_Sir John Vanbrugh_ (Vol. vii., p. 619.).--Sir John Vanbrugh was the grandson of a Protestant refugee, from a family originally of Ghent in Flanders. The Duke of Alva's persecution drove him to England, where he became a merchant in London. Giles, the son of this refugee, resided in Chester, became rich by trade, and married the youngest daughter of Sir Dudley Carleton, by whom he had eight sons, of whom Sir John Vanbrugh was the second. The presumption is he was born in Chester, but the precise date is unknown. ANON. _Erroneous Forms of Speech_ (Vol. vii., pp. 329. 632.).--With regard to your two correspondents E. G. R. and M., I hold that, with Cowper's disputants, "both are right and both are wrong." The name of the _field_ beet is, in the language of the unlearned, _mangel-wurzel_, "the root of poverty." It acquired that name from having been used as food by the poor in Germany during a time of great famine. Turning to Buchanan's _Technological Dictionary_, I find,-- "_Mangel-wurzel._ Field beet; a variety between the red and white. It has as yet been only partially cultivated in Britain." In reference to the assertion of your later correspondent, that "such a thing as mangel-wurzel is not known on the Continent," I would ask if either he or his friends are familiar with half the beautiful and significant terms applied to English flowers and herbs? If he prefer using mangold for beet, he is quite at liberty to do so, and I believe on sufficiently good authority. What says Noehden, always a leading authority in German: "_Mangold._ Red beet; name of some other plants, such as lungwort and sorrel." Mangold is here, then, a generic term, standing for other plants equally with the beet. One suggestion, however; I would recommend the generic term, when used at all, to be used alone, leaving the more familiar appellation as it stands, for the adoption of those who prefer the homely but suggestive phraseology to which it belongs. E. L. H. _Devonianisms_ (Vol. vii., p. 630.).--_Plum_, adj. I am at a loss for the origin of this word as employed in Devonshire in the sense of "soft," _e.g._ "a _plum_ bed:" meaning a soft, downy bed. Query: Can it be from the Latin _pluma_? And if so, what is its history? There is also a verb _to plum_, which is obscure. Dough, when rising under the influence of heat and fermentation, is said to be _plumming_ well; and the word _plum_, as an adjective, is used as the opposite of _heavy_ with regard to currant and other cakes when baked. If the cake rises well in the oven, it is commonly said that it is "nice and plum;" and _vice versa_, that it is heavy. _Clunk_, verb. This word is used by the common people, more especially the peasantry, to denote the swallowing of masses of unmasticated food; and of morsels that may not be particularly relished, such as fat. What is the origin of the word?