_The Record Office._--Though the Irish Record Office is invaluable to searchers in Ireland, the Record Office _par excellence_--that in London--is, of course, best adapted to English research, and has the custody of national documents of greater historical and antiquarian interest. It is free to searchers. The pedigree-hunter, on his first visit there, will be pointed out two large Search Rooms, and will note with satisfaction their comfortable appearance--also the walls lined with bookshelves, all filled with indexes of various kinds. By the help of some of these indexes he will probably discover particulars as to the title and date of the document he wishes to consult. If not, an application to one of the courteous officials in charge will most likely throw all necessary light on the subject. A docket will be given him to fill up containing the necessary particulars, and the document itself will follow with very little delay. The pedigree-hunter may be asked if he has a ticket entitling him to search here. Such tickets have been rather lately introduced by the Record Office authorities; before that, no restriction was placed on a searcher, and this is almost a nominal one; he has merely to be recommended by a householder. If the searcher cannot produce the necessary ticket, he will be given a form to fill up and get signed by the householder, which he will be requested to send to the Record Office before his next visit. On receipt of this form, duly signed, a ticket entitling him to make researches there will be posted to him. At the Record Office the pedigree-hunter will, of course, find most of the various classes of miscellaneous MSS. which have been mentioned as likely to be of greatest service to him. There, also, he might consult hundreds of indexes which would not help his particular object in the least, and he may indeed be bewildered by the vast stores of antiquarian information so lavishly offered to him. A most useful book, which he will find on the shelves, is Scargill-Bird’s _Guide to the Record Office_. It enumerates the various _classes_ of documents stored there. But the searcher may still be in doubt as to his individual case. If so, and he, having looked up the various MSS. recommended, thinks additional information might be forthcoming, he should then consult one of the Record Office officials, stating the exact point on which he is anxious to obtain information; probably the required document will be in his hands a few minutes later. The following classes of documents will be found the most generally useful to the genealogical searcher in the Record Office: The State Papers, Chancery and Exchequer Proceedings, The Parliamentary Surveys, Feet of Fines, Royalist Composition Papers, Patent and Close Rolls.