Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 4.djvu/237

 i2s.iv. AUG., 1918. j NOTES AND QUERIES.

231

The Poetical Works of Gray and Collins. Edited

by Austin Lane Poole and Christopher Stone.

(Milford, 2s. 6d. net.) THIS " Oxford Edition " of two poets who both were fastidious writers, and consequently can together be got into one volume of moderate size, is very welcome. There is no critical Introduc- tion, but we find a useful note of the chief editions and MSS., and pleasant memories of the eighteenth century in the title-pages, the print, and its adornments. Notes at the end give us variants on the text. Thus Gray changed " winds " in the second line of the ' Elegy ' into " wind," doubtless in view of the next s in " slowly " ; and there is a reading,

In yonder grove a Druid lies, instead of " grave," which we prefer in Collins's tribute to Thomson.

The only unsightly feature of the book is the omission of the lines or parts of lines Mason contributed to Gray's ' Ode on the Pleasure Arising from Vicissitude.' They are quite good, and it would have been better to print them, we think, with a warning note at the bottom of the page as to their authorship.

Collins has but little fame to-day compared with Gray, and was derided by Johnson. Yet he was at his b^t an exquisite writer with a style far above that of most of his contemporaries. We hope this book may somewhat revive his reputa- tion. We turn with pleasure once again to the felicities of his unrimed ' Ode to Evening,' whose

Dewy Fingers draw The gradual dusky Veil.

Te Otde Village of Hornchurch : being an Illus- trated Historical Handbook of the Village and Parish of Hornchurch. By Charles Thomas Perfect. (Colchester, Benham & Co., 2s. 6d. ; art paper, 5s.)

MR. PERFECT has produced a book full of interest. He begins with an account of the industries associated with the village, and shows that tanning and leather-dressing were carried on for six centuries, the main street being named Pell or Pelt Street from the fellmongers and tanners residing there. The handsome church is notable as having a bull's head and horns at the east end, and in a charter granted by Henry III. in 1253 is referred to as " Cornutum Monasterium." Mr. Perfect provides a plan and elevation of the church, a list of vicars from 1417 to the present time, and extracts from the parish registers (which begin in 1576) and the overseers' and poor-rate books.

There is much else to appeal to readers of 4 N. <te Q.' The windmill, which is still a pro- minent feature in the landscape, though its work ceased in 1912, is mentioned in the will of John Legat in 1607. Wrestling for a boar's head was practised on Christmas Day till 1868 ; and the annual fair, with its booths and gilt gingerbread, survived till 1877. Billet Lane is named from the Crooked Billet, a public-house sign which has been discussed at length in ' N. & Q.' ; and Cage Row from the cage or village lock-up. Two contemporary accounts of cockfights in 1769 are supplied.

Mr. Perfect also sketches the history of the four manor houses in the neighbourhood, and provides many illustrations, including the two large beer- pitchers made for the bellringers in 1731 and 1815 respectively.

BOOKSELLERS' CATALOGUES.

MR. REGINALD ATKINSON of Forest Hill, S.E., includes in his Catalogue 31 sections on the Bible, Bibliography, and Folk-Lore. He has also a number of the Camden Society publications (mostly at 3s. 6d. each), and several printed volumes of Parish Registers (from 4s. 6df. to 7s. 6d. each). The 12 vols. of ' The Harleian Miscellany,' 1808-11, containing several hundred tracts, are offered for 21. 2s. Four books often cited in ' N. & Q.' are Beatson's ' Political Index,' 1788, 2 vols. (5s.), Bodenham's ' Wit's Common- wealth,' 1647 (5s.), Britten's ' Old Clocks and Watches,' 2nd ed., 1904 (11. 10s.), and W. Jones's ' Finger-Ring Lore,' 1890 (9s.). The books are followed by a large number of Autographs.

THE August Catalogue of MR. JOHN GRANT of Edinburgh is quite topical, containing sections devoted to Ireland, America, and Economics. Readers who wish to escape for a time from the present strain may like to turn to ' African History, Travel, and Discovery,' where they will find Bent's ' Ruined Cities of Mashonaland",' 1893 (4s.), and ' The Sacred City of the Ethiopians,' 1896 (6s. 6d.), and R. N. Hall's ' Great Zimbabwe, Mashonaland,' 1905 (7s. Qd.). Those whose tastes are more theological may prefer Pickering's ' Choice Reprints of the Rare Editions of the Book of Common Prayer, from that of Edward Sixth (1649) to Queen Victoria (1844),' 7 vols., folio, morocco (31. 17s. 6d.) ; or a complete set of the " Ante-Nicene Christian Library," 1867-72, 24 vols. (21. 18s. 6d.).

THE principal feature of MESSRS. HIGHAM & SON'S ' Summer Catalogue of Good Second-Hand Books ' is the completion of their list of works on ' The History of England in Church and State ' (see ' N. & Q.' for June last, pp. 175, 176). The Catalogue also contains sections devoted to America, the Holy Communion, Comparative Religions, Hymnology, Jews, Marriage, Missions, Philosophy, and Science and Religion.

MR. G. A. POYNDER, whose address is now 4 Broad Street, Reading, includes in his Summer Catalogue (No. 75) an exceptionally tall copy of Ash- mole's ' Antiquities of Berkshire,' 3 vols., with the rare folding map of the county, 1723 (101. 10s.). He has also a map of North and South America by F. de Wit, showing California as an island (Am- sterdam, 1673, 51. 5s.) ; and a map of a portion of .North America by Hugo Allardt, containing a bird's-eye view of Niew -Amsterdam or Nieuw- Jorck (Amsterdam, 1673, 152. 15s.). 'The Works of Gillray,' 581 plates, atlas folio, half crimson morocco, with octavo volume of text, 1851, is 91. 19s. 6d. ; and ' The Works of Hogarth,' 100 plate*, with explanations by John Nichols, atlas folio, half crimson morocco, 1822, 11. Is.

MESSRS. SIMMONS & WATERS of Leamington Spa devote their Catalogue 306 to ' Topographical and Antiquarian Books relating to the British Isles.' It is very convenient for reference, the counties of England being arranged alphabetically, with books and views classified separately. Fjondon is placed under Middlesex Bloomsbury, Clerkenwell, Hampstead, &c., appearing in their alphabetical order. After Yorkshire come lists for Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, followed by works relating to Great Britain. Prices are very moderate, many of the items being only a shilling.