162. Matthew Paris's Historia Minor.
—During the last few years I have made occasional, but unsuccessful, inquiries after the Historia Minor of Matthew Paris. It is quoted at some length by Archbishop Parker (Antiquit. Eccles. Brit., ed. Hanov. 1605, p. 158.). It is also referred to, apparently upon Parker's authority, by several divines of the succeeding age; by one or more of whom (as well as by Watt) the MS. is spoken of as deposited in the Royal Library at St. James's. The words produced by Parker do not occur in Matthew Paris's Major History; though the editor of the second edition of the larger work would appear to have consulted the Hist. Minor, either in the Biblioth. Reg., or the Cottonian Library, or else in the Library of Corpus Coll., Cambridge. Can any one gratify my curiosity by saying whether this MS. is known to exist, and (if so) where?
J. SANSOM.
163. Mother Bunche's Fairy Tales.
—Who wrote Mother Bunche's Fairy Tales?
DALSTONIA.
164. Monumental Symbolism.
—In the south aisle of Tylehurst church, Berks, is a beautiful monument to the memory of Sir Peter Vanlore, Knight, and his lady, in recumbent positions, at whose feet is the statue of their eldest son in armour kneeling. In the front of the tomb are the figures of ten of their children in processional form—first, two daughters singly; the rest two and two, four of which have skulls in their right hands, and a book in their left, probably to denote their being deceased at the time the monument was erected. At the feet of one of the youngest children is represented a very small figure of a child lying in a shroud, the date 1627.
Query, What do the books symbolise?
JULIA R. BOCKETT.