ii. DEC. si, 1904.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
539
The spelling Witeham (for the former) in
Domesday Book suffices. The medial -e-, as
in many other examples, regularly repre-
sents an A.-S. -an, so that wite means A.-S.
witan, gen. of wita, a "wit" or counsellor,
also used as a proper name ; whence Witham
means " Wita's home," as I have said already.
The spelling Witteham merely means that
the i is short, as is the fact.
The welcome note on guiih in Old Welsh (ante, p. 466) shows quite clearly that (as I expected) it has nothing whatever to do with Witham. It was meant to explain the name of the Isle of Wight, which it entirely fails to do. WALTER W. SKEAT.
With reference to the letter of MR. J. COLES concerning Witham, may I state that in my younger days, being a great walker (with map in pocket), I asked a countryman if I was on the right road for Wrotham ? He failed to understand me, and at last said, "Oh! aye! Rootam, you mane, sir." I thanked him, and walked on.
EDWARD P. WOLFERSTAN.
National Liberal Club.
GOVERNOR STEPHENSON OF BENGAL (10 th S. ii. 348, 437, 492). Some time during the eighteenth century a person of this name, a native of Keswick, Cumberland, went to India, and after a successful career returned to Keswick, where he built a large house, still (I think) standing. This house was always known as " Governor's House." Per- haps this is the person inquired about.
MISTLETOE.
O'NEILL SEAL (10 th S. ii. 287). Your cor- respondent may possibly find a clue by a reference to the Kilkenny Archceological Journal, 1858-9, p. 38, where, according to Dr. Joyce's ' History of Ireland,' Owen Koe O'Neill's signet, with coat of arms, is figured.
ALEX. LEEPER.
Trinity College, University of Melbourne.
NOTES ON BOOKS, &o.
La Bretagne. Par Gustave Geoffrey. (Hachette
& Cie.)
Ix the latest annual Messrs. Hachette quit the domain of Art for that of Nature. In place of 'L'Enfant' and other subjects of recent gift- books, they now present us with a rhapsody concerning Brittany, written by a son of the soil, and inspired by a patriotic appreciation of its beauties. Superb photographs, attaining the latest degree of excellence in what may now claim to be art, illustrate a volume of singular attractions, and recall to the traveller spots of inexhaustible picturesqueness and interest. To the journeying
Englishman Brittany is as well known as it is to-
the average Frenchman, and there are few of us
who are not familiar with its rugged hills, its fertile
valleys, its rock-bound coasts, its archaeological
and architectural remains. Without possessing great
ecclesiastical monuments such as grace the adjacent
districts of Normandy and Anjou, it is surprisingly
rich in beautiful churches, ancient chapels, cal-
varies, and the like. In no other part of France
does religion seem to enter so closely into the life
of the people, and nowhere else is there the same
sense of dream and reverie. For the lover of Celtic
remains its menhirs and dolmens are of unparalleled
interest. A representation of the superb ' Menhirs
du Moulin' at Quiberon constitutes an admirable
frontispiece to the volume. To the English traveller
portions of Brittany have a striking resemblance to
England, due in a great measure to the hedgerows,
which, if they ever existed in other parts of France,,
have principally disappeared. Englishmen ordi-
narily enter the country through the superb portal
of St. Malo, with its quickly receding tide, and
their first excursion is likely enough to be up the
river Ranee from Dinard to the grey walls and
towers of Dinan, picturesque still, though, as in
many another feudal city, the moats and fosses
have been filled up and converted into boulevards.
With the Frenchman, and notably with the Parisian,,
it is different. He reaches Brittany from the east
by Vitre, upon the Vilaine a smiling little town,
with a superb chateau, all towers and pignons on
the route from Paris or Le Mans to Rennes.
Thence we are conducted to Northern Brittany,,
extending to St. Malo and La Manche. It is im-
possible to follow M. Geoffrey through his interest-
ing volume, most of which leads us over familiar
ground. His book is written with much discretion
and some animation. The iniquities of the Revo-
lution in places such as Nantes are glided over,
and the book seems to us the product of a
confirmed republican. When opportunities for
dealing with the atrocities of Gilles de Rais, one of
the supposed origins of Bluebeard, are afforded,
they are all but neglected. Reading carefully
the volume, and comparing its statements with
our own recollections, now remote, and with the
descriptions of Jules Janin, now almost antiquated,
we feel as if a portion of the charm of Brittany
were being lost, like the language. A propos of
that, a well-to-do Breton proprietor near Vannes
told us, half a century ago, that his father knew
Breton and no French, that he himself knew French
and Breton, and that his son knew French and no
Breton. The chief charm of the book lies in the
illustrations, which are matchless. Whether we
contemplate long stretches of sea with the solitary
and almost inaccessible phare, the moorland with
its druidical monuments, the cathedrals, chateaux,
stretches of pastoral scenery, the black mountains,
or peasant costume, the effect is equally delightful.
In typographical and bibliographic details the work
is no less attractive, and a pleasanter souvenir and
a handsomer present is not to be hoped.
The Complete Poetical Work* of Shelley. Edited,
with Textual Notes, by Thomas Hutchinson,
M.A. (Oxford, Clarendon Press.)
IF we are disposed to call this an ideal edition of
Shelley it is because, in view of the demand upon
shelf-room involved in elaborate editions of the
poets, we are disposed to favour editions in one
volume. We have owned from its first appearance
