midst of us. How about our boast of "advanced civilisation"?—Nov. 18, 1882.
Animal Sacrifice in Egypt.—At the entrance to the palace six buffaloes were slaughtered, two being killed just as the Khedive's carriage reached the gateway. The blood of the animals was splashed across the entrance, so that the horse's hoofs and wheels of the carriage passed through it. The flesh was afterwards distributed among the poor. This offering, according to Mohammedan faith, is supposed to bring good fortune to the owner. I omitted to state in my first telegram that the number of oxen which were sacrificed at the entrance to the Ismailia Palace at the time of the Khedive's arrival was uncertain. Fresh animals were subsequently distributed among the multitude, a fact which has misled many regarding the real nature of the ceremony. The sacrifice was a survival of the old custom of propitiating the Deity and securing his protection. In India, for example, all the great engineering works are believed by the common people to be protected against the angry gods of winds and rivers by animal and human sacrifices being performed under the direction of English officers at the beginning or conclusion of the undertaking. In Egypt the sacrificing ceremony is often performed, as on birthdays and other festivals of the Khediveal family.—Daily News, September 27, 1882.
Proverb.—It is a common proverb, "Dogs bark more for custome than fiercenesse." Wharton's Merlini Anglici, 1647, first words of preface. G. L. Gomme.
Some Notes on Folk-Lore Record, vol. v.—Nursery Rime, p. 154. I remember an old lady who used to say this rime with the addition of "A dog called Dob." Here are two others I have met in use, but do not remember to have seen in any collection, both addressed to boys:—
1.
If you're an old bachelor,
As I suppose you be,
You'll neither laugh nor smile
At the tickling of your knee."
(suiting the action to the word and making the child laugh.)
2. [When driving through a gateway, &c.]
"Open the gate both wide and high,
And let King George and I go by."
