2°<i S. NO 29., July 19. '56;i 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



47 



three first, as derived from French words of the 

 same termination, are always pronounced as if 

 they ended in -ill. 



But until lately the two last were always pro- 

 nounced as they would have been had they been 

 written respectively evle and devle ; and I believe 

 that ' they were rightly so pronounced, with re- 

 ference to their etymologies. They are neither of 

 them derived from foreign words which have i in 

 the last syllable ; evil is the Saxon yrel, and devil 

 the Saxon beopul, contracted beopl, and in the ad- 

 jective form, beoplio. So in the German the words 

 are teu/el and iibel, both ending in the same ob- 

 scure sound which we give to le when those 

 letters follow another consonant as a termination. 



Within a few years a change has taken place, 

 but I never could hear any cause alleged for the 

 change, except a desire to assimilate these two 

 words with other English words ending in the 

 same letters. 



To make the pronunciation, when long and rea- 

 sonably established, yield to the letters, seems to 

 me a very unphilological proceeding. Our 

 American brothers, indeed, pronounce to as if it 

 were written toe, and the last syllable of genuine 

 as they do the word wine, &c. But knowing, as 

 we do, how very inconsistent our orthography is 

 with our certain and established pronunciation, it 

 would surely be wiser (if we are to make changes) 

 to accommodate our letters to our sounds, than to 

 pervert our sounds for the sake of the letters. 



E. C. H. 



"Anfiquites du Bosphore Cimmerien" — Antiqui- 

 ties of the Cimmerian Bosphorus, preserved in the 

 Museum of the Hermitage ; published by order of 

 the Emperor, St. Petersburg ; printed at the 

 printing offices of the Academy of Sciences, 1854 

 seq., 3 vols., fol. (plates). 



This splendid work, containing the' representa- 

 tions and description of some Crimean remnants of 

 the goldsmith's art, &c., of the best Greek period, 

 is intended as a present for princely personages, 

 the public libraries, and art-institutions of Europe. 

 I shall give a review of it in one of the art- 

 journals here. Dr. J. Lotskt, Panslave. 



15. Gower Street, London. 



Stencilled Books. — A book on vellum was given 

 to me some time back, which was described in the 

 catalogue as " Missce falienses ex domu Chante- 

 loup, a beautifully-written MS., 1751." Upon 

 looking carefully into the book, I found it was 

 not written but stencilled, and then carefully 

 finished with a pen. I never have seen a sten- 

 cilled book except this, and so have made a note 

 of it. There were other copies of this taken, for I 

 met with one in a recent catalogue. Can any of 

 your correspondents give other instances of this 

 process, and explain the title of this book ? 



J. C. J. 



Jews' J9rea<f.— Dipping into the Plantarium of 

 my favourite Cowley, J find it noted that " in old 

 time the seed of the white poppy, parched, was 

 served up as a dessert." By this I am reminded, 

 that white poppy-seeds are eaten to this day upon 

 bread made exclusively for Jews. The "twist" 

 bread is generally so prepared, by brushing over 

 the outside crust with egg, and sprinkling upon it 

 the seed. John Times. 



Sloane Street. 



Clandestine Opening of Letters in the last Cen- 

 tury. — Goethe, when discussing after the general 

 peace of 1815, some political subjects with Luden, 

 the historian, made to him the following rather 

 uncomplimentary observation : " You must not 

 suppose that any thing which you have broached 

 to me has not before attracted my attention." 

 That the clandestine opening of letters by some 

 or other post offices was then well known, and 

 guarded against, we perceive from the following 

 letter written by the great German poet, dated 

 Rome, February 16, 1788 : 



« Through the Prussian Courier ( !) I received lately 

 a letter from our Duke, as friendly, loving, good, and 

 pleasing as possible. As he could write without appre- 

 hension ( !), he described to me the whole political posi- 

 tion, his own, and so on." 



As the date of Goethe's letter refers to the latter 

 years of the reign of Frederic II. of Prussia and 

 Joseph II. of Austria, it is easy to conjecture 

 which of the two powers then excited public ap- 

 prehension. J. LOTSKT. 



15. Gower Street, London. 



^mxiti* 



FEANCIS riTTON. 



In the chancel of the church of Gawsworth, co. 

 Chester, there is a monument with the recum- 

 bent effigy of Francis Fitton, Esq., and round the 

 edges of the tomb the following inscription : 



"Here lyeth Fraunces Fitton, Esquire, who married 

 Katherine contes doager of Northumberlond, and third 

 brother of Sir Edward Fitton, deceased, of Gawsworth, 

 kt., lord president of Conough " (i. e. Connaught). 



On the arches supporting the tomb are shields 

 of arms, and underneath them a headless skeleton 

 lying in a robe. Can any of your learned readers 

 inform me whether any thing is known concern- 

 ing this Francis Fitton ? Does the headless 

 skeleton indicate his having met with a violent 

 death in some conflict in Ireland in those lawless 

 days ? 



There is also a full length portrait of this Fran- 

 cis Fitton in the hall at Gawsworth, with this in- 

 scription round the frame : 



" Francis Fyton, married w' Katherine countes of Nor- 

 thu'b'., dowger, a" 1588, eldest of the doughters and co- 



