1801.] 
as a conjeéture, fhould be rejected, the ob- 
jections to Mr, Tooke’s etymology will 
ftill remain. ‘ 
T have already mentioned the Latin pre- 
prepofitions which exprefs the meaning 
of be or bi in the original Anglo-Saxon, 
In a more general way it may be faid al- 
ways to fpecify direction. And to this 
fenie the following inftances (from the 
Saxon Chronicle), which may ferve to il- 
Jutrate its ordinary employment, are 
eafily referred. Unppip peipa legen be 
Veytan, hoftile fhips lay towards the 
welt; pa ycipu fopan be yuban eayt, 
the fhips went fouth-eaft; ume men 
feoon be Hapolae, fome men faid by 
(refpefiing) Harold; ealla pa ping be 
Trodep mynytpan, pa pepon xefett 
be Vintxaper oxze, all thofe things re- 
fpeiing God’s churches, that were ap- 
pointed zz the days, of W. ; be hiy bpoSpa 
peo, according to his brother’s advice. I 
think it probable that it derives this fig- 
nification from the verb began, bixan, 
buzan, Goth. BHLPAN to bow 
1. By ufing the intranfitive verb turz or 
imceline in the above paflages we obtain a 
very fatisfaStory . interpretation of the 
meaning of 6e, And itis in this fenfe 
that the Anglo-Saxon verb was employed : 
him to beah Melcolm, Malcolm turned 
to him (Chron. An. 1031) 3; Cadxap— 
beah pa -pam him, Edgar turned from 
him (An. 1085) Lpiyzina beah into 
mynrtpe (Do.), Chrifina turned into 
(entered) the monaftery. ~ 
2. The Latin prepofitions fecus, fecun-> 
dum, from fequor, and verfus, from ver- 
to, by which the import of de is moft nearly 
exprefled fupport fuch an etymology, 
efpecially the latter, by the analogy of 
their own, — | 
3- The original orthography of this 
prepolition feems to have been big, 
which.would correfpond with the impera- 
tive of bixan.—Our old noun dye, I may 
remark, fignifying a turning, digreffion, 
(by-the-bye, bye-road, &c.) is a derivative 
of the fame origin. 
To follow up this derivation, of be 
through the very numerous train of its 
combinations, efpecially with verbs, 
would require more dilatation than can 
here be allowed; and, inasmuch as re- 
gards the examination of Mr. Tooke’s 
etymology, is perfeily unneceffary. 
There is only one compound of be therefore 
which I fhall here notice. 
The ufual derivation of the word be- 
cauje is thought fo obvious that it may be 
deemed captious to call it in queftion. 
What I have already faid, however, may 
MonTHLy Mac, N°. 77, 
i = ‘ 
Account of Portfmauth. 
113 
explain on what grounds I would fubfti- 
tute the word by, as above interpreted, for 
the verb be in the refolution of this as of 
other fimilar compounds. ‘have felected 
this in particular for the fake of offering 
a remark on the latter member of the 
WOT Ce (24) 
The etymology of caufe has puzzled 
philologifts as much as its fignification has 
exercifed metaphyficians: and probably 
both would have derived advantage from 
purfuing their inveftigations in concert. 
Even without the affiftance of Hume, how- 
ever, the analogies of common language 
might, one would imagine, have fuggetted 
a much more plaufible etymology of the 
word than any hitherto offered. ‘here 
can be little doubt, I think, that it is 
originally the fame with cafe, and has a 
fimilar origin as well as import with the 
word occafion, viz. from the Latin cado. 
The word cafe denotes the be-faliing, the 
connected occurence of events: and let 
the fcholaflic metaphyfician tell us what 
more he can underitand by caufe. This 
explanation might be illuftrated by obferv- 
ing the analogous origin of the words rea- 
fon, account, &¢é,: but I fhall only add that 
the identity of cafe and cauj2, is exempli- 
fied as matter of fa& both in the French 
_caufe, which is frequently employed to ex- 
pre's the former as well as the latter, and 
in our Englifh law courts, where the word 
caufe is daily ufed in the acceptation which 
in common difcourfe we appropriate to 
cafe. 
Fuly 11, 1B0I. _ 
\ <<a inne 
For the Monthly Magazine. 
ACCOUNT of PORTSMOUTH. 
(Continued from p. 402. of Vol. 11.) 
N getting behind my fpectacles to re~ 
fume my account of Portfmouth, I 
fear that I have falien into a fort of reverie 
on the fubject. | 
With all the improvements Port{mouth 
has recently undergone, and notwithfiand- 
ing its increafed population, the variou 
advantages that have accrued to it, and 
the progrefs it has made ia refinement, it 
feems to me, that, if thefe things are pro- 
perly appreciated, the place has much lefs 
reafon to pique itlfelf on acquirements than’ 
one is generally apt to fuppofe. 
Tt is true that both Portfmouth and 
Portfea are better paved than formerly : 
they are no longer disfigured by obtruding 
figns, flew-boards, and beaibers’- poles ; 
and many other obftructions equally un- 
fightly and improper have been removed. 
Our fireets have, in many parts, been 
widened: fharp and aukward corners have 
been 
