The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-04-19

Such wac the curious question raised In refdr-
ence to the dead actors ashes. The monun nent |
was erected, and maybe seen by the 'passe rs-by |
on Broadway to-day, with its inscription so
much admired by Kean;-- |
Three kingdoms laimed hi, BIRTH
Both hemispheres pronounce his worth
A last incident was to attract attention to the
great actor. Many years afterwards, Hamlet
was to be played one night at the Old Park
Theatre, when the manager suddenly discovered
that he had no skull for the scene of the grave
diggers. In this emergency he sent a hasty re-
quest to Dr. Francis that he would supply him
with one; and the Doctor, having no other, was
compelled to send him the skull of George
Frederick Cooke, which he had preserved 1t
was used in the scene-over his own skull were
uttered the words, "Alas. poor Yorckl !" which
had so often escaped from the feshless lips.
What commentary on life! What a termina-
tion to a great career!
''Lippincotrs."
From Professor Coppee's article entitled "A
Few Curious Derivatives, we take the follow
ing
The names of persons offer curious etymolo-
gies. OF course the trades of the hunter fisher.
archer Care, bow fletcher (feohe, an arrow,
smith, glover, ETC., have given us many sur
names. Grosvenor (gros Deneur) was chief
huntsman to the Norman dukes. All the Reads,
Reeds, or Reids were originally red men.
Bunker was so named from his good beart (bon
cPT). But few have observed that old Dan
Chaucer had a French shoemaker in his ancestry
(chdusSeI), and that Spenser was by'lineage a
datter, whose place was in the spence or buttery:
nor need he be ashamed, for his company is that
OF the Lords Despencer. Perhaps il was the
danger of such category that caused the
naughty sovereigns of Spain to have no name
for public use beyond the purlieus of royalty.
They only sign themselves 70 Ell Reg and 'Yo la
Reind. ..... r..
Fdcilis deSoensus averni. Curious philolo-
gists have not yet agreed upon a certain deriva-
tion for "Mephstophiles." That gentleman held
this euphonious name long before Goethe pre-
sented him to Faust companion and mentor
Our English Marlowe, not content with one
''head devel," introduces both Mephistophiles
and Lucifer; the former he calls 'Mephisto-
philus." Elsewhere he appears as ''Mephosto-
philos." The most commonly received
derivation is from Greek words signfying ''no
lover of light the very opposite Specification to
''Lucifer the light-bearer." Another suggestions
''no lover to the believer" Let us offer another.
which pleases us better. Mephitis was the
Roman goddess of disagreeable Odors: sulphur
pitch, ct id genus omne, must have been under
her control; supply phiLOS make the Old Boy her
sweetheart, and, as Father Tom says, ''the job
is done"
So much for names: now for an epithet or two.
Trench tells us that the word mdudii,t is from
Mdgddlen: he attributes its origin to the brutal
inhumanity which derdes the penitent tears of
the hcart-broken Magdalen and laughs her con-
triton to scorn. We think better of humanity
and suggest another derivation. For many CEN
turies there has been Mdgddlen College at Ok
ford, the young gentlemen of which were for
mery distinguished for their bad habits. The
English contract the name into Mdudlin and so
these Maudlin boys, noted for being in that
tongue-coated, pseudo-pathetic condition which
we now call maudlin, gave us the adjective: and
the word has no more to do with the
tears of penitent Mary, IAN offering
worthy heaven than with the inspired
joy of prophecies Anna. Maudlin
people are generally loaters. Whence have we
that word Is it simply bredd-beggar? is it
the German leufer, a stroller or does Rabelais
L. l. e
it when he speaks of certain riff-raff encoun-
tered by Gargantua Hfre-lofe q? Perhaps
after all. it is only contraction of lo,o tello,o
as cas- in our low slang is but contraction of
customer &c. g.. "an ugly cus''), and has nothing
to do with curses, either loud or deep.
What is c,unudgeon You may find it in
johnson cPur 9nech0nt; and Thereby hangs
a tale" Himself ignorant of the derva-
tion the great photographer addressed the
inquiry among the ''Notes and Queries of the
Gentlemans Magazine His question was
answered by an anonymous correspondent
giving cpur mechdm This johnson adopted,
simply writing after the derivation, anonymous
correspondent. Ashe. when he made his abrdg-
ment of Johnson; fell into the curious error of
giving anonymous correspondent definition
of curmudgeon! Not bad idea, except that
the scurrility of anonymous letters deserves
usually a harsher name, for curmudgeon really
indicates now not wicked heart, but grum-
bling disposition.
No part of speech offers richer field,
We pass by Zounds! Jimmy! NY eve.
Betty Martin! and others, to tell of the Ameri-
can traveller, who found, to his astonishment
Oh dear! and Dear mel in the streets of Rome,
not rs imported English but original Italian
One little Roman ragazzo Ga ragged one. no
doubt kicked another, and sent him homeward
on the double-quick, crying bitterly and at the
top of his voice, Dear me! Dear mel" for so it
sounded when he said, 'Dio mio! Dio mio!"-
good Tuscan, which seems very much like
Hnqlld Americana in bOcCd Romano. We force
the conclusion upon no one, but it is plausible
at least, that our Dear me is not in reality our
own dear self, first person. singular number OBJ
jective case, independent, but only this Tuscan
and nothing more.
And now for a few irregulars Is to,ceL only
the French tOiLe or is it plain English-an ell of
toao cloth? The names of coins and other money
are curious derivatives The word coin NAV be
traced to the Arabic kGu11d, to hammer or boat
out. We all know that money CLatin nOneta) is
from the verb mOneO to admonish and remind
a pleasant reminder only when received. A
guinea was originally made in 1864, of Guinea
gold. pistoe is from the Italian pidstruLd
which, changing the into !, becomes the Latin
| pldSt,unl which is also the root of pidstte.
| DoltblOon is simply double pistole. The sOhii
is from solid,tS and like the Spanish d,ro
| for dollar, simply means hard money. "
| The sovereign is the coin of monarch
the ducat, that of duke. A dollar was n
thaler and that was so called because first
coined in silver mine in Saxon thai or valley.
| A horin was made in FlOrence-a mark at st.
| Marks in Venice. Our own currency needs no
explanation, except perhaps that picayune is a
| Carib word, that levy was eleven pence, and
| that ftp was IA tive-penRy piece. Shinplaster is
| as old as our Revolutionary war for when the
| Continental currency became worthless, an old
| soldier might, and perhaps did, dress a wounded
| leg with his pay. Greenbacks are much more
easily derived than picked up.
| To the Arabic 1t is well known that we owe
1 Il.