d Madawaska. By the way, I forgot to notice of
this last, that Captain Levinge, in his _Echoes from the Back Woods_, &c.,
vol. i. p. 150., derives it from Madawas (Micmac), a "porcupine;" whilst
_The Angler in Canada_ (Lanman), p. 229., says that it means "never
frozen," because part of the river never freezes. Which is right?

Tcherkask. Every one knows that the capital of the Don Cossacks is
eminently a water city. According to Pallas, the Circassians (Tcherkesses)
once were located in the Crimea. They may have extended their influence to
the Don, and the name in question may be a synthetic form of
Tcherkesse-aska.

Damasca (Latinised Damascus) is famed all over the East for its waters. The
name of the ancient city was Damas, "Le Demechk, ou Chamel-Dimichk, des
Orientaux" (Malte-Brun, viii. 215.).

The modern city is said to be called Damas, or I Domeschk, though it seems
more generally known as El Sham. Bryant says it was called by the natives
_Damasec_ and _Damakir_, the latter meaning the city (Caer?) of Dams, or of
Adama (_Mythology_, &c., vol. i. p. 69.). Can it have once been Adama, or
Dama-asca?

In Great Britain we have rivers and lakes called severally Esk, Exe or
Isca, Axe, and Usk.

Axe seems to have been written _Asca_ at one time; for Lambarde gives
Ascanmynster as the Saxon name of Axminster. Hence, also, we may infer that
Axholme Island was once Ascanholme. The Exe was probably Esk, _i.e._ water,
or river: it certainly was Uske. Iska is the British Isk Latinised by
Ptolemy; for Camden says Exeter was called by the Welsh _Caerisk_, &c. Usk
or Uske was written _Osca_ by Gyraldo Camb. (See Lambarde.)

Kyleska, or Glendha, ferry in Sutherlandshire. Kyle-aska? Kyles (Ir.), a
frith or strait.

Ask occurs frequently as the first syllable of names in England, and such
places will be almost invariably found connected with water. Camden
mentions a family of distinguished men in Richmondshire named Aske, from
whom perhaps some places derive their names, as _p. ex._ the Askhams,
Askemoore, &c. Askrigg, however, being in the neighbourhood of some
remarkable waterfalls (Camden), may have reference to them.

Now, from places let us turn to things, first noticing that _usk_, in
modern Welsh, means river. In Irish, _uisce_ or _uiske_ is water. In Hebrew
and Chaldee, _hisca_ is to wash or to drink. (See Introduction to
Valancey's _Irish Dictionary_.) In the same we find _ascu_ (ancient Irish),
a water-serpent or