Book Notice. 



77 



Fig. 5 shows the bat waking up. Figs, o, 7, and 9 show the 

 bat after seizing a meal-worm, in the act of pressing it against 

 the inter-brachial membrane, in order to secure a firm grip of 

 it. Fig. 3 shows the bat eating a meal-worm. Fig. 4 lifting 

 up the body (by bending the legs) and rubbing the lips and 

 mouth against its perch after eating. Fig. 8 shows how the 

 Horseshoe Bats hold the tail curved upwards over the back, 

 instead of downwards under the body as do the Vespertilionidae. 



A History of Horncastle, by James Conway Walter. Horncastle : 

 \V. K. Morton & Sons. 218 pp., price 5/-. 



Our contributor, the Rev. J. Conway Walter, may fairly claim to be 

 the historian of the Horncastle district. From time to time he has placed 

 on record notes dealing with the history of his neighbourhood. His latest 

 book, now before us, may be taken as his best. In eleven chapters he 

 deals with the early history of the place, the records from the Norman 

 Conquest ; the various churches, chapels, educational institutions, etc.,, 

 railways, canals, institutes, worthies, oddities, and public houses. As 

 an appendix there are descriptions of fourteen adjoining villages. There 

 is no doubt that most, if not all in this volume, was well worth recording,, 

 and will be perhaps more appreciated in the future than now ; but per- 

 sonally, we should have preferred to have seen much more relating to Roman 

 Horncastle, and Horncastle of its earlier days — a subject which we feel sure 

 the author could have enlarged upon. For instance, we should have liked 

 to have seen a fuller account of the Roman urns referred to in the footnote 

 on page 7 — objects which would have been well worth figuring. The Rev. 

 Conway Walter, however, has quite pardonably enlarged upon the sub- 

 jects that he can speak about from experience. He is not by any means 

 a young man ; his memory is good, and his descriptive power the same as it 

 always has been. It is astonishing what a lot of ' worthies ' Horncastle 

 has produced, of some of whom we had never previously heard. Lord 

 Allerton is second on the list, and a quaint sketch of his career is given. 



Throughout the work the author quotes full references. There are 

 one or two points in this volume, however, to which it is as well to call 

 attention in view of a second edition being issued. We doubt very much 

 whether the author has given us sufficient (or any) evidence of the site- 

 being once a British Settlement (p. i). The ' Mammoth ' tooth, so welt 

 figured on page 5, is the tooth of a modern African elephant, doubtless 

 a relic from an old bone-mill. The Hammer-head, which ' the writer has- 

 in his possession,' is by no means ' probably Roman.' The word ' has " 

 is apparently a misprint for ' had,' as the identical specimen is figured in 

 this journal for April 1908,* and is there described as British. Obviously,, 

 therefore, Mr. Walter has either over-looked the notes in ' The Naturalist,' 

 or he does not agree with (and ignores) the opinion there expressed. In 

 either case, 'tis a grievous fault ! The small pipes found in Horncastle 

 (p! 8), are not Roman, but are certainly XVII. century. To ' picture 

 to ourselves the Roman sentinel . . . solacing himself with his pipe," 

 is allright ; but we might just as well picture the Roman sentinel careering 

 round the walls of Horncastle on a 40 h.p. landaulette. The volume is 

 printed upon glazed paper, which makes it unnecessarily heavy.. 

 We are now sending our copy to the binders to be lettered on the back. 

 Otherwise, when on the book-shelf, we should not know whether it was a 

 History of Horncastle, a scrap-book, or a psalter. 



* ' Pre-historic Remains from Lincolnshire,' p. 137. 



190a March i. 



