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get English booksellers to take 500, but find they are averse to any work printed out of London. The Morisons modestly insist on my taking 500, and allowing them to print 500 more for their own sale! Thus I am not only to give them my labor gratis, but give them 1007. for accepting it! I have told them at once to draw upon George Nicol for their expenses; and I shall keep the transcript. As your lordship kindly says that the transcript was directed and revised by you to do me a pleasure, for which I shall ever be grateful, I hope this resolution will meet with your approbation. My notes are scattered on the blank pages of the transcript; and, rather than give them to the Morisons, I would destroy it, cost what it would. Their conduct to me is ungenerous and unjust; and I leave to your lordship to judge if I deserved it.

MR. PINKERTON TO THE EARL OF BUCHAN.

Knightsbridge, Dec. 15th, 1787.

I am afraid of being quite troublesome to your lordship by such constant correspondence; but hope your love for our old literature will once more excuse me. Your lordship mentioned in a late letter, that you would cause Jamieson, who copied Barbour, to transcribe Lindsay's Play for me. But, in your last, Mr. Buchan's bond is spoken of for the ma

which you sent me; and we both join in wishing we could prevail upon you to abstain from dropping any thing to the discredit of a book, which we highly venerate, the Old Testament; especially when it is not necessary to your subject. If it should be, attack it in a regular and formal discussion; and then we doubt not to defend it at large. But, till this is done, it seems neither fair nor candid to step aside from other topics, to throw out insinuations on this subject, which must be very offensive to many readers as well as

to me.

In the new evening paper, called the Dublin Chronicle, appeared lately some strictures on the Ancient Ecclesiastical History of Ireland (Scotia Antiqua) which you should by all means see. They first appeared under the signature of Jerneus in the Dublin Chronicle for December 24th, and again December 27th. In the Grecian Coffee-house in Devereux Court, they formerly took in the Irish papers; if not now, there are other coffee-houses, where, upon inquiry, you might find them, and where they are regularly filed.

MR. PINKERTON TO THE EARL OF BUCHAN.

Knightsbridge, Feb. 2d, 1788.

I hope your lordship will forgive my troubling you about a literary matter, which your lordship condescended to promote. Mr. Cardonnel, some months since, informed me that, upon calling at

Creech's shop, he learned there were about a dozen subscribers to the Vita Sanctorum Scotia. Upon desiring my factor, Mr. Buchan, since to call on Creech, and learn the names, Creech informed him "there were but two or three; and the subscription paper was lost, so he could not tell the names."

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Though the booksellers have a mean opinion of Creech, I cannot think him capable of sheer rob-bery, as this is; but I should take it extremely kind, if your lordship would desire Mr. Cardonnel to call on Creech and bring him to reason. shall have a sufficient number of subscribers in England; for the number increases fast since the price was raised. Yet I humbly hope your lordship will not allow the subscribers in Scotland and me to be thus wronged. Subscriptions are always entered in a book; so the subscription paper is a mere farce: I should take it extremely kind if your lordship would recommend some other bookseller in Edinburgh, who does not, like Creech, set up for a genius and a gentleman; and far less take a party in selling books, or at any rate inclines to the Whig. Your lordship's knowledge of Scotland must render you a perfect judge. Mr. Buchan informs me that your lordship has applied, by petition to the curators, for Bannatyne's manuscript. I thought your lordship's rank and influence rendered this unnecessary; and supposed it was not done in the case of Barbour. I only wait for Lindsay's play, to publish the volume; and I hope no time will be

VOL. I.

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lost. Barbour's poem I shall publish here next

year.

DR. THOMAS CAMPBELL TO MR. PINKERTON.

No. 28, Dame Street, Dublin,
Feb. 6th, 1788.

I have been but a few days in this town, and have not had time to inquire for Burke's Hibernia Dominicana, which I am pretty certain of getting for you, though I never saw the book; but I despair of getting the Trias Thaumaturga: however, my diligence shall not be wanting in looking out for it. This intelligence should, in its natural course, come to you, by reflection, from our excellent Bishop of Dromore; but I could not lose a minute to renew my intercourse with you; and, in particular, I beg that you will put me on your list of subscribers for your Lives of the Scotish Saints, which the Bishop has wrote to me (for I have not seen him since I saw you), you are preparing upon Hearne's plan. Mr. Ledwich (Edward) F.A.S.* desires also to be a subscriber.

I should by this night's post send to you, in compliance with the Bishop's desire, a newspaper, in which is a continuation of a slight Sketch of the Ecclesiastical and Literary History of Ireland, only that I disagree very much with the Bishop as to its merit; for, in good truth, I do not deem it worthy your perusal; and I fear that your lyncean eye

Author of the Antiquities of Ireland, &c. &c.

might discern some Celtic nonsense in it. However, if it should in future appear to me worthy your notice, I shall send you some of the papers, (especially when I shall be certain that a newspaper sent to London in an open cover will cost you but a penny) wherein the names of M'Pherson and Pinkerton may be introduced.

You must know the origin of this matter-on my leaving London I went to Beaconsfield, where the hospitable owner entered very cordially into my plan, which I partly communicated to you, of writing the History of the Revolutions of Ireland, &c., so as to give the spirit rather than the letter of our melancholy Annals. He advised me to be as brief as possible upon every thing antecedent to Henry II.; and, in full conviction of the force of his advice, I have been, since I saw you, weeding out certain ecclesiastical and literary documents there interspersed, and have thrown them into the present newspaper form, so as to be arranged, in a better form, and in a book or pamphlet, if they should meet any decent share of approbation, which the Bishop's partiality encourages me to hope for. Mr. Burke, however, did not content himself with giving me good advice: he gave me also his very valuable collection of manuscripts relative to Ireland, no less than four folio volumes, of which I have already considerably availed myself. I have reason to believe the Bishop has wrote to you lately, though I am ashamed to say I have not yet answered his letter.

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