490 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[2nd s. VIII. Dkc. 17. '69-. 



panying "tenor," usually with different words ; the 

 tenor being sometimes much shorter and probably 

 repeated, to which the mutetus formed a counter- 

 point. This is to some extent conjecture, for I 

 have not yet been able to see exactly how the 

 two parts were sung. This much is at any rate 

 tolerably clear, that in this description of music 

 we have the origin of the word motet and also of 

 tenor ; the former being derived from muto, 

 perhaps from the change in the words. To give 

 an idea of this change of words I will quote two 



passages. 

 Mutetus : — 



." Jam Jam nube dissolvitur, 

 Jam Jam patet galaxia ; 

 Jam flos de spina rampitur; 

 Jam Jam oritur Maria ; 

 Jam verum lumen cernitur; 

 Jam Jam demonstratur via ; 

 Jam pro nobis pia 

 Exoret Maria 

 Ut summa fruamur gloria." 

 Tenor : — 



" Jam Jam novum sidus oritur j 

 Jam Jam patet galaxia ; 

 Jam ex Juda nascitur ; 

 Jam Jam oritur INIaria ; 

 Jam nobis ccelum panditur ; 

 Jam det nobis gaudia ; 

 In Coeli curia 

 Xps cujus filia, 

 Et Mater est Maria." 



The second which I shall quote has not only 

 different, but in the mutetus actually profane, 

 words, viz. a hymn of Jews in praise of money, 

 while the tenor is chanting Kyrie Eleison. 

 Mutetus : — 



" Dum crumena plena tumet aare, 

 Ilonoratur qui despectus ante fuit, quando visus est 



habere : 

 Nummum discas semper possidere, 

 Nummus in exilio 

 Ut filio 

 Pater novit fidem praebere. 

 Sic ubique pervalet habere 



Nummos in exilio." 

 Tenor : — 



« Kyrie Eleison." 

 Then comes another mutetus which seems to 

 be a sequel to the former, a reproof to the rascally 

 Jews who have been singing before. 

 Mutetus : — 



" Natio Nephandi generis. 

 Cur gratia^ donis abuteris ? 

 Multiplici reatu laberis. 

 Quod literam legis amplecteris 

 Et litteraB meduUam deseris. 



" Gens perfida coecata deperis, 

 Si Moysen consideraveris, 

 Nee faciem videre poteris 

 Si mystice non intellexeris, 

 In facie cornuta falleris. 

 Considera misera quare dampnaberis, 

 Quod litterara perperam interpretaveris. 

 Convertere propere nam si converteris 

 Per gratiam veniam culpae mereberis." 



Tenor : — 



" Natio Nephandi generis." 



These will give some idea of the nature of this 

 kind of church composition. The whole book is 

 somewhat interesting, consisting principally of se- 

 quences, tropes, verses, and hymns in two parts, 

 i. e. cum biscantu. J. C. J. 



P.S. I see, in Kiesewether's History of Music, a 

 portion of an early Mass in Harmony (No. 2.), in 

 which the second part is called motetus. It would 

 be interesting to know the date of the manuscript 

 from which this was copied. 



" MODEEN SLA.NG, CANT, AND VULGAR WORDS. 



As the compiler of the Dictionary with the above 

 title solicits (at the end of the preface) any addi- 

 tions or corrections, I shall be complying with his 

 request in making the following Note. I would 

 premise that, with the exception of the Saturday 

 Review, I have not seen any of the newspaper 

 critiques on this publication; and I may, very 

 probably, have been anticipated in some of my 

 remarks. 



The paper just mentioned has already noticed 

 the erroneous derivations of '^^ Bobby" and " Joey,'* 

 though, with regard to the former, the compiler 

 bad given the word " Peeler, a policeman," which 

 should have led him to its proper derivation. For 

 " Brick," a better derivation has been given in 

 these pages. Many theatrical terms are given by 

 the compiler, though he has omitted some that are 

 in common acceptation ; e. g. goose, goosing, for a 

 hiss, and hissing — and, get-up, and to get-up, as of 

 the decorations of a play. 



" There's so much getting up to please the town, 

 It takes a precious deal of coming down," 



says the manager of the Haymarket Theatre in 

 Planche's burlesque of Mr. Buckslone's Ascent 

 of Mount Parnassus. The phrase is also made 

 use of out of the theatre : " he was got up very 

 extensively," said of a man who is " dressed within 

 an inch of his life," or " dressed to death." Modern 

 burlesque and farces would have supplied the com- 

 piler of the Dictionary with many additional in- 

 stances of modern slang, as well as with amusing 

 illustrations of the use of many words. Thus, 

 "Pipe" means something more than '■'■to be- 

 wail :" — 



" He first began to eye his pipe, 

 And then to pipe his eye j" — 



for, is there not "putting a man's pipe out"? 



"By forcing her with tears her love to wipe out, 

 And putting thus her faithful shepherd's pipe out." 

 Planche's Once upon a Time. 



" Chalks," to walk one's chalks, might, I should 

 imagine, be explained by a person who has run up 



