NOTES AND QUERIES. no* s. i. JA v _>, 1904,
i'ects. In its early days the Surtees Society was
ridiculed in influential quarters for publishing
ancient wills, which were regarded as quite useless
for those who possessed even a little common
ense; and the reverence shown for illustrious
descent by Sir Francis Palgrave in more than
one passage in his ' History of Normandy am
England ' was said, at the time of publica
tion, to have injured the sale of the work. A
.happy change has, however, taken place, -vnd in
some degree, at least, we ought to thank our
American cousins for the improvement. The
-educated classes of that great democracy were
.always free from some of those prejudices which
overshadowed us, and were therefore anxious to
-connect themselves, not only in imagination, but in
fact, with the families of the old land ; so a large
number of race-histories have been produced some,
at is true, executed on wrong lines, but others based
on the soundest principles of modern research. We
.may safely say that no work of the nature of the
one before us could possibly have come into exist-
ence half a century ago. The times were not ripe
ior it, nor was there a fitting architect to plan nor
workmen to execute. It is the first book we have
ever encountered wherein even an endeavour has
teen made to carry out on an extended and sys-
tematic scale the royal descents of the Britisli
people. Tlie Marquis of Ruvigny does not go back
beyond Edward IV. and Henry VII. He thus gives
the families dependent from the Houses of York
and Lancaster in the female lines, so far as un-
wearied research and hard work have enabled him
to collect and arrange them. A like course has
been pursued with regard to the descendants of
James III. of Scotland Many families inherit the
blood of the Plantagenets and Stuarts without
'being aware of the fact ; but the Marquis's labours
will be of special advantage to those who, while
.aware of their royal ancestry, do not know the
intervening links between themselves and their
distinguished progenitors. We wish it had been
possible for the author to begin his work at an
earlier period say with Henry II. Human life
iand energy have, however, their limitations; we
therefore dare not complain. We are too glad
that so large an instalment has been carried out
and done so well. The author tells us in the preface
some facts which we are sure are unrecognized by
many who have a special interest in knowing theni.
He enumerates, for example, some of the world-
renowned heroes, with all of whom the descendants
of Henry VII. count kinship. He might have added
.others ; but as it stands the catalogue is highly
instructive. Among them occur Alfred the Great,
ISt. Louis of France, Roderigo Diaz de Bivar (com-
jnonly known in England as the Cid), the Em-
perors of the East (Isaac II. and Alexius I.), and,
by far the greatest of all. Charlemagne, to whom
we owe the redemption of the greater part of the
European continent from barbarism, and its return
to such civilization as has been found attainable.
It has been commonly assumed by those who have never given attention to such subjects that royal descent is very uncommon, and that when it does occur it is found almost solely in the families of our older aristocracy, whose existence is well - nigh hidden in the crowded pages of the modern peerage. This is a strange mistake. We have personally known men and women in a very humble class of life whose descent from Alfred and, indeed, from Odin and Arthur, if these latter be any thing beyond
dream - figures is as unimpeachable as that of
royalty itself. The Marquis mentions a butcher,
a gamekeeper, a glass-cutter, an exciseman, a toll-
bar-keeper, a baker, and a tailor who are descend-
ants, through the Seymours, of Mary, the younger
daughter ofKing Henry VII.
In almost every direction care has been taken to make the work as complete as possible. Thus we have a little shield put against those persons who have a right to quarter the royal arms of the Plan- tagenets. It has often been assumed that all who inherit the blood have a right to the arms also ; but this is a mistake, in order to guard against which we wish the author had explained what are the prin- ciples by which this right is protected. There is but one family that of the Duke of Athol and his cousin Miss Caroline F. Murray who have a right to this " unique distinction " three times over.
This great compilation is well worthy of an extended commentary. We hope it will excite others to imitate it in directions which might be indicated. It must become a necessity for every one studying the history, and especially the local history, of the last four centuries.
MESSRS. ARROWSMITU, of Bristol, publish A Patience Pocket- Book, compiled by Mrs. Theodore Bent.
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 of paper, with the signature of the writer and such address as he wishes to appear. When answer- "ng queries, or making notes with regard to previous entries in the paper, contributors are requested to put in parentheses, immediately after the exact leading, the series, volume, and page or pages to which they refer. Correspondents who repeat queries are requested to head the second com- munication " Duplicate."
SIR E. T. BEWLEY. " Heardlome" shall appeal- next week.
P. P. A. (" They sa. Quhat sa the: ? Lat them sa "). In its familiar form, "They say," &c., it is he motto of Aberdeen University.
S. PEARCE. The death of " Henry Seton Merri- iian" was noticed in tbeAthenmtm of 28 November ast.
J. ELIOT HODGKIX. Please forward new address. A proof sent was returned through the Dead Letter Office.
XOTICE.
Editorial communications should be addressed
p "The Editor of ' Notes and Queries'" Adver-
isements and Business Letters to " The Pub-
isher" at the Office, Bream's Buildings, Chancery
Lane, E.C.
We beg leave to state that we decline to return ommunications which, for any reason, we do not Tint; and to this rule we can make no exception.
