86
NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. vn. FEB. 2, 1901.
gested that the word is a malformation. Some
one had imported an invoice of cabas from
France, and sold them at so much a caba.
cannot vouch for this personally, but it seems
not unlikelv. RICHARD H. THORNTON.
Portland, Oregon.
CORPSE SUPERSTITION. In the Republic of Colombia (S.A.) dead bodies in country places are frequently left lying about, tied to bamboos, in front of the church door, await- ing the open parish coffin and bearers to carry them to the cemetery. Church service is not performed as a rule, though bells are rung.
It is considered dangerous for infants to be brought near one of these corpses, the body being said to impart its own chilliness to the child, which will probably pine and die, unless bathed in decoctions of certain herbs gathered in the full moon. Delicate persons as well as children are supposed to be in- fected by coming near a corpse ; and pregnant women must not be in the house with one. People, when they wish to avoid helping at a funeral, excuse themselves by remarking that " they have a small family at home, and consequently are afraid of touching a corpse." Anybody who has coine from a house wnere a death has iust taken place will on no account be admitted into a sick-room nor allowed to handle a baby.
In Antioquia the moment a death takes place the body is removed from the bed and laid on the ground, in the belief that should the corpse be left on the bed the soul will not go to heaven. IBAGUE.
'KENSINGTON PALACE,' BY E. LAW. In this useful guide there is a misprint on p. 93. The date on the portrait of a child is 1634, not 1654. The pictures are mostly described from the point of view of the spectator. But this principle has been overlooked in one or two cases. "Left" is wrong in Nos. 5 and 98, but would be right in Nos. 57, 58, 93, 97. Probably these defects will not be left in the next edition. E. S. DODGSON.
THE LAST MALE DESCENDANT OF DANIEL DEFOE. The funeral of Mr. James William De Foe, the last descendant in the male line of Daniel Defoe, the author of 'Robinson Crusoe,' took place at Bishop Stortford cemetery on 12 Jan. The difference in the spelling of the name is explained by the family's having reverted to the original name De Foe, of which Defoe is merely a corruption. The late Mr. De Foe was the great- great - great-grandson of the immortal Daniel, and was eighty-two years of age at the time of
his death. The above particulars may be
worth preserving in the pages of ' N. & Q.
FREDERICK T. HIBGAME.
1, Rodney Place, Clifton.
"GAUCHO." In the new volume of the ' H.E.D.' this word is described as " probably from some native South American language." This is correct. According to Lentzner ('Tesoro de Voces Hispano-Americanas,' 1892), it belongs to the Araucanian language of Chile. Gactiu in Araucanian means "cama- rada, amigo." There is, I believe, onlv one other Araucanian word in English, and that has never been correctly explained in any English dictionary. The word I mean is poncho, which, according to A. Febres (' Dic- cionariq Araucano') and D. Granada ('Vo- cabulario Rioplatense '), is poncho or pontho in the original Araucanian.
JAS. PLATT, Jun.
JEW AND ISRAELITE. An eminent friend of mine in the Education Department is anxious to induce writers upon specifically Jewish matters to adopt some fixity of principle in respect of the usage of the words "Jew," "Hebrew," and "Israelite." He contends that they are by no means identical themselves in shades of meaning, and might easily be confined to the particular variation of modes of thought to which they were originally assigned. He would like to use the word " Jew " only in a spiritual sense when discussing purely religious phenomena. I presume Jewish philosophy would be included. That is well enough. I fail, however, to see his points of differentiation as well as he does himself with regard to " Hebrew " and " Israelite. " " Hebrew " he desires to apply to " nationality," which at the present time is but a figment a splendid figment of the Zionistic imagination while "Israelite" is to be confined to the idea of race. Personally, I detest the word " Israelite," and never should use it in my work. It always makes me imagine that my people may become the sport of parties in this country.
M. L. R. BRESLAR.
LIVING IN THREE CENTURIES. Instances of this cannot be so numerous that reference to them in ' N. & Q.' would demand too much space. The following is taken from the Glasgow Evening Citizen of 2 January :
"Mrs. McEwan, who resides at Bridgend, In- verkip, and who was born near the Glenlean Powderworks, between Sandbank and Glendarnel, one hundred and two years ago, was in her usual health yesterday, and is now living in her third century. Mrs. McEwan had several visitors yester- day, who wished her a happy new year, but did
