We are sorry to see the really respectable work of Mr. Dwight on "Germany," to which we have drawn the reader's attention, sullied by such miserable attempts at wit as the following. Speaking of mutilations, sometimes experienced But where begin, and oh! more hard how end by the German students in their disgraceful contests, he observes.

Oh! when, majestic virtue! wilt thou rise
And spurn such paltry things, or blast them with
thine eyes?

But the hard consciousness of blood and crime
Had smote my soul and quench'd its burning
glow;

I wander'd forth, and in a foreign clime,

To find a refuge from that stunning blow,

teemed peculiar to certain counties being remnants of the language formerly in general use." NARES.

ON SOME OF THE DIALECTS OF THE WEST
OF ENGLAND.

The historical introduction, on Provincialisms in general, will have led the

I sought to learn what few can rightly know-reader to expect a prevalence of Anglo

The poet's hallow'd fire, the sages lore

Not unsuccessful, but in vain the woe
Within my bosom hid, for years I bore
All silently, untold, to many a distant shore.

Oft too I sail'd on pleasure's idle stream
Where goblets sparkled, and where beauty

smil'd;

But soon I knew things are not what they seem:
From these I fled to view, alone, the wild
Sublimity of Alpine mountains, pil'd
In savage grandeur to the changeless snow,
That crowns the earth. If aught has e'er be-
guil'd

My torture, for a moment, 't was the show
Of mighty nature spread, above, around, below,

Some craggy pinnacle on which I stood.

Oh! who can gaze upon that deep blue sky, Where Faith has plac'd the mansions of the good,

Behold the high rocks rear their forms so
high!

They curb the tempest as it flashes by ;
Look on the lakes, the hills, the fields, the woods,
The lightning clouds, that far beneath them
lie,

And think of self? On the rapt mind intrudes
No bitter thought, in those enchanted solitudes.
My own lov'd mountains will not yield a grave.
Immortal Greece! my heart then turns to
thee-

To thy fair land, where Freedom's banners wave
O'er men, whoes deeds proclaim their spirits

free

As were their fathers-men whose names shall

be

To after ages as their sires' to this:

Saxon words in the dialects of Somersetshire and the neighbourhood, mixed, of course, with the Danish. Until within the last few years we were in possession of no Glossary of the peculiarities of this portion of Britain; but, recently, Mr. James Jennings, honorary secretary of the Metropolitan Literary Institution of London, has given to the world a small volume entitled "Observations on some of the dialects in the west of England, particularly Somersetshire" with a Glossary of words, now in use there; and poems and other pieces, exemplifying the dialect.

The philological knowledge of Mr. Jennings, unfortunately, does not seem to have fitted him well for the task; his definitions are, doubtless, accurate, but, in the more interesting part, the etymological, he is extremely deficient. "I have made" he remarks "an occasional suggestion in the Glossary relative to the etymology of some of these words. A few are evident

ly derived from the Latin, and the Monachism, no doubt, of some of our forefathers, and a few from the French: but by far the greater part have, I presume, an Anglo-Saxon, some, perhaps, a Danish origin."

Two of the most remarkable peculiarities in the dialect of the west of England and particularly of a large portion of Somersetshire are the sounds given to the letters a, and e. A has almost universally, the sound it has in father, in bâll, tâll, câll &c. it is thus pronounced. The e, has most commonly the same sound as in French, or as a in plane, cane, lane &c. Th th has the sound of d; thread, through, thrash, throng &c. being universally pronounced, dread or dird, droo, drash, drong &c. D.C.T.

Old Marathon! and thou! Thermopyla!
And ye all-glorious waves of Salamis,
Will ye begrudge the tomb, where centres all
my bliss?

The Matathesis or change of place in

ENGLISH PROVINCIALISMS.-No 3. the letters, which, as has been remarked, is

"Collections of provincial dialects would often have been extremely useful; many words es

common amongst the cockneys, is equally so here; thrush, brush, rush are called dirsh, birsh, hirsh &c. and clasp, hasp, asp

&c. are converted into claps, haps, aps.

Another peculiarity consists, in adding the letter y to many of the common verbs, in the infinitive as well as in some other parts of conjugations. I can't sewy, he can't reapy, he can't sawy are common expressions; as well as to sewy, to reapy to sawy.

Another peculiarity, and probably a vestige of antiquity, is the custom of converting the monosyllables into dissyllables: air, both, fair, fire &c., being pronounced, ayer, booath, fayer, vier &c.

Farmer Bennet. I've a got nothing vor ye ta do, Jan; bit Mister Boord banehond 11 ta I jist now that tha war gwain ta wimmy, and that tha wanted zumbody to help 'em.

Jun Lide. Aw, I'm glad o't, I'll hirn auver an zee where I can't help em: bit I han't a bin athin 12 tha drashel o' Maester Boord's door vor a longful time, bin I thawt that Missis didn' use Hester well; but I dwon't bear malice, an zaw I'll goo.

Farmer Bennet. What did Misses Boord za or

do ta Hester, then?

Jan Lide. Why, Hester, a-ma-be, war zummet ta blame too; vor she war one o'm, d'ye zee that rawd skimmerton 13 thic ma game that time to a done wi' jitch litter, or jitch stuff, or frunted zum o'tha gennel-vawk. Tha zed 'twar

I dwon know what tha called it; bit tha war a frunted wi' Hester about it; an I zed nif tha war a frunted wi' Hester, tha mid be a frunted wi I.

The auxiliary verb to be is made nearly regular in its separate tenses. "I be, thou beest or bist, thee beest, we be, you be, they or tha be are constantly heard: but rarely he be, but he is. In the past tense, war for was and were is always used; as I war, thee or thou wart, he war, This zet Missis's back up, an Hester han't a bin we war, you war, they or tha war. We'm is also often heard for we are, you'm for you are and they'm for they are.

The pleonasm, pointed out in the last article on provincialisms, of prefixing a to many words, prevails also in the west of England, as alost, agone, abought &c, for lost, gone, bought, &c.

But the most offensive orthoepical variation from correct English is in the substitution of the z for s, and of the v, for f. The oi is always also sounded like wi; as spwile, bwile, print, pwison for spoil, boil, point, and poison.

All these and other more trifling peculiarities will be seen in the following composition by Mr. Jennings, entitled :

a choorin 14 there zunz. Bit 'tis niver-the-near
ta bear malice and zaw I'll goo auver an zee
which way
the wine da blaw."

1. Tacker. The waxed thread used by shoe makers from the verb to tack, to stitch together.

2. Kittle-smock and kittle. A smock

frock; whence derived is not clear.
3. Withers. Others.
4. Yarn. Earn.

5. Sar. To serve, to earn as “ I can sar but zixpence" a day.

6. Bran. A brand; a stump of a tree or other irregular and large piece of wood fit only for burning, what in Virginia would be called a "chunk." Mr. Jennings considers that the word bonfire is a corruption from brand and fire, or as they term it, in the west of England, bran-vier, a fire of Farmer Bennet. Jan! why dwon't ye right my clear from the composition of the word: but brands; that such is its origin there, is

shoes?

"Farmer Bennet an Jan Lide."

A DIALOGUE.

Jan Lide. Bin, maester 'tis zaw cowld, I can't work wi' tha tacker 1 at all; I've a brawk it ten times I'm shower ta da-da vreaze za hord. Why Hester hanged out a kittle-smock 2 ta drowy, an

other provincialisms are not so favorable
to the idea. Bayle in Scotland means a
flame or blaze of any kind from Isl. Baal a
fire; and bayle-fire or baal fire is a bon
In the north of England the 7 has
been exchanged for n, and hence baan-fire.
Baal-fire is therefore in all probabi ity the
This is infinitely
etymon of Bon-fire.
more probable than the idea of Skinner
that the compound is derived from the
the Latin, bonus or French, bon, good and
fire; and more so perhaps than that of Mr.
Todd who supposes that the primitive
meaning of the word might be "a fire
made of bones," The Anglo-Saxon ball

in dree minits a war a vrauz as stiff as a paw-fire.
ker : an I can't avoord ta keep a good vier--I wish
I cood, I'd zoon right your shoes an withers 2
too-I'd zoon yarn 4 zum money, I warnt ye.
C'an't ye vine zum work vor me, maester, theaze
hard times. I'll do any thing ta sar 5 a penny.
I can drash, I can cleave brans 6 I can make
spars 7 I can thatchy, I can shear ditch, an I can
gripy 8 too, bit da vreaze za hord. I can wim-
my, 2 I can messy, or milky nif ther be need
'ot. I ood'n mine dreav'in plough or any theng.

and Suio-Gothic baal, denoting a funeral pile and the Anglo-Saxon Bael-fyr, the fire of a funeral pile, are in favor of Mr. Todd's supposition-but the Icelandic Baal signifies a "strong fire in general and bael-a means to burn."

12. Athin, within.

13. Rawd Skimmerton. « Rode Skimmerton."-This, according to Mr. Jennings, is an exhibition of riding, by two persons, on a horse, back to back: or of several persons in a cart, having skimmers and ladles, with which they carry on a sort of warfare or gambols, designed to ridicule some one who unfortunately possesses an unfaithful wife or, according to Mr. Todd, who has been beaten by her. The game is now almost obsolete. Mr Todd has however noticed it in the last edition of his Dictionary.

ANDIRONS OR ENDIRONS.

A recent number of the "Yankee" affords a good example of the abuse of philology, regarding Andirons.

By the by" observes the writer "our andirons are properly and-brasses, are they not? Or should they be written handirons or handbrasses? Or do we not employ a superfluous conjunction whenever we say shovels, tongs and andirons? May it not be that originally these articles, being all made together and invoiced together by the manufacturer, stood thus on paper-shovels, tongs and irons ?" [ !!]

September 1829. Skinner believes, that they were originally called handirons: but this is not likely. In the North of England, the term endirons is employed to designate two large movable iron plates used to contract the fire place, and this was probably the original word. Todd, in his edition of Johnson, says, they are called in the north, brandirons, but in this we think he is mistaken. The only words, resembling this, that we know, are brander and brandreth signifying an iron, fixed over the fire, on which the kettle or any cooking utensils are placed from Anglo Saxon brnadred, a brandiron, or Teut brandroede a brandrod. The Scotch use brander and brandreth to signify a gridiron. Then fresher fish shall on the brander bleez,

And lend the busy browster wife a heez.

ALLAN RAMSAY. To brander also means "to broil on a gridiron :"

"But now, Janet, canna ye gie us something for
supper?

Ou ay, sir, I'll brander the moorfowl that John
Heather-blutter brought in this morning."

SCOTT's Waverley.

14. Choorin, Choor means a job, any dirty household work, and a woman who End Irons have been called also cobgoes out to execute such jobs is called a irons from Belgic kop, a head and knobchoorer or choorwoman, whence in Mr. irons, "because" as Minsheu 66 says they Johnson's opinion, the term char-woman, be andirons with great knobbes or round pronounced chairwoman. Char is howev-heads, called also creepers, because they er a common old English, and originally stand bowing in the chimney, as though Saxon, word, signifying a job or task. they were to creepe."

"As the maid that milks,

"And does the meanest chars."

SHAKSPEARE.
The dialects of the North of England,
in our next.
R.D.
258.

"Bearing them in hand," also meant, in the
older writers, flattering their hopes, keeping
them in expectation. See Jonson's Fox," Act

1. Scene 1.

The French call them chenéts, a diminutive of chien a dog-and dogs they are frequently termed by us, from being sometimes made to resemble that animal.

BAD BREEDING.

The following extract from the "Eclogues" of old Barclay, who flourished in

the sixteenth century, satirizes some errors |
against good breeding, still existing in the
present, more polished, age, especially in
steam boat entertainments.

"A special custom used is them amonge,
"No good dishe to suffer on borde to be longe
"If the dishe be pleasante, whether fleshe or
fishe,

"Ten handes at once swarme in the dishe;
"And if it be fleshe, ten knives shalt thou see
"Mangling the fleshe, and in the platter flee:
"Put there thy hands in peryl without fayle,
"Without a gauntlet or a glove of mayle."

UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENCE.

guished from anhydrous bodies by the action of water?

When chlorine and ammoniacal gas come together, what are the products?

When neutral salts decompose each other why are their products also neutral?

What substances are employed to precipitate, 1. The metals from the earths. 2. The earths from the alcalis potassa and soda?

What is meant by an equivalent or proportional part?

SCHOOL OF PHARMACY AND MATERIA
MEDICA.

Enumerate the causes which tend to render the composition of vegetable medicines irregular?

What medical effects characterize the prepa

Public Examination.-Continued from rations of lead, iron, and mercury.

page 208.

SCHOOL OF CHEMISTRY.

Give examples of the following classes of medicines, not derived from the vegetable portion

Enumerate the attractions and products of the of the materia inedica, viz., stimulants, tonics, following decompositions :-viz.

1. When cyanide of mercury is acted upon by sulphuretted hydogen.

2. When cyanide of mercury and muriatic acid are exposed to each other.

3. When phosphuret of lime is put into water. 4. Where a metallic sulphuret is operated upon by an acid and water.

5. When nitric acid converts tin into the peroxide.

6. When a metal is placed in contact with an acid and water.

emetics, cathartics, diuretics and sedatives.

Give the proximate composition and active constituents of cinchona bark and opium.

Give examples of decomposition, solution, precipitation and crystallization.

In what manner is it supposed that calomel improves the diuretic powers of digitalis, squills, &c.

tic.

Give the composition and uses of tartar eme

What is the difference between solution aud fusion and between the terms evaporation and

7. When one metal precipitates another from sublimation? its saline solutions.

What is the nature of Secale cornutum and for

8. When strong nitric acid precipitates iodine what purpose is it employed in medical praefrom solution of hydroiodate of soda.

tice?

To what circumstance, independent of rancidity, are we to attribute the occasional violence of action and emetic effects of castor oil? What is the composition of oxymuriate of mercury?

What properties are combined in rhubarb which renders it particularly eligible in cases of diarrhea?

Why is castor oil better adapted to the cure of dysentery than other cathartics?

What fluids are employed for pharmaceutical purposes, and what are the advantages of each? How are diaphoretics supposed to diminish fe

Peroxide What are the distinctive properties of protox-brile heat? ide of nitrogen, deutoxide of nitrogen and of nitrous acid gas?

What is the difference of composition between a sulphuret and a hydrosulphuret of a metal? What is the difference between hydrates and solutions, and how may the former be distin

Mention the values attached to the divisions of troy weight.

PUBLISHED BY F. CARR.

University Press.-JAMES ALEXANDER, Printer.