Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 10.djvu/479

 12 s.x. MAT 20. 1922.] NOTES AND QUERIES. 393 school, which was ended in January, 1862. ! Six months later it was expressly announced I that Mr. J. F. Smith was " under an engage- | ment to write solely " for the Cassell, Fetter and Galpin paper, and he started ' Warp and Weft ; or, The Cotton Famine,' ending in September, 1863. That " sole engagement " (never faithfully carried out) finally collapsed in the ignominy which proved that John Frederick Smith had overstayed his market. The quoted specimens of the publisher's arts are pretty florid, even for their time. But it is true, nevertheless, that for over 20 years Smith was a household favourite throughout Greater Britain, despite the rival- ries of many now acclaimed as the brightest geniuses of Victorian literature ; and, if he finally wasted his powers, he was never uncleanly, and to this day his novels are enjoyed by many children, and many more than children withal. Me. ' The Prelate, a Novel,' was published without author's name in 1840 by T. and W. Boone, 29, New Bond Street, and was re- viewed in a contemporary periodical as a novel of no common pretensions. . . . The leading interest is vested in the last member of the unfortunate house of Der went water, whose character is drawn with considerable effect. . . . Many characters of the day are well drawn. A copy is at the British Museum, but perusal a few years since scarcely seemed to confirm the above eulogy. It may be that the novel of the same name of 1860 was a re-issue. W. B. H. NEEDHAM'S POINT CEMETERY, BARBADOS (12 S. x. 23, 46, 351). It is good .to find so keen an enthusiast in the matter of the preservation of the naval and military ceme- teries in the British West Indies as His Honour Mr. J. S. Udal, whose letter appears in your issue of May 6. For his information and for that of your readers I should point out that, as the result of representations which I made to Lord Crewe, the then Secretary of State for the Colonies, in 1908, an inquiry was made into the state of historic sites, ancient buildings, monuments, cemeteries, &c., in the W T est Indies. The replies from the various local governments were embodied in a Command Paper presented to Parlia- ment in 1912 (Colonial Reports, Miscel- laneous, No. 84 ; Cd. 6428). It will no doubt interest MR. UDAL to learn that reference is made therein to the obelisk erected at Monk's Hill, Antigua, to the memory of the officers, N.C.O.'s and men of the 54th Regiment who died during service, of which he makes mention. Says Mr. B. H. Jarvis, Acting Colonial Engineer, in a letter dated Aug. 7, and published in the report : The inscription on the west (St. Lucia) is much worn, the names are unreadable : with that exception the monument is in fair order. There are three other tombstones and vaults enclosed in iron rails ; one, that of Charles Dawson, M.D.. was last repaired by the Government. All the vaults and rails are in order, and the cemetery was cleaned and repaired late last year by the Government. A Colonial Office note adds : The Governor has since reported that this monument is being repaired and fenced. The further reports referred to in my letter which you so kindly published in your issue of Jan. 14, were supplied to Sir John Butcher, K.C., M.P., following the question which he asked in the House of Commons on June 23, 1920, regarding the state of the naval and military cemetery at Needhanrs Point, Barbados. They have not been published, but I should be glad to show copies to MR. UDAL and any others of your readers interested. MR. UDAL'S complimentary remarks re- garding the good work of the Civic Circle of Barbados in restoring the cemetery at Needham's Point will, I am sure, be very encouraging to that enterprising body, whose activities might well be emulated in other W T est Indian colonies, where, alas, the value of historic sites and monuments is not so fully appreciated as it should be. ALGERNON ASPINALL. CAPTAIN STAFFORD BETTESWORTH HAINES (12 S. x. 349). Your correspondent is referred to Allen's Indian Mail of Aug. 6, 1860, or to vol. ii. of Low's ' History of the Indian Navy.' In 1821 Lieut. Haines was employed by the Company in survey work on the Arabian coast, and in August, 1828, was in command of the Benares, a sloop of war of 14 guns. Present at the reduction of Aden in 1839. he was appointed British Political Agent of that fortress, a post he retained until 1854. For his conspicuous services at the reduction of Aden he received the thanks of the Company and a sword of the value of 200 guineas. In 1854 Captain Haines was superseded in his office by Brigadier Sir William Coghlan, and sent a prisoner to Mazagon on charges of peculation and embezzlement of funds amounting in the