514 GUEKNSEY DIALECT NAMES. 



But as a dictionary, pure and simple, it is not altoo^ether 

 as satisfa(;tory as niiolit ])e desired. There are niim})ers of 

 words used every day by the peasantry of (inernsey whieli 

 are not mentioned at all ; not Tnei'(>ly local \ariants of modei'n 

 French which can he recof^nised without ditheulty, but sti-ange 

 and pecndiar words of which it is impossible to discover the 

 meaning by the Dicthmtiaire, Let the reader examine criti- 

 cally almost any one of Metivier's own com])Ositions, any of 

 his Rimes Giierncsiaises for example, and he will at once 

 perceive how defective the work is in this respect. The 

 reason why this defect is not generally noticed is because in 

 order to derive any pleasure at all from the perusal of one of 

 these poems the reader must already possess a thorough 

 acquaintance with the dialect, and consequently he has very 

 seldom occasion to consult the dictionary. 



However, we must be deeply grateful to Metivier for 

 what he has given us, and not comq)lain about what he has 

 left undone. All I wish to point out is that there is still 

 plenty of room for a new dictionary — less scholarly, perhaps, 

 but more copious and complete, and this time in English — so 

 that a student may arrive at the meaning of words and phrases 

 which are to him at present either perplexing or unintelligible. 

 There are ladies and gentlemen residing in this island who are 

 perfectly qualified to undertake the compilation of a work of 

 this kind, and the task would not perhaps prove so arduous 

 as it might at first sight appear. A small thin volume printed 

 in 1831 bearing the title of Rimes GuernedaiHcs, par iin 

 Cdtelain, under which modest appellation Mr. Metivier 

 concealed his authorship, represents I believe the first 

 appearance of a collection of poems written in our local 

 dialect. Leaving aside its literary merits, this early edition 

 is of some interest as illustrating the author's curious 

 notions of phonetic spelling, like the persistent use of ki 

 when qui would have done just as well, and the manufacture 

 of such a hybrid monstrosity as memivere (memory) with two 

 French accents and an English 7d ! These oddities were ex- 

 punged in the enlarged and more polished edition of the poems 

 which appeared fifty years afterwards under the title of Poesies 

 Guernesiaises et Franqaises, In this volume we have the 

 highwater mark of Metivier's writings. 



The majority of the poems consist of humorous pictures 

 of old Guernsey as it was a century ago, witch stories, con- 

 vivial and festive sougs, tales of superstition, and the like, all 

 touched and enlivened with local colour, like La maison ensor- 

 chelldie^ La, Chanson du Prinseux, Ma Tante^ and Dame 



