Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 10.djvu/150

 120 NOTES AND QUERIES. [ISS.X.PB.U.WM. proved theory is a fact and build an estimate of character on that foundation is not the safest method of writing history. Moreover, Mrs. Stopes has permitted herself to make some astonishing excursions in the regions of " the might have been." The contemporaries of Southampton failed, by elegy or otherwise, to commemorate his connexion with Shakespeare. She has supplied the deficiency with a sonnet and an epitaph of her own composition. She has also, in chaps, ii. and xxi., sustained her narrative by the introduction of conversations imagined by herself. The book is so rich in interest that these eccentricities of treatment are the more to be deplored. Calendar of Entries in the Papal Registers relating to Great Britain and Ireland. Papal Letters. Vol. XI. 1455-1464. Prepared by J. A. Twem- low. (His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1 5s. net.) THIS volume may be noted as one of the richest of its kind in material for the antiquary. The topics dealt with cover, more or less abundantly, the general administration of local ecclesiastical affairs, and include, as usual, copious detail con- cerning individuals. The nine years embrace the pontificates of Calixtus III. and of Pius II. The Scotch sees occupy many pages ; perhaps London and Oxford are the two English cities most in evidence. The documents concerning Reginald Peacock, the Bishop of Chichester, who was tried for heresy, may be cited as an example of the biographical illustration afforded, and those concerning the foundation of Eton College as an example of a group illustrating the history of an institution. Disputes among ecclesi- astics (there are <>ne or two cases of homicide by a clerk), indults and dispensations, and the applica- tion of different forms of discipline, as usual, open up vivid glimpses of situations and characters. The general effect, as in most registers of Papal Letters, is an impression of the fatherliness of the Papacy, even when exercised by Popes such as these two, who were not like Innocent III., for instance of a specially paternal character. In the tragi -comedy of everyday life it appears as a pleasant factor, and presents a far more attractive aspect of the Papacy than the political aspect to which most history is devoted. An inhibition of Pius II. 's gives a picture of the sufferings of the " Isle of'Scilly" under the incursions of pirates. Indulgences of Calixtus III. make mention of miracles wrought among the faithful who flock to the Chapel of St. Mary de Key in the cemetery of the Chapel of Liverpool ; and also of miracles wrought in the church of the Augustinian priory at Mottisfont, in which are many precious relics, and among them " the finger of St. John Baptist with which he pointed to the Saviour of the human race." Other relics men- tioned are those of St. Gilbert in the church of Caithness a place much worried by " lawless- ness and ambushes by savages," in behalf of which Pius II. hurls an excommunication ; and those of St. Osmund of Salisbury, which, in a mandate dated the day after his canonization, are ordered to be solemnly translated to a worthy place in the church of Salisbury. Among the mention of objects of art and handi- craft we have a " tapestry worked in gold and silver sold to the Pope [Pius II.] for 1,250 florins by Peter and John de Medicis." Hampshire. By Telford Varley. (Cambridge University Press. 4s. 6d. net.) THIS is yet another member of the useful series of Cam bridge County Handbooks. It gives a careful account of the natural features, the towns, the industries, history, and antiquities of Hampshire, according to the plan made familiar to us by the earlier handbooks. The information given and also the illustrations are very satisfactory. The writer's English style is poor enough to be often irritating. One short sentence " Hamp- shire is identified in a remarkable degree with hymn writers "will perhaps convey what it is we complain of. However, writing of this sort need be no bar to utility. MB. P. D. MUNDY (Burley, New Forest), writes : I should be glad to hear from the owners of any manuscripts, letters, portraits or drawings of, or connected with, my great-uncle, Henry William Herbert (" Prank Forester "), poet, novelist, and writer on American sport, who died in 1858. He was the son of the Very Rev. the Hon. W. Herbert, Dean of Manchester, who was himself a well-known writer on botanical subjects. This request is made in contemplation of a biography of Henry William Herbert. CORRIGENDUM. At ante, p. 79, col. 1, for " Africa ; 10 B.C." read Africa, 310 B.C. to EDITORIAL communications should be addressed to " The Editor of ' Notes and Queries ' " Adver- tisements and Business Letters to " The Pub- lishers " at the Office, Printing House Square, London, E.G. 4 ; corrected proofs to The Editor, ' N. & Q.,' Printing House Square, London, E.G. 4. ALL communications intended for insertion in our columns should bear the name and address of the sender not necessarily for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith. WE cannot undertake to answer queries privately. WHEN answering a query, or referring to an article which has already appeared, correspondents are requested to give within parentheses immediately after the exact heading the numbers of the series, volume, and page at which the con- tribution in question is to be found. 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