DEFINITIONS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2258, 10 June 1897, Page 45

DEFINITIONS.

BED COATS IN HUKTING j are said to have been established by Henry 11, nho made fox hunting a royal sport, and enjoined by mandate all those who took part j in the sport to wear tho royal livery. MAD AS A MARCH HARE. March hare is a " mars " hare. Hares are j wilder in marshes than elsewhere, because of j their greater flatness and the absence of ! hedges or cover. — " Apophthegmes of Eras- ! mus," 1542, reprint, p. 266. j | GOURMAND, GOURMET, | both French terms. — A gourmand is a '. glutton ; a greedy, heavy feeder ; one who I looks more to tha quantity than to tha quality of his food. A gourmet, on the contrary, is an epicure j one delicate in the i choice of his food ; looking more to quality i than quantity. i MAKING VRIENDS OF THE UNRIGHTEOUS ' MAMMON. The Rev. Rowland Hill, preaching on behalf of a public charity, had a note handed i to him asking if it would be tight for a bankrupt to contribute. He noticed tbe matter in his sermon, and pronounced that, in } Christian honesty, such a person could not do so. " But, my friends," he added, " I would not advise you who are not insolvent to pass the plate this evening, as the people will be sure to say, ' There goes the bankrupt.' " We have at times meditated on the rapid rise of the word " distinctly." It was, we believe, in the University of Oxford, among the junior Fellows, that 15 years or so ago it first became a kind of pet. " Distinctly so," all of a sudden, was the current phrase. " Notably," which about 20 years earlier had supplanted " very," was supplanted in its turn. Everything since then has been " distinctly true " or " distinctly false," " distinctly ugly " or " distinctly beautiful." It will pass out of favour in its turn ; the day may perhaps come when " vastly," bo dear to our greatgrandmothere, shall be dear also to our descendants. — Spectator. FLOBIN. This coin was so named from its having been first coined at Florence. The first English florin was issued by Edward 111. Its value was 6s. There are florins current in Germany, Spain, Sicily, and Holland. Tbe modern English florin or two-shilling piece was issued in 1849. The first coinage was of a smaller size than those now current. They were withdrawn because the letters F.D. (Defender of the Faith) were omitted from tho Queen's title. Eichard Lalor Sbiel, a Catholic, waa Master of tbe Mint at the time, and it was said the letters were omitted by his private directions. Whether this was so will probably never be known. EASTER. The festival of Easter was instituted about 68, and is observed by the church in commemoration of our Saviour's resurrection. It was so called in England 'from the Saxon goddess Eostre. After much contention between the Eastern and Western Churches it was ordained by tha Council of Nice, 325, to be observed on the same day throughout the Christian world. "Easter Day is the Sunday following that fourteenth day of the calendar moon which happens upon or next after the 21st Maich ; so that if that fourteenth day be a Sunday, Easter Day is not that Sunday, but the next." Easter Day may be any day of the five weeks which commence with March 22 and, end with April 25. The dispute between the old British Church and the new Aoglo-Saxon Church respecting Easter was ssttled about 66' L —Haydn. DUNCE. Did you ever hear of a word that became so changed in its meaning that it finally meant just the opposite of what it did at first 1 ! Well, the word " dunce "is just such a word. It seems bard to believe that at one time it meant a person who was smart and learned, but that is exactly what it did about GOO years ago. At that time there lived a very learned man named John Dans Sootus, generally known by the simple name of Dane. He was at the head of a set of philosophers known as " schoolmen," who spent their time in thinking and teachirjg great thoughts. Thoae who believed what Dana taught were called " Dansmon or Duncemen," and were looked upon as very wise men. But after a while there came another eefc of philosophers and teachers who did not believe in what the schoolmen taught, and the majority of people took sides with the new set of thinkers. The Danceman made themselves very unpopular by opposing these folks, and it was not long before the term Duncemen or "Dance" was applied to one oppoaed to true knowledge or who did not know much about it ; and that is bow the word " dunce "came to be reversed \ in meaning. j NAMES OP SLATES. The wonderful dexterity of the Pemuyu qaarryrnen in splitting the slates into various j thicknesses ana sizes is well known. It may ba of interest to add that these sizes are called "duchesses," ' ( ' countesses," " ladies," &.C., which is, certainly, a very curiouf system of ctotneEclfifure. These Eames were given by General Warburton (the then owner of the Penrhyn estate) abcufc 1765. Mr Justice Lsycpster, who was for many years judge on the North Wales Circuit, tvrota a very witty poem on the subject. The opening lines run as follows : — It ha? truly been said, and we almobt deplore, That Grenvillc and Pitt have made peers by the score ; But now 'tis asserted, unless I have blunder'd, There's a man that makes peeicsses here by the hundred. He regards neither Portland, nor Grenville, nor Pitt, But creates them at once without patent or writ : By the stroke of a hammer, without the King's aid, A la'iy, a countess, or duchess is made ! Advtce to Mothers !— Are you broken in your rtat by a sick child suffering with the paia of cutting teeth? Go at once to a chemist and get a bottle of Mrs Winslow's Soothing Syrup. It will lelieve the poor sufferer imir.ediately. It ia perfectly harmless, and pleasant to the taste ;_ it produces natural quiet sleep by relieving the child from, pain, and tbe little cherub awakes "as bright as a button." It soothes the child, it softens the gums, allays all pain, relieves wind, regulates the bowels, and is the best known remedy for dysentery and diarrhoea whether arising from teethintt or ether causes. Mrs Winßlow's soothing Syrup is sold by medicine dealers every where at Is lid per bottle.— [Advt.l