Meanwhile, I kept steadily before my mind the hope of producing a book which, whilst based upon the labours of my predecessors, Burn and Waters, should strike out a wider line of its own, and aim at a better arrangement and at a fuller explanation of unusual points. At last, after many interruptions, literary and otherwise, the idea has matured, and these pages are put forth with a fair amount of hope that they may prove useful and helpful to those who desire to have a better understanding of parochial registers.