I am not enough of an etymologist to give you the root of the word "noise." But my faith in "Mr. HICKSON" in this capacity is not strong enough to lead me to believe, on his dictum, that "news" and "noise" are the same word; and when, pursuing his fancy about "neues," he goes on to say that "noise" is "from a dialect from which the modern German pronunciation of the dipthong is derived," I fear his pronunciation of German is faulty, if he pronounces _eu_ in "Neues" like _oi_ in "noise." [We differ from our correspondent on this point, and think that here, at all events, Mr. HICKSON has the advantage of the argument.] I beg to repeat that for "Mr. HICKSON" I feel great respect. If he knew my name, he would probably know nothing about me; but I happen {488} to know of him, what perhaps, some of your readers do not, that he has unostentatiously rendered many considerable services not only to literature but to our social and political interests. In my humble opinion, his recent essay in your columns on _The Taming of the Shrew_ is a contribution to our literary history which you may be proud of having published. But I feel that I cannot too strongly protest against his derivation of "News." CH. * * * * * REPLIES TO MINOR QUERIES. _Dr. Whichcot and Lord Shaftesbury_ (No. 24. p. 382., No. 27. p. 444.).--I am obliged to "COLL. REGAL. SOCIUS" for his notice of my inquiry. The Lord Chamberlain and Chancellor of Cambridge University mentioned in Lord Lauderdale's letter to Dr. Whichcot, is the Earl of Manchester. Shaftesbury was never either Lord Chamberlain or Chancellor of Cambridge. I may mention that Whichcot's intimacy with Lord Shaftesbury would probably have been brought about by his being incumbent of the church of St. Lawrence Jewry, Shaftesbury having his London house in the latter part of his life in Aldersgate Street. If it is not committing unpardonable trespass on that useful part of your publication in which books and odd volumes are asked for, I will go on to say that I should be glad to have a copy of the volume of Whichcot's _Sermons_ (1698) which the third Lord Shaftesbury edited, at a reasonable price. CH. _Elizabeth and Isabel_ (No. 27. p. 439.).--Mr. Thomas Duffus Hardy, in his evidence on the Camoys Peerage case (June 18. 1838, Evidence, p. 351.) proved that the names of Isabella and Elizabeth were in ancient times used indifferently, and particularly in the reigns of Edward I. and Edward III. Mr. Hardy says in his evidence:--