one, whilst Moses is very haughty and abusive. This is a strange perversion of well-known characters: for your youngest child would tell you that Moses was the meekest of all men. The work is intended seriously for the best purposes, viz. piety and edification; and in the conclusion the author desires it may be called (from its event) Consolatorium Peccatorum.' It was wrote between 1300 and 1400. "I was in hopes of being in town this week to pay my respects to Mr. Pennant; but am unluckily prevented. As to the college book, I fear as the mountain will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet must determine whether he will come to the mountain; at least I should be glad to see him here. "Be so good as to make my compliments to Mrs. Percy. I rejoice at the improvement of her health. "Mr. Arnald, whom you have seen at Petworth, desires his compliments. "I am, dear Sir, your obliged and faithful servant, "GEORGE ASHBY." S. J. C. C. May 22, 1774. "DEAR SIR, "As I have not had the pleasure of hearing from you lately, I presume that you received the packet I sent about a month ago by a friend. Nor should I have troubled you now, by my friend Dr. Ewin, but for the sake of mentioning a famous instance of oly prancing † in Mr. Lambe's 'Flodden Field,'‡ p. 24, where King James, on a foot pilgrimage, on account of his Queen being The Rev. W. Arnald, chaplain to Bp. Hurd, and sub-preceptor to the Prince of Wales and Duke of York. He died in 1802. See Literary Anecdotes, ii. 704. †This refers to a note in a former letter of Mr. Ashby to Mr. Percy, in which is the following note, among others, on "Peebles to the Play." "Oly prance:'-If this word has reached from Scotland to Northamptonshire, and continues yet in use, I should think it must have some very general origin. What think you of holy prancings or cavalcades?' i. e. religious processions on horseback, or pilgrimages, which, when journeys were seldom taken, and the sexes did not mix so much as now, were as joyous as modern parties of pleasure. (See Chaucer and Erasmus.) Modern confirmations, when the young men and maids come from distant villages, are of this sort." Mr. Percy adds as a remark on this note, "Very sensible and ingenious." "An exact and circumstantial History of the Battle of Flodden, in verse, written about the time of Q. Elizabeth, in which were related many particular facts not to be found in the English History. Published from a curious MS. in possession of John Askew, of Palinsburn, in Northumberland, Esq. with Notes by Robert Lambe, vicar of Norham-upon-Tweed." 8vo. 1774. See a long and favourable Review of it in Monthly Review, LV. 393, and Annual Register, ann. 1777, p. 149. dangerously ill in childbed, falls in love with, &c. (See too p. 130, 1. 3.) "I desire my best respects to Mrs. Percy, who, I hope, is perfectly recovered, and am, dear Sir, your obliged and obedient, "GEORGE ASHBY. "Rev. Dr. Percy, Northumberland House." S. J. C. C. June 8, 1774. "DEAR SIR, "Many thanks for your obliging favour, which I must acknowledge more in haste than it deserves. "You distress me about Alan Percy, by adding, then you will have left me nothing to desire.' How comes the Somersetshire dialect into one of the poems at the end of 'Flodden Field.' I have not the book, but I think it is there; but quære, popish plays in Edward VI.'s time, and protestant ones, Fuller's Church History,' xvi., vii., 390, 391, 392. If the passage about Lord Bute is p. 161, it is very blameable; he puts him in good company without alloy, in 367. If I understand right, he proposes working what he has omitted of 8vo. edition in another 4to. "I am, dear Sir, your obliged and obedient "GEORGE ASHBY. up "Rev. Dr. Percy, Northumberland House." 66 "DEAR SIR, July 5, 1774. My friend the public orator* gives me an opportunity of troubling you gratis. I mentioned the Somersetshire dialect occurring in the ballad, in the notes to 'Flodden Field,' Sometime in France a woman dwelt,' and all I meant by it was, that from this instance, and the dialogue in the Reliques, where the advocate for the old religion is made to speak Somersetshire, I suspected they were notorious for their ignorance and superstition; and upon looking into the ballad again, (which is so excellent that I hope to see it in your collection,) it struck me that the first line certainly should be Sometime near Froome a woman dwelt ;' for a French-woman must be very ignorant indeed to blunder about the word Paris, not so a Zummersetshire one; besides, was she French, she ought, according to our absurd practice, to speak bad or broken French. Nor did she live in Froome, because she went into the town to buy the cloths. In the Buchanshire Tragedy, May every pledge become my lot,' may either be * Mr. Beadon ; see p. 388. plague, or pledge become my plague; they had just pledged with kisses. "I am, dear Sir, your obliged and obedient "P.S. In the Somersetshire song, I could almost prefer 'The devil catch him and thee.' "Alan Percy has promised me to expunge the odious word, p. 161, 1. 2; but I find he has more meaning in it than we are aware of; he must have received some slights from his lordship. But this entre nous, as yours to me, for which I thank you. "Rev. Dr. Percy, Easton Mauduit." "DEAR SIR, Barrow, near Newmarket, April 16, 1776. "As it was so long since I had the pleasure of hearing from you, it gave me great satisfaction, upon going over to Cambridge about ten days ago, to find not only that you was alive and well, but had actually brought forth. I am greatly obliged to you for your kind mention of me, and present. As you are the most experienced dealer I know in metrical romances and ditto beprosed, can you tell me any tidings of a metrical life of St. Werburg by Bradshaw, printed by Pinson, 1521? for I thought I had done the business by starting it in the Bodleian Library, but that proves to be the beprosed one, though printed by the same printer and in the same year. "Had the long Scotch song at the end of Mr. Lambe's 'Flodden Field' been ancient, I should have said, with all the hauteur of an old critic, instead of May every pledge become my lot,' read, meo periculo, either, May every pledge become my plague,' or 'May every plague become my lot;' and do still think the fair syren ought so to have sung. Gando of Flodden Field' means some honest trick to save oneself, from the Italian Guadagno. "I have several more on that little book, and will not forget to write down what may occur further on the Reliques.' When you publish again, please to call me Rector of Barrow. When may we hope to have the oly prancing song? I have much more to say on that word from Chaucer's Wife of Bath,' who was a true oly prancer; from 'Dr. Henry's History of England,' &c. If you would send me the sheets as printed off, it would give me pleasure in my eremitage. I should be happy to see you here. "I am, dear Sir, your obliged and faithful *** This Correspondence between Bishop Percy and Mr. Ashby is very scanty; and probably formed only a very small portion of their literary intercourse. Having possession of a larger number of letters of Mr. Ashby, addressed to other eminent antiquaries, we make a selection from some of them, as little has been preserved of the very voluminous writings of this laborious antiquary. 12 June, 1760. "SIR, "I received your very obliging letter by Mr. Price, with 14s. 6d. I shall be glad if the purchase, or any thing I can do for you, proves serviceable to your undertaking. Towards the end of the folio is a pedigree belonging to Dalby, but it is printed in Burton under that article; the other on the same page I did not find in the Leicestershire Antiquary. In Caius College we have the original Visitation Book, anno 1619 (I think), of Leicestershire; it is a folio of pedigrees at length, and the arms are most beautifully coloured. Burton, I presume, made use of it, for there are five or six lines of his handwriting under his family's pedigree. I should be well enough pleased to see what is printed of Northamptonshire; but, as it may occasion some trouble, I will be content to wait till the completion of the first volume. "I hope to be at Cambridge in ten days' time, and shall be always ready to receive your commands. "I am, Sir, your most obedient servant, "GEORGE ASHBY." *This Letter may probably have been directed to Dr. Farmer or the Rev. Peter Whalley. May 22, 1772. A letter from Mr. Ashby to Matthew Duane, Esq. containing a Dissertation on a singular Coin of Nerva, was read at the Society of Antiquaries, May 22, 1772, and is printed in the Archæologia, III. 165. It is remarkable that this elaborate article is the only one by Mr. Ashby in the Transactions of the Society of Antiquaries. Mr. ASHBY to RICHARD GOUGH, Esq. "DEAR SIR, S. J. C. C. 14 Feb. 1773. "A passage in p. xxi of Preface* to Archæologia, relating to Henry Ferrars, seems to be less accurate than one could wish; if upon this representation it should appear so to you, perhaps you will take the opportunity of the second volume, which I find is coming out immedi ately, to correct or clear it up. There are two Goadbys in Leicestershire, one towards the north-east corner, distant almost as far as possible from Warwickshire, perhaps near forty miles, and not above four or five from Belvoir Castle. It was the pleasant seat and estate of the late worthy and ingenious gentleman, Peter Wyche, Esq. and bought of his son, whilst under age, about eight or ten years, by the Duke of Rutland, in the Marquis of Granby's name. See Act of Parliament. To an antiquary I cannot help adding, that the Rev. Francis Peck bought the rectory, when vacant, for £400, of Samuel Lowe, Esq. the then owner and patron; after whose death it came to Peter Wyche, Esq. by purchase. The whole estate is £600 per annum, and the living used to be called £120. Peck enjoyed it fourteen years. The other Goadby, though probably the place meant, is at least twenty miles from the nearest part of Warwickshire, is a small obscure village, and lies between Hallaton and Billesdon, about three miles south of the latter; in which place (Billesdon), according to the tradition of the country, the Duke of Buckingham, who was born at Brokesby, between Leicester and Melton, went to school; and after he came to be a great man, offered to the parson (perhaps his old schoolmaster) to do somewhat for the town, who only de By R. Gough, Esq. |