"Dublin, October 14. Letters patent have been passed under the Great Seal of this kingdom for the Translation of the Right Rev. and Hon. Doctor William Beresford, Bishop of Ossory, to the Archbishoprick of Tuam, with the united Bishoprick of Enaghdoen, and also for granting unto him the Bishoprick of Ardagh, in Commendam, the same being respectively vacant by the death of the Most Rev. Joseph Dean, Earl of Mayo, late Archbishop of Tuam.”

It would be of interest to know whether mention was made of the see of Annaghdown in the patent granted in 1867 to the late Dr. Charles Bernard, the second and last Bishop of Tuam appointed before the disestablishment. There are still some roofless ruins at Annaghdown (a few miles north of Galway) of what was once the cathedral church of that ancient bishopric.

Coatham, Yorkshire.

T. M. FALLow.

KILTER (7th S. x. 506).-Kilter or kelter was an "Anglicism "long before it was an Americanism." Skinner, in 1671, has, "Kelter; he is not yet in kelter, nondum est paratus." It is also given in my reprint of Ray's Collection of 1691. The k before i points to a Scandinavian origin. Cf. Dan. kilte, to truss, tuck up, whence E. kilt. Rietz gives Swed. dial., kilter-band, a band for holding up tucked-up clothes; kiltra-sig, to gird up, tuck up and fasten. The metaphor is obvious enough.

WALTER W. SKEAT.

This word, kelter, as it should be spelt, is given in Johnson's 'Dictionary,' and derived from the Danish kelter, to gird; a quotation is given from Barrow's Works, where the word is used. Bailey, in his 'Etymological Dictionary,' derives it from the Latin cultura. Halliwell (Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words") gives it as used in the East of England both as a substantive and as a verb. It is a word of every-day use in Surrey and Sussex, in the sense of order or condition. The Rev. W. D. Parish, in his 'Dictionary of the Sussex Dialect,' notices it in the phrase, "This farm seems in very good 'kelter." I have often heard it used in the same way, and anything that is out of condition is described as being "out o' kelter." On reference to the publications of the English Dialect Society it will be seen that the word is of very general use throughout England. In the neighbourhood of Whitby it occurs as a verb and a substantive, and in the Mid and East Yorkshire glossaries also; it is used also in West

C. C. B.

COLLECTION OF AUTOGRAPHS (7th S. x. 505).——— I am almost sure that the custom of collecting the sixteenth century. The book kept for such autograms existed on the Continent at the end of purpose was, I believe, called a Stamm-buch in German. I have come across many early specimens of these during my searches in the MS. Department of the British Museum. I can now only remember one which formerly belonged to a man of the name of Puehler; but if your correspondent will refer to the Catalogue of Additional MSS. he will no doubt be able to find a great many L. L. K.

more.

If MR. CROFTON will refer to the Second Series of your issue, iii. 351, 413, he will find that MR. SCROPE is right in his declaration. W. H. BURNS.

Dacre Vicarage.

DUMB BORSHOLDER (7th S. x. 387, 478).—I venture to supplement the interesting reply at p. 478 by pointing out that, under the heading 'Mace at Wateringbury,' KENT will find in 6th S. x. 446, a few lines from me on this subject. From a rough sketch and verbal description given to me about that date, the "dumb borsholder" would appear to be a globular-headed mace, "between two and three feet long, with a steel spike of a further length of six inches projecting from the head," in continuation of the stem of the mace. I have, however, no personal knowledge on the subject.

Among my miscellaneous memoranda I find the following:

"That which in the west country was at that time [in the reign of Alfred] (and yet is) [in 1570] called a tithing is in Kent termed a borow, of the Saxon worde born, these pledges, which the Westernmen call a tithingman, which signifieth a pledge or a suretie, and the chiefe of they of Kent name a borsholder, of the Saxon wordes borhes ealdor, that is to say, the most auncient or elder of the pledges."

The local vulgar pronunciatien "boss'lder," without the interloping h seems based upon this etymology.

If I rightly recollect what I have been told, this

"dumb borsholder" is still brought out to view and placed upright on a table at certain meetings (whether of a court, a mock court, or a convivial society, I do not know), and is so far treated as a still living authority on these occasions as to be dressed in a collar and necktie. Perhaps some resident of the neighbourhood in question may feel moved to inquire into the matter and kindly enlighten us further on the whole subject. It was stated to me that a similar dumb borsholder was believed to be in existence in, I think, Northumberland or some other northern county; but I presume that outside of Kent it must be known under some other name, and not as a borsholder. JOHN W. BONE, F.S.A.

Miscellaneous.

NOTES ON BOOKS, &o.

A Middle English Dictionary. By Francis Henry Stratmann. Edited, Rearranged, Revised, and Enlarged by Henry Bradley. (Oxford, Clarendon Press.) WHILE Dr. Murray's monumental work remains in progress there issues from the same press a volume which English scholars will welcome, and which will scarcely lose its value even when its great rival is complete. For purposes of consultation the 'New Dictionary' of Dr. Murray will be authoritative and indispensable. Students of Middle English-of the literature, that is, of the twelfth to the fifteenth century-will always be glad of a work which, while thoroughly comprehensive, can be taken

from the shelves and consulted with ease and comfort. For one student of Chaucer a generation ago there are now a hundred, and the early romances and poems issued by the E. E. T. S. and from other sources have become the subject of patient and accurate investigation. Works of Gower and Occleve, which a generation ago could only be studied in the great libraries, are now easily accessible. That a work such as Mr. Bradley issues was requisite will not be contested, and accordingly needs not to be maintained. The basis of Mr. Bradley's labours is supplied in the Dictionary of Middle English of Dr. F. H. Stratmann, the third and latest edition of which was issued in 1878, and followed by a supplement in 1881. A new edition was in preparation. At the death of the compiler, in 1884, the materials for this were purchased by the Delegates of the Clarendon Press, and placed, for the purpose of preparation for the press, in the eminently competent hands of Mr. Bradley. How far the new editor has thought proper to alter the work of his predecessor, which, learned and important as it is, is a contribution to comparative philology rather than an aid to the student, must be read in the preface, in which also is explained the scheme now followed. The plan adopted by Dr. Stratmann, though scientific, was labyrinthine. Not seldom no modern English equivalent for a Middle English word was supplied, the explanation being furnished in Latin words, themselves ambiguous. Mr. Bradley gives in every case some modern English rendering. A large number of new words has been added to the collection. On the manner (not wholly convincing even to himself) in which he has sought to distinguish the vowel-sounds Mr. Bradley must speak for himself. This work will greatly facilitate the studies of a large class and will bring him gratitude as well as praise. Though comprehensive, it does not claim to constitute an exhaustive dictionary of Middle English. A careful study of Lydgate would supply many words of Latin derivation

The

gounes of

revel in the accounts of "white Paltoks," " bluet with fur of ottere," "Pardoncuppes," "baselards," and the like. Under the date 1393 we have an instance of the early use of "Belyeter" for bell-hanger, whence comes Billiter Street. Twenty-five years earlier Peter Vanne is described as a grocer, that is, grossarius-engrosser. How much light is cast upon history is shown by Dr. Sharpe, who points out the wills of highest interest. Amongst these are the wills of John Colet, Dean of St. Paul's; Richard Whityngton, four times Lord Mayor of London; Sir William Walworth; and Sir Thomas Gresham. There is also the will of John de Kyrkeby, Bishop of Ely, who endowed his see with houses, vines, and gardens at Holborn, still commemorated in Ely Place, Vine Street, and Kirby Street. In connexion with these gardens Dr. Sharpe quotes the lines spoken by Gloucester (Richard III., Act III. 8c. iv.):

My Lord of Ely, when I was last in Holborn I saw good strawberries in your garden there. Bequests for the support of bridges are a striking feature in the wills, and those to the support of poor prisoners in Newgate and the Fleet are also familiar. Shakspeare's bequest to his wife of his second best bed may easily and often be paralleled. Margaret Bradford, relict of Sir John Bradford, Knt., thus leaves, in 1400, to Margaret, her servant, her "entire bed," viz., "three curtains with selur [a canopy] of blue card [supposed

to be a sort of inferior silk, carda, carduus, or cadar], a coverlet with testur of green, a pair of sheets, two blankets, and a quylt" (p. 348). Cecilia Rose, in 1382, leaves to John Norffolk, for being her executor, a sum of money, a plain gold ring, and her wooden bedstead of bord, with curtains, &c. Bequests to priests, convents, &c., are naturally common, as are those to ancient companies or mysteries, coupled sometimes, in the case of religious endowments, with the saying of masses, and in that of the companies with payments to the relief of the poor. Enough is said to indicate the nature of the almost inexhaustible contents of the volumes. It remains only to add that Dr. Sharpe has executed his task in admirable style. His notes are valuable and to the point, and his introductions are important contributions to scholarship. The entire production is creditable to all concerned.

Dod's Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage of Great Britain and Ireland for 1891. (Whittaker & Co.) FIFTY-ONE Consecutive years of existence speak for the value of this most condensed and serviceable of peerages, which holds its own against the most formidable rivalry. Here, under an alphabetical arrangement, the simplest for all purposes of reference, we find every member of the titled classes, to the widows of knights. Privy councellors and lords of session are also given. The whole is corrected up to the moment of going to press, and fulfils every condition of a useful, and to a large class indispensable work of reference. It will be long ere the compact, handy red volume loses its popularity.

THE monthly publications of Messrs. Cassell are diminishing in number. With the old year the Encyclopaedic Dictionary, the most useful and monumental of their works, came to a close. We anticipated one more number, and its unexpected completion passed with less comment than we intended to bestow. Some time will pass before this work will be superseded. Our own sense of its trustworthiness and utility is shown in the constant use we make of it in answering questions, not a few of which might have been spared had reference been made to its columns by the sender.-The Illustrated Shakespeare just lasts into 1891, and gives in a double number, with the completion of Pericles,' the title to the tragedies, and the preface and memoir by Mr. and Mrs. Cowden Clarke. As the illustrations to the number are principally of scenes hallowed by memories of Shakspeare, it has special interest, the entire work being admirably suited for a family edition of the poet.-Naumann's History of Music, meanwhile, has another six months or so to run. The present instalment is occupied with the Grand Opéra of Paris. Portraits of Grétry and Méhul accompany this, and there is a facsimile of a signed production of Liszt.-Old and New London is still in full swing. Part XL. opens with pictures of Addison and of the old Haymarket Theatre, and describes the entertainments of Foote, of whom a portrait is given. Continuing to Suffolk Street and Pall Mall, it gives views of the College of Physicians and the old Tennis Court in James Street. Golden Square and its neighbourhood follow, with an illustration of the Pantheon Theatre in 1812. Regent's Quadrant and Piccadilly are depicted, and there are two designs of Burlington House, as it appeared near two centuries ago, in the midst of trees, and as it is now seen. Picturesque Australasia, Part XXVII., has a full plate of Waterfall Gully, near Adelaide, and one of the lovely Marrawatee Gorge. Other very picturesque scenes are supplied.-The Holy Land and the Bible, Part XVI., remains in Jerusalem, ma y spots of supreme interest being depicted. The Valley of Hinnom scarcely seems to merit Milton's appellation "pleasant." It looks decidedly stern and grim.

THE Builder begins with the present year a series of illustrated articles of much interest, upon 'English Cathedrals.' Canterbury is first in order.

'SOME NOTES ON BOOKS FOR CHILDREN,' by Mr. Charles Welch, appears in the Newbery House Magazine, which this month reached us late.

FROM Bruges reaches us No. 1 of the Caxton Review of Catholic Literature. There is room for such a publication. The promise of the preface is, however, sanguine, to say the least, when it is declared that in queries and replies the Catholic writer will be able to seek and secure such information as he may from time to time fail to find elsewhere.

A NEW volume of the British Bookmaker begins with the new year. It has a portrait of the late Mr. George Bell and some capital designs for binding.

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C. A. WARD ("Don Juan Manuel ").-"Count Lucanor; or, the Fifty Pleasant Stories of Patronio, written by Prince Don Juan Manuel, A.D. 1335-1347. First done into English from the Spanish, by James York, Doctor of Medicine, 1868. Basil Montagu Pickering." This edition has, we believe, recently been reprinted by Messrs. Pickering & Chatto. A French translation, by M. Adolphe de Puibusque, was published, Paris, 1854. There is also a German_translation, by J. von Eichendorff, Berlin, 1840. No Latin translation is known, but the work itself is supposed to owe much to La Disciplina Clericalis' of Petrus Alphonsus, and to the 'Hitopadesa,' and other collections of Eastern stories.

LORA ("Fin de Siècle").-This phrase has sprung into vogue since the production at the Gymnase Dramatique, Paris, on Feb. 22 last, of Paris Fin de Siècle,' a comedy of MM. Blum and Toché, since given by a French company in London.

&c.).-From the ballad of "Waly, waly, but love be J. PICKFORD (""Tis not the frost that freezes fell," bonny." See Tea-Table Miscellany,' i. 231; or Child's collection of ballads, iv. 132.

LELIUS ("Celebrities' Houses ").-An effort to com memorate these by mural tablets has already made some small progress in London.

CORRIGENDA.-7th S. x. 485, col. 2, 1. 15 from bottom, for "the" read she; 498, col. 2, last line, for "Magrother" read Mapother; 510, col, 2, 1. 15, for "supine read prone; 7th S. xi. 4, col. 2, 1. 26, for "Michenes read Michans; 6, col. 1, 1. 9 from bottom, for " in " read since.

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