160
NOTES AND QUERIES. p* s. XL FEB. 21, MM.
stockings ' is an interesting eighteenth -century
character. It is the fashion to regard the women
of those days as far less educated than their repre-
sentatives at the present time. This we regard as
a mistake. It is, of course, not fair to judge by a
single example, but Mrs. Elizabeth Montagu may,
we think, be taken in some degree as a type of a
class, most of the members of which were in far less
favourable circumstances, and therefore, for the
most part, passed away unknown except to a very
narrow circle of friends. Though she had great
sympathy with literature of the higher kind, and
had read widely, the essay she published on * The
Writings and Genius of Shakespear ' was not much
valued. 'The Early Art of the Netherlands,' by
Julia Ady, is a valuable criticism, unclogged,
we are happy to say, with those technical terms
for which some writers have so great an affinity.
We have been much pleased by the notice too
short though it be of Van der Weyden, an artist
who is not appreciated in this country as he
deserves. Students of Christian symbolism may
like to know that Memlinc who may have been,
though the statement is doubtful, a pupil of Van
der Weyden painted for Sir John Donne, of Kid-
welly, who was slain at the battle of Edgecote, a
portrait of the knight and his wife kneeling at the
feet of the Blessed Virgin, while one of the attendant
angels presents the divine babe with an apple.
One of Raphael's Madonnas holds an apple, which
was intended to shadow forth that she was the
second Eve. The paper on New Testament criticism
is important, as it will help to clear the air of the
fog and dust with which men who stand at the
opposite poles of thought have succeeded in sur-
rounding the subject. We ourselves can discover
no reason why the works which form the canon of
the Christian Church should not be judged by the
same rules as have been found applicable to other
precious documents which have come down to us
from remote antiquity, but no one can protest too
strongly against those who rush into the field of
Biblical criticism without arduous preparation.
Sir Michael Foster contributes a paper entitled ' A
Conspectus of Science, 5 which we are very glad to
have had the opportunity of reading. From the
nature of the subject it can appeal to but few of
those who would be most benefited by its perusal.
ALL concerned in the production of the Devon Notes and Queries are to be congratulated on its success. So far from there being any falling off, the work progresses satisfactorily. If we remember aright, the number of contributors goes on with steady increase. The plates, too, are all interest- ing. Among them is one of a noble armorial tankard, bearing the Exeter hall-mark of 1737, which once belonged to the church of Clyst St. George, but has found its way to New York. The paper on the seal of the borough of Honiton, contributed by Mr. J. Gale Pendrick, and the plate that accompanies it are very interesting. The design is a great puzzle, and several futile guesses have been ventured upon. We dare not enter the lists with a solution, except by offering the mere guess that the present is in- tended for a copy of a mediaeval seal, the artist of which did not understand the meaning of the object put before him to copy. Is it possible that any impression of the borough seal made in Plantagenet tiroes may be preserved in the Record Office, the Bishops Registry, or elsewhere? Mr. H. Michell Whitley contributes an inventory of the goods
belonging to John Strowbridge, a farmer of Ho-
brayne, in 1576. It is an interesting catalogue of
the personal possessions in a middle-class household
of the time of Elizabeth. In one of the chambers
was "a long cushen of churche worke." This is
interesting. The cushion was. we may feel sure,
made out of vestments acquired when the churches
were pillaged in the time of Edward VI. or when
Protestantism became finally triumphant in the
early years of Elizabeth. As a supplement we are
given the first portion of the churchwardens'
accounts of Morebath. They begin in 1520, and,
when concluded, will be carried down to 1600.
Judging from the fragment at present before us,
it must be a valuable contribution to local know-
ledge. The spelling of some of the words differs
widely from that commonly found in documents of
the same date and character in the middle and east
of England. This no doubt indicates a difference
of pronunciation, which should be carefully noted
by philologists. Before the Reformation there were
eight gilds or stores at Morebath, named respec-
tively St. George, the Jesus Store, the Store of our
Blessed Lady, St. Sidwell (St. Ceadwold), St. An-
thony, the Alms Light Store, the Young Men's
Gild, and the Young Women's Gild. There was
also a church house, in which no doubt these gilds
transacted their business ; beer was brewed and
stored there, and under its roof the ale feasts were
held. On one occasion, indeed, these accounts
speak of it as "ye cherche ale howsse."
Qotitts to
We mutt call special attention to tht following notieet :
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- ing queries, or making notes with regard to previous entries in the paper, contributors are requested to put in parentheses, immediately after the exact heading, the series, volume, and page or pages to which they refer. Correspondents who repeat queries are requested to head the second com- munication " Duplicate."
H. S. ("Garage"). Already noted. See 9 th S. viii. 143, 230.
J. A. C. Diirer is strictly correct ; but it may ; be regarded as an English word, when Durer would ! do.
CORRIGENDUM. P. 116, col. 1, 1. 8, for " Warwick- 1 shire ' ' read Northamptonshire.
NOTICE.
Editorial communications should be addressed! to " The Editor of 'Notes and Queries'" Adver-j< tisements and Business Letters to "The Pub- lisher" 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 te this rule we can make no exception.
