Chapter 6

Having, I fear, trespassed too long on the patience of my readers, in the discussion of a question that to many may appear of no great importance, I will only add the following serious and well-intended proposal. I do humbly recommend, that a committee of the friends of the reverend antiquarian, Dr. Jeremiah Milles, Dean of Exeter, and the learned mythologist, Jacob Bryant, Esq., may immediately meet; --that they may, as soon as possible, convey the said Dr. M. and Mr. B. together with Mr. George Catcott, pewterer, and Mr. William Barrett, surgeon, of Bristol, and Dr. Glynn of Cambridge, to the room over the north porch of Redcliffe church, and that on the door of the said room _six_ padlocks may be fixed:-- that in order to wean these gentlemen by degrees from the delusion under which they labour, and to furnish them with some amusement, they may be supplied with proper instruments to measure the length, breadth, and depth, of the empty chests now in the said room, and thereby to ascertain how many thousand diminutive pieces of parchment, all eight inches and a half by four and a half, might have been contained in those chests; [according to my calculation, 1,464,578; --but I cannot pretend to be exact:] that for the sustenance of these gentlemen, a large peck loaf may be placed in a _maund_ basket in the said room, having been previously prepared and left in a damp place, so as to become mouldy, and the words and figures _Thomas Flour, Bristol_, 1769, being first impressed in common letters on the upper crust of the said loaf, and on the under side thereof, in Gothick Characters, _Thomas Wheateley_, 1464 (which Thomas Wheateley Mr. Barrett, if he carefully examines Rowley’s PURPLE ROLL[V], will find was an _auncyent_ baker, and “_did use to bake daiely for Maister Canynge twelve manchettes of chete breade, and foure douzenne of marchpanes_;” and which custom of impressing the names of bakers upon bread, I can prove to be as ancient as the time of king Edward IV., from Doomsday-book, William de Wircestre, Shakspeare, and other good antiquarians, as also from the Green and Yellow Rolls, now in Mr. B’s custody)[X]:-- that a proper quantity of water may be conveyed into the forementioned room in one of Mr. Catcott’s deepest and most ancient pewter plates, together with an ewer of Wedgwood’s ware, made after the oldest and most uncouth pattern that has yet been discovered at Herculaneum;-- that Dr. Glynn, if he shall be thought to be sufficiently composed (of which great doubts are entertained), be appointed to cut a certain portion of the said bread for the daily food of these gentlemen and himself; and that, in order to sooth in some measure their unhappy fancies, he may be requested, in cutting the said loaf, to use the valuable knife of Mr. Shiercliffe (now in the custody of the said Dr. G), the history[Y] of which has so much illustrated, and so clearly evinced the antiquity of the poems attributed to Thomas Rowley. And if in a fortnight after these gentlemen have been so confined, they shall be found to be entirely re-established in their health, and perfectly composed, I recommend that the six locks may be struck off, and that they all may be suffered to return again to their usual employments.

[Footnote V: ROWLEY’s _Purple Roll_, Mr. Bryant very gravely tells us, it yet extant in manuscript in his _own hand-writing_. “It is (he adds) in _two_ parts; _one_ of the said parts written by Thomas Rowley, and _the other by Thomas Chatterton_.”]

[Footnote X: A learned friend, who, by the favour of Mr. Barrett, has perused the YELLOW ROLL, informs me, that Rowley, in a treatise dated 1451, and addressed “to the dygne Maister Canynge,” with the quaint title, DE RE FRUMENTARIA, (chap. XIII. _Concernynge Horse-hoeing Husbandrie, and the Dryll-Ploughe_) has this remarkable passage: “Me thynketh ytt were a prettie devyce yffe this practyce of oure bakerres were extended further. I mervaile moche, our _scriveynes_ and _amanuenses_ doe not gette lytel letters cutt in wood, or caste in yron, and thanne followynge by the eye, or with a fescue, everyche letter of the boke thei meane to copie, fix the sayde wooden or yron letters meetelie disposed in a frame or chase; thanne daube the frame over with somme atramentous stuffe, and layinge a thynne piece of moistened parchment or paper on these letters, presse it doune with somme smoothe stone or other heavie weight: by the whiche goodlye devyce a manie hundreth copies of eche boke might be wroughte off in a few daies, insteade of employing the eyen and hondes of poore clerkes for several monthes with greate attentyon and travaile.”

This great man, we have already seen, had an idea of many of the useful arts of life some years before they were practised. Here he appears to have had a confused notion of that noble invention, the printing-press. To prevent misconstruction, I should add, that _boke_ in the above passage means _manuscript_, no other books being then known; In other parts of his works, _as represented by Chatterton_, he speaks of Mss. as contradistinguished from books; but in all those places it is reasonable to suppose some interpolation by Chatterton, and _those who choose it_, may read _book_ instead of _manuscript_; by which this trivial objection to the authenticity of these pieces will be removed, and these otherwise discordant passages rendered perfectly uniform and consistent.

This valuable relick shows with how little reason the late Mr. Tull claimed the merit of inventing that useful instrument of husbandry, the drill-plough.

I make no apology for anticipating Mr. Barret on this subject; as in fact these short extracts will only make the publick still more desirous to see his long-expected _History of Bristol_, which I am happy to hear is in great forwardness, and will, I am told, contain a full account of the YELLOW ROLL, and an exact inventory of _Maistre William Cannynge’s_ Cabinet of coins, medals, and drawings, (among the latter of which are enumerated many, highly finished, by Apelles, Raphael, Rowley, Rembrant, and Vandyck) together with several other matters equally curious. --It is hoped that this gentleman will gratify the publick with an accurate engraving from a drawing by Rowley, representing the ancient Castle of Bristol, together with the square tower ycleped the DONGEON, which cannot fail to afford great satisfaction to the purchasers of his book, as it will exhibit a species of architecture hitherto unknown in this country; this tower (as we learn from unquestionable authority, that of the Dean of Exeter himself,) “being remarkably decorated [on paper] with images, ornaments, tracery work, and crosses within circles, _in a style net usually seen in these buildings_.” --Chatterton, _as soon as ever he heard that Mr. Barrett was engaged in writing a History of Bristol_, very obligingly searched among the Rowley papers, and a few days afterwards furnished him with a neat _copy_ of this ancient drawing.]

[Footnote Y: This very curious and interesting history may be found in Mr. Bryant’s _Observations_, &c. p. 512. The learned commentator seems to have had the great father of poetry in his eye, who is equally minute in his account of the sceptre of Achilles. See _Il._ Α. v. 234. He cannot, however, on this account be justly charged with plagiarism; these co-incidences frequently happening. Thus Rowley in the 15th century, and Dryden in the 17th, having each occasion to say that a man wept, use the same four identical words-- “_Tears began to flow._”]

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WILLIAM ANDREWS CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY

University of California, Los Angeles The Augustan Reprint Society Publications in Print

The Augustan Reprint Society

WILLIAM ANDREWS CLARK MEMORIAL LIBRARY

University of California, Los Angeles

Publications in Print

[Where available, Project Gutenberg e-text numbers are shown in brackets.]

1948-1949

15. John Oldmixon, _Reflections on Dr. Swift’s Letter to Harley_ (1712), and Arthur Mainwaring, _The British Academy_ (1712). [25091]

16. Henry Nevil Payne, _The Fatal Jealousie_ (1673). [16916]

17. Nicholas Rowe, _Some Account of the Life of Mr. William Shakespear_ (1709). [16275]

18. Anonymous, “Of Genius,” in _The Occasional Paper_, Vol. III, No. 10 (1719), and Aaron Hill, Preface to _The Creation_ (1720). [15870]

1949-1950

19. Susanna Centlivre, _The Busie Body_ (1709). [16740]

20. Lewis Theobald, _Preface to the Works of Shakespeare_ (1734). [16346]

22. Samuel Johnson, _The Vanity of Human Wishes_ (1749), and two _Rambler_ papers (1750). [13350]

23. John Dryden, _His Majesties Declaration Defended_ (1681). [15074]

1950-1951

26. Charles Macklin, _The Man of the World_ (1792). [14463]

1951-1952

31. Thomas Gray, _An Elegy Wrote in a Country Churchyard_ (1751), and _The Eton College Manuscript_. [15409]

1952-1953

41. Bernard Mandeville, _A Letter to Dion_ (1732). [In Preparation]

1958-1959

77-78. David Hartley, _Various Conjectures on the Perception, Motion, and Generation of Ideas_ (1746).

1959-1960

79. William Herbert, Third Earl of Pembroke, _Poems_ (1660). [In Preparation]

81. Two Burlesques of Lord Chesterfield’s Letters: _The Graces_ (1774), and _The Fine Gentleman’s Etiquette_ (1776). [In Preparation]

1960-1961

85-86. _Essays on the Theatre from Eighteenth Century Periodicals._

1961-1962

93. John Norris, _Cursory Reflections Upon a Book Call’d, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding_ (1690).

94. An. Collins, _Divine Songs and Meditacions_ (1653). [In Preparation]

96. _Ballads and Songs Loyal to the Hanoverian Succession_ (1703-1761).

1962-1963

97. Myles Davies, [Selections from] _Athenæ Britannicaæ_ (1716-1719).

98. _Select Hymns Taken Out of Mr. Herbert’s Temple_ (1697).

99. Thomas Augustine Arne, _Artaxerxes_ (1761).

100. Simon Patrick, _A Brief Account of the New Sect of Latitude-Men_ (1662).

101-102. Richard Hurd, _Letters on Chivalry and Romance_ (1762).

1963-1964

103. Samuel Richardson, _Clarissa_: Preface, Hints of Prefaces, and Postscript. [In Preparation]

104. Thomas D’Urfey, _Wonders in the Sun: or, The Kingdom of the Birds_ (1706).

105. Bernard Mandeville, _An Enquiry into the Causes of the Frequent Executions at Tyburn_ (1725). [In Preparation]

106. Daniel Defoe, _A Brief History of the Poor Palatine Refugees_ (1709).

107-108. John Oldmixon, _An Essay on Criticism_ (1728). [In Preparation]

1964-1965

109. Sir William Temple, _An Essay Upon the Original and Nature of Government_ (1680).

110. John Tutchin, _Selected Poems_ (1685-1700). [In Preparation]

111. Anonymous, _Political Justice_ (1736).

112. Robert Dodsley, _An Essay on Fable_ (1764).

113. T. R., _An Essay Concerning Critical and Curious Learning_ (1698).

114. _Two Poems Against Pope_: Leonard Welsted, _One Epistle to Mr. A. Pope_ (1730), and Anonymous, _The Blatant Beast_ (1742). [21499]

1965-1966

115. Daniel Defoe and others, _Accounts of the Apparition of Mrs. Veal_.

116. Charles Macklin, _The Covent Garden Theatre_ (1752). [In Preparation]

117. Sir Roger L’Estrange, _Citt and Bumpkin_ (1680). [In Preparation]

118. Henry More, _Enthusiasmus Triumphatus_ (1662).

119. Thomas Traherne, _Meditations on the Six Days of the Creation_ (1717).

120. Bernard Mandeville, _Aesop Dress’d or a Collection of Fables_ (1704). [In Preparation]

William Andrews Clark Memorial Library: University of California, Los Angeles

THE AUGUSTAN REPRINT SOCIETY

_General Editors_: George Robert Guffey, University of California, Los Angeles; Earl Miner, University of California, Los Angeles; Maximillian E. Novak, University of California, Los Angeles; Robert Vosper, William Andrews Clark Memorial Library

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The Society’s purpose is to publish reprints (usually facsimile reproductions) of rare seventeenth and eighteenth century works. All income of the Society is devoted to defraying costs of publication and mailing.

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PUBLICATIONS FOR 1966-1967

HENRY HEADLEY, _Poems_ (1786). Introduction by Patricia Meyer Spacks.

JAMES MACPHERSON, _Fragments of Ancient Poetry_ (1760). Introduction by John J. Dunn. [8161]

EDMOND MALONE, _Cursory Observations on the Poems Attributed to Thomas Rowley_ (1782). Introduction by James M. Kuist. [Present Text]

Anonymous, _The Female Wits_ (1704). Introduction by Lucyle Hook. [In Preparation]

Anonymous, _The Scribleriad_ (1742). LORD HERVEY, _The Difference Between Verbal and Practical Virtue_ (1742). Introduction by A. J. Sambrook. [In Preparation]

_Le Lutrin: an Heroick Poem, Written Originally in French by Monsieur Boileau: Made English by N. O._ (1682). Introduction by Richard Morton.

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Errata

As noted above, errors in the primary text (_Cursory Observations_) were left as printed except when the error was unambiguous.

Introduction:

viz. ... _words_ [viz..._words_] But for the moment any answers [ansers] He means, I belive, [_spelling unchanged: quoted material_] has led scholars to miss the significance [sifnificance] his ridicule of “respectable characters” [riducule] “written” [_spelled as shown, though reference is to “writtten”_] 12. The only ... and 3245 (22-25 Dec., against both). [_close parenthesis missing_]

Title Page: and JACOB BRYANT, Esq; [_semicolon as shown_]

Main Text: Long as a mast, and upright as a bolt--” [_close quote missing_] Le douzty Artours dawes [_text unchanged: some editions read “Be douzty”_] Wherefore he would set up in higth [_text unchanged: error for “hight”?_] Arrestynge my sight towarde the zodiake [Arrectynge] [_printed with “ct” ligature instead of “st”_] Mr. Bryant and the Dean of Exeter [_period (full stop) missing_] _... and closes it with an Alexandrine_. [_close quote may belong here_] His noble soul came rushing from the wound--” [_close quote missing_] “And tears began to flow;” [_quotation reformatted to match rest of text: printed as part of following paragraph, without indent_] undoubtedly writtten by one person [_unchanged: see Introduction, Note 18_] by Nestor in _Troilus_ and _Cressida_ Mr. Mason’s _Elfrida_ and _Caractacus_ [_both printed as shown: should be _Troilus and Cressida_, _Elfrida and Caractacus_._] are only to traced in [_text unchanged: missing “be”?_] he invented one[M]. [_period (full stop) missing_] display the some premature abilities [_text unchanged: error for “same”?_] serious and well-intended proposal [and and] being remarkably decorated [remakably]

Advertising: the other more approved SCOTTISH BALLADS [BALLLADS]