upoun the said day, pretending ane lauchfull excuis for thame in the said mater that na day in the oulk wes grantit to thame for thair releif fra thair lawbour except the said Sabboth."

conditions," she thought her case would be so far prejudiced as he was not of that

66

aige and experience to cognosce upoun sa heich a cryme, and he will not faill upoun errour and As sometimes happens, those in authority ignorance, to proceid agains the said complenair in the conduct of justice forgot the becaus in this particulair he is reullit be sie pernecessity of being above suspicion in their sonis as ar the said complenairis deidlie enemeis." handling of affairs, and in the punishment Further, she protested that the preju of those 'inferiour officiaris " who were dices against witches were so great that the chiefly implicated in the derelictions of men who would be called as a jury would be duty there had been some slackness. To inflamed against her from the first, and that obviate the continuance of such imputa- it was a very great hardship "to hasard the tions, James VI. issued a proclamation that lyff of ane innocent upon the toung and he would be deliverie of a nowmer of ignorant and unletterit men." To show her conviction of her own innocence of the charge, she found caution "to underlie the law" in the tolbooth of Edinburgh when required. Her for his spouse, and no attempt being made pleading was not in vain : Sinclair appeared by the Sheriff to uphold his contention, smirchers at arm's length. able to keep her would-be

"reddie to ressave and heir the complaintis and informationis of his distressit subjectis, and sua sall hald hand to the dew ordour, taking with thair complaint is as nane sal have just caus or occasioun to complene."

The King laid it down, with no unstinted plainness of speech, that in the administration of justice there was to be no favour nor friendship, and that judgment would be impartially dealt, as he recognized that on the fair dispensing of justice was the "speciall grund quhairupoun his Hienes croun standis and dependis.'

a

Although certain crimes were tryable by the Sheriff, there were others beyond his jurisdiction, and left for the decision of the High Court. In connexion with this unique question was raised in the Court of the Sheriff of Berwick. There was resident in Eyemouth one Isobel Falconer, spouse to Patrick Sinclair. She was suspect guiltie of witchcraft," and, as was often the case, some of those who neighboured her did not sit very softly in the same company, and accordingly seized upon this suspicion in order that they might get on even terms with her. In due form she was reported

to the Sheriff-officer, who announced his intention to try the case. Isobel must have been a woman of some smeddum, for she

forthwith petitioned the Privy Council that

she was

"altogidder free and innocent of that foull cryme [witchcraft], and to this houre hes livit in a verie gude fame and reputatioun among hir nychtbouris, unspotted or suspect of ony sic divilische and detestable cryme.'

Even if there was any suspicion of leanings that way, as it was a

"verie heich cryme, thair wald be [ought to be]
men of judgment, learning, gude conscience, and
experience, quha hes knawledge to discerne
upoun every point and circumstance of the
dittay, and upoun sic doubtis and questionis
as will result in sic ane tryall."

She had before her mind's eye the position
of the Sheriff. Admitting that he
ane young gentilman of gude qualiteis and

was

Isobel was

In the early part of the seventeenth century there was on the Borders considerable lawlessness, and for the better preservation of order, it was decided that Justice

Courts should be held four times a year, at which the prisoners mixed up in these forays

should have the chance of a fair trial.

The

But, in the Middle Marches, some miscreants
paid the penalty of their misdeeds in a
different fashion-so much so that in order
to whitewash the Warden, Sir William
Cranstoun, the King had to issue a special
edict. It bore that Sir William, in carrying
out his difficult duties, had "moist dewti-
fullie carreyed himselff, and done us verie
work was difficult, and needed special, and
guid service in that his employment."
in some cases speedy, handling, so much so
(what a diplomatic mode of expression!)
that it mycht not alwyse perinit those
prolixe formes accustumed in the civile
pairtis of the kingdome to be used at all
tymes ; so that the Warden, when encum-
bered with a number of prisoners, did not
find it always convenient to convey them
to prison. Such being the case, he was
moved

22

66

"often tymes summarlie to mak a quick dispatche of a grite many notable and notorious theves and villanes by putting chame to present death, without preceiding tryall of jurye or assyse, or pronunciatioun of ony convictione or dome." His Majesty therefore thought fit to exonerate him for all things hitherto done by him in the execution of his office as Warden of the Marches.

In Royal Burghs which were the seat of a Circuit Court the Provost and magistrates, as

6

66

representing the Crown, were obliged to in the Bodleian Library. This MS., which give personal attendance on the judges was written about A.D. 895, is the actual during the sitting of the Court, and provide copy of King Alfred's translation of Pope the requisite accommodation for carrying Gregory's Pastoral Care' that was sent by on the business. In the Royal Burgh of Alfred's order to the Bishop of Worcester. Jedburgh the Provost and magistrates went A reproduction of its first lines is given by out in state, generally as far as Ancrum Prof. Skeat, Plate I. in his Twelve FacBridge, to meet the judge and escort him similes of Old English Manuscripts,' 1892. to the town; and on their arrival at the The head-line runs : Deos Bôc sceal to hotel door the burgesses were summoned, Wiogora ceastre," i.e., "This book is to go under the tenure by which they held their to Worcester.22* The syllables -ora here property-of watching and warding-to have not yet been correctly explained: they form a guard to his lordship and the magis- represent wara, the genitive case of the trates. A letter from a judge on circuit plural noun ware, people. The disappearmay be quoted. It is addressed to the Pro-ance of initial w from the second element of vost, Dr. Lindesay (father of Isabella Linde- compound words is a frequent phenomenon say, the friend of Burns on his Border in A.-S. Compare hwilende = *hwil wende, tour), and the magistrates ::transitory; hläford=*hläf weard, lord; and for other instances see Dr. Joseph Wright's 'Old English Grammar,' 1908, § 267. close parallel is afforded by the treatment of wara in the French form of the name Cantwara-byrig, sc. Cant-or-béry." If, then, we may argue from analogy, we may say that " Wiogora ceastre" equals *Wiog-waraceastre.

Galashiels, Monday, 8th May, 1780. GENTLEMEN,—I have got this far on my road to Jedburgh to hold the circuit there. I shall be at Merton this night, and pass to-morrow at that place, and shall be at Jedburgh on Wednesday about half-an-hour after twelve, and I shall go to Court about an hour after. I thought it my duty to give you this information, and am, with great regard, Gentlemen, Your most humble Servant,

THO. MILLER.

The duty of guarding the Courthouse and the prisoners was in the hands of the Crowner, who was an official of the Crown. The family of Cranstoun, to one of whom reference has already been made, owned property in the village of Lanton, nigh to the Royal Burgh, which carried with it the rights and duties of the Crowner. These lands have now been sold, and the duties have been commuted on a monetary pay

ment.

Since, in recent years, there has been so much concentration in legal administration, some of the circuits have not been held. In the interests of economy perhaps this may be necessary, but the pomp and ceremony incident to the occasion impressed the multitude with the absolute impartiality in the administration of justice, and the freedom of approach on the part of the lieges if any complaints had to be made. J. LINDSAY HILSON.

Public Library, Kelso. "WIOGORA CEASTER": WORCESTER. THE etymology of the name of the city of Worcester has not yet been thoroughly elucidated, and I beg leave to advance the inquiry a step or two.

The oldest English form of the name we know of is to be found in Hatton MS. 20

66

A

But Wiog," with breaking of i into io before g, is not pure West Saxon. It is probably Kentish. In that dialect the breaking of is regularly caused by an o or an a coming in the following syllable : cf. Wright, u.s., § 101, where the Kentish forms siocol (sickle) and stiogol (stile) are set side by side with the West-Saxon and Anglian forms sicol and stigol. For this reason we must revert to the common form given in the Chronicles, and that is Wigera-, Wigra-, Wigre-. This shows that the true form is Wig-wara. The appearance of ware is rare when compared with that of sate, and its use here, as in " Cantwarabyrig," suggests that *Wig-wara-ceaster was the chief city of a mixed Celtic and AngloSaxon population, which, like the Centings, was known by a modified form of the name of the dispossessed Celtic tribe. What the actual name of that tribe was is unknown.

There is an antiquarian belief that the Hwiccas were originally called 'Iugantes." If that belief has no other foundation than the reading euigantum ciuitate in the second Medici MS. of the Annals' of Tacitus (XII. xl., ed. H. Furneaux, 1907, p. 109), it may be dismissed at once, because that is an error which can be easily explained. The editors of Tacitus in many editions have emended it to "e Brigantum ciuitate,"

and there need be no doubt of their correctness. The MS. dates from c. A.D. 1000, and there are many ancient instances of the misrepresentation of b by u (v). Cf. conuetoni (with u b') for Conb'etouium (Peutinger's Tabula,' sæc. XIII., § Britannia '); cair urnach for Cair Brinach (Historia Brittonum,' Durham MS., c. 1150; also MSS. C and P, sæc. XII., ed. Mommsen, p. 212, No. 26); feceuir (with c::t) for Fetebir (Hist. Britt.,' MS. Q, sæc. XIII., p. 160, 1. 14); uulgam for bulgam (the Leyden Lorica, sæc. X., ed. V. H. Friedel, Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie, ii. 64, 1. 17); and uede for Bedæ (Bede's Chronica,' MS. Vaticanus 3852, sæc. IX., ed. Mommsen, p. 236).

In the case we are considering the original of the second Medici MS. no doubt presented e Brigantum ciuitate, and the suprascribed r was overlooked by the reader, whose vowelflanked B sounded to the scribe like v, and was written down as u.

1800, which, as they occur in a small privately printed work, may be worth publishing. perhaps for the first time. Her Journal' records :

"Oct. 2.-Dined at the Elliots'. While I was playing at chess with Mr. Elliot, the news arrived of Lord Nelson's arrival, with Sir William and Lady Hamilton, Mrs. Cadogan, mother of the Continuation of Rasselas,' and 'Private Life of latter, and Miss Cornelia Knight, famous for her the Romans.""

Miss Knight wrote 'Dinarbas, a Continuation of Rasselas,' 1790; and also Marcus Flaminius; or, Life of the Romans,'

6

1795. An interesting Life of Miss Knight has been published.

"Oct. 3.-Dined at Mr. Elliot's with only the Nelson party. It is plain that Lord Nelson thinks of nothing but Lady Hamilton, who is totally occupied by the same object She is bold, forward, coarse, assuming, and vain....

Lord Nelson is a little man, without any dignity, who, I suppose, must resemble what Suwarrow was in his youth, as he is like all the pictures I have seen of that general. Lady Hamilton takes possession of him, and he is a willing captive, the most submissive and devoted I have seen..........

This leaves unexplained the facts that the Wig-waré called themselves "Wig-2 when naming their city, and were called "Huice-" by their West-Saxon neighbours. It is not quite certain that *Wig-wara-ceaster bears "After dinner we had several songs in honour the same relationship to Huicc-é* that of Lord Nelson. written by Miss Knight, and Cant-wara-ceaster does to Cent-ingas; sung by Lady Hamilton. She puffs the incense but we must remember that an A.-S. form full in his face; but he receives it with pleasure. and snuffs it up very cordially. The songs all huicc is the rule-right phonetic repre- ended in the sailor's way, with Hip, hip, hip, sentative of an Old-Celtic form cuig-, quiq-. hurra,' and a bumper with the last drop on the In Alfred Holder's Alt-celtischer Sprach-nail, a ceremony I had never heard of or seen schatz, 1904, ii. 1063, we find Quigo

66

22

66

given as a man's name, and documented by
reference to an inscription cut at Autun,
in the second century of our era, in which
the words "Q. Secund. Quigonis ciuis
Treueri 22
appear (C.I.L.,' xiii. No. 2669).
If the original name of the Wig-waré was
*Quig-waré, the word quig- would
have been assimilated to wig, war, by the
dominant section of the mixed population
of *Wig-wara-ceaster, to which it was
ALFRED ANSCOMBE.

meaningless.

30, Albany Road, Stroud Green, N.

soon

before.

con

Mr. Elliot's box at the opera. Lady Hamilton "Oct. 4.-Accompanied the Nelson party to paid me those kind of compliments which prove she thinks mere exterior alone of any sequence. She and Lord Nelson were wrapped up in each other's conversation during the chief part of the evening.

On his

"Oct. 5.-Went by Lady Hamilton's invitation hat he wore the large diamond feather, or ensign to see Lord Nelson dressed for Court. of sovereignty, given him by the Grand Signior;

on his breast the Order of the Bath, the Order he received as Duke of Bronte, the diamond star, including the sun or crescent given him by the Grand Signior, three gold medals obtained by three different victories, and a beautiful present from the King of Naples.

"On one side is his Majesty's picture, richly set and surrounded with laurels, which spring from two united anchors at bottom, and support the Neapolitan crown at top; on the other is the Queen's cypher, which turns so as to appear within the same laurels, and is formed of diamonds on green enamel. In short, Lord Nelson was B perfect constellation of stars and orders.

"Oct. 6.-Dined with Lord Nelson at the Hôtel de Pologne. Went in the evening to a concert given to him by Count Marcolini....

"From thence went to a party at Countess Richtenstein's, Lady Hamilton loading me with

all marks of friendship at first sight, which I always think more extraordinary than love of

the same kind.

"Oct. 8.-Dined at Madame de Loss's, wife to the Prime Minister, with the Nelson party. The Electress will not receive Lady Hamilton, on account of her former dissolute life. She wished to go to Court, on which a pretext was made to avoid receiving company last Sunday, and I understand there will be no Court while she stays. Lord Nelson, understanding the Elector did not wish to see her, said to Mr. Elliot, Sir, if there is any difficulty of that sort, Lady Hamilton will knock the Elector down, and me, I'll knock him down too.' She was not invited in the beginning to Madame de Loss's; upon which Lord Nelson sent his excuse, and then Mr. Elliot persuaded Madame de Loss to invite her.

me.

66

"RUMTUM," A SINGLE-SCULLING BOAT.-Till Dr. Craigie, who is editing R for our great New English Dictionary," asked me to define a rumtum," and tell him where the word came from, I had never heard how it happened to be applied to the handy, short, single-sculling boat with outriggers and a sliding seat which all we scullers know so well. The first I saw was at Chester, one Sunday morning in August, 1890, or thereabouts; and I was told that it was one of Salter's rumtums " from Oxford. A very nice little boat it was; and many a scull did I have in it. But Salters said the other day that they were not the inventors of the boat or its name; so I applied to Jack Biffen at Hammersmith, and he explains the whole thing:

:

the

"Rumtums were first introduced on Thames about 22 years ago by Mr. J. Alexander, boat builder, Putney. My boat builder, Mr. S. Butler, was apprenticed there; and why we fix the date at 22 years is, he has worked for us 17 years, and 3 years at Maidstone, and these boats were built while he was apprenticed, the The dimensions of the present ones are: length, first being constructed by T. Robinson, sen.

"Oct. 9.-A great breakfast at the Elliots', given to the Nelson party. Lady Hamilton repeated her attitudes with great effect. All the company, except their party and myself, went away before dinner; after which Lady Hamilton, who declared she was passionately fond of champagne, took such a portion of it as astonished Lord Nelson was not behindhand, called more vociferously than usual for songs in his own praise, and after many bumpers proposed the Queen of Naples, adding, She is my Queen; she is Queen to the backbone.' Poor Mr. Elliot, who was anxious the party should not expose them-22 ft.; width, 1 ft. 8 in.; depth centre, 8 in.; selves more than they had already done, and wished to get over the last day as well as he had done the rest, endeavoured to stop the effusion of champagne, and effected it with some difficulty; but not till the Lord and Lady, or, as he calls them, Antony and Moll Cleopatra, were pretty far gone. I was so tired, I returned home soon after dinner, but not till Cleopatra had talked to me a great deal of her doubts whether the Queen would receive her, adding, 'I care little about it. I had much sooner she would settle half Sir William's pension on me.' After I went, Mr. Elliot told me she acted Nina intolerably ill, and danced the Tarantola. During her acting Lord Nelson expressed his admiration by the Irish sound of astonished applause, which no written character can imitate, and by crying every now and then, Mrs. Siddons be Lady Hamilton expressed great anxiety to go to Court, and Mrs. Elliot assured her it would not amuse her, and that the Elector never gave dinners or suppers. What?' cried she, no guttling!' Sir William also this evening performed feats of activity, hopping round the room on his backbone, his arms, legs, star and ribbon all flying about in the air."

The Right Hon. Hugh Elliot, brother to Lord Minto, was British Minister at Dresden, and about forty. The next day, by a ruse, Mr. Elliot lured Nelson to Hamburg, to meet a frigate, which, however, did not arrive for several days.

The above accounts are taken from Mrs. St. George's Journal kept during a Visit to Germany in 1799-1800,' edited by the Dean of Westminster (not published), 1861, pp. 75-82,

D. J.

depth aft, 8 in.; depth forward, 9 in.; slide, 2 ft.
long; and spread of riggers (or width), 3 ft. 8 in.,
as a sculling boat. The origin of the word I cannot
vouch for; but it is a waterside tale that two
gentlemen in the theatrical profession, whose
names were Mr. Theodore Gordon, proprietor of
the Hammersmith Music-Hall, and Mr. Rob.
had a sailing dinghy of the same pattern: one
Cunningham, chairman of the same hall, each
was called Rum-tum,' and the other Ha-Ha'
and Mr. Alexander, struck with the name of the
It is
former, called his new style of boat after it.
boats, as at first they were kept on our raft;
a positive fact that these two gentlemen had these
but they afterwards took them to Putney. I
might say that the Newcastle Christmas Handicap,

through being rowed in these boats, did a lot to
make them popular: they were at first open
boats; but for the last six or seven years have
been canvassed in.-J. BIFFEN."

66

22

Salters of Oxford say that the dimensions of the rumtum as given by Biffen are practically the same as those of the "whiff '* The name "rumtum was, I at Oxford. suppose, taken from the chorus of a popular "Ri rum tum tiddy i do," or song ending something of the kind, which one heard in the streets many years ago. A friend tells me it is mentioned in Grimaldi's Life.' F. J. FURNIVALL.