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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9* s. m. FEB. 25, m

In strong contrast with these Perpendicular towers is the tower of Christon Church, with its sturdy Norman physiognomy and its absence of ornament. This is short of thirty feet in height. The building itself, the dedication of which is unknown, has abundant interest, and its situation among the Mendips is beautiful. Close at hand, and not less happily situated, is St. Andrew's, Banwell, the nave and aisles of which Mr. Freeman has pro- nounced absolutely perfect in their proportions. Scarcely less perfect, surely, is the richly decorated tower, the dignity and stateliness of which are not easily surpassed.

The Orientation and Dedications of Ancient Churches in England and Wales. By George Watson. (Peiirith, R. Scott.)

THE object of this pamphlet is to demonstrate that it is an error to hold that when our mediaeval churches were built they were so planned that the ecclesiastical east was assumed to be the point where the sun seemed to rise on the festival of the saint to whom the church was dedicated. That this cannot have been so has long been known by those who have carefully studied the subject. But they are few. and those who credulously follow common report are many. Therefore Mr. Watson's tract was not uncalled for. We do not think this saint's-day belief is very old. Mr. Watson quotes Aubrey, who in his turn quotes his acquaintance Sylas Taylor for this opinion. Taylor may have had mediaeval authority for what he said, but if he had we have overlooked it.

The Records of the Surgery of Sheffield, commonly called the Town Trust. With Introduction and Notes by John Daniel Leader. (Stock.) THESE Sheffield Burgery records are very interest- ing, and Mr. Leader has edited them, with great care. The volume is a very welcome addition to the historical literature of Yorkshire. As well as the Burgery accounts, it contains a facsimile of Furnival's charter to the town, with an extended text, accompanied by a translation. The Sheffield Burgery came into being in the Middle Ages at what time it is impossible to say. We gather from the editor's preface that it was in great danger of extinction in the reign of Edward VI., when so many other local organizations for the public good were swept away. It happily survived all the storms of the Tudor time, although some of its property was lost, and it passed through a period of something like poverty. The earlier accounts, if there ever were any, which is almost certain, are not to be found. Those now extant begin in 1566, from which time there is a continuous series. The good works which the Town Trust has accom-

flished have been of a very miscellaneous nature, t exerted itself to maintain highways and bridges ; the town armour was under its care, and it maintained pipers to discourse to the people sweet music. When kings were crowned, and when great battles were won, it contributed to the festivities. Through the natural increase in the value of land in a great centre of industry and the munificent bequest of Mr. Samuel Bailey, one of the trustees, it has now an income of upwards of six thousand a year, which is entirely devoted to schemes of public utility.

The local words which occur in the earlier part of the volume are not so many as we should have anticipated, but they should certainly be noted for

the ' Dialect Dictionary ' now in progress. We meet more than once with "feying," that is, cleansing a pool : a word intelligible enough in Yorkshire or Lincolnshire, but perhaps not known in the Southern or Midland counties. " Yate," too, appears for gate, and " steele" for stile. A " co\vle rake" was bought in 1693 for the Ladies Bridge. This is explained to mean a " coal rake : a rake for raking the ashes of a fire or oven." It is almost certain that a cowl-rake has no connexion with coal. The word is known all over the north of England. It indicates a scraper used for gathering together mud and manure. There is a verb also, cowl, to scrape.

Whitaker's Naval and Military Directory and

Indian Army List, 1899. ( Whitaker & Sons. ) MESSRS. WHITAKER seem to have a special faculty for the arrangement of useful and trustworthy information in the most condensed form. This handy little volume is indispensable as a book of reference, and especially useful to every public library or reading-room. It appeals directly to families who have an interest in or connexion with the Army and Navy.

MESSRS. HENRY SOTHERAN & Co. issue a cata- logue of a very fine collection of autographs, English and foreign, and engraved portraits, some of them unpublished, and many of extreme rarity. Among those whose signatures appear to letters or pro- ductions of highest interest are Burke, Burns, Congreve, Cowley, Prior, Dryden, Racine, Fenelon, Goethe, Schiller, and innumerable others. The collection is very rich in histrionic celebrities, including autographs of Garrick, Spranger Barry, Miss Farren, Miss Bellamy, Mrs. Jordan, Rachel, Talma, and others.

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