There is no doubt that if any one wishes to expend a small fortune in record-searching he may find opportunity of doing so; if, on the other hand, even shillings are an object to him, he can carry on his work for very little expense.

The English Record Office, with its vast stores of information, is free to all searchers; so are the British Museum Reading and MSS. Rooms; also the other great London libraries.

At Somerset House, where so many of the wills are stored, the fees are one shilling for each document searched. An ardent genealogist might find that this ran away with a good deal of money; but if his object is purely literary, as is so often the case with pedigree-hunters, then a docket can be obtained entitling him to search gratuitously in Somerset House at stated days and hours, as may be arranged.

The Dublin Record Office is not free to the public, the class of documents it contains differing from those in the London Office. Irish wills, as we have seen, are stored there, and the fee for the perusal of any document is one shilling.

Here again, however, “the literary permit” can be obtained; it is usually issued for a month at a time, and is renewable. But whether there or in England, no free search is permitted, unless the required documents are nearly a century old, and in every instance the search must be undertaken with a purely literary object in view. If the pedigree-hunter wishes to make good his claim to property, or has any other legal project in his mind—well, he must pay for his investigations.

For the Heralds’ Office, London, and the College of Arms, Dublin, no literary dockets are issued; neither is the Registry House, Edinburgh, free to all comers. Half a crown a day is charged at the Registry of Deeds, Dublin, but this half-crown can cover a great amount of searching.

Where parochial registries have to be consulted at the parishes themselves, fixed moderate fees are charged. In some cases these charges may be modified, or even abolished altogether, in favour of a literary investigator; but this is a special favour, granted for special reasons by the rector or curate in charge.

Literary free permits are, however, as we have seen, issued in connection with most of the great offices where genealogical information can be gleaned, and by the help of these far the greater part of the pedigree-hunter’s work can be carried on almost free of expense.

In certain other instances, where official fees are charged, literary searchers are often most leniently considered, for in genealogical matters a good deal depends on the pedigree-hunter himself, and a system of red tapeism is not everywhere carried out.

For university and school details and entries the registers can often be consulted absolutely free of cost, so the searcher with the narrow purse has really little to fear financially when embarking on the delightful task of pedigree-hunting.