This festival, called also Holy-Cross Day, was instituted by the Romish Church on account of the recovery of a large piece of the cross by the Emperor Heraclius, after it had been taken away on the plundering of Jerusalem by Chosroes, King of Persia. It appears to have been customary to go a-nutting upon this day, from the following passage in the old play of _Grim the Collier of Croydon_: “This day, they say, is called Holy-Rood Day, And all the youth are now a-nutting gone.” In the _Gent. Mag._ is the following:--“Tuesday, September 14th, 1731, being Holy-Rood Day, the king’s huntsmen hunted their free buck in Richmond New Park, with bloodhounds, according to custom.” BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. It appears from the MS. _Status Scholæ Etonensis_, 1560, already quoted, that, in the month of September, “on a certain day,” most probably the 14th, the boys of Eton School were to have a play-day, in order to go out and gather nuts, a portion of which, when they returned, they were to make presents of to the different masters. Before leave, however, was granted for their excursion, they were required to write verses on the fruitfulness of autumn, the deadly cold, &c., of the coming winter. SURREY. At Chertsey a fair is held on Holy-Rood Day (Old Style), and goes by the name of “Onion Fair,” from the quantity of this esculent brought for sale.--Brayley, _History of Surrey_, 1841, vol. ii. p. 191. SEPT. 21.] ST. MATTHEW’S DAY. In Brayley’s _Londiniana_ (1829, vol. ii. p. 30) is the following extract from the MS. copy of the journal of Richard Hoare, Esq., during the year of his shrievalty, 1740-41:--Monday, September 21st (1741), being St. Matthew’s Day, waited on my lord mayor to the great hall in Christ’s Hospital, where we were met by several of the presidents and governors of the other hospitals within the city, and being seated at the upper end the children passed two and two, whom we followed to the church, and after having a sermon came back to the grammar-school, where the boys made speeches in commemoration of their benefactors, one in English, the other in Latin, to each of whom it is customary for the lord mayor to give one guinea, and the two sheriffs half-a-guinea a-piece as we did; afterwards, the clerk of the hospital delivered to the lord mayor a list of the several governors to the several hospitals nominated the preceding year. Then the several beadles of all the hospitals came in, and laying down their staves on the middle of the floor, retired to the bottom of the hall. Thereupon the lord mayor addressed himself to the city marshal, inquiring after their conduct, and if any complaint was to be made against any one in particular, and no objection being made, the lord mayor ordered them to take up their staves again; all which is done in token of their submission to the chief magistrate, and that they hold their places at his will, though elected by their respective governors. We were afterwards treated in the