60 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2°d s. X. July 21. '60. 



FiiiRTATioN (2°** S. ix. 442.) — I have always 

 considered this word as of modern manufacture, 

 from the verb active, to flirt, viz. to move rapidly 

 to and fro, as a lady's fan. I have somewhere met 

 with the following : — 



" The expressive word starvation was first uttered by 

 the Lord Advocate for Scotland (Dandas), in recommend- 

 ing measures for subduing the revolted Americans ; and 

 the still more expressive word Jlirtation first dropped 

 from the lips of tlie beautiful Lady Frances Shirley, the 

 favourite of Lord Chesterfield." 



To "flirt a fan" was a common expression in 

 the last age. In an Ode to Lord Barrington (N. 

 F. H. for Wit, vol. ii. p. 94., ed. 1784) is this 

 stanza : — 



" The French an Ouran nicely stuff, 

 I've seen one standing in his buff, 



' Who had been gay and frisky ; 

 He once, like you, could flirt a fan, 

 And was in truth a pretty man, 



But died by drinking whiskey." 

 Hence it came to be applied to the affected 

 movements of the head, &c., employed by a lady 

 who is desirous of " pleasing or attracting." The 

 fan itself, if one be carried, is usually brought 

 much into play on such occasions. W. D. 



Is not " flirt " as a noun an instance — there 

 are many such in our modern language — of a 

 compound word having lost in modern speech its 

 last member. To " flirt " as a transitive verb is 

 to move rapidly and with sudden jerk. It, like 

 "jerk," is probably an onomatopoetic word. 



Hence the compound word b, flirt-gill — "I am 

 none of his flirtgills. " * The noun a flirt gave 

 origin to the verb intransitive to flirt, and to the 

 noun of which Lord Chesterfield says that he was 

 present at its hivVa, flirtation. 



Possibly the original verb transitive to flirt m^iy 

 be connected with the verb " fleureter," which, in 

 the time of Cotgrave, had the signification of light 

 and rapid motion. But that I niuch doubt, 

 fleureter being a metaphorical word. Compare 

 the history of the word wagtail with that oi flirt. 



w. c. 



Engravings by Kembbandt (2"^ S. ix. 367. 

 412.) — When I was a boy or a young man, some 

 years ago, on a visit to London, I bought two 

 small engravings, ostensibly by Ren^randt. I 

 do not know now where I bought them, or what 

 I gave ; but considering the probable amount of 

 my pocket-money in those days, I dare say I did 

 not give above a few shillings for the two. They 

 have lain hidden and forgotten in a portfolio till 

 recently. One measures 3 X2| inches, and repre- 

 sents a f face looking to the left (his left, our 

 right), fur cap, jewel over right ear, broad frill 

 round the neck, and furred coat. Outside the 

 left shoulder it bears the word " Rembrandt." 

 The other is 3x2^ inches, nearly a full face, no 



• Rom, and Jul, 11. 5. 



covering to the head, but long flowing hair, and 

 lapel of coat or cloak turned out. In left-hand 

 base it bears " Rembrandt, f. 1646." My Query 

 is, How can I know that these are genuine ? 



P. Hutchinson. 

 Dedications to the Deity (2"'* S. ix. 180. 

 266. 350.) — The following account of a case of 

 the kind was sent me in 1853, by a late distin- 

 guished naturalist, Dr. Johnston, of Berwick- 

 upon-Tweed. I am sorry his letter affords no 

 clue to the author's name, but it will probably be 

 known to some of your readers, as so large a 

 work must have attracted attention : — 



" I have just got a book in three large volumes, written 

 by a Frenchman, with the title, ' Theologie de la Nature.' 

 It is a sort of Bridgewater treatise. 1 have read little 

 more than the first hundred pages, and the work is well 

 done and ably, and I think it curious as coming from a 

 French naturalist and savan. But lo! the Frenchman 

 dedicates the book — to whom ? You would never guess 

 — and really it startles one with its audacity and pro- 

 faneness — and j'et the man is neither profane nor auda- 

 cious — ' a Dieu noire Fere ! ' " 



Margaret Gatty. 



Balkaile, or Balcaile (2"** S. ix. 502.) is in 

 Wigtonshire, in the parish of Glenluce, and close 

 by the town of Glenluce. The name of the pre- 

 sent proprietor is " Adair." G. J. 



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