418 



NOTES AND QUEEIES. 



[No. 83. 



at most would comprise all the capital towns. 

 Allow me here to suggest the absolute necessity of 

 taking "Notes" of the residence, parentage, and 

 kindred of evei-y one of the families of that vast tide 

 of emigration now quitting our shores ; and I call 

 Lord Ashley's and Mr. Sidney Herbert's attention 

 to it. These poor people will, many of them, be- 

 come rich in half a century ; will then probably die 

 without a kindred soul in America to possess their 

 wealth ; and their next of kin must be sought for 

 in the mother land, where, unless some registei-ed 

 memorial of their departure and connexions is 

 kept, all traces of their origin may be lost for ever. 

 It was the neslect of an act like this which has 

 involved the beginnmg of nations in such profound 

 obscurity. It was the neglect of such a register 

 as I here propose, that makes it so difficult now for 

 the American to discover the link which actually 

 connected him with England. There is a corporate 

 body, long established in this country, whose sole 

 occupation is to make such registers ; but at pre- 

 sent they confine themselves to those called gentle- 

 men. "Why not make them useful as registers of 

 the poor, at a small remuneration tor entering each 

 family. These poor, or their descendants, will 

 some day become gentlemen, and perhaps not 

 ashamed of their ancestry, although they may de- 

 rive it through poverty. How gratified they may 

 feel to be able, by means of this proposed registry, 

 clearly to trace themselves to Great Britain (once 

 the mistress of half the world), when their now 

 adopted country has risen up in her place, and the 

 mother has become sutiject to the daughter. 



And then, too, how valuable will Americans and 

 Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders, find 

 the proposed Monumentarium of IMr. Dunkin. 



Tuos. Fhillipps. 



Middle Hill, April, 1851. 



The next is fiom a frequent contributor to our 

 pages, and we have selected it for publication from 

 among many which we have received promising as- 

 sistance in the carrying out of the great scheme, 

 because it shows very strikingly how many of the me- 

 morials, which it is the especial object of that scheme 

 to preserve, have disappeared within the last few years. 



Your valuable remarks on this head have in- 

 duced me to send you a few observations in the 

 same direction. You have justly said that the 

 means by which the object can be accomplished 

 fall into the three distinct operations of Colleciion, 

 Preservation, and Publication. The first will re- 

 quire the help of all antiquaries throughout the 

 kingdom who will volunteer their services, and of 

 the clergymen resident in country parishes. Where 

 possible, it would be well to find a co-operator in 

 every county town, who would undertake the col- 

 lection of all ancient memorials in his own district, 

 either by personal inspection, or by the aid of the 



clergy. For this county we have, fortunately, a 

 record of all or most of the monuments existing in 

 the time of James I., published in Burton's History. 

 Besides the monuments, there are also mentioned 

 the coats of arms preserved in the churches. In 

 the useful and voluminous work of Nichols, the 

 record is brought down nearly to the commence- 

 ment of the present century. But in late years, 

 many ancient memorials have been removed alto- 

 gether, or displaced. A day or two ago, I found 

 only one monument in a village church, where 

 Burton says there were two in his time. The 

 chancel of St. ]\Iartin's Church, Leicester, a few 

 years ago, contained a large number, of which 

 many have been placed elsewhere, in order to 

 " improve " the appearance of this part of the 

 edifice. I believe a list of the monuments is pre- 

 served somewhere. This kind of jiroceeding has 

 been carried on very generally throughout the 

 country since the desire for "church restoration" 

 has prevailed, and has led to great alterations in 

 the interiois of our old parish churches. I should 

 be ha]ipy to lend a helping hand in the collections 

 for Leicester and the neighbourhood. Jaytee. 



From our next communication, it will be seen that 

 the Scottish Antiquaries, whose zeal and intelligence 

 in the preservation and illustration of objects of na- 

 tional interest, are beyond all praise, are working in 

 the same direction ; and although we have not seen the 

 Origines Paroc/ilules, we can readily believe in the great 

 value of a work of such a character when undertaken 

 by the Bannatyne Club. 



It may interest some of your " Monumental " 

 and " Ecclesiological " correspondents to be in- 

 formed that in 1834 there was collected and pub- 

 lished by D. Macvean, bookseller, Glasgow, a 

 volume of Epitaphs and Monumental Inscriptions 

 in Scotland. Also, that there has just been pub- 

 lished by Lizars, Edinbui-gh, fin- the Bannatyne 

 Club, the first volume of the Origines Parocliiales 

 Scotice. 



The former of these books {Epitaphs, &c.) is 

 perhaps of no great value, being badly selected and 

 worse arrange<l ; but the latter (Origi7ies, &c.) 

 seems to be exactly such a work as W. J. D. R. 

 (Vol. iii., p. 314.) has in his mind's eye for 

 England. Y. 



A correspondent, Mercuiui, has also directed our 

 attention to a small volume, published in 1848, by one 

 of the most valued contributors to our own columns, 

 Mr. Dawson' TuiiNEU, under the title of Sepulchral 

 Reminiscences of a Market Tiiion, as afforded hy a List 

 of the Interments within Ihe Walls of the Parish Church 

 of St. Nicholas, Great Yarmouth, collected chiefly from 

 Monuments and Gravestones still remaining, June, 1845. 

 This little volume may be regarded as a public testi- 



