When they do, you are likely to have some additional trouble on this business. In the mean time I have taken the liberty of sending you this extract from the young man's letter, the rest of which relates to other matters. "Believe me, very respectfully, Sir, your obliged, &c. J. CARR. "P. S. Our friend Mr. Nichols has printed rather a lame account of the late Baron Dimsdale* in the Magazine for January." "SIR, Hertford, Feb. 7, 1801. "Immediately after my writing to you yesterday I received these two Catalogues from Mr. Allan, who apologizes for not being able to make out a third. He expresses some reluctance at the thought of parting with his Father's Museum, but hopes the Sale may benefit those to whom he left his personal estate. I hope to hear of your receiving this, and having your opinion respecting the sale. The only objection to a sale in London seems to be the great expence attending it. J. CARR." Enfield, Feb. 8, 1801. "SIR, "I am afraid my misapprehension of Mr. Allan's Museum had led me to undertake more than I may be able to perform for his Family in the disposal of it. I imagined it included the whole of his Collection, Books, &c. when I recommended Mr. Leigh to sell them. I am perfectly unacquainted with the value of subjects of Natural History; but, considering the difference of value to Mr. Tunstall and Mr. Allan, I am not surprized that they should he estimated at only half what Mr. Allan gave for them. Considering also the expence and hazard of sending them up to London, I should, were it my own case, be rather inclined to accept Mr. Fothergill's offer +-supposing he cannot be prevailed on to increase it, or to take upon himself the expence and risque of removing the Birds from Darlington to York. If, under these circumstances, you should incline to stop Mr. Allan from sending up his Catalogues, which might lose time, you may perhaps save him trouble; but, if you think it more adviseable that they should be shewn to the London Virtuosi, I will endeavour to find them out, for they are entirely strangers to me since I quitted both the Royal and Antiquarian Societies. "Mr. Nichols would have given a better account of the Baron, had any of his friends furnished him with one. If Dr. Lettsom declines the task ‡, he will be glad to supply his defects. R. GOUGH." *See Gent. Mag. vol. LXXI. p. 88. +They were all purchased by the present Mr. Allan. See p. 366. See Gent. Mag. vol. LXXI. pp. 209. 669. Extracts of Letters from ELIZABETH-MARY Countess Dowager of STAFFORD to Mr. ALLAN. 1 Jan. 1763. "MR. ALLAN, "Not being able to take upon myself the correction of any mistakes concerning the Howard Family*, I applied to my friend Miss Howard of Greystock, who is the most capable of any body I know. I was obliged to leave your proof-sheets with her, which was the reason of their not being sent where you desired they might, on Tuesday. I now send you Miss Howard's answer with them, on which, though she seems rather doubtful, I fancy you may rely, as she has made a study of the Pedigree. "I shall be very glad to see you when you come to town, and much obliged to you for giving Chambers your dictations † as he calls it, and am glad you approve of his performance." "MR. ALLAN, Monday, March 7. "In looking over your Number of the Royal Family, I find a mistake, by an omission of one of the Princes of the House of Brunswick, which is Prince Anthony Ulrick, Duke of Brunswick Lunenburgh, who, by some remarkable particulars in his life, was conspicuously known to all Germany. Your Number does not so much as name him, though his having existed can admit of no doubt, by what he has left in writing, which I can I would advise you shew you a copy of when you call on me. not to begin to distribute the Numbers till you have rectified that mistake, as it may be a disadvantage to your subscription, to have so palpable a mistake appear in your First Number, and in the House of the Royal Family. You may depend on the certainty of what I tell you. If you call on me any time before twelve or one o'clock this morning, or to-morrow, I will convince you of your mistake. I am to see the Lady I told you I would speak to this day. ELIZ. MARY MIC. STAFFORD." "11 Jan. 1764. "I imagine ere this your Ladyship will think I have quite forgot the promises I made before I left London; but give me leave to assure you, that I shall ever retain the most grateful remembrance of the many civilities received at your hands. "It would be unpardonable in me not to acquaint your Ladyship, whom I always regarded as a well-wisher, and being no stranger to my affairs, that, at my return here, I met with the most gracious reception, and happily reinstated in the good opinion of all my Friends, which I shall ever study to deserve. For Mr. Allan's then intended Peerage; see p. *355. This alludes to family differences hinted at in p. *354; in the settling of which the good Countess had most kindly interested herself. "My "My time has been wholly adapted to business: but the few hours of recess therefrom I have employed in forming as exact a Genealogy of Lord Stafford's Family as I possibly could, from such materials as I was master of; and dare say, when your Ladyship sees it, you will approve thereof. But, in order still to make it more exact, I could wish your Ladyship could procure me a transcript of a MS. in the British Museum, which I had not time to inspect. To me it seems the most authentic and particular, having all the Arms, which I chiefly want. As I remember, your Ladyship said once, you had some acquaintance with Dr. Morton, if you were to apply to him, he could perhaps recommend a proper person to copy it and the Arms too, as any rude sketch would answer my purpose. Inclosed is a particular list of every thing in the Museum that relates to the Stafford Family, most of which I saw, and have extracts from; so that, should your Ladyship's curiosity lead you at any time to that valuable Repository, you may immediately pitch on any book you chuse to peruse, without turning over a long Catalogue. I could wish to be favoured with the above (if your Ladyship thinks proper) as soon as convenient, as I am now stopped on that account. I hope, ere this, Mr. Chambers has finished the Monument, and that you approve thereof, which I should be glad to hear. In this day's paper I find Mr. Edmondson has at last got himself into the Heralds' Office, being constituted Mowbray Herald, a place long dormant. I hope your Ladyship will excuse this freedom, froin your Ladyship's most obliged and obedient servant, G. ALLAN." Stanhope-street, Oct. 13, 1764. "Nothing could have occasioned my being all this time without acknowledging and returning you my most sincere thanks for your obliging Letter of January last, in which you give me so agreeable an account of your thorough reconciliation with your Family, and that you continue your kind intention of compleating my Lord's Pedigree, but a disorder I had on my eyes, or rather optic nerve, which, according to the opinion of the German Oculist, Baron Wenzel, threatened me with almost immediate blindness; and therefore all kind of application, and almost use of my eyes, was thought dangerous. I need not say how alarming and terrifying such an opinion was, from a man who passes with many people for a prodigy in that science; nor how exact I was in observing what was ordered: but, having since consulted the Serjeant Surgeon * and some others of the Faculty, I have the comfort to find the Baron quite mistaken; and, by other prescriptions which I have followed, find the use of my eyes, I thank God, again; and thought it necessary to inform you of these particulars, as nothing else could have hindered me from thanking you, and sending you, in the best manner I can get them, the abstracts you desired from the Museum, by the means of obliging Doctor Morton, who himself pointed * John Ranby, esq. and Cæsar Hawkins, esq. then the principal SerJeant Surgeons. "SIR, them them out to the person who copied them. I told him for what purpose it was, and I shewed him what you have already done; which he admired exceedingly; said, he remembered you at the Museum, and spoke of you with the esteem you deserve. He could recommend no one that knew how to sketch out the Women's Arms; but thought, to you, the naming them might answer the purpose. Both he and Mr. Bigland say, Guillim is a very erroneous Author, full of mistakes and blunders. "My Lord's Monument had some improvement in the plan of it after you saw it; which is, a Grecian Urn of the same marble which the inscription and badges rest on, instead of a Portland stone for the under part, which Chambers had proposed in his plan, if you remember. I thought that would look very paltry; and, as I always wished to do every thing in my power to shew my respect for my Lord, I told him I would add to the price, and have a marble urn; which, I am told by all who have seen it, has a very good effect, and that it is simple and noble; which is just what I wished it, and what my Lord himself would have chose for any Friend. Chambers has executed it in perfection. They say, the colouring and badges are admirably well done, and that it has been much admired. I should be very glad to have your opinion of it, and hope to have the pleasure of seeing you again in this part of the world, notwithstanding your agreeable situation with your Friends; which you know I always wished might, and never doubted but it would, happen to your mutual satisfaction. That, and every other, will be always very sincerely wished you, Sir, by your friend and humble servant, ELIZ. MARY MIC. STAFFORD." Epitaph for Lord STAFFORD's Monument, as drawn out by his Countess, and now printed from a copy in her own writing. "In this vault lies interred all that was mortal of the most illustrious and benevolent In 1738 he married Elizabeth, daughter naturally generous and compassionate, We therefore piously hope, at the last day, Being snatched away suddenly by Death, which had been long meditated, and expected with constancy, he went to a better life the first of April, 1762, having lived 61 years, nine months, and six days, whose memory is in benediction with God and Man. Requiescat in pace." "Jan. 8, 1765. "It would be unpardonable in me to delay any longer acknowledging the receipt of your Ladyship's obliging Letter of the 13th October last, which came in due course of the post, though not to my hands before last week, having been above two months from home on a long journey. I had almost despaired of hoping for the honour of a Letter from you, when I had recourse to the date of mine, which appeared so very antique as this time twelve months. I was extremely sorry to hear of your Ladyship's indisposition; but hope, ere this, you are perfectly recovered. "It has ever been a determined resolution with me, since I left London, to shew some testimony of the friendship I was so happy in experiencing from your Ladyship; and could not think of any other method that would be more acceptable or pleasing, than to make an improvement on an attempt that had already met with your approbation, i. e. of recording the descents, &c. of the illustrious House of Stafford. The few hours of recess from business I have constantly employed therein; but my daily expectation of meeting with more testimonies, or receiving some account from your Ladyship of the papers I enquired after in the Museum, has made me delay it the further.-A few posts ago I wrote to Mr. Edmondson, to beg the copy of this descent from Segar's Baronage, in which I hope he will oblige me; and by that means I can make it thoroughly complete. The moment I receive it, I will set about putting a finishing hand thereto. My worthy Friend Mr. Bigland has been so obliging as lately to send me the descents of my own Family, from their Office; with a request to continue them, and an offer of any thing in their Office. By his Letter he seems to have made large Collections relating to this County; which, I flatter myself, I can bring down to the present time; and also furnish him with exact copies of every inscription, monument, or grave-stone, in the County, which he is very desirous of and I have long been collecting. "I remember Lord Egmont shewed me Lilly's MS Baronage, a book of undoubted authority. If your Ladyship has any acquaintance with him, I dare say his Lordship would readily oblige you with a copy from it. He was so obliging as to offer me free access thereto on any occasion. "I am, with best wishes for many happy returns of this season, your Ladyship's most obedient humble servant, G.ALLAN.'' "Stanhope-street, Jan. 15, 1765. "To convince you, Sir, of my readiness to answer your Lettcrs when I am able to do it, I hasten to return you my thanks for the obliging Letter I received from you last post; and wishes of |