Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 6.djvu/218

 180 NOTES AND QUERIES. [9“'S-VI-S1=H°- 1.1900- man and an accomplished Tntiquatrly. Vlghether ° h ' rticu ar ins -nce, e cer- thlnly $iaswrl.gt1g‘ ililcol:ng:l'tent~ ” to deal with subjects f h ` d t is in. _ _ 0 Mr. S. J. Chadwick contributes some interesting papers relating to the plague-visitations_of York- shire. The form a arto the manuscrigt collec- tion of SirH`homas Igrooke, of Armitage ridgein that county having been originally rought to- ether by Col. Charles Fair ax of _Menston, a foamed antiquary who was born late in the reign of Elizabeth. Though chiefly relating to_Yorkshire, they are of general im rtance as throwinH lhght on the methods of our fggefathers when ca _e eigaon to deal with pestilence. The instruct-ions issu _ by ‘° Ye Colled e of Phisitians” in 1636 are highlg edifyin. “ye do not remember to have met wit them efsewhere. ‘_ _ The ‘Autobi raphy of Sir John Savile, of Methley, 1546-1(%7, is of service from the_ge_nea- logical facts which it preserves, otherwise it is of little interest. Savile composed it in Latin; here it is given in a translated form. We wish the original text had been also printed. The late Sir Stephen Glynne’s ‘ Notes on the Churches of Yorkshire are continued. ‘ an Krnoxrrs Tsmrnsns’ are the subject of a povgerful article in the Edinburgh Review. The writer, unlike some others who have undertaken to discuss their history and fate, has studied _their career, not only in the pages of modern writers but, what is far more important, in original documents. He regards them with warm sym- pathy. Though he does not say so, it cannot esca e any one who reads between the lines that he holds them to have been innocent of the oss charges referred a inst them, and seems to hissem something beyonsa blind destiny in the fate of the two chief actors in the tragedy of their _de- struction. Whether innocent or guilty, the victims suffered horrible tortures which are sickening to think of. The author deals with them in very general termsl He says: “ The archives of the day register a picture of those torture processes _we ma? do wisely to ass by in silence. In _the history o the crimes of humanity, no less than in the biographies of individuals, there are reticences we cannot in- fringe with impunity.” The paper _on _‘Recent Novels of Manners’ is good. To some it will be by far the most attractive part of the present issue. It is, however, b no means so laudatory as some may think their fhvourite authors have a right to demand. To one passage we are compelled_to take exception. A certain novelist has described an intolerant clergyman as burning the manuscript of a lady who has already made a name in literature ; this the writer thinks could never have occurred in real life. We can assure him that something] like it is by no means impossible or even unlike y _to have happened. We have ourselves known in- stances of the cremation of quite innocent books- other peo le’s pro rty-by stupid pbscurantists who coulcl) not undlfrstand them, which in no way differ from the case quoted except that the results were not likely to be so pecuniarily serious. Berse- cution chan es its forms, but in essence continues the same. X case is painfully familiar to us of a serious family quarre having occurred because a man of very considerable mark in the literary world, who was forty years of age or thereabouts, persisted in reading a philosophical book of which a member of his family disapgroved. While such cruel stupidities exist aroun us, and even find defenders, it is well that they should be represented in their true light by those who possess the descrip- tive faculty. he review of Goldwin Smith’s ‘ The United Kingdom: a Political History,’ is an attempt to s1ft_the wheat from the chaff in a work in which there is a good share of both. All that Mr. Smith writes 1s_powerful, and with much that he has said we cordially agree, but his paradoxes have ever been numerous and some of t em dangerously mis- leading. We are glad to think that the writer is not in agreement with him regarding the murder of Archbis op Scrope, an act among the most indefen- sible of the many crimes which occurred during the Wars of the Roses. The reviewer is, however, not correct when he speaks of the monasteries as extra- diocesan “and under the immediate authority of the Pope.” Some were what was called “ exempt,” but sureli the large majority of them were under the local aut orities. The review of the new ‘ History of Northumberland ’ is necessarily too fragmentary to be pleasant reading, but will be of service by drawing attention to a great work which is far too little known out of the North Count-ry. The barbarous state of the borders is illustrated by a letter which has come to light since the history was printed, and is, therefore, most wisely given in full by the reviewer. AN interesting work on Surrey local history, entitled ‘The Oak Hamlet ’ by Mr. H. St. John Bashall, will be published by Mr. Stock very shortly. lt will give the history of the village of Ocham, with muc curious information concerning its early condition and personal associations. MR. ALFRED S'r.u>LE'roN romises, by subscrip- tion, ‘All about the Merry 'llales of Gotham] with illustrations by H. Packer. ystim ts Gmzsgsuhznts. 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 rules. Let each note, query, or reply be written on a separate slip oipaper, with the signature of the writer and such dress as he wishes to appear. When answer- ing queries, or making notes with regard to previous entries in the lpaper, contributors are requested to Hut in parent eses, immediately after the exact eading, the series, volume, and page or pages to which they refer. Correspondents who repeat queries are requested to head the second com- munication “ Duplicate.” C. B. -Declined with thanks. N 0 TICE. Editorial Communications should be addressed te “The Editor of ‘Notes and Queries’ ”-Advertise- ments and Business Letters to “ The Publisher”- at the Office, Bream’s Buildings, Chancery Lane, E. C. 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.