ANALECTA

Evening Star, Issue 22382, 4 July 1936, Page 2

ANALECTA

FROM A LIBRARY CHAIR ; [BT J.JWPJ* 'AUTHORS* MISTAKES. In the third volume of the chronicles of the Herries family, ‘ The Fortress, . Hugh Walpole displays confused ideas about the breakfasts of Judith Paris. On page 636 he assures the reader, when speaking of Judith, that “ she had always for breakfast a cup of coffee and an apple, a iqeal that everyone thought eccentric.”' On page 693, however: “ Judith enjoyed her breakfast. Every morning as she drank her tea and ate her toast and preserve”; but by page 796, “she was, however, very cheerful, drank her tea and enjoyed her egg.” Judith’s breakfasts were ’"■more changeable than either kuthor or Judith appeared to expect. 1 According to the stage directions to the first act of John Galsworthy’s ‘ The Skin Game,’ Jill starts bade and leans “ against the right lintel of the window,” and Rolf “ takes his stand against the left lintel of the French window.” Apart from the evidence of a divided lintel, which appears quite normal to the author, the height of Jill and Rolf is rather unusual. Sir Walter Scott, in ‘The Antiquary,’ mixes his dates. The story opens on Tuesday, July 15, 17—, and after at least live days have passed Monkbarns sends to Sir Arthur AVardour an invitation to attend a “ Caenobitical symposion,” fixed for “ the 17th curt.” In chapter Vi. the readier is told that this refers to July 171 BUBBLE AND SQUEAK. Strictly speaking the dish known as . Bubble and Squeak consists of meat and cabbage fried with potatoes, though in the Dominion it is often applied to a dish of any left-over vegetables fried. The earliest reference to Bubble and Squeak is in Grose’s ‘ Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue,’ 1785- . Such is the sound (the simile’s not weak), Formed by what mortals Bubble call and Squeak. ; When midst the frying pan in accents ' savage, ; , The beef so surly quarrels with the cabbage. DRINK NAMES. Tea, of course, comes from the East; , but it is surprising to discover that “toddy” is also Oriental. It is the name of a palm from which arrack, a highly potent spirit, is made. Arrack is the Anglicised form of araq, the Arabic word for “sweat,” applied metaphorically to the exuding sap. In English the word is applied to any ■ spirit distilled from the palm, or from other substances, such as ric.e and sugar. Punch, the famous English convivial beverage of former days, is i also credited to the East, though dispute still lingers over the claim. Fryer, who travelled in India between 1672 and 1681, says that the word is derived from the Indian word “ panch,” meaning “ five,” which is used in > “ Punjaub,” the “ five rivers.” There were five ingredients in the panch of Fryer’s experience, hence the name; but early English .recipes were not so strict, varying from three to six. The Indian panch was pronounced with a short “ a,” and in the early seventeenth century the common pronunciation of “ punch ” in England was with the “ u ” of the modern “ pull,” and the connection is not entirely satisfying. Another theory, nqt accepted by Weekley, but admitted by the great N.E.D. as a possible source, is the word “ puncheon,” the old French “ poincoi;,” used in the fifteenth century for a large cask. It is argued that the sqilors adopted “ punch ” as an abbreviation for drink taken from a puncheon. Etymologists usually accept the Gaelic croc, “ a horn, a drinking cup,” as the source of “ grog,” clis-

carding the more picturesque version that it comes from the sailors of Admiral Vernon’s fleet in the reign of George 11-, who, when the commander ordered an issue of spirits and , water to them, adaped the name ot Old program, or Old Grog, by which he was familiarly known from the old grograni cape. he wore in bad weather. This program was a coarse fabric of silk, mohair, and wool, often. stiffened with gum. Its name came from the French “gros grain,” owing to the coarse texture ot the material.

WHISKY AND WHISKEY. Although the distinction is breaking down the difference between ‘ whisky and “whiskey” is recognised in the New English Dictionary in the following terms:—“ln modern trade usage Scotch whisky and Irish whiskey are thus distinguished in the spelling. Looking the N.E.D. squarely in the face, however, a famous Belfast nrm to-day advertises Irish whisky, and an equally famous Dublin distillery announces Irish whiskey, and it is impossible to tell whether famous English authors mean one or the other unless the country of origin is stated. Curiously enough, there used to be a like difference in the pronunciation of the original name of the liquor, which was “ usquebaugh ” or, more primitively, “ uisgebeatna,” which is Gaelic for water (uisge) of life (beatho). The Scots pronounced the word “ usquebah,” the Irish “ usquebne,” though Burns in ‘ Tam o’ Shanter ’ has “ Wi usequebae we’ll face the devil.” In both countries the word was shortened to usque for popular use (very popular), and from this developed “whiskey” and “whisky.” WHAT IS A COLLINS? “ Collins ” has been used as a synonym for an “ hospitable roof ” letter. This is a reference to the Mr Collins in Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice.’ He pays a- short visit to Mr Bennet, and before leaving him says: “Depend upon it, you will speedily receive from me a letter of thanks for this, as for every other mark of your regard during my stay in Hertfordshire.” In the following chapter the letter arrives, i‘ Witten with all the solemnity .which a: twelve months’ abode in the family might have prompted.” After a further visit he promises Mr Bennet “ another letter of thanks.” MAHOMET’S MOUNTAIN. One of the surprising misquotations of the day is the saying: “If the mountain won’t come to Mahomet, Mahomet must go to the mountain.” The original will be found in Bacon’s essay 1 On Boldness ’:

Mahomet made the people believe that he would call a hill to him, • and from the top of it offer up his prayers for the observers of the law. The people assembled; Mahomet called the hill to come to him again and again; and when the hill stood still, he was never a wit abashed, but said; “ If the hill will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet will go to the hill.” The taste for alliteration probably caused the hill to grow into a mountain. ■ ■ ,