used quails* as well as cocks for fighting-The first cause of contention between the two brothers Bassianus and Geta, sons of the Emperor Septimius Severus, happened, according to Herodian, in their youth, about fighting their quails and cocks+-Cocks and quails, fitted for the purpose of engaging one another to the last gasp, for diversion, are frequently compared in the Roman writers, and with much propriety, to Gladiators. The fathers of the church inveigh with greath warmth against the spectacles of the Arena-the wanton shedding of human blood in sport-One would have thought that with this, cock-fighting would also have been discarded, under the mild and humane genius of Christianity-But it was reserved for this enlightened æra to practise it with new and aggravating cir cumstances of cruelty-The Shrove Tuesday massacre of this useful and spirited creature, is now, indeed, in à declining way; but that mon

reign of Henry II. is the first of our writers that mentions cocking, describing it as the sport of schoolboys on Shrove Tuesday. The theatre (the cockpit) it seems was the school, and the master was the comptroller and director of the sport. From this time, at least, the diversion, however absurd, and even impious, was continued amongst us: It was followed, though disapproved and prohibited 39 Edward III.—Also in the reign of Henry VIII. and A. D. 1569. It has been by some called a royal diversion; and every one knows the cockpit at Whitehall was erected by a crowned head, for the more magnificent celebrating of the sport. It was prohibited, however, by one of Oliver's acts, March 31, 1654.

Origin of the Name of Old Nick.

and Welsh-main still continue to be in full force amongst us.-A striking disgrace to the manly character of Britons!

It is probable that cock-fighting was first introduced into this island by the Romans.-The bird itself was here before Cæsar's arrival.

William Fitz - Stephen, who wrote the life of Becket, in the

the Devil's having the name of Old Nick. Keysler de Dea Nehaleunia, p. 33. and Antiq. Septentr. p. 261, mentions a deity of the waters worshipped by the antient Germans and Danes under the name of Nocca or Nicken, styled in the Edda Nikur, which he derives from the German nugen, answering to the Latin necare. Wormius, Mon. Dan. p. 17, says the

redness

redness in the faces of drowned persons was ascribed to this deity's sucking their blood out at their nostrils. Wasthovius, pres. ad Vit. Sanctor. and Loccenius, Antiq. Sueo-Goth, p. 17. call him Neccus, and quote from a Belgo-Gallic Dictionary, Neccer, Spiritus Aquaticus, and Necce, necare. The Islandic Dict. in Hickes' Thes. P. III. p. 85. renders Nikur, bellua aquatica. Lastly, Rudbekius, Atlant. p. 1. c. 7. § 5, p. 192, & c. 30, p. 719, mentions a notion prevalent among his countrymen, that Neckur, who governed the sea, assumed the form of various animals, or of a horseman, or of a man in a boat. He supposes him the same with Odin; but the above authorities are sufficient to evince that he was the Northern Neptune, or some subordinate seagod of a noxious disposition. Wormius queries whether a figure said to be seen, 1615, on the river Lan, and called Wasser Nichs, might not be of this kind. Probably it was a sea-monster of the species

called Mermen, and by our Spen

ser, Fairy-Queen, II. 12, 14.

The griesly Wasserman.

It is not unlikely, but the name of this evil spirit might, as Christianity prevailed in these northern nations, be transferred to the father of evil.

If it would not be thought punning on names, I would hazard another conjecture-St. Nicholas was the patron of mariners, consequently opponent to Nicker. How he came by this office does not appear. The Legend says, "Ung jour que aucuns mariniers perissoyent si le prierent oinsi a larmes, Nicolas, serviteur de Dieu, si les choses sont creyes que nous avons ouyes, si

les esprouve maintenant. Et tantot unghomme s'apparut au la semblance de luy, & leur dit, Veez moy, se ne m'appellez vous pas: & leur commenca a leur ayder en leur exploit : de la ne fet tantost la tempestate cessa. Et quant ils furent venus a son Eglise ilz se cogneurent sans demonstrer, & si ne l'avoient oncques veu. Et lors rendirent graces a Dieu & a luy de leur deliverance; et il leur dit que ilz attribuassent a le misericorde de Dieu et a leur creance, et non pas a ses merites.-Then follow other miracles, not peculiarly appropriated to him under this character. We have afterwards, indeed, another story of his delivering from an illusion of the Devil certain pilgrims qui alloient a luy a nage, which I understand to mean only by water, Legende d'or. fol. viii. See also Blomefield's Hist. of Norfolk, II. p. 861.

PALEOPHILUS.

Remarkable Instances of the Crasis.

Cure we call a Crasis,

ORRUPTIONS, by means of

the figure

have had a great effect, I believe, in all languages; it is when the prefix adheres to the following word, which it often very easily and naturally does, in pronunciation, and afterwards is written or printed in that form. Thus the modern names of the city of Athens, are Satinas and Satines, from es las "Anvas; and that of Constantinople Stamboul, from is. Hence ædepol, mehercule, &c. of the Romans; and, perhaps, our word endeavour, and rendevous, from the French endeavoir, and rendes vous. Some attention, however, is necessary in the case, and some dis

tinction

tinction should be made, for the Crasis is not concerned in all words that coalesce together, as otherwise, always, &c. which ought rather to be called compounds; for I esteem it no Crasis unless there be such a mixture or coalition of letters in the word as to make the word to seem different from itself, and to be obscured or deformed by it. Thus Birlady, a form of swearing by the blessed Virgin,, much used formerly, and sometimes now, is a manifest jumble and corruption of By our Lady."

It appears, from this short account of things, that vulgar, hasty, and inaccurate pronunciation has been the principal cause of this figure; which has been more applied in our language than, I presume, is commonly thought; and therefore I am in hopes that a regard had unto it cannot fail of giving light unto the sense and etymology of very many of our English words. The figure has also operated very remarkably in some of our English sirnames, as has been noted by our learned Camden, Remains, p. 122; we shall therefore insert those instances amongst the rest. I observe, lastly, before I proceed on my Alphabet, that it is surprising how prone the country-people of the North and midland parts of England are to the use of this grammatical figure, especially in respect of the article The, which in the shape of Tor Th they will join to words which begin with a consonant, or with more than one; causing thereby much roughness and harshness, and even difficulty of pronunciation; o'er th'bridge, o'er th'brig, as they speak it, for over the bridge.

VOL. XX.

Now, the prefixes, or other particles, which usually coalesce with the words they belong to, so as to alter or disguise them, are these: A, An, At, Ap, By, Di. De, Do, I, In, It, Mine, Ne, O, Sainte, The, Two, Three, and To. And these I propose to go through in their order.

A.-An Accomplice. The monkish historians perpetually use the word Complices in Latin; and Complice itself, as an English word, occurs in Weaver, Fun. Monuments, p. 266, and see Johnson. So that I suspect a Crasis here, and that it was first a Complice, corrupted afterwards to Accomplice, which in that case would require the article an to be prefixed. The word accomplish might facilitate the corruption with unthinking people.

AN.-A Nayword.

This is a

common expression for a by-word or proverb, and is probably a Crasis of an Aye-word; that is, a word or saying, always and perpetually used, agreeable to the ancient use of Aye. If this be not the meaning and the original of it, it will be difficult to account for it.

A Narrow, id est, an Arrow, See Mr. Hearne ad Gul. Neubrig, p. lxxxv, lxxxvi. The prefix has here evidently grown and fastened itself to the noun.

Jacke Napes, which Skelton gives us, p. 160, seems to be Jack an Apes, as Littleton writes it; but I am doubtful about this, as Nape or Knape is the same as knave or servant. See Gloss, to Douglas's Virgil.

A Nogler. This is the name formerly given to those people who travelled the country with Sheffield wares; a practice now generally L

left

left off there, insomuch that the name itself is falling into oblivion, as the original of the word has long since done. I take the etymon to be this: what we call an Higler was once written an Hagler, and so you will find it in Dr. Fuller's Worthies, p. 278. Now, an Hagler is very easily turned into a Nagler, and with a open a Nogler. Dr. Johnson omits the Higler, and describes the Hagler as one that is tardy in bargaining, from to haggle. But it seems the Higler and the Hagler is the same person, and so this sense of the latter word is omitted by him.

A Newt. An Eft, or small lizard, of which Newt is the common name in Derbyshire and Staffordshire. Plott. Hist. Staff. p. 244. 251; and it is used by Shakesp. Macbeth, A. IV. Sc. 1. "Newt, says Dr. Johnson, is supposed by Skinner to be contracted from an Evet," and it certainly is so. The Saxon word is epere; so that the gradation is an Efete, an Evet, a Nevet, a Newt, consonant being turned into u, just as vin Devil is changed into u by those who pronounce it, as the vulgar often do, Deul.

A Needle, anciently written a Neld, which perhaps may by Crasis be an Eld, the same as an Elso used by shoemakers.

Nawl, i. e. an Awl, implement of the cobler, used by Beaum. & Fletcher, VIII. p. 55.

A Noddy; quasi, by a Crasis, an Oddy; a singular or whimsical person.

A Nailbourn. This word is both so written and pronounced in Kent, and answering to the Vipseys or Gypseys in Yorkshire, Camd. Col. 901.

or Ray on the Deluge, p. 95. means a torrent which flows only now and then, or once in a few years. Now, when these torrents broke out, they were supposed to betoken famines, sicknesses, and deaths; chiefly I presume sicknesses; whence I conjecture there is a Crasis in the case, a Nailbourn being in fact an Ailbourn, as the forerunner of Ails or diseases. It is written, however, Eylebourn by Dr. Harris, p. 240, 23, 411, and so Philipot gives it, p. 42, which perhaps may be a corruption of Ailbourn but as these desultory torrents often abound with small eels, it is possible they might take their names from thence, quasi Eelbourns. But there will still be a Crasis in Nailbourn.

AT. This particle coheres chiefly in such names of persons as are taken from situation: as,

Tash, which Mr. Camden thinks is contracted from At Ash. Remains, p. 123.

Twells. As we have the name of Atwells, or Atwell, one has certainly reason to think that Twells is a Crasis for At Wells.

AB or AP.-We have certain names now in England, brought originally, I suppose, from Wales, in which the Ab or Ap is become a part of the name that followed it. At first they were patronymics, though they are not SO now. Thus Pugh is ap Hugh; Price or Brice, ap Rice; Pritchard, ap Richard; Prideaur, ap Rideaux; Bevan, ap Evan; Bowen, ap Owen ;' Powel, ap Hoel.

By.-Bilive, i. e. by le Eve; sometimes written blive and blyve. Gloss. to Chaucer, v. Blive.

DI.-Didapper, the bird, quasi

Dice-Dapper; which is confirmed by its being called Dab-Chick in Kent.

Do.-Don and doff. i. e. to do on, and do off. See Johnson in Vocibus.

Dr.-In names of persons drawn from the places of their abode, or extraction, the French particle De will often coalesce with the name of the place, if it begin with a vowel. Danvers de or d'Anvers; Daeth; de or d'Aeth, a town in Hainault; Dashwood may be supposed to be de or d'Ashwood; Dacill, d'Eivill; Camden, Remains, J p. 122; Doily, de Oily, ibid. p. 111; Dauney, ibid. p. 122, Aunay is a plot of ground where alders grow; and, to name no more, Devereux is undoubtedly

d'Evereur.

ECHE or EACH.-Hence every chone, Skelton, p. 192, i. e. every eche one; which we have now contracted to every one.

I. This pronoun easily coalesces, as I'm, I'll, I'ld, i. e. I would. Percy's Songs, p. 81. Ychulle Percy, III. p. xvii. i. e. I shall, ye shall.

IN.-Ith for in the; hence yth, Percy, I. p. 6.

IT.-Hence 'tis.

MINE.-My Neam, my Nont; Nuncle, Nont. These words are used familiarly in the North by young people to the elder sort, though there be no alliance or relation between them. Came is the Saxon for uncle, and the possessive pronoun mine has grown to it. The second is from mine Aunt in like manner, as likewise Nuncle (see Shaksp. Lear, I. sc. 13.) and Nont.

NE. This old negative very

readily coincided with words beginning with a vowel or a w.

Nis and Nys, i. e. ne is, or is not: Skelton, p. 92. Nill, for ne will; nilt ne wilt: Fairfax, ChauHence will or nill: Invective against Wolsey. So nil'd for ne would: Mirrour of Magistrates, p. 487.

cer.

N'ot, and nolt, for ne wot, or know not, written in Alachabree, folio 220, note. Nolt occurs in Fairfax, xviii. 50.

None is either ne one or no one, Nere, i. e. ne were Fairfax, xii. 81. v. 47; x. 61 ; alibi. Nould, ne would: Fairfax. Nought, ne ought; written also formerly noght.

Nam, Neam; nart, ne art; nad, ne had; nist, ne wist: all in Chaucer.

O.-Ho! I take to mean O ye. Or.-o'th'; i. e. of the. Hence ath the, Percy, i. p. 6. where the abounds by the mistake of copyist; for p. 9. you have athe, for of the,

twice.

SAINT. This word, prefixed to the names of certain holy men, or reputed to be so, either adhered, by means of its last letter, T, to the name of such saint, or the whole of it was joined to it; especially in certain of our sirnames borrowed

from the names of saints. I shall specify, first, some cases where the last letter only adheres, which mostly happens where the name Thus the begins with a vowel. French S. Agnan or Aignan was pronounced by some in France S. Tignan: II. Steph. Apolog. pour Herodote, iii. p. 242. Edit. 1735.

A Tantony pig; so written in Drake's Eborac. p. 315; meaning. a pig of St. Anthony.

Tawdry, i. e. St. Audrey; "a
L2

term