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first thing then needed in special bibliographies is a bibliography of bibliography." Since that time we have received frequent contributions on the subject, and the expediency of a work of the kind is urged upon us by correspondents at home and abroad. Considering the admirable nature of the work accomplished by Frenchmen and Germans, it is from one or other of these that a work such as that now before us might have been expected. Since the task was to be accomplished by an Englishman, it could scarcely have fallen into hands better than those in which it is. We say this as much from study of the book itself as from familiarity with Mr. Courtney's past accomplishment. That a work such as this should spring forth perfect at all points is, of course, in- conceivable. None the less, we are able to indicate no omissions of importance. The only suggestion we have to offer is that the work might with advan- tage be issued in an interleaved shape, so as to receive additions. This suggestion will lose its value if, as seems likely to be the case, enlarged editions succeed one another with the rapidity which, con- sidering the popularity of the subject of biblio- graphy, is to be expected. The arrangement is alphabetical, and is, of course, under subjects. For the purpose of cross-reference the index, which occupies seventy pages in three columns, and includes an immense number of entries, will abund- antly suffice. References to ' N. & Q.' are naturally frequent; and when we turn to the entry 'Easter' we find many allusions to the Seventh and following Series. Even more numerous are the references to Christmas. A good idea of the prin- ciple on which Mr. Courtney has worked may be obtained, as well as anywhere else, under 'Peri- odical.' The book forms an indispensable portion of every reference library, will lighten the labours of innumerable workers, and will serve as an in- valuable guide to much approaching effort. We accord it a warm welcome.

Author and Printer : a Guide for Authors, Editors, Printers, Correctors of the Press, Compositors, and Typists. By F. Howard Collins, with the Assistance of many Authors, Editors, Printers, and Correctors of the Press. (Frowde.) MR. HOWARD COLLINS has successfully accom- plished an extremely difficult task. He modestly describes his book as " an attempt to codify the best typographical practices of the present day " ; but it is much more than this, being an extremely useful work of reference for every one concerned in the practical production of literature. That its suggestions are deserving of great consideration is evident from the fact that the list of those who have assisted Mr. Howard Collins includes Sir Leslie Stephen, who proposes the numbering of the first pages of chapters ; Herbert Spencer, who discusses the termination ize or ise in verbs ; and Prof. Skeat, who advocates the division of words according to their pronunciation. The book justifies its comprehensive title ; for the author will find explained and exemplified the difference between long primer and bourgeois type ; the bibliographer will see the number of inches in a page of a crown Svo or pott 8vo book, and the sizes of all kinds of paper ; while punctuation has many paragraphs devoted to it, and the mysteries of proof-correction are duly illustrated. Journalists who wish to introduce scraps of foreign languages are not overlooked. The gentleman who headed a

paragraph " Exeunt Mr. Smith" may learn how to- correct his mistake, as may the writers who referred to "a strata" and used "bete noir" under the impression that it is good French. A reference to- Mr. Howard Collins's book shows that Bryan Waller Procter's name is misspelt in the article. ' Anagram ' in the ' Harmsworth Encyclopaedia,*" and the name of Charles Mathews in the illus- trations of actors in the same work. W. C. B. has. more than once pointed out in ' N. & Q.' that " Bishopsthorpe " is a misspelling of the residence: of the Archbishop of York : the correct form is. duly entered by Mr. Collins. In 'Who's Who,' s. v. Kennett, may be found Queen's College, Cam- bridge : Mr. Collins indicates why this is wrong. The abbreviations included are extremely numer- ous ; and the examples given above of the wide, scope of ' Author and Printer ' show that readers of ' N. & Q.' will find much to interest them in the, results of Mr. Collins's indefatigable labours.

Marriage Licences from the Official Notebooks of the Archdeaconry of Suffolk deposited at the Ipswich Probate Court, 1613-H174. (Privately printed.) MK. CRISP is a zealous worker in the wide fields of genealogy. He has issued many volumes illustrative of family history, but it is safe to say that not one of them is more important than the present. This, calendar must be of great value to all who are at work on seventeenth-century genealogy as supple- menting the marriage registers of Suffolk, and also- in a great degree supplies their place when they do. not exist. We are aware that the parish register of weddings was in those days the only absolutely- satisfactory proof that a wedding had taken place ;. but this has been found too often to be unavailable.. All parish registers, as every student of pedigree-lore: knows, ought to begin in 1538, and be continued in, unbroken series to the present time ; but there are: very few places wherein this ideal state of things i* to be found. There are several reasons for this. In the first place, it is by no means certain that the original order was obeyed in every parish throughout the land ; indeed, it is highly probable that in some cases it was not. Secondly, there were many reasons why, in the distracted times of the Reformation period, when the clergy were continually on the move, the duties of their office should be negligently performed. When the Elizabethan settlement had become firmly estab- lished, things went on in a more orderly manner, and the registers seem to have been, on the whole,, well kept. This applies also to the first forty yeara of the seventeenth century ; but when the Civil War was approaching there was a change for the worse. It has been surmised that many of the. Royalist clergy, when expelled from their homes,, took their registers away with them, and that, in a similar manner, when their Puritan successors were driven forth by the "Black Bartholomew" Act, their registers were often treated as private pro- perty. It must be remembered, also, that during, the greater part of the time covered by the Commonwealth and the two Protectorates the recording of births, marriages, and deaths was, by statute, a lay office, performed by an official called " the register," who received his appointment from the local justices of the peace. These facts, apart from the shameful care-, lessness of later days, are sufficient to explain why these precious documents are so often wanting, and to indicate how important it is to have a