The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-06-25
CURIOUS ENGLISH SIGNS.
Public Houses often Use Sentence:
which Have History.


In reference to our note on the public
house sign, The Case is Altered a cor
respondent writes: This sign is repeat
ed.y met in the country, and Of course,
various local stories are invented to ac-
count for its origin. But It is most prob
ably an adaptation Of the Efizabethan
proverb, originating with Plowden, the
celebrated lawyer Of that time. Varia-
lions even of this story are found. A
farmer Informed him that his bull had
killed the lawyers COW. The case is
clear" remarked PIowden. you must
pay me her value" The farmer there
upon corrected himself. The lawyers
bull had killed the farmers cow All,
the case is altered quoth PIowden. This
expression had passed into q prOVeTb in
Fuller's time, and Is often met with in
our days
But from BdnbUTy comes quite another
explanation Of the curious sign Ban
bury was once the home of prosperous
weavers, who have left their memorial in
the --Weaver's Arms which for some
years has been known as The Case is
Altered, The former name IS preserved
IN the deeds. Within our correspondent
recollection the sign bore arms, crest and
motto. but the last, being the only visible
words, caught the fancy OF the frequent
ers. The adoption of these words as mot
to by an enno5led weaver speaks elo-
quentIy of the trades prosperity in for
mer times-as Of its decadence in the pres
ent Another correspondent, however
maintains that the sign Is q corruption
of the old French sign, lie chasseur Al
tere'-The Thirsty HuntSman.
1t occurs at Ipswich, and at Bentley.
near Ipswich. It IS also the sign Of q beer
house near Primer And there IS in a
back street in Dover an inn bearing the
sign, The Cause Is Altered From Pin
ner and from Ipswich comes the same ex-
pIanation: that the inn with the strange
name had been formerly misma mayed. and
that when a new landlord came upon the
scene the change Of policy was Haunted
on the signbOard.
Incidentally some more curious signs
are chroDicled by our correspondents 1t
viii, however. be hard to beat one in the
East End which II II does not exist now.
cannot have been demolished long. It was
called The Black Boy with the stomach
ache Dover supplies the Why NOtZ--
which we certainly do not remember to
have met before The Five Ais IS an
other sign which if not confined to Do
yer. is by no means common And in
there an inStanc-outside Bury in Lam
cashire-of Hank TO fowler as the sign
Of an inH2 fowler, we presume. was the
name OF hound.
4 correspondent writes: The sign of
Five Ais, from Dover, though rare, is
not unique, for there is one at MarIbor-
ouSh. The signboard bears q pictorial
representation of sovereign, with the
legend. II rule over all of priest with
Il pray for all Of a lawyer, with Il
plead for all of a soldier. with Il fight
for ALL and of John Bull, dressed as a
farmer. who remarks with a kind of sa-
tirical humor, Il pay for all"
Tho .'Hark to fowler must be referred
to those signs relating TO the hunt: for
instance, there is a -'Eark to Lasher"
near Castlet0n, DerbysFire; also ''HarIz
to Bounty" in stadium. Ciitherce. and a
''Hark up to Nudger' at Dobcross. Man
chester Meanwhile another correspond
ent sends us a strange sign from Axe
Street. Barking-thc Who'd Have
Thought it," It's origin is said to be the
surprise Of its first proprietor at obtaining
a license
n correspondent adds the following: In
some of the bush towns of Australia
which practically consist of enc main
street, there Is a public house at each
end. Entering the town in either direc-
ton one finds a swinging sign, displaying
= frOthed-up tankaTd. and the inscription
First Chance grateful sign to a man
who has ridden all through a sweIterfng
hot day On leaving the township the
Traveller sees on the back Of the sign
board a small wine glass and the fnscrip-
ton. Last Chance" But f he has had a
good nights rest and is mounted on a
fresh horse this side Of the Signboapf
does not offer the same Involvement to
draw rein; for The Case Is Altered -
London Chronicle.