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Thy grace, may be every way made acceptable to Thee. Amen."

How greatly this prayer has suffered from Peckard's treatment will appear from the following passage, one of four paragraphs which remain of twenty-one whose contents are preserved in Middle Hill MS. 9527.

"Commemoration prayer drawn up by N. F. and by him enjoined to be said monthly the last day of each month... Begun to be said in 1625 and continued to be said till 28 Sept. 1657, if not longer.

"We come, O Lord, most mighty God and most merciful Father, again to offer up unto Thy Divine Majesty the monthly tribute of that duty which we are so perpetually bound to perform, even the repeated tender of our most humble and hearty thanks and praises for all those infinite and most inestimable benefits, which we unworthy sinners have in such an inestimable manner from time to time received at Thy gracious hands, and which we do even still through Thy continued favour unto this same hour enjoy."

Page 231. n. Beyond all, her mercifulness towards the sick was most laudable: her provision of antidotes against infection, and of cordials and several sorts of physic for such of her neighbours as should need them, amounted yearly to very considerable sums, and though in distributing such medicinal provisions her hand was very open, yet it was close enough in applying them, her skill, indeed, was more than ordinary, and her wariness too, &c."-Duncon's Memoirs of Lady Falkland (Gibbons's Pious Women, 1804, ii. 30, 31).

Page 243. n. 2. "I beseech you certify me, what and how I may present my respects to your friends of Huntingdonshire."-R. Busby to Basire, Sept. 20. 1642 (Basire's Life, 42). "Mr. Thurscross is again settled in Yorkshire: Mr. Ferrar with his family at Gidding; long since Mr. MapleAll remember you the Joseph in

toft hath a good living.

affliction." Same to same. July 27. 1647. (ibid. 62). The allusion must be to the spoliation of Gidding.

"Two Letters of Mr. John Ferrar's to Dr. Basire, about Bibles and Testaments, as also about the labours of the reputed Nuns of Little Gidding.

At your best leisure.

Worthy sir, That you will please to favour me with your help and advice, how and where to procure these ensuing things, by your own or friends' assistance.

I. All the several translations that have been since
Henry the Eighth's time of the holy Bible in the Eng-
lish tongue.
The New Testament is my chief aim.
These several translations I hear to have been extant,

viz.

1. King Henry's Bible, as they call it, printed

anno

2. By Richard Taverner

rinted}

1539

1540

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II. All the several translations of the New Testament, which are said to be twenty in number, in the Latin

tongue.

All the several that have been in the French.

All in the Italian.

All in the Spanish.

All in the Low Dutch.

All in the High Dutch.

III. To inquire if the great and stately Bible of the King of France, in the seven several languages, be come yet into England, and the price of it; if not, how it is at

Paris sold; and if the New Testament be not to be had single, and the price of it. I suppose the French preachers in London can inform you at full of it.

can the Italian and Dutch of the above-mentioned.

So

IV. If you could by the help of any friend procure me two Testaments in the Cantabrian tongue, the language spoken in Navarre: they were printed at Rochelle, anno 1571, and dedicated to the then queen of Navarre, dame soveraine de Bearn; and in 8vo. Some of the French preachers might (methinks) procure them you. I suppose at Geneva, or Bourdeaux, or thereabouts, they may be had.

V.

Two Testaments in the

Ethiopian tongue.

Two in the Slavonian

tongue.

Two in the Armenian.
Two in the Persian.

Two in the Portingal.

They must be both the Testaments in the same language, alike, and the same impression.

These, or all but the last, are to be had at Venice: so that Signior Burlamac, the postmaster at London, spoken to by any friend, would easily send for them to come in the first ship that comes from Venice; which would infinitely pleasure me.

The four Evangelists translated by Mr. Fox in the old Saxon and English is a book in 4to, printed anno 1570. One of these I have; but two I must have of all sorts for my work, just alike. I have also one in the Cantabrian tongue already; but one will not serve my turn, as I must use them....

If so be our dear brother Thristcross should desire, or you so think good, that he take a copy of the titles of these books in the other paper, which were done at Gidding, he may. For it may be some of his acquaintance of noble personages may desire some of them to be made for them; yea, some rich

divines, as deans, or prebends, &c. And it may be, there may be more occasion to shew them, upon this libel; that makes as if they did no work at Gidding, but all the time spent in contemplation, as it would make the world believe: but they may see this cost hath time and much labour every way; and it may do us much right in that thing."

'At your best and spare leisure, and when there is fitting time and opportunity for it.

Sir, I have now further taken the presumption to send you herein enclosed the titles or frontispieces of some of those works and books done at Gidding; the inventions and patterns left us by our dearest brother.

The intent and end I have in it (submitting this and all other my desires to your better judgement) is, that if you think so good to shew them to my lord of Durham, or to some other worthy noble personages; if his lordship or they might desire to have any of these made for their uses, and would bestow their money upon them, if not for their own use, yet it may be for some library, as rarities in their kinds and the handy-work of women (for their manufacture, I mean, and labour of putting together, by the way of pasting, &c.), we should be glad of the employment for our younger and elder people; and it may be if noble personages and learned knew of them, they would be casting away money upon them as well as upon other things. My lord Wharton, upon the sight of Kings-Concordance, desired to have one of an inferior kind and sort: for the king's stands us in above £100; but my lord Wharton's cost him but £37: and so much he gave us for it willingly; but it was deemed by all that saw it to be of more worth.

Well, sir, I know you love us, and would be glad in any good way to promote our affairs and employments: if you shall find that the times settle, and men grow out of these fears and doubts: I hope in God, if the bishops and Book of Common Prayer be established, all will settle shortly in a

good end: which God Almighty grant; unto Whom I recomthis and yourself, and am

Yours J. F.

But all this is but sent you that if you shall find all things to concur to do us any pleasure in this way, you may the better know how to do it, having these things by you: for no man knows what may [be] by some affected in this kind, and may so like them, that they may desire, as my lord Wharton did, to have some made; and you may by chance be able to do us a high and rare benefit, with but a word of your mouth, this way. Adieu.

If any thing of these kinds be thought of any to be of worth or rarity, and that God shall enable us to finish them, we must and shall always say; Not unto us, not unto us, but to the great God be the praise and glory, Who hath made us any instruments of these things wholly by His goodness and grace.

The Superscription

(To Dr. Basier at his best
leisure and fitting time."

Page 257. n. 3. In a conversation (the fourth; upon temperance) after some remarks on the evil tendency of epigrams, sonnets, madrigals &c. we read, "Sir Philip Sydney closeth up his works with a sonnet of recantation, and seals it with, Splendidis longum valedico nugis.”—Middle Hill MS. 9527. "Add. MS. 5903." Now Bibl. Reg.

Page 269. n. I. append. No. 65. Page 275. n. 3. and other authors.

Some of the stories were taken from Fox A few extracts from the conversations printed by Hearne and from those preserved by Peck (Middle Hill MS. 9527) must here suffice.

"It was the same time when the church celebrates the great festival of the Purification, that the maiden sisters longing to be imitators of those glorious saints by whose names they were called (for all bare saints' names, and she that was elected Chief, that of the blessed Virgin Mary), having entered into a joint covenant between themselves and some others of nearest blood (which according to their several relations they

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