"To Roger Pace, Factor, &c., for 10 Pieces cont. 746 Ells Fl. at 10 _S._ Flem. per Ell. is 373 l. Flem. Exchange at 35 _S_ makes Sterling Money 213 l. 2s. 10 d." The above extract strongly confirms the explanations of the expressions given by your correspondents "Q.Q." and "Mr. Bolton Corney," in No. 5. p. 74., as it proves both the necessity and early practice of accurately distinguishing in commercial dealings between English and Flemish methods of reckoning. E.A.D. [The following is a curious illustration of the use of the phrase. "A person resident in London is said to have had most of Caxton's publications. He sent them to Amsterdam for inspection, and, on writing for them, was informed that they had been destroyed by accident. 'I am very much afraid,' says Herbert, 'my kind friend received but _a Flemish account_ of his Caxtons.'"--_Typ. Antiq._, p. 1773.] _La Mer des Histoires._--I find I have a note on that handsome old French work, _La Mer des Histoires_, which is commonly attributed to Johannes de Columna, Archbishop of Messina; but upon which Francis Douce, while taking notice of its being a translation of the _Rudimentum Noviciorum_ ascribed to Mochartus, observes that it is a different work from the _Mare Historiarum_ of Johannes de Columna. Douce also informs us, that there were several works passing under this title. Columna is mentioned by Genebrard as the author of a book, _Cujus titulus est Mater Historiarum_. Query? What is known of the work, which is really Columna's? John Sansom. * * * * * On Passages in Milton "And every shepherd _tells his tale_ Under the hawthorn in the dale." Milton's _L'Allegro_. I used to suppose the _tale told_ was a love tale. Now I take it to mean that each shepherd _tells the tale_, that is, counts the number of his sheep. Is there any doubt on this point? Milton (_Paradise Lost_, b. v.), speaks of "silent night with this her _solemn_ bird;" that is, the nightingale. Most readers take "_solemn_" to mean "_pensive_;" but I cannot doubt that Milton (who carries Latinism to excess) used it to express _habitual_, _customary_, _familiar_, as in its Latin form _sollemnis_. B.H.K. * * * * * NOTES ON BOOKS, SALES, CATALOGUES, ETC. The lovers of accurate and painstaking topography, the students of genealogical history, and, though last not least, those who like to see the writings of Shakspeare, illustrated in a congenial spirit, will read with pleasure the announcement, in our advertising columns, that the fellow-townsmen of Joseph Hunter, the Historian of "Hallamshire" and "The Deanery of Doncaster," and the Illustrator of the Life and Writings of Shakspeare, have opened a Subscription for the purpose of placing a full-length portrait of that gentleman in the Cutlers' Hall, Sheffield.