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 9" s. vm. JULY e, 1901.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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Jn his gratitude for this relief, the earl gave Roger the control of the fiddlers and rabble generally of Chester a not too desirable privilege, which Roger transferred to Hugh de Button and his heirs. This custom became one of licensing the musicians of the county. We cannot go further into the sub- ject, but will only say that the last court was held so late as 1756, and that the right is supposed to be vested in the heir-general of the Buttons, though Thomas Button, the last of the male-line owners of Button, under Puritan influence refused a licence for "piping and dancing " on Sundays. It is a curious fact that the Buttons in the time of Eliza- beth had a special exemption from the penalties, including whipping, pronounced against their clients as " rogues and vagabonds." Had Scott known of the bestowal of this privilege, he would probably have used it in 'The Betrothed,' the period of which it might be made to fit. At the time of the Domesday Survey a follower of the Conqueror, from whom a direct descent can be traced, was established at Button, then Buntune, in Cheshire. The family is described by Leycester as "of great worth and antiquity." Sir Thomas de Button, the first knight of the family, was Sheriff of Cheshire in 1268. In the fourteenth century the family branched to Hatton, near Chester, a property then considerable, which had been acquired by marriage. Apropos of this the writer says that "Sir Christopher Hat- ton, Queen Elizabeth's dancing Lord Chancellor, ' claimed kindred there and had his claims allowed.' " Others of the Buttons had previously fought in the Crusades, with Hotspur, at Agincourt, or on one or other side in the Wars of the Roses. Sherborne, whence comes the title of Lord Sherborne the book is dedicated to Lady Sherborne was pur- chased in 1551 by Thomas Button. Branches of the family settled in Yorkshire, Staffordshire, and Benbighshire, and individuals of the name are heard of in various posts of danger or authority. Sir Piers Button assisted zealously in the suppres- sion of the monasteries under Henry VIII. In Little Gaddesden Church, Herts, is a striking monument, erected by Lord Chancellor Ellesmere, her grandfather, to Elizabeth Button, who died " a wife, a widow, and a maid in the year 1611, aged sixteen." She was formally betrothed to John Button when eleven years old. Her husband is supposed to have been accidentally killed on the day fixed for the consummation of the wedding. Thomas Button, the last of the direct male line, and twentieth in descent from Odard, the founder of the family, died on 28 Becember, 1614, his son John having predeceased him in 1609. High interest attends the bloodthirsty duel fought on Calais sands in Becember, 1610, between Sir Thomas Button and Sir Hatton Cheke (grandson of the famous Sir John Cheke), in which the latter combatant was slain. The fight is characteristically described by Carlyle in the fourth volume of his 'Miscellanies.' This duel was followed in 1712 by another perhaps the most celebrated in English history between the first Lord Button, better known as the Buke of Hamilton, and Lord Mohun, in which both com- batants met their death. Among those who have dealt with this fight are Swift and Thackeray. Sir Ralph Button, of Standish, raised a regiment for King Charles eight hundred strong, which with flying colours joined the royal standard at Notting- ham, being the second regiment raised.

We cannot follow the further fortunes of this noble family, of which Lord Sherborne, a welcome

contributor to our columns, is a present repre- sentative. Lord Sherborne has, indeed, printed for private circulation the records of the Sherborne branch, a work which we have not seen, and one, as we have proved, difficult of access. The author of the present volume writes like a scholar and a gentleman, and supplies, in addition to a spirited chronicle, notes of historical and literary value. His book is enriched with an excellent index, useful appendices, pedigrees, facsimiles, and illustrations, including portraits, admirably reproduced, of Lord Chancellor Ellesmere, the fourth Buke of Hamilton, and Lord Mohun. The frontispiece presents what remains of Button Hall, in Cheshire, erected in 1539-42 by Sir Piers Button and Bame Julian (sic) his wife. Other views of the Hall, of achievements of Button arms, &c., also appear. Many letters and documents previously unprinted are given, and the work is a model of what a family history ought to be. It is admirably printed, and is bound in cream- coloured canvas with a coat of arms of the Buttons in gold and colours upon the side, and is in all respects de luxe.

JANE AUSTEN" has become a constant figure in current literature, and each successive month brings with it some new criticism or tribute. In the Fortnightly Mr. Rowland Grey writes on the bores in her novels. These are numerous, and may well indeed be so when " courteous, gentlemanly Mr. Woodhouse" is numbered among such. Mr. Grey does not, however, confine himself to bores, but has something to say on other types in Miss Austen's well-filled galleries. Under the title 'A Sportsman on Cruelty to Animals' Mr. Aflalo defends himself from the attacks of the " humani- tarians." It is not necessary, however, to be one of those who forbid the slaughter of animals for food in order to condemn their destruction for sport. Lady Jeune writes amusingly on ' Bridge.' Mr. W. S. Lilly devotes much space to 'Le Fantome ' of M. Paul Bourget, whom ne regards as "the greatest novelist that France has produced since the days of Balzac." The subject of the book on which Mr. Lilly comments is dreadfully un- pleasant, but so, for the matter of that, are the sub- jects of many of the fictions of Balzac. While over- praising, as we fancy, for we have not read the book, the merits of a story " worthy of the pens of the old tragedians of Hellas," Mr. Lilly takes the oppor- tunity to express his own views as to the value of religious sanctions in the enforcement of the moral law. Mr. William Laird Clowes advocates 'The Cheapening of Useful Books.' He comments, as well he may, upon the manner in which people of all classes have been coaxed into buying by instal- ments "an imperfect and partially antiquated book," and he holds that " we are not yet a great reading nation, but we are on the point of becoming one." Mr. Stephen Gwynn dwells on ' Some Recent Books,' among which is M. Maeterlinck's ' Life of the Bee.' Mr. Karl Blind supplies to the Nineteenth Century some facts not generally known concerning the origin of the 'Marseillaise.' If we may accept the statements now made, Rouget de I'lsle has enjoyed honours to which he was not entitled. The being part of a mass composed in 1776 by Holtz- mann, the Kapellmeister of the Elector of the Palatinate. Rouget de I'lsle, we are further told, narrowly escaped the guillotine, was saved by the overthrow of Robespierre, and lived until 1836.
 * Marseillaise' was, we are told, made in Germany,