A CHAPTER ON SIMILES. 651 



Old as the hills. Sufficiently antique. May not the expression, a 

 * ' green' old age be derived from this simile ? 



To blush like a blue dog in a dark entry. There is, it must be con- 

 fessed, a degree of mysterious obscurity in this illustration, which re- 

 quires development. The exact species of dog, to which the term 

 " blue" applies, cannot perhaps be accurately ascertained. I have con- 

 sulted Buffon, passim, and several encyclopedias, article Dog, but can 

 find no allusion to any species of this peculiar tint. I strongly suspect, 

 however, that it must be the description of dog, alluded to by Pro- 

 fessor Pallas, in his account of Russia. He there speaks of " une 

 espece particuliere de chien que les Russes appellent ' Sobaka.' " There 

 are several reasons, which I may hereafter take an opportunity of 

 laying before the public, for supposing the " blue dog" referred to, 

 and the Sobaka, or more properly Sabatchka of the Russians, to be 

 one and the same animal. If this point were once clearly ascertained, 

 the complete development *of this curious simile would be much faci- 

 litated. 



Loving as inkle-weavers. A well-known illustration. Inkle is a 

 species of tape, used for binding ; and beautifully shadows forth the 

 the union of two hearts bound together by the ties of friendship. 



Cool as a cucumber. Finely descriptive of an unimpassioned state 

 of being. 



Common as a halfpenny loaf for a halfpenny. This is a good old 

 simile. A modern orator would say, " Common as the streets of the 

 metropolis ;" or, " common as the sun at noon-day," or something in 

 the same highflown and affected style. There is, however, a sim- 

 plicity in the original thought a mathematical accuracy which 

 cannot fail of being appreciated by the judicious critic. It is evi- 

 dently of some antiquity; and belongs to a period remarkable, it 

 would seem, for a wider diffusion of the blessings of Providence. 

 Halfpenny loaves are now obsolete. 



Clear as mud. This is evidently ironical. 



We could introduce many other examples to illustrate our position; , 

 but these will be sufficient to convince the judicious reader of the 

 necessity of extreme caution in the selection of similes, and the ad- 

 vantages of the familiar over the unintelligible. We recommend this 

 chapter to the attentive study of Mr. Heraud and Mr. Montgomery, 

 denominated by some wicked wag, the " Brummegem Milton." 



