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Ap Rin, contracted into Prin; Ap Howel, into Powel, &c. In many parts of England and Wales a distinction has been made between the names of the father and son by simply adding s, and sometimes es, to that of the former; as Evans, Roberts, Hughes, Williams, &c.

The third class of British sirnames may be said to consist of those derived from trades or occupations, and in a country like this, it may be supposed that this tree spreads far and wide; as its branches may be considered all such appellatives as Smith, Baker, Brewer, Tailor. The more useful and common the calling expressed, the more ancient, in all probability, was its appropriation. Thus we may observe that the Fletchers, or makers of arrows; the Websters, the Weavers, the Masons, and some others, though common amongst us, are not of such constant occurrence as those of the more simple trades.

It is a remarkable fact, but a fact nevertheless, that the names of arts or trades introduced in later times have not been adopted as family appellatives; we never hear of Mr. Jeweller, Mr. Engraver, Mr. Architect, &c. "It has also been remarked that though we have Clerk and Leech to designate two of the learned professions, we have none to express lawyer. But the word Clerk was abundantly employed, especially in the north, to express lawyer as well as priest, and this may account for the extreme frequency of this sirname."

We will next consider those names given to their owners originally for some quality or supposed attribute; a feeling of respect seems sometimes to have dictated these, as bestowing a merited distinction; such are those of Bright, Good, Wise, Fair, Hardy, Worthy, and many more. Sometimes derision appears to have pointed her finger at certain individuals by attaching to them such appellations as Cruickshanks, Longbottom, Clod pole, &c. Others seem to indicate a certain disposition of mind or character; as Gotobed (a desirable name to be called by at the close of a dull November day,) Younghusband, Wellbeloved, Scattergood, Goodenough, Cleverley, and some other odd compounds, that cause us to smile when they occur in the daily intercourse of life. Dr. Murray, who has gone deeper into the subject of proper names than most other writers, decidedly thinks that those of this class are more ancient than any other, as the evident qualities of mind or body would furnish the first distinctive epithets among all early tribes or nations. The veil of mystery hangs over the origin of all things; but certainly, a controversy on the antiquity of English proper names would be most amusing, and would besides possess the valuable property of lasting out the lives of the controversialists, and of leaving each party crowned with the wreath of conquest, in his own esti

mation, at the close, for who could decide between them, or say to whom the victory belonged?

The fifth class of sirnames is derived from natural objects or productions, chiefly ani. mals, fruit, vegetables, flowers, &c. These were doubtless originally conferred from some supposed analogy between the individual and the object which supplied the designation; and if this be admitted, we must suppose that the first possessors of the names of Lion, Panther, Bull, and Bear, would be avoided for their ferocity; while we must confess that with the original family of the Sharks, (now mostly written Stark,) we would rather have left a P. P. C. card than have sent one of invitation. Then what opinion must be formed of the first Lizards, Foxes, Weazles, Badgers, Tadpoles, and Cats? The primitive Lambs, Hares, Coneys, Harts, Partridges, Doves, Goldfinches, Pointers, and Beagles, were, on the contrary, no doubt distinguished for their gentleness and other agreeable or serviceable qualities. All social intercourse with the first Snows and Frosts we must imagine to have been of a most repelling nature: while that with the original Springs, Summerfields, Honeymen, and Goodales, must have been equally agreeable and inviting. The name of Rose, now so common, we can only imagine to have been first bestowed on some fair maiden of surpassing beauty; and our ancestors were surely too gallant to attach such appellations as those of Lily, Hyacinth, Primrose, Hawthorn, or Roseberry, to any other but the fair sex. For the same reason we may conjecture that the first Peaches, Melons, Pines, Gages, and Plumtrees were females. The names of Hawk, Leopard, and some others, inspire us with no agreeable ideas of their original possessors; while we naturally suppose pertness or insignificance to have marked the first Sparrows, Starlings, Flounders, Whitings, and Smelts.

There are some English sirnames that cannot be comprised in either of the above classes. These are mostly monosyllabic, of which it is difficult to trace the etymology, partly from the change which orthography has undergone since the days of early civilization, and partly from the words having become so obsolete as to elude the efforts of the most industrious research. If they could be successfully investigated, it is generally supposed that they could be referred to one of the five classes enumerated in this paper.

Names derived from dignified titles, such as King, Prince, Duke, Bishop, Earl, &c., have been the subject of some contention. Camden thinks that many names of this kind were taken from the device in the armorial bearings of particular families, and were borne by their servants and dependents; and this seems probable, for it is not likely that dignitaries themselves would be thus

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No trace can be found in this country of the time when the appropriation of sirnames ceased, or went out of fashion. Those who have given most attention to the subject, think the practice has not existed, except in a few instances, for the last two or three centuries; and it is the opinion of some, that from the great increase of population it will be found necessary, ere long, in order to avoid confusion, to revive the custom; to issue a new coinage, and by giving individuals bearing the commonest names, the privilege of assuming others on their marriage, to ensure to posterity more distinctive appellations than those enjoyed by the families of the present day.- United Service Journal: (abridged.)

SEASONABLE DITTY.

BY THOMAS HAYNES BAYLEY.

Don't talk of September!

DON'T talk of September!-a lady
Must think it of all months the worst;
The men are preparing already

To take themselves off on the first:
I try to arrange a small party,

The girls dance together,-how tame! I'd get up my game of ecarte,

But they go to bring down their game! Last month, their attention to quicken, I knew was the thing; A supper But now from my turkey and chicken They're tempted by birds on the wing! They shoulder their terrible rifles,

(It's really too much for my nerves!) And slighting my sweets and my trifles, Prefer my Lord Harry's preserves! Miss Lovemore, with great consternation, Now hears of the horrible plan, And fears that her little flirtation Was only a flash in the pan Oh! marriage is hard of digestion, The men are all sparing of words; And now 'stead of popping the question, They set off to pop at the birds. Go, false ones, your aim is so horrid, That love at the sight of you dies: You care not for locks on the forehead,The locks made by MANTON you prize! All thoughts sentimental exploding,

Like flints I beheld you depart; You heed not, when priming and loading, The load you have left on my heart. They talk about patent percussions, And all preparations for sport; And these double barrel discussions Exhaust double bottles of port!

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THE WHIP SNAKE.

(From Tom Cringle's Log.)

As the wind was veering about rather capriciously, I was casting my eye anxiously along the warp, to see how it bore the strain, when, to my surprise, it appeared to my eye to thicken at the end next the tree, and presently something like a screw, about a foot long, that occasionally shone like glass in the moonlight, began to move along the taught line, with a spiral motion. All this time one of the boys was fast asleep, resting on his folded arms on the gunwale, his head having dropped down on the stem of the boat. But one of the Spanish boatmen in the canoe that was anchored close to us, seeing me gazing at something, had cast his eyes in the same direction. The instant he caught the object, he thumped with his palms on the side of the canoe, exclaiming, in a loud, alarmed tone, " culebra ! culebra !"

"a snake! a snake!"-on which the reptile made a sudden and rapid slide down the line towards the bow of the boat, where the poor lad was resting his head, and imme diately afterwards dropped into the sea.

The sailor rose and walked aft, as if nothing had happened, amongst his messmates, who had been alarmed by the cries of the Spanish canoeman; and I was thinking little of the matter, when I heard some anxious whispering amongst them.

"Fred," said one of the men, "what is wrong, that you breathe so hard ?"

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"Why, boy, what ails you ?" said another. Something has stung me," at length said the poor little fellow, speaking thick, as if he had laboured under sore throat. The truth flashed on me-a candle was lit-and, on looking at him, he appeared stunned, complained of cold, and suddenly assumed a wild, startled look.

He evinced great anxiety and restlessness, accompanied by a sudden and severe prostration of strength-still continuing to complain of great and increasing cold and chilliness, but he did not shiver. As yet no part of his body was swollen, except very slightly about the wound; however, there was a rapidly increasing rigidity of the muscles of the neck and throat, and within half an hour after he was bit, he was utterly unable to swallow even liquids. The small whip-snake, the most deadly asp in the whole list of noxious reptiles, peculiar to South America, was not above fourteen inches long: it had made four small punctures with its fangs right over the left jugular vein, about an inch below the chin. There was no blood oozing from them; but a circle, about the size of a crown.

piece, of dark-red, surrounded them, which gradually melted into blue at the outer rim, which again became fainter, until it disappeared in the natural colour of the skin. By the advice of the Spanish boatman, we applied an embrocation of the leaves of the palma Christi, or castor oil nut, as hot as the lad could bear it; but we had neither oil nor hot milk to give internally, both of which they informed us often proved specifics. Rather than lie at anchor, until morning, under these melancholy circumstances, I shoved out into the rough water, but we made little of it, and when the day broke, I saw that the poor fellow's fate was sealed: his voice had become inarticulate, the coldness had increased, all motion in the extremities had ceased, the legs and arms became quite stiff, the respiration slow and difficult, as if the blood had coagulated, and could no longer circulate through the heart, or as if, rom some unaccountable effect of the poison on the nerves, the action of the former had been impeded;-still the poor little fellow was perfectly sensible, and his eye bright and restless. His breathing became still more interrupted-he could no longer be said to breathe, but gasped-and in half an hour, like a steam-engine when the fire is withdrawn, the strokes or contractions and expansions of his heart became slower and slower, until they ceased altogether.

From the very moment of his death, the body began rapidly to swell and become discoloured the face and neck, especially, were nearly as black as ink, within half an hour of it, when blood began to flow from the mouth, and other symptoms of rapid decomposition succeeded each other so fast, that by nine in the morning we had to sew him up in a boatsail, with a large stone, and launch the body into the sea.

Manners and Customs.

INDIAN TRAITS.

WE resume our illustrated extracts from these entertaining volumes, introduced to the reader at page 119.

In the chapter on Religion are some curious particulars of the Idols:-"The ancient Virginians had an idol set up in every town, regarded as sacred, and kept in a house erected and taken care of by the priests for the purpose. This represented, not the Supreme Good Spirit,-in whom however these tribes fully believed,-but usually the evil one, whose favour they thought it more necessary to propitiate by adoration and sacrifices on account of his supposed malignity. In other cases it was considered simply the Guardian or Tutelar Spirit of the tribe or town. These buildings were commonly by the priests kept closed, and barred up very strongly, to prevent the intrusion of the whites,

as well as of the generality of the Indians themselves. The only instance in which an Englishman is known to have seen the inside of one of them, is related by the historian Beverly as having happened to himself and a party of his friends, who were one day ranging the woods round about an Indian village, when the inhabitants were mostly absent from the place. Finding themselves masters of so fair an opportunity, and resolved to make good use of it, they proceeded to search the woods far and wide for the "Quioccason. Having found it, they removed more than a dozen large logs with which the entrance was barricadoed, and went in. At first nothing could be seen but naked walls, with a wide fire-place in the centre of the floor, and a hole in the middle of the roof as a vent for the smoke. The building was about eighteen feet wide, and thirty long, built like a common Virginian cabin, but larger. Some posts were before long discovered, set up round the walls, with faces carved on them and painted, -no doubt used in religious dances. In the third mat they found the various limbs of an image,-including a board three and a half feet long, with an indenture at the upper end, like a fork, to fasten the head upon,-halfhoops, nailed to the edges, to assist in stuf. fing out the body-pieces of cloth, rolls made up for arms and legs, and various other matters of the kind. The whole, being put together, made a figure like this :

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easily lend his ingenuity to complete the imposition, by concealing himself in the dark cavity behind, and there moving the machinery of the image. Idols of this description are not used in modern times. Images, a few inches in length, are frequently carried by hunters, and others, as a medicine."

From the chapter on Funeral Ceremonies is the following:-"The dead, when inclosed in a grave, are generally buried in a sitting posture, and in this situation the remains of those apparently deceased a century ago, are now and then found, at the present day, along the Atlantic coast. In many cases the grave was lined with stout birch-bark, or fortified with a wooden framework within, so as to serve the purpose of a coffin. If persons die on a hunting-excursion, remote from home, their remains are preserved by burning or

otherwise, to be borne back to their own land. Frequently, in cases of this kind, and among some Northern tribes regularly in all cases, a scaffold, such as the adjoining sketch represents, is erected, to be the temporary resting-place; and this is perhaps ornamented with the verdure of a growing wild vine, carefully planted for the purpose. One object of this practice is to protect the dead from wolves and other wild animals. Another, as the Indians themselves sometimes say, is to keep the remains of their friends, as a consolation, within sight of the survivors. The Chippewas have, in some sections, a practice of placing a fire on the grave, for several nights after the interment of a person. This is lit in the evening, (commonly by a near relative,) and supplied with sticks of dry wood, to keep up a small

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but lively blaze for several hours. It is renewed four successive nights, and sometimes longer.

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Among the Chippewas, when an infant dies, the mother carries about with her, for some months, an image of wood in the same cradle or frame. The widow has a more singular practice of making up a roll of her best apparel, wrapped in a piece of cloth and with the ornaments of the husband attached to it. This she carries constantly with her as a badge of her widowhood, until, the relatives of the husband choose to call upon her and take it away, when she is at liberty to marry again."

From one of the chapters on hunting: "The common way of killing the buffaloes is to attack them on horseback. The Indians, mounted, and well armed with bows and arrows, encircle the herd, and gradually drive them into a situation favourable to the employment of the horse. They then ride in and single out one, generally a female, and following her as closely as possible, wound her with arrows until the mortal blow is given, when they go in pursuit of others until their quivers are exhausted."

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From the chapter of amusements is the following description of “ a large pipe commonly called by the whites the Pipe of Peace,' or the Calumet, which has always been a favourite article in the negotiation of treaties, and the entertainment of travellers. The meaning was the same in all cases. It was an exchange and pledge of faith between those parties who joined in smoking. When, for example, a party of strangers came into an Indian village, the pipe of peace was brought out, filled with tobacco, and lit in

the presence of the strangers. The principal man in the village then took two or three whiffs, and handed it to the chief of the strangers. If the latter refused to smoke, it was regarded as a sign of hostility. If he wished, however, to be considered an ally or friend, he took a whiff or two, and then presented it to the person who appeared to be the second great man of the village. And thus it was passed to and fro, until most of the people of note on both sides had smoked more or less. In all parts of the country the calumet was made larger and much handsomer than the ordinary pipe. The head or bowl, made of stone, was finely polished; and the quill or tube, in length about two and a half feet, was made of a pretty strong reed or cane. It was adorned with feathers of various brilliant colours, interlaced with locks of female hair; and sometimes two wings of a rare bird attached to it in such a manner as to give it the appearance of what the ancient Greeks and Romans in their mythology, called Mercury's Wand."

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(Pipes.)

"The French traveller, La Hontan, gives a very similar description of the calumet which he saw used among several of the Canadian tribes, with a draught of the instrument.

"Beverly, who wrote the History of Virginia about a century since, has also a draught of the twisted calumet of that part of the country. The remotest Western tribes use one of which the handle is a yard long. M'Kenzie, speaking of the Knistenaux, says, that smoking-rites of some kind precede, among that people, every matter of great importance. Whatever contract is entered into and solemnized by the ceremony of smoking, it never fails of being faithfully fulfilled. If a person, previous to his going a journey, leaves the sacred stem as a pledge of his return, no consideration whatever will prevent him from executing his engagement.'

Anecdotes of Indian jugglers furnish an amusing chapter:-"There are two classes of Indian jugglers; first, those who confine themselves to the practice of medicine; and secondly, those who undertake the exercise of similar imposition for the pretended accomplishment of some other object."

An essential part of the Indian Medical "Art," will be found to consist in a variety of fantastic ceremonies and stratagems; intended

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meant, and even well adapted, to benefit his way of fees, though no doubt sometimes health by favourably affecting his imagination. The Indians universally believing in witchcraft and other evil influence, the jugglers have only to pretend that the disorder on account of which application is made to them, is one that no common medicine will heal, and to the treatment of which the talents of common physicians are not competent. Supernatural remedies, say they, must be applied, to defeat the designs of the malicious enemy who has taken possession of the body of the sick man. Having persuaded his feeble patient of the truth of these preposterous statements, the juggler next convinces him of the necessity of making him "very strong,"that is, giving him a large fee in advance for his great trouble and immense skill. Of course, the juggler very rarely fails, when applied to, in the first instance, to represent the disorder as one of the witchcraft kind. He receives his fee-a rifle, perhaps, or a good horseand is then ready to commence operations. Attired in a frightful dress, he approaches his patient, with a variety of contortions and gestures, and performs by his side and over him all the antic tricks that his imagination can suggest. He breathes on him, blows in his mouth, and squirts some medicines which he has prepared, in his face, mouth and nose; he rattles his gourd filled with dry beans or pebbles, and pulls out and handles about a variety of sticks and bundles, in which he appears to be seeking for the proper remedy. All this is accompanied with the most horrid gesticulations, by which he endeavours, as he says, to frighten the spirit or the disorder away; and he continues in this manner until he is quite exhausted and out of breath, when he retires to await the issue. This description, applied by Heckewelder to the Delaware jugglers, holds true of the same class, under various names, throughout the continent.

"The juggler's dress is not always so unassuming as that of the Virginian is represented by Beverly in the Cut. They frequently make themselves as hideous as possible."

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