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There are in the United Service Museum some stone cannon-balls used at the battle of Navarino . Pistol . — " Doting death is near ; Therefore exhale "—( Act ii . sc . 1 . )
This " exhale " is an old poetical word for death ; it is the breathing out of life . Thus another poet has—- " He sparkled , and exhaled , then went to heaven . " " His mountain sire , on mountain standing . ' '¦— ( Act ii . sc . 4 . )
This line as it stands is obscure enough , nor if for " mountain " be substituted " mounting" is the sense more clear , for immediately afterwards follow the words , " on mountain standing . " Coleridge is , I have no doubt , right in saying " . instead of 't ( 6 His mountain ( or mounting ) sire , on mountain standing / it ought to be read , c his monarch sire , ' that is , Edward the Third . " < ¦
" Figo for thy friendship . "—( Act iii . sc . 6 . ) " Afico for thee , then . "—( Activ . sc . 1 . ) Prom these words the expression has arisen , " a fig for such a one , " meaning he is not to be valued at the ^ cost of a fig , or straw . This fig ovfigo was not the fruit bearing the like name , but comparatively worthless amulets of coral or jet , termed by the Italians fiche , and by the Spaniards figa . These amulets were worn as charms against witchcraft , and to remove disease , by nations of the East , and were called amulets , because they were supposed " wnolirip
" to remove everything hurtful , " both to the body and the soul . As this point is disputed , we have no wish to dogmatise . Johnson says , a fig or fico for you is " an act of contempt done with the fingers , " and other commentators affirm it is " an allusion to the custom in Spain of giving poisoned figs . " If the latter be the true solution , it is evident that the modern expression has lost its ancient malignity .
This day is called the feast of Crispian "—( Act iv . sc . 3 . ) " Crispinus and Orispianus , " says Bishop Mant , " were brethren , and born at Rome : from whence they travelled to Soissons in OFrance , about the year 303 , in order to propagate the Christian religion . But because they would not be chargeable to others for their maintenance , they exercised the trade of shoemakers . The governor of the town , discovering them to be Christians , ordered
them to be beheaded about the year 303 . Erom which time the shoemakers made choice of them for their tutelar saints . "—( Book of Common Prayer . ) It is to be regretted that so little is known about these and other good old men of the ancient time : even in ' Shakespeare ' s days , little seemed to be known concerning these popular saints , whose festival , kept on the 28 th of October , was a day for social merry-making .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
There are in the United Service Museum some stone cannon-balls used at the battle of Navarino . Pistol . — " Doting death is near ; Therefore exhale "—( Act ii . sc . 1 . )
This " exhale " is an old poetical word for death ; it is the breathing out of life . Thus another poet has—- " He sparkled , and exhaled , then went to heaven . " " His mountain sire , on mountain standing . ' '¦— ( Act ii . sc . 4 . )
This line as it stands is obscure enough , nor if for " mountain " be substituted " mounting" is the sense more clear , for immediately afterwards follow the words , " on mountain standing . " Coleridge is , I have no doubt , right in saying " . instead of 't ( 6 His mountain ( or mounting ) sire , on mountain standing / it ought to be read , c his monarch sire , ' that is , Edward the Third . " < ¦
" Figo for thy friendship . "—( Act iii . sc . 6 . ) " Afico for thee , then . "—( Activ . sc . 1 . ) Prom these words the expression has arisen , " a fig for such a one , " meaning he is not to be valued at the ^ cost of a fig , or straw . This fig ovfigo was not the fruit bearing the like name , but comparatively worthless amulets of coral or jet , termed by the Italians fiche , and by the Spaniards figa . These amulets were worn as charms against witchcraft , and to remove disease , by nations of the East , and were called amulets , because they were supposed " wnolirip
" to remove everything hurtful , " both to the body and the soul . As this point is disputed , we have no wish to dogmatise . Johnson says , a fig or fico for you is " an act of contempt done with the fingers , " and other commentators affirm it is " an allusion to the custom in Spain of giving poisoned figs . " If the latter be the true solution , it is evident that the modern expression has lost its ancient malignity .
This day is called the feast of Crispian "—( Act iv . sc . 3 . ) " Crispinus and Orispianus , " says Bishop Mant , " were brethren , and born at Rome : from whence they travelled to Soissons in OFrance , about the year 303 , in order to propagate the Christian religion . But because they would not be chargeable to others for their maintenance , they exercised the trade of shoemakers . The governor of the town , discovering them to be Christians , ordered
them to be beheaded about the year 303 . Erom which time the shoemakers made choice of them for their tutelar saints . "—( Book of Common Prayer . ) It is to be regretted that so little is known about these and other good old men of the ancient time : even in ' Shakespeare ' s days , little seemed to be known concerning these popular saints , whose festival , kept on the 28 th of October , was a day for social merry-making .