1801.] 
from to trend; muzzle, from mouth ; 
nozzle, from nofle; handle, from hand ; 
thimble, from thumb ; and many others+ 
as, kettle, peftle, fickle, faddle, eafel, fropple, 
&c. With the fame affix the Germans 
form gartel, hebel, flegel, nade!l, gabel, {pin- 
del, keffel, fatiel, ftoppel, &c. Yo this clafs 
of words crable appears te belong: it 
means therefore an inftrument for creep- 
ing. I: is to be lamented that the prac- 
tice has not. prevailed of fpelling all thefe 
fubftantives with e/ inftead of /e, in order 
to diftinguifh this afix from that which 
ferves to torm frequentative verbs: fuch 
as jouft, joftle ; burt, hurile; firay, firag- 
gle, Ge. 
Culprit.—-When a prifeneris brought to 
the bar, enquiry is made of him whether he 
pleads guilty, or not guilty: on his an- 
fwering, ‘‘ Not guilty,” the elerk of the 
arraions fays, ** Qwil paroit, let it ap- 
pear fo.” Hence originates the vulgar 
practice of calling a prifoner, the culgriz: 
it was miftaken by the croud for the legal 
denomination of a criminal. 
Curiet.—For this word no fufficient au- 
thority is produced: probaby it is an 
error of the prefs for curiafe. 
(To be continued.) 
Ta the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, 
HE aarticle in your Magazine for 
April laft (p.'236), refpecting the 
Patent of the Artillery Company, appears 
to be incorre&t. The game enquired after 
is not Popyemaye, but Popinjay ; a game 
which is ftill annually played_by a’ fociety 
of archers at Kilwinning, a {mall town of 
Ayrthire, in Scotland, where, however, 
from an evident errer or provincialifm, it 
is called ‘* Papingoe.”” 
According to Bailey, ‘* Popinjay,” 
-(papejay, Fr. papejayo, Span. papegoy, 
Dan.) is a parrot of a greenifh colour. In 
the game of Papingoe, a figure, reiembling 
a parrot, is placed at a confiderable 
height upon the church-fteeple of Kilwin- 
ning, and the archer who brings down the 
figure with his arrow is immediately de- 
clared prefident of the fociety for the en- 
fuing year. have been informed, how- 
ever, that it is not now requifite to be 
pofleffed of confiderable {kill in order to 
attain the office of prefident, and that 
fhooting at the Popinjay is obferved merely 
in conformity to ancient cuftom. 
Glafgow, I am, your's, &c- 
July 4, 1801, A, P, 
Game of Popinjay. 
101 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR; 
HE enormous rife which has of late 
years taken place ih the price of 
almoft all the neceflaries of life, has pro-~ 
duced confiderable diftrefs in various de- 
partments of the community. It has re- 
duced thouiands of the lower ranks, wha 
were once able to fupport themfelves and 
their families by the produce of their in- 
duftrious exertions, to ithe odious neceflity 
of accepting parochial relief. The cafe 
of thefe meritorious fufferers, who in fa& 
conttitute the finews of the ftate, has de- 
fervedly occupied a confiderable fhare of 
the attention of the legiflature, and in 
numerous inftances their employers have 
Jaudably fept forward’ to alleviate their 
wants. But the preflure of diftrefs is by 
no means confined to the lower orders of 
the community. The circumftancés of . 
the times Have caufed a melancholy change 
in the condition of a clafs of fociety 
whole feelings, though peculiarly acute, 
- are in general too flightly veoarded—E 
mean thofe females of reputable families 
and good education who were formerly 
enabled to make a decent and hand{ome 
appearance by the economical management 
of a {mall income. The labourer demands 
and receives an increale of wages in fome 
degree proportioned to the encreafing dear= 
neis of provifions—the manufa&turer may 
obviate his growing expences, by affixing 
a higher value on his article, and the 
landed gentry may raife the rents of their 
eftates: but in this general race, this 
flight from poverty, thofe who have no 
refources but a {canty and unimprovable_ 
income, are left behind. They pay dou- 
ble for every thing which they confume, 
while the revenue remains ftationary, 
In this cafe what profpect have they of 
future comfort, and by what means can 
they maintain themfelvés in that rack in 
fociety which they have been accuomed 
to hold. 
The philofopher may inculcate the va- 
nity of human diftinctions, aud the ftatift 
may coolly inform us, that fociety will be 
benefited by the annihilation of thete lilies 
of the valley, which neither toil nor {pin 3 
and that events which compel a number 
of idle people to adopt ‘ome ufeful calling, 
are fo far produétive of general advantage. 
But the man of feeling will commiferate | 
the fituation of thofe, who having, in the 
earlier period of their lives, been taught 
to expect that they would be enabled to 
live independently of perfonal labour ; are 
now bending beneath the heavy ee 
0 
