Mifanthropos was the name of an ill-natured man, which he obtained by a custom of catching a great number of mice, then fhutting them up in a room, and throwing a cat among them. Upon which his fellow-citizens called him Mice and throw pufs. The reader obferves how much the orthography hath been changed with out altering the found: but fuch depravations we owe to the injury of time, and grofs ignorance of transcribers.

Among the ancients, fortunetelling by the ftars was a very beggarly trade. The profeffors lay upon ftraw, and their cabins were covered with the fame materials: whence every one who followed that mystery was called A frawlodger, or a lodger in ftraw; but in the new-fangled way of spelling, Aftrologer.

It is remarkable, that the very word Dipthong is wholly English. In former times fchool-boys were chaftifed with thongs, faftened at the head of a ftick. It was obferved that young lads were much puzzled with fpelling and pronouncing words where two vowels came together, and were often corrected for their mistakes in that point. Upon thefe occafions the mafter would dip his thongs (as we now do rods) in p-; which made that difficult union of vowels to be called Dipthong.

Bucephalus, the famous horfe of Alexander, was fo called becaufe there were many grooms employed about him, which fellows were alway buy in their office; and, becaufe the horse had fo many buy fellows about him, it was natural for thofe who went to the ftable to fay, "Let us go to the bufy

fellows;" by which they meant, to fee that prince's horfe. And, in procefs of time, these words were abfurdly applied to the animal itfelf, which was thenceforth ftyled Bufy fellows, and very improperly Bucephalus.

I fhall now bring a few proofs of the fame kind, to convince my readers that our English language was well known to the Jews.

Mofes, the great leader of thofe people out of Egypt, was in propriety of speech called Mow feas down in the middle, to make a path for the Ifraelites.

Abraham was a perfon of strong bones and finews, and a firm walker, which made the people fay, he was a man (in the Scotch phrafe, which comes nearest to the old Saxon) of a bra ham; that is, of a brave strong ham, from whence he acquired his name.

The man whom the Jews called Balam was a fhepherd; who by often crying Ba to his lambs, was therefore called Baalam, or Balam.

Ifaac is nothing else but Eyes ake; because the Talmudifts report that he had a pain in his eyes. Vide Ben Gorion and the Targum on Genefis.

Thus I have manifeftly proved, that the Greeks, the Romans, and the Jews, fpoke the language we now do in England; which is an honour to our country that I thought proper to fet in a true light, and yet hath not been done, as I have heard, by any other writer.

And thus I have ventured (perhaps too temerariously) to contribute my mite to the learned world; from whofe candour, if I may hope to receive fome approbation,

it

it may probably give me encou ragement to proceed on fome other fpeculations, if poffible, of greater importance than what I now offer; and which have been the labour of many years, as well as of conftant watchings, that I might be ufeful to mankind, and particularly to

mine own country.

Defcription of a Rape-threfbing, in the North Riding of Yorkshire; from a letter by the Rev. Mr. Comber to the publishers of the Museum Rufticum.

I

T is the established cuftom, in this part of the world, to receive no money for any part of the labour of threshing of rape; but then the farmer is obliged to treat all who come, not only with meat, but drink, infomuch that he makes a feast, and this for all comers. He brews feveral quarters of malt; he kills à fat beast and feveral fheep; he has his oven more than once filled with pies, puddings, and bread; he has a idler at every cloth; he has barrels of ale ready broached near every cloth; and perfons to attend, that every comer may be fupplied to his

with.

For fear he fhould be obliged to have more than one day (the expence of which is fo great, as to fall fomewhere between ten and fifteen pounds) he not only invites all his relations, friends, acquaintance, and neighbours near, but even at fome diftance; and there. fore, if the propofed day, of which they have notice fome time before, prove rainy, it is a terrible lofs to

him; for the people who come must be entertained.

The confequence of this is, that the farmer has always great num. bers of ufeless, troublesome, and expenfive guells. Every man. who brings his flail from any diftance, brings his wife, his daughter, or both, or even little children, to partake of the feast.

Another bad confequence is, that almost every man is ambitious of being a thresher, which is a work he may make almoft as light as he pleafes; and when there are more threshers than fufficient, they confound both each other and the attendants, who cannot bring the rapes, or remove the ftraw or feed for them. The farmer has often not influence enough to perfuade thefe volunteer idlers, rather than workers, to become bearers rather than threshers, though the former are abfolutely neceffary to find the latter work. He is obliged to obferve fome measures with thefe fhameless people, whom he muft confider as guests and friends, though they do much more harm than good, and are indeed only devourers. For this reafon he is obliged to appoint feveral friends of experience and fome authority, who can decently take more liberty than himself, and sometimes ufe reproaches, and vent, from time to time, fuch fage maxims as this, Every minute is an bour;" that is, it is equally precious as an hour at another time; or, "All of you in a minute can do what one would in an hour." By thefe means, a field of twelve acres has been often threshed in a fingle day.

The numbers of people on the
S 2

field

field are fuch, that the farmer frequently knows not the greater part, nor dares he afk them their names, or places of abode, as fuch a question would be thought a vio lation of hofpitality, and fecure to him, and perhaps his defcendants, the name of mifer. Such are the obstacles, above hinted at, to a reform in this fhameless practice. Many people come to the field fo well dreffed, that their drefs is a plain proof they do not intend to work. A neighbour of mine is thought to have had three hundred people, or more, on his field. As it is impoffible to entertain thefe in any farm-houfe, the farmer erects long cross tables, formed of planks laid over firkins, on fome dry pleafant hill near his houfe, and, if he can, under fhade. The very people employed in preparing and conducting the feaft are a confiderable number.

The fight of thefe preparations for dinner, and the defire of having nothing to do but to eat, drink, fing, and dance, are the ftrongest, nay almoft only, inducements to the tumultuous multitude to finish the work, which is indeed completed in a very few hours. They begin at ten or eleven in the morn ing, and end at two or three in the afternoon. From this time, all is a fcene of riotous merriment. Though the graver people retire fooner, the wilder fay till next moreing, or at leaft till they have drunk the farmer dry.

One great inconvenience attends ing our method of threshing of rape, regards not the farmer who threshes, but the public; and this is, the drawing a vaft number of useful hands and eyes, both the workers and the overfeers, from country bufinefs, especially our hay-harvest, in a whole track of country; fo that, if we happen to have three or four rape-fields in our neighbourhood, it is incredible how much we fuffer in our hay, &c. especially if the weather proves catching, as it has been remarkably this year.

.

Another great inconvenience attending this method of threshing is, that the damp weather, which often prevents threshing, spoils the fresh meat provided, and puts the farmer to the expence of new provisions. I have known a farmer provide three times.

The laft inconvenience which I fhall mention is, that all comers turn their horfes into the farmer's ground neareft to his houfe, which is almost always his cow-pafture; and forty or fifty hungry horfes or even a much lefs. number, do him infinite damage there, espe cially if his pafture be not large and well grown. I have endeavour ed, gentlemen, to perform the of fer made by

Your humble fervant,
THO. COMBER,jun,

Eaft-Newton, Auguft 21, 1764.

POETRY