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Buch, oder Historie von Foachim und Anna, sowie deren Tochter Des Fungfrau Maria, den Grosseltern, und Eltern unsers Herrn, so wie von dessen Geburt und Auferziehung, seiner Flucht, seiner Rückkehr und seiner grossen Wunderwerke in Ferusalem 12mo., 148 pages.

It is one of a collection of 77 Volksbucher published at Reutling by Ensslin and Laiblin. As I have requested Messrs. Williams & Norgate to import for me a set of this interesting collection of Chap Books, any of my readers who may desire à copy of Des Herrn Jesu Christi Kinder-Buch will, no doubt, soon find one in Henrietta Street. How naturally does the mention of Chap-Books recall to my mind the memory of my dear old learnedand kind as he was

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Well do I remember that one of the many pleasant and instructive mornings spent with him in his wonderful library in Gower Street, was spent in a gossip over these curious first fruits of Literature. How it originated I know not: perhaps in my telling him of a recent piece of

place with woodcuts, without much regard to the connection between the text and the pictures which were supposed to illustrate it.

But I do not think he had noticed what I discovered only a few years ago, that many of the wood blocks used in illustrating these Penny Histories had been imported from abroad-some of them being identical with those used in the folio edition of Das Heldenbuch, published at Frankfort-on-Maine, in 1569, which is printed in double columns and enriched with a great number of wood engravings. The reader who is interested in the subject of this library intercourse, may refer to Notes and Queries, Second Ser. vol. vii.

ONE OF THE WISE MEN OF GOTHAM.*

BOOK LUCK (don't object to the word, Gentle Reader! You may, if I have health, hear much more about it) in picking up a very curious collection of Old English Penny Histories; but however the gossip may have originated, my old friend discoursed most eloquently on their origin and history. I remember his telling me that he had heard, from a man who in his time published such things, that as the cost of setting up type inincreased with the increase of printers' wages, the publishers, to curtail the quantity of printed matter, were in the habit of supplying its

companion to country."

p. 21, where he will find a short paper, in which I endeavoured to enlist some scholar, with more leisure and knowledge than I possess, to take up and pursue this interesting inquiry. I pointed out that "Reynard the Fox clearly came to us from the Low Countries. The Merry Fest of a Man that was called Howleglass, probably through the same source. But Doctor Faustus immigrated from Germany, and the Priest of Kalenberg, that curious Eulenspiegel, from the same

A history of English chap-books is sadly wanted; and at the formation of the FolkLore Society, in 1878, I injudiciously promised to undertake the compilation of a fresh effort in this direction-a promise, however, which I now feel myself utterly unable to fulfil, not on account of diminished interest in the subject, but for the graver reasons of my increasing years which render We have to thank Messrs. Chatto & Windus for the loan of this block.-ED.

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it impossible for me to undertake the hard work it involves. By a happy coincidence, since this was written and put in type this want has been partly supplied by Mr. Ashton's interesting and amusing volume, Chap-Books of the Eighteenth Century, published by Chatto & Windus; in which at p. 276 the reader will find "The Wise Men of Gotham," the illustration of which is copied from the heading of a ballad in the wonderful collection of Roxburgh Ballads in the British Museum.

A learned friend, knowing I was contemplating this paper, has written to me as followsOne of the most curious points in connection with the history of chap-books is the variations that occur in the issues from different towns, and readers of the ANTIQUARY will be doing good service by recording from time to time lists of chap-books, with the place of publication. The following few titles will afford specimens of what such lists would consist of:-The History of Four Kings, Aldermary Churchyard; Christ's Kirk оп the Greene, Stirling; History of Mother Shipton, London; Shipton and her Prophecies, Stirling; The Battle of Bannockburn, Edinburgh; The Wandering Young Gentlewoman, or Catskin (Catnach); Life and Death of Thomas Thumb, Edinburgh; History of Jack and the Giants, Newcastle; The Virtuous Wife of Bristol, Tewkesbury; The Life and Exploits of Rob Roy McGregor, Stirling; The Life and Exploits of Poor Robin, the Merry Saddler of Walden, Falkirk; Ali Baba, or the Forty Thieves, Stirling; The whole Art of Fortune Telling, Gateshead. But I am bound to say that the country-printed chap-books in my possession do not bear out my friend's theory.

The mention of Catskin, however, reminds me of the curious paper by my kind and learned friend Mr. Coote, in the third volume of the Folk-Lore Record, in which he throws so curious a light on the present state of what was once the only "Popular Literature," in this country that I must be permitted to quote it at length. Mr. Coote says of the story of Catskin

In all probability another English version still de facto exists in the heart of London, however little hope there be of its ever coming to light. I mean the version once prevailing in our metropolis, which until twenty years ago was bought and sold in Seven Dials. My knowledge of this curious fact is of very recent

date. Towards the end of last February a feeling of prevision took me to Monmouth Court, Seven Dials, to the shop of Mr. W. S. Fortey, printer and publisher of what literature still survives in that somewhat unsavoury locality, and there I learnt what follows:Thirty years ago his house took over from Mr. Pitt, a printer of the neighbouring Little St. Andrew Street, his business, his copyrights, and his unsold stock. Our re-discovered Catskin was amongst the latter, and the new purchasers continued to print and sell her story until about twenty years ago, when the public demand flickered and its re-production ceased. Old narrative poetry of this sort had been superseded by more appetizing pabulum. A similarly once popular ballad, called the Fish and the Ring, shared the same fate at the same time. Since that epoch Catskin has never been set up. She and her old-world sister, still unsold, were relegated to the obscurity of a garret in Mommouth Court, and there they are. "It would take three or four whole days to look them through," said Mr. Fortey, "and without that looking through there would be no chance of finding Catskin." Her ballad, I further learnt, was a little (penny) book, adorned with four woodcuts, perhaps one to each canto. One of these cuts was still agreeably fresh in Mr. Fortey's memory, for the recollection made him mirthful even in the gloom of a wet afternoon in February. In this cut Catskin sat nursing her cat. Does not this latter circumstance look like a special feature peculiar to the London version? This cat may be Catskin's fairy adviser, and through her mysterious agency may have come the feline cloak, which has given a lasting name to the heroine. I found Mr. Fortey pleasant and intelligent, but firm in maintaining the inaccessibility of his stores-a resolutionthe more to be regretted as they promise much to the Folk-Lorist. In common with all who have the advantage of numbering Mr. Coote among their friends I earnestly hope that he may soon be restored to his wonted health and strength.

I remember Mr. Douce telling me, on the occasion I mention above, a curious story of Miss Banks, the sister of Sir Joseph Banks, who interested herself a good deal in literary and antiquarian inquiries, going to purchase some of these chap-books at a shop in Shoe Lane. She was a very plain quiet-dressing old lady, and when she said she wanted to buy a dozen Penny Histories, the bookseller spread a number of them on the counter for her to choose from, when he, who supposed her to be a dealer, reproached her for not knowing her business as she had selected only twelve (instead of thirteeen or fourteen to the dozen, as the custom of the trade was). Miss Banks then made up her packet to the required number, and quietly putting down her shilling on the counter to pay for them, was bidding the bookseller "Good morning," when she was once more reproached by the

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Lindsey Justices of Peace in the Reign of Henry VI11.

HE records of the realm are being slowly brought into order. But a few years ago they were scattered in countless repositories, and in many cases liable to all the varied dangers which ignorance and carelessness could inflict; now they are for the most part gathered together in one place and are preserved with all the care that the most scrupulous antiquary could desire. If the work of cataloguing and calendaring goes on but slowly, we may well be patient when we call to mind what an almost inexhaustible store of treasure has already been brought to light. At the present rate of progress however, there will be much left to do when the present generation of students has passed away. The Star Chamber records, for example, are almost unknown, though manuscript calendars of a portion of them are to be found on the shelves of the search room in the Public Record Office. Why these highly curious papers have attracted so little attention it would not be easy to tell. The evil odour into which that court fell during the latter years of its existence would, one might have thought, have stimulated curiosity as to its proceedings. It has not been so, and the student of the manners of the sixteenth century has suffered some loss in consequence. To give an idea, however faint, of the general character of these old papers is beyond our present purpose; we wish to direct attention to two documents only which relate to a riot at Caistor sessions in the twenty-fifth year of Henry VIII. They are of considerable local interest, as

almost every person concerned in the turmoil belonged to one of the more important families of Lindsey, and nearly all of them were justices of the peace. The office of justice of peace, it may be remarked, though of great antiquity, does not seem to have been considered a very important post, when the feudal system was in its full vigour. It is not until the Wars of the Roses had weakened the power of the great nobles that we find the justices exercising the local influence which we are accustomed to associate with the office. In the reign of Henry VIII. the justices of peace for counties had become important functionaries, and they were always or almost always chosen from the ranks of the aristocracy. Lincolnshire has three commissions; whatever modern books of reference may say to the contrary, there is no such thing as a justice of peace for Lincolnshire; they are justices for Lindsey, Kesteven, or Holland only, although there is no restriction now, nor has there been at any former time, hindering the same person being on the commission of each separate division. I have examined many lists of our sixteenth-century justices, and cannot call to mind a single instance of a man filling the office who did not belong to the higher rank of the gentry. All those whose names I am about to mention were members of the higher untitled housesnobles, if I may be permitted to use the word in what is now, but was not always, a foreign sense.* It was not till quite the end of the reign of Elizabeth, when the century was near its close, and when religious strife had rendered many of those best qualified for the post unable or unwilling to fill it, that the sarcasms as to the ignorance and rusticity of the men on the bench became a jest which never failed to raise a laugh among those who had been impeded in their amusements, their work, or their crimes by men whom they did not consider of higher standing than themselves. Then it began to be common to talk of "basket justices," who were described as men "that for half a dozen of chickens will dispense with a whole dozen of penal

* For evidence of this see Coke, Institutes, ii. 667; Legh, Accidence of Armorie, 17; Whitelock, Memorials, ed. 1732, 66; Heylin, Eccl. Restaurata, ed. 1849, i. 63; Notes and Queries, 3 S. iii. 156,

statutes."* It must be borne in mind that the disgraceful scene which we have to bring before our readers was enacted by men bearing the most honoured names in the shire.

The Lindsey sessions have from time to time been held at various places in the division. Now they take place at Lincoln and Grimsby, but this is a new arrangement. Kirton-in-Lindsey, Spital-in-the-Street, Spilsby, and Caistor have at various times been honoured by the sittings of this local court. In 1533, Caistor was the place, or one of the places, selected for the assembly. And it is almost certain that Sir William Ayscough, of Stallingborough, Knight, the person who is believed to have been the father of Anne Ayscough, or Askewe, the Protestant martyr, was chairman on the occasion. It would appear that in those days the justices sat on the bench in positions according with their rank, though how such a very indefinite matter could have been settled it is not easy to understand. On this occasion Sir William Ayscough had taken his seat, and with him were John Copledyke, of Harrington, George Saint Paul, of Snarford, Vincent Grantham, of Saint Katherine's-juxta-Lincoln, Thomas Moigne, of Willingham, and John Boothe, of Middlesoil, in Killingholme, Esquires. The public business seems to have been going on in a quietly satisfactory manner when William Tyrwhitt, of Scotter, one of the justices, and son and heir of Sir Robert Tyrwhitt, of Kettleby, came into court with his sword girt about him, gloves of mail on his hands, accompanied by all his servants, armed with swords, bucklers, and short daggers, and going up to John Copledyke, "with a hye and a dysdanus countynans," accused him of occupying his rightful seat. Copledyke maintained that the place was his own, whereupon Tyrwhitt, waxing more violent, cried out "I wyll have ytt mawgry of thy hede." Copledyke replied in language which, considering the provocation, was not by any means violent, whereupon Tyrwhitt swore "by godes body" that if his father were not there he would make Copledyke "ete a dager." Sir Christopher Ayscough now saw that matters were becoming serious, and intervened on the side of peace by offering William Tyrwhitt his own seat, which the H. T. Buckle, Miscel. Works, ii. 553.

violent man at once accepted. There now seems to have been a general shuffle of places; Sir William Ayscough (the chairman, as I believe) moved higher up, nearer to Sir Robert Tyrwhitt, the father of the factious William. By this means, it seems that William got the place that he originally strove for. Not content with this virtual success, he began to upbraid Copledyke, saying, "now I have my place in the spyte of thy tethe." Copledyke replied that he would give the father, Sir Robert, but not the son, room, whereupon Sir Robert Tyrwhitt, who hitherto had conducted himself in a reasonable manner, lost his temper also, and said that he wished Copledyke had certain offensive matter in his teeth; and, turning round on him, called him a "fooll and a dawe." Copledyke answered, no doubt fiercely, "dawe of thy hede," and laid his hand on his dagger; whereupon the two Tyrwhitts drew theirs, and all their servants, with their daggers in their hands, rushed to the bench. The bag, or box, containing the official records, was overthrown, and its contents scattered abroad, so that, "by a good space after, the clarke of the peas and the vnder scheriff coude nott fynde the seid recordes." Two of the Tyrwhitts' retainers, Bower and Bellingham, were among the most violent. Blood would have been shed by them had not two of Sir William Ayscough's servants grasped their arms and held them. Sir William Ayscough now interfered, and charged all men to peace in the king's name, and ordered all servants from the bar. Sir Robert Tyrwhitt seems at last to have been ashamed of his conduct, and also endeavoured to quell the riot. The disturbance at length subsided; but the younger Tyrwhitt, when in the street, threatened to renew the fray if his proper place were not conceded to him. This, however, seems only to have been mere wild talk. Thus ended the first affray. On the 15th of July, of what year is not stated, but there can be no doubt that it was 1534, William Tyrwhitt went to Caistor sessions, with thirty retainers, and when Sir William Ayscough was about to charge the grand jury, which had already been sworn, he, in company with William Monson, of South Carlton, and James Mussenden, of Great Limber, swore, "by the blode of god," that Sir

William should read no bill there, and gave him many violent and opprobrious words. A bill of indictment was at length preferred against certain riotous persons, and the grand jury having found a true bill, William Tyrwhitt took the document off the file, and put it in his purse. Sir William Ayscough, with a mildness which would be indeed surprising, if we could be convinced that the scene was quite accurately reported, remonstrated by remarking that Tyrwhitt "handelled not hymselffe well or discretely in that place;" which seems to have enraged Tyrwhitt so much, that he drew his dagger, and would have stabbed Sir William on the bench, had he not been hindered.

Here darkness settles down on this strange feud. The decree books of the Court of Star Chamber for this period are believed to be lost; should they ever be recovered, we may perhaps ascertain how the quarrel ended. Its origin is enshrouded in darkness. The dispute about the seat on the bench was probably only the colourable reason. All the persons concerned were either relations by blood or connections by marriage, and it is therefore, almost certain that it was a long standing quarrel which blazed forth into light at Caistor. It is not easy to estimate the characters of those so long dead, of whom so little is recorded. We are, however, inclined, from all we know of the persons, to think that, in all probability, the right was not on the side of William Tyrwhitt.

A pedigree, showing the connection of all the persons mentioned in this drama, may be seen in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries for April 29, 1869, where also these documents are printed in full.

Bottesford Manor, Brigg,

EDWARD PEACOCK.

Communal habitations of Primitive Communities.

PART II.

By G. LAURENCE GOMME, F.S.A. O the somewhat scanty structural evidence of communal habitations recorded in the last issue I have to add some very important evidence from local customs. The houses of

the archaic village, communal in origin and in use, were built, not at the instigation, or by the personal labours, of individual villagers, but at the will and by the assistance of the whole village.

The Hindus claim the assistance of the whole community in the building of their houses. In erecting his hut, the Mug of Chedooba Island has only to purchase materials; the neighbours assemble as soon as these are prepared, and his house is established in a very short space of time. They are all constructed on the same plan-raised on poles from the ground several feet.† When a man marries among the Lakhimpurs he and his bride leave the paternal roof, and set up a house for themselves. building this they are assisted by the community; and all the component parts having been previously collected, prepared, and arranged, the house is framed, floored, thatched, and ready for their reception in four-and-twenty hours. Among the Nagas the bridegroom takes his bride home to a house which has been built for him by his fellow-villagers.§

In

This is the evidence of early Hindu society, and it exists, too, among the out-ofthe-way customs of our own land. In Sir John Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland (ii. 221) we read :—

The farmhouses in general, and all the cottages, at Dornock in Dumfries-shire, are built of mud or clay. The manner of erecting them is singular. In the first place they dig out the foundation of the house, and lay a row or two of stones; they then procure, from a pit contiguous, as much clay or brick earth as is sufficient to form the walls; and having provided a quantity of straw, or other litter, to mix with the clay, upon a day appointed, the whole neighbourhood, male and female, to the number of twenty or thirty, assemble, each with a dung-fork, a spade, or some such instrument. Some fall to the working the clay or mud, by mixing it with straw; others carry the materials, and four or six of the most experienced hands, build and take care of the walls. In this manner the walls of the house are finished in a few hours; after which they retire to a good dinner and plenty of drink, which is provided for them, when they have music and a dance, with which, and other

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