And as Edmund Burke was the last survivor of the family, the inference drawn by the writer, that they were destroyed by him, seems, on the grounds which he advances, a most reasonable one. But my object in writings is to call attention to a source from which, if any such letters exist, they may yet possibly be recovered; I mean the collections of professed collectors of autographs. On the one hand, it is scarcely to be conceived that the destroyer of these materials for the history of the Burkes, be he who he may, can have got _all_ the family correspondence into his possession. On the other, it is far from improbable that in some of the collections to which I have alluded, some letters, notes, or documents may exist, treasured by the possessors as mere autographs; but which might, if given to the world, serve to solve many of those mysteries which envelope the early history of Edmund Burke. The discovery of documents of such a character seems to be the special province of "N. & Q.," and I hope, therefore, although this letter has extended far beyond the limits I originally contemplated, you will insert it, and so permit me to put this Query to autograph collectors, "Have you any documents illustrative of the Burkes?" and to add as a Note, "If so, print them!" N. O. * * * * * Minor Queries. _Farrant's Anthem._--From what source did Farrant take the words of his well-known anthem, "Lord, for thy tender mercies' sake?" C. F. S. _Ascension Day Custom._--What is the origin of the custom which still obtains in St. Magnus and other city churches, of presenting the clergy with ribbons, cakes, and silk staylaces on Ascension Day? C. F. S. _Sawbridge and Knight's Numismatic Collections._--In Snelling's tract on _Pattern Pieces for English Gold and Silver Coins_ (1769), p. 45., it is stated, in the description of a gold Coin of Elizabeth, that it is "unique, formerly in the collection of Thomas Sawbridge, Esq., but at present in the collection of Thomas Knight, Esq., who purchased the whole cabinet."--Can any of your readers inform me who this Mr. Knight was, and whether his collection is still in existence; or if it was dispersed, when, and in what manner? I am not aware of any sale catalogue under his name. J. B. B. _"The spire whose silent finger points to heaven."_--I have met with, and sometimes quoted, this line. {10} Who is its author, and in what poem does it occur? J. W. T. Dewsbury. _Lord Fairfax._--In the _Peerage of Scotland_ I find this entry: "Fairfax, Baron, Charles Snowdon Fairfax, 1627, Baron Fairfax, of Cameron; suc. his grandfather, Thomas, ninth baron, 1846. His lordship resides at Woodburne, in Maryland, United States." Fairfax is not a Scotch name. And I can find no trace of any person of that family taking a part in Scotch affairs. _Cameron_ is, I suppose, the parish of that name in the east of Fife.