which is used in English for a dictionary of general information, for which the German equivalent is "Conversations-Lexikon." But which is preferable 1 ' Rees's,' the 'Penny,' the ' American ' (Ripley & Dana), all have " Cyclo- paedia," not to mention that series of works so well known in its day, "Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia." The longest modern work of the kind is the 'Encyclopaedia Britannica.' 'Chambers's,' the 'Globe,' and others adopt this form, whilst the famous French 'Encyclopedic,' edited by Diderot, gave rise, from the tone of thought of the writers, to the expression " encyclopedist."
Now if we turn to Murray we are told that
" cyclopaedia" (of the use of which the first
example he quotes is of date 1636) is "a
shortening or modification of Encyclopaedia
(itself due to an. erroneous Greek read-
ing), perhaps intended to convey more
obviously the ostensible sense 'circle of learn-
ing,' from Greek (
Greek characters) and (Greek characters)." Under
'Encyclopaedia ' we find the first example in
Elyot's ' Governour,' date 1531. It is said to
be a late Latin word adopted from the pseudo-
Greek (Greek characters), "an erroneous form
(said to be a false reading) occurring in
manuscripts of Ouintilian, Pjiny, and Galen,
for (Greek characters), ' encyclical education.' "
Perhaps it may be worth while to refer to the fact that 'Chambers's Cyclopaedia,' or ' Encyclopaedia,' did not in the first instance originate with the great Edinburgh firm. The publication of the first edition of their truly valuable 'Encyclopaedia' commenced in 1859 ; the last appeared, fully brought up to date, in the present century. But Ephraim Chambers, a native of Kendal, in Westmoreland, published the earliest English work of the kind in 1728, under the title 'Cyclopaedia.' Whilst the second edition was in the press (it appeared in 1738) Bowyer, the learned printer, called upon the author and begged him to change the title to ' Encyclopaedia,' urging that that was the form used by the best writers, and that whereas "Cyclopaedia might denote the in- struction of a circle, as Cyropaedia is the instruction of Cyrus if he wrote Encyclo- paedia, it determined it to be from the dative of Cyclus, instruction in a circle" (Nichols's
- Literary Anecdotes,' vol. v. p. 659, note). It
seems to me that cyclo- is clearly enough the dative of KVK\O<S without the prefixed eii- ; but the argument prevailed with Chambers.
A query was asked about ' The First En cyclopaedia ' in 5 th S. xi. 447. The reply at the following p. 478 is headed 'The First Cyclopaedia.' This is stated to have been written in Provencal by Brunette Latini, the
master of Dante. An Italian translation was
printed at Treviso in 1474, but the original
did not appear in type until 1863, when it
was printed at Paris from manuscripts in the
Bibliotheque Imperiale. W. T. LYNN.
Blackheath.
NAVAL PRONUNCIATION. Has the peculiar pronunciation of certain words in naval circles ever been discussed 1 Amongst these are helium for helm, tackle for tackle, lieu- tenant as spelt. There are no doubt others, and a complete list would be interesting. REGINALD HAINES.
Uppingham.
DOG WHICH FOLLOWED THE DlJC D'ENGHIEN.
A propos of the note (9 th S. xi. 401) on the ' Place of Execution of the Due d'Enghien,' I lately read a short story in Le Petit Journal, Supplement Illustre, 29 March, pp. 98-9, en- titled 'Moholoff,' concerning a dog so named which accompanied him in his journey from Strasburg to Vincennes. As I was always very much interested in the sad fate of the duke, I am curious to know whether the story of the dog is entirely fiction or not. Can any reader of ' N. & Q.' kindly inform me ? E. LATHAM.
PORTABLE DWELLINGS. I should be grateful to any of your correspondents for informa- tion as regards the suitability or otherwise of portable buildings as permanent places of residence if they are warm in winter and cool in summer, durable, pretty, and worth the money they cost to erect. Are they wind-proof ; and do they keep out the damp sufficiently to ensure their being healthy ?
ANXIOUS.
ROMAN PITS. I remember reading some years ago of the discovery of certain pits, which, it was said, were made in the time of the Romans or earlier. It was suggested that they were used to store grain, but nothing certain was known of their use or origin. Can any of your readers assist me with information ? J. H. JUDSON.
(See the articles quoted under ' Dene-hole, Dane- hole,' in the 'H.E.D.']
SQUARE CAP. The Augustinian canons wore a square cap, according to the article on * Costume ' in the ' Encyc. Brit.' Was this the familiar college cap or " mortar-board " ?
FRED. G. ACKERLEY. Care of British Vice-Consul, Libau, Russia. [Is the biretta intended ?]
RAILWAY LITERATURE. I remember many years ago hearing a quotation from an article against the then proposed introduction
