[The story to which our correspondent alludes is, probably, that quoted
in Cecil's (Hone's) _Sixty Curious and Authentic Narratives_, pp.
138-140., from the _Recreations of a Man of Feeling_. The peerage and
the pedigree of the Stair family alike prove that there is little
foundation for this ingenious fiction.]
_Water-marks on Writing-paper_ (Vol. ii., p. 310.).--On this subject C.,
will, I think, find all the information he seeks in a paper published in
the _Aldine Magazine_, (Masters, Aldersgate-st., 1839). This paper is
accompanied by engravings of the ancient water-marks, as well as those of
more modern times, and enters somewhat largely into the question of how far
water-marks may be considered as evidence of precise dates. They are not
always to be relied upon, for in December, 1850, there will doubtless be
thousands of reams of paper issued and in circulation, bearing the date of
1851, unless the practice is altered of late years. Timperley's
_Biographical, Chronological, and Historical Dictionary_ is much quoted on
the subject of "Water-marks."