By the Rev. A. C. Smith. 321 
: classical subject of a “ Satyr and Bacchanals,” the satyr being de- 
_ picted after the usual manner with cloven feet, horned head and 
tail. Of course such a figure was very soon mistaken for the arch- 
fiend, and nothing was easier than to transfer Satyr into Satan : and 
then “ Bacchanals” being a word of no meaning to the uneducated 
mind, the nearest thing to it phonetically, which contained sense, 
was “a bag of nails:” and so “ Satyr and Bachanals” became 
“ Satan and Bag of Naiis:’? and when in course of time the sign- 
board must be re-painted, and an ignorant painter was employed by 
a still more ignorant landlord, the result of their joint performance 
was the conventional representation of the arch-fiend, accompanied 
with the seemingly incongruous symbol of a carpenter’s bag of nails! 
_ After these instances of corruptions and reductions to ridiculous 
issues, of what were once elaborate and somewhat distinguished signs, 
I think we may readily allow that though to our unenlightened 
minds whelly obscure, the incomprehensible signs I have enumerated 
in this section, doubtless originated from some cause or causes, 
sufficiently clear to their respective authors, though what those 
causes were is beyond our ken. We will leave them in their mys- 
tical obscurity. 
. (7) From the undecipherable I pass on to “ Singular” sign-boards, 
and of these our county has (I think) its fair share. Some of these 
appear to have arisen solely from the caprice of an eccentric landlord, 
who desired to set up an unusual sign: while others are almost as 
inexplicable as those last enumerated, and defy the efforts of the 
enquirer to unravel their origin. 
_ Symbols of the on-vivant are almost monoplized by Salisbury ; 
for that city boasts no less than three taverns charged respectively 
_ with the signs of the “ Hawnch of Venison,” the “ Round of Beef,” 
and the “ Shoulder of Mutton.” ‘The last may also be seen at 
- Bromham; but nowhere else in the county do such epicurean sign- 
boards occur; we have however the “ Jodly Butchers,” at Marlborough. 
And then, to counteract its apparent penchant for meat, Salisbury 
proclaims its temperance, for alone it boasts the sign of the “ Crys- 
tal Fountain ;” while Swindon is content with simply the “ Foun- 
tain:” but elsewhere we have the “John Barleycorn,” at East 
; 2a 
