▪ I. hem, n.1
(hɛm)
Also 4 hemm, hemn, 4–5 heme, 4–7 hemme, 6 hembe.
[OE. hem(m, recorded in one vocabulary, and not found in the other older Teutonic langs.; but NFris. has heam ‘hem, edge, border’, and Fris. a dim. hämel. App. from the same root as ham n.2, and NorthGer. hamm enclosure; the radical sense being ‘border’.]
1. a. The border or edging of a piece of cloth or article of apparel. In earlier times including a fringe or other marginal trimming.
| c 1000 ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 125/13 Limbus, stemning, uel hem. a 1300 Cursor M. 21136 Qua rin moght titest on his hemm [Trin. who myȝte furste touche his hem]. 13.. Guy Warw. (A.) 3664 Men miȝt wade ouer þe scho hem In þe blod þat of hem kem. c 1380 Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 59 If y touche þe hemn of þe cote of Jesus. 1382 ― Deut. xxii. 12 Litil cordis in the hemmes thow shalt make bi foure corners of thi mantil. ― Matt. xxiii. 5 Thei alargen her filateries..and magnyfie hemmys. 1483 Cath. Angl. 182/2 Hem (A. hemmes), fimbria, limbus, limbulus, lacinia, ora. c 1515 Cocke Lorell's B. (Percy Soc.) 2 As sone as the hemme is tore The sho is lost for euer more. 1553 Eden Treat. Newe Ind. (Arb.) 14 Ye hemme or edge of his cloke is beset with all maner of..Iewelles. 1833 H. Martineau 3 Ages iii. 85 The country was chalky, and whitened the hems of her petticoats. 1846 Trench Mirac. vii. (1862) 194 This hem, or blue fringe on the borders of the garment, was put there by divine command. |
† b. By extension: the skirt of a tunic or gown.
| c 1205 Lay. 4995 Heo nom hire on anne curtel..Hire hem heo up i tæh. c 1275 Luue Ron 167 in O.E. Misc. 98 Þe hwile þu hyne [mayden-hod] witest vnder þine hemme Þu ert swetture þan eny spis. 14.. Nom. in Wr.-Wülcker 679/8 Hoc gremium, a heme. |
2. spec. (in current use). A border made on a piece of cloth by doubling or turning in the edge itself, and sewing it down, so as to strengthen it or prevent ravelling, as in a handkerchief or a tablecloth; a piece of hemming.
| 1665 Hooke Microgr. 141 The upper side of the leaf, that by a kind of hem or doubling of the leaf appears on this side. 1758 J. S. Le Dran's Observ. Surg. (1771) 201, I took the Hem of a Piece of..Linen. 1758 Johnson Idler No. 13 ¶10 Molly asked me the other day whether Ireland was in France, and was ordered by her mother to mend her hem. 1842 Father Oswald 145, I..wear Spectacles..only when I am doing open hem by candlelight. 1877 Bryant Poems, Song of Sower v, By whom the busy thread, Along the garment's even hem And winding seam is led. |
† 3. The edge, border, rim, margin of anything.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 25 Swo diȝeliche [he] hit al dihte þat on elche feinge is hem onsene. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 1000 Iasper hyȝt þe fyrst gemme..He glente grene in þe lowest hemme. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1648 Hovande one þe hye waye by þe holte hemmes. 1607 Shakes. Timon v. iv. 66 Timon is dead, Entomb'd vpon the very hemme o' th' Sea. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 82 Imagine we now two Angels..over against each other, in the hem or rim of the world. |
| fig. 1649 G. Daniel Trinarch., Hen. IV, ccclxxxvii, The Refractions of his Spirit Gild Only the Hemme of Life. 1878 Browning La Saisiaz 39 Knowledge stands on my experience: all outside its narrow hem, Free surmise may sport and welcome! |
4. In technical uses: † a. A socket at the head of a still or the end of a length of pipe, etc., which serves to receive the end of a tube or pipe. Obs. b. The partition which divides the hearth from the fireplace in a reverberatory furnace; the firebridge. c. The outer edge of a millstone. d. Archit. See quot. 1823.
| 1559 Morwyng Evonym. 53 A blynde limbek is that which hath no nose nor beake, nor limbe or hembe. 1693 G. Pooley in Phil. Trans. XVII. 676 A Hearth..divided from the Oven it self by a Hem or Partition made open at the top. 1710 J. Harris Lex. Techn. s.v. Hem, The Ovens wherein..Calamine is baked, have..a Partition open at the Top, by which the Flame passes over, and so..bakes the Calamine. This partition is called the Hem. 1712 J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 195 The Joint [of a pipe] which is made with a Hem, or Collar is secured with Mastick and Hemp. 1802 Trans. Soc. Arts XX. 275 Each millstone is..eleven inches thick in the hem, and thirteen at the eye. 1823 P. Nicholson Pract. Build. 586 Hem, the projecting and spiral parts of the Ionic capital. |
5. Comb. hem-line, the outline of the hem, hence the height from the ground, of a woman's skirt.
| 1923 T. Eaton & Co. Catal. Spring & Summer 34 The modish uneven hemline. 1927 Vanity Fair Sept. 4/3 Liberty of opinion, in skirt lengths, hemlines, waistlines,..was convincingly demonstrated. 1929 Daily Tel. 16 Jan. 8/4 It is admitted that the hem lines of 1928 changed the whole contour of the evening mode as they flounced and floated in uneven length to the ground. 1957 New Yorker 30 Mar. 98/3 This year, she puts a minute and completely absurd circular godet, only three inches deep, at the hemline in front—to allow for striding, they say. 1958 T.V. Times 10 Oct. 21/2 Other girls put up their hem-lines a couple of inches as Paris dictates. 1971 R. Garrett Spiral x. 94 She fidgeted with the hemline of her skirt. |
▪ II. hem, int. and n.2
(h(ə)m, hɛm)
Also 6–7 hemme. 8 hemm, 9 h'm.
[A vocalized representation of the sound made in clearing the throat with a slight effort, consisting in a guttural or glottal aspiration followed by nasal murmur with the lips closed, more closely represented by hm or h'm. In spontaneous utterance, the actual sound is used; but, in reading, even the interjection is usually pronounced hem, as the n. and vb. regularly are. See also ahem, hum.]
A. int. An interjectional utterance like a slight half cough, used to attract attention, give warning, or express doubt or hesitation. Also used to represent the slight clearing of the throat of a hesitating or non-plussed speaker.
| 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 213 Hem, syr, yet beware of Had I wyste! a 1536 Calisto & Melib. B j b, Now forward now mume now hem. 1550 Crowley Epigr. 260 When he mette his frendes, than woulde he saye but, hem. 1552 Huloet, Hemme, a note of blamynge, disdeynynge, marueylynge, shewynge, or of taciturnitye. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. i. iii. 20 Cel. Hem them away. Ros. I would try if I could cry hem, and haue him. 1614 Beaum. & Fl. Wit at Sev. Weap. i. ii, Oldc. Sed quod est tibi nomen?..Pris. Hem, hem. Witty. He's dry; he hems; On quickly. 1763 C. Johnson Reverie II. 151 Hem! ahem! In the first place, said he, clearing his voice. 1855 Dickens Dorrit i. viii, Gardens are—hem—are not accessible to me. |
B. n. The utterance of this sound; the sound itself as a fact.
| 1547 Boorde Brev. Health lxxi. 20 After every sygh make an hem, or cough after it, and use myrth and mery company. 1658 Sir R. Temple in 5th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. 172/1 My friend heard them all give a general hemme after Goffe's speech in token of satisfaction. 1679 Jones in Trials Green, etc. Murder Sir E. Godfrey 10 Whenever a man should come before and make an hem, it should be a sign to Berry to open the Gate. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 269 ¶3 My friend..is not a little pleased with any one who takes notice of the strength which he still exerts in his morning hemms. 1824 S. E. Ferrier Inher. vii, Lord R.'s air, looks, manners, hems, all portented a story. 1848 C. Brontë J. Eyre xviii, I heard a hem close at my elbow. |
▪ III. † hem, 'em, pers. pron., 3rd pl. dat.-acc.
(əm)
Forms: see below.
[1. Originally OE. him, hiom, heom, dat. pl. in all genders of he, = OFris. him (hiam), MDu. hem, him, hom, dat.; hem, him, acc. (Cf. Goth., OHG., OS. im in same sense.) 2. In 10th c. him, heom began in north midl. dial. to be substituted for the acc. pl. hi, hia, etc.; by 1150 the dative had quite supplanted the accusative in midl. dial., and was encroaching on it in south., and by 1350 hem had supplanted hi in south. also, the dative and accusative being thus identified under the form hem. (Cf. the history of him, me.) 3. In 10th c. we see þǽm dat. pl. of the demonstrative that, the, sometimes used in the north instead of him, heom (perhaps as more emphatic); by 1200 we find þeȥȥm, þeym (from ON. þeim = OE. þǽm, þám) beside hemm in Ormin (north midl.); and þaim, thaim, was the regular northern ME. form. In 15th c. theym and hem are both used by Caxton, as more and less emphatic. After 1500 them is the standard form, hem (usually written 'em) surviving only as a subordinate weak form, chiefly colloquial, in which capacity it is still used in the south (see 'em). In the 13th c. hem was sometimes combined as -m with another pronoun, as hem = he 'em, him = hi hem; and in 14th c. was appended to vbs. as sendem, identical with modern send 'em. In some s.w. dialects, them has not yet displaced hem, 'em; but in the north no trace of hem has been left for 700 years. See also hemen.]
A. Forms.
α1 him, hiom, 1–4 heom, hym, 3–4 him. β2–5 hom. γ2–5 ham, (3–4 ȝam). δ2–7 hem, (3 Orm. hemm, 6–7 'hem). ε3–4 huem. ζ3–7 am, 3–5 -em, 7– em, 'em (um).
| α c 825 Vesp. Psalter cvi[i]. 5 Sawul heara in him asprong. a 900 O.E. Chron. an. 866 Hie him friþ namon [Laud MS. hi heom wið frið ᵹenamon]. c 1000 Psalms (Cott.) l. 57 (Gr.) Þæt hio cerrende Criste herdon and hiom lif mid þe langsum begeton. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxii. 29 Ða andswarode se hælend hym [Lindisf. him, Rushw. to heom, Hatt. heom]. c 1000 Nicodemus xii, Ða com he to hym þær þær hiᵹ heora ᵹesomnunga hæfdon and cwæþ to hym. Hu come ᵹe hyder? a 1050 O.E. Chron. (MS. C.) an. 1016 Hi gislas him betwynan sealdon [Laud MS. (1123) heom betweonan]. Ibid. an. 1020 Maneᵹa bisceopas mid heom. a 1250 Owl & Night. 1517 Mid heom þu holdest, and heom biwerest. 1258 Proclam. Hen. III, Alle oþer þe moare dæl of heom. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1470 Coryneus..meintened hym [v.r. þam] in pes & were. c 1340 Cursor M. 2734 (Trin.) Abraham led him [v.rr. þam, þaim, ham] inwey. Ibid. 16810 (Laud) They comyn as he hym [v.rr. þam, þaim, hem] bad. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 4995 Þus barouns by-gunne hym þanne to doute. |
| β c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 77 Þet hwile ne studed hom nawiht. c 1205 Lay. 21177 Nu fusen we hom to [c 1275 to heom]. c 1440 in Househ. Ord. (1790) 425 Take raw ȝolkes of eyren and bete hom wel. ? c 1475 Hunt. Hare 82 Sum of hom had no taylys. |
| γ c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 44 Ic ham ȝeue reste. c 1275 Lay. 1989 Neþ him he ȝam [c 1205 heom] lende. c 1315 Shoreham 135 Manye of ham. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 2650 Somme of ȝam. c 1425 Seven Sag. (P.) 310 Saye that I ham gretyng sende. |
| δ a 1131 O.E. Chron. an. 1123 Þa bed se cyng heom þæt hi scoldon cesen hem ærce biscop. c 1200 Ormin 150 Itt turrneþþ hemm till sinne. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 379 A Cook they hadde with hem. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 11 If money or sum oþer þing be ȝeuen to hem. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. May 27 Tho to the greene Wood they speeden hem all. 1598 B. Jonson Ev. Man. in Hum. Prol., Except we make 'hem such. 1616–61 B. Holyday Persius 323 To stuff Thy swelling cheeks, to break 'hem with a puff. 1661 Marvell Corr. xxix. Wks. 1872–5 II. 70 The mayor and alderman or any six of hem. |
| ε c 1300 Prov. Hending xxxv. in Salomon & S., etc. (1848) 279 Of þi soule huem ys eþe. a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. 106 Me knelede huem by-fore. a 1327 Pol. Songs (Camden) 237 The devel huem afretye! a 1400 Geste K. Horn 54 in Ritson Metr. Rom. (Mätz.), Huem wes ful wo. |
| ζ c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 57 Er þanne he hem forlete, and shewe em his prest. c 1275 Lay. 11549 [Þe] king am [c 1205 heom] axede read. c 1340 Cursor M. 5758 (Fairf.), I am þine eldres god..For I am [v.rr. þam, þaim, hem] led. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 3065 Þan þus doþþepers of fraunce torndem to þat ferde. Ibid. 3098 Þer na ascapedem non. c 1430 Two Cookery-bks. 20 Take Rys, and wasshem clene. 1605 Chapman All Fooles Plays 1873 I. 136 Goe Dame, conduct-am in. 1685 in Bagford Ball. (1878) App., They having Money, she'd ease 'um. 1692 Washington Milton's Def. Pop. M's. Wks. 1738 I. 485 You have deserved well of 'em. 1711 J. Greenwood Eng. Gram. 67 Q. Have all Languages the Articles? A. No: For the Latin is without 'em. 1832 Tennyson Death of Old Year ii, The New-year will take 'em away. 1863 Barnes Dorset Dial. 22 ‘Da seem to em, that we be under em.’ |
B. Signification.
1. dat. (To) them. (Lat. iis. Ger. ihnen.)
| a 855 O.E. Chron. an. 755 Þa cuædon hie þæt hem [Laud MS. heom] næniᵹ mæᵹ leofra nære þonne hiera hlaford. a 1154 Ibid. (Laud MS.) an. 1140 æfre þe mare he iaf heom, þe wærse hi wæron him. a 1200 Moral Ode 388 Wel hem is. c 1340 Cursor M. 26 (Fairf.) Þe þinges þat ham likes best. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 235 Hem semede þat þe legges were to feble. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 359 Forȝeeve hem þat gret mysdede. Ibid. 905 He forȝaff hit hom. 1460 J. Capgrave Chron. 122 He acorded with them to pay hem ȝerely x thousand pound. 1599 [see 'em]. |
b. Governed by prep. Them. (With many prepositions the dative is original, but in others it answers to an OE. accusative, as in 2, with which it is now classed as a simple objective.)
| c 900 Juliana 81 in Exeter Bk., Ic are æt him æfre finde. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 219 Þa be-com godes grama ofer ham alle. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 121 Mildheorte is ure louerd..toȝenes heom. c 1300 Harrow. Hell 132 Moni of hem. c 1340 Cursor M. 8118 (Trin.) He helde hem to hem for to kis. 1417 E.E. Wills (1882) 27 Atte þe value of xx. li. amonge hame. 1426 Audelay Poems 1 Fore hom that here serven the fynd. 1485 Caxton Paris & V. 12 For eyther of hem mayntened. 1661 [see A. δ]. 1672–1750 [see 'em]. |
2. acc. Them. (L. eos, eas, ea, Ger. sie.)
| c 975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. ii. 8 Sendende heom [Ags. G. hi, Hatt. hye] to bethlem. Ibid. xx. 32 And cliopade heom [Lindisf. ceiᵹde hia; Ags. G. clypode hiᵹ; Hatt. clypede hyo]. a 1131 O.E. Chron. an. 1124 And brohton hem to þone kinge. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 17 Hit is riht þet me hem spille. a 1225 Ancr. R. 8 Eueriche mon ham mot nede holden. c 1340 Cursor M. 3968 (Fairf.) He dalt ham [v.rr. þam, þaim, hem] in twyn. c 1394 P. Pl. Crede 96 Let hem forþ pasen. c 1430 Two Cookery-bks. i. 37 Take Perys, & seþe ham, & Pike ham & stampe ham, & draw hem þorw a straynoure. 1477 Paston Lett. No. 807 III. 211 Ye chal not leke wel be them whan ye see hem. 1605 Marston, etc. Eastw. Ho. iii. ii, They goe forth on holydayes and gather 'hem by the Sea-shore. 1702–1868 [see 'em]. |
3. refl. and reciprocal pron. (dat. and acc.) Themselves, to themselves; (to) each other.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Mark i. 27 Hi betwux him cwædon [c 950 Lindisf. bituih him. c 1160 Hatton hyo be-tweoxe heom cwæðen]. a 1175 Cott. Hom. 225 Þa cweðen hi betwxe ham þat hi woldan. c 1200 Ormin 13736 þeȝȝ baþe hemm hidden. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 121 Men þat ben ypocritis hyen hom in holynes. c 1430 Freemasonry 7 A cownsel togeder they cowthe hem take. c 1450 Merlin 149 Yef thei sholde hem arme. 1579 [see A. δ]. |
Hence, † hems (i.e. them's: so MDu. hems = hare, haer) = their, their own. Obs. rare.
| c 1410 Love Bonavent. Mirr. lviii. lf. 113 (Gibbs MS.) To putte awey fro here hertes alle manere..of mysbeleue to boþe hems [v.rr. thayre, theyrs] and oure grete profyte. |
▪ IV. hem, v.1
Also 5 hemne, 5–7 hemme, hemm, 7 hemb.
[f. hem n.1 Not known before 15th c. Sense 3 is usually taken to be the same word, though this is not certain. Quot. 1583 approaches the sense of Ger. hemmen.]
1. trans. To edge or border (a garment or cloth); to decorate with a border, fringe, or the like.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 235/2 Hemmyn garmentys, limbo, fimbrio. 14.. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 599/25 Orare, to hemny. 1486 Bk. St. Albans, Her. D j a, Here folowis an odir cros hemyt or borderit. c 1540 Pilgr. T. 175 in Thynne's Animadv. (1865) App. i. 82 With a blak fryng hemyd al about. 1548 Udall Erasm. Par. Luke vi. (R.), Walkyng vp and downe in hys habite garded hemmed with hys brode phylacteries. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. iii. 26 All the skirt about Was hemd with golden fringe. 1666 J. Davies Hist. Caribby Isles 114 The ends of the sleeves..and the bottom of it are hemm'd in with a very thin black skin. |
2. To turn in and sew down the edge of (a piece of stuff). intr. To do the particular kind of sewing which is used in this operation.
| 1530 Palsgr. 583/1, I hemme a shyrte or a smocke..Hemme my kercher, I praye you. 1758 Johnson Idler No. 15 ¶2 She is..hemming a towel. 1775 ― in Boswell 14 Apr., A man would not submit to learn to hem a ruffle, of his wife, or his wife's maid. a 1845 Hood I'm not a single Man iv, One used to stitch a collar then, Another hemmed a frill. 1875 Plain Needlework 13 These pieces should be hemmed on each side, thus making twelve yards of hemming. |
| intr. 1867 Trollope Chron. Barset I. xxiii. 194 [She] sat..hemming diligently at certain articles of clothing. |
| fig. 1663 J. Spencer Prodigies (1665) 202 The contexture of this Discourse will..be the less subject to ravel out, if I hem it with the Speech of our learned..Annotator. |
3. To confine or bound by an environment of any kind; to enclose, shut in, limit, restrain, imprison. Now rarely without advb. extension, most usually in, also about, round, up; hem out, to shut out.
| 1538 Leland Itin. III. 23 A Creeke of Salt Water..hemmith in a peace of Mr. Reskymer's Parke. 1580 Sidney Ps. v. v, Thy work it is such men safe in to hemm With kindest care. 1583 Stanyhurst æneis, etc. (Arb.) 135 The northern frostye gale hemd the riuer. 1594 Marlowe & Nashe Dido ii. i, His band of Myrmidons..which hemm'd me about. 1640 G. Sandys Christ's Pass. iii. 259 Late hemb'd with Auditors whose store Incumbred the too-narrow Shore. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 979 Th' Angelic Squadron..began to hemm him round With ported Spears. 1697 Dryden æneid iv. 55 On ev'ry side..hemm'd with warlike Foes. 1788 Cowper Corr. (1824) II. 150 You will find it pleasant..at least not to be hemmed around by business. 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge lxii, The angle of the wall into which I had hemmed him back. 1876 R. F. Burton Gorilla L. I. 166 The tall black trees which hem in the village. 1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 133 The Carthaginians were..hemmed up in the north-western corner of the island. |
▪ V. hem, v.2
[f. hem int.]
1. intr. To utter the sound described under hem int.; to give a short sharp cough as a signal, etc.; to clear the throat; to stammer or hesitate in speech; to express disapproval of a speaker by factitious coughing.
| 1470–85 [see hemming vbl. n.2]. 1530 Palsgr. 583/1, I hemme, I coughe, je tousse. Whan you here me hemme, than come. 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. 62 Hackyng and hemmyng as though our wittes and our senses were a woll gatheryng. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iv. v. 5 She speaks much of her father..and hems and beats her heart. a 1612 Harington Epigr. ii. xxv. (R.), His tongue so vainly did and idly chatter, The people nought but hem, and cough, and spatter. 1679 Trials Green, etc. Murder Sir E. Godfrey 19 Some body hem'd, and that was the Sign. 1710 Addison Tatler No. 155 ¶2, I heard some body at a Distance hemming after me. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) I. 103, I arose; the man hemming up for a speech, rising, and beginning to set his splay feet..in an approaching posture. 1848 C. Brontë J. Eyre xx, Jane, if any one is about, come to the foot of the stairs and hem. |
b. In combination, as hem and hawk, hem and haw, hem and ha. Cf. hum and haw, hum v.
| 1580 Babington Exp. Lord's Prayer (1596) 61 Wee gape and we yawne, we hem and we hawke. 1604 [see ha v.]. 1786 F. Burney Lett. 16 Oct., I hemmed and hawed—but the Queen stopped reading. 1833 Marryat P. Simple lxi, You would have done better, to have hemmed or hawed, so as to let your officers know that you were present. 1855 Thackeray Newcomes II. 285 The old Colonel..hems and hahs, and repeats himself a good deal. |
† 2. trans. To utter or read out or over with frequent hems or coughs. hem in: to throw in or interject with a hem. Obs.
| 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. 117 b, Some coughes at euery woorde. Some hemmes it out. 1567 R. Edwards Damon & Pythias in Hazl. Dodsley IV. 69 Then follow me, and hem in a word now and then. a 1693 Urquhart Rabelais iii. xv. 128 Their Matines were hem'd over only with three Lessons. |
3. To remove, clear away with a hem or cough. Also fig.
| 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. i. iii. 19 Ros. These burs are in my heart. Cel. Hem them away. 1800 E. Hervey Mourtray Fam. III. 201 Emma..tried in vain to hem away a rising sigh. |
Hence ˈhemming ppl. a.
| 1606 Choice, Chance, etc. in Brit. Bibl. (1812) II. 559 note, Made him with a hemming sigh, ilfauouredly sing the ballad. |
▪ VI. hem
obs. by-form of home; var. him pron.
▪ VII. hem
Sc. var. hame2.
| 1808–18 Jamieson, Hem, a horse-collar. 1847–8 H. Miller First Impr. v. 73 Not a piece of hem-mounting or trace⁓chain, not a cart-axle or wheel-rim, was secure. |