S.A.A. inquires whether the authenticity of Richard of Cirencester, the
Monk of Westminster, has ever been satisfactorily proved. The prevailing
opinion amongst some of the greatest antiquaries has been that the work
was a forgery by Dr. Bertram, of Copenhagen, with a view of testing the
antiquarian knowledge of the famous Dr. Stukeley; of this opinion was
the learned and acute Dr. Whittaker and Mr. Conybeare. It is also
further worthy of mention that some years since, when the late Earl
Spencer was in Copenhagen, he searched in vain for the original
manuscript, which no one there could tell him had ever existed, and very
many doubt if it ever existed at all.
Lord Erskine's Brooms.
When and where was it that a man was apprehended for selling brooms
without a hawker's licence, and defended himself by showing that they
were the agricultural produce of Lord Erskine's property, and that he
was Lord E.'s servant?