the First, on the King's arrival in England, with
whom, being united with an opposition party, he was no favourite, the
Scottish monarch gave him this broad reception: "Rawly! Rawly! true
enough, for I think of thee very _Rawly_, mon!" There is also an enigma
contained in a distich written by a lady of the times, which preserves
the real pronunciation of the name of this extraordinary man.

What's bad for the stomach, and the word of dishonour,
Is the name of the man, whom the king will not honour.

Thus our ancient personal names were written down by the ear at a period
when we had no settled orthography; and even at a later period, not
distant from our own times, some persons, it might be shown, have been
equally puzzled how to write their names; witness the Thomsons,
Thompsons; the Wartons, Whartons, &c.

NAMES OF OUR STREETS.

Lord Orford has in one of his letters projected a curious work to be
written in a walk through the streets of the metropolis, similar to a
French work, entitled "Anecdotes des Rues de Paris." I know of no such
work, and suspect the vivacious writer alluded in his mind to Saint
Foix's "Essais Historiques sur Paris," a very entertaining work, of
which the plan is that projected by his lordship. We have had Pennant's
"London," a work of this description; but, on the whole, this is a
superficial performance, as it regards manners, characters, and events.
That antiquary skimmed everything, and grasped scarcely anything; he
wanted the patience of research, and the keen spirit which revivifies
the past. Should Lord Orford's project be carried into execution, or
rather should Pennant be hereafter improved, it would be first necessary
to obtain the original names, or the meanings, of our streets, free from
the disguise in which time has concealed them. We shall otherwise lose
many characters of persons, and many remarkable events, of which their
original denominations would remind the historian of our streets.

I have noted down a few of these modern misnomers, that this future
historian may be excited to discover more.

_Mincing-lane_ was _Mincheon-lane_; from tenements pertaining to the
Mincheons, or nuns of St. Helen's, in Bishopsgate-street.

_Gutter-lane_, corrupted from _Guthurun's-lane_; from its first owner, a
citizen of great trade.

_Blackwall-hall_ was _Bakewell's-hall_, from one Thomas Bakewell; and
originally called _Basing's-haugh_, from a considerable family of t