126 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 145. 



to him my hearty congratulations as well on his 

 j>rize as on the price at which he secured it : 



" Non equidem invideo, miror magis," 



It is not my purpose to observe on the important 

 critica supellex furnished by the annotated margins 

 of the copy which Mr. II. possesses ; but, taking 

 humbler ground, to call attention to the book-plate. 

 I myself possess an impression of the plate, and 

 have been struck with the great superiority of its 

 execution over similar works of ordinary engravers. 

 Now, I have somewhere seen or heard it stated 

 that Hogarth, in one instance, condescended to 

 engrave a book-plate for a friend ; and the impres- 

 sion on my mind has been, ever since I saw that 

 of Dr. Morell, that he might be that favoured 

 friend, and his the single book-plate. ^Vill Mr. H. 

 so far oblige your readers in general, and myself in 

 particular, as to examine, or submit to the examin- 

 tion of those competent judges, with whom his 

 residence in the metropolis must place him In com- 

 munication, that impression of the plate contained 

 in his JEschyliis, in order to ascertain whether it 

 shall be pronounced worthy of the burin of our 

 great national artist ? 



I have no doubt that Mr. H. will feel, if It 

 should prove to be the case, that his acquisition, 

 already so precious, has been invested with some 

 additional value, If it shall be determined that it 

 contains an impression — necessarily extremely 

 rare — of an engraving by Hogarth. Certain it is 

 that Hogarth did engrave the portrait of Morell 

 prefixed to the first edition of his Thesaurus, and 

 that his armorial bearings are given in the upper 

 comer of the print. Balliolensis. 



CONUNDRUMS. 



I shall be much obliged to any reader of " N. & 

 Q." who will tell me how to designate a species of 

 conundrum, or play on words, which consists in 

 dividing a word in some manner contrary to its 

 composition, or syllabic formation, or in adding or 

 subtracting certain letters. I subjoin a specimen 

 of the former description which may illustrate my 

 Query : 



"Let's look more closely at it — 'tis a very ugly 



word; 

 One that should make men shudder whenever it 



is heard. 

 It mayn't be always wicked, but it must be 



always bad, 

 And tell of sin and suffering enough to make 



one sad. 

 Let's see if we can't mend it — 'tis possible we 



may, 

 If only we divide It in some new-fashioned way. 

 Folks tell us it's a compound word, and that is 



very true ; 



And then they decompound it, which of course 



they're free to do. 

 But why, of its twelve letters, should they take 



the first three. 

 And leave the nine remaining as bad as they can 



be? 

 (For whUe they seem to make it less, in fact they 



make it more. 

 And bring the brute creation in, who were shut 



out before). 

 You'd think 'twould make no difference — at 



least none very great — 

 Suppose, instead of three and nine, they made it 



four and eight. 

 Yet only see the consequence — that's all that 



need be done 

 To change this mass of sadness to unmitigated 



fun. 

 It clears off swords and pistols, prescriptions, 



bowie knives. 

 And all the horrid implements by which men 



lose their lives. 

 The spell has waken'd Nature's voice, and cheerily 



'tis heard. 

 The native tongue of merriment compressed into 



that word. 

 Yes, 4 and 8's the way, my friend — may that 



be yours and mine, 

 Though tigers, turks, and termagants rejoice in 



3 and 9." RuFUS. 



PAGAN OBSERVANCE ON THE WEST COAST OF 

 IRELAND. 



About nineteen years ago I spent some time with 

 a connexion by marriage at a lodge which he had 

 built at Lahlnch, a small village at the bottom of 

 the Bay of Liscannor, and while there, on two 

 separate occasions, I was witness to the following 

 most extraordinary proceeding. I must premise 

 that the house was situated on the very verge of 

 sea, within reach of the spray at high tides, and 

 that, in accordance with the primitive manners of 

 the natives, the bathing-place for all females was 

 under the windows, while the men's bathing-place 

 was not ten yards distant. And now to my tale : — 

 About the time of high water, one fine hot day, I 

 was sitting in the window, when I heard a consi- 

 derable bustle, and the sound of many voices 

 talking loudly In the vernacular approaching. On 

 looking out I saw a crowd of men and boys coming 

 along towards the sea, not directly from the village, 

 which lay behind my friend's house, but down the 

 road which ran along the bay. At their head 

 walked two middle-aged men, holding each by one 

 of his hands a lad of about nineteen years of age, 

 perfectly naked ; while Immediately behind him 

 walked an elderly man (either his father or uncle, 

 as I afterwards found out), holding a hatchet and a 

 saw. They walked along, attended by the crowd, 



