and thence removed to Christ Church, Oxford, with one of three exhibitions on the foundation of Mr. Careswell, with which that school is endowed.

He proceeded to the degree of M. A. at Oxford in 1753; but, at the close of 1769 *, having in that year been appointed one of the King's Chaplains +, he repaired to Cambridge for that of D.D. to which he was admitted as a Member of Emanuel-college, early in 1770. His first fortunate introduction to the Northumberland family had taken place in 1765. the History of Worcestershire, vol. II. p. 318. It will there be perceived that it was his aim to identify his family with that of the descendants of Ralph, younger brother to the third Earl of Northumberland; and about 1795 he printed on a broadside a pedigree of the Earls of Northumberland, in which he introduced "the Worcester branch," as his own family is styled, taking for granted the connection presumed in the History of Worcestershire. Supposing the descent capable of proof, the Bishop was decidedly Earl of Northumberland; but he left no relation to inherit his claims.

* In a letter dated Dec. 11, 1769, addressed by the Rev. William Cole to Mr. Granger, is this passage: "I design calling to-day on Mr. Percy, formerly of Oxford, and editor of the old English Ballads, who is now at Cambridge for his D. D. degree; he preached yesterday afternoon at St. Mary's on that account. He is a collector of heads, and formerly I had some correspondence with him." Malcolm's Letters of Granger, p. 330.

↑ "Dr. Percy not unfrequently introduced me at the Chaplains' table at St. James's, where I met with some of the first literary characters of the age. I must own, though some compensation was made, I have always regretted the loss of that table. Each Chaplain for his month admitted his select friends; the company was miscellaneous but always instructive; and I was never witness to any altercation in that lettered society. Dr. Percy introduced Mr. Hume, and all the company were highly gratified with his conversation."

"Dr. Percy was a most pleasing companion, and to me a steady friend; there was a violence in his temper which could not always be controlled; but he had a wife,

"Without one jarring atom form'd,

And gentleness and joy made up her being."

"She was wet-nurse at Buckingham House to the infant Prince Edward, afterwards Duke of Kent." Cradock's Literary and Miscellaneous Memoirs, vol. I. p. 239; vol. IV. p. 292.

See in vol. IV. of the present Work, p. 643, a congratulatory letter of his friend the Rev. Edward Blakeway.

The Bishop's lady was Anne, daughter of Barten Goodriche, of Desborough in Northamptonshire, Esq. She died at Dromore-house, Dec. 30, 1806, aged 75.

Within

The following warm eulogy upon Bishop Percy's most popular literary pursuit, is from Dibdin's Bibliographical Decameron. "The name of Thomas Percy, Bishop of Dromore, is consecrated in the annals of black-letter learning, dear to every man who has the curiosity and the sense to listen to the rude songs of his ancestors, and to catch a portion of the energetic simplicity which they impart. The flowers which Percy gathered from the balladpoetry of our fore-fathers, have served, ever since their appearance, to regale and refresh us. the cups of these flowers, Scott, Campbell, Moore, like poetic bees, have 'lurked,' and sipped, and enriched their own delightful stores. The late Bishop of Dromore is entitled to the proud praise of being the Father of poetical taste in that department of literature which he has the exclusive merit of having first brought into public notice. His Reliques of Ancient English Poetry' is a publication that reflects lasting honour upon his name; and it has proved the germ of a rich harvest in the same field of the Muses."-"In his latter years (adds Dr. Dibdin) Bishop Percy almost wished to forget that he had published the Reliques of Ancient English Poetry; but the wish was both vain and injudicious for his memory will live, and gloriously live, upon the strength of THAT WORK ALONE, when his professional publications (few, and comparatively unimportant, undoubtedly,) may possibly be forgotten. The truth is, the leading feature, or bias (call it as you will) of Bishop Percy's mind, was philological taste; and, I had almost said, poetical as well as philological. He had the eye and the hand of a master in this study. He was the first, among the sons of Britain,' who may be said

6

to have truly felt, and exactly appreciated, the force and beauty of our earlier ballad-poetry; and, transformed by his talismanic touch, the sombre-seeming productions of our typographical forefathers-the De Wordes, Pynsons, and Copelands, of the sixteenth century-started up into shapes and appearances the most inviting, or curious, or beautiful, or interesting. From him Tom Warton might have caught or increased the glow of poetical inspiration; and Shenstone hastened to pour the tributary waters of his urn into the reservoir before-named, which has so long continued to refresh and delight the thirsty in poetical love.' Formed and fashioned upon the the Reliques' of our old poetry, the Ellises, Ritsons, and Southeys of the day have put forth a series of volumes, without which no library, which aspires to elegance and utility, can be said to be complete. The Bishop's emendations and supply of lacunæ, in the defective copies of the more ancient ballads, equally showed the felicity of his conception and execution; while, in prose matters, his publications of the Northumberland Household Book,' 1770, 8vo.; and Mallet's Northern Antiquities,' with notes, maintained his reputation with undiminished splendor *."

* Dr. Dibdin describes, in a note, the manuscript from which many of the Ancient Ballads were selected, which is represented in Sir Joshua Reynolds's portrait of Dr. Percy, and which is still in the possession of the Bishop's daughter Mrs. Isted, at Ecton, in Northamptonshire :

"The MS. in question is a narrow, half-bound book, with blue-paper sides and brown leather back. It is fifteen inches and five-eighths in length, by about five and six-eighths in width. Every page has a margin to the left of about an inch and a half in width, marked by a perpendicular line; the poetry uniformly occupying the right side of the margin. The book may be about an inch in thickness. We have the following introductory prefix in an antient hand: Curious Old Ballads, which occasionally I have met with. N. B. This volume contains near 40,000 verses, reckoning 520 pages, and about 75 lines to a page; which, however, makes it 39,000.' A little further the Bishop has written as follows: N. B. When I first got possession of

1. Agreement between the Rev. Mr. Percy and Mr. Tonson.

"Whereas the Rev. Thomas Percy, of Easton Mauduit in Northamptonshire, clerk, is preparing for the press a collection

this MS. I was very young, and being in no degree an antiquary, I had not then learnt to reverence it; which must be my excuse for the scribble which I then spread over some parts of its margin; and in one or two instances for even taking out the leaves to save the trouble of transcribing. I have since been more careful. T. P.-This is followed by a memorandum of great interest, signed by the Bishop himself: Memorandum. Northumberland-house, Nov. 7, 1769. This very curious old manuscript in its mutilated state, but unbound, and sadly torn, I rescued from destruction; and begged at the hands of my worthy friend Humphrey Pitt, Esq. then living at Shiffnall in Shropshire, afterwards of Prior Lee, near that town, who died very lately at Bath, in summer, 1769. I saw it lying dirty on the floor under a bureau in the parlour; being used by the maids to light the fire. It was afterwards sent most unfortunately to an ignorant bookbinder, who pared the margin, when I put it into boards in order to lend it to Dr. Johnson. Mr. Pitt has since told me, that he believes the transcripts in this volume, &c. were made by that Blount, who was author of Jocular Tenures, &c. who he thought was of Lancashire or Cheshire, and had a remarkable fondness for these old things. He believed him to be the same person with that Mr. Thomas Blount, who published the curious account of King Charles the Second's Escape, intituled, Boscobel, &c. Lond. 1660, 12mo. which has been so often reprinted; as also the Law Dictionary, 1671, folio, and many other books, which may be seen in Wood's Athenæ, vol. II. p. 73, &c. A descendant or relation of that Mr. Blount was an apothecary at Shiffnall, whom I remember myself, named also Blount. He (if I mistake not) sold the library of his said predecessor, Thomas Blount, to the above-mentioned Mr. Humphrey Pitt, who bought it for his nephew, my ever-valued friend, the Rev. Robert Binnel. Mrs. Binnel accordingly had all the printed books; but this MS. which was among them, was neglected, and left behind at Mr. Pitt's house, where it lay for many years, N. B. Upon looking into Wood's Athenæ, I find that Thomas Blount, the author of the Jocular Tenures, was a Herefordshire man. He may, however, have spent much of his time in Cheshire or Lancashire; or, after all, this collection may have been made by a relation of his of the same name." Dr. Dibdin then proceeds with a list of the poetical pieces contained in the volume, with the Bishop's marginal remarks, and gives some fac-similes of the hand-writing. See the Bibliographical Decameron, vol. III. pp. 340-344.