DOI issue:
July 2, 1864
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.16874#0015
PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI.
7
July 2, 1864.]
PUNCH’S NOTES AND QUERIES:
A SHAMELESS PIRACY UPON OUR HONOURED AND INESTIMABLE FRIEND N. and
Curious Legal Custom.—Can any of your readers inform me
whether the following custom obtains in any other place than Little
Tiddleywinks. When a person owes money to another, and will not
j pay, the latter consults an attorney, who sends the former what is called
“A Lawyer’s Letter.” It is not an amiable practice, and I should be
! glad to hear that it is local only. Impecuniosus.
Quaint Saying.—What is the origin of the phrase “ Sat upon,” as
applied to a discomfited person ? I have sometimes thought that it
[ may come from satis (enough), but I have chiefly heard it from turf
j men, military officers, and others seldom rightly suspected of classical
proclivities. Anti Slang.
Wanted, a Quotation.—I am a young author, and having just
completed a work, I want a good quotation for the title-page, and I
dare sav that some of the well-read contributors to “ N. & Q.” can aid
J me, and I shall be much obliged by any one doing so. My work is on
| the advantages of Industry, and 1 desire a motto, in verse preferred,
making an allusion to the Bee, and its habit of improving time, ancl
stocking its cells from any available floral source. Juvenis.
Customs in Society.—When the ladies retire after dinner, why
does the master of the house flick his table napkin after his wife, who
j leaves the room last ? Is it a superstition ? And why does he take
her place at the table, and say “Now, then,” as if the enjoyment of
the evening were really going to commence ? And why does the gen-
: tleman who has hitherto been the most stupid and dismal, suddenly
| begin to grin, and proceed to rattle out jokes wffich certainly require
the absence of ladies—and of gentlemen. As I am preparing a work
on etiquette, I shall be glad of any enlishtenment on these points.
A Novice in the World.
To Lady-Commentators.—In the Circulating Library at Southend,
Essex, is a copy of Sir Bulwer Lytton’s beautiful romance, Zanoni.
There is a manuscript note in the margin of the page which describes
the Apparition of the Dreadful Eyes and the Manifestation of the Unut-
terable Horror, and the words, written by a graceful female pen, are
“ Truly hawful.” As I think I recognise a kindred spirit in the anno-
tation, I should be very glad if she would send her address to me, under
cover to your office. Spirit-Rapper.
A Classical Query.—Do the best authorities at Oxford, (or
Cambridge, if anything about Latin is known there) consider that
Horace’s phrase celeri saucius implies that the ancients were acquainted
with celery sauce ? Gryffyd.
Pedigree of the Smiths.—I am endeavouring to trace the pedigree
of the Smiths of Tottenham Court Road. I have certificates as far back
as John Smith, fruiterer, who lived in Holborn in 1815, but beyond this
I cannot get. Can any of your correspondents aid me ? We have a
tradition that a Smith was knocked down hi the Lord George Gordon
riots, and an aged member of the family, resident in almshouses at
Aldgate, thinks that either a Smith (“ a smart young dandy ”) whom
she knew in youth, or his friend Brown (“ who went up in a balloon ”)
came home very tipsy after the fireworks hi honour of the Allied
Sovereigns, and these facts may serve as clues. I shall be glad of an
early reply, for a visitor to the house lately remarked that she would
not wonder if Mr. Smith got knighted one of these fine days, and it
may be well to be prepared for Heralds’ College.
Samuel Traddles, (Solicitor).
Animosity towards Spiders.—Can any of the correspondents of
“ N. & Q.” inform me what is thought to be the origin of this feeling ?
I have recently married, and my bachelor study was rather profusely
adorned with hangings produced by the industrious and indefatigable
animal. To my surprise, during my absence one day, my wife anil the
housemaid cleared them all away, and hr answer to my astonished
inquiries, I could get no explanation from the former, except that I was
a pig. I suppose that there is some female superstition on the subject,
and should be glad to be informed what, having no animosity myself
towards a creature that sets authors so good an example of the poet’s
golden rule, Nulla dies sine lined. Dominie Sampson.
Explanation of a Poem.—Dr. Watts is usually a model of good
: sense. But why does he, in his moral song about ants, make the fol-
lowing complaint ?
“ These emmets, how little they are in our eyes ! ”
vVoul.I cue not rather wish that they should not be in our eyes at all,
than announce that they very seldom get there ? Perhaps the learned
Attorney-General, who edits our hymns so admirably, would explain
the passage. It would not be beneath his dignity, for I see with plea-
sure that the learned Solicitor-General exhibits a picture in this year’s
Academy, and I am glad to see that great persons grow so affable.
Meus Oculus.
Eolk Lore.—Riding recently in the Regent’s Park, and having
some little difficulty with my horse, some juveniles, who were watching
us with evident amusement, exclaimed, “ Get inside, Sir.” I do not
know whether they were advising me to take the horse within the
enclosure, but I should think not, because the gates were locked, and I
am induced to believe that the exclamation was a specimen of the quain
and time-honoured “chaff” of the humbler classes. Have any of your
correspondents an idea of its meaning ? Cockney.
Nursery Rhymes.—The rising generation is grateful to you for
allowing your correspondents to record the interesting evidences of
domestic playfulness, and in the hope that the following may be new to
many nurseries, 1 send it. I first heard it from my old nurse who, I
think, had in girl-hood been in some subordinate situation in the family
of Lord Eldon. Hence, perhaps, the allusion to the wig, though it is
hardly probable that domestics would allow themselves to jest about
the attire of their noble employer :—
<! There was a little pig,
And he wore a little wig,
And he stood upon his hind legs,
And danced a little jig.” ADELGITHA.
In a fine tall copy of the third folio of Shakspeare, now in my pos-
session, the exclamations of Hamlet, who has seen the Ghost, and
summons his colleagues, are printed thus :—
“ Hollo ! oho I ho ! boy; come, Bird, eome.”j
Addressed to Marcellus, the word “bird” would be absurd, unless
Ilamlefs madness were breaking out very early indeed, and we cannot
suppose that the elegant Hamlet would use a term equivalent to the
“ old cock ” of the colloquial life of our time. But I see one “ Birde ”
mentioned as among the players in the Globe company. Was he the
original Marcellus, and was this merely a note in the prompt copy, to
remind him of his entrance ? Yenerable Bede, M.A.
[We think the criticism futile. Hamlet may well call his friend a bird, when
he calls his father an old mole, his venerable friend a fishmonger, and the players
gentlemen.—Ed. Punch's N. <k ([>.]
Social Freemasonry.—-At a dancing party the other night, I had
no partner, so I went down alone to supper. I obtained a plate, and
by some management got two wings of a fowl, three slices of tongue,
and a help of lobster salad, with some good pieces, and roe. I was
retiring to eat it in a corner, when a tall “ swell,” in a very affable
manner, took the plate from me, saying, “ Just what a lady wants.”
Then I saw him eating it himself. I am not much used to society. Is
the phrase a sort of pass-word, to be accepted like a freemason’s Sign.
And if so, what is its origin ? Simon Soft.
Taking a Sight.—A more vulgar and offensive gesture than what
is known as “ taking a sight ” can hardly be, and I am glad to say that
it is used now only by the aristocracy in clubs and by the lowest cads
at the doors of public-houses. Yet it had once a grave significance, and
was practised by the highest persons, for Lord Bacon says, that “ my
Ll1 Walsinghame, being stirred to erect unto himself a mansion, was
asked by the Queen’s Maje how his house prospered. ‘ Alack, most
dread Sovereign,’ he said, ‘ I lack a spot to build it upon.’ The
Queen, pointing through the casement to a fair domain (none of her
Grace’s) did reply, finger to nose, c My lord, take a site.’ ”
A Dublin Architect.
Pawnbrokers.—1 am informed by a menial that the lower orders
speak of a pawnbroker (a person who lends money on pledges) by the
name of “ My Uncle.” The habits of the inferior creation have some
interest for an observer of nature, and should the circumstances be
known to any gentleman who reads “ N. & Q.,” he will perhaps favour
me with an explanation. Is this a ludicrous effort on the part of the
canaille to get some fragment of a pedigree ?
De La Montmorency-Biggs. _
A Dodge Defeated.—In a beautiful and exciting novel which is
now the rage in Society, and which is called Emerald, pr the Pardonable
Parricide, 1 find the following allusion. “ Dashing bis fair bride from
him, he gazed on her in horror, as did Lycus the Centaur at the ser-
pentine incarnation.” Pray, who was Lycus the Centaur ?
Ambulator.
[A clever person, not to be done. We can tell you of another, who saw that your
letter was an artful puff for your rubbishing book, so he altered the title you gave.
Ha ! Is Ambulator Latin for Walker ?—Ed. Punch's N. & Q.]
Seal Motto Wanted.—There is in my possession a very curious
seal, the date of the engraving of which I cannot determine, but I shall
be happy to show it to any one who will come into Cornwall, and call
on me. It is mounted in brass, the engraved substance is glass, and
the device is a ship at sea, with the motto, (a corner chipped off and a
letter or two lost) uch is life. Could any contributor help me to a
conjectural restoration of the legend ? Phoca.
7
July 2, 1864.]
PUNCH’S NOTES AND QUERIES:
A SHAMELESS PIRACY UPON OUR HONOURED AND INESTIMABLE FRIEND N. and
Curious Legal Custom.—Can any of your readers inform me
whether the following custom obtains in any other place than Little
Tiddleywinks. When a person owes money to another, and will not
j pay, the latter consults an attorney, who sends the former what is called
“A Lawyer’s Letter.” It is not an amiable practice, and I should be
! glad to hear that it is local only. Impecuniosus.
Quaint Saying.—What is the origin of the phrase “ Sat upon,” as
applied to a discomfited person ? I have sometimes thought that it
[ may come from satis (enough), but I have chiefly heard it from turf
j men, military officers, and others seldom rightly suspected of classical
proclivities. Anti Slang.
Wanted, a Quotation.—I am a young author, and having just
completed a work, I want a good quotation for the title-page, and I
dare sav that some of the well-read contributors to “ N. & Q.” can aid
J me, and I shall be much obliged by any one doing so. My work is on
| the advantages of Industry, and 1 desire a motto, in verse preferred,
making an allusion to the Bee, and its habit of improving time, ancl
stocking its cells from any available floral source. Juvenis.
Customs in Society.—When the ladies retire after dinner, why
does the master of the house flick his table napkin after his wife, who
j leaves the room last ? Is it a superstition ? And why does he take
her place at the table, and say “Now, then,” as if the enjoyment of
the evening were really going to commence ? And why does the gen-
: tleman who has hitherto been the most stupid and dismal, suddenly
| begin to grin, and proceed to rattle out jokes wffich certainly require
the absence of ladies—and of gentlemen. As I am preparing a work
on etiquette, I shall be glad of any enlishtenment on these points.
A Novice in the World.
To Lady-Commentators.—In the Circulating Library at Southend,
Essex, is a copy of Sir Bulwer Lytton’s beautiful romance, Zanoni.
There is a manuscript note in the margin of the page which describes
the Apparition of the Dreadful Eyes and the Manifestation of the Unut-
terable Horror, and the words, written by a graceful female pen, are
“ Truly hawful.” As I think I recognise a kindred spirit in the anno-
tation, I should be very glad if she would send her address to me, under
cover to your office. Spirit-Rapper.
A Classical Query.—Do the best authorities at Oxford, (or
Cambridge, if anything about Latin is known there) consider that
Horace’s phrase celeri saucius implies that the ancients were acquainted
with celery sauce ? Gryffyd.
Pedigree of the Smiths.—I am endeavouring to trace the pedigree
of the Smiths of Tottenham Court Road. I have certificates as far back
as John Smith, fruiterer, who lived in Holborn in 1815, but beyond this
I cannot get. Can any of your correspondents aid me ? We have a
tradition that a Smith was knocked down hi the Lord George Gordon
riots, and an aged member of the family, resident in almshouses at
Aldgate, thinks that either a Smith (“ a smart young dandy ”) whom
she knew in youth, or his friend Brown (“ who went up in a balloon ”)
came home very tipsy after the fireworks hi honour of the Allied
Sovereigns, and these facts may serve as clues. I shall be glad of an
early reply, for a visitor to the house lately remarked that she would
not wonder if Mr. Smith got knighted one of these fine days, and it
may be well to be prepared for Heralds’ College.
Samuel Traddles, (Solicitor).
Animosity towards Spiders.—Can any of the correspondents of
“ N. & Q.” inform me what is thought to be the origin of this feeling ?
I have recently married, and my bachelor study was rather profusely
adorned with hangings produced by the industrious and indefatigable
animal. To my surprise, during my absence one day, my wife anil the
housemaid cleared them all away, and hr answer to my astonished
inquiries, I could get no explanation from the former, except that I was
a pig. I suppose that there is some female superstition on the subject,
and should be glad to be informed what, having no animosity myself
towards a creature that sets authors so good an example of the poet’s
golden rule, Nulla dies sine lined. Dominie Sampson.
Explanation of a Poem.—Dr. Watts is usually a model of good
: sense. But why does he, in his moral song about ants, make the fol-
lowing complaint ?
“ These emmets, how little they are in our eyes ! ”
vVoul.I cue not rather wish that they should not be in our eyes at all,
than announce that they very seldom get there ? Perhaps the learned
Attorney-General, who edits our hymns so admirably, would explain
the passage. It would not be beneath his dignity, for I see with plea-
sure that the learned Solicitor-General exhibits a picture in this year’s
Academy, and I am glad to see that great persons grow so affable.
Meus Oculus.
Eolk Lore.—Riding recently in the Regent’s Park, and having
some little difficulty with my horse, some juveniles, who were watching
us with evident amusement, exclaimed, “ Get inside, Sir.” I do not
know whether they were advising me to take the horse within the
enclosure, but I should think not, because the gates were locked, and I
am induced to believe that the exclamation was a specimen of the quain
and time-honoured “chaff” of the humbler classes. Have any of your
correspondents an idea of its meaning ? Cockney.
Nursery Rhymes.—The rising generation is grateful to you for
allowing your correspondents to record the interesting evidences of
domestic playfulness, and in the hope that the following may be new to
many nurseries, 1 send it. I first heard it from my old nurse who, I
think, had in girl-hood been in some subordinate situation in the family
of Lord Eldon. Hence, perhaps, the allusion to the wig, though it is
hardly probable that domestics would allow themselves to jest about
the attire of their noble employer :—
<! There was a little pig,
And he wore a little wig,
And he stood upon his hind legs,
And danced a little jig.” ADELGITHA.
In a fine tall copy of the third folio of Shakspeare, now in my pos-
session, the exclamations of Hamlet, who has seen the Ghost, and
summons his colleagues, are printed thus :—
“ Hollo ! oho I ho ! boy; come, Bird, eome.”j
Addressed to Marcellus, the word “bird” would be absurd, unless
Ilamlefs madness were breaking out very early indeed, and we cannot
suppose that the elegant Hamlet would use a term equivalent to the
“ old cock ” of the colloquial life of our time. But I see one “ Birde ”
mentioned as among the players in the Globe company. Was he the
original Marcellus, and was this merely a note in the prompt copy, to
remind him of his entrance ? Yenerable Bede, M.A.
[We think the criticism futile. Hamlet may well call his friend a bird, when
he calls his father an old mole, his venerable friend a fishmonger, and the players
gentlemen.—Ed. Punch's N. <k ([>.]
Social Freemasonry.—-At a dancing party the other night, I had
no partner, so I went down alone to supper. I obtained a plate, and
by some management got two wings of a fowl, three slices of tongue,
and a help of lobster salad, with some good pieces, and roe. I was
retiring to eat it in a corner, when a tall “ swell,” in a very affable
manner, took the plate from me, saying, “ Just what a lady wants.”
Then I saw him eating it himself. I am not much used to society. Is
the phrase a sort of pass-word, to be accepted like a freemason’s Sign.
And if so, what is its origin ? Simon Soft.
Taking a Sight.—A more vulgar and offensive gesture than what
is known as “ taking a sight ” can hardly be, and I am glad to say that
it is used now only by the aristocracy in clubs and by the lowest cads
at the doors of public-houses. Yet it had once a grave significance, and
was practised by the highest persons, for Lord Bacon says, that “ my
Ll1 Walsinghame, being stirred to erect unto himself a mansion, was
asked by the Queen’s Maje how his house prospered. ‘ Alack, most
dread Sovereign,’ he said, ‘ I lack a spot to build it upon.’ The
Queen, pointing through the casement to a fair domain (none of her
Grace’s) did reply, finger to nose, c My lord, take a site.’ ”
A Dublin Architect.
Pawnbrokers.—1 am informed by a menial that the lower orders
speak of a pawnbroker (a person who lends money on pledges) by the
name of “ My Uncle.” The habits of the inferior creation have some
interest for an observer of nature, and should the circumstances be
known to any gentleman who reads “ N. & Q.,” he will perhaps favour
me with an explanation. Is this a ludicrous effort on the part of the
canaille to get some fragment of a pedigree ?
De La Montmorency-Biggs. _
A Dodge Defeated.—In a beautiful and exciting novel which is
now the rage in Society, and which is called Emerald, pr the Pardonable
Parricide, 1 find the following allusion. “ Dashing bis fair bride from
him, he gazed on her in horror, as did Lycus the Centaur at the ser-
pentine incarnation.” Pray, who was Lycus the Centaur ?
Ambulator.
[A clever person, not to be done. We can tell you of another, who saw that your
letter was an artful puff for your rubbishing book, so he altered the title you gave.
Ha ! Is Ambulator Latin for Walker ?—Ed. Punch's N. & Q.]
Seal Motto Wanted.—There is in my possession a very curious
seal, the date of the engraving of which I cannot determine, but I shall
be happy to show it to any one who will come into Cornwall, and call
on me. It is mounted in brass, the engraved substance is glass, and
the device is a ship at sea, with the motto, (a corner chipped off and a
letter or two lost) uch is life. Could any contributor help me to a
conjectural restoration of the legend ? Phoca.