200
NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th s. XL MARCH 7, 1903.
Mr. Lanier supposes. The b9ok is superbly got
up, and its illustrations, which are varied and
numerous, render it singularly attractive and de-
lightful. These comprise portraits of Shakespeare,
Spenser, Surrey, Wyatt, Drummond, Drayton,
Ben Jonsoo, Sylvester, Sidney, Marot, Leicester,
Fletcher, and innumerable others, facsimiles of
title-pages, MSS., and other objects, and are rich
enough to render the work desirable, if not indis-
pensable, in a well-appointed library. On its merits
it repays study, and the instructed reader will
enjoy it none the less for finding himself in occa-
sional disaccord with the author's opinions or
conclusions.
The Mount of Olives, cfec., of Henry Vaughan.
Edited by L. I. Guiney. (Frowde.) VAUGHAN is one of those worthies, like Fuller and Herbert, whose slightest remains are deserving of remembrance, and we are grateful to Miss Guiney for gathering some of them into this little volume, though we had rather she had not modernized the spelling. In addition to 'The Mount of Olives,' which is a devotional manual, we have here ' Man in Darkness' (1651) and 'The Life of Paulinus ' (1654). Miss Guiney seems to assume that she who edits a quaint writer must herself be quaint ; cer- tainly in the preciosity of her strained and euphu- istic preface she out-Vaughans Vaughan. For example, " How rich this [the interior life] was with him, how subtly individual, each of his trac- tates shows, almost as well as those six-winged seraphic numbers, which liegemen of our elder singers know by heart " (p. vi). "The treatises are like a soft cloister-garden ; the gritty innuen- does, a succession of little sand-storms encountering one among the roses." After this the editor tells us in her foot-notes that "questionless" means without question, " unable " means incompetent, and " lavers" basins for washing.
The Antiquary. Vol. XXXVIII. , January Decem- ber, 1902. (Stock.)
THE Antiquary contains some valuable papers, with here and there one which, so far as we can see, has little in it which will cling to the memory. Mr. F. Ha verfield continues his important series of notes on Roman Britain. They are not only interesting at the present, but must be of great service to future inquirers who desire to give a picture of what our island was like and how men lived when we were a part of the empire. The writer says that at Lin- coln, near the Newport arch, Roman discoveries have been recently made of a sepulchral character, "but no record seems to have been kept, and no local interest shown in the matter"; and adds that " Lincoln is, of course, so far as Roman archaeology is concerned, one of the most backward towns in England." Mr. Thomas Sheppard contributes two valuable papers on Hull merchants' marks, illus- trated by several good engravings. Merchants' marks, British or foreign, have never been studied as they deserve. We ought to have a descriptive catalogue of all the known examples which exist in our island. They are nearly akin to heraldry, and have been spared the degradation from which the latter " science " has suffered. We have good reason for thinking that some genuine armorial coats have been developed from these trade signs. Mr. E. C. Vansittart communicates some interesting Italian invocations or charms, with English translations. From his opening sentence he seems to be of opinion
that in this country charm superstition is dead.
We can assure him that this is by no means the
fact, ' Rushlights, Cruises, and Early Candle-
holders in the Isle of Man ' is a valuable disquisition
on an interesting subject. Whether rushlights still
burn in any part of the country we do not know,
but they were common in the early Victorian era.
The writer (Mr. P. M. C. Kermonde) has repro-
duced many of them, but has not given a repre-
sentation of the rushlight shades which frequently
accompanied them. As the rushlight, when used
in sick rooms at night, commonly stood on the floor,
these shades were required to protect it from
draughts, and also to keep the apartment in com-
parative darkness. The shade was a circular metal
screen, higher than the rushlight. It was pierced
by a series of holes about the size of shillings, and
in consequence threw large circular spots of bright
light in many places about the room, while the rest
remained in shadow. Children were often alarmed
by this, and even to grown-up people, when seen
for the first time, it must have had a weird effect.
Sir W. Hastings d'Oyly, Bart., has a paper on the
heart of Queen Anne Boleyn, which he thinks may
have been removed to Erwarton, in Suffolk. What
he says is interesting, but we are not convinced.
Mrs. C. C. Stopes contributes two papers on one
of the conspiracies in the reign of Mary L, which
will well repay the reader. Mr. J. A. Lovat-Fraser,
in his paper on 'The Old Scottish Aristocracy,'
gives interesting information. He proves conclu-
sively that the scions of the Scottish houses never
regarded trade as a stain on their nobility.
We must call apecial attention to the following
notices :
ON all communications must be written the name and address of the sender, not necessarily for pub- lication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
WE cannot undertake to answer queries privately.
To secure insertion of communications corre- spondents must observe the following rules. Let each note, query, or reply be written on a separate slip of paper, with the signature of the writer and such address as he wishes to appear. When answer- ing queries, or making notes with regard to previous entries in the paper, contributors are requested to put in parentheses, immediately after the exact heading, the series, volume, and page or pages to which they refer. Correspondents who repeat queries are requested to head the second com- munication " Duplicate."
ENQUIRER (" Anthony Pasquin"). His real name was John Williams, under which appellation con- sult 'D.N.B.'
A. R. S. (" Alright"). -See 9 th S. viii. 240, 312, 413, 493; ix. 72, 111.
R. HODDER ("Mont PeleV'). See 9 th S. x. 37. XOTICK.
Editorial communications should be addressed to "The Editor of 'Notes and Queries '"Adver- tisements and Business Letters to "The Pub- lisher" at the Office, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, E.C.
We beg leave to state that we decline to return communications which, for any reason, we do not print ; and to this rule we can make no exception.
