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NOTES AND QUERIES. [9* s. v. APML 28, 1000.

ignorant; but we soon find grants made "to God and St. Mary and to the Hospital of Cockersand, and to the brethren serving God there," .which indicates that the hospital had become a permanent institution, not dependent for its existence on the life of its head. How and when it ceased to be a single unit, owing no obedience elsewhere, we have not ascertained, but it had become a house of the White Canons before 6 June, 1190, for at that date Pope Clement III. issued a bull of privilege and protection to Henry, the Prior of the Hospital and Monastery of Cockersand, as a Premonstratensian house. It is probable that this Papal act was really what may be called a declaration of the union of the old independent charity with the order of St. Norbert, which was spreading its branches far and wide.

The charter-book of Cockersand now forms a part of the valuable collection of books and manu- scripts of Mr. Thomas Brooks, of Armitage Bridge, near Huddersfield, who has kindly permitted it to be printed. Mr. William Farrer has transcribed and edited the Latin text as \vell as adding to it several documents which, for some reason or another, have not found a place in its pages. He has, more- over, given a condensed English version of each deed. This work is excellently done, though, when we say this, we must not be held to imply that we accept every clause as absolutely without blemish. To those who have never undertaken work of this sort it no doubt seems very easy to turn the old law Latin of the Middle Ages into the vernacular of to-day. Those who have tried know that the road from one language to the other is beset with pitfalls. We give a single example of what is un- doubtedly an error. Helewisa de Stutevilla, some- where about 1220, gave the church of Gairstang to the canons, as she says in her charter, "intuitu divinee caritatis et sanctae religionis promotione." This the editor renders by the words " by divine inspiration, and for the promotion of the blessed truth." What the lady meant was not the pro- motion of truth as an abstract quality, but of the order she was benefiting. Monks and nuns in those times were known as " religious," and to become a member of a monastic order was spoken of as enter- ing religion. The genealogical notes which the work contains are numerous and accurate.

We trust that when it comes to an end Mr. Farrer will give an index of place-names, not only of the towns and vills, but also of fields, brooks, trees, and stones which have distinctive designations. We beseech him also to retain in every case the original spelling.

THE third volume of Lancashire and Cheshire Wills and Inventories, edited by Mr. J. Paul Rylands (Chetham Society), extends from 1563 to 1807. The documents are given in abstract only, but we do not think the editor has left out anything of im- portance. Modern testamentary documents are often of portentous length. No service would have been rendered by the reproduction of the legal ver- biage with which such things are too often saturated. For genealogical purposes the volume will be most useful. Among the testators were members of the families of Byron, Cholmondelcy, Crewe, Grosvenor, and other noteworthy houses.

THE second part of the Minutes of the Bury Presbyterian Classis, 1647-1657, edited by Mr. William A. Shaw (Chetham Society), is most

useful as a contribution to the history of Non- conformity. Lancashire was, notwithstanding the great number of Roman Catholics therein and the ardent Royalism of not a few of its gentry, a stronghold of Presbyterianism. It was, we believe, the only county in which that form of Church government took permanent hold, though, of course, isolated congregations existed through- out the length and breadth of the land. The book is very useful as illustrating the spiritual developments of the Civil War and Commonwealth times, without some knowledge of which any real comprehension of the history of the period is im- possible. The appendix gives an interesting account of the ministers whose names occur in these old papers.

A. H. has published for private circulation, in the form of an appendix to vol. Ixii. of the ' D.N.B.,' 4 "Mr. C.," H. S. Woodfall, and the Letter "C., } " in which he shows that C. of the Public Advertiser was Sir Philip Francis.

MR. FRED. HITCHIN-KEMP, of 6, Beechfield Road, Catford, has made active progress with his ' General History of the Kemp and Kempe Families of Great Britain and her Colonies,' and hopes before long to issue it to his subscribers. He is still anxious for particulars concerning individuals bearing either of these names with whom he has not yet been put into communication. The book is to be published at the Leadenhall Press.

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.

W T E cannot undertake to answer queries privately.

To secure insertion of communications corre- spondents must observe the following rules. 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. When answer- ing queries, or making notes with regard to previous entries in the paper, contributors are requested to put in parentheses, immediately after the exact heading, the series, volume, and page or pages to which they refer. Correspondents who repeat queries are requested to head the second com- munication "Duplicate."

H. M. S. ("Chestnut"). See ' N. & Q.,' 7 th S. vi. 407, 436 ; vii. 52, 392 ; viii. 52 ; and Farmer's ' Slang and its Analogues.'

E. SYNE. Your queries are outside the scope of the paper. W. T. FIELD. Apply to a bookseller.

NOTICE.

Editorial Communications should be addressed to "The Editor of 'Notes and Queries'" Advertise- ments and Business Letters to "The Publisher "- at the Office, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, PIC.

We beg leave to state that we decline to return communications which, for any reason, we do not print ; and to this rule we can make no exception.