particular word in my old manuscript,* to obtain a sight of which he would not scruple to violate every feeling of humanity and decency. But he shall be disappointed : the manuscript shall never be exposed to his sight in my life-time; and, as I have no other resource, I hope yet to procure some respectable friendly name, that may be generously interposed as a shield before one whom the assailant knows to be incapable, from the peculiarities of his situation, of self-defence; though I despair of getting any name subscribed to a paper so spirited, and in all respects so happy, as what you had sketched out. Yet there was one word in it which Mr. Ritson would have made foundation of a new injurious charge, and that occasioned me to trouble you the last time.

"The very great pleasure I ever felt in complying with any request of yours, is the only excuse I can offer for the intrusions of which I have lately been guilty, and which I hope you will pardon. T. PERCY."

Mr. RITSON to the GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE.

"MR. URBAN, Dec. 26, 1792. "Mr. Pinkerton, in his recent publication of Scottish Poems,' having inserted a metrical romance, called [by himself] Sir Gavan and Sir Galaron of Galloway, copied,' he says, 'many years ago, by a learned friend, from a MS. belonging to Mr. Baynes, of Gray's Inn; both gratitude and justice to the memory of this much esteemed and lamented young man require me to inform the public, that the copy communicated to Mr. Pinkerton was (to all appearance) surreptitiously obtained; and that nothing, I am well convinced, could have given Mr. Baynes more uneasiness than an idea that either his MS. would be printed, or even his name mentioned, by Mr. Pinkerton.

*See Dr. Dibdin's description of this valuable manuscript volume in Lit. Illustrations, vol. VI. p. 555.

+ Mr. Pinkerton has not preserved among his correspondence any copy of the paper here alluded to; and I regret to say that I have failed in my endeavour to obtain it from the possessor of Dr. Percy's MSS. The Bishop, at the time when he wrote this letter, was smarting under the severe attack of Mr. Ritson, in his Observations on the Ancient English Minstrels,' p. xix. &c. prefixed to his 'Ancient Songs from the Time of King Henry III. to the Revolution,' then just published.-D. T.

John Baynes, author of "An Archæological Epistle to Dean Milles," 1782. He died Aug. 4, 1787, aged 28. See Memoirs of him in Literary Anecdotes, VIII. p. 113–115.

VOL. VIII.

Ꮮ

"The MS. being, through Mr. Baynes's goodness, in my possession, Mr. Pinkerton, by means of his 'learned friend,' applied for my consent to its publication; which, having myself an intention to publish it in a collection of such things, and actually transcribed it for that purpose in Mr. Baynes's life-time, I consequently refused. Mr. Pinkerton's learned friend' allowed my reason to be satisfactory, and assured me it should not be printed. Mr. Pinkerton, however, to whom my refusal was communicated, has thought fit to give this assurance the lie, by printing a copy which his learned friend' declares he 'never considered as fit for the press.'

"J. RITSON." 99**

BISHOP PERCY to Mr. PINKERTON.

"Dromore, Ireland, Aug. 28th, 1794. "The Bishop of Dromore's compliments to Mr. Pinkerton. He will endeavour to have the book he desired procured for him in Dublin, but must beg to be favoured with a repetition of its title, he having unaccountably mislaid the letter which contained it; and also that Mr. Pinkerton will mention some bookseller's shop in London where it can be left for him. He also sends a sketch of a note in answer to the objections of the Critical Review of November, 1792; but relies on his honour, as a gentleman, that it be communicated to no person living till it appears in print. He should be glad to be favoured with any objection or reply to it, should such occur to him.

"Note for the foot of the first page of the Essay on the Minstrels.

"The terms rymer' or 'minstrel' are used as synonymous by the English translator of Favine in 1623, as will be seen below, in section iv.; and the words 'minstrel, rythmer, or bard,' appear to describe one and the same character, a Welch bard, in a public commission issued out in the ninth of Queen Elizabeth, 1569, of which an account will be found in note Y. In Du Cange's Glossary, the French minstrels are asserted to have been the same as the bards of ancient Gaul. Neque enim alios a

*Gent. Mag. 1793, p. 32. I have not found that Mr. Pinkerton made any reply to this attack of Mr. Ritson.-N.

ministrellis veterum Gallorum bardos fuisse.' (Vide note C.) The same author produces an ancient French poet, who informs us, that the most renowned heroes of chivalry were celebrated in romances, made by the minstrels; and the first romances we know were in metre. (See vol. iii. Essay, p. 20.) He enumerates the most popular of these, as Roland,' the Four Sons of Aymon, Charlemagne,' 'Arthur,' 'Lancelot,' 'Tristan,' &c. De quoy vils menestriers font les nobles Romans.' (See the passage at large in note C.) And Pasquier, in his 'Recherches de la France,' l. 7, c. 5, gives the concluding rhymes of an old French romance, composed by a minstrel, who has thereunto subscribed his name and profession. (See below in note B, towards the end.)

Surely these authorities are sufficient to prove that the French and English minstrels were understood not to be solely musicians, and will certainly vindicate the author of this Essay from the charge of having been the first who had ever applied the name of minstrel to a bard, maker, or poet. (See Crit. Review for Nov. 1792.) A charge the more singular, as the converse of the proposition is apparently the truth; and he will probably be found the last who has retained the old name of minstrel in the double sense of poet and musician. For now the Provençal name of troubadour is taken up, and become the fashionable term in dissertations on this subject, which had scarce found its way into the English language when this Essay first appeared in 1765, nor, I believe, was even naturalised in French, before the 'Histoire des Troubadours,' &c. was published at Paris in 1774. But since the publication of that work and of its translation into English,* the word troubadour hath become popular, and is by some supposed to have been as current in both languages as it is at present."

Note of BISHOP PERCY On Minstrels.†

"The terms 'rymer' and 'minstrel' are used as synonymous by the English translator of Favine in 1623, (vide

* The Literary History of the Troubadours, by M. de la Curne de St. Palaye; translated by Mrs. Susan Dobson, 1779, 8vo. 2d edit. 1807, 12mo. † Marked in pencil, "Note for page 1 of Essay." As this Note is not inserted in the edition of Percy's Reliques, edited by his nephew, it is here reprinted, as it appears in the Bishop's own handwriting in the British Museum, Egerton MSS. 201, p. 70.

infra, sect. iv.) Putenham, in his 'Arte of English Poesie,' 1589 (p. 9), uses the term minstrelsie to express versification or poetry, without any reference to music, and describes it as the common entertainment of the populace in his time to hear stories of old time, as the Tale of Sir Topas, Bevis, Sir Guy, and Adam Bell, and such other romances or historical rimes, sung by blind harpers or such like tavern minstrels, at Christmas dinners and brideales, and in taverns and alehouses,' &c. (See vol. ii. p. 175). And it was not even confined to these, for he speaks of it as not unusual for brief romances or historical ditties to be sung to the harpe in places of assembly,' when the company shall be desirous to hear. And he even speaks of it as not unusual for company of the higher ranks, in places of assembly, to be desirous to hear of the adventures and valiaunces of noble knights, as are those of King Arthur,' and the other heroes above mentioned. In the romance of 'Morte Arthur,' Harper hath a libellous song or lay, given him to be sung to the harpe, and which he teaches other harpers, and on being questioned for his boldness, answers; Wit you well I am a minstrell, and I must do as I am commanded of the lords that I bear the armes of?' not to mention here innumerable passages in the old metrical romances where the minstrel speaks of himself."

*On the subject of Minstrels much curious information will be found in Warton's History of English Poetry, vol. i. p. 72 (see Index); and Hawkins's Hist. of Music, vol. ii. (See Index in vol. v.)

"The Trou

Warton in his History of English Poetry, vol. i. p. 110, says, badours of Provence, an idle and unsettled race of men, took up arms, and followed their barons in prodigious multitudes to the Conquest of Jerusalem. They made a considerable part of the household of the nobility of France. Louis VII. King of France, not only entertained them at his court very liberally, but commanded a considerable company of them into his retinue when he took ship for Palestine, that they might solace him with their songs during the dangers and inconveniences of so long a voyage." In a note he adds: "Massieu, Hist. Poesie Françoise, p. 105, says, Many of the troubadours whose works now exist, and whose names are recorded, accompanied their lords to the Holy War." Some of the French nobility of the first rank were troubadours about the 11th century; and the French critics, with much triumph, observe, "that this is the glory of the French poetry to number counts and dukes, that is, sovereigns, among its professors, from its com mencement.' ""

Raynouard and Diez's excellent works on the Troubadours may be consulted, as well as the "Histoire Litteraire de la France."

A clever letter of Mr. H. Lemoine on Minstrels and Minstrelsy, printed in the Gentleman's Magazine for 1783, p. 839 to 841, may also be referred to; and another by the late Rev. H. F. Cary (signed "M[usæu]s"), in the Magazine for June, 1793, P. 520.

Mr. PINKERTON to BISHOP PERCY. "MY LORD, Hampstead, 4 Sept. 1794. "I am greatly obliged by your polite favour, which I have just received. The title of the book is Webb's Analysis of the History and Antiquities of Ireland, 1791, 8vo. price 4s. and it may be left at Mr. Nicol's, King's bookseller, Pall Mall, or Mr. Dilly's, Poultry, as convenient. My address is Hampstead, near London.

"With regard to the note inclosed,* I am much obliged by the communication, and it shall be kept profoundly secret. It may seem like ingratitude, my Lord, in me to controvert your opinions, and this appearance would prevent my objections, were it not for the axiom Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas. I must confess myself thoroughly convinced that minstrel only implied musician, and was never used for a bard, maker, or poet: were I reprinting any former production in this way, I would retract all my opinions to the contrary, though often repeated. The Review + I remember nothing of, and shall only state a few points briefly.

"Your Essay on the Minstrels might be considerably improved, in my humble opinion, by being divided into three points: 1. On the bards, faiseurs, troubadours, makers, poets; 2.. On the reciters or canteurs; 3. On the minstrels proper, or accompanying musicians.

"I must confess that, after a laborious collation of original passages, I found only the one French line you quote from Du Cange, which seems to favour your opinion; but font is often used for act or perform, and has so many senses, that it would be rash to found an opinion on one passage only, while about three hundred are against it.

"The translators of Favine and Du Cange are mere moderns, and their opinion of no more consequence than if they had written yesterday. It is on ancient testimonies that ancient truth must be founded.

"In the commission 1569, or' is disjunctive, not assimulative. A particle in vague old language is a sandy foundation. Pasquier is of noted inaccuracy; the minstrel might transcribe the romance for his own use, as a

* See the preceding letter, p. 146. † Critical Review for Nov. 1792.