358
NOTES AND QUERIES. [io<- S.V.MAY 5,1906.
in all its senses, beginning with a virgin, has a
deeply interesting history. The same may be said
of mead and meadoiv. Meadsiveet is an accepted
form of meadowsweet. Words such as meal, mean,
meat, in their various senses, have all well-told
histories. The different significances of the second,
mean, are specially curious. We should have
been glad of comment on the misuse of by no means
in phrases such as " it is by no means sure." This
is a favourite mode of speech of Miss Burney, an
instance from whom is quoted with no hint of dis-
approval. A possible connexion is suggested be-
tween meander in the case of a person, and
maunder. It seems remarkable to meet with no
instance of Mecca, a sacred spot, earlier than 1850.
Under mechanical we note "a crew of patches, rude
mechanicals." Medieval is first heard in 1827. It
was popularized by Ruskin. Medical first occurs
in Sir T. Browne. Medicament is found even a
century earlier, and medicine two centuries earlier
still. The American use, medicine-man, &c., be-
longs to early in the nineteenth century. Medley is
first used in the sense of mvlee. What is said con-
cerning medoc is brief, but excellent ; and meed
and meek repay close attention. Meeting-house, a
place of worship, is now confined to the U.S. Of
melancholy, in a lighter sense, an instance earlier
and happier than is given occurs in Beaumont and
Tletcher :
There's naught in this life, sweet,
Were men but wise to see 't,
But only melancholy.
Menagerie occurs in 1712. The Countess of Bless- ington in 1837 seems responsible for menu, a bill of fare. " I would adventure for such merchandise,"
- Romeo and Juliet,' provides a special instance of
the last -word. Some hesitation is shown in accept- ing the popular derivation of Merry Andreiv.
Apollonius of Tyana, and other Essays. By Thomas
Whittaker. (Sonnenschein & Co.) IN these six essays on speculative philosophy in relation to the claims of revealed religion Mr. Whittaker gives evidence of learning and ability. The first three, bearing on the more concrete and historical aspects of the subject, are of most interest. The sketch of that somewhat enigmatical personage, Apollonius of Tyana, a curious cross between a clairvoyant charlatan and a Neo- Pythagorean ascetic, whom Baur made good use of in his assault on the Gospels, is well done, and deserves to stand first in the book. It was also well worth while to make a digest of the rather long-drawn argument between Origen and Celsus, which is not always easy to follow. The author, it should be said, is frankly a sceptic, and does not disguise the fact that his sympathies are with the opponent rather than with the defender of Christianity. He is resolved, with Johnsonian zeal, that the orthodox dog shall not get the best of the argument, and in the result, of his analysis the heretic remains master of the field. He makes, however, a legitimate use of the fact that we only have Celsus's views as reported by his adversaries.
The other essays consist for the most part of highly technical and schematic discussions of obscure problems in transcendental metaphysics, where lucidity is much to be desiderated perhaps it was not possible. The misprint of "would" for world at the foot of p. 63 makes nonsense of the passage where it occurs.
The Antiquary. Vol. XLI. (Elliot Stock.)
WE have read this volume with much pleasure. A
few of the articles are shorter than could be wished,
but nearly all indicate knowledge and constructive-
ness, and are thus far in advance of what we
frequently encounter in the columns of the daily
press. '
Mr. E. C. Vansittart's paper on the reverence shown in Italy to San Giuseppe is not only instruc- tive, but very entertaining also. Little honour was shown with us to St. Joseph in pre-Reformation days. We do not remember hearing of a single old church in this country being dedicated to him ; but in Italy and Spain he ranks in popular regard next to the Blessed Virgin herself. One of the stories the writer tells is grotesquely amusing. Though it is under the ban of the ecclesiastical authorities, we are told that it is accepted still by the common people.
There is a highly interesting article by Miss Jessie M. E. Saxby on ' The Sacred Sites of a Shet- land Isle.' Unst is the island referred to. It is about fourteen miles long, and at its widest seven miles broad. Tradition says that at one time about twenty kirks existed there ; but it may be that in this instance we have a blending of Christian churches with places of heathen worship. As Miss Saxby has evidently visited most of the localities she treats of, the labour expended must have been severe as well as wearisome. It is clear that the early missionaries to Unst acted in the spirit of the instructions given by St. Gregory the Great to St. Augustine, to christianize the places of the old worship, not to sweep away the fabrics for which their simple hearts still retained a warm affection, and around which, in many cases, their forefathers were buried. This is demonstrated by the fact that burnt bones and fragments of early pottery have been discovered under the foundations of desecrated Christian churches. Some of these indications of pre-Christian worship have been discovered by Miss Saxby herself. It is thus obvious that heathen rites were once performed where in later times the Christian sacraments were celebrated, and the baptized dead were buried beside their ancestors who had lived ages before the light of the Gospel shone on the far North.
Mr. C. Lynam's paper on the Lapley font suggests wide-stretching speculations. The subjects carved thereon are taken from events recorded in the Gospels, and by their rudeness, and the highly conventional way in which they have been treated, a remote antiquity is suggested ; but an inscription under the representation of the Nativity, "Het ajeborteChristi," is engraved in plain Roman capitals which give the idea of a very modern date. The vessel, too, is in shape an octagon, and this seems to point to a time far later than the sculptures.
Mr. Sheppard's 'Roman Remains near Spurn ' and Mr. Sieveking's paper on old French doors and door-handles are well worthy of attention. Both are well illustrated.
The Home Counties Magazine. Edited by W.
Paley Baildon. (Reynell & Son.) THE most interesting, and in some ways the most important, paper in the present issue is the story, by Mr. W. B. Gerish, of the sufferings of a Hert- fordshire witch, Jane Wenham, who was tried for sorcery and witchcraft at Hertford in 1712, by Mr. Justice Powell, who, when the prisoner was found
