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Prior to his conquest of it, it was called Byzantium, famed in history as a bone of contention between the Tamerlanes and Badjazets. One part of the city is called Pera, and which is inhabited by the Franks, a name given by the Turks to all European Christians. was taken in 1453 by the Turks, who have kept possession of it ever since.

CORSICA.

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The ancient Greeks gave this island the name of Callista, and afterwards that of Cyrnus; and to the Romans it was known by its present appellation. By the French it is called Corse. Inhabited at first by a colony of Phoenecians, it was afterwards occupied successively by the Phoceans, and Etruscans, and the Carthagenians. The Romans succeeded to the latter, and settled two colonies here, which was the place of exile* for the Roman courtiers when they became obnoxious to the Emperors. On the destruction of the Roman empire, Corsica fell successively under the dominion of the Goths, the Greek Emperors, the Lombards, the Saracens ; and the latter, it is supposed, first gave it the title of a kingdom.

COPENHAGEN HOUSE.

"In olden times, so high a rise

Was, perhaps, a Tor or beacon ground,
And lit, or larm'd, the country round,

For pleasure, or against surprise."

The name of this celebrated Sunday resort, for Cockneys, is said to have been derived from a Danish prince, or a Danish ambassador, having resided in it during a great plague in London. Another representation is, that in the beginning of the seventeenth century, it was opened under its present name by a Dane, as a place of resort for his countrymen. Coopen Hagen" is the name given it in Camden's Britannia, published in 1695.

CANONBURY.

"As some old, stout, and lonely holyhock,
Within a desolated and neglected garden,
Doth long survive beneath the gradual choke
Of winds, that come and work the general spoil,
So Canonbury, thou dost stand awhile."

The more ancient edifice was erected by the priors of the Canons of St. Bartholomew, Smithfield, and hence was called Canonbury, to whom it appertained until it was surrendered with the priory to Henry 8th; and when the religious houses were dissolved, Henry gave the manor to Thomas, Lord Cromwell; it was afterwards a hunting seat of Queen Elizabeth's, and ultimately passed through other hands till it was possessed by Sir John Spencer, an alderman and lord mayor of London, known by the name of Rich Spencer," and who was the founder of the Northampton family, to whom this property belongs It was here Goldsmith wrote his "Deserted Village."

DUTCH CITIES AND TOWNS.

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Under the denomination of dam, the Dutch comprehend every sort of dyke raised to confine the waters of a river, or lake, for which reason it is, that most of the names they have given to their cities

* Seneca was banished to this island by Claudius, on account of his illicit connexion with Julia Agrippa.

and towns end in dam. Rotterdam owes its name to the dyke raised upon the Rotte, a river near the town. Amsterdam from the dyke on the Amstel. It is the same with Saardam, Schiedam, Monikdam, and many others.

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At the commencement of the last war, Lady Wittringham was speaking to a gentleman of the duplicity of the Dutch. Oh, d-n the Dutch!" replied he. "Excuse me, Sir," answered her ladyship, "rather un-dam them!"

DEAD SEA.

So called from its stillness, and bad qualities. No fish will live in its waters. It has, however, been said, that this water has a repulsive force, which makes men and animals float on its surface, and Josephus relates an experiment which was made on the subject, by the Emperor Vespasian. "Having caused the feet and hands," says he, of some of his slaves to be tied, he ordered them to be thrown into the sea, in his presence, in the deepest part thereof. None of them sunk to the bottom, and they all remained on the surface until it pleased the prince to give orders for their being taken out again."

DOWNS.

"All in the Downs a fleet was moored."

This term as applied to that part of the channel, lying near to the Sands, off the coast of Kent, derives its name from the circumstance, that it was at one period a Grazing Land for sheep, and which formed a part of the estate of the celebrated Earl Godwin. The land, however, in consequence of great inroads of the sea, ultimately disappeared, but the place has ever since retained the name of "the Downs," famed as a rendezvous for shipping

DAVIS STRAITS.

These Straits were discovered by Captain John Davis, in the year 1585, in consequence of which they were named after him.

ENGLAND.

England, with all thy faults I love thee still-
My country! and yet, while a nook is left,

Where English minds and manners may be found
Shall be constrain'd to love thee.

Cowper.

England was formerly called Samothea from Samothes (as some report), the sixth son of Japhet, who first inhabited here 252 years after the flood. It was also named Albion (as is said) from Albion, a giant, the son of Neptune, who after he had conquered the Samotheans, settled here 335 years after the deluge. Some say, it was called Albion al allis Rupilus, from the white rocks towards France, which is most probable. The Grecians called it Britain, for what reason is not known. It may be from Prittania, which signifies metals, they finding the island full of brass, tin, iron, gold, silver, and lead. Lastly it was named England, from Engloior, a place in Denmark, which was neither changed by the Saxons nor Normans, and retained that title 873 years, till James 1st came to the crown, and united England to Scotland, which is since called Great Britain. It was accounted the fortunate island, and Pope Innocent, in the reign ef Henry 3d, was so in love with it, that he would have come over to see it, if the king would have permitted him.

Another writer says,-Some British youth of both sexes being ex

posed for sale, as slaves, in the market place at Rome, were noticed by the Holy Father, who by accident was passing at the time.Struck with their singular beauty, he enquired from whence they came, when he was informed from Britain. Upon which, he observed, "Surely it must be a land of angels!" It is said, from this very circumstance, the Saxons, on taking possession of the island, named it Anglo-land, or Angel-land, but which, in process of time, became corrupted into England, which it has retained to the present day.

Another writer says,-Britain is derived from Prydain, the name given to it by the Britains upwards of two thousand years ago, and which signifies "the fair or beautiful Isle."-Ynys Prydain.

"Sons of the fair Isle, forget not the time

Ere spoilers had breathed the free air of your clime.
Darkly tho' clouds may hang o'er us awhile

The crown shall not pass from the beautiful Isle."

EUROPE.

This part of the globe was formerly called by the Romans, as it is at present by the Spaniards and Italians, by the name of Europa ;t but from whence that name originated has not been determined.By the English and French, it is styled Europe; by the Turks, Alfrank, or Rumalia; by the Georgians of Asia, Frankoba; and by the Asiatics in general, Frankistan.

EDINBURGH.

Edwin, king of Northumbria, possessed the entire territory from the banks of the Humber to the shores of the Frith of Forth; and it seems highly probable, that the appellation of this city was originally Edwin's-berg, or Edwin's-burgh, now Edinburgh.

EDMUND'S BURY.

St. Edmund's Bury, or Bury St. Edmund's, or simply Bury, as it is termed by some, derives its name from Edmund the Martyr, who was buried here. We are told, that "Canute paid great respect to the memory of St. Edmund, and built a magnificent church over his grave, since called Edmundsbury, in Suffolk, as well as a monastery."

ESCURIAL OF SPAIN.

This palace was built by Philip 2d, son of Charles 5th, Emperor of Germany, in the shape of a Grid-iron, out of compliment to St. Lawrence, of Grid-iron notoriety. The name of the building has a very humble origin. Ferriginous ores abound in the neighbouring mountains. Escoria, from the Latin Scoria, is the term in the Spanish language for metallic dross, and Escorial is the topographic derivation, signifying the locality for this dross. A corruption from the etymology has occasioned the change of the second vowel, whence the name Escurial, It is the country palace and mausoleum of the Spanish kings.

* From the ancient monarchial song of Britain, called "Unbennaeth Prydain," which the bard of the palace used to sing while the warriors were preparing for battle.

+ See Heathen Mythology-Jupiter and Europa.

FLAMSTEED HOUSE.

The Observatory in Greenwich Park derives its name of " Flamsteed House," from John Flamstead, the astronomer royal, who, on the 10th of August, 1675, laid the foundation stone of the said observatory, for watching the motions of the celestial bodies. He died at Greenwich, 31st December, 1719.

FRIENDLY ISLANDS.

A group of Islands in the South Pacific Ocean, so named by Capt. Cook, in 1773, on account of the friendship that appeared to subsist among the inhabitants, and their truly courteous behaviour to strangers.

GRAMPIAN HILLS.

"On the Grampian hills my father feeds his flock."

A chain of hills in Scotland, which extend in a north east direction from the mountain Benlomond, in Dumbartonshire, through the counties of Perth, Angus, and Kincardine, to Aberdeen; and thence in a north west direction, through the counties of Aberdeen, Banff, and Murray, and on the borders of Inverness. They take their name from a single hill, the Mons Grampius of Tacitus, and where the battle was fought so fatal to the brave Caledonians.

GOODWIN SANDS.

These dangerous shoals derive their name from the famous Earl Godwin, the father of King Harold, and who was one of the first who bore the title of Earl. Where the Sands are now, was formerly a large tract of land, that formed part of his estate, which was inundated by the sea in 1100, and which has ever since been rendered memorable for the loss of life as well as property.

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GERMANY.

Germany was originally called Allemania, from Alleman, i. e. in German, every man, denoting, that all nations were welcome there. It derives the title of Germany from the celebrated Germanicus.

GOSPEL OAK.

The famed Iron Works in Staffordshire, known by the cognomen of the Gospel Oak" Iron-works, derive their name from an oak in the vicinity, and which, it has been said, received its appellation from the circumstance of John Wesley first holding forth there to the colliers and miners of the neighbourhood. This, however, is a mistake, for it receives its pious title from the Puritans of Cromwell's time, who selected this spot for the " preaching of the word" to the benighted inhabitants of that district. Here the celebrated "Praise God Bare-bones" held forth, and it has been said, that the great Machiavel himsel (Cromwell), deigned in his earlier days

("When Gospel-trumpeter, surrounded,

With long-ear'd rout, to battle sounded,
And pulpit, drum ecclesiastick,

Was beat with fist, instead of a stick,")

to warn the sinful "sons of the mine" of their carnal transgressions.

HIGHBURY-BARN.

Highbury-barn is a place noted for London tea-drinkers. It was in the olden time a Barn belonging to the monks of Clerkenwell, now a tavern famed for its good cheer.

HAG-BUSH LANE.

Hag is the old Saxon word Haeg, which became corrupted into Haugh, and afterwards into Haw, and is the name for the berry of the hawthorn; also, the Saxon word haga signified a hedge, or any enclosure. Hence Hag, or Hawthorn-Bush Lane.

HERNE'S OAK.

Every one who has seen Shakspeare's admirable comedy of the Merry Wives of Windsor" represented on the stage, or even read it, has no doubt pictured to himself "Herne's Oak," where the fat and licentious knight is cleverly outwitted by the two dames of Windsor. Sir John Falstaff, whatever may be his situation, never loses his temper, or even his good humour; and when at midnight he is approaching Herne's Oak, disguised with a buck's head on, to meet Mrs. Page and Mrs. Ford, he finds room for self-consolation. "Remember, Jove," says he, "thou wast a bull for thy Europa : Love set on thy horns. O powerful love! that in some respects makes a beast of a man; in some other, a man a beast. You were also, Jupiter, a swan, for the love of Leda;-0, omnipotent love! How near the God drew to the complexion of a goose.'

Herne's Oak, a tree thus immortalized by Shakspeare, stood on the south-east side of the little park of Windsor. The reason why it was selected for the frolic with Sir John Falstaff, is the tradition attached to it, which Mrs. Page thus relates :

"There is an old tale goes that Herne the hunter
Sometimes a keeper here in Windsor forest,
Doth all the winter time at still midnight

Walk round about an oak with great ragged horns
And there he blasts the tree and takes the cattle,
And makes milch kyne yield blood, and shakes a chain
In most hideous and dreadful manner.

You have heard of such a spirit, and well you know,

The superstitious idle headed eld

Received and did deliver to our age,

This tale of Herne the hunter for a truth."

Herne is said to have been keeper of the forest in the time of Queen Elizabeth, and having been guilty of some offence, for which he expected to be discharged, hung himself upon this oak.

HASTINGS.

This town is on the eastern extremity of the coast of Sussex. Its Saxon name signified a town or castle, and owes its origin, according to Camden, to one Hasting, a Danish pirate, who, where he landed for booty, built sometimes little fortresses.

HOLY ISLAND.

The Isle of Lindisfarne is thus denominated, because of the number of Saints there buried.

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