1766 Daniel Scot, John Warburton, Esq. the Herald, and David Mallet, esq. the Poet. John MSS. of England and Ireland), Chronicon Ed. II. usque ad 10 Edw. III. per Adamum Murimuth Canonicum Lond. Beside a Chronicie of this Murimuth, published by Anthony Hall, Oxon. 1722, as a continuation of Trivet, there is another much larger than the printed book, often quoted by Wharton, both in his Anglia Sacra, and in his Treatise de Episcopis Londinensibus, as the work of this Murimuth, of which I have a MS. bought at the sale of the books of the late Duke of Chandos, and which is the very book, No. 1, in the Irish part of Mr. Bernard's Catalogue. It has not the name of the author, and only goes on as a part or continuation of Matthew of Westminster's "Flores Historiarum." It appears to me a work that deserves to be published, and I have transcribed it for that purpose. I shall be glad to see some other MS. of it, as it may possibly have the author's name prefixed, and as it would help me in some places where there is either the first letter of a proper name only, or words by reason of abbreviations, and those written in a very small hand, are not easily made out.—I have not yet discovered where I may find the book that Mr. Wharton used. The favour I would desire of you is, that you would enquire of the gentleman your friend at the Heralds' Office, whether the MS. in their Library be a different work from that published by Hall. If he has not the printed book, it begins in this manner: "Quoniam, ut scribitur per antiquos, Res audita perit, littera scripta ma net;" and it ends thus: "Item nullus uteretur pelura transmarina, nisi haberet in reditibus centum libras." I hope, Sir, you will excuse the trouble now given you by your much obliged and very humble servant, RICH. WIDMORE." "On the 12th of May, 1760, being the 200th year since the accession of Queen Elizabeth, the same was observed at the Westminster election (which began this day) as a high festival. After a Sermon preached by the Rev. Mr. Widmore, the only surviving member of the last jubilee, several copies of verses were spoken by the ushers, scholars, &c."* Gent. Mag. vol. XXX. p. 247. This was followed by a second celebration on the 3d of June; when Dr. Pearce (then Bishop of Rochester and Dean of Westminster) went, with the Prebendaries, in procession, attended by the King's Scholars, to the Abbey. In the course of the service Purcell's Te Deum, and some other fine music, were performed. Several Orations were spoken by the Scholars; and a grand dinner was provided for the Dean and Prebendaries, the Masters and Scholars, as also for the Gentlemen of the Choir. A fine medallion of Queen Elizabeth was fixed up in the Abbey on the occasion, since whose reign this institution has been laid aside. There was also printed "A Sermon, preached at the Abbey Church, Westminster, on Tuesday June 3, 1760; at a Jubilee then kept by the Members of the Collegiate Church, on account of its being the 200th Year since the Date of their Charter of Foundation. By the Right Reverend Zachary Lord Bishop of Rochester, and Dean of Westminster. Prov. xxxi. 31." Baber, Dr. Stukeley*, Dr. S. Chandler. 1767 Dr. William Freind (also the Library of Dr. John Freind, undated). 1768 John Anstis, Dr. Lardner. 1769 James Parsons, M. D.; and Duplicates in the British Museum, first sale (6821. 12s. 3d.) 1770 Rev. Mr. Humphrey, Philip Stanhope, esq. 1771 Philip-Carteret Webb ||, Dr. Gregory Sharpe, Fairfax, Mr. Benjamin Stillingfleet T. 1772 Henry Baker **, Esq. Drs. Pemberton and Wilson, Mr. Beighton, Mr. Wood, 1773 James West, esq. 1774 Thomas Snelling ++. In 1762, being then in his 82d year, on the suggestion of Dr. Ducarel, he presented a copy of his "History of Westminster Abbey" to Abp. Secker: "My book is bound, and ready to be called for: if you please to take it yourself, I will bring to my house the two Chartularjes which I mentioned to you; if you send for it, I hope, as you approved of the offering it, you will introduce it to his Grace. The two Prefaces to the History and Enquiry, I have been told, are not much amiss; and, I suppose, if his Grace looks at all into it, it will be hardly farther than these: if he should, there is a mistake in the account of the Dean Dolben, p. 161, where it is said that he was wounded at the siege; for at, it should be, during the siege of York, or when York was besieged; for he was defending it. I know of no other errors, except some words misprinted, occasioned by my being obliged to correct the sheets by candle-light. I I am, Sir, your much obliged, &c. RICH. WIDMORE, Nov. 23." He died in November 1764, aged 84, at a small living which he held in Hampshire; and was there buried. - Mr. Henry Brooker succeeded him as Librarian, Dec. 1, 1764; and his own private Library was sold in 1765. * See vol. V. p. 499. + Dean of Canterbury. See memoirs of him, vol. V. p. 104. Ibid. p. 93. § Garter King of Arms; see vol. V. p. 269. See vol. II. p. 279. ** See vol. V. p. 271. This intelligent Medallic Antiquary was the Author of, 1:"A View of the Silver Coin as Coinage of England, from the Norman Conquest to the present Time; considered with regard to Type, Legend, Sorts, Rarity, Weight, Fineness, and Value, 1762." A View of the Gold Coin and Coinage of England, from Henry the Third to the present Time, 1763." 3. "A View of the Copper Coin and Coinage of England; including the Leaden, Tin, and Laton Tokens made by Tradesmen, during the Reigns of Elizabeth and James I.; the Farthing Tokens of 2. James 1775 Dr. Anthony Askew, Dean Cowper† and Mr. Dowdeswell, Mr. Jekyll, Peter Templeman. 1776 Stanley and Bowman, Rev. Cæsar De Missy+, James I. and Charles I.; those of Towns and Corporations under the Commonwealth and Charles II.; and the Tin Farthings and Halfpence of Charles II. James II. and William and Mary, 1766." 4. "Miscellaneous Views of the Coins struck by English Princes in France, Counterfeit Sterlings, Coins struck by the East India Company, those in the West India Colonies, and in the Isle of Man; also of Pattern Pieces for Gold and Silver Coins; and Gold Nobles struck abroad, in Imitation of English, 1769." 5. “A View of the Origin, Nature, and Use of Jettons, or Counters; especially of those known by the Name of Black Money, and Abbey Pieces; with a Sketch of the Manner of Reckoning with them, and its Affinity with that of the Roman Abacus, the Chinese Soan Pan, and the Russian Shtchota; 1769." 6. "Irish Coins in Silver and Copper, before and from the Conquest to the present Reign; being a Supplement (with great Additions) to Simon's Irish Coins." Mr. Snelling died May 2, 1773; and in the following year was published, 7. "A View of the Silver Coins and Coinage of Scotland, from Alexander the First to the Union of the Two Kingdoms. By the late Mr. Thomas Snelling. To which are added Four Plates of the Gold, Billon, and Copper Coins of the same Kingdom, 1774." All these Tracts were collected into a volume by Mr. Thane, who prefixed to them the title of " Snelling on the Coins of Great Britain, France, and Ireland;" and an excellent Portrait, a small oval, under which is, "Mr. Thomas Snelling, Author of the Views of the Coins and Coinage of England, &c. &c. &c. John Thane del. & sculp.” *See before, p. 496. + Of Exeter College, Oxford; M. A. 1734; B. and D. D. by diploma 1746; rector of Fordwich, Kent, and one of the Prebendaries of Canterbury, which he resigned in 1746, for the Deanry of Durham. He died in 1774, and was buried in that cathedral; with the following epitaph: "This marble is erected to the memory of the Honourable and Reverend youngest Son of William Earl Cowper, in the Reign of Queen Anne and King George I. on the 25th day of March, 1774." Of whom see memoirs, p. 305. Dr. Dr. Campbell, Richard Blyke, esq. F. R. S. and F. S. A. John Ratcliffe *. * Having no knowledge whatever of this black-letter gentleman, I should have passed him over in silence, if Mr. Dibdin had not expected to find his name in my Inder. That he may not be wholly disappointed in that respect, I shall borrow a few lines from his own ingenious work : "In 1776 died John Ratcliffe, esq. of Bermondsey, a bibliomaniac of a very peculiar character. If he had contented himself with his former occupation, and frequented the butter and cheese, instead of the book, market-if he could have fancied himself in a brown peruke, and Russia apron, instead of an embroidered waistcoat, velvet breeches, and flowing periwig, he might, perhaps, have enjoyed greater longevity; but, infatuated by the Cartons and Wynkyn de Wordes of the West and Fletewode collections, he fell into the snare; and the more he struggled to disentangle himself, the more certainly did he become a victim to the disease. The Catalogue was collected with great judgment and expense, during the last thirty years of his life: 'comprehending a large and most choice collection of the rare old English black-letter, in fine preservation, and in elegant bindings. The sale took place on March 27, 1776; although the year is unaccountably omitted by that renowned auctioneer the late Mr. Christie, who disposed of them.-If ever there was a unique collection, this was one-the very essence of Old DiviThe articles were nity, Poetry, Romances, and Chronicles! only 1675 in number; but their intrinsic value amply compensated for their paucity. Of some particulars of Mr. Ratcliffe's life, I had hoped to have found gleanings in Mr. Nichols's "Anecdotes of Bowyer;" but his name does not even appear in the Index; being probably reserved for the second forth-coming enlarged edition. Meanwhile, it may not be uninteresting to remark that, like Magliabechi, he imbibed his love of reading and collecting, from the accidental possession of scraps and leaves of books. The fact is, Mr. Ratcliffe first kept a chandler's shop in the Borough; and, as is the case with all retail traders, had great quantities of old books brought to him so be purchased at so much per pound! Hence arose his passion for collecting the black-letter, as well as Stilton cheeses; and hence, by unwearied assiduity, and attention to business, he amassed a sufficiency to retire, and live, for the remainder of his days, upon the luxury of old English Literature !” When this note was thus far printed, I was favoured with the following addition by an unknown correspondent: "Mr. Ratcliffe lived in East-lane, Bermondsey; was a very corpulent man, and his legs were remarkably thick, probably from an anasarcous complaint. The writer of this remembers him perfectly well; he was a very stately man, and, when he walked, literally went a snail's pace. He was a Dissenter; and 1777 Dr. Smith at Oxford, Mr. Ives. Thomas - Mole Hodges, Thomas Ruddiman at Edinburgh. 1780 Rev. Philip Furneaux, D.D. Henry Justice. 1781 Hon. Topham Beauclerk. 1783 Drs. Wheeler, Merrick, Musgrave, Chapman, and Bevis, Sir Gregory Page. 1784 Francis Gulston, Sir Thomas Sewel, Dr. Wilson, John Upton, Yelverton library and MSS.§ Mr. Harte, Ralph Bigland, esq. Garter King at Arms, Dr. Johnson, Mr. Darker ||, Staunton and Ibbot, Duke of Argyle. every Sunday attended the meeting of Dr. Flaxman, in the Lower Road to Deptford. He generally wore a fine coat, either red or brown, with gold lace buttons, and a fine silk embroidered waistcoat, of scarlet, with gold lace, and a large and well-pow dered wig. With his hat in one hand, and a gold-headed cane in the other, he marched royally along, and not unfrequently followed by a parcel of children, wondering who the stately man could be. A few years before his death, a fire happened in the neighbourhood where he lived; and it became necessary to remove part of his household furniture and books. He was incapable of assisting himself; but he stood in the street, la menting and deploring the loss of his Caxtons, when a sailor who lived within a door or two of him attempted to console him: "Bless you, Sir, I have got them perfectly safe!" While Ratcliffe was expressing his thanks, the sailor produced two of his fine curled periwigs, which he had saved from the devouring element; and who had no idea that Ratcliffe could make such a fuss for a few books." Gent. Mag. vol. LXXXII. pp. 85. 114. * Of whom see memoirs, vol. V. p.3 .389. † At this sale I purchased his valuable MS History of Learning in the Sixteenth Century; which I still possess. Author of "An Essay on Toleration, with a particular View to the late Application of the Protestant Dissenting Ministers to Parliament, &c. 1773." See vol. V. pp. 53. 309. § After the sale of a few lots of the Yelverton MSS. the sale was stopped. They were so lotted it was impossible to have proceeded. To know where the remainder are now preserved would be useful information. They were all given by Lord Sussex to Lord Calthorpe, whose mother was of that family, and at his death had not been opened, nor perhaps since. Gough MS. John Darker, esq. an eminent Merchant in London, and Treasurer of St. Bartholomew's Hospital, F. R. S. and F. S. A. lord of the manor of Queneborow, in Leicestershire, and three times chosen one of the representatives in parliament for the borough |