458
NOTES AND QUERIES. [u s. xn. DEC. n, 1915.
SPURRIERS.
Vol. ii. p. 59, 1540, 31 Henry VIII. Richard
Thomson, spurrier, is mentioned in a lease granted
,to him by Christofer Clarke, citizen and dyer of
York ; John Wilkinson, corderer, of the same,
and another (named).
TAILORS AND MERCHANT TAILORS.
Vol. vii p. 215, mid thirteenth century. .Andrew le Taillur. Norwich.
Vol. vii. p. 219, late thirteenth century.
- ' Gregorio, cissore." Mentioned as one of the wit-
nesses to quit claim. Beppes in Flegg.
Vol. vii. p. 164, 1391. Thomas Taillour. JBurlingham, North.
Vol. ii. p. 333, 31 Aug., 1501. John Skev-
- yngton, citizen and taylor of London, is mentioned
in a bond.
Vol. ii. p. 231, 1521. Richard Smith, citizen and merchant tailor. London.
TANNERS.
Vol. iv. p. 107, 29 Jan., 1335, 9 Edward III. Adam le Tanner, mentioned in grant. Cicestre "(Chichester).
Vol. ii. p. 63, 1547, 1 Edward VI. Lease to William Wharton, tanner, of York.
WOOL MERCHANTS.
Vol. iii. p. 96, 18 June, 1599. In a letter tearing this date, Edward Newgate, writing to -Sir Thomas Tressom, says : "I bought two years past one Mr. Tirrell's wool, dwelling about Stonye Stratfor, he having two years wool, being much -of it both tarry and rotten, which I knew not until I had bought it." Norwyche.
A. S. WHITFIELD.
FRANCIS MERES AND JOHN FLORIO. As I
received no answer to my question in
' N. & Q.' of November 6 last (viz., What
evidence is there to support the statement
made by Mrs. C. C. Stopes, in her edition of
- Shakespeare's Sonnets,' that Francis Meres
^vas the brother-in-law of John Florio ?), I wrote to MRS. STOPES, asking her to be so kind as to refer me to the authority upon which she relied. I have now received a reply from her, dated 15 November, saying that she is not able to supply me with the evidence required, and until it is forthcoming I think the statement must be regarded as a>n unproved hypothesis. I regret that I incautiously followed it in my book, * Is thAte a Shakespeare Problem ? '
G. G. GREENWOOD. T ouse of Commons.
GERMAN LIBRARIES AND THE WAR. I take from the American Library Jowrnal for July a few particulars concerning the use of books by the German public since the commencement of hostilities.
As the result of an inquiry made by the Zentralblatt fur Biblioihekswesen it was found that at the time of going to press
with the March number 363 men had
been called from library work. The
Bavarians, as usual, have had to stant 1
the greatest individual drain. At the first
moment of panic in some places the libraries
suffered from a sudden withdrawal of subsi-
dies, but the Government felt the importance
of reading ; the mental life of the nation was
such that this policy of economy was given
up. During the first months of the war the
circulation work of most libraries fell off to
a startling extent, and the loss of the male
university students (in the University of
Berlin alone two-thirds had gone to the
front, or were in active training) was keenly
felt; but by November, when the bad
weather had set in, and the war had become
a matter of daily habit, people again turned
to the libraries, and here we have an idea
that our own authorities might well take
advantage of :
" The public libraries in the districts where the labouring classes predominated made particular efforts to reach the wives and mothers, set free from many housekeeping duties by the departure of their men. These women were taught to spend their leisure in the libraries, and instructed how to enjoy books. Afternoon and evening classes Were formed' Where comforts of all kinds were made for the men at the front."
Another good work done by the German libraries has been making them clearing- houses for the thousands of books bought or given and sent to the war zone or to wounded in hospitals. The Royal Library in Berlin had up to January last sent 90,000 books and over 40,000 periodicals. It is also making a collection of all literary material connected with the war ; we hope it includes our old friend Punch. Every effort is being made to preserve the treasures from the ravages of war, some being buried in fire-and bomb-proof cellars. A. N. Q.
" YES, SIR." A lady of my acquaintance believes that her commands were twice so responded to by a waiter (or waiters) at the Langham Hotel. I thought that a prepon- derance of male over female customers might have made the reply automatic ; but I have been reading parts of ' The Girl of the Limberlost,' by Gene Stratton Porter, and have begun to fancy that the Langham ministrants may have learned their English in America. The heroine of the story asks a question of another girl, who " looked at her irrespectively. ' Well, sir, I believe you could,' she answered at last " (p. 89). A boy replies " Yes, siree " (p. 163), to a woman who impresses a request on him , and uses the same form of assent to Elnora
