Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 5.djvu/443

 us. V.MAT ii, MIS.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

knew it to be the title of Dickens's Christmas number. In time, however, others,. and notably S. O. Beeton, adopted the same plan, so the novelty originated by " Boz " ceased to be one. By giving up his Christ- mas number Dickens abandoned a big source of revenue, but the labour involved was considerable, and he declared that the work of planning and arranging was almost equal to the labour of writing a long book. The success of the last number, ' No Thoroughfare,' published at Christmas, 1867, was unique. As every one knows, it was a joint piece of work with Wilkie Collins, who during Dickens's absence in the States had transformed it into a play for Fechter, with a view to which enterprise it had been planned from the outset. The Adelphi, where I saw it twice, was packed night after night ; and the play was translated into French, and produced in Paris at the Vaudeville with a success equal to that in London. Dickens went over to superintend the rehearsals and to assist at the first representation, and returned highly de- lighted. The effect of these performances was to send the sale of the number up by leaps and bounds, and this continued until the new year was far advanced.

Another part of the time prior to the readings was occupied by Dickens in carry- ing out the request of his friend Chauncy Hare Townshend, who died while he was away in America, that he would examine a bequest of some papers on matters of religious belief, and make a selection for publication. These were issued in 1869. That part of the summer which he had free he gave over to lovely excursions from Gadshill, where he had visits from many American friends, including the beloved Longfellow and his daughters and the Eliot Nortons. Among London friends he had with him Charles Kent and Dolby. They would all go out together for the entire day. Dickens, ever mindful of the comfort of his guests, followed a plan of his own. There were no large lunch baskets, but every one carried his own lunch in a small basket, which was packed with all the necessaries of a midday meal ; and as nothing not even the pepper, salt, mustard, or corkscrews was ever for- gotten, the petty worries and annoyances so common at picnics were avoided. A favourite spot with Dickens for these excursions was Blue Bell Hill.

JOHN COLLINS FBANCIS.

(To be continued.)

A RUNIC CALENDAR,

VlCTOBIA AND ALBERT MtTSEUM. ROOM 132,

(See ante, pp. 261, 285, 321.)

THE pictorial objects remain to be con- sidered. Those referring to the signs of the Zodiac are too familiar to need any explana- tion, and the others may be divided into- three groups domestic, agricultural, and ecclesiastical. The meaning of the domestic- and agricultural objects is fairly obvious in the majority of cases, but the interpreta- tion of the ecclesiastical objects has occa- sioned a considerable amount of trouble. The general rule seems to have been to- place the picture immediately over its corre- sponding date ; but when this is impractic- able, owing to the want of space when several objects have to be drawn opposite neigh- bouring dates, the object is then placed as near to its date as possible, and the correct date indicated by a prolongation on the top of the rune. On some calendars these pro- longations take three forms a complete- cross, and crosses with the right-hand and left-hand members removed respectively :

One of these marks is used exclusively to- denote the great festivals, such as those of Christ and the Virgin ; another is used for the festivals of the Apostles ; and the other for those of the minor saints. On the calendar under consideration it seems that no such rule has been observed, but the three signs appear to have been used indiscrimi- nately.

The festivals of the Virgin are all repre- sented by a queen's crown, and in the majority of cases a bunch of flowers is found close by. These may be of agricultural significance, but the repeated concurrence of the crown and flowers has led to the latter being interpreted as referring to the same festival as the crown.

A drinking-horn denotes a feast day, and an inverted horn the end of a feast. This idea is also used in the case of a boat, which denotes the opening of the sailing season ; and an inverted boat, which denotes the time of the year when navigation is no longer safe.

The saints' days are indicated in various ways. A papal crown denotes the festival