.s.) {_maggy_, _may_. mæccingas maginga {mechingen, by } { { l. constance} mekke (f.) { mycgingas ..... ..... ..... {_mico_, _michie_. merlingas marlingen bavaria ..... {_merrill_, _marl_, { _marling_. mundlingas mundilinga bavaria ..... {_mundell_. marringas maringen baden, würt. mar (a.s.) _marr_. meringas meringa hanover ..... _merry_. millingas milinga {bav., rhen.} milo (l.v.) {_millie_, _milo_, { pruss. } { _millinge_. myrcingas[33] mirchingen lower austria murk (f.) {_murch_, { _murchie_. nydingas } nidinga {neidingen, in} {nytta (l.v.),} _need_, _neate_. neddingas} { rh. pruss. } { nette (f.) } nottingas notingen upper bavaria noedt (f.) {_nott_, { _nutting_. ossingas ossingen rh. bavaria hosa (l.v.) _hose_. palingas ..... ..... paelli (l.v.) {_palev_, { _paling_. pegingas biginga westphalia pega (l.v.) _pegg_, _bigg_. penningas penningin north germany benna (a.s.) _penn_, _benn_. puningas buninga ..... buna (a.s.) _bunn_. pitingas pidingun austria ..... _pitt_. poclingas puchilinga {pückling, } ..... {_puckle_, { on danube} { _buckle_. piperingas ..... ..... ..... _piper_. readingas radinga {reding, reid (f.) _read_. { in luxembg. riccingas ..... ..... riki (f.) {_rich_, _richey_. ridingas ridingin {rieding, } ..... {_riddy_, _rita_, { in upp. bav.} { _ridding_. riclingas richilinga {reichling,} rykle (f.) {_regal_, { on rhine} { _wrigley_. riplingas rupilinga upper bavaria ..... _ripley_. rollingas roldingen {rolingen, } rolle (f.) _rolle_. { in luxembg.} ræfningas ravininge bavaria reuen (l.v.) _raven_. rodingas hrotthingun {rh. pruss.,} {rudda (l.v.),} {_rodd_, _rudd_, { bav. } { rode (f.) } { _rudding_. rossingas rossunga ..... russe (f.) _ross_. ruscingas ..... ..... rosce (l.v.) _rush_. rocingas roggingun bavaria {rogge, } _rock_. { rocche (f.)} rucingas ..... ..... rouke (f.) {_rugg_, _ruck_. sandringas sinderingum würtemburg sander (f.) _sander_. swaningas swaningun {schwanningen, } { near } suan (l.v.) _swan_. { schaffhausen} syclingas sikilingin {sittling,} ..... {_sickle_, { in bav.} { _sickling_. seaxlingas saxlinga ..... ..... _satchell?_ sceardingas scardinga bavaria ..... {_scard_, _scarth_. scytingas scithingi ..... scytta (a.s.) {_skitt_, _skeat_, { _shute_. surlingas ..... ..... serlo (l.v.) {_sarle_, _searle_. scyrlingas skirilinga schierling, in bav. ..... _shirley_. sælingas ..... ..... salla (l.v.) _sale_, _sala_. sceafingas sceuinge ..... ..... _sheaf_. scealingas scelinga ..... sceal (l.v.) {_scally_, { _scales_. snoringas {snoringer} rh. bav. snearri (l.v.) _snare_. { marca } snotingas snudinga ..... snod (a.s.) _snoad_. sealfingas selvingen ..... ..... {_self_, _selvey_. stubingas staubingen {staubing, } stuf (a.s.) {_stubbs_, { in bavaria} { _stubbing_. secgingas siggingahem belgium sigga (l.v.) {_siggs_, _sick_. specingas speichingas {spaichengen, spech (domesday) _speck_. { in westph. sceaflingas schuffelinga {schiflingen, } ..... _shovel_. { in luxembg.} stæningas ..... ..... {stean (l.v.),} {_stone_, { steen (f.) } { _stenning_. sinningas siningas ..... sinne (f.) {_siney_, _shinn_. stellingas ..... ..... ..... _stell_. tædingas tattingas {dettingen,} tade (f.) {_tadd_, _taddy_. { in bav. } tælingas telingen bavaria {tella (l.v.),} {_tall_, { tiele (f.) } { _telling_. dorringas torringun {törring, } tori (l.v.) _torr_. { in austria tutlingas tutlingun dutling, in bav. ..... _tuttle_. trumpingas[34] ..... ..... ..... {_trump_, { _trumpy_. thorningas thurninga {dürningen, } ..... {_thorne_, { in alsace} { _thorning_. terringas ..... ..... terri (l.v.) _terry_. tucingas tuginga switzerland {tuk (a.s.), } _tuck_, _duck_. { duce (l.v.)} duringas turinga würtemburg ..... {_turr_, _durre_, { _turing_. uffingas uffingen {oeffingen, } offa (l.v.) {_ough_, _hough_, { in würtemburg} { _huff_. wearningas warningas ..... warin (l.v.) {_warren_, _warne_. waceringas wacheringa friesland and bav. ..... _waker_. wealdringas waltringen ..... wealdere (a.s.) {_walder_, { _walter_. wasingas wasunga {würtg., sax.} wasso (a.s.) _wass_. { mein. } wippingas ..... ..... ..... _whipp_. wittingas wittungen pruss. sax. {uitta (l.v.),} _whit_. { witte (f.) } willingas willinga bavaria wille (f.) {_will_, _willow_, { _willing_. winingas winninge {winningen,} {wynna, } {_wine_, _winn_, { on rhine} { uini (l.v.)} { _winning_. wealdingas waltingun austria {wald (a.s.),} {_waldie_, _waldo_. { walte (f.)} wælsingas walasingas ..... ..... _walsh_. watingas waddinga {weddingen, } {uada (l.v.),} {_watt_, _waddy_. { in rh. pruss.} { uatto (f.)} wellingas wellingen baden ..... _well_. wigingas } wikinka bavaria {uicga (l.v.),} {_wigg_, wiccingas} { wigge, } { _wicking_. { wicco (f.)} wylfingas vulfinga ..... wulf (a.s.) _wolf_. wrihtingas wirtingen austria ..... _wright_. watringas wateringas {wettringen, } ..... _water_. { in westph.} wendlingas wenilinga near strasburg windel (a.s.) {_windle_, { _wintle_. wrihtlingas riutilinga {reutlingen, ..... _riddle_. { in würtg. wealcingas ..... ..... {walch (l.v.),} {_walk_, _walkey_, { walke (f.) } { _walking_. wealcringas ..... ..... wealcere (a.s.) _walker_. wealingas {walanger } on the lahn walls (f.) _wall_. { marca } waplingas waplinga ..... ..... _waple_. wræningas ..... ..... ..... {_wren_, _rennie_. wilrincgas williheringa {willering, wyller (a.s.) _willer_. { on danube i may observe with regard to the anglo-saxon names in the above lists that there is occasionally a little corruption in their forms. the english trouble with the letter _h_ seems to have been present even at this early day. we have allingas and hallingas, anningas and hanningas, eslingas and haslingas, illingas and hillingas, in all of which cases the analogy of old german names would show the _h_ to be in all probability an intruder. and the same applies to the hanesingas, the honingas, and the hoppingas. there is also an occasional intrusion of _b_ or _p_, thus the trumpingas, whence the name of trumpington, should be properly, i take it, trumingas, a.s. _trum_, firm, strong. stark suggests a celtic word, _drumb_, but the intrusion of _p_ is so easy that i think any other explanation hardly necessary. the sempingas, found in sempingaham, now sempringham, should also, i take it, be semingas, which would be in accordance with teutonic names, whereas _semp_ is a scarcely possible form. basingstoke, the original of which was embasingastoc, owes its name to a similar mistake. it would be properly i think emasingastoc, which would correspond with a teutonic name-stem. a similar intrusion of _t_ occurs in the case of glæstingabyrig (now glastonbury), which should i think be glæssingabyrig; this again would correspond with an ancient name-stem, which in its present form it does not. so also i take it that distingas, found in distington in cumberland, is only a phonetic corruption of dissingas, if indeed, (which i very strongly doubt) distington is from a tribe-name at all. both of these intrusions are natural from a phonetic point of view, tending as they do to give a little more backbone to a word, and they frequently occur, as i shall have elsewhere occasion to note, in the range of english names. my object in the present chapter has been more especially to show the intimate connection between our early saxon names, and those of the general teutonic system. but now i come to a possible point of difference. all the names of germany would tend to come to england, but if anglo-saxon england made any names on her own account, they would not go back to germany. for the tide of men flows ever west-ward, and there was no return current in those days. now there do seem to be certain name-stems peculiar to anglo-saxon england, and one of these is _peht_ or _pect_, which may be taken to represent pict. the teutonic peoples were in the habit of introducing into their nomenclature the names of neighbouring nations even when aliens or enemies. thus the hun and the fin were so introduced, the latter more particularly by the scandinavians who were their nearest neighbours. there is a tendency among men to invest an enemy upon their borders, of whom they may be in constant dread, with unusual personal characteristics of ferocity or of giant stature. thus the word _hun_, as grimm observes, seems to have become a synonym of giant, and ohfrid, a metrical writer of the ninth century, describes the giant polyphemus as the "grosse hun." something similar i have noted (in a succeeding chapter on the names of women, _in voce_ emma) as possibly subsisting between the saxons and their celtic neighbours. the fins again, who as a peculiarly small people could not possibly be magnified into giants, were invested with magical and unearthly characteristics, and the word became almost, if not quite, synonymous with magician. this then seems to represent something of the general principle, upon which such names have found their way into the teutonic system of nomenclature. while then england received all the names formed from peoples throughout the teutonic area, the goth, the vandal, the bavarian, the hun, and the fin, in the names of men, there was one such stem which she had and which the rest of germany had not, for she alone was neighbour to the pict. perhaps i should qualify this statement so far as the old saxons of the seaboard are concerned, for they were also neighbours, though as far as we know, the pict did not figure in their names of men. from the stem _pect_ the anglo-saxons had a number of names, as pecthun or pehtun, pecthath, pectgils, pecthelm, pectwald, pectwulf, all formed in accordance with the regular teutonic system, but none of them found elsewhere than in anglo-saxon england. of these names we may have one, pecthun, in our surname _picton_, perhaps also the other form pehtun in _peyton_ or _paton_. the anglo-saxons no doubt aspirated the _h_ in pehtun, but we seem in such cases either to drop it altogether, or else to represent it by a hard _c_, according perhaps as it might have been more or less strongly aspirated. indeed the anglo-saxons themselves would seem to have sometimes dropped it altogether, if the name piott, in a will of archbishop wulfred, a.d. 825, is the same word (which another name piahtred about the same period would rather seem to indicate). and this suggests that our name _peat_ may be one of its present representatives. we have again a name _picture_, which might represent an anglo-saxon pecther (_heri_, warrior) not yet turned up, but a probable name, the compound being a very common one. i do not think it necessary to go into the case of any other name-stem which i do not find except among the anglo-saxons, inasmuch as, there being in their case no such reason for the restriction as in that to which i have been referring, it may only be that they have not as yet been disinterred. footnotes: [28] from a similar origin is the name of the scandinavian vikings, vik-ing, from _vik_, a bay. [29] _archæological journal._ [30] the reader must bear in mind that ang.-sax. _æ_ is pronounced as _a_ in "ant." [31] i take the word contained herein to be "ganz," an ancient stem in names. [32] properly, i think, "mædlingas," as it has nothing to do with ang.-sax. "mægd," _maid_. [33] the same, i take it, as the "myrgingas" in the _traveller's tale_. [34] properly, i take it, "trumingas," ang.-sax. "_trum_" firm, strong. chapter v. men's names in place-names. we have seen in a preceding chapter that the earliest saxon place-names in england are derived from a personal name, and that the idea contained is that of a modified form of common right. we shall find that a very large proportion of the later anglo-saxon place-names are also derived from the name of a man, but that the idea contained is now that of individual ownership or occupation. the extent to which english place-names are derived from ancient names of men is, in my judgment, very much greater than is generally supposed. and indeed, when we come to consider it, what can be so naturally associated with a _ham_ as the name of the man who lived in that home, of a _weorth_ as that of the man to whom that property belonged, of a saxon _tun_ or a danish _by_ or _thorp_ as that of the man to whom the place owed its existence? if we turn to kemble's list of anglo-saxon names of places as derived from ancient charters, in the days when the individual owner had succeeded to the community, we cannot fail to remark to how large an extent this obtains, and how many of these names are in the possessive case. now, it must be observed that there are in anglo-saxon two forms of the possessive, and that when a man's name had the vowel ending in _a_, as noted at p. 24, it formed its possessive in _an_, while otherwise it formed its possessive in _es_. thus we have baddan byrig, "badda's borough," bennan beorh, "benna's barrow" or grave, and in the other form we have abbodes byrig, "abbod's borough," bluntes ham, "blunt's home," and sylces wyrth, "silk's worth" or property. and as compound names did not take a vowel ending, such names invariably form their possessive in _es_, as in haywardes ham, "hayward's home," cynewardes gemæro, "cyneward's boundary," &c. i am not at all sure that _ing_ also has not, in certain cases, the force of a possessive, and that ælfredincgtun, for instance, may not mean simply "alfred's town" and not alfreding's town. but i do not think that this is at any rate the general rule, and it seems scarcely possible to draw the line. from the possessive in _an_ i take to be most probably our present place-names puttenham, tottenham, and sydenham, (respecting the last of which there has been a good deal of discussion of late in _notes and queries_), containing the anglo-saxon names _putta_, _totta_, and _sida_. with regard to the last i have not fallen in with the name _sida_ itself. but i deduce such a name from sydanham, c.d. 379, apparently a place in wilts, also perhaps from sidebirig, now sidbury, in devon; and there is, moreover, a corresponding o.g. _sido_, the origin being probably a.s. _sidu_, manners, morals. further traces of such a stem are found in _sidel_ deduced from sidelesham, now sidlesham, in sussex, and also from the name _sydemann_ in a charter of edgar, these names implying a pre-existing stem _sid_ upon which they have been formed. as well as with the _ham_ or the _byrig_ in which he resided, a man's name is often found among the anglo-saxons, connected with the boundary--whatever that might be--of his property, as in abbudes mearc, abbud's mark or boundary, and baldrices gemæro, baldrick's boundary. sometimes that boundary might be a hedge, as in leoferes haga and danehardes hegeræw, "leofer's hedge," and "danehard's hedge-row." sometimes it might be a stone, as in sweordes stân, sometimes a ridge, as in eppan hrycg, "eppa's ridge," sometimes a ditch or dyke, as in tilgares dic and colomores sîc (north. eng. syke, wet ditch). a tree was naturally a common boundary mark, as in potteles treôw, alebeardes âc (oak), bulemæres thorn, huttes æsc (ash), tatmonnes apoldre (apple-tree). sometimes, again, a man's name is found associated with the road or way that led to his abode, as in wealdenes weg (way), sigbrihtes anstige (stig, a footpath), dunnes stigele (stile). another word which seems to have something of the meaning of "stile" is _hlip_, found in freobearnes hlyp and in herewines hlipgat. in anglo-saxon, _hlypa_ signified a stirrup, and a "hlipgat" must, i imagine, have been a gate furnished with some contrivance for mounting over it. of a similar nature might be alcherdes ford, and brochardes ford, and also geahes ofer, byrhtes ora, and æscmann's yre (_ofer_, contr. _ore_, shore or landing-place). something more of the rights of water may be contained in fealamares brôc (brook), hykemeres strêm (stream), and brihtwoldes wêre (weir); the two latter probably referring to water-power for a mill. the sense of property only seems to be that which is found in cybles weorthig, æscmere's weorth (land or property), tilluces leah (lea), rumboldes den (_dene_ or valley), bogeles pearruc (paddock), ticnes feld (field). also in grottes grâf (grove), sweors holt (grove), pippenes pen (pen or fold), willeardes hyrst (grove), leofsiges geat (gate), ealdermannes hæc (hatch), and winagares stapol (stall, market, perhaps a place for the sale or interchange of produce). the site of a deserted dwelling served sometimes for a mark, as in sceolles eald cotan (sceolles old cot), and dearmodes ald tun (deormoda's old town, or inclosure, dwelling and appurtenances?). but it is with a man's last resting-place that his name will be found in anglo-saxon times to be most especially associated. the principal words used to denote a grave are _beorh_ (barrow), _byrgels_, and _hloew_ (low), in all of which the idea seems to be that of a mound raised over the spot. we have weardes beorh, "weard's barrow," also lulles, cartes, hornes, lidgeardes, and many others. we have scottan byrgels, "scotta's barrow," also hôces, wures, and strenges. and we have lortan hlæw, "lorta's low," also ceorles, wintres, hwittuces, and others. there is another word _hô_, which seems to be the same as the o.n. _haugr_, north. eng, _how_, a grave-mound. it is found in healdenes hô, piccedes hô, scotehô tilmundes hô, cægeshô, and fingringahô. it would hardly seem, from the location of four of them, worcester, essex, beds, sussex, that they can be of scandinavian origin. can the two words, _haugr_ and _hlau_ (_how_, and _hlow_), be from the same origin, the one assuming, or the other dropping an _l_? i take the names of persons thus to be deduced from anglo-saxon place-names, and which are in general correspondence with the earlier names in the preceding chapter, though containing some new forms and a greater number of compound names, to give as faithful a representation as we can have of the every-day names of anglo-saxons. and as i have before compared the names of those primitive settlers with our existing surnames, so now i propose to extend the comparison to the names of more settled anglo-saxon times. anglo-saxon men's names. place-names. english surnames. abbod abbodesbyrig } _abbott_ abbud abbudesmearc } æcemann æcemannes ceaster _ackman, aikman_ acen acenes feld _aikin_ ægelweard ægelweardes mearc _aylward_ alberht alcherdes ford _allcard_ alder aldrestub _alder_ ælfgar ælfgares gemæro _algar_ ælfred ælfredes beorh _alfred_, _allfrey_ ælfher, or } ælfheri } ælfheres stapol _alvary_ æscmer æscmeres weorth _ashmore_ æscmann æscmannes yre _ashman_ alebeard alebeardes âc _halbard_ amber ambresbyrig _amber_ æthelstan æthelstanes tûn _ethelston_ babel babeles beorh _bable_ badherd badherdes sled _beddard_ baldher baldheresberg _balder_ baldric baldrices gemæro _baldridge_ baldwin baldwines heath _baldwin_ beored, or beoret beoredes treôw _berrette_ beornheard beornheardes lond _bernard_ beornwold beornwoldes sætan _bernold_ blunt bluntesham _blunt_ bogel bogeles pearruc _bogle_ bohmer bohmeres stigele _bowmer_ bregen bregnesford _brain_ brochard brochardes ford _brocard_ buga buganstôc } _bugg_ bugga bugganbrôc } bulemær bulemæres thorn _bulmer_ buntel bunteles pyt _bundle_ bunting buntingedîc _bunting_ burhgeard burhgeardeswerthig _burchard_ carda cardan hlæw _card_, _cart_ ceapa ceapan hlæw _cheape_ ceawa ceawan hlæw _chew_ cerda cerdan hlæw _chard_ cissa cissan anstige _cheese_ chetol (danish) chetoles beorh _kettle_ creoda creodan âc } _creed_ cridd criddes hô } cumen cumenes ora _cummin_ ceatewe ceatewesleah _chattoway_ ceada ceadanford _chad_ catt cattes stoke _cat_, _catty_ cæstæl cæstælesham _castle_ cludd cludesleah _cloud_ coten cotenesfeld _cotton_ cruda crudan sceat _crowd_ colomor colomores sîc _colmer_ cydd cyddesige _kidd_ cyble cybles weorthig _keble_ celc celces ora _kelk_ cylman cylmanstun _killman_ cynlaf cynlafes stan _cunliffe_ cynric cynrices gemæro _kenrick_ cyneward cynewardes gemæro _kenward_ cyppa cyppanham _chipp_ dægel, or dæglesford } _dale_ deil deilsford } dearnagel dearnagles ford _darnell_ dæneheard dæneheardes hegerawe _denhard_ deorlaf deorlafestun _dearlove_ deormod[35] deormodes ald tun _dermott_ dodd doddesthorp } _dodd_ dodda doddan hlæw } dolemann dolemannes beorh _dollman_ duceman ducemannestun _duckman_ ducling duclingtun _duckling_ dunn dunnes stigele _dunn_ dogod dogodeswel _doggett_, _dugood_ dydimer dydimertun _tidemore_ ealder ealderscumb _alder_ ealdmann ealdmannes wyrth _altman_ ealdermann[36] ealdermannes hæc _alderman_ ealmund ealmundes treow _almond_ eanulf eanulfestun _enough_ earn earnesbeorh _earney_ eastmond eastmondestun _esmond_ ecgell ecgeles stiel _edgell_, _eagle_ fealamar fealamares brôc { _fillmore_ { _phillimore_ flegg flegges garan _flew_ focga focgancrundel _fogg_, _foggo_ freobearn freobearnes hlyp _freeborn_ frigedæg frigedæges treôw _friday_ fuhgel fuhgeles beorh _fuggle_, _fowl_ gandar gandrandun _gander_ gæcg gæcges stapol { _gay_ geah geahes ofer { gatehlinc gatehlinces heafod _gatling_ geleca gelecancamp _jellicoe_ geyn geynes thorn _gain_ giselher gislhereswurth _giller_ godincg godincges gemæro _godding_ godmund godmundesleah _godmund_ godwin godwines gemæro _godwin_ grobb grobbes den _grove_, _grubb_ grott grottes grâf _grote_ gund gundestige _gunn_, _gundey_ hærred hærredesleah _herod_ heafoc heafoceshamme _hawk_ hassuc hassuces môr _haskey_ hering heringesleah _herring_ hnibba hnibbanleah _knibb_, _knipe_ hayward haywardes ham _hayward_ healda healdan grâf _hald_ healden healdenes hô _haldan_ helm helmes treow _helme_ helfær helfæres gemæro _helper_ help helpestonne _helps_ herebritt herebrittes comb _herbert_ herewin herewines hlipgat _irwine_ hiccemann hiccemannes stân _hickman_ humbald humbalding grâf _humble_ hycemer, or } higemar } hycemeres strêm _highmore_ hnæf hnæfes scylf _knapp_ hocg hocgestun _hogg_, _hodge_ horn hornes beorh _horne_ hringwold hringwoldes beorh _ringold_ hwittuc hwittuces leah _whittock_ hutt huttes æsc _hutt_ hygelac[37] hygelaces git _hillock_ kyld kyldesby _kilt_ leofer leoferes haga _lover_ laferca lafercanbeorh _laverick_ leofmann leofmannes gemæro _loveman_ leommann leommannes grâf _lemon_ leofsig leofsiges geat _lovesy_ leofric leofrices gemæro _loveridge_ lidgeard lidgeardes beorh _ledgard_ lipperd lipperdes gemæro _leopard_ lower lowereslege _lower_ locer loceresweg _locker_ lorta lortanberwe _lord_ lorting lortinges bourne _lording_ luder luderston _luther_ ludmann ludmannes put _lutman_ lull lulles beorh _lull_, _lully_ myceld myceldefer _muckelt_ mûl muleshlæw _moule_ negle neglesleah _nagle_ næl nælesbrôc _nail_ nybba nybban beorh _nibbs_ oslac oslaces lea _hasluck_ ogged oggedestun _hodgett_, _howitt_ oswald oswaldes mere _oswald_ orlaf orlafestun _orlop_ owun owunes hild _owen_ pehtun pehtuns treow _peyton_ pender penderes clif _pender_ picced piccedes hô _pickett_ pinnel pinnelesfeld _pennell_ pippen pippenes fen _pippin_ pyttel pittelesford _piddel_ pitterich piterichesham _betteridge_ pottel potteles treow _pottle_ potten pottenestreow _potten_ punt puntes stân _punt_ puntel punteles treow _bundle_ prentsa prentsan hlaw _prentiss_ redwin redwines thorn _readwin_ rahulf rahulfes furlong _ralph_ rugebeorg rugebeorges gemæro _rubery_ rumbold rumboldes den _rumbold_ sceaft sceaftesbirig _shaft_, _shafto_ sceoll sceolles ealdcotan _sholl_ scytta scyttandun _skeat_, _shute_ scyter[38] scyteres flôd _shuter_ scealc scealces hom _shawkey_, _chalk?_ scyld scyldes treow _shield_ simær simæres ford _seymour_ secmær secmæres ora _sycamore_ sigbriht sigbrihtes anstige _sibert_ sibriht sibrihtesweald _seabright_[39] siger sigeres âc _segar_ snell snellesham _snell_ snod snodes hyl _snoad_ streng strenges hô _strong_ stut stutes hyl _stout_, _stott_ stutard stutardes cumb _stothard_, _studeard_ sucga sucgangrâf _sugg_ sumer sumeresham _summer_ sumerled (danish) sumerledetun _sommerlat_ sunemann sunemannes wyrthig _sunman_ sweor sweores holt _swire_, _swears_ sweord sweordes stân _sword_ tæcel tæcelesbrôc _tackle_ tatmonn tatmonnes apoldre _tadman_ tatel tatlestrop _tattle_ thuner thunresfeld _thunder_ thurgar (danish) thurgartun _thurgur_ thrista thristan den _trist_ theodher theoderpoth _theodore_ thurold (danish) thuroldes gemæro _thorold_ toma tomanworthig _tomey_ ticcen ticnesfeld _dickin_ tilgar tilgares dîc _dilger_ tilluc tilluces leah _tillick_, _dilke_ tilmann tilmannes den _tilman_ titferth titferthes geat _titford_ upicen upicenes hlyw _hopkin_ wahgen wahgenes gemæro _wain_ wealden wealdenes weg _walden_ wealder wealderes weg _walter_ westan westanes treow _weston_ wigheard wigheardes stapol _wyard_ wighelm wighelmes land _whigam_ wihtlac wihtlaces ford _whitelock_ wihtric wihtricesham _whitridge_ wilmund wilmundes leah _williment_ willher willheres triow _willer_ wicg wicgestan _wigg_ uuigga wuiggangeat winagar winagares stapul _winegar_ wileard wileardes hyrste _willard_ wistan for } wistanes gemæro _whiston_ wigstan? } wulfsig wulfsiges croft _wolsey_ wulfgar wulfgares gemæro _woolgar_ wulfmer wulfmeres myln _woolmer_ wulfric wulfrices gemæro _woolrych_ wyner wyneres stig _winer_ waring wæring wîc _waring_ wifel wifelesham _whipple_ woden[40] wodnesbeorg _woodin?_ wydda wyddanbeorh _widow_ the above names are deduced entirely from the names of places found by mr. kemble in ancient charters. the list is not by any means an exhaustive one, as i have not included a number of names taken into account in chap. iv., and as also the same personal name enters frequently into several place-names. with very few exceptions these names may be gathered to the roll of teutonic name-stems, notwithstanding a little disguise in some of their forms, and a great, sometimes a rather confusing, diversity of spelling. i take names such as the above to be the representatives of the every-day names of men in anglo-saxon times, rather than the names which come before us in history and in historical documents. for it seems to me that a kind of fashion prevailed, and that while a set of names of a longer and more dignified character were in favour among the great, the mass of the people still, to a great extent, adhered to the shorter and more simple names which their fathers had borne before them. thus, when we find an æthelwold who was also called mol, an æthelmer who was also called dodda, and a queen hrothwaru who was also called bucge, i am disposed to take the simple names, which are such as the earlier settlers brought over with them, to have been the original names, and superseded by names more in accordance with the prevailing fashion. valuable then as is the _liber vitæ_ of durham, as a continuous record of english names for many centuries, yet i am inclined to think that inasmuch as that the persons who come before us as benefactors to the shrine of st. cuthbert may be taken to be as a general rule of the upper ranks of life, they do not afford so faithful a representation of the every-day names of anglo-saxons as do the little freeholders who lived and died in their country homes. and, moreover, these are, as it will be seen, more especially the kind of names which have been handed down from anglo-saxon times to the present day. in connection with this subject, it may be of interest to present a list of existing names of places formed from an anglo-saxon personal name, as derived from the same ancient charters dealt with in the previous list. and in so doing i confine myself exclusively to the places of which the present names have been positively identified by mr. kemble. and in the first place i will take the place-names which consist simply of the name of a tribe or family unqualified by any local term whatever. name in anglo-saxon charters. present name. æfeningas avening gloucestershire angemeringum angmering sussex ascengas eashing surrey banesingas bensington oxfordshire bærlingas barling kent beadingum beden gloucestershire berecingas barking essex brahcingum braughin herts. byrhtlingas brightling sussex cerringes charing kent ciwingum chewing herts. culingas cooling kent cytringas kettering northampton diccelingas ditchling sussex geddingas yeading middlesex godelmingum godalming surrey hallingas halling kent herlinge harling norfolk horningga horning norfolk meallingas malling kent pæccingas patching sussex puningas poynings surrey readingan reading berkshire rodinges roothing essex stæningas steyning sussex swyrdhlincas } swarling kent (swyrdlingas) } terringes tarring sussex terlinges terling essex totingas tooting surrey wellingum wellwyn herts. werhornas warehorne kent wihttringas wittering surrey uoccingas woking surrey wyrtingas worting hants. i will now take the places which in a later and more settled time have been derived from the name of a single man, as representing his dwelling, his domain, or in not a few cases his grave. anglo-saxon man's name. place-name. present name. abba abbandun abingdon berks. { ægelesbyrig aylesbury bucks. ægel { æglesford aylesford kent { ægeleswurth aylesworth nthmptn. agmod agmodesham agmondesham bucks. æsc æscesbyrig ashbury berks. æscmer æscmeres weorth ashmansworth hants. amber { ambresbyrig amesbury wilts. { ambresleah ombersley worc. ælfreding ælfredincgtun alfreton derby. badda baddanby badby nthmptn. badhelming badimyncgtun badminton glouc. baldher baldheresberg baltonsborough somerset. becca beccanleah beckley sussex. beda bedanford bedford beds. benna bennanham beenham berks. benning benningwurth bengworth worc. bledda bleddanhlæw bledlow bucks. blunt bluntesham bluntisham hunts. bodeca bodecanleah butleigh somerset. bodek bodekesham bottisham camb. bocga bocganora bognor sussex. bordel bordelestun burleston dorset. brand brandesburh bransbury hants. bregen bregnesford bransford worc. cada cadandun chadlington oxford. cæg cægeshô keysoe beds. calmund calmundes den calmsden glouc. ceadela ceadelanwurth chaddleworth berks. ceadel ceadeleshunt chadshunt warw. ceader ceadresleah chaseley worc. cendel cendeles funta chalfont bucks. celta celtenhom cheltenham glouc. ceol ceolesig cholsey berks. cippa cippenham chippenham wilts. ceolbalding ceolbaldinctun chilbolton hants. ceort ceortesege chertsey surrey cinhild (woman) cinildewyrth kenilworth warw. cissa cissanceaster chichester sussex. coda codanford codford wilts. codda coddanhrycg cotheridge worc. coling colingham collingham notts. crym crymesham crimsham sussex. croppa croppanthorn cropthorn worc. cumen cumenora cumnor berks. cungar cungaresbyrig congressbury somerset. cwichelm cwichelmes hlæw cuckamslow hill berks. cyneburging[41] cyneburgincton kemerton glouc. cynlaf kynleveden kelvedon essex. ketel (danish) kitlebig kettleby linc. dæcca, or } daccanhaam dagenham essex. dægga } dægel dæglesford daylesford worc. deôrlaf deorlafestun darlaston staffs. dodda doddanford dodford nthmptn. dodd doddesthorp dogsthorp nthmptn. dogod dogodeswel dowdswell glouc. domec domecesige dauntsey wilts. duceling duceling dun ducklington oxford. dunning dunnincland donyland essex. dideling didelingtun didlington dorset. eadric eadricestun edstone warw. eccing eccingtun eckington worc. eccle, or egil eccleshale exhall warw. effing effingeham effingham surrey. erping erpingham erpingham norfolk. eof, or eofa eofesham evesham worc. fecca feccanhom feckenham worc. flæda flædanburg fladbury worc. folc folcesstan folkstone kent. gidding giddincford gidding suffolk. gyseling gyselingham gislingham suffolk. godmer godmeresham godmersham kent. grim grimaston grimstone norfolk. gun or gund gunthorpe gunthorp nthmptn. gyp gypeswich ipswich suffolk. hauek hauekestun hauxton camb. hæfar hæfaresham haversham bucks. hamela hamelendûn hambledon hants. hærigeard hærigeardesham harrietsham kent. haling halington hallington linc. hanekyn hanekynton hankerton wilts. hanning hanningtun hannington hants. hæda hædanham haddenham camb. helming helmyngton hemington nthmptn. help helpestonne helpstone nthmptn. hemming hemmingford { hemingford } hunts. { abbots } hengest { hengesteshricg henstridge somerset. { hengestesige hinksey berks. hild hildesdûn hillersdon bucks. heorulf heorelfestun harleston staff. heorting heortingtun hardington somerset. honekyn honekynton hankerton wilts. honing honingtun honington linc. horning { horningeseie horningsea camb. { horningges hæth horningsheath suffolk hôd hôdesâc hodsoak worc. hunewald hunewaldesham windlesham surrey hunta huntandun huntingdon hants. hwiting hwitingtun whittington worc. kyld kyldesby kilsby nthmptn. laua lauanham lavenham suffolk lauing lauingtun barlavington sussex lamb (danish?) lambehith lambeth lott lottisham lottisham somerset. mealdhelm mealdumesburg malmsbury wilts. myceld myceldefer mitcheldover hants. mûl { mûleseige moulsey surrey { mûlesham moulsham essex munda mundanham mundham sussex neteling netelingtun nettleton wilts. offa offanleah offley herts. orlaf orlafestun orleston derby. orm (danish) ormisby ormsby norfolk osgot osgotbi osgodby linc. oshelming osmingtun osmington dorset oswald oswaldeshlaw oswaldslow worc. pading padingtun paddington parting partingtun patrington yorks. peda pedanhrycg petridge surrey peada peadanwurth padworth berks. peatting peattingtun pattingham salop pecga pecganham pagham sussex peden pednesham pensham worc. piterich piterichesham petersham worc. port portesham portisham dorset. raculf raculfcestre reculver kent remn[42] for raven remnesdun ramsden sussex rydemær, or } rydemæreleah redmarley worc. redmer } riking rikinghal rickinghall suffolk ring ringestede ringstead norfolk rodda roddanbeorg rodborough glouc. rolf, for rolfestun rolleston staffs. rodulf rollesby rollesby norfolk sidel sidelesham sidlesham sussex sceaft sceaftesbirig shaftesbury dorset. secg secgesbearue sedgeberrow worc. snodd snoddesbyrig upton snodsbury worc. snoding snodingland snodland worc. sumer sumeresham somersham hunts. sumerled (danish) sumerledetun somerleyton suffolk sunna sunnandun sundon beds. swythbriht swythbrihtesweald sibbertswold kent swithreding swithrædingden surrenden kent sylc sylceswyrth silksworth durham tadmær tadmærtun tadmarton oxford. tæfing tæfingstoc tavistock devon. teotting teottingtun teddington wor. taling talingtun tallington linc. toda todanhom toddenham glouc. toma tomanworthig tamworth warw. theogen theogendethorp theddlethorp linc. thunar thunresfeld thundersfield surrey ticen ticnesfeld tichfield hants. tidhelming tidelminctun tidmington worc. tilling tillingham tillingham essex tocca toccanham tockenham wilts. toting totingtun tottington norfolk treding { tredingtun tredington glouc. { tredinctun tredington worc. trosting trostingtun troston suffolk tuding tudingtun teddington middlsx. tunweald tunwealdes stân tunstone glouc. turca turcanden turkdean glouc. twica tuicanham twickenham middlsx. thurgar (danish) thurgartun thurgarton norfolk ufing ufinctun ovington hants. wacen uacenesfeld watchfield berks. watling uætlinctun watlington oxford. wassing wassingburg washingborough linc. wald waldeswel woldswell glouc. weard weardesbeorh warborough oxford. wifel { wifeles cumb wiveliscomb somerset. { wifelesford wilsford wilts. wilburg (woman) { wilburgeham wilbraham camb. { wilburhtun wilburton camb. willer willerseia willersey glouc. weogern weogernacester worcester worc. wine { uines hlau winslow bucks. { wines hyl winshill derby. wrening wreningham wreningham norfolk werot uurotaham wrotham kent wulfwarding wulfweardigleâ wolverley worc. wendel, or wendlesora, or windsor berks. windel windlesora the last name, windsor, is an amusing instance of the older attempts at local etymology. first it was supposed, as being an exposed spot, to have taken its name from the "wind is sore;" then it was presumed that it must have been a ferry, and that the name arose from the constant cry of "wind us o'er" from those waiting to be ferried across. it was a great step in advance when the next etymologist referred to the ancient name and found it to be windelsora, from _ora_, shore, (a contraction of _ofer?_) still, the etymon he deduced therefrom of "winding shore" is one that could not be adopted without doing great violence to the word; whereas, without the change of a letter, we have windels ore, "windel's shore," most probably in the sense of landing-place. the name windel forms several other place-names; it was common in ancient times, and it has been taken to mean vandal. i refer to this more especially to illustrate the importance of taking men's names into account in considering the origin of a place-name. the above names are confined entirely, as i have before mentioned, to the places that have been positively identified by mr. kemble. and as these constitute but a small proportion of the whole number, the comparison will serve to give an idea of the very great extent to which place-names are formed from men's names. footnotes: [35] cf. also diormod, moneyer on anglo-saxon coins, minted at canterbury. there is, however, an irish diarmaid which might in certain cases intermix, and whence we must take _mcdermott_. [36] i take ealdermann to be, as elsewhere noted, a corruption of ealdmann. [37] mr. kemble, in default of finding hygelac as a man's name in anglo-saxon times, has taken the above place-name to be from the legendary hero of that name. the fact is, however, that hygelac occurs no fewer than four times as an early man's-name in the _liber vitæ_, so that there does not seem to be any reason whatever for looking upon it as anything else than the every-day name of an anglo-saxon. [38] from a similar origin is probably shooter's hill, near london. [39] there is also an a.s. sæbriht, from _sæ_, sea, whence _seabright_ might be derived. [40] upon the whole i am inclined to think that woden is here an anglo-saxon man's name, though the traces of it in such use are but slight. there is a richard wodan in the _lib. vit._ about the 15th century. and wotan occurs once as a man's name in the _altdeutsches namenbuch_. [41] or cyneburg; see p. 71. [42] it seems clear from the names collated by german writers that _ramn_, _remn_, and _ram_ in ancient names are contractions of raven. compare the names of the ports, soderhamn, nyhamn, and sandhamn, for, no doubt, soderhaven, nyhaven, and sandhaven. chapter vi. corruptions and contractions. corruptions may be divided broadly into two kinds, those which proceed from a desire to improve the sound of a name, and those which proceed from a desire to make some kind of sense out of it. the former, which we may call phonetic, generally consists in the introduction of a letter, either to give more of what we may call "backbone" to a word, or else to make it run more smoothly. for the former purpose _b_ or _p_ is often used--thus we have, even in anglo-saxon times, _trum_ made into _trump_, _sem_ into _semp_, and _emas_ into _embas_. so among our names we have _dumplin_, no doubt for dumlin (o.g. domlin), _gamble_ for gamel, and _ambler_ for ameler, though in these names something of both the two principles may apply. in a similar manner we have _glas_ made into _glast_ in glæstingabyrig, now glastonbury (p. 88). so _d_ seems sometimes to be brought in to strengthen the end of a word, and this, it appears to me, may be the origin of our names _field_, _fielding_, _fielder_. the forms seem to show an ancient stem, but as the word stands, it is difficult to make anything out of it, whereas, as fiell, fielling, &c., the names would fall in with a regular stem, as at p. 50. so also our name _hind_ may perhaps be the same, assuming a final _d_, as another name, _hine_, which, presuming the _h_ not to be organic, may be from the unexplained stem _in_ or _ine_, as in the name of ina, king of wessex. in which case _hyndman_ might be the same name as _inman_. upon the same principle it may be that we have the name _nield_ formed upon the celtic niel. so also _f_ appears to be sometimes changed for a similar purpose into _p_, as in _asprey_ and _lamprey_ for asfrid (or osfrid) and landfrid. the ending _frid_ commonly becomes _frey_ (as in godfrey, humphrey, geoffrey), and when we have got asfrey and lanfrey (and we have lanfrei in the _liber vitæ_), the rest is easy. the most common phonetic intrusion is that of _r_, and one of the ways in which it most frequently occurs is exhibited in the following group of names: _pendgast_, _pendegast_, _prendergast_, _prendergrass_. pendgast is, i take it, an ancient compound, from the stem _bend_ (p. 44), with _gast_, hospes. it first takes a medial vowel between the two words of the compound, and becomes pend-e-gast. then _e_ naturally becomes _er_, passing the very slight barrier which english pronunciation affords, and the name, having become pendergast, finds the need of a second _r_ to balance the first, and becomes prendergast. in the last name, prendergrass, the other principle comes in, and a slight effort is made to give a shade of meaning to the word.[43] one of the features in men's names, it will be seen, is that as they have (differently to what is the case with regard to the words of the language) become crystallised in all stages, one is sometimes permitted to see the various steps of a process. now it is in such a way as that described above that the anglo-saxon name ealdermann (whence our name _alderman_) has, according to my opinion, been formed. there is another anglo-saxon name, ealdmann, an ancient compound. now if you, as in the previous case, introduce a medial vowel, and make it eald-e-mann, there is virtually nothing left between that and ealdermann. such a name, as derived from the office, would be impossible as a regular anglo-saxon name. the only other alternative would be that he had been so called as a _sobriquet_ by his office till it had superseded his regular name. and there does appear to have been such a case, viz., that of a man called preost who _was_ a priest, but the way which i have suggested seems to me to account more easily for the name. from a similar origin i take to be our name _ackerman_, and the present german _ackermann_. there is an anglo-saxon æcemann (p. 96), from which, on the principle described above, they might be derived. so also _sigournay_ may be formed in a similar manner from an old german name siginiu (_niu_, "new," perhaps in the sense of "young"), and _alderdice_ from an old frankish aldadeus (_deus_, servant). i have taken prendergast for pendgast as an illustration of the intrusion of _r_, and there is even in anglo-saxon times an example of the very same word as so treated. this is the name prentsa (p. 101), (whence our _prentiss_), and which i take to be properly pentsa. this would bring it in as a regular anglo-saxon stem (_cf._ penda, pender, penduald, pendwine), whereas otherwise it is difficult to know what to make of it. among english surnames thus treated we have _bellringer_ for bellinger, _sternhold_ for stonhold (p. 63), _proudfoot_ for _puddefoot_ (_bud_, messenger), and possibly _cardwell_ for the anglo-saxon cadweal.[44] on the same principle i think that _wordsworth_, a name of local origin, may be, with an intrusive _r_, the same as wodsworth or wadsworth (wad's property or estate). there is certainly a stem _wurd_ (supposed to mean fate, destiny), in ancient names, but it is of rare occurrence, and i do not know of it in english names, though we have _orde_, which i take to be from the scandinavian form of it. on the other hand we have an instance in anglo-saxon times of the reverse process, viz., the elision of _r_, in the case of wihtbrord, minister of edward the elder, who, though he spells his names both ways, spells it more frequently wihtbrod, the other being no doubt etymologically the correct form (_brord_, sword), though euphony is certainly promoted by the elision. this may probably be the origin of our name _whitbread_, with the variation _wheatbread_. the intrusion of _d_ has had the effect of changing a man's name into a woman's in two cases, _mildred_ and _kindred_. the former should be properly milred, answering to an anglo-saxon milred, and the latter should be kenred, answering to the german conrad; mildryd and cynedryd were, and could only be, anglo-saxon women's names. on the other hand, the loss of an _r_ has had such a disastrous effect in the case of an american _bedbug_ as to compel him to apply, like his english namesake, for a change of name. for while, in america, all insects of the beetle tribe are called by the name of "bug," the "bedbug" is that particular insect which is a "terror by night," so that the name was pointedly disagreeable. it ought properly to be, i doubt not, bedburg, a name of local origin, and the same as bedborough. before going on to deal with the corruptions which originate in the desire to make some kind of sense out of a name, i propose to refer briefly to some of the changes and contractions which are more strictly in accordance with regular phonetic principles. i have referred at p. 9 to a final _g_ as opposed to the english ear, and to two different ways in which it is got rid of, viz., by changing it into _dg_, and by dropping it altogether. there is yet a third way, that of changing it into _f_, as in anglo-saxon _genug_, english _enough_. and we can show examples of all these in the same name, from the ancient stem _wag_, probably signifying to wave, brandish, as in the name wagbrand ("wave-sword"), in the genealogy of the northumbrian kings. for we have the name in all four forms, _wagg_, _way_, _wadge_, _waugh_ (waff). the common ending in teutonic names of _wig_, war, often, anciently even, softened into _wi_, most commonly in such case becomes in our names _way_. thus we have _alloway_ from an ancient alewih, _chattoway_ from ceatewe, _dalloway_ from daliweh, _galloway_ from geilwih, _garroway_ from gerwi, _hathaway_ from hathuwi, _kennaway_ from kenewi, _lanoway_ from lantwih, _reddoway_ from redwi, and _ridgway_ from ricwi. i cite this as a case in which a number of coincidences prove a principle, which the reader, if he confined his attention to one particular case, might be disposed to question. we also generally drop the _g_ in the middle of a word in such names as _payne_, from a.s. pagen,[45] _wain_ from a.s. wahgen, _gain_ from a.s. gagen, _nail_ from a.s. negle. so also in _sibbald_ for sigebald, _sibert_ for sigebert, _seymore_ for sigimar, _wyatt_ for wighad, &c. there is also a frequent dropping of _d_, though i think that in this case the names have more frequently come down to us from ancient times in such contracted form, the practice being more specially common among the franks, from whom i think that most of the names in question have been derived. thus we have _cobbold_ for codbald or godbold, _cobbett_ for godbet or codbet, _lucas_ (lucas, _lib. vit._), from a frankish liucoz for liudgoz, _boggis_ from a boggis for bodgis, _lewis_ for leodgis, _rabbit_ for radbod, _chabot_ for chadbod. so also _ralph_ and _rolfe_ for radulf and hrodulf (though also for ragulf and hrogulf), _roland_ for rodland, _roman_ for rodman, &c. so _f_ is often dropped when it is followed by _m_ or _n_, as in a.s. leomman for leofmann, whence our _lemon_. it is probable that our _limmer_ is a similar contraction of a.s. leofmer. as a case of transposition i may note _falstaff_ from, as supposed, the o.g. name fastulf. it may be a question whether this is not an old frankish name come to us through the normans, for at gambetta's funeral the french bar was represented by m. _falsteuf_. i now come to corruptions which arise from the attempt to give to a name something of an apparent meaning in english. let me observe that, almost as an invariable rule, corruptions are made towards a meaning and not away from it; the ancient name irminger might be corrupted into ironmonger, but ironmonger could not be corrupted into irminger. it is natural to men to try to get some semblance of meaning out of a name, and all the more that it approaches to something which has a familiar sound to their ears. thus h.m. ship, the _bellerophon_, was called by the sailors the "billy ruffian," and a vessel owned by a fore-elder of mine, and which he christened the _agomemnon_, invariably went among the sailors by the name of the "mahogany tom." thus the anglo-saxon trumbald has first become _trumbull_ and then _tremble_, and as suggested by mr. charnock, _turnbull_. so we have the old norse name thorgautr (turgot, _domesday_) variously made into _target_ and into _thoroughgood_.[46] in some cases a very slight change suffices to give a new complexion to the name, thus the old frankish godenulf, (_ulf_, wolf), through a norman godeneuf, is scarcely changed in our _goodenough_. similarly we might have had badenough (o.g. badanulf), and richenough (a.s. ricnulf). we have _birchenough_ (reminding us of dr. busby) no doubt from a name of similar formation not yet turned up. then we have several names as _garment_, _rayment_, _argument_, _element_, _merriment_, _monument_, from ancient names ending in _mund_ or _munt_, supposed to mean protection, with only the change of a letter. i have referred in an earlier part of this chapter to the name pendgast, and to the phonetic corruptions to which it has been subjected. but it seems also to have been subjected to a corruption of the other kind, for i take it that our name _pentecost_ is properly pentecast, as another or high german form of pendegast. another case of a corruption easily made is that of our name _whitethread_ which seems obviously the anglo-saxon name wihtræd, of which also we have another obvious corruption in _whiterod_. so also the anglo-saxon name weogern, p. 111 (more properly wiggern, _wig_, war, and _gern_, eager), by an easy transition becomes _waghorn_. and in this way also the paradoxical-looking name _fairfoul_, by a slight change of spelling, may be explained as farefowl, "wandering bird," as a name probably given by the saxon or danish sea-rovers. let us take a name of a different kind, _starbuck_, no doubt of local origin, from the place called starbeck in yorkshire. now beck is a northern word signifying brook; it is probably of danish origin, inasmuch as its use precisely corresponds with the limits of the danish occupation. so long then as starbeck lived in the north among his own people, to whom _beck_ is a familiar word, there would be no fear of his name being corrupted. but when he migrated to a part of england where _beck_ has no meaning, then by and by the natural craving for some kind of a meaning would assert itself, and, as the best it could do, change _beck_ into _buck_. but the name of the place itself affords an illustration of the same principle. for _star_ is in all probability the same word as _stour_, so common as a river-name (arm. ster, water, river), made into _star_ in the craving for some kind of a meaning. let us take another name with the same ending, _clutterbuck_, also, i doubt not, a name of local origin, though i am unable in this case to identify the place. but _clutter_ seems evidently to be from the anglo-saxon, _hluttor_, clear, pure, limpid, and the word must have been _hluttorbeck_, "clear brook," so that this is another case of a similar corruption. the anglo-saxons, no doubt, strongly aspirated the initial _h_, so that the name has become clutterbuck. another name which may be taken to be of the same kind is _honeybun_, no doubt a corruption of another name _honeyburn_, from _burn_, a brook, _honey_ being apparently used by the anglo-saxons as an epithet to describe sweet waters. but to the modern ear honey_bun_ is a much more natural association than honey_burn_, particularly since the anglo-saxon _burn_ for _brook_ has passed out of use in england. among the germans, corruptions towards a meaning are also common, as in such names as _guttwein_ for godwine or gotwine, _warmbadt_ for warinbod, _leutenant_ for liutnand (_liud_, people, _nant_, daring). there is a curious-looking and seemingly profane name _heiliggheist_, as if from the third person of the trinity, which may, however, be a corruption of an ancient name, perhaps of the name haldegast. the odd-looking names _oyster_ and _oysterman_ in _suffolk surnames_ are probably the german names oster and ostermann (_oster_, orientalis) in an anglicised form, the marvellous power of assimilation possessed by the great republic evincing itself, among other things, in the way in which it anglicises foreign names. thus the name _crumpecker_, placed by bowditch among names from birds, is, we can hardly doubt, a corruption of a german krumbacher, _i.e._ "a native of krumbach," of which name there are several places in germany. so also the ending _thaler_ in german names, from _thal_, valley, is changed into "dollar" as its supposed equivalent. hence the americans have _milldolar, barndollar_, and _cashdollar_, corruptions of some such german names as mühlthaler, bernthaler, and käsenthaler, signifying an inhabitant respectively of mühlthal, of bernthal, and of käsenthal. it would seem as if a man coming to this new world, where everything around him is changed--presumably for the better--accepts it as, among other things, a part of the new dispensation, that whereas his name has hitherto been, say käsenthaler, he shall henceforth answer to the name--perhaps not an inauspicious one--of cashdollar. footnotes: [43] there is another name _snodgrass_, which may be a similar corruption of snodgast, from the stem _snod_, a.s. _snot_, wise. [44] this however is by no means certain, inasmuch as there is a stem _card_ or _gard_ from which it might be formed, though the corresponding ancient name has not turned up. on the other hand it is to be observed that _wealh_ is not one of the more common endings. [45] pagan occurs as an a.s. name, (_thorpe_, p. 648), and may probably be referred to _bagan_, to contend. _cf._ also pagingas among the early settlers. [46] according, no doubt, as the ancient name appeared as thorgaut or thorgaud. chapter vii. the old franks and the present french. to any one who takes note of the large proportion of french christian names which are of german origin, the question, one would think, might naturally suggest itself--if such be the case with christian names, may it not also be the case with regard to surnames? the christian names _albert_, _adolphe_, _alfonse_, _charles_, _claude_, _edouard_, _edmonde_, _ferdinand_, _gerard_, _henri_, _louis_, _philibert_, _robert_, _richarde_, _rudolfe_, _guillaume_, and the women's _adèle_, _clotilde_, _louise_, _mathilde_, _hélöise_, and many others, serve to remind us that the french have come of the franks. that the same holds good also of french surnames i have in a previous work endeavoured to prove in considerable detail, and i will not go over the ground again further than at the end of this chapter to present as an illustration of my views upon the subject one or two stems complete with their branches. the franks being a branch of a high german, and the saxons of a low german stock, it follows that french names, as compared with english, should, in names of teutonic origin, exhibit high german forms in comparison with our low german. one of these differences is, for instance, _au_ for _ea_, as in german auge, anglo-saxon, _eage_, english, _eye_. thus the anglo-saxon _ead_, happiness, prosperity, so common in men's names, is in frankish represented by _aud_, or _od_--hence the name of the norman bishop odo is the counterpart of an anglo-saxon eada or eda, and the name of the lombard king audoin (audwin), is the counterpart of the anglo-saxon eadwin. it will be seen then that the french christian name _edouard_ is not a true frankish form--the proper form is shown in two french surnames, _audouard_ and _audevard_. i cannot account for the particular case of this christian name on any other ground than that simply of euphony. the corresponding italian christian name, _odoardo_, come to them through the franks or the lombards, represents, it will be seen, the proper high german form. the high german forms, then, that appear in english names may be taken to a great extent to represent old frankish names that have come to us through the normans. but the number of such names appears to be greater than could reasonably be thus accounted for, and moreover we seem, as i have noted at p. 75, to have had such forms even in anglo-saxon times, _e.g._ both the forms _ead_ or _ed_, and _aud_ or _od_, in the names of our early settlers. and it appears to me therefore that lappenberg's theory that franks, lombards, and frisians were among the early settlers, is one that deserves most careful consideration. and i propose at present to deal with the subject, so far as the franks are concerned, and to trace out to the best of my ability, the frankish forms that seem to present themselves in anglo-saxon times, and also in our existing surnames. in so doing, i wish to disclaim any assumption of philological knowledge such as might be implied by dealing with the niceties of ancient dialects. all that i proceed upon is this--i find from german writers that certain forms prevailed in frankish names, and i compare them with certain forms apparently of the same kind which i find in anglo-saxon times. now the ancient frankish speech, along with the ordinary characteristics of a high german dialect, had some special peculiarities of its own, and it is through these that we have the best chance of obtaining satisfactory indications. of these there are three forms in particular, with each of which i propose to deal in turn, placing at the head the group of surnames which i take to owe their origin to this source. and as assisting to throw light upon the subject i have in some cases introduced the present french names corresponding. chad, chatto, chatting, chaddock, chabot, chadborn, chadman, chadwick, chattoway, chatwin, chatwood, chard, chart, charter, chain, chaney, childar, children, chill, chillman, chillmaid, chubb, chubback, choppin. one of the peculiarities of the frankish dialect especially during the merovingian period, was the prefix of _c_ before names beginning with _h_, as in childebert and childeric for hildebert and hilderic. of this there seem to be considerable traces in anglo-saxon times, as will be seen from the following:-_chad_ for _had_, war. a.s. chad, bishop of lichfield--ceada, found in ceadanford--cedda, found in ceddanleah--frankish, chaddo. eng. chad, chatto. _diminutive._ frnk. chadichus. eng. chaddock. _patronymic._ eng. chatting. _compounds._ (_bad_, war), frnk. chadbedo, chabedo--eng. chabot.[47] (_wine_, friend), frnk. chaduin--eng. chadwin, chatwin. (_wig_, war), a.s. chatewe (_wi_ for wig) found in ceatewesleah--eng. chadwick, chattoway. (we have also the other form hathaway, o.g. hathuwi, to compare with chattaway.) then we have a stem _chard, chart_, which it seems to me may be a similar frankish form of _hard_ or _hart_, durus, fortis, a very common stem for men's names. _chard_ for _hard_. a.s. cerda (cherda) found in cerdanhlæw. ceorta, found in ceortan stapol. ceort, found in ceortesege, now chertsey. eng. chard, chart. _diminutive._ a.s. cerdic, king of wessex. also ceardic, found in ceardices beorh. _compound._ (_har_, warrior), frnk. charterius--eng. charter. in the next group, _child_ for _hild_, war, the anglo-saxon names seem rather uncertain, and though the franks had many names from it, i only find one to compare in that form. _child_ for _hild_, war. a.s. cild, found in cildeswic--cilta found in ciltancumb, now chilcomb in hants--frnk. childi, cheldio, chillo--eng. child, chill. _compounds._ (_hari_, warrior), o.g. hilder--eng. childar. (_man_, vir), o.g. hildman--childman, _hund_. _rolls_--eng. chillman, french, chilman. (_mod_, courage), o.g. hildemod--eng. chillmaid. (_ran_, raven), frnk. childerannus--eng. children. we have a number of other names beginning with _ch_, which might with more or less certainty be brought in here, as chaine comparing with an a.s. chen, found in chenestun, and with a frankish chaino for chagno (hagen-spinosus). also chubb and choppin comparing with the ceopingas (chopingas) in kemble's list. he has also hoppingas and upingas, different forms i take it, of the same name, and upon these might be formed by the prefix in question, the form ceopingas. compare also the present french names, choupe, chopin, chopard. claude, cloade, clodd, cloud, clout, clucas, cloudman, cloutman, clothier. croad, crowd, crowdy, crute, crotty, cruden, crowder, croger. croke, crock, crooke, crotch, crutch, croker. creed, creedy, criddle. another peculiarity of the frankish dialect was the change of _hl_ at the beginning of a name into _cl_ or _chl_, and _hr_ into _cr_ or _chr_. hence the names of the frankish kings clothar, chlodomir, and clodowich, for hlothar, hlodomir, and hlodowich. of this form there appear to be considerable traces in anglo-saxon times; there are three names in kemble's list of early settlers which may find a place here, the crangas, the cramlingas, and the crucgingas. the name crangas, as it stands, is difficult to deal with, and i should suppose it to be properly either cringas or craningas--in the former case from _hring_, circle, perhaps in the sense of shield--in the latter from _chrann_, as a frankish form of _raban_ or raven, cf. chrannus in the genealogy of the merovingian kings. cramlingas again compares with a frankish name chramlin from the same stem, while crucgingas seems to be a frankish form of rucingas, also on kemble's list. the first group of names, claude, cloud, &c., are referred to o.h.g. _laut_, loud, in the supposed sense of famous. _clod_ for _hlod_, fame. a.s. clodd (found in cloddes heal), clott (found in clottismôr), clud (found in cludesleah)[48]--frnk. chlodio, cludio, 5th cent.--eng. claude, cloade, clodd, cloud, clout. _compounds._ (_gis_ or _kis_, hostage), o.g. hludokis--eng. clukas (for cludkis?). (_hari_, warrior), frnk. clothar, chluthar--eng. clothier, clutter. (_man_, vir), eng. cloudman, cloutman (for which no ancient equivalents as yet turn up.) the next group, croad, crowd, &c., may be referred to _hrod_, glory, the stem from which are formed robert, roland, roger, &c. _crod_ for _hrod_. a.s. cruda, found in crudan sceat--frnk. chrodo, crodio--eng. croad, crowd, crowdy, croot, crout. ending in _en_, p. 27. frnk. chrodin--eng. cruden. _compounds._ (_har_, warrior), frnk. chrodohar--eng. crowder. (_gar_, spear), frnk. crodeger--eng. croger (=roger). (_mar_, famous), a.s. cruddemor, found in cruddemores lacu--frnk. chrodmar--eng. cromar. the next group, croke, crock, &c., are from a stem _hroc_, the root-meaning of which seems to be the same as eng. _croak_, and the idea of which, as in some other stems (see _im_ in voce emma), may probably be that of strength, fierceness, or huge stature, derived from a harsh and gruff voice. cf. o.n. _hrokr_, vir fortis et grandis. _crock_ for _hroc_. a.s. crucga, found in crucgingas; croch, found in crochestun, now croxton in norf.--frnk. crocus, cruccus--eng. croke, crock, crooke, crotch, crutch. _compounds._ (_her, heri_, warrior), o.g. roacheri--eng. croker, crocker. eng. crockett might represent a frankish crochad or crochat (_had_, war), not turned up. perhaps from a similar origin may be the name of crida or creoda, king of mercia, as representing a stem, _hrad_, or _hred_ (o.h.g. _hradi_, celer), whence probably the hræda in the traveller's song. kemble has two tribe-names, creotingas and cridlingas (the latter, derived from a place in yorkshire, being perhaps doubtful so far as regards the tribe, though a man's name all the same). _crad_ for _hrad_. a.s. creoda, found in creodan âc, creodan hyl, creodan treow--cridda, found in criddan wyl--cridd, found in criddes hô--creota, found in creotingas--cretta, _lib. vit._--eng. creed, creedy. ending in _el_. a.s. cridel, found in cridlingas--eng. criddle. perhaps the most characteristic peculiarity of the frankish dialect is the prefix of _g_, or its sharper form _c_, before names beginning with _w_.[49] hence it is that the french have such a word as guerre (=gwerre) which is _g_ prefixed to a german _wer_ or _war_. and such names as guillaume, gualtier, and guiscard, which are from _g_ prefixed to wilhelm, walter, and wiscard (our wishart). hence, also, such a place-name as quilleboeuf in normandy, being, with a _c_ prefixed, the same, i take it, as an english willaby (_boeuf_, as mr. taylor has shown, representing the danish _by_). i have referred, p. 75, to the name cwichelm for wighelm or wichelm as a strongly-marked frankish form, but i cannot say that i find such forms generally prevalent in anglo-saxon times. kemble has three tribe-names in this form, cwædringas, cwæringas, and queningas. the cwædringas answer to the wætringas, and the wedringas, both also on kemble's list, and both, i take it, different forms of the same name; the cwæringas to the wæringas and the werringas, also different forms of the same name; the queningas to the weningas or the winingas. one or two of our names beginning with _gw_, as gwilliams, gwatkin, and perhaps gwalter, are probably due to the welsh, of which this prefix is also a characteristic. as representing the frankish form, we have more names in the sharper form cw, which is represented by _q_. under the present head comes the name of the highest lady in the land, _guelph_ (further referred to in next chapter), being a frankish form of welf (o.h.g. _hwelf_; eng. _whelp_). the names _welp_, _whelps_, and _guelpa_, appear in _suff. surn._, but whether english or not does not appear. quare, quary, quarry, quear, query, quarrier, quarman. quiddy, quitman, quittacus. quig, quick, quy, quiggle, gwyer, quier, quire. guille, guily, quill, quilke, gwillam, quillman, quillinan. guiney, quin, queen, queeney, guinan, quinan, queenan, quiner. quail, qualey, quint. quaint, quantock. gwilt, quilt, quilty, quilter, quaker, quash. the meaning of the stem _war_ is very uncertain; foerstemann proposes five different words, without including o.h.g. _werra_, eng. _war_, and it seems very probable that there may be a mixture of different words. _gwar, cwar_, for war. a.s. cwara, found in cwæringas--frnk. guario--eng. quare, quary, quarry, quear, query--french querrey. _compounds._ (_hari_, warrior), o.g. warher--eng. quarrier. (_man_, vir), o.g. warman--eng. quarman--french guermain. the stem _wid_, on which is formed _guid_ and _cwid_, may perhaps be referred to o.h.g. _wid_, wood, in the sense of weapon (see next chapter _in voce_ guido), though in this case also there may probably be a mixture of words. _gwid, cwid_, for _wid_. frnk. guid, guido, quido--eng. quiddy--french, guidé. _compounds._ (_man_, vir), o.g. witman--eng. quitman. (gis, hostage), o.g. witichis--eng. quittacus (_suff. surn._). the stem _wig_ or _wic_, on which are formed _gwig_ and _cwic_, may be taken to be from _wig_, war. _gwig_, _cwic_, for _wig_, _wic_. frnk. gwigo--eng. quig, quick, quy--fr. guiche, quyo. ending in _el_. o.g. wigilo--eng. quiggle. _compound._ o.g. wigger, wiher--eng. gwyer, quier, quire. the stem _will_, on which are formed _guill_ and _cwill_, may be referred to goth. _wilya_, will, perhaps, in the sense of resolution. _guil, cwil_, for _will_. frnk. guila--eng. guille, guily, quill--fr. guille, quille. _diminutive_ o.g. willic--eng. quilke--fr. quillac. _compounds._ (_helm_, helmet), frnk. guilhelm--eng. gwillam--fr. guillaume. (_man_, vir), o.g. wilman--eng. quillman--fr. guillemain. (_nand_, daring), o.g. willinand--eng. quillinan. i am inclined, from the way in which the names run into each other, to take _cwen_ and _cwin_ to be one and the same stem, and to refer them to a.s. _wine_, friend. _gwin, cwin, cwen_, for _win_. a.s. cwena, found in cweningas; quena, found in quenanden--frnk. guuine, quino--eng. guiney, quin, queen, queeney--fr. gueneau, quenay, quineau. ending in _en_, p. 27. a.s. cwenen, found in cwenenabrôc--eng. guinan, quinan, queenan--fr. guenin. _compounds._ (_hari_, warrior), o.g. winiheri--eng. quiner--fr. guinier, guinery, quinier. (_bert_, famous), frnk. quinabert--eng. guinibert. from the ang.-sax. _wealh_, stranger, foreigner, may be the following stem: _gual, cwal_, for _wal_. frnk. gualo, guala--eng. quail, qualey--fr. guala. then there are some other stems not sufficiently represented to make it worth while to put them into a tabular form, as quint, a frankish form of wind (the stem being supposed to mean wend), with the present french, quinty. also quaint and quantock, representing old german names, wando and wendico, the stem being perhaps as in the previous case. and gwilt, quilt, quilty, and quilter, which seem to be formed similarly on wild (ferus) and wilder. also quart for ward or wart, and perhaps quaker for waker and quash for wass (as in washington from wassingation). with regard to this last frankish peculiarity, which i conceive not to be of such ancient date as the preceding ones, i am inclined to suppose that the greater part of the english names in which it appears have come to us through the normans. and with regard to the others i would venture the general remark that inasmuch as the anglo-saxons in all probability more or less aspirated an initial _h_, it would perhaps be going too far to conclude that, in all cases where it has been hardened into a _c_, frankish influence is necessarily to be presumed. still, i think that the general result of the comparison which i have instituted, more especially considering the comparatively limited area from which the anglo-saxon examples have been drawn, is such as to give considerable support to the theory that franks were among the early settlers. besides the names of old frankish, _i.e._ german origin, which have come to us through the normans, we have also received from them some names, mostly of a religious character, from the latin, and from the hebrew. i have even ventured to suggest, in the next chapter, that it is to the franks that the italians are indebted for the name of dante (durante) from lat. _durans_. more certainly it is from them that the corresponding name _durand_ has come to us. the early frankish christians adopted several such names, some from the latin, as stabilis, clarus, celsus, electus (perhaps in some cases from the names of roman saints), some from the hebrew, not only scriptural names of men and women, but also such words as pasc (passover), seraphim, osanna, &c., and these they often mixed up with the old german words to which they had been accustomed, the names of the apostles peter and paul being so dealt with, and even the name of christ himself. this probably arose from the desire of parents to connect the names of their children with their own, as seems clearly shown in the case of a woman called electa, who gives to her two children the same name with a german addition, calling one electard, and the other electrudis. from one of these hybrid frankish names, clarembald, come our _claringbold_ and _claringbull_ and the french _clérambault_. from the above word, _pasc_, we have _pascoe_, _paske_, and _pash_, and the french have _pasquin_, corresponding with a frankish pascoin (pascwin). there is one richard osannas, a witness to an acquittance in the later anglo-saxon times, the name being probably from the frankish osanna, which seems, however, to have been originally a woman's name. in the same charter occurs also jordan, another of these old frankish names, taken presumably from the river--whence i take to be our _jordan_, and the french _jordan_, _jourdan_, and _jourdain_, probably also the name of the dutch painter _jordaens_. the name crist, which seems most probably from this origin (cristeus in the _pol. irm._) is not very uncommon in france; it occurs also in germany, and though i have not met with it in england, yet bowditch gives it as the name of a member of the new york legislature, where it may, however, possibly be german. it is rather amusing to see how the learned germans are occasionally a little mystified by these old frankish scriptural names. stark, for instance, sets down elisaba (elischeba, the hebrew form, i take it, of elisabeth) as celtic, and foerstemann, excusably perhaps, is posed with erispa (rispah, the daughter of aiah?), though i think he might have guessed osanna. before concluding this chapter i may refer to the _roll of battle abbey_, containing the names of the principal normans who came over with the conqueror. this has been severely impugned by some excellent antiquaries on the ground that some of the names are, on the face of them, regular english names, and such as could not reasonably be supposed to have been borne by normans. and hence it has been supposed that interpolations must have been made to gratify the vanity of certain families who wished their names to appear in the roll. this in itself does not seem an improbable suspicion, and i do not desire to go into the question further than to express the opinion that so far as the names themselves are concerned, there is not one that might not be a genuine norman name. indeed, the undisguised english form of some of them is to me rather a proof of the honesty of the scribe, for it would have been so easy to have given them a thin norman disguise. the suspicious-seeming names are of two kinds, names which appear to be from english place-names, as argentoune, chaworth, newborough, sanford, valingford, harewell; and names which seem to be from english surnames of occupation, or description, as hayward, archere, loveday. the former did present a genuine difficulty, and did justify suspicion till now that mr. taylor's discovery of an area in the north of france full of regular anglo-saxon place-names, and no doubt settled by anglo-saxons, has disclosed the source from which they could be derived. i opine then that the english scribe has done nothing more in the case of such names than restore them to the original form from which they had been more or less corrupted. nor indeed has he done it to as great an extent as he might have done, for i find several others which may be brought back to an anglo-saxon form, and it may be of some little interest to take a few of these norman surnames derived from place-names of the kind discovered by mr. taylor, and compare them with corresponding anglo-saxon place-names in england. i will take the names ending in _uil_, "well," of which the scribe has anglicised one (harewell), and show how many more there might have been. we have bereneuile and boranuile, corresponding with a.s. bernewell (now barnwell, in northamptonshire), from a.s. _brune_, brook, of which the well might be the source. then we have rinuuill, corresponding with an a.s. runawel (now, runwell in essex), _i.e._ a running or flowing well, berteuilay corresponding with a.s. beorhtanwyl (now brightwell, in oxfordshire), and vauuruile with an a.s. werewell (now wherwell, in hants), an inclosed well; from a.s. _woer_, inclosure. then we have beteruile comparing with an a.s. buterwyel (butterwell, butter and honey being used apparently to describe sweet waters), greneuile (greenwell), and glateuile, probably from a.s. _glade_, brook, and so same as bernewell. with respect to the second class of suspected names, such as hayward, archere, and loveday, these are all old frankish names, and the resemblance to anything english is only an accident. hayward represents an ancient agward or egward, and would be more properly ayward, though we find it as hayward (see p. 99) even in anglo-saxon times. so also archere (see p. 42) and loveday (p. 57) fall into their places as ancient frankish names. such names again as brown and gray, though a little anglicised in spelling, are names common to the whole teutonic system, and, as far as we are concerned, both came in with the saxons, being found in kemble's list of original settlers. i do not think it necessary to go more at length into the ancient frankish names contained in that roll, but before leaving the subject i would call attention to some of the names derived from the danish place-names of normandy. there are four names, dabitott, leuetot, lovetot, and tibtote (our name _tiptoft_), from the ending _tot_, which, as mr. taylor has shown, represents the scandinavian _toft_. and two names, duilby and linnebey, representing the danish _by_; house, habitation, village, so common in yorkshire and lincolnshire; also two more, braibuf and olibef, with the ending _buf_ or _boeuf_, which, as mr. taylor has shown, also represents the danish _by_, olibef being, perhaps, olafby, from the danish name olaf. seeing this to be the case, i venture to hint a suspicion as to the redoubtable name front-de-boeuf, and to suggest that it may after all be properly nothing more than one of these norman place-names ending in _boeuf_. such a name as, for instance, frodeboeuf, from a danish man's name, frodi, might give it. on the other hand, the plebeian-looking name _chasseboeuf_, which volney is said to have changed rather than have it supposed that any one of his ancestors had been a cow-boy, is, i doubt not, from a similar origin. such a name as shaftsby (from the anglo-saxon man's name shaft) would, when _by_ became corrupted into _boeuf_, naturally be made into chasseboeuf. i take, however, the name _leboeuf_ to be from a different origin, viz. from a frankish libolf or liubolf. there is yet one more name, lascales (our _lascelles_), which i think may be also from a danish place-name, the word _scale_ (o.n. _skali_, a wooden hut) being common, particularly in the lake district--in cumberland and westmoreland. i purpose to conclude this chapter with a few stems illustrative of the common teutonic element in french, english, and german names, including such italian names as i have been able to fall in with. the first stem, from a.s. _til_, bonus, præstans, seems to have been more common among the saxons than among the franks, and there are, consequently, more names corresponding in english than in french. _dill, till, bonus._ a.s. dilla, tilla, in dillingas and tillingas--o.g. dilli, tilli, thilo; tilli, _lib. vit._; dill, tilly, tillé, _hund. rolls_--eng. _dill_, _dilley_, _dillow_, _till_, _tilley_--germ. _dill_, _till_, _tilo_--fr. _dilly_, _dillé_, _tilly_, _tillé_--ital. _tilli_. ending in _ec_, probably diminutive. a.s. tilluc--eng. _dillick_, _dilke_, _tillick_, _tilke_--fr. _dilhac_. _patronymic._ eng. _tilling_--germ. _dilling_. ending in _en_, p. 27. tilne, _lib. vit._--eng. _dillon_--germ. _dillen_--fr. _dillon_, _tillon_. _compounds._ (_fred_, peace), tilfred, _lib. vit._--eng. _tilford_. (_gar_, spear), a.s. tilgar--dilker, _hund. rolls_--eng. _dilger_, _dillicar_. (_had_, var), tilhaed, _lib. vit._--eng. _tillott_--fr. _dillet_, _tillot_. (_man_, vir), a.s. tillman--tilmon, _lib. vit._--tileman, _hund. rolls_--eng. _dillman_, _tillman_, _tileman_--germ. _dillemann_, _tilmann_--dutch. _tillemans_--fr. _tilman_. (_mar_, famous), o.g. tilemir--eng. _dillimore_. (_mund_, protection), a.s. tilmund--fr. _tilmant_. (_wine_, friend), tiluini, _lib. vit._--eng. _dillwyn_. (_her_, _heri_, warrior), a.s. tilhere (bishop of worcester)--eng. _diller_, _tiller_, _tillier_--fr. _dillery_, _tillier_. the following stem may be taken to be from a.s. _hyge_; o.h.g. _hugu_, mind, thought; a.s. _hogian_, to study, meditate. the form _hig_, which seems to be more particularly saxon, intermixes considerably in the english names. hig, hog, hug, _thought_, _study_. a.s. hig, hicca, hocg--o.g. hugo, hug, huc, hughi, hogo--eng. _hugo_, _hug_, _hugh_, _huie_, _huck_, _hogg_, _hodge_, _hoe_, _hick_, _hickie_--germ. _huge_, _hugo_, _hucke_, _hoge_--fr. _hugo_, _hugé_, _hug_, _huc_, _hue_, _hua_--ital. _ugo_. ending in _el_, probably diminutive. a.s. hicel--o.g. hugila, huckili--eng. _hugall_, _huckell_, _whewell_, _hickley_--germ. _hügel_--fr. _hugla_, _huel_--ital. _ughelli_. ending in _lin_, probably diminutive. a.s. hugelin (chamberlain to edward the confessor)--hugelinus, _domesday_--hueline, _lib. vit._--eng. _huelin, hicklin_--fr. _huguelin, higlin_--ital. _ugolino_. ending in _et_, probably diminutive. a.s. hocget--o.g. huetus, thirteenth century--hueta, _domesday_--eng. _huggett, howitt, hewitt_--fr. _hugot, huet_--ital. _ughetti_. ending in _es_, probably diminutive. o.g. hugizo--eng. _hughes, hewish, hodges_--fr. _hugues_. _kin_, diminutive. hogcin, _lib. vit._--eng. _hodgkin_. ending in _en_, p. 27. a.s. hyeken--hygine, _lib. vit._--eng. _hoggin, hucken, higgen_--fr. _hugan, hogan, huan, hoin, hienne_. _compounds._ (_bald_, fortis), a.s. higbald (bishop of lindisfarne), hibald--o.g. hugibald, hubald--eng. _hibble, hubble_--fr. _hubault_--ital. _ubaldo_, _ubald_(_ini_). (_bert_, famous), a.s. higbert (bishop of worcester)--o.g. hugubert, hubert--eng. _hibbert, hubbard_--germ. _hubert_--fr. _hubert_. (_hard_, fortis), o.g. hugihart, hugard--eng. _huggard, heward_--fr. _hugard, huard, huart_. (_laic_, play), a.s. hygelac--o.g. hugilaih--o.n. hugleikr--eng. _hillock, hullock_--fr. _hulek_. (_lat_, terrible,?), hugolot, _lib. vit._--eng. _hewlet, higlet_. (_lind_, mild), o.g. hugilind--eng. _hewland_. (_man_, vir), a.s. hiccemann--eng. _hugman, hughman, human, higman, hickman_--germ. _hieckmann_--fr. _humann_. (_mot_, courage), o.g. hugimot--eng. _hickmot_. (_mar_, famous), a.s. hykemer--o.g. hugimar--eng. _hogmire, homer, highmore_. (_wald_, power), o.g. hugold--fr. _huault_. perhaps also, from _noth_, bold, though i do not find an ancient name to correspond--eng. _hignett_, and fr. _hugnot, hognet_. i will take for the last example the stem _magin, main_; a.s. _mægin_, strength, force; eng. _main_, which is rather better represented in french names than in english. there are names, maianus and meinus on roman pottery, which might, however, be either german or celtic. o.g. magan, main--main, _lib. vit._--eng. _magnay, mayne_--germ. _mehne_--fr. _magné, magney_--ital. _magini_. _compounds._ (bald, fortis), o.g. meginbold--fr. _magnabal_. (_burg_, protection), o.g. meginburg--fr. _mainbourg_. (_frid_, peace), o.g. maginfrid--fr. _mainfroy_. (_gald_, value), o.g. megingald--fr. _maingault_. (_ger_, spear), o.g. meginger--eng. _manger_. (_gaud_, goth), o.g. megingaud fr. _maingot_. (_had_, war), o.g. magenad--fr. _maginot_--(_hard_, fortis), o.g. maginhard, mainard--eng. _maynard_--germ. _meinert_--fr. _magnard, maynard_--ital. _mainardi_--(_hari_, warrior), o.g. maganhar, mayner--germ. _meiner_--fr. _magnier, maynier_--ital. _maineri_. perhaps also to this stem (with _nant_, daring) we may put magnentius, the name of a german who usurped the imperial purple and was slain a.d. 353, also the fr. _magnan_ and _maignan_. these three stems, in one of which the anglo-saxon predominates, and in another the frankish or high german, while in a third there are two parallel forms, anglo-saxon and frankish, running side by side, may be taken as fairly representative of the system upon which teutonic names are formed. footnotes: [47] this name may be, not improbably, one of those that were brought over after the revocation of the edict of nantes. [48] we also find the other form, hlud, in hludes beorh, hlud's barrow, or grave. [49] some further remarks on this frankish prefix will be found in the succeeding chapter on italian names. chapter viii. the german origin of great italians as evidenced in their names. the successive waves of german invasion that swept over italy, leaving their record in the name of one of its fairest provinces, while they added a few german words to the language, left a much larger number of german patronymics in the names of its families. the christian names borne by well-known italians, such as _alberto, arnolfo, bernardo, carlo, enrico, federigo_ (frederic), _francesco, leonardo, luigi, ludovico, mainardo, odoardo_ (edward), _ridolphi, sinibaldo, ugo_ (hugo or hugh), _onofrio_ (humphrey), all of german origin, sufficiently attest this to have been the case. and i think we shall be warranted in assuming, as in the case of france, that if this be the case with christian names, it cannot be essentially different with regard to surnames. but inasmuch as i have not had the same opportunity of collating and examining the mass of italian surnames that i have had in the case of those of france, i propose to shape the comparison into a rather different form, and, without departing from its etymological purpose, to endeavour to give it something of an ethnical interest as well. this admixture of german blood could not fail to have an influence--and, we can hardly doubt, an invigorating influence--upon the character of the softer and more receptive italian race. it may not then be without interest--though we need not attach more importance to the result than it deserves--to endeavour to trace the result of that admixture in the names of illustrious italians. for it is somewhat remarkable how many of the men most distinguished in the council and in the field, in science, literature, and in art, bear names which testify to a german origin. and we are even able, in certain cases, to indicate with a fair amount of probability the particular race of germans from whom these names may be taken to be derived. the rule laid down by max müller (_science of language_) that words in italian beginning with _gua_, _gue_, _gui_, may be taken to be pretty certainly of german origin, holds good also of italian names. now this form of _gua_, _gue_, _gui_ represents the prefix of _g_ before _w_, which was a special characteristic of the franks, as it is still of their descendants, the french, in such names as guillaume (=gwillaume) for wilhelm or william. in some cases, though more rarely, this prefix of _g_, in accordance with a high german tendency, becomes a hard _c_ and is represented by _q_, as in _queringi_ and perhaps _quirini_. such names then as _gualdo_, _guardi_, _guido_, _guicciardini_, _guarnerius_, may be taken as certainly of german, and i think, more especially of frankish origin. to begin with the names of warriors, the list may well be headed by that of the old hero, _garibaldi_. garibald (_gar_, spear, and _bald_, bold) was a well-known old german name, being borne, among others, by a duke in bavaria in the sixth century, by six bishops in the three centuries following, and, what is more to the purpose, by two lombard kings in italy. we ourselves have the name in its saxon form (_gor_ for _gar_) as _gorbold_ and _corbould_ (o.g. kerbald), and the french have it as _gerbault_. "blind old _dandalo_" may also be claimed as german; dandalo, corresponding with an o.g. dantulo, being formed as a diminutive from the old german name dando. i have elsewhere made the suggestion, which i venture here to reproduce, that _bonaparte_ may also be a name of german origin, slightly changed to give it a seeming meaning in italian. the case stands thus. bonibert and bonipert are found as old frankish names, respectively of the seventh and the ninth centuries. in that part of italy which was overrun by the franks, namely at turin, is to be found the present italian name _boniperti_, which we can hardly doubt to be derived from the old frankish bonipert. now from this part of italy came originally also the bonapartes, and the question is simply this, may not the name _bonaparte_ originate in an attempt to give something of an italian meaning to this other name _boniperti_, which would convey no sense to an italian ear? the french still have the old frankish name as _bompart_ (changing _n_ before a labial into _m_, as they do in edimbourg for edinburgh); there was a vice-admiral of that name who proved his courage by engaging, though unsuccessfully, an english frigate of superior force. and we--or at any rate the americans--have it in a saxon form as _bonbright_ (_suffolk surnames_). and very appropriate, if we were to translate it, would be the meaning--_bona_, a slayer, and _bert_ or _pert_, illustrious. the two distinguished families of the _adimari_ at florence and of the _grimaldi_ at genoa both give evidence of german descent in their names (o.g. adimar and grimwald); as regards the latter indeed it is to be traced historically, though the position of the present representative, as ruler of the principality of monaco and recipient of its doubtful gains, is perhaps hardly in accordance with the higher traditions of his family. the name, _alphonso_, of a duke of ferrara in the middle ages, was one given also by the germans to a still more illustrious lineage in spain. alphonso is a contraction of the o.g. adalfuns (_adal_, noble, _funs_, eager). the saxon form of _funs_ being _fus_, it seems to me that our name _adolphus_ may be properly adel-fus, and not a latinization of adolph. german also are the names of the two great rival factions of the _guelphs_ and the _ghibellines_, guelph being a frankish form of welf or welp, eng. whelp, and the ghibellines deriving from an old german name gibilin, traced by mone to a burgundian origin. thus the guelphs, given originally by germany to italy, were afterwards transplanted again to germany, and thence to england, to rule far above all factions. and again, we find the bonaparte, whose ancestor was expelled from italy as a ghibelline, come forward to pursue on a grander scale his hereditary feud with the guelphs. in the names of scholars and men of science the german element is very strongly represented. we find _accolti_ (o.g. achiolt for agiovald[50]), _alamanni_ (o.g. alaman), _algarotti_ (o.g. algar for adelgar), _ansaldi_ (o.g. ansald for ansovald), _audifredi_ (o.g. audifred), _bertrandi_ (o.g. bertrand), _gualdo_ (o.g. waldo), _giraldi_ (o.g. girald), _gosselini_ (o.g. gosselin), _guicciardini_ (o.g. wichard), _lanzi_ (o.g. lanzi), _lamberti_ (o.g. lambert for landbert), _manfredi_ (o.g. manfred), _maraldi_ (o.g. marald), _odevico_ (o.g. ottwic for audewic), _orlandi_ (o.g. arland for hariland), _raimondi_ (o.g. raimund), _rolandini_ (o.g. roland for rodland), _roberti_ (o.g. robert for rodbert), _sacchi_ (o.g. sacco), _quirini_ (o.g. guerin, werin). we may add to the list the name of the historian _sismondi_ (sigismund), who, though born at geneva, must, i apprehend, have been of italian origin. the name in its uncontracted form, _sigismondi_, is also found in italy. among the names of distinguished explorers and discoverers, we have _americus_ (o.g. emrich), who gave his name to america, and _belzoni_ (o.g. belzo). german are also the names of the pope _aldobrandini_ (o.g. aldebrand), and of the philanthropist _odeschalchi_ (o.g. odalschalch), whose name, if translated, would be the appropriate one of "servant of his country." the painters are not quite so strongly represented as the men of letters and science, the two principal names being those of _lionardo_ (o.g. leonhard) and of _guido_. guido is one of the frankish forms to which i have before alluded, and is formed by the prefix of _g_ to the name wido or wito,--it was not an uncommon name among the old franks, and is found at present among the french as _videau, viteau_, and _guidé_. the ill-omened name of the assassin _guiteau_ i take to be from the same origin, and to be of french extraction. so also may be our own name _widow_, which corresponds with a wido of about the twelfth or thirteenth century in the _liber vitæ_. there is another italian name, _guidubaldi_, that of a duke of urbino, in the middle ages, formed on the same stem with the addition of _bald_, bold, and corresponding with a frankish guidobald. the word concerned seems to be most probably goth. _vidus_, o.h.g. _witu_, wood, used in a poetical sense for weapon.[51] other names of painters are _baldi_ (o.g. baldo), _baldovin_(_etti_) (o.g. baldwin), _anselmi_ (o.g. anshelm), _ansuini_ (o.g. answin), _aldighiero_ (o.g. aldegar), _algardi_ (o.g. alagart), _alberti_ (o.g. albert for adalbert), _alloisi_ (o.g. alois = alwis), _ghiberti_ (o.g. gibert), _gherardini_ (o.g. gerard), _gennari_ (o.g. genear), _ghirlandaio_ (o.g. gerland), _tibaldi_ (o.g. tiebald for theudobald). also _guardi_, another of the frankish forms before referred to, representing an o.g. wardi, and the same name as eng. _ward_, for which we find a corresponding a.s. weard. of those eminent in the sister art of music, we have _castoldi_ (o.g. castald for castwald), and _frescobaldi_. this last name does not figure in foerstemann's list, but we can hardly doubt its german origin, _bald_ being a typical german ending, while fresc, as a teutonic name, is found in the fresc(ingas), early saxon settlers in england, another instance of the common tie which binds all teutonic names together. we may add to the list, as the name of a living composer, _guglielmo_ = wilhelm or william. among those who were accessory to music as instrument-makers, we have _stradivarius_ and _guarnerius_ (o.g. guarner for warinhar) corresponding with our own names _warriner_ and _warner_, and present french names _ouarnier_ and _guernier_. it will not be out of keeping with what we should expect if we find the german element develop itself in the conception rather than in the execution of music, and in the combination of science and patience which led to the success of the old instrument-makers. but it is in the names of immortal singers that we find the german element most conspicuously represented. dante himself bears a name which, though not in itself german, may yet have been given to italy by the germans, while as to his second title, _alighieri_, there seems hardly any doubt of its german origin.[52] dante is a contraction of _durante_, which seems to be derived most naturally from latin _durans_, and it might seem something of a paradox to suppose a latin race to be indebted to the germans for a latin name. and yet i think that there are some grounds for supposing it to be a name adopted by the early frankish converts to christianity, and by them transmitted to the italians. for we find durant, durand, and durann as not uncommon german names, apparently frankish, in the eighth and the ninth centuries. and we find the word moreover made up into a german compound as durandomar (_mar_, famous). the french have moreover at present, derived we may presume from their frankish ancestors, another name, _durandard_, similarly formed (_hard_, fortis). now this is precisely the same principle as that on which the early frankish converts, as we find from the _pol. irm._ and the _pol. rem._, used to form many of their names, taking a word of christian import from the latin or otherwise, and mixing it up with the old german compounds to which they had been accustomed. thus, for an example, we find that a woman called electa, which we can hardly doubt means "elect," gives to her son the name of electard, a similar compound to durandard. there seems then, on the whole, a fair amount of probability for this suggestion, which would moreover sufficiently account for the manner in which the name is common to france, italy, germany, and england. the french have it as _durand_, _durant_, and _durandeau_ (besides _durandard_ already noted); the italians as _durante_, _duranto_, and _durandi_; the germans as _durand_ and _dorand_; and we ourselves as _durand_ and _durant_. our names came to us no doubt through the normans,--there is a durand in the _roll of battle abbey_, and it is not till after this period that we find it as an english name. for the german origin of _tasso_ a rather stronger case can be made out, tasso and taso being found as ancient german names, and the latter in particular being a lombard leader in italy. but there was another lombard called taso, who, as a man of remarkable sanctity of life, and as the founder of a monastery at volterra, was eminently likely to leave a name behind him in italy. _tasso_ is still a current name in that country, and our surname _tassie_, along with the french _tassy_, may be taken to be the same name. both we and the french have also _tassell_, formed from it and corresponding with tassilo, the name of a bavarian king of the sixth century. the meaning of the word has not been satisfactorily explained, and this may be one of the cases in which the original word has either greatly changed in meaning, or else has perished out of the language. another name which we may take pretty certainly to be of german origin is _leopardi_, corresponding with the o.g. leopard, for liubhard (_liub_, love, and _hard_, fortis). there was a lombard named leopard who was abbot of nonantola in italy in the tenth century. then we have _amalungi_, from the o.g. amalung, fifth century, a patronymic form, "son of amal or amala," the (perhaps mythical) forerunner of the goths. the french have the name, _hamel_ and _ameling_, and we have _hammill_, _hamling_, and _hambling_. this is another of the cases in which a name has outlived its etymon; we know that _amal_ was a word of honourable meaning, but as to its origin even the patient research of the germans has failed to find a clue. the name _amalthius_ may also be taken as certainly german, from _amal_ as above, and the common old german ending _thius_, _dio_, or _tio_, servant, though we do not find a name to correspond in the _altdeutsches namenbuch_. there was also a painter _amalteo_, whose name is a variation of the same. another name which i take to be german, without finding the ancient name to correspond, is _boiardo_, _boi_ (supposed by the germans to mean bavarian) being a common prefix in old german names, and _hard_ one of the most common endings. the french have, among other names derived from their frankish ancestors, the corresponding names _boyard_ and _poyard_, and we ourselves have _byard_, which i take to be from the same origin. then we have _berni_ (o.g. berno), _bernini_ (o.g. bernin), and _beroaldus_ (o.g. berowald). there remain yet two distinguished names, _alfieri_ and _guarini_. the former may be from the o.g. alfheri, _alf_, elf, and _heri_, warrior, the sense contained in the former word being perhaps that of occult wisdom. hence it would correspond with our surnames _albery_ and _aubery_, alfheri and albheri being convertible old german names. _guarini_ may, with somewhat more of certainty, be taken to be from the old frankish name guarin, formed on the principle already referred to on other old german names, warin and warno. hence our names _warren_ and _warne_, and the french _guérin_. the wearningas, "sons or descendants of wearn," are among the early saxon settlers referred to in chapter iv., and warin is found as an early name in the _liber vitæ_. there are some other names which may very possibly be of german origin, but the form of which is not sufficiently distinct to make the connection generally intelligible. i conclude this chapter with a suggestion as to the possibly german origin of one who but of late occupied a considerable place in european politics, viz. _gambetta_. this name is of italian origin, and i venture to think may be one of those given to italy by the germans, and perhaps most probably by the lombards. there was a gambad who ruled over ticino in the ancient duchy of milan, and was subsequently driven out by pertharit, who thereupon became the ruler of the whole of lombardy. gambad seems to be probably a lombard form of ganbad (_gan_, magic, or fascination, and _bad_, war), or it might be of gandbad (_gand_, wolf), both ancient german stems. this name gambad would in french take the form of gambette,[53] and in italian of gambetta. it would be curious if this name were one left behind by the lombards (or possibly even the franks) in their invasion of italy, and restored to france to rouse her to a gallant though unavailing attempt to stem the tide of another german invasion. and very suitable too would be the name, in the sense of magic or fascination, to one whose energy and eloquence acted as such a potent spell to revive the drooping courage of his countrymen. footnotes: [50] when there are two old german names, the former is that which is found in a form most nearly corresponding with the italian, the latter is that which may be taken to be the most correct form. [51] names of a similar kind are the o.g. gervid, our _garwood_, signifying "spear-wood." also the o.g. asquid, whence the ascuit in _domesday_, and our present names _asqwith_ and _ashwith_, signifying "ash-wood," of which spears used to be made. [52] diez takes it to be a contraction of adalgar. [53] as in the french names _gerbet_ and _herbette_, representing the old frankish names gerbad and herbad. chapter ix. various unenumerated stems. in the present chapter i propose to include a few stems which were not taken into account in my previous work, or respecting which i may have something more to say. i have referred, at page 75, to lappenberg's theory, that franks, lombards, and frisians were associated with the saxons in the early invasions of england. his theory seems to be based only upon the general relations which subsisted between these different tribes, and the various other occasions on which they are found to have been acting in concert. i have, in a previous chapter, referred to the subject so far as the franks are concerned, and endeavoured to show that there were in anglo-saxon times, and that there are in our names at present, certain peculiarities which are in accordance with frankish forms, and so far favour the theory that franks were among the early settlers. there is another peculiarity which seems to be found in some of the names of anglo-saxon times, the form _ch_ for (as i suppose) _g_, as in such a name as cissa (chissa) and cippa (chippa). cissa i should suppose to be the same name as gisa, that of a bishop in the time of edward the confessor, and cippa the same as gyp in gypeswich. may not this be a frisian form? chippo comes before us as a name apparently frisian. chipp, chipping, chipman, cheese, chesson, chesman, chesnut, churn, chirnie, chitty. if the above be correct, chipp, corresponding with an anglo-saxon cippa found in cippenham, a ceapa found in ceapan hlæw, and cypa in cypingas, also with a chippo probably frisian, would be another form of gibb or gipp, _geban_, to give. and cheese, which appears as chese in the _hundred rolls_, may represent cissa as another form of gisa (_gis_, hostage). there is a present friesic name tsjisse, which, though it looks more like an attempt to represent a sneeze than anything else, i take to have the sound of chissa. chesson may be taken to be from the ending in _en_, p. 27, and chesnut might be from the ending _noth_, bold, frequent in anglo-saxon names. churn and chirney, corresponding with an o.g. chirno, and perhaps with the cearningas among the early settlers, might come in here as another form of _gern_, eager. and chitty, perhaps the same name as that found in the cidingas, may possibly be, on the same principle, another form of giddy, kiddy, or kitty (stem _gid_, hilaris). mumm, mummy, mummery. there are a few old german names, mostly of women, in mam and mum. and there are also two old frankish women's names, mamma and momma (apparently overlooked by foerstemann), in the _pol. irm._ it seems difficult to take these names as from anything else than the widely-spread word signifying mother. in an age when names sat much more lightly than they do now, one might fancy such a word superseding a woman's original name. i can even conceive the possibility of such a name, its origin having somewhat passed out of sight, being given in a masculine form to a son. we have several instances in the _pol. irm._ of such a custom; for instance, where, the mother being called genesia, the son is called genesius, and the mother being called deodata, the son is called deodatus. however, this cannot be taken for anything more than a somewhat speculative suggestion. as in present use, the french name mumm is well known in connection with dry champagne; the germans have muhm, and though i am not quite certain of mumm as an english name, i think we may count upon mummy (ending in _i_, p. 24). mummery might be a compound (_hari_, warrior), but from the facility with which _n_ passes into _m_, i should be more disposed to take it to be a corruption of munnery, corresponding with an o.g. munihari, goth. _munan_, to think. body, freebody, goodbody, lightbody, peabody, handsomebody. _body_ i take to be from o.n. _bodi_, envoy or messenger. it is found as an ending in many ancient names, particularly among the saxons. and in our surnames it appears sometimes as representing ancient names, and sometimes more probably as a sobriquet of a later period. in the "household expences" of eleanor, countess of montford, a.d. 1265, the names of her three messengers are given as treubodi, gobithesty, and slingaway. these are all sobriquets,--treubody is "trusty messenger," gobithesty is from a.s. _sti_, a footpath, hence the name may be equivalent to "short-cut," and the last explains itself. our name handsomebody has clearly been a sobriquet of the same kind, and, referring to the older sense of "handsome," means a handy or useful messenger. peabody, which i think may have been originally pipbody, from _pipr_, swift, active, may also have been a sobriquet. so may goodbody and lightbody, but it is by no means certain. we might take our lightfoot to have been a sobriquet, but we find a corresponding name, lytafus (_fus_, foot) on roman pottery. freebody probably represents the o.g. frithubodo, compounded with _frith_, peace. bragg, brackie, bray, pray, bragan, bracken, brain, bracking, brackett, brayman, brakeman, brewin. there are two different origins from which this stem might be derived, a.s. _brego_, king, ruler, and a.s. _bracan_, to break, subdue, crush, the former being perhaps preferable upon the whole. there are but very few names in old german, and foerstemann does not make any suggestion as to the origin. a.s. bræg (found in brægeshale), bracca (found in braccanheal). o.g. brachio, thuringian, sixth century. eng. bragg, brackie, bray, pray. ending in _en_, p. 27. a.s. bregen (found in bregnesford). eng. bragan, bracken, brain. ending in _el_, prob. diminutive. a.s. brakel (found in brakelesham). eng. breakell. _patronymic._ eng. bracking. _compounds._ (_had_, war?), a.s. breged (found in bregedeswere)--eng. brackett. (_man_, vir), eng. brakeman, brayman (mod. g. brackmann, french braquemin). (_wine_, friend), a.s. bregowin (archbishop of canterbury)--eng. brewin. lord, lording. we may take the above to be the same as an a.s. lorta and lorting, p. 100. and whatever may be the origin, it is certainly not a.s. _hlaford_, eng. "lord." there are two isolated names in the _altdeutsches namenbuch_, laurad and lorad, both seventh century, of which the anglo-saxon name seems not improbably to be a contraction. the word concerned might be a.s. _lâr_, lore, learning, old north. _lærdr_ (larad?), learned. stark however seems to take laurad and lorad to be celtic. but in the genealogy of the sons of woden in the _edda_ of snorro occurs the name loride, which, though snorro's names are not always trustworthy, seems to point to the existence of an ancient teutonic name corresponding with those in the _altdeutsches namenbuch_, and so far to favour the derivation which i have suggested. studd, stott, stout, stutter, stoddart, studeard. stitt, steed, stadd, stidolph. we find anglo-saxon names to account for all the names of the former of these two groups, viz., stut, stuter (_her_, warrior), and stutard (_hard_, fortis). the word concerned does not seem to have anything to do with eng. "stout," which seems to have lost an _l_, and to have been originally _stolt_. the group is no doubt parallel with the second group, which is more distinctly represented in old german names, and which may be referred to o.n. _stedia_, firmare, _staddr_, constitutus, a.s. _stide_, _stith_, firm, steadfast; our stidolph corresponding with an o.g. stadolf, and a stithuulf in the _liber vitæ_. fogg, foggo, fudge, few. there are old german names focco and fucco, for which foerstemann proposes o.n. _fok_, flight. and there is a fuca, rather probably a corresponding name, on roman pottery. among the anglo-saxons we have focingas, early settlers in kent. also focga and fucg, deduced from place-names, p. 99. foerstemann seems to take this as the stem on which is formed _fugal_, fowl, bird. flagg, flack, fleck, fluck, fly, flea, flew. the fleccingas are among the early settlers inferred by mr. kemble. and there are also anglo-saxon names flegg, flecg, and flogg, deduced from place-names, p. 99. the name flôki, of a northman in the _landnamabôk_, also comes in here. there is also another northman called flugu-grimr, "fly or flyer grim," a kind of inverted surname. the origin may be taken to be a.s. _fleogan_, o.n. _fliuga_, to fly. and this group may be taken to be fundamentally parallel with the last. clean, cline, klyne. there is a clen in the genealogy of the merovingian kings, and there is perhaps an a.s. clena to be deduced from the place-names clenanford, clenancrundel, &c. it may probably be from a.s. _clêne_, clean, pure. "the original sense seems to have been bright."--_skeat_. this may probably be the sense in names. swears, swearing, swire, squire, square, squarey, squirrell. the stem _swar_, _swer_, in o.g. names, is referred by foerstemann to o.h.g. _suari_, weighty, important, goth. _swers_, honourable. there is an a.s. sweor found in a place-name, p. 102, and there is an o.g. suaring corresponding with our swearing. also a suara on roman pottery, which i take to be german, and to represent the stem of which suaring is a patronymic. i take squire and square to be phonetic corruptions of swire and swear, and squirrell to be properly swirrell, a diminutive. lumb, lump, lumpkin. lumbe is also a present german name, and seems to be the same as an o.g. lumpe, which stark takes to be a contraction of some compound name, perhaps lundbert. lump and the diminutive lumpkin are from _suffolk surnames_, and may be german and not english. knell, nelly, nill, kneller. of the cnyllingas, settled in northamptonshire, i find no further trace in anglo-saxon times, nor anything to correspond in old german names. the name is also a very uncommon one at present, the above knell, nelly, and nill being all taken from _suffolk surnames_, though knell at all events was an english name. kneller, as the name of the painter, is of dutch origin; it seems to be a compound from this stem (_hari_, warrior). the origin may perhaps be found in o.n. _hnalla_, to beat. knapp, knapping, knibb, knipe, knipping, naf napp, napkin, knife, knyvett. one of the oldest low german names on record is hnaf, mentioned in the "traveller's song," written, as supposed, about the fifth century. there is a corresponding o.g. hnabi, eighth century, the origin being, no doubt, a.s. _cnapa_, _cnafa_, son, boy. to this may be placed our names knapp, napp, and the patronymic knapping. (the name naf, in _suffolk surnames_, may possibly not be english.) i also take the a.s. cnebba[54] to come in here, also hnibba, found in hnibbanleah (hnibba's lea), and nybba, found in nybbanbeorh (nybba's barrow), and so connect also our names knibb, knipe, and knipping. stark also brings in here the name cniva, of a gothic king of the third century, and cnivida, also the name of a goth, placed by foerstemann to a.s. _cnif_, knife. if this be correct, our name knife might also come in here, parallel with knipe, and also knyvet as probably a diminutive. also napkin, another diminutive = germ. _knabchen_. pim, pym. the father of the lombard king rachis was called pimo. there is also a pymma about the tenth century in the _liber vitæ_. as to the origin of the name, i am unable to offer any suggestion. it may be, as stark opines, a contraction of some compound name. wambey, wampen. wamba was the name of a west-gothic king in the seventh century, and there was also a deacon of the same name a few years earlier. i do not know of it as an anglo-saxon name, but i suppose scott must have had some authority for introducing it as the name of the jester in _ivanhoe_. the only derivation that can be suggested is from the goth. _wamba_, belly, giving it the meaning of "paunchey." but it was not a nickname in the case of the gothic king, for he bore it upon his coins, and it is difficult, as stark observes, to suppose such a name for a king. finding, however, on certain of his coins the variation wanba, stark is inclined to think that it may be a contraction of some name such as wanbert. was it by literary intuition that scott pitched upon such a name for the jester, or did he know of its supposed meaning of "paunchey"? the name may be represented in our wambey, though it is perhaps quite as likely to be from some danish place-name in _by_, such as wanby or wandby. wampen, however, if there is such a stem, might be placed to it. strang, strong, strank, strangward, strangwick, stringle, stringfellow. there are two a.s. forms, _strang_ and _streng_, represented in the above. the only anglo-saxon names that i can find are a stranglic dux in a charter of ina, and a streng, found in strengeshô, "streng's grave-mound." stranglic is the a.s. _stranglic_, strong, and looks like a sobriquet which had superseded his original name. streng might be the same as far as it is itself concerned, but there is an o.g. strangulf (_ulf_, wolf) which, along with our own names strangward and strangwick, strongly suggests an ancient baptismal name, and a formation in accordance with the teutonic system. the last name, stringfellow, must have been a sobriquet,--it probably represents a mediæval strengfelaw, and has been rather curiously corrupted, owing to the meaning of _streng_ not being recognised. stray, straw, stretch, streek, strain, strickett, straight. closely allied to _strang_ and _streng_ are a.s. _strac_ and _strec_, violent, powerful, brave, whence i take the above. the only ancient names to correspond are an o.g. strago, ninth century, and strocgo, eighth century. strain and straight represent respectively the forms stragin and stragget, formed with the endings in _en_ and in _et_ referred to in chapter ii. stark, starkie, starr, starch, sturge, sturgin, sturgeon, stericker. from the a.s. _stearc_, _sterc_, o.h.g. _starah_, _starh_, stiff, strong, i take the above. this form _starc_ seems formed by metathesis from the above _strac_,--indeed, all the three forms, _strang_, _strack_, and _stark_, are etymologically very closely allied. this stem enters distinctly into the teutonic system, but besides the simple form stark, corresponding with o.g. starco and staracho, we have only stericker, corresponding with an o.g. starcher (_her_, warrior). eavestaff, langstaff, wagstaff, hackstaff, shakestaff, costiff. these names ending in _staff_ might naturally be taken to have been sobriquets, to be classed along with shakespear, breakspear, and other names of the same kind. but as regards two of them at least, hackstaff and shakestaff, there may be something more to be said. there is an ending _staf_ in teutonic names, for which grimm, referring to gustaf, thinks of o.h.g. _stab_, a.s. _staf_, staff,--in the sense, as i should suppose, of baton, or staff of office. there are only discovered as yet two old german names with this ending, chustaff and sigestab. the former, which seems to be from _cunst_ or _cust_, science, learning, may be the original of the swedish gustaf, and possibly of costiff, one of the curious names gathered by mr. lower. corresponding with the o.g. sigestab, we find an a.s. sigistef, a moneyer of coenwulf. and there is also a hehstaf, witness to a charter (_thorpe_, p. 69). shakestaff, then, might be a not very difficult corruption of sigestef (which in the form of sicestaf would approach still nearer). and hackstaff might represent the a.s. hehstaf, in which the second _h_ was no doubt strongly aspirated, and might be more like a hard _c_. i, however, only bring this forward as a possible explanation; there is quite as much to be said for the other view, unless other ancient names turn up. nagle, nail, hartnoll, darnell, tuffnell, horsenail, hoofnail, isnell, braznell, coppernoll. there is in my view no more curious or puzzling set of names than those which, as above, are derived from _nagel_ or nail, clavis. it appears to me, though the line is difficult to draw, that they may be divided into two groups, one of which is the representative of ancient baptismal names, and the other of surnames of a later, perhaps a mediæval, date. connected with the former we have nagle and nail, corresponding with an o.g. nagal, ninth century, and an a.s. negle and næle, found in place-names, p. 101. then there are two old german compounds, hartnagal (hard nail) and swarnagal (heavy nail), respectively of the eighth and ninth centuries. the former of these two names we have as hartnoll, and the germans have it as härtnagel. then i find two more examples among the anglo-saxons, spernægle in a charter of manumission at exeter, and dearnagle in a place-name, p. 98. spernægle is "spear-nail," and dearnagle is probably the same, from o.n. _dörr_, spear. the latter of these two names we seem to have as darnell, and the germans as thürnagel. then we have tuffnell, which, as mr. lower mentions, was in the seventeenth century spelt tufnaile, and might be taken to mean "tough-nail," but for this we find no corresponding ancient name. there is a celtic dufnal, to which, as being a name adopted from them by the northmen, and so having an increased chance of being represented, it might perhaps be placed. but if this be the case (which i rather doubt), it would have nothing to do with the present group. the sense in these ancient names may be taken to be a warlike one, as in the case of other names having the meaning of point or edge, acies. we find nægling as the name given by an anglo-saxon to his sword, in accordance with the ancient custom, prevalent both among the celts and the saxons, of giving names to weapons, and this assists to point the meaning as that of edge, acies. and it seems to me hardly necessary to assume, with mone (_heldensage_), any connection with the mythological smith, weland. then there is another set of names of which we have a considerable number, and the germans still more, which appear to have been given at a later period, and to be perhaps, at least in some cases, derived from trade. such are horsnail, and the corresponding german rosnagel; hoofnail, and the german hufnagel; while there are others, such as isnell (iron nail), coppernoll (and germ. kupfernagel), about which i hardly know what to think. hone, hean, heaney, onken, ennor, honner, henfrey, enright, onwhyn, enough. a very common stem in a.s. names is _ean_, the meaning of which remains yet unexplained. we seem to have received it both in the low german form _ean_ and the high german form _aun_ or _on_. the honingas (oningas) among the early settlers must, i think, be placed to it. it is very apt to intermix with another stem _an_, to which i formerly placed a few names which i think should come in here. stem _ean_, _en_, _aun_, _on_. a.s. eana, enna (found in ennanbeorh), hean (found in heanspôl, &c). also onna (found in onnandun). hona, found in honingas. ona, _lib. vit._ o.g. ono, oni. eng. hean, heaney, hone. fries. onno. _diminutive._ a.s. honekyn (found in honekyntûn, now hankerton). eng. onken. _compounds._ (_frid_, peace), a.s. eanfrith--o.g. aunefrit, onfred--eng. henfrey.[55] (_hari_, warrior), o.g. onheri--o.n. onar--eng. honnor, ennor. (_rad_, _red_, counsel), a.s. eanred--o.g. onrada--eng. enright (=enrat?). (_wine_, friend), a.s. eanwini, inwine (found in inwines burg)--eng. onwhyn. (_wulf_, wolf), a.s. eanulf--o.g. aunulf brother of odoaker, fifth century--eng. enough. (_ward_ guardian), eng. onword. impey, empey, hemp, hamp, hamper, hemper. mr. kemble finds impingas in impington, in cambridgeshire, though it would seem incorrectly, as far as the tribe or family is concerned, the name being only that of a man, impin. the name impa is found also in ympanleage, in worcestershire. a sufficient meaning may perhaps be found in a.s. _impan_, to plant, engraft. to this stem i place impey, hemp, and probably hamp, while hamper and hemper may be compounds (_hari_, warrior). there is a stem _umb_ in old german names, which may perhaps claim relationship. caunce, chance, chancey, chancell, cansick, kensal, kensett. the cenesingas, found by kemble in kensington, would, if the anglo-saxons had possessed the requisite letters, have been better represented by kenzingas, being, as i take it, from a stem _ganz_, _genz_, _kenz_, referred by foerstemann to _ganz_, integer. i am inclined to take our names chance, chancey, &c., to represent the form _kanz_ in a softened form, come to us through the normans. the forms of the name in the _roll of battle abbey_, kancey, cauncy, and chauncy, and the present french names, cance, chanceau, and chanzy, seem to be in conformity with this view. the french seem to have some other names from the same stem, as cançalon (o.g. gansalin) and gantzère (o.g. gentsar). the forms cansick, kensal (both diminutives, and the latter answering to chancel), and kensett, may be taken to represent the native form of the stem as found in kenzingas. snoad, snodin, snowden (?), snodgrass. of the snotingas, who gave the name to snotingaham, now nottingham, we have not many traces, either in anglo-saxon times or at present. there are three anglo-saxon names, snode, snodd, and snoding, derived from place-names, p. 102. in old german names it only occurs as the ending of two or three names of women. the meaning is to be found in a.s. _snot_, prudent, sagacious. the name snodgrass may be a compound from this stem as a corruption of snodgast, though no ancient correspondent has turned up,--compare prendergrass, p. 114. thrale. this is a very uncommon name; i never knew of an instance other than that of the brewer who is handed down to posterity as the friend of johnson. so also in ancient times there is only one name on record, thralo, for which foerstemann proposes old friesic, _thrall_, swift, nimble. earwaker, eddiker. the curious-looking name earwaker is no doubt the same as an eueruacer (everwacer), in _domesday_, from _evor_, boar, and _wacar_, watchful, and it is of interest as supplying a missing link in the study of old german names. for the old german name corresponding to this appears as eburacer, and while some other german writers have taken the ending to be _acer_ (eng. _acre_), foerstemann has, rightly as it is proved, suggested that it is a contraction of _wacer_. similarly the ancient name odoacer, of the king of the heruli, is proved by corresponding anglo-saxon names, edwaker in a charter of manumission at exeter, and edwacer on coins minted at norwich (a.s. _ed_ = o.h.g. _od_), to be properly odwacer. from this a.s. edwaker may be our name eddiker; and some others of our names, as _goodacre_ and _hardacre_, may represent ancient names not yet turned up.[56] the second part of the compound, _wacer_ (whence our _waker_), is itself a very ancient stem, being found on the one hand in the wacer(ingas), among the early saxon settlers, and on the other in the name vacir, probably frankish, on roman pottery. shawkey, chalkey, chalk, caulk, kelk, chalklen, calking, chalker, chaucer. we may take it that our name shawkey (shalkey) is the same as an a.s. scealc, p. 101, and as an o.g. scalco, from _scalc_, servant. and the question is, whether our names caulk, chalk, and chalkey, corresponding with an a.s. cealca (found apparently in cealcan gemero), and our name kelk, corresponding with an a.s. celc, p. 98, may not be forms of the same name without the initial _s_. or whether they may be, as i before suggested, from the tribe-name of the chauci or cauci, one of the peoples included in the frankish confederation. of such a stem, however, there is not any trace in the _altdeutsches namenbuch_, which one might rather expect to be the case, seeing how fully old frankish names are therein represented. however, i am not able to come to any definite conclusion respecting this stem, which the forms above cited show to be an ancient one. the french names chaussy, chaussée, cauche, cauchy, seem to be in correspondence, as also chaussier, comparing with chaucer, which, as a softened form, i think may have come through the normans. footnotes: [54] kemble explains cnebba as "he that hath a beak," which would seem to make it a sobriquet. but it certainly seems more reasonable to bring it into an established stem. [55] this name might also be deduced from another stem. [56] unless, as seems possible, goodacre may represent the old german name gundachar. chapter x names which are not what they seem. it follows inevitably that, among the multitude of names such as are included within the scope of this work, there must be many which, though being of ancient origin, accidentally coincide with other words of modern meaning. and thus there are several which might be taken to be from names of women, such as the following:-anne, nanny, betty, sall, moll, pegg, babb, magg, meggy, may, mayo, nelly, lucy, kitty, hannah, maude. these are all english surnames, and have sometimes been accounted for on the supposition of illegitimacy. now, i am very much inclined to doubt the existence, at least in england, of any names derived from women, inasmuch as in the whole range of our surnames i do not know of one that is _unmistakably_ so derived. there is certainly a case, referred to at p. 57, of a surname ending in _trud_, a specially female ending, but, as i have there remarked, it does not necessarily follow that the word is the same as that used in women's names. there is, moreover, another name which a little puzzles me, _goodeve_, which looks as if it were from the a.s. godgefa, later godiva. this is from a special female ending, and i know of no corresponding masculine. but this might be an exceptional case, for i doubt not that many a child in england, and possibly even boys, with an unwonted masculine ending, might be called after the noble woman who freed her people from the tax- "and made herself an everlasting name." however, whether this might be so or not, the case seems scarcely sufficient of itself to establish the principle. and with regard to names such as those of which i am now treating, the resemblance is only apparent, and, as i shall proceed to show, these are all in reality ancient names of men. anna, for instance, was a king of the east angles, and moll the name of a king of northumbria. anna, betti, salla, moll, pega, are early men's names in the _liber vitæ_, and all of the above are to be found in some kindred form in the _altdeutsches namenbuch_. and some of these names still bear their ancient meaning on their front, thus pegg is the "pegger," and moll (or maule, the more proper form) is the "mauler," the stem being referred to goth. _mauljan_, to maul. to take, then, these names in order, anne, which corresponds with many ancient names besides that of the king of the east angles, among others with that of an anna, archbishop of cologne in the eleventh century, may be referred to o.h.g. _ano_, ancestor. and hannah (more properly hanna) is, with the ending in _a_, p. 24, the same as hanney and hann, probably from the same stem, the _h_ being falsely assumed. nanny corresponds with an o.g. nanno, referred to goth. _nanthian_, audere. betty, along with which we must take batty, is to be referred to a.s. _beado_, o.h.g. _bado_, war, found in many ancient names. sall, along with sala, is from a stem, p. 62, supposed by foerstemann to mean dark. kitty, along with kitt and kitto, and also kidd, corresponding with an a.s. cydd, p. 98, and a cyda, in the _liber vitæ_, is from a stem _gid_, _kit_, referred to a.s. _giddian_, to sing. babb, corresponding with an a.s. babba, the name of a moneyer, and other ancient names, is from a stem which foerstemann thinks must have been originally derived from "children's speech." magg and meggy, corresponding with an a.s. mæg and mecga, and an o.g. megi, are from a stem referred to goth. _magan_, posse, valere; and may, along with mayo, corresponding with an o.g. maio, and perhaps with a maio on roman pottery, is a softened form of the same. lucy corresponds with an o.g. liuzi, a high german form from _liud_, people, and i think must have come to us through the normans. nelly, along with knell, is referred to at p. 161, as probably from o.n. _hnalla_, to beat. maude stands on a somewhat different footing from the rest, the surname being really in this case from the same origin as the woman's name. but the woman's name, as i shall endeavour to show in the next chapter, owes its origin to an ancient mistake, and is properly a man's name. _names apparently from animals._ many of the names apparently from animals are also to be otherwise explained. a few of the nobler animals, as the bear, the wolf, and the boar, are to be found in the names of men throughout the teutonic system. the lion also and the horse occur, though by no means so commonly. the _urus_, or wild ox, appears to have contributed a few names, of which our _ure_ may be one. i have met with the fox in one single instance, that of a northman, füks, on a runic inscription quoted by stevens, though it is rather probable that foxes beorh, "fox's barrow" (kemble, _cod. dip._), may also be from the name of a man. among birds, the eagle, the raven, and the swan were common throughout the teutonic system, the last, among the germans, more especially in the names of women. to account for this, weinhold observes that along with the beauty of the swan was contained a warlike sense derived from the swan plumage of the maids of odin. but among the danes and the saxon sea-rovers swan seems to have been common as a man's name, and in this case the idea was more probably that of the way in which the swan rides the waters as the ideal of a rover's life. the eagle, the raven, the swan, the hawk, and the finch seem to be found in the earningas, the ræfningas, the suaningas, the haucingas, and the fincingas, among our early settlers, though the two last do not seem to occur in the teutonic system generally. i doubt all names that appear to be from fishes, and, with one notable exception, all names that appear to be from reptiles or insects. that exception is the snake, which was in special favour for the names of men among the danes and northmen, there being no fewer than twenty-four men called ormr (worm or snake) in the _landnamabôk_ of iceland. hence the name _orme_, rather common among us, and the saxon form _worm_, not by any means common. among the germans the snake was, according to weinhold, who looks upon it as the type of fascination and insinuation, in especial favour for the names of women. the two principal words in use among them were _lind_ (o.h.g. _lint_, snake) and _ling_ (o.n. _lingvi_, serpent). hence may be our _lind_ and _lindo_, corresponding with an o.g. linto; and _ling_ and _lingo_, corresponding with an o.g. lingo, and an o.n. lingi. but both of these derivations are somewhat uncertain, and especially the former, for i venture to think that _lind_, gentle, is at least as appropriate for women as _lind_, snake. to come then to the names which i take to be otherwise explained. camel, leopard, buck, pigg, rabbit, cat, rat, mouse, squirrell. goose, gosling, gander, duck, duckling, ostrich, lark, wren. fish, shark, dolphin, salmon, trout, whiting, smelt, haddock, herring, tunny, spratt, minnow, lamprey. moth, mote, fly, flea, earwig, emmett. of the above, camel is another form of gamol, signifying old; there is a northman called kamol in a runic inscription in stevens. leopard (see p. 151) is a corruption of liubhard. buck is found among the early saxon settlers, also as an o.g. bucco, and a buccus, rather probably german, on roman pottery, and may be taken to be another form of bugg, p. 3. pigg, corresponding with an o.g. pigo, must be referred to the same stem as pegg, viz. _bichen_, to slash. rabbit is no doubt the same as a rabbod, a "duke of the frisians" mentioned by roger of wendover, a contraction of radbod, p. 119. catt, along with cattey, is another form of gatty, corresponding with an o.g. gatto (_gatten_, to unite). ratt, corresponding with a french ratte, may be referred to an o.g. rato (_rad_ or _rat_, counsel). along with mouse i take moss, also a present german muss, and a french mousse, all of which may be referred to an o.g. muoza, a high german form of _môd_, _môt_, courage; this name having rather probably come to us through the normans. squirrell i have referred to at p. 160. goose and gosling i also take to have probably come to us through the normans, as representing a high german form of the stem _gaud_ (supposed to mean goth). there are to compare french names gousse, gosselin, josselin, corresponding with old german names gauso and gauzelin, the latter a diminutive. hence also, as a christian name, jocelyn, of old frankish origin, come to us through the normans. gander is from an a.s. gandar, referred to in its place as a compound of _gand_, probably signifying wolf. duck, corresponding with a duce (hard _c_) in the _liber vitæ_, is another form of tuck, as in the tucingas, early settlers in kemble's list, from the stem _dug_, a.s. _dugan_, to be "doughty." and duckling, corresponding with an a.s. duceling, p. 98, and an o.g. dugelin, is a diminutive (like gosling) from the same stem. ostrich represents an o.g. austoric, and an a.s. estrich (_auster_ or _easter_ orientalis). wren, along with rennie and renno, is from a stem referred to _ran_, rapine; though it may also be the same name as rain, from _ragin_, counsel. lark and laverock are perhaps a little uncertain; we find anglo-saxon names lauerc, lauroca, and laferca, which might be from the a.s. _laferc_, o.e. _laverock_, lark. on the whole, however, i am rather more disposed to take them to be from lafer among the early settlers (not i think a compound) with the diminutive ending _ec_, and similarly i would take leverett to be formed from the same word, _lafer_ or _lefer_, with the (perhaps also diminutive) ending _et_. coming to names apparently from fishes, i question very much whether fiske and fish are from a.s. _fisc_, pisces, though foerstemann, in default of a better, gives that meaning in an ancient name, fisculf. i think it is one of the cases in which a meaning is to be got from the celtic, and take it that the welsh _ffysg_, impetuous, supplies the sense that is required, of which also some slight traces are to be found in teutonic dialects. shark and sharkey i take to be the same name as sere in the _liber vitæ_, from a.s. _serc_, sco. "sark," shirt, in the sense of a shirt of mail. it is formed, according to diefenbach, upon a stem _sar_ or _ser_, signifying armatura, p. 62; whence an o.g. saracho, corresponding with the above. the sercings are a tribe or family mentioned in the "traveller's song," and in connection with the serings: "with the sercings i was, and with the serings." the connection between the two, however, is here probably only for the sake of the alliteration. dolphin is the danish name dolgfinnr, p. 48. there was a dolfin, presumably of scandinavian origin, governor of carlisle in the time of rufus. herring and whiting are both from the anglo-saxon patronymic, p. 28, and haddock, with the m.g. hädicke, is a diminutive from the stem _had_, war, p. 54. tunny, along with tunn and tunno (tunna, _lib. vit._), is another form of dunn, a common anglo-saxon name. spratt i class along with sprout and sprott, comparing them with an o.g. sprutho, as from goth, _sprauto_, nimble, active. and minnow, along with minn and minney, corresponding with an o.g. minna, may be taken to be from a.s. _myn_, love, affection. salmon is the same as an o.g. salaman, from, as supposed, _salo_, dark; and trout may be the same as an o.g. truto, probably signifying beloved. smelt may be taken to be from a.s. _smelt_, gentle; it occurs once as the name of an anglo-saxon, but does not seem to be a word entering into the teutonic system, and may have been originally a sobriquet. lamprey i have already referred to, p. 115, as a probable corruption of landfred. of names apparently from insects, moth and mote (mote, _hund. rolls_) are probably the same as an o.g. moata, from _môd_, _môt_, courage, german _muth_. fly and flea are included in a stem, p. 159; and emmet may be taken to be from a.s. _emita_, quies, found in several ancient names. earwig i have taken, p. 49, to be a contraction of evorwig, as earheart of everhard, and earwaker of evorwacer.[57] many other names of the same sort might be adduced, but those i have given will i think be sufficient for the purpose. _names apparently from office or occupation_: lord, earl, abbott, nunn, bishop, priest, alderman, prentice, prince, hayward, howard, angler, archer, auther, farrier, hurler, player, mariner, warner, walker, plowman, arkwright, hartwright, sievewright, goodwright. lord, as noted at p. 158, can hardly be from a.s. _hlaford_, eng. lord. earl, however, along with early, seems to be the same word as eng. "earl," though as a name entering into the teutonic system it is only a word of general honorific meaning, and may not represent any man who ever bore the title. abbott i take to be the same as an a.s. abbod, p. 96, the stem being, as supposed, from goth. _aba_, man. nunn, along with nunney and noon, compares with nun, the name of a kinsman of ina, king of wessex, and with o.g. nunno and nunni, the meaning of which seems somewhat obscure. bishop, at least in its origin, can hardly have been from the office, for there is a biscop in the genealogy of the kings of the lindisfari, who must of course have been a heathen. the name in this case may be a compound of _bis_ (closely allied to _bas_, p. 5) and a.s. _côf_, strenuous, which we find as the ending of some other a.s. names. but after the advent of christianity, a man, though inheriting the old name, would no doubt wear it with a difference. priest must, i think, be what it seems, there is a witness to a charter (_thorpe_, p. 69) whose name is preost, and whose description is "presbyter"; his original name, whatever it was, must have been so completely superseded by that of his office that at last he accepted it himself, and signed accordingly. alderman i have taken, p. 116, to be, even in anglo-saxon times, a corruption. such a name, as derived from office, could hardly be borne by an anglo-saxon, unless, indeed, as a sobriquet, superseding his original name. so also prentice, from an a.s. prentsa, i take to be due to a corruption in anglo-saxon times. i am not sure that prince may not be from the same name, prentsa, dropping the vowel-ending and becoming prents. a name which has been mistakenly supposed to be from some office of agricultural oversight is hayward; it is however an ancient name, more properly agward or egward. howard, which has been sometimes confounded with it, is an entirely different name, the o.n. hâvardr (_hâ_, high), introduced i think by the danes or northmen. some names formed with _wright_, as arkwright, hartwright, sievewright, and goodwright, will be found in their places in chapter iii. as, according to my view, ancient compounds. i might perhaps add boatwright, from an o.g. buotrit, and also cheesewright, for which we have the stem, p. 155, though no ancient form to represent this particular compound. the wrihtingas, in kemble's list of early settlers, i take to be properly ritingas, from a stem _rit_, supposed to be the same as eng. "ride," though perhaps in an older and more general sense of rapid motion. many names ending in _er_, as ambler, angler, archer, auther, &c., are in reality from an ancient ending in _har_, signifying warrior. ambler represents an o.g. amalher, p. 42, angler an o.g. angilher, p. 42, archer an o.g. erchear, p. 42, and auther an o.g. authar, p. 42. farrier, along with ferrier, may represent an o.g. feriher, p. 49, and hurler an o.g. erlehar, from the stem _erl_ already referred to. gambler represents an o.g. gamalher, and player is the same as an a.s. plegher, from _pleg_, play, probably the play of battle. then we have mariner and marner, which, with french marinier and marnier, may be referred to an o.g. marnehar (_mar_, famous), and in a similar manner warrener and warner may be taken to be from an o.g. warnehar (warin = wern). among names of this class we may also include walker, of which there is abundant instance as an ancient name. kemble has wealceringas among the early settlers, as well as also wealcingas representing the stem on which it is formed, probably a.s. _wealh_, stranger. there was in after anglo-saxon times a walchere, bishop of lindisfarne, and ualcar is found in a runic inscription in stevens; while, as o.g. names, we have walachar and walchar, and as a present german name we have walcher. however, in view of the commonness of this name, it is perhaps only reasonable to suppose an admixture from a.s. _wealcere_, a fuller. i may here observe that this same ending, _har_, so common in ancient names, give us many names which have the appearance of a comparative, such as _harder_, _paler_, _richer_, &c., and in its other form, _hari_, many names such as _armory_, _buttery_, _gunnery_, _flattery_, which we have also in the other form as _armor_, _butter_, _gunner_, and _flatter_ (_flat_, formosus). _names apparently from times and seasons._ the names of this sort have generally been supposed to be derived from a person having been born at some particular time. that there are names of this sort, such as christmas, noel, and midwinter, we cannot for a moment doubt, but, judging by the early records of our names, they are of very rare occurrence, and i conceive that in the majority of cases names of such appearance are to be otherwise accounted for. sunday, monday, friday, holiday, loveday, hockaday, pentecost, lammas, lamaison, summer, winter, january. sunday may be sunda, comparing with an o.g. sundo, and an a.s. sunta, perhaps from _sund_, sea. similarly munday may be munda, to be referred, along with mundy, to _mund_, protection, and comparing with an o.g. mundo. the other four names ending in _day_ seem to represent ancient compounds, and in what sense these were given it is difficult to say. friday corresponds with an o.g. frittag and with an a.s. frigedæg, p. 99, holiday with an o.g. halegdag, loveday (luiedai in domesday) with an o.g. liopdag (_liub_, love), and hockaday, with a present french hocedé, with an o.g. hodag (_hoh_ or _hoch_, high). from the character of these names, compounded with "high," "holy," "peace," and "love," they might be supposed to have been given in a religious sense, and their date, the ninth century, would be in conformity. the anglo-saxon name frigedæg, it will be observed, is from the same word as our "friday," and not the same as the old german name, which is from _frid_, peace. but it seems to me quite possible that the anglo-saxons, having received the name, might mistake its meaning and spell it according to their own views. this they seem to do in some other cases, as, for instance, the stem _wit_, common to the teutonic system, and rather probably from _wid_, wood, they seem to take as from _wiht_, man, and spell it accordingly. summer and winter are both ancient names; in the _cod. dip. alamanniæ_ there are two brothers called respectively sumar and winter, a.d. 858. winter was also the name of one of the companions of hereward the saxon. pentecost i have elsewhere supposed, p. 120, to be a corruption of pentecast, as an ancient name. i rather doubt lammas, which is found as lammasse in the _hundred rolls_, and which corresponds with a french lamas. lamisso was the name of a lombard king of the fifth century, and was derived, according to an old chronicler, from _lama_, water, because in his youth the king had been rescued from drowning--a derivation which may perhaps be regarded with some suspicion. taking lammas then as the representative of an ancient name, we might get from it our name lamaison (ending in _en_, p. 27), though if lammas were from the diminutive ending is, _es_, p. 32, it could not take a german _en_ in addition; in this case the ending must be romanic, which, from the french form of the name, seems very possible. as to the name january, i am inclined to look upon it as a corruption of another name, jennery, which, along with jenner, i take to be the same as the old german names genear and ginheri, from, as supposed, _gan_, magic or fascination. _names apparently from parts of the body._ head, body, arms, legg, leggy, legless, finger, heart, earheart, side, back, elbow, foote, tongue. (lawless, bookless, fairless, reckless), fairfoot, truefitt. with the exception of foote and tongue, i do not think that any of the above are what they seem. head seems to be probably the same as a.s. hedda, which, like another name, hada, seems to be from _had_, war. body is clearly from _bodi_, messenger, p. 157, and arms is from an ancient origin, p. 19. legg i take to be the same as law, a.s. _lag_, found in several ancient names. hence i take legless to be the same as lawless, and both to mean "learned in the law," from an ancient ending _leis_, explained by foerstemann as "learned." this gives something like a meaning to some other names, as bookless; "book-learned"; fairless, "travel-learned"; perhaps reckless (a.s. _reccan_, to reck, understand). finger is a scandinavian name, p. 50, heart is a false spelling of _hart_, hard, and earheart is everard, p. 49. side is from an a.s. sida, p. 93, and back (bacca and bacga in the _lib. vit._) is another form of bagge, _bagan_, to contend. elbow i take to be elbo, from _alb_ or _alf_, signifying "elf." foote may be taken to be what it seems, though i think that such a name must have had a vowel-ending, as its meaning must be "footy," _i.e._ nimble, as "handy," from hand. comparing with our foote there is a name fus on roman pottery, which, see p. 4, it is clear from his little joke, that the owner took to be from _fus_, foot. it does not follow, as a matter of course, that the old potter knew the meaning of his own name; there is a word _funs_, sometimes _fus_, occurring in o.g. names in the supposed meaning of eager; this word would more appropriately be used without a vowel-ending than would _fus_, foot. foerstemann has a name, fussio, which does not, however, throw any light upon it. another name, however, also found on roman pottery, lytafus, corresponding with our lightfoot, rather seems to favour the meaning of _fus_, foot. two other names of a similar kind to lightfoot are fairfoot (properly farefoot; _faran_, to go, travel), and truefitt (properly truefoot) a name like treubodi, p. 26. the last name, tongue, corresponds with an o.g. tungo, which i take to be from _tung_, lingua, probably in the sense of eloquence. we must presume the name not to be high german. _names apparently from trees._ names from trees have been generally taken to be derived from a local origin, as marking the site of a man's habitation. there are, however, a number of names which i take in some, or in all cases, to be from a different origin. ash, aske, askey, beech, birch, alder, oake, oakey, ivy, linden, thorne, hasell, willow, sycamore, chesnut, rowantree. aske or ashe represents an ancient stem in teutonic names, perhaps derived from a mythological origin, man being feigned to have been created out of an ash-tree, perhaps from being the wood out of which spears were made (cf. _asquith_, p. 148). the ascingas were among the early settlers, and æsc was the name of the son of hengest. hence i take our names, ash, aske, and askey, with several compounds. the bircingas were also among the early settlers; the stem seems to be _birg_, supposed to mean protection, and entering into a number of names throughout the teutonic system. alder, which corresponds with an a.s. aldher, and an o.g. althar, is a compound of _ald_, old, and _hari_, warrior. the oak, as the symbol of strength, would seem suitable for men's names, but upon the whole it seems more probable that oake and oakey, aikin (a.s. acen, p. 96) and aikman (a.s. æcemann, p. 96), are from _ac_, _ec_, perhaps "edge," acies. ivy is the same as ive with a vowel-ending, and compares with an o.g. ivo, and an a.s. iffa, perhaps from o.n. _yfa_, to rage. linden is from _lind_, p. 175, with the ending in _en_, p. 27. hasel and thorn are both found in the list of early settlers, the former i take to be properly asel, corresponding with an o.g. asilo, from _as_ or _os_, semideus; the latter, which does not seem to occur in the teutonic system generally, i rather suppose to be a contraction of o.n. _thoran_, boldness. willow, along with will and willey, is also found in the list of early settlers, and corresponds with an o.g. willo, perhaps from _will_ in the sense of resolution. sycamore is from an o.g. sicumar, p. 162, and chestnut is referred to at p. 155. rowantree is no doubt from the tree, and may perhaps have reference to its supposed magical powers. rointru is also a french name, perhaps a relic of the many scotchmen who have at different times taken refuge in that country, though possibly of older origin. there are a few other names which may be included here. stubbe, stubbing, grove (grubb), twigg, sprigg (twine, twining, twiss, sprague, sprack, spark, spracklin, spreckly). stubbe might be taken to be of local origin, for nothing would be more appropriate to mark a locality than a stub. but the patronymic stubbing points to an origin of a different kind, and moreover we find stubingas among the early settlers. and there was also a stuf, nephew of cerdic, and a northman called stufr in the _laxdæla-saga_. the origin is to be found in o.n. _stufr_, _stubbr_, a.s. _styb_, branch, shoot, probably in the honorific sense of race or lineage. i take grove, along with which i put grubb, to be from germ. _grob_, dan. _grov_, coarse, clumsy; but no doubt in an older sense more suitable for men's names, and probably cognate with eng. "gruff," the idea being that of great size and strength. we find grobb as an anglo-saxon name, p. 99, and griubinc (son of griub) as an old german name, of which, however, foerstemann does not offer any explanation. grobe and grove are present german names (the latter low german), and grub and grubi are found in france. here also i may take twigg, corresponding with an a.s. twicga, moneyer of st. edmund, also with a tuica found in tuicanham, now twickenham. i take it to be from the same root as "twig," viz. a.s. _tweg_, two, and to have perhaps the meaning of "twin." (names of a similar kind may be twine, with its patronymic twining, and also twiss, corresponding with an o.g. zuiso, a.s. _twis_, twin.) sprigg i class along with sprague, sprack, and spark, corresponding with a spraga in the _lib. vit._, as from o.n. _sprackr_, prov. eng. _spragg_, _sprack_, smart, active. we have also, as a diminutive, spracklin, corresponding with a spraclingus in the _lib. vit._, and we have spreckley, probably the same name as that of sprakaleg, brother of sweyn, king of denmark, from o.n. _spræklegr_, sprightly. _names apparently from complexion or colour of hair._ such names as black, white, brown, have been no doubt in many, probably in most cases, original surnames. nevertheless they are also ancient baptismal names, and it is not by any means certain that these are from the same origin as the surnames. black, blacker, blake, blank, blanchard, white, brown, dunn, gray, gregg, craig, murch, murchie, smirke. the blacingas were among the early settlers. blecca was the name of a governor of lincoln, a.d. 627; blaca is an early name in the _liber vitæ_, and blac is a name in _domesday_. i am inclined to take black, along with blake, to be (of course as an ancient name) the same word as _blic_, found in some old german names, and to find the sense concerned in a.s. blican, to shine (which indeed is the root of _black_), hence to give it, like bright, the sense of "illustrious." hence i take our blacker and the french blacher to be the same as an o.g. blicker (_hari_, warrior)--the ancient family of blacker, i believe, trace their origin to nancy. i further take blank and blanchard (_hard_, fortis) to be a nasalised form of the above, and to have the same meaning. the stem will be found in more detail p. 46. i take white, so far as it may be of ancient origin, not to be from colour; in some cases it may be from _wid_, wood, and perhaps in others from _wit_, wisdom. in anglo-saxon names it is spelt _wiht_, as if from _wiht_, man--cf. o.g. witgar, a.s. wihtgar, o.g. witleg, a.s. wihtlæg, o.g. widrad, a.s. wihtræd, though, as i take it, it is the same word common to the teutonic system. the brownings (brûningas) were also among the early settlers, and brûn frequently occurs in after anglo-saxon times; among others there is a brûn bydel, "brown the beadle," in a charter of manumission. bruno also occurs as an old german name, and brûni was not an uncommon name among the northmen. i am rather disposed to question the derivation from brown, _fuscus_, and as in the case of black, to take the sense contained in the root, which seems to be that of burning or brightness. one of the northmen, called brûni, was surnamed "the white," so that in his case, at any rate, the name was not derived from complexion. dunn is another name that is found among the early settlers, and also in after anglo-saxon times. it seems to me to be at least as probably from o.n. _duna_, thunder, as from _dun_, fuscus. the grægingas (a.s. _græeg_, grey) are also found in the list of early settlers, though the name does not seem to figure much in after anglo-saxon times. there are old german names grao and grawo, and various compounds. the root-meaning seems to contain the sense of "horror," which may be that which is present in names, the idea being of course that of one who is a terror to others. as well as gray, we have gregg, and perhaps as another form craig,[58] and the germans have grau. the myrcingas among the early settlers may perhaps be represented in our murch and murchie (whence murchison), possibly also in s(mirke). whether the name is from a.s. _mirc_, dark, mirk, may be uncertain; professor skeat thinks of _marc_, limes, for the myrcingas, who are probably the same as the myrgingas of the "traveller's song." _names apparently from scriptural personages._ while names taken from the eminent characters of scripture have, ever since the advent of christianity, been in favour for the names of men, there are among our surnames some names which we must reasonably suppose are to be otherwise explained. pharoah, herod, esau, cain, jael, potiphar puddifer (ablard). of the above, pharaoh is only a misleading spelling of an o.g. name faro, perhaps come to us through the normans. and esau is a similar perversion of another o.g. name eso, probably from _as_ or _os_, semi-deus. cain is, along with gain, from the name gagin, cagen, p. 10, probably signifying victory. herod is, no doubt, the same as an a.s. herrid in a charter of wihtræd, from, as supposed, a.s. _herad_, principatus, found also in some old german names. jael i take to be most probably a softened form of gale, from a stem referred to a.s. _galan_, to sing. potiphar, along with puddifer, a french potefer, and perhaps a low german bötefur,[59] i take to represent an ancient name not turned up, from _bod_, _bud_, or _pot_, envoy or messenger, and _faran_, to travel, found as an ending in some old german names. abel is a name which, as frequently used for a christian name, might also be found in surnames. but there is a teutonic word _abal_, signifying strength, which may be more probably that which is found in the french abeillard, with which we have a name ablard to correspond. _names apparently descriptive of moral characteristics._ there are a number of names which, if they had been found as christian names, might have been supposed to be of puritan origin, but which as surnames must be otherwise accounted for. goodheart, stoneheart, godward, lovegod, lovegood, loveman, manlove, goodliffe, fullalove, godliman, goodenough, thoroughgood, humble, saint, badman, pagan, bigot, goddam, swears, swearing, scamp. of the above, goodheart and stoneheart are compounds of _hart_, hard, pp. 53, 63. so also godward lovegod, lovegood, loveman, manlove, goodliffe, and fullalove will be found in their places as ancient compounds in chap. iii. godliman i take to be a corruption of an o.g. godalmand (the _l_ being introduced in accordance with a principle referred to at p. 114) goodenough is referred to at p. 119, and thoroughgood at p. 120. humble i take to be the same name as the german humboldt, from an o.g. hunbald, the ending _bald_ often in our names becoming _ble_. saint i take to be the same as sant, _sand_ or _sant_, verus, the stem on which is formed sander in the list of early settlers. of the names apparently of an opposite character, badman, corresponding with a badumon in the _liber vitæ_, is a compound of _bad_, war. goddam stands for godhelm as william for willihelm. swears and swearing are explained, p. 160. scamp corresponds with an o.g. scemphio, derived by foerstemann from o.h.g. _scimph_, jocus. this may possibly be the older sense of the word, and scamp may have been nothing worse than a wag. pagan, with its contracted form paine, i have referred to p. 118. bigot, along with pigot, pickett, and probably beckett, and a pigota and picotus in the _liber vitæ_, may be the same as an a.s. picced, p. 101, which i take to represent the form pichad or bighad, from the stem _big_, with _had_, war. there is, however, another explanation suggested by our name bidgood. this name, for which the ancient equivalent has not turned up, seems to be from _bad_, war, and might have been bidgod (for _god_ and _good_ constantly interchange), which would readily contract into bigod or bigot. _names apparently from nationalities._ while we have a number of names derived from nations or races in accordance with the teutonic system, there are some others which might seem more obviously than most others to be from such an origin, and yet which must i think be referred to some other source. three of these, england, scotland, and ireland, i have already referred to at p. 9. english, inglis, roman, norman, genese, turk, spain. english i take to be a phonetic corruption of inglis, which seems to be the same as an ingliseus in the _pol. irm._, and which i rather suppose to be a transposition of an anglo-saxon ingils, for ingisil, from the stem _ing_, p. 56. roman, i doubt not, is contracted from rodman, p. 61, as robert is from rodbert, and roland from rodland. i introduce norman here as not being, in my view, from "norman" as we generally understand the term, but as representing more probably the word in its original sense of "northman." nordman was a scandinavian name, and hence it is i think that we have the name, which seems to occur more especially in scotland and the danish districts of england. genese i take to be most probably from the old frankish name genesius, perhaps from a stem _gan_, p. 52, with the ending in _es_, p. 33. turk corresponds with an a.s. turca, p. 111, which again is probably the same as a gothic turicus of the fifth century, a diminutive from the stem _dur_ or _tur_ found among the early settlers, and of uncertain meaning. spain i take to be from the a.s. _spanan_, allicere, found in some ancient names, and from which i take to be our name spenlove, (_leof_, dear) with the corruption, spendlove. the name spegen, corresponding with our spain, occurs in the _liber vitæ_ more than once--is its aspirated form due to the northumbrian dialect? of the names which are truly derived from nationality i will here only refer to one as an illustration of successive forms built one upon the other in accordance with the principle referred to in treating of the ending _en_, p. 27. boy, bye, pye, boyer, byard, boyman, pyman, beyerman, byron. there are three forms, the first representing the form _boi_, as found in the name of the boii, who gave the name to boioaria or bavaria, the second representing the extended form found in german _baviar_, the third the further extended form as found in _bavarian_. simple form boi. o.g. boio, beio, peio, ninth century. a.s. boia (in a charter of cnut). eng. boy, bye, pye. germ. boye french, boy, boye, poy, poyé. _compounds._ (_hard_, fortis), eng. byard--french boyard, poyart--italian boiardo. (_man_, vir), eng. boyman, pyman. extended form boyer. o.g. baior, peior, ninth century. english, boyer, byer. french, boyer, boyreau, poyer. _compound._ (_man_, vir), english beyerman. further extended form--bavarian. o.g. beiarin, eighth century. english byron. french boiron, boyron. _names apparently from abbreviated christian names of men._ as i began this chapter with names apparently from women, such as moll, betty, pegge, so now i propose to conclude it with names of a similar kind derived apparently from men. bill, billy, billow, will, willy, willoee, wilke, wilkie, wilkin, willis, willing, dick, dickle, tickle, dicken, benn, benney, bennoch, bennell, tom, tomb, toomey, tomey, dume, dummelow, dumbell, tommell, tomlin, dumlin, dumplin, harry, jack, jago, jacklin, boby, boffey, bubb, bobbin. no one would take our name billing to be other than from the anglo-saxon billing, of which so many traces are to be found in english place names. and no one, i venture to say, who looks into the subject, would dispute the ancient compounds formed on the stem, p. 45. why then should any one doubt bill himself, the father of them all, or billy, ending in _i_, p. 24, and billow, ending in _o_ and corresponding with an o.g. bilo? moreover the name is common to all the races who share with us in a teutonic ancestry; the germans have bille, the danes have bille, and the french have bille and billey. the same remarks apply to will, willey, and willoe, with the diminutives wilke, wilkie, wilkin, willis, patronymic willing, and compounds, p. 66. dick i take to be the same word as found in ticcingas, and suggest for it the meaning of power or vigour which seems to lie at the root. hence dickle and tickle are the same as the diccel found in diccelingas, and dicken is the same as an a.s. ticcen, p. 102, while dixie (dicksie) may be from the ending in _es_, p. 33. benn and benny represent the stem on which are formed the compounds, p. 45. we have also as diminutives bennoch, corresponding with an o.g. bennico, an a.s. benoc (in the genealogy of ida, king of bernicia), and a name bennic (bennici manû), on roman pottery; and bennell, corresponding with a gothic [greek: benilos], in procopius, besides other names in correspondence with ancient forms. tom has its vowel shortened, but i take it to be the same as tomb, toomey, tomey, and dume, probably from a.s. _dôm_, o.h.g. _tuom_, judgment, "doom," ancient names in correspondence being toma, p. 111, tumma _lib. vit._, and tomy _roll. batt. abb._ with regard to the last, i may observe that the french still have corresponding names, as thomé, tombe, thom, dome, &c. then, as diminutives, we have dummelow, dumbell, and tommell, corresponding with o.g. duomelo, tomila, tumila; and we have tomlin, dumlin (whence dumplin), corresponding with o.g. domlin, names in accordance with both of the above being also found in germany and france. harry, along with harrow, and harre, i take to represent the stem from which we have so many compounds, p. 55. jack, along with jago, and corresponding with an o.g. jacco, i take to be from o.h.g. _jagon_, to hunt. hence as a diminutive, we have jacklin, corresponding with jagelinus and jachelinus (_domesday_), and with present german jacklin, and french jacquelin. the stem seems to be somewhat better represented in french names than in english; among others they have jacquard (_ward_, guardian), who gave his name to the jacquard loom. boby, boffey, and bubb i take to be the same as boba, in a charter of egbert, and bofa, dux, in a charter of ceolwulf of mercia, also as old german names, bobo, bovo, boffo, and bubo, the word concerned being probably to be found in german _bube_, dutch _boef_, boy. kemble has both bobbingas and bovingas, different forms, i take it, of the same name, in his list of early settlers. our name bobbin, which corresponds with an o.g. bobin, may be taken as an example of the ending in _en_, p. 27. i trust that i have succeeded in making it clear, from the definite place which the foregoing are shown to occupy in the teutonic system, that they are not, as they have been generally supposed to be, familiar contractions of christian names. footnotes: [57] cf. also eng. "e'er" for "ever." [58] there seems probably an anglo-saxon name crecga in crecganford, now crayford. [59] nomen honestissimæ familiæ hamburgensis (_richey_). he evidently takes it as a sobriquet "beet (_i.e._ make up) the fire." chapter xi. christian names of women.[60] the names of women, so far as they are of german origin, enter into the teutonic system precisely as do the names of men, and there is, as far as i know, no instance of a stem used exclusively for the names of women. but in regard to the second part of the compound, which is that which governs the name, there are certain words which are only used for women. some of these are such as from their meaning would not be suitable for anything else, such as _trud_, from which we have _gertrude_ and _ermentrude_, both of which seem to be of frankish origin, and to have come to us through the normans. the anglo-saxon form appears to be _dryth_ or _thryth_, as in mildthryth, from which comes our _mildred_, the only name, as far as i know, in that form. another feminine ending among the anglo-saxons was _gith_, which, as elsewhere noted, i have supposed to mean woman or goddess. the only name we have with this ending is _edith_, unless, as seems not impossible, an anglo-saxon _godgith_ (godith, _lib. vit._) has got mixed up with _judith_. another specially female ending was _fled_, in h.g. _flat_, the meaning of which seems to be beauty. as a prefix this word enters into the names of men, and we may have some names from it, as _flatt_, _flattery_, _flatman_, &c. as an ending there may have been some word corresponding with o.n. _fliôd_, a beautiful woman, which has caused its special application. then there are certain words, such as _hild_, war, and _burg_, in which the meaning (condere, servare) may perhaps imply in such case modesty or chastity; which, as endings, are used almost exclusively for names of women. but as a general rule the same range of words forms indifferently names of men and women, the latter being distinguished only by having the ending in _a_. my object in this chapter is only to deal with a few names, in regard to which i desire to correct some wrong impressions, or to throw some new light upon the subject. and in the first place i have to refer to the connection between isabel and elizabeth, and to the manner in which i suppose the former name to have originated. isabel _another form of_ elizabeth, _and how it came to be so_. miss yonge in her _history of christian names_, is no doubt right in taking isabel to be another form of elizabeth, with which it is historically shown to have interchanged. but the etymological process by which this has been brought about has been always somewhat of a puzzle, and it is upon this point that i have to suggest an explanation. now the key to the puzzle is this: that the early frankish converts in the time of charlemagne, introduced the name, not only in its latin form of elizabeth, but also, and indeed more frequently, in its hebrew form of elischeba--it was elischeba that was made into isabel and not elizabeth. protected by its strong ending, elizabeth has retained its form unchanged. elischeba has been entirely lost to sight under a cloud of transformations. slightly modified to suit frankish pronunciation, it was introduced in the first instance as elisaba, elisabia, alisabia, and elisavia, all names of women in the _polyptique de l'abbé irminon_ and the _polyptique de saint remi de reims_. in the fourteenth century (if, indeed, it did not take place earlier) we find this old frankish form el(isaba) abbreviated into isabeau, its ending being made to conform to french ideas of spelling. isabeau was the name of the wife of charles vi. of france, and the name was still recognised as being the same as elizabeth. we have got to forge the connecting link between isabeau and isabel, but the process is not a violent one. it would not be difficult to suppose that the french idea of the fitness of things in the case of a woman's name would lead them to change this masculine-seeming ending, _beau_, into what they would conceive to be its appropriate feminine, and so make isabeau into isabelle. we need not suppose that this took place all at once, or that because one man changed isabeau into isabel, everybody else forthwith proceeded to follow his example. it is more probable that the two names existed side-by-side, together, for some time before the struggle for existence terminated in the survival of (what seemed) the fitter. throughout all these changes the identity of the name with elizabeth had always been recognised; but when isabel had finally succeeded in establishing its claim as the representative, the deposed isabeau, its origin having been forgotten, might have become a man's name, and so capable of transmitting surnames, which would account for isabeau as a family name in france at the present day. but these are not the only changes which have come over this unfortunate name, for we find elisavia, another of the old frankish forms before noted, forthwith abbreviated into lisvia, and further corrupted into lisavir and lisabir, all names of women in the two old frankish chronicles before referred to. and if we can again suppose the name lisavir (or rather elisavir), its origin having been forgotten, to have become a man's name (towards which its masculine-looking ending, _vir_, might have assisted) it might well give the origin of the name elzevir, of the famous printers at amsterdam. not that the name would necessarily be of frankish origin, for the hebrew form seems also to have been introduced into germany, where we find the woman's name, elisba, in the ninth century; and, it might be also into holland, while the phonetic principles which regulate such changes are more or less of general application. again, it seems not improbable that the spanish woman's name, elvira, for which no derivation at all satisfactory has been suggested, might be properly elzvira, and so again another form derived from elischeba. the question might naturally be asked how it is, seeing the various contractions which elischeba has undergone, that elizabeth has not been treated in the same way. in point of fact it seems probable that it has, for we find a solitary name isabeth in the _liber vitæ_ about the thirteenth century. this was before elizabeth had come into use in england, and the name might probably be an importation. but abbreviate elizabeth as you will you cannot disguise it, and this is what i meant in referring to it as "protected by its strong ending." and now, having dealt with the diversified forms that have grown up around elisabeth, i shall have, in a succeeding note, to endeavour to show that eliza, which might more certainly than any other form be supposed to be derived from it, is, in fact, of entirely different origin, and a name that was in use long before elizabeth was introduced; though at the same time we cannot doubt that as soon as ever that potent name came in, eliza would be at once appropriated by it. annabella, arabella, claribel, cristabel, rosabel. but in the meantime i may refer to some other names which seem cast in the same form as isabel; as for instance, annabella, arabella, claribel, christabel, and rosabel. with regard to these names, i am disposed to come to the conclusion, that though moulded into the same shape, they are not by any means all of a similar origin. annabella would be a very natural corruption of amabilla, a name in the _liber vitæ_ of durham. the same record contains, as names of women, amabilis, amabel, and mabilla, of course from latin _amabilis_--whence our mabel, on this theory the same name as annabella. arabella, again, might be a corruption of the old frankish heribolda--_bold_, as an ending often changing into _bel_, as in our surnames grimble and wimble, from grimbald and winibald, and tremble (most infelicitously), from trumbald (a.s. _trum_, firm, strong). so, also, claribel might be from an old frankish clarebalda, of which, however, we have only on record the masculine form, clarebald. this appears to be from latin _clarus_, illustrious, and is not the only case in which the old franks at that period mixed up latin and german in the same name. it is possible that christabel might be from a similar origin; for the early frankish converts at that period freely adopted the name of christ, and mixed it up with german compounds, such as cristhildis, a woman's name, from _hild_, war. but on the whole i am rather disposed to suggest a different origin for christabel. finding among the franks at that period such names as firmatus, stabilis, constabulis,[61] and the woman's name, constabilla, in the sense, no doubt, of "established in the faith," it might not be unreasonable to suggest such a compound as christabila, "established in christ," as the origin of christabel.[62] as to the last named, rosabel, the ordinarily-received expression of "fair rose" would be a natural and graceful name for women if the french had to form names at a later period. but there is a woman's name, rosibia, in the _pol. irminon_, which suggests a possible process like that in the case of isabel--viz., a corruption into rosibeau, and then a change into rosibel. however, as in this case the connecting links are wanting, i can only put this forward as a conjecture. maud _properly a man's name. its interchange with_ matilda _an ancient mistake_. as isabel interchanged in former times with elizabeth, so did maud with matilda, among other instances being that of the daughter of henry i., who was called by both names. yet, etymologically, maud can no more be derived from matilda than can giles from ægidius, by which it used formerly to be always latinized. and the interchange is rendered all the more curious by the fact that maud, when traced up to its origin, seems to be properly a man's name. there has evidently been some ancient mistake or misappropriation, the origin of which i hope to be able to account for. the names mald, maald, mauld (all names of women), found in the _liber vitæ_ before the introduction of surnames, and the christian name maulde, found in the fifteenth century, show the form from which our maud is immediately derived. then we have the older forms, mahald, mahalt, and maholt, all also apparently names of women. and in one case, about the twelfth or thirteenth century, the name stands as "mahald vel matilda." now no one who has given attention to the subject can doubt that mahald, mahalt, and the french form, mahault, are the same as an old frankish magoald, eighth century, from gothic _magan_, posse, valere, and _wald_ power. this is distinctly a man's name; indeed, _wald_, as an ending, is almost exclusively confined to men's names, as the ending _hild_, as in matilda, is to those of women. there is but one way that i can see out of the difficulty, and it is this. there is in the _liber vitæ_ another name, mahild, which is no doubt the same as an old frankish mahilda, which foerstemann (_altdeutsches namenbuch_) takes to be a contraction of matilda. it would seem, then, that some mistake or confusion has in old times arisen between these two names, and that mahild, which really represents matilda, has been set aside in favour of mahald, an entirely different name. the fact, however, of our having maude as a surname would rather seem to show that this misappropriation was not universal, for surnames are not--unless it be in some very exceptional cases--taken from the names of women. alice, alicia, eliza, adeliza, alison. alice _properly a man's name, and_ eliza _its proper feminine_. i have seen it stated, though i cannot at present recall the authority, that in one of our ancient families alice is a name given to the sons and not to the daughters. this would at any rate be etymologically correct, for alice is properly a man's name, and not a woman's. it is, there seems little doubt, derived from the anglo-saxon adelgis, of which the female form was adelgisa. it is clear that alice (aliss) represents adelgis, and not adelgisa, and that the proper female form would be alisa, or, for euphony, aliza. i venture to suggest that our eliza, generally and very naturally assumed to be an abbreviation of elizabeth, is in fact this missing name. now, for the proofs of aliza as the representative of adelgisa, we must refer to the _liber vitæ_ of durham, in which we can trace the changes that have taken place in adelgisa since the first noble lady of that name laid her gift upon the altar. first we find it contracted into adeliza, and then, from about the twelfth century into aaliza and aliza, the latter name being henceforward rather a common one. the former of these two contracted forms, adeliza, though not a name in common use, is one still given to the daughters of certain of our noble families; the latter form, aliza, i take to be the origin of our eliza. (the initial vowel is of no account, the ancient name beginning indifferently with _a_ or _e_, and alice in some families appearing as ellice). but concurrently with the above forms in the _liber vitæ_, we have also adaliz, adliz, and alis, at an early date, some of them at least being certainly names of women, so that the misappropriation is at any rate an ancient one. towards the close of the record, and about the end of the fourteenth century, another form, alicia, begins to make its appearance in the _liber vitæ_, and appears to have become at once a very favourite name. then, as now, fashion seems to have ruled, and when a new name came in, there seems to have been a run upon it. but by this time elizabeth had come into use, and as soon as ever that took place, the two names, eliza and elizabeth, would begin to get mixed up together as they are now, so that a new female form would, so to speak, be required for alice. alicia (or more properly alisia), is an attempt to supply the euphony which is lacking in alisa, by supplementing it with a vowel, just as, for the same reason, amala has been made into amelia. about the beginning of the fifteenth century another christian name for women, alison, begins to make its appearance in the _liber vitæ_. this name, however, i take to be from an entirely different origin. there is an old frankish woman's name, alesinda, elesind, alesint, of the eighth century, from which, dropping the final _d_, it would naturally come, and which is derived by grimm from gothic _alja_, alius (in the probable sense of stranger or foreigner), and _sind_ in the sense of companion or attendant. janet: _not from_ jane _or any female form of_ john. it may seem rather a paradox to suggest that janet has nothing to do with jane, and yet i think that a pretty good case can be made out. we find geneta as a woman's name in the _liber vitæ_ in the thirteenth century, before jane or joan or johanna were in use. and in the two following centuries we have gennet, janeta, janette, and janet, of common occurrence as christian names. (one of these cases is a very curious one. it is that of one willelmus richerdson and his wife christina, who having a family of eighteen children, seem to have been so completely at their wits' end for names to give them, that two of the sons are called johannes, two willelmus, after their father, two of the daughters christine, after their mother, and no fewer than three called janet. such reduplication of christian names does not, however, seem to have been unusual at that time.) now it seems clear that the above name, geneta, is the same as our janet, and equally clear that it is not derived from any female form of john. foerstemann (_altdeutsches namenbuch_) has an old frankish woman's name, genida, tenth century, from a codex of lorraine. and i find also the woman's name, genitia, in the _pol. rem._, one of the old frankish chronicles before referred to. these old frankish names might well leave a woman's name behind in france, which in after times might get mixed up with jean, and from which our name may also have been derived. i may observe that we have also gennet and jennett as surnames, and the germans have also genett. but these, though from the same stem, must be taken to be from another form of it--viz., from genad, eighth century, a man's name. from the same stem foerstemann derives the woman's name, genoveva, sixth century; whence, through the french, our genevieve. as to the etymology of _gen_, the germans are not agreed, leo suggesting a borrowed celtic word, with the meaning of love or affection, while foerstemann seems to prefer old high german _gan_, magic or fascination. emma: _its place in the teutonic system_. the ordinary derivation of emma from a teutonic word signifying grandmother, or nurse, becomes impossible in face of the fact that among the old franks, from whom, through the normans, we received it, the man's name emmo was quite as common as the woman's, emma. but in point of fact the stem, of which the older form seems to have been _im_, was one common to the whole teutonic system, including the low germans settled in england. and the immingas, descendants or followers of imma, are ranged by kemble among the early settlers. but among the anglo-saxons, with whom the ending of men's names (other than compounds) was generally in _a_, imma would obviously not be suitable for names of women; and in point of fact it always appears in england, at that time, as a man's name. and probably, for this reason, the frankish princess emma, on becoming the wife of cnut of england, considered it necessary to assume a saxon name in addition to her own, and so become known as ælfgifu imma. but a few centuries later, when the simple old saxon names in _a_ had very much died out, emma coming in as something quite new, and with the stamp of norman prestige, became at once, as appears from the _liber vitæ_, a name in favour. as to the etymology, which is considered by the germans to be obscure, i have elsewhere ventured to suggest old northern _ymia_, stridere; whence the name of the giant ymir, in northern mythology. the sense is that of a harsh and loud voice, which suggests huge stature. so, from gaelic _fuaim_, noise, strepitus, comes _fuaimhair_, a giant, of which we may possibly have a lingering tradition in the nursery--"fee, fa, _fum_" representing the giant's dreaded war-cry. and from what follows, "i smell the blood of an _englishman_," one might almost think of the nurse as a saxon, and the ogre as one of the earlier celtic race, who might in those days be dangerous neighbours. i give below the stem, with its branches, so far as it forms names of women. it also enters into some compounds, one of which, americo, bequeathed by the franks or lombards to italy, has the honour of giving the name to america. stem _im_ or _em_. _names of men._--o.g. immo, himmo, emmo (among others, three bishops in the seventh and ninth centuries). a.s. imma, found in imman beorh, "imma's barrow, or grave." imma, hemma, hemmi, about the tenth century in the _liber vitæ_. eama, anglo-saxon moneyer. _names of women._--o.g. imma, emma (among others emma, daughter of charlemagne). _present surnames._--eng. him (?), yem (?). germ. imm, ihm. french, eme, emy. with the ending in _en_, p. 27. _names of men._--o.g. imino, emino, eighth century. a.s. immine, a mercian general, seventh century. emino, _liber vitæ_. _names of women._--o.g. immina, emmina, eighth century. early eng. ymana, ymaine, _liber vitæ_. _present surnames._--eng. emeney. fr. emmon. ending in _lin_, p. 31. _names of women._--o.g. emelina, eleventh century. emalina, twelfth century, _liber vitæ_. _present christian name._--eng. emmeline. ethel, adela, adeline, adelaide. ethel and adela are different forms of the same word, _adal_, _athal_, _ethel_, signifying noble. but while adela is a correctly formed feminine, ethel can hardly be said to be so. both as a man's name and as a woman's it had usually a vowel-ending, and though this was not invariably the case, yet a name appearing without it would be rather assumed to be a man's name. adeline is a diminutive like eveline and caroline; it represents the old name adalina, eighth century, and adalina, about the twelfth century, in the _liber vitæ_, and comes probably through the french, the ending in _e_ preserving the feminine by lengthening the syllable. adelaide is from _adal_, as above, and h.g. _haid_, corresponding with saxon _hood_, as in manhood. hence the name seems to contain the abstract sense of nobility. the name must have come to us through the normans; indeed, a woman's name could hardly be so formed among the anglo-saxons, for, curiously enough, this ending was a feminine one among the high germans, and a masculine one among the saxons. hence perhaps it is that we have as surnames such names as _manhood_ and _mahood_, the latter perhaps signifying boyhood, a.s. _mæg_, boy. edith. edith is the only representative in women's names of a.s. _ead_, happiness, prosperity, from which we have so many men's names, as edward, edwin, edmund, edgar. it represents an a.s. editha, a contraction of eadgitha, and the question, which is not without a little difficulty, is, what is the origin of _githa_? is it a phonetic variation of _gifa_ (a.s. _gifu_, gift), so common in anglo-saxon names of women, as in god-gifa (godiva), sungefa (suneva), &c., or is it a separate word? i am disposed to come to the conclusion, upon the whole, that it is a separate word, and though the traces of it as such are not strong, yet there are some traces. there is a woman's name githa in the _liber vitæ_, and this seems to be the same as an old norse woman's name gyda in the _landnamabôk_. there was also a gytha, daughter of swend, king of denmark. then there are two old german names of women with the endings respectively _gid_ and (h.g.) _kid_. and the origin of all i should take to be found in o.n. _gydia_, goddess, the exalted conception of womanhood. evelyn, evelina, eveline. there does not seem to be sufficient ground for miss yonge's suggestion that eveline, a name which we have from the normans, was borrowed by them from the celts. on the contrary, they seem to have derived it from their frankish ancestors, among whom we find it in the eleventh century in the form avelina. this appears to be the original form, for we find it as avelina in the _liber vitæ_ about the twelfth century. and again in the thirteenth century we find that one of the earls of albemarle married a lady named aveline. it is probably a diminutive from the stem _av_, which foerstemann refers to goth. _avo_, in the probable sense of ancestor. the names evelyn and eveline should be kept sharply distinct, the former being a man's name, and the latter a woman's, being the french form of evelina, as is louise of louisa. from the same stem, _av_, is formed also the female name avice, now become very rare. it appears as auiza and avicia in the _liber vitæ_, and its original form i take to be found in avagisa, eighth century, in the _altdeutsches namenbuch_, from _gis_, hostage. from a similar origin, but from the masculine form avagis, may probably be _avis_, included by mr. lower among latinized surnames. another name from the same stem which seems to have been formerly rather common, but which now seems quite obsolete, is avina. haveys, hawoise. this is another woman's name which has become almost extinct, and, seeing how uncomfortable a name it is to pronounce, i do not wonder that it should be so. it appears in the _liber vitæ_ as hawysa, and in the _pol. irminon_ as hauis, but its proper form is to be traced up to the older name hathewiza in the _liber vitæ_, from _hath_, war, and _wisa_, leader. a surname corresponding, though of course from the masculine form of the name, may probably be the well-known one of _haweis_. _some other obsolete or obsolescent names._ the name helwis occurs in the _liber vitæ_ about the thirteenth century, and a more perfect form, helewiza, about two centuries earlier. it seems rather probable, however, that its proper form would be hildwisa, from _hild_, war, and _wisa_, leader. it occurs as helois in the _pol. irm._, and is the same as the french heloise (=helwise). this name i take to be quite obsolete with us. a name given by miss yonge as still in use is amice or amicia. it may probably be the same as the woman's name amisa, ameza, or emeza of the eighth century in the _altd. nam._, which foerstemann takes to be from a.s. _emeta_, quies. in that case it would probably be the same name in another form as emmota, formerly not uncommon as a woman's name. another name which i rather suppose to be obsolete is agace, agaze, or igusa, found in the _liber vitæ_ up to the fourteenth century, and probably the same as an o.g. eggiza, eleventh century, from a stem _ag_, supposed to mean point or edge. footnotes: [60] the principal part of this chapter appeared in the _antiquary_ for march, 1882. [61] possibly, at least in some cases, the origin of the surname constable. [62] the earliest mention of this name that i have seen, occurs a.d. 1431, in the _liber vitæ_, when one john duckett, having died at the remarkable age of 127, his children, one of whom was called cristabel, presented offerings at the shrine of st. cuthbert. these would seem to be of the nature of propitiatory offerings on behalf of the dead, of which there are various instances recorded. one of these is that of one maria del hay, who in a large-hearted spirit, seems to have included in her offering, not only all who had gone before, but all who were to come after her. the entry is, "maria del hay, cum omnibus suis progenitoribus et successoribus." list of the principal works consulted. foerstemann.--altdeutsches namenbuch.--vol. i. personennamen.--vol. ii. ortsnamen. london, williams norgate. pott.--personennamen. leipzig, 1853. stark.--beitrage zur kunde germanischer personennamen. vienna, 1857.--die kosenamen der germanen. vienna, 1868. weinhold.--die deutschen frauen in dem mittelalter. vienna, 1851. gluck.--die bei c. julius cæsar vorkommenden keltischen namen. vienna, 1857. wassenberg.--verhandeling over de eigennaamen der friesen. franeker, 1774. islands landnamabôk. copenhagen. scriptores rerum langobardicarum et italicarum, sæc. 6-9. hanover, 1878. polyptique de l'abbé irminon, ou denombrement des manses, des serfs, et des revenus de l'abbaye de saint germain-des-prés sous le regne de charlemagne. paris, 1844. polyptique de l'abbaye de saint remi de reims, ou denombrement des manses, des serfs, et des revenus de cette abbaye vers le milieu du neuvième siècle. paris, 1853. [asterism] the above two old frankish records contain a list of the names of all the serfs and dependants of the respective abbeys, with the names also of their wives and children. kemble.--codex diplomaticus ævi saxonici. london, 1845-48. thorpe.--diplomatorium anglicum ævi saxonici. london, 1865. taylor.--names and places. london, 1864. stephens.--the old runic monuments of scandinavia and england. london. miss yonge.--history of christian names. london, 1863. lower.--patronymica britannica. london, 1860. bowditch.--suffolk surnames. boston, u.s.a. liber vitæ ecclesiæ dunelmensis. published by the surtees society, london, 1841. additions and corrections. page 17. we have also _tray_ as a man's name, and from the same origin as that which i have supposed for the dog's name, though the one is from the german and the other from the celtic. the stem in men's names is referred to goth, _tragjan_, to run, and may probably include also _trail_ (=tragel) and _train_ (=tragen), with the respective endings in _el_ and _en_. also, from the interchange of _d_ and _t_, we may include _dray_ and _drain_. page 20. among names of the first century is that of ingomar, uncle of arminius, which is represented in america by the dreadful name _inkhammer_, though whether of english or of german origin seems uncertain. page 29. from _shilling_, as a man's name, is derived _shillingsworth_, as a name of local origin (a.s. _weorth_, property), a name like wordsworth, dodsworth, &c. page 120. some doubt may be thrown upon the derivation i have suggested for _pentecost_ by the name osbern pentecost, which comes before us in anglo-saxon times. the name seems here to be a surname, and if so would be derived most naturally from the festival. page 159. from this stem, as found in an a.s. flogg, may be formed the anglo-saxon name flohere (_thorpe_, p. 636), from _hari_, warrior, whence may be our surnames _floyer_, _flower_, and _flowry_. page 171. among other names apparently from women are _ella_, _eva_, and _louisa_, in _suffolk surnames_. of these, the first is a regular saxon man's name, and the second is, i doubt not, the same, corresponding with eafa found in eafingas, and with eafha, the name of a mercian alderman. louisa i should suppose to be the name louis with a romanic, perhaps spanish, but not female, ending. index of names. [asterism] _all foreign names are printed in italic type, with the letters distinguishing their nationality within parentheses after them, thus--(d.) dutch; (dan.) danish; (f.) french; (g.) german; (i.) italian; (s.) spanish_. a. abba, 25 abbe, 25 abbey, 25 abbiss, 32 abbott, 96, 178, 179 abingdon, 106 ablard, 190 _accolti_ (i.), 147 ackerman, 115 _ackermann_ (g.), 115 ackman, 96 acres, 79 adcock, 35 addicott, 34, 35, 43 adela, 209 adelaide, 209, 210 _adèle_ (f.), 123 adeline, 209 adeliza, 204, 206 adier, 43 _adimari_ (i.), 146 adlam, 40 adlard, 40 adolph, 43 _adolphe_ (f.), 123 adolphus, 146 agar, 40 ager, 79 agmondesham, 106 aikin, 96, 185 aikman, 40, 96, 185 ailger, 41 ailman, 41 _alamanni_ (i.), 147 albert, 96 _albert_ (f.), 123 _alberti_ (i.), 148 _alberto_ (i.), 143 albery, 41, 152 albutt, 43 alcock, 34, 35 alcott, 35 aldebert, 41 alder, 41, 96, 98, 185 alderdice, 115 alderman, 98, 115, 178, 180 _aldighiero_ (i.), 148 _aldobrandini_ (i.), 147 aldred, 41 aldrich, 41 aldritt, 41 _alfieri_ (i.), 152 _alfonse_ (f.), 123 alfred, 41, 96 alfreton, 106 algar, 96 _algardi_ (i.), 148 _algarotti_ (i.), 147 alger, 42 alice, 204-206 alicia, 204-206 _alighieri_ (i.), 149 alison, 204-206 allard, 42 allaway, 43 allcard, 96 allday, 79 alley, 26, 79 allfrey, 42, 96 allgood, 43 allnut, 42 allo, 79 _alloisi_ (i.), 148 alloway, 118 allt, 79 allward, 42 allwin, 43 allwood, 42 almar, 42 alment, 42 almiger, 41 almond, 42, 98 alpha, 79 _alphonso_ (i.), 146 altman, 41, 98 altree, 41 alvary, 41, 96 alvert, 41 amabel, 201 _amalteo_ (i.), 152 _amalthius_ (i.), 152 _amalungi_ (i.), 151 ambler, 41, 180 _ameling_ (f.), 151 _americus_ (i.), 147, 208, 209 amesbury, 106 amice, 212 amicia, 212 and, 79 andoe, 79 angleman, 42 angler, 42, 178, 180 angmering, 71, 105 anhault, 43 annabella, 201 anne, 83, 171 anning, 83 _ansaldi_ (i.), 147 ansell, 30 anselme, 42 _anselmi_ (i.), 148 anser, 42 anslow, 30 _ansuini_ (i.), 148 applin, 30 arabella, 201 _arbogast_ (f.), 21 archard, 16, 42 archbold, 16, 42 archbutt, 16, 42 archer, 42, 137, 138, 178, 180 ardouin, 55 argent, 16 argument, 16, 42, 120 arkwright, 42, 178, 180 _armandet_ (f.), 19 armat, 43 armgold, 19, 43 armiger, 19, 43 armine, 18 arminer, 19, 44 _armingaud_ (f.), 19, 34 arminger, 19, 44 armor, 181 armory, 43, 181 armour, 19, 43 arms, 19, 183, 184 arney, 26 arnold, 44 _arnolfo_ (i.), 143 arnulfe, 44 arnum, 44 ascough, 44 ash, 185 ashbold, 44 ashbury, 106 ashe, 79 asher, 44 ashkettle, 59 ashman, 44, 96 ashmansworth, 106 ashmore, 44, 96 ashpart, 44 ashwin, 44 ashwith, 44, 148_n_ ask, 79 aske, 185 askey, 185 aslock, 59 asman, 59 asprey, 114 asquith, 44, 148_n_, 185 atkiss, 43 atmore, 43 attride, 43 attridge, 43 auberon, 41 aubery, 152 aubrey, 41 _aucoq_ (f.), 34 _audevard_ (f.), 124 _audifredi_ (i.), 147 _audouard_ (f.), 124 audrey, 41 aulph, 79 auterac, 42 auther, 42, 178, 180 autram, 42 avening, 105 avina, 211 avis, 211 aylard, 41 aylesbury, 106 aylesford, 106 aylesworth, 106 ayliffe, 41 aylmar, 13 aylmer, 41 aylward, 41, 96 aylwin, 41 b. babb, 79, 171 bable, 30, 97 back, 79, 183, 184 badby, 106 badder, 44 badman, 44, 191 badminton, 106 bagge, 79 _balcoq_ (f.), 34 balder, 44, 97 _baldi_ (i.), 148 _baldovinetti_ (i.), 148 baldridge, 44, 97 baldry, 44 baldwin, 44, 97 balmer, 47 balton's borough, 106 banderet, 44 bann, 79 banning, 79 barehard, 45 barking, 105 barlavington, 109 barling, 105 barmore, 45 barnacle, 45 barndollar, 122 barnwell, 137 barwise, 45 baschurch, 6 basin, 6 basingstoke, 88 bass, 4, 79 bather, 44 batt, 79 batting, 79 batty, 79, 173 _baudeau_ (f.), 27 beck, 79 beckett, 192 beckley, 106 bedbug, 114 beddard, 44, 97 beden, 105 bedford, 106 beeby, 79 beech, 185 beenham, 106 belfry, 45 bell, 25 bellmore, 47 bellow, 25 bellringer, 116 belly, 25 belment, 45 belmore, 45 _belzoni_ (i.), 147 bence, 79 beneman, 45 benger, 45 bengworth, 106 benn, 85, 194, 195 bennell, 194, 195 benner, 45 bennet, 45 benney, 194, 195 bennoch, 194, 195 bensington, 105 berger, 45 bernard, 45, 97 _bernardo_ (i.), 143 berner, 45 _berni_ (i.), 152 _bernini_ (i.), 152 bernold, 45, 97 _beroaldus_ (i.), 152 berrette, 97 berrier, 45 berringer, 45 bertram, 46 bertrand, 46 _bertrandi_ (i.), 147 berward, 45 betteridge, 44, 101 betty, 1, 26, 79, 171 beyerman, 193, 194 bibb, 79 bibby, 79 biddle, 80 biddulph, 44 bigg, 85 bigot, 191, 192 bill, 1, 79, 194, 195 billamore, 45 _bille_ (f.), 195 _bille_ (g.), 195 _bille_ (dan.), 195 _billecoq_ (f.), 34 _billey_ (f.), 195 billiard, 45 billing, 79, 194 billow, 74, 194, 195 billy, 1, 194, 195 billyald, 45 binney, 26, 179 binning, 79 birch, 79, 185 birchenough, 120 bird, 80 bishop, 178, 179 _blacker_ (f.), 188 black, 80, 188 blacker, 46, 188 blackman, 46 blackwin, 46 blake, 188 blakeman, 46 blaker, 46 blanchard, 188 blank, 188 bledlow, 107 blunt, 97 bluntisham, 107 bobbin, 194, 196 bobby, 194, 196 boby, 80 bodicker, 46 bodmer, 46 body, 156, 183, 184 boffey, 194, 196 boggis, 46, 118 bogle, 97 bognor, 107 _boiardo_ (i.), 152, 194 _boiron_ (f.), 194 bold, 27 bolden, 27 boldery, 44 bolley, 80 _bompart_ (f.), 145 _bonaparte_ (f.), 145, 146 bonbright, 146 bond, 80 _boniperti_ (i.), 145 bookless, 183, 184 boss, 80 bossey, 80 _bötefur_ (l.g.), 190 botright, 46 botting, 80 bottisham, 107 bowmer, 97 boy, 193, 194 _boy_ (f.), 194 _boyard_ (f.), 152, 194 _boye_ (f.), 194 _boye_ (g.), 194 boyer, 193, 194 _boyer_ (f.), 194 boyman, 193, 194 _boyreau_ (f.), 194 _boyron_ (f.), 194 bracken, 157 brackett, 157 brackie, 157 bracking, 157 _brackmann_ (g.), 158 bragan, 157 bragg, 157 brain, 97, 157 brakeman, 157 brand, 25 brandy, 25 bransbury, 107 bransford, 107 _braquemin_ (f.), 158 braughin, 105 bray, 157 brayman, 157 braznell, 165 breakell, 158 breem, 80 brewin, 157 bride, 80 bridle, 80 bright, 80 brighting, 80 brightland, 46 brightling, 105 brightly, 30, 80 brightmore, 46 brightwell, 137 brightwine, 46 brighty, 80 brine, 80 brinney, 80 brittell, 80 brocard, 97 brown, 80, 138, 188, 189 browning, 28, 80 bubb, 194, 196 buck, 80, 175 buckle, 85 bucklin, 31 budd, 24, 80 budden, 24 budding, 24 buddle, 24 buddrich, 24, 46 budmore, 24 bugg, 3, 97 bulger, 46 bull, 80 bullard, 46 buller, 46 bulling, 28, 80 bulmer, 46, 97 bundle, 97, 101 bunn, 85 bunting, 97 burchard, 46, 97 burger, 46 burgwin, 46 burleston, 107 burman, 45 burn, 80 burness, 33 burning, 28, 80 burnish, 33 burr, 80 burt, 80 bussell, 80 butleigh, 107 butt, 80 butter, 46, 181 butterick, 46 butterwell, 138 buttery, 46, 181 byard, 152 bye, 193, 194 byron, 193, 194 c. cadman, 50 cage, 9 cain, 10, 190 calderon, 52 caledonia, 8 calking, 170 call, 80 callow, 80 calmsden, 107 camel, 175 cane, 10 cann, 80 canning, 28, 80 cansick, 168 cant, 81 carary, 51 caravan, 51 card, 97 carder, 52 cardwell, 116 _carlo_ (i.), 143 carrier, 51 cart, 97 carthen, 52 cartridge, 52 cashdollar, 122 castle, 97 _castoldi_ (i.), 149 cat, 97, 175 cattey, 175 catty, 97 _cauche_ (f.), 170 _cauchy_ (f.), 170 caulk, 170 caunce, 168 chabot, 118, 125, 126 chad, 97, 125, 126 chadborn, 125 chaddleworth, 107 chaddock, 125, 126 chadlington, 107 chadman, 125 chadshunt, 107 chadwick, 125, 126 chadwin, 126 chaff, 81 chaffey, 81 chain, 125 chalfont, 107 chalk, 101, 170 chalkey, 170 chalklen, 170 chance, 81, 168 chancell, 168 chancey, 168 chaney, 125 chantrey, 51 chard, 97, 125, 126 charing, 105 charles, 80 _charles_ (f.), 123 charley, 80 chart, 125, 126 charter, 125, 126 chaseley, 107 _chasseboeuf_ (f.), 139 chattaway, 126 chatting, 125, 126 chatto, 125, 126 chattoway, 97, 118, 125, 126 chatwin, 125, 126 chatwood, 125 chaucer, 170 _chaussée_ (f.), 170 _chaussy_ (f.), 170 cheape, 97 cheese, 97, 155 cheltenham, 107 chertsey, 107, 126 chesnut, 155, 185 chesman, 155 chesson, 155 chew, 97 chewing, 105 chichester, 107 chilbolton, 107 chilcomb, 127 child, 127 childar, 125, 126 children, 125, 126 chill, 125, 126 chillmaid, 125, 126 chillman, 125, 126 chipman, 155 chipp, 98, 155 chippenham, 107 chipping, 155 chirnie, 155 chitty, 155 cholsey, 107 _chopard_ (f.), 127 chope, 81 choppin, 125, 127 _choupe_ (f.), 127 christabel, 201, 202 and _n_ chubb, 81, 125 chubback, 125 churn, 155 claribel, 201 claringbold, 135 claringbull, 135 claude, 127 _claude_ (f.), 123 clean, 160 _clérambault_ (f.), 135 cline, 160 cloade, 127 clodd, 1, 127 clothier, 127 _clotilde_ (f.), 123 cloud, 97, 127 cloudman, 127 clout, 1, 127 cloutman, 127 clucas, 127 clutterbuck, 121 coate, 81 cobbett, 118 cobbold, 53, 118 cock, 81 codd, 81 codford, 107 coffey, 81 colbran, 47 colburn, 47 coll, 81 collamore, 47 collard, 47 collie, 81 colling, 81 collingham, 107 colman, 47 colmer, 97 conder, 54 congressbury, 107 cooling, 81, 105 coppernoll, 165 corbould, 51 cory, 82 cosier, 54 cossart, 53 costall, 30 costello, 30 costiff, 164 costly, 30 cotheridge, 107 cottiss, 20 cotton, 97 coulthred, 52 craig, 188, 189 creed, 97, 127 creedy, 127 cressy, 81 criddle, 127 crimsham, 107 _crist_ (i. and g.), 135 croad, 127 crock, 127 croger, 127 croke, 127 croker, 127 crooke, 127 cropthorn, 107 crotch, 127 crotty, 127 crowd, 97, 127 crowder, 127 crowdy, 127 cruden, 127 crumpecker, 122 crutch, 127 crute, 127 cuckhamstow hill, 107 cuff, 81 cuffey, 81 cull, 81 cummin, 97 cumnor, 107 cunliffe, 56, 98 curran, 51_n_ curwen, 51 custard, 47 d. dacker, 47 dacombe, 47 dagenham, 108 dagger, 47 daggesell, 47 daisy, 32 dale, 98 dalloway, 47, 118 dalman, 47 damer, 47 dana, 25, 81 dand, 25 _dandalo_ (i.), 145 dando, 25 dandy, 25 dane, 25, 81 danger, 48 _dante_ (i.), 134 darlaston, 108 darling, 81 darnell, 48, 98, 165 darrell, 81 darrigon, 48 darwin, 48 daunsey, 108 daybell, 47 dayer, 47 daylesford, 108 daymont, 47 dearlove, 48, 98 dearman, 48 deary, 26 deller, 47 demaid, 48 demon, 48 denhard, 48, 98 denolf, 48 denn, 81 denning, 81 dermott, 48, 98 derwin, 48 _dettingen_ (g.), 71 dialogue, 48 diamond, 48 dick, 81, 194, 195 dicken, 194, 195 dickin, 102 dickle, 81, 194, 195 dicksie, 195 didlington, 108 dilger, 102, 140 _dilhac_ (f.), 140 dilke, 24, 102, 140 dill, 24, 81, 139 _dill_ (g.), 139 _dillé_ (f.), 139 _dillemann_ (g.), 140 dillen, 24 _dillen_ (g.), 140 diller, 140 _dillery_ (f.), 140 _dillet_ (f.), 140 dilley, 139 dillicar, 140 dillick, 140 dillimore, 140 dilling, 24 _dilling_ (g.), 140 dillman, 140 dillon, 140 _dillon_ (f.), 140 dillow, 24, 139 dillwyn, 24, 140 dilly, 24 _dilly_ (f.), 139 distington, 88 ditchling, 105 dixie, 195 dock, 81 docking, 81 dodd, 81, 98 doddridge, 64 dodford, 108 doggett, 49, 98 dogthorpe, 108 dollman, 98 dolman, 48 dolphin, 48, 175, 176 _dome_ (f.), 196 doniland, 108 doran, 27 _dorand_ (g.), 150 dore, 27 dowdeswell, 108 drain, 215 dray, 215 duck, 86, 175, 176 duckling, 98, 175, 176 ducklington, 108 duckman, 48, 98 dugmore, 49 dugood, 49, 98 dumbell, 194, 196 dume, 194, 195 dumlin, 194, 196 dummelow, 194, 196 dummer, 48 dummert, 48 dumplin, 113, 194, 196 dunn, 82, 98, 188, 189 dunning, 82 durand, 134, 150 _durand_ (g.), 150 _durand_ (f.), 150 _durandard_ (f.), 150 _durandeau_ (f.), 150 _durandi_ (i.), 150 durant, 151 _durant_ (f.), 150 _durante_ (i.), 134, 149, 150 _duranto_ (i.), 150 durre, 86 dyce, 81 dycey, 81 e. eager, 40 eagle, 99 eames, 83 earheart, 49, 178, 183, 184 earl, 25, 178 early, 25 earney, 98 earp, 21, 82 earwaker, 49, 169, 178 earwig, 2, 49, 175, 178 eashing, 105 easter, 82 eavestaff, 164 eckington, 108 edbrook, 49 eddiker, 49, 169 eddy, 82 edgar, 49, 210 edgell, 82, 99 edith, 197, 210 edlery, 40 edmond, 49, 210 _edmond_ (f.), 123 edmund, 210 edolph, 49 _edouard_ (f.), 123, 124 edridge, 49 edstone, 108 edward, 13, 49, 210 edwick, 49 effingham, 108 egg, 82 egle, 82 elbow, 183, 184 elcy, 82 eldred, 41 element, 43, 120 elgar, 43 elgee, 82 elgood, 43 eliza, 204-206 elk, 82 ella, 216 ellard, 43 ellery, 43 elliss, 82 elmore, 43 else, 82 elsey, 26, 82 _elvira_ (s.), 200 elvy, 79 elwin, 43 elwood, 43 _elzevir_ (d.), 200 _eme_ (f.), 209 emeler, 41 emeney, 209 emma, 89, 207-209 emmeline, 209 emmett, 175, 178 _emmon_ (f.), 209 empey, 167 _emy_ (f.), 209 england, 9 engleburt, 42 engleheart, 42 english, 192 ennor, 166 enough, 98, 117, 166 _enrico_ (i.), 143 enright, 166 epps, 82 ermentrude, 19, 197 ermine, 18 _ermingcard_ (f.), 19 erpingham, 108 esau, 190 esmond, 99 ethel, 209 ethelston, 40, 96 eva, 216 evelina, 211 eveline, 211 evelyn, 211 evening, 79 ever, 82 everard, 49 evered, 49 everett, 49 every, 49, 82 evesham, 108 ewald, 68 ewart, 68 ewe, 2, 68_n_ ewer, 68 ewing, 68_n_ exhall, 108 f. fairfoot, 183, 185 fairfoul, 120 fairless, 183 fairman, 49 falstaff, 119 _falsteuf_ (f.), 119 faragut, 34 _farcot_ (f.), 34 farragut, 49 farre, 27, 82 farren, 27 farrier, 178, 180 farrimond, 49 farrow, 82 farthing, 28 fearn, 82 feckenham, 108 _federigo_ (i.), 143 ferdinand, 50 _ferdinand_ (f.), 123 ferrand, 49 ferrier, 49, 180 few, 159 field, 113 fielder, 113 fielding, 113 filbert, 50 fileman, 50 filldew, 50 fillmer, 50 fillmore, 99 fin, 89 finbow, 50 finch, 82 finger, 50, 183 finn, 82 finney, 82 fish, 175, 177 fiske, 177 flack, 159 fladbury, 108 flagg, 159 flatt, 198 flatter, 181 flattery, 181, 198 flattman, 198 flea, 3, 159, 175, 178 fleck, 159 flew, 99, 159 flower, 216 flowry, 216 floyer, 216 fluck, 159 fly, 159, 175, 178 fogg, 99, 159 foggo, 99, 159 folkstone, 108 foote, 183, 184 forder, 50 fordred, 50 forget, 49 fortyman, 50 forward, 49 fowl, 99 _francesco_ (i.), 143 franklin, 31 _fredeau_ (f.), 27 frederic, 13 frederick, 50 freebody, 50, 156 freeborn, 50, 99 freebout, 50 freeland, 50 freestone, 50 _frescobaldi_ (i.), 149 friday, 99, 182 froude, 82 fudge, 159 fuggle, 99 fulke, 82 fullagar, 50 fullalove, 50, 191 g. gaffery, 52 gage, 9, 10 gain, 10, 99, 118, 190 galland, 51 gallant, 51 gallard, 51 galloway, 51, 118 galt, 82 _gambetta_ (f.), 153 gamble, 113 gambler, 180 gambling, 2, 28 gander, 51, 99, 175 gandy, 81 gant, 81 ganter, 51 garbett, 51 garbrand, 51 garbutt, 51 garden, 28 garforth, 51 _garibaldi_ (i.), 145 garlick, 51 garman, 51 garment, 51, 120 garnett, 51 garrard, 51 garrod, 51 garrold, 51 garroway, 51, 118 garstin, 51 garter, 52 garvey, 51 garwood, 51, 148_n_ gasting, 82 gatliffe, 50 gatling, 99 gatty, 175 gay, 9, 10, 99 gedge, 9, 10 genese, 192, 193 _genett_ (g.), 207 genevieve, 207 _gennari_ (i.), 148 genner, 52 gennett, 52, 207 gentery, 51 gentry, 51 geoffry, 50_n_, 51 _gerard_ (f.), 23 _gerbault_ (f.), 145 _gerbet_ (f.), 153 gerloff, 51 gertrude, 19, 197 _geu_ (g.), 10 _gey_ (g.), 10 _gherardini_ (i.), 148 _ghibellines_ (i.), 146 _ghiberti_ (i.), 148 _ghirlandaio_ (i.), 148 gidding, 108 giddy, 155 giffard, 52 giffen, 82 gilbert, 52 gildawie, 52 gilder, 52 gildert, 52 gill, 82 gillard, 53 giller, 53, 99 gillett, 53 gillford, 53 gilliam, 53 gillibrand, 52 gillman, 53 gilmore, 53 gimbert, 52 gippert, 52 gipsy, 33 gislingham, 108 goad, 81 godalming, 71, 105 godbold, 53 godbolt, 53 goddam, 191 goddard, 53 goddier, 53 godding, 81, 99 goddiss, 20 _godeau_ (f.), 27 godfrey, 50_n_, 53 godhead, 53 godiso, 20 godiva, 172 godizo, 20 godkin, 31 godliman, 191 godman, 53 godmersham, 108 godmund, 53, 99 godrick, 53 godsell, 53 godskall, 53 godsoe, 20, 32 godward, 191 godwin, 53, 99 gold, 82 goldbourne, 52 golding, 82 goldrick, 52 goldwin, 52 goodacre, 170 goodbody, 156 goodenough, 120, 191 goodeve, 171 goodheart, 53, 191 goodlake, 53 goodland, 53 goodliffe, 53, 191 goodnow, 53 goodram, 53 goodred, 53 goodwright, 53, 178, 180 goodyear, 53 goose, 175 gorbold, 51 gore, 82 gorebrown, 51 gosbell, 53 gosland, 54 gosling, 175 gosmer, 54 _gosselin_ (f.), 175, 176 _gosselini_ (i.), 147 goswold, 54 _göttingen_ (g.), 71 _gousse_ (f.), 175, 176 gozar, 54 gozzard, 53 _grau_ (g.), 189 gray, 138, 188, 189 greenwell, 138 gregg, 188, 189 grimbald, 54 grimble, 54, 202 grimerd, 54 grimmer, 54 grimmond, 54 grimstone, 108 _grobe_ (g.), 187 grote, 99 grove, 99, 186, 187 _grove_ (g.), 187 _grub_ (f.), 187 grubb, 99, 186, 187 _grubi_ (f.), 187 _guala_ (f.), 133 _gualdo_ (i.), 144, 147 _gualtier_ (f.), 130 _guardi_ (i.), 144, 148 _guarini_ (i.), 152 _guarnerius_ (i.), 144, 149 guelpa, 131 _guelph_ (i.), 131, 146 _gueneau_ (f.), 133 _guenin_ (f.), 133 _guérin_ (f.), 152 _guermain_ (f.), 132 _guernier_ (f.), 149 guest, 82 _guglielmo_ (i.), 149 _guicciardini_ (i.), 144, 147 _guiche_ (f.), 132 _guidé_ (f.), 132, 148 _guido_ (i.), 144, 148 _guidubaldi_ (i.), 148 _guillaume_ (f.), 123, 130, 133 guille, 131, 132 _guille_ (f.), 132 _guillemain_ (f.), 133 guily, 131, 132 guinan, 131 _guinery_ (f.), 133 guiney, 131, 133 _guinier_ (f.), 133 _guiscard_ (f.), 130 _guiteau_ (f.), 148 gumboil, 2, 54 gundey, 99 gundry, 54 gunn, 99 gunner, 181 gunnery, 181 gunston, 54 gunter, 54 gunthorp, 108 guttwein, 122 gwillam, 131, 133 gwilt, 131 gwyer, 131, 132 gye, 9, 10 h. hack, 83 hacking, 83 hackstaff, 164 haddenham, 108 haddock, 175 hadkiss, 54 hadrott, 54 hadwen, 54 haggard, 40 hail, 83 hailing, 83 halbard, 96 hald, 99 haldan, 99 hall, 83 hallgreen, 33 halling, 28, 83, 105 hallington, 108 halloway, 43 hambledon, 108 hambling, 150 _hamel_ (f.), 150 hamling, 150 hammill, 150 hammond, 41 hamp, 166 hamper, 166 hance, 83 hand, 79 handsomebody, 156 hanger, 42 hankerton, 108, 109 hanman, 43 hann, 27, 83, 172 hannah, 171 hannen, 27 hanney, 172 hanning, 83 hannington, 108 hanrot, 43 hansard, 43 hansom, 43 harbert, 55 harboard, 55 harbud, 55 hard, 83 hardacre, 170 harder, 54, 181 harding, 28, 83 hardington, 109 hardland, 54 hardman, 55 hardoff, 55 hardwick, 55 hardy, 83 hargood, 55 harker, 55 harland, 55 harle, 83 harleston, 109 harley, 83 harling, 83, 105 harman, 55 harme, 19 harmer, 55 harmond, 55 harmony, 18 harnor, 44 harnott, 55 harold, 15_n_, 20, 55 harp, 21 harre, 196 harrietsham, 108 harrow, 196 harry, 194, 196 harryman, 55 hart, 83 hartnoll, 55, 165 hartridge, 55 hartry, 55 hartwright, 55, 178, 180 harvest, 21 harvey, 55 harward, 55 harwin, 55 harwood, 55 hasell, 83, 185, 186 haskey, 99 hasluck, 59, 101 hathaway, 54, 118, 126 hatt, 79 hattemore, 54 hattrick, 54 hauxton, 108 haversham, 108 haveys, 212 haweis, 212 hawk, 99 hawke, 83 hawoise, 212 hayman, 41 hayward, 41, 99, 137, 138, 178, 180 head, 183 hean, 166 heaney, 166 heart, 183, 184 heasman, 56 heaven, 79 helme, 99 _héloïse_ (f.), 123, 212 helper, 99 helps, 99 helpstone, 109 hemingford abbots, 109 hemington, 109 hemp, 166 hemper, 166 henfrey, 43, 166 henman, 43 henn, 83 henniker, 43 _henri_ (f.), 123 henstridge, 109 herbert, 55, 99 _herbette_ (f.), 153 herepath, 55 heringaud, 34 herod, 99, 190 herring, 99, 175 hersant, 55 heward, 141 hewish, 141 hewitt, 32, 141 hewland, 141 hewlet, 141 hibbert, 141 hibble, 141 hick, 140 hickie, 140 hickley, 140 hicklin, 141 hickman, 100, 141 hickmot, 141 _hieckmann_ (g.), 141 _hienne_ (f.), 141 higgen, 141 highmore, 100, 141 higlet, 141 _higlin_ (f.), 141 higman, 141 hignett, 142 hildebrand, 55 hilder, 55 hildreth, 56 hildyard, 55 hill, 83 hillersdon, 109 hillman, 56 hillock, 100, 141 hillyer, 55 hilmer, 56 hilridge, 56 him, 209 hime, 83 hind, 114 hine, 114 hinksey, 109 hipkin, 31 hoby, 83 _hocedé_ (f.), 182 hockaday, 182 hockey, 83 hodge, 100, 140 hodges, 141 hodgett, 101 hodgkin, 31, 141 hodsoak, 109 hoe, 140 _hogan_ (f.), 141 _hoge_ (g.), 140 hogg, 100, 140 hoggin, 141 hogmire, 141 _hognet_ (f.), 142 _hoin_ (f.), 141 holiday, 182 homer, 141 hone, 83, 166 honey, 83 honeybun, 120 honeyburn, 120 honeyman, 54 honner, 166 honnington, 109 hoofnail, 165 hook, 83 hopkin, 102 hopp, 83 hopping, 28, 83 horne, 83, 100 horning, 83, 105 horningsea, 109 horningsheath, 109 horsenail, 165 hose, 84 hough, 89 howard, 178, 180 howitt, 32, 101, 141 _hua_ (f.), 140 _huan_ (f), 141 _huard_ (f.), 141 _huart_ (f.), 141 _huault_ (f.), 142 _hubault_ (f.), 141 hubbard, 141 _hubbert_ (g.), 141 hubble, 141 _hubert_ (f.), 141 _huc_ (f.), 140 huck, 140 _hucke_ (g.), 140 huckell, 140 hucken, 141 _hue_ (f.), 140 _huel_ (f.), 140 huelin, 141 _huet_ (f.), 141 huff, 86 _hufnagel_ (g.), 166 hug, 140 _hug_ (f.), 140 hugall, 140 _hugan_ (f.), 141 _hugard_ (f.), 141 _hugé_ (f.), 140 _huge_ (g.), 140 _hügel_(g.), 140 huggard, 141 huggett, 32, 141 hugh, 140 hughes, 141 hughman, 141 _hugla_ (f.), 140 hugman, 141 _hugnot_ (f.), 142 hugo, 140 _hugo_ (f.), 140 _hugo_ (g.), 140 _hugot_ (f.), 141 _huguelin_ (f.), 141 _hugues_ (f.), 141 huie, 140 _hulek_ (f.), 141 hullock, 141 human, 141 _humann_ (f.), 141 humble, 100, 191 _humboldt_ (g.), 191 humphrey, 50_n_, 54 hun, 89 hunger, 54 hunhold, 54 hunibal, 54 hunn, 83 hunnard, 54 hunt, 83 hunting, 83 huntingdon, 109 hurlbat, 49 hurlburt, 49 hurler, 49, 178, 180 hutt, 100 hyndman, 114 i. ibbett, 32 _ihm_ (g.), 209 _imm_ (g.), 209 impey, 167 inchbald, 56 inchboard, 56 ingledew, 42 inglesent, 42 inglis, 192 ingold, 56 ingram, 56 ingrey, 56 inkhammer, 215 ipswich, 108 ireland, 9 iremonger, 19 irminger, 19, 44 irwine, 99 isabel, 198 _isabelle_ (f.), 199 isburg, 56 ismer, 56 isnard, 56 isnell, 165 isner, 56 ive, 83 ivy, 83, 185, 186 izod, 56 j. jack, 194, 196 jacklin, 194, 196 _jacklin_ (g.), 196 _jacquard_ (f.), 196 _jacquelin_ (f.), 196 jael, 190 jago, 194, 196 jane, 206, 207 janet, 206, 207 january, 182, 183 jarman, 51 jeannerett, 52 jeffcock, 35 jeffcott, 35 jellicoe, 31 jenner, 183 jennery, 52, 183 jennett, 207 jervis, 51 jocelyn, 176 _jordaens_ (d.), 135 jordan, 135 _jordan_ (f.), 135 _josselin_ (f.), 176 _jourdain_ (f.), 135 _jourdan_ (f.), 135 judith, 196 k. kay, 9, 10, 80 keble, 98 kedge, 9, 10 kegg, 9, 10 keho, 11 kelk, 98, 170 kelvedon, 107 kemerton, 71, 107 kenilworth, 107 kennard, 56 kennaway, 56, 118 kenrick, 56, 98 kensal, 168 kensett, 168 kenward, 56, 98 keogh, 11 kettering, 105 kettle, 97 kettleby, 107 key, 9, 10, 80 keysoe, 107 kidd, 98, 173 kiddy, 155 killer, 53 killman, 53, 98 kilsby, 109 kindred, 117 kinmonth, 56 kinnaird, 56 kinney, 26 kitt, 100, 173 kitto, 173 kitty, 155, 170 klyne, 160 knapp, 100, 161 knapping, 161 knall, 161, 173 kneller, 161 knibb, 99, 161 knife, 161 knipe, 99, 161 knipping, 161 knott, 81 knyvett, 161 _kupfernagel_ (g.), 166 l. lamaison, 182 _lamas_ (f.), 183 lambert, 56 _lamberti_ (i.), 147 lambeth, 109 lambrook, 56 lammas, 182, 183 lamprey, 56, 115, 175, 178 lanaway, 57 lander, 56 landfear, 56 landlord, 57 landridge, 57 landward, 57 lanfear, 56 langstaff, 164 lanoway, 118 lanwer, 57 _lanzi_ (i.), 147 lark, 175, 176 lascelles, 139 lateward, 57 laundry, 57 _lauringen_ (g.), 72 lavenham, 109 laver, 83 laverick, 100 laverock, 176 lawless, 183, 184 laycock, 34 leamington, 73 leathart, 57 leather, 57 _leboeuf_ (f.), 139 _lecoq_ (f.), 34 ledgard, 57, 100 ledger, 57 ledward, 57 lees, 84 legg, 183, 184 leggy, 183 legless, 183, 184 lemon, 57_n_, 100, 119 _leonardo_ (i.), 142 leopard, 57, 100, 173 _leopardi_ (i.), 151 lessy, 84 leverett, 177 lewis, 34, 118 liddard, 57 liddle, 84 lightfoot, 184 limmer, 119 lind, 175 linden, 185, 186 lindo, 175 ling, 27, 175 lingen, 27 lingo, 175 _lionardo_ (i.), 148 liptrot, 57 lock, 84 locker, 100 lockie, 84 lord, 100, 158, 178 lording, 100, 158 lottisham, 109 _louis_ (f.), 123 louisa, 216 _louise_ (f.), 123, 211 love, 84 loveday, 57, 137, 138, 182 lovegod, 57 lovegood, 57, 191 loveland, 57 loveman, 57, 100, 191 lover, 57, 100 loveridge, 57, 100 lovesy, 100 lovick, 31 loving, 28, 84 lower, 100 lubbock, 31 lucas, 34, 57, 118 lucy, 171 ludbrook, 57 _ludovico_ (i.), 143 _luigi_ (i.), 142 lull, 84, 100 lully, 84, 100 lumb, 160 lump, 160 lumpkin, 160 luther, 57, 100 lutman, 57, 100 lutto, 84 lutwidge, 57 lyde, 84 m. mabel, 201 mcdermott, 98_n_ mckay, 11 mckie, 11 madam, 58 maddey, 84 _madelungen_ (g.), 72 madle, 84 mager, 58 magg, 171 maggot, 58 maggy, 84 _magini_ (i.), 142 _maginot_ (f.), 142 _magnabal_ (f.), 142 _magnan_ (f.), 142 _magnard_ (f.), 142 magnay, 142 _magné_ (f.), 142 _magney_ (f.), 142 _magnier_ (f.), 142 _mahault_ (f.), 204 mahood, 210 maiden, 28 maidman, 59 _maignan_ (f.), 142 _mainardi_ (i.), 142 _mainardo_ (i.), 142 _mainbourg_ (f.), 142 _maineri_ (i.), 142 _mainfroy_ (f.), 142 _maingault_ (f.), 142 _maingot_ (f.), 34, 142 maliff, 58 mallard, 58 malling, 105 mallory, 58 malmsbury, 109 malthus, 58 maltwood, 59 manfred, 58 _manfredi_ (i.), 147 manger, 58, 142 manhood, 210 manigault, 58 manlove, 58, 191 mann, 84 manning, 28, 84 _maraldi_ (i.), 147 marcher, 59 margot, 58 marigold, 58 mariner, 178, 180 _marinier_ (f.), 181 marker, 59 marklove, 59 markwick, 59 marl, 84 marling, 84 _marnier_ (f.), 181 marr, 25, 84 marrow, 25 marry, 25 marvey, 58 marvin, 58 marwick, 58 massey, 84 mather, 58 _mathilde_ (f.), 123 matilda, 203, 204 maud, 203, 204 maude, 171 may, 84, 171 mayer, 58 maynard, 58, 142 _maynard_ (f.), 142 mayne, 142 _maynier_ (f.), 142 mayo, 171, 173 meadway, 59 meddiman, 59 medland, 59 medlar, 59 medlicott, 34, 59 medlock, 59 medwin, 59 meggy, 171 megrin, 58 _mehne_ (g.), 142 _meiner_ (g.), 142 _meinert_ (g.), 142 melloday, 59 mellowdew, 59 melody, 59 merrill, 84 merriment, 120 merry, 85 messing, 84 methold, 59 michie, 84 mico, 84 mildred, 116, 197 millard, 59 milldolar, 122 millie, 84 millinge, 84 milo, 84 minn, 178 minney, 178 minnow, 175, 178 mitcheldover, 109 moder, 59 moll, 1, 171 monday, 182 monument, 120 moore, 11 mote, 175, 178 moth, 175, 178 mottram, 59 moule, 100 moulsey, 109 moulsham, 109 mouse, 175 _mousse_ (f.), 176 muckett, 100 mudridge, 59 mumm, 155 mummery, 155 mummy, 155 munday, 182 mundell, 30, 84 mundella, 30 mundham, 109 mundy, 182 murch, 84, 188, 189 murchie, 84, 188, 189 murchison, 189 mutrie, 59 n. naf, 161 nagle, 101, 165 nail, 101, 165 nanny, 2, 171 napkin, 161 napp, 1, 161 neate, 84 need, 84 nelly, 161, 171 nettleton, 109 nibbs, 101 nield, 114 nielson, 12 nill, 161 noon, 179 norcock, 34, 35 norcott, 35 norman, 192, 193 northcott, 34 nott, 84 nunn, 178, 179 nunney, 179 nuttall, 81 nutting, 84 o. oake, 185, 186 oakey, 185, 186 _odeschalchi_ (i.), 147 _odevico_ (i.), 147 _odoardo_ (i.), 124, 143 offley, 109 old, 79 oldacre, 41 olding, 79 oldridge, 41 ombersley, 106 onken, 166 _onofrio_ (i.), 142 onwhyn, 166 _orlandi_ (i.), 147 orleston, 109 orlop, 101 orme, 174 ormerod, 43 ormsby, 109 osborn, 59 osgodby, 109 osgood, 59 osman, 59 osmer, 59 osmington, 109 osmond, 60 ostrich, 175 oswald, 60, 101 oswaldslow, 109 oswin, 60 _ouarnier_ (f.), 149 ough, 86 outram, 42 ovington, 111 owen, 101 oyster, 122 oysterman, 122 p. paddington, 110 padworth, 110 pagan, 191, 192 pagham, 110 paine, 118, 192 paler, 181 paley, 26, 84 palfrey, 47 paling, 84 papillon, 31 paragreen, 45 paramore, 45 parez, 33 paris, 33 partrick, 46 partridge, 46 pascoe, 135 pash, 135 paske, 135 _pasquin_ (f.), 135 pass, 79 patching, 105 paton, 90 patrington, 110 pattingham, 110 payne, 118 peabody, 156 peat, 91 peck, 79 pegg, 2, 85, 171 pendegast, 114 pender, 44, 101 pendered, 44 pendgast, 114, 115 _penicaud_ (f.), 34 penman, 45 penn, 85 pennell, 101 pennycad, 34, 45 pensham, 110 pentecast, 120, 183 pentecost, 120, 182, 183, 215 perman, 45 perriam, 45 perrott, 45 petersham, 110 petridge, 110 peyton, 90, 101 pharoah, 190 _philibert_ (f.), 123 phillimore, 50, 99 pickett, 101, 192 picton, 90 picture, 91 piddel, 101 pigot, 192 pilgrim, 45 pim, 162 pindard, 44 piper, 85 pippin, 101 pirner, 45 pitt, 83 player, 178, 180 plowman, 178, 180 pollard, 46 poppy, 80 portisham, 110 _potefer_ (f.), 190 potiphar, 190 pott, 80 potten, 101 pottle, 101 potto, 80 _poy_ (f.), 194 _poyard_ (f.), 152 _poyart_ (f.), 194 _poyé_ (f.), 194 _poyer_ (f.), 194 poynings, 105 pray, 157 prendergast, 114, 115 prendergrass, 114 prentice, 178, 179 prentiss, 32, 101, 116 priest, 178, 179 prince, 178, 179 proudfoot, 116 puck, 80 puckle, 85 puddifer, 190 punt, 101 purdue, 45 purgold, 46 purland, 45 pye, 193, 194 pym, 162 pyman, 193, 194 q. quail, 131, 133 quaint, 131, 133 quaker, 131 qualey, 131, 133 quantock, 131, 133 quare, 131 quarman, 131, 132 quarrier, 131, 132 quarry, 131 quart, 134 quary, 131 quash, 131 quear, 131 queen, 131, 133 queenan, 131, 133 queeney, 131, 133 _quenay_ (f.), 133 _querrey_ (f.), 131 query, 131 quick, 131, 132 quiddy, 131, 132 quier, 131, 132 quig, 131, 132 quiggle, 131, 132 quil, 131, 132 quilke, 131, 133 _quillac_ (f.), 133 _quillé_ (f.), 132 quillinan, 131, 133 quillman, 131, 133 quilt, 131, 134 quilter, 131, 134 quilty, 131, 134 quin, 131, 133 quinan, 131, 133 _quineau_ (f.), 133 quiner, 131, 133 _quinier_ (f.), 133 quint, 131, 133 _quinty_ (f.), 133 quire, 131, 132 _quirini_ (i.), 147 quitman, 131, 132 quittacus, 131, 132 quy, 131, 132 _quyo_ (f.), 132 r. rabbit, 118 raddish, 33 rackham, 60 radmore, 60 _raimondi_ (i.), 147 rain, 176 rainbird, 60 rainford, 60 ralph, 60, 101, 118 ramsden, 110 ranacre, 60 ranger, 60 rarey, 60 rathbold, 60 rathbone, 60 rather, 60 ratliffe, 60 rattham, 60 rattray, 60 raven, 85 raybauld, 60 raybolt, 60 rayment, 60, 120 raymond, 60 raynbold, 60 raynham, 60 read, 83 reading, 105 readwin, 60, 101 reckless, 183 redband, 60 reddaway, 60 reddish, 33 redgill, 60 redman, 60, 61 redmarley, 110 redmond, 60 redmore, 60 redwar, 60 regal, 85 reginald, 13 regnard, 60 rennie, 86, 176 renno, 176 reulver, 110 reynard, 60 reyner, 60 reynolds, 60 riccard, 61 rich, 85 richard, 61 _richarde_ (f.), 123 richbell, 61 richer, 61, 181 riches, 32 richey, 85 _richez_ (f.), 32 richman, 61 richmond, 61 richold, 61 rickinghall, 110 rickman, 61 ridding, 85 riddle, 86 riddy, 85 ridgway, 61 ridgyard, 61 _ridolphi_ (i.), 143 ringer, 61 ringold, 61, 100 ringstead, 110 ripley, 83 ritta, 85 robert, 61 _robert_ (f.), 123 _roberti_ (i.), 147 rock, 85 rodber, 61 rodbourn, 61 rodborough, 110 rodd, 85 rodgard, 61 rodger, 61 rodman, 61, 192 rodney, 61 rodrick, 61 rodyard, 61 _rointru_ (f.), 186 roland, 118 _rolandini_ (i.), 147 rolfe, 61, 118 rolland, 61 rolle, 85 rollesby, 110 rolleston, 110 roman, 61, 118, 192 roothing, 105 rosbert, 61 roskell, 61 _rosnagel_ (g.), 166 ross, 85 rotherham, 61 rothery, 61 rowantree, 185, 186 rubery, 101 ruck, 85 rudd, 85 rudder, 61 rudding, 85 _rudolfe_ (f.), 123 rudwick, 61 rugg, 85 rumbold, 62, 101 rummer, 62 runwell, 137 rush, 85 rutledge, 61 s. _sacchi_ (i.), 147 saint, 191 sala, 86 salaman, 178 sale, 86 salloway, 62 salmon, 62, 175, 178 sander, 85 sargood, 66 sarle, 85 sarratt, 62 satchell, 83 scales, 86 scally, 86 scamp, 191 scard, 83 scarth, 85 _schilling_ (g.), 29 scotland, 8 scott, 6 scotten, 8 scotting, 8 scotto, 8 seaber, 63 seaborn, 63 seabright, 63, 102_n_ seabrook, 63 seabury, 63 searight, 63 searle, 85 seawall, 63 seaward, 63 sedgeberrow, 110 sedgewick, 62 sefowl, 63 segar, 62, 102 seguin, 62 self, 85 sellar, 62 selvey, 86 sempringham, 88 serbutt, 62 sermon, 62 seward, 63 seyfried, 62 seymore, 15, 20, 62, 118 seymour, 102 shaft, 101 shaftesbury, 110 shafto, 101 shakestaff, 164 shark, 175, 177 sharkey, 175 shawkey, 101, 170 sheaf, 86 shield, 29, 101 shilling, 29, 215 shillingsworth, 215 shinn, 86 shirley, 86 sholl, 101 shovel, 86 shute, 85, 101 shuter, 101 sibbald, 62, 118 sibbertswold, 110 sibert, 62, 102, 118 sick, 86 sickle, 83 sickling, 85 sickman, 62 side, 183 sidlesham, 110 sievewright, 63, 178, 180 siggs, 86 sigournay, 115 siksworth, 110 simmond, 62 siney, 86 _sinibaldo_ (i.), 143 _sismondi_ (i.), 147 skeat, 85, 101 skitt, 85 smelt, 175, 178 smirke, 188, 189 snare, 86 snell, 102 snoad, 86, 168 snodd, 102 snodgast, 169 snodgrass, 114_n_, 168 snodin, 168 snodland, 110 snowden, 168 somerleyton, 110 somersham, 110 sommerlat, 102 spain, 192, 193 spark, 186, 187 speck, 86 spendlove, 193 spenlove, 193 sprack, 186, 187 spracklin, 186, 187 sprague, 186, 187 spratt, 175, 177 spreckly, 186, 187 sprigg, 186, 187 sprott, 177 sprout, 177 square, 160 squarey, 160 squire, 160 squirrell, 160, 175 stadd, 159 stainburn, 63 stainer, 63 starbuck, 120 starch, 164 stark, 164 starkie, 164 starr, 164 steamburg, 63 steed, 159 stell, 86 stenning, 86 stericker, 164 sternhold, 63, 116 steyning, 106 stidolph, 159 stitt, 159 stoddart, 159 stonard, 63 stone, 86 stoneheart, 63, 191 stoner, 63 stonhold, 63 stothard, 102 stott, 102, 159 stout, 102, 159 _stradivarius_ (i.), 149 straight, 163 strain, 163 strang, 163 strangward, 163 strangwick, 163 strank, 163 straw, 163 stray, 163 streek, 163 stretch, 163 strickett, 163 stringfellow, 163 stringle, 163 strong, 102, 163 stubbe, 186 stubbing, 86, 186 stubbs, 86 studd, 159 studeard, 102, 159 sturge, 164 sturgeon, 164 sturgin, 164 stutter, 159 sugg, 102 summer, 102, 182 sunday, 182 sundon, 110 sunman, 102 surrenden, 110 swan, 83, 174 swarling, 106 swearing, 2, 28, 160, 191 swears, 102, 160, 191 swire, 102, 160 sword, 102 sycamore, 62, 102, 185, 186 _sycamore_ (g.), 20 t. tackabarry, 47 tackle, 102 tadd, 86 taddy, 86 tadman, 63, 102 tadmarton, 110 talbert, 47 tall, 86 tallington, 111 tallman, 47 tamworth, 111 tancred, 63 tankard, 63 tankeray, 63 target, 119 tarring, 106 tassell, 151 _tassell_ (f.), 151 tassie, 151 _tasso_ (i.), 151 _tassy_ (f.), 151 tattle, 102 tatwin, 63 tavistock, 111 tayburn, 47 teather, 63 tedder, 63 teddington, 111 telfer, 47 telling, 28, 86 terling, 106 terry, 26, 86 teuthorn, 64 thackeray, 63 theddlethorpe, 111 theobald, 64 theodore, 64, 102 thirkettle, 64 _thom_ (f.), 196 _thomé_ (f.), 196 thorburn, 63 thorgur, 64 thorne, 86, 185, 186 thorning, 86 thorold, 64, 102 thoroughgood, 64, 110, 191 thorowood, 64 thrale, 169 thunder, 102 thundersfield, 111 thurgar, 102 thurgarton, 111 thurgood, 64 thurkle, 64 thurmot, 64 thurstan, 64 _tibaldi_ (f.), 148 tichfield, 111 tickle, 81 tidball, 64 tidemore, 64, 98 tidman, 64 tidmington, 111 tidy, 26 tileman, 140 tilford, 140 tilke, 140 till, 81, 139 _till_ (g.), 139 _tillé_ (f.), 139 _tillemans_ (d.), 140 tiller, 140 tilley, 26, 139 _tilli_ (i.), 139 tillick, 102, 140 tillier, 140 _tillier_ (f.), 140 tilling, 140 tillingham, 111 tillman, 140 _tillon_ (f.), 140 _tillot_ (f.), 140 tillott, 140 tilly, 81 _tilly_ (f.), 139 tilman, 102 _tilman_ (f.), 140 _tilmann_ (g.), 140 _tilmant_ (f.), 140 _tilo_ (g.), 139 tiptoft, 138 tisoe, 81 titford, 102 tockenham, 111 tocque, 81 todd, 25, 81 toddenham, 111 toddy, 25 todrig, 64 tom, 194, 196 tomb, 194, 196 _tombe_ (f.), 196 tomey, 102, 194, 196 tomkies, 48 tomlin, 31, 194, 196 tommell, 194, 196 toomey, 194, 196 tooting, 106 torr, 86 tottington, 111 trail, 215 train, 215 tray, 17, 215 tredington, 111 tremble, 2, 119, 202 trist, 102 troston, 111 trout, 175, 177, 178 truefitt, 183, 185 trumbull, 2, 119 trumby, 86 trump, 86 trumpington, 88 _tübingen_ (g.), 71 tuck, 86 tudor, 64 tuffnell, 165 tugman, 48 tunn, 177 tunno, 177 tunny, 175, 177 tunstone, 111 turing, 86 turk, 192, 193 turkdean, 111 turpin, 64 turr, 86 tuttle, 86 twickenham, 111, 187 twigg, 186, 187 twine, 186, 187 twining, 186, 187 twiss, 186, 187 u. _ubaldo_ (i.), 141 _ubaldini_ (i.), 141 _ughelli_ (i.), 140 _ughetti_ (i.), 141 _ugo_ (i.), 140, 143 _ugolino_ (i.), 141 upton snodsbury, 110 ure, 174 urlwin, 49 v. varnish, 33 vergoose, 65 vibert, 67 vicary, 67 vickridge, 67 _videau_ (f.), 148 _videcocq_ (f.), 34 viking, 72 _vilcocq_ (f.), 34 vinegar, 67 _viteau_ (f.), 148 w. waddicar, 64 waddy, 87 wadge, 117 wadmore, 64 wager, 65 wagg, 117 waghorn, 67, 120 wagstaff, 164 wain, 102 wake, 11 waker, 87 waland, 65 _walcher_ (g.), 181 walden, 102 walder, 87 waldie, 87 waldman, 64 waldo, 87 waldron, 64, 65 walk, 87 walker, 87, 178, 181 walkey, 87 walking, 28, 87 wall, 87 waller, 65 wallet, 65 wallfree, 65 wallower, 65 wallraven, 65 walsh, 87 walter, 64, 87, 103 wambey, 162 wampen, 162 waple, 87 warbolt, 65 warborough, 111 warbrick, 65 ward, 149 warden, 28 warehorne, 106 waring, 103 warland, 65 warlock, 65 warman, 65 warmbadt, 122 warmer, 65 warne, 87, 152, 181 warneford, 65 warner, 65, 149, 178, 180 warnett, 65 warraker, 65 warren, 87, 152, 181 warrenbury, 65 warrener, 65, 181 warringer, 149 warrior, 65 washingborough, 111 washington, 134 wass, 87 watchfield, 111 water, 87 watkiss, 64 watlington, 111 watney, 64 watt, 87 waugh, 117 way, 117 wedlake, 66 wedlock, 66 welcome, 66 well, 87 wellwyn, 106 welp, 131 weston, 103 weybret, 65 wheatbread, 116 whelp, 131 wherwell, 137, 140 whigam, 67, 103 whipp, 87 whipple, 103 whiston, 103 whit, 87 whitbread, 66, 116 whitecar, 66 whiteheart, 66 whitelaw, 66 whitelegg, 66 whitelock, 103 whiteman, 66 whitemore, 66 whiter, 66 whiteridge, 66 whiterod, 66, 120 whitethread, 66, 100 whiting, 175, 177 whitridge, 103 whittaker, 66 whittington, 109 whittock, 100 wichett, 67 wicker, 67 wicking, 87 wideman, 66 widow, 103, 148 wigg, 87, 103 wigget, 67 wigman, 67 wigmore, 67_n_ wigram, 67 wilbourn, 66 wilbraham, 111 wilburton, 111 wilcomb, 66 wilford, 66 wilkie, 31, 194, 195 wilkin, 31, 194, 195 will, 87, 194, 195 willament, 66 willard, 66, 103 willer, 87, 103 willeroey, 111 willett, 66 willgoss, 66 williams, 66 williment, 103 willing, 28, 87, 194, 195 willis, 32, 194, 195 willmore, 66 willmot, 66 willock, 31, 34 willoe, 195 willof, 194, 195 willow, 87, 185, 186 willy, 194, 195 wilsford, 111 wimble, 202 wimbolt, 67 wincup, 67 winder, 66 windle, 87 windlesham, 109 windram, 66 windred, 66 windsor, 112 wine, 87 winegar, 67, 103 wineman, 67 winer, 67, 103 winfarthing, 2, 29 wingood, 67 winlock, 67 winmen, 67 winn, 87 winning, 87 winshill, 111 winslow, 111 winston, 67 winter, 182, 183 wintle, 87 wire, 67 wither, 66 withered, 66 witherick, 66 witheron, 66 wittering, 66, 106 wiveliscomb, 111 woking, 106 woldswell, 111 wolf, 87 wolsey, 68, 103 wolverley, 112 woodcock, 34 woodin (?), 103 woolbert, 67 woolcot, 34, 67 wooley, 67 woolgar, 67, 103 woollams, 67 woollard, 67 woollat, 67 woolmer, 68, 103 woolnoth, 68 woolrych, 68, 103 woolston, 68 worcester, 111 wordsworth, 116 worm, 175 worting, 106 wren, 87, 175, 176 wreningham, 111 wright, 87 wrigley, 85 wrotham, 112 wyard, 67, 103 wyatt, 67 wyberg, 67 wybrow, 67 wyman, 67 wymer, 67 y. yea, 2, 68_n_ yeading, 105 yealfe, 68 yeaman, 68 yems, 83 yeo, 2, 68_n_ yeoman, 68 yeoward, 68 yorick, 68 the end. london: r. clay, sons, and taylor, bread street hill, e.c. 