"... That the Captain they trusted so well
Had only one notion for crossing the ocean,
And that was to tingle his bell."

The Hunting of the Snark, Fit the Second, Lewis Carroll. The Captain, is, of course, the Bellman.

The secret of most things is to be found, if not in this poem, in the song whose name is called "Haddocks' Eyes".

*claps hand to head amid cries of why didn't I think of that?*

Let this be a lesson to you all, ffellow fforumites, to never overlook the bleedin' obvious.

Thanks, Mike.



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I am very interested in the Universe. I am specialising in the Universe and everything surrounding it. - E. L. Wisty

That's brilliant; well done Mike and thanks for putting my mind at rest at last.

Jon, not sure if you saw me mention it before but if you want more information about the Harris Bacon factory mentioned in WOTLP I can probably furnish it (it used to be just along the road from where I live, but closed down about a decade ago). If on the other hand I'm inducing loud egg-sucking noises here, please forgive me and blame it on me still being a newbie. Ta.

(Makes his courtesy.)

As to hear/here, Cobbett's 'Parliamentary History' records "Hear him! Hear him!" back to 1689. The OED gives "Hear! Hear!" as a contraction of that first recorded in 1769 in a parliamentary speech by Lord Cavendish.

"Here, here" is much older, but usually with a different meaning; again, the OED gives it as a "answer to a call or summons, or to attract attention" as early as 1330.

So, if you say "here, here" as a form of agreement, you're wrong. Let's not have any of this descriptivist nonsense about the language moving and developing - it's a mistake, pure and simple.

But did Mr F. mean that in these two cases, or does he mean something else?

As Heathcliffe obviously doesn't agree with what has just been said (see the next page) I'd say it was something else there - precisely what is left as an exercise for the reader (I dunno; I'm a pedantic sod who usually gets C- for interpretation; I prefer people to say what they mean, like Humpty Dumpty). The earlier Catherine use looks much more like an error, unless it is a setup for Heathcliffe's entrance.

Of course, it could all be sloppy typesetting. You can't get the staff, you know.

TBH I haven't scanned thro' WOLP in fine detail yet (I'm waiting for the pukka edition) so there are lots of references I haven't picked up at all. In any case, if anyone wants to send me information about things (as it might be bacon factories), feel free. All contributions welcome; do not worry about teaching me to suck eggs, just assume complete ignorance on my part. (You won't be far wrong, most of the time). It is very easy to overlook things, or to be confident about something being x when it is in fact y. (As in the Great Shakespeare's Mother Fiasco of 2002).



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I am very interested in the Universe. I am specialising in the Universe and everything surrounding it. - E. L. Wisty

"The Great Shakespeare's Mother Fiasco of 2002"? I don't recall hearing about that before, would you care to elucidate?

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"This was willed where what is willed... can get rather silly."

heheheh, Jon was that also known as the Anne Hathaway mixup?

Ann Hathaway ... Mary Arden .... sound so similar anyone could have got them confused ....

(It refers to the Notes for LIAGB, which see here; check out Chapter Three, p. 30.)



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I am very interested in the Universe. I am specialising in the Universe and everything surrounding it. - E. L. Wisty

Oh, THAT "fiasco". Right.

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Warning! Product may contain Newts!

The one and only time I've had licence to look smug. The rest of the time I've looked idiotic....



PSD

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This is the work of an Italian narco-anarchic collective. Don't bother insulting them, they can't read English anyway.

Well having now seen that my suggestion regarding "hear hear" has actually been ratified, noted and incorporated by Jasper himself over on the TWOLP Upgrades I almost feel the same way myself PSD, except not so much smug as gobsmacked. Almost feel like I belong here now! Wow! All this AND getting a namecheck on the FAQ's page, and all in the space of a week too. Finally I've made my mark and actually achieved something in literary circles... *blushes*