12 a VIL OCT. 16, 1020.] NOTES AND QUERIES.
317
and the glimmer of light through the in-
terstices formed by the shells, and the
coloured glass, often gave it a really pretty
appearance. The finale was the lighting of
the coloured fires, and the occasional fire-
works.
I am afraid very few, if any, of the children had any idea of the origin of the custom, and I can appreciate the "grin" which MR. SAMPSON mentions when he asked for an explanation. The only one I have ever heard is that already mentioned in Brewer's ' Phrase and Fable.'
Speaking to a lady about the present prevalence of the custom, I was told it is still common in the East End of London. When oyster shells are unobtainable they use stones, pieces of brick, coloured glass or broken ornaments ; or anything likely to ^attract the attention of the pedestrian. I was surprised to hear this ; thinking that the old custom, like many others, had died out. 'There is no particular season of the year either for their building ; provided the weather is propitious, any time, apparently is suitable to the young builders.
C. P. HALE.
117 Victoria Park Road, E.9.
FATHERS OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS (8 S. ii. 327 ; iii. 34 ; iv. 249, 418 ; vi. 78 ; -9 S. viii. 147 ; xii. 33 ; 10 S. vii. 486 ; 12 S. vii. 192, 271). In my letter to The Times of Sept. 9, 1907, which you reproduce at -ante, 271 is a passage which as it stands is somewhat unintelligible about the interval "between acceptance of office and re-election to a new Parliament." What I intended to write was "between acceptance of office and re-election or between a dissolution and re-election to a new Parliament. "
With regard to Thomas Turgis, my doubt as to the identity of the man of this name who represented Gatton from 1659 to 1702, is not, I think, justified. The elder 'Thomas Turgis died in 1651 before his son's first election for Gatton.
ALFRED B. BEAVEN.
Leamington.
ROMNEY MARSH (12 S. vii. 269, 298). A list of books on Romney Marsh is given in 'Bibliotheca Cantiana ' (J. R. Smith, Lon. 1837), and also under the names of the various parishes in the Marsh.
The following may be consulted also : Dugdale's 'History of Imbanking,' 1662; Hueffer's 'Cinque Ports'; Ogler's 'Parish Ohurches in Diocese of Canterbury,' 1910 ;
Cooke's 'Walks Through Kent,' 1819;
the various vols. of ' Archseologia Cantiana ' ;
Parker's Visitation in Home Counties
Magazine ; Bradley 's 'Old Gate of Eng-
land,' 1918 ; 'History of Romney Marsh,'
by W. Holloway, 1849 ; ' Caius Julius
Caesar ' ; British Expeditions to the Bay of
Appeldore,' &c., F. Hobson, 1868 ; 'County
Churches of Kent,' by F. Grayling, 1913 ;
Harvy's 'Churches of Kent,' 1854; 'The
Churches of Kent,' by Glynne, 1877 ; Farley's
'Weald of Kent,' 1871-4, and 'Charities of
Kent,' 1837. HENRY HANNEN.
The Hall, West Farleigh.
COLUMBARIA (12 S. vii. 269). For infor- mation regarding these I would refer your correspondent to 9 S. iii. 113; vi. 389, 478; vii. 15, 116, 216, 318; viii. 368; xii. 48, 113 (1898-1903).
J. L. ANDERSON.
Edinburgh.
Smith's 'Diet. Christian Antiq,, 's.v. Colum- barium ; Smith's 'Diet. Class. Antiq. Art. Funus ' ; Prof. Lanciani, ' Pagan and Chris- tian Rome,' p. 256; Prof. J. H. Middleton, ' Remains of Ancient Rome, ' vol. ii. pp. 264, 270, 273-4; Bp. Lightfoot, 'Comm. on Philippians, ' pp. 171-177 ; and any of the books on the Catacombs of Rome, such as Dr. Maitland's and Rev. W. H. Withrow's.
G. H. J.
ECCLESIASTICAL DRESS IN RUSSIAN CHURCH (12 S. vii. 208). A Russian priest may wear what coloured clothes he likes, but there are rules as to the cut of them. The Russians love colour only those who have been in Russia know how much the dress of the people adds to the picturesque- ness of the country and public opinion allows the priests of the Orthodox Church to indulge their tastes in this respect.
T. PERCY ARMSTRONG.
MRS. WALTON (12 S. vi. 336). As I notice no reply has yet been forthcoming to this query and on the principle that half a loaf is better than no bread, I give what little I know of this lady. She was the wife of the Rev. O. F. Walton, vicar for many years of St. Thomas's Church, York. I was at St. Peter's, York, and in the same form as her son, Stanley Howard. He died on Apr. 4, 1892, at the age of 14. His form-master and scholars attended the funeral and the head master, the Rev. G. T. Handford, officiated. Some few weeks later my school chum and I visited
