Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 1.djvu/392

 386

NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 s. i. MAY is, IMS.

The Body Commanded by the Emperour in -person ; the right wing by his Majesty of Poland, ..and the left by his Highness of Lorain, in which posture we marched with all immaginable Silence towards Vienna : The City having at the same time notice that we were approaching, and as soon as we came to discern the Enemies Leagure, the City gave us a Signal, which in half an hours time was seconded with a Resolute sally ; in which many Thousands of the Turks were slain, with very small loss on the Christians Side.

The Turks seeming to be in great Consternation upon the sight of the unexpected numbers of the Christian Army, before the said Salley was ended, ,part of Our Army under his Highness of Lorain were engaged and soon after the Grosse of both Armies, the dispute being for severall hours very sharp and hot ; but in the end it so pleased God -that our Arms prevailed against the Infidels we having killed above thirty Thousand on the spot, .and taken near half as many Prisoners and all their Artillery and Baggage which were very great and numerous and Totally broke the whole Army of the Turks, which our Horse continue to pursue with great slaughter, and all this was done by the Assistance of the Almighty with inconsiderable loss on the Christians side, and .-it is the opinion of most of our Experienced .Commanders here in Camp, that very few of the Turks will Escape of being taken or killed. The Enemy being fled divers of our Officers went into the City and great numbers of the Citizens came to view our Camp, their countenances bespeaking they had been neither in fear of the Enemy nor any want of necessary Provisions. We are now busied in destroying the Enemys works about the City ; and in my next I may give you a more particular Account of the whole Affair : In the meantime be pleased to accept of this, as from your much Obliged and

Faithfull Friend

and Servant Imperial Camp, near A. WHITEBROOK.

Vienna Aug. the 31 th

London Printed by E. Mallet.

The date is obviously Old Style," since the junction of Sobieski with the Duke of Lorraine took place on Sept. 9, 1683. On v the llth the signalling with rockets occurred, and on the following day the Turks were Touted. MARGARET WHITEBROOK.

24 Old Square, Lincoln's Inn, W.C.

" VICTORIA COUNTY HISTORIES " : A CRITICISM. Surrey is one of the few counties whose " Victoria History " is now -complete, and it must w r ith great regret be noted that there is much reason to believe that serious inaccuracies have crept into some pages of the parochial histories, inaccuracies the more deplorable inasmuch ~as they appear in some instances at all events to have been easily avoidable, had the authors taken the trouble to master ordinary sources of information.

I do not profess to have gone through the work parish by parish, but strange mistakes

in the account of localities with which I happen to be well acquainted can but lead me to infer that similar carelessness may have been displayed in other instances, detracting largely from the value of the volumes as a work of historical importance.

On p. 190, vol. iv., for instance, the name and title of the lord of the manor there in question are both given incorrectly.

On p. 214, vol. iii, the writer says " the stone quarries are the most striking industrial part of Merstham," when, as a matter of fact, hardly any of the once famous building-stone has been quarried within the memory of man; and for " stone quarries " should pro- bably be read " lime- works," a very different industry. It would look as if the author had not even visited the spot. In the same parish " The Gables " is stated to be " the

seat of Mr. ," whereas in truth the small

house in question is a villa-residence in the village street of a rental value of about 40Z.

The manor of Chilvertons is mentioned, and a court is stated to have been held for it in recent years. This is not the case ; nor was it " bought by Mr. Watson in 1905."

Alderstead is quoted as having been united to Merstham in the year 1843. The date is wrong; it should be 1825.

The School Board did not " enlarge the National School," but built new schools on another site.

On p. 484, voL ii., Mr. Maberly, a rather well-known personage in his day, has had his name disguised as Makerly.

In Nutfield parish no mention whatever is made of South Hale, the most ancient, and in some respects probably the most interest- ing, building in the parish.

These notes are made with the sincere hope that in future volumes of the " Victoria " series greater care will be taken to ensure that accuracy which may fairly be expected in a work whose inception seemed to guarantee that it should possess so essential a quality. H.

LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU IN SERBIA. May I call attention to a letter of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's to the Princess of Wales (afterwards Queen Caro- line, wife of George II.), written from Adrianople,. April 1, O.S., 1717, as being singularly appropriate at present, showing as it does the oppression of the Serbian peasantry by the Germans and Turks ?

Lady Mary was provided with an escort of German and Turkish janissaries, and says :-

" We crossed the deserts of Servia, almost quite overgrown with wood, though a country naturally fertile, and the inhabitants industrious ; but the