408 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[Nov. 24. 1855. 



Poavola. — In one of Straparola's tales I find 

 an animal mentioned under the name of " Poa- 

 vola." What animal is meant ? F. W. G. 



[ We have heard of a child's doll, but never of an ani- 

 mal of this name. Hence Florio, in his Worlds of Wordes, 

 explains Poavola as " a childes babie to play withall." 

 It is much to be regretted that our Correspondents do 

 not, in such cases as the present, quote the context, nnd 

 specify precisely where the passage is to be found. Had 

 it been stated where the word now inquired after oc- 

 curred, the correct explanation of it might have been 

 ascertained from Dr. Schmidt's admirable German trans- 

 lation of Straparola, with its storehouse of curious Notes.] 



LuttreWs " Diary " is often referred to by Mr. 

 Macaulay. Is it a MS. ? or, if published, where, 

 and what is the title ? L. D. 



[Narcissus Lutti'ell's Diary is an unpublished manu- 

 script in the library of All Souls' College, Oxford, which 

 also contains his other voluminous collections. Consult 

 Catalogus Codieum MSS. qui in Collegiis aulisque Oxoni- 

 ensibtis hodie adservantur. Confecit H. O. Coxe. See 

 especially Nos. clxv. clxs:i. in Collegii Omnium Ani- 

 maruni.] 



H^iJltCS, 



OLD DEEDS. 



(Vol. xii., pp. 185. 236. 274.) 



I rejoice that B. H. C has asked whether such 

 things as old deeds from 1604 to 1764 " are of 

 any value, and should be preserved ? " as I hope 

 that the discussion of such a question in your 

 pages may prevent the destruction of many an 

 ancient deed. I am afraid it has very frequently 

 happened, that when deeds have appeared to be 

 no longer useful, as forming any essential part of 

 the title to an estate, they have been destroyed. 



There are very many Y)urposes for which old 

 deeds are useful long after they may have ceased 

 to constitute any material part of the title to lands, 

 lu cases of pedigree, deeds never cease to be 

 legal evidence of the descents in families, and it 

 pl'ten happens that they are the only evidence of 

 such descents in ancient times. Old deeds often 

 show the origin of surnames, an instance of which 

 may be seen in J. Shaw's Staffordshire, title, 

 " Wombourne," which shows that my derivation 

 of the name " Woodhouse," as given in Vol. xi. 

 p. 250. is correct.* So the origin of the names of 

 places may be learned from old deeds ; as Coney- 

 gree, from Conigera, as stated by Mr. Griffiths, 

 ante p. 195. f So also the use of some articles of 

 dress, as vrhiie gloves, alba cyrothecaj. 



* Mr. Woodhouse will probably find it worth his while 

 to look at the pedigree and description of the family of 

 " Woodhouse," in Shaw. 



t I know a place in Staffordshire called " the Cone}'- 

 giee Closes," well adapted for a rabbit warren. A rabbit 

 warren in Spanish is conejera or cone jar. 



No. 317.] 



Nor is the use of old deeds confined to such as 

 relate to lands. ' I have an indenture of apprentice- 

 ship, which shows who was the mayor of Northamp- 

 ton more than 400 years ago — si rite recordor — 

 and, strange to say, this deed is about double the 

 length of the common feoffments of lands then in 

 use. In truth, old deeds are full of information, 

 and form a very useful, and not unfrequently the 

 only existing source of knowledge as to many in^ 

 teresting matters. 



It is also to be especially remarked that there 

 are no private documents which are entitled to 

 anything like an equal degree of credit with old 

 deeds. A deed is almost invariably prepared with 

 great care ; in many instances its provisions are 

 subjected to the careful consideration of two or 

 more distinct parties, one, if not both of whom is 

 interested in the accuracy of the statements con- 

 tained in it. Such documents, therefore, may not 

 improperly be ranked as next in importance to 

 public records. 



It has often occurred to me, that there ought to 

 be some public depository for the reception of all 

 old deeds, and that means ought to be used in 

 order to induce all parties who have old deeds, 

 which they consider to be useless, to forward 

 them to such depository. 



A friend of mine has adopted a plan, which is so 

 admirably adapted both for the preservation and 

 the ready inspection of old deeds, as to deserve 

 being generally known. He has had boxes made, 

 say, eighteen inches long, twelve inches wide, and 

 four inches deep. These boxes open lengthways 

 with hinges at one end. At this end sheets of 

 strong writing paper are bound in, in the same 

 manner as leaves in a book. These sheets are 

 nearly the same length as the inside of the box, but 

 two or three inches less in breadth than the box, 

 and are so bound in that, when tlie box lies open 

 before you with its hinges to your left hand, there 

 is a vacant space of some two inches in width be- 

 tween the side of the box next to you and the 

 sheets of paper. An old deed is affixed to each sheet 

 of paper, in such a manner, that its seal, or seals, 

 may fall into the vacant space, and the deed lies 

 wide open, and in the proper position to be read, 

 when the box is so placed as above described. An 

 abstract of the contents of each deed may be made 

 on the spare parts of the paper in front, or on its 

 back, together with any references and memo- 

 randa ; and by having alternate sheets without 

 any deed affixed to them, there might be inserted 

 a translation of the deed at length. 



It is obvious that such boxes might be placed 

 on shelves in the same manner as books, and, 

 being properly numbered, and their contents duly 

 indexed, reference might be made to them in any 

 public depository witli great f^icility. 



Another suggestion I would make is, that, ns 

 there may, no doubt, be many persons who are 



