DISCOVERY 



The odd character of this type of name is well illus- 

 trated by Thomas gosonthegrene (goose on the green) 

 (Nor\vich Records, 1289). Names other than those 

 taken from birds which antedate considerably the 

 N.E.D. are— 



N.E.D. Record. 

 bell-wether c. 1430 



church-mouse 1731 



hog-lamb 

 mouse-hunt 

 ( = weasel) 

 puss-cat 



«ild cat c 



1818 

 1481 



1565 



Surname Record. 

 Richard bellewether (Patent Rolls, 



1321-24). 

 Robertus chirchmus (Pipe Rolls, 1 165-6). 

 Stephen hoglambe ( Patent Rolls, 1 3 1 3- 1 7) . 

 Rogerus mushunte (Pipe Rolls, 1160-1). 



Robert pusekat (Northumb. Assize Rolls, 



1256). 

 Ricardus wildecat (Pipe Rolls, 11 73-6). 



From the remaining classes I select a few miscel- 

 laneous examples : 



Surname Record. 

 Matilda frewoman (Hundred Rolls, 1273). 

 Adam gentilman (Domesday of St. Paul's, 



1222). 

 Thomas lavedylove (Lane. Assize Rolls, 



1285). 

 William penifader (Close Rolls, 1288-96). 



William peniman (Hundred Rolls. 1273). 

 of money, also called Sir Penny " (N.E.D.). 

 Radulph godisped (Hundred Rolls, 1273). 

 Peter swetlove (ibid.). 

 Geoffrey barlicorn (ibid). 

 Henry haycock (Patent Rolls, 1258-66). 

 Robert honiedewe (Salisbury Cartulary, 



1230-40). 

 William mabussh (Close Rolls, 1313-18). 

 William otehule (Pipe Rolls, 1 182-3). 



Robert pesekod (Charter Rolls, 1257- 

 1300). 



James flinthard (Hundred Rolls, 1273). 



Simon halpenny (Charter Rolls, 1226-57). 



James lodsterre (Hundred Rolls, 1273). 



Adam nin?penyz (Bishop Kellawe's Re- 

 gister, 1280-1345). 



William plouday (Hundred Rolls, 1273). 



Pa via snawball (Fines Rolls, 1246-72). 



Walter twapens (Patent Rolls, 1330-4). 



The examples quoted in this short article are mostly 

 chosen as illustrating a considerable divergence of 

 dates between dictionary records and the proved 

 existence of the compound as a nickname. There are 

 also cases in which a difference of only a century may 

 be very significant. The N.E.D. dates husbandman 

 from c. 1330 ; but the name of John husebundeman 

 in the Patent Rolls for 1225-32 seems to prove that 

 the compound must have been famUiar in late Anglo- 

 Saxon, for no man would be officially described by a 

 word which was not generally intelligible and of fairly 

 ancient date. 



The Structure of the 

 Universe 



By the Rev. Hector Macpherson, M.A., 

 F.R.A.S., F.R.S.E. 



I. Observation and Theory Before'i900 



In Roman and mediaeval times the human mind was 

 not exercised by such questions as the structure of 

 the Universe. The general order of nature was believed 

 to be fairly well known. The earth was the hub of the 

 Universe, fixed and immovable in the centre of creation. 

 Round the earth, at various distances and in different 

 periods, revolved the sun and moon and the five planets 

 or wandering stars, while beyond was the sphere of the 

 fixed " stars. But this simple and easily compre- 

 hended view of the universe had to be abandoned 

 when in the early seventeenth century the truth of the 

 Copernican system was demonstrated by the dis- 

 coveries made bymeans of the newly-invented telescope. 

 The earth was perceived to be merely one — and by no 

 means the largest — of several planetary worlds revolv- 

 ing round the sun ; so far from being the centre of 

 creation, our world was seen to occupy a very humble 

 place in the scheme of things. 



At first the attention of astronomers was practically 

 confined to the motions and physical condition of the 

 various bodies in the solar system. When Galileo, 

 Kepler, Newton, or Huyghcns dealt with the "fixed " 

 stars, they did so incidentally, and their views con- 

 cerning them were mere guesses. Before the time of 

 Herschel, the stars were observed chiefly as convenient 

 reference-points for the determination of lunar and 

 planetary positions and motions. One important dis- 

 covery was made almost accidentally as far back as 

 1718. In that year Halley announced that the four 

 bright stars, Sirius, Arcturus, .-Mdebaran, andBetelgeux 

 were distinguished by a proper motion, and in the course 

 of the eighteenth century about fifty-seven proper 

 motions were detected. About the middle of the cen- 

 tury Thomas Wright, of Durham, put forward his 

 theory of the sidereal system, and in this line of specu- 

 lation he was followed by Kant in 1755, and by Lambert 

 in 1760. 



The problem of the construction of the universe 

 was, however, first tackled in earnest by Sir William 

 Herschel. Previous speculations were not based on 

 observation, so at the very beginning of his astrono- 

 mical career, Herschel commenced the systematic 

 study of the stars — their distribution and motion — 

 with a view to formulating a definite theory of the 

 sidereal system. His brilliant discovery of the solar 

 motion was but a preliminary to his greater research. 



