which we have quoted at length. It contains four plates of Views, four of Antiquities, and four of Fac-similes of Original Documents.

The Views consist of the residence of Cowley at Chertsey, accompanied by a fac-simile of part of his autograph poem of "The Garden," addressed to John Evelyn, the author of Sylva; the house occupied by the Royal Society in Crane-court, Fleet-street, from 1678 until about the year 1760; the residence of Sir Isaac Newton in St. Martin's street, Leicester-square (from which Mr. Smith formerly published the interior of the Observatory); and a view of the tomb, at Hillingdon, of John Rich, the founder of Coventgarden Theatre, accompanied by a facsimile of his coalition agreement with Charles Fleetwood, the proprietor of Drury-lane, in the year 1735, by which they arranged that all receipts above 157. a night should be mutually divided. The Antiquities consist of:

1. An illuminated initial L. with part of the text, from the commencement of the editio princeps of the "Historia Naturalis" of Caius Plinius Secundus, printed at Venice by Johannes de Spira in 1469. This is a folio plate, and very beautifully coloured.

2. An enamelled Jewel, presented by Mary Queen of Scots to George Gordon fourth Earl of Huntly, and still preserved at Gordon Castle. A lock of Mary's hair, of a light auburn colour, is attached to a small ivory skull, which is connected by a twisted skein of silk with the figure of a Cupid shooting an arrow, and standing upon a heart, which is transfixed by a dart, scribed WILLINGLY WOVNDED.

3. The Bible used by King Charles the First upon the scaffold. On this

2. A letter from Thomas Barlow, D.D. Bishop of Lincoln, to the Rev. George Thomason, dated Oxford, Feb. 7, 1676, relating to the removal from the Bodleian Library, of the collection of pamphlets, now called the King's Tracts, and preserved in the British Museum. The very remarkable history of this unparalleled collection is briefly related in a printed bill which was inserted by Beloe in his "Anecdotes of Literature," but we find a manuscript account of them, drawn up shortly after the Restoration, here first published. This is so curious, that we shall receive thanks for making it more generally known:

There have been greate charges disbursed and paines taken in an exact Colleccion of Pamphletts that have been published from the beginning of that long and vnhappy Parlem wch begun Novemb 1640; wth doth amount to a very greate numb of pieces of all sorts and all sides from that time vntill his Majties happy restauracion and coronacion, their numb veral pecces, to the very greate charge consisting of neere thirty thousand seand greater care and paines of him that made the colleccion.

The vse that may be made of them for the publiq and for the p'sent and after ages may and will prove of greate to posterity; and besides this

tical. It has certainly belonged to a Charles Prince of Wales, from the initials and devices of the binding, but it cannot be the Bible given by the King to Mr. Herbert; elsewhere are the many annotations and quotations?"

"

4. An exhibition-bill of Matthew Buckinger, the dwarf of Nürnberg, born without hands or feet, written by himself at London 1716-7.

The Original Documents of which Mr. Smith has here given fac-similies are,

there is not

fitt for the vse of the Kinges Majtie. The we colleccion will necessarily employ six readers att once, they consisting of six severall sorts of paper, being as vniformely bound as if they were but of one impression of bookes. It consists of about two thousand severall volumes, all exactly marked and numbred.

"The method that hath been observed throughout is tyme, and such exact care hath been taken that the very day is written vpon most of them that they came

out.

The catalogue of them fairly written doe containe twelve vollumes in folio, and of the numb aforesaid, wch is so many that when they stand in order according to their numb's, whilest any thing is asked for and shewed in the catalogue, though but of one sheete of paper (or lesse), it may be instantly shewed: this method is of very greate vse and much ease to the reader.

In this numb' of pamphlettes is contained neere one hundred and seu'all peeces that never were printed [i. e. published] on th' one side and on th' other, (all or most of which are on the King's side), wch no man durst venture to publish here, without the danger of his ruine.

"This colleccon was so privately carried on, that it was never knowne that there was such a designe in hand, the collector intending them onely for his Majties vse that then was, his Majid once having occasion to vse one pamphlett, could no where obtaine or compasse the sight of it but from him, wch his Majtie haveing seen was very well sattisfied and pleased with the sight of itt, hee comanded a person of honour (now) neere his Majtie that now is, to restore it safely to his handes from whom hee had it, who faithfully restored it, together with the charge his Majte gave him, wch was with his owne hand to returne it to him, and withall expresst a desire from his then Majtie to him that had begun that worke, that hee should continue the same, his Majte being very well pleased with the design, wch was a greate encouragem' to the undertaker; els hee thinks hee should never have been enduced to haue gon through so difficult a worke, wch he found by experience to prove so chargeable and heavy a burthen, both to himself and his servis that were imployed in that business, wh continued above the space of twenty yeares, in weh time hee buryed three of them, who tooke greate pains both day and night wth him in that tedious imployment.

"And that hee might prevent the discovery of them when the Army was northward, hee packt them vp in seuerall trunks, and by one or two in a week hee sent them to a trusty freind in Surrey, who safely preserved them; but when the Army was westward, and feareing their returne that way, hee was faigne to have them sent backe againe, and thence safely received them; but durst not keepe them by him, the danger was so greate, but packt them vp againe and sent them into Essex; and when the Army ranged that way, to Tripleheath, was faigne to send for them back from thence, and not think

ing them safe any where in England, att last took a ressolucion to send them into Holland for their more safe preservation; but considering wth himselfe what a treasure it was, vpon second thoughts he durst not venture them att sea, but ressolved to place them in his warehouses in forme of tables round about the roomes covered over with canvas, continueing still without any intermission his going on; nay, even then, when by the Veur per's power and comand hee was taken out of his bed and clapt vp close prisoner att Whitehall for seaven weekes' space and above, hee still hopeing and looking for that day, we thankes bee to God is now come, and there hee putt a period to that vnparallelled labour, charge, and paines hee had been att.

"Oxford Library Keeper (that then was) was in hand with them, ab them a long time, and did hope the publiq library might compase them, but that could not bee then effected, it riseing to so greate a sume as had been expended on them for so long a time together.

"And if that trayterous Vsurper had taken notice of them by any informacion, hee to secure them had made and signed an acquittance for one thousand pounds, acknowledged to be received in

that bargaine, and baue sent that imediately thither, and they to have challenged by virtue of that as bought by them, who had more power than hee had that collected them to have contended wth him for them, by the power that they and their friends could have made.

"All theis hard shifts and exigents hath hee been putt ynto to preserve them, and preserved they are (by Providence) for the vse of succeeding ages, wch will

scarce

to the British Museum. Its value, for the minutiae of history and biography, is incalculable; and its preservation when deserted by King Charles II. and during the period when it was of less antiquity, and therefore less esteemed, furnishes as much reason for congratulation as its immunity during the perilous times of its first collection.

MR. URBAN,

Norwood.

BEING on a visit at Stanway in Essex, in the October of last year, I was induced to ask of the Rev. Thomas Harrison permission to walk over his venerable mansion, known by the name of Oliver's.

The exterior of the house is in no way striking, save in its fearful state of dilapidation, which tells that in a very few years it will cease to exist. It is a long, low, red-brick pile with modern windows; the room, once a library, has fallen entirely down, as has a great part of the parapet on one side; and the ceiling of the great dining-room is sustained by two rudely-squared stems of trees placed under its beam. The house stands on a manor embracing 327 a. 2r. 36p.

Over the fire-place in the great dining-room is still preserved that portrait of "one of the Eldred family" which was engraved at the expense of the Society of Antiquaries for the 15th volume of the Archæologia. The worthy here represented is Thomas Eldred of Ipswich, merchant, who accompanied Thomas Cavendish in his voyage round the world in 1586-88, and not, as generally supposed, Alderman John Eldred of Great Saxham Hall, Suffolk, whose voyage to Tripoli in Syria, and Babylon, in 1583, has been printed in Hackluyt's collection of Voyages.

The origin of this supposition I am at a loss to conjecture; as one of the two paintings which accompany the portrait, plainly identifies it. This painting represents a globe, with the following inscription under it:

The other autographs in this portion of Mr. Smith's work are letters from Charles Earl of Sunderland to John Duke of Newcastle, 1708; Bishop (afterwards Archbishop) Secker, 1753; Lord Somers to Sir Hans Sloane; and Lord Bolingbroke to Dr. Swift. We have only to repeat our wishes for the prosperous continuation of this singularly curious work.

'Thomas Eldred went out of Plimmouthe 1586 July 21, and saild about the whole Globe and arrived againe in Plimmouthe the 9 of September 1588. What can seeme great to him, that hath seene the whole World and the wondrous workes therein, save the Maker of it and the World above it?'

A further proof of its identity is to be found in the arms of Eldred of Essex, which are, Az. a cross botonée fitché Or, on a chief of the Last three globes Az.

These arms, commemorative of his parent's voyage round the world, were granted 14th Feb. 1630 to John Eldred, of Colchester, the first of the family who resided at Oliver's. The arms of Alderman Eldred, who was born at New Buckenham in Norfolk, and whose connection with the Essex family has not been shewn, are, Or, on a bend ragulée three Bezants, in sinister chief point a martlet.

There are nine other portraits of the Eldred family in this room, (five males, four females,) including those of Counsellor Eldred, John Eldred, Esq.-the last male of the family-and his two unmarried sisters, Dulcibella and Mary. The other paintings are, the Ship with four masts, described in the Archæologia; an ancient hunting scene; and a portrait of Miss Barefoot, afterwards Mrs. Harrison, and grandmother to the present worthy lord of the mansion.

The following pedigree of the Eldreds of Oliver's, is compiled from the Visitations of Essex in 1634 and 1664, from monumental inscriptions, and Morant's Essex, &c.

band. A

A daughter, married to Stephen Rookwood, living 1566.1