300 Mr. Parkes's Ilhtori/ of 



it contains many curious details from interesting books, which 

 are no where else at this time to be found. The situation 

 which Mr. Oldys held with Lord Oxford gave him the best op- 

 portunity for gratifying his taste for ancient and curious books 

 and manuscripts, and hi industry was such, that he made the 

 most of his advantages. He is well known to have been a man 

 of the strictest integrity — therefore whatever he asserts as of 

 his own knowledge, in the British Librarian or in his other 

 works, may be depended upon. An instance of his probity oc- 

 curred soon after the publication of his Life of Sir Walter 

 Raleigh, that was prefixed to the Folio edition of Sir Walter's 

 History of the world. Some Booksellers thinking his name 

 would tend to sell a work they were publishing, offered him a 

 considerable sum of money if he would allow them to affix it — 

 but he rejected the proposal with the greatest indignation, 

 though at the time he was in great pecuniary distress. 



Mr. Oldys was a writer on a great variety of subjects, and se- 

 veral of his MS. volumes are preserved in the British Museum. 

 Mr. Chalmers has made out the most complete list of his works 

 that he was able to compile, amounting to 24 articles* — from 

 whence it appears that he was the author of several Lives in the 

 BiographiaBritannica, bearing the signature G. the initial letter 

 of Gray's-Inn, where he formerly lived. He was also a writer 

 in the General Dictionary, and furnished several communications 

 to Mrs. Cooper, for that curious volume which she published 

 under the title of the " Muses Library." A translation of Cam- 

 den's Britannia, in two volumes quarto, has also been ascribed 

 to him by Mr. Gough; and among the Birch MSS. in the Bri- 

 tish Museum, are some Memoirs of the family of Oldys, drawn 

 up by William Oldys himself. 



The following well-turned anagram was found in one of his 



MSS. 



W. O. 



In word and Will I AM a friend to you. 

 And one friend OLD IS worth a hundred new. 



I should have been glad to give a list of the books which Mr. 

 * General Bio^. Diet. Vol. XXTIl. p, 336. 



