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NOTES AND QUERIES. [io s. vm. JULY 13, 1907.

NOTES ON BOOKS, &o.

The First Publishers of Truth. Edited by Norman Penney. With Introduction by Thomas Hodgkin. (Headley Brothers.)

FEW would probably be able to ascertain from the main title only the character and contents of this substantial volume. It was originally issued in the form of supplements to the Journal of the Friends' Historical Society, and consists of early records of the introduction of Quakerism into England and Wales. These records were collected two centuries ago, and have long "slumbered," says Mr. Hodgkin, in manuscript form.

The records are given under the heading of various counties and towns, and are full of accounts of the first to be "convinced" and the sufferings of the faithful. At Cambridge we find complaints of rude "scollers (who are taught, but not off the Lord)," who tumbled and moiled divers of the faithful in the nasty and loathsome channels in the streets. The spelling is often quaint, and there is occasionally historical matter of interest ; but we cannot pretend to be interested in the numerous repetitions of pious phraseology, which show a rather self-satisfied air in many cases. The Quakers seem to have been very ready to recognize special judgments on people who did not believe as they did, in spite of the warning Scripture gives con- cerning such conclusions. Still, they were deeply tried, and strongly faithful against all attacks. At Colchester the mayor in 16/0 had their meeting house " twice planked and bricked up." At Oxford they fared as badly as at Cambridge ; for after being whipped as vagrants, and sent away, they met " some scholars, and were moved to speak to them, who fell on them very Violently, and drew ym into lohns Colledge, where they tyed ym back to back and pumped water on ym, untill they were almost stifled." In spite of these persecutions, cases of backsliding were rare among the Quakers.

At the end of the account of Warwickshire we came across Solomon Eccles, or Eagles, who " passed through Smithfield with his body naked, and a pan of Fire and Brimstone burning on his head, calling to the People to Repent." The editor has an appendix on this practice (called in a tract "Going Naked a Sign"), to which George Fox refers several times, and never, apparently, with disapproval. It was naturally a form of protest or prophecy a good deal criticized.

Admirable zeal is shown throughout the book in verifying and collecting names and facts, and there are several useful addenda at the end, dealing with " some ancient words and phrases used" and other matters. The most interesting of these is the ab stract of ' Penal Laws affecting Early Friends in England.' The Vagrancy Act, which allowec severe whipping, was commonly employed agains them ; they disturbed various ministers of religion refused honour to magistrates, and paid many " Sunday shillings " for not attending church, fine at Bristol under this head reaching, apparently, th large sum of 16,66<#. in 1683.

On the whole, the movement does not seem t have attracted the educated classes. Most of th accounts here are obviously genuine, but rathe dull. They do not reach the level of Elwooc Milton's friend, and his book.

Archceologia jEliana ; or, Miscellaneous Tracts relating to Antiquity. Published by the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Third Series. Vol. II. (Newcastle - upon - Tyne, Reid &Co.)

BY far the most important paper in this volume is ' The Flail and its Varieties,' by Dr. T. M. Allison. It is not only very interesting in itself, but is also of great value as a step towards a history of agricultural implements which is much needed, for it is hardly an exaggeration to say that we know hardly anything except of those of quite modern, origin. This is to be deplored, for we are well assured that invention and improvement were going on from the earliest times until the mechanical dis- coveries of the eighteenth century, and that the desire to have implements suited for daily toil, so as to make it as little irksome as possible, stimu- lated our field-workers to try experiments, and to widen their thoughts far beyond the limits of their daily drudgery. This may be pretty obvious to most of us at the present day, but there have been many who imagined that before Bacon taught people the contrary, every one believed in the- utility of trying experiments. Of course the fact ught to have been obvious to all who had examined nediseval sculpture, or compared the methods of louse - building where the dates of various struc- growth in workmanship, a desire to save labour and
 * ures were known, that there had been a continual
 * o add to comfort.

Dr. Allison, though he does not dwell on the hilosophy of the subject, has told in small com- )ass, but in a most lucid manner, how grain, and specially wheat, was from the first adapted to the equirements of man. While it remained in the uisk it was useless, but some time or other in the

qng past it occurred to the dawning intellect to ick up the shredded grains that were scattered at is feet and taste them. After this it was soon bund that they were good for food, so he set to work first, it may be, to rub them out with his lands, then to beat them with a stick we have said "he," but this first process was probably done >y women while the men were engaged in hunting. A genius at length awoke to the idea that beating with a stick was a slow process, and painfully aborious also, for the thrasher had to kneel 01 crouch down so as to bring his weapon in line witl upon a half-broken stick of tough fibre, and used il in a standing posture ; but this could last for onlj a very short time, as the stick would soon break ir two, but its use had supplied the world with a nev idea. The man took two sticks and joined then loosely together by a thong of the skin of somi beast that had been killed in hunting. Ver awkwardly he managed this at first, for he woulc not know what were the proper lengths of th shaft and swivel; but the idea soon became com mon property, and the flail would be developei much as it was known before the steam - engin was invented and the old implement became use less, only to be stored with other by-past things i: the collections of the antiquary.
 * he ears of corn. It may be that one day he came

In hot countries the flail, it would appear, wa never or rarely used. There the plan was, a least since the ox was domesticated, to acquit the grain by driving the animals over the straw but, so far as we are aware, this method has nt been resorted to in Northern climes. We ha% the best reason for believing that the flail was i