_Accuracy of References_.--In connection with the article on
"Misquotations," in No. 3. p.38., will you impress upon your
correspondents the necessity of exact references? It is rather hard
when, after a long search, a sought reference has been obtained, to find
that the reference itself is, on examination, incorrect. To illustrate
my position: at p. 23., in an article relating to Judge Skipwyth, and at
p. 42., in an article relating to the Lions in the Tower, references to
certain "pp." of the Issue Rolls of the Exchequer. Now if any person
with these references were to search the Issue Rolls, he would be much
surprised to find that the Rolls are rolls, and not books, and that
"pp." is not the correct reference. The fact is that neither of your
correspondents are quoting from the Rolls themselves, but from a volume,
published in 1835, under the direction of the Comptroller General of the
Exchequer, by Mr. F. Devon, called _Issue Roll of Thomas de Brantingham,
Bishop of Exeter, Lord High Treasurer of England_, &c. 44 Edward III.
And while on the subject, permit me to remark, with reference to the
article on the Domestic Expenses of Queen Elizabeth (page 41.), that
there are plenty of such documents in existence, and that the only test
of their value and authenticity is a reference to where they may be
found, which is wanting in the article in question.