[Footnote 1: Mr. Zouch was the squire and vicar of Sandhill, in
Yorkshire.]
STRAWBERRY HILL, _August_ 3, 1758.
Sir,--I have received, with much pleasure and surprise, the favour of
your remarks upon my Catalogue; and whenever I have the opportunity of
being better known to you, I shall endeavour to express my gratitude for
the trouble you have given yourself in contributing to perfect a work,
which, notwithstanding your obliging expressions, I fear you found very
little worthy the attention of so much good sense and knowledge, Sir, as
you possess.
I am extremely thankful for all the information you have given me; I had
already met with a few of the same lights as I have received, Sir, from
you, as I shall mention in their place. The very curious accounts of
Lord Fairfax were entirely new and most acceptable to me. If I decline
making use of one or two of your hints, I believe I can explain my
reasons to your satisfaction. I will, with your leave, go regularly
through your letter.
As Caxton[1] laboured in the monastery of Westminster, it is not at all
unlikely that he should wear the habit, nor, considering how vague our
knowledge of that age is, impossible but he might enter the order.
[Footnote 1: Mr. Zouch had expressed a doubt whether a portrait of a man
in a clerical garb could possibly be meant for Caxton, and Mr. Cole and
three of Walpole's literary correspondents suggested that it was
probably a portrait of Jehan de Jeonville, Provost of Paris.]
I have met with Henry's institution of a Christian, and shall give you
an account of it in my next edition. In that, too, I shall mention, that
Lord Cobham's allegiance professed at his death to Richard II., probably
means to Richard and his right heirs whom he had abandoned for the house
of Lancaster. As the article is printed off, it is too late to say
anything more about his works.
In all the old books of genealogy you will find, Sir, that young Richard
Duke of York was solemnly married to a child of his own age, Anne
Mowbray, the heiress of Norfolk, who died young as well as he.
The article of the Duke of Somerset is printed off too; besides, I
should imagine the letter you mention not to be of his own composition,
for, though not illiterate, he certainly could not write anything like
classic Latin. I may, too, possibly have inclusively mentioned the very
letter; I have not Ascham's book, to see from what copy the letter was
taken, but probably from one of those which I have said is in Bennet
Library.
The Catalogue of Lord Brooke's works is taken from the volume of his
works; such pieces of his as I found doubted, particularly the tragedy
of Cicero, I have taken notice of as doubtful.
In my next edition you will see, Sir, a note on Lord Herbert, who,
besides being with the King at York, had offended the peers by a speech
in his Majesty's defence. Mr. Wolseley's preface I shall mention, from
your information. Lord Rochester's letters to his son are letters to a
child, bidding him mind his book and his grandmother. I had already been
told, Sir, what you tell me of Marchmont Needham.
Matthew Clifford I have altered to Martin, as you prescribed; the
blunder was my own, as well as a more considerable one, that of Lord
Sandwich's death--which was occasioned by my supposing, at first, that
the translation of Barba was made by the second Earl, whose death I had
marked in the list, and forgot to alter, after I had writ the account of
the father. I shall take care to set this right, as the second volume
is not yet begun to be printed.
Lord Halifax's Maxims I have already marked down, as I shall Lord
Dorset's share in Pompey.
The account of the Duke of Wharton's death I had from a very good
hand--Captain Willoughby; who, in the convent where the Duke died, saw a
picture of him in the habit. If it was a Bernardine convent, the
gentleman might confound them; but, considering that there is no life of
the Duke but bookseller's trash, it is much more likely that they
mistook.
I have no doubts about Lord Belhaven's speeches; but unless I could
verify their being published by himself, it were contrary to my rule to
insert them.
If you look, Sir, into Lord Clarendon's account of Montrose's death, you
will perceive that there is no probability of the book of his actions
being composed by himself.
I will consult Sir James Ware's book on Lord Totness's translation; and
I will mention the Earl of Cork's Memoirs.
Lord Leppington is the Earl of Monmouth, in whose article I have taken
notice of his Romulus and Tarquin.
Lord Berkeley's book I have actually got, and shall give him an article.
There is one more passage, Sir, in your letter, which I cannot answer,
without putting you to new trouble--a liberty which all your indulgence
cannot justify me in taking; else I would beg to know on what authority
you attribute to Laurence Earl of Rochester[1] the famous preface to
his father's history, which I have always heard ascribed to Atterbury,
Smallridge, and Aldridge.[2] The knowledge of this would be an
additional favour; it would be a much greater, Sir, if coming this way,
you would ever let me have the honour of seeing a gentleman to whom I am
so much obliged.
[Footnote 1: The Earl of Rochester was the second son of the Earl of
Clarendon. He was Lord Treasurer under James II., but was dismissed
because he refused to change his religion (Macaulay's "History of
England," c. 6).]
[Footnote 2: Atterbury was the celebrated Bishop of Rochester,
Smallridge was Bishop of Bristol, and Aldridge (usually written Aldrich)
was Dean of Christchurch, Oxford, equally well known for his treatise on
Logic and his five reasons for drinking--
Good wine, a friend, or being dry;
Or lest you should be by and by,
Or any other reason why--]
_HIS "ROYAL AND NOBLE AUTHORS"--LORD CLARENDON--SIR R. WALPOLE AND LORD
BOLINGBROKE--THE DUKE OF LEEDS._