Notes and Queries, Number 44, August 31, 1850. Various

      5. "Here be the Gathered Counsales of Sainete Isidorie, &c., 1539.

      6. "A compendious and a very fruitful treatise teaching the waye of dyenge well, written to a frende by the floure of lerned men of his tyme, Thomas Lupsete, Londoner, late deceassed, on whose sowle Jesu have mercy. 1541."

      Almost all these treatises are printed by Thomas Berthelet. I know not if any of these treatises are now scarce. On the fly-leaf opposite the first page we find the following scriptural sentences, which are, in my opinion, and in that of others to whom I have shown the book, evidently written by the hand of the queen.

      It will be only necessary to give the first and last of these sentences:

      We need not quote more; but on the opposite side of the fly-leaf are some verses of a different character, and which I suspect to be from the royal pen of Henry VIII. The writing is uncommonly difficult to decypher, but it bears a strong resemblance to all that I have seen of Henry's handwriting. A portion of the verses, as far as I can make them out, are here subjoined:

      Then follows a line I cannot decypher, and at the bottom of the page is

      Are these verses from some old poet, or are they composed as well as written by the royal tyrant? for no other would, I think, have addressed such lines to "Kateryn the Quene."

      I have only to add that the volume was given me by the sister of the late President of the English college at Valladolid, and that he obtained it during his residence in Spain. It is not unlikely it may have been carried thither by some of the English Catholics, who resorted to that country for education. In 1625 it seems to have belonged to John Sherrott.

      I should be glad of any information about the verses.

      Newcastle-upon-Tyne, August 18. 1850.

      SUGGESTIONS FOR CHEAP BOOKS OF REFERENCE

      Although your space is generally devoted to the higher and more curious inquiries respecting antiquities and literature, I am sure you will not grudge a little room for facilitating and improving the means of popular information and instruction.

      For every man, almost in any station in society, I submit that the followings works for reference are indispensable, in the most convenient corner or shelf of his library:—1. A Biographical Dictionary. 2. A Gazetteer. 3. A Statistical or Commercial Dictionary. With works of that description the public have been very indifferently supplied during the last thirty years: at least, at the moderate prices calculated to bring them within the reach of students in humbler life, forming the great mass of readers. Mr. Constable, of Edinburgh, published in 1817 an abridged Gazetteer, price 18s., but there has been no such work since. Mr. A.K. Johnston's Geographical Dictionary, at 36s., lately published, supplies to a certain class of readers one of the works wanted.

      I beg to suggest a few observations for the improvement of works of this description through your valuable channel.