f the church of the parish in which such Bluebeard atrocities are said
to have been committed, and abundant grounds will thence appear for
rejecting the truth of the legend in the absence of all evidence. The
unfortunately red colour of the gloves most likely gave rise to the
story. Nor is this a solitary instance of such a legend having such an
origin. In the beautiful parish church of Aston, in Warwickshire, are
many memorials of the Baronet family of Holt, who owned the adjoining
domain and hall, the latter of which still remains, a magnificent
specimen of Elizabethan architecture. Either in one of the compartments
of a painted window of the church, or upon a monumental marble to one of
the Holts, is the Ulster badge, as showing the rank of the deceased, and
painted red. From the colour of the badge, a legend of the bloody hand
has been created as marvellous as that of the Bloody Baker, so fully
detailed by F.L.

ST. JOHNS.

[Will our correspondent favour us by communicating the Aston Legend of
the Holt Family to which he refers?]

_Langley, Kent, Prophetic Spring at._--The following "note" upon a
passage in _Warkworth's Chronicle_ (pp. 23, 24.) may perhaps possess
sufficient interest to warrant its insertion in your valuable little
publication. The passage is curious, not only as showing the
superstitious dread with which a simple natural phenomenon was regarded
by educated and intelligent men four centuries ago, but also as
affording evidence of the accurate observation of a writer, whose
labours have shed considerable light upon "one of the darkest periods in
our annals." The chronicler is recording the occurrence, in the
thirteenth year of Edward the Fourth, of a "gret hote somere," which
caused much mortality, and "unyversalle fevers, axes, and the blody flyx
in dyverse places of Englonde," and also occasioned great dearth and
famine "in the southe partyes of the worlde."

He then remarks that "dyverse tokenes have be schewede in Englonde this
year for amendynge of mannys lyvynge," and proceeds to enumerate several
springs or waters in various places, which only ran at intervals, and by
their running always portended "derthe, pestylence, or grete batayle."
After mentioning several of these, he adds--

"Also ther is a pytte in Kent in Langley Parke: ayens any
batayle he wille be drye, and it rayne neveyre so myche; and if
ther be no batayle toward, he wille be fulle of watere, be it
neveyr