[We have for some time past been obliged, by want of space, to omit
all the kind expressions towards ourselves, in which friendly
correspondents are apt to indulge; but there is something so unusual
in the way in which the following letter begins, that we have done
violence to our modesty, in order to admit the comments of our
kind-hearted correspondent. We have no doubt that all his questions
will be answered in due course.]
Never, during my life (more than half a century), do I remember
hailing the appearance of any new publication with such unfeigned
delight. I had hugged myself on having the friendship of a certain
"BOOKWORM," possessing a curious library, of some three or four
thousand volumes; how much must I have rejoiced, therefore, at
finding that, through the medium of your invaluable journal, my
literary friends were likely to be increased one hundred-fold; and
that, for the small sum of three pence weekly, I could command the
cordial co-operation, when at a loss, of all the first scholars,
antiquaries, and literary men of the country; that without the
trouble of attending meetings, &c., I could freely become a member
of the "Society of Societies;" that the four thousand volumes, to
which I had, previously, access, were increased more than ten
thousand-fold. It is one of the peculiar advantages of literary
accumulation, that it is only by diffusing the knowledge of the
materials amassed, and the information gained, that their value is
felt. Unlike the miser, the scholar and antiquary, by expending, add
to the value of their riches.
Permit me to avail myself of the "good the bounteous gods have sent
me," and make one or two inquiries through the medium of your
columns. {184} In the first place, can any of your readers inform me
by whom a pamphlet, of the Elizabethan period, noticed in the
_Censura Literaria_, and entitled _The Fraternitye of Vagabondes_,
was reprinted, some years since?--Was it by Machelle Stace, of
Scotland Yard, who died a brother of the Charter-House?
In the second place, can any of your clerical readers tell me where
I can find any account of the late Rev. Mr. Genesse, of Bath, author
of a _History of the Stage_, in ten volumes, one of the most
elaborate and entertaining works ever published, which must have
been a labour of love, and the labour of a life?
And, in the third and last place, I find, in the _Bristol Gazette_
of the early part of last month, the following paragraph:--"THE RED
MAIDS, 120 in number, enjoyed their annual dinner in honour of the
birthday of their great benefactor, Alderman Whitson. The dinner
consisted of joints of _veal_ (which they only have on this
occasion), and some dozens of plum puddings. The mayor and Mayoress
attended, and were much pleased to witness the happy faces of the
girls, to whom the Mayoress distributed one shilling each."
Can any of your curious contributors give me any account of these
_Red Maids_?--why they are so called, &c., &c.?--and, in fact, of
the charity in general?
It will not be one of the least of many benefits of your
publication, that, in noticing from time to time the real intention
of many ancient charitable bequests, the purposes of the original
benevolent founder may be restored to their integrity, and the
charity devoted to the use of those for whom it was intended, and
who will receive it as a charity, and not, as is too often the case,
be swallowed up as a mere place,--or worse, a sinecure.