the citadel and Fort Neuf broke into distinguishable objects. We were congratulating ourselves on the prospect of a speedy termination to our cares, when our carrabucchiere put up the helm, and ran between the main land and the black rock nearly opposite the eastern end of Corfu. We had seen so many of our master's vagaries, that submission we knew to be the only alternative. There was a wealthy Turkish merchant in the neighbourhood waiting for goods from the islands and Venice, Yanni had fixed upon him as his victim. Under a miserable shed, the front of which was propped up by a pair of poles, something in the manner of a tailor's board, on a low daïs cushion, the old man was seated. Here he gave audience to his numerous visiters from sunrise till its going down; bale goods and packs lay scattered about, and half-a-dozen miserable animals (attended by as many Arab surar-gees) were tied to olive-trees hard by. Yanni approached, touching the old Turk's papouche and then his own caput, as a sign of humility. "Thulosis, affendi," and "Proskenoumen,"-(Your servant, my lord, and I prostrate myself,)-were liberally dealt forth for the first halfhour. In two hours the wily Greek had gained the heart of the unsuspecting Turk: goods, money, &c. were intrusted to Yanni's care; and had the harem of the Turk been in the vicinity, and of any value, Yanni would have been its possessor. In accomplishing this, there had been no loud jabbering, or quick reply; Yanni had acquired his object by the most powerful of Greek weapons-flattery. The merchandise was shortly on board, and nothing remained to disturb the prolific brain of the carrabucchiere, but the mode of providing a substitute for the absent Spiro. This he was not long in devising. The surar-gee was despatched to a neighbouring village; returning with a fellow ready to adopt any name in the Greek Calendar, again we were under way.

The reflection of being about to undergo an imprisonment of forty days in a miserable lazaretto is not the most pleasing at any time; neither is the reflection improved by the knowledge of its being brought about through the cupidity of a rascally Greek. To our interrogations we could obtain no other reply than "Tipotes enai,”—(it is nothing.) We had been unwilling witnesses to the dexterity of the carrabucchiere in extricating himself and us from former difficulties; there was no other course than trusting to him in this. Some time before daylight, we had dropped anchor in the port of Corfu. Scarcely had day broke when a noise commenced, which those only who have been long sojourners in the Mediterranean can imagine. The arrival of a boat from any place is the arrival of its gazette; and Barba Yanni was not backward in making his known; to all he had an ever-ready reply. In a few minutes a guardiano inquired who he was, and from whence he came? to which the necessary answers were given. Shortly after he was called on shore to undergo the severer ordeal of the Capo di Sanita. In no degree daunted, Barba Yanni repaired on shore. It was an anxious half-hour before we heard anything further of the carrabucchiere. At length we espied him paddling towards the boat, shouting at the top of his voice," Pratiqua! Pratiqua!" and in a few minutes we were free.

The book had been produced, the tapers lighted, and Barba Yanni had solemnly sworn that neither he nor passengers had had communi

cation with any living soul from the moment of our departure until our arrival!

If the traveller should visit Napoli di Romania, he may perchance take an evening stroll in the square of the Trois Puissances; in all probability he will meet with Barba Yanni. Time and the frequent gratification of some of his inclinations have given the old man's nose that tinge from which he derived the appellation of Cokinos. However, his Majesty King Otho has few better subjects in his dominions than Barba Yanni.

BRITISH SIRNAMES.

"EVERY man has a name; and every man, if his attention should happen to be turned in that direction, must feel some curiosity to know of what that name is significant, and how it originated. But although, in the daily intercourse of men, the subject meets our eyes and ears more than almost any other, yet very few have thought it worth their while to make it the object of deliberate discussion, and still fewer of premeditated investigation." It may be said, What's in a name? and, although we all remember that our old friend Mr. Shandy thought it of such consequence as to influence the destiny of the individual to whom it was attached, and therefore a subject worthy of the gravest deliberation, still most of us will be inclined to think, that as a rose by any other name would smell as sweet," so a man by any other name than that by which he is called would be as good or bad. Zimmermann says, "A good name will wear out; a bad name may be turned; a nickname will last for ever," and so odd are some of the family appellations in this country, that they seem to bear out this last assertion, since many of them were undoubtedly a sort of nickname, attached originally, from circumstances, or qualities of mind or disposition, to particular individuals, and handed down to their descendants from past to present time.

The rude aboriginal inhabitants of this country, our Celtic ancestors, no doubt distinguished each other by single appellations, as they were, in all probability, not sufficiently numerous to require more; some few of these remain, even now, in parts of the country where remains of the Celtic language may still be traced;-such as Cairn, signifying a sepulchral hill; Benn, a promontory; Gillies, a servant; Braithwaite, a steep inclosure; Glynn, a valley; Linn, a mountain stream; Callan, a boy; Doity, saucy, nice; Douce, sober, wise; Doylt, stupid; Eldritch, ghastly; Fell, keen, biting; Pen, successful, &c. &c.

The Romans, during their possession of Britain, with the proud feelings of conquerors, held themselves aloof from the inhabitants of the country, and consequently few of their names can be traced amongst We now and then meet with one, such as Felix, Marcus, Julius, Carus, Cæsar, and some few others; the last, Cæsar, was perhaps given in derision to some one possessed of the opposite qualities to his great namesake.

us.

From the time when the Saxons were invited over and settled in this

country, the subject of British sirnames becomes curious and interesting. These people, who brought their names, language, habits, and institutions with them, obtained such complete possession of the island that, from the period of their arrival, all record of the original inhabitants vanishes from the page of history. Many of them were, no doubt, extirpated, and others so completely mixed up with the new occupiers of the land, as to become no longer distinguishable as a people. In proof of this, many of our sirnames at the present time have a British or Celtic termination affixed to a Saxon name. Some few Danish names may also be traced, particularly along our eastern coasts, derived from the marauders of that nation during their occasional settlements in this country. It is astonishing that, after the complete conquest of the kingdom by the Normans in after times, so few purely Norman sirnames should be found amongst us; and the universal prevalence of Saxon appellations at the present day, proves how essentially the people remained the same under the sway of their foreign masters, and how little they assimilated with them. Indeed for a considerable period it appears that the names, language, and manners of the Normans spread only among the higher classes of society. Several celebrated linguists have discovered a similarity between the Saxon, Danish, and Norman languages, the last having been, like the two others, originally of a Teutonic race, though assimilated, in later times, to the French, from the proximity of those who spoke it to their Gallic neighbours." Our present list of English sirnames, therefore, is principally Saxon or Teutonic, with some British, partly in a simple and partly in a compounded state, a few French and a few foreign names, imported by occasional settlers." By far the larger class of English sirnames at this day is derived from the names of countries, towns, or residences; indeed the Saxons appear to have deduced most of theirs from this source; as York, Cheshire, Worth, Milton, Ireland, &c. Those of this kind may be distinguished by their various terminations, and a little attention will then demonstrate how very generally they prevail amongst us.

First are those ending in ton,-as Norton, the north town; Preston, the Sheriff town; Langton, the long town, &c. This is a family of a numerous progeny, and members of it will recur to the recollection of all of us. Those ending in wich, meaning a town at the mouth of a river, and sometimes only a town, we must suppose to be of near kin to the above,―as Sandwich, the town on the sand; Hardwich, the strong town; Nantwich, the town of the valley, &c. Then follow those who derive their names from villages, such as Winthorpe, the village of furze: Hillthorpe, the village of the hill; and all our other acquaintance terminating in thorpe. Claiming brotherhood with these are those, again, who write ham, signifying a hamlet, as the last syllable of their names; such as Pelham, Marsham, Graham, Farnham, with hundreds of others.

Those names ending in wood,-as Hazlewood, the wood of hazles; Elmwood, the wood of elms, &c., and others terminating in shaw, mean

See the Paper on this subject read before the Literary and Philosophical Society of Liverpool, by Mr. Merritt, a gentleman to whom the writer of this owes considerable obligation for many excellent ideas on British sirnames.

ing a small wood, as Fernshaw, the shaw of fern, &c.; with those taking durf, a thicket, as their last syllable, as Woodruff, Lendruff, &c., may be considered as forming one family of this class.

All such whose names terminate in ing, signifying a swampy bottom, may here claim a place; as Deeping, the deep ing; Wilding, the uncultivated ing, &c.; also those ending in den, dale, don, or dell, a small or deep valley; as Warden, Dovedale, Horndon, &c.

Those ending in ley, lea, or ly, a pasture, may next come forward and boast of Saxon origin, as Netherley, the lower field; Hanley, the field of the haven, &c.; as may also such as affix holm to any other syllable, as Burnholm, the hill of the river; Dunholm, the hill of the fortress, &c.

We may enumerate in this class, likewise, all names terminating in hill, as Churchill, Farnhill (sometimes written Farnell), &c.; such as end in stead, a home,-as Houghstead, Winstead, and others; also such as take for their last syllable combe, a valley; garth, an enclosed place; wold, a stony ridge; cock, a hillock; coates, a fold; stow, a place or seat; graves, a ward; steth, the bank of a river; thwaite, a pasture; hurst, a meadow; and many others which it would be tedious to enumerate. We must be content with having mentioned the prin cipal of them.

The names of our nobility were mostly of this class in ancient times, and were purely Norman French, many of them being derived from districts or towns in Normandy or France; as Beaufort, Montague, Nugent, Russell, or Rousselle, &c. Camden, in his "Remains," says that there is scarcely a village in Normandy that has not given its name to some of our great families, which proves how terribly our poor country must have been inundated with foreigners after the Conquest, and how deplorably the inhabitants must have been stripped of their property to enrich the new-comers. Some of our nobility at the present day also derive their family names from foreign occupations or trades, as Molyneux, Grosvenor, &c. "Many of them, however, still bear Saxon names, which shows that, after the Conquest, some of the old families retained their dignity, and that some were ennobled."* These, however, were in all probability very few; for though many noble families at the present day bear Saxon names, most of these have been ennobled in later times, as can be easily proved. Very few names among the higher classes, in early times, could be traced to trades or occupations; the line of demarcation was strongly drawn. Persons in the middle or lower ranks of life, however great might be their merits or services, were seldom elevated; happily that time is past; a brighter day has dawned, the sun of which, dispersing the mists of ignorance and prejudice, shines with a genial warmth on all. The present names of our nobility and upper gentry prove how many of these have risen from the middle rank by the influence of talent, by the wealth derived from industry and application, by deeds of arms, by professional success, and by many other meritorious causes. The truth of this will be shown in considering the other classes of British sirnames now to be mentioned.

We will next take those names which are derived from the parent,

*See Mr. Merritt's Paper.

and which were undoubtedly of very early adoption. Many of these were taken from "contractions, diminutives, or familiar appellatives of Christian names," as Wilson, Watson, Nelson, and a myriad of others. A great many were also taken from regular Christian names, as Johnson, Jacobson, Richardson, Williamson, &c. The Saxon epithet kin or kins, expressive of littleness or infancy, was also affixed to many Christian names, as Wilkins, little Will; Tomkins, little Tom; and this appellative was transmitted to the next generation as Wilkinson, the son of little Will; Tomkinson, the son of little Tom, &c. In Scotland, Ireland, and Wales, many families have Fitz, O, Mac, and Ap, affixed to their names, to express the same idea; as Fitzwilliam, the son of William; O'Dogherty, the son of Dogherty; Mac Donald, the son of Donald; 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, Clodpole, &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