Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 9.djvu/467

 ii s. ix. JUNE 13, 1911] NOTES AND QUERIES.

461

LONDON, SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 19U.

CONTENTS.-No. 233.

NOTES : Huntingdonshire Book {Clubs, 461 Webster : a Question of Authorship, 463 Statues and Memorials in the British Isles, 464 -Robert Heete in the ' D.N.B.' The Bathos in French Verse, 466 Cowes : Origin of Name Robert Baron and Shakespeare, 467 Last Sur- vivor of the Birkenhead " Felix quern faciunt aliena pericula cautum," 468.

QUERIES : Barry Correspondence of Edmund Burke Ice : its Uses Register of Marriages of Roman Catholics Westminster School Usher Second English Pope Bio- graphical Information Wanted, 469 W. A. Fielding Urton alias Stephen Rainsford Family Duke of Sussex : Morganatic Marriages' The Complete Course of Geo- graphy 'John Bacon R. Stephenson Burford Priory Elfou. 470 Between Winchester and London Scott's 'Rob Roy 'Wife of Admiral Butter field Co wlard 1 Guy's Porridge Pot,' 471.

REPLIES : Military Machines, 471 Pellico's ' Duties of Man' Poe: a Classical Reference J E. Bright, 472 Bishop Jewel's Library Heart-Burial Last Criminals beheaded in Great Britain, 473 Dido's Purchase of Land Capt. J. W. Hewitt Waller's ' Panegyrick 'Mil- bourne : Zijm and Gijm Battle of Lohfeldt, 474 R. Clay- ton J. Cochrane Author Wanted Blind Members of Parliament Rawdon Family, 475 Helmets in Churches Fairy Thief J. D. Ballet De Glamorgan, 476 The Adelphi John Gilpin in Latin Elegiacs Tippoo Sahib's Stick" Corvicer " " Among the blind the one-eyed man is king," 477 Rolandsaulen General Columbine ' Chevy Chace' Rebellion in 1715 : Mr. T. Radcliffe, 478.

NOTES ON BOOKS':' In Cheyne Walk and Thereabout ' ' The Greatest House at Chelsey ' Papers and Proceed- ings of the Hampshire Field Club and Archaeological Society.

OBITUARY : Walter Theodore Watts-Dunton.

Booksellers' Catalogues.

HUNTINGDONSHIRE BOOK CLUBS.

THE history has not yet been written of the early book clubs of the county of Hunting- don? The following notes may, therefore, be worth recording in ' N. & Q.'

The St. Ives Union Book Club is the most important in the county. On 13 April last year it celebrated its centenary. It is rather remarkable that its members had met without a break every fortnight for a hun- dred years. Mr. H. Barton, the oldest member, was in the chair, and during the evening there were related many delightful reminiscences of the past members. Mr. John Johnson said he could trace back through his father and grandfather his connexion with the Club to its foundation.

The oldest copy of the printed rules I have seen is the one in my possession : " Rules and Regulations of the Saint Ives Union Book Society. Founded in 1813," 1863.

There is a most interesting account of a special meeting of its members in an old newspaper of 18 Jan., 1871. The President

was Mr. E. A. Wallingford, and the Vice- President Mr. S. Ginn. On this occasion some striking speeches were made by about a dozen gentlemen, and they spent a most pleasant evening. Since then they have all passed away, except my friends" Mr. S. Ginn and Mr. Theodore Watts-Dunton.* The newspaper I have mentioned belonged to Mr. Elliott R. Odams, and he showed it at one of their meetings in 1 907 ; and they were so charmed with it that Mr. Odams had it reprinted as a small pamphlet : ' St. Ives Book Club of Thirty-Six Years Ago,' dated 15 Sept., 1907. Soon afterwards Mr. Odams died (28 Jan., 1909).

In March, 1899, the members were invited to dinner by one of their oldest subscribers, Mr. W. W. Warner, who said only two dinners had been given during its long career. Mr. Warner was born at St. Ives, 5 Sept., 1834, and died there 14 Dec., 1905. He had been Mayor five times 1877, '83, '87, '92, and '97. '

In my ' St. Ives and the Printing Press ' (1889) I alluded to the meetings of the Club being held at the " Old House," and the many associations with the early printers of the town. When it left the " Old House " it met at Mr. Gardner's, the printer of Crown Street, and afterwards at his widow and daughter's on the Pavement, and later at their successor's, Mr. J. G. Hankin ; and his son was the Secretary at the Centenary meeting. So the old Club goes back to the days of George Dyer and John Hammond, and has always numbered among its mem- bers some of the most cultivated inhabitants of the town.

I have, however, recently discovered evi- dence of the existence of^a Book Club in St. Ives forty-five years earlier. The Rev. John Cranwell published by subscription in 1768 'The Christiad, a Poem.' Many* St. Ives gentlemen subscribed, and the " Book Club of St. Ives," as well as the Book Clubs of Kimbolton and Huntingdon. I might notice that the Rev. John Wheeldori subscribed for thirty-one copies. He was teacher of a private grammar school at St. Ives, B.A. 1759, M.A. 1762, and author of several works, including ' A Poetical Epistle,' 2nd ed., 1769, written at St. Ives. The interest taken in Cranwell's book may be because he was a native of St. Ives, being the son of Tyrell Cranwell, vintner of St. Ives. This has not been noticed

press, the latter statement had ceased to be true. Theodore Watts-Dunton died on the evening of Saturday, 6 June.
 * A few hours after this page was prepared for the