as we may suppose, William, the Steward--John, the Butcher—and Richard, the Taylor, became from the disuse of the definite article, William Steward, John Butcher, and Richard Taylor, and hence arose the numerous tribes of the Drapers, Mercers, Glovers, Masons, Carpenters, Farmers, Tanners, Painters, &c. And here I may be allowed aptly to quote the following ancient, and poetic, legend :—

"From whence came Smith, all be he Knight or Squire, But from the Smith, that forgeth at the fire?"

and to add, that the name of Smith is derived from the Saxon Verb, smitan, to smite. Successively to these early ages, the intercourse of man still increasing in an equal ratio with that of population, every effort was instinctively, and simultaneously, resorted to for the avoidance of confusion by the creation of new appellatives, as the definite insignia of families. Rames were eagerly sought from the East, and the West, from the North, and the South, and even from the Moon. The human frame also from the Head to the Foot and Toe have been thus called in to aid the knowledge of Man, who has even usurped that word (the designation of his genus) as a personal name. The mental, and corporeal, endowments, powers, (6) and defects, are also embodied in the cause; hence arise the names of Wise, Good and Evil, Goodman, and Goodfellow, those of Large, and Small, Strong, and Swift, and, whilst that of Coward has been probably allotted to an ancient progenitor as a mark of disgrace, it

has with some hardship served to distinguish his descendant, although mayhap he be an Hero. The relative heights of man have also administered to his description, and the county of Wilts is full of the Longs, and the Shorts, albeit in the lapse of ages they may have often interchanged those relative heights.

Nay, so far have men gone in the search of appellatives drawn from themselves, that they have spared neither Old, nor Young, and even the Child has not escaped their grasp.

I have previously remarked, that the quarters of the globe have added to the nomenclature of man, so also did his relative situation; thus, Thomas of the East Town, or Ton, was called Thomas Easton, and in a like manner arose the names of Weston, Norton, and Sutton, since the two last are the corruptions of Northton and Southton. The elements have been also tributary on this occasion, hence have we the names of Raine, Snow, Tempest, and Hailstone, and the varied Season of the year hath yielded the Spring, Summer, and Winter. The Land, and the Waters have been ransacked for names. Men have in turn become Hunters, Fowlers, and Fishers. They have roamed over Mountains and Mounts, Hills, Rocks, Cliffes, Forests, Woods, Woodlands, Groves, Heaths, Downs, Fields, Banks, Lynches, Vales, Dales, Glens, Dells, Hollow-ways, Pitts, Caves, Denns, Meadows, Fenns, and Marshes, and they have ransacked the Rivers, Fords, Pools, and Lakes-they have thus secured to themselves the Lyon, Wolfe, Fox, Hare, Bull, Stag, Buck, Hart, Hind, Ram, Lamb, Beare, Hogg,

Martin, Beaver, Otter, and Batt-the Kite, Hawke, Crane, Heron, Peacock, Parrott, Nightingale, Swan, Duck, Fowle, Raven, Rooke, Crowe, Coole, Dove, Partridge, Woodcock, Sparrow, Finch, Larke, and Wren-the Whale, Dolphin, Seale, Codd, Salmon, Mackerell, Sole, Pike, Bream, Herring, Roach, Chubb, Tench, and Sprat. Man has also had recourse to the vegetable tribe; he not only seized on the general appellative of Tree, but he has appropriated to himself the Ash, Beach, Birch, Hawthorn, Hazel, Box, Holly, and Ivy, the Plumtre, Appletree, and Crabtree, and even descended to Pease, and Beans.

To close this tedious narrative on the origin of names. Even the dwelling of man gave to him" a local habitation, and a name :" that of House is well known, and several parts of the dwelling have also contributed to the same useful purpose; thus we have the names of Dore, Wall, Kitchen, Chamber, and Garret, and the inmate has even appropriated to himself the Lock and the Key. In very early ages the man of affluence sought also to have a room in his mansion of superior size, and grandeur, and this he denominated his Halle, and from the dwelling, so highly distinguished above its more humble fellows, its Lord was pointed out as Roger of the Halle, William of the Halle, &c., and then in time, by the dropping of the connecting words, he became Roger Halle, William Halle, &c. Let me not, however, be misunderstood. I say not-I infer not that John Halle was ever known by the name of John of the Halle

-certainly he was not. I only mean to present the origin of the name of Halle in previous ages, which was often, we may presume, imparted by the man of rank to his relatives, and his retainers, and thus the name of Halle in the fifteenth century became of frequent occur

rence.

If any curious inquirer wish to enter into a fuller investigation of the very ramified origin of names, he may consult with advantage "The Remaines Concerning Britaine" by the venerable Camden, and the "Restitution of Decayed Intelligence in Antiquities concerning the most noble and renowned English Nation" by Verstigan.

I thus dismiss the subject, and, I fear, gentle Reader, you will dismiss me with the exclamation of "What's in a name!" (8)