392 



Doctor Fergus, relative to their purchase for him : " Dear Sir, I beg 

 you will take the trouble of purchasing for me, Conry s MSS,, now in 

 the hands of Charles O'Neil," &c. ; and further on, he says, " I again 

 request that you will be active in procuring for me Conry's MSS. — 

 my collection is very imperfect, and I wish to save as many as I can 

 of the ancient MSS. of Ireland from the wreck that has almost over- 

 whelmed every thing that once belonged to us." — (Memoir of C. 

 O'Conor, p. 173.) That he did succeed in possessing himself of these 

 MSS. can hardly admit of a doubt, as most of them can be traced as 

 belonging to him subsequently. It was the same Doctor Fergus, to 

 whom this letter was addressed, that, as Mr. O'Conor states, put the 

 first volume of the Annals into better condition for him in 1734, (the 

 very year in which he got the work from Bishop O'Rourke,) giving it, 

 as he said, "vigour enough to outlive another century." And it was 

 from the hands of the same gentleman. Doctor Fergus, that the im- 

 perfect copy of the second volume, together with other works of 

 Conry's collection, which had undoubtedly been the property of Mr. 

 O'Conor, passed into the library of Trinity College. That Mr. O'Conor 

 should have parted with that mutilated volume will not appear strange, 

 if we account for it by the supposition of his having had our perfect 

 volume in his possession at the time. 



It is of importance to this sketch also to add, that the first volume, 

 now at Stowe, as well as the second in Trinity College, afford internal 

 evidences of their being, not the original autographs of the work, but 

 transcripts made by one of the writers for his own individual use. 

 These internal evidences are, that the volume in Trinity College library 

 is written uniformly throughout by the same hand — and we have the 

 testimony of Doctor Fergus perfixed to it, stating, that the second 

 volume agrees in every respect, as to paper, writing, &c. &c., with 

 the first volume now at Stowe, In this. Doctor O'Conor concurs, who 

 says emphatically, it is all in the one hand — the hand of Michael 



