AmiL 17. 1852.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



363 



BAXTER S PULPIT. 



The pulpit formerly used ait Kidderminster 

 by Richard Baxter, the eminent author of The 

 Saint's Rest, is still preserved there. In his 

 <lay it stood on the north side of the nave of the 

 parish churcli (St. Mary's), against the second 

 pillar from the east. But in 1786, the church 

 "was "repaired, repevved, and beautified," in the 

 style of those good old times : when, it being 

 thought advisable to have a new pulpit built in a 

 central situation, Baxter's old pulpit was con- 

 demned, and, together with other pieces of carved 

 ■work, was offered for sale (!) by the then church- 

 ivardens, as old and useless church furniture. The 

 churchmen of that day appear to have held the 

 same opinions as their wardens ; so the pulpit 

 {with the exception of its pedestal) was purchased 

 by the Unitarians of the place. _ Their successors 

 liave carefully preserved it, and it now stands in a 

 room adjacent to their chapel. 



The pulpit is of oak: octagonal in its shape, 

 and properly decorated with flowers and architec- 

 tural ornaments, in the well-known style of the 

 period. Gold letters, inserted in six of the panels, 

 somewhat ostentatiously informed the congrega- 

 tion that — 



" ALICE • DAWKX • WIDOW • GAVE ' THIS." 



On the face of the pulpit, and immediately be- 

 neath the preacher's desk, is the text : 



" PRAISE • THE • LORD." 



And round the sounding-board are the words : 



•*' O • GIVE • THANKS. UNTO * THE ' LORD. AND ' CALL ' 

 UPON • HIS • NAME. DECLARE • HIS • WORSHIP ' AMONG ' 

 THE • PEOPLE." 



On the oak board at the back of the pulpit is the 

 date : 



" ANNO • 1621." 



surmounted by a projecting crown and cushion of 

 bold workmanship. The mariner's compass is 

 painted on the underside of the sounding-board, 

 and the entire pulpit bears manifest traces of 

 having once been adorned with gold and colours. 



The octagonal pillar and pedestal on which the 

 pidpit once stood, now serve to support the floor 

 of a bookseller's shop in the High Street. 



Within the room where the pulpit is now pre- 

 served is placed a folio copy of Baxter's work in 

 four volumes, and an engraving of " the reverend 

 and learned Mr. Richard Baxter," taken from the 

 original picture in the possession of Mr. Fawcett, 

 formerly of Kidderminster. A handsomely carved 

 chair, formerly the property of Bishop Hall, is also 

 placed near to the pulpit. 



Can any of your correspondents inform me, if 

 any engraving of Baxter's pulpit has been pub- 

 lished? 1 have made many inquiries, but have 

 never met with or heard of one. Three years 

 since, I etched on the copper a correct represent- 



ation of the present state of the pulpit ; when, in 

 answer to my inquiries, I was told that no one 

 had even sketched it for many years. 



A notice of "Richard Baxter," and his 168 

 publications, occurs in "N. & Q.," Vol. iii., p. 370. 



I inclose you an impression from the etching 

 just referred to. Cuthbekt Bese. 



POPULAR STORIES OF THE ENGLISH PEASANTRT, 

 NO. I. 



Only a few years before the advent of Ambrose 

 Merton, it was the sorrowful lament of Picken 

 that he could find no legendary lore among our 

 English peasantry. The rapid progress of educa- 

 tion, according to him, had long ago banished our 

 household traditions. Want of acquaintance with 

 the shy and reserved character of John Bull proba- 

 bly proved a stumbling-block to our collector, for 

 what a rich harvest has been reaped since his day ! 

 Our mythic treasures, however, are far from being 

 exhausted ; and if we wish to emulate our brethren 

 of Deutschland, we must do yet more. The popu- 

 lar tales and legends which abound among our 

 rural population, are still for the most part ungar- 

 nered. The folk-tales of the sister kingdoms have 

 been ably chronicled in the pages of Croker and 

 Chambers, but our own have been almost entirely 

 neglected. So much indeed is this the case, that 

 we have had recourse to Germany in order to 

 recruit our exhausted nursery literature ; and 

 readers of all sizes devour with avidity the charm- 

 ing versions of the Messieurs Taylor, few of 

 them suspecting that stores of like character form 

 the sole imaginative lore of their uneducated coun- 

 trymen. 



Some years ago while in the country I made a 

 practice of noting down the more curious tradi- 

 tionary stories which came under my notice ; and, 

 with the kind permission of the Editor, will trans- 

 fer a few portions of my researches to the columns 

 of " N. & Q.," in the hope of inducing some of 

 your rural correspondents to embark in a similar 

 design. I am aware that certain antiquaries of 

 the old regime still entertain doubts as to the 

 utility of these collections. As vestiges, however, 

 of primitive fiction, they will Interest the philo- 

 sophical inquirer ; while their value as contribu- 

 tions to ethnological and philological science has 

 been recognised by all writers on the subject. 



Premising that these tales, however puerile, are 

 not associated with any such Idea by the people 

 among whom they were gathered, permit me to 

 introduce your readers to " Thoughtful Moll," in 

 whom they will trace a remarkable resemblance 

 to Die kluge Else of Grimm. It is from Ox- 

 fordshire, and affords no bad specimen of the 

 facetious class of fables which often enliven the 

 winter's evening hearth-talk. I have endeavoured 

 to preserve the narrators' style and dialect. 



