100 NOTES—ORIGINAL AND SELECTED.
part of two other hoops crossing each other at the top, at right angles, which formed
the upper part, being about one-third longer than the width. These hoops were
wholly covered with artificial flowers of paper, dyed horn and silk, and more or
less beautiful according to the skill or ingenuity of the performer. In the
vacancy of the inside from the top hung white paper cut in form of gloves,
whereon was wrote the deceased's name, age, &c., together with long slips of
various coloured paper or ribbons ; these were many times intermixt with gilded
or painted empty shells of blown eggs as farther ornaments, or it may be as
emblems of bubbles or bitterness of this life : whilst other garlands had only a
solitary hour-glass hanging therein, as a more significant symbol of mortality."
Washington Irving, in "The Sketch Book," tells us : "There is also a most
delicate and beautiful rite observed in some of the remote villages of the south
[of England], at the funeral of a female who has died young and unmarried. A
chaplet of white flowers is borne before the corpse. . . . These chaplets are
sometimes made of white paper, in imitation of flowers, and inside of them is
generally a pair of white gloves."
Llewellynn Jewitt, writing in "The Reliquary," vol. i. (1860), gave an account
of the former custom of hanging the garlands in the churches of Derbyshire, and
Beck's "Gloves, their Annals and Associations" (1883), contains much interesting
matter relating to the subject. Information will also be found in "Notes and
Queries," October 12th, 1889.
A Romano-British Cemetery at Chigwell.—At a recent meeting of the
Essex Archaeological Society, our member, Mr. I. Chalkley Gould, read a paper
upon this ancient burial ground and exhibited some pottery found there.
By the aid of a plan it was shown that a gravel bed extends for some distance
northwards from near Woolston Hall in a line nearly parallel with the present
high road to Abridge. Along this line pits have here and there been dug for
many years, and these diggings have brought to light a vast number of fragments
of pottery, together with a few perfect cinerary urns, some "Samian" ware, bronze
articles, coins, etc., also a coffin of lead showing the practice of inhumation in
addition to the abundant evidence of cremation upon the spot.
Fifty years ago much pottery, including some figured ware of decidedly
"Roman" character, was found at the south of the line of gravel; in after years
as the digging proceeded northwards other chips and sherds were unearthed and
recently at the north of the line the pits have yielded two little sepulchural vessels
and many broken pieces. It may be that had occasion arisen for digging in the
clay to the east other traces of the same kind would have been discovered; but
Mr. Gould gave reasons showing it to be improbable that the cemetery extended
west or much farther north, and suggested that we must look southwards for the
site of the habitations of those who required this large cemetery to accommodate
their dead.
An illustrated paper will probably be included in the next issue of the Essex
Archaeological Society's "Transactions."
A Mound without a History.—At Bannister Green, Felstead, about a
mile east of the village, there is a grass-grown mound, known as "The Quakers'
Mount." It is from 15 to 20 feet high, and somewhat oval, with a flat top, being
about 22 paces long at the top, and 18 broad. Its sides incline an angle of 45o,
and it was formerly surrounded by a moat about 8 or 10 feet broad. Not quite
half of this moat still exists, the rest having been filled in, perhaps very long