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NOTES AND QUERIES. f9 s. ix. APRIL 26, 1902.

4 Christ washing the Feet of Peter.' The selection of legends that is made by Mrs. Bell is the best easily conceivable, and the book is interesting as well as instructive and edifying. It is pleasant to know that a second volume from the same pen, dealing with the Fathers of the Church, the great hermits, and other early saints, is in preparation.

The History of the Parish of Hailsham, the Abbey of Otham, and the Priory of Michelham. By L. F. Salzmann. (Lewes, Farncombe & Co.) IN writing an account of the East Sussex parish of Hailsham and the two adjacent ecclesiastical edifices (now converted into farmhouses) of Otham Abbey and Michelham Priory Mr. Salzmann has been influenced by Macaulay, whose words he quotes as a motto upon his title-page, " It is un- profitable to study the history of a state in isola- tion ; not wars and treaties only, but the internal vicissitudes of the commonwealth, form the real subject-matter of inquiry, and the smallest details, biographical, economical, or topographical, may have the greatest value." His own work illustrates forcibly the truth of his citation. Thanks to its numerous extracts from original documents, and to its ample indexes, it is of high antiquarian and the highest genealogical interest. Mr. Salz- mann rightly describes as little known the part of Sussex with which he deals, and though we are familiar with places included in his survey, such as Battle and Pevensey, the spots with which he is specially concerned are unvisited by us. Of Michelham Priory, founded in 1229 by Gilbert de Aquila, the remains consist principally of the crypt, a room above with a massive stone fireplace, and a large parlour with Tudor windows. Otham, founded by Ralph de Dene in the reign of Henry II., became the nucleus of a monastery of Premonstratensian canons. From the names affixed to the foundation charter Mr. Salzmann assumes the date of foundation to have been about 1180. Fragments only of the stonework of the original building and the shrine of St. Lawrence, now or recently used as a stable, are all that are trace- able. Prehistoric remains in Hailsham seem con- fined to a few flint implements and fragments of crockery, some of which may be Roman. The Amber Stone at Magham Down is said to have " abrogated [qy. arrogated] to itself the dignity of a Druidic monument," but its claims are unsup- ported by evidence. We could draw from the volume many illustrations of ancient customs, but with most of these the readers of ' N. & Q.' are familiar : such matters include the persecution of the Jews, the rebellion of Jack Cade, Puritan nomenclature, &c. It is for genealogical informa- tion that the book will be most prized, and the pedigree of the family of Medley, and the informa- tion concerning Aquila, Marmion, &c., have abiding value. In appendixes are supplied 'Marriages, 1558-1601,' and 'Consents of Marriage, 1653-1658.' The views of Hailsham and the buildings men- tioned are an enhancement of the pleasure to be derived from the book.

THE latest number of Folk- Lore affords very varied reading. ' More Folk-lore from the Hebrides ' and ' Unlucky Children ' are followed by Mrs. Gomme's summary of the antiquated medical beliefs of the Boers, recorded in the reports on the working of the refuge camps in South Africa; after which come an account of the rice harvest and other

customs in Ceylon, and a Hindu story called 'The Tiger Prince.' At p. 94 there is also given an interesting description of the " vessel cup custom as it still exists in East Yorkshire.

THE Antiquary for April contains, with other papers, a brief notice, illustrated with a photo- gravure, of a rock-cut wine-press discovered on Mount Carmel. The Palestine mountain-sides are studded, it seems, with wine-fats as well as cisterns and rock-tombs ; but wine-fats are now no longer hewn, since the owners of the existing vineyards are usually Mohammedans, who may not make wine out of their grapes.

AMONG the many diverse subjects discussed in recent issues of the Intermediate are fashion in the choice of baptismal names, the use of the same churches by Catholics and Protestants, and the wife of Heinrich Heine, "Mathilde," whose real name was Crescence Eugenie Mi rat.

UNDER the title ' Rariora ' Mr. John Eliot Hodg- kin, F.S.A., promises a series of notes on some of the printed books (incunabula, &c.), manuscripts, broadsides, engravings, historical documents, coins, medals, &c., in his remarkable collection. The work, which is of singular interest, may be sub- scribed for at Messrs. Sampson Low, Marston & Co.'s It will appear next month in artistic form, with many hundreds of illustrations, coloured and other, and is a work to be prized by collectors.

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