which he is engaged should prevent his employing his pen on antiquarian lore. But are you not mistaken in your computation, that another Vice-president will soon vacate his seat upon the same bench, from his being upwards of seventy? a number that rather implies that his Lordship is only a little turned three score and ten, whereas I should suppose he must be at least half way towards fourscore. For let us only recollect how many years have passed since the commencement of the controversy between Douglas and the infamous Lauder. "Since Director Lysons dispatched to me the proof sheets of my first paper on Arabic numerals, I have found time to revise some of my miscellaneous notes that were scattered here and there; so that I trust I shall, in the further correction of these proofs, find less difficulty than I had in the review of what he sent me. As to referring to the different black-letter books of arithmetic, I have not quite made up my mind, whether they be of sufficient importance to be noticed. From what I at present recollect, Record's Treatise will afford sufficient information. "Your report of the excellent Visitation Sermon, preached by Mr. Nicholson, on Acts, xxvii. v. 22, brought to my remembrance my having heard from the Master of Bene't, Professor Green, in the Chapel of the old House, the first part of a discourse upon the same text, and many judicious remarks there were in it; a second part was promised, but whether ever delivered I know not, perhaps not, as the Doctor was of a very indolent turn of mind. His attack upon Berridge he left unfinished; it was whispered that his plea was, that Archbishop Secker did not approve of the Methodists being so closely pressed. To your sheets of the Household-book of Sir William FitzWilliam*, I have attended; but, as you will perceive, Kersey's Dictionary has added very, very little to your citations from Bailey. The articles relating to Garden-seeds and Plants appear to me to be as curious as any; though I am rather at a loss to account for the high price many of them fetched, as in the beginning of the seventeenth century there were such men employed in horticulture as the Tradescants. "Having such an imperfect knowledge of a late Curator of the British Museum †, it was hardly fair to throw out the innuendoes I suggested in former letters; but prejudices will sometimes spring up, and I must own I had formed a notion that he might have obtained more than the full degree of applause to which he was entitled on the score of his literary abilities, natural and acquired. His verses in carmina quadrigesimalia I have not yet had an opportunity of reading, but am promised the loan of the book from one of his contemporaries. "Yours truly, S. DENNE." * Printed in Mr. Gough's History of Castor, Northamptonshire, 4to. + Mr. Cracherode. 110. "DEAR SIR, Wilmington, July 10, 1799. "In the lamentably weak condition, which I look upon as desperate, to which I am reduced by a tedious indisposition, the use of a pen is not merely irksome, but a fatigue to me. I adhere to my former opinion, that Milton has accurately defined my complaint, by his significant expression in his Lazar House, a pyning atrophy;' particularly as I yet take, during the twenty-four hours, a competent portion of the supposed necessaries of life without the least nutrition, and there are days in which I have not lost my relish for what I eat and drink. When nature shall be exhausted, and a powerless body have a temporary release from its old companion and better part, it is not for me to prognosticate; but in case of a fatal separation, my executrix will have instructions to forward to Enfield all bundles of letters endorsed Richard Gough, Esq.; and in so copious a collection, should there be found any differently marked, I am well satisfied that you will attend to the proper rule of suum cuique. With my wonted busy mind, and in the way of amusement, my bent towards a certain science that has occasioned a frequent correspondence between us, it may be presumed that I have sundry ideas floating in my mind; but such is my debilitated state that I really want power to fill up all traits in a subject that is not as clear as abc. For a day or two I have been ruminating on the preservation of a book and a picture; and to your consideration it shall be submitted, because you was a Benedictine. According to my notion, my father's collated copy of the Textus Roffensis cannot be more properly deposited than in the MS. Library of Bene't-college; but, supposing I present this valuable book to the Society, as one good turn merits another, shall I not be fully warranted in desiring that they will likewise give admission to my father's picture. It is the only portrait there is of him; and no print has been taken of it, nor is it likely it should be now engraved. That Dr. Denne through life had the interest of the College at heart is unquestionable; and it certainly merits due notice that he was joint tutor with Mr. Herring, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury. Not that I am solicitous that the picture in question should have a place within the Lodge among Archbishops, Bishops, Judges, and the Masters of the College; Dr. Denne having been only a Fellow and Tutor, it will be deemed sufficient if it be suspended on a wall in the MS. Library; or why not fixed to one of the doors of the presses, should there be any danger likely to accrue from the dampness of the wall? "Before my strength departed from me, which it literally is, I had not the least conception of the burden of extreme weakness; but a sufferer as I have been, and still am from it, what a want of feeling should I betray did I not tender my fervent wishes, that health and strength may be for years the portion of Mrs. Gough and yourself; and having mentioned these ines 扫 timable blessings of life, with a desire that you may enjoy as many other comforts as can reasonably be expected in this fluctuating scene, I will subscribe myself, “Your true friend, S. DENNE." Dartford, July 11, 1799. 111. The Rev. JOHN CURREY to Mr. GOUGH. "SIR, "It is only with concern I can speak of our worthy friend's health. About four months ago he had a violent bilious attack, his legs swelled much, and soon after began to discharge; the discharge, however, ceased, and some favourable symptoms appeared, but the constitution was too feeble to rally. Ever since he has grown weaker and weaker; and is now in so totally debilitated a state as not to be able to change his room without assistance. His legs are again much swolen; and he told me a few days since that he thought he began to fill higher. His mind is still vigorous, and his spirits easy, though perfectly sensible of his situation. I shall mention to him that his silence, and having spoken to you of his want of health, had led you to favour with your friendly inquiries after him, "Sir, your most obedient servant, JOHN CURREY." 112. Mr. GoUGH to Mr. DENNE. July 15, 1799. "Believe me, my dear Sir, it was a pleasure to me to see your letter of a date prior to that which I addressed to Mr. Currey to inquire into the cause of your silence. Not to importunate you with inquiries, I will still cherish a hope that you may be restored to your former energy of mind and body; but, should it be otherwise ordered by the Supreme Disposer of all events, I will assure you of my hearty concurrence in the execution of any wish of yours at Cambridge or London. I am sure the Benedictines will be very ungrateful if they do not place the portrait you mention in their Lodge instead of burying it in a cellar not opened four times in the year, and then perhaps to strangers. "The very happy revolution in public events will certainly be welcome to you in common with us all. "Adieu, my dear Sir, and assure yourself of a place under all circumstances in the truest regards and best wishes of your sincere friend, RICHARD GOUGH." 113. Mr. DENNE to Mr. GOUGH. Wilmington, July 30, 1799. "DEAR SIR, "One more scrap of antiquary fare, which shall be appellated cheese, is purposed to be sent from Wilmington Vicarage to Cicero's Head, though it is much to be feared that, from the minutes relative to them being in confusion, and from his not being able to move up and down stairs, the purveyor will not have it in his power to serve up his little plate in the manner he wishes. Batalha, or, rather, the intended sepulchral tomb erecting by King Emanuel, but left in a dilapidated state, will be the leading subject, and especially those pages on which a learned Spanish Dr. figured as an illustrator of the sphere, which was Emanuel's chosen device, and his translation of the mottoes. Now on both these points 1 differ from the Doctor as far as I can comprehend his meaning; and I am sure that he might, with a small degree of consideration, have rectified the error into which he has slipt, concerning some of the ornaments of the sphere. Unless my memory deceives me, I suggested the fundamental mistake a few months ago; but I will be now more explicit. The three complete horns affixed to the lower end of the sphere, are the embellishments alluded to; and that horns are generally to be deemed tokens of power and authority we have the sanction of writers, both holy and profane, as you may easily satisfy yourself by even a cursory perusal of Newton's Dissertation on the Prophecies; and in Bruce's Voyage for the Discovery of the Sources of the Nile are sundry proofs of the notion formed by different nations of the reputed power of horns, with divers apt illustrations from Holy Writ. Concerning the three horns under review, it ought to be further noticed that the caps of them all exhibit crowns upon them, and that of course they are to be looked upon as emblems of monarchical power; and can there then be a doubt but that the framer of this device, which was upon a sphere that he was partial to, meant by the device to announce to all people that he had royal dominions in three quarters of the then known parts of the world; and his Majesty of Portugal possessed such dominions in Europe, jure paterno, and in Africa and in the East Indies by the right of the gun and the sword; nay, a few years afterwards, when the Brazils were annexed to the throne of Portugal, the newly discovered continent of America acknowledged Portugal to be one among its sovereigns, and perhaps there may be spheres upon which four coronetted horns are displayed. Admitting, therefore, the opinion I have adopted concerning these horns to be well founded, and I profess I am not aware of there being any reasonable objection to it, not any difficulty do I see in correcting the mistake of the Spanish Doctor; but as to his comment upon the mottoes, I am not apprised how he is to be extricated from the error that bewilders him, because, as far as appears, he had not the mottoes before him, and of an uncertain motto the reading or explanation must be vague. The want of an accurate copy of the motto might have its origin in the expertness of the carver to insculp it on different parts of the mausoleum, or the Doctor himself might mistake from the m 陷 be t having placed himself at too great a distance when he attempted to read it, or the persons employed to take a fac-simile might be inattentive. It appears, however, from the Doctor's own report, and from his mode of construing the mottoes, that the mottoes themselves were not to be depended upon, and therefore it would be presumption to think of offering any explanation that shall be clear and convincing; but to antiquaries is generally allowed an opening for surmise, and therefore into this wide and not unpleasant field I shall take a short trip. Almost all that I could collect from the Doctor was, that the characters of the mottoes were Grecian, a circumstance that might of itself rather embarrass the commentator; but it is on this surmise, and one other, that I shall suggest what I have to offer, that the word or words forming the mottoes had a reference to the East, because at that period there were many nations, and of these the Portuguese principally, who were intoxicated and infatuated with eastern notions and views. Read but the Annals of the Portuguese, and not a book, hardly a page in a book, which will not prove to a demonstration how predominant were eastern words, and how impatient they were to be incorporated with the country that was to the east of them. What fatigue and immense anxiety did they not encounter in their voyage round the Cape of Good Hope to this eastern land, in which their hearts were placed; and with what a high tone of exultation did they triumph on finding they had acquired eastern territories, though afterwards they turned out to be a bane and a curse to the conquerors, as the same country had previously been to other nations; and as it may ultimately be a source of ruin to other countries, who, though they stand upon a perilous fabric, think they have established a system that must reflect honour on the devisers of it, a system that must directly or indirectly bring in an augmenting flux of wealth to the public and to individuals, whilst a good government can be supported in any part of the world. "Had not almost all my antiquarian researches been impeded by an indisposition, severe and tedious in the extreme, I think it not unlikely I might have carried into execution the plan I had formed of revising, with the closest attention, the extracts I had made from the Luciad of Camoens by Milton, and divers other notes, with the view of preparing a readable paper for the Society on the Sepulchral Chapel constructed at Batalha by the illustrious Emanuel of Portugal; and it was my design to have addressed it to Craven Ord, and to have left it to his discretion whether it should be put into the hands of Secretary Brand. But circumstances are so altered that, if the scheme shall be pursued, it must be by Mr. Ord himself during his recess in the country, provided he can fill up the sketch I have delineated. And query ought he not maturely to weigh, that a paper of the cast given, would not be out of season in November, in 3 E VOL. VI. |