A woman conquering both, in faithful Esther reign'd."
Sophronia Sphynx.
Parochial Libraries (Vol. vi., p. 432. &c.; Vol. vii., p. 392.).—Totnes may be added to the list of places containing parochial libraries. The books are placed in presses in the vestry room of the church, and so preserved from loss and damage to which they were formerly subjected. The collection is principally composed of works of divinity published in the seventeenth century, the age of profound theological literature. I noticed amongst the goodly array of weighty folios, the works of St. Augustine, the Homilies of St. Chrysostom, works of St. Ambrose, St. Gregory, &c., the works of the high and mighty King James, Birckbek's Protestant Evidence, and Walton's Polyglott. Nothing is known of the history and formation of this library. Inside the cover of one of the volumes is the following inscription:
"Totnes Library. The guift of Mr. Thomas Southcott, July 10. 1656."
I found the following incorrect and antiquated piece of information respecting this library in a flimsy work, published in 1850, entitled, A Graphic and Historical Sketch of the Antiquities of Totnes, by William Cotton, F.S.A., note, p. 38.:
"I know not what the library contains. I believe nothing more than theological lumber. It is always locked up, and made no use of by those who keep it, and it is inaccessible to those who would wish to examine it. I was once there by accident, and looked into some books, which were all on Divinity."
J. M. B.
Tunbridge Wells.
Judge Smith (Vol. vii., p. 13.).—Judge Smith lived towards the close of Queen Elizabeth's reign, and was noted for severity against witches. His monument is in Chesterfield Church. He belonged to the ancient family seated at Dunston Hall, near that town, which I believe has lately ended in co-heiresses. The late Sir J. E. Smith was of the same family: his father, a considerable merchant of Norwich, married a Kindersley descended from Geoffrey,—who was queried in Vol. vi., p. 603., and is ancestor of the present Vice-Chancellor.
Z. E. R.