_Photographic Excursions._--A few Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries
have formed themselves into a Photographic Club for the purpose of making
periodical excursions into the country, and so securing accurate views of
the objects of antiquarian interest in the different localities they may
visit. As it is intended that a copy of every photograph so taken shall be
deposited in the portfolios of the Society, the advantages likely to result
from this little reunion, both to the Society of Antiquaries and to
Archaeology generally, are very obvious.
* * * * *
Replies to Minor Queries.
"_To Garble_" (Vol. ix., pp. 243. 359.).--I venture, with deference, to
express a doubt as to whether E. S. T. T. has correctly defined either the
former or the present meaning of the verb _to garble_, when he says "it
meant a selection of the good and the discarding of the bad parts of
anything: its present meaning is exactly the reverse of this." The statutes
referred to by your correspondent, the first enacting that no bow staves
shall be sold ungarbled, and the second imposing a penalty on the sale of
spices and drugs not garbled, appear to me to indicate the former meaning
of the word to have been the selection (picking out) of the _bad_ and the
discarding of it. Experience shows that in all operations, involving the
separation of objects worthless and of value, such as weeding, sifting, and
winnowing, the former is removed from the latter and discarded. This view
of the case seems to be supported by the fact of the dust and dross sifted
from spices being called "garbles." The weeder removes weeds from flowers
or plants, the garbler removes garbles from spices and bad bow staves from
amongst good ones. Richardson's _Dictionary_ contains the following notes
under the head _Garble_:
"Fr. _Grabeler_; It. _Garbellare_. Cotgrave says, Grabeller, to garble
spices, &c., (and hence) also to examine precisely, sift nearly, look
narrowly, search curiously into."
After giving some examples of its use, Richardson says:
"As usually applied in England, to garble is to pick out, sift out what
may serve a particular purpose, and thus destroy or mutilate the fair
character of the whole."
To go no farther, the reports of the parliamentary debates, when a "Blue
Book" happens to furnish matter for discussion, amply confirm Richardson's
definition, that _to garble_ is to pick out what may serve a purpose. In
this sense, however, E. S. T. T. must admit that it would be as much
garbling to quote all the _good_ passages of a work as to quote all the bad
ones. May we not then assume the present meaning of the word _garble_ to be
this--to quote passages with the view of conveying an impression of the
ability or intention of a writer, which is not warranted by the general
scope of the work?