I04 LOVES MEINIE. 



English children's schools — Dame-schools if 

 possible ; a perfectly simple Latin one, and 

 a familiar English one. The varieties of 

 existing nomenclature, will be given in the 

 Appendix, so far as I think them necessary 

 to be known or remembered. 



I. 



MERULA FONTIUM. TORRENT-OUZEL. 



89. There are very few good popular words 

 which do not unite two or more ideas, being 

 founded on one, and catching up others as 

 they go along. Thus I find ' dabchick,' to be 

 a corruption of *dip-chick,' meaning birds 

 that only dip, and do not dive, or even duck, 

 for any length of time : but in its broader 

 and customary use it takes up the idea of 

 dabbling; and, as a class-name, stands for 

 ' dabbling-chick,' meaning a bird of small 

 size, that neither wades, nor dives, nor runs, 

 nor swims, nor flies, in a consistent manner ; 

 but humorously dabbles, or dips, or flutters, 

 or trips, or plashes, or paddles, and is 

 always doing all manner of odd and delight- 

 ful things : being also very good-humoured, 



