12 NOTES ON OLD HELPER AND OLD HELPER BOOKS. 



Sixpence." was a i2mo. volume containing 72 pages. It had a 

 large circulation, and in 1826 copies then printed were marked 

 " Eighteenth Edition." The frontispiece, a woodcut after the 

 style of Bewick, has the artist's name, " Green," in the left hand 

 corner. Some of the blocks used in the production of this 

 volume are still in existence, in the possession of Mr. Pegg 

 at the old printing office. 



Through the courtesy of Mr. Pegg, one of these blocks is 

 here given. Irrespective of the degree of merit that it possesses, 

 the carefully rendered costume of the school boys of the time 

 gives this engraving a real value. There is far more artistic merit 

 in the pose of the lad walking by the sea shore, also lent by Mr. 

 Pegg, which appears as a tail piece to this article. 



The year 1813 was an important one, a newspaper being 

 printed in Belper under the modest title of " The Derbyshire 

 Chronicle and Universal Weekly Advertiser." It was printed 

 and published by Samuel Mason, but its existence was brought, 

 after a few months, to an untimely and premature close. The 

 editor was the Rev. D. P. Davies, who in his way was a very 

 remarkable man. He resided at this time at Makeney, where he 

 kept a boys' school, among the scholars being Mr. Henry Lomas, 

 Surgeon, of Belper, still happily able to continue in the practice 

 of his profession. In the weekly issue of the " Derby Mercury," 

 December 26th, 1826, there is a prospectus of the school of 

 Mr. Davies, dated from Makeney House, in which the inclusive 

 boarding terms are given at ;!^4o per annum. Among the 

 references the name of Mr. G. B. Strutt is to be found. It is 

 said that the Rev. D. P. Davies, Mr. David Evans, and the 

 Rev. Evan Owen Jones, left their native Wales at the same 

 time, and sought a home in the neighbourhood of Belper 

 together. As an instance of the powers of imagination, the 

 story is told, that on their arrival at Derby, the trio put up 

 at the Bell Inn, Sadler Gate. Refreshments were sought, a 

 pigeon pie was placed before the travellers, and enjoyed with a 

 relish engendered by the keen Derbyshire air. A short time 

 afterwards, the waiter, in clearing away the remains of the fea'Jt, 



