Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 2.djvu/485

 ii s. viii, DEC. is, i9i3.i NOTES AND QUERIES.

479

Procter's ' Legends and Lyrics.' Her contributions to Household Words are under the name of " Mary Berwick."

The fourth part of the Bibliography is headed ' Plays.' These include ' The Strange Gentleman,' with a facsimile of its cover in pink, ' The Village < 'oquettes,' and ' No Thoroughfare.' The next section treats of ' Writings ascribed to Dickens,' and is followed by an account of some of the important presentation copies. The increase in the prices these realize when offered for sale is enormous. " One wonders where they will stop." The copy of the ' Carol ' presented to Lord Jeffrey was sold to Henry E. Huntington of New York for 450 dollars. ' American Notes,' presented to Carlyle, \vas sold in London in 1902 for 45Z. ; at the Allis Sale in New York in 1912 it fetched 210Z. The last chapter gives the Bibliography of Speeches.

In an Appendix is a record of maxirmim prices. To give a few examples : ' Sketches by Boz,' the reissue in parts in 1837-8, sold in 1885, for 15Z. iu 1900 for 4CZ., and in 1912 for 112Z. ' The Strange Gentleman,' which sold for from 15Z. to 20Z. in 1885, reached 84Z. in 1900, and six years after fetched 125Z.

The work is beautifully produced, paper, print, and illustrations being perfect. It will no doubt soon become scarce. Of this edition 750 copies have been printed for England and America.

Journal of ihe Gypsy Lore Society. New Series'

Vol. VI. No. 4. (Liverpool, the Society.) THIS number contains careful studies by Mr. Winstedt of the Gipsy Coppersmiths who invaded Great Britain in 1911, and have only recently left the country. They are the most important Gipsy tribe known. There were eight families, comprising some forty persons. Their appearance was impressive ; they carried themselves with grace and dignity, and they behaved with the natural courtliness which characterizes the high- class Gipsy all the world over. Few were above the medium height ; almost all were symmetrical and well-made, and possessed more strength than one would have supposed. Their skin Avas remarkably clear and sallow, and lacked the darker brown tint and the burnished-copper appearance of most true-blooded Gipsies. Indeed, according to Mr. Gilliat -Smith, their colour was practically identical with that of the Russian peasantry.

The impressive appearance of the men was heightened by their bushy black beards, of which they were inordinately proud. Razors were never used, the beard being allowed to grow as soon as it would, which in some cases was very early, for Todi, aged five, had a distinct fringe round his jaw. The wealth of some of the mem- bers of the band was very considerable, the chief being reported to be worth 30,OOOZ.

There is little known about their marriage ceremonies, but more is known as to their funerals, owing to the death of Sophie or Zaza, daughter of Nikola, the chief, at Beddington Corner. Of her funeral curious particulars are given. Clasped round the neck of the corpse was a necklace consisting of twelve large gold coins, two of them being English five-pound pieces. A massive silver belt was buckled round the waist ; a new pair of boots were placed on the feet ; and a

owel, a piece of soap, and a small mallet were placed in the coffin. The Roman Catholic burial service was used, and was conducted by Father Pooley of Mitcham.

Dr.* George Fraser Black contributes * The Gypsies of Armenia,' and the Rev. Frederick George Ackerley ' The Dialect of the Nomad ypsy Coppersmiths.' The article on the Copper- smiths contains many illustrations. "We may remind our readers that the head-quarters of the Gypsy Lore Society are at 21 A, Alfred Street, Liverpool.

Christmas at St. Albans Abbey, A.D. 1327,' is the subject of one of the articles in The Sphere Christmas Number, for which an account of " this- stirring Christmas" has been specially written. It is illustrated by Mr. Philip Dadd and Mr. Charles H. Ashdown, author of * St. Albans, its Abbey and its Surroundings,' contributes archa3ological notes. The illustrations, which are coloured, include ' The Attack upon the Haly welle Gate of the Monastery,' and 'How the Women of St. Al bans sought to- petition Isabella on the Snowy Christmas Day of the Year 1327.'

A MANUSCRIPT VOLUME. A correspondent writes : " There has come into my possession a manuscript volume of 159 pages. This was written in 1727, and was intended by the author to have been printed. The writer was ' J. C., late Teacher of an English School in the Country.' He wa*, according to a manuscript note, John Collishaw or Cowlshaw 'of Hickling in the Vale of Belvoir r Nottinghamshire.' The title is very long. Shortened it is 'Truth traced in a representation represented and in which Charles' Charing-Cross Charivary is

cancelled manifested for the Glory of God, and

to confound the Enmity Conformity hath bore to Non Conformity since the time of Zion's Captivity, the Expulsion of her Ministers, and her Envy VI Enlargment.' The work is in contemporary full brown calf binding. I am willing for this to go to- a public library where it would be appreciated."

The title is of interest as containing an earlier instance of charivari than any in the ' N.E.D,' the first example there cited being of 1735.

(Dbituarp.

AMBROSE HEAL.

ALTHOUGH a verv infrequent contributor to these panes, Ambrose Heal was known to a large circle of the readers of ' N. & Q.,' and by his death on October 10th, many have lost an excellent friend, while North London has been deprived of a most scholarly and capable antiquary. As a collector of all things relating to the history and topography of St. Pancras, Ambrose Heal held the foremost position for nearly thirty years. Each parish or borough of London, it is known to many, has its local specialist whose zeal, plus adequate opportunity, has led to the bringing together of MSS. and of printed pictorial material, illustrating all that is of interest in the locality. These specialized collections are frequently more infor- mative than anything available in the Public Libraries, and the consideration of their owners in allowing serious students to have access to them is a great factor in the improved local histories now being produced.