or thus, January 30, 1648-9.

This practice, common as it was for many years, is, nevertheless, often
misunderstood, and even intelligent persons are sometimes perplexed by
dates so written. The explanation, however, is very simple, for the
lower or last figure always indicates the year according to our present
calculation.

~Hockley Abbey.~--Near to, and overlooking Boulton's Pool, in the year
1799 there was a piece of waste land, which being let to Mr. Richard
Ford, one of the mechanical worthies of that period, was so dealt with
as to make the spot an attraction for every visitor. Mr. Ford employed a
number of hands, and some of them he observed were in the habit of
spending a great part of their wages and time in dissipation. By way of
example to his workmen he laid aside some 12/-to 15/-a week for a
considerable period, and when trade was occasionally slack with him, and
he had no other occupation for them, he sent his horse and cart to Aston
Furnaces for loads of "slag," gathering in this way by degrees a
sufficient quantity of this strange building material for the erection
of a convenient and comfortable residence. The walls being necessarily
constructed thicker than is usual when mere stone or brick is used, the
fancy took him to make the place represent a ruined building, which he
christened "Hockley Abbey," and to carry out his deceptive notion the
date 1473 was placed in front of the house, small pebbles set in cement
being used to form the figures. In a very few years by careful training
nearly the whole of the building was overgrown with ivy, and few but
those in the secret could have guessed at the history of this ruined
"abbey." For the house and some fifteen acres of land £100 rent was paid
by Mr. Hubert Gallon, in 1816 and following years, exclusive of taxes,
and by way of comfort to the heavily-burdened householders of to-day, we