prince's love of literature. The wonderful rarity of books issuing from the press of Walter ChepCONTENTS.-No. 79. man and his partner Andro Millar can only be NOTES:- Early Scottish Printers, 1-Sir Walter Ralegh: explained by the subsequent burning of EdinInedited Letter, 3 - Archbishop Harsnet and Bishop Ken, Ib. | burgh by the English, and the great fire that MINOR NOTES:- Miss Vane: Disappointed Love - Burn occurred in 1700; and which consumed that poring Alive -- Swift: “Tale of a Tub” - Anniversary of tion of the city which, in all probability, was the Drumclog - Fulke Greville, Esq., and Frances his Wife, 4. | emporium of books, viz. the Parliament Square. QUERIES:-St. Mary Matfelon: “ Virgini Parituræ,” 5 | The collection of tracts in the Library of the Higgs, Hall, and Waterland, 6 - Apsley: Strickland : · Wynne -- Bells of Spain-- Black Monday - Blow norton Faculty of Advocates, printed by Chepman and Clock - Country Residence- Cromwell Memorial - The Millar, is unique. A fac-simile copy was taken Dudleys of Coventry - John Dyon - Flodden Field Knighthood - Law of Adultery-Luther-Mary Queen some years since; and what is certainly odd of Scots' Letter to Queen Elizabeth - Monumental Brass enough, the whole impression was nearly con- Pizarro's Coat of Arms - The Rising in the North sumed by a fire which broke out in the workshop A Scottish Colony in France - Snuff. Boxes presented by Queen Anne - Mr. Stafford - Alessandro Stradella - of Mr. Andrew Thomson, an eminent Edinburgh Attack on Prince of Wales -- Tenbury Wells, 6 bookbinder, with whom the copies had been de. QUERIES WITH ANSWERS:- Who was Sedechias ? --Bibli. posited to be put in boards. Several were totally cal Queries: Proverbs xxvi. 8 - Fly-Leaf Scribblings Passage in Vallancey - Royal Arms of Spain - Year Book destroyed; but the greater portion was saved, - Anonymous - Thomas Earl of Cleveland — Waterloo burnt in the margin. By the process of inlaying, Medals, 9. a sufficient number were completed to satisfy the REPLIES:- The Knights Hospitallers, &c., 11-Source of demands of the few individuals who take an inthe Nile, 13-Sermons upon Inoculation, 16.-- French Legend, 14 - The Looking Glass, 15 — Bainbridge, 16.- Tot terest in such matters. Four copies alone, which tenham, M.P. - Goldsmith Club-Time- William Mar. had not been in Mr. Thomson's shop, were uninshall - Sheriffs of Cornwall -- Turning the Cat in the Pan - Ploughs in Churches - Gentilhomme: Nobilis - Denti- jured. Copies are now exceedingly rare, and tion in Old Age “ Crush a Cup :” “Crack a Bottle” – usually bring, when occurring for sale, from four Chaucer and his Editor, Thynne - The Danish Invaders Sir Charles Calthrope - Greek and Roman Games - Epi | to five guineas. The Breviary of Aberdeen is the taph in Lavenham Churchyard - Cold in June-Prover only other book, printed by Chepman and Millar, bial Query -“The Council of Ten," 17. now known to exist. Two perfect copies have Notes on Books, &c. been preserved: one in the Faculty, and the other in the University Library of Edinburgh. Notes. It is in two volumes, very beautifully printed. A single volume has, it is understood, turned up EARLY SCOTISH PRINTERS. in the North. There is a reprint of this valuable The following curious entry relative to the ex- | work, of which copies were taken on Bannatyne emption from taxation of the widow of Walter Club paper. Mr. David Laing, librarian of the Chepman, the earliest Scotish printer, is copied Writers to the Signet- whose knowledge in all from a note-book of a deceased eminent genea matters relative to the literature of his native logical antiquary, who extracted it from the county is so well known-subsequently furnished records : an Introduction. “ Provost, baillies, counsale, and committee of our The early Scotish printers have been very unburgh of Edinburgh, we greit you weill; forsamekill as fortunate in the preservation of specimens of their we of before be oure utheris letteres under our privie seal and signete exemit oure lovit, oratoure and wedo, | press : indeed, prior to 1600, books printed in Agnes Cokburne, the relict of unquhile Walter Chep St. Andrew's, or Edinburgh, were rarissimi. Even man, burges of oure said burgh, of all payingis of onie years after that date, they are almost equally taxis, stents, dewties, or otheris contributione within the rare. Thus, of Andro Hart's edition of The samyn during hir liftime, as oure saidis letteris mair fullelie preportis, &e.: nor the leise * as we ar informit Bruce, printed in 1616, one perfect copy alone is known that in the Bodleian being defective. ze nou askis and crauis fra hir ane certain soume of money in name of taxt to the biging of oure park,+ his The one mentioned as quite perfect was brought majesty of new exemis hir fra ony taxis, stentis, dewties, to light upon the dispersion of the magnificent to light upon the dispers or contributiounis within our said burgh, or any taxt tó | library which had been accumulated from time to the bigeing of oure said park, in tyme to cum.” time by the ancient family of Anstruther of AnThe date is the 4th of February, in the twenty- / struther; and carefully preserved at Elie House, eighth year of his majesty's reign. James died in Fifeshire. For the condition, as well as rarity, upon the 15th December, 1542, having reigned this collection was unrivalled —at least, in Scotnine-and-twenty years. land. This supposed unique edition was purchased This grant of exemption to the widow of Chep-by me, and is referred to by Mr. C. Innes in man is an interesting instance of this accomplished the edition of The Bruce, printed under his su* Nevertheless. perintendence for the use of the Members of the † What is now termed the King's Park, beside Holy. | Spalding Club. rood House. Another Scotish poem, noticed in Herbert's edition of Ames, was supposed for a long time to “Imprentit at Sanct Androis by Robert Lek lany (vol. ii. p. 233), is proved to have published fraction of Cicero's works. Amongst these were of Courte.” In verse, with a curious woodcut on title. four Books of the Epistles, wanting the title, but “ Thus endeth the bowge of Courte. Emprynted at with the printer's device at the end: an odd one Westmynstre by me, Wynken the (sic) Worde." sure enough, being a coarse delineation of a por• 3. “ Here begynnyth ye temple of Glas." Title want poise, mounted upon a salmon, in a river (perhaps ing. It has Caxton's device at end; but was evidently the Fortb), and a building upon a hill in the printed by Wynken de Worde. 4. “ The moost excellent treatise of the Tbre Kynges background. The imprint is : “ Edenburgi apud of Coleyne.” On the title-page is a very excellent wood Robertum Smythium, anno Do. 1583,” 12mo. The cut of the Virgin and Child, receiving offerings from the other contents were the treatise “De officiis," Kings, and on the back, the same woodcut of the Cruci printed by “ Johannes Kyngstonus, 1574;" and fixion as occurs in the first article described. It is defec a separate appendix of notes by Erasmus, Metive of the last leaf; but is undoubtedly a production of Wynken de Worde's press. lancthon, and Latomus. 5. “ Mons Perfectionis; otherwyse, in Englysshe, the At the period of Smyth's demise, his will inhylle of perfeccyon." Woodcut of a bishop, probably structs that there was in his stock 1275 copies of Alcock, Bishop of Ely, the author, on front, and the pre the “ Select Epistillis of Cicero ;” and having ceding cut of the Crucifixion on the reverse of title. “ Ėm- | been both printer and publisher, he must have prynted at Westmynstre, by Wynken de Worde, the yere of our lorde M.CCCCLXXXXVII; and in the yere of ye regne sold numerous copies before his demise. Neverof the moost vyctorious Prynce, our moost naturall soue theless but one copy, and that defective of the title, rayne lorde Henry the seventh, at the instaunce of the has as yet been found. This has undoubtedly reuerende fader Thomas Pryour of the house of Saynt arisen from its being a school-book; and meetAnne, ye ordre of the chartrouse, and fynyshed the xxii ing with the usual fate that befalls productions day of the moneth of Maye in the yere aboue sayd." Then of that class. But Smyth was not merely the follows a rude woodcut of the Ascension. publisher of school-books: for we find, in the This, with the Informacyon, is a list of the enumeration of his stock, 232 “Gray Steillis," six singularly rare English articles in the volume. not one of which is now supposed to be in exThe seventh was the long lost poem of Rauf Corl istence. Indeed, until the discovery of a more zear, in perfect condition and admirable pre- modern edition, the poem was supposed to have servation: “Heire beginnis the taill of Rauf been lost. What has become of his 1034 “Dundee Coilzear, how he harbreit King Charlis.” Then Psalms," his 743 “Fabillis of Isope," and various follows two heads coarsely cut in wood, and hav- other works? They seem to have perished ening no apparent connexion with the work itself. tirely; and his device exists only, so far as is at tome |