282 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[Oct. 13. 1855. 



And, ' Lord have mercy upon us,' one the door, 

 Pute thee in mind to pray for them therefore. 

 The watchman that attends the house of sorrow, 

 He may attend upon thy house to-morrow. 

 Oh, wher's the vow we to our God hath made 

 When death and sickness came, with axe and 



spade. 

 And hurled our brethren up in heaps apace — 

 Even forty thousand in a lettell space ! 

 The plague among us is not yet removed. 

 Because y* sin of us is still beloved. 

 Each spectacle of death and funerall 

 Pute thee and I in mind we must die all." 



I have copied both grammar and orthography 

 exactly, I believe; and I should say they are 

 rather better than the average of the time. 



Does any other writer mention the plague here 

 spoken of as occurring " seaven yeares since," i. e. 

 in 1658? 



I beg to add, that my heraldic Query (Vol. xii., 

 p. 265.) related to the same parish as this present 

 Note. Henry H. Gibbs. 



Froffnal. 



MILTON MSS. IN STATE PAPER OFFICES. 



[We have always advocated the transfer to the British 

 Museum of those MSS. at the State Paper Office, which 

 are no longer required to be concealed, from the eyes of 

 historical and literary students. We are therefore glad 

 to see the subject brought forward in other journals ; and 

 think we may promote the object by transferring to our 

 columns the following paragraph from the Illustrated 

 London News of Sept. 22nd ; more especially since it con- 

 tains matter of interest to all the admirers of Milton and 

 his writings.] 



" In the State Paper Office are still deposited the manu- 

 script of Milton's Treatise on Christian Doctrine, and a 

 letter addressed by him to Bradsliaw in favour of Andrew 

 Marvell, dated February 21st, 1652-53. As the interest 

 attaching to these documents is AvhoUy literary, not poli- 

 tical, a correspondent suggests that they should be re- 

 moved to the British Museum, where they would be much 

 more easy of access. To illustrate this, our correspondent 

 says : ' I beg to recount the difficulties which I expe- 

 rienced lately in obtaining a sight of the Milton manu- 

 scripts. It has been supposed by some of the poet's 

 biographers that the letter to Bradshaw is in Milton's 

 own handwriting — a circumstance which would prove 

 that he could not have been totally blind at the date of 

 the letter in Feb., 1G52-53, although Du Moulin had in 

 the year previous upbraided him with his blindness. The 

 existing evidence seemed to indicate that Milton was 

 totally blind in 1652 ; and I thought it also improbable 

 that the poet should mis-spell the names of his friends 

 Marvell and Weckerlyn in the letter alluded to as pub- 

 lished by Todd. To see the document was, therefore, the 

 only way to settle the point. I applied at the State Paper 

 Office in Duke Street, Westminster, and was informed 

 that it was necessary to have an order from the Home 

 Secretary. I accordingly addressed an application to Sir 

 George Grey, stating my object, and mentioning the name 

 of a nobleman who permitted me to use it in reference to 

 the application. Three days elapsed, and uo answer came. 

 Xo. 311.] 



I then wrote a second note, recapitulating the circum- 

 stances of the case, and stating my anxiety to return to 

 the North. Another day passed without an answer. On 

 mentioning the circumstance to a friend, he said, " As 

 your application has no reference to politics, you are not 

 likely to get an answer ; go to the Home Ofiice, and in- 

 quire personally into the matter." Following this advice, 

 I went to Downing Street, and was informed that such 

 applications were submitted to the Master of the Rolls, 

 but that I might consult Mr. Waddington, the Under 

 Secretary, on the subject. Mr. Waddington confirmed 

 the statement as to the necessity of receiving the sanction 

 of the blaster of the Rolls ; but, in consideration of my 

 anxiety to leave town, he politely gave me an introduc- 

 tion to the Master. Thus fortified, I set off for Chancery 

 Lane. The Master of the Rolls had gone to tlie country, 

 and the time of his return was uncertain ! " Is there no 

 person with authority to open such letters in the Master's 

 absence ? " " You had better apply at the Secretary's 

 office, No. 3." The Secretary's office was shut ; it was 

 open only from eleven to one o'clock, and it was then past 

 one. So much trouble and solicitation about a small 

 matter seemed more than enough ; but I had some curi- 

 osit}' to pursue it to the end. At eleven o'clock next 

 morning I presented mj'self at the Secretary's office. 

 There was a gentleman who opened such letters in the 

 Master's absence. I was directed to him, and was told 

 that he only opened the letters when Sir Francis Palgrave 

 was not in town. To Sir Francis I was next sent, and 

 there I was at last successful. With his well-known 

 courtesy. Sir Francis instantly gave fhe order, and I re- 

 paired once more to the State Paper Office. My object 

 was gained, but at the cost of how much unnecessary 

 delay and trouble? Had the documents been in the 

 Museum, a few minutes would have sufficed for the pur- 

 pose. The letter, as I ccmjectured, was not in Milton's 

 handwriting. It is in a fine current hand of the time, 

 quite unlike that of the poet, nor does it resemble an}' one 

 of the three hands employed on The Treatise on Christian 

 Doctrine. The letter fills a page of foolscap folio, and the 

 seal used is that of Milton ; bearing his arms, the spread 

 eagle. Perhaps it is some excuse for the incivility of Sir 

 George Grey, tliat my application was made towards the 

 close of the Parliamentary Session. Nothing could ex- 

 ceed the politeness of the official gentlemen whom I had 

 occasion to consult; but it is obvious that the Milton 

 MSS. are not in the " right place." ' " 



HISTORY OF PRIMC MINISTERS. 



In a catalogue of second-hand books * recently 



* One result of mj' correspondence with " N. & Q." is 

 the occasional receipt of a catalogue of second-hand 

 books. Instead of " result," I had written " advantage ; " 

 but I can scarcely use that word with propriety, as to me 

 such catalogues generally present temptations which the 

 stale of my exchequer, and the already overcrowded 

 shelves of my library, prohibit me from listening to. I 

 wish, however, to thank those bibliopolists who have so 

 favoured me, and especially Mr. Kerslake of Bristol. Two 

 of his catalogues, containing his part of the controvers}' 

 respecting the autograph of the " Perverse Widow " 

 (" N. & Q.," "Vol. X., pp. 161. 234. 453.) have been sent to 

 me ; and if I have not been able to purchase any of the 

 tempting lots there offered, I have compensated for my 

 default, and immortalised Mr. Kerslake's lucubrations, by 

 binding them with my set of "N. & Q." — H. M. 



