——-s Hecent Books by Wiltshire Authors. 
“Brief Lives,” chiefly of Contemporaries, set down 
_ by John Aubrey between the years 1669 and 
| 1696. Edited from the Author’s MSS.by Andrew 
? Clarke, M.A. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 1898. Two vols. 
This is the first time that the entire collection of Aubrey’s Brief Lives 
has been given to the world. Many of them were written for Anthony 
Wood, who incorporated them, with many excisions, in “ Athen Oxonienses,” 
: first published in 1690, though not appearing in a complete form till 1721. 
: In 1787 the first part of a series intended to be called “ The Oxford Cabinet ” 
' was published by Caulfield, containing four of the “Lives.” In 1813 the 
Lives appeared as part of a collection entitled “ Letters written by Eminent 
Persons and Lives of Eminent Men by John Aubrey,” edited by Dr. Bliss 
and the Rev. John Walker. Of this edition Mr. Andrew Clarke says :—“ It 
is marred by many grave blunders and arbitrary omissions.” The aim of 
the present edition is “to give in full all that Aubrey has written in his 
four chief MSS. of biographies—MSS. Aubrey, 6, 7, 8, 9. The entire 
contents of these MSS. will . . . henceforth be accessible toall. Some 
things in Aubrey’s writing offend, not merely against our present canons 
of ‘good taste, but against good morals. The conversation of the people 
among whom Aubrey moved, although they were gentry both in position 
and education, was often vulgar and occasionally foul, as judged by us. I 
have dealt with these lives as historical documents, leaving them, with very 
few excisions, to bear, unchecked, their testimony as to the manners and 
morals of Restoration England.” Reviewed, Standard, March 15th; Notes 
and Queries, March 19th, 1898. 
Rev A. Du Boulay Hill, Vicar of Downton. “A Saxon 
Church at Breamore, Hants.” Archeological Journal, March, 1898, vol. 
ly., No. 217, pp. 84—87. This is the interesting account of the discovery 
of extensive remains of Saxon work at Breamore which was read by Mr. 
Hill at the Bradford Meeting of the Wilts Archzological Society last year. 
It is illustrated with plans of Breamore, Deerhurst, and Dover, and with 
good collotypes of the south transept arch and of the curious rood in a 
chamber over the south porch at Breamore. 
v. W.E. Cockshott. “A sermon preached at the Parish Church of 
Wootton Bassett, Sunday evening, Feb. 20th, 1898. Price 2d.’’ Pamphlet, 
8vo, pp. 8. Preached on the Sunday before the election for the Cricklade 
Division. 
