NOTES AND FRAGMENTS.

Massanet or Manzanet.—The name of the father of the Texas missions has always been given in the Quarterly the form “Manzanet” as the equivalent of “Mançanet.” This is on the authority of the Carta de Don Damian Manzanet á Don Carlos de Siguenza sobre el Descubrimiento de la Bahía del Espíritu Santo, published in facsimile in Vol. II, No. 4, the signature to which has been till recently the only example available for the editors. Without going into the history of the forms of writing the name, I will cite some further evidence that has a bearing on the question.

In volume 182 of Sección de Provincias Internas of the Archivo General y Público, in the city of Mexico, there is a large collection of original materials—many of them never yet used, even in the form of copies, I believe—relative to the entrada of Domingo “Therán” into Texas in 1691-2. Among these are five letters written over the name of the venerable missionary while he was in the wilds of Texas. Besides these signed papers there are two or three unsigned fragments in the same hand. In each of the five cases the signature is clearly “Damian Massanet.” I have applied to the documents all the practicable tests to determine whether they are original or copies, and reach the conclusion that they are in all probability original, signed by the father himself. In this I have been assisted by my friend, Señor Tomás Alarcón, Paleographer of the Archivo General, who shares my opinion. If we are correct, the question of the missionary's real name seems solved.

I may note that the handwriting of text and signature of the documents in Mexico are the same, and unlike either the text or the signature of the “Manzanet” document cited above.

Herbert E. Bolton.

The First Free Public School Building Erected in Texas.—In the south side of the Washington building, which is used by the city of Denison for a high school, is a simple white marble tablet bearing an inscription that notes a fact of which Denison should feel proud. The inscription reads:

“The First Public Free School Building Erected in Texas.”

When one considers the youth of this bustling “Gate City” of North Texas, he is grateful for the foresight of those pioneers who in the midst of building the town found time and money to erect a free school building. Denison was begun in September, 1872, and in the following year plans were made for this school.

Denison herself has been somewhat slow in appreciating the distinction that is hers, but thanks to the members of the school board of 1905-6 she has come into her own, and through them this building has been marked by the tablet.

The tablet was unveiled April 20, 1906, by the class of '06, and on that occasion one of their members, Miss Pauline Everitt, gave a history of the Washington School. It was printed in the Denison Daily Herald, April 21, 1906.

Ollie Bird.