, me, utraque manu impulsum, praecipitat super
lectum."--Petron. _Arb. Sat._ cap. 94.

The classical reader will at once recognise the force of the words
"rabiem," "efferatus," "praecipitat," in this passage. The expression
"utraque manu" may not at first sight arrest his attention. It seems
always used to express the most intense eagerness; see

"Ijecit utramque laciniae manum."--Pet. _Arb. Sat._ 14.

"Utraque manu Deorum beneficia tractat."--Ib. 140.

"Upon which Menedemus, incensed at his insolence,
answered,--'Nothing is more necessary than the preservation of
Lucullus;' and thrust him back _with both hands_."--Plutarch,
_Life of Lucullus_.

"Women have a sort of natural tendency to cross their husbands:
they lay hold _with both hands_ [a deux mains] on all occasions
to contradict and oppose them, and the first excuse serves for a
plenary justification."--Montaigne, _Essays_, book 2. chap. 8.

"Marmout, deceived by the seemingly careless winter attitude of
the allies, left Ciudad Rodrigo unprotected within their reach
and Wellington jumped _with both feet_ upon the devoted fortress
of Napier," _Pen. War_, vol. iv. p. 374.

Any apology for the unwarrantable length of this discursive despatch,
would, of course, only make matters worse.

C. FORBES.

Temple.

* * * * *

ETYMOLOGICAL NOTES.

1. _Gnatch._--"The covetous man dares not gnatch" (Hammond's
_Catechism_). From this, and the examples in Halliwell's _Dictionary_,
the sense seems to be "to move." Is it related to "gnake?"

2. _Pert._--I lately met with an instance of the use of this word in the
etymological sense _peritus_: "I beant peart at making button-holes,"
said a needlewoman.

3. _Rococo._--A far-fetched etymology suggests itself. A wealthy noble
from the north might express his admiration for the luxuries of Paris by
the Russian word [Cyrillic: roskosha], or Polish _roskosz_. A Frenchman,
catching the sound, might apply it to anything extravagant enough to
astonish a barbarian.

4. _Cad._--The letters from Scotland ascribed to a Captain Burtt,
employed in surveying the forfeited estates, give an account of the
"cawdies," or errand boys, of Edinburgh.

5. _Fun_, perhaps Irish, _fonamhad_, jeering, mockery (Lhuyd,
_Archaeologia Britannica_).

6. _Bumbailiff._--The French have _pousse-cul_, for the follower or
assistant to the sergeant.

7. Eper