The following extracts from the Register Book of the parish of Sutton on the Forest, Yorkshire, which are in the handwriting of Lawrence Sterne, have come into my possession through the kindness of my friend Archdeacon Creyke (of York), and I beg to offer them for insertion in "N. & Q."
"Lawrence Sterne, A. B., was inducted into ye Vicarage of Sutton August ye 25th, 1738.
"Lawrence Sterne created Master of Arts at Cambridge, July, 1740.
"L. Sterne, A. M., made Prebendary of York (Givendale) by Lancelot Arch-bishop in January, 1740; and in Jan. 1741 prefer'd by his Lords'p to the Prebend of N. Newbald.
"Mem'd. That the Cherry Trees and Espalier Apple Hedge were planted in ye Gardens October ye 9, 1742. Nectarines and Peaches planted the same day. The Pails set up two months before.
"I laid out in the Garden, in ye year 1742, the sum of 8_l._ 15_s._ 6_d._
"Laid out in enclosing the Orchard, and in Apple Trees, &c., in ye year 1743, 5_l._
"The Apple Trees, Pear and Plumb Trees, planted in ye Orchard ye 28th day of October, 1743, by
"Laid out in Sushing[1] the House, 12_l._, A. Dom. 1741.
"In Stukbing[2] and Bricking £ _s._ _d._ the Hall 4 16 0 In Building the Chair House 5 0 0 In Building the Par'r Chimney 3 0 0 Little House 2 3 0
"Spent in shapeing the Rooms, plastering, Underdrawing, and Jobbing--God knows what."
[Footnotes 1, 2: There are two words in Sterne's own memoranda which may puzzle other readers besides me; _Sushing_ and _Stukbing_. I have thought they might mean _sashing_, _i.e._ for windows, and _stuccoing_ the walls. Perhaps some contributor to "N. & Q." will kindly interpret them.]
"A dismal Storm of Hail fell upon this Town, and some other adjacent ones, w'ch did considerable damage both to the Windows and Corn. Many of the stones measured six inches in circumference. It broke almost all the South and West Windows both of this House and my Vicarage House at Stillington.
"Hail fell in the midst of Summer as big as a Pidgeon's egg, w'ch unusual occurrence I thought fit to attest under my hand.
These two accounts of hailstorms are supposed to be only quizzes upon prodigious entries of the same sort made by Vicar Walker in 1698. And that this latter is so is evident, from the concluding words being the same as in Walker's memorandum.