ial
characteristic of a _motto_, which one selects for the purpose of
declaring his own sentiments of conduct towards _others_, not to
deprecate or direct those of others towards _himself_.

The language employed is, in part, pure Italian, not antiquated, but
exactly such as is spoken by persons of education at the present day;
and if "S." would again examine the original MS., I make no doubt that
he would find the line written _Sovente mi sooviene (sovene)_, i.e. with
the personal pronoun in the dative instead of the accusative case. The
expression _mi souviene_ is equivalent to _mi ricordo_, but is a more
elegant form that the latter; and the meaning of the motto will be "I
seldom forget,"--a pithy and suggestive sentence, implying as much the
memory of a wrong to be avenged as of a favour to be required.

A. RICH, JUN. {460}

_Larig._--I am obliged by the suggestions of your correspondents "B.W."
and "C.I.R." (No. 24. p. 387.), to which I beg leave to offer the
following reply. The Dutch and Flemish (or Netherlandish, as they may be
considered one language until the fifteenth century) _Le'er_ and _Le'ar_
are simply contractions of _Leder_, as Tenkate observes, _euphonis
gratia_, by the omission of the _d_, which takes place in other similar
words; and what is remarkable in _Ledig_, empty, which becomes _Le'eg_.
_Le'erig_ is of course _leathery_, or _tough_; but _Lederen_ or
_Le'ersen_, would be used for _made_ of _leather_, and in A.-S., most
probably [A-S: hydig]. We have no such contraction in A.-S.: it is
always [A-S: Leether] and [A-S: Leethern]. The epithet, _leathery_-shields,
could hardly have been used where they are said to _resound_; and the
instance of _vaulted_ shields in Judith is, I think, conclusive. The
root of _Leder_ is possibly _hlid-an_, to cover HIDE? That of _Leer_
possibly _lieren_, amittere, privari?

I should have noted the instances of the word from Junius and Schilter,
which were not unknown to me, but for brevity's sake; and indeed I had
not Urry's _Chaucer_ at hand to verify the reference of Junius to the
Tale of Beryn, the only valuable portion of Urry's book. I knew that a
simple reference to the O.H.G. Lari would be sufficient for Dr. Grimm.

Thorkelin, in his very incorrect edition of Beowulf, has followed Lye,
in rendering _Lind haebbende_, Vexilla habens; and Haldorsen's
explanation of _Lind_ might have taught him better. Mr. Kemble has
rendered it _shield-bearers_, and gives