212 love's meinie. 



must belong to the Water Hen ; for the Rail 

 is not black, but prettily grey and spotted, 

 and I think Bufifon confuses the two birds, 

 as several popular names do. Thus, the 

 Velvet Hen also, I fancy, is the Water Hen ; 

 but Bewick's Velvet-Runner partly confirms it 

 to the Rail. I find nothing about velvet said 

 in describing the plumage. 



I leave Linnaeus's for our Latin name, under 

 some protest. Rallus is a late Latin adjective, 

 meaning 'thin,' and if understood as 'Thin- 

 bird,' or ' Lath-like ' bird, would be reason- 

 able ; but if it stand, as it does practically, for 

 Raihng or Rattling bird, it is both bad Latin, 

 and, as far as I can make out, calumnious of 

 the usually quiet creature. 



Note also, for a connected piece of scholar- 

 ship, that our English verb to * rail ' does not 

 properly mean to scold, or to abuse noisily ; it 

 is from ' railler,' and means to ' rally,' or jest 

 at, which is often a much wickeder thing to 

 do, if the matter be indeed no jest. 



Note also of Samet or Samite, its derivation 

 from late Greek l^a/xtros, silken stuff woven of 

 six threads, of which I believe two were of 

 gold. The French oriflamme was of crimson 



