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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9 th B. m. FEB. is, m

not read the originals what an immense amount of useful information is contained in our old registers. The register of St. Peter's, Cornhill, has under the year 1593 the following written in the margin : " Thear dyed in London in all, 25,886. " Of them of the plague in all, 15,003. " Within the walls and liberties, 8,598. " Without, in and out of liberties, 17,288.' Then follow these two entries : Innumeros quamius consumpsit morbida p'estis Seruait dominus rueq' domumq' mean). In a thousand five hundred ninety and three The Lord preserved my house and mee, When of the pestilence there died Full maine a thousand els beeside. Many people have no conception of the havoc wrought by the plague in England during the Middle Ages and' down till 1666. The great outburst of this pestilence in that year so stamped itself on men's minds that all previous ravages are forgotten. We can only say in conclusion that this book is brightly written, and ought to prove useful and entertaining to whoever reads it.

The Saga-Book of the Viking Club. Vol. II. Part I.

(Nutt.)

THE papers in the present issue are of various degrees of interest, but all are well worth attention. We do not know how continental Scandinavians may class them, but to us who are of mixed blood, with a copious blend of Norwegian, as we believe, mixed with that of Angle, Saxon, Celt, and the nameless races beyond, it appears that Miss A. Goodrich-Freer's essay on 'The Norsemen in the Hebrides' is by far the most important. Though tourists visit the islands, very few of them remain long enough to understand the place or the people, and as a consequence they bring but a scant supply of knowledge away with them when they turn their faces southward. Miss Goodrich-Freer knows the Hebrides well, and her linguistic attainments render what she says of far more value than any number of those clever guesses with which incom- petent people are often so inordinately self- satisfied.

The reports of the meetings are too much con- densed, but contain several things worthy of attention. For instance, we may mention that Mr. W. G. Collingwood has dwelt on a truth which many of us forget, namely, that "it was Gray who first roused the interest of people in this country in Northern literature." Few people in these days know much of Gray beyond the ' Elegy,' but his Norse translations, which he called 'The Fatal Sisters' and 'The Descent of Odin,' though bearing the impress of the time at which they were written, are not only noble English verse, but have retained some of the spirit of their originals.

We agree with Mr. F. T. N orris when he enters a protest against the notion that the Norse place- names in Wales were due to the Normans, for the simple reason that our forefathers ere they left Normandy had lost their old speech and acquired the language of those among whom they dwelt ; but we cannot follow him as to some of the equivalents he finds for the names of certain places in Wales and others in the valley of the Thames.

'A HISTORY OF THE PARISH OF PRESTON, LAN- CASHIRE,' from the able pen of Col. Fishwick, F.S. A., will shortly be issued by subscription. Full infor-

mation concerning many local families, with pedi- grees in some cases, will be given in what cannot fail to be a well-executed and an important book. Intending subscribers should apply to Col. Fish- wick, The Heights, Rochdale.

MR. THOMAS ELLISTON, of Sudbury, Suffolk, has contributed to the Church Times an important letter upon the restoration of ancient churches.

WE heard too late for record last week the news of the death of Mr. Walter Hamilton, a not infrequent contributor to our columns. Mr. Hamil- ton, who was born in London in 1844 and educated in France, was specially interested in parodies, a collection of which, in six volumes, he published. He was a member of several societies, and a vice- president of the Ex-Libris Society, in the proceed- ings of which he took much interest. His ' Dated Book-plates ' and his ' French Book-plates ' are held in much estimation. Their appearance was duly noted in our columns. Mr. Hamilton also wrote ' The Poets Laureate of England.' That he was ill had been known to his friends. His death, how- ever, which took place on the 1st inst., was not anticipated.

WE hear with much regret of the death, on the 7th inst., at Diss Rectory, Norfolk, of the Rev. Charles Robertson Manning, M.A., F.S.A., Honor- ary Canon of Norwich, Rural Dean of Redenhall, and for forty-two years rector of Diss. Mr. Man- ning, who was seventy-three years of age, had been a frequent contributor to our columns, though of late his communications had been fewer than they were some years ago. Mr. Manning was a well- known antiquary, wrote a book on monumental brasses, and contributed papers to many learned societies.

^txrtir^s i0 Ctfrmjnjwfrewis.

We must call special attention to the following notices :

ON all communications must be written the name and address of the sender, not necessarily for pub- lication, but as a guarantee of good faith.

WE cannot undertake to answer queries privately.

To secure insertion of communications corre- spondents must observe the following rule. Let each note, query, or reply be written on a separate slip of paper, with the signature of the writer and such address as he wishes to appear. Correspond- ents who repeat queries are requested to head the second communication " Duplicate."

T. L. HEELIS ("The Origin of Visiting Cards"). See 'N. & Q.,' 1 st S. iv. 133, 195, 243; 2 nd S. ii. 514; 8 th S. iv. 486; vi. 67, 116, 196, 272, 332; viii. 158; ix. 172, 475 ; x. 243.

OLD SUBSCRIBER (ante, p. 89). Please send full name and address. We have a letter for you.

CORRIGENDUM. P. 71, col. 1, 1. 35, for " Edmund Bull" read Edward Bull.

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