—In the parishes of Cuckfield and Hurst-a-point in Sussex, it is still the custom to observe St. Crispin's day, and it is kept with much rejoicing. The boys go round asking for money in the name of St. Crispin, bonfires are lighted, and it passes off very much in the same way as the fifth of November does. It appears, from an inscription on a monument to one of the ancient family of Bunell in the parish church of Cuckfield, that a Sir John Bunell attended Henry V. to France in the year 1415, with one ship, twenty men-at-arms, and forty archers; and it is probable that the observance of this day in that neighbourhood is connected with that fact. If so, though the names of—
"Harry the king, Bedford, and Exeter,
Warwick and Talbot, Salisbury and Gloster,"
have ceased to be "familiar as household words" in the mouths of the people, yet it is a curious proof for what length of time a usage may be transmitted, though the origin of it may be lost.
If any of your correspondents can inform me whether St. Crispin's Day is observed in their neighborhood, and, if so, whether such cases can be connected, as in the present instance, with some old warrior of Agincourt, they will much oblige
R. W. B.
Poniatowski Gems.
—When were these gems sold in London, and where can I get particulars of the prices, purchasers' names, &c., and any critical remarks upon them that may have appeared on the time of the sale?
A. O. O. D.