Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 6.djvu/351

 n s. vi. OCT. 12, 1912.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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It appears that in the early part of the last century an Indian Civil servant, Edward A. Reade, brother of Charles Reade the novelist, became closely asso- ciated with Ishree Pershad, Maharajah of Benares, and on Reade' s retirement from the service his Indian friend desired to mark in some way their long official and social intercourse. Accordingly he asked Reade to suggest some method of per- petuating this friendship. Reade, mindful of his native village and its frequent scarcity of water, suggested that the Maharajah should defray the cost of providing it with an efficient water supply. This suggestion was adopted. Ishree Pershad agreed -to defray the entire cost, and, moreover, to make provision for the upkeep of the installa- tion. On Readers return to England he made arrangements for the sinking of an artesian well. Water was reached at a depth of about 350 ft., and a very ample supply has since been forthcoming. Over this well was constructed a dome of purely Oriental design, and a small freehold in the neighbourhood was purchased, which provides an endowment that enables the structure to be perpetually maintained in efficient repair. The Maharajah never visited England, and so never saw his generous gift, but it stands for all time as a reminder to Englishmen of the kindly relationship that exists between this country and some of the great Indian princes.

P. J. MICHELU.

A RELIC OF JOHN BRITTON. The original of the following melancholy and pathetic letter from John Britton, the antiquary, to J. W. Southgate, the literary auctioneer, is attached to the Sale Catalogue of his library in the set of Messrs. Southgate's Catalogues in the British Museum :

Feb. 20, 1839. DEAR SIR,

Finding age creep on and old friends die off, and feeling it to be a matter of worldly prudence to " put the house in order," I intend to part with a large number of Books, Prints, and other objects of interest and curiosity, which have afforded me much amusement and information in col- lecting together. These will be consigned to your custody to submit for public competition through the medium of your well organized establishment. To part with many of these old literary friends with whom I have communed for forty years, from whose councils I have derived both useful and entertaining information, and whose sub- serviency to every demand, either of reason or whim, has been uniform, is a painful struggle to Yours very sincerely

J. BRITTOK

J. W. Southgate Esq : 17 Burton S'.

This letter is hidden away among the many thousand auction sale catalogues which are uncatalogued, unindexed, and unannotated in the vaults of the British Museum. Brit- ton's Catalogue is dated 29 May, 1839, and the sale, which consisted of 1,440 lots, lasted six days, realizing 1,0291. 14s.

EDWARD B. HARRIS. 5, Sussex Place, N.W.

SEASON POSTS FOR POPTJLAR RESORTS. It is generally understood that the postal authorities grant an extension of facilities to various popular seaside resorts and water- ing-places during their season ; and the practice seems to be long-established. In The London Gazette for 23-6 June, 1679, it was advertised with special prominence,

" These are to give Notice, that there will go a Post from the Letter-Office in London, to Tunbridge, every day in the Week (except Sunday) and make Returns accordingly, during the Season for drinking the Waters there."

A like advertisement is to be found very close upon half a century later, for in The Daily Courant of 12 July, 1726, it was announced :

" These are to give Notice, that the Post will go every Night (Sundays excepted) from London to Tunbridge, and from Tunbridge Wells to London, from Wednesday the 13th of this Instant July, during the Summer Season, as usual."

ALFRED F. ROBBINS.

DUGDALE'S SUMMONSES. An important warning, which is given in the Introduc- tion to vol. ii. of ' The Complete Peerage,' edited by the Hon. Vicary Gibbs, 1912, should, I think, find a place in ' N. & Q.' :

" In the course of preparing this volume for the press the Editor had occasion to test the statements made in Dugdale's 'Summonses,' with the result that he found that work to be not only inaccurate but quite untrustworthy.

" This is the more unfortunate as it is the only printed book that genealogists have on which to rely for the dates and particulars of writs of summons after the reign of Edward IV, at which point the ' Report on the Dignity of a Peer' stops giving the list of summonses to Parliament.

" On various occasions the Editor, being led to suspect Dugdale's accuracy, asked the Deputy Keeper of the Public Records to compare his statements with the original documents, and found therefrom in every case that Dugdale was wrong. In the end so many mistakes and mis- statements were discovered that the Deputy Keeper thought it worth while systematically to collate Dugdale's account of the reign of Henry VIII with the dorse of the Close Rolls and the Parliamentary Pawns ; it then appeared that not only has Dugdale frequently given wrong Christian names, omitted peers that were sum- moned, and added peers who were not summoned,