The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 14, No. 387, August 28, 1829. Various

      "An't please the Pigs." In this phrase there is not only a peculiarity of dialect, but the corruption of a word, and a change of one thing for another. In the first place, an, in the midland counties, is used for if; and pigs is evidently a corruption of Pyx, the sacred vessel containing the host in Roman Catholic countries. In the last place, the vessel is substituted for the power itself, by an easy metonymy in the same manner as when we talk of "the sense of the house," we do not mean to ascribe intelligence to a material building; but to the persons in it assembled for a deliberate purpose; the expression therefore signifies no more than "Deo volente," or God willing.

      "Bumper." In many parts of England any thing large is called a bumper. Hence a bumping lass is a large girl of her age, and a bumpkin is a large-limbed, uncivilized rustic; the idea of grossness of size entering into the idea of a country bumpkin, as well as that of unpolished rudeness. Dr. Johnson, however, strangely enough deduces the word bumpkin from bump; but what if it should prove to be a corruption of bumbard, or bombard: in low Latin, bombardus, a great gun, and from thence applied to a large flagon, or full glass. Thus the Lord Chamberlain says to the porters who had been negligent in keeping out the mob.

      "Baiting of bombard" is a term for sitting and drinking, which Nash in his "Supplycacyon to the Deuyll," calls by the like metaphor, "bear baiting." So Shakspeare again in the "Tempest," says,

      Which Theobald rightly explains thus: "A large vessel for holding drink, as well as the piece of ordinance so called."

      "Latter Lammas." Lammas day is the first day of August, so called quasi, Lamb-mass, on which day the tenants that hold lands of the Cathedral of York, which is dedicated to St. Peter, ad Vincula, were bound by that tenure to bring a living lamb into the church at high mass.—Cornell's Interpreter. Lammas day was always a great day of account, for in the payment of rents our ancestors distributed the year into four quarters, ending at Candlemas, Whitsuntide, Lammas, and Martinmas, and this was as common as the present divisions of Lady day, Midsummer, Michaelmas, and Christmas. In regard to Lammas, in addition to its being one of the days of reckoning, it appears from the Confessor's laws, that it was the specific day whereon the Peter-pence, a tax very rigorously executed, and the punctual payment of which was enforced under a severe penalty, was paid. In this view then, Lammas stands as a day of account, and Latter Lammas will consequently signify the day of doom, which in effect, as to all payments of money, or worldly transactions in money, is never. Latter here is used for last, or the comparative for the superlative, just as it is in a like case in our version of the book of Job, "I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth," meaning of course the last day, or the end of the world. That the last day, or Latter Lammas, as to all temporal affairs is never, may be illustrated by the following story:—A man at confession owned his having stolen a sow and pigs; the father confessor exhorted him to make restitution. The penitent said some were sold, and some were killed, but the priest not satisfied with this excuse, told him they would appear against him at the day of judgment if he did not make restitution to the owner, upon which the man replied, "Well, I'll return them to him then."

      "Lydford Law." In Devonshire and Cornwall this saying is common:

      Sometimes it is expressed in this manner; "Lydford Law, by which they hang men first, and try them afterwards." Lydford was formerly a town of note, but now an inconsiderable village on the borders of Dartmoor, not far from Tavistock. It is famous for a ruined castle, under which is a dungeon that used to be a prison for the confinement of persons who offended against the Stannary Courts of Tavistock, Ashburton, Chapford, and Plimpton. These Stannary Courts were erected by a charter of Edward III. for the purpose of regulating the affairs of the tin mines in Devonshire, and of determining causes among the tinners, whether criminal, or actions for debt. The proceedings were very summary, and the prison horribly offensive. Near Lydford is a famous waterfall, and a most romantic view down the river Lyd; over which is a curious bridge built with one arch. The parish is the largest in the kingdom, including the whole Forest of Dartmoor. William Browne of Tavistock, and the author of Britannia's Pastorals, gives a humorous description of Lydford in the reign of James I.

      THE CONTEMPORARY TRAVELLER

      JOURNEY IN SEARCH OF THE RED INDIANS OF NEWFOUNDLAND

      In the island of Newfoundland, an institution has been formed for opening a communication with, and promoting the civilization of, the Red Indians; and procuring, if possible, an authentic history of that unhappy race of people, in order that their language, customs, and pursuits, may be contrasted with those of other tribes of Indians and nations. The interior of the island is less known than any other British possessions abroad; but, from the exertions of the above Society, more information has been collected concerning the natives, than has been obtained during the two centuries and a half in which Newfoundland has been in possession of Europeans. The last journey was undertaken by W.E. Cormack, Esq., president of the Society. His report has appeared in a recent Number of the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, and will, we are persuaded, be interesting to our readers: