A few rough woodcuts adorn the book. Thomas Russell's own copy, which is still extant, is diligently corrected and annotated in view of a new edition, and many of the extra notes added by the author are of special value. He died, however, before the demand arose for a second edition of his work.

The Rev. Thomas Russell certainly wrote The Guildford Jack-Daw,' and his brother John drew the illustrations in Indian ink very beautifully, and the same size as the present very rough woodcuts. Thomas also kept a commonplace book, which is in the writer's possession, and recorded in it are very many important notes on the history of the town and county. By some printed forms which are fastened into it we can see that he was preparing for a history of the county on a large scale, which he was probably only prevented from carrying into execution by his death on July 18, 1822. The other children of the Mayor were three daughters, Ann, Elizabeth, and Katharine, and another son William, who married Ann Baker, and from whom are descended the present representatives in Guildford of the family and those who still in other parts of the county bear the family name. This brother has left at least one water-colour drawing, that of Hedingham Castle, in the possession of the Misses Russell, but his share of the family genius showed itself in an excellent taste and capability in sculpture. The father's imprint also appears upon the 'Life of Abbot' which was published in 1777, the same year as the first edition of the history, and this, although only a compilation, is yet a very skilful one, and may probably be traced to the hand of Thomas Russell, who would at that time be about twenty-nine years of age. The drawings in the book were also, as regards one of them (that of the hospital), his work, but as regards the other two, of the Archbishop and Sir Nicholas Kempe, the work of his more gifted brother John. The well-known view of the Grammar School was also the work of the Rev. Thomas Russell, and another very charming picture, entitled "A View of Guildford,' came from the same hand.

To the father himself we are indebted for 'The North-West Prospect of Guildford' with its surrounding smaller views of buildings, which was published by "John Russel, jun.," as he then called himself, in 1759, and for the other view of 'Guildford from the North-West,' published in 1782. Whose work this first prospect actually was is hardly known, unless, as is commonly believed, the bookseller, John Russell, not only published but drew it, as he states in the margin. It could not have been the Royal Academician's work, as he at that time was but fourteen years old, although it has been attributed to him.

In 1739 a book entitled 'An Inquiry into the Jewish and Christian Revelation' was printed for

its author, Samuel Parvish, and sold by him in Guildford, and this writer is believed to have been the father of the Ann Parvish who married the Mayor and 'who was mother to the Royal Academician. A second edition of the Inquiry' appeared in 1746, 8vo. One other work, published in 1772 by the worthy paterfamilias, must be mentioned, and that is the Poetical Blossoms; or, a Collection of Poems, Odes, and Translations, by a Young Gentleman of the Royal Grammar School, Guildford' (i. e., Richard Valpy). The book was written when the author was but sixteen; but he lived to become a very eminent Greek scholar and author, and was great-grandfather to the Rev. Arthur Sutton Valpy, the present rector of Guildford. Richard Valpy matriculated from Pembroke College, Oxford, April 1, 1773, then aged eighteen, and graduated B. A. in 1776, proceeding M.A. in 1784, and B. and D.D. in 1792. He was head master of Henry VII.'s School at Reading, Berks, from 1781 until his death on March 28, 1836. John Russell also possessed a taste for carving, and a tobacco-stopper is still preserved by the Misses Russell, the ivory head of which represents a greyhound seizing a hare, and is very cleverly carved.

The eldest son was the most gifted member, and is far the best known for his excellent and beautiful artistic work; but there are younger branches of the family who merit recognition. William, the youngest son, already mentioned, had thirteen children. George, the eldest, was specially artistic, and prepared some water-colour sketches of the Old Friary for the 1845 edition of the History,' to which we will refer shortly. Samuel married Marianne Sharp, of Gatwick Hall, and died in 1875, leaving two daughters. George, in conjunction with his bachelor brothers William and John, carried on the bookselling and publishing business, and for many years printed Russell's Almanack,' and did most of the local printing. To their press we are indebted for many local pamphlets of great interest, now very rare, especially the history of the Chennell murder and story of Mary Toft, and for the race-cards and playbills and almanacks of the town. All three partners were eminently disqualified for success in trade, all being disappointed men, forced by the mistaken care of their father to turn their backs on the careers they longed for and follow uncongenial pursuits. George had desired to be an artist, William a soldier, and was compelled to decline an offered commission in the Royal Artillery, while John was studying for holy orders, with a view to succeeding his uncle Thomas in the rectory of West Clandon. They all had strong artistic tastes, and have left piles of sketches to prove it.

It is to them that we are indebted for the last edition of the 'History of Guildford,' which is really an entirely different book from the others. It is entitled, 'Guildford: a Descriptive and His

torical View of the County Town of Surrey,' and was published in 1845, bearing the imprint of "G., W., and J. Russell." Mr. C. C. Pyne, afterwards drawing-master at the Grammar School, made most of the drawings, which were engraved by Thomson. Some were, however, as has been previously stated, made by the senior partner of the firm himself. The book is an octavo of 212 pages, with an index, and full of interest, and although due to more than one hand, it was probably mostly the work of the various members of the firm themselves. Mr. Samuel Russell was the last of the family to pass away, and with us are still his two daughters, the Misses Russell, who it is to be hoped will be long spared to reside in the town in which they, as the last remaining residents of this important family, are so highly respected and esteemed. The youngest son of William Russell, Edward James Richard (born 1795, died 1871) did not enter his brothers' business. His children are still living. Of the three sons, Edward James is vicar of Todmorden, near Manchester, William is minor canon and succentor of St. Paul's Cathedral, and George Monro, also in holy orders, is curate of Firle, near Lewes, Sussex. There are besides two sisters.

Upon some future occasion the writer may refer more freely to the most gifted member of this talented family, John Russell (1745-1806), Royal Academician, whom Redgrave terms the "prince of crayon portrait painters."

GEORGE C. WILLIAMSON, D.Lit.

Guildford, Surrey.

OUR PUBLIC RECORDS. (Continued from 8th S. iii. 462.)

I have spoken of the records of the Courts of Chancery and Exchequer; now let me call attention to those of the two other principal courts of law, the Common Pleas and the Queen's Bench. In the former the proceedings are in two divisions, those on the "Crown" side, and those on the "Plea" side. The "Crown" side comprises some most important classes, and includes the Assize, Coroners, and Gaol Delivery Rolls, the Baga de Secretis, the Controlment Rolls, and the Coram Rege Rolls.

The Assize Rolls are, unfortunately, a very imperfect set. They exist from the reign of John to that of Henry VI.; but after Edward III.'s time they are very few in number; however, for yielding topographical and genealogical information they are most important. Entered upon them are the pleas taken before the Justices of Assize, Pleas of the Crown, and pleas of Quo Warranto, as well as those De Ragemannis, i. e., the pleas before the justices assigned by the Statute of Rageman, passed in 4 Edward I., to hear and determine all complaints of injuiries committed throughout the realm during the five preceding years. The pleas

of Quo Warranto are those taken under a writ of the king to inquire by what warrant such and such a person, or such and such a body corporate, enjoyed any particular estate or liberty. It is obvious, therefore, of what very great value these pleas are in legal antiquarian inquiries. These pleadings, says Mr. Scargill Bird, in his 'Handbook,' were first instituted as a consequence of the Inquisitiones Hundredorum, taken early in the reign of Edward I., which inquisitions were delivered to the Justices in Eyre for the purpose of holding pleas upon claims therein put forth. There is no complete calendar to the pleas of Quo Warranto, nor to other pleas entered on the Assize Rolls. There is, however, a folio volume, indexed, printed by the Record Commission, which contains a great number of Quo Warranto proceedings, and another, printed by the same Commission, called the Abbreviatio Placitorum.' Besides these, the series known as " Agard's Indices" contains abstracts, arranged under counties, of a good many entries on the Assize Rolls. A fair idea of the varied and important nature of the matter to be found on the rolls under notice may be gained by reference to Mr. Page's volume, 'Three Early Assize Rolls for the County of Northumberland,' printed two or three years ago by the Surtees Society. The searcher should remember that since the tenth year of the reign of Edward III. claims of privileges have not been adjudicated by Justices Itinerant, but have been heard either in the King's Bench or Exchequer, and so are enrolled on the Coram Rege Rolls (of which presently) or the Memoranda Rolls. Of the Coroners' and Gaol Delivery Rolls, a list is in progress. It should be mentioned that the former of these classes contains the enrolments of coroners' inquests.

The records of the class known as the Baga de Secretis contain a great deal of curious historical matter. They consist of the proceedings in trials for high treason and other state offences from the reign of Edward IV. to the close of that of George III. Three keys, one kept by the Lord Chief Justice, another by the Attorney General, and a third by the Master of the Crown Office, formerly guarded these secret archives, which were preserved in a closet, representing the Baga. But closet and keys have now disappeared, and a good descriptive_calendar (printed in the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Reports of the Deputy-Keeper of Records) makes the documents available to the student. The importance of the class may be judged from the fact that it contains the records in the trials of Anne Boleyn, Sir Walter Ralegh, Guy Fawkes, the regicides, and the luckless adherents of the house of Stuart in the risings of 1715 and 1745.

The Controlment Rolls exist from 1 Edward III. to the year 1843. Each roll may be divided into three parts: (1) the Bag Roll, on which we find minutes of various writs issued in each term ;

(2) the Controlment Roll proper, on which are minutes of appearances and pleas; and (3) the Special Writ Roll, on which are enrolments of writs of Mandamus (which when no return was made to them do not appear on the Crown Roll-of which presently), and other special writs. These Controlment Rolls are without calendar: there is one roll for each year.

The Coram Rege Rolls are a very important class. They are now subdivided as follows: Curia Regis Rolls, 5 Richard I. to 56 Henry III.; Coram Rege Rolls, 1 Edward I. to 13 William III.; and Crown Rolls, 1 Anne to 22 Victoria. Mr. Scargill Bird points out (p. 163 of the 'Handbook') the reasons which have led to this subdivision. From the commencement of Edward I.'s reign the Coram Rege Rolls contain the entry of all proceedings in the Queen's Bench, proceedings on the Crown side appearing on what is distinguished as the Rex Roll.

The Curia Regis Rolls, 6 Richard I. to 1 John, are printed in full ('Rotuli Curiæ Regis,' 2 vols. 8vo.). Abstracts of rolls of the same Courts and some of the Coram Rege Rolls (Richard I. to Edward II.) are printed in the Abbreviatio Placitorum' already referred to, whilst "Agard's Indices" also contain reference to abstracts of a good many pleas on the Coram Rege Rolls. From the reign of Charles I. to the end of the series the entries on the Coram Rege and the Crown Rolls are referred to by what are known as the Great Doggett Books; prior to that date by Doggett Rolls.

On the Plea side of the Queen's Bench there is not much to attract general attention. The Essoin Rolls, Edward III. to Henry V., and 3 Henry VII. to 40 George III., which contain entries of "essions" or 66 "2 excuses for non-appearance to writs issued by the Court, are the most ancient.

In the Common Pleas records, the De Banco Rolls first claim our attention. Prior to the twenty-fifth year of Queen Elizabeth's reign they contain, in addition to Personal Pleas, the Pleas of Land, or Common Recoveries, as well as the enrolment of deeds and other miscellaneous writings. After 26 Elizabeth the recoveries and deeds are found on what are termed the Recovery Rolls. The Personal Pleas are extremely important to the genealogist. Many generations of pedigree often appear in them, and it is a pity that no proper calendar to them exists. "General" Harrison laboured for many years amongst this class of records, and compiled from them some exceedingly useful notes, which a few years ago Government acquired by purchase from his daughter; these are now placed for reference in the Legal Search Room. In the series known as "Le Neve's Indices" will also be found some volumes referring to entries in the De Banco Rolls.

After the De Banco Rolls, the next best known series of Common Pleas records is the

Pedes Finium. I will not here describe the nature of the fines-Mr. Scargill Bird does this very fully in the 'Handbook' (pp. 118-122). Suffice it to say that in the Pedes, or Feet of Fines, we have a most valuable record of the dealings with private property between individuals from the reign of Richard I. to that of William IV. They are arranged chronologically under counties; and their value to the topographer and to the genealogist is witnessed by the fact that numerous local record societies are engaged in calendaring them for their particular counties. From the reign of Henry VIII. there is a contemporary calendar to the Feet of Fines, arranged under counties, which are placed in more or less alphabetical order; but the searcher must remember that this does not give either the names of all the persons who are parties to the fine or all the premises dealt with by it: these can only be obtained by inspecting the document itself. W. J. HARDY.

(To be continued.)

ELIZABETH AND MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS. (Continued from 8th S. iii. 405.)

Just as Thomas Randolph had formerly been employed as the English emissary and spy in Scotland, so after was Henry Killigrew sent thither on the same unpleasant errand, and these instructions state very plainly what he was to say and what to leave unsaid.

The first subject entrusted to his diplomacy has reference to the siege and capture of Hume Castle, one of the strongest fortresses of the Borders. This siege had taken place in 1570, the Earl of Sussex being sent with a powerful army to punish those Scotch noblemen and chieftains, the Lords of Buccleuch, Farnihurst, and others, who had sheltered Queen Mary's adherents in the northern rebellion, and also to further retaliate for the inroad made by the Scotch into the English Marches on the very night when Regent Murray was murdered at Linlithgow; and the retaliation for these offences was both complete and severe.

The religious question in Europe became further complicated by the death of Charles IX. of France, and the succession of Henry III. to the throne, the latter king being no admirer or partisan of Queen Elizabeth. The former league referred to is probably the treaty of Berwick. The ecclesiastical affairs of Scotland were in a very disturbed state about this period, the Regent and the bishops striving each to gain the mastery and spoil the Church.

The question of charges and pensions was throughout Elizabeth's reign a matter of discussion and vexation between the two kingdoms; the queen's enemies saying that she bribed the officials to execute her wishes, while she herself

appears to have regarded the Scotch Government officers as her own servants of state, to be paid and ordered about as she thought fit. Like many things else, there were decidedly two sides of the question in every matter of Elizabethan policy :

raigne.

Instructions gyven to our trustie and welbeloved Servaunte Henry Killigree Esquier presently sent into Scotland the 22 of Maie 1574 in the xvith year of our Immediately upon your arrivall into Scotland our pleasure is that you shall diligently searche owte what alterration hath happened since your last beinge there, As particularly whether the Regent continewe constant in his affection towards us howe his manner of proceadinge in his government is liked, what partie the Scottish Queene hath ther, whether such of qualitie as you knowe to be devoted to the present gouernment contynewe constantly affected: and if they be aliened whoe they be, by what practise and meanes: whether ther hath not beene any lately sente owte of ffraunce to practise under hande any alterration in that state especially to haue the younge kinge delivered into their owne hands or whether they loke for any shortly to repaier hither from thence and to what ende: of which particularities and of any suche other like when you shalbe throughly enformed wee would haue you to advertise us with all convenient speede.

And for that wee judge that the Regent looketh to receaue from us answeare touchinge certaine pointes of memoriall he delivered you at your last departure thence wherof some remaine as yet unansweared for his satisfaction in that behalfe you shall proceade in directinge your speache as followeth:

first touchinge the Ordinaunce taken in Hume Castell pertayninge unto the Kinge as he aleageth you shall saie unto him that wee doe meane to give order that so muche therof as shalbe proved to appertaine to the said King shalbe delivered, And as for the rest that appertaineth to the L: Hume wee cannot without iniurynge our good Cosen the Erle of Sussex to whome by lawe marshall it doth appertaine restore it: nor the lord Hume beinge the enemye demande it: And we would that it weare not forgotten howe willingly and daungerousely our said Cosen of Sussex did make that enterprise: So as it is not meete that he should be abbridged of Secondarily whereas he desireth to enter into contract with us and our Crowne for the mayntenaunce of the common cawse of relligion, as a thinge most necessarie in this tyme, in respect of certaine secreat leagues mad for the impugninge and overthrowinge of the same: you shall signifie unto him that we seeinge how necessarie it is that not only that Crowne should joyne with us but also all other Princes professinge one relligion with us haue not beene unmindfull therof wherof you can giue good accompte for that you weare mad somewhat acquanted with the negociations of the Counte Palatines servant that was last heare:

that is due to him for that service:

Thirdly whereas he thincketh it necessarie to have a league between oure twoe Realmes for mutuall defence against forraine invasion you maye tell him that the former ginerall league proceadinge the other shall not be greatly necessarie: for that none can pretend anie quarrell to invad the twoe Realmes, unlesse it be for relligion: And if notwithstandinge this answeare he shall insiste to thincke a particuler league were necessarie: you shall tell him as of your selfe that you did not thincke it necessarie to presse us muche in that behalfe for that you have alwaies seene us readie to yeald our assistance when any necessitie hath required the same as muche of good will as any league could binde

us: as also for that you see that the generall league proceadinge for defence of relligion there wilbe no necessitie of the particular:

ffourthly whereas he hath desired some supporte from us for himselfe in respecte of the excessive chardges he pretendeth to susteine: and further thought it necessarie that we bestowed somewhat in yearly pensions one some of the nobilitie there: Our pleasure is you touche nether muche prest in them then you maye saie you will write of theise toe pointes: But if you shalbe by hym verie unto us in that behalfe to knowe our resolution.

Last of all our pleasure is that in all other matters wherein nowe you receaue no Instructions by writinge you do accordingly to that we haue alreadie by mouthe declared unto you or as you shall herafter by our letters E. E. THOYTS.

be directed.

(To be continued.)

SINGER'S PLAGIARISM.-S. W. Singer, in the preface, p. xiv, to his 'Text of Shakespeare Vindicated,' &c., 1853, says: "The following canons have been deduced from the course he [i.e., J. P. Collier] has recently pursued and advocated," and proceeds to give thirteen "canons" of criticism. These " canons Thomas Edwards's Canons of Criticism, being a are taken nearly literally from Supplement to Mr. Warburton's Edition of Shakespear,' of which a seventh edition was published in 1765. In no part of Singer's work can I find any deduces are not original; and yet no one, so far acknowledgment that the "canons" which he as I am aware, seems to have discovered the plagiarism. The first of Singer's "canons" reads: "A professed critic on Shakespeare has a right to declare," &c. Edwards's first "canon" reads the same, with the exception that the two words Shakespeare are omitted. Edwards's second canon reads: "He has a right to alter any passage which he does not understand." Compare this with Singer's third "canon": "He has a right to alter what he does not understand, even when parallel passages in the poet might be adduced to explain the meaning.' A further comparison would show that Singer's thirteen canons are extracted nearly literally from the twenty-five canons" of Edwards. J. E. SPINGarn. New York.

FOLK-LORE OF THE FELLAHIN.—

"

on

"The gross superstition and the innumerable local saints remind us of medieval times. Many-perhaps mostof the people wear charms written on paper and sewn up in leather; they are worn around the neck, on the purse or pouch, or on the top of the cap. Cattle are also sometimes protected by them......The most absurd tales are readily believed, and there is little or no discrimination or criticism applied to them. At one village there lies a large number of rough stones half hidden in the ground, scattered over an acre or so probably old remnants of building material, brought a century or two ago from the hills. A great festival of a local saint is

held at the village yearly, and an intelligent fellow gravely told me that the saint had been murdered there with all his followers, of whom a thousand were buried